The Political Tracker (Suspended)

[Lumine]

The Political Tracker:

(Typical 1950's television music)

Well, good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

I originally thought having a tracker for the Senate and the Presidential race was quite a good idea, and despite some mistakes I found it to be a rather enjoyable experience. Having an active media seems pretty crucial to the game, and I congratulate the Mideast Telegraph, the Observer, the Porcupine and our other newspapers in proving extra activity to the board. Since Atlasia needs more attention whoring, I decided to expand my efforts and turn that humble political tracker into something more in line with a news source, and so I formally open "The Political Tracker", where I will try to provide info on what's going on in Atlasia (with a focus on the races, of course) with a style that a good friend of mine defined as a simple, straightforward, mostly-objective source of "horserace stories". Thus, I will comment on the issues and the events from time to time, and I will provide some polls and some in-depth pieces on certain things that I find to be interesting. I can't define it as a newspaper, a show or whatever, but hopefully it will help Atlasians to follow the process more closely and it will keep my rants confined to this thread and my office, something in the benefit of all.

I hope to start running stories in the next few hours, we have a lot to cover between electoral speculation, some Senate debates, and of course, the important question... Who will be a part of DemPGH's Cabinet? Stay tuned!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

List of Articles:

June 26th - Setting up the Cabinet
June 26th - Regional and Cabinet Update
June 28th - The Road to New Elections
July 4th - A Farewell to Duke
July 6th - The White Rose in Nyman
July 9th - Advice and Consent
July 23rd - Corridors of Power
July 26th - Don't Just Vote, Get Active
July 30th - Fear and Loathing in Atlasia (Again)
August 4th - Cavalcade of Stars

[Talleyrand]

Looking forward to this. Is it going to cover both federal and regional politics or leave the latter to the "local papers"?

[Lumine]

Looking forward to this. Is it going to cover both federal and regional politics or leave the latter to the "local papers"?

Both! Local politics may not be as active as they were last year, but they offer several interesting stories to tell (like the Pacific Stimulus or Riley's recent Mideast budget), and it wouldn't be really fair to ignore them while only focusing on the Federal level.

[Lumine]

Setting up the Cabinet:

Duke Cabinet to be retired, sources suggest a few surprises here:

"President-Elect DemPGH, New Picture"

June 26th: / 26, 125:

Shortly after his victory in the Presidential Election, President-Elect DemPGH has started the hard task of assembling a cabinet, opening a public thread to encourage applications until at least Friday this week, requiring some degree of compatible views and of course, decent activity levels. DemPGH decided to retain Fritz and Homelycooking, but it seems the rest of the Duke Cabinet is most definitely out. Superique and Simfan expressed interest in retaining their current offices, but some very reliable sources report a certain level of animosity between the President-Elect and those two cabinet members, which means that the current longest serving cabinet member will leave Nyman (in a move many perceive as a mistake given Superique's successful tenure as SoEA). DemPGH has also suggested that he is interested in having a Press Secretary and someone in charge of Military Affairs, with a potential GTO Ambassador as well if there's interest for the position. A few hours ago Secretary of External Affairs was struck down from the list, suggesting DemPGH had made up his mind. In the meantime, rumours point to Windjammer taking an extra position in the Cabinet, a potential job reserved for some Labor members (Gass and Bacon King might be possibilities), and the most interesting gossip of all: it seems the President might very well appoint a Federalist to a cabinet position, enacting a very interesting political move if true. Pacific Manager Oakvale also chose to step down from his post to leave the road open for the next administration after giving a well-recieved speech on his successful (in the eyes of most Atlasians) performance in the Pacific Region. There are of course other interesting events regarding local politics and the Game Moderator, but I'll comment on that later. Frankly, most of us are very interested in what will happen with the next cabinet...

[windjammer]

Well, so,
I deny rumors Ii would get an executive position .

[DemPGH]

I'll be reading too.

[Cassius]

Glad to see this is continuing

[Lumine]

Glad to see this is continuing

I'll be reading too.

Thank you very much! I'll have another article or two set for today, there's a lot to cover!

Now, I do have a decent number of sources to obtain information, but more never hurt. If there's any Atlasian who wishes to see an article about something or wishes to let some thoughts to be exposed or some knowledge to be revealed, you have my formal promise of accepting messages that will be formally unattributable so the source will not be revealed in any way, just in case anybody is interested.

