Talk Elections

Atlas Fantasy Elections => Atlas Fantasy Elections => Topic started by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 05, 2011, 12:15:12 PM



Title: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 05, 2011, 12:15:12 PM
Greetings!

I really enjoyed my time as an At-Large Senator. It was great to be able to represent all of Atlasia. However, I have for a while often wished for a particular constituency to represent - not in terms of a party or ideology, but a community - a region. And what better place to represent than the region I have called home in Atlasia from the beginning? Therefore I am announcing my candidacy to be the Senator for the Mideast Region in the October election.

I know that citizens from across Atlasia, of various regions and parties, have approached me about running for the Senate vacancy which is bound to open soon with homelycooking's absence. To you, I say, I deeply appreciate your support. I just find for the moment, having lost reelection, it is good to have the opportunity to take a breath, to tend my goats and my vegetable garden, to reconnect with the people of my region, and to formulate new ideas.  If I am successful in my bid to represent the Mideast region in the Senate, I will be refreshed and ready to return to the Senate.

Fellow Mideasterners, I believe we can have an active Senator, who takes an interest in the needs of our region, who will defend our region's self-determination, who looks for solutions and works with other Senators to achieve them, who will represent all Mideasterners regardless of party or ideology.
I've done good work in the Mideast Assembly and in the Senate, and so I hope you will consider supporting me.

Thank you!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senate!
Post by: CatoMinor on September 05, 2011, 12:32:12 PM
You sir, have the endorsement of the IDS Imperial House of Jbrase :D

()


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senate!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 05, 2011, 12:39:16 PM
Thank you Jbrase!
both for your endorsement and for making this thread so much more awesome with the posting of your heraldry  :)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senate!
Post by: ZuWo on September 05, 2011, 02:05:26 PM
I will have to see the entire field of candidates first, but I can say today that I am likely to vote for you.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senate!
Post by: They put it to a vote and they just kept lying on September 05, 2011, 02:08:03 PM
Endorsed! :D


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 14, 2011, 02:10:22 AM
Fellow Mideasterners,

At this time in our region, with important issues facing us, I believe it is crucial that voters are given a choice when it comes to who will be their Governor. I have been considering this for some time, and having been approached by citizens who would like to see me as Governor, I have decided to present myself as a candidate for this office. Yes I have been engaged in a race for Senate, but I am ready and willing to serve as Governor and I have found I have a vision for what we can accomplish together as a region. Whether I can best serve right now in Peter's Park, or in campaigning to represent our region in Nyman, I will leave to the voters of the Mideast to decide.
I am sure afleitch would do a fine job as Governor, but too much is at stake right now to have an uncontested election. I believe I can lead our region through our current economic and social challenges, to find common ground and finally tackle the budget. If you agree, please write-in "shua" for Governor!

Here is a brief platform of things I would hope to accomplish and stand for:
  • update and improve the wiki. categorize statutes by subject.
  • protect freedom for family farms, small businesses and non-profits from over-regulation
  • prevent cruel treatment of animals. protect our wetlands, rivers, wildlife, and human environment from pollution.
  • stop basing teacher pay on test scores. allow flexibility to local schools and encourage innovation by teachers.
  • support regional autonomy on social issues
  • keep marijuana legal
  • seek a nuanced and effective approach to protecting the lives of the unborn
  • fix our budget mess. figure out our spending and revenues. balance the budget and implement low but progressive taxes.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: TJ in Oregon on September 14, 2011, 09:18:49 AM
Endorsed :)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: ZuWo on September 14, 2011, 03:27:47 PM
Heartily endorsed! Shua for Governor! :)

You have demonstrated during the last session of the Assembly when you occasionally participated in Assembly debates that you are willing and able to give constructive and valuable input. This and the way you presented yourself in the Senate shows me most clearly that you are a perfect choice for Governor.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: Cincinnatus on September 14, 2011, 03:32:21 PM
Wow.  Two great choices for Mideast Governor.  Your region would be lucky to have either one of you.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: FEMA Camp Administrator on September 14, 2011, 04:26:41 PM
Endorsed!!!!!!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on September 14, 2011, 06:10:05 PM
While I think Senate needs you more (sorry ME :P), you're endorsed anyway, no matter how useless my endorsement is for Mideastern voters ;)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast . . . Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 19, 2011, 12:59:03 AM
I'd like to congratulate afleitch on his Gubernatorial win. While I disagree with some of the stances he has been taking, overall the platform he presented in his campaign is a good one, and he will be a competent and active Governor.

