The Federalist Party: June 2014 Convention (LEADERSHIP DECLARATIONS!)

[Lumine]

Glad to attend my first convention as a Federalist!

x LumineVonReuental

[Lumine]

I have been considering possible amendments in foreign policy and to the by-laws, but with a good part of party being less interventionalist than myself I'm still wondering how to improve the language. In the meantime, I have a small proposal that I wish to discuss before offering it in a formal way: Yankee currently has control of most the Senate's activity as PPT and as Party Chairman he also has to deal with coordinating the party, the Senators, and so forth, which I believe must be incredibly frustrating at time.

If I'm not mistaken, the Labor Party nominally uses one of his leaders to serve a whip (the General Secretary, I believe), and I believe we could make Yankee's job easier by having the position of Chief Whip (not necessarily something like Francis Urquhart, xD) to coordinate efforts in Nyman with the Senators and the Cabinet Members (in the event we had one without a Federalist being the President), a position that in case of being created I believe should go to DC al Fine (based on activity levels and his time in the party).

Any thoughts?

[Lumine]

I hope that Riley and Scott will offer their amendments soon, but I second rpryor03 in his request to go with the endorsements so we can settle that affair now. We have less than two weeks to the election, and choosing our candidates will make the rest of the convention easier to handle in regards to the platform, by-laws and the internal elections.

[Lumine]

Well? When we will vote on the presidential endorsement?

I'm curious as well, I have a speech written and all, xD

[Lumine]

The case for nominating SirNick:

Senator Lumine addresses the Federalist Convention on June 9th:

My fellow Federalists,

I come to you as an Atlasian that has been close to the center-right from my very beginnings in this game, even if my membership in this party is quite recent. I come to you to offer my take on the presidential race, now that we face such a crucial decision between two tickets to endorse. I know very well that this election is bound to be competitive and close, and I understand as well that many members of this party feel unhappy with some past events and are also worried about the future of the center-right in Atlasia. But even knowing that some of you would have liked to see a team of two Federalists running for higher office, I wish to advocate for a specific road ahead, a road that I hope it’s acceptable and even perfect for most of you. Thus, I formally nominate SirNick for the Federalist nomination for President, and Dallasfan for the Federalist nomination for Vice-President. SirNick is an Atlasian that has consistently showed skill, determination and the willingness to lead when leadership is needed, he has a considerable amount of experience at most levels of regional and federal government, and his many accomplishments can’t be denied. I feel this party should nominate this ticket and give them the chance to lead and attempt to solve some of the problems that continue to worry many of us, as we all know that Atlasia is facing a crisis one way or another, either by the ghost of inactivity and the rise of potentially harmful policies. They have showed that they can be both bold and reasonable, that they seek progress where we need progress, and not just change for the sake of changing things without a real motive.

Beyond SirNick’s many positive qualities, there’s another matter that we can’t overlook. After two consecutive defeats, the Labor Party is looking to return to the White House, and they seem to be stronger than ever. They control half the Senate, and they stand strong even in light of challenges to their Senators in the upcoming weeks. I believe nobody can deny that the ticket of Gov. DemPGH and Gov. Windjammer is a strong ticket. Both of them are good Atlasians (and Windjammer has been a great friend to me, just as he has been to others) with a good number of accomplishments, and they belong to the moderate and reasonable wing of the Labor Party, that can’t be denied, I say. But alas, the President and the Vice-President don’t govern alone. They govern with a cabinet, and they govern with a party. And when some elements of the extreme wing of Labor introduce proposals to fully nationalize industries, when they call entire groups of people “parasites”, when they advocate the dangerous road of leaving our allies in the world alone and try to lead us to having an even bigger mess in our Health Care policy, then we know that the choice is clear, and we know that there are risks out there in the next Presidential term. And so I ask of you, Federalists, to give your endorsement and your invaluable support to SirNick and Dallasfan and unite the center and the center-right once again to defeat Labor, as we have successfully done so in the past in so many races.

Federalists, let us embrace SirNick as our nominee and get out there to win this election!

[Lumine]

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On that we agree, I even mentioned in my speech that you belong to the moderate wing, unlike TNF. Individuals like Alfred, DemPGH and you share some of my foreign policy beliefs, that's true, but once again, I've seen several members of Labor agreeing with TNF in this and some issues, which means I can't judge the party as not being isolationist even it the ticket is in favor of a more active foreign policy.

