The Office of Senator LumineVonReuental (A Farewell to the Senate)

[Lumine]

Update IV:
On the party and region change:

May 21st, 2014:

Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

I have a brief announcement to make, although most of you are probably aware of what I plan to say. Today I have changed my membership from The People’s Party to the Federalist Party, a decision I took after careful consideration, weeks of meditation, and after consulting with some friends as well.  In all fairness, this was something I had been considering for far too long time, and now it’s time to finally go with what I originally had in mind many months ago. For the past months I have gone from centrist party A to centrist party B, doing my best so see what could be done. And after exhausting (from an emotional point of view) experiences in parties like the Civic Union, the Progressive Union, and the People’s Party, I have decided that there are not many things left for me do to in this ideological space and in this political party.

During this year and a half I have spent in Atlasia, I have built good working relationships with several members of the Federalist Party, they know me well, and I had the pride of counting on their support for most if not all of my political races, from Archduke to Governor to Senator to my Presidential campaign. We have our differences in some areas of policies (like Game Reform, in which I do not plan to change my mind), and it could be argued that they have some activity problems as well, but I see a bright future ahead on this party, a lot of potential to shift Atlasia from its current axis of political thinking and hopefully improve activity levels while we get a Constitutional Convention. Of course, I take full responsibility for the improper and distasteful act of changing parties while serving as an officeholder elected by another party, but it should be noted that I have always been very independent when it comes to my ideas and my performance, and without the massive support I enjoyed from the Federalists in March I wouldn’t be a Senator in the first place.

I also decided to leave the Midwest Region after spending almost an entire year here, a year in which I served as Archduke and Governor, trying to help the Midwest go forward and find resurgence. Thanks to the efforts of Maxwell, Windjammer and myself, this has been achieved to a great extent, and while the Midwest needs more activity, I feel there's not a lot to do for me in this region. On the other hand, the Pacific has faced a significant improvement as well, but it still needs more activity, and I will be happy to be a part of that process (along with good friends I have there, like Flo). It's not easy to just leave a region in which I have spent such a long time, but here I go.

With that said, I am happy to enter this new experience, and I look forward to work with my new region and my new party.

Thank you very much.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Update V:
Some thoughts on Ukraine:

May 27th, 2014:
Shortly after his party chance, Senator Lumine suffered a strange and sudden transformation, which replaced his look (similar to one Mr. Portman) and turned him into a Michael Heseltine look alike. Viewing the former Deputy Prime Minister with sympathy and without any copyright complains from his look alike, the Senator assumed the change rather gracefully.

As many of you know, I have monitored and followed the situation in Ukraine rather closely in my role as the Special Envoy for that ongoing crises, and for the past weeks I have been in close contact with President Turnichov and his government, offering as much support as I can to help the country and prevent a Russian takeover. And now we can see Ukraine trying to stabilize, but still threatened by a complicated economical situation and the ongoing insurgency in Donetsk. To their merit, President Putin and the Russians have toned down the rhetoric, but the crisis is not over. A couple of days ago Ukraine gave us an example of good governance and civic consciousness by going to the polls to elect its new government despite the ongoing complications of this crisis, and I am proud to be the first Atlasian to formally congratulate President-Elect Petro Poroshenko for his overwhelming victory in the election. The people of Ukraine has entrusted him with the task of helping the nation move forward, and I trust President Poroshenko to establish closer ties with the European Union and Atlasia.

But that is not enough. And when I say that I mean that it's not enough for this crisis that we just sit there and do nothing. We must help Ukraine as much as we can if we truly want to see people recognizing Atlasia's prestige and standing in the world, if we truly want to have to have them as an ally and stop Russian aggression. These past months have only served for China and Russia to strengthen their position and threaten our allies, and we must find new ways to answer to the challenges of the future. I am proud to announce the passing of a bill that envisions the reform of NATO as part of those efforts, and I will be proud as well to defend my aid package to Ukraine once it gets to the Senate floor. For far too long we have neglected foreign policy and ignored Superique and Yankee's efforts, and it's time that we really take a look on what we want to do for the world. I haven't seen Former Vice-President DemPGH's take on foreign policy, but I worked with SirNick over a few ideas for foreign policy, and I support his views and his efforts on this issue a 100%. We need a government capable of caring about foreign policy, because trying to ignore foreign policy will only lead to the game being broken and unable to reach its full potential. And I hope the people of Atlasia and my fellow party members in the Federalist Party agree with me on this. With that said, I will be travelling to Kiev soon for another meeting with President Turnichov and my first meeting with President-Elect Poroshenko, which will hopefully turn into a positive page in our recent history in the world stage.

