Truman for Mideast Assembly (HUZZAH!)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Truman for Mideast Assembly

Speeches

Announcement Speech (Independence, MO) 2/28/15
Constitutional Reform (Chicago, IL) 3/2/15
Economic Renewal and Energy Efficiency (Fort Wayne, IN) 3/5/15
Partisanship (Louisville, Kentucky) 3/10/15
Education (Cincinnati, Ohio) 3/13/15
Building an Atlasian Renaissance (Baltimore, MD) 3/18/15
Victory Speech (Indianapolis, IN) 3/22/15

Endorsements

Vice President Averroes Nix (TPP-HI)
Southern Speaker Maxwell (Fed-AL)
Northeast Chief Judicial Officer Rpryor03 (CR-NJ)
Southern Governor Flo (TPP-PR)
Southern Legislator X (TPP-FL)
Pacific Speaker Turkisblau (TPP-NM)
Northeast Governor Sawx (TPP-NH)
Northeast Speaker Blair (Lab-MA)
Game Moderator Kalwejt (TPP-VT)
Fmr. At-Large Senate Candidate Dkrol (CR-MA)
Southern Legislator and fmr. President Duke (TPP-TX)
Secretary of State Superique (TPP-AK)
At-Large Senator Adam Griffin (Lab-NB)
Mideast Governor TDAS04 (Lab-VA) [for 2nd preference]
Mideast Speaker New Canadaland (Lab-ON)
Mr. Tim Turner (Lab-WI)
Mr. Solarstorm2012 (Lab-MI)

Campaign Song

TR Rag (by David Cieri)

Campaign Banner

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Independence, MO

MY FELLOW MIDEASTERNERS:
I appear before you today in Independence, Missouri, the birthplace of my namesake, to announce my candidacy for Mideast Assembly.

The reason for this declaration is simple: we are suffering, currently, from an absence of activity. In the most recent election for the Senate, neither candidate for the Mideast seat publicly campaigned for the office in the month preceding the vote. Even worse, one of our incumbent assemblymen - the man who holds the deciding vote in the chamber - has not been seen or heard from in Atlasia since swearing into office over a month ago. That is not only an insult to the true statesmen of the Mideast who are trying to do their jobs; it is an affront to the people of this region.

As they say, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." And while one man cannot curb the tide of inactivity alone, I have resolved to do everything in my power to heed this advice.

As a candidate and your future representative, I stand committed to reasonable, reality-based policies. There will be no $25 minimum wage laws passed in the Mideast if I can help it; nor will I rank short-term corporate profits over the overall health of our economy. Furthermore, I refuse to resort to shallow, stale sound-bites in place of actual progress on the issues facing our region, because when politicians place image ahead of action, the people come up short.

In the coming days, I will begin a tour of the Mideast to listen to the voters' concerns and lay out my plan for our region's future. In the meantime, let it be known that I am a friend of education reform, - real reform, mind you, not skin-deep changes - that I favor efforts to attract new energy sectors to the Mideast, that I support actual efforts to shore up small businesses, and that I will fight doggedly against inactivity in all levels of government.

Onward!

Harry S Truman, Candidate for Mideast Assembly

[Maxwell]

Endorsed. The Mideast Assembly needs someone as diligent as you've proven yourself to be.

[rpryor03]

Endorsed. The Mideast Assembly needs someone as diligent as you've proven yourself to be.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Endorsed. The Mideast Assembly needs someone as diligent as you've proven yourself to be.

Thank-you all!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Endorsed. The Mideast Assembly needs someone as diligent as you've proven yourself to be.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Endorsed. The Mideast Assembly needs someone as diligent as you've proven yourself to be.

Thank-you, Legislator!

[Türkisblau]

Strongly endorsed! You will be a great voice in the assembly.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Strongly endorsed! You will be a great voice in the assembly.

Thank-you, Mr. Speaker!

[free my dawg]

Wholeheartedly endorsed.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Wholeheartedly endorsed.

Thank-you very much, Governor!

[Blair]

Endorsed

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Endorsed

Many thanks, Mr. Representative!

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

What the hell... endorsed.

[DKrol]

What the hell... endorsed.

[Boston Bread]

Great news!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm confident you'll do well in the assembly. You've always been active and I enjoy reading your little news blurbs. You have my endorsement.

Good luck!

[Intell]

Wholeheartedly endorsed.

