Shadow Empire

Chapter 1165 Unexpected Reactions and Dissatisfaction
Ten minutes later, everyone returned to the conference room, some looking at Senator Cleveland with a hint of curiosity.

Just now, they were discussing what Senator Cleveland did during his few minutes of rest, and perhaps he would have some ideas about this matter.

People are always so strange and contradictory. When the Socialist Party was repeatedly elected by the Socialists, they, like the Liberal Party at that time, believed that the election time should indeed be adjusted, but also believed that it was a matter for the next president.

Only when they were no longer elected did they realize that this was an urgent problem that needed to be solved.

Self-interest leads everyone to choose options that are harmless to themselves, and it's even better if they can cause some trouble for their opponents.

However, some believe that it will be difficult for Senator Cleveland to change the current situation, as the Liberal Party has been very tough and has not given the Socialist Party any chance at all.

This has also generated a deep sense of dissatisfaction among socialists towards these liberals. This dissatisfaction will accumulate in their emotions and within the party's contradictions, and will be released when the socialists win the next election.

Just like what the Liberal Party members are doing now, they are releasing all the pent-up negative emotions they have been suppressing, and they oppose anything that the Socialist Party supports.

Regardless of right or wrong, this is the most basic contradiction between political parties in terms of opposition and struggle. There is no good or bad, it is simply opposition!
The people in the room sat down again, and they started discussing the matter once more, and the tension instantly escalated.

This made every Liberal feel great. It was like... after holding in your pee for over a decade and your bladder was about to burst, you were given permission to let go, and suddenly your pee gushed out like a waterfall into the toilet!
That feeling of something inside your body constantly leaving you, allowing you to completely relax instead of remaining tense—it's wonderful!
Just as they were about to reach a collective climax, Senator Cleveland suddenly spoke up, "Why don't we ask the people involved themselves?"

"Perhaps David has his own perspective on this matter?"

"After all, the change of the election date will ultimately have a direct impact on the candidates. Our Socialist Party candidates will not have any problems, so why not ask David?"

This statement silenced everyone in the room. The Socialist senators looked at Senator Cleveland with some confusion, wondering why Mr. Porter had been mentioned at this moment.

How could he possibly agree to postpone the election date, even by just half a month?

Just as the Liberals believe, if anyone is more opposed to postponing the election than they are, it is Mr. Porter himself.

Each of them wore a smile as if they were looking at a fool; Senator Cleveland had lost all her sacred aura in their eyes.

Some even whispered to those around them that Senator Cleveland had chosen the most foolish way to withdraw from the race for congressional power—

He's playing the fool so he won't be pushed onto the "front lines" of the power struggle.

However, some people frowned, because it seemed a bit inappropriate to proactively ask the person involved to express their opinion at this time.

However, most Liberals thought it was fine, and they quickly got their phones, put them on speakerphone, and dialed Mr. Potter's number.

"I'm sorry to disturb your rest at this time, but we've reached a critical point in our discussion and the argument just won't stop, and we haven't been able to reach a result that satisfies both of us."

"This matter happens to be directly related to you, so we are considering asking for your thoughts and will respect your opinion. Your opinion will be our final decision!"

To avoid Mr. Porter being confused about what was going on, the Liberal Party representative in Parliament spoke very solemnly, almost telling Mr. Porter, "You fucking listen to me, don't do anything reckless!"

Mr. Porter also gave a positive response over the phone, saying, "I would be honored if I could help you with any of your problems."

"So, what's the problem?"

The Liberal senator said, "We are discussing whether to postpone the election until after Saint Farm, that is, to start voting around mid-November, with results at the end of the month."

He didn't elaborate on his own thoughts or the other party's thoughts; he simply told Mr. Porter one thing: should the election be postponed?
Based on his understanding of Mr. Potter, Mr. Potter should have been opposed at this point.

Whether the results are released a month earlier or a month later, the transfer of power will still take place after the Chinese New Year next year. However, releasing the results a month earlier will allow for more time to arrange personnel arrangements within government departments and more time to conduct political deals.

While it seems that the power transfer won't happen until next year even if it's scheduled for November, the lack of this extra month means there's much less time to do things.

It's like comparing prices in the market. One person might offer you a dollar for the rights you have, but if you ask more people, they might offer you a dollar and a half, or even two dollars, or more.