I'd like to thank all those who voted for me for Governor.  Four party-crossing votes for a write-in campaign isn't bad I think :)  Thanks especially to those who encouraged me to run. I am glad we were able to give our Region a competitive election.

It looks as though the majority has spoken - and they are too excited about my Senate campaign to make me Governor ;D


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: Napoleon on September 19, 2011, 01:02:28 AM
Ah shua, you ran a great campaign and I'd have liked to see you win.

Wow can't believe I forgot. Endorsed!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 19, 2011, 01:08:13 AM
Ah shua, you ran a great campaign and I'd have liked to see you win.
Thanks! Yeah I would have liked to see me win too -
but hopefully now we will work again together in the Senate.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: ZuWo on September 19, 2011, 03:09:10 AM
Thanks for having made the gubernatorial election more exciting! Good luck in your senate run.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on September 30, 2011, 10:38:29 PM
Statement from the candidate

In spite of my vote in confirmation, Marokai has proven himself an able and active GM, and I am sorry to see him step down.






Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 02, 2011, 12:40:23 AM
I wish all the best to Tmth on his departure from the race. He was a most formidable opponent and the campaign up against him would have been interesting. I hope we can all move ahead from some of the problems of the past, and that Tmth will be able to continue to serve successfully as GTO ambassador and/or whatever role he has ahead of him.
While now I have a much better chance of success in my campaign, it is likely there will be another candidate, and so I will look forward to a spirited and civil contest. I will do my best to earn the confidence of our region's voters.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 02, 2011, 03:23:02 PM
There are some would say they support significantly lower tax rates, but when the opportunity comes, they do not. "Wait," They say "Wait until times are better." Why wait?   Don't they realize that our complicated and burdensome tax code is one of the things holding us back? 
We could wait years and years for business to pick up again, or we could give people more freedom now to use their money in the way that they believe will give them the best opportunities. We need to reform our tax code, lower tax rates and eliminate many tax expenditures (deductions), for a simpler, fairer, pro-growth tax code for all Atlasians, and we need to do it now.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: ZuWo on October 02, 2011, 03:27:09 PM
There are some would say they support significantly lower tax rates, but when the opportunity comes, they do not. "Wait," They say "Wait until times are better." Why wait?   Don't they realize that our complicated and burdensome tax code is one of the things holding us back? 
We could wait years and years for business to pick up again, or we could give people more freedom now to use their money in the way that they believe will give them the best opportunities. We need to reform our tax code, lower tax rates and eliminate many tax expenditures (deductions), for a simpler, fairer, pro-growth tax code for all Atlasians, and we need to do it now.

I subscribe to this statement of yours. This is essentially what I believe in regarding fiscal policy (as well as probably many in my party, for the record). I just couldn't formulate my view as eloquently as you. :P


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 03, 2011, 12:19:18 AM
During my campaign, I will be making statements regarding some of the issues and bill before the Senate:

Corn Syrup

There is some evidence that high fructose corn syrup may be more harmful to health than other types of sugar. However, this is evidence is inconclusive. It doesn't make sense to single out this sweetener for a health warning. All substances have risks, and we can't have a warning for all of them.  Food manufacturers may take away the hfcs and substitute other things such as sugar alcohol or artificial sweeteners that some people have sensitivity to.  The right course of action is to educate people about nutrition, and communicate that for most people,  for most of the time, the emphasis needs to be on moderation rather than on making successive ingredients into supreme villains.  Meanwhile, we ought to look at our farm subsidies to make sure we are not encouraging the use of cropland for less nutritious food.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Napoleon on October 03, 2011, 12:20:31 AM
Would you be willing to remove other warning labels such as on cigarettes?