[Oakvale]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

[Napoleon]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

Compared to the previous two, how was this one boring?

[Oakvale]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

Compared to the previous two, how was this one boring?

The last one was pretty dull too, but you clearly don't remember the Labor convention drama after Bacon King dropped out in October '13.

[Napoleon]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

Compared to the previous two, how was this one boring?

The last one was pretty dull too, but you clearly don't remember the Labor convention drama after Bacon King dropped out in October '13.

You're right; I do not. Still, if it was at all interesting I think I would remember it.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

Compared to the previous two, how was this one boring?

The last one was pretty dull too, but you clearly don't remember the Labor convention drama after Bacon King dropped out in October '13.

You're right; I do not. Still, if it was at all interesting I think I would remember it.

Our election a couple years ago surely wasn't boring, was it buddy? :-)

[Napoleon]

Excellent to see this continuing, the election tracker was one of the highlights of a what often seemed like a disappointingly boring election season.

Compared to the previous two, how was this one boring?

The last one was pretty dull too, but you clearly don't remember the Labor convention drama after Bacon King dropped out in October '13.

You're right; I do not. Still, if it was at all interesting I think I would remember it.

Our election a couple years ago surely wasn't boring, was it buddy? :-)

No, not at all, but my second one was horribly boring.

[DemPGH]

Well, that pic was in there a long time ago and I never took it out. My Wiki bio has been edited, and thankfully that's out of there. I'd like for this to go in there:

It's a dapper, cool, and confident Edward IV. Maybe someone who knows what they're doing can put it in.

One day I will get around to writing my memoirs. There's an interesting little parallel here. When Marokai appointed me long, long ago to A.G., he mentioned to me that it was his first position, and that now he was President. The same with me!

Anyway, I'm trying to keep the lid on things, but now and again something interesting will probably reach you. That certainly doesn't mean it is true. The more wine I drink the looser I get, and that tends to happen in the evening. Just FYI.

I do need to mention that Windjammer being installed in a cabinet position has never been discussed (poor guy's going to be busy enough!).

[Lumine]

Regional and Cabinet Update:

Governors move to act and react, SirNick to be GM?

June 26th: / 26, 125:

As the people involved in Federal politics scramble to look after the new Cabinet and think about the August At-Large election, the Regional Governors are making their moves in regards to the upcoming elections and new policies to be enacted. Talleyrand was sworn-in today as Northeast Governor, and he started his term with two executive orders and two bills for the Assembly. His orders involved enforcing the legislation regarding the opening of booths by the Chief Judicial Officer and appointing Napoleon as Lt. Governor, while the bills are designed to remove the cabinet and the size of the assembly (from 5 to 3), most likely in order to increase efficiency in the region. IDS Emperor Scott announced his reelection bid putting an emphasis on his bipartisan credentials and his support for free speech, and he is currently pushing forward a measure that would rename several counties in the South after famous artists and civil rights activists from the region. Midwest Governor Windjammer is set to resign after signing his last bill tomorrow, leaving Archduke Arturo Belano to take over as Midwest Governor. Likewise, TheCranberry has become Acting Pacific Governor, and Bacon King is expected to prepare an election in which Flo and Devin are rumored as candidates, with Xahar already having announced another quixotic bid. Finally, the Mideast has Gov. Riley introducing his budget before the Assembly, including a good number of cuts and a sweeping tax reform, a move that the Mideast Telegraph was very supportive of.

Returning to our speculation on the cabinet, a number of rumours have been swiftly debunked  (with Windjammer not taking another office). The President-Elect has announced that Former President Averroes Nix shall be the next nominee for Secretary of External Affairs, praising him as a friend and a capable man. Nix has already a lot of experience as President and Game Moderator, so he should be able to be confirmated quickly when the time come. Curiously enough, rumour has it that a Federalist was a potential pick, but ended up out of consideration. DemPGH has also stressed that there's a need for an Attorney General with wiki access, with Simfan once again offering himself for the position despite increased rumours of animosity with the future administration. But the biggest news of all is that sources close to the new administration have implied that Former GM and Presidential Candidate SirNick is to be offered the position of Game Moderator to replace Simfan. If true, this is a very interesting development, one that might imply either a push for unity or something else. Either way, the sources close to DemPGH report that there's some level of debate regarding whether Simfan should be kept or not after his political statements and the recent debate over the numbers.

