Atlas Star: Federalist primary debate

[fhtagn]

Good morning, everyone!

I want to first take the time to thank 1184AZ for taking the time to moderate this debate, the Atlas Star for hosting it, Oakvale for suggesting it and coming out, everyone else who is reading now or takes time to read this later.

My opponent is here to tell you everything that is wrong with Atlasia, to paint a doomsday narrative that strikes fear into the voters in hopes of getting votes not because they truly believe in him or his ideas, but because they fear a situation that he is creating. I am not under any delusions that the game is free from issues. I realize that there are things that need to be fixed. But that doesn't take away from everything that we have accomplished, and it doesn't mean we cannot continue working towards bettering Atlasia. While I may not be able to boast about spending years in this game, I have a proven record that is worth just as much, if not more.

Since joining the game, we have accomplished so much we can be proud of. From my time in the South, I aided in setting up for the largest nuclear power plant in the nation to lay the path towards nuclear energy in the region. I sponsored legislation to build the Southern Regional Medical Center, and drafted the portion dedicated to being the largest drug and alcohol treatment center in the region. I helped bring the South into the 21st century by co-sponsoring the Transgender Rights Act, to ensure that ALL are treated equally, regardless of gender identity. In the House, I helped draft the largest portion of the Preservation of Our Future Act, which is intended help keep our waterways clean, and our nation beautiful. I drafted the Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest Act, which is intended to improve relations with our allies and continue promoting peace between nations. I also co-sponsored the Reforming and Regionalizing Public Health Care Act, which makes health care more accessible, and more affordable for the people of Atlasia. This is only a small handful of the many things we have done together, and with your support, we can make this list grow.

My opponent is also here to sculpt this scenario where I am nothing but an "empty vessel, a puppet of the shadowy party hacks and cosy cronies that have stabbed us in the back"[sic]. But the people of Atlasia, especially the people of the Federalist Party know that is completely untrue. I am someone who has done many things for both the party and the nation. Many of you who are new to the party either knew me as the one who brought you here, or as that first friendly face to welcome you to the party. Many of you know the efforts I placed in the election and re-election bids of several Federalists and our allies in the Atlas Conservative Party. And most importantly, many of you know me as someone who has put in more time and effort than my opponent into getting things done and hearing out the concerns of ALL in the party in recent history. Unlike my opponent, I have been here for today's Federalist Party. I know and understand your views and what you wish we can accomplish together.

To my fellow Federalists: don't be fooled by false narratives. Your choices are clear: a strong leader who cares about the well-being of ALL of Atlasia and has done/will continue to do everything in her power to get the job done; or a man who knows nothing about his opponent, is out of touch with today's Federalist party, and who would rather sit back and complain than roll up his sleeves and get to work.

I am running for President because I am so much more than just an "empty suit". I have a proven record that more than speaks for itself. I have ideas that have helped the people, and will continue to help the people. Atlasia is already great - let's work together to make it even better.

Thank you.

[fhtagn]

How do you respond to criticisms from some Federalists that you are to liberal or hand picked by the establishment? How will you unite all factions of the party?

I am not the most conservative member of the Federalist Party, and I never claimed myself to be. The Federalist Party is a very diverse party, with a large moderate wing, which I realize is where I generally fit on most issues. But rather than only cater to just one wing, I have a history of working for both ends of the party's ideological spectrum. What I have brought to the table, and continue to bring to the table is a path to pave the way for the future success of everyone, including the conservatives within the party. The fact of the matter is, for virtually this entire year, Labor has had an enormous registration edge. To combat this, I've put an immeasurable amount of time and effort into ensuring our party's candidates and allies get elected into positions they are running for, and empowering them to get active and do more for Atlasia. I've spent countless hours working with members of all ideologies within the party, and even with our allies in the Atlas Conservative Party to determine which approaches we can reasonably accomplish in the offices I've held. These are not only things I've done in the past, but something I presently do, and can assure I will continue to do in the future.


