Temporary Headquarters of the Labor Party (Leadership election)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

LABOR PARTY OF ATLASIA

Protect, Provide, Prosper

. . .

So, yeah. . . that happened.

With the departure of Never Again, I in my capacity as Deputy Chair of the Labor National Committee have assumed the duties and responsibilities of Temporary Acting Chairman. Good Lord.

I will be perfectly frank with all of you : I do not know how long I will consent to remain in this position, or even whether it will be expedient for me to continue in the leadership of this party. It is no secret that I never wanted to be Chairman; I have seen enough to know that it is a soul-killing, thankless job, and particularly so in the present climate. For the moment, however, I'm in charge here, and I will attempt in the coming hours and days to address those remaining questions before our party : namely, the selection of a replacement for Representative OneJ and figuring out what the H*ll we're supposed to do now.

Yours,

Harry S Truman

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Right, I suppose we'll commence nominations for the office of Chair, followed by a general vote after the 48 hour period has expired.

On a somewhat-related note, I hereby appoint JGibson to replace OneJ in the House of Representatives.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oh my, it appears everyone has forgotten that I am in charge of this convention, and while the sky may be falling, I have no intention of permitting the groundlings to run roughshod over the bylaws. In order for nominations to be considered valid, they must be entered, seconded, and accepted by someone who was a registered member of the Labor Party at the time this thread was opened. Thus far, the list of valid nominations is:




and the list of potentially valid nominations is:

C.X. Smith         [X] Eligible   [X] Accepted   [X] Seconded
Justin Time Cuber         [X] Eligible   [  ] Accepted   [  ] Seconded
Peebs         [X] Eligible   [  ] Accepted   [  ] Seconded
Tim Turner         [X] Eligible   [X] Accepted   [X] Seconded
Windjammer         [X] Eligible   [X] Accepted   [X] Seconded

Those whose stated aim is to elect some other candidate are considered to have been nominated, but not accepted. From here on out, only explicit nominations/acceptances/seconds will be counted by the chair.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I'll second Rpryor.

Rpryor, sadly, is ineligible, having registered with the party following the opening of the nomination period.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The nominations of C.X. Smith, Tim Turner, and Windjammer have been made, accepted, and seconded.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I hereby submit the following Amicus Brief:

The labor party should dissolve immediately.

In filing this brief, you have implicitly endorsed and acknowledged the legitimacy of the Labor Party as the official organ for the political left. I'm afraid this makes you a socialist by association.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Since this party seems so invested in calling me a socialist, I hereby declare a write-in campaign for chair, with the goal of dissolving the labor party.

It's a valiant effort, but you'll never wash that red stain from your hands, Lady Macbeth.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I hereby submit the following Amicus Brief:

The labor party should dissolve immediately.

In filing this brief, you have implicitly endorsed and acknowledged the legitimacy of the Labor Party as the official organ for the political left. I'm afraid this makes you a socialist by association.

As the original creator of the Socialist by Association status, I get to make the rules. And the rules never concerned Atlasian Participation, therefore I am not a Socialist by Association.

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly. If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here, that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice
To our own lips.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The fact that the acting chair is now writing nonsense poems is even more reason to dissolve the labor party.

. . . it's Shakespeare; but I assure you, your singling out that particular speech as a "nonsense poem" is hilarious to anyone familiar with the play.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I guess I can't motion for a platform change here...

There's nothing to stop the Chair from conducting a non-binding poll of the membership, however.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

In light of the resignation of Representative LongLiveRock, I hereby appoint Alpha to the House of Representatives.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see,
Thy honourable metal may be wrought
From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet
That noble minds keep ever with their likes;
For who so firm that cannot be seduced?
Caesar doth bear me hard; but he loves Brutus:
If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius,
He should not humour me. I will this night,
In several hands, in at his windows throw,
As if they came from several citizens,
Writings all tending to the great opinion
That Rome holds of his name; wherein obscurely
Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at:
And after this let Caesar seat him sure;
For we will shake him, or worse days endure.

FTFY

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

[snip]

That was almost a clever comeback, but you ruined it by choosing the wrong speech.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Alright! The period for nominations having expired, we will now proceed to a vote. Only persons who (a) are registered members of the Labor Party; and (b) were registered members of the Labor Party at the time this thread was opened are eligible to vote in this election. Please note that write-in votes will only be counted if the recipient publicly declares their intention to accept said votes, and only if they are eligible to vote for themselves. The election will last 48 hours.

