MCPR/The Porcupine: Mideast Assembly Debate

[Lambsbread]

Thank you, Mr. Vice President and thank you to the MCPR for hosting this debate. It's truly wonderful to know that our citizens can be informed about the candidates running for office in this region. I wish my fellow candidates the best of luck and I hope for a fun debate.

- How do you believe education can be improved in the Mideast Region? What steps will you take to reform the education system in the Mideast if elected to the Assembly?

Now, moving on to discuss the 2 amendments currently being debated in the Assembly...

- Recently, it has been discussed to bring back the Lt. Governor position in our region. Would you support this decision? If so, what responsibilities do you want the Lt. Governor to have? If you don't want to bring it back, why?

- Do you agree with the current way we elect Assemblymen, or would you support moving the number of Assemblymen at 5 permanently?

I'll respond to these chronologically.

1. If elected to the Mideast Assembly, I will begin to work to have a more of an individual state or even individual school district approach to education. I believe the Government's involvement in education is a noble cause, but one policy blanketed over a region cannot ensure the highest quality of education for the entire region. I believe only the individual states or, more specifically, the individual school districts. I will, however, work diligently with my fellow Assemblymen to pass the best policy that is more representative of the views of Mideast citizens.

2. I'm very iffy on bringing back the position of Lt. Governor. I would love to have more opportunities for new players to get elected, but if it's a position in which there are no real duties, experience will not be gained from the job.

3. I'm also iffy on this. I believe in elections like the one we're currently having, 5 open positions would give more room for more great players to join. New players like Idaho Blue Dog  Dem and Oldiesfreak might get an opportunity to be elected and that'd be nice. However, not all elections are as competitive as this one, therefore, I'm on the fence.

Thank you.

[Lambsbread]

If I may ask a question to both Oldiesfreak and Idaho Blue Dog Dem:

You both are newcomers to Atlasia. Neither of you have ever held public office. What qualifies you to be elected to the Assembly and what sets you above the other candidates in any respect?

[Lambsbread]

Due to poor turnout on day one, I won't ask questions today, but will be asking 5-6 tomorrow to make up for it.

I'm okay with this.

[Lambsbread]

To the other candidates, what is your plan for improving the economic situation in the Mideast? Tax reform, Right to Work legislation, energy?

I believe we do need tax reform. In my time in the Senate, I proposed a bill that would reduce taxes across the board and another bill that would drastically cut federal spending. Neither of those bills passed, but I still stood up for fiscal conservatism while in the Senate.

[Lambsbread]

- How important will bipartisanship be to you if elected? What record, if any, do you have of bipartisanship in Atlasia?

- A controversial issue that has always been brought up multiple times in the region is the issue of abortion. What is your position on the issue, and, if elected, will you do anything to change the current law?

- The recent GM report shows that for the first time in 2012, unemployment has risen in the Mideast region. What efforts will you take in the Assembly to reduce our regions unemployment?

- Our region has spent years trying to pass a budget. If you're able to work on it in the Assembly next session, how important will it be to you to balance the budget?

I'll respond to these chronologically again.

1. I believe that I have one of the best records of bipartisanship of any politician in Atlasia. I have constantly made bipartisanship a cornerstone of many of my political campaigns and have worked in the Senate and in the Northeast with people of all political persuasions. I've worked with people like Napoleon and Scott, but I have also worked with people like TJ in Cleve and Clarence. I personally believe bipartisanship is crucial to find success.

2. I personally would rather not legislate on abortion, as I believe it is not the regional Government's business to be involved. I don't believe that our tax dollars should be funding abortions, but I personally believe that abortion should remain legal. I believe it is a horrible practice, but I would really prefer not to legislate on it. Judge Franzl made his ruling that the ban on abortion is constitutional and I will not attempt to legislate against the court's ruling.

3. As I've said before, we must be more fiscally responsible as a region. I believe that we should cut taxes on businesses in order to make way for those businesses to hire more workers. As I said in response to JCL's question, I authored two bills in the Senate that promote tax cuts and fiscally conservative Government. I have a record of fiscal conservatism in my time in office.

4. Passing a budget is crucial, but passing a balanced budget is even more crucial. I'm a fervent supporter of cutting wasteful spending. I will work with all of my colleagues and we will produce a budget that best represents the interests and desires of the citizens of the Mideast.

Thank you.

[Lambsbread]

3. I oppose abortion except to save the life of the mother.  If I am elected, I will work hard to pass any pro-life legislation that the Assembly takes up, with the ultimate goal of ending abortion altogether.  However, I support other steps to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, such as encouraging and increasing access to birth control and adpotion.  

You don't support abortion in cases of rape or incest?

[Lambsbread]

3. I oppose abortion except to save the life of the mother.  If I am elected, I will work hard to pass any pro-life legislation that the Assembly takes up, with the ultimate goal of ending abortion altogether.  However, I support other steps to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, such as encouraging and increasing access to birth control and adpotion.  

You don't support abortion in cases of rape or incest?

No, but I do have reasons for that.  Allowing abortion in cases of rape suggests that men can sexually abuse women without consequences, which to me is one of the greatest exploitations of women.  Since incest is ether voluntary or involuntary (rape), it inevitably falls into one of those two categories (voluntary sex or rape.)

