Election 2020: The Game!

[Wells]

Joni Ernst Campaign Schedule: September 21-28, 2019
Putting America First

September 21 - Ernst continued to stay in Des Moines, holding another fundraiser, talking with potential voters, and filming for advertisements and preparing for the debate at campaign HQ. Her campaign had hired a caucus organizer who had worked on the Cruz campaign (in 2016) the previous week, and she coordinated with him. That night she gave another speech, this time in West Des Moines, and about her overall campaign platform, where she also praised Tim Scott (in an effort to pick up some support).

“Funding for NASA and space exploration is a priority for me. America is a truly wonderful country, and the fact that we have been world leaders in space exploration exemplifies this perfectly. But, space travel has really declined under the failed leadership of Obama and Clinton. We ended the space shuttle program. We haven’t sent people to the moon in years. I believe that if we collaborate with private space exploration industries we could change all of this.”

September 22 - Joni Ernst travelled to Adel, Iowa, where she held a town hall in the evening (after meeting with a small group of voters beforehand, where she supposedly attacked Rubio). In this town hall, she was asked many questions, mainly about her socially conservative views.

“You know, you are completely right.¹ It seems lately that there is so much bias and dishonesty in the media. They have been completely ignoring the disastrous mistakes of this current administration. And every time they report something bad about it, they spin it into something good. As president, I will cut all government funding for media and let the free market decide what media reports best. We need new media to spread truth in an unbiased way.”

September 23 - Ernst travelled to Panora next, where she met with the mayor. The meeting reportedly went well. She then held a town hall in the evening, with opening remarks about her disaster preparedness program (and her upcoming tax proposal). She was asked about many things in the town hall.

“I can’t believe I have to keep repeating this, but people should not commit voter fraud. Democrats have allied themselves with people who aren’t registered but vote anyway, the people who vote twice, and voting zombies. Voter ID laws are the single most effective way of curbing these types of fraud and ensuring fair elections. It’s common sense. Until then, however, I urge authorities to be very vigilant about this.”

September 24 - Ernst continued her tour of Iowa in Guthrie Center. There, she spoke in front of a small crowd about her general policy.

“I was very disappointed when the nation made its biggest mistake in decades in electing Hillary Clinton to the White House. Throughout her career, she has been dishonest, corrupt, and yet always gets away every time. But 2016 was worse. It showed that if you are dishonest and corrupt, you can still hold the most powerful office in the world. Now, I’d like to be wrong. This is one of those rare cases where I desperately hope I’m wrong. But it doesn’t look like I’m wrong. So, this November, let’s prove me wrong. Let’s stand up for the values we hold dear and kick Clinton out of the White House.”

September 25 - Joni Ernst visited Hamlin, Iowa next. There, she visited a barnstorm and gave a speech before holding a town hall that evening.

“Every single illegal alien is a criminal. They broke the law when they crossed the border illegally. And we don’t want criminals in America, do we? Do we want them working in our jobs? Taking up places at our colleges? As president, I will support the expansion, reform, and improvement of an H-1B system to protect and put American workers first. I will do the opposite of Hillary Clinton and protect our workers and borders.”

September 26 - Joni Ernst went to Audubon, Iowa where she held a town hall and talked with a few voters.

“On my very first day in office, I will repeal the disaster we know as Obamacare. On my second day in office, I will replace it. My plan will give the choice to Americans instead of Washington bureaucrats. Patients and doctors know their health needs best, so why would anyone else make the choice? We will look for patient-centered alternatives to healthcare. These will increase access to quality healthcare at an affordable price.”

September 27 - Joni Ernst held a press conference in Carroll, Iowa, where she unveiled her tax plan. That night, she held a rally, also in Caroll (and she praised Tim Scott again).

Joni Ernst’s income tax plan summary²

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September 28 - Ernst visited Denison, Iowa, where she held a small fundraiser in the morning and held a rally that evening.

“Hillary Clinton has accepted way too many migrants from countries where radical Islam is prevalent. We shouldn’t be too surprised when there are more and more terrorist attacks because she has single-handedly destroyed America’s safety through executive overreach. Under my presidency, we will not accept Muslim migrants from countries with the presence of ISIS. It’s the sensible thing to do.”


Joni's First Campaign Advertisement: Meet Joni (airs nationwide)

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1) In response to a town hall question.
2) This is just a summary, don't expect an entire plan laid out here.


Press Release on Tim Scott's (un)expected dropout:

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[Senator Cris]

Statement on Tim Scott dropping out of the race.
During these years in the Senate, I had the privelege of knowing Senator Tim Scott well. He's a nice, dedicated person who stands up for all South Carolinians and for all Americans. He's a principled man and I look forward to continue to work with him on real solutions for Americans as the next President.