EDIT: Made a few changes after new reports.

[Lumine]

The Road to New Elections:

At-Large campaign has begun, Pacific Governor duel, Health Care reform passes, Tmthforu for AG?

June 28th: / 28, 125:

It seems the At-Large elections are finally on, as the past days have seen a poll and further campaigns that bring the number of candidates to at least six. Dr. Cynic maintains his bid, Former President Polnut has started to tour the nation (and it seems his views might be getting more close to Labor than the Federalists as we speak), Flo and Deus have announced their third bids for Senate, Clarence has enjoyed from a lot of support from the Federalist base and Lumine announced his bid for reelection, with most of the Senators expected to announce soon as well. Polling suggest Griffin and Clarence fight for the leadership with Shua and Lumine behind, and the fifth seat open for TPP, Labor and the Democratic Republicans. With Labor unlikely to win three seats in the election, it's likely that they will be forced to fight for winning that last seat if they wish to retain Senate control after August, but given their large base this might not be that hard.

Cabinet announcements and speculation are still quite active, as President-Elect DemPGH gave a surprise by picking Hagrid from the old guard of the Federalists to be his SoIA, stating that he trusts him and that he has ambitious plans for the position. No official reaction has been disclosed, but it is a surprise that the domestic policy (technically, given the responsibilites of the SoIA) is to be in charge of a Federalist, even with such a vocal supporter of DemPGH as Hagrid is/was. Leaving the extra position aside, speculation now moves to the Attorney General, where sources close to the administration report that another Federalist will be offered the job, another former President, in this case Tmthforu94. If true, this means a team of elder statesmen for the next administration, and these nominees might be able to pass confirmation quickly save from a few surprises. It has also been reported that VP-Elect Windjammer has taken a very active role behind the scenes, pushing for Simfan to be kept as GM and making the case for Tmthforu, but this is of course unconfirmed.

In other news, the Duke administration scored a major coup in Domestic Policy by finally passing Health Care reform (with a few compromises) thanks to the work of the Federalists and Democratic-Republican representatives in Nyman and the President himself, with Labor Senator Tyrion joining the coalition to vote in favor of this bill, which acts as a contrast with single-payer by introducing free market elements and increasing coverage, an act that many have praised so far. The curious thing is that most of the Labor delegation ignored this and failed to show up to vote, and Former President and future SoEA nominee Nix stated that he was "embarrassed" at this failure, supporting several aspects of the Health Care bill. With the Iraq resolution facing a good deal of opposition by Labor, this might very well be the final triumph of the Duke administration. Finally, the Pacific is now preparing for the special election to replace DemPGH, with Labor's likely frontrunner Flo choosing to focus on the Senate instead, leaving Acting Governor TheCranberry, Councilior Devin and Xahar to contest the election, with Devin portraying himself as the candidate for economic recovery and TheCranberry pledging to follow the lead of Duke, DemPGH and Oakvale.

[Lumine]

A Farewell to Duke:

A new President in the White House, Labor on debate, Northeast and Pacific elections:

July 4th: / 4, 126:

President Duke only has a few hours left of his long eight month term, but it can be said he was inactive in his last moments. After a rather hectic week the President and the outgoing center-right majority in the Senate passed Health Care Reform with assistance from Labor Senator Tyrion, and Duke was also able to award several prominent Atlasians with the Order of the Silver Star and the Gold Star, including several Senators, both Vice-Presidents and the President-Elect. A few hours ago President Duke posted his final speech, a rather optimistic farewell in which he outlined the accomplishments of the administration, stating that The People and my team leave Atlasia stronger and more loosened up than when we entered her, and thanking friends, supporters and enemies alike for all their help. With a strong record, two landslide elections and a final approval rating of 75%, which marks the end of the Duke terms as a success in the eyes of most Atlasians. His cabinet leaves on a high note as well in regards to the approval ratings and the polls, with the notable exception of the AG vacancy (as many consider that Simfan is not the AG) and the GM. DemPGH and Windajmmer have made their final preparations to enter office, with Windjammer outlining proposals and ideas for his term as Vice-President while promising a bipartisan and reasonable approach and the President establishing a cabinet of elder statesmen that some may feel inclined to describe as a "Cabinet of Rivals". Consdering the new faces in Nyman, we have a popular Former President (Averroes Nix), a member of the Federalist Old Guard (Hagrid), a known figure of the left and curious pick (Snowstalker) and Napoleon, which certainly makes for an interesting dynamic.

