MARCOS JR. OPERATIVES HAVE SCRAMBLED TO COVER UP HIS INTERVIEW "COWARDICE" FALLOUT

Scared of VP Leni’s surge fired up by Marcos Jr.’s fallout from his “cowardice” for not facing Jessica Soho’s tough, no-holds-barred, and no-nonsense interview, Marcos Jr.’s campaign operatives have scrambled in scavenging smear campaign tactics in their totalitarian toolboxes. “Resentment” – a totalitarian ideologies’ single source of recruitment and unification has been a spent tool (“kumita na”) during PRRD’s election campaign that targeted Dilawans. If used again, it will backfire -- the resentful will unite and turn instead to Pharmally & Malampaya shenanigans, and the Marcoses’ plunder.

TOTALITARIAN TOOLBOX

So Marcos Jr.’s operatives have used this time the “demonization” tool:  disparaging VP Leni with denigrating names. Just as Lenin referred to his opponents as “bloodsuckers” and PRRD, to addicts, as “zombies,” so too Marcos Jr.’s operatives calling VP Leni as “laughing stock,” “lenidoro,” “loony,” “bo2,” among others.

Such totalitarian tool has been sharpened by Joseph Goebbels’ mind-conditioning grinder: “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient REPETITION (underscoring mine) and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is, in fact, a circle.”

But, there’s the rub: Marcos Jr.’s operatives are unwittingly contradicting themselves. They have been saying that VP Leni is a US-backed candidate and, in the next breath, calling her a laughingstock too.  Interestingly, Marcos Sr. was a friendly ally and guarantor of US interests for eighteen years. Yet, I have still to read an article about Marcos Sr. as a laughingstock. The US is just like a business organization, on a smaller scale, that undertakes “due diligence” before “investing” in an “asset.” “Due diligence” is an investigation, audit, or review performed to confirm facts or details. All US allies like, Marcos Sr. and VP Leni, were subjected to such “due diligence.” With its global dominance, the US will not back-up a leader of any country that is a laughingstock. The US backing up of VP Leni as its worthy ally in the Indo-Pacific volatile region demolishes Marcos Jr.’s operatives’ “laughing stock” smear.

 US President Biden asserted the global challenge of the times facing the US and the Philippine alliance in his speech during the Philippine Independence Day:

“Let’s also look to the future, the challenges that our two countries must continue to work to take on together, from defeating this pandemic, to strengthening the global preparedness for the next one, to advancing the free and open Indo-Pacific region for all peoples. I hope the friendship between the Philippines and the United States will continue to be a source of strength for both our nations through all the decades ahead.”

If any anti-American Marcos Jr.’s operative says that the US is stupid for backing up a laughing stock, then, he is entitled to his lonesome opinion.

Marcos Jr.’s operatives are so scared of VP Leni that it beclouded their minds as Northwestern Medicine on Emotional Health explained:

“Fear can make you foggy. As some parts of your brain are revving up, others are shutting down. When the amygdala senses fear, the cerebral cortex (area of the brain that harnesses reasoning and judgment) becomes impaired – so now it’s difficult to make good decisions or think clearly.”

OPINIONS OF 3,600 PEOPLE (AKA SURVEY) HAS TURNED INTO PSEUDOSCIENCE

Campaign Manager (CM): I really need our survey to find out XYZ.

Operative (O): I understand why finding out XYZ would be very important, but surveys just cannot tell us that.

CM: But I really need to know. Just ask a question.

O: I appreciate your need to know, but unfortunately your need to know is unrelated to voters’ ability to tell us. We’ll get a number, but it won’t mean anything.

CM: Just ask the question. Get their answers. Then, give me the number. Period.

So, the operative asks the question and gets the answers. He put the answers in a container labeled “process” and sprinkles the concoction with “statistics” (like "Maggi Magic Sarap"). The brew looks seductive. Just then, the Campaign Manager comes in the kitchen and says, “Hmm. It smells like Science.” He asks, “What’s the number?”

The above US election campaign parody is a variant adapted from the article in The Hill by political consultant and pollster Mark Mellman’s – a run-of-the-mill scenario that could find its way as well around PH political environment. And here and now, “What’s the number?” It’s over 50% -- Marcos Jr.’s survey rating. Simply, it means that barely over 1,600 people said they would vote for Marcos Jr. on the day of the survey.

Then, from the opinions of such 1,600 people, Marcos Jr.’s operatives extrapolated and guesstimated the following:

1. It will be a boring May 2022 election

2. It will be a landslide

3. VP Leni to land 3^rd

Spooked by VP Leni’s candidacy, the Marcos Jr.’ operatives’ heebie-jeebies has stemmed in early December when a new election survey player (ironically a medical research group) suddenly surfaced on the political landscape (with lawmaker-quizzed funding) dropping VP Leni to 14% at close quarters over Isko at 12% and Pacquiao10%. Then lately, the Marcos Jr.’s operatives said “unnamed social media polls” put Isko as the 2^nd placer and, in the next breath, pointed out that Isko admitted recently he has kept the left-over campaign funds of P50 million – a glaring admission circulating viral in the internet putting questions to his morals. The guesstimate above on Isko was so illogical that it only implied two things: a) it insulted the intelligence of the survey respondents, b) the so-called “unnamed social media polls” do not exist.  Of course, as an election campaign operative, one can mouth the above guesstimates though it sounds ridiculous.

DIVIDE THE OPPOSITION

To each opposition candidate, the thought-control message of the above guesstimates: Do not unify; it’s a whole new ball game – each one has a good chance to become the next President – a cunning scheme to divide the opposition.

The crucial exchange between Cardinal Sin and Marcos Sr. before the EDSA Revolution (narrated in my ATABAY article “The Catholic Church and Politics”) has let the cat out of the bag.

Cardinal Sin: It is very dangerous for you to call a snap election. You may lose. You will be forced to step down.

Marcos Sr.: I cannot lose an election to an opposition that is a hopelessly DIVIDED. They will tear each other to pieces.

The Marcos Jr.’s operatives’ thought-control ultimate scheme: Divide the opposition.

QUID PRO QUO

At this point, let me shift to world events particularly in the Ukraine crisis. Not about the present US-Russia standoff, let’s look back instead to the Trump impeachment a few years ago that involved Ukraine. In a nutshell, during the impeachment hearing, one witness testified that nearly $400 million in security assistance for Ukraine was frozen and would only be unfrozen if Ukraine investigates Trump’s political opponents. That is, Trump wanted “something for something” – a common concept in foreign relations – in Latin: quid pro quo.

Here and now in PH, the dilemma that faces opposition candidates that rejected the 1Sambayan unification initiative: the public perception – that you cut a “quid pro quo” deal with Marcos Jr.

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t because people won’t believe you don’t.