Does free trade generally benefit the economy positively or negatively? Is their any changes you would wish to make to are trade deals?

I feel that free trade generally has a positive benefit to the economy, but I would like to see a push to focus on empowering marginalized people, ensuring they are offered a safe workplace and a decent wage, and the addition of some regulations to protect the environment. We should not have people suffering, or the only planet we live on being destroyed in the name of financial reward.


How will you balance natural resource distraction with helping protect the environment?   Would you support a carbon tax as President?

Many folks know me as someone who campaigns heavily on helping protect the environment. It has been a primary focus of mine in every office I have run for, and firmly believe that should be one of the primary focuses in my Presidential administration. It's not something I shy away from, nor is it something I should apologize for. I have come out many times saying that climate change is one of the most serious threats facing our nation and our planet today, and every reasonable action must be taken to protect our planet and it's natural resources. This is why I have supported measures such as working with former Atlas Conservative Party Chair Ben Kenobi to pave the way for nuclear power in the South, assumed sponsorship of the Renewable Energy Rebate and Subsidy Act, and helped my fellow Congressman Haslam2020 by drafting the largest portion of his bill, the Preservation of Our Future Act. This is why I also plan to support the Carbon Tax Act, so that we can start holding ourselves accountable for the damage we are causing to our planet, and work towards reducing our carbon dioxide emissions.


Are you generally supportive of the most recent healthcare bill (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=270082.0 ) ? Is their any changes you would make to this bill?

As someone who was originally a co-sponsor of the most recent healthcare bill in the House, I think it's safe to say that I am generally supportive of it

As far as any changes, I feel that we can do more to help the people, and have discussed with my newly confirmed Secretary of Internal Affairs his plans on his ideas on how we can aid in reducing the cost of prescription drug prices, a plan that still has details to be worked out, but that we hope to have introduced soon.


Do you believe the GM is a generally useful position and why? Are their any changes you would make to it?

When the GM is active, and the people take them seriously, I think the GM is a very useful position because they offer unbiased hurdles that really challenge the officeholders and help keep the game progressing. They offer officeholders the opportunity to respond to realistic situations, rather than just winning elections and passing some bills.  As far as changes, I would just want to be sure that the GM remains active, maintains a reasonable flow in the game, and keeps the stories that happen as realistic as possible, and offer more ways that we can hold them accountable for that.


What is one thing you would change about the fourth constitution? and how will it improve the game?

At this time, I don't really see anything that I would consider an issue pressing enough to change about the Fourth Constitution. In my opinion, we have much more important things to worry about than nitpicking something that is working just fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This is not to say I would have any issues revisiting this in the future in the event that there is an issue.


What do you see as the biggest threat to regions? and how will you promote regions as President?

I would say the biggest threats to the regions have little to do with laws or how the government operates, and more to do with activity level and the availability of candidates to run in regional elections, and serve in their elected positions. In my time as Southern Speaker, I set an example for expected activity level, and did everything in my power to keep the other delegates engaged in debate, brought them out to vote no matter how many PMs it took, and even mentored the current Southern Speaker TimTurner, who took the position when I left for the House. To this day, he has publicly praised me many times for the example I set, even going as far as saying that he wishes to model his speakership style after the way I ran the position. I also have taken an active interest in getting new players not only involved in voting during regional elections, but have always reached out to those who are interested in running for positions, and actively aiding in their campaigns and "get out the vote" operations.


What kind of reforms to the Atlasia tax code would you make if any? How will you balance affordability with balancing the budget?

At this time, I don't think any ideas I could possibly have for the Atlasia tax code are relevant as we currently do not have a budget, and have not had one since 2014. I've come out numerous times expressing that I do not approve of this, and find it unacceptable. We have no way to know what is going on, and what we are looking at surplus/deficit-wise. This is why I am a strong supporter of The Budget Process & Control Act, so that I can work closely with my Secretary of Internal Affairs, and the members of the Budget Process Committee to not only establish and balance the budget, but to set the standard for how we approach this each year going forward.