Thank you very much for your attention.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator and Special Envoy to Ukraine.

[Lumine]

Update VI:
Juan Carlos I, Tiananmen and Other Challenges:

June 4th, 2014:
After an eventful week, a couple of interviews and with the elections near the Senator has taken the time to address a few issues on foreign policy, domestic policy and the future while he desperately tries to craft new bills for the Senate.

Yes, another update! I'm having a lot of trouble crafting new bills (specially since the foreign policy ones require a base and a context that has grown rather disorganized, leaving me with few immediate possibilities. In the meantime, I thought it might be a good idea to deliver a few formal statements and discuss what I've done so far and what are the challenges we face right now and the challenges we will have to face in the future.

First things first, the statements: I wish to congratulate King Juan Carlos of Spain for his years of service to his country, both from a personal and political point of view. King Juan Carlos is not a perfect man, we all know that, but he has served his country with dignity for years and he has earned his place in history as a man who could have tried to continue an authoritarian regime and yet decided to work with other figures like Adolfo Suarez to bring Democracy to Spain. That is something we should not take lightly, and speaking from an experience not so related to Atlasia I have admired many aspects of the King ever since he stood up against Former President Hugo Chavez in an international forum, and I'm sure many people in my native country feel the same. My most sincere congratulations to Prince Felipe, who will soon become King Felipe VI of Spain. On the other hand, there is a date that we are bound to celebrate, but not with joy. Twenty-five years have passed since the then government of China crushed the Tiananmen protests and drowned them with violence, but many seem to have forgotten what ensued there, only remembering when China was finally been acknowledged as one of our two global rivals (along with Russia) and started threatening our allies in Asia. The students of Tiananmen failed on their goals, but they proved that regardless of their economic prowess the Chinese government was neither open nor free, and that situation remans to this very day. It is not my wish to antagonize China, but I say once again that ignoring them is not the solution to what's going on in places like Tibet and the South China Sea.

Tomorrow will mark three months as a Senator, a milestone that seemed quite far back in March, when the possibility of running in April for reelection was not yet decided. But here I am, after three months, and while I still make the occasional mistake with the language or some rules, I think I have grown more experienced as time has passed. Writing pieces of legislation is most certainly not my strength (I'm rather incompetent on that), but so far I'm proud to announce that I have passed a resolution/act on the Crimean Crisis condemning Russia, a trade/diplomatic reform involving Asia and Latin America, a mechanism to allow the reform of NATO and a bill increasing funding to clean energy, with an aid act to Ukraine currently in discussion. Four out of four bills so far, and hopefully the next ones will be successful as well. I'm still in the process of writing and searching for further info, but I'm confident that this month I will be able to introduce legislation on the Global Treaty Organization, a resolution on Thailand (depending on the evolution of that country), and hopefully some work on adoption and perhaps a return to a mandatory State of the Forum address.

The election is getting closer and closer, and the next President, regardless of his party will have to face a growing number of crises and challenges that won't be easy to overcome. The next President will have to deal with the budget and the spending issue, he will have to deal with the need for game reform, with the healthcare and educational dilemma and with the multiple challenges Atlasia faces in the foreign stage, which require a willingness to act and a commitment to efficiency and activity to keep the Cabinet going and turn it into a true weapon to solve the problems of this nation. As I am bound to remain a Senator until early September and I have about three more months left, I will do my best to help to tackle these issues and hopefully maintain a decent level of activity. And of course, if my performance is not satisfactory, I ask of you to let me know so I can see how and where to improve.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator and Special Envoy to Ukraine.

