The Madisonian

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

An Imprint of Mideast Record-Courier Publishing

THE MADISONIAN


Being a Record of the Proceedings at the


5^th Constitutional Convention


Held at Nyman, beginning the 21st of Sep^t, 2015


HARRY S TRUMAN, editor

[Classic Conservative]

Yes!!!!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I. The Delegates

Delegates from the Northeast
Clyde, Northeast Assemblyman from Massachusetts
Oakvale, Senior Associative Justice of the Supreme Court from Delaware
RGN, Northeast Assemblyman from New York
Winfield, former Governor of the Northeast from Rhode Island

Delegates from the Mideast
Johanus Calvinus Libertas, former Senator At-Large from Indiana
Never Again, Speaker of the Mideast Assembly from Virginia
Viva Portugal Habs, Governor of the Mideast from Michigan
Windjammer, former Governor of the Mideast from Michigan

Delegates from the South
Adam Griffin, Registrar General of the Census Bureau from Georgia
Leinad, Governor of the South from Georgia
A. H. Duke, former President of the Republic of Atlasia
     Appointed to fill the vacancy left by N.C. Yankee's selection as a Senatorial Delegate on October 7, 2015.

Delegates from the Midwest
Cris, Senator At-Large and Speaker of the Senate from Kansas
Marokai Blue, former President of the Republic of Atlasia from Manitoba

Delegates from the Pacific
Classic Conservative, Speaker of the Pacific Council from Oregon
Simfan, Governor of the Pacific from California

Senatorial Delegates
Lumine Von Reuental, Regional Senator for the Pacific from Utah
Kalwejt, Senator At-Large from Ohio
     Mr. Kalwejt resigned his office and withdrew his registration with the Census Bureau on October 2)
PiT, Regional Senator for the South from Louisiana
R Pryor III, Regional Senator for the Northeast from New Jersey
Harry S Truman, Senator At-Large from Indiana
North Carolina Yankee, Senator At-Large from North Carolina
     Originally elected one of three Southern delegates, Mr. Yankee was chosen to replace Kalwejt as the fifth Senatorial delegate on October 7.


Partisan Delegares
Bore, President of the Republic of Atlasia from Rhode Island
B. Motley, Governor of the Midwest from Colorado
Evergreen, Speaker of the Northeast Assembly from Maine
Clark Kent, Northeast Assemblyman from Connecticut
Tmthforu, former President of the Republic of Atlasia from Kansas

II. Officers

Cris, Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention
Harry S Truman, Deputy Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention
PiT, Dean of the Constitutional Convention
R. Pryor III, Secretary of the Convention

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

III. Sep^t 30 - Oct^o 7 (Election of the Presiding Officer)

In his capacity as the most senior Senatorial delegate, PiT opens the floor to nominations for Presiding Officer on September 30. Governor Leinad, delegate of the South, is quickly nominated for the office by Evergreen; his nomination is seconded by Clark Kent, Harry S Truman, Cris, and Classic Conservative. Leinad, however, expresses his preference for a more experienced P.O., and while he does not decline the office, suggests the nomination of Cris or Truman. Winfield accordingly nominates Cris for Presiding Officer, and Truman announces that he will stand aside. Meanwhile, Justice Oakvale declares his intention to stand as the candidate of the "radical" faction.

According to the Regulations Act, PiT calls a vote on October 2; however, he fails to include Oakvale on the ballot. At the demand of several delegates (not including Mr. Oakvale), a second vote is called on October 5. The vote concludes 48 hours later: with a majority of 15 votes in the second round, and with all delegates voting, Cris is accordingly elected Presiding Officer of the Convention.

Cris.................12, 15
Oakvale...........5, 5
Leinad.............4, 4
H. S. Truman...3, X

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

IV. Oct^o 8

CRIS (P.O.) opens the floor for debate, calling on the delegates to propose topics for discussion.

ADAM GRIFFIN of the South requests that the P.O. open a thread for discussing changes to the Regional system. The P.O. reads the Article of the existing Constitution governing the Regions.

EVERGREEN offers an amendment to the existing Constitution protecting the Regions' right to secede; Clyde of the Northeast quickly seconds the proposal.

Sen. TRUMAN warns against a "piecemeal repair job" and suggests that the text of the Article should be struck out, so that the Convention may completely rework the Regional system without the hindrance of the existing text. Oakvale of the Northeast and Sen. Rpryor move that the Convention adopt Truman's amendment by acclamation.

Sen. RPRYOR formally objects to Evergreen's secession amendment; he is followed by Classic Conservative of the Pacific. Classic Conservative introduces an amendment to explicitly outlaw secession; the amendment is seconded by Winfield of the Northeast.

Several delegates express support for a three-Region plan; however BORE calls for the number of Regions to be reduced to two.


