I come before you this evening, in this hall not but a few hours from that where I first raised my hand and swore to defend the rights and liberties of the people to the utmost of my power, to formally accept the nomination for another term as your Deputy Chair.
I welcome my challengers to the race, for competition is the lifeblood of the democratic process. I welcome them also because, in the words of the great William Jennings Bryan, "a man clothed in the armor of a righteous cause is greater than all the hosts of error." We have both made our arguments before the people; we will now see which of them is the strongest.
The question has been posed whether the Labor Party is better under the present leadership, or whether a change is in order. I do not presume to say which choice is correct. I trust the people of the Labor Party; trust them because I have fought with them for twelve long months and have never known them to make an error. I trust them because I know while politicians may waver and forget their roots, the people's voice ever will ring through. But make no mistake: whatever anyone else will tell you, it does matter who is leading the party, and never have I been more convinced that the correct course is the one we are on.
I won't sell you platitudes, because that's a waste of everyone's time. Our party's future should not, and will not, be decided by a dime store slogan that came in a can and smells of formaldehyde. Anyone can come up with a cute slogan and talk fondly of progress; it takes a strong backbone and a fierce determination to make progress. This is an election for the leadership, and leadership demands results. I am here to tell you that the chairman and I have and will continue to achieve real, tangible results for the Labor Party.
My opponents in this race have scoffed at our record of growth and victory. Perhaps they have forgotten where we stood twelve months ago when myself and Chairman Blair assumed the helm. Then there existed a 20 vote conservative majority at the ballot box; today, the Labor Party accounts for a grand total of 67 voting Atlasians, the largest majority of any party in modern history. Then the conservative faction controlled seven out of ten seats in the Senate and a majority of governorships; today, Labor holds majorities in both houses of Congress, two thirds of governorships, and 100% of regional legislatures nationwide. In twelve months we have lost but one federal election, and we have carried the House of Representatives in every election since August 2016.
This is what leadership looks like; this is how a successful party operates. Myself and the chairman took a party on the verge of collapse and restored to it activity, productivity, and victory at the ballot box. You can talk yourself hoarse demanding the moon and reeling off second-hand jingles, but those are the facts; this is the ground upon which this campaign will be fought.
My opponents claim we have not sufficiently supported game reform. Perhaps they have forgotten the Constitutional Convention, the single greatest victory for the cause of game reform in history, where both Chairman Blair and myself fought tirelessly to overhaul our national government. Perhaps they have forgotten how the chairman restored activity to the Old Northeast at a time when some wished to cleave our union in two. Perhaps they have forgotten the contributions of Laborites like One J_, and simossad, and so many more who came to our shores as a direct result of the leadership's recruitment campaign. Perhaps they have forgotten my own efforts to restore vitality to Fremont, efforts that resulted in the adoption of the first parliamentary democracy in the history of Atlasia (a policy they have recently "discovered" and are now using to advance their own campaigns). I will never say that we have no more work to do, but the fiction that we have made no progress is a lie and a bad one.
This is the party that stands before you today: strong, tested, and moved by the legions of new citizens who have flocked to our banner in this hour of decision.
Where, then, do we go from here? First, to victory in the February elections. As we speak, myself and the chairman are in the process of assembling among the strongest tickets we have yet fielded for the House of Representatives: this, combined with our candidates for Senate and regional office, and our two presidential champions - Never Again and Southern Gothic - represent a powerful force with which to defend our values at the ballot box. Then, when the election is fought and won, we go to work for the progressive policies upon which this party was founded. To do so will require more than a fun chairman with a flashy campaign; it will require real, tested leadership of the kind myself and the chairman have exhibited these past twelve months.
My friends, this is your choice. This is your party. Do not fail us.