[Lumine]

Update VII:
Buccaneers, Venezuela and so on:

June 10th, 2014:
With the Senate almost lacking bills to discuss for the first time in months, the usual foreign policy endeavours continue with legislation regarding Venezuela and an amendment to the Constitution.

Well, first things first. These updates must get old and tiring after a while, but I'm trying not to become an inactive Senator, so I sincerely thank those who take the time to read these strange attempts at keeping an update on what I'm doing. Time has taught me that very few Atlasians follow the Senate, so I believe that informing Atlasians about my intentions and what I'm doing via this thread is the best way to secure transparency and the flow of information. Now, getting onto subject, I must say I'm rather shocked about this week! Somehow, the queue has been reduced so much that we barely have enough bills to discuss that don't come from Senator TNF, and I must say he does set an example with his legislative activity, an example that I want to match so the Federalist Party continues to go strong in the Senate. Writing new and original legislation is not easy, not when a nation has been writing dozens of laws since it was created. But it can be done if we take the time to research, or even if we just watch what's happening to our world so we can draw the parallels and find something that works, as I have done today.

I plan to update my voting record as well, but the most important thing to announce here is that I just introduced two pieces of legislation regarding my foreign policy efforts. The most simple one is called A Farewell to Privateers Amendment, which I believe it's a good starting point to reform both our foreign policy efforts and the Constitution itself. In short, the Third Constitution allows the Senate to grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, that is to say, to give a formal licence to a person (a Privateer) to attack and capture enemy vessels (think of pirates) or effect a reprisal. Now, this was actually used during the XVIII century in the world, but the last time Atlasia used it was in... 1812. In 1856 most European nations gave up privateering, and then they were joined by about fifty nations, but we never followed that lead. We all know we are probably not going to use this privilege, but even so, I feel we should get rid of this obsolete practice. There has been some talk in past years of using it to hunt down Somali pirates, but if there's a single place in which the free market shouldn't get involved, well, that's the military.

The second one is probably going to be polemic and might not pass, but I believe it's worth a try. After months of seeing President Nicolas Maduro crack down on dissenters and destroy democracy in Venezuela from within, I have grown tired of us doing nothing. It's time for Atlasia to stand up against this assault on human rights in our very own continent, and I want us to do so in an efficient way, without having to play "world police", as Senator TNF said before. The OTL American Senate passed a bill called Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 a couple of months ago, a bill which I read, analysed and then adapted in a simplified version to act against government officials committing human right abuses and acting against democracy while, at the same time, giving a helping hand to the opposition and their plight for a civil society. It involves a simple effort from the President and the SoEA, a reasonable amount of money, and it doesn't mean that we are going to send the CIA down there to repeat sad experiences of the Cold War. Simple.

Last, but not least, there is another challenge I have taken along with the Senate, that of helping my party in the best way I can. After collaborating with Pacific Councilor and Pacific Chair Devin for the past days and welcoming new people to the region (like outofbox/Thomas Jefferson, whom I expect to be a fantastic candidate here), Devin has been kind enough to create the position of Pacific Vice-Chair, a position which I happily accepted. It's certainly not that relevant, I know, but announcing things like this never hurts, right? xD

Well, that should be all for now, I'll release my voting record as soon as possible!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator, Special Envoy to Ukraine and Federalist Pacific Vice-Chair.

[Lumine]

Voting Record

(April 1st - June 9th)

Confirmation of Cincinnatus as Vice-President (AYE)
Confirmation of Simfan as Attorney General (AYE)
Confirmation of Simfan as Game Moderator (AYE)

