Labor Party Standing Committee (10/12-6/13)

[Napoleon]

dubstep drugs and sex? You should join the Liberal Party.

[Napoleon]

dubstep drugs and sex? You should join the Liberal Party.

Unlike the Liberal party we also actively protect your right to party and employment if the wrong people find out.

How is that unlike the Liberal Party? Um, that was one of my main proposals in my recent Senate campaign.

Here are some examples of legislation I would like to introduce:

• A bill to protect workers' rights to recreate using legal substances outside of the workplace

[Napoleon]

I ask that members of this highly regarded party cast their vote on the Let's Really Make Things Interesting Amendment based on its merits, and not just because they were told to vote a certain way. This is a sound amendment that gained the support of every Senator, including the two Labor Senators, and has significant protections against any sort of partisan gerrymandering. If anything, Labor will have more opportunities to elect Senators, and from there have more potentially strong presidential candidates. This amendment can really benefit Atlasia and the Labor Party. Atlasia doesn't need a stealth campaign against an amendment, our people deserve an honest and open debate. Please support the amendment!

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Senator Napoleon

P.S. I do thank Seatown for his statement, I would say the same thing if people were doing it to the Labor Party.

[Napoleon]

Welcome Senator,

There certainly is no "stealth campaign" going on - there is an honest discussion of what many in our party perceive to be a flawed bill in its current form. Many feel that this bill did not have the necessary amount of discussion and debate that a bill of this scope should receive. That is not to fault you nor any other Senator - it's just the way things happened. In the end, it passed and is up for ratification or rejection.

I'll be issuing a more detailed, forthcoming statement on the matter.

NO.

I brought this to the public as soon as I introduced the bill. I asked for a debate. I didn't even expect to get it through the Senate. If you opposed the amendment, YOU should have spoken up. None of you who have voted Nay so far actually spoke up when you were given so many opportunities. If this is the way you approach politics, I would find it difficult to support you (not directed at the entire party here, of course). When a Senator begs the public for input, and you remain silent, you should not be able to get away with a stealth campaign. You were the one who failed to give the amount of debate and discussion, if that's how you truly you feel.

Where is the honest discussion? I laid out my arguments plainly and clearly, the entire Senate including Labor Senators agreed. You remained silent. Alfred remained silent. What honest debate are you talking about? The one where you PM people to vote Nay or change their votes? Sorry, not buying it.

Tonight I introduced to the Senate a Constitutional Amendment which is bound to be controversial but that I believe is a debate worth having. I would appreciate it if we can avoid any demagogic reaction and instead come to the table to engage in a respectful and open-minded discussion. Please allow me the opportunity to inform you why I have decided to introduce an amendment that will add 5 4 new senators elected by districts.

This is an idea I have had floating around in the back of my head since I first learned of districts. In the "Let's Make the VP a Senator" debate, I mentioned that if we are going to add to the Senate, there are more interesting ways to go about it. Most of us weren't around when districts were a part of the game but I believe the concept is fascinating if used in conjunction with the current methods of election.

First things first, so I will start with the obvious. Atlasia is rapidly growing. This is a good thing. Regions are thriving, activity is improving, elections are pretty exciting and its increasingly difficult to decide who to vote for. Now I know what you will say: We're growing, but that doesn't mean we should expand the Senate. You will only take away good people from other positions. I disagree! Atlasia is growing because of the opportunities available. Regional legislatures and competition have made once dead regions like the Pacific and Midwest come full circle. As we allow more opportunities to participate in the game, we become a stronger nation and a more exciting game. The Senate is seen by many, and perhaps rightfully so, as the heart of the game. It becomes discouraging to have restrictive upward mobility in a game this competitive and demanding.

As I stated above, the Senate is often seen as the heart of the game. Pre-dissolution I often complained that my party, the JCP (and maybe the RPP but I wasn't so concerned with their party operations), was too focused on the federal government and did not place enough importance on the regions. With this amendment, Regional Executives will have a limited influence on the federal government similar to the House of Representatives. I don't foresee crazy gerrymandering but I believe that parties will be more concerned with regional executive elections if it influences the Senate. This increased competition will be good for the regions.The redistricting process will add a new, interesting and dynamic layer to Atlasian politics that will spice up the game.

With a more diverse set of viewpoints, our policy making will improve. Too often the Senate seems like it is a restrictive club that only a few people have the opportunity to reach. The Senate will be more open and more representative. Ideally, thee more Senators we havve, the more they can communicate with their constituents, building an even more informed and more involved republic.

Is more elections really a bad thing? This is an elections game, after all. As long as there are good people willing to run, we should encourage this. I believe those people are here in Atlasia, waiting in the wings, or somewhere on the forum yet to register.

