Voting Out; (how Barbara’s Mother was ousted)

There was a P.T.A at my primary school.  Barbara’s Mother had been President since Barbara was in 1st Grade.

There were no term limits, there was no pay, it was service.

Barbara’s mother was elected President and did fine as far as I could see…but then I was 11 years old when the coup d’etat occurred so I was not much of a political scientist.

My mother and my aunt and their posse decided to unseat Barbara’s mother when I was in 5th grade.  I don’t know why or what.   No one explained anything to me and I was pretty much out of the loop.

The plan had actually begun last year when my mother and my aunt and a few of their friends got posts on the P.T.A.

As election time approached there were attacks on the manner Barbara’s Mother had dealt with this, that and the next thing.  People were saying things about Barbara’s mother; like she thought she was Queen of the school, or she’d been in place too long… stuff like that.

Now me, I didn’t see any problem.  (I’m eleven).

The school did a lot… a lot of trips.  We went to a number of museums, the planetarium, factories, municipal offices, plays, there were free movies at the school as well as classical dance troupes and singers and lecturers, cake sales, science fairs, spelling bees, debates,etc.

If you want to talk about 1st rate education, my Primary school.

But it was felt Barbara’s Mother had been in too long and it was time for a change.

So, the coup plotters did their job well.   Soon everyone was talking about Barbara’s Mother this and that, and her record meant nothing.

In fact, there were attacks on her record, although having been in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and now 5th grade under the ‘regime’ of Barbara’s Mother, I couldn’t see anything she did wrong, anything that could be improved.

But I was only eleven and had no vote.

Barbara’s mother was voted out.  It was not a landslide it was sort of a meander.

My mother’s posse did their canvassing and got a lot of people to abstain and not show up and stuff like that, so at the end of the day, I don’t remember who won, but it wasn’t Barbara’s mother.

I learned my lesson and as I got older the fact was simple; I don’t have to win, you have to lose.

When it is a two candidate race,  it is not that more people vote for A than B.   It is that more people did not vote for A.

If there are 100 voters, 50 for A and 50 for B, all I have to do is encourage some of those A voters to stay home.

I can start rumours about A which don’t have to be true.  I can relate ‘facts’ in a twisted anti-A manner.

For example, with a smile on my face and a loud annoying voice;

“Barbara’s mother became President the day Barbara entered 1st grade and will Stay President until Barbara graduates, and that is IT!”

I can announce, with a sense of power;

“Barbara’s Mother is in charge of everything and if she doesn’t want this competition it is not happening!”

People begin to despise me and by that measure, Barbara’s Mother.  I look like a supporter of Barbara’s mother.

The other candidate can be what you scrap off a shoe, but as I am working to make sure you don’t vote for Barbara’s Mother, (or ‘A’ in a less generic fashion)  the other candidate, ‘B’ will win.

This works not only at the P.T.A. but in professional organisations, in political organisations.

If there is a 90% voter turn out, then the strategy won’t fly as there are many pro voters.

But once the number of people who get up and go to vote can be dropped to 50% or less, the antis win.