1980 Presidential Election: Four More Years? (GAME THREAD)

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Yes, please.  Give them a chance to answer.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Ronald Reagan debate answers


Question One: Well, first of all, we have an enormous tax rate and government regulation is too much. Under the Carter administration, we have seen nothing but naked overreach. But what separates me from Representative Anderson is that my proposals will return to the free enterprise principals and a free market economy that has been in place before the Great Depression. This may be unpopular, but this is the only reasonable way to fix the economy

Question Two: No, It won’t. We will not and we should not look weak in the face of our enemy. There is nothing to gain from holding summits other than destroyed prestige.

Question Three: Is this question some sort of sick joke? I would never drop the embargo on any Communist country. Also, we are helping our own farmers by continuing this embargo. When a Communist country depends on us for our food supply, this shows our supremacy.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

bump

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I'll start the round by Tuesday, because tomorrow Monday will be election day here in the Philippines

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Sorry, but I've been very busy. Expect an update within Friday Meanwhile, it's better to prepare your schedules for the next turn.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Sorry, but I've been very busy. Expect an update within Friday Meanwhile, it's better to prepare your schedules for the next turn.

What will the dates be for next turn?

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Sorry, but I've been very busy. Expect an update within Friday Meanwhile, it's better to prepare your schedules for the next turn.

What will the dates be for next turn?

Check the first posts

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I'll be busy for the next days until Tuesday.

Meanwhile, to keep things up, the two remaining Republican candidates are invited in a forum in Des Moines, Iowa. The forum will be in this format
- The candidates will make their opening statements first. Also included there are three questions that they would want to ask to each other
- The two candidates will answer the questions in a separate post
- If time permits, they can rebut the answers in a separate posts
- In a separate post also, the candidates will make their closing statement.

A Democratic forum will be also held. Same format for the three candidates.

This mini-round will end on Tuesday

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I'll let Golfman go first.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

Good evening, my fellow Americans. I am here today to show why I am a better choice in the primaries and the election. I would like to ask Mr. Anderson a question. During the 60's, you introduced a bill to, in your own words, "recognize the law and authority of Jesus Christ". You wanted this put in the constitution not one, not two, but three times! Now, I'am as religious as the next guy, but your bill shows that you wanted to make Religion a public matter, to make America a christian nation. This goes against the Constitution, one of our greatest traditions is Religious Tolerance, not Fundamentalism. I would like to ask you this, Mr. Anderson, why did you introduce this bill in the first place?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Good evening, I'm Congressman John Anderson, and I want to be your next president.  Over the last four years, Jimmy Carter has failed you as president.  Inflation, unemployment and interest rates are through the roof.  We are forced to wait longer and pay more to get the gas we need.  Our standing in the world has diminished as Iran has taken hostage our brave servicemen.  In this new decade, America deserves new leadership, and I want to provide it.

To answer Gov. Reagan's question, I will say that my early years as a Congressman, I was one of the most conservative members.  I took some positions that I regret now.  This amendment is one of them.  I believed then, as I do now, that America should recognize the role that Judeo-Christian principles have had in forming our nation.  What I did not understand is how my proposed amendment would violate religious freedom and the separation of church and state.  I've come a long way since I sponsored that amendment.  As I saw the effects of the Vietnam War and Watergate on our nation's morale, I realized that I could no longer continue in the hard-line conservatism that Governor Reagan espouses.  I recognized that instead of enshrining religion in our government, we should be encouraging Americans to worship as they choose.  And if I'm president, I will do everything in my power to defend religious freedom for every American.

My first question for Governor Reagan is this: in 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was first passed, you said that you supported it and wanted it enforced at gunpoint if necessary.  Then, the following year, you said you would have opposed it if you had been in Congress.  As Governor of California, you proposed and signed the largest tax increase by any state in American history, but now you say you want to cut taxes as president.  This kind of indecisiveness is exactly the same as what we see in President Carter right now.  How can Americans entrust you with the presidency if you keep taking both sides of the issues, and how can we expect your leadership to be any stronger than our current president?