[UWS]

Rubio's statement on Tim Scott dropping out of the race.
Recently, we learned that Tim Scott dropped out of the race. Even though Senator Scott and I were opponents for a short time, I am thankful of his contribution to this presidential campaign, to conservative values and to America's future. Tim is a friend of mine, it's a great honour to have a principled man like him as a partner in the Senate and together, when I'm President of the United States, Tim and I will keep working together by ratifying new laws and reforms that will get America back on track thanks to conservative and pro-growth solutions proposed by the Grand « Opportunity » Party. I share Senator Scott's values and goals such as small government, tax cuts, free market's promotion for the sake of our prosperity, strengthening our middle-class, fight for liberty, making sure our country remains the greatest country in the world, strong national security, defeating ISIS, defending the Second Amendment, allowing unborn children to live, repealing the unconstitutional Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), improving the living conditions of the African-American community, taking care of our brave and honourable veterans as well as defending and restoring the American Dream. God bless Tim Scott and his supporters, God bless South Carolina and God bless the United States of America.

[Mike Thick]

The turn is over, the next turn will begin as soon as I get new poll numbers and updates out.

Another note -- I'm changing the rules from having a penalty for not responding to events to a bonus for responding to them. I'm not going to go bore you with my reasoning here, but it's not going to be spectacularly consequential either way.

[Potus]

American Vision 2020

Several major Republican and conservative donors have joined together to create a standing organization to damage President Clinton's chances at re-election. The Republican primary is currently home to mostly acceptable candidates, though that could change. Should candidates jeopardize the ability of a Republican to defeat Hillary Clinton, resources could be diverted to the Republican primary.

OOC: Can we get a recap of Hillary's first term? Everything that happened, Supreme Court picks, how folks voted on that, etc. Basically write a wiki article for her first term.

[Wells]

American Vision 2020

Several major Republican and conservative donors have joined together to create a standing organization to damage President Clinton's chances at re-election. The Republican primary is currently home to mostly acceptable candidates, though that could change. Should candidates jeopardize the ability of a Republican to defeat Hillary Clinton, resources could be diverted to the Republican primary.

OOC: Can we get a recap of Hillary's first term? Everything that happened, Supreme Court picks, how folks voted on that, etc. Basically write a wiki article for her first term.

So are you just jumping in the game and starting a Super PAC? I thought Clinton made that illegal.

[Potus]

American Vision 2020

Several major Republican and conservative donors have joined together to create a standing organization to damage President Clinton's chances at re-election. The Republican primary is currently home to mostly acceptable candidates, though that could change. Should candidates jeopardize the ability of a Republican to defeat Hillary Clinton, resources could be diverted to the Republican primary.

OOC: Can we get a recap of Hillary's first term? Everything that happened, Supreme Court picks, how folks voted on that, etc. Basically write a wiki article for her first term.

So are you just jumping in the game and starting a Super PAC? I thought Clinton made that illegal.

That's the idea. A right of center superpac. It's realistic.

[Mike Thick]

The News


2020 Campaign Heats Up

Note: For various reasons, I will be making some changes to LLR's polling.

The 2020 election is rolling along!

Let's start with the Republican race. As you can see from our polling data, House Speaker Paul Ryan has sustained his national lead, although the margin has narrowed since we last polled the horse race. Florida Senator Marco Rubio maintains his second-place position, and is closing in on Ryan, but his polling lead in New Hampshire has narrowed significantly. Most notable, though, is the rising candidate in the race -- Iowa Senator Joni Ernst. Ernst has some serious momentum, which appears to be derived from the lack of another "very conservative" or "populist" option in the running after Senator Tim Scott's exit. Currently, she only leads in her home state of Iowa, but that may change. Cory Gardner has also made gains among younger and more libertarian Republicans, but he continues to struggle with national name recognition. In the meantime, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and former FBI Director James Comey have slipped further in presidential polling, and risk being removed from polling entirely if they do not post schedules and such.

Meanwhile, President Clinton's apparent snub of primary challenger and Vermont Congressman Tim Ashe has not done her any favors in her nomination battle. Ashe has dramatically risen in the polls, and although he still trails the incumbent President by a wide margin nationally and in Iowa, he leads comfortably in his home state and has narrowed the gap to the mid-low teens in New Hampshire. Many Sanders 2016 backers, especially young people, are backing Ashe due to perceived failings of the Clinton Administration to advance progressive causes -- it is clear that she will need to defend her record and handle the challenge much better than she is currently if she hopes to escape the primary unscathed. However, many Democratic voters are uncomfortable voting for someone as left-wing as Ashe is, and may need assurances that he is not a member of the "Green Tea Party" and does not represent the negative traits of Ted Cruz and Mike Lee simply flipped on the ideological spectrum.

