Politics
Municipal politics are normally sedate, with several leading members of the council and community such as businessman Pete Glover taking turns annually as mayor. The only incumbent known outside the town was Harry J. Boyle, concurrently the chairman of the CBC in 1967. The only moderately controversial feature of municipal politics is the local option on Prohibition, which even temperance organizations sometimes find inconvenient.
However, normally staid federal politics become very important and divisive at election time. Religious solidarity is torn apart. The Rev. Mr. Rupert Drone, the Anglican priest, preaches the Conservative message from his pulpit despite the fact his brother Edward Drone ran as an Independent on an anti-corruption platform. Likewise the Presbyterian minister supports the Conservative Party regardless of the fact that twenty-year veteran Liberal MP John Henry Bagshaw is a co-religionist and is seen as a supporter of that community.
Professional solidarity is also rent asunder, as Judge Pepperleigh is a Conservative, Dr. Gallagher is a Liberal and Dr. Joe Milligan is a Conservative. Business solidarity is also rather tenuous. The Continental Hotel is used as Conservative election headquarters while Mariposa House is used by the Liberals. Prior to the 1911 election, Josh Smith maintained his hotel as a politically multi-partisan (or Independent-Liberal-Conservative-Imperialist) place.
After Smith won his liquor licence back, he gained political favour by operating the best hotel in town and donating $100 to each of the established political parties, the Mariposa Hospital and other worthy charities. He paid the touring amusement ride operator enough cash so that all children could ride for free that day.
Based on his growing popularity, Smith unexpectedly became the conservative candidate in the federal election of 1911. The main election issues were reciprocity and Naval Service, but Smith deftly sat on the fence on these issues. He deftly deflected all the mud the incumbent MP slung his way, and through deft manipulation of the mob mentality and telecommunications Smith achieved an electoral upset by defeating Bagshaw. He was, however, silent in victory.
Read more about this topic: Mariposa (fictional Town)
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Politics begin where the masses are, not where there are thousands, but where there are millions, that is where serious politics begin.”
—Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924)
“The history of American politics is littered with bodies of people who took so pure a position that they had no clout at all.”
—Ben C. Bradlee (b. 1921)
“Of course, in the reality of history, the Machiavellian view which glorifies the principle of violence has been able to dominate. Not the compromising conciliatory politics of humaneness, not the Erasmian, but rather the politics of vested power which firmly exploits every opportunity, politics in the sense of the “Principe,” has determined the development of European history ever since.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)