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

In response to Representative Anderson's question, while I was governor of California, The State Legislature was majority-Democrat. I couldn't just keep vetoing it, I needed to compromise with the Democratic Legislature. As president, I want the American people to understand this: No new taxes! As for the Civil rights question, well, my support by gunpoint quote was before my tenure as governor, and I really didn't think about those things until 1966. Also, in 1965, we saw the devastating Watts riots. Like many Americans, I was shocked, but my response went overboard. My question for representative Anderson is this, in the 1960s, you voted for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. After that, you were strongly anti-war. If you are too accuse me of flip-flopping, why don't you try to clarify this?/i]

[Oldiesfreak1854]

When I voted for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, I supported the Vietnam War.  I thought it was necessary to protect peace and security for our country.  As the war dragged on, however, it soon became clear that we could not win, and I was forced to rethink my support.  The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is probably the one vote I regret more than any other.  When I'm president, I will examine every international affair carefully before intervening, and I will do everything in my power not to send our servicemen and women into a conflict that they are unable to win.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I'm giving a day for the candidates to make a final statement. Next round will DEFINITELY start tomorrow (whew, it's a long delay)

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

I would like to thank the people that came here to this forum, and Representative Anderson for appearing. Iowans, you have a couple of weeks until voting starts. You could vote for me or Anderson. But let me make this clear: The time is now. I will offer real change and prosperity to this great nation. I have changed California for the best. Ask any Californian, they will say that I have done a good job. Unlike Anderson, I had held the executive branch of the government. On January 14th, Iowans, do the right thing, vote for experience, vote for change. Thank you all, this was my closing statement

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Jimmy Carter's weakness and incompetence has crippled our economy and national security over the last four years.  If we give him four more years, the 1980s will be another decade of staglation, hostages in Iran, and sky-high interest rates.  We need a candidate who will reject extremism and put America back on the path to peace and prosperity.  If you elect me to be your president, I promise you that the 1980s will be the proudest, strongest, and freest decade in our nation's history, and I ask for your vote.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Turn IV

January 6 - 12, 1980

1.- Primary Ballot Deadlines: Candidates have until Turn 10 to file in for the March 8 and March 17. Take notice of the deadlines and plan carefully! You may opt not to join the first primaries. Just indicate on your post whether you will run in a certain primary or not. Filing for the January to February contests are over.

2.- Democratic Forum
 The three remaining Democratic candidates are invited in a forum in Dubuque, Iowa. The forum will be in this format
- The candidates will make their opening statements first. Also included there are three questions that they would want to ask to each other
- The two candidates will answer the questions in a separate post
- If time permits, they can rebut the answers in a separate posts
- In a separate post also, the candidates will make their closing statement.
(this forum will end at the end of Turn V. This will not be mentioned as I post the results from Turn IV)

In the News!

from Wikipedia

(might as well consider this as random events)

Bailing Out

U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation approving $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.

For the first time, I'll not post national primary polls. National polls will be posted sporadically

Gallup: Republican Iowa Caucuses

Ronald Reagan: 54% (+2)
John Anderson: 37% (+21)
Undecided: 9% (-11)

SUMMARY: Anderson benefited from the forums and debates, managed to hold off Reagan in the forum. He managed to convince some of the undecideds and most McCloskey supporters (see previous poll) to switch to him.

Gallup: Dem. Iowa Caucuses

Jimmy Carter: 46% (-7)
George Wallace: 34% (+4%)
Cliff Finch: 6%(+1%)
Undecided: 14% (-1%)

SUMMARY: As the Iowa caucuses near, and the hostage situation worsening, Pres. Carter appeared on an interview with John Chancellor. The interview was focused on Carter's position on major issues. This did little to no help to his ratings as Wallace's and Finch's ratings continue to rise (random events). 

Gallup: Approval Rating of President Carter

Approve: 51%
Disapprove: 37%
Undecided/No Opinion: 12%

This turn will start today and will end on May 27, 11:59 PM EDT

[Maxwell]

Can a last minute candidate enter the race?