Therefore, the more time a president has, the more benefits he/she will have.

The phone, with the speakerphone turned on full blast, carried the nasal sounds of Mr. Potter as he pondered something; he seemed to be indicating that he was thinking, hence the nasal tone.

"This proposal sounds great. I've been thinking about it recently. During the past few days of campaigning, I've noticed fewer and fewer people coming. Many of them are starting to think about going home for the holidays."

"Moreover, due to the victory in the war this year, we will hold a grand festival, and more people may be preoccupied with the Saint Farm Festival. The number of votes and the results may be different from what we predicted."

"In order to arrive at a more accurate, fair, and legitimate election result, if you ask for my opinion on this issue, then my opinion is..."

After a few seconds, his slightly low voice came through, "I support this proposal."

There was a momentary commotion in the meeting room. Many Liberal Party members stared at their phones in disbelief, and the Socialist Party members were in a similar state. They couldn't believe that Mr. Porter would make such a completely opposite choice to the Liberal Party on something that was clearly not so friendly to him.

Some people looked with awe at Senator Cleveland, who sat calmly and composedly at the front, perhaps because he was directly involved in the matter.

The Liberal Party representative, regaining his composure, asked again, "Are you sure you support postponing the election?"

"Yes, that's a great proposal. After the Saint Farm festival, people will return to their daily lives and their attention will be focused on the election. That would make the results more accurate for us, wouldn't it?"

"If we're going to win, we have to win spectacularly. We can't give them any pointless excuses to discredit our victory!"

His point was that if the Socialist Party had doubts about the number of votes, for example, if a state used to receive seven or eight million votes but only three or four million this time, they might demand a revote.

If such a requirement were to occur in a swing state favorable to the Liberal Party, it could trigger some unpredictable changes.

After all, people have just finished voting, and now they are being told that their previous votes do not count and they need to vote again.

Unlike fixed-camp states, swing states tend to have voters with a more liberal mindset. They might vote for Mr. Porter this time according to their own will, but when asked to vote again, they might feel dissatisfied and vote for the Socialist candidate instead.

The voters and campaign offensive in swing states are always the most important places. You have to maintain a high level of campaign engagement with these voters, otherwise who knows if they will come back from their fervor and punch you in the next second.

Mr. Potter's statement is perfectly reasonable from a logical standpoint, but... it's still a bit hard to accept.

But now he has enough reasons to support the proposal, and he himself is the next president and the core of the Liberal Party’s rise plan. The Liberal Party members will definitely support this president, rather than stand against him.

“I understand. So, this proposal…” the Liberal Party senator said, glancing at Senator Cleveland, who sat opposite him, looking very composed and showing no emotion. “Let’s do it your way.”

"I will visit you later."

"Then let's leave it at that for now, I won't disturb your rest any longer."

"Goodbye."

"See you tonight."

After hanging up the phone, the Liberal Party senator's representative shook his head, a smile that was hard to decipher as he looked at Senator Cleveland. "Very good tactic, Jeffrey." Senator Cleveland looked at him as if he hadn't understood. "This isn't about tactics; it's about everyone's different understanding of politics and the country."

"Perhaps you think it's right to oppose us, but in reality, we shouldn't bring our emotions into our work."

His words made the Liberal Party senator laugh in anger. "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's move on to the next topic."

"We don't have much time left!"

Yes, they don't have much time left.

For Liberal Party senators, the change of parliamentary seats is not entirely a good thing.

Before the Liberal Party won that position, they were always in a weak position, and some powerful politicians had no intention of becoming members of parliament.

After all, they were at a disadvantage; their arrival wouldn't change anything, and they might even be criticized within the party.

If you are so powerful within the party, why are you still suppressed by the Socialist Party in Parliament?
Is it only possible to be a bully at home?
This is a terrible viewpoint and opinion, and it's an attitude that almost everyone has, which will ultimately affect the influence of these powerful politicians.

Therefore, they will only serve in the party, not in Congress.

Now that the Liberal Party is rising in power, if they can secure a majority in Parliament after winning the presidency, these powerful political figures within the party will "come out of retirement" and enter Parliament.

So now, a portion of these Liberal Party senators, a third or even half or more, will step down from their senator positions in this change and return to their party posts.

For them, although the Liberal Party won, their own good days are almost over.

