Clyde/Siren for President/VP • GET OUT AND VOTE!

[Clyde1998]

Huge thanks to Simossad for this logo

Friends, today I must tell you that I am a candidate for the June Presidential election. Along with a vice presidential nominee, Siren, I believe that Atlasia can become a more progressive nation where everyone has the opportunity to succeed in life.

While I have just been elected to the House of Representatives, and I thank everyone for their vote, I'm stepping forward and running for the White House. As President, I will be at the centre of Atlasian politics, to ensure that all levels of the game are active and working well.

In my next term as a Representative, I'm going to sponsor a couple of bills that will seek to create commissions on finding the best system of government for Atlasia and on regional powers. If elected President, I will seek to implement to findings of the commissions.

Another key aim is to increase equality in society. I believe that this can be done by providing opportunities to lower income workers to enable them to achieve their potential.

Additionally, I will seek to build upon the environmental policies that I brought forward in my House campaign, aiming to see at least 35% of our energy produced by renewable means by the end of my second term.

On top of this, I would like to start the transition towards a single payer healthcare system, that will reduce the cost of healthcare for the poorest in our nation.

In the next few weeks and months, I will be releasing more detailed policies to make it clear what you will be getting with me as President and Siren as Vice President.

Atlasia: I believe that now is the time for government to work for the people. I believe that now is the time for fairness in our society. I believe that now is the time to start an environmental revolution. I believe that now is the time for strong regions. I believe that it's time for cheaper healthcare.

I believe it's time for a Clyde presidency.

Endorsements
Peebs (Lab) - Representative, Registrar General, Secretary of Federal Elections
NeverAgain (Lab) - Southern Governor
SJoyce (Lab) - Southern Senator
OneJ (Lab) - Representative
CXSmith (Lab) - Lincoln Speaker
Simossad (Lab) - Representative
Barnes (Lab) - former At-Large and Midwest Senator
Dr Novella (Lab) - Fremont Parliamentarian
Winfield (Ind) - former Northeast Governor
LongLiveRock (Lab) - Fremont Senator
JustinTimeCuber (Lab) - Southern Delegate
Mike Wells (Lab) - Lincoln Governor
Kingpoleon (Ind) - former Northeast Governor and United Alternative chair
Adam Griffin (Lab) - former President
Evergreen (Oth) - former Representative
JGibson (Lab) - Lincoln Speaker and Lt. Governor
Lok1999 (Lab) - Lincoln Legislator
Maxwell (Oth) - former Midwest Governor and At-Large Senator

[Clyde1998]

Candidate Clyde, what is your stand on the issue of

"decriminalization of Cocaine and other drugs" (direct quote)

which is supported by and is being put forward by your opponent dfwlibertylover?

I think that it's a dangerous road that the President is taking the country down. Cocaine is one of the most addictive drugs on our streets and has some terrifying side affects. I don't want to see increases in people suffering heart attacks, with mental health problems or worse. Cocaine users are also known to move to heroin, another terrible drug, once to dull their cravings.

I feel that people that are already addicted to cocaine, and similar drugs, should have a safe place where they can reduce their intake in a controlled manner without causing serious withdrawal symptoms and should be limited to rehabilitation centres. Here, staff can monitor patients to ensure that they drop the drug for good and to help them get their lives back on track. This is the only place in our country where people should have the ability to take the drug without fear of penalty, and that's so they can slowly withdraw from the drug.

Drugs, such as cocaine, are illegal for a reason. They're dangerous and should have no place on our streets. People may say that they should have the choice to decide what goes in their body, but the first responsibility of the government is the safety of their citizens and I feel that the President is neglecting his duty in this area if he believes this is a good idea.

I seriously hope that Congress opposes any move to make cocaine and, similar drugs, legal. It would be awful for society to allow that to happen.

[Clyde1998]

I was considering a bid myself, but hey, at least I can run for re-elex in June.

Endorsed, and might I add, a solid VP choice. Would have picked her myself.

Clyde is one of the staunchest and hardiest freedom fighters in the game, and with both Siren, a great Senator (and person). I am extremely excited to this duo in action!

There is no candidate who better understands the needs of the Atlasian people, and no candidate more capable of addressing the very serious crises we face. You will make an outstanding President.

Endorsed!

I also agree with your stance on decriminalization of cocaine.

Endorsed.

Thanks for the endorsements everyone!

[Clyde1998]

Endorsed (needless to say)

Thank you.

