Official Constitutional Union Party Thread (backup)

[Sam Spade]

I am ever hopeful that Htmldon will return, but just in case he doesn't and his website goes down, I'm setting up this thread with all the Constitutional Union Party info.  Also, if real Union Party stuff becomes too different than what's at that site, this will probably become necessary too.

Our Atlaswiki site here also contains this same information.

First, History.

History[/b]

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The fundamental values of the Constitutional Union Party were nurtured during days of the United Atlas Centrist Party. The UAC was a broad centrist party that included a number of ideologies in the center of the political spectrum.

The UAC was strengthened by being the largest Party on the forum and by having a clear majority of the policy acumen and vision on the forum. UAC members were united by two principles. One, as expressed ardently by Nation, the Secretary of the UAC and a Union Party member, was "Reduce Fantasy Government!". The second was the common bond that those of us in the center of the political spectrum have with one another. It elected President Gustaf and Vice-President Supersoulty in a resounding victory and elected many of it's members to federal and regional offices. At one time, all of the members of the Supreme Court were UAC members.

The AFRNC and AFDNC, which had almost been eliminated during the rise of the UAC, were gaining strong leaders who re-built these organizations. President Gustaf was unfairly gaining a reputation for being "inactive" and eventually he resigned. Vice-President Supersoulty also resigned, discouraged at the discontent on the forum.

The UAC would never be the same again. There was a growing discord between the members of the UAC. As this discord grew, more and more new participants in the Atlas Forum were registering with the AFRNC and AFDNC parties as they were not familiar with the alternatives.

The UAC also had a structural issue that was a strength in it's early formation but a flaw in it's ongoing governance. It was led by a group called the Leadership Council. The Leadership Council was a very balanced and capable group, but it was not democratically elected and thus inaccessable to the new members that were so desperately needed. None of the members of the UAC, including the founders of the Union Party, recognized and dealt with this problem.

The UAC went into the October 2004 elections a very divided party, just as Atlasia was a divided nation. Governor HTMLdon pleaded with the UAC Leadership Council to hold the convention in the Southeast and recognize the contributions of Southeasterners to the Atlasian family, but this suggestion was barely listened to. UAC Secretary Nation and Senator Hughento went into the UAC convention with strong support. Nation came out of it with a hefty lead, but the Southeastern delegation went for Hugh.

Senator Hughento asked Governor HTMLdon as his running mate. HTMLdon was not seeking this appointment, but was flattered and honored to have been chosen and wanted an additional honor brought to the Southeast. Don resigned from the UAC Leadership Council, admitting disloyalty to the UAC by running on Hugh's ticket.

Both Hugh and Nation ran strong campaigns and were formidable candidates under any other circumstance, but were competing for the same centrist and center-left votes.

PBrunsel, a popular conservative, was elected with a strong plurality of the vote. This task was made much easier by how badly the centrists were divided.

Shortly after this election, Governor HTMLdon left the UAC and became an independent.

On October 26, 2004, former Governor HTMLdon founded the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia in this thread. He said that "Fundamentally, we support individual - not local, not regional, not federal - control."

"The Union Party believes that the government's primary responsibility is to empower the citizen by protecting their rights and liberties. We must ensure that all citizens, regardless of race, creed, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, have the access to the tools necessary to excercise these rights and liberties to their fullest extent."

The name of the Constitutional Union Party is derived from the Party in 1860 that grew out of Whigs in the South who were opposed to the extention of the national shame of slavery, but were concerned foremost with the protection of the Union and the avoidance of what became a bloody and divisive war.

At first, the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia was a lonely cause. It was unclear as to whether any more members would join. Colin Wixted, the publisher of the National Atlasian, said "This seems like another one person party. I hope it isn't I applaud all attempts at the creation of new Atlasian parties but at this time it seems that Don is creating a one man party." As members began joining the Union Party, Colin recanted this statement when he interviewed HTMLdon about the rise of the Party.

AndrewBerger became the Party's first supported candidate.

Nation became the Party's first Lieutenant Governor.

Southeastern Governor Ernest became the Party's first Official elected as a Union Party member followed by Northeastern Governor MAS117's jump to the Union Party in the December elections of 2004.

