"The Convention"
August 27: Miami, Florida
Charles and company were elated, but exhausted. While most of the other potential candidates had sequestered themselves to prep for this event, and the requisite debates, he had continued apace with his schedule. He still had a standing offer to speak with any group, anywhere, but now his minimum crowd expectancy was 1,000 people or more. And he had to turn down meetings. Charles’ popularity was soaring. He found time to prepare while travelling and when the rest of the world was sleeping.
The convention itself was something of a madhouse. But Charles and company seemed to draw energy from the crowds. But he was also quite aware that his every move was going to be scrutinized by the delegates and powers that be. The slightest misstep could spell disaster for a candidate. At the start of the convention eight men were vying for the candidacy. But it was only the top few who were considered the real contenders. Every day there was debate, speeches, and voting. The group thinned rapidly. The first to drop out were the bottom two. Then, quite unexpectedly, the number two guy did the same. Charles moved up a notch. The last debate would ultimately decide who the candidate was.
Four men stood on the stage before a packed house as the moderator gave the debate rules. All that work, money spent, time, and preparation came down to these few minutes. This was it.
Charles was relaxed and precise with his answers, showing he had a good grasp of the issues at hand. Every once in a while he would slip in some of his characteristic subtle sarcasm. The crowd responded with enthusiasm. Then, halfway through, a question was asked about illegal immigration.
Charles reply:
“Let me ask you a thought question. Who owns America? Does the Federal Government own it? Believe me, there are some in Washington who would like to! But no, actually it’s you. You own America! So now the question becomes simple. Let’s just say, for the sake of example that you own a house that has a nice, large front yard. Beautiful, isn’t it? Now let’s imagine that you notice people walking across your yard every day. Not a few people, mind you, and not just the neighborhood kids. These are people you’ve never seen before. You have no idea who they are, their motivation, or intent.
You grow tired of this unceasing traffic. So now what? Can you do something about it? Certainly. You build a fence around your yard. Now, who can come in? You, of course, your friends, and people you invite in. Like minded-people.
So why is it any different for the nation? Now, we can have a somewhat liberal policy about how many people we allow inside our borders. That’s fine with me. But don’t you deserve to know who is coming into your country? Don’t you prefer like-minded people? People who want to be here, who love freedom like you do, who have the same values as you? Not criminals, not drug runners, or the like. We want, and deserve good people. The Federal Government has a sworn responsibility to protect it’s citizens, you. Shouldn’t we hold them to task on that?”
Charles’ answer was met with growing applause and cheers. Someone in the crowd shouted, “What about amnesty?”
Charles stepped from behind the podium and walked to the edge of the stage. Even though he was not supposed to. His time was up. But he felt compelled to answer.
“Amnesty? For people who are here illegally? Oh, come on! Don’t we already have an path for citizenship in place? Don’t foreigners come here from every point on the globe, and spend years working hard to be able to say, I’m a U.S. Citizen. It’s a process. The same should be true for anyone here illegally. There are several ideas out there about the best way to incorporate them into our society. Like, how long they have been here. If they have worked hard, been law-abiding people, or, if someone who is a citizen can attest to their character. It's not been decided which path is best. But that also should also be a process. Does it make sense to you to simply grant citizenship by fiat to a group of people whom we know nothing about? It’s absurd! And a slap in the face to all those who came here legally.
This answer was met with a standing ovation. It took the moderator some time to get the crowd to quiet down so the debate could continue. Charles was reprimanded for his breach of protocol.
At that point the candidacy was decided. Charles would be the winner. But the reason was not what most people thought, that he was the best candidate. Charles was a sacrificial lamb.
What very few people knew was that days before, at the beginning of the convention, the big-wig party bosses had got together to estimate their candidates chances against the current resident of the White House. The difficulties of winning against a sitting President were well known. Their conclusion was, no way. None of the candidates could win even though the President and his policies were unpopular to the average citizen. The insiders wanted the number one guy to be their candidate, but if he ran and lost this election, he would be branded a loser and his chances in the next one would be diminished. They picked Charles- to lose. He was betrayed by his own party.
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