Senators and non-senators have completely different values ​​within the entire federal interest system.

Therefore, they must make sure they have everything in order before they lose this job full of honor and power.

For example, some of them may have taken money from capitalists, and they are unlikely to return that money to those capitalists. So now, all they need to do is help these capitalists get proposals that are favorable to them as soon as possible, or prevent certain proposals from being passed.

Every election is a rigorous screening process for everyone in Congress. Many people who should have benefited from the election end up losing their status.

Soon the members of Congress got back to their work. This time, their differences were not as serious. Everyone wanted to fulfill the deals they had promised as much as possible, so the efficiency and speed with which the proposals were passed was the best in this Congress!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mr. Potter sat in a chair with a gloomy face. He should have lay down and rested for a while to recharge for the evening's campaign activities.

But Senator Cleveland's phone call kept him awake, so he called his son and asked him to come over.

A dozen minutes later, Mr. Porter appeared in his office. Mr. Porter only realized what was happening when he walked up to him.

He glanced at his son, gesturing for him to sit down. "Jeffrey just called me."

Mr. Porter casually lit a cigarette for himself. "Why did he call you?"

Although he was not a high-ranking official within the Liberal Party, he knew who Jeffrey was, had met Senator Cleveland, and had spoken with him.

"He asked me to agree to postpone the election until after Saint Farm, which is the first day of the second week of November."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Porter couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Did he forget to bring his brain with him when he left home this morning? Did he leave it at home?"

How could I possibly agree to something like that?

But his smile faded as he looked up, because his father, Mr. Potter, was staring at him expressionlessly. He took a drag of his cigarette, frowned, and asked, "You agreed?"

Mr. Potter nodded. “I can’t refuse because he knows about Little Potter, and I suspect he may know more. I can’t be sure if he has any evidence.”

"So I want you to explain to me why he knew about this?"

Mr. Porter finally realized where the problem lay.

He frowned. "I've already dealt with that family. Now there's only one reporter who knows the truth, but my people have lost track of him and I don't know where he is now."

"But he must still be in Xinjin City!"

"It's possible that he leaked this information to Senator Cleveland."

Mr. Potter nodded. "So now it's no longer a secret?"

"To be honest, I'm satisfied with most of the things you do, but this time, the most important thing you've done so badly, I can't find anything to say that I'm satisfied with."

"Get him out of here right now. I need you to take care of this damn reporter before the end of the Saint Farm festival, and wipe him off the face of the earth!"

As Mr. Potter spoke, he became somewhat agitated. It was indeed a terrible and infuriating thing to have someone hold a handle on you, especially since this person was one of the core political enemies of their Liberal Party.

He was panting heavily. Mr. Middleport couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up. "I'm going to find him right now. He must have left some traces. He can't just disappear like that."

“Wait a minute,” Mr. Potter called out, taking a few deep breaths before saying, “What’s wrong?”

"You said you've lost him, and that you think you can find him in such a big city? You're kidding me. Roland will be here soon."

"Have him help you with this case, but don't let him know too much."

Mr. Porter sat back down on the sofa, his expression subtly changing. "Is there something wrong with him?"

Mr. Potter nodded. "It's hard to describe. He's very insightful and intelligent in my presence, but he always stumbles when it comes to dealing with Lance. I don't have a very good feeling about him right now."

“The FBI is a very important position, and I’m not comfortable entrusting it to him.”

Mr. Zhongbo roughly understood his father's meaning. He nodded and said, "There's a lot of negative material about him on the market right now. I'll find a way to keep the focus on this and make him have no choice but to resign on his own."

Mr. Potter nodded; that was what he wanted to say. He then asked, "Where is that bastard now?"

“I’ve already grounded him at home.”

The "bastard" they were referring to was, of course, young Porter, who had caused this whole mess. If he hadn't unwittingly killed a female companion, they wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

As for whether they would suspect that this might be a setup?
No, they have actually encountered similar situations before, and more than once.

This was partly the reason for taking action against the Perez family. If they hadn't provided the Maple Leaf Extract, Little Potter might not have gotten so high that he killed the girl!
This is the "anger born from the pain of the upper class." Ordinary people say that no one cares about the problem of Maple Leaf Grass, but when a great person is injured because of it, it and everything associated with it will have to endure the flames from beyond the sky!
(End of this chapter)