Griff 4 Prez: Set Your Happening Level to "It's" - VICTORY

[Adam Griffin]

As announced yesterday with nowhere nearly enough fanfare, I will be running for re-election as Your President in the February election.

This is great news for you, awesome stuff, etc etc - a more formal announcement and a series of dissertations will follow in the coming days.

[Adam Griffin]

As announced yesterday with nowhere nearly enough fanfare, I will be running for re-election as Your President in the February election.

This is great news for you, awesome stuff, etc etc - a more formal announcement and a series of dissertations will follow in the coming days.

Congrats, good luck

Endorsed, for Round 2!

Endorsed.

Endorsed.

Thank you kindly!

[Adam Griffin]

Endorsed

Glorious news! It's great to have your support.

[Adam Griffin]

Endorsed as always.

Thank you!


And the Labor Party Primary Debate has begun! You can view it here. My opening remarks are below:

GRIFFIN'S OPENING STATEMENT

Fellow Laborites,

I can't say that I'm exactly thrilled to be here, nor can I say that I expected this in the slightest. As the person who more than anyone else was responsible for building the Party that we hold near and dear to our hearts over the past four years, I have spent the majority of my time in the game serving its needs.

However, a different calling emerged several months ago. With the game in undeniable decline, even the strongest forces of opposition against my two-and-a-half year-old plan to consolidate the regions finally joined hands and began to sing a different tune. They understood that it was finally necessary. Approximately five months ago, the game took another nose-dive for the worst, requiring me to change perspective once again. It was at this point that I decided to unilaterally focus on the needs of the country rather than the Party.

I have had years to experience the strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings of political infrastructure and organization in this game. Being able to build relationships and interact with people from all walks of life is essential in getting things done, but it is through this dynamic that one also realizes that it takes a village to be truly sustainable. Unfortunately, no one within the Party took up the mantle of maintaining our glory in the same way that I was able to do for all of those years, and recent events have impacted us disproportionately. I, in the better interests of the game, decided to focus on one important task: becoming Your President and saving the game. There would be time to save the Party later.

This task has not been easy. Much like with the Party, "it takes a village" is an important concept. "The December President" always faces challenges with respect to activity, but this year has been especially challenging. However, I am confident that the progress we've made has stopped the decline, and the second half of my presidential term will show the country that we are moving once again in the right direction. You will feel it, you will see it, and if you so choose, you will be a part of it.

Some have called me an "old war horse"; an irrelevant and anachronistic concept that is holding back the game. The thing about a war horse is...it doesn't become that of its own choosing. I wear that label with pride. A war horse carries the bulk of the weight into battle, fights valiantly, gets scarred to hell and back, and returns home to fight another day. We are at a pivotal moment, and that is not hyperbole. The next term of this office will either preside over the ratification of a new Constitution and a new game, or will lack the political clout and wherewithal to hold the pieces together, watching it all fall into oblivion.

Since 2012, I have never taken your support for granted. I am not about to start taking it for granted now. We are on the move to fulfilling our campaign pledges: the trolls are gone, the government has never worked in a more bipartisan fashion, and the ConCon - barring the dead-period during the holidays in which the entire game seemingly disappeared - is moving at the pace I predicted. People who complain about the ConCon not being finished were the people I warned you about in October. I always said this that this was a two-term proposition.

Well, I of course disagree with that. I believe that the reform process will take several months, and at the end of it all, there will almost certainly be a reset based on the expressed opinions of the delegates. Therefore, I seriously doubt that the next President will have any meaningful impact on public policy in his first term. Honestly, I believe public policy debate in this election will only serve to polarize the masses on issues that will not in the slightest be an important role in how or whether we emerge from this reform process in a successful fashion.

At the end of the day, though, people are angry. They're angry that a magical solution hasn't been delivered in two months, regardless of the promises I made on game reform, public policy, and a variety of other areas. I get it. We've been living it in the United States for the last eight years. But if there's one thing I've always been in this game, it's deliberate. I know what I am doing and I know how to get us there. The electorate has changed significantly since the last time we elected a Generic Laborite. Such a concept won't carry us across the finish line, and even if it did, it's highly unlikely that the reform process would be resolved in the way we wish to see.

Stick it out with me through the rest of this term and for another, and we'll all feel and see the true nature of what the reform process I've been working hard at since 2013 will deliver. Abandon me, and the future is uncertain. It is that black and white, and it is just that simple.

[Adam Griffin]

I'm glad I don't have to deal with party politics, seeing members of a party wanting to get rid of someone like you who has done so much for his party.

When you announced you were seeking reelection, I was trying to remember if I voted for you before and maybe it was time I did before there is a new Atlasia.

Well, as you learn as a kingmaker in party politics, your efforts are never really appreciated and sooner or later, virtually everyone turns their back on you (usually after you've helped put them in office) and blames you for something. I've done my best to learn not to take it personally when possible, as I can remember literally dozens of instances/people over the years that qualify as such.

