The Pioneers-Vote for Liberty on November 5th!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The Pioneers-Lighting the Path Ahead.

Greetings fellow citizens; I am today announcing the foundation of The Pioneers, a new political party dedicated to the free market values that have powered the engines for prosperity around the globe for centuries now. We stand for the following:

*We believe in the individual, first and foremost, as the single most important unit in society.
*A generally noninterventionist foreign policy based on America’s interests first and foremost.
*An economic policy based upon free market values; the Pioneers will resist any attempt to develop a powerful, overreaching state that strangles entrepreneurship in the cradle and attempts to redistribute the wealth or private property of citizens.
*Opposition to radicals on both sides of key moral issues; the right to marriage nor life should be hindered by the state on the grounds of faith or lack of thereof.

I, as founder, will temporarily serve as acting leader until a leadership convention can be scheduled to elect a new leader and president of the party. Our party creed shall be the following:

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[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Platform

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: We believe in the right of citizens to pursue their own destinies as their own masters, not as slaves to the state or the collective. We hold the belief that the right to life is sacred, that life without liberty is a life not worth living, and that the pursuit of the individual’s own happiness is the greatest meaning to life. We embrace all who seek to join us in the quest to build a nation on these principles.

Personal Freedom: We believe that the state should remain as reigned in as possible; we reject anarchism and believe in the state as a concept, and embrace the roles of the state in its constitutional context, such as providing for the common defense, upholding mutually agreed upon contracts between consenting individuals, basic social welfare, education, and transportation, paid for society through a fair and reasonable tax code. We believe that the rights to privacy, expression, and print, are sacred. We believe that censorship in all forms is harmful, and that each individual as a right to decide what is best for them, so long as their actions do not violate the rights of other individuals.

Economic Freedom: The free market, being the greatest engine of human progress known to man, is the bedrock to a free society. We reject government intervention in the economy, especially actions that pick “winners and losers” in the name of the vague concept of “fairness,” is immoral. We believe that subsidies and price controls are both harmful to consumers and corporations, that neither losses nor profit should ever be socialized, and that contracts are to be considered sacred.

We believe in the right of property owners to use their land as they please, so long as their actions do not affect the property of their neighbors. We believe in the right of employers and employees to voluntarily enter contracts with one another, and we believe in the right of the state to act to uphold such contracts through the court system when one party willfully violates a contract. We believe in the right of the individual to retain the entirety of their income, and reject the concept of an income tax, instead favoring a modest tax on all financial transactions.

We hold that responsible and reasonable regulation is crucial to a free economy, that environmental standards should exist to a reasonable extent, and that taxation is a necessary evil for the state to function properly. We believe that markets cannot be free unless fraud is vigorously prosecuted, and that consumers are protected from unnecessary dangers.

Government for the people, by the people: We firmly believe in a republican structure of government, with the principle of one man, one vote lying firmly in our hearts. We reject calls for public funding of political campaigns, support only minimal standards for ballot access, and call for open debates among the party leadership as part of any campaign.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I suppose we should settle the leadership question; as there are only three of us at current, I don't know how interesting it will be. For what its worth, I will stand for leader, unless the two of you have objections. If you do, and I understand that there are decent objections (I have done a piss poor job of gaining new members), please state them. I don't want to appear to be the dictator of the party .

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

We need to formulate a party list; for the time being, should we just go by the order in which we joined? Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that all three of will be elected to parliament and I want to make sure that everyone has a fair chance to get into parliament.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

So yes, we need to get our party list in order. As acting leader, I suppose I will place myself first. How should we decide the 2/3 positions?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

How should we decide the 2/3 positions?

Maybe both me and Spiral make a case to be #2--or maybe one of us lets the other one be #2--and then, as the tiebreaking vote, you'll decide?

Sure, that sounds good. I'm sure the two of you can work it out without the need for a tie-breaking vote.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I will decide the party list positions by flipping a coin. I'll give you guys the chance to claim heads or tails first. With our party being tiny, we might as well just decide major list decisions by this strategy until we attract new blood.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I will decide the party list positions by flipping a coin. I'll give you guys the chance to claim heads or tails first. With our party being tiny, we might as well just decide major list decisions by this strategy until we attract new blood.

Spiral said I can be #2.

So it looks like this:

1. Sanchez
2. Leinad
3. Spiral

Ah, problem solved. I will submit our list to the RG.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Can I still join you guys?

Of course!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A manifesto will be launched tonight or early tomorrow morning, as well as a major announcement.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The list will be the same, simply expanded to fit the new members.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Announcement of major importance.

I am hereby announcing my resignation as leader of the Pioneers and will be joining the Conservative Party. I have wrestled with this decision for months, and have decided that it is for the best. I am joining the Conservatives due to our similar domestic policy positions and the fact that I simply have failed to grow or properly manage The Pioneers into the political force that I have envisioned. I am eternally grateful to Leinad, who I ask be named as interim leader, and I also humbly request that you weigh your options in the coming days ahead of the election: shall the party continue, or shall the South American rightwing be best served by further defections to the Conservatives. To me, the choice is clearly the later, but that is not for me to decide.

-Chairman Sanchez.