[Flake]

You, of all people, should know already that you've got my support. Good luck

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

What the hell... endorsed.

Thank you, Mr. GM!

What the hell... endorsed.

Thanks a lot! Good luck with your Senate campaign!

I'm confident you'll do well in the assembly. You've always been active and I enjoy reading your little news blurbs. You have my endorsement.

Good luck!

Thanks very much, Mr. Legislator/ former President!

Wholeheartedly endorsed.

Thanks, Councilor!

Great news!

Hopefully we'll get to work together.

You, of all people, should know already that you've got my support. Good luck

Thanks a million, Governor!

[Sec. of State Superique]

Endorsed.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Endorsed.

Thank-you, Mr. Secretary!

[Adam Griffin]

Endorsed!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Endorsed!

Many thanks, Lt. Governor!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Chicago, IL

It's wonderful to be back in Chicago as I start my campaign across the Mideast. I am especially grateful to all those who came out here today in spite of the cold to listen to what I have to say and to be involved in the government of their region.

Little-known fact about Chicago: back in the 1850s, a couple of engineers named Brown and Hollingsworth literally lifted the entire city four feet into the air with a giant jackscrew. It seemed in those days, the city streets were more or less level with Lake Michigan, which created a nasty problem when it came to disposing of sewage. So these engineers got together and raised the city a few feet, building by building, to make room for the sewers. Doing so required bold ideas and thorough planning, and it is to both of those qualities that I appeal as I hammer down the first plank of my platform: Constitutional Reform.

Before he left office our former governor, Tmthforu94, had talked abut revamping our regional Constitution, but he retired before he could follow through. I want to revive this discussion because I believe there are a handful of flaws in our current governing document that need to be addressed, and because reforming our Constitution is one of the most direct ways to address the problem of inactivity.

There is currently a bill before the Assembly that would allow the Lt. Governor to break ties in the legislature in the event that one of its members is neglecting their duties. I support this amendment for three reasons. First, it prevents a single inactive officeholder from holding up the entire regional government. This is a problem that has cropped up quite often during the current session, due to the absence of Assemblyman CrabCake. By allowing the Lt. Governor to break ties, we ensure that one inactive user does not bring the entire government to a stand still. Second, it increases the importance of the Lt. Governor's office, promoting activity and interest in that office. Currently, the Lt. Governor is little more than a placeholder, with virtually no importance unless the Governor disappears off the face of the earth. Offices that have little importance discourage activity and encourage disinterest. By giving the Lt. Governor powers similar to the Vice President, however, we make this office highly significant: worth of the strategizing and campaigning of our political parties. Lastly, increased importance means increased campaigning and attention. Previously, very few paid much attention to who was in the second spot on the gubernatorial tickets. With this reform, however, the Lt. Governor could very well end up as the deciding vote in the regional government, meaning that political strategists will now invest effort in winning and holding this post.

Yet it is not just the Lt. Governor's office that needs sprucing up. Too often in Atlasia, our federal representatives in Nyman get all the attention, while the regions are pushed to the side. This is a pity, because the regional government is one of the easiest ways for new citizens to get involved in Atlasia, and getting new citizens involved is essentially to maintaining activity throughout the country. Therefore, I propose a Constitutional Amendment establishing the State of the Region Address. This amendment would require the Governor to post, every two months in the Fantasy Elections Board, a short summary of what is going on in the regional government. This would serve two purposes: first, it would ensure that the Governor is involved in the governing process; second, it would increase the visibility of the regional government, sparking debate and encouraging citizens to become involved at the regional level.

These two reforms that I have just mentioned are actions that can be taken quickly to improve regional government in the immediate. To achieve more long-term reform, however, we need to look critically at our regional Constitution as a whole. Take, for instance, the section governing the Assembly. This portion of the Constitutions contains no enumeration of powers held by the regional legislature; in other words, no list of things that the Assembly can and cannot do. As we begin to legislate on some very sensitive topics, from abortion to drug legalization to immigration, to not have a concrete list of governmental powers is a recipe for disaster. While we cannot address this issue overnight, as adding such a clause would require a much more sweeping overhaul than a single Amendment, it is certainly worth considering as we seek to revitalize our government and our region.

I would be delighted to go into greater detail on this plan if you like, or to answer any other questions that you have. If not, I'll see you in a few days in Fort Wayne, Indiana as I continue talking to the people of the Mideast.

Onward!

Harry S Truman, Candidate for Mideast Assembly