MAS117 and Sam Spade became the Party's first elected Senators in February election of 2005, and were soon joined by Colin Wixted before the official Swearing-in ceremony.

Alcon became the Party's first Vice-President on March 8, 2005 after a 9-0 confirmation vote by the Senate.

Soon after, Alcon became the Party's first President of Atlasia following former President True Democrat's resignation from office on April 20, 2005, an office which he has held to July 1, 2005.

[Sam Spade]

The Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia Platform[/b][/i]

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Drafted November 6, 2004
Revised June 5, 2005[/i]

Ideology vs. Ideas
 
Like any political organization, we have our own ideological persuasions and beliefs. We are a libertarian party of the center-right and we accentuate personal liberty, a strong national defense, and capitalism. Unlike other political organizations, though, we encourage our members to always support ideas that have strong merit and proof of effectiveness, regardless of their ideological foundations. We believe that ideology often gets in the way of progress and unnecessarily divides people by cultural, racial, and religious boundaries. Science, reason, and common sense are our primary values.


Our Place in the World[/size]


Winning the War for Democracy

There cannot be peace on Earth until there is liberty for all. We cannot take on the responsibility to free every person, but we must always stand as the world’s foremost defender of liberty and democracy. Any action to stop dictators and the evil men of the world is inherently morally justified. It is up to us and our leaders to decide which battles we can win.

Any organization that has Libya as the Chair of it’s human rights commission, should be considered a terrorist organization and not sanctioned by nor allowed to organize within the borders of Atlasia.

Sanctions and Trade

We oppose MFN status for China or any other country that denies it’s citizens basic standards of human rights, liberty, and democracy. We strongly support sanctions for countries that are the most egregious purveyors of Communism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism. America is not free until the world is free.

Terrorism

If terrorists choose to deal with us or our citizens using violence, we shall deal with them in a violent manner. We must root them out, destroy them, and destroy any institutions that harbor or aid them in their efforts.

National Defense

The number one weapon in the arsenal of Atlasia is the bravery and determination of our soldiers. We must back them up not only with the tools to accomplish their missions, but also with the resources to feed and house their families. We can never pay them enough for their sacrifice, but we must at least raise the living standards for the defenders of our nation and freedom.

International Union

The Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia identifies with the following political organizations, internationally.

People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the Netherlands
Free Democratic Party, Germany
ACT, New Zealand
Shinui, Israel
Venstre, Denmark

We deeply regret the merger and thus the end of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.


Empowering Atlasia[/size]


Taxes, Spending, and a Balanced Budget

While we fundamentally support cutting taxes and spending, we believe that responsible fiscal policy is the best way to invoke confidence in our economic future. With the exception of extreme circumstances, we must always pursue a balanced budget. We do not believe in cutting taxes if there is not an appropriate cut in spending or increase in efficiency to go along with it.

Welfare and Job Training

We are a great and generous nation and in order to ensure that all Americans have the tools to empower themselves, we must offer a basic safety net. However, this safety net has often been abused and has itself led to further poverty because it has not taught individuals to take responsibility for themselves and their irresponsible actions.

Education

Overall, we support the transfer of educational decisions from the federal to the local level.  We encourage regional governments to support and encourage quality public schools open to all families; however, we believe that it is a supreme contradiction that wealthy parents get a choice of where to send their kids to school while other families do not get such a choice. Regions should provide educational access vouchers for low-income families to have choice in education and formation of charter schools should be encouraged by regional governments.

Affirmative Action

We staunchly, stridently oppose race-based affirmative action with every fiber of our being. Racism is not an excuse for more racism. However, we must recognize that our past as a nation does affect our present. We must recognize that many Atlasians continue to face hardships that relate to past grievances. Therefore, we support the use of economic standards and data as considerations for admission to educational institutions and scholarship programs.

Abortion

We believe that too often this issue has been marginalized to two divisive and uncompromising sides. We believe that abortion towards the end of the term of pregnancy is clearly murder; therefore we staunchly oppose "partial-birth abortion" and believe in limiting abortions to the first trimester only, except in cases where the life of the mother is directly affected.  We do support the release of the "morning-after" pill as an early means of birth control and we do support the ready availability of preventative birth control to all persons of legal age.

