The micro marketing campaign went ahead regardless of what I said or did, short of shooting myself in the head. Some hills are worth dying on but this wasn’t one of them. Even if I did shoot myself in the head, I was certain Kathleen and her crew would move on without me. I wouldn’t have been the first dead guy on a ballot.
The debate was a good distraction. I threw myself into it like a student cramming for finals. Todd, Suzanne, and Frank volunteered to play the roles of the other party’s candidates while Al stood in as the cranky local evening news anchor moderator. Everyone jumped into character and played their roles to perfection.
I was impressed with everyone’s grasp of the issues as seen through the lens of the parties they represented. Frank did a fantastic performance as the Green Party candidate. His British Columbian indigenous upbringing and knowledge of current affairs was mixed with just the right amount of environmental passion to make him sound believable, but not like the usual Green party lunatic ready to chain himself to a dump truck.
We worked long into Friday night. Dale, not to be left out, played the role of the audience. He clapped, hissed, and heckled. Kathleen floated in and out of the conference room we used as a stage. She had picked up the campaign slack created by the rest of us being busy with the debate.
Her management style was as subtle as a wounded moose and when the moose wasn’t howling we knew we were on the right track. In most workplaces Kathleen would have been labelled a workplace bully. However, in politics, her abrupt style and win at all costs attitude was desirable. She could command a special forces team. No wonder Clive liked her.
Speaking of Clive, Kathleen asked him to give us a final security briefing. We tried to blow it off but she said it was mandatory.
At two o’clock Saturday afternoon we had covered every issue which would come up. We had done enough. We were as prepared as we could be.. Energized, I offered to knock on doors that afternoon but Kathleen told me I could go home and relax after Clive’s briefing. Going home made better sense. This gave me time to press the shirt and tie she told me I could wear.
Clive had waited patiently for us. With a quick nod from Al, he marched into the room in full battle mode. He wore a new sharp, still too tight, blue suit. He closed the door behind him. This was unusual for him as he liked to keep an eye on what came his way. With his line of sight compromised, I guessed he was on edge. With his methods modified, I guessed he had something important to share. We stopped talking and waited. He walked to the head of the table and sized each of us up like he was Jack Reacher deciding who he was going to assault first.
“Ok folks I will get right to it. Our friends in the intelligence community have informed us there has been a significant increase in social media chatter in the last twelve hours regarding tonight’s event. This suggests there may be attempts to organize significant disruption at the debate tonight,” he said.
What the fuck? This was big news but Clive delivered it like he was the morning Fed Ex guy.
“Sorry to interrupt Clive, but before you move on can you tell us what you mean by ‘significant disruption’ please?”
“Sure. We believe ANTIFA warriors and other far left groups will be out in full force to stop you from speaking tonight. They will employ their usual tactics of using loud protest to disrupt your platform. They have invited warriors from outside the province to assist with the demonstration tonight. Our sources have confirmed there has been significant uptake to this call to action,” he explained.
“What? Are you serious? What in the hell would bring people from outside the neighbourhood, let alone the province, to this event?” I asked with shock and disbelief.
“Not what, but who. It is you they are fired up about. Since the day you put your life on the line to defend your soccer mom friend with the anti-immigrant crusade, alt-right groups all over the world have adopted you as a hero. While you may find being a poster boy for the alt-right disturbing, what is more concerning is far-left groups now see you as someone who champions hate speech… You are also in an election you may win. This puts you on a hit list. In ANTIFA’s opinion, you must be silenced and we are concerned they will use all means necessary to achieve this objective,” he added.
“All means necessary? This has to be a joke?” I stammered.
“It’s no joke. Rest assured we will mitigate all risk to the best of our abilities. This is what I am here to discuss with you. May I continue?”
“You have the floor Clive. Shoot,” said Al.
“We have a solution that will lower the risk factor significantly. We appreciate the show must go on so we are not suggesting we cancel the event. That said, we see no need for the live audience. We have talked to Eastlink and they are prepared to live broadcast the event tonight. This will give our event far greater reach in the community and will eliminate the opportunity for spectators to disrupt the event,” he explained.
There was a long moment of silence while we processed what Clive had just said. This brief quiet was shattered when all of us started making noise at the same time. Not all of which were words. For a group of articulate people, we sounded more like a hungry barnyard with our cacophony of grunts, snorts, whistles, and guffaws. Al brought order back to our decent to conversational chaos.
“Hey! Calm down! One and a time!” he said as he slapped a big hand on the table.
We shut up and gave him our undivided attention. Clive jumped when Al’s hand smacked the wood.
“Ok Clive, let me get this straight. You want us to keep the public out of a public event?” asked Al.
“That is correct Al. As you are aware, ANTIFA have a history of radical behaviour and we strongly believe they will disrupt the event. They will employ noisemakers, shouting, etc. to create conditions which will make the debate unmanageable. In our assessment, that is the least they will do. Let’s not forget one member of the group took a shot at Colin… They may try to do it again. With an Eastlink broadcast and the audience virtual, the event can happen safely,” he explained.
“Clive, we appreciate your commitment and professionalism. You have done a great job, but pulling the candidates together in a public forum to debate issues is an important piece of every election. The debate it is an opportunity for the public to have direct contact with the candidates and see how they perform under pressure. We are not going to lock the public out… This show will go on and the the voters will be part of it. The person who took a shot at Troy is not typical to the group. She suffers from serious mental health issues and is currently locked up. ANTIFA has publicly distanced itself from her and has apologized. This debate will happen and we will invite the public. Do I make myself clear?” said Al calmly.
“Yes, Al you do. Loud and clear. The show will go on. Whatever you decide we will make work. I wouldn’t be doing my job though if I did not brief you on all the potential risks. Now, if there are no more questions I need to get going. I have a lot of work to do,” replied Clive.
Troy Myers 