So you think women should have to pay the price for being exploited if they're raped? And usually cases of incest are rape or something along the lines of the female being involved is not old enough to consent, therefore it is also rape. With all due respect, your position seems to say that women should have to either be raped and deal with the resulting pregnancy or try not to get raped. That's a very radical position.

[Lambsbread]

3. I oppose abortion except to save the life of the mother.  If I am elected, I will work hard to pass any pro-life legislation that the Assembly takes up, with the ultimate goal of ending abortion altogether.  However, I support other steps to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, such as encouraging and increasing access to birth control and adpotion.  

You don't support abortion in cases of rape or incest?

No, but I do have reasons for that.  Allowing abortion in cases of rape suggests that men can sexually abuse women without consequences, which to me is one of the greatest exploitations of women.  Since incest is ether voluntary or involuntary (rape), it inevitably falls into one of those two categories (voluntary sex or rape.)

So you think women should have to pay the price for being exploited if they're raped? And usually cases of incest are rape or something along the lines of the female being involved is not old enough to consent, therefore it is also rape. With all due respect, your position seems to say that women should have to either be raped and deal with the resulting pregnancy or try not to get raped. That's a very radical position.

That's not what I mean.  I feel that allowing abortion in cases of rape is an exploitation of women (along with rape itself) because it suggests that men can sexually abuse women without consequence.  I realize that rape is illegal, but still, as someone who sympathizes with feminism and equal rights for women, I think that it encourages a sexist view of women and their sexuality.

Again, with all due respect, that's a very odd way to approach the issue. To say you sympathize with women's rights and then say you oppose abortion in the case of rape because the man's getting away with consequence is very...uncouth.

[Lambsbread]

I think he may be coming from the viewpoint that as that child in the womb is a life you can't punish that child for what the rapist did. This is why I support adoption in these kind of cases.

But you also can't punish the mother for being raped, that's like double jeopardy.

[Lambsbread]

I think he may be coming from the viewpoint that as that child in the womb is a life you can't punish that child for what the rapist did. This is why I support adoption in these kind of cases.

But you also can't punish the mother for being raped, that's like double jeopardy.

Double jeopardy?  That's a bit extreme.

Double jeopardy is not the phrase I meant to use, but I think my point was made.

[Lambsbread]

What do you believe can/should be done to increase activity in our region?

When casting a vote on a bill, would you go of your personal beliefs, or rather the will of your constituents?

What do you personally believe would make you a better Assemblyman than any of your opponents?

1. Simply put, we must elect active leaders. If a politician is not active, he should not be re-elected. Simple as that. Control over activity lies within the hands of the electorate, when it comes down to it. Sure, politicians choose whether or not to be active, but the electorate decides whether or not they should re-elect them when they suddenly show up for the campaign.

2. I'm not going to lie and say my personal opinions won't influence my votes, but I will also listen to the voices of my constituents as well as the Mideast Constitution. I will vote in a manner that I believe abides by the Constitution. If that vote coincides with the will of the electorate, then so be it.

3. I am an active leader with a history of bipartisanship throughout Atlasia. I've served as an Assemblyman in the Northeast for several terms, I served as Governor of the Northeast Region (albeit for a few days) I've also served as an At-Large Senator as well as Secretary of Internal Affairs. I've served regionally and nationally and I believe those experiences have broadened my knowledge when it comes to Atlasian politics. It is this experience that makes me a qualified leader for the Mideast and, if elected, I will work diligently to improve the Mideast.

[Lambsbread]

I've got a question for all candidates: The work of the Assembly hinges on pieces of legislation that are introduced by the members of the Assembly; if there are no bills to discuss there is nothing to do and the Assembly becomes a boring place. So, if you are elected to the Assembly, what are your legislative goals? Do you have any issues or even concrete bills in mind that you want to introduce as an elected member of the Assembly?

This is a great question. In my time in the Northeast Assembly as well as in the Senate, I was fairly notorious for my large contributions of bills to the legislative proceedings. I hope to keep that record if elected to the Mideast Assembly

[Lambsbread]

My question to all candidates is this.

What will you do, if anything to preserve LGBT rights in the Mideast?

I agree with what Representative Inks stated. I'm a fervent supporter of gay rights and will always vote in favour of gay rights, but I don't see an issue with LGBT rights in the Mideast at the moment.

Do all the candidates acknowledge that without the budget passing any and all tax cuts/raises and fiscal issues are more or less worthless until there's actual numbers signed into law?

...

What changes, if any, would you suggest be made to the current version of the regional budget?

I acknowledge that to be truth, yes. Very well stated and hard to argue with. On paper, it's easy to say we have a surplus or a deficit until something actually happens.

I think the regional budget looks reasonable for right now, though I would make the following changes:

Reduce transportation spending to around $20 billion a year.

Reduce education spending to around $65 or $66 billion a year.

Cut health spending to around $12 a year.

Eliminate all regional excise taxes and pass legislation leaving it up to the individual states to decide their own excise taxes.

That's about it.