Hashemite Campaign HQ

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From Ogunquit, Maine

My fellow citizens,

It is my pleasure to stand here with you today to announce my candidacy to the office of Northeast Senator.

Firstly, I would like to thank Senator Smid for a remarkable job in the Senate and being the best representative the Northeast could hope for in the Senate. Although he may be a conservative elected under the banner of a centre-right party, he was able to listen to every side and every issue reasonably and with a clear mind. At the same time, he stayed true to his personal principles. I wish him the best of luck, and I believe I speak for everybody in saying that he will be missed.

If I gain your trust this election, I will strive to represent the Northeast in the same way Senator Smid did. I may be the founder of the Democratic Alliance and I may be a strong supporter of the Alliance, but I will not follow a path of closed-minded legislating if elected. I will vote my conscience, as every Senator should, and remain true to my basic principles. That said, I will be willing to come to a fair compromise on any legislation, proposed by any Senator, to fit the interests of both Senators and voters. We shouldn't have a Senate where votes are determined strictly by ideology, and were all Senators are easily classified into left and right blocs. Should we have a Senate of people with no ideologies and fluctuating principles? No. But we shouldn't have a Senate of close-minded people who are ideologically bound to vote a certain way and reject any compromise.

The current Senators, not just my fellow colleagues from the DA, but all Senators, regardless of affiliation, have done a remarkable job at creating compromises that can work for everybody. People have often attacked compromises as being a sign of people who are free of ideology and with fluctuating principles. However, that is not the case. What good is ramming through a bill that pleases only half the Senate (and potentially only a minority of the voters out there) and is loathed by the other half? You only create unhealthy divisions.

This issue aside, I promise to you today to legislate and represent above strict party lines. As other Senators have done, I will be pleased to help fellow citizens draft legislation or propose legislation that is dear to them. I may be personally opposed to it, but I will never fail to introduce legislation proposed or drafted by a citizen of the Northeast.

I open the floor to questions.

The campaign's next stop is Boston, MA

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In 10 words or less, explain why I should support your candidacy.

Obviously 10 words or less is impossible.

I will help draft and introduce any legislation by any citizen
My office will be open to recommendations and ideas
I will be happy to discuss any of my votes
I'll vote my conscience and principles, but with the interests of the Northeast in mind

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In 10 words or less, explain why I should support your candidacy.

Obviously 10 words or less is impossible.

I will help draft and introduce any legislation by any citizen
My office will be open to recommendations and ideas
I will be happy to discuss any of my votes
I'll vote my conscience and principles, but with the interests of the Northeast in mind

I don't want a senator that believes something is impossible. I'll wait to see if another candidate arises before I give my support.

Apologies for answering your question as best as I could then, comrade.

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From Boston, Massachusetts

Good day, dear friends!

It is my pleasure to stand here today on the second day of my campaign for the Northeast Senate. While it appears that no candidate has declared their intentions to run against me, I feel it necessary to encourage all voters in the Northeast to vote this month. I also feel it necessary to campaign, since I don't take your trust for granted. I will strive to earn it throughout this campaign, and if elected, I will not let you down. I re-affirm my promises to introduce all your legislation and to listen to your thoughts and concerns. If elected, my office doors will be wide open as I wish to hear your ideas and comments concerning what the Senate is debating.

I think the Senate should be close to voters and voters should take a real interest in the proceedings of the Senate. If elected Senator, I will aim to post an update about the proceedings of the Senate, and if I find it necessary, my opinion. At all times, I will be happy to answer voters' comments, questions, and concerns concerning my votes in the Senate, my amendments in the Senate and so forth.

On a final note, I would like to thank Senator HappyWarrior and Attorney General Marokai for their support in this campaign.

Thank you!

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Thanks for forgetting me

What a klouk the SoEA is. Digarez, ma kamarad.




From New York City, New York

Good day, dear voters!

I'd like to thank you all for coming out here. I would like to speak today about what I stand for. I see myself as a true centrist, and I don't see centrist as being a pejorative word as some make it to be. Centrism is an ideology of political moderation and, to me, a proper mix of elements from both left and right. I am a social liberal, and I strongly support a woman's right to chose, gay rights, gay marriage, assisted suicide and a variety of other things. I do not plan to hide from those things and I am strongly committed to fighting for them.

I am a strong supporter of secularism (laicism) and the separation of church and state. I helped pass secularism legislation in the Northeast and Mideast. I will fight against anything I see as endangering the institutions and foundations of secularism. At the same time, I will also fight for the freedom of worship.

As Secretary of External Affairs, I believe that I tried to do the most I could in a job which has little power, influence, and a badly-defined role. I hope that the Convention will be able to clearly define the powers of the office, as well as the powers of other cabinet positions. In the meantime, I will try to introduce legislation, with the support of other Senators, to define the role of the various cabinet officials.