[Clyde1998]

Enthusiastically endorsed

I am pleased and proud to enthusiastically endorse and support Clyde for President and Siren for Vice President, who are, by a country mile, the most well qualified candidates in this election.

Hell yeah! Endorsed!

Thank you.

[Clyde1998]

What an exciting ticket! This rightist administration is a bankrupt of ideas and solutions for the working man and average Atlasian and must be replaced with a truly progressive government!

Super-endorsed

Thank you guys!

[Clyde1998]

Obviously endorsed. As someone who has worked with Clyde before back when he was instrumental in forming a budget for Lincoln, I can say that he will know what he is doing as president. I was impressed by his competency then and I am confident that his abilities will continue to impress us if he is elected.

Two great mavericks unaligned with the Griffin, Blair, and Truman wings of the party. While I would endorse Goldwater over either of you two, I am quite confident in your abilities and your integrity. I officially endorse Clyde/Siren.

- Former Vice President Kingpoleon

It's always been a tradition of mine (largely because of my long tenure as Chair) to hold off on endorsements until any potential primary has concluded, but you'll definitely have my full endorsement and support in the General!

I thank you each for your endorsements.

[Clyde1998]

endorsed!

Thank you!

[Clyde1998]

Strong regions for a strong Atlasia

A strong Atlasia needs strong regions. I’ve always been a firm believer of devolutions to the regions – a process that would transfer exclusive control of matters such as education, policing and the minimum wage to the regional legislatures.  I believe that this will make Atlasia more exciting; with people being more interested in running for regional office as it would be their only way to affect legislation on these matters. The current system keeps Congress supreme, drawing the experienced politicians to federal office. In my upcoming term as a Representative, I am set to propose a bill that will create a commission on regional powers and if I’m elected in June, I will ensure that the recommendations of the commission are implemented.

But how can we ensure that federal legislators are focused on ensuring what they are doing works for the regions? If I’m elected as President, I will create the Department of Regional Affairs that will be headed by the Secretary for the Regions. I believe that the Secretary should be a member of Congress, preferably a Senator – due to them being directly elected by the regions. The Secretary would become a full member of the cabinet, enabling the regions to always have a voice in the executive. On top of this, I will hold monthly meetings with the leaders of the regions to give them an opportunity to discuss regional matters with me and to see how the executive can assist in regional activity.

The regions are a heavily important part of the game. A large amount of people found their way through the early stages of their career in Atlasian politics by being elected to their regional legislature. They’re a vital ground to allow for people to learn about Atlasian politics and how to legislate on matters. With more powerful regions and more experienced people moving into regional office, the newer Atlasians will have great mentors in their regional legislatures. This is while allowing for more interesting, competitive elections at regional level as more people become interested in running.

Without the regions, Atlasian politics wouldn't be the same. As I've just mentioned, they're brilliant for assisting the development of our rookie legislators. But we need to make people more interested in what happens in the regions. I believe that these proposals will help ensure that this can be the case.

[Clyde1998]

Is there anything the federal government can do to help fix the South's massive crisis?

I think that it needs to be easier for the Federal Government to intervene when a region has a crisis.

The current issue in the South appears to be a legislator attempting to get rid of the speaker, because she didn't allow an extension to the debating period on a bill when there had already been three votes against it and there hadn't been any debate for eight days.

It's clear that the legislator in question is only attempting to prevent the Chamber of Delegates from doing its business. I don't believe that a motion of no confidence in the speaker will pass, and nor should it. She was correct in calling a final vote, due to the length of time the debate had been inactive.

The South does need clear rules on how the legislature works. In a situation such as we have now, I feel that the Federal Government should have the power to step in to either mediate in situations where negotiation would resolve the issues, take over the speakership of the legislature on an interim basis to restore order or, in the absolute worse case, suspend the legislature, with the support of Congress, until such a time that the legislature can go about its business without grinding itself down.

I, obviously, don't want to get to the stage where the Federal Government is having to take over the speakership or suspend a regional legislature, but there are times when decisive action has to be taken.

Right now, the South should focus on ensuring that there are clear rules for the process of bills moving through the legislature, that the rules are being followed and that there is a clear process on how to recall a legislator. This is something that the Federal Government could, and maybe should, be involved in to ensure that what is put in place works and is fair.

[Clyde1998]

This ticket is endorsed.

ENDORSED.

Let's take this house back!

Thanks.

