The New Century: A Parliament for The People

[MAINEiac4434]

Ugh, I really don't want to write the debate. I can't do it well.

I might just skip straight to election night.

I can message you with a few ideas if you want, or you could just give a brief rundown like "Obama appeared above the fold, Sanders fought hard for left-wing ideals," and the like.

[Kingpoleon]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

[Kamala]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

Alignment is more nationalistic and fiscally conservative, while the Conservatives are more traditionalist "one-nation conservative"-esque and more economically moderate.

It's also because the country is in the middle of a realignment, with many of the parties evolving ideologically.

[Stm85]

Definitely Civic Union.

[TheSaint250]

Definitely Civic Union.

[America Needs R'hllor]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

Alignment is more nationalistic and fiscally conservative, while the Conservatives are more traditionalist "one-nation conservative"-esque and more economically moderate.

It's also because the country is in the middle of a realignment, with many of the parties evolving ideologically.

Also in parliamentary systems a situation could arise where there are many similar parties who stand alone on the ego of their leaders instead of merging.

[TheSaint250]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

Alignment is more nationalistic and fiscally conservative, while the Conservatives are more traditionalist "one-nation conservative"-esque and more economically moderate.

It's also because the country is in the middle of a realignment, with many of the parties evolving ideologically.

It seems to be like if a Ted Cruz faction and a Trump faction were formed they wouldn't unite (ITTL)

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Excellent timeline! Labor seems great. I wonder what Bernie's New Progressive Socialist Workers Party's platform is as well as Tim Kaine's Christian Democratic party. How will those parties campaign? What about the Texas National Party?

[Kamala]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

Alignment is more nationalistic and fiscally conservative, while the Conservatives are more traditionalist "one-nation conservative"-esque and more economically moderate.

It's also because the country is in the middle of a realignment, with many of the parties evolving ideologically.

It seems to be like if a Ted Cruz faction and a Trump faction were formed they wouldn't unite (ITTL)

That's somewhat accurate - but I think more like Theresa May and Nigel Farage. They're not friends.

[Kamala]

The New Progressive and Socialist Workers' Party Manifesto 2018
A 21st Century Revolution

Tax and Tax Reform:

- Increase the marginal rate of all income tax brackets by 2.5%
- Create a new income tax bracket for those earning above $1 million, taxed at 90%.
- Introduce a twelve-point (.12%) financial transaction tax
- Publicly denounce companies which engage in offshoring
- introduce an excise tax on luxury goods such as furs, expensive cars, expensive alcohol, and other luxury goods.
 
Foreign Policy and Trade:

- Reevaluate all current free trade agreements, ending those which harms US workers
- Close down all foreign military bases
- Seek amicable or peaceful ties with Russia
- Introduce a tariff (unspecified amount) on imported Chinese and Vietnamese goods unless China and Vietnam address working conditions in their countries
- Limit espionage operations in allied countries

Military:

- Cut the military budget by 45%
- Move funding toward psychological care for soldiers
- Reduce the size of the standing army by honorably discharging 1/3 of currently enlisted soldiers

Social Issues, Education, and Health:

- Legalize same-sex marriage via a constitutional amendment
- Legalize recreational marijuana and evaluate the risks/benefits of legalizing other drugs
- Nationalize all hospitals, clinics, and Planned Parenthood, integrating them into a National System of Health under the Ministry of Health
- All doctors, nurses, and other health professionals will become employees of the government
- Provide a grant for the price of tuition to any public university to any student who manages to get accepted
- Introduce national curriculum standards, set by the Department of Education, for all public primary and secondary schools.

Miscellaneous:

- Grant amnesty to all undocumented immigrants living in the United States
- Greatly strengthen workers' rights and provide funding for unionizing in any industry
- Introduce a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure plan

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Definitely happiest with the NPSWP, would vote tactically based on their chances in my particular riding (ie: if my NPSWP will cause a swing to the Civic Union/further right, obviously won't. But my current residence is in Minister Obama's riding, so I see no problem voting for an NPSWP candidate.)

Will be very interested to see their electoral strategy/successes! I could imagine them competing in quite a few LAB, FL, and Civic Union districts next election, if not this one.