The Xahar Memorial 2nd repeal of useless law Act (AYE)
Senate Resolution Regarding Resignations (AYE)
Contract Moderanization and Continuity Act of 2014 (AYE)
Final Passage of the Extraterrestrial Act of 2014 (AYE)
Amendment to the Drought Mitigation Act of 2011 (AYE)
Crimean Crisis Act of 2014 (AYE)
Executive Department Amendment (AYE)
Queue Sanity OSPR Amendment (AYE)
South American/Asian Trade Reform Act (AYE)
Residential Taxation Reform Act of 2014 (AYE)
Amendment to the Paid Leave Act of 2013 (AYE)
The Save Our Sharks Act of 2014 (AYE)
The Proportional Representation Act Fix of 2014 (AYE)
The Double Jeopardy Is OK...Take Two (AYE)
Cheech and Chong Act (AYE)
The Protecting Higher-Intelligence Species Internationally Resolution (AYE)
Clean Energy Research Act of 2014 (AYE)
Long-Term Unemployment Relief Act (AYE)
The Severe Disability Savings Plan Act (AYE)
Cooperative Development Act of 2014 (AYE)
Intl Reporting Standards Adoption Act (AYE)
Shorten Lame Duck Terms amendment (AYE)
Efficient Referenda Amendment (AYE)
NATO Membership Reform Act (AYE)
The Free the Small Start-Ups Act (AYE)
Prison Pregnancy Care and Anti-Shackling Act (AYE)
Duke’s Let’s Put Atlasia to Work Program (AYE)

Job Guarantee Act of 2014 (NAY)
Give Peace a Chance Act of 2014 (NAY)
Bill of Rights Amendment (NAY)
Public Intoxication Act (NAY)
Consistency in Drug Enforcement Bill (NAY)
Job Destruction Penalty Act of 2014 (NAY)
An Actual End to Imperialism (For Real This Time) Act (NAY)

[Sec. of State Superique]

Maduro is not President of Venezuela as far as I'm concerned. Atlasians forces intervened in the region few years ago :/

[Lumine]

Maduro is not President of Venezuela as far as I'm concerned. Atlasians forces intervened in the region few years ago :/

What? Oh, for god's sake, this is why we need a thread to inform us how much the world has changed, xD. Who is leading Venezuela then? (it seems I'll have to drop my bill then)

[Donerail]

Maduro is not President of Venezuela as far as I'm concerned. Atlasians forces intervened in the region few years ago :/

What? Oh, for god's sake, this is why we need a thread to inform us how much the world has changed, xD. Who is leading Venezuela then? (it seems I'll have to drop my bill then)

If I recall correctly Colombia invaded and overthrew Chavez during the rule of GM Purple State.

One of the many reasons we need a better way of keeping track of these things.

[Lumine]

Maduro is not President of Venezuela as far as I'm concerned. Atlasians forces intervened in the region few years ago :/

What? Oh, for god's sake, this is why we need a thread to inform us how much the world has changed, xD. Who is leading Venezuela then? (it seems I'll have to drop my bill then)

If I recall correctly Colombia invaded and overthrew Chavez during the rule of GM Purple State.

One of the many reasons we need a better way of keeping track of these things.

I was just checking his thread, and I'm surprised at those levels of activity in a GM, it's frankly astounding. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the storyline was properly resolved, and this is bound to have major butterflies by now... We really need to address this, either via Senate committee or an Institute committed to writing a full report on foreign policy changes since 2004.

[Sec. of State Superique]

Maduro is not President of Venezuela as far as I'm concerned. Atlasians forces intervened in the region few years ago :/

What? Oh, for god's sake, this is why we need a thread to inform us how much the world has changed, xD. Who is leading Venezuela then? (it seems I'll have to drop my bill then)

If I recall correctly Colombia invaded and overthrew Chavez during the rule of GM Purple State.

One of the many reasons we need a better way of keeping track of these things.

I was just checking his thread, and I'm surprised at those levels of activity in a GM, it's frankly astounding. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the storyline was properly resolved, and this is bound to have major butterflies by now... We really need to address this, either via Senate committee or an Institute committed to writing a full report on foreign policy changes since 2004.

I mean, there are many butterflies in Atlasia and Venezuela is just an enormous and huge one....

[Lumine]

Update VIII:
Like it or not, Foreign Policy matters:

June 13th, 2014:
While touring several military factories near Nyman, Senator Lumine chose to deliver a lengthy speech to the press, which included his thoughts on the address of the Game Moderator, the ongoing crises in the world and the need for Atlasia to step in and stop committing mistakes in the world.

