Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail, but without the drugs (edit #3)

Red, Blue, Green or Orange — hmmm … there were so many colours to choose from on election night, January 23, 2006 throughout the country of Canada. It really is amazing though that many people chose their new prime minister this way.

I stood guard outside a polling station in downtown Belleville this election night. The air this night was cold as it was last night and most other winter nights. The attitude I received from the people was even colder as they walked by me quickly commenting they couldn’t even spare one minute to talk to me. It was only a minute for them to give, a minute well worth to get their voice heard and put out there.

One person I talked to during my ‘coverage’ said something about us enjoying the next four years as a blue government. Can a minority government last the full four years? Well Mr. Stephen Harper better mind his P’s and Q’s well pushing his parties agenda, because the way I see it is the reds and the oranges can come together and slap them back down. What colour does orange and red make anyway?

Stephen Harper, or Old Blue Eye as I call him, was considered the underdog in this election. He does not speak in rhyme, Paul Martin is not Simon Bar Sinister and the phrase ‘Have no fear, Stephen Harper is here’ does not work for me. After all there was this big sign put up along the highway that Stephen Harper hates Indians. Whether he does or not makes no difference, but Underdog never received such accusations.

Thought tonight had been a trip; I now know how Hunter S. Thompson felt like when he was in pursuit of his special kind of knowledge. All week I have been hearing my teacher spout what I thought was nonsense and idealistic theory about the energy within elections and the power at which the media covers it. After all I am a firm believer of the notion ‘seeing is believing’. I will repeat it had been a trip though and someone had laced it with an ounce of reporting. I awoke the next day with head spins and buzzing in my ear. To actually get the right words to explain it would be difficult, the best way I can describe it would be to picture a group of people on a boozed fueled trip to the bar, and I firmly believe the events of tonight would make an excellent TV movie.

But perhaps I should start from the start.

That day, the morning of January 23, 2006 began like any day. Besides the point of a national election being held that night. It was also a day filled with boredom and confusion, and the task to cover the election night. I really did not want to do it, and I had fallen out of bed and thrown on a sweater I probably wore twice that week already on and forced myself into school. Adam and I decided to work together and form a plan of attack for that night. Basically it was getting cold, nagging people and try to get an intelligent response. After all our war assignments for the night was to get to the polls, and we figured out we would have better luck together. Instead of people seeing one creepy individual coming up to them asking how their voting went they would see two.

So armed with an array of writing utensils, note pads and a digital recorder, Adam and I swaggered to the polling station. Well there wasn’t really any swaggering going on, more like moping because it was cold and none of the pens worked.

Thought the mass of ‘I do not have time’ we had found a few good quotes from people, and some of those were intelligent. We had spent two hours in front of a polling station, and well we were not amused. Finally we decided to get some dinner, and we mutually agreed that our coverage was mediocre at best. On the way back to my place we stopped off at the Conservative and Liberal campaign offices to check in on the activities.

We watched a good part of the Elections from my place, but our night turned a different direction and it would have ended there, but my pursuit of females (particularly a first-year broadcast journalism student with glasses at the Liberal’s campaign office … yes I know Rob, but this is the truth of me pushing us back to the campaign office) pushed me to head out and of course I brought Adam with me.

When we got there we chatted it up with the girls, but we also chatted with the people around the office. We decided to stay, and I really wanted to hear what the Liberal headman had to say, after all I did vote for him. So our primary motives to go to the Liberal campaign office had changed, but if I had not been urged to go back to the office I would have missed out on everything. We figured though that I just ended there when the polls closed. I can safely say I was ignorant to the entire situation surrounding elections. I pulled out the digital recorder and taped the defeated Liberal leader’s speech. I tossed my recorder to Adam when he requested it and he charged like a Bull with blind reporting enthusiasm at the sight of Bob Vaughn. I stepped back and let him. This was his field and it was his specialty, and something I could consider him an expert for. He was passionate with the results of his interview you can tell, and it was with good reason to. His new energy gave me energy. Adam turned to me and asked if I wanted to go to the Conservative camp.

Duhhhh, I said. Of course!

We entered the conservative camp, which conveniently was a five-minute walk away, with a mission. That mission was to get an interview with Kramp. When the opportunity arose we jumped at it without any hesitation. As we talked to the many supporters of Old Blue Eye, we found out many of them were misinformed on not a few issues but all the issues around the election and how a minority government works. We even almost got into a political debate… well I kind of stepped back.

Kramp allowed us five minutes, well the group five minutes, which was much better than two minutes he could have given us. All the reporters were in a half circle moon around him armed with tape recorders note pads and solid stern looks as if to say ‘Mr. President any comments on the scandal?’ But he was not as cool as Bill Clinton.

He was much taller than me, and better dressed. His suit might have come from Moore’s or from a local tailor. I could not tell the colour, because some colours are not the colour I see, but it was a colour I really did not like. I stood to Adam’s right as he held the recorder up, and I listened as he spoke after the first-year journalism students who would later complain that we stole their interview.

With nothing to lose, Adam rolled up his sleeves and took the first real hard-hitting question. Kramp just went off in a direction constantly spewing words, I was feeling dizzy from what he said and how he said and my head was turning, or I was turning or falling. I had lost all sense of direction and balance and the monotone voice of Kramp trailed off into a series of Blahs and visions of dancing gnomes. Adam rescued me from this abyss and interrupted Kramp with another question about clarification. The way he was asking questions threw me back, it was like the gods of interviewing stepped down and manifested themselves through Adam and pulled his veins with a steady stream of confidence. He was engaging and knowledgeable and stepped up to Kramp with me by his side for support. Adam would not accept the generic answers he was given and asked for constant clarification, he pressed for answers and not politically trained garbage. He became at that instance something I had never been. It is hard to explain the emotions, the drama and the heated words. Kramp could not get away from Adam and his engaging questions the campaign manager even tried to stop Kramp but was ignored despite all his best efforts. I bite my lips in suspense and admiration. Mark could not go as far as Adam did, nor could I, nor could any other media that was out there tonight.

I applauded Adam for his ability, and I was honoured to have witnessed it. We cheered but not with an egotistical ‘yeah, we did it’ but it was with an energy that boosted our confidence.

It is amazing what you learn in a political election night. It is amazing whom you meet, and it is amazing what you find out about yourself and the world around you. I might not have the room in my life for the belief of god, but I understand what I do have room for. That room is for the pursuit of knowledge and the ability to connect the people to the greater truth.