March 2014 At-Large Special Senate Election - ELECTION TRACKER

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I must say I'm a little bit surprised at the sheer amounts of negativity from all sides. I mean, it makes my Senate run in the Midwest look colorless...

Hey, it's not my fault that certain people are lying about me. I just wanted a normal campaign with all of the personal bullsh**t that Atlasia attracts like flies.

It's crappy, isn't it? I wish more than anything that Labor hadn't re-branded itself last year as the party of instigation and unapologetic communism. It has honestly nurtured an environment of conflict that has polluted every aspect of the game. When you associate with the guilty party, it's hard for others to see past the reputation.  

I remember when the senate used to be about consensus-building and working together to pass legislation that everyone could agree on. The whole thing is disgusting now. I mean, we've got half the senate wanting to throw Yankee out of the PPTship just to make a statement. Oh no, he's a conservative! No, he's the best PPT Atlasia has ever had and the senate would barely function without him. There was a time when far-leftists could look past politics and contribute to his unanimous reelection. Now everything is politics, politics, politics.

Christ, at this point, if I had it my way, I'd be tempted to ban parties outright.

So Alfred... it's a shame that the shadow of Labor is tainting your chances if in fact you would end up being a decent, friendly senator. But I think it's natural backlash against what has been transpiring in the game for a long time.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Hagrid, you were instrumental in helping Labor create that environment, so whether you are an almost-equal accomplice or simply a useful idiot doesn't matter and instead of throwing around accusations you should accept responsibility.

I actually don't accept responsibility. I would say that almost all of my messages to the Federalist Party said the best way to win wasn't to make shady deals or demean the other guy, but to work hard, build relationships, and prove that you could be a positive contributor. When I chirped, it was usually just about someone else chirping and how it wasn't good for the game. You can talk policy out your ears as often as you want, but at the end of the day, this is a fake game and policy doesn't mean anything. If someone is causing people to get angry every time they log on, that's more detrimental to the game than fluff bills or lack of vision.

And sure... I guess calling out negativity escalates the situation, but I really believe we were offering a positive vision when you put us up beside the folks who run ads with a bloody coat-hanger or call people "useful idiots." I haven't been the biggest positive force since leaving office, but by God, I think I worked to make the Federalists a friendlier entity than Labor. And if you followed all the polls asking Atlasians their opinions of the parties, Labor pretty much got steamrolled every time. They needlessly went on the offensive way too often; we're only guilty of defending ourselves.

And if you're referring to my negativity in our fights when you were president, I'm very happy to let those situations speak for themselves.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

You really don't have to if you don't want to. You're never going to convince me that Labor stands for positivity in Atlasia, so I'd probably be better not to engage. Just wanted to assuage Alfred's concerns... and Napoleon has already given me the chance to set the record straight, so I'm grateful.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

As a representative of Based God Polling, I am hoping we can get back to a message of togetherness.

How about we kill all the current At-Large Senators and replace them with Simfan, Deus, JCL, Poirot, and I as a compromise?

I don't know if I'd go for that, but I was really only half joking when I suggested we ban political parties. The constitutional dilemma would be hard to overcome (and people probably wouldn't go for it), but practically speaking, I think we need some sort of reset for the game's personalities. Everyone's enemy lists are getting too long. I don't know what the solution is. In theory, I think the right to organize and speak freely is important, but in practice, it's killing the game.

JMO.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

It's crappy, isn't it? I wish more than anything that Labor hadn't re-branded itself last year as the party of instigation and unapologetic communism. It has honestly nurtured an environment of conflict that has polluted every aspect of the game. When you associate with the guilty party, it's hard for others to see past the reputation.  

I remember when the senate used to be about consensus-building and working together to pass legislation that everyone could agree on. The whole thing is disgusting now. I mean, we've got half the senate wanting to throw Yankee out of the PPTship just to make a statement. Oh no, he's a conservative! No, he's the best PPT Atlasia has ever had and the senate would barely function without him. There was a time when far-leftists could look past politics and contribute to his unanimous reelection. Now everything is politics, politics, politics.

Christ, at this point, if I had it my way, I'd be tempted to ban parties outright.

So Alfred... it's a shame that the shadow of Labor is tainting your chances if in fact you would end up being a decent, friendly senator. But I think it's natural backlash against what has been transpiring in the game for a long time.

You really don't have to if you don't want to. You're never going to convince me that Labor stands for positivity in Atlasia, so I'd probably be better not to engage. Just wanted to assuage Alfred's concerns... and Napoleon has already given me the chance to set the record straight, so I'm grateful.

Sorry, but you know it doesn't work that way!

I'll just say that despite the perception, Labor has always been a far bigger-tent party than the Federalists could ever hope to be. There is a clear difference between pandering to the center and bringing in centrists. In addition to that, the Federalists snatched up people in the middle or on the left because those people had a problem with Labor, while Labor snatched up people in the middle or on the right because those people enjoyed being in Labor more. In either case, it's a World of Labor, and we win based on that alone.

I also have to say that it's pretty vapid and disingenuous to sit around saying, "well, Alfred, you would win if only you hadn't been a part of a certain party!", while also acknowledging that he has the cleanest hands of any major candidate in this race. That's a rather pious and transparent way of attacking someone while trying to claim that you "kept it positive". Don't act as if the Federalists don't use negativity to fuel their minions to the polls; it's all you guys have. Historically, there have been no major policy pushes from the Federalists, so I'm not sure what else could possibly adhere you guys together.

The game bleeds Labor, whether it's the love of it or the hate of it. You guys lost the game when you bought into that concept.

Labor's been the way it is for over a year and a half. Do you remember the minority Labor Party? The party of constant regional antagonizing and court cases? Are you seriously reminiscing about that? Hehe.

Yankee got ousted once before by the JCP; it happens. The reason there was so much "collaboration" or whatever you call it when we joined was because there were like 6 parties, with no clear power-broker (except the Liberals).

The system isn't really any different than it was under the last two-party hierarchy in that regard, except one party (yours) doesn't actually want to be in a two-party state because it lacks confidence.

And the whole "abolishing parties" thing is literally the most dishonest thing I think I've ever heard you utter.

k

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Yankee [is] the best PPT Atlasia has ever had

That's not remotely true.

Yeah I think I would have to say bgwah and I've worked with both. I like Yankee though and don't mind having him as PPT. It just gets stale having all the same people doing the same thing without giving an alternative a chance.

I think that's a fair point if that's the actual reasoning.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Some exciting strategic voting going on right now.

Exciting is one word for it, sure.