America 1982

Nick was sitting in the passenger seat of the car rented by the film crew, holding a sandwich in his hand and looking drowsily towards a printing shop on the street.

Tommy Hawke, who was responsible for following the photos in his group, had been inside the printing shop for about an hour. Before entering, he asked Martin to buy a dozen Florida newspapers and then read those newspapers himself. After that, it was busy in the printing shop.

The photographer, who got permission from the store and went in to follow Tommy, communicated with the team leader Nick in a low voice on the walkie-talkie: "He is manually making a plate. It looks like he is designing a newspaper layout or something."

"It's finally a serious business, although I doubt that the money he earned from pigeon defecation is not enough to support him in publishing a newspaper." Nick took a bite of his sandwich and responded perfunctorily: "No matter what he designs, at least this picture can be broadcast Come out, it’s not the kind of thing that makes you poop and piss. Now when I think about yesterday’s scene, I want to spit out the food I’m eating.”

"I think you are a little too optimistic. When he was making plates, he asked the owner of the printing shop to help design and make a few work ID badges with our names written on them. He also asked Martin to find a cheap photo studio nearby to help us. I'm a little worried about taking a headshot and putting it into those work passes. The work passes say that we are staff members of a Dutch magazine's Florida correspondent office in the United States from Europe. Who can tell me when I became Dutch?" Photography The teacher spoke to Nick in a low voice:

"I haven't even been to Europe."

While the photographer was guessing what Tommy was doing, Tommy had already designed half of the layout. Then he moved his hands and feet, stopped working for a cigarette break, and chatted with the Cuban immigrant boss who enthusiastically gave him a cup of free coffee.

Just as the two were discussing whether Florida's sunshine had radiation and could easily damage people's brains, which was why there were all kinds of weird humans in Florida, the store door was pushed open.

A strong white man wearing a plumber's uniform, a sunhat, and an unshaved stubble on his chin walked in. The owner of the printing shop greeted him: "I remember that I have never called to report water pipe repair before. I need help." ?"

"Hello, sir, I'm Jeff Lavine. I'm a Democrat and a candidate for this special by-election in Florida's 18th District." The big man has a rather strong build, but his expression is a bit nervous and shy. He quietly introduced himself to the boss.

When the boss heard the other party's self-introduction, he reacted very simply. He pointed to the door with a straight face and said: "If you have no problem with your eyes and ears, you should infer from my skin color and spoken language that I am of Cuban origin, so don't Expect me to vote for a Democratic Party that discriminates against Cubans! Get out of my place!”

Tommy was holding coffee next to him and laughed when he heard the boss's straightforward words. Indeed, in Florida now, or in many aspects, the Democratic Party's speech and behavior are much more radical than the Republican Party.

For example, in Florida, the Democratic Party has been accusing the ruling Republican Party of destroying this great country by continuing to host hundreds of thousands of Cuban immigrants for the sake of international reputation. These hundreds of thousands of Cuban immigrants will not only take away the jobs of American citizens. , occupying the social welfare of American citizens, and even planting at least tens of thousands of brainwashed Cuban communist fighters. They will lurk in Florida like ghosts, waiting for Castro's order, and these people will quickly occupy Florida. , becoming the vanguard of Cuba's attack on the United States.

This statement is very brainless. The Democratic politicians who said these words should know very well that these words are nonsense, but the people at the bottom of Florida are willing to believe these words, and even spread these rumors and change them, such as accusing some Cuban immigrants. The gun shop he opened was actually an arsenal built by Cuban spies. In the unknown depths of the Florida Everglades, these damn Cubans also hid hundreds of tanks and aircraft.

Therefore, the large number of Cuban immigrants who have immigrated to Florida over the years almost hate these Democratic politicians who slander Cubans. Now that a Democratic candidate comes to canvass for votes, the boss will naturally not be polite.

"You misunderstood, sir, I'm not... I'm not here to canvass, sir, I just want you to help me print and make some campaign leaflets." The big man named Jeff explained with some embarrassment: "I don't discriminate against Cuba. Man, I...I just want to..."