National Polls:
Hillary Clinton 65%
Tim Ashe 19%

Paul Ryan 21%
Marco Rubio 19%
Joni Ernst 16%
Cory Gardner 10%
John Kasich 8%
Tom Cotton 2%
James Comey 1%

Iowa Polls:
Hillary Clinton 61%
Tim Ashe 22%

Joni Ernst 29%
Paul Ryan 17%
Marco Rubio 14%
Cory Gardner 7%
John Kasich 7%
Tom Cotton 2%
James Comey 1%

New Hampshire Polls:
Hillary Clinton 55%
Tim Ashe 39%

Marco Rubio 24%
Paul Ryan 18%
John Kasich 19%
Joni Ernst 13%
Cory Gardner 12%
James Comey 1%
Tom Cotton 1%

South Carolina Polls:
Hillary Clinton 71%
Tim Ashe 14%

Marco Rubio 23%
Paul Ryan 20%
Joni Ernst 15%
Cory Gardner 10%
John Kasich: 6%
Tom Cotton 2%
James Comey 1%

Nevada Polls:
Hillary Clinton 60%
Tim Ashe 23%

Marco Rubio: 28%
Paul Ryan 19%
Cory Gardner 14%
Joni Ernst 13%
John Kasich 5%
Tom Cotton 1%
James Comey 1%

Tennessee Polls:
Hillary Clinton 68%
Tim Ashe 16%

Paul Ryan 25%
Marco Rubio 22%
Joni Ernst 16%
Cory Gardner: 10%
John Kasich: 7%
Tom Cotton: 2%
James Comey: 1%

Stocks Dip as China Fears Intensify

Economic troubles in China rattled global markets this week, as widespread credit defaults roiled the Asian nation's banking industry. "Triggers" to halt trading on Chinese exchanged were activated two times during the week. Global indexes dipped between five and eight percent over the course of the crash, but most are currently on track to recover.

Report: Kennedy Mulls Retirement

Reports from sources close to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy indicate that the 83 year old Justice is considering retirement from the bench, due in part to his age.

Nominated by Ronald Reagan and confirmed in 1988, Kennedy is the most senior Justice on the court. While he was nominated by a conservative President and has generally sided with the conservative wing of the court, he has attracted the ire of right-wingers by siding with liberals on some important social issues, and is generally considered to be a swing justice. Kennedy's retirement could significantly change the balance of power on the court.

President Clinton has filled two vacancies on the bench during her Presidency -- one with Justice Merrick Garland, who she renominated to the late Antonin Scalia's seat after Obama was termed out without a nominee, and one with Justice Sri Srinivasan, who filled the vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's retirement.

DPRK Conducts Exercise Near Border

North Korean military forces conducted a large-scale military exercise near the DMZ, the nation's border with South Korea. Exercises were also conducted just fifteen miles away from the Port of Incheon.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent months, as North Korean nuclear and missile tests have increased in frequency and become more brazen, and loudspeaker propaganda on both sides across the DMZ has ramped up.

Endorsements

(For the purposes of efficiency, endorsements will take effect in the turn after they are announced.)

Bill Weld: Former Governor Gary Johnson, Former Governor Lincoln Chafee

Joni Ernst: Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Ben Sasse

Cory Gardner: Former Senator Kelly Ayotte

[Mike Thick]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

[Mike Thick]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

[Kingpoleon]

Tim Ashe Schedule: September 29-30 and October 1-5, 2019

September 29:
- Town Hall in Manchester, NH
- Town Hall in Manchester, NH
- Barnstorm Manchester, NH
- Town Hall in Nashua, NH
- Barnstorm Nashua, NH
- Appearance on Meet the Press

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September 30:
- Town Hall in Concord, NH
- Town Hall in Concord, NH
- Barnstorm Concord, NH
- Barnstorm Concord, NH
- Barnstorm Manchester, NH
- Barnstorm Nahua, NH

October 1:
- Town Hall in Manchester, NH
- Town Hall in Manchester, NH
- Barnstorm Manchester, NH
- Town Hall in Nashua, NH
- Town Hall in Nashua, NH
- Barnstorm Nashua, NH

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October 2:
- Town Hall in Concord, NH
- Town Hall in Concord, NH
- Barnstorm Concord, NH
- Town Hall in Dover, NH
- Barnstorm Dover, NH
- Barnstorm Derry, NH

October 3:
- Town Hall in Dover, NH
- Barnstorm Dover, NH
- Barnstorm Dover, NH
- Town Hall in Derry, NH
- Town Hall in Derry, NH
- Barnstorm Derry, NH