Civil Unions for all Atlasians

We believe that any Atlasian has the right to enter into social partnerships with another person regardless of sexual orientation. It is unconscionable that a gay or lesbian Atlasian should be denied the right to visit their partner or receive benefits after a partner’s death just because society has chosen to discriminate against their relationship.

We do not support any change in the current understanding or concept of marriage.

Health Care

While we do not support a socialized health care system as advocated by some, we do believe that health care for children is a necessary tool for empowering young people to have the best access to all that Atlasia has to offer. Therefore, we support providing for the basic health care needs of children based on medical necessity and economic need.

Regions and the Federal Government

We are a Party that fundamentally believes in human liberty and supports whatever authority gives the utmost autonomy to the individual Atlasian. We see the process of government as a constant struggle to increase personal liberty while maintaining the institutions that keep us free.

To that end we favor a system of shared sovereignty between the Federal and Regional governments that is established so that while jealously guarding their own prerogatives, they must act to defend the rights of the people to do so. Those institutions that serve to bind us together, such as commerce, citizenship, and the common defense, must be in the province of the Federal authority, but where the actions of one Region cannot affect the domestic tranquility of another, the Regions should be free to respond nimbly to the dictates of the people within the bounds of the Constitution.

We oppose the nullification of laws passed at one level of our government by the other in contravention of our Constitution. We summarily oppose the concept of state-mayors or any organization beyond the federal and regional levels. We also see no need for regional legislatures until the number of registered voters reaches at least 500 citizens.

Environment

The government should listen to the needs of local citizens to ensure that all of the facts of specific hazards on the people they will impact are considered.

While it is clear that there is some form of climate change affecting our global environment, we must ensure that we are not unnecessarily harming our economy and jobs by pursuing policy that is not based in common sense and sound judgment. Climate change has occurred many times in our history, long before industry and long before man himself.

We encourage a liberal use of tax incentives for environmentally-friendly business practices, new cleaner technology, and fuel efficiency.

Drugs

We believe that the so-called “War on Drugs” has done little to stop the supply or demand for illegal narcotics.  We support the decriminalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes.

We do believe that drugs have a disastrous impact on our society, but that government simply cannot take on the responsibilities that people should take on for themselves. Instead of investing in punishment for drug offenders, we should invest in educating our children of the dangers of drug abuse.

Capital Punishment

While we fundamentally believe that the concept of Capital punishment is just, we cannot tolerate the potential for error that exists in today’s justice system. 18 innocent citizens, who would have otherwise been murdered by the state, have been exonerated from Illinois’s death row. The Union party will only support the death penalty and the most extreme cases where the evidence is irrefutable.

Judicial Reform

We strongly support the concept of tort reform and medical liability reform.

Criminal Justice

We believe in a strong criminal justice system and support all endeavors to make Atlasia a safe place from intruders and trolls who wish to damage and slander this forum.  To those who wish to destroy our way of life, punishment must be swift and just and its application must be firm and unyielding.

However, we also believe that all accused criminals must be given their rights under the law.  We therefore believe in the rights of defendants to be "innocent until proven guilty" regardless of crime, and believe that all defendants have ample opportunity to due process in a defense of the charges brought against them.

[Sam Spade]

The Bylaws of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia[/b][/i]

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The Charter and Executive Bylaws of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia National Association[/size]


I.    Name and Membership

a.    The name of the Party is the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia, also referred to as “Union”.

b.    The Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia National Association (CUPANA) shall consist of all registered voters who are Union Party members.

II.    Platform

a.    The Draft Platform submitted at the founding of the Party shall be considered the Official Platform of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia upon a 3/4th’s vote of the membership.

b.   Amendments to the Platform should be submitted in a format where changes are marked as additions, deletions, or substitutions.

c.    Amendments to the Platform should be submitted during the National Convention, but may be submitted as a public post on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board, on the Constitutional Union Party forums, by e-mail, or by Private Message to the National Chairman or said member’s Regional Chairman. 

d.   After the Amendment(s) have been introduced, the Chairman shall then call for debate on said Amendment(s).  After there has been sufficient debate, the Chairman shall open a vote on the Amendment(s) as soon as possible.

e.    Amendments to the Platform require a majority vote of the members of the Union Party of Atlasia in a public voting thread on the Atlas Fantasy Forums (or in the Voting Booth). 

f.   This vote shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time, and if a majority of members vote in the affirmative, said Amendment(s) shall be added to the Platform.

