The Porcupine: At-Large Senator Special Election Debate

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This will be the main debate thread. Only candidates for the At-Large Special Election and myself are to post in this thread.

I'll be opening up with the first question in a few hours.

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OK. Most rounds of questioning will feature one question for all candidates, and then candidate-specific questions. However, I'm going to open up with just one question.


To all candidates: While this is just a game, none of us run simply for the sake of running (or shouldn't at least). So that being said, how do each of you justify your candidacy in this election? What problem(s) do you seek to ameliorate, and what makes you superlatively qualified for this seat? How do you plan to contribute to the institution that is the Senate of Atlasia?

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Thank you for your answers. Next round:


To all candidates: Who do you consider to be the best Senator Atlasia ever had, either past or present? How would you emulate their performance?
To Adam Griffin: As you would know, Labor is indisputably the majority party in this government. Bore won the Presidential Election in a rout, and Labor held three out of five regional Senate seats. If you win this election, Labor will have six Senate seats and the Presidency. How do you plan on avoiding the pitfalls that Labor encountered during the DemPGH administration, when Labor had similar control over government?

Expanding upon this, one noted initiative that you supported in your last tenure as At-Large Senator was nationalization of energy utilities. President-elect bore was a vote against your attempt, but had stated in the debate that he supported nationalization of utilities in some form. If elected, can voters expect a more nuanced attempt at nationalization, or is this a dead issue to you?
To JCL: You are notorious amongst Atlasia for your right-wing views. Given that the current make-up of the Senate is majority Labor, and several more of its members are left-of-center, how do you plan on working with the majority?

As Senator, your sole piece of legislation was the Taft-Hartley Reinstatement Act. Attempts to pass that were about as successful as the Bills' offense. Perhaps more publicized is a bill you sponsored as Mideast Assemblyman: the Mideast Right to Life Act. Can we expect more proposals like this from a hypothetical Senator JCL? If not, what issues do you plan on legislating?
To Foucaulf: You previously ran a colorful campaign for Midwest Governor where you criticized the Midwest's budget for what you considered to be fanciful revenue figures and unrealistic expenditures. You also recently criticized the 2015 Budget passed by the Senate and signed by Lumine.

Do you intend to relitigate the 2015 budget? If not, will you oppose potential spending projects that may be proposed by Labor in the future? How do you expect to work with the majority, given how critical you've been of Labor in the past?
To Poirot: You are well-known for your repeated attempts to obtain elective office. Other than a stint as Northeastern Representative, you have not succeeded. Some attempts were more successful than others. Why do you think you fail to resonate with voters?

In addition, can you expand upon your political views and what issues you may legislate if elected?

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JCL, you can still respond to the previous question but I'm going to post the next round.

To all candidates: The position of Secretary of External Affairs has been an important position for years. Superique seems to have been doing a good job. However, other than luminaries such as Hashemite and Nix, Presidents have sometimes struggled filling this position. Similarly, in my time in Atlasia, the Secretary of Internal Affairs has often seemed like a Postmaster General with an identity crisis. My good friends NiK and MattVT struggled to make purpose out of the office. Since then, it has become a bit more purposeful as an assistant to the Game Moderator, and Hagrid served competently in the office.

The Cabinet Reform Amendment failed, in part due to low turnout amongst the Senate. Would you have supported the Cabinet Reform Amendment? Do you think these departments should be redefined, kept as is, or abolished?
To Adam Griffin: In the past you have stated your opposition to US intervention in Iraq to stop ISIS. Secretary Superique, who is to be retained by Bore, has called for multi-lateral action against ISIS. Do you agree with this approach? If not, what (if any) solution would you offer?
To JCL: Regarding ISIS, you said during your presidential campaign:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You have also mentioned support for a declaration of war on ISIS. Is this a measure that you would support as Senator? If not, how would you work as Senator to fight ISIS?
To Poirot and Foucaulf: What action, if any, do you think needs to be taken against ISIS?

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To all candidates: Since the DemPGH administration, there were several attempts at "revolution" (more specifically, Alfred's Papal Batch and Snowstalker's posts.) While both posters in question were prosecuted for these actions, do you think that posts such as these should have actual bearing on the game? While President, Cranberry briefly mentioned negotiating with Alfred's movement before being overwhelmingly rebuked by the public. Should these be ignored and not considered canon to Atlasia?
To Adam Griffin: You've served several times in the Atlasian Senate. Since your departure, the rules have been overhauled. Have you studied these rules, and are you confident in your command of them?
To JCL: When the Senate was debating the Protecting People from Explosives amendment, you accidentally voted Aye when intending to vote Nay - thus making the difference in the amendment's passage. In the event that you are elected, are you confident that you will give more diligence to legislation as it's being voted on, to ensure you know what you're voting for?
To Poirot and Foucaulf: Neither of you have been elected to the Senate before. When I served as Senator and Vice President, I sometimes used Yankee as a crutch when I was unsure of the proper procedure. However, Yankee no longer serves in the Senate, and the most senior Senator is TNF. If elected, will you take the initiative to study the Senate rules?
Submitted questions:
To all candidates: What do you think is the best way to move forward on economic growth?
To all candidates: What is your view on the current debate about inactivity?

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Since the election will soon be upon us, this shall be the conclusion of questioning. Thank you for your thoughtful responses and good luck to all candidates.