Snowstalker/Drj for Atlasia: Never mind, just vote Nix/DemPGH

[Redalgo]

Will he also run for reelection?

It may depend on whether I am still in the race by October.

Sounds like this may be a stalking horse pony candidacy.

Fixed!

Get in here, Redalgo!

Allo there! Is this the part where I smile and wave, or is eloquent rambling in order?

*gaily waves a little red flag and moseys about aimlessly in the crowd, hugging people*  

[Redalgo]

 


~ And now for an address from ~
Comrade C. M. C. Cunningham

Allo people of Atlasia! I am so glad to speak before you today. My heartfelt thanks go all who have lent their support to me as a contender for the vice presidency of our glorious federation of republics!

Snowstalker can easily hold his own on this stage, of course, so let us focus for a moment on my vision for the future, interpretation of the vice presidency, and accomplishments in public life. There shall be no promises, lies, or manipulation. I am going to be completely square with you and, if you do not like what I would bring to the table in your next administration, I urge you to please vote accordingly. That having been said, I would like to discuss with you why I think it is important to vote Labor in this upcoming election.

To begin with, the vice presidency affords one an opportunity to be a close advisor for, confidant to, and auxiliary leadership figure working in concert with or at the behest of the President. This post is one I would thrive in. I have a keen sense of intuition, treat others with concern and respect, expect excellence from myself, and apply a coherent set of principles to decision-making processes. I relish opportunities to be of help to others, and would be like an angel of conscience o’er the shoulder of a Labor President.

Mine is a pursuit of virtue extending into political life. Sure, it would be foolish of me to go so far as to claim incorruptibility. If you afford me a chance to prove myself you will see for your selves, however, that my ambitions are for the advancement of the People’s interests first and foremost. If allowed to ascend into the office of the vice presidency, a priority of mine will be to push our President to do likewise at all times.

Perceptions of morality permeate the positions I take on political issues. Mine is a heart full of compassion and a love for humanity undeterred by the artificial boundaries folks erect betwixt one another. Our world is filled too much with pain and suffering, so mine is a crusade to ensure every individual has dignified living conditions and opportunities enough to fruitfully strive for a satisfying lifetime of self-improvement.

A vote for Labor is a vote for freedom that is real - freedom that does not require you to first become a privileged, potent wrangler of capital to enjoy the benefits of autonomy at their greatest. Without enough rights we are vulnerable to being subjugated by our fellow citizens. Without enough regulations we are the means by which the manipulative try to achieve their ends. Without a fair set of rules laid out in the game that is life we shall be a downtrodden lot whether the government is big or small or exists at all.  

My ultimate objective is a global union of republics with power enough at the top to find and enshrine those rights and liberties held in common by most of humanity while taking care to delegate other responsibilities to sub-administrative districts so each nation is able to translate most of their social norms and values into state policies which apply to them. I am an advocate of animal rights, workplace democracy, providing for all the most basic necessities of life, and minding the interests of generations yet to come.

Look at my record in the Senate and recall those comments made by me in other spheres of public life. In the past few months alone I have managed to:

- Draft and revise a new constitution for the Midwest Region...
- Oppose flawed bills of my own design, to advance the public interest...
- Oppose an attempt in the Senate to dissolve the Midwest...
- Oppose slavery in the criminal justice system...
- Oppose an authorization of war against Iran...
- Oppose Atlasia’s geopolitical alignment with Israel...
- Oppose constitutional restrictions to collective bargaining...
- Oppose IDS expansionism in Antarctica...
- Oppose a stimulus package for the sake of fiscal restraint...
- Oppose the ability of unions to co-opt workers against their will...
- Serve in the Senate Committee on National Security...
- Support consolidation of social democracy in the Midwest Region...
- Support reduced restrictions on voting rights...
- Support extension of equal rights to those in the LGBT community...
- Support a national university system...
- Support voluntary service in the armed forces...
- Support servicepersons unfairly discharged from the military...
- Support freedom of the regions from federal overreach...
- Support judicial and electoral reforms in the Senate...
- Support unification of Atlasia and Canada...

I stand by these actions, and only regret not having been wiser and more effective in advancing my causes.

That being said, there are many issues where you likely have yet to learn of my stances, so at this time I would like to encourage you to pose your queries. Almost nothing is off-limits, so please do not hold back if you are at all curious. At a later date I intend to offer comparisons between myself and the other candidates. For the time being it shall have to suffice for you to know a vote for the Labor ticket will also be a vote for me to have your blessings in serving as a close advisor in support of President Snowstalker.

