The People's Party (The People's Thread)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Congratulations to Senator Franzl, as well as Hagrid, Mr. X, Barnes and Spammage! It was a hard fought election, and I am proud of The Party and The People for their elections. And for those that fell short, I hope you all continue to serve Atlasia, because if you had interest enough in running for office then Atlasia has interest in you!

Now go forth and serve to the best of your ability for The People!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Snowball's disrespect towards The People is duly noted.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Well, if you're serious about your apology, we will consider it and your endorsement request.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Also, for Party members, I am going to attempt to publish our platform tonight to begin discussion. I want to have it passed as soon as we can.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

This is the most thorough platform of any party out there. Please read over it and lend me your opinions where you'd like to see changes.

The People's Platform

Economics:
The economy's main engine is The People, and through Them government is derived and given its powers. Therefore, it is the government's job as an entity to protect the interests of The People through sound regulations to prevent rampant abuse by those who wish harm on the economy. If men were angels we would not need government, but we are not so we must have one for The People and by ThePeople that  encourages free trade among nations and maximize economies of scale worldwide.

It is The People's job to ensure equality. We must have a progressive tax system, one that is fair and allows the government to offer services best offered by the government; public roads, bridges, airports, general welfare and the like. But taxes must never exceed 50% on the top bracket, as such a policy would be a disservice to the good of The People. The People recognize life has its bumps in the road. As such, welfare must be a means if assistance while on hard times, not a way of life.

The People recognize large corporations are a necessity in this country. Therefore, we favor a low corporate tax which will encourage domestic job creation and keep our People at work here, not in a line for unemployment. The Party also recognizes the role of certainty in an economy. We must be in touch with our business community, giving employers certainty in taxes and other issues that lead to layoffs and a loss in investor confidence.

The People recognize a portion of our county derives their income from capital gains and dividends. For the social well being of all People, The Party favors a flat 15% on middle and low income Atlasians, while we ask the wealthiest 3% to pay 20% of their income.

Finally, The People recognize the individual. It is why we are who we are. We recognize the hardships and protections The People need from those who hire them, and we favor a policy of honesty between both the employer and employee. While we hold regional "right to work" laws as regional issues, we encourage strongly regions change policies like this. They are archaic and are a tremendous disservice to the employee and discourage loyalty, honesty, and security.

Foreign Policy:
The People are realists. We recognize that there is evil in this world. But dealing with evil does not always begin with bombs and bullets. Diplomacy must be our first line of defense, and we must keep lines of communication open not only with our allies, but with our enemies. The People recognize its position in the world, and it must be a world leader and lead by example. If diplomacy does fail, and a nation does not follow up on its promises or openly defies the international community, force must not be shied away from. The People urge pragmatism, not strict foreign policy ideology.

Domestic Policy:
Freedom of speech, religion, right to organize, love, privacy, due process and the press must be respected as constitutional rights to all People. In regards to privacy, The People favor federal protection for abortion to keep it safe, legal and hopefully, rare. It is a woman's decision and hers alone, and The People respect this fundamental right. The People also favor freedom of love. It is not the government's business who you love or what you do in privacy. Therefore, we favor marriage and adoption rights for all couples, straight or same sex. The government is to protect individuals from oppression. Drug policy is best left to the regions unless the social welfare of the individual is threatened. Then it is up to the federal government to set a nationwide policy.

Finally, it is the job of The People to protect this country from enemies both foreign and abroad. The destruction of our environment is an enemy to all People, our children and our way of life. We must promote policies that encourage businesses and individuals to get on board with a healthier way of life that will benefit generations to come.

Forum Life:
The People recognize insidiously participate in both the federal and regional governments, with regional governments being the greatest asset to the country. They allow for new members to grow, participate and become all they wish to be. They also happen to be closest to The People. As such, we oppose any attempts to do away with regional senate elections. We favor allowing regional governments to administer their own regional senate elections rather than the federal government to draw more attention to all regional elections. The legislators and executives are the closest representatives to The People in this country.

In order to further promote regional activity, The People favor the creation of regional sub-forums so these legislative bodies will not feel like second class citizens who are confined to one or two threads to discuss their entire body of work. It will also encourage new members to stick around and grow in these regional legislatures rather than rushing to the federal level.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

It is an honor and a privilege to welcome Bacon King to The Party. Today is, as always, a great day for The People.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

It was written on an iPad, so yeah, I expect there are typos and the like.

But anyone is free to make suggestions and additions to it. This is by no means a final product.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Bumping this. I'd like to hear more from members if they wish to add or critique. Please ignore my grammatical errors. This was written on an iPad.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm considering adding a bit to the forum life section with some game reforms we may like to see. I'm also going to wait for Nix's proposals before we call it to a vote. Also, I need to proofread it when I use my actual laptop.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Well, the VP is a useless position but probably a necessary one. I remember when I was in the senate 15 years ago, we had a lot of bills trying to reform the position or give it some type of responsibility which always failed. I guess in the case that a president cannot serve, the VP needs to exist. Dare we forget when BK took over for Lief back in the day?