I delivered a speech yesterday in defense of my recent actions given that Senator TNF has been interested in challenging me again to a war or words, a challenge that I happily accepted. Now that Game Moderator Simfan has released a report on what's really going on in the world, I feel it's time to expand and make plans accordingly, because there is a lot to do and I have grown past the point of tolerating the isolationist position of many in this country without saying a word and failing to complain. I said before that our current legislation was ineffective and harming both our nation and our allies abroad, and this report only serves to prove that those words were right. Ladies and gentlemen, I am disappointed, and frustrated, and worried as well. Am I the only one who realizes in what a complicated situation we are? At the price of passing more and more domestic bills (some of which are either unconstitutional or just fail to make sense) and caring only for the economy and the unrealism of failed policies or ideologies, we have compromised ourselves and our world in a truly negative context. Rivals like Russia and China keep challenging our nation and they continue to take an aggressive stance against our allies, and what do we do? We withdraw from South Korea and Japan and let them fend off themselves, we withdraw from Europe and let Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States to face the expansionism of Vladimir Putin, we leave the Middle East without caring about the consequences.

SoEA Superique scored a major foreign policy coup with his peace deal that we must defend at all costs, but by forcing our entire foreign policy apparatus to focus on Israel (as nobody wanted to speak of anything else), we now have a resurgent Iran and outright chaos in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, meaning that the Middle East is right out to collapse under our noses. Some of you might not be interested in what happens inside those nations, but I am, and I think we all should. The expansion of Russia and China can only mean the reduction of our influence and a defeat for our beliefs in democracy, and the collapse of the Middle East might very well hurt our economy to a significant extent, even after all the progress we have made in developing alternative energy sources for the nation. Neglect and abandon have led to foreign policy being only important for a few Atlasians like Superique, Yankee and SJoyce, and that cannot be. The report shows that when we act we have been able to obtain positive results, as Venezuela and the soon to be democratic Cuba prove, but that only came because we acted. By leaving foreign policy alone and not bothering to discuss it we have created a mess, because now we lack clear objectives and goals despite the hard work of the SoEA (seriously, how many people have noticed the Israel-Palestine peace deal or the magnificent trip to Brazil and Uruguay?).

What we need to do is to create a message, outline clear policies and give answers that are not “I don't care about the world, I only care about Atlasia”. The Cold War is over, as Senator TNF has pointed out, and that means that our approach must be swift, efficient and effective. Regardless of who wins the next Presidential election I mean to do whatever I can to send foreign policy to the center of discussion, and I plan to introduce bills before the Senate to that effect, starting with repealing the “An Actual End to Imperialism Act”, which in light of the GM’s report has become damaging and nonsensical to our foreign policy efforts. I trust President Duke and SoEA Superique to keep handling Ukraine and Iraq to the best of their ability, but the next administration will need to expand on their efforts and craft a truly long term approach by creating an actual foreign policy team, by having not only the SoEA, but a GTO Ambassador to handle the reform of that organization, and a UN Ambassador to do the same. Ladies and gentlemen, please, we don't need a discussion on nationalization or to give all the focus to installing an unpractical health care system, what we truly need is actions and speeches for those areas we have ignored long enough, and I ask SirNick and DemPGH to keep that in mind.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator, Special Envoy to Ukraine and Federalist Pacific Vice-Chair.

[Simfan34]

A most enlightening speech, Senator. A step in the right direction, and I say that both as GM and as a private citizen.

[Lumine]

A most enlightening speech, Senator. A step in the right direction, and I say that both as GM and as a private citizen.

Sorry for the late reply, xD, thanks, Simfan!

Press release on Iraq:

15, 125 (June 15th, 2014)

Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

While on one hand I remain very concerned on the Iraq situation and the danger posed to the local government by the threat of extremists, I do feel encouraged in some ways. It's been a while since we see true interest in a foreign policy issue, and I hope Atlasia will start to discuss and rethink our role in the world with the elections so near. President Duke, SoEA Superique and GM Simfan have my praise for their quick and swift actions, and for their dedication to maintain our role in the world and defend Iraq against the forces of ISIS. Superique's peace deal has created the opening for a new Middle East, and we must defend that agreement and the stability of the region as well. During the past decades the actions of Atlasia in the region were not always the best ones, and it's far to say we often made some situations worse than they should have. But our leaders are responsible, our vision is clear and our resolve is there, and so I call for all the nation to unite behind President Duke and support the efforts to assist Iraq, just as Senator Yankee has so eloquently expressed. The administration has my full support as a Senator to pass any kind of legislation needed just as I continue my own efforts to raise the profile of foreign policy.

