Meadowlark Party (Fremont) - New name selected!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.  They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.
-Thomas Jefferson

My fellow patriots, and as of recent my new neighbors, Fremont is truly a great and diverse region.  It is a leading producer both to our nation and the world, from our incredible, unending advances in science and technology in Silicon Valley, to our rich vineyards and farms throughout the Plains.

This new region-based party, similarly to the centrist agrarian parties of Scandinavia, pledges commitment to supporting small business owners (especially farmers), political decentralisation, and environmentalism.  At the same time, we believe that a decent standard of living must be ensured to all Fremonters - both those living in rural and urban areas - and that the best way to provide this is through universal access to healthcare and higher education, as well as adequate infrastructure development.

We support free and fair markets as well as sustainable development, with the goal of achieving a society where nature's resources continue to meet human needs.  To do that, we must act, and we must act now, to tackle climate change and cap pollution.  We must tackle the problems of public and private debt, and we must reduce income inequality so that wealth, and by extension power, is not concentrated in the hands of the privileged few.  We must do these things, in order to guarantee a better future for our children and grandchildren.

We take a tolerant stance on all social issues.  And though we affirm the right to keep and bear arms as protected by the constitutions of Fremont and of the Republic of Atlasia, we support common sense reform including universal background checks and bans on bump stocks.  The Centre Party largely supports the right of individual states and municipalities to establish their own gun laws, while opposing strict region-wide measures which place Los Angeles gun control laws on par with Montana and Alaska's.

If you share our goals and values, I hope you will join our new movement, for a fair and free Fremont.

Official Wiki Page

[DFL]

Great to see a new regional party!

[Goldwater]

Would it be weird if I joined? In most contexts, I think our views are too different from each other to be the same party... However, I think our strongest disagreements come from foreign policy, which isn't really an issue with regional parties. Basically, what I am saying is that I want to be part of a not dead regional party, and I actually agree with more of this platform than I expected to.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Would it be weird if I joined? In most contexts, I think our views are too different from each other to be the same party... However, I think our strongest disagreements come from foreign policy, which isn't really an issue with regional parties. Basically, what I am saying is that I want to be part of a not dead regional party, and I actually agree with more of this platform than I expected to.

As someone who is currently the sole member of the party, I certainly won't turn down new registrees!

Just note that despite its name, I envision the party to have a populist and left-libertarian tinge to it, as well as a rural focus so that it's not just a generic left-wing or bland 'liberal' party as the game is normally used to.  (An international comparison would be, say, the Centre Party of Norway, minus support for farm tariffs.)

But yeah, if you agree with the general theme or platform of the party, by all means come aboard!

[Goldwater]

Eh, why not? A neocon Federalist being part of a left libertarian populist party is a bit of an idiosyncrasy, but I guess I'm just an idiosyncratic person.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

In the event we have more than two members, I've designed some new logos people can use.  The Centre logo itself is pretty interchangeable, so you can feature the colors of both the regional party and your federal party:


Centre - Official


Centre - Peace


Centre - Federalist


Centre - PUP


Centre - Alliance

If this doesn't get you folks excited, I don't know what will.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

[Goldwater]

Neat.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

As Chair, it is my honor to welcome into the party our third member, Galaxie!

All Centre incumbents in Parliament (that being, Goldwater and myself) have declared for reelection.  As we enter campaign season, my hope is that our party will stand out for its accomplishments.

With Centre, the government has strengthened protection of public lands, established the first regional public bank, expanded self-defense rights, reformed Fremont's election laws, and is soon to pass strict anti-human trafficking and child protection legislation.  Police reform and free higher education are currently on the agenda.

Register now and join our growing movement!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Congratulations to our newly elected MPs!  All four of our candidates won and Centre will now have a majority in Parliament for the first time!

[Lumine]

A wonderful triumph for the party!

Since all of our MP's have the advantage of being associated with public figures, it was easier to make this:

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A wonderful triumph for the party!

Since all of our MP's have the advantage of being associated with public figures, it was easier to make this:

BEAUTIFUL!

[Galaxie]

Absolutely lovely!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

At this time I am strongly considering a name change for the party, preferably one that better reflects the rural-oriented theme of the platform.

We can still remain big-tent, but the platform as described in the OP is obviously more left-leaning than center and the party only has its name because Centre is the name for Scandinavia's agrarian parties.  At the same time, I don't want the party to alienate urban/suburbanites.  (Notably, Sweden's Centre Party had to extend its outreach to those voters in order to remain competitive nationally, and they are a minor but nonetheless influential voice in Swedish politics.)

