America 1982-Chapter 538 - 107: Sleepless Night
For many in the Eighteenth District, or indeed across the whole of Miami, tonight was a sleepless night.
The debate had just ended, and whether it was Republican candidates or Democratic candidates, basically any candidate who could afford a professional campaign team had their staff receive performance data on tonight’s Democratic primary candidates immediately.
All the local television stations in Miami broadcast news related to the primary, and the name most mentioned by TV hosts was the Democratic plumber, Jeff Rush.
Throughout the entire primary, in the three nine-minute free debate periods, Jeff Rush, who was performing at his best tonight, took 420 seconds, 540 seconds, and again 420 seconds, firmly holding onto the title of the night’s most vocal candidate.
You have to understand that the free debate was essentially an opportunity for candidates to attack and expose each other. Jeff Rush was able to garner such an exaggerated speaking duration because he hardly paused at all, swiftly counterattacking each time he caught a word from another candidate, leaving them tongue-tied while he snatched their speaking time and focused the audience’s attention on himself.
Besides Jeff Raven, the one recognized as the second-best performer tonight was the former Deputy Mayor of Miami, Rosario Kennedy. In the first phase of the free debate, she managed to speak for 120 seconds. Although it wasn’t as dramatic as Jeff Raven’s 420 seconds, it was a remarkable achievement compared to the other five candidates, who split 360 seconds among themselves, averaging only 72 seconds each.
Right now, the late-night news program on TV featured the host discussing Rosario’s performance with guest commentators, who gave Rosario high praise. They started with her background as a minority and a woman, continued through the various efforts she made during her years in politics, including her state during this primary. From initially being flustered by Jeff Raven’s highly controversial remarks, she adjusted her mentality in the second phase, remained steady and confident, no longer hesitating but instead engaging in direct confrontations with Jeff Rush several times, earning herself 180 seconds of speaking time. In the final phase, she pressed her advantage to increase her individual speaking time to 240 seconds, proving herself to be very resilient, not easily knocked down by difficulties, but becoming stronger and more determined instead.
Martin stood in the lobby of his company, watching this flattery of Rosario on the news commentary, and finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He turned off the TV and looked to Tommy, who was sipping lemon honey water to soothe his sore throat: "This is complete and utter fake news. That woman’s performance being second only to Jeff’s is because our signal jamming spared her. Otherwise, tonight she should have become like the others, completely mute in the second and third phases." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
The reason Martin dared call the current news commentary fake news was naturally that he knew the truth about tonight. He was unclear whether other candidates had thought of jamming Jeff’s communicator, but the boss, Tommy, had considerately arranged for people to actively interfere with and sabotage the other candidates’ receiver signals.
By jamming their receivers, they ensured that these candidates could not hear their team’s prompts in real-time and, in those moments when they couldn’t hear clearly, Jeff was able to seize the opportunity to continue speaking endlessly, making those guys seem as if they were at a loss for words under Jeff’s questioning.
And the reason for Rosario’s increasingly better performance was that Tommy had let her off in the second and third phases, giving her a chance to score some impression points. Yet, as soon as the debate was over, this kindness from Tommy turned into the hypocritical words of TV commentators praising her for not fearing difficulties, claiming that difficulties only made her stronger.
"Don’t think of it as watching the news; consider it normal advertising and public relations," Tommy said lazily, leaning back in a chair. "Speaking of which, there will probably be curious people coming to talk to you tomorrow, asking what brand of receiver you prepared for Jeff. This is the power of technology; technology can make everyone on stage a public speaker, but it can also render them all mute."
Page walked in from outside and said to Tommy, "I’ve checked again, and it’s all arranged."
"What’s arranged? Cuban smugglers causing trouble for Jeff? Throwing rotten eggs? Deliberately blocking his car? Causing Jessica to get hurt by accident?" Martin looked toward Tommy, then at Page who had just entered, asking in confusion.
He blurted out all these arrangements without thinking, perfectly aware that Tommy hadn’t kept him in the dark, yes, tomorrow Jeff’s family would face hostility from Cubans in their district, letting him realize what it meant to offend the largest voting bloc there.
Because the Cubans had maliciously intercepted Jessica while she was driving, which caused her to accidentally hit a building at the roadside and get injured, she could now sit in a wheelchair during the campaign with dignity, enjoying Jeff pushing her around.
But those Cuban illegal immigrants who would start causing trouble for Jeff’s family from tomorrow were all part of Martin’s elaborate plan. The traffic accident wouldn’t really hurt Jessica; it was just to keep increasing Jeff’s visibility, to make sure people continued to pay attention to Jeff’s experiences and his campaign process, and to take the opportunity to disgust the Cubans of the district.
Hearing Martin’s query, Tommy took a sip of his lemonade, "Tomorrow is the Republican primary, which isn’t as chaotic as the Democratic Party’s. Their primary only unveiled four candidates instead of seven, but the last three are merely confirming their local appeal, with no real intention of campaigning. Iliana Leti, in the previous mock primary voting, won a staggering 83% of the votes, while the other three combined only garnered 17%. Those three are just also-rans."
"Have you made arrangements against that Republican Cuban woman?" Martin frowned, "Looking for trouble with her?"
"Just some insignificant tricks." Tommy, with his eyes closed and holding onto his lemonade as if his thoughts had drifted elsewhere, sounded somewhat absent-minded:
"Tonight, Jeff, with the Democratic primary, has risen suddenly. It’s not Rosario who is tossing and turning, but the Republican Cuban female candidate, Iliana Leti."
"With an 83% approval rating, I don’t think anything could make her uncomfortable." Martin, imitating Tommy’s usual contemplative demeanor, pondered for a while but couldn’t figure out why the Republican Cuban woman would be restless, because normally, if Rosario fails in the primary, the Cuban American voters in the district would only have her as an option. She wouldn’t have to worry about fighting Rosario for Cuban American votes anymore.
"She should have realized by now that the Jewish elderly couple I gave her would make her very uncomfortable." Tommy held his sip of lemonade for a while before swallowing and then slowly said:
"She must have seen Jeff and the other Democratic candidates’ performances; unless she is seriously vision-impaired, she should understand that Jeff, who foolishly entrusted the Parkers to her, may actually be her real competitor. Unfortunately, it’s too late now. Before her lies what seems to be a multiple-choice question."
"That is whether she wants to cooperate with Rosario, the Democratic Cuban candidate, to ensure she gets the support of all Cuban American voters. If she worries her current vote tally isn’t high enough and chooses to join forces with Rosario, Rosario’s conditions are sure to include letting Iliana Leti or her husband take pressure off the Jewish couple’s harassment. Guess how the Jewish couple might react if they find out?"
"What if she doesn’t cooperate with Rosario? If she continues to stand up for the Parkers, couldn’t she avoid this problem?" Martin asked.
Tommy said with confidence, "If she continues to stand up for justice, then Jeff will thank her for her selfless act at every public rally, for not favoring her Cuban compatriots. At the same time, while continuing to denounce Cuban defectors, Jeff would praise her as a respectable adversary, a true American."
"This allows the Cuban voters who support Rosario to have a chance to trouble her, splitting her vote. The advantage of doing this is that the moment she even attempts to retract her previous stance due to pressure from Cuban voters, we will latch onto her and slowly widen her wounds. Don’t forget, she is also the head of a private school. We could find a group of children from her school whose parents dislike Cubans to attend her events with their children, asking her racial questions in an innocent tone, provoking her, until she worries that her Cuban vote bank isn’t strong enough to decisively defeat Jeff, naturally leading her to consider some collaborative interests she previously wouldn’t have thought about."