III.   Membership

a.   Any registered voter of the Atlas Fantasy Forums shall be eligible to become a join the Union Party by simple declaration on the Register thread on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board.

b.   Only the National Chairman shall be able to refuse a registered voter membership in the Union Party.

c.   If the above-stated situation does occur, a public petition on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board must be signed by the Regional Chairman and a majority of fellow Region members of the Union Party in said prospective member’s Region in order to grant the prospective member official Union Party membership in good standing.

d.   Expulsion of members from the Union Party shall follow these guidelines:

i.   A public petition (with applicable grievances, as described below) must be posted by any member of the Union Party on the Atlas Fantasy Forums signed by one-third (1/3) of the total registered membership of the Party.

ii.   Applicable grievances are defined as, but not limited by, the following:

-   A member who does not show good faith in the Party.
-   A member who embarrasses the Party.
-   A member who disrupts the Party’s mission and activities.

iii.   Following the certification of the signatures, a public voting thread shall be started by the National Chairman on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth) and shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time.  If a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote for expulsion, said member shall be expelled from the Union Party.

iv.   Said member shall not be allowed to rejoin the Union Party until one (1) calendar year after his/her expulsion.

e.   The member known as “NixonNow” or “Richard M. Nixon”, or any other legitimate screen name associated with that user, shall not be allowed to join the Union Party for his repeated slanderous and derogatory remarks against present and former members of the Union Party and against the Union Party in general.

IV.   National Governance

a.   National Chairman

i.   Any duly registered member of the Union Party may be qualified to hold the office of National Chairman (or “Chairman”) of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia.

ii.   The Chairman shall be elected by the members of the Union Party at the National Convention and shall serve a “roughly” four (4) month term that begins and ends at the conclusion of each regular Presidential election, including any runoffs that may occur in the Presidential election only.

iii.   This election shall occur on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth) at the conclusion of the National Convention in a popular vote of the Party membership via Preferential Voting.

The rules of this election are as follows:

-   The election must last at least seventy-two (72) hours minimum unless a majority of registered Union party members has elected a National Chairman, at which time the election may be closed by the Chair.
-   This election must also last no longer than one hundred sixty-eight (168) hours (seven (7) days).
-   Of the nominated candidates, whoever receives the greatest of preference votes shall be Chairman.
-   In case of a tie in preference votes, a tie will be broken by a vote of the various Regional Chairmen.  If a tie still exists after such a vote, the Chair of the Convention will choose the new National Chairman.

iv.   If a Chairman becomes inactive for a period of over one month from the Atlas Forum or resigns from his office as Chairman, then the office shall become vacant and a special election shall be called within 72 hours of the vacancy to elect a Chairman to serve out the remainder of his/her term.

v.   Special elections for the above-stated situations in Clauses iv. of this Article may be administered by a Regional Chairman and must adhere to the election rules so laid out in Clause iii of this Article.  If there are no Regional Chairmen duly elected by a Regional Association or Committee, then any Regional Member or Representative may start the special election.  Any Union party member in good standing may run in this election.

b.   National Association Endorsements

i.   The Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia should endorse candidates for public office under the following circumstances:

-   A bona-fide Union Party member in good standing.   
-   An honorable forum citizen who shares our basic values.