In other news, TheCranberry holds a massive lead in the Pacific and is assured to win election as the next Governor, with challenger Xahar on second place and Devin last. The Northeast is bound to have a special election as well after the second deregistration of Mr. X, facing Dr. Cynic v. JoMCar, and Gov. Talleyrand is also expected to appoint a Chief Judicial Officer very soon. It should also be noted that the At-Large election continues to grow in size after JCL and Deus entered the stage (although Flo dropped out), both very critical of the establishment and several key issues for them (like wasteful spending and the deficit for Deus and Israel for JCL). If we were to adapt earlier polling to this scenario (using my earlier poll which I will post here as well), then Deus might stand a chance at winning this election. JCL would depend on the Federalist Primary to get to the election itself, and it's looking to be a fascinating approach with Clarence, JCL, Lumine and maybe Goldwater fighting for nomination. On the party front, the Labor Party has found itself with some trouble as their platform was voted down in a public vote, mostly over a percieved lack of debate and some minor criticism on behalf of moderate Labor, which continues to oppose going too far on nationalization and too isolationalist in foreign policy. Finally, Emperor Scott continues his fight on the Supreme Court against the Northeast Recognition Omnibus, and public discussion on the next Pacific stimulus (which may not be enacted in light of the recent GM unemployment numbers) has begun as well.

[Lumine]

First At-Large Senate Poll:

Results:

Senator Adam Griffin (i) (Lab) - 19.1%
Former Senator Clarence (Fed) - 17%
Senator LumineVonReuental (i) (Fed) - 14.9%
Senator Shua (i) (DR) - 10.6%
Former Senator Maxwell (DR) - 10.6%
Pacific Councilior Flo (Lab) - 6.4%
Former President Dr. Cynic (Lab) - 6.4%
Former President Polnut (TPP) - 6.4%
Senator Alfred F. Jones (i) (Lab) - 4.3%
Senator Goldwater (i) (Fed) - 2.1%
Former GM and Governor SirNick (TPP) - 2.1%

Total Voters: 47
% in regards to all voters: 27.81%

We're in for a really fun election, gentlemen! So far it seems three of the five incumbents have their reelection secured: Griffin leading the Labor vote, Lumine with Federalist-centrist support and Shua with his powerful voting coalition (even more powerful if Maxwell doesn't run and there are no other DR candidate, though Deus is expected to run again). Former Senator Clarence gets to second place and becomes an instant favorite to return to the Senate, seemingly firing up the Federalist base with his record. Taking Maxwell out of the scenario leaves us with a likely scenario in which Griffin, Shua, Clarence and Lumine seem like frontrunners, leaving the last spot to be fought between Labor challengers Flo and Dr. Cynic and TPP challenger Polnut. SirNick doesn't seem to have a real base of support here, and incumbents Alfred Jones and Goldwater seem in real danger of getting ousted from the Senate if these numbers hold (it should be noted, however, that only two Federalists can run).

[Napoleon]

Napoleon: no adjectives necessary

[Lumine]

Napoleon: no adjectives necessary

Well, you have such a long history in Atlasia that I just couldn't find the proper adjective, Mr. President. My apologies if it seems disrespectful!

[Napoleon]

Napoleon: no adjectives necessary

Well, you have such a long history in Atlasia that I just couldn't find the proper adjective, Mr. President. My apologies if it seems disrespectful!

I took no offense.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Thanks for the kind words, Lumine. It was a good ride. Dare I say, I'll kind of miss it! And I'm not good with goodbyes, hence my quiet exit.

[Lumine]

The White Rose in Nyman:

DemPGH takes office, At-Large Election taking form, Midwest in crisis?

July 6th: / 6, 126:

And now the House of York sits in its throne of... Nyman. With President DemPGH firmly installed in the White House and after choosing Edward IV and the Yorkist cause as his symbol (hence the title), the administration has started working to pass their agenda and deal with the usual preliminary moves of the administration. As of this article, the hearings for GM nominee Napoleon have started already, with the rest to follow in the next days. Vice-President Windjammer was been the true star of the first days, holding an ambitious schedule in the Senate by preparing voting records and staying involved in the threads with activity levels that promise to be quite encouraging and effective. President DemPGH, on the meantime, has sent a seemingly effective redraft for the Demilitarization Act of 2014 and a curious redraft for the Public means Public Act which, while successful, has been opposed by half the Labor bench. The President has also taken a rather dovish approach to foreign affairs in a few interventions regarding foreign policy bills (Sanity in Foreign Policy Amendment, Ukrainian Technical, Economical and Military Aid and Emergency Resolution to Authorize Force in Iraq), pushing for reduction of spending in those bills and closing the door to intervention in Iraq (to the disappointment of the author and other Atlasians).

The At-Large Senate election has taken another turn with Shua's announcement that he will not run for reelection, being the second incumbent to declare his intentions and leaving Griffin, Alfred and Goldwater left to announce. This has propelled Deus into one of the favourites for the next election, having an immense amount of support within the DR's and the Libertarian camp in general. With the Federalist Primary all but declared with four candidates and Polnut as the only TPP candidate, the Labor Party faces an interesting situation. Despite having three candidates (if we consider Griffin and Alfred as running for reelection), they have low polling, which has been dismissed as nothing but a trick or a pattern that usually happens in Atlasia. Yet, sources close to the Labor leadership and some senior members of the party have expressed disappointment at the performance of the At-Large Senators, with some believing that both incumbents are not active enough and that Dr. Cynic has some problems regarding reliability. There's also quite a bit of resentment over Senator Griffin's hyperbolic comments on Iraq, in which he called the local population "savages" and suggested "turning the entire country into one sheet of glass", which has forced some Laborites to consider supporting other candidates outside of the party despite Griffin's strong polling and the support of IDS Emperor Scott. Finally, on regional politics, TheCranberry won a landslide victory over Xahar and Devin, crowning himself as the next Pacific Governor and facing the challenge of besting predecessors like Spamage, PJ, Tyrion and DemPGH. The Midwest is in another activity crisis without a candidate for Governor, and political operatives scramble through the region to find a candidate and prevent a write-in chaos (Tmthforu, Cris, AdamFitzgerald, ArturoBelano, Rooney and RR1997 have been suggested as potential candidates). The Northeast is currently featuring an active debate between Dr. Cynic and Mr. JoMCaR, with shots already being fired as we speak regarding styles and their very understanding of the inner workings of Atlasia as a simulation game.

[Lumine]

Second At-Large Senate Poll:

Results:

Senator Adam Griffin (i) (Lab) - 20%
Northeast Representative Deus (DR) - 17.5%
Senator LumineVonReuental (i) (Fed) - 17.5%
Former Senator Clarence (Fed) - 15%
Former President Polnut (TPP) - 10%
Former President Dr. Cynic (Lab) - 5%
Senator Alfred F. Jones (i) (Lab) - 2.5%
Senator Goldwater (i) (Fed) - 7.5%
Mideast Assemblyman JCL (i) (Fed) - 2.5%
Senator Shua (i) (DR) - 2.5%

Total Voters: 40
% in regards to all voters: 23.8%

With the withdrawal of Flo and Shua, the lack of interest by SirNick and Maxwell and the recent announcement by JCL the race has changed quite a bit, but some patterns remain despite the low turnout. Despite facing controversy over his gaffe on Iraq, Senator Griffin tops the poll and wins most of the Laborite support again, with Senator Lumine and challenger Deus (the absolute favourite of the Democratic-Republicans) tied for second place. Former Senator Clarence gets again a high result, and Former President Polnut surges to get to fifth with 10%, leaving the rest of the incumbents (Alfred and Goldwater) and challengers Dr. Cynic and JCL lacking a major base of support. Some have suggested the poll is not accurately representing Labor votes, but with only two Federalists in the election the next Senate might very well have Griffin, Clarence, Deus, Lumine and the fifth place fought between a Laborite (Alfred or Cynic) and Polnut.