So what might be an agreeable name alternative?  Here are a few I had in mind:

- Greenback Party
- Green Leaf Party
- Populist Party
- Forum for Agriculture and Democracy (FAD)
- Rough Rider Party

[AustralianSwingVoter]

At this time I am strongly considering a name change for the party, preferably one that better reflects the rural-oriented theme of the platform.

We can still remain big-tent, but the platform as described in the OP is obviously more left-leaning than center and the party only has its name because Centre is the name for Scandinavia's agrarian parties.  At the same time, I don't want the party to alienate urban/suburbanites.  (Notably, Sweden's Centre Party had to extend its outreach to those voters in order to remain competitive nationally, and they are a minor but nonetheless influential voice in Swedish politics.)

So what might be an agreeable name alternative?  Here are a few I had in mind:

- Greenback Party
- Green Leaf Party
- Populist Party
- Forum for Agriculture and Democracy (FAD)
- Rough Rider Party

I think we stick with Centre. Most of those names would risk alienating our urban voters. The fact is, we aren't some minor rural interests party. We and Fianna Fremont are the 2 big parties. Centre is a fantastic name, and I would strongly urge against changing it.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

At this time I am strongly considering a name change for the party, preferably one that better reflects the rural-oriented theme of the platform.

We can still remain big-tent, but the platform as described in the OP is obviously more left-leaning than center and the party only has its name because Centre is the name for Scandinavia's agrarian parties.  At the same time, I don't want the party to alienate urban/suburbanites.  (Notably, Sweden's Centre Party had to extend its outreach to those voters in order to remain competitive nationally, and they are a minor but nonetheless influential voice in Swedish politics.)

So what might be an agreeable name alternative?  Here are a few I had in mind:

- Greenback Party
- Green Leaf Party
- Populist Party
- Forum for Agriculture and Democracy (FAD)
- Rough Rider Party

I think we stick with Centre. Most of those names would risk alienating our urban voters. The fact is, we aren't some minor rural interests party. We and Fianna Fremont are the 2 big parties. Centre is a fantastic name, and I would strongly urge against changing it.

We can keep Centre, too.  I'll hold an intraparty vote if there's enough interest.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm going to throw one more name into the suggestion box - the Green Tea Party.

Green tea is an excellent beverage (especially when mixed with pomegranate) and I will fight anyone who disagrees!

[AustralianSwingVoter]

I'm going to throw one more name into the suggestion box - the Green Tea Party.

Green tea is an excellent beverage (especially when mixed with pomegranate) and I will fight anyone who disagrees!

Coffee all the way. Tea doesn't wake you up/keep you awake/help you concentrate.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

My opinion doesn't matter here but I like Green Leaf or Greenback Party! The second one has the bonus of being a callback (though I doubt you guys feel as strongly about currency policy vs. the folks in the 1870s)

[Sirius_]

The problem is that Green Tea Party immediately draws comparisons to the Tea Party movement, which I do not believe is something that we want.

[Goldwater]

I like the name "Green Tea Party", all of the other alternatives I feel pretty meh about.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

I'll go through them one by one.

Greenback Party - The greenback party stood for one thing. Opposing the Gold and Silver standards. We do not currently have a Gold or Silver standard.
Green Leaf Party - We aren't a single issue environmentalist party.
Populist Party - Not the right message in this day and age. It makes us sound like an alt-right party masquerading as farmers.
Forum for Agriculture and Democracy (FAD) - Firstly, the abbreviation is tragic and we will be mocked for it.
Rough Rider Party - Why would we name a 21st century political party after Teddy Roosevelt's regiment in the Spanish-American War of 1898?
Green Tea Party - Who names a party after their favourite beverage?

[Lumine]

I do like Centre, but I'm not opposed to a change either. I'm particularly sympathetic to the Greenback and Green Tea Party alternatives since parties should really move away from the more dull, typical names for a political party (crucially, neither of those alternatives crosses the line into joke territory).

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'll hold a vote on a name change in 48 hours.  Feel free to make suggestions until then.  Keeping the name will be an option as well.

I am withdrawing FAD.

[Goldwater]

How would you guys feel about naming the party after our official regional bird?  That is something that might fit with our more rural centric nature without alienating non-rural voters.