[Kamala]

Just a little something for fun -
http://www.strawpoll.me/13429006

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

So who's MP for Charlotte, and more importantly, are they in danger?

[TheSaint250]

I suppose I'm a Labor/Civic Union swing voter. I also don't quite understand why Alignment and the Conservatives won't merge.

Alignment is more nationalistic and fiscally conservative, while the Conservatives are more traditionalist "one-nation conservative"-esque and more economically moderate.

It's also because the country is in the middle of a realignment, with many of the parties evolving ideologically.

It seems to be like if a Ted Cruz faction and a Trump faction were formed they wouldn't unite (ITTL)

That's somewhat accurate - but I think more like Theresa May and Nigel Farage. They're not friends.

Yeah that sounds more accurate

[Kamala]

So who's MP for Charlotte, and more importantly, are they in danger?

Mel Watt, Labor, and no.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Okay, so if there's an NPSWP candidate, then them, if not, then Watt..

[Kamala]

The five parties whose manifestos I listed - Labor, CU, Alignment, Conservative, and NPSW - all run candidates in all or nearly all constituencies.

The Farmer-Populist party runs solely in large, agricultural districts. The Libertarians focus on the west, the Christian Democrats on the south, New Deseret only runs its five candidates, and Native Interests only run in Oklahoma and Grand Canyon (Arizona's 1st).

Tomorrow I'll hopefully post the debate analysis, and then afterwards it's Election Night 2018!

[mvd10]

Is the 30% border adjustment tax a normal tariff or is it the same like in the GOP tax plan? The border adjustment in the GOP tax plan isn't really a tax, they just let corporations deduct exports while adding imports to their taxable income. It's more of a base-broadener and doing it at a different rate than the corporate tax is rather difficult though I guess it's possible. And it's not really protectionist because theoretically it would cause the US dollar to rise which makes imports cheaper (so the trade deficit doesn't change in the end).

Anyway, great TL! It's just a shame most of the manifesto's suck, though I guess that's the fate of a libertarianish right-winger in a global left-wing realignment .

[Kamala]

It's a normal tariff.

[_]

Who is MP For the current location of IL's 3rd district?  Lipinski?

[Kamala]

Chapter 2.6: Master Debater Hallow-win the Debate

The Great Debate became an American electoral tradition in 1960 after DFL leader John F. Kennedy challenged then-Prime Minister Richard Nixon of the UfR.



This debate between the leaders of each party had grown in importance as the two major parties fractured into smaller ones - and with that fracture, the debate also grew in length. The 2016 Great Debate lasted four grueling hours, with sections for economic, social, and foreign policy, as well as plenty of time for rebuttals.

The 2018 Great Debate was expected to last even longer, due to Liberal's split and the birth of the Christian Democrats and the NPSW. The Debate occurred the day after Halloween, on November 1st.

Thanks to the strong political culture and high voter participation in the US, the Great Debate was routinely one of the most watched events on television.

Performance Assessment
Arranged by Polling Average


Barack Obama - Labor - A
Obama had an easy job in the debate - to convince the American people to remain with the current government. The ease of that job was multiplied by several factors: first, the popularity of Labor, second, his own personal high approvals, and third, a rather unstable and untested opposition.

Obama also did well on healthcare policy, managing to strike a moderate chord between the radical leftism of Bernie Sanders and the milquetoast reactionarism of the Conservatives and the former Liberal parties.

The Labor leader also succeed in bringing across a message of solidarity and unity, utilizing the political turmoil of the right wing parties as an example of what not to do. By focusing on making America a better place for everyone, he cut across racial, political, and class lines.

Obama, however, sputtered on abortion, something which his predecessor was excellent at defending.


Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Conservative - B+
McMorris Rodgers, just like Obama, also capitalized on the fighting between the Civic Union and the Alignment. She remained focused on the issues, but was otherwise relatively unremarkable, with no outstanding moments, but no gaffes either.

She criticized Labor for rapidly expanding the government, but was rebuffed by attacks on her party's social planks. She managed to evade being labeled as "out of step with American values" by focusing on traditional community and values.