[Clyde1998]

You run a clean campaign and you make many promises.  Many of them are good public policy.  One object that concerns me is this:

In my next term as a Representative, I'm going to sponsor a couple of bills that will seek to create commissions on finding the best system of government for Atlasia and on regional powers. If elected President, I will seek to implement to findings of the commissions.

We have so many commissions and committees already.  Many of them turn into beauty contests.  How can you so glibly guarantee that you'll implement their recommendations?  What if a commission recommends that you allow South Carolina to secede?  Will you do it?  What if a commission recommends that you require all muslims to register as muslims in a database for the purpose of national security?  Will you do it?

Delegation of authority is fine, but be careful about promising to implement the findings of committees whose findings may find you at odds with your conscience.

I understand the concerns that you raise. The proposed commissions have a membership process that should lead to it being a cross-party effort, which should reduce the chances of things being proposed such as you've mentioned. My proposal for the commissions includes members of the executive, the regional leaders, congressional seat holders and people nominated by Congress.

The likely result of the commission is that the work will have to be implemented as legislation and/or as a constitutional amendment allowing Congress and voters the opportunity to oppose any frivolous suggestions from the commission. I believe that with a cross-party effort, Congress and voters will be happy to endorse the proposals.

Although, as you say, there may be things that I'm at odds with, but if the voters want something done I shouldn't stand in the way of democracy. I do find it unlikely that there will be something proposed that I have a moral opposition to, however.

On the specific points that you raise, there's currently a process in the constitution that states that there needs to be a 75% vote in favour of an entity leaving the union for secession to occur. I believe that the process specifically notes that it has to be a regional vote, as well, and I find it unlikely that there will ever be a vote that large to leave the union.

Additionally, I believe that a Muslim database for the purpose of national security would be unconstitutional as it would discriminate against a specific section of the population. I'd, obviously, oppose any proposal to do that, not only from the grounds of the constitution, but for moral reasons. I believe that there is no demand for that either.

I thank you for your questions and if you have any more, feel free to ask.

[Clyde1998]

Fairer business taxes for a fairer Atlasia

A key plank of my platform is to ensure that small businesses have the ability to compete against their more established competition. If elected as President, I will propose a small business scheme that gives commercial property tax relief to small businesses that are in properties with a combined rentable value of less than $35,000 annually.

My proposed structure is that relief shall be given in the following way:

• Upto $11,000 property value - 100% tax relief
• Between $11,001 and $14,000 - 50% tax relief
• Between $14,001 and $18,000 - 25% tax relief

Those who have multiple properties shall receive the relief for each individual property within each band, provided that their overall rentable cost for the properties doesn't exceed $35,000 per year. I estimate that this will save businesses up to $11bn annually, providing extra resources to expand their company and employ more people.

On top of this, I will look into changing how corporation tax works. I'd be interested in seeing projections into how revenue would be affected by introducing a tax on revenue over $100m per year. I feel that this will help ensure that multi-national companies are paying their fair share of tax in Atlasia, instead of reducing their taxes by moving profits overseas. Between 2010 and 2012, Pfizer paid no corporation tax in Atlasia, despite having over $43bn worth of revenue in the same period. I believe that an introduction of a revenue based tax would increase our tax base, allowing us to spend more on public services and on reducing the deficit, while having minimal impact on the operations of the companies. I, also, feel that this idea would more than fund the relief given to small businesses.

I feel that these two policies can help generate a fairer corporate tax structure in Atlasia, while helping small businesses grow.

[Clyde1998]

I will not be running for President, and instead backing Clyde/Siren, a ticket of two great Leftists.

Thank you.

[Clyde1998]

A powerful GM department for a powerful Atlasia

If elected as President, I would like to see the Game Moderation department handle more statistical figures to enable greater consequences for office holders in Atlasia. When I was Game Moderator, I trialled statistics of things such as commodity prices, exchange rates and GDP figures. While my time as GM didn't last long, I believe that these are statistics that will enable more realistic governance if they are brought into the game for a long term spell. With the existence of the Deputy Game Moderator, I believe that this is achievable.

Commodity price fluctuations will give Congress problems to solve. An example of this could be a fall in oil prices, that will lead to redundancies in the oil industry - leading to unemployment from a specific sector. Additionally, Congress could pass legislation to reduce the impact of the oil price reduction, through subsides for the oil industry or tax reductions. A change in gold prices will affect the value of our gold reserves and could affect budgets passed by Congress.

