Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 263 No Cubans
Lance was driving the Ford F150 camouflage pickup truck that looked like it came straight from the smoke-filled battlefield of Vietnam. He slowly slowed down and pulled over when he was still a few dozen meters away from WLRN-TV. His arrival was completely different from the other candidates'. The other candidates basically drove to the main entrance of the TV station before getting out of various models of business cars, waving and thanking their supporters on the spot. Then, at the reminder of their team assistants, they quickly disappeared inside the door on the pretext of entering the TV station to prepare for the primary debate.
Jeff, Jessica, Gina and the children got out of the car early and walked towards the veterans who had come to cheer for Jeff. They didn't wave to them. Jeff gave a strong hug and a crisp response to every veteran who looked shabby and downtrodden:
"Old soldier, I will win the war tonight! I will come to you with victory!"
"Sir, save a sip of wine for me to come out and celebrate the victory!"
"Corporal Frye! I will make sure Washington hires the best doctor to remove the shrapnel from your body! I want you alive!"
Jeff did not hesitate for any of the veterans, even if they were homeless, had bad body odor, and were in tattered clothes. It was as if his sense of smell was impaired, or maybe he was the same kind of person as these poor people. This was just a gathering within the army. Everyone laughed, hugged, and then went out together onto the battlefield.
Among the team of candidate supporters arriving outside the TV station, Jeff has the largest number of supporters. It's not that other candidates cannot call on more supporters than Jeff to stand on the scene and cheer for them, but there is no need. This is just a party primary. Most importantly, during this period of time, voters should be at home with their families, and candidates will also considerately let supporters sit on the sofa at home and watch his performance on TV.
Jeff's supporters are the only ones. A considerable number of veterans don't even have a home. They have been living on the streets for years due to alcoholism, drug addiction, domestic violence or emergency symptoms. They have nowhere to go, and Jeff is their only thought, because this junior, their comrade-in-arms, promised them that he would go to Washington to fight for their deserved interests.
Some veterans even set up two televisions on their old car, ready to watch the live primary debate on television outside the venue.
Jeff hugged the veterans one by one, and his children followed closely behind him, giving the Boy Scout salute to each veteran. The serious and resolute expressions of the little ones often received happy responses from the veterans. Even the drunk guys would stand up as straight as possible, give them a Patton-style salute, and joke with a smile: "Keep going, soldiers!"
Jessica's hairstyle tonight was short and wavy. She wore an ochre-colored dignified dress, glass stockings, low-heeled leather shoes, a pearl necklace around her neck, and a gentle smile on her face. She followed the children and took the initiative to shake hands and greet every veteran.
Among Jeff's family tonight, Jessica's appearance has changed the most. Marcus spent almost three days designing her current look.
Facts have proved that this image is very good. When the older World War II veterans present saw Jessica, their expressions would subconsciously pause slightly, and then they would hold Jessica's hand tightly with both hands, with expressions of either sighing or relief.
Jessica's look tonight is the most common look for Florida housewives during World War II. The wives, mothers, sisters, and younger sisters of these veterans basically all looked like this: a plain and decent dress, homemade curly hair, glass stockings, a small accessory that she had to wear when going out no matter how poor she was, and low-heeled leather shoes that allowed women to walk without too much effort.
Seeing Jessica's outfit, many veterans were instantly moved and their thoughts went back to that turbulent and displaced period.
However, Gina, who was the last one to walk into Jeff's house, immediately made them think of their female family members directly to another beautiful memory, because Gina's look in front of them had also changed a lot tonight. Her long golden hair had turned into fluffy, full golden wavy curls, sexy bright red lips, a tight purple low-cut suspender skirt, exaggerated earrings, a pearl bracelet, a pair of bare long legs, and high-heeled dance shoes inlaid with sequins.
Whether they are veterans of World War II or Vietnam War, as long as they are not blind, they can see that this young girl is dressed as charmingly and stunningly as Marilyn Monroe. Although the Vietnam War veterans did not enjoy the treatment of Marilyn Monroe's hospitality, it does not mean that they are unfamiliar with this look. When other American actresses or American beauty pageant ladies went to Vietnam to hospitalize the troops, they would also imitate Marilyn Monroe's sexy look to the greatest extent.