I would like to finish tonight with a re-affirmation of my centrist values. Centrism is a real ideology, and it exists. To paraphrase French President Charles de Gaulle, Atlasia is not the left, Atlasia is not the right.

On a final note, I would like to thank Governor AndrewCT for his support. I appreciate all of your support.

Thank you all for your support!

Vamos a ganar!

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Communique

I would like to welcome my opponent, RowanBrandon to this race. I welcome his opposition in this race, and I am of the obvious opinion that competitive elections are a necessity in Atlasia.

I would like to note, however, that his activity in Atlasia is minimal to say the least and the only constant activity he seems to have is voting at election time. However, he didn't even vote in the last Northeast election. To my knowledge, he has not taken any major interest in the Convention ongoing and I haven't seen him commenting in the offices of the SoEA, Attorney-General, SoFA, and the various Senators. I don't see how you can claim to be the candidate of revitalizing Atlasia when your activity has been minimal at best. I don't see how you can ask for a new foreign policy when you haven't commented on any of the DoEA's/Senate's actions on foreign policy.

I understand that I may be the old candidate in this race, having been here the longest. But I believe that in times of important activity and constitutional issues, the best qualified person is the person with the most experience in those fields. That said, if elected, I would obviously strive to listen to all voices - my opponent's included - in these days of important reform.

I am still taking any questions (and endorsements!)

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My opinion on various pieces of legislation;

Privacy Protection Bill: I fully support this bill and it is definitely needed to maintain calm, amiability, and good humour in Atlasia. Atlasia is a game, and to continue a good game we don't need massive crises happening due to PM, IMs and the like.

Free Communications Bill: I support this legislation. I am opposed to government regulations of the airwaves and the telescreens audiovisual, even if I may disagree with the content of certain programs on radio and telly.

Establishment of Social and Economic Development Zones Bill: I support this legislation. This is a very interesting idea and definitely helps businesses (and small businesses) in these economic hard times. I also support Purple State's current amendment.

School Standards Reform Bill: I have taken a special interest in this legislation, and I agree with its general objective. However, as I've made public, I have issues with certain sections (4.3 in particular for a variety of reasons) which I hope the Senate will remove. I also agree with Ebowed's remark that the secondary school curriculum is too regulatory. It is especially regulatory if you seek to force a school to offer IB or AP. I can't speak for AP, but IB is an extremely rigorous program that demands a lot of time and effort, so heavy loads is certainly not the best. If Section 4.3 is not removed, then there should be exceptions to this legislation for IB and AP schools.

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You have my support, even though you are a carpetbagger who keeps voting off Gary Doer in Canadian Premier's Survivor

However, we Ottawans must stick together.

Trugarez!

I would have voted for Alex Munter in 2006 if that makes you feel better

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My priorities:

1. Clearly defining the job and role of the SoEA, and perhaps revisiting the role of the SoFA and Attorney General if needed. Furthermore, encourage voters to interact more with the cabinet. Perhaps place all government offices in this board, which has more traffic than the other board.
2. Charge the PPT with maintaining a non-partisan Senate information thread in this board. This thread would include current legislation the floor, links to the actual texts, the legislative process of those bills. This would allow voters who don't go into the government boards to keep track with Senate proceedings.
3. Senators and cabinet officials should be encouraged to launch open public meetings (forums) with citizens and regional office-holders to discuss current issues, current legislation, ideas for reform, and the government's proceedings.
4. Whichever constitutional draft is adopted by the ConCon, there should be a large public education campaign in a visible place where voters could interact
5. The Senate cannot do this per se, but office-holders who are not party leaders should send regular PMs to non-active members encouraging them to get active, ask questions and so forth.
6. As per the DA's platform, I will propose a revision of the Voter Rolls effective immediately to remove inactive users. Inactivity is defined as members of Atlasia who have either a) not voted in the past two elections, if applicable, OR b) not posted in Atlasia sections 10 or more times in the past two (or three or four) months, if applicable.
7. The Senate cannot do this, but I encourage all regions to review their constitutions to include some sort of Assembly, like in the Mideast. The Mideast Assembly has created a lot of activities and has allowed newbies to get involved. I wish that whoever is elected President takes action on this matter, in co-operation with Governors.
8. The SoFA (or Attorney General or even President) should be put in charge of including an up-to-date electoral calendar.

The truth is, one Senator cannot magically increase participation in Atlasia. Even the whole Senate has limits on its power to pass wide-ranging reform. This is why increased participation needs the active participation of the President, Governors, and other office-holders. No one Senator has the magic power to increase participation overnight like that. While plans to do so, such as the one my opponent will present soon, are honourable, the Senate is not omnipotent and such a large mission demands and necessitates the full and active participation and support of the President and Governors. I am not saying Senators can't do anything, I'm saying they can't do everything.