Also, is that an endorsement? I'm definitely gonna count it as an endorsement.

President Griffin:

I wish to know if you support a healthcare system without an individual mandate, allowing people to buy healthcare across regional lines, and a healthcare agent in charge of making deals with private companies instead of an advisory build.

Also, what is your position on allowing regions to each produce 20% of the total federal amount of money minted into their own currency, thus devolving the currency slightly and allowing for devaluing of any regional or the federal currency to not have too great an effect on the economy?

I'll get back to you shortly, but on the currency concept: in 2012, the federal government sued and successfully won a case against the South over the issuance of its own currency ("the Dibble"). As such, regional product of currency is not legal in this iteration of the game.

[Adam Griffin]

President Griffin:

I wish to know if you support a healthcare system without an individual mandate, allowing people to buy healthcare across regional lines, and a healthcare agent in charge of making deals with private companies instead of an advisory build.

Also, what is your position on allowing regions to each produce 20% of the total federal amount of money minted into their own currency, thus devolving the currency slightly and allowing for devaluing of any regional or the federal currency to not have too great an effect on the economy?

I'll get back to you shortly, but on the currency concept: in 2012, the federal government sued and successfully won a case against the South over the issuance of its own currency ("the Dibble"). As such, regional product of currency is not legal in this iteration of the game.

With regards to healthcare, we currently have what is known as Fritzcare, which is a more "advanced" version of the real-life ACA. Individuals are allowed to buy into a public option known as ANHCP.

With regards to your specific questions on the matter, it's a rather simple answer from my perspective: I do not support the concept of private insurance period. It's an inefficient concept and one of the only "market-based" products where competition does not lead to lower costs.  

I do not believe a mandate is necessary, as public insurance can be funded through either a universal tax and/or the mass adoption by the public of more affordable (i.e.: public) solutions, as explained in the link above that references how effective monopolies in healthcare insurance generate lower costs.

I would support competition across regional lines in the scenario where private sector healthcare remains the rule rather than the exception, however.

Endorsed look forward to 4 more months

Endorsed

Thank you both so much for your support, even if one of you is my VP!

[Adam Griffin]

You have my endorsement and support from here on in. You have been a leader here, more importantly you've given more to the game than any active player right now, you've made repeated efforts to engage voters, and to me there is little basis to criticize you on not doing enough. You've done a thumbs-up job and have put forward plenty of yourself.

I wholeheartedly appreciate your endorsement. If there's anyone who understands the phrases "trial by fire" and "damned if you do, damned if you don't", then it's you.

[Adam Griffin]

The trolls and their behavior have completely vanished during my term as President. Campaign promise kept!

With regards to the appointment of Talleyrand, Senator Kent, I outlined a no-nonsense approach as conditions of his appointment. Additionally, despite your tough talk now, you apparently did not feel passionate enough during the confirmation hearing at the time to cast a vote in any other way than as a mere abstention!

ABSTAIN

He may be the only qualified candidate, so I can't vote against him, but I also have major reservations about him, so I won't vote for him.

After a dull (and perfectly predictable) December, the Constitutional Convention continues to rage forward and we'll be wrapping up by May 1. We're on track!

As far as experience goes, part of being an experienced and capable Atlasian leader means knowing when and where to pick your battles. Going back to September, I made campaign promises that I would focus on the Constitutional Convention, rebuilding our activity levels bit-by-bit, ending the sheer prevalence of trolling behavior and otherwise preparing for the most important transition in the game in several years. I have done all of these things. On other issues - especially those that will be erased once our new game begins -  I made multiple pledges going all the way back to September that I would not focus on these areas with vigor because getting bogged down in these details is counter-productive and takes time away from the issues that truly matter in the months leading up to the ConCon.

A relative handful of citizens have held this high office, and they'll tell you that you cannot literally address every potential area of concern or every criticism while still retaining a real life, stable employment and your own sanity to be effective in the game, for that matter. This may not be something our younger players understand, but I won't hold their youth and inexperience against them in this area.

I understood it going in, and that is exactly why I am the most equipped to serve another term. Lesser players and Presidents have become exhausted after experiencing all of the office's demands, challenges, and potential areas of interest. You have to know where to focus and how to focus on them. Electing four prior Presidents and being on the frontlines with them for years gave me an insider's knowledge that literally no one else in this game possesses.

As far as the experience of my opponent goes, let's not dress it up as anything other than what it is: a few months as the Governor of the third most-populous Region during a time in which his Region lost the fewest active players per capita of any Region in the game. It doesn't take much to weather the storm when the storm barely touches your shores. It also certainly doesn't prepare you to take on the machinations of a dynamic five times as large and ten times more complicated.

[Adam Griffin]

A DIFFERENT KIND OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Here is the reality: I can write dissertations with the best of them. I am also very aware of the fact that such behavior is mostly cathartic, and the vast population of the game mostly ignores them. This campaign will not be about grandstanding, or about pretending to visit fictitious locales. Much like my opponent, I, too, felt the need to do these things when I was new to the game and inexperienced. As such, you won't see me issuing tons of press releases and white papers. The campaign and the next four months is very simple.