On another note, I decided to adopt the new calendar set by the Game Moderator as well. I will use both calendars to avoid confusion, but ignoring the GM is certainly not something that will help our nation (which is why I plan to oppose Senator Bore's "Ignore the GM Act" as soon as it reaches the floor. I welcome this opportunity to test a new change, and I am proud to point out that, unlike aliens, this is a truly interesting change for Atlasia.

Lumine.

[Lumine]

Update IX:
Iraq, SirNick and Superique!

16, 125 (June 16th, 2014)

With new legislative activity and new developments in politics, Senator Lumine delivered another speech from his main office in Utah, back in the Pacific to campaign and then back again to Nyman to resume work on the Senate.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

I have the pride of announcing that I've just introduced two new pieces of legislation regarding the Iraq crisis in order to support the administration in their efforts, after a continued discussion on the matter with President Duke and SoEA Superique. These are very simple, and are divided in both a resolution and an act: The Emergency Resolution to Authorize Force in Iraq serves the purpose of grating the President the power he needs to use our strenght against ISIS, in this case directed to the use of drones. Then we have the Assistance for Iraq Act, based on Superique's plans and currently envisioning about $250 million in military and economical help to Iraq. I sincerely hope this bills will reach the floor and then pass as soon as it's humanly possible, for I believe a dealy could represent a grave cost for Iraq and for us. Many in this nation are still skeptical of our role in the world, saying that it's none of our business. But allow me to disagree, we are one of the few nations who can act in a decisive and efficient way, and I don't wish to see us committing another mistake in the Middle East just for the sake of ignoring that foreign policy exists. No, ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's time to send the drones. That for now on the policy front, although I do expect to keep updating you on the outcome of these bills and the appearance of other ideas to modify the way we look and react to foreign policy.

On the political front, I wish to congratulate SirNick on his victory at the Federalist Convention. While I am very much aware that many members of my party are concerned about the future and distrustful of the current field, I say look no further, and take a second look to a man who can make the difference, to the candidate of our party. The other matter I wished to discuss here is the issue of the Pacific Senate race. After days without a candidate, it was very depressing to see all the other regions enjoying competitive races while we were looking at the unopposed reelection of our Senator... And then it happened. My good friend Superique announced that he would accept write-ins as an alternative to Tyrion (who, do not mistake me, is not at all a bad Senator, but his performance in this term has left things to be desired), and I wish to offer Superique a formal endorsement for Senate. The election is coming in a couple of days, but I would like to at least host an event or deliver a speech or two in support of him. I strongly believe Superique would do a fantastic job in the Senate as he has done as SoIA and SoEA since the Nix administration, I think he can win this race, and I am more than happy to do everything I can to help make that happen!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator, Special Envoy to Ukraine and Federalist Pacific Vice-Chair.

[Lumine]

Press release on the June Election:

19, 125 (June 19th, 2014)

Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

This is a pretty straightforward one, as we have finally arrived to election day and Atlasia stands ready to make the choice and elect the President, the Vice-President and five Senators across this nation. Would I have preferred something more dynamic and enthusiastic? You bet, but the Senate elections are quite enthusiastic on their own, so I'm sure we will all be nervous for the weekend and we will all get out there to win votes for our candidates. I hope turnout will be high for now, so I expect that people feel encouraged enough to get out there and vote for their candidates. In the meantime, I'm rather pleased to see many of my friends running for office this time, and I hope I will get to serve with some of them in the Senate after June ends. To the Pacific citizens (and whoever is willing to listen to my advice), I'd like to encourage you to cast your vote for Superique in this Senate election, and give your second preference to Flo as well. Both of them are good friends of mine, and I trust that they will prove excellent Senators should any of them be elected. And to my Federalist friends, I wish to encourage you to get out there and fight for our party, fight for our Senators to defend our standing in Congress, and show Atlasia that our party is a strong as ever!