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I would like to apologize for the lack of activity and updates in my campaign. I've been through a rather busy stretch.

My opponent has released his plan to increase activity. With all due respect for this plan and my opponent, this plan is flawed.

1. As Senator PS and tmthforu94 stated, PMing every citizen about every piece of legislation would be excessive, annoying, and counter-productive. In this regards, I proposed the following last week:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

This idea seems to be supported by other members.

This would be much less annoying than receiving constant PMs. This annoyance could in fact cause some members to quit out.

2. I support the creation of Regional Assemblies, but such large-scale ideas are to be decided by regions. The Senate does not have the authority to impose its will on local and regional government.

3. I oppose term limits. I support term limits called "elections". If voters want to re-elect a Senator or anybody, they can do so. If they want to throw him out, they can do so. We cannot force a competent office holder to retire if a majority of his constituents support his action. I don't see how you can have more frequent elections, unless you turn this into a perpetual election simulator where the Senate meets for an extremely short period and probably turns into something unproductive.


My opponent has also criticized Senator Smid's endorsement. Senator Smid and I do not see eye to eye on everything, but Smid has put partisan differences in his endorsement. He realizes the value of experience in times of problems and hard-work. I thank Senator Smid for his support

I may be a "liberal", but my priorities, which I stated last week, do not involve social issues. They involve solving issues specific to Atlasia which do not require ideological squabbles. I will vote my conscience and my principles, but my office, I repeat, will be open to criticism and comments.

I do not like to see this race turn into an epic battle between "conservative" and "liberal". My priorities are Atlasian issues, and not social or economical hot topics. I think topics such as participation, activity, and institutions are more pressing than gay marriage. And issues such as participation, activity, and institutions do not require an ideological label.

I also find it slightly bizarre that Rowan now claims to be the true conservative, when his campaign launch said that he would "work for all Atlasians". My campaign is not ideological, and I welcome support from all sides, as my supporters have shown.

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I would like to respond to a few things.

1. I see that my opponent now says that he will represent all Atlasians, but using conservative ideals. As much as I may respect said ideals at times, you won't be able to unite all Atlasians, including social democrats and liberals, using ideological rhetoric. You can't use ideological labels and rhetoric and then claim to represent all Atlasians. Can you be a conservative but represent all Atlasians? Certainly. But you can't use polarizing conservative (or liberal, or social democratic, whatever) rhetoric and claim to be a unifying figure.
2. I appreciate his clarification on clause 1 of his IPP. However, I do note that this is very similar in fact to my earlier proposal of a Senate noticeboard in the 'elections' forum. I believe this noticeboard is much more feasible than PMs. For one, anybody could read at any time, and not read when they don't want to. Secondly, it would be much easier for one person to maintain a noticeboard than constantly be sending PMs. This noticeboard would be similar to the current Senate noticeboards, but be placed in a more visible location.

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I toyed around with having a Secretary of the Senate too and I'm definitely open to including that in a draft legislation instead of getting the PPT to do it.

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I think the noticeboard idea is a very good idea. But I don't the the PPT should run this noticeboard, they already have a lot to do. Maybe the Senate could create a Sec. of the Senate postion where that person can update the noticeboard and any other things that the senate would see fit for that postion.

That is a superb idea.

What steps would you have to do to get that postion made?

I suppose just a simple piece of legislation, I doubt there's anything special that needs to be done. Perhaps amending the official Senate rules and procedures.

That is what I thought, but wasn't sure. I also think this person should take over the role of added bills to Wiki that pass in the Senate.

Aha, but in that case that pretty much makes the AG's job that of a useless chair-warmer.

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Live from New York City, New York

Senator-elect Hashemite enter as campaign song plays

Thank you, thank you!

At this time, it seems as if we've won this election! We've done it! Thanks to all of you for your incredible turnout and your invaluable support!

This victory tonight is a victory for an experienced realist version of change. This victory is a victory for moderate politics, and a defeat for old ideological dichotomies and party politics. We've done it, we've won. I want to thank all of you for making this possible. Tonight, the vow that I took at the beginning of this campaign - to serve the people of this great region with honour and to fight for this great region - begins. I will put you first, and I'll put my convictions and values first ahead of party politics. As I repeated throughout the campaign, my mission in the Senate is to represent you, and I will strive to do so. I will not lie to you. I will not deceive you.

Thank you for your support, without which this would have been impossible. Thank you also to my honourable opponent, who has graciously conceded this election. It will be a pleasure to work with him as it will be a pleasure to work with all of you.

Long live the Northeast, long live Atlasia!