Changes in exchange rates could affect trade between other countries and international tourism. The Dollar strengthening against other currencies could suggest that our economy is doing better against other economies, while weakening could suggest the reverse.

Finally, GDP figures will show us how much our economy is growing and will give us the first indication of whether a recession is approaching. Additionally, it will allow us to see regional data - allowing for regional competition in growth.

On top of these statistical figures, I would like to make it easier for stories to be created in Atlasia. At the moment, I feel that we're dependent on the Game Moderator to create stories and I feel that this dependency has to end. I would like to pass legislation to clarify that any story created by a citizen is treated as official, unless the Game Moderator rejects it. I believe that this will allow for more stories to be created and allow greater room for independent media sources to run stories outwith the Game Moderation department.

Most governance in the real world is reactive, rather than proactive. I believe that these policies will make Atlasia more realistic.

[Clyde1998]

Clyde speaks to voters at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon

Clyde and Siren have been touring the country to talk to voters. This week, the pair have been in Fremont: Clyde has been on the east coast, visiting California, Oregon and Washington, while Siren has been in the Dakotas and Nebraska. They have mainly been focusing on domestic issues - particularly campaigning hard on fairness within Atlasia - in between their visits to Congress.

Clyde and Siren will continue to travel around the country to meet voters ahead of the Presidential election. Next week, Clyde will be heading to the South.

[Clyde1998]

I'm proud to endorse Representative Clyde1998 for the President of the United States of Atlasia.

Thank you

[Clyde1998]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I thank the Liberal Justice Party for your endorsement.

[Clyde1998]

Swing voter, i must hear about your platform

Welcome to Atlasia. I hope that you enjoy the game. Our platform is based around fairness and making Atlasia more interesting for everyone involved.

A key plank of the platform is to not punish the poorest in society. Everyone should be given a chance to have a successful live in Atlasia. One of my proposals to do this is to reduce taxation on small businesses to provide them with extra resources to grow and to encourage people to set up their own businesses. A tax relief to companies that are in properties with a combined rentable value of less than $35,000 annually, providing a combined saving of roughly $11bn annually for these companies.

Additionally, I wish to introduce an additional rate of corporation tax that would tax companies generating over $100m in revenue, annually. This will ensure that our biggest companies won't be able to avoid tax by moving their profits offshore - as demonstrated by Pfizer between 2010 and 2012, who generated $43bn of revenue in Atlasia but paid no corporation tax. While I haven't determined an exact percentage, a 0.5% tax on revenue above $100bn for all the Atlasian-based companies on the Global 500 list would generate around $42.3bn in additional tax revenue; more than covering the tax relief for small businesses.

Based on the last budget that was passed in Atlasia, we're currently in a budget surplus. This is good, and is something that I wish to maintain. I recognise that since the last budget, there has been a lot of bills past that will have no doubt increased our public spending. However, I believe that any left over from the additional tax on large businesses would cover the increases in public spending that have happened since the last budget and should, hopefully, lead to.

Something that I believe would make the game more interesting is having more official data sources for Atlasia. When I was Game Moderator, I trialled several data sets that would be important in making Atlasia more realistic. A notable example was commodity prices. Re-introducing this would give the government more problems to solve, as a fall in oil prices (as an example) could lead to an increase in unemployment in the oil industry. This may require legislation to help resolve. Modelling GDP figures would allow for the game to simulate recessions; a government response would be crucial in this situation. This should start to make actions within the game more consequential and will lead to more interesting governance. My preferred method of achieving this is to split the current Game Moderation team in two, and create an Office for National Statistics.

On a related point, I note that DKrol has announced his intention to resign from his position as Game Moderator once the new President is sworn in. I thank him for his service as the Game Moderator and I hope he remains active within Atlasia. I have a few people in mind as to who could replace him, but my decision will be based on whoever I believe will produce the best stories and to help inject new life into the game.

On healthcare, I believe that we should revive the Congressional committee to pass the long awaited healthcare reforms. A lot of very good work has gone into this from across the board, and I think that the current problems with the draft legislation could be ironed out to produce a bill that most people in Atlasia will be happy with. It would be a shame to let the draft bill die after all the work that has been put into it.