May ours be a fellowship that withstands the test of time!

[Redalgo]

Will he [your running mate] also run for reelection?

No, I will not be running for re-election to the Senate during the next cycle.

. . . I disagree with Redalgo on virtually every issue but he is a fine person and a pleasure to serve with

The sentiments are mutual, my friend!

I would like to ask what are the differencies between your ticket and the Napoleon/Nathan one ?

Hopefully I will be able to help on this matter in due time but alas, for now I do not have a clear enough understanding of the Napoleon/Nathan ticket’s objectives to offer to you a helpful analysis of on which issues the tickets substantively differ! Perhaps there should be presidential and vice-presidential debates to assist with this?

Do you support pony-related legislation? What is your view on federalism vis-a-vis ponies?

My stance on this issue is in lockstep with what was described by Snowstalker.

Which candidate in the race do you believe has the worst personal character to be president?

I do not know any of the candidates in the race on a personal basis well enough to provide for you a fair and objective answer to this question.

Thoughts on the Mideast gubernatorial debate?

I did not watch but am confident that I would, indeed, have had thoughts on the Mideast gubernatorial debate had that not been the case.

Question: What with some influential Labor members' comments about other parties, what will you do to work with Whigs and Liberals and all those other people?

Were Snowstalker elected to office, I would be serving at his pleasure and would not be working in cahoots with members of any party without his knowledge. However, in the event of me learning about promising ideas or strategies proposed by Whigs or Liberals, I’d be sure to pass them along to and discuss them at length with the President.

Why should Whigs second-preference you rather than President Napoleon? Are your views more similar to those of the Whigs on any specific issues?

If a link could be made available to the Whig platform I would gladly provide some kind of rationalization in response to this question. To be honest, I tend not to keep tabs on the internal dealings of parties with which I do not strongly sympathize.

Many observers expect that the election will be decided by second-preferences after either you or Jbrase has been eliminated. What kind of planks would you consider adding to your platform to attract support from the Atlasian right?

I am not opportunistic or results-driven in campaigning. Principle comes first. If elements of the Atlasian right deem aspects of Snowstalker’s agenda or mine to be attractive that is great and I would be glad to have their support, but I do not say things because I reckon it is what people in strategically-important demographic groups want to hear.

What kind of new rights would you advocate for employees inside their enterprise in order to protect them from the effects of severe profit-guided managements ?

I believe employees should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to join unions, in most industries own most if not all shares in their respective enterprises, elect all their managers and administrators, benefit from profits being awarded to them in a just fashion, be in organizations where the least compensated workers earn no less than one-tenth the value in salary and benefits of the organization’s best-compensated member(s), and personally desire some degree of codification for the Rochdale Principles – pending exhaustive deliberation and debate with opponents to identify and try to address potential problems that could arise from doing so.

I looked this Taft-Hartley Act thingy . . . I read that it prohibited federal employees and local authorities employees to strike. That's just unacceptable.

If that is what the act does, my reaction is the same as yours.

. . . I intend to go further and legalize closed-shop unions, which are currently banned in Atlasia.

I strongly oppose closed-shop businesses, for the record, but on the bright side our core values strongly overlap - if not always in policy prescriptions at least in the general thrust of their objectives in the greater scope of things in politics. Of course, I will support your Presidency as best I know how if our ticket prevails, even when our views on some issues drift out of harmony. It is a great honor to serve the public at your side!

- Support a national university system...
- Support freedom of the regions from federal overreach...

How do these work together?

Upon further consideration I must say they do not in any satisfactory way. I think education is primarily the responsibility of the regions and would look favorably upon efforts to transfer control of these universities to the regional governments. At the time the university bill was first proposed my perspective was that it was a matter of supporting increased accessibility of educational opportunities, and did not until just now notice the ramifications within the framework of our federalist system.

I am a creature of many flaws but do my best to learn from my past experiences. As a general rule, my intent is to support regional discretion in educational matters with the one major exception that comes to mind being matters of religious interference, where there is an overriding interest in stopping some social groups from using state assets to legitimize their faith, discredit others, and/or marginalize those who dissent. Providing for the defense of human rights is a national responsibility, in my perspective.

On a related note, I love consistency in and neat interconnectivity of ideas, so if my actions or statements ever seem contradictory it is helpful for me to know so I can sort out what is awry, why, and then fix it before moving on. Thanks!

[Redalgo]

Endorsed!