[Potus]

BREAKING NEWS:

REPRESENTATIVES OF GEORGE BUSH HAVE LANDED WITH READY-TO-GO BALLOT PAPERWORK IN THE MARCH PRIMARY STATES. TELEVISION CREWS HAVE BEEN SUMMONED TO KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE.

[Potus]

AMERICANS FOR BUSH

My friends,

An era of division has fallen upon our party, our nation, and our hearts.

I have watched politics for most of my life. I celebrated with my countrymen of every color and creed when victory was declared in World War Two. My service in that war bound me to brothers of every description. These times were America at its greatest.

I've also seen a time where our street were racked by ideological violence, we shunned our fellow man for no other reason than race, and violence was met with more violence. These times marked America at her worst.

However, the nature of our politics today is different. We are unified in our frustrations and divided on our margins. Every American feels the pain of the grocery. They feel the pain of the gas pump. They feel the threat of Communism and fear our nation's weakness. We are divided only by ideology, rhetoric, and style.

President Carter, swept into office by good intention and a thirst for honesty, has regretfully failed to rise to the challenges of our times. Crises, both domestic and abroad, have not been tempered by a responsible leader. Though he is my President, I do not believe he should be returned to the White House this fall.

A Republican is best suited to seize the promise of the next decade. However, rather than addressing the concerns and struggles of every day Americans, my fellow Republicans have chosen to press onward with the politics of division.

Congressman Anderson and Governor Reagan, both honorable men, have been advised by their consultants and their donors and their handlers that division will win them the nomination. Anderson's advisors tell him to unite the center and focus on the urban voters. Reagan's advisors tell him to fight for conservatives and bring in the marginalized right wing of the Democrat Party to put him over the top. Moderates be damned, the strategy goes.

This is not a politics of solutions. It is not a politics of peace. Not of prosperity.

Voters should not be faced with a choice between malaise and division. Republicans should not be faced with a men who differ mostly on style and marginally on values.

The time for unity in this country is now. The time for healing is upon us. For every life, there is a purpose. All of us, at one time or another, receive our call. Be it our work, our families, or, in my case, our country. I have received my call.

Tonight, I am putting my name forward for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. I will run hard and our message of peace, prosperity, and unity will deliver us the nomination and eventually the White House.

I hope to have your support in this endeavor. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

[Potus]

Strategic Memo #001

The attached document is to be circulated at every visit by the candidate, event held by supporters, and meetings of friendly organization meetings Iowa, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico. These are instructions as to how to cast your ballot for the Director without seeing his name on the ballot. Though we have no expectations to place first in any of these states due to lack of ballot access, a strong showing despite our obstacles will allow us to win the narrative over our opponents.

We have compiled a list of the filing deadlines for weekly newspapers around Iowa and New Hampshire. Communications is currently drafting a press release to get out just before the filing deadlines of every paper on the list. Due to our proximity to the filing deadlines, our strategic department is confident our press release will be printed with little to no revision.

The Director's schedule is engineered to take advantage of the high levels of press coverage our late entry is receiving. Events are to be scheduled in town exactly two days following the printing of our announcement press release in their weekly paper. If events are scheduled in time, event detail should accompany the press release to the newspaper offices.

We are attempting to arrange around a dozen phone interviews for the Director in the March states. Some radio shows are willing to allow us to record when time permits and play it on air the following morning. We recognize the higher risk nature of on-the-fly radio interviews in which hosts guide the questions, however, the Director's patriotism, love of family, and convictions are beyond pale. We are confident there will be no sort of ethical impugning take place, just as we are confident radio listeners will get the opportunity to listen to the Director's voice and know who he is.

Early analysis of the data and the predictions being floated in the media give us much-better-than-50-50 odds of carrying Masschusetts and Vermont on the 8th of March. The 17th of March predictions show us starting with a lead in Maine, Illinois, Connecticut, and Kansas. If our lead materializes and holds in these states, we are prepared to make a heavy investment in Colorado and Wyoming to give us a clean sweep, along with the 226 delegates awarded.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Can a last minute candidate enter the race?