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Fmr. Pres. Duke on October 03, 2011, 12:27:03 AM
Glad to see we see eye to eye on a tax plan!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 03, 2011, 12:44:18 AM
Would you be willing to remove other warning labels such as on cigarettes?
The detrimental health effects of cigarettes are well established by decades of research, confirmed in countless ways. I am not absolutely against health warnings, but they need to stick to the facts and not overhype, and only used when the evidence is incontrovertible. In this case, the evidence to the health problems related to smoking are so well established, I'm not sure these warnings do any good as people would know the risks without them - and yet smoke them anyway.  Also, a warning should not be selective in the sense of making one substance seem much more harmless than it is by comparison.  If someone eats 5 grams of sugar instead of 3 grams of hfcs, the evidence suggests he is not helping his health, but the warning implies otherwise.

If a cigarette warning says "Smoking may increase your risk of lung cancer" that is undeniable. That is not at all the type of warning in the current bill, which is left vague but ominous.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 03, 2011, 12:50:14 AM
Glad to see we see eye to eye on a tax plan!
In one sense we do, but I think we disagree here:
JBrase's amendment would have to be complimented with a massive decrease in federal spending which, in turn, would have a detrimental effect on the economy in the short term. Like I said in the past, I am in favor of closing out loopholes and deductions and lowering overall rates, but that's only once the economy is on a firm footing and the budget is in check. Things like that much be done over time, not all at once.
I believe smart tax reform can put our economy on that better footing, and help us improve our budget, and so we shouldn't wait.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Fmr. Pres. Duke on October 03, 2011, 12:55:23 AM
In the plan before the senate, I do not think it addresses deductions and other loopholes, hence my opposition to JBrase's amendment lowering the rates to where they are. If the bill was truly a tax reform bill as opposed to basic reduction, I would be singing a different tune. What I want to avoid is creating a large deficit in leu of the tax reductions. I think reforming the code by cutting out all the loopholes will not cause strain on the budget because it will broaden the overall tax base, especially if we do the same with corporations, and we will not see much of an effect in tax revenue. It is likely we would see an increase in revenue.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 04, 2011, 03:38:35 AM
Conscription

I am an opponent of the draft. I believe that if a war is sufficiently important to fight, and if we as a nation believe in our cause, then people will volunteer, and a volunteer military is more committed, more skilled and more effective than a forced one.  Some people are capable of fighting, and others are better suited to serving our country in better ways, and each person should be able to make that decision.

There is an amendment being voted on in the Senate that limits the application of conscription to use by the regions in case of an attack on Atlasian soil by a foreign government. I am not sure that is the best way to make an exception, but the greater problem I have with this amendment is who is exempted from conscription and who isn't. I do not believe it is right to put into our constitution greater rights for people in higher education than people who are involved in raising a family or doing other important work. This bias makes no sense to me in the context of an invasion by a foreign power, and would shift the burden of war to fall even more greatly upon the educationally and economically disadvantaged. 
In times of existential crisis, our forces are best voluntary, and our burden best equally shared. I believe we should have an anti-conscription amendment, but this one is not it.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Marokai Backbeat on October 04, 2011, 06:56:13 PM
Just wanted to say you have my endorsement from the Midwest. :P


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: They put it to a vote and they just kept lying on October 04, 2011, 07:06:04 PM
Endorsed!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senate!
Post by: Marokai Backbeat on October 04, 2011, 07:08:49 PM

Double endorsed? :P



Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 04, 2011, 09:10:36 PM
Just wanted to say you have my endorsement from the Midwest. :P
Thank you!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Cincinnatus on October 04, 2011, 10:12:34 PM
Endorsed from the NE


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 04, 2011, 11:42:33 PM
Ah, much appreciated!

now that I have all these great endorsements, the one thing I really need is . . . an opponent!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 08, 2011, 01:43:08 PM
I'm interested in a debate.
All I need is a host and an opponent or two.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on October 08, 2011, 02:13:40 PM
Just reaffirming my endorsement. I'd love to serve with you again :)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: ZuWo on October 08, 2011, 02:13:50 PM
I'm interested in a debate.
All I need is a host and an opponent or two.