A drunken old soldier holding a simple cardboard sign shouted at Gina with a smirk on his face: "Film censor!"
This was like a starting gun, causing all the veterans to look at Gina, and then they all laughed and shouted together: "Film censor!"
"Marilyn Monroe's classic quotes." The receiver in Gina's ear rang, and the team assistant reminded her in time: "Quotes about the cleavage on the chest."
Gina leaned slightly toward the veterans, revealing most of her white chest. Then she stood up straight, her chest shaking. She pointed at the veterans and spoke in a tone that was a mixture of stupidity, innocence, affectation, and most importantly, sexiness: "The problem with film censors is, why should people care whether a girl should show her cleavage? What they should worry about most is a girl without cleavage!"
Whistles and vulgar laughter suddenly filled the air. An old soldier in the front row shouted with satisfaction, "Just one look! It's enough for me to support Jeff until my death!"
Gina laughed sweetly like a silver bell, and spun around briskly, causing her skirt to fly up, revealing her round and firm legs. She then said something like Marilyn Monroe did when she entertained the troops: "Happy Valentine's Day two days ago! Boys! See you back home in America!"
After saying that, Gina put two fingers to her lips and blew a kiss to everyone, then quickened her pace and chased after Jessica, leaving the veterans with only the aftertaste.
In the dressing room backstage, Marcus personally helped Jeff with his makeup, making sure his face looked tougher in front of the TV camera. Jeff closed his eyes, his lips moving constantly, obviously reciting the script that Tommy and Martin had told him to remember. Martin was blocking the door to the dressing room, his back facing the corridor, looking at Jeff and saying:
"Just like we did in rehearsal, take it easy, Jeff."
"Where's Tommy?" Jeff muttered to himself, then opened his eyes and asked when he saw only Martin.
"I'm always with you, Jeff." As soon as he asked the question, Tommy's voice rang in his ears.
…
Paige opened the door, walked in with a glass of water, put her hands in her pockets, and stood quietly beside Tommy who was admiring the night view by the window. "Jim called and said that there was some controversy among the KeyBank directors. They think that Otilia's withdrawal and Jim's adjustment of his position are your plans to find a scapegoat after you emptied KeyBank. But Jim said he didn't explain. But Stephen rushed over in person to appease those people after hearing the news. He relied on his family's credit to convince those people and asked Jim not to disturb your vacation. Jim said you owed Stephen."
"Stephen believes I won't hurt him." Tommy took a sip of water and said, "It's not the time to explain yet. Wait a little longer. It will be soon. Besides, let's focus on this little game tonight."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at the layout of the room. This room could almost be considered a small studio editing room. At the moment, there were six televisions placed there with the pictures and sounds turned on. Each television corresponded to one of the six different angles in the studio. During the live broadcast, the camera would switch to a close-up at any time based on someone's speech, or capture the reactions of the audience at any time and broadcast it to the audience watching in front of the TV.
Compared to Jeff in the dressing room who was only accompanied by Martin and Marcus, Tommy was now in an office on the second floor of WLRN-TV. Besides Paige who was dozing off against the wall of the corridor outside, there were also Martin's three younger brothers. Two of them were guarding the door with their arms folded, one on the left and one on the right, and another one was standing at the stairs with a bandage wrapped around his head, making sure no one could disturb Tommy.
The office was provided to Tommy by Rosario Kennedy, whose ex-husband, Gustavo Andrew, was the news director of the Miami TV station before she married David Kennedy.
At this time, Tommy could clearly see and hear through the TV screen that the host had taken his seat and was announcing the rules of the live primary election to the camera. At the same time, he reminded the audience who had arrived at the studio to remain quiet and not to applaud or talk casually, so as not to affect the performance of the candidates on the stage, and to avoid irrelevant noises that would cause the audience watching the live broadcast in front of the TV to be unable to focus on the performance of the candidates.
