America 1982-Chapter 575 - 123: Bait
"Earl Rash? Your meticulously chosen Black attorney for the BT television network?" Pete Binns asked.
He knew some of Tommy’s personnel arrangements, so he immediately thought of that Black attorney who is now garnering support from the lower-class Black community in Los Angeles.
Tommy shook his head definitively: "No, Earl is a good friend of mine, I wouldn’t destroy his bright future at this moment, I have higher expectations for him."
"So, Jeff Raven?" Pete threw out another name. Tommy might have been on vacation, but it wasn’t merely for leisure; he knew what Tommy was planning. Since it wasn’t the time to throw Earl Rash to the wolves, it seemed the only option Tommy could throw out was that fool in Miami who believed the Earth was flat.
"The answer isn’t that hard to guess, right? Jeff isn’t suitable for that position. Ever since he pulled out a solid ball at the inauguration, he’s been questioned daily about his intelligence, and people are constantly demanding he takes an IQ test. That position is pure agony for him, and I think he should be rescued from his suffering. I’ve had David prepare a better job for him, head of the Miami Police Volunteer Service, where he could lead a group of veterans to help the police catch illegal Cuban immigrants every day, if he wanted to. But it’s not him. He’s just taking the opportunity to retire. I need a real Democratic politician. Whoever can’t resist stepping forward, that’s who I’ll target. I just hope that two staunch Democrats can understand my predicament."
Tommy didn’t deny it this time but still explained that he needed a real politician to be the fall guy: "Bill and Al both said they would try their best to pick an idiot for me. We’ll see who jumps out as the most foolish and choose that one. As for Jeff, he was not on my list of choices, after all, if he ran for election, no one could beat him. And besides, I’ve already sold his position to Lord Schlaefer’s nephew-in-law, Mr. David Kennedy, the ex-husband of the former Mrs. Kennedy, in exchange for Martin getting a staff salary at Rona’s congressional office. Meanwhile, Bill Lynch, the Black genius who is buying up Martin’s campaign company, will serve as Rona’s chief of staff."
Schlaefer tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, ignoring the conversation between the two, his gaze fixed on the muted television screen until Tommy and Pete finished their chat. Then he turned to Tommy and opened the discussion slowly: "Did you see how the United States tamed Japan, Tommy? This method never goes out of style."
"I think so too. So, my VOX was essentially established for Murdoch, my Lord. Since the establishment of several VOX press stations in England, their only job has been for him." Tommy looked at Schlaefer and nodded earnestly: "I’m ready."
Schlaefer observed Tommy’s expression and finally nodded, opening his hands and smiling at Pete Binns: "So what are we still doing sitting here talking? Let’s let the young man go for it. Pete, before I return to New York, take me to taste your private wine collection in Los Angeles."
After receiving the approval of the two elders, the BT television network and VOX News Network began to increase the broadcast of negative programs about Japan and switched the national propaganda from targeting China and Japan to negative coverage of international communism, further propagandizing the spiritual brainwashing of communism and the ubiquitous reach of the Soviet KGB’s influences. Fortunately, in order to combat the Soviet Union, the United States had filmed many faux-documentaries smearing communism and the Soviets, and all Tommy needed to do was to dig out those documentaries and broadcast them.
After discussing the indoctrination and infiltration of communism into Western societies, Tommy’s VOX News aired an interview show, mainly letting the interviewee talk about their firsthand experiences with communism’s pervasive influence on Western countries. In the program, Professor Robert Hillman, the lifetime political science professor at Worcester College, Oxford University in England, said that the infiltration and brainwashing by communism were extremely severe in British campuses back then. He recalled a student named Rupert Murdoch having busts of Stalin and Lenin on his dorm room desk and attacking the British political system at school debates, earning the nickname "Red Devil Rupert" at the academy.
The program even showcased a photo of Rupert’s dorm room. Although Stalin’s bust was not seen, a bust of Lenin was clearly visible on the corner desk in a group photo with his roommates.
CBS, ABC, NBC, and Turner’s CNN smelled blood almost instantly, each arranging their news commentary programs to expand upon that character interview that lasted less than three minutes, with some commentators wittily suggesting that if Murdoch was a communist, then it was time for another round of McCarthyism in the United States.
Of course, Murdoch was quick to respond, too. The day after the program aired, Morris Schoenfeld, head of the VOX television network, called Tommy, saying that Murdoch Group’s PR department had reached out to him, hoping Murdoch could sit down and talk after returning from England. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Tommy said with a chuckle: "Murdoch Group has accumulated seven billion US dollars in financial debt due to its large-scale leveraged acquisitions over the past few years, much of which is short-term debt that hasn’t been converted into long-term. We’ve been waiting so long precisely to catch him when a third of his short-term debt is about to mature, all the major television networks are rushing in not to sit down and chat with him."