Everyone seems to be afraid of running against you ... ;)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Napoleon on October 08, 2011, 02:37:47 PM
I'm interested in a debate.
All I need is a host and an opponent or two.

I have felt the same way for a while myself. Possibly we could debate if no one steps up to challenge us. :P


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Oakvale on October 08, 2011, 03:16:31 PM
I'm interested in a debate.
All I need is a host and an opponent or two.

I have felt the same way for a while myself. Possibly we could debate if no one steps up to challenge us. :P

Isn't Rowan running against you? :P

Nominally, at least, he hasn't got a campaign or anything.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 08, 2011, 09:41:06 PM
Just reaffirming my endorsement. I'd love to serve with you again :)
Thanks !
I'd be interested to serve with you as well.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 10, 2011, 09:08:55 AM
The Senate is currently considering allowing a political party to appoint a Senator for the entirety of a term in the case where the elected candidate chooses not to serve.  This goes against the spirit, if not the letter, of our constitution, and should be opposed.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 10, 2011, 11:47:39 PM
So, does everyone in Mideast want to vote for me? If there is anyone who doesn't want to vote for me - who are you going to vote for?


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: TJ in Oregon on October 11, 2011, 06:25:11 PM
As my first act as a candidate, I would like to call for a debate between the candidates to be hosted as soon as possible.
Sounds good. Welcome to the contest.

If the two of you don't mind, I'd like to host it.

I'll open a thread shortly, ask a few questions and open it up to the public for more questions. You may respond at your leisure.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 11, 2011, 11:17:36 PM
As my first act as a candidate, I would like to call for a debate between the candidates to be hosted as soon as possible.
Sounds good. Welcome to the contest.

If the two of you don't mind, I'd like to host it.

I'll open a thread shortly, ask a few questions and open it up to the public for more questions. You may respond at your leisure.
very good. thank you :)


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on October 12, 2011, 06:28:06 AM
Kulak Shua,

You have been endorsed by Pravda


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: FEMA Camp Administrator on October 12, 2011, 10:58:15 AM
Endorsed!


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 13, 2011, 07:08:27 AM
The Comprehensive Social Security Act is being voted on in the Senate. Several Senators, including myself, have worked on this bill to make it better over the past few months. However, without a report on the cost and taxes of the final version of this extensive bill, I believe it should not pass.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Mechaman on October 13, 2011, 02:31:31 PM
Not sure if I have done so yet but I thought it necessary given your recent appeal for endorsements in the convention thread:

Endorsed.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 14, 2011, 11:40:48 PM
I thank Pravda for their endorsement. Spasebo!

I'd also like to thank Mecha for his kind words, along with others who have expressed support for endorsing my candidacy at the JCP convention.  Meanwhile, I also appreciate the endorsement of fmr. assembliman Cathcon and expressions of support from other members of the RPP.

As we move forward into the future, we must consider ourselves united in our interest for a better Atlasia. We may have different ideas of how to achieve this, but we are united in our mutual need for a free and just society. Parties are useful, an expression of our great freedom to peaceably assemble, but they do not encompass the fullness of our life together or the meaning of our freedom. They do not replace our individual consciences.
Likewise, we cannot let ourselves devolve into a struggle between those who are well off and those who are not. When the poor are despised or looked down upon, when the rich are resented, we are all diminished. Let us seek enfranchisement for all, with policies based on human dignity, rather than the empty rhetoric of hostility and contempt. Let us be our best selves. Let us be 100%. There is no leadership in demagoguery. There is leadership is listening, and seeking solutions, and expanding liberty for all.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 18, 2011, 12:47:26 AM
Our Constitution (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Third_Constitution)

If elected, I will work to ensure the Senate follows the Constitution in it's creation of laws.
I fear we have seen the passage of too many laws and establishment of programs giving the government more power to regulate and to tax, without any constitutional basis for that power. For example, it is dubious whether a nationalized healthcare system is constitutional.
If there is a deficit in our constitution, that does not allow us to do what we believe we should as a nation, then let us amend the constitution, or write a new one. But let us not ignore the one we have, for that results in chaos and confusion, and in an abridgment of liberty and civic duty.