Atlasia has changed dramatically over the last year, two years. We aren't the same country anymore: why keep pretending? A ten member Senate is ideal for 120 people and two parties. With nearly 200 people and four major parties, we are doing it wrong. We are not taking advantage of the opportunities that dissolution has opened up for Atlasia. We have the chance to see parties become more than just GOTV machines and groups of friends. With an expanded Senate, look to see possible coalition governments, more bipartisan proposals, and other fun stuff.

The Senate need not feel threatened by opening our legislature to more people. We could really use the help. With the increased success and prominence of committees, we can diversify and improve them by having a larger pool to choose from. We will truly get the most out of our committees when we have more Senators knowledgeable and interested in any given field. With 15 14 instead of 10, committees will thrive.

Last things last: imagine the cool new GriffGraphs!

I'm looking forward to having a nice debate on this.

Here are some reasons to vote in favor, for those interested in being open minded.

[Napoleon]

Haven't there been just, like, 3 Nays or something? I'm skeptical of there being a vast conspiracy against this Amendment from Griffin when it's pretty early.

The PMs have been sent. Apparently, they aren't just from Griffin, you know.

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These vacancies are unordinary, and with a larger Senate a vacancy or two doesn't totally handicap the Senate business like the current vacancies are.

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Districts were eliminated before. I've no problem reducing the number of offices if that's what is best for the game. In fact, I was pushing for just that when the number of players was too small to support the positions we had (and you opposed me then, too) .
Luckily, they wouldn't be out of a job, they'd just run for reelection to an at large seat and it'd be like normal.

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The SoIA is a whole 'nother story, people don't know what to do with it/aren't willing to use it as its intended. I'm pretty sure those problems don't exist for the position of Senator.

I think its a true shame that none of you, including you Mr. President, were at all willing to come forward with these supposed "concerns" during the Senate debate, or make suggestions to help us amend it to your liking, or ask questions that you didn't feel were answered. I definitely did my part in laying out the pro-amendment arguments.

When i have opposed something, including anything of yours, I gave you the honesty of a debate, I would always say where I stood and tell you why. That I can't seem to get that out of anyone else, well, it's very insulting.

[Napoleon]

Not all of us are senators, so we aren't required to know of it's affairs. Anyway, I didn't realize that there would be public vote on the amendment until today, so I decided to send out some recommendations.

No, you aren't required to know. But as a Senator, I make an effort to reach out to the public. There was a lengthy debate in my Office before it reached the Senate floor,a gain, the responses there, too, were positive. Why should I propose anything if no one pays attention and do one is willing to actually say anything in public?
I wish you'd pay more attention to Senate affairs, Seatown. We probably wouldn't have so many misunderstandings between us.

[Napoleon]

Yeah, who are these people and why are they discussing everything in the IRC where it "stays in the IRC"? Why are they so scared to actually debate something? Atlasia exists for us to debate and discuss, not to deceive and manipulate.

I spoke out against those who refused to debate the amendment I sponsored on your behalf and I am going to speak out about this too. I made every effort to get the public involved in this debate and critics were silent. This is pathetic. There is really no other word for it. I am not accusing you of anything, Mr. President but I want you to remember that despite the many disagreements we have had, we discussed them. If this is what Atlasia is reduced to- IRC chats, PMs, and zombie turn out, I want no part of this place.

There's no reason for me to be an active Senator when it clearly doesn't matter what's going in the debate.

[Napoleon]

I pop into the IRC, like, twice a month. Also, I'm not a Senator, and it was just a few days ago that I started having second thoughts about the Amendment because it wasn't until just a few days ago that we had two more Senate vacancies.

I don't know what you're getting all up in my face for about this, I talked to a few people about it and decided I was getting worried about it's implementation. I would probably prefer us to have a second go at crafting some more safeguards in this idea, but if it passes (as is, I'd like to remind you, pretty freaking likely regardless of what our alleged conspirators are up to) I want it to work right and sure as hell hope it does, if nothing else.

I'm worried about it, I voted Abstain, and that is literally all I can contribute to this at this point. You are, by the way, more than welcome to join the IRC. It's not like I'm the chatroom sort myself, you know.

I'm not getting in your face, I said I'm not accusing you of anything. However, is it not valid for me to question why these opponents are for some reason able to convince you of this in the IRC? Why can't they come convince you/others of this here in public?

As I said, when I introduced this, I did so with the expectation that it would die in the Senate. However, I also expected that my predicted outcome would be the result of some sort of opposition. As far as I could tell, there was none. It passed the Senate unanimously. Griffin, who is complaining that it wasn't discussed enough, was silent. He didn't offer any comments of questions. So what can I do, as a sponsor, to actually make anything done here worth my time?

Even now, I'm addressing the Labor Party directly, not running a sleazy underground campaign. I want an open, public discussion. That's it. All this does is ruin the entire experience.