There are seven podiums on the stage, corresponding to the seven Democratic candidates who will make their official debut tonight. After the host announced the rules, he began to signal the audience to applaud and welcome the candidates. For the voters in the 18th district, except for two or three wealthy candidates whom they have seen on TV, newspapers, and roadside billboards before, the remaining candidates may be seen for the first time, so the host will introduce the basic information of the candidates to everyone one by one.
Tommy in the room already knew the information of these seven people by heart.
The mock poll selected the party's top candidate, former Miami Vice Mayor Rosario Kennedy.
The second-ranked candidate in the party in the mock poll is Joanna Pepper, the niece of former Congressman Claude Pepper.
The third-ranked candidate Gerald Richman, an attorney at Middleton Law Firm in Liberty City, 18th District, and founder of the North Miami Black Community Alliance.
The fourth-ranked candidate in the party in the mock poll is Jeff Lavine, a plumber and military veteran from the East Miami District in the 18th District.
The fifth-ranked candidate in the party in the mock poll is James Meagher, an insurance broker and chairman of the North Miami Black Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from Little Haiti in the 18th District.
The sixth-ranked candidate in the party in the mock poll is Raul Wright, a furniture store owner from North Miami in District 18.
The seventh-ranked candidate in the party in the mock poll is Andy Hogan, a lifeguard, model, and minor film actor from the 18th District in East Miami.
After the seven candidates stood in front of their respective podiums, the host opened the envelope in front of him and said:
"Tonight's topics are all key issues of concern to voters in the 18th constituency, and I am honored to ask you questions on their behalf. I promise to live up to their trust and ask questions seriously. I also hope that all candidates can give positive and clear answers so that voters in the 18th constituency can understand your vision and values. The first stage of the topic is the economy and employment issues in the 18th constituency. This is a very practical issue and an issue that all the people in the constituency are concerned about. Let's start the first stage of the question and answer from left to right and ladies first. Let's start with you, Ms. Kennedy. Why do you think you can bring changes to the current declining economic environment in the 18th constituency and provide employment opportunities for the people in the 18th constituency?"
Tommy pulled up a chair and sat in front of the six televisions, his eyes fixed on Rosario Kennedy as she answered the questions.
The first issue was not race, but employment and the economy. This was what David Kennedy wanted his ex-wife to do to catch the other candidates off guard. He had previously used the campaign period to lead the trend, saying that the seat in this district was a Cuban seat. This would at least make all the candidates on the stage feel that the racial issue was of paramount importance, and they would put the most thought into this issue to please the Cuban voters. However, Rosario did not need to do this because she herself was of Cuban descent.
Rosario's speech was nothing new. It was mostly vague nonsense and empty talk about calling for legislation and making appeals. Anyway, the economic environment was bad, mainly because those big companies that were rich and unscrupulous lacked social responsibility. She would call in Washington to increase taxes on these big companies, and then increase investment in social welfare and basic people's livelihood in the district , urge improvements in the business environment in the 18th district, attract more companies in the fruit planting, sugar making and tourism industries to invest, provide jobs for the people in the 18th district, and so on.
I'm afraid that except for Jeff, the other five people present had prepared answers similar to Rosario Kennedy's, but Rosario won because she answered first, which also forced the following candidates to choose other answers immediately. After all, if the answer is roughly the same as Rosario's, it would be difficult for the audience to have a better impression of him than Rosario who spoke first.
Joanna Pepper, who spoke second, cleverly mentioned her uncle, Claude Pepper, who has been in this position for 25 years. She said that her uncle has been pushing this issue in Washington, but it has not been completed yet. Now, as a niece, she will definitely solve this problem. The local plantations, orchards, and farms use a large amount of mechanized harvesting, which has caused great damage to the environment in the 18th District. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act to ensure that these plantations, orchards and farms continue to employ a large number of workers. If the bill is successful, the 18th District will have at least 8,000 more seasonal agricultural workers. At the same time, she will also promote the cooperation between the Environmental Protection Agency and several agricultural fertilizer companies in the district on fruit production fertilizers to ensure that the plantations will not suffer a decrease in revenue due to the employment of manpower.