Those are just my thoughts on the matter. We can certain favor reforms.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Well my position on the matter hasn't changed since I was in the senate - long before Marokai and I came in this union we call a ticket. It's well documented in the archives of the senate.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Haha. The Duke Plan a few years ago included reorganizing into 4 regions and eliminating the Midwest. But our Midwest friends like Kal and ilikeverin crucified me.

That region has a strong tradition of loonyism.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

You're ignored, Marokai.

I like 10 as a number too if not more, although I still favor giving regions control over electing their own senators. We debated this idea too a while ago and it got nowhere.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I like it - it encompasses what our party stands for in a shorter manner than my long winded diatribe.

I can add it to the first page too so anyone who wants to access it easily can do so.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I think we should ultimately keep the at-large and regional seats for compromise sake. I just advocated the regions be in charge of their own senate elections as opposed to them going in the federal voting booth. I'd like to see the regions take charge of the presidential election too, but that may be too much for The People to handle at once

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I never advocated abolishing the at-large Senate. I just suggested making two classes of regional Senators and eliminating the Mideast Region.

Over my dead body.

I think he meant Midwest.... hopefully

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm not sure reducing the overall number of Senators is really a good way to go, either.

(But ignore me! I'm not a member of TPP, just chiming in!)

We could then have two classes of regional Senators, a set of four elected alongside the President, and another set of four elected alongside the At-Large Senators.

That would increase the overall number of Senators to 13.

(Off-topic- Wouldn't it be interesting to fun to the "Senior Senator from the Mideast" or the "Junior Senator from the Southeast", etc?)

Ignore me too, but wouldn't abolishing at-large senators mean a huge disparity in voting power? Cause the bigger regions in Atlasia have more than twice the population as some of the smaller ones?

I never advocated abolishing the at-large Senate. I just suggested making two classes of regional Senators and eliminating the Mideast Region. So basically 5 at-large, and 8 regional, with two per region. Just a thought.

I think we should ultimately keep the at-large and regional seats for compromise sake. I just advocated the regions be in charge of their own senate elections as opposed to them going in the federal voting booth. I'd like to see the regions take charge of the presidential election too, but that may be too much for The People to handle at once

I agree about regional Senate elections, but how exactly could the regions take charge of the presidential election?

There was talk about allowing the regional governors administer the presidential race via regional threads instead of having one thread for the entire election. Ultimately it seemed like it would be too complicated to keep count and it would hurt turnout, but it still may be something we can revisit in the future.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

BTW, when and where will we have a TPP convention?

A week before the February general election.

I think we should ultimately keep the at-large and regional seats for compromise sake. I just advocated the regions be in charge of their own senate elections as opposed to them going in the federal voting booth. I'd like to see the regions take charge of the presidential election too, but that may be too much for The People to handle at once

I agree about regional Senate elections, but how exactly could the regions take charge of the presidential election?

Simple! Presidential voting booths would be split up on a regional basis, and would vote on their own, and the winner of the Presidential election would be determined by having a majority of the regions, as general voting blocs, voting for them. Like a sort of pseudo-electoral-college system.

I think there could be problems with that system given the population disparity in the various regions, but I think some form of electoral college system would be a good idea in theory - it'd be interesting to see Presidential candidates campaigning in regions.

On the more general point, I think enhancing the power and influence of the regions is almost always a good thing, so I'd be interested in exploring this.

It's certainly a discussion we should have going forward whether we do what Marokai mentioned or simply allow them to administer the voting booths for their regional senators. Opponents will say it will hurt turnout, but I think in the long run it will be good for regional activity even if we do see a dip in turnout on the first election. It will give governors a responsibility to open the booth and close it on time, you know..

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

TPP and Atlasia,

I wanted to take time to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanza on this Christmas Eve. I am fortunate to work with a great group of people in this Party and in Atlasia, and on this Christmas Eve, I am confident our best days as a country are ahead of us. To The People, as we go into 2013, let's make this Party a vessel for reform and discussion, and set forth the vision of the new game we all sought to create when we dismantled the parties of old.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey, for it is you, The People, that make it all worth it.

Have a wonderful holiday,

Duke

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

As I'm sure no one noticed, I have returned from NY and am ready for the new year!

We need to pick a convention city for the upcoming elections.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I second Newport Beach, CA. After spending 5 days in NYC, the warm weather will be a welcome sight for us all.

And Simfan, don't you mean the Midwest?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

May I suggest a nice beer garden in Bavaria for our convention?

I think The People would be open to that idea...

So far our choices are:

1. Buffalo, NY
2. Richmond, VA
3. Newport Beach, CA

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

OK, so we have our cities.

Party members have 48 hours to vote for the convention city.

The People's Party host city for the Feburary 2013 Convention; rank them:

[ ]Richmond, VA
[ ]Buffalo, NY
[ ]Newport Beach, CA

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

The People should hold their election night party in the Bavarian beer garden.

Rest assured, wherever we go, there will be plenty of booze.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

1. Franzl's magic garden
2. Richmond
3. Buffalo

And welcome to The Party, Polnut! Pleasure to have you here.