Neither the law being voted on, to leave conceded vacancies up to the parties, nor the law passed by the Senate to keep regions from managing their own conservation projects, are constitutional in my view.  My initial sense was that the Right to Treatment Act should be constitutional, but I cannot find any warrant for this either. The Constitution allows the Senate to create all sorts of programs for research in various areas, but as far as I can tell doesn't state any right to treatment, either in the sense of positive or negative liberties. 
Our Constitution has some strengths, and it has some deficiencies. If we attend to it, we can see what enhances our liberty and common good, and what detracts from it. But if we ignore our Constitution, we risk losing those liberties, while leaving the imperfections to make our compact obsolete.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Marokai Backbeat on October 18, 2011, 12:51:00 AM
I don't see how the national healthcare Act is unconstitutional at all, nor the Right to Treatment Act. Especially considering the former doesn't actually outlaw private care or anything, it just creates distinct public programs. But that environmental bill proposed by Napoleon? Man. I would certainly argue that's unconstitutional. Though admittedly in a very fine legal line that doesn't quite agree with the argument Jbrase proposed.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 21, 2011, 03:13:48 PM
The Post Office provides a valuable service and is one of Atlasia's major employers. As it deals with fiscal troubles, we need to be careful when cutting services and delivery.  We need to find a way to save it, not demolish it.  Yes, there will need to be some cuts, some closures, some downsizing. But if the Post Office no longer is able to continue to serve us in the way Atlasians have come to expect, it's operation will become even less viable. Our focus ought to be on examining some of the regulatory burden on the Post Office, and on major reform to it's pension system.  We should also look at ways to encourage competition in mail delivery besides just making postal service horrible. But in the short term, the Post Office may need some help. If the Senate can spend tens of billions on new programs, it ought to be able to spend just a little to keep a program people have been relying on for generations.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Fmr. Pres. Duke on October 21, 2011, 04:08:18 PM
Exactly. Cutting back deliver to three days a week will basically make the mail service irrelevant in day to day business. Can you imagine important documents which are still mailed these days having to wait an extra day to arrive because the Post Office was stripped? It is true it is in bad fiscal shape, but it isn't an impossible task to fix without cutting out half of its delivery days.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 23, 2011, 02:08:23 PM
Thanks to everyone who's voted for me so far.  I really need some more of those votes. I've demonstrated I will be a committed Senator and am willing to be a voice bringing up important concerns about the issues of the day, so please give me your vote.

Debt and Grades
Loan forgiveness for students who make good grades may seem like a nice idea, but there are some real problems with this. The pressure of grades is already felt for many students without this added financial dimension.  Sometimes this pressure can be a risk to student's mental health, and so we should be careful not to exacerbate this. At the same time making these grades high stakes could lead to pressure for grade inflation or avoiding courses that could be really beneficial to a person's career prospects because they are challenging. We also don't want to see students take on more loans than they should because they believe that they will be able to keep up their high grades from high school.

Atlasian Democracy
I commend President Polnut for vetoing the unconstitutional bill to give political parties the power to appoint a Senator to a full term.


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 24, 2011, 11:20:32 PM
I would like to thank all those who voted for me and supported my bid for Regional Senator.  It is truly great to get such support from a wide political spectrum. We gave the Mideast the most competitive Senate race in the nation. I'd like to congratulate MOPolitico on his election to the Senate, and I believe he will represent the Region well. From the debate you can see he and I share many of the same ideas, and so I look forward to seeing his leadership for the Region and for Atlasia. 


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: Cincinnatus on October 25, 2011, 12:32:46 PM
Sorry you didn't win Shua, I was pulling for you.  I really hope you find your way back there soon :(


Title: Re: shua for Mideast Senator!
Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on October 26, 2011, 10:59:05 PM

Atlasian Democracy
I commend President Polnut for vetoing the unconstitutional bill to give political parties the power to appoint a Senator to a full term.
It appears I spoke to soon.