The Commission’s death blow came in the form of the (officially the Subcommittee on Rural-Urban Fiscal Interdependence ). Chaired by Rep. Harold Taper (D-Ohio), this subcommittee was created to “broaden the Commission’s perspective.” In practice, it was a poison pill.

The Keily Commission would experience all four stages in less than 18 months.

"Precisely," she whispered. "To hold close. The file you have requested contains the memory of a moment that was stripped from the public record. A moment of intense intimacy. To view it, you cannot simply watch. You must accept it. You must let it hold you."

The question is not rhetorical. Since 1970, dozens of national commissions have tried to avoid Keily’s fate. Some, like the 9/11 Commission, succeeded by imposing strict sunset clauses and keeping advisory rosters small. Others, like the National Commission on Voting Rights, collapsed under the weight of their own stakeholder maps.