Yeah. Sure

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Strategic Memo #001

The attached document is to be circulated at every visit by the candidate, event held by supporters, and meetings of friendly organization meetings Iowa, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico. These are instructions as to how to cast your ballot for the Director without seeing his name on the ballot. Though we have no expectations to place first in any of these states due to lack of ballot access, a strong showing despite our obstacles will allow us to win the narrative over our opponents.

We have compiled a list of the filing deadlines for weekly newspapers around Iowa and New Hampshire. Communications is currently drafting a press release to get out just before the filing deadlines of every paper on the list. Due to our proximity to the filing deadlines, our strategic department is confident our press release will be printed with little to no revision.

The Director's schedule is engineered to take advantage of the high levels of press coverage our late entry is receiving. Events are to be scheduled in town exactly two days following the printing of our announcement press release in their weekly paper. If events are scheduled in time, event detail should accompany the press release to the newspaper offices.

We are attempting to arrange around a dozen phone interviews for the Director in the March states. Some radio shows are willing to allow us to record when time permits and play it on air the following morning. We recognize the higher risk nature of on-the-fly radio interviews in which hosts guide the questions, however, the Director's patriotism, love of family, and convictions are beyond pale. We are confident there will be no sort of ethical impugning take place, just as we are confident radio listeners will get the opportunity to listen to the Director's voice and know who he is.

Early analysis of the data and the predictions being floated in the media give us much-better-than-50-50 odds of carrying Masschusetts and Vermont on the 8th of March. The 17th of March predictions show us starting with a lead in Maine, Illinois, Connecticut, and Kansas. If our lead materializes and holds in these states, we are prepared to make a heavy investment in Colorado and Wyoming to give us a clean sweep, along with the 226 delegates awarded.

Write-ins are allowed . But don't expect a first place finish there unless you really put a lot of efforts there.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Rules for the "Announcement Turn" (first turn will be on Monday)
ANNOUNCEMENT TURN: April 9, 2016 to April 10, 2016
based on cxs018's rules

1. Announce your candidacy. It can be something as simple as a few sentences in an interview, or something as complex as a multiple-page announcement speech. All that matters is that you make it clear that you're running for president.
2. Post your campaign activities from any timeframe before December 3,1979.
3. Private message me to request endorsements. I'll approve them for the most part, unless they don't make sense. Maximum of five endorsements per turn . Endorsement requests will start at this turn


Primaries Rules
1. Post your campaign activities from the timeframe given.
2. Each candidate can choose one primary state to poll; I will privately message them the poll results. Note that national polls and polls for upcoming states will be posted on this thread for all to see.
3. Make your plans realistic. For example, you can't run a lot of ads at the same time if you don't fund raise. I will give high points for realism.
4. Private message me to request endorsements. I'll approve them for the most part, unless they don't make sense. Maximum of five endorsements per turn
5. I will create news stories using a random number generator as well as from real events; as usual, 1-5 = negative news for a candidate, 46-50 = positive news for a candidate, 6-45 = no impact.
6. Rules for the general election will be announced about halfway through the primaries, or whenever both nominees are obvious.

based on Lumine's rules
7.- Note on Delegates: For gameplay purposes, both parties will be using a proportional system for delegates, with a 15% threshold. The only exception to this rule is the decisive California Primary, which as in OTL will be Winner Takes All.

8. You may request for state primaries polls via PM. I will send the results via PM. Three states per turn. National primaries/upcoming state primaries/general election polls will be posted here.

9.NEW RULE: Please post the breakdown of your campaign spending and your raised amount every turn. This includes paraphernalia, ads, rallies, fundraisers, salary of your campaign workers, etc. It's up to you on how you will report it. It will also boost your campaign.

If you're candidate is a well known millionaire (e.g: Ross Perot, Donald Trump), you can spend with your own money as well. Label them as "own money. In order to raise your budget, just organize fund raising events.

Reiterating this :

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Anderson files to appear on the ballot in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming.