Office of Senator Talleyrand (Announcement)

[Talleyrand]

With the retirement of our longtime Senator, Bore, I will be throwing my hat into the ring for the opportunity to replace him in the Senate this February.

I been active in Northeastern politics for over a year now, and have served as a Representative, Speaker, Lieutenant Governor, Governor, and now Chief Judicial Officer. My recent term as Governor was among the most succesful in Northeast history, passing around twenty-five bills into law.

I will speak more on my positions/proposed policies starting on January 2nd, but if elected, my biggest priority will be to work on replacing the antiquated At-large Senate seats with either a second class of regional senators or some form of districts. This would certainly be the most realistic way we could revitalize the game at this time.

Ask away!

[SWE]

You obviously have my endorsement

[bore]

Endorsed.

You've been a pleasure to work with throughout my whole time in atlasia.

[Barnes]

You'll certainly have my support.

[TNF]

Would love to see you back in the Senate.

Endorsed of course.

[Gass3268]

Endorsed!

[Talleyrand]

Thank you all for your support!

List of Accomplishments as Governor

-Transferred responsibility for administering voting booths to the Chief Judicial Officer
-Liberalized laws regarding the possession of pornography
-Increased freedom to marry regardless of familial relationship
-Created a comprehensive anti-homelessness initiative
-Ended subsidies for and sold government-funded sports stadiums
-Removed inconsistencies regarding the appointment of the Lieutenant Governor
-Passed legislation to honor longtime Northeast public servants
-Renamed Interstate 278 in honor of baseball legend Jackie Robinson
-Legalized consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle for passengers
-Passed a budget with a $14 billion dollar surplus
-Allocated additional revenue for police cameras
-Ended the all-too-frequent Assembly special elections
-Created NESPA to focus on the preservation of endangered flora and fauna
-Legalized sexual activity for non-minors in enclosed, non-moving vehicles
-Ended subsidization and tax benefits for couples in unions
-Put Northeast tobacco regulations in compliance with federal law
-Standardized a new, more efficient template for future budgets
-Replaced a voluntary prayer period with a moment of silence in schools
-Repealed bans on eating while driving (etc.) and texting while walking
-Capped off forfeiture to police departments at 25%
-Set the purchasing age for alcoholic spirits and psychoactive drugs at 16
-Ended criminal prohibitions on adultery
-Put an end to the violent secessionist movement
-Legalized drugs including heroin, morphine, and cocaine
-Created an inclusive definition of marriage to be taught in schools
-Increased government support for 3D-printing technology
-Removed bizarre local restrictions on electronic apps
-Banned individuals for pretending to represent states of the Northeast
-Made attendance of A.A. meeting an option, rather than a mandate

I was consistently active and bipartisan as Governor, and worked with, and even appointed, members of all major political parties (Labor, Democratic-Republican, TPP, and Federalist) in the Assembly. In fact, out of the four Lt. Governors I appointed, two were Laborites, one a TPPer, and the last a DR.

While I make no secret of my membership in the Labor Party of Atlasia, I have consistently been willing to buck my party when I believe that is the right thing to have, and have worked across the aisle whenever possible.

[Adam Griffin]

Representative Barnes resigned from the Northeast Assembly today, citing his frustration with an increase in ad hominem attacks and a frustrating group that appears to want to debate already-settled pieces of legislation by repealing them (in my own humble opinion, as a way to score political points for certain future elections). What do you think is the root cause of this, and how did your leadership in various NE regional positions prevent such an environment from manifesting?

[sentinel]

Representative Barnes resigned from the Northeast Assembly today, citing his frustration with an increase in ad hominem attacks and a frustrating group that appears to want to debate already-settled pieces of legislation by repealing them (in my own humble opinion, as a way to score political points for certain future elections). What do you think is the root cause of this, and how did your leadership in various NE regional positions prevent such an environment from manifesting?

Sorry for jumping in on your thread Talleyrand

I was thinking about what Griffin said, because it is frustrating that we keep simply going back and forth with passing bills, repealing bills, etc. I think the root cause of this is that we can't see the effects of bills, for better or worse. For instance I brought up earlier on a thread that we really don't know the effects of legalizing incest or group marriage. Maybe incest levels have decreased since it was decriminalized -- we don't know. Without seeing the effects, we're really arguing in the dark.

The GM could answer these questions, but its A LOT if all the regions were asking at once for this and that. I'm still very much in favor of creating a system where we create regional (or multi regional) GMs -- these (lets call them...) Deputy GMs would have their own beat and be familiar with regional issues. They could create smaller storylines for regions to respond to and quickly respond to requests about the effects of policies.

My idea isn't perfect, we need people willing to do this -- but maybe by decreasing workloads more people would be interested.

EDIT: I will add, that during my leadership as Governor, GM Griffin responded to requests about the effects of bills, so we weren't arguing in the dark. Unfortunately when I was GM, I only received a handful of requests

[Adam Griffin]

I wanted to throw this on my thread as well:

Representative Barnes resigned from the Northeast Assembly today, citing his frustration with an increase in ad hominem attacks and a frustrating group that appears to want to debate already-settled pieces of legislation by repealing them (in my own humble opinion, as a way to score political points for certain future elections). What do you think is the root cause of this, and how did your leadership in various NE regional positions prevent such an environment from manifesting?

Sorry for jumping in on your thread Talleyrand

I was thinking about what Griffin said, because it is frustrating that we keep simply going back and forth with passing bills, repealing bills, etc. I think the root cause of this is that we can't see the effects of bills, for better or worse. For instance I brought up earlier on a thread that we really don't know the effects of legalizing incest or group marriage. Maybe incest levels have decreased since it was decriminalized -- we don't know. Without seeing the effects, we're really arguing in the dark.

The GM could answer these questions, but its A LOT if all the regions were asking at once for this and that. I'm still very much in favor of creating a system where we create regional (or multi regional) GMs -- these (lets call them...) Deputy GMs would have their own beat and be familiar with regional issues. They could create smaller storylines for regions to respond to and quickly respond to requests about the effects of policies.

My idea isn't perfect, we need people willing to do this -- but maybe by decreasing workloads more people would be interested.

EDIT: I will add, that during my leadership as Governor, GM Griffin responded to requests about the effects of bills, so we weren't arguing in the dark. Unfortunately when I was GM, I only received a handful of requests

Polygamy and incest can't be quantified by a GM in any meaningful way. I would have absolutely rejected any request for information on such a bill unless it addressed some sort of financial component (how much economic activity will be generated from additional marriages). With so few recent examples of this in the real world and case studies by which to examine, the GM is in effect going to have to make up numbers for such a request (something you yourself have been vocally in opposition to recently).

Furthermore, in the two particular examples, you formally introduced the initiatives to repeal the previously-passed laws. Is your response to a lack of documented data on a particular bill really to just go ahead and repeal it before requesting such information in the first place? Has anyone even asked for such figures in the first place?

[sentinel]

The most horrible thing you've ever done is respond in-quote.

EDIT: Ah you posted in my own thread

[Talleyrand]

I think the biggest reason for the current state of affairs in the Assembly is pretty simple. Representative Winfield has introduced about forty frivolous bills calling for the repeal of laws he probably has not even read (as evidenced by his tendency to attack them in one-liners with no substance) and is obsessed with using ad hominem attacks on anyone who respectfully disagrees with him. Considering that virtually the whole queue is now a cesspool of this, it's definitely no wonder that individuals like former Lt. Governor, Barnes, Lt. Governor Matt, and Governor Sawx are pretty frustrated.

I've been fortunate to have worked with reasonable, courteous individuals during my positions in the Northeast government, and have made sure that if there is anything that threatens that atmosphere, something is done to stop it.

The issue with Winfield could be stopped immediately if the Speaker declared his bills frivolous and forced him to put all his various repeals in one or two bills. This is what I did when I was Speaker and Representative Butafly put about twenty different repeal bills in the queue, and what we've done at the federal level with omnibus "get rid of irrelevant laws" bills.

[Talleyrand]

Over the next two months, I will be unveiling my specific policy planks. Feel free to ask any questions.

International Biodiversity Aid



Pictured above are a Sumatran rhinoceros and her calf; less than a hundred of these gentle giants exist today, confined to treacherous mountain terrain in the islands of Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula.
Besides their innate majesty and imposing bulk, rhinoceroses serve as keystone mega-herbivores in the all ecosystems to which they are native. In the Malay Peninsula, Sumatran rhinoceros create pathways through the thick forest brush, which may then be utilized by smaller fauna such as tapir and deer. The African rhinoceroses feed exclusively on higher grasses, and thus allow the lower grasses necessary to the integrity of the savannas to grow; in lieu of their presence, the loss of up to half of all ground cover has been observed. The rhinoceros, in both continents, has been a hallmark of ecotourism, and produces billions in economic benefit to indigenous communities, and those tasked with ensuring their survival. These leviathans of land have endured twenty times as long as the human race; we have a duty to preserve them, or face drastic environmental and economic consequences.

In Atlasia we're fortunate to live in an environmentally conscious nation where we've taken many steps to protect the flora and fauna within our borders, while working to stop the spread of invasive species at the same time. On a regional level, we accomplished this during my last term as Governor, and a similar bill on a national scale was passed by Senator Polnut during the opening days of President Lumine's term. We have strict animal welfare laws, and have been proactive in stopping whaling abroad for many years. However, as dozens of species go extinct a day (an unprecedented number in modern human history, and one comparable to the Devonian and Cretaceous mass extinctions), we have a duty to expand what we have already done.

I propose the creation of an agency within the Department of External Affairs to be called the International Biodiversity Aid Agency, which will work in tandem with preexisting foreign aid agencies such as the International Development body. With an annual budget of 5-10 billion dollars, we can provide aid abroad as grants for organizations (governmental and non-governmental) which show a commitment to preserving the biodiversity of their lands. We can also create individual programs via a joint operation with the Peace Corps to create U.S. led programs in various conservation efforts (such as working with amphibians in Panama or elephants in Kenya).

With such an ambitious, well-funded program on a global scale, we might be able to inspire more individuals and nations to partake in the preservation of their native flora and fauna, while protecting biodiversity. With enough time and resources, we may be able to make a serious dent in the disappearance of life across the planet.

[Talleyrand]

Some thoughts on legislation before the Senate.

Recall Amendment

In general, I am no fan of recalls, which often tend to be ideologically driven and don't really reflect how competent an official has actually been. I have no faith that this would change much in Atlasia, but I do think that in extreme cases we need a recall policy for situations in which the expulsion or impeachment isn't necessarily an option. I currently support the Recall Amendment as it stands, but the requirement for 25% of registered voters in an affected constituency having to call for a recall is much too small. For example, in a region with only twenty-four citizens, six voters far out of the mainstream could force a special election upon someone totally competent. I would prefer that this requirement be raised to 50% to prevent this sort of frivolous nonsense.

Policy Report Act

I am excited about the potential that this bill, introduced by Senator Cranberry, has. Having an official responsible for giving one detailed update a month on some major policy area (e.g. education) is definitely a good idea, and I think that the responsibilities needed for this would be perfect for the Vice Presidency. In addition, I would also introduce an amendment to force the vice president to help maintain statue pages on the wiki, such as the categorical index of federal laws, which has gone many months without a definitive update. Having that section of the wiki up to date would be helpful as a reference for Atlasian policymakers across all levels of government.

Civil Rights Act of 2014 (2015?)