After the boss learned that he had misunderstood the other party's true intention, he also softened his tone, but still kept a straight face: "You don't have to think about it. In principle, I will not print advertising flyers for the Democrats unless you are willing to increase money."

"Would it be faster if we added more money?" Jeff handed a plastic bag containing his information to the boss, without rejecting the boss's unreasonable request for more money.

The boss took the information and his tone was full of sarcasm: "It's definitely not as fast as Democratic politician Ross Wright sleeping with women."

Florida is a land of outstanding people. This is a well-deserved reputation. Ross Wright, as mentioned by the print shop owner, was a candidate for mayor of South Miami last year. He is a Democrat. This guy just had sex with a high-end Cuban girl in bed the night before. At the campaign rally the next day, he justly criticized the Republican Party's Cuban immigration policy for taking jobs from locals.

The Cuban girl saw this bastard's speech on TV that harmed racial rights. In a rage, she published the details of Ross Wright's prostitution scandal in the name of the person involved, giving the Republican opponents a chance to ridicule her in the newspaper. Ridiculing him, "Rose Wright, a great politician who keeps saying he wants to help Americans keep jobs and boycott Cuban immigrants, but at night would rather provide jobs to Cuban female immigrants than touch his American citizen wife."

Then, Ross-Wright, who was forced to take the blame and withdraw from the campaign, became the mascot of the Democratic Party in the eyes of Cuban immigrants, and was picked up and whipped to death by Cubans at every turn.

In fact, from Tommy's point of view, this kind of thing is not a serious scandal. All men in Florida know that the most cost-effective girls are Cuban girls. What Ross Wright did wrong was that he didn't expect that the prostitutes he found when he was relaxing were actually There is also a strong feeling of compatriots, but Ross-Wright is not really against Cubans, just like the Republicans in this state do not really care about the life and death of Cuban immigrants, it is all business.

The Republican Party has controlled Florida for many years. Although the governor is a Democrat, the Republican Party has firmly held 12 of the 19 Florida seats in Congress in the past ten years. This is because the financial backers behind these Republican congressmen are the major citrus groves in Florida. Farmers or sugar companies, these investors demand cheaper wages for workers. The influx of a large number of legal or illegal Latinos can keep the wages of Florida's bottom workers at a stable low level. This is what the Republican Party is looking for in this state. The root causes of immigrant inclusion.

If technology develops tomorrow, the assembly line work of these large enterprises can be replaced by machines. Today, Republicans who affectionately call Cubans the backbone of Florida will join the Democratic Party in accusing Cubans of being brainwashed warriors, and even slandering Cuba. Immigrants hid in the swamp and rubbed atomic bombs with their hands.

The boss went to help Jeff print flyers. When Jeff looked around, he noticed the camera next to Tommy. He was stunned for a moment and walked carefully to Tommy: "Sir, may I ask, are you conducting a social broadcast on the TV station? News recording?”

"Of course, do you need to place a campaign advertisement? You pay me a thousand dollars, and I will let the most advanced camera in the United States focus on your face all morning." Tommy said to the big man without blinking an eye. said.

He will not discriminate against the opponent just because he is wearing a plumber's uniform. Candidates sometimes wear cheap clothes or work clothes that are carefully designed. It's not that they can't afford suits, but sometimes they may just pretend to be people-friendly. And They are generally very wealthy. Even if they have no money themselves, they will be supported by campaign funds from donors or voters.

"No, I can't afford it. I called the TV station and asked about the advertising price. It's too expensive. If I want to have money to advertise, I don't need to print these flyers and distribute them door to door. This way I can let everyone know about it. I am." The other party grinned at Tommy innocently, glanced at the camera enviously and said.

"It seems that now is not the date for the election." Tommy held a cigarette in his mouth, moved his neck, and asked casually: "Has any unlucky member resigned due to a scandal?"

The normal election of members of Congress has ended long before the presidential election. This kind of special election usually leaves a seat in a certain district vacant, and the election activities in that district are re-prepared.

"Mr. Claude Pepper, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, has been hospitalized for treatment due to advanced gastric cancer. His condition is not optimistic. He was in a coma most of the time. When he was awake, he said that even if he was discharged, he would resign. In the last days of his life , stay with his family, so he needs to run again for his seat in the House of Representatives in the 18th District of Florida." The big man named Jeff didn't seem to be very good at chatting with people. He only answered Tommy's questions, and said After that, he fell into silence, but he couldn't help but move slowly towards the direction of the camera lens, as if he wanted to enter the shooting range of the camera and find an opportunity to be photographed for free.

From the Q\u0026A, Tommy learned that this guy had the looks to play the backbone of a Florida gang and talked like a harmless white nerd. He was thirty-one years old and a pipe repairman with a stable income. He also worked part-time at a church elementary school after work. He serves as a volunteer school janitor and has served in the military before. He is a typical well-off white Florida family with a wife, two dogs, three cars and four children.

"For the sake of me being a supporter of the Democratic Party, five hundred dollars. If you pay five hundred dollars, this camera will be around you all morning. You can film whatever you want. I can also guarantee that you will appear on TV." ." Tommy saw this guy's desire for the camera and offered a friendly price.

Then the guy shook his head again and stepped back carefully: "I can't afford it."

"You can't even afford TV ads, and your campaign action committee didn't conduct any pre-fundraising activities?" Tommy said with a look of disgust: "You don't have small amounts of cash sent to you by voters, and no companies or businesses in the district send you Your big check?”

The big man shook his head with a confused look on his face: "I previously launched a rally to 'Say No to Atheists'. At the rally, everyone said that I should run for office so that more people could hear my slogan, so I have registered to run and am currently preparing for the party’s primary election, but no one has sent me any money yet.”

"You organized a rally?" Tommy looked at the other party suspiciously: "You gave me the impression that you are a bit reserved when talking to strangers. I doubt you have such incitement. How many participants did your rally have? "

"If you count them all, more than seventy?"

Tommy was stunned for a moment when he heard this number. This number is already quite large. You must know that when many members of small constituencies campaign for rallies, there are fifty supporters who would rather attend the rally and take leave instead of working. This is already considered very large. Excellent, at least it means that these fifty supporters are absolutely die-hard, not to mention, these fifty people have families.

The shy-spoken big man in front of me could actually incite more than 70 people to launch a rally. No wonder he had the confidence to stand up and stand for election.

Tommy circled the big man twice, and finally said to him: "Jeff, you see, we have cameras, we work in the TV station, I can help you, no one knows publicity better than me, as long as you are willing For a fee, I can even show you on the spot how to sell tanning cream to a black man to make him darker.”

"I can't afford TV advertising, Mr. Hawke." The big man said with a wry smile, "I only have one hundred and seventy dollars."

"Deal, I mainly want to support the Democratic Party that makes America greater. The compensation is not important. We can discuss it later. As long as you allow me to set up a campaign action committee in your name, and allow me and my staff to campaign Team employees take part of the funds in the name of receiving reasonable remuneration. See these photography equipment and these people? They will all be used by you." Tommy stretched out his hand to the other party: "One hundred and seventy yuan, I will let you You see how candidates can make voters willing to pay you."

"But I still have to pay for the printing of the flyers." Jeff took out his wallet and looked at Tommy hesitantly.

"What does that thing do? No poor person would use that thing to wipe their butts." Tommy took the other person's wallet, took out all the banknotes and put them into his pocket, turned to the busy boss and said, "Hey, Boss, Jeff wants to add a new slogan to the flyer: Say No to Cubans!”

"What the hell did you say?" The boss came over with eyes wide open and glared at Jeff.

Jeff wanted to wave his hands and explain, but Tommy held his arms tightly and said to the boss: "He said that his campaign slogan is, say no to Cubans, and the font should be larger."

"Get out of my store! Yankee!" the boss roared angrily.

Tommy hugged the other party and walked out of the printing shop: "The cameras recorded it all. The printing of flyers was stopped entirely because of the other party's breach of contract. This way you don't have to pay, and you can wait until you get the donation and can afford to hire a lawyer. We will come back." Sue him for breach of contract and force him to pay several times our damages."

"However, I still have to hand out flyers to promote myself, and no one in the constituency even knows me." If it weren't for the camera following this guy named Tommy, Jeff LaVine would have thought he had met a liar.

Tommy looked at the weather: "Or, you can take me to meet your more than seventy rally supporters, and I'll show you what magic is. Let's agree first that I will take care of the money raised. "

Martin also ran back from a distance at this time: "Boss, I found a photo studio, and now I can let them take headshots."

"Introduction, this is Jeff, Jeff, this is Martin, the most suitable campaign manager for you. He is also a black man, which will help you win black votes." Tommy said without blinking.

After the two confused people shook hands, Jeff entered the printing shop again and wanted to ask the boss to return his information to him. When the other party left, Martin asked Tommy:

"Campaign manager? Didn't you say that we are going to use Nick and the others' names... to create a magazine to earn advertising fees?"

"Nick and the others want to thank Jeff. Jeff saved their lives when they were almost hunted down by the entire Florida hemp dealers. Let's change our entrepreneurial approach and set up a campaign consulting company in Jeff's name and form a campaign action committee."

Martin had a ghostly expression on his face: "Boss, looking at his behavior, he will have no chance of being elected, or even passing the primary. When I was in Miami before, I saw many poor black people who were as hot-headed as him, and everyone thought He’s the next fucking president of the United States, he’s internationally famous, and literally even the neighbors in the neighborhood can’t remember their names.”

"We don't care whether he can be elected, Martin. Whether he is elected or not has nothing to do with us. We are just using his name to collect voters' money." Tommy whispered to Martin: "He has more than seventy supporters, as long as He called those people together, and I guarantee that with my help, he could empty those people's wallets with one speech. Counting Page, there are seven of us working for him, so it is reasonable to take 80% of the income, that is to say , if the guy receives five hundred yuan, we can take away four hundred yuan, or you want us to change the square and continue to feed the pigeons."

The photographer next to him pondered for a long time, but could not figure out why he was almost hunted. At this time, he came over to Tommy with a thirst for knowledge and asked: "Mr. Hawke, what did you mean by the magazine and the hunt you just mentioned?" thing?"

"I was planning to publish a Dutch hemp business weekly. That country is the only country in the world that has legalized hemp. We can allow merchants who grow a large number of hemp in warm areas like Florida to spend money to publish legal product promotion advertisements in the magazine. Develop the international market." Tommy said to the other party.

The photographer swallowed a big gulp of saliva: "So... So they really paid for you to advertise, and we will be hunted down for defrauding them?"

"How can this be considered fraud? They are exploring the international market, and our magazine is also exploring the international market. Products that are illegal in the United States are not illegal in the Netherlands, and we are selling advertising." Tommy explained confidently:

"The solution to avoid being hunted is very simple. Ask Stephen to send you to the Netherlands, really register and start a magazine there, and replace it with another group of people to follow the shooting. This will allow me to continue without being disturbed. Engage in animal-friendly activities such as helping pigeons lose weight.”

At this time, the big man Jeff also walked out of the printing shop with his own information, looked at Tommy, and said with a somewhat honest smile: "Well, this is the most hasty decision in my life, I just entered a store at random. , just trust others, but I feel that if I really need to stand up and run for election, I really need to learn to trust others, get in the car with me, and I will take you to school to meet my supporters."

As he said that, he walked towards a family recreational vehicle on the side of the road.

Tommy asked suspiciously: "School? You mean those teachers are your supporters?"

"There are two teachers and three school workers, and the remaining supporters are mainly children. Can you believe it? Now science class actually tells children that God does not exist and the earth is round. This statement is too much. , so I launched the 'Say No to Atheists' rally to tell children about God's great miracles." Jeff opened the door and warmly greeted Tommy, Martin and the photographer to get in the car: "And most importantly, The earth we live on is flat, like pizza."

Martin leaned into Tommy's ear: "Boss, did you just say that you could allow this white man in his thirties who still believes that the earth is flat to extract hundreds of dollars in donations from dozens of children?"

"I underestimated the magic power of Floridians." Tommy mocked himself weakly at first, then rubbed his face vigorously and said firmly:

"Yes, I can squeeze money out of it whether it's an adult Floridian or a juvenile Floridian."

Six thousand words, not divided into chapters, we will divide them tomorrow~