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Once again, it's more about the party itself than the ticket, even if I will admit some disagreements in that area with both tickets. A few months ago the Labor party was one vote shy of introducing in the platform several projects of nationalization, and so far the Senate is pretty much split among those of us who favor a free market approach that can pay for itself and those who would introduce single payer without even knowing if we can pay for it and if it will work. Difference being that I trust SirNick to take a very close look and withdraw from that position if the GM proves that Single Payer will not work, whereas I can easily see a Labor administration and a Labor Senate passing it anyway.

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I will accept you saying that since we never had problems back when the Progressive Union was around and I recall you being quite friendly, but from other members of your party I would find such a comment a little bit cynical. To portray the Labor Party as a friendly rival is a bit of a lie in light of earlier combative and quite divise rethoric, don't you think? Labor currently has little to none strenght in the South and the Mideast (and you are about to endorse Ben as well), so I don't see how that endorsement is crucial to the survival of Yankee and DC. We are fighting off Democratic-Republican challengers, that's true, but I believe we can still work with them because we share a close ideology. I can't speak up for the entire party, but I believe all of us are willing to work with other center-right and center parties instead of, I don't know, trying to blast them into oblivion as some members of Labor took great pleasure in doing to the Progressive Union and other minor parties.

The heart of the matter is, Windjammer, that as much as DemPGH and you form a reasonable team and have an agenda that is not necessarily radical, you represent the Labor Party, not an independent and open campaign like DemPGH's October effort, and you will have to govern with a party currently split among moderates and radicals with members that will certainly oppose some of the most moderate proposals. The Labor Party is the party whose ideology is the opposite of the Federalist, and the party that has fought Federalists for a long time, often with personal and hyperbolic attacks (while the DR's at least base their attacks on ideology and platform). We're not the radical wing of Labor, you say, and I agree. But the fact remains that that the ticket is still backed by them (I believe TNF was quite enthusiastic this time), and I for one don't wish to give Labor the presidency, even at the hands of two capable candidates.

[Lumine]

Why, I am rather surprised at the amount of debate this has generated. I view debate as very positive, but I am even more surprised that in light of recent attacks we could still consider endorsing Labor. Even a quick glance on the board will show TNF and Griffin, once again going after this party for a bunch of baseless and at times offensive accusations. You might call my indignation cynical since my membership is recent, but after having to withstand such attacks in the Progressive Union and my Senate campaign for quite a long time, I am past the point of tolerating this without firing back.

SirNick and DemPGH both belonged to Labor, that's certainly true, and it's a fair point to make as I have seen in past comments. But there is a difference in their respective roads in Labor. I am grateful to DemPGH for most the time he spent on the Progressive Union, but it should be remembered that he left and rejoined twice (one of those involved a very successful Labor convention in October, and the other was right after a small group almost passed a nationalization platform). SirNick left his party, but he left it without thinking to return, in my opinion disturbed by the actions of the radical wing of Labor that I have opposed in the past time. I take SirNick's label as an ideological independent (regardless of his actual membership) seriously, and I think this party should too.

Are we really willing to pretend Labor is still friendly in light of these recent attacks? Are we really planning to give away our chance to oppose those who have fought the Federalist Party at every turn? No, ladies and gentlemen, fellow party members, I believe we should stand with the candidate whose supporters and views openly respect this party.

[Lumine]

Federalist Endorsement Ballot:

President:
[  ] Governor DemPGH (LAB-WA)/ Governor Windjammer (LAB-MN)
[X] Fmr. Governor Sirnick (TPP-NY)/Governor Dallasfan (DR-MA)
[  ] None of the Above

NE Senate:
[X] NE Assembly Speaker Deus Naturae (DR-NY)

[Lumine]

A detailed platform is harder to achieve, but I believe that simplicity won't help us make the contrast we desire, specially when Labor has the ability to release a manifesto every convention. Going with concise paragrahps could accomplish that as well, but I believe it's time to get specific on several issues that we have left mostly open until now (like foreign policy). In any case, I offer to participate in a potential Platform Committe if one is formed.

[Lumine]

A detailed platform is harder to achieve, but I believe that simplicity won't help us make the contrast we desire, specially when Labor has the ability to release a manifesto every convention. Going with concise paragrahps could accomplish that as well, but I believe it's time to get specific on several issues that we have left mostly open until now (like foreign policy). In any case, I offer to participate in a potential Platform Committe if one is formed.