The current version (after the passed amendments) is a workable, though imperfect object. I support Senator Cris's amendment to replace land restitutions a fund to work on projects for affected peoples and their existing lands, but I think the amount he suggests $1 million, is virtually nothing, and should be increased. I also cannot in any conscience support excluding Native Atlasians from the terms that this Act proposes.

I am concerned about some of the minute, local restrictions that this bill forces (such as the equalization of juries and the removal of nearly all dress codes). Some of these are just unenforceable (as Senator Polnut has pointed out), whatever their intent may be. I support removing the latter section and amending the former to remove the clauses forcing regional and local governments to make steps for "proportionate" hiring, etc. At the very least, we need some clarification on what that means.

Finally, I want to clarify Section 3.5 a little bit. Does this mean anyone can use either gendered restroom? For example, one could claim to be "gender-fluid" and then use either restroom on whim.


As usual, thoughts, questions, and suggestions are welcome.  

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Endorsed

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Having been formally elected to the NE Assembly, I would like to extend my endorsement to Talleyrand for Northeast Senate.

While as a former Senator-at-large, I disagree with abolishing that position and the system for electing them which I believe allows for broader representation...I like every one of his accomplishments as governor and believe he would make a fine Senator for my region.

[Talleyrand]

Endorsed

Thank you! It's nice to have a vote of confidence from someone who hasn't always seen eye to eye with me in the past.

And thank you too, Libertas.

[Talleyrand]

I would like to welcome Representative Matt into the race and thank Representative SirNick for his participation. I am still looking forward to having a good campaign.


Presidential Endorsement

I am pleased to offer my support to the Bore/Bacon King ticket. I have known both these gentlemen for over two years now, and both are among the most active and accomplished individuals in this game. I am proud to have been one of the first to encourage Bore to run for the Senate in 2013, and he has served fine excellent terms thing then. He has been a workhorse of a Senator, and one of the few to be consistently active while he has strived to make internal improvements in the working of this game. His recent terms as Speaker have taken away some of the unnecessary bureaucracy that was plaguing the game while making it far more enjoyable. I am confident he will succeed as President. As for Bacon King, he is one of the finest legal minds in Atlasia and has served four terms as President. His most recent stint in the Senate has dissuaded me from any worries I may have had about his activity.

This is not say that the POTUS/Maxwell ticket would not do a good job. Riley has taken his role as SoEA very seriously and redeemed himself for his mostly absent stint as Mideast Governor. Maxwell is one of my favorite individuals in Atlasia (though we probably agree on little) and he has left big footprints to fill in every position he has held. That said, my ideological differences and Bore's superior record over POTUS mean that I cannot support them in this race, though I would not despair were they elected.

[Adam Griffin]

Obviously endorsed!

[bore]

Thanks a lot for the kind words and support Talleyrand If the northeast elects you it will have a fine senator indeed.

[Adam Griffin]

What is your opinion of the A Jackson per Sixty Act, which has been proposed by one of your opponents in this race? I'll paste it here/bold the contentious parts to help make it easier for you and anyone else to read:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Talleyrand]

Representative Matt is a friend, but those increases are patently ridiculous.

A $20-25 dollar minimum wage over the next decade is an atrocious. It's been observed nationwide in the past that even something as small as a 15% hike in minimum wage can put 400,000 to 800,000 marginal workers out of a job, and I don't even want to imagine how many individuals would be put on unemployment by this bills and how many companies would choose to leave the region... The damage in terms of jobs would be in the millions, while economic losses could be in the billions.

[Blair]

Biodiversity act looks good for the environment. Endorsed 

[Talleyrand]

Thank you, Blair.

Some individuals have asked me whether I support the new public masturbation bill being debated by the Northeast Assembly... For the record, I oppose this. There are many (private) places where an individual can do this if they choose to, and I don't think they should disturb those who have actual need of the facilities of a public restroom.

[Talleyrand]

I am currently participating in a debate with Representative Cinyc and Speaker Matt here-

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=207039.0