For both of you what is more important: Having a member of congress that is active and fully engaged in debate but from Labor or an inactive Federalist that misses several votes and contributes little to debate?

While ideally I would hope that our party doesn't elect a candidate that remains inactive, misses several votes, and doesn't contribute to debate, it surely is an issue that we have seen many times on both sides.

One of the biggest killers in the game is inactivity, and is such an easy thing to avoid. There is no reason for excessive inactivity, and I would much more proudly support someone who is actively contributing and getting work done, regardless of their party affiliation.

[fhtagn]

So, look, it's a noble idea but it just hasn't worked. Never had, never will. If elected as your President, I'll move to abolish the position of GM on my first day in office.

I'm not going to go into some history lesson about what has happened in the past because:
1. I'm not going to speak on something I was not present for.
and
2. I'm not going to pretend that what has happened in the past should apply to the situation currently.

I think our current GM, 1184AZ and his deputy, Encke, have done an amazing job with their positions, have truly set themselves apart from GMs and their deputies in the past, and have set an example for how the positions should be run in the future. While it is true that more people should take notice on what they do, to say that no one is paying attention is not only completely false, but shows how out of touch you are with how Atlasia is run today.

Have you bothered to pay attention to the amount of activity that surrounded GM stories such as the recent wildfires in Fremont, NLLC terrorism, "Hurricane Harvey" (the Atlasia version that hit FL), and the current crisis involving North Korea? There has been plenty of activity from the President, cabinet officials, Congress, and even regional governments in response to the GM since 1184AZ has taken over, and I have no reason to believe that given the new expectations of the position that whoever takes over after he is gone will just let it fade away.

It's easy to say that because things were bad in the past to just abolish it instead of fix it, but it is a shame that laziness is being mistaken as legitimate policy to run on.

[fhtagn]

I'm not sure where you are getting the impression that I have said I plan to forget history? I'm not denying what has happened in the past. I think what has happened in the past is definitely something worth learning from. But I'm not stuck in the past. I'm not going to use what has happened in the past with completely different people to make decisions on how things should operate today. I have been here for today's Atlasia, I know the issues we are currently facing, and have worked tirelessly to ensure that even the hardest work gets done, rather than give up because it's "useless". I am not the type of person who just rolls over and says "let's just get rid of it" instead of fixing it. Our party, and Atlasia as a whole, deserves better than that.

[fhtagn]

I want to once again thank our Game Moderator, 1184AZ, the Atlas Star, my opponent, Oakvale, and everyone who tuned in and commented. This has certainly been an interesting experience and I hope that my fellow Federalists have learned enough about our positions to make the right decision in the primary this weekend. I hope that I have answered any lingering questions you all may have, but if not, I am more than happy to discuss further via PM or on my campaign thread.

Should I be granted the opportunity to continue serving you all, I promise you that we will leave the past in the past and work on paving the way forward. Let us be the ones who set the expectation for how this game operates in the future. We have already done so much together and made Atlasia great, so let's continue working to make it better.

Vote for me because I am more than just some empty suit. I have always been and will continue to be someone who serves the best interests of not only the Federalist Party, but Atlasia as a whole. I'll be here to implement solutions to lead us into economic prosperity, preventing threats such as catastrophic wars from becoming a reality, and ensuring we do all we can to combat climate change and protect our natural resources. I'll be here to support policies that bring our nation into the future, not weighed down from many years past. I'll be there to roll up my sleeves and do the necessary work to fix what has been broken, not just give up because I pretend there is no need for it.

Vote for me because I know today's Atlasia, and I promise to continue to fight for it, to fight for you. We deserve better than inactive leaders, cuts to important aspects of the game, and empty, unrealistic promises. We deserve someone who has been there for the people, who knows what is needed to be accomplished, and is willing to work tirelessly to get us there.

Thank you all!