WINDJAMMER calls for the P.O. to open a thread for discussing the recognition of other playable nation-states. The P.O. notes that such matters are not governed by the existing Constitution.


Sen. TRUMAN calls for the P.O. to open five "mega-threads" for debates on changes to the Regions, the Bill of Rights, the federal government, election laws, and the transition to the new Constitution. Classic Conservative quickly seconds this motion.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oct^o 9

CRIS (P.O.) opens debate on a proposed legislative reset; the idea wins support from Tmthforu, Sen. PiT, and Sen. Truman among others.


EVERGREEN suggests replacing the Senate with a legislature composed of members of the Regional Assemblies. Sen. PiT expresses support for the concept.

CLASSIC CONSERVATIVE counters that Evergreen's proposal would be "very confusing", and instead suggests a Senate composed of 2 Senators from each Region and 2 Senators elected at-large.

Sen. TRUMAN concurs with Classic Conservative, suggesting that 2/3 of the Regional legislatures be allowed to veto federal legislation instead.


LEINAD calls for a more nuanced evaluation of the secession issue, reminding delegates that Atlasia's predecessor, the United States, was born from a secession movement, and calling on the Convention to reject "one-size-fits-all" solutions.

Sen. PiT notes the futility of opposing secession when it enjoys near-unanimous support within a Region, suggesting that the Convention establish a "support threshold" that must be reached for Regional secession to be legal.


Sen. TRUMAN introduces amendments to strike the existing Articles of the Third Constitution governing the presidency and the legislature, calling for the Senate to draft an entirely new charter of government.

[Prince of Salem]

Subscribed

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oct^o 10

GRIFFIN, alluding to his longstanding support for a bicameral national legislature, says that such a plan will require strict regulation of the size of the Regional governments.

MAROKAI BLUE of the Midwest concurs with Mr. Griffin, saying that he supports the establishment of a second legislative house while acknowledging that "the devil's in the details."

Sen. LUMINE counters that while the nation may be able to sustain a bicameral legislature, doing so would paralyze the legislative process.

Sen. PiT echoes Griffin's calls for regulating the size of the Regional governments, suggesting that the formula for doing so be based on the number of voters in the most recent presidential election.


CRIS (P.O.) calls a 48-hour vote on Classic Conservative's amendment to outlaw Regional secession.


Sen. TRUMAN suggests the possibility of an "automatic reboot" clause, under which the statute would be automatically wiped blank every few years.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oct^o 11

WINFIELD of the Northeast recommends that the Convention consider adopting an automatic reboot clause like that proposed by Sen. Truman. He likewise proposes a ban on "filthy, vile, disgusting, obscene" laws.

OAKVALE of the Northeast endorses the proposed legislative reboot. He further recommends that all laws passed by the U.S. government-in-exile be added to the rebooted Atlasian statute.

NEVER AGAIN of the Mideast argues in favor of a selective reboot, in which only "controversial" laws would be repealed.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oct^o 12

By a vote of 10-9, with two abstentions and four not voting, a clause outlawing secession is adopted by the Convention.

CRIS (P.O.) opens debate on an amendment to strike the anti-secession clause and provide a framework through which Regions may legally secede. The amendment, authored by NEVER AGAIN of the Mideast, requires a majority of voters in a Region as well as the Senate and the president to pass a secession resolution in order to legally secede.

Sen. LUMINE objects to the proposed amendment, saying that secession is unproductive and unnecessary.

OAKVALE dismisses Sen. Lumine's concerns as "typical fascist claptrap," arguing that allowing for secession would lead to increased activity.

DUKE of the South joins those opposing secession, arguing that allowing Regions to separate from the Union would make having a national government pointless and that it would be better to go to a confederation system than to try and sustain a federal government if the amendment passes

OAKVALE and others voice support for replacing the federal union with a confederation; the idea is attacked by Griffin, who says doing so would not quite the "rabble-rousers" fighting for secession.


EVERGREEN proposes replacing the Senate with a national legislature composed of members of the Regional governments. Sen. PiT supports the plan, while others agree it is an ideal model if the Convention chooses to transition to a confederation.


Oct^o 13

CRIS (P.O.) opens a vote on the secession amendment, asking delegates who have proposed alternatives to withdraw them until the vote is over.

Sen. TRUMAN speaks at length against the prospect of secession, arguing that it would both kill the game and subvert the democratic process by allowing Regions to use the threat of secession as leverage against the national government.

LEINAD calls on the delegates to separate the question at hand from the ongoing campaign for Northeast independence, citing the American Revolution as evidence of how secession can be beneficial to the people of a nation.


CRIS (P.O.) calls on the Convention to cease debate on other topics until a plan for the Regions is agreed to.