Any candidate who is the most electable or most palatable opponent of a candidate whose attributes include any or all of the following:

-   Is hostile to the “Union Party” in general.
-   Is hostile to its any or all of its membership.
-   Has aligned him/herself with those who are hostile to our values and interests.

ii.   Any member of the National Association wishing for the Union Party to endorse a candidate(s) at the National level may present his request to the National Chairman as either an individual choice or a slate of choices in a public post at either the National Convention, on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board, or on the Constitutional Union Party forums.

iii.   The National Association has the primary responsibility for voting to endorse candidates for the following public offices at their discretion:

-   President and Vice-President of the Republic of Atlasia.
-   Senator of each and every District in Atlasia, excepting those Districts so governed by a Regional Committee, as laid out in Article V, Section c., Clause vi.
-   Any Regional office or any Regional ballot initiatives in a Region where a Union Party member does not presently reside or where the Region is headed by a Regional Representative.

iv.   If two candidates from the Union Party both wish to run for any selected office listed above, the Chairman may call for a primary vote among the Party membership.  Such a vote must take place no later than two (2) weeks before a general election, unless such circumstances arise so that a vote is not possible at that time.  Such primary votes must also follow the rules for endorsement votes laid out in Clause vi. of this article.

v.   The endorsement process by the National Association shall be completed by the Chairman calling for a vote of the membership at the National Convention or on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth).  A majority of the members present is sufficient to carry an endorsement.

vi.   All endorsement votes by the National Association must occur no later than five (5) days before the beginning of the election in which the endorsement is being granted and shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time. 

vii.   Union Party members voting on National endorsements must be given the options of abstaining (remaining neutral) or endorsing None of the Above (NOTA) in any given race.

viii.   While a separate thread is not necessary for each race, the members should have the ability to vote on each race and choose from among any candidates who have been submitted as potential endorsees.

V.   Regional Governance

   a.   Regional Representatives

i.   If there is only one registered Union Party member in any particular Region, this member shall be given the title of “Regional Representative”.

ii.   This Representative shall be responsible for recommending candidates for the national body to endorse for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor (if applicable) of said Region and any Regional ballot initiatives (if applicable).

[Sam Spade]

b.   Regional Associations

i.   The Union Party members registered in any Region shall be allowed and encouraged to form a Regional Party Association if said Region has between 2 and 6 registered Union Party members.

ii.   The Regional Association members shall be entitled to elect a presiding officer or “Chairman” of the Association.  Any duly registered member of the Union Party of said Region may be qualified to hold the office of Regional Chairman.  The National Chairman is entitled to appoint an interim Chairman of the Regional Association if no such organization already exists or activity is not sustained by the Association on a regular basis.

iii.   The Regional Chairman shall be elected by the members of said Regional Association at the National Convention and shall serve a “roughly” four (4) month term that begins and ends at the conclusion of each regular Presidential election, including any runoffs that may occur in the Presidential election only.

iv.   Elections for Regional Chairmen shall follow the Rules established in Article IV., Section a., Clause iii. for electing National Chairmen, excepting that only members of the specified Regional Association where the Regional Chairman is being elected shall be allowed to vote.

v.   Any member of the Regional Association wishing for the Union Party to endorse a candidate(s) at the Regional level may present his request to the Regional Chairman as either an individual choice or a slate of choices in a public post at either the National Convention, on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board, or on the Constitutional Union Party forums.

vi.   The Regional Association has the primary responsibility for voting to endorse candidates for the following public offices at their discretion:

-   Senator of said Region.
-   Governor of said Region.
-   Lieutenant Governor (if applicable) of said Region.
-   Regional ballot initiatives (if applicable) of said Region.

vii.   If two candidates from the Union Party both wish to run for any selected office listed above, the Regional Chairman of said region may call for a primary vote among the Party membership.  If the Regional Chairman is one of the two candidates from the Union Party seeking said selected office, the National Chairman shall conduct the primary vote.  Such a vote must take place no later than two (2) weeks before a general election, unless such circumstances arise so that a vote is not possible at that time.  Such primary votes must also follow the rules for endorsement votes laid out in Clause x. of this article.

viii.   The endorsement process by the Regional Association shall be completed by the Regional Chairman calling for a vote of the Regional membership at the National Convention or on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth).  If a majority of members present vote to endorse, then that endorsement shall be considered the official endorsement of the Union Party of Atlasia.

ix.   Regional Association members voting on Regional endorsements must be given the options of abstaining (remaining neutral) or endorsing None of the Above (NOTA) in any given race.

x.   All endorsement votes by any Regional Association must start no later than five (5) days before the beginning of the election in which the endorsement is being granted and shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time. 