Steve Scalise - The Alignment - C-
Scalise had the difficult job of informing the public about his party's political beliefs. This prevented him from retorting and attacking the other party leaders on the stage.

He ended up getting labeled a right-wing extremist by almost every other leader, but managed to defend his position using nationalistic rhetoric. His call to "Secure our border - for if America doesn't have a border, it is not a country." received massive applause from the audience.

He committed a major gaffe in the foreign policy segment of the debate, claiming Russia "has no interest in expanding its power in Eastern Europe." Prime Minister Obama corrected him, informing him that Russia was currently moving troops towards the Ukraine border.


Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - Civic Union - A-
Ros-Lehtinen was more successful than Scalise at voicing the platform of her party. She had a major  success at discussing her vision for a cosmopolitan global society, where opportunity is available for every citizen, unburdened by the government.

However, her performance was sometimes overshadowed by other candidates, and she was described as being too passive and "nice" during the debate.


Collin Peterson - Farmer-Populist - D+
Peterson floundered at answering even the most basic questions asked by the moderators. He wasn't able to defend some of Labor's policies, as is natural for a junior coalition party.

Peterson, however, was successful in handling the specifics of agricultural policy during the economic section of the debate, showing his depth in the topic and demonstrating the lack of knowledge of the other candidates. This, however, wasn't enough to make it a successful debate for him.


Bernie Sanders - New Progressive and Socialist Workers' - B-
Sanders' fiery rhetoric got the attention of the crowd and made him the centre of the debate. He managed to get in plenty of soundbites of a "new revolution for the American people."

However, Sanders was much worse at defending the costs of his plans for the country, and many of his opponents criticized him for his "pie-in-the-sky" policies, and his inability to explain how funding would be provided for them did him no favors.


Don Young - Libertarian - C+
Young's defense of soft Libertarian principles was decently well-received, but otherwise, the Alaskan remained anonymous throughout the debate.


Tim Kaine - Christian Democrat - C-
Kaine was unable to sufficiently explain Christian Democratic principles on the stage, and instead retorted to off-putting non-sequitur attacks on the major candidates.

Kaine's almost singular focus on abortion made him seem like a single-issue party - despite the fact that Kaine had performed much better in the constituency debate.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

So based on debate performance I'm guessing that the NPSWP/FP coalition of my dreams isn't going to happen

[Kamala]

So based on debate performance I'm guessing that the NPSWP/FP coalition of my dreams isn't going to happen

I don't think it was the debate that did them in... both parties were polling in low single digits prior to it.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

So based on debate performance I'm guessing that the NPSWP/FP coalition of my dreams isn't going to happen

I don't think it was the debate that did them in... both parties were polling in low single digits prior to it.

Though that said that's probably sufficient for the FPs not to lose ground, right?

Anything interesting going on in whatever the CT-3 is now? DeLauro is pretty far left, but I could also imagine a strong SWP challenger.

[Kamala]

Chapter 2.7: Election Night - Part One



Welcome to the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. It's 4:45 here in Atlanta. As we all know, today was Election Day for the early election called by Prime Minister Barack Obama. While early polling initially showed Labor winning in a landslide, as the campaign has dragged on, the polls have naturally tightened.
 
The final poll conducted by PPP, released this morning, has the following figures for national parties:

Labor - 34%
Conservative - 23%
Civic Union - 18%
The Alignment - 17%
Farmer Populist - 4%
New Progressive & Socialist Workers' - 2%
Libertarian - 1%
Tim Kaine's Christian Democrats - 1%

We can see that Labor will most likely win a plurality of seats. The question tonight is how many seats will the splintered Liberal party earn? Remember - in 2016, they had 121 seats.

We can expected results to come in by this map:

Earliest results should come in from Indiana and Kentucky some time after polls close at 6:00. Then, we'll move on to the blue states at 7:00, the green states at 7:30, and  a large dump of votes from the yellow states at 8:00. Following those, at 8:30, Arkansas and Puerto Rico. Then, at 9:00, the purple states will close their polls. At 10:00, the tan, 11:00, the lavender, and later on in the night, Alaska and Hawaii.

Stay tuned for our guest analysts and for the results as they come in.