Senate Confirmation Hearing: Sestak for Deputy GM (Confirmed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Having long championed the concept of a rigorous nomination hearing, I must say I find myself largely in agreement with Wulfric here. And with the utmost respect to YE, the questions he posed are valid and we should seek answers to them. In fact it would be negligent on our part not to inquires as to what assurances we have that the past situation will not be repeated and until the nominee answers them in this thread I cannot vote for his confirmation.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

You know the irony is that LT's comment about Labor came as off as inappropriate to me, but DFW's latest post essentially amounts to "LAbor will keep him from going off the rails, so he can serve as an effective Deputy GM".

We have a history of trusting partisan figures as being GM or Deputy GM, that doesn't concern me. What concerns me is that we have a partisan organization holding its organizational stability up as the primary means by which an individuals' competence will be maintained and a sudden departure avoided. As someone who has seen instability in both parties crop up out of nowhere, it seems rather dubious.

I for one most certainly am in favor of Sestak working out his differences with Lumine, regardless of what happens here in this confirmation hearing, but there are other unrelated and direct pressing questions that need to be answered as well. I can understand if he prefers to answer them all at once, after having completed an interaction with Lumine, but until those answers are given and given from him instead of DFW or anyone else I don't feel comfortable voting in favor.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also, I personally find it rather amusing that you demand I assure the Senate that I won't leave the game again. People leave the game. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. Even among the most well-respected Atlasian figures, only a few of them have gone without leaving the game even once. Many times, people have to leave the game because personal reasons make it the genuine best choice for them, and I personally would be rather alarmed at the precedent set, not just with myself but for future confirmations, if the Senate demanded I make an assurance that I will never leave the game again as a prerequisite for confirmation - thus I will make no such assurance. Only that I currently plan to serve in this role for at least the next several months and will do all I can to help the Game Engine run more smoothly during that time.

Is it unreasonable to vet nominees though? It would be more unreasonable to my opinion if the question was not asked and then something happened, then if the question was asked and nothing happened. It comes down to a matter of responsibility on our part to least get a general feel for how much and how long a commitment a given officeholder can make to a particular office especially ones that are not elected and in the case of GM department less easily dismissed if the need should arise.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Basically, this nominee has high name rec for all the wrong reasons. And it doesn't really subscribe to the usual nomination mantra for this administration, which has mostly consisted of a mix of well-respected Leftists who have stuck around for lots of time (YE, Razze, etc.) , and milquetoast Centrists (Brugh, Ninja, etc.).

Not sure if I am misreading this, but the administration did not make this appointment. GMs are not part of the administration.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What is this, 2013? This brings back memories!

I backed you in 2013 as I recall and that wasn't centered around concerns over departure/being pushed to the limit, it was over whether or not you would be impartial as Game Moderator.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This is 2013 all over again, with the same concern-trolls using different masks and partisan labels. If I could inherit Sestak's body, I would frankly withdraw his nomination and let LT or whomever pick one of his Discord buddies and see if they could do better (they couldn't).

I would disagree. Had sestak came before us with the same concerns raised that were raised against you, mainly partisanship etc, I would be strongly in the Aye camp, especially since I was back then. The fact that I have concerns is evidence of this situation being different.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Right now my thoughts are this, I am inclined to agree with the President on the points he has made but I would make this note about the subject. Were this the actual position of GM itself, I would be inclined towards nay for the simple fact that I think it prudent on critical offices to expect some level of engagement upon return before entrusting a returning player to such a position. An example would be some lower level elective office somewhere for instance. That being said this is a Deputy position and thus while still a preference of mine, and certainly the preferable approach generally perhaps the standard doesn't need to be applied quite as stringently.

I am not concerned about partisanship or the quality of the stories here, as once again I agree with the President in that I think he would be good with both.

One thing I will say is that the attitude that has been taken towards this nomination by several people trying to help Sestak have been thoroughly counter productive. I am a big fan of a vibrant and an extensive vetting in confirmation hearings, and especially in a case like this where you have an appointee you recently left the game suddenly and abruptly, one needs to exercise care. We have had plenty of experience over the years with people taking offices, especially appointed ones and then not doing the job. As such, this is the biggest concern that should face any nominee and the most important and necessary questions will invariably be on grounds of competence, activity and commitment. It is a responsibility of the Senate and the Senators to take these concerns seriously since we have had so many instances where things have gone badly and thus not doing it would end up being incompetence or negligence on the part of the Senators.

I will share with you a story and since I realize by now Adam Griffin has already stopped reading, I will continue without concerning myself with his comments about "Yankee droning on about the past". When I was running for the Senate for the first time, we had a confirmation hearing for an Attorney General and this was a big name forum poster who had been here since rocks cooled and I remember him actually shaming Senators for daring to ask him questions, reasonable questions. Of course it is a great example of this action because happened afterwards. He didn't do his job in office, but he did try and cease the Presidency illegally when the subsequent election ended in a tie.

From the beginning, this has been a concern of mine and it has been my desire to shift the culture away from one of entitlement because of who someone his and supports and make sure that people are subjected to rigorous examination and that concerns are indeed addressed. The Senate doing its job is not concern trolling, oversight over appointments and officials is not us over stepping our bounds, it is the Senate doing its job. Frankly, I have found the comments made by several people who are supporting Sestak to have been harmful not just generally but harmful to his own cause as well. With friends like that...

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye


Do not make me regret this vote, Sestak!