xi.   If the National Chairman determines that there is controversy or significant reason for the National Committee to reverse the endorsement of a Regional Association, then he/she shall promptly call for a public vote by the general membership of the Union Party on the endorsement. The membership may choose to make a new endorsement of a different candidate, agree with the Regional Association endorsement, remain neutral or endorse None of the Above in the race.

xii.   If no endorsement vote has been started by the Regional Association within 5 days of the election in question, then the Regional Association waives its endorsement right and the National Association may take up the endorsement responsibility for that election.

c.   Regional Committee

i.   The Union Party members registered in any Region shall be allowed and encouraged to form a Regional Committee if said Region has over 7 registered Union Party members.

ii.   The Regional Committee members shall be entitled to elect a presiding officer or “Chairman” of the Association.  Any duly registered member of the Union Party of said Region may be qualified to hold the office of Regional Chairman.  The National Chairman is entitled to appoint an interim Chairman of the Regional Committee if no such organization already exists or activity is not sustained by the Committee on a regular basis.

iii.   The Regional Chairman shall be elected by the members of the Union Party of said Region at the National Convention and shall serve a “roughly” four (4) month term that begins and ends at the conclusion of each regular Presidential election, including any runoffs that may occur in the Presidential election only.

iv.   The election for Regional Chairman shall follow the Rules established in Article IV., Section a., Clause iii. for electing National Chairmen, excepting that only members of the specified Regional Committee where the Regional Chairman is being elected shall be allowed to vote.

v.   Any member of the Regional Committee wishing for the Union Party to endorse a candidate(s) at the Regional level may present his request to the Regional Chairman as either an individual choice or a slate of choices in a public post at either the National Convention, on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board, or on the Constitutional Union Party forums.

vi.   The Regional Committee has the primary responsibility for voting to endorse candidates for the following offices at their discretion:

-   Senator for the District that consists of the most states in said Region.
-   Senator of said Region.
-   Governor of said Region.
-   Lieutenant Governor (if applicable) of said Region.
-   Regional ballot initiatives (if applicable) of said Region.

vii.   If two candidates from the Union Party both wish to run for any selected office listed above, the Regional Chairman of said region may call for a primary vote among the Party membership.  If the Regional Chairman is one of the two candidates from the Union Party seeking said selected office, the National Chairman shall conduct the primary vote.  Such a vote must take place no later than two (2) weeks before a general election, unless such circumstances arise so that a vote is not possible at that time.  Such primary votes must also follow the rules for endorsement votes laid out in Clause x. of this article.

viii.   The endorsement process by the Regional Committee shall be completed by the Regional Chairman calling for a vote of the Regional membership at the National Convention or on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth).  If a majority of members present vote to endorse, then that endorsement shall be considered the official endorsement of the Union Party of Atlasia.

ix.   Regional Committee members voting on Regional endorsements must be given the options of abstaining (remaining neutral) or endorsing None of the Above (NOTA) in any given race.

x.   All endorsement votes by any Regional Committee must start no later than five (5) days before the beginning of the election in which the endorsement is being granted and shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time. 

xi.   If the National Chairman determines that there is controversy or significant reason for the National Committee to reverse the endorsement of a Regional Committee, then he/she shall promptly call for a public vote by the general membership of the Union Party on the endorsement. The membership may choose to make a new endorsement of a different candidate, agree with the Regional Committee endorsement, remain neutral or endorse None of the Above in the race.

xii.   If no endorsement vote has been started by the Regional Committee within 5 days of the election in question, then the Regional Committee waives its endorsement right and the National Association may take up the endorsement responsibility for that election.

