Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1357: The Year of Women's Victory

"No way?" Little Douglas muttered very dissatisfiedly on the phone.

More than one-fifth of the country's population watched the live broadcast of this debate. Because this presidential election is the first since the end of the Cold War, many families attach great importance to where America will go next.

For the first time, men didn't have to worry about nuclear disarmament, defense budgets, or comparing weapons performance with allies. Women were also interested in the Democratic Party's candidate who looked like a movie star. This was the first time since JFK that such a young and handsome candidate had run for president.

The most important issue for all the audience is how to deal with the current weak economy and sluggish employment.

But the current President George H.W. actually used one and a half minutes of the two-minute answer time to talk about his own achievements in international affairs, and in the half minute he only emphasized his experience in the domestic economy... and spoke a few general words.

"He seems to think that he has done a good job with the economy..." Ronald was also dissatisfied. It seemed that this guy really had no idea about the domestic economy. He could only repeat the principles of the previous president and then say that he would inherit them.

Next is independent candidate Perot, who particularly emphasized the federal deficit, believing it to be the root cause of the economic problems. He criticized the federal government's fiscal policy and proposed that the deficit problem should be solved by cutting government spending and reforming the tax system. Perot also emphasized support for small and medium-sized enterprises, believing it is the key to creating jobs and stimulating the economy.

Although many viewers will agree with this answer, don't forget that more than 6% of the American population are government employees or receive salaries from the government budget. Add to that their families... This may sound good, but these people will definitely not vote for him.

"We must have a 'change', get rid of the witchcraft of trickle-down economics, and increase investment. Especially investment in education and new technologies, so that the economy can develop and create jobs. But I also challenge the people here, you must also want 'change', so that we can change this country together..."

The most charming speaker at the event was undoubtedly the governor of the Democratic Party. Facing the TV camera, he never looked away and always looked directly into the camera, as if he was communicating with the voters on an equal footing.

What he said was very charming, reasonable, and did not offend anyone. Who doesn't like investments falling on their heads?
Sure enough, a day later, a sample survey of the support of the audience who watched the TV debate came out. Among those who watched the debate, 47% thought Perot was the winner, 30% thought it was the governor, and only 16% thought the current president George H.W. won...

……

"Ronald, you haven't been to the White House recently. I haven't seen you for a long time. Thinking back to the moments four years ago, it was so pleasant."

Barbara couldn't sit still. Although this support rate was limited to TV viewers and most voters did not express their views, this huge deficit still frightened her.

At the critical moment, Barbara remembered that it was Ronald who helped them make the advertisement four years ago, which reversed the trend of Dukakis's leading support rate. So she thought of Ronald again, and contacted him through Weintraub's wife and her best friend Jane Morgan, and the three of them had a phone call together.

"Mrs. Barbara, how can I help you?" Ronald's tone became more formal. Unlike her eldest son, Barbara's youngest son Jeb was an important staff member in this campaign. He completely excluded himself, George Jr., and Roger Ailes, the consultant who made great contributions last time, from the campaign team.

"Do you... do you have a magic bullet like last time?" Barbara asked hesitantly, asking Ronald if he had any solution.

"Oh, actually you don't have to worry about the approval rating, Ms. Barbara. We all know that in the end, only the Donkey Party is the competition for the President. As long as we can unite all the conservatives like we did last time, I think there will be no problem."

"You and my son (Jeb) have similar views, so you don't have to worry?"

"The second debate is the most important. The second debate is to face the questions from the audience. As long as the president performs well... I remember that in the last debate, which was also the second debate, Roger (Ayers)'s strategy was very successful and Dukakis was finished immediately."

Ronald didn't understand any of this, so he just told Barbara exactly what Roger Ailes had given him. He also mentioned Roger Ailes, saying that if Barbara could ask him, the outcome would be uncertain.

"That's what Jeb said. We can defeat those two in one fell swoop in a second debate..."

"Ah..." Ronald sighed after hanging up the phone. These politicians are all the same. They don't even try to hide their attitude of hiring people first and not hiring people later. This is very different from the attitude of seeking talents four years ago.

Ronald hinted several times that he wanted to invite back Roger Ailes, the consultant who determined the direction of the last election, but Barbara was only concerned with talking about how ambitious and capable his youngest son Jeb was.

"I think George and Barbara have a comprehensive plan. All we have to do is watch."

Also on the phone was Jerry Weintraub, a Hollywood producer who was also close to the President's family.

Ronald glanced at him and confirmed that this guy was also being sarcastic.

"Let's just focus on our own film career..." Weintraub's "The Karate Kid" has been completed, and he also invited Ronald to watch the preview.

"Mr. Ailes, I think I have to first give you the permission to be my special consultant and help me manage my film promotion and TV program planning..."

Ronald stood up and first comforted Roger Ailes, this guy had originally had high hopes of returning to politics.

"That little Jewish bastard... Damn it, thanks, Ronald, I won't forget your help." Roger Ailes cursed the Jewish political consultant hired by Jeb Bush.

He has published some books in the past few years, but they haven't sold much. He relies entirely on Ronald's consulting business. Whether Ronald's help will yield any results this time, he has basically given up the idea and just wants to get more business from Ronald to make money.

Ronald thought that at this critical moment of the change of leadership, having an expert who was well versed in politics and the public's tastes would be a good thing. So he gave him a position. If he failed to return to George's team, he would go to Ronald's TV station to plan programs.

The governor spoke of his economic plans, promising to increase investment, particularly in education and technology, to create jobs.

……

"This movie is well made. Who is this tomboy? Her skills don't seem fancy. Does she really know Kung Fu?"

At the Weintraubs' house, Ronald finished watching the movie "The Karate Kid". This time, Master Miyagi was not teaching Daniel, but a girl named Julie.

The film begins with Master Miyagi going to Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C., to attend a ceremony honoring the Japanese Americans who participated in the 442nd Regiment during World War II. The one who gave them a speech was none other than Daniel Inouye, a one-armed Hawaiian senator who is one of the few Japanese senators in Congress.

Then Miyagi met the widow of his comrade, who had a granddaughter, Julie, who had serious anger management problems. Miyagi accepted the request of the widow of his comrade, took Julie home, and taught her karate and how to behave in the world.

Interestingly, this movie and the first The Karate Kid have many similarities and references to each other.

Miyagi also taught Julie how to dance and how to handle her first date. The same plot of using chopsticks to catch a fly and learning karate theory through daily work can evoke a knowing smile from old viewers of the series.

The actor who plays the role of Mr. Miyagi, Noriyuki Morita, is obviously old, but he is still very dedicated to the role in order to keep his last Hollywood role. There is nothing surprising about the story, and there is no problem of excessive innovation.

In addition, the teenage actress who played the female version of Daniel and Julie did have some unique temperament, and she brought this girl who lacked fatherly love to life. Ronald felt that judging from the film's image, the money spent would not be too much, and the plot could still attract old audiences.

In this case, Winterraub, who has no idea how much money he has pocketed from external investments, will probably be able to completely climb out of the financial crisis by adding the share of the box office revenue.

"Why are you asking me? Is this your actress? She played a supporting role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I saw that she had a foundation in gymnastics, so I asked her to play Julie. To my surprise, she was quite serious in learning karate..." Weintraub was showing off his vision again.

"It's really good..." Ronald nodded. His karate moves were very methodical and there was no sense of gymnastics in them.

The two discussed and decided to release the film in the off-season before the Christmas season at the end of the year. This would avoid the popular season and be suitable for this small production. Then they would quickly release the videotape and harvest a wave of old fans of The Karate Kid in the videotape rental market during Christmas.

"Morita, oh, it's nice to see you again...and you, your name is Hillary, right?" Ronald then met with the film's creators and told them the good news that he had approved the film's release.

"Yeah..." The girl named Hilary Swank jumped happily onto Morita Noriyuki.

"Hey, hey, get down, I can't stand this kind of torture anymore." Due to alcoholism, Morita Noriyuki's physical strength is no longer enough to support the action scenes, so this new The Karate Kid relies on a stunt double and editing.

"Ahem..." Roger Ailes next to him suddenly spoke.

Ronald knew that he had something to say, so after saying goodbye to Weintraub, he got into his car with him. After the soundproof baffle was raised behind the front seat where the driver and bodyguard were, Roger Ailes spoke.

"There's a good chance this year's Senate election will be a big win for women...especially in California?"

"Ah? A woman won the special by-election as well? That's not it?"

Ronald was still surprised to hear the news. He wanted to build some firewalls of his own, so he supported Barbara Boxer, who was running in the normal re-election of the Senate.

But the seat of another senator is also up for election this year. This is a bit complicated. The original senator, Wilson of the Democratic Party, successfully ran for governor last year. He appointed a colleague, John Seymour, as the interim senator.

However, the practice of appointing temporary senators cannot last long. Therefore, before this year's general election, California will hold a special senator by-election.

John Seymour's opponent is Dianne Feinstein of the Donkey Party. Feinstein has a lot of experience. She is the first female mayor of San Francisco and has previously competed with Senator Wilson of the Democratic Party for the position of governor of California.

But during the campaign, she was accused of misappropriating campaign funds and failing to report all donors. She was fined $190,000 by the California Election Commission and almost went to jail.

Originally, Ronald thought that the Senate seat would be smoothly inherited by Seymour of the Elephant Party, but unexpectedly, Roger Ailes said that two women might be elected.

"Your movie is a female version of The Karate Kid, and it's a good opportunity to join forces with the two female candidates to campaign..."

"Is that so?" Ronald still didn't quite believe it. There were very few female senators in the first place, and there were only a few of them occasionally. Now he was suddenly told that both seats in California could be won by women? And that included senior senators?
Among the two senators from a state, the senior one has many privileges and has the upper hand in competitiveness in various committees.

"My friend told me that the Democratic Party wants to take advantage of this opportunity to win two Senate seats," Roger Ailes whispered in Ronald's ear.

"No way?" Ronald was shocked. This was the hometown of one of the most successful leaders of the Elephant Party, old Ronald. It had always been a major center for the Elephant Party's activities. California had voted for the Elephant Party in both elections!
This is not only a problem of women monopolizing the issue, but also a problem of the Democratic Party monopolizing the issue.

"It's all the fault of these incompetent bastards in the Party..." Roger Ailes complained.

During his term in office, Ronald Sr. issued an amnesty order, through which many illegal immigrants in California obtained legal status.

Moreover, the Elephant Party politicians who won various elections under the protection of Ronald Sr. did nothing for these illegal immigrants. Instead, the Donkey Party, which lost three presidential elections, went deep into the voters' communities, building their base one family at a time and one community at a time, focusing on the issue of welfare distribution, public education, and new employment opportunities.

What is particularly important is that the Donald Trump Party also advocates for the reunification bill, which allows these immigrants who have obtained status to bring their families here and become American citizens.

Once this big move was made, most of the southern immigrants who had large families converted to the Democratic Party. In the past few years, the balance of votes in California has been gradually reversed.

"But how can I guarantee that these people will still recognize me after they are elected?" Ronald asked Roger Ailes. He was not a person who was keen on politics, so how could he guarantee that these two women would not abandon him after becoming senators?

"The secret of politics is to be bound to the people you approve of. Politicians are bound to voters, and voters are bound to politicians."

"But I am..." Ronald said halfway. He actually agreed with the ruling philosophy of the Democratic Party, which is to pay less tax, encourage entrepreneurs, and relax economic control. If he was born in the 1960s and 1970s when the Democratic Party was strong, he probably wouldn't have the chance to make such a fortune in Hollywood. The income tax at that time could make people as poor as those who didn't make movies.

"Women, remember? Women?" Roger Ailes prompted.

"Very good. My Pink Alliance and the new Dragon Boy should seize this opportunity to hold election activities. I have to tie myself to them... and have them take more photos and arrange more interviews..."

"The new film premieres, and the star Hilary Swank thanks Senate candidate Dianne Feinstein, who came to the premiere. She is the real Karate Kid."

"Senator candidate Barbara Bosser attended an event at the Women's Baseball Museum, which was launched by the movie A League of Their Own. She spoke for women's rights alongside the original characters in the movie and said she would bring women's professional sports back to America."

(End of this chapter)