Chapter Four
The same morning, Cable News Corporation’s CEO Jed Sukor presided over a Beam meeting to discuss the talking points and themes of the channel’s editorial output that day.
Sukor opened the session by saying, “Continue stressing Daniel Acer’s claims of vote-rigging and election fraud are baseless. Ram home the point he and his supporters are becoming ever more desperate and they are perpetuating a blatant lie.
“As for Lydon, keep on pointing out he’s the duly elected presumptive premier and he’s busy working on putting together a talented and diverse team to lead the country out of the darkness of the last four years and into a bright and prosperous future.
“Highlight Lydon’s promises to reverse the destructive policies Acer implemented during his term.
“Explain the new premier will have to clean up the mess the outgoing incumbent created before he can introduce the measures the country needs to get back on the right path and feel proud of itself once again.
“Whenever you get an opportunity, talk about how brave the people who voted for Lydon and the Liberals were in the face of intimidation and suppression to cast their votes. Remember to praise Lydon’s voters for rescuing the country from the Acer nightmare. Tell them to ignore the totally false claims of election fraud.
“Don’t actually say it too directly, but get the message out that the Liberals have a moral duty to make the changes to the voting system and the demographic boundaries that will ensure decent principled residents of Avalon can exercise their right to vote without fear or favour in future.
“Propose lowering the voting age. Argue widening the franchise will lessen the possibility that someone as damaging to the country as Acer has been will ever be able to usurp the will of the people of Avalon again.
“As usual, push back hard if any guest or contributor says anything positive about Acer. Stress Lydon will be sworn in as premier and only the most rabid Acer supporters and tin-foil hat-wearers would doubt the integrity of the election.
“That’s something to emphasize during the one-on-one between Ron and Fredo when they hand over tonight. Boys, try and work in as many jokes and jibes as you can about Acer being stupid, pig-headed and his supporters being ignorant uneducated bigoted losers.
Any questions?
It was rare for any of Sukor’s staff to question his edicts and this occasion was no different. So with nobody raising any issues, he ended the meeting with, “OK, remember never call Acer the premier but always call Lydon and Tweedy the premier-elect and vice premier-elect. If any guest or contributor mentions anything in the least critical of the incoming administration, their families or the Liberal Party, push back by stating whatever it is that it has been debunked or is foreign misinformation or a conspiracy theory.”