[Sam Spade]

VI.   National Conventions

a.   National Conventions shall be started no earlier than four (4) weeks and no later than two (2) weeks before a Presidential election in the Republic of Atlasia, unless extraordinary circumstances are presented to the Union Party membership by the chair of the National Convention.

b.   National Conventions shall be ended no sooner than one (1) week and no later than two (2) weeks after being officially started by the chair unless extraordinary circumstances are presented to the Union Party membership by the chair of the National Convention.

c.   All motions placed before the National Convention must pass by a majority vote of the members present in order to be adopted.  Votes on motions may not last longer than 72 hours.

d.   The National Chairman shall chair the National Convention.  If the Chairman shall be absent during the time when the National Convention will be held, then the Regional Chairman with the longest tenure shall chair the National Convention.

e.   Rules for choosing National Convention Locations:

i.   At any time between eight ( 8 ) and six (6) weeks before the next scheduled Presidential election, the National Chairman must start a thread on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board inquiring the Union Party membership as to the site of the next National Convention.  Any duly registered member of the Union Party is eligible to put forth a suggestion, which will then be placed on the list of suggestions.

ii.   After seven (7) days, all suggestions will be voted in a popular vote of the Party membership via Preferential Voting on in a thread on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board (or in the Voting Booth). 

iii.   This vote will last for seven (7) days, or until a majority of registered Union party members choose a site for the Convention.  If there is a tie in the voting, the National Chairman will choose the site from among the tied suggestions.

VII.   Miscellaneous

a.   We consider the independence of our membership to be one of the attributes that separates our members from other partisans. Any member who, in good faith, personally supports a candidate who is not the endorsed candidate of the Union Party shall not be subject to any sanction by CUPANA.

b.   In the case that a member should put forth a resolution to dissolve the Constitutional Union party, such a resolution will only be approved with the consent of the following:

-   2/3 of the active Union Party membership in good standing.
-    2/3 of the Regional Chairmen
-    the National Chairman

If there is no National Chairman of the Union Party at such time when a resolution is put forth, such a resolution will only be approved with the consent of the following:

-    2/3 of the active Union Party membership in good standing.
-    2/3 of the Regional Chairmen

For the purposes of this clause, an active Union party member will be defined as someone who voted in the last Federal election.

VIII.   Adoption and Amendments

a.   The Bylaws of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia shall, after a period of review, be adopted with a 3/4th’s vote of the Party membership.

b.   Any member may propose an Amendment(s) to the Bylaws in a public post at the National Convention, on the Atlas Fantasy Elections board, or on the Constitutional Union Party forums.  The Chairman shall then call for debate on said Amendment(s).  After there has been sufficient debate, the Chairman shall open a vote on the Amendment(s) as soon as possible.

c.   These Bylaws may only be amended by a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote of the members of the Union Party of Atlasia in a public voting thread on the Atlas Fantasy Forums (or in the Voting Booth). 

d.   This vote shall last for a span of seventy-two (72) hours time, and if a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote in the affirmative, said Amendment(s) shall be added to these Bylaws.

[Sam Spade]

Leadership of the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia

The Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia is governed by the Constitutional Union Party of Atlasia National Association (CUPANA). The Association is comprised of all Atlas Forum members who are registered under the Union Party label.

CUPANA is led by a National Executive Chairman, currently Sam Spade.

Each Region with one Union Party member gives the title to that member of Regional Representative.  He/she has the responsibility to recommend candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Regional initiatives within that Region.

Each region with between two and six Union Party members is considered a Regional Association, which has the authority to endorse candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Regional initatives within that Region.

Each region with over seven Union Party members is considered a Regional Committee. The Regional Committee can endorse candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Regional initatives, and the Senator for the District that constitutes the most states in the region.

Regional Representative:

None.

Regional Association Chairs:

Mideast Chairman:  MHS2002
Midwest Chairman:  unfilled
Pacific Chairman:  Alcon
Southeast Chairman:  Q

Regional Committee Chairs:

Northeast Chairman:  Colin Wixted
Present Party Membership by Region: (23 members)[/size]

(Regional chairmen/representatives in italics)

Northeast: (7 members)[/u]
Colin Wixted
Bullmoose88
Max Power
KEmperor
King
MAS117
RED NJ AVATAR

Mideast: (2 members)[/u]
MHS2002
Ben

Midwest: (3 members)[/u]
Everett
Gustaf
Pellaken

Southeast: (5 members)[/u]
SamSpade - national chairman[/i]
Htmldon - founder of the Party[/i]
Q
Bacon King
ThePrezMex

Pacific: (6 members)[/u]
Alcon
FuturePrez
Robert Goldwater
John Ford
True Independent
Wildcard