In Tommy's opinion, if Rosario's speech was empty talk spoken with his eyes closed, and Joanna's speech was lies spoken with her eyes open, they would only fool the lower-class people in the constituency. With the current situation in District 18, even if the plantation owners really went crazy and gave up mechanization and chose to hire manpower, they would only choose the Cuban illegal immigrants who are everywhere. These illegal immigrants do not need to sign contracts, and their salaries are half or even more than those of normal workers, and they are generally paid in cash on a daily basis. How could they possibly hire American citizens?
There is also the issue of promoting cooperation between the Environmental Protection Agency and fertilizer companies in research to increase production, which is as difficult as getting the police chief and the gang boss to become sworn brothers in public with the American people.
How can a pair of mortal enemies cooperate? More than half of the sky-high fines issued by the Environmental Protection Bureau every year come from fertilizer companies or agricultural pesticide companies. The Environmental Protection Bureau usually does not cause trouble for fertilizer companies, but the fertilizer companies are already laughing and even visit them to discuss cooperation. Even if it is true, I am afraid that the small fertilizer companies in the 18th constituency would not dare to believe it, for fear that if they say something wrong, the company will close down.
If Joanna really took the members of the Environmental Protection Agency to meet the boss of the fertilizer company, the boss of the fertilizer company might scold her on the spot: "You are the one who brought Huang Jun here?"
The third black lawyer to speak, Gerard Richman, said that he believed that the wage gap caused by race and skin color has led to the poor economic environment in the 18th District. For the same heavy physical work, the hourly wage of white people is 19% higher than that of black people and 55% higher than that of Cubans. A white person with a stable job can easily support a family, while Cubans and blacks may have to work four jobs a day and may still have to worry about rent in the end. White people feel that Cubans have taken their jobs, and Cubans will also complain that white people's income is too high and their own income is too low. He believes that the most important thing to change this situation is to narrow the wage gap and allow everyone to have a fair employment environment. He will promote an increase in the wages of people of color in the 18th District, at least on par with white people. This will get the economy flowing again. When the income is stable, people of color will be able to meet the tax quota, and they can also take their families on outings, shopping, and movies on weekends to stimulate the district's consumer industry and narrow the racial wealth gap in the district.
The plan is the same: to fool the lower classes, play the race card, and gain favor among Cuban voters.
Then, the host looked at Jeff and said, "Mr. Lavin, why do you think you can bring change to the declining economic environment in District 18 and provide employment opportunities for the people in District 18? You have two minutes."
Jeff looked at the audience and smiled innocently: "I don't know, maybe we should call on everyone to follow the Cuban illegal immigrants entrenched in District 18 to steal car tires, rob, and sell marijuana?"
With just one sentence, the audience, who had been drowsy after three consecutive boring and empty speeches, suddenly became alert. They opened their eyes wide to see who on the stage had said the absolutely earth-shattering statement just now!
Not only the audience, but all six candidates could not help but turn their heads and look at Jeff Lavine with wide eyes, not understanding why this guy said such a thing. You know, the main audience in front of the TV tonight are the voters in the 18th district, and 45% of the voters are of Cuban descent. It may be nothing to make such racial jokes with white supporters on the streets, but this is a live TV broadcast and there is no way to change what has been said.
Even the host, who was one quarter Cuban, widened his eyes in disbelief and said in an unbelievable tone: "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"Thank you, host. This is a great question. When I was a volunteer at an elementary school, I asked the children a question: When you are as old as me, what will the 18th District look like? What will Miami look like? They described many beautiful pictures that broke my heart. Those pictures were all kinds of strange, with beautiful scenery, tall buildings, spaceships, and alien friends. Do you know what these pictures have in common? There are no Cubans."
When he said the last sentence "there are no Cubans", the smile on Jeff's face and eyes quickly disappeared, and he became as cold and hard as a stone.
99% of the audience, both men and women, subconsciously covered their mouths with their hands!
If the first sentence was earth-shattering, the second sentence, without the Cubans, was directly upgraded to earth-shattering!