Lumine.

[Lumine]

Running for Reelection! (Again)

June 26th, 2014:
After the end of the Presidential election and with Clarence, Polnut and Dr. Cynic already running for At-Large Senate, Senator Lumine chose to become the first of the incumbents to announce his bid for reelection and unveil his new campaign banner.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Since I was elected back in the special election in March by such a narrow and competitive margin, I have served in the Senate for fourth months already (soon to be five), quite an interesting period of time. After being used to regional legislatures and being Midwest Governor, going to the Senate proved an interesting challenge as I had little confidence in abilities as a lawmaker. Of course, I had my share of mistakes (I still make them from time to time), but so far I think it could be argued that my one and a half terms have been rather sucessful. So far my focus has been and shall be for the forseeable future foreign policy and environmental issues, and during this time I have passed bills to reform NATO, to open our relationships in Latin America and Asia, to replace outdated parts of the Constitution, to help and defend Ukraine against Russia, to increase the funding for green energy research, to support Iraq in light of the internal instability and a short-lived attempt at helping the opposition against Nicolas Maduro (until I discovered he was thankfully gone). It's a demanding job, but I've grown rather fond of being a Senator of Atlasia, and as a result I have the intention of remaning one. Since we already have three announced candidates, let me be the first of my fellow colleages in the Senate to announce that I shall indeed seek reelection to a third term (or a second full term).

Last election was competitive enough with seven candidates, and I'm sure we will see another amusing election with the candidates that have already declared. I hope our party will be able to increase it's number of seats, and Clarence has of course my full support to get into the Senate, just like Goldwater if he chose to run again. I want to continue the fight for foreign policy issues, for a better handling of the environment, for sound economic policies and some badly needed fiscal responsiblity (even if some of my projects have proved expensive) and for the free market and it's values, currently under some attacks that I find not suited to the demands of our actual economic system. I have also prepared a new banner for the occasion, I grew tired of the blue and the eagle, an so I have taken the color of my Party and a tribute to my current efforts in college (as I have been stuyding History of Greece for the past weeks), and I am particulary proud of this one, even more than I was with my banner to fight TNF in the February Election. Well, that's should be all, we have more than half a month for having an active campaign, so let the games begin!

Nothing else to say here, thanks for your attention!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Endorsed-would...be...a...pleasure...to...serve...together.......sorry...my...space...bar...is...jammed...........

[Flake]

Obviously endorsed, I'm happy to see you serve another term

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Last election was competitive enough with seven candidates, and I'm sure we will see another amusing election with the candidates that have already declared. I hope our party will be able to increase it's number of seats, and Clarence has of course my full support to get into the Senate, just like Goldwater if he chose to run again.

Just note there is presently a two candidate limit for the Federalists in the bylaws, and if three or more run, a primary will be held to select which two advance to the general election. This was enacted in the aftermath of the August elections where running three Federalists contributed to the election of three Laborite or Laborite supported candidates in the election.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Oh and before I forget,

Endorsed.

[Lumine]

Endorsed-would...be...a...pleasure...to...serve...together.......sorry...my...space...bar...is...jammed...........

Obviously endorsed, I'm happy to see you serve another term

Oh and before I forget,

Endorsed.

Thank you, Flo and Clarence! And thanks to you as well, Yankee, I completely forgot about that part of the by-laws... (but I recall the election, a shame SJoyce couldn't overcome Xahar) But well, there are few things as invigorating as and old fashioned primary, so that would be a very interesting situation for all of us.

[Spamage]

Endorsed.

[Prince of Salem]

1, 2, 3... to the E, to the N, to the D, O, R, to the E, to the S, to the E and D. Woohoo!

[Senator Cris]

Endorsed.

[Lumine]

Endorsed.

1, 2, 3... to the E, to the N, to the D, O, R, to the E, to the S, to the E and D. Woohoo!

Endorsed.

Thank you very much, gentlemen, glad to count on your support!