[Napoleon]

I think I would've preferred some sort of safeguard mechanism like the Midwest passed in our regional legislature, allowing re-ratification or something like that to come up again in 8 months or a year to double check if it was a worthwhile investment. The problem was, by the time I was thinking about that, it was already more than most of its way to passing the Senate.

We can still revisit this in 8 months and see what we think if this passes (even if I'm not in the Senate ). I have no problem with that. And Marokai, you know that if it doesn't work out I'll be the first person out there saying we need to undo it, I have a notable history of trying to reduce the number of offices to create competition in the past. I think its time we try something, and I think we will see more candidates run. Someone like Seatown, who is probably unelectable right now, could have a better chance at getting elected if this amendment passes. Maybe not all of Labor's Southern voters will be cancelled out by the overwhelming Federalist advantage of the IDS region, they'll be mixed in a bit more with other states.

I repeat, I'm not accusing you of anything or trying to fault you in anyway, as I hope you understood from my PM. What I am saying is that those in the IRC talking about this, well, they should have came forward with their arguments/concerns publicly. Maybe they were compelling arguments and could have convinced me or other Senators not to support it!

[Napoleon]

The IRC is not the secret cabal you describe it as. It's a hangout for forum members with a faster pace and more lax rules than the forum. There is a lot of Atlasia discussion, and several Labor members have made their own sub-channel, but there is no secret conspiracy to stop you and your policies. I agree that Adam, seatown, et. al should have gone public with any concerns, but their worst crime, as far as I see it, is not speaking.

Look im not being a paranoid IRC conspiracy nut or anything, I am not attacking the IRC. You and I are in agreement here Senator. I am disappointed to see another reform package to fail without the opposition even giving us a chance to speak up and address it.

Btw, this isnt "my policy", it was originally a bipartisan effort and its certainly not something I am going to be upset forever failing. I come here to enjoy the debates, though. I am happy that Griffin made his thread but can't we discuss these things before we even send it out of the Senate. Look at all the publicity I tried to bring to the amendment, I was hoping to see public involvement, not out of the blue rejection. Especially considering its usually the Senate holding us back from reform, this is the first time I have actually seen the Senate pass something like thisa and the public shoot it down.

This amendment isn't the rope I am going to hang myself from, I think its an interesting idea and I know its bound to be more popular in regions like the Mideast and especially the Northeast where population is high and options are limited.

The Northeast Assembly has 5 members for about 40 people (one of TPP Reps resigned). The Senate has 10 members for about 200 people. One seat is vacant for the same reason (TPP resignation. If you think about it, since June 2011, the Northeast Senator/Governor has pretty much been a combination of me, Scott, ans Nix. What about bore, Goldwater, Poirot, Snowball, Fezzy, sirnick, Matt from VT, or Earthling. What about DemPGH? We don't need to waste our potential so we can be exclusive and have people pretending that 11/14 active Senators is still way better than having isn't better than 7/10 actives. The more involvement we get for Senate debate, the less we need from the public. Perhaps one of those Senators that we add with districts will speak up publicly against something like this instead of waiting until there is no chance for an honest debate. Just my thoughts.

I know some people haven't forgiven me for some of my controversial moments but I take my post-Presidency very seriously. I want to make sure that we have stronger policy debates and that all elections are free and fair. Those are my two goals for my term. I believe this amendment could help us in a few different ways but it was designed in the sense that it was agreeable since it maintained the Senate balance, and yes its an old idea in one sense but five districts were just regions. Four opens up a map for fun. I think proposing improvements to the core of the game play action should be encouraged, even if you think j have been around forever.

[Napoleon]

I would like to request the endorsement of the Labor Party for my reelection campaign. I've always been a proud leftist and I believe we have a lot in common. I founded the Progressive Caucus because I believe that the left working together and supporting one another is paramount to our success in policy. While some of us have had our differences, I think that if you consider what I've done in the Senate in the past and what we're working on now, I'm an ally that this party can rely on. I've worked with Senators Snowstalker and Nix and President Marokai and been probably the most active at-large Senator. I've tried my best to keep the Senate and the public active in debate and discussion. Thank you for considering me and allowing to speak before you.

[Napoleon]

I would like to request the endorsement of the Labor Party for my reelection campaign. I've always been a proud leftist and I believe we have a lot in common. I founded the Progressive Caucus because I believe that the left working together and supporting one another is paramount to our success in policy. While some of us have had our differences, I think that if you consider what I've done in the Senate in the past and what we're working on now, I'm an ally that this party can rely on. I've worked with Senators Snowstalker and Nix and President Marokai and been probably the most active at-large Senator. I've tried my best to keep the Senate and the public active in debate and discussion. Thank you for considering me and allowing to speak before you.

Im also happy to answer any questions.

[Napoleon]

Although the Mideast being what it is, I don't really know what are the chances of a Laborite getting in.

He should be fine if he runs a good campaign!