Survival Of The Fittest

((Ashlynn Martinek continued from It's All Good Man.))

Ashlynn took this campaign very seriously. She stood by the cafeteria doors, as students left the room to embark on their chosen recess activities, with a big pile of leaflets. She had been told, via unsolicited advice on the part of her mother, that her initial leaflet plans wouldn't be effective in the slightest. Ashlynn had refused to accept that. It would be insulting to her peers to accept that. Her mother had instead told her to make some glossy ones, with big slogans and smiling photos of her and her supporters. Ashlynn had compromised, then. She had spent hours up last night, folding her original leaflets into the glittering and glossy pamphlets that her parents had printed.

From the same printer her father used, she noted forlornly. Felt slightly unethical using their products, but alas, an election had to be won, and throwing away serviceable materiel was madness. Environmentally disdainful, too.

Her true point of pride was the original leaflet. An edited transcript of her speech on one side, accompanied with some bullet points of her views on various issues such as urban renewal and international trading systems, would serve a dual purpose: it would show the electorate the true nature of Ashlynn's strengths as a candidate, and it would educate her peers about esoteric and often neglected global issues. The role of a responsible candidate was pedagogical, just as much as it was persuasive. She was an idealist at heart. Or, at the very least, convinced that a descriptive cynicism should not translate into abandoning the practice of idealism.

Of course, she wasn't above doing unscrupulous forms of opposition research, but if you ran for election, on contentious policy stances, you made yourself fair game. That had largely been hypothetical, up until this point.

"Please vote for me," she said, handing leaflets to students that definitely weren't seniors. No biggie. Build up name recognition now, for future political campaigns. Plus, help nurture the educated voters of tomorrow. Ashlynn was doing a civic service here.

Ashlynn knew that her efforts and sheer tenacity would pay off. That her eminent qualifications for the job - or jobs, more accurately, she was running for a lot of positions - would be recognised by her peers. Young people were smart, after all. They tended to vote correctly, when they were allowed to vote. And it was clear, obvious, that Ashlynn was the most deserving, the most inspirational, the most qualified.

It was the day before the vote, and here she was. Building name recognition. Building a reputation. Hard work that would pay off.

She'd even read books on the subject! Plenty of books. Built up a library, on the theory, the history, the practicality of electioneering. She'd read an online review of Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House. Read an online article about the philosophy of campaigning. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, she'd read cover to cover - though she did skip over the more obnoxious sections of the text. Gonzo journalism was not her style. She was halfway through 101 Ways to Win an Election, dabbling into a British text that conveniently matched a Google search of hers word for word.

What's the Matter with Kansas?, perfect for campaigning in Tennessee. An equally red state. Marginally more so, actually, if you looked at CPVI. Although that book did gloss over how foolish they were, voting against their own self-interests. Deserved some moral responsibility for that.

This was in the bag. Safe seat. Landslide. Whatever you wanted to call it.

And so as the bell rang and she returned to class, Ashlynn mentally rehearsed her victory speech in her head.

((Ashlynn Martinek continued in Take the High Road.))