How many people actually read the manifesto?

I did, and I would hope people take the time to read it as well (but yes, you're right, most people won't read it). Another argument that could be used here is that we're also having to deal with perceptions, that of Labor taking stands on most issues while we seem (emphasis in "seem") to use ideas in the general sense instead of advocating for specific policies or roads to follow.

[Lumine]

I can come up with more, but are we all okay with this one-at-a-time approach? I actually kind of like it. At the end we'll have a big mess of unrelated points, but the important thing is that we'll have solid material. Then someone can just sort things into headers and it'll be done.

I think it's a good way of working with the platform, even if turnout might bring some problems from time to time. And it also allows for the members to have a quick process for their specific proposals.

Aye.

[Lumine]

Why not:

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My own attempt to address some issues and recognize the importance of foreign policy (including signed treaties and declarations, like the Budapest Memorandum I've spoken about in the Senate) and the need for measured (special emphasis in measured) participation and intervention once in a while. I'm honestly not trying to bring the party into going full-hawk by any means and I tried to be careful with the language, but I don't feel we should follow an isolationist approach and avoid taking stances here.

[Lumine]

I like that very much as a first point in a foreign policy section. Maybe after this vote we can get into specifics about some countries of interest (a commitment to Israel, for example).

Excellent! Although getting more specific than that will be the problem given the different views some have, xD (for example, I fully support Palestine instead of Israel and so forth) Perhaps targeting Russia and China for an specific statement (I believe we all see them as potential threats) and some words regarding Latin America, Africa, South Korea and Japan might be easier to accomplish.

[Lumine]

Indeed, I will introduce this amendment to replace the foreign policy section:

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It has several parts from the old section, includes most my proposed amendment and some specific stances on areas were I believe we need urgent reform, that is, the constitutional loopholes we saw with my Iraq resolution and the problems we see in international organisms as of now. I also included a section addressing defense, I am not very happy with recent bills targeting the military and I believe the party also shares that concern (Clarence has spoken about it, for example).

[Lumine]

Could you use some bolding to highlight the changes from the old text?

Sure! I've also added another part after discussing it with a fellow Federalist, and I kept most of the original text to respect the original intention of it when written:

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[Lumine]

Aye!

[Lumine]

I thank the Party for passing the new foreign policy section with such a great margin. I think I'm personally ready with amendments, but I might introduce one regarding a stronger commitment to the environment if I manage to find the right language.

[Lumine]

How long do you anticipate finding the right language.

I must point out that NC is going to get hammered by storms over the next three days with several inches of rain and that my impede my ability to get on the site.

On second thought, there's no real need for the amendment given that most of the members already support environmental friendly policies (some of them quite strongly), so I don't have anything else to offer to the platform on this convention.

[Lumine]

So we should compile the changes made to the platform, then have the leadership election and the primary and end up with the location for the October convention, if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully we will get the convention closed the month is through, this one has taken quite a while... Perhaps we should combine the leadership election with the platform vote to get that out of the way.

[Lumine]

I do not know if Dereich wants to run for re-election as Vice Chairman. If not, I think that both Lumine and Hagrid would be great options.

Thanks, Cris, although I would personally prefer Dereich going for Vice-Chairman again (of Hagrid in his replacement). There's also the problem of me being up in a primary soon, and that would imply a conflict of interest as well. That said, I will run just only if nobody else wants to run for the position, consdering we have a specific period of time to declare about to end.

[Lumine]

JCL certainly has my support for Vice-Chair! (I just wanted to clarify I won't be running for the position now that he has announced)

[Lumine]

Chairman:

[X] Senator North Carolina Yankee

Vice-Chairman

[X] Assemblyman JCL

[Lumine]

I assume that Clarence, JCL and Lumine are still in the race? If it is down to two it won't be necessary to have a primary. If a primary is necessary it is 72 hours by IRV, starting on the Friday before the election.

I'm honestly worried about Clarence since he hasn't been in the forum for a very long time (and I sincerely hope nothing bad happened to him), but it seems a primary is necessary since he didn't drop out of the race. I certainly don't object to JCL handling the primary vote!

[Lumine]

[1] Lumine
[2] JCL
[3] Clarence

[Lumine]

I sincerely thank the party for its endorsement to this race, and I am truly proud to count on your support for this very important election.

Well, to the general election we go!