Jeff had a stern face and mainly looked at the audience, but occasionally he would glance at the camera at Tommy's reminder, so that the audience in front of the TV could notice his sharp and determined gaze:
"Some candidates say that to improve the economy, they need to raise taxes on the rich and big companies in the district, and then use the money to improve the public welfare and basic livelihood of the district. I would like to ask, in the United States, is it wrong to work hard to make money and become rich? Why do we need to take the money out of their pockets? In the past few years, District 18 has been doing this. Has the economy improved? It is getting worse and worse, because those rich people and big companies who have a sense of responsibility and insist on hiring regular workers and signing contracts have left. Look, how many companies you used to be familiar with have completely disappeared and moved to the Caribbean, Mexico, and even Asia. They went overseas to hire local workers, while the people of District 18, who used to have stable jobs, can no longer make a penny. In District 18, is it a sin to be rich?"
"If I am elected, I will call on Congress in Washington to pass legislation to deport all illegal immigrants from the United States. This is how I will restore the economy and increase employment."
"I don't know if other candidates have read the data of refugee reception centers and immigration prisons under the jurisdiction of the 18th District, as well as some relevant information that the city government can publicly access. I have checked. The earliest illegal Cuban immigrants began to receive refugee relief and enjoy humanitarian medical benefits after sneaking into the 18th District of Miami in 1961. Until today, they have not obtained their status, which is 28 years."
"A Cuban stowaway worked illegally in the United States, maliciously evaded taxes and undercut jobs that belonged to American citizens, sent the money he earned back to Cuba, and then enjoyed relief and humanitarian benefits provided by the tax money of American citizens in 18 districts for free for 28 years!"
"Do you know how many illegal Cubans there are in District 18? I found data from the city government, and there are more than 43,000 of them, almost one to one with legal Cuban-American citizens."
"These 43,000 Cuban illegal immigrants are entrenched in the 18th District, wantonly sucking the blood of American citizens, spending our tax dollars, stealing our jobs, and destroying our public security. The host asked me how to restore the economy and increase employment. My answer is simple: drive these foreigners out of our home!"
"I asked an accountant to help me calculate the data I looked up, and I got a series of numbers. If these Cuban illegal immigrants were driven away, the average family income in the 18th constituency would increase by 27%, at least 4,000 jobs would be added, and the incidence of various public security cases would decrease by 37%."
"I can explain it more clearly. For example, a U.S. legal worker can earn $10,000 a year. After driving away more than 40,000 illegal Cubans, you can earn $12,700 next year. The extra $2,700 is a lot of money, enough to buy a new car for your child as a coming-of-age gift."
"2,700 yuan is what those damn Cuban stowaways earned by sucking your blood for a year. Maybe you want to know more about them..."
The host couldn't help but interrupt Jeff: "Mr. Laven, time is up, you..."
Jeff didn't even look at him. He just stared at the audience and continued to talk: "They have sucked the blood of District 18 for nearly 30 years. How much money have you lost? My accountant calculated it for me. 2,700 yuan, multiplied by 30 years, equals 81,000 yuan."
"If this continues, Cuba will not need to invade the United States. It can suck our nutrients and grow into a second Soviet Union, just one step away from us, without Europe standing in the way."
The host spoke again: "Mr. Lavine, I hope you will abide by the election debate rules..."
Jeff raised his voice to suppress the other party's voice:
"That's my answer, and I hope that when my kids grow up and volunteer, and I ask them, what was the 18th District like when you were my age, what was Miami like? They can give the same answer, no Cubans."
Jeff finished speaking in one breath, and then looked at the host: "Thank you, host. I have finished my speech on the economic and employment issues in this district."
When Jeff really quieted down, the host didn't know what to say. In order to avoid capturing the host's speechlessness, the photographer immediately switched the camera to other candidates on the stage, leaving the host two or three seconds.
However, the expressions of the other candidates were not much better than that of the host. Then, switching to the audience, although the audience in the audience remained silent, their heavy breathing clearly showed that they were not as calm as they looked.
"For most people, the absence of Cubans is not important, but the extra 81,000 is important." Tommy said with satisfaction as he watched the reaction in the studio through the TV in the room.