LABOR PARTY OF ATLASIA
EMERGENCY LEADERSHIP ELECTION
JUNE-JULY 2017

FOR CHAIR
[   ] Tim Turner of the South
[   ] Windjammer of Fremont
[   ] Write-in :

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

LABOR PARTY OF ATLASIA
EMERGENCY LEADERSHIP ELECTION
JUNE-JULY 2017

FOR CHAIR
[ 2 ] Tim Turner of the South
[ 1 ] Windjammer of Fremont
[   ] Write-in :

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

RESULTS - JUNE-JULY LEADERSHIP ELECTION
Windjammer : 12
Tim Turner : 3

Windjammer has been elected Chair of the Labor Party

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Also, a reminder to the incoming Labor Congressional Caucus that an election for the office of Congressional Leader needs to happen before the 7th Congress convenes next Friday. For those of you who haven't memorized the bylaws, the Congressional Leader acts as a combined floor leader and Congressional whip, as well our party's official candidate for Speaker of the House whenever we are the majority party.

In order to be elected Congressional Leader, a candidate must:

(a) Be a registered member of the Labor Party; AND
(b) Be an elected member of the House of Representatives

In order to vote in the election for Congressional Leader, an elector must:

(1a) Be a registered member of the Labor Party, OR
(2a) Be an independent who has pledged to support a majority of the Labor Party program in Congress; AND

(1b) Be an elected member of the House of Representatives, OR
(2b) Be an elected member of the Senate

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

How would the party feel about expanding the Congressional caucus so that senators have a role in it as well?  The left has had a de facto majority in the Senate for some time now and I'm running for PPT in the next session.  I think it would be appropriate for us to elect party leadership for Senate the same way we do for House.

Senators already have the right to vote in elections for Caucus Leader, but if y'all want to have separate leader for the Senatorial and House caucuses, I'd be fine with that.

I would note that as of this time we have yet to successfully give any purpose to said positions. The Caucus positions were the ones I cooked up February, Peebs copied them and has done a better job keeping them filled, but beyond that have served little to no purpose, though both Labor and Feds have integrated them into the bylaws.

Yeah, this has been a persistent problem. When I proposed the position of Congressional Leader back in October, I envisioned it as a kind of join floor leader and party whip who would keep our representatives active and engaged in Congressional proceedings. I don't think it's ever been used as such, which is a shame, because Congress would certainly benefit from a greater degree of organization. As it is, we have a system where the Speaker of the House is effectively both majority leader and minority leader, which is not a very reasonable request to make of one person.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Be sure to support our candidates in the August midterm elections this weekend! Now more than ever, Nyman needs leaders who can be counted on to oppose reactionary legislation, support reforms to our immigration and healthcare system, and defend the rights of the laboring classes. Plus, I made a banner:

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I think I speak for the whole of the party when I say that Windjammer — with his years of experience in politics, his calm and quiet style of leadership, and his willingness to be content with carrots when everyone else was waving sticks — was exactly what we needed in a chairman back in June, and the result of last weekend's election confirms it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and best wishes.


I second the nomination of Ted Bessell for Chair of the Labor National Committee, and move that this convention affirm his election by acclamation.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

So inactive Feds can just join Labor and waltz into the Chairmanship? Am I the only one who finds that sad?

(Also...hmmm...Ted's getting a pretty good deal here...maybe I should become a "proud progressive" )

You know, one of the nice things about winning elections is that you don't have to be salty.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I must say, I am touched by this effusion of empathy from leading members of the Federalist Party. I am sure they speak out of genuine concern for the welfare of the party, and are not simply bitter over being trounced in the midterms.

How curious that the individual now marked as "inactive" was as recently as four months ago being promoted by the Federalist leadership as the only sure guarantor of active government in the Senate; a truly fascinating insight into the psychology of the opposition!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Also Truman, lol, you literally had to move to Fremont and become Governor/PM because Ted abandoned the region.

Not to be a contrarian, but that is literally not true. My initial election as governor/prime minister/princeps came after GAWorth abandoned the region; Ted's term as governor ended months before I ever stepped foot in the region.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Also Truman, lol, you literally had to move to Fremont and become Governor/PM because Ted abandoned the region.

Not to be a contrarian, but that is literally not true. My initial election as governor/prime minister/princeps came after GAWorth abandoned the region; Ted's term as governor ended months before I ever stepped foot in the region.

Everybody with the Federalists knew for a fact that Ted set off the chain, had he chosen to remain an active Governor, you'd still be in Lincoln right now.

If that is true, then as I say:

a truly fascinating insight into the psychology of the opposition!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I second the nomination of Ted Bessell for Chair of the Labor National Committee, and move that this convention affirm his election by acclamation.

Seeing no objection, Ted Bessell is elected by acclamation. Congratulations, Mr. Chairman!