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October 4:
- Town Hall in Manchester, NH
- Barnstorm Manchester, NH
- Town Hall in Nashua, NH
- Barnstorm Nashua, NH
- Town Hall in Concord, NH
- Barnstorm Concord, NH

October 5:
- Barnstorm Manchester, NH
- Barnstorm Nashua, NH
- Town Hall in Derry, NH
- Barnstorm Derry, NH
- Barnstorm Dover, NH
- Town Hall in Southern New Hampshire University

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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ASHE CAMPAIGN, SEPT. 28 #1:

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PRESS RELEASE #2 RE: KENNEDY RETIREMENT:

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The Ashe campaign will open one office in each county of New Hampshire for a total of ten offices. Two offices will be opened in the states of Iowa, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

[Mike Thick]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

[Mike Thick]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

You can do that, if you're willing to risk a scandal if the information leaks.

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

You can do that, if you're willing to risk a scandal if the information leaks.

O.K., so I better not.

[UWS]

Rubio's statement on Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy considering retirement

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is considering retirement. Even though I don't agree with him on every issue, I'm thankful of his fight for the Constitution of the United States. If he retires, Hillary Clinton will get a new opportunity to increase liberal influence in the Supreme Court of the United States by changing Kennedy's seat from moderate to liberal through the nomination of more liberals in order to promote gun control, violating the Second Amendment, to allow abortion, preventing unborn children from living, to give a green light to big government, undermining taxpayers' purchasing power and increasing the deficit, and to expand Obamacare, weakening Medicare, ensuring small business decline, depriving our fellow citizens of their health insurance, accelerating patients' agony and bringing more deficit.

As President of the United States, I will reverse this tendency by nominating conservatives to the Supreme Court of the United States to defend the Second Amendment and American's posess a gun, to promote life by fightinhg abortion, to reduce the size of government for the sake of economic growth and prosperity through free market policies, tax cuts and reducing spending, and to repeal Obamacare once and for all, reducing the deficit, giving patients' access to necessary treatment, giving back Medicare and health insurance to the American people and allowing small business to prosper and create jobs.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio : Week of Sept. 29, 2019-Oct. 5, 2019, Part 1

September 29th, 2019
-Space policy speech responding to Joni Ernst's space policy speech delivered in Des Moines on September 21 and unveiling Marco Rubio's plan for the development of American space program and industry and the revival of American space exploration at Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada :

In the last twelve years, American space industry and space exploration have declined, mostly because of this recession that weakened our economy, the increase of our national debt at over 20 trillion $, the increase of big government spending, tax increases and the government's intrusion in the economy, thus bringing more deficit and more job losses. I want our country to make progress in space and relaunch space exploration before other nations like China, Russia or India do. I believe in a manned and very strong and dynamic space program, and I appreciate my friend Senator Joni Ernst's willingness to revive space exploration. But in this time of recession and economic depression, we need to remain fiscally responsible. Senator Ernst seeks to fund NASA and space exploration, but the problem is that means a bigger government spending agenda that will cost billions and billions of dollars and considerably increase our national debt to approximately 25 trillion $, which will force economic agents to reduce investment consumption, thus weakening American business activity and lead to further unemployment. This is fiscally irresponsible and fiscal irresponsibility is unacceptable. We are a party that is embracing fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility and advocating tax cuts, reduction of government spending and government deficit. Reviving our space program is not government's role. As a proud conservative Republican, like any other, I trust free market to lead us to success in space exploration. That's why the Senate passed an Amendment I introduced in 2013 to enable NASA to dispose underutilized facilities that could be utilized by commercial users and state and local entities, resulting in savings for NASA, a reduction in the federal government’s burden to fund space operations and our commercial space capability's growth while saving taxpayers' money.

The right procedure to grow our space industry and relaunch U.S. space exploration is to incentivize the private sector to develop space technology by promoting partnership between NASA and private spaceflight companies like SpaceX, Shackleton Energy Company, Space Adventures, Ltd., Planetary Resources, Deep Space Industries, etc., and by extending tax credits and exemptions for those businesses investing in research and development, equipment and other capital (a plan similar to the AGREE Act that I co-sponsored to the Senate in 2011) in order not only to create new jobs in the space industry but also to develop a plan that will keep our space program alive, dynamic and competitive. That's how we'll be able to innovate and develop our space technologies and equipment and to exploit volatiles, minerals and other raw materials from asteroids, comets, moons, near-Earth objects and other space objects to grow our economy. Some of these resources will be taken back to Earth to grow our economy and create jobs (especially gold, silver, iridium, platinum, osmium, palladium, rhodium, rhenium, tungsten and ruthenium) or used to construct rockets and spacecrafts that will be committed for spatial missions (iron, aluminium, titanium, nickel, manganese, molybdenum and cobalt), to ensure our astronauts' self-sufficiency (oxygen and water) and to be utilized as rocket propellant (hydrogen, oxygen and ammonia). That's what we can call in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) that provides all the required materials and energy for a space mission. That way, thanks to ISRU, we will successfully conduct a manned space mission and reclaim our status as world leaders in space exploration while reducing the mass and cost of space exploration architectures as well as the amount of payload that must be launched from Earth in order to explore a given planetary-body.

By the way, if we want to revive and grow our space program, we also have to abolish government regulations on space commercialization that cost too much, make it harder for American innovators to create jobs and undermined our citizens' and businesses' ability to establish property rights in space, which imposed obstacles to the development of space for commercial development and human habitation as well. But in November 2015, the Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015 (SPACE Act of 2015) was signed into law after passing in Congress in order to discourage government barriers to the development in the United States of economically viable, safe, and stable industries for commercial exploration and commercial recovery of spatial resources in manners consistent with the global commitments of America, to recognize the right of U.S. citizens and businesses to own space resources they obtain and to promote the commercial exploration and use of resources exploited on asteroids. This bill is an important gain for our country, for Florida’s space coast and for the whole space exploration community. That's why I supported that bill to help the American space industry to create new jobs and to expand further into space than ever before. I will use this kind leadership as President of the United States.                                          
              
Thanks to my plan, we will revive our space program, make progress in space exploration, conduct successful manned space missions on the Moon or Mars by 2030, encourage space commercialization through the exploitation of spatial resources and raw materials to accelerate job creation in the United States and to make our space missions more easy to accomplish while limiting the government's role, reducing government spending and saving taxpayers' money. The future is becoming reality and this will be one giant leap not only for America but also for mankind as Neil Armstrong said while becoming the first person to walk on the Moon, fifty years ago.

Thank you!

[UWS]

Marco Rubio : Week of Sept. 29, 2019-Oct. 5, 2019, Part 2

-Speech slamming President Hillary Clinton's foreign policy performance at the New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada :

In the last few days, President Clinton has demonstrated her arrogance and her inability to assume her responsibilities. In her mind, every time a crisis happened, whether it's an economic decline, a terrorist attack or an international crisis, it's someone else's fault, never hers. Tim Ashe's primary challenge to the President is demonstrating division among the Democratic Party. More Americans are disapproving Hillary Clinton's presidential performance, our economy is weakening, our fellow Americans struggle to find a job and Hillary Clinton lied to the American people about her emails. When Clinton was Secretary of State, our embassy in Benghazi wasn't prepared to repel a terrorist attack and four of our brave diplomats were killed. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton withdrew our troops in Iraq at the wrong time, thus helping ISIS to emerge and impose its terror. ISIS is still on the run, cowardly killing innocent people, Russia keeps invading its neighbours, especially Ukraine, and our allies are trusting us less when it comes to international security. So if there's anyone whose policies are encouraging terrorists, bringing division in this country, weakening our reputation and undermining our national security, it's Hillary Clinton, not us.

Unlike the president, I actually have real solutions : reinforcing our military presence in the Black Sea as well as arming and training the Ukrainian army to stop Russia's agression in Eastern Europe. By training and arming the Syrian rebellion and the Kurds, sending ground troops in Syria and promoting strategic geopolitical alliances, thus forming a great and effective coalition, we will defeat ISIS thanks to our powerful military arsenal, our courageous men and women in uniform and our allies' contribution. Those jihadists will be surrounded, thus forcing them to divide their troops to defend their turf, weakening them, clearing the way for our troops and leading to ISIS' defeat. Terrorist attacks are multiplying in the Middle East, and democracy and freedom are in danger in this region. One of the main reasons why some Muslims are radicalizing and are adhering Islamic terrorism is they are living into poverty and under tyranny and are not given the necessitated opportunities to prosper and succeed. So we got to ensure the development of the Middle East. My plan's goal is to counter jihadism's influence in this region and help the Muslim world to reject radical Islamic terrorism. We have to build houses to give housing for all the people of Middle East, hospitals to give them the health care they need, groceries to give them more access to food and schools to give them the education they need to have a successful life and to make sure Middle East's young people will be able to find economic opportunities and good-paying jobs. We also have to invest in the development of Middle East's resources with private investors to give the Middle East people access to its own resources, especially oil, nuclear and local agricultural products. We need to give local armed forces military training if we want security and liberty to be reinforced in this region. We also have to promote democracy, gender equality and the rule of law there and to expand free-trade with Middle East to make America and it's companies competitive in this region and to ensure job creation not only in America but also in the Middle East. By promoting free trade with Middle East, we can promote democracy and political freedom in that region through globalization, technology innovation and economic liberalization. That way, radicalization will be reduced, security and freedom will be reinforced and the Middle East will be more prosperous than ever before.

When it comes to Iran, restoring sanctions will deprive Tehran of the capitals the Iranian government needs to develop its nuclear program. The military solution is and will be the last option, but it must be kept on the table. In addition, my proposal of creating an intergovernmental military partnership with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel, will increase pressure on Iran and stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons and threatening our allies. Instead of using nuclear energy to develop nuclear weapons, the Iranian government should use it to ensure Iran's economic growth through electricity production for the good of the Iranian people that is desperately looking for economic opportunities to improve their living conditions.

Since I chaired the Committee on Foreign Relations in the U.S. Senate, I know how diplomacy works. As President, I will use my diplomatic experience to strengthen our relations with our allies and create new alliances. I know when it is time to increase defense spending to reinforce our national security, defend our allies and defeat terrorism as well as tyranny. The time is now.

-Fundraising event at the Mirage Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
-Speech on immigration and the American Dream at the Sam's Town Hotel in Las Vegas, NV
-Meet with the voters and the donors for a speech at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
-Debate preparation   

September 30th, 2019
-Fundraising breakfast at the Linq Hotel & Casino
-Meet with the voters at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino
-Meet with the voters and the donors at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV
-Speech at the Old Las Vegas Mormon State Historic Park.
-Visit to the Nevada Test Site for a speech about the importance of stopping Iran's nuclear program and North Korean agression as well as preventing nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of terrorists.
-Barnstorming in Carson City, NV
-Town Hall in Carson City, NV
-Speech about how to save and boost the American automotive industry at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV :
The best way to save our automotive industry, a great pillar of our economy, is to fight the terrible effects of this economic depression on the energy industry such as government's intrusion and to increase oil production by doubling the number of oil wells, building more pipelines in this country, approving Keystone XL pipeline and exploring ANWR. That way we will be much more independent from foreign oil than we were ever before. It will allow us to manufacture more cars, to reduce our cars' prices that will be less expensive than Asian cars, to boost purchasing power of the American people and more American cars will be bought and we will have the upper hand in the Trans-Pacific Partnership that I will ratify as President. That's how we will boost our automotive industry.
                                                                  
-Meet with the voters at the University of Nevada, Reno, NV
-Rest and debate preparation

October 1st, 2019
-Breakfast with voters in Reno, Nevada
-Fundraising event at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada
-Town hall in Reno, Nevada
-Marco Rubio's campaign created a television ad similar to Ronald Reagan's 1984 "There is a bear in the woods", that was, at the time, promoting a strong national security against the Soviet Union symbolized by a bear. Rubio's ad titled "A cougar is waiting in the weeds" featured a cougar, comparing this predator to Islamic terrorism, a cyclist riding in cougar's mountainous territory and a park warden. Through the ad's narration, the cyclist, lacking of vigilance, keeps riding while the cougar is preparing to pounce on his prey, but fortunately, a park warden arrives just in time and pulls his rifle on the predator, forcing the mountain lion to step back before fleeing, thus saving the cyclist's life. This commercial's goal is to call on the American people to stay vigilant against the threat posed to the United States by Islamic terrorism (especially ISIS, Al Qaida, the Hezbollah, Boko Haram, etc.) and to promote a strong national defense to eradicate this threat. Rubio's campaign had paid for the ad to run in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and the Washington state as well.

"A cougar is waiting in the weeds" avertissement narration :

« In the mountainous deserts of the West, the cougar, one of the greatest most dangerous and deadly predators in America, is waiting in the weeds, just like jihadists are preparing to attack at anytime around the world. On the cougar's territory, we can't afford to lack vigilance just like we can't afford to lower our guard against Islamic terrorism by cutting in the budget defense and military spending. The cougar is preparing to pounce on his next prey, defenceless. But if we increase security on this territory, this threat can be removed, thus saving this cyclist's life, just like we can remove the threat posed to the United States and its allies by Islamic terrorism by increasing defense spending and deploying all the necessary military arsenal to defeat Islamic terrorism, thus saving innocent lives for the sake of democracy, freedom, justice, integrity and security.
I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message. »

[UWS]

Marco Rubio : Week of Sept. 29, 2019-Oct. 5, 2019, Part 3

-Flight to Seattle, Washington
-Speech about free trade policy at the Port of Seattle, Washington :

Over Hillary Clinton's presidency, there's no single free trade agreement ratified by the United States of America. Hillary Clinton embraced protectionism that did not ever create a single job. Globalization is a great element of the 21st century and created more economic opportunities with competitive wages and worker benefits. If Hillary Clinton doesn't believe this, then it demonstrates that she's disconnected from reality. In this time of crisis and recession, free trade is clearly needed in order to make our country competitive again, to create new American jobs and make sure America remains the greatest economic power of the world. With energy independence, our cars will be less expensive than Asian cars, which represents an advantage for us in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it will incite consumers in the Pacific to buy more American cars, thus increasing their purchasing power and favor our automotive industry and create more American jobs. Even if India is not a member of TPP, Florida’s $1 billion annual exports to India represent a reason why trade ties with India’s and Asia's large and growing markets matter to Americans. The more we export, the more consumers we get in the world, the more our companies can ensure their expansion and the more jobs we can create. That's why I take the pledge to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership if I become President.

Free trade will boost free enterprise, which is the strength of our economy. It will also give international consumers a greater access to American products, which will be good for our economy. America's ability to compete and innovate derives from its open markets and from the continual search for new markets through the expansion of free trade. Silicon Valley, which is bordering the Pacific Ocean and has a social and business ethos that supports innovation and entrepreneurship, represents a great example of this desire for innovation. Goods and services crossing borders favor new ideas and models and allow our producers to learn about the market through the failure and success of traded products. While learning more, they will be able to innovate in order to remain competitive. With its globalization effects, free trade will promote and reinforce democracy on the Pacific just as it happened in Indonesia in the 1990s. China vows to surpass us as the first economic power in the world. China is lead by an oppressive communist government that does not embrace free enterprise and restricts freedom of the Chinese people. Beijing is also disputing insular territories in the Pacific and shows it's incredible military power in order to threat it's opponents in the region. That's why we'll be a better commercial partner than China for our allies in the Pacific : we embrace free enterprise, which ensures economic prosperity and less government in the economy's handle. We fight for liberty, for security in the Pacific Ocean and for territorial integrity in this region.

Latin America represents an opportunity that we should not miss : we have great relations with Latin America, a dynamic region with language opportunities and whose economy is as big as China's. So if we ratify free trade with Latin America, we will counterbalance China's trading power. Free trade will not only create jobs in our country, but also ensure the expansion of American businesses here and across the world and make our diplomatic relations stronger across the world. It requires a reduction of tariffs to make exportations and importations less expansive for the good of our economy, our companies and our jobs.

-Rest and debate preparation

October 2nd, 2019
-Fundraising breakfast with the voters and the donors at the Starbucks Center in Seattle, Washington

-Foreign policy speech in reaction to recent military exercises conducted by North Korean military forces near border with South Korea and unveiling Marco Rubio's plan to ensure peace, stability and security on the Pacific Ocean - Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington :

Almost eighty years ago, during World War II, the Washington state played a major role for our forces' readiness for the Pacific War, especially when it comes to the manufacturing of ships and warplanes for the war effort. But now, we are facing new challenges on the Pacific Ocean : North Korea keeps developing its nuclear program and is multiplying provocations on the Pacific by threatening our regional allies militarily. Recently, Pyongyang increased missile tests and conducted military exercises near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, violating Korean Armistice Agreement (ratified at the end of the Korean War in 1953) once again and weakening stability in the Korean peninsula. That's why we must put North Korea back on the list of states supporting terrorism. Kim Jong-un's regime is much more dangerous than ever before. If we don't take action on it, we risk witnessing the beginning of a devastating nuclear war.
 
China is lead by an oppressive communist government that does not embrace free enterprise and restricts freedom of the Chinese people. Beijing is also disputing insular territories in the Pacific and shows it's military power in order to threat it's opponents in the region, violating South China Sea's territorial integrity. We need to increase military exercises with our allies in the region if we want to prevent such a crisis and make our partners more able to prevent any Chinese offensive.

Abu Sayyaf is a threat that must be exterminated. This Filipino terrorist group that swore allegiance to ISIS is killing innocent Christians, holding tourists hostage to fund their terrorist activities, put in danger our local economic and political interests and is trying to rip apart one of our most strategic geopolitical allies on the South China Sea : the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf is bringing instability on the Pacific Ocean and if we don't destroy it, this terrorist organization could use the Philippines as a springboard to commit terrorist attacks against us and our allies.

I propose that we create around the Pacific Ocean an intergovernmental military alliance similar to NATO, but including the United States and all their allies around the Pacific (like Canada, Mexico, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, etc.) to prevent any North Korean aggression, to take down any North Korean missile thrown against us or our allies and to reinforce security on the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to such an intergovernmental military association, we can avoid any war with North Korea and restore peace, security and stability on the Pacific while increasing pressure on Pyongyang and we'll be able to ensure South China's Sea territorial integrity and expand freedom in this region by reinforcing our military presence there in order to make sure our local allies will be able to discourage China from attacking and invading our partners. The U.S. Navy and our allies will bomb djihadists fighting for Abu Sayyaf and our warplanes from our aircraft carriers will locate targets and destroy them, thus helping the Filipino government to eradicate Abu Sayyaf and restore security and peace on its territory. This is peace through strength. The Pacific Ocean will be aptly named. God bless our men and women in uniform, God bless our allies and God bless the United States of America. Thank you everybody!

-Immigration policy speech at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Seattle, WA
-Town Hall in Bellevue, WA
-Economic policy speech at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA
-Rest and debate preparation
-Flight to Des Moines, Iowa

October 3rd, 2019
-Rally in Des Moines, IA
-Meet with the voters at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, IA
-Touts economic policy and agriculture policy in speech at Iowa Farm Equipment in Tipton, IA
-Speech on law and order and gun control in front of the U.S. Courthouse in Davenport, IA
-Speech on economic and education policy and faith at the St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA
-Door knocking in Dubuque, IA   
-Fundraiser event at John Deere Dubuque Works in Dubuque, IA
-Debate preparation

October 4th, 2019
-Flight to Nashua, New Hampshire
-Dinner with voters at Bonhoeffer's Cafe and Espresso in Nashua, NH
-Town Hall in Nashua, NH
-Economic policy at the Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, NH
-Foreign policy speech about the importance of a stronger counter-Islamic terrorism policy at home and abroad.
-Speech at the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce in Concord, NH
-Debate preparation

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

You can do that, if you're willing to risk a scandal if the information leaks.

O.K., so I better not.

Does the current week include October 5 or only until October 4, 2019?

[Mike Thick]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

You can do that, if you're willing to risk a scandal if the information leaks.

O.K., so I better not.

Does the current week include October 5 or only until October 4, 2019?

All turns are seven in-game days long.

[UWS]

Marco Rubio : Week of Sept. 29, 2019-Oct. 5, 2019, Part 4

October 5th, 2019
-Fundraising event at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH
-Meet with the voters at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH
-Flight to Houston, Texas
-Meet with voters and donors at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas
-Energy policy speech at Philipps 66 service station in Houston, Texas :

President Clinton declared war on energy industries. She expanded regulations on oil companies, which led to job losses and made us more dependent on foreign oil. We need to increase oil exploration, drilling and exploitation. How? By increasing permits and licenses on federal land, manufacturing more oil wells, building more pipelines between lands rich in fossil energies. If I'm elected President of the United States, I will abolish ban on oil exports, approve Keystone XL pipeline and support the project of building a transcontinental pipeline from Pennsylvania to California (both states rich in oil and gas) as well as the building of a pipeline from Alaska to Alberta. I will also approve oil exploration and drilling in ANWR in Alaska. Then, we'll be able to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, to develop new technologies that will allow us to get energy independence by 2035 and to keep our status as the first oil producer in the world. It will also boost our automotive industry, make American cars less expansive, which will give us the upper hand in integrating the TPP, encourage our consumers to buy more American cars thanks to a stronger purchasing power and save Great Lakes cities (like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, etc., where automotive industry is the main economic activity) from bankruptcy. I propose the manufacture of more underwater tankers that will be able to exploit oilfields under water as well as more oil platforms. That way, we'll have the capacity to exploit these resources easily and safely without any danger. By the way, we must engage our country in the race into the Arctic. It's a strategic territory with great potential, including an abundance of oil and gas, particularly on the Alaskan coasts and the Beaufort Sea. We must secure these resources before the Russians do and exploit and drill these oil and gas reserves to create new jobs and increase our energy independence. Increasing oil production will allow us to invest a part of oil drilling revenue for alternative energy for the good of our economy and our environment.

-Advertisement filming
-Debate preparation

[UWS]

The next turn has begun. Please post schedules within 72 hours.

I have 2 questions :

-I thought the maximum time for schedules was 96 hours. Is that still the case?
-If I ever want to PM you, do we do it by emails? If yes, what is your email address?

1. I was under the impression that there was a range, but because turns are only one week I'm going to stick with 72 hours from now on.
2. Click on the link to my profile, then click the "send message" link in my profile to contact me for endorsements or other things.

Just wondering, who is the Governor of New Hampshire?

Chris Sununu defeated incumbent Colin Van Ostern in a 2018 rematch for the Governorship.

Can the reason for an endorsement be the offer of a post in my candidate's administration?

You can do that, if you're willing to risk a scandal if the information leaks.

O.K., so I better not.

Does the current week include October 5 or only until October 4, 2019?

All turns are seven in-game days long.

I remember that the next Republican debate will be set in Texas on October 8, 2019. But do we know which city in Texas will host this debate?