On environmental policy, I'm hoping to introduce a bill that will provide rebates for energy produced by renewable sources before the end of the current Congressional term. This will start to drive our country away from fossil fuels and towards an energy policy that will transform our energy industry. I also believe that people who's work currently depends on fossil fuels should be offered training to allow them to move into the renewable energy industry or related industries to ensure that they are given an opportunity to find a new job. This should prevent the transition towards renewable energy doesn't come at the cost of people's employment.

To reduce unemployment, my plan is to offer subsidies training for parts of our economy that is suffering from skills shortages. This will allow for people to move into a new industry to find a job, should they be having difficulty finding a job with their current qualifications. Additionally, it will hopefully reduce unemployment across the board by targeting the industries most in need.

If you have any further questions about my platform, feel free to ask. I hope my response will help you in your decision as to who to vote for in the election.

[Clyde1998]

If elected,will you create jungle primaries

As our electoral system is preferential, I don't believe that we will need to have jungle primaries. A party could run multiple candidates in single-winner races, should it so wish. Generally, the only primaries that occur are Presidential primaries - so introducing jungle primaries would only affect them. In a lot of cases, there's only a single candidate from a party anyway (even before the conventions).

[Clyde1998]

Over the past few months, Siren and I have created a number of bills that have been passed by Congress that seek to make Atlasia a better place and seek to improve our international relations.

A prime example of this was a very simple bill that I proposed to Congress that ratified Montenegro's membership of NATO. This bill was passed unanimously by Congress. This simple bill ensures our commitment to NATO and helps keep our allies safe by ensuring that we wish to help them grow. Montenegro has become the 29th member of NATO and third former Yugoslav nation to join the organisation. Currently, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia and Macedonia are in the application process to become members and, if elected President, I will do my up most to assist them in becoming members of the organisation to ensure their protection and to affirm our friendship to them.

A bill that is still making its way through Congress is the Atlasian Regional Powers Commission Act. Should this bill pass, a commission would be set up to look into regional powers and draw a dividing line between what's a regional power and what's a federal power. I understand concerns that people have about the potential that this commission could fall inactive; if elected, I will do everything in my power to ensure that this reaches its conclusion. This is my commitment to the regions that they will not be forgotten about and can become an highly important aspect of Atlasian politics.

Another bill that I created was the Baby Box Act, which again hasn't completed its path through Congress, but I hope can be completed soon. This is another simple bill that will provide basic necessities to families with new born children that they may be unable to afford otherwise, assisting the parents in giving their child the best possible start to their life. Atlasia, unfortunately, has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the OECD, but this bill attempts to make a difference to reduce this. Finland has successfully introduced this scheme and is a major component of their healthcare and welfare system. I hope that this scheme can have the same level of affect in Atlasia as it has in Finland.

On top of this, the Employee's Rights Act was a major piece of legislation that unified a large amount of our employment laws and made it clearer what rights employees have in the work place. Given the extent of this bill, I was willing to listen to people's concerns with this and make amendments to resolve people's issues with this. This bill passed Congress without a vote in opposition to it.

Siren created a bill that resolves a large amount of our immigration issues and seeks to address the root cause of illegal migration to Atlasia. The Come Out of the Shadows Act provided solutions to these problems and was passed by Congress after a fantastic cross-party effort. Some of the resolved issues were keeping families together, ensuring that there was a clear pathway for undocumented residents to obtain Atlasian citizenship and providing funds to foreign development projects to give people more opportunities in their place of origin.

This is just a few of the things that we have managed to do in Congress and if we are elected this weekend, there's more that we can do. We've proposed bills and worked with others to provide solutions to problems that have arisen. On top of this, I assisted Lincoln with their budget which was passed earlier this year.

If we are elected to executive office, we will keep fighting for people's rights and assisting our international partners. That is a future that we can all look forward to.

[Clyde1998]

If it weren't already obvious, this superb ticket will have my support in the June elections; I can't think of anyone better to lead Atlasia through the next four months.

Endorsed

Endorsed!

Endorsed.

I thank you all for your endorsements.

[Clyde1998]

Polls have now opened for this months Federal Election.

Throughout this campaign, I've cited my plan to make the regions more powerful, made a couple of proposals that would attempt to make business taxation fairer, outlined what I would like to see from the GM department, talked about how cabinet should be changed to make the roles more important within the game and brought forward a plan as how to tackle unemployment. Over the last few months, Siren and I, have created bills that seek to make Atlasia a better place.

The next 72 hours will determine the direction of Atlasia for the next four months now lies in the hands of the voters. Please vote for myself and Siren to become the next President and Vice President of Atlasia.