This is about finishing what we started in October. It is about ensuring that no major disruptions by mischievous players upset the balance of power in the game or the continuation of reform. It is about ensuring that we stay on track to successfully create, ratify and implement as new Constitution and a new game. It is about increasing activity, engagement and interest in the game by boosting regional participation, competition in elections and recruiting from the massive wave of new posters to the forum.

Despite my opponents' criticisms, we have made progress in all of these areas. We will continue to make progress, and the acceleration of this progress is already being felt. The President is tasked with juggling a lot, but there arguably hasn't been a more difficult time to be President. I will continue to focus on the three main campaign promises I made, and I will continue to keep the promise that I made regarding the need to distinguish between what is simple political theater and what is tangible progress. Much of what the President, the Senate and the game usually does will be reset in just a couple of months if we do our jobs correctly. If people want to criticize me for focusing on the absolute necessities instead of the formalities, then they can do so freely. That is not what the next four months will be about.

I am the most experienced President in terms of overall game engagement, management and experience that this game has had in years. I say that not in a braggadocios way, but rather, to illustrate why you put me here in the first place. I came into this office knowing the difficulties. I told all of you in advance that there would be difficulties. I never claimed this would be a one-term proposition, and in fact, explained that it'd likely take two. I have never lost sight of what we need to do together. I hope you haven't, either.

[Adam Griffin]

I provided an interview to The Southern Biscuit recently. We touched on the main points of hte past four months, and what I intend to do as President in the months to come. Here is the full interview:

PRESIDENT GRIFFIN INTERVIEW

Q: The election is nearing, what is your plan to win on Election Day?

A: I think it's a genuine uphill battle. Never in the history of the country has there been such a conservative electorate. Despite the odds, I managed to win in October by providing a sense of realism to voters about what can and cannot be accomplished, and what should and should not be our top focuses. My plan is to continue along this steady course, observe things improve in the coming months, and hope that the voters believe in our trajectory.


Q: Many have questioned your activity as president, how do you respond to this?

A: I have always been active when and where it mattered. Being President requires managing your time wisely. There are 100 different things that a President theoretically could involve his/herself in at any given time, but especially during times like these, you have to pick your battles carefully - lest you become overworked and burnt out. I watched it happen too many times with Presidents that I helped elect.

I believe the criticisms are largely unfounded. I was very focused in the promises I made during the election. I have delivered upon these and/or am in the process of continuing their fulfillment. Some people expected the world to change completely in just a period of a few short months - a few short months during a crisis and during a time in which most of the active base of the game stops contributing. We have to be careful about setting unrealistic expectations. Had I been elected four months earlier or later than I was and was facing the same crises, that dynamic of activity would be quite a bit different. People always disappear during the holidays; you can't force them to report to work.


Q: What would be the main key points of a second term in your presidency, say you're re-elected?

A: Wrapping up the ConCon by May 1 is the number one priority. We are going to have plenty of time to rebuild the game's socioeconomic and political debates and policies once we have a new game. The legacy I would like to leave for Atlasia in my second term is a restoration of the game on stable footing. This obviously also includes an increase in activity in the ramp-up to the new game. We are already seeing that compared to just a couple of months ago. With fresh faces and hope on the horizon, I'm confident that we can deliver a new game and boost activity levels in the meantime.


Q: What is your campaign platform?

A: My campaign platform remains the same as it was during my first election: keep troll behavior at bay and to a minimum, deliver to the people of Atlasia a new Constitution, and deal with anyone who threatens to derail that in the ways that I am well-known for doing. Additionally, setting a firm day of May 1 for completion of the ConCon will be a part of my second term platform.

It's worth noting that we have been stable over the past four months - not a single crisis threatening the stability of the game or a crisis that spilled over into multiple regions has occurred. As far as I'm concerned, that has been half of what Atlasia needed during this time.


Q: What is your opinion on how the South is right now?

A: I think the South is enjoying a temporary period of activity and prosperity that is largely fostered through advantageous external dynamics. The South, first of all, lost the fewest players as a percentage to the massive de-registrations and disengagements over the past several months. Furthermore, the South has been a boom in registration from newer players that gives it a naturally augmented level of interested, first-time players. I remember the same thing happening in the South during Operation Cottonfield, when we came close to doubling the population of the South and implementing the most fiercely competitive regional climate for an entire year.

Sustaining such activity over the long-term is always the real challenge, and a measurement of whether or not the successes can be attributed to any one person or group of people. I look forward to the new rendition of the game, in which all Regions will be stable and large enough to enjoy prosperous conditions.

[Adam Griffin]

What's your most conservative stance?

Follow-up. What's your most liberal stance?

These are tough questions! Mainly because ideological boundaries are not absolute nor identical to everyone...I would say the answers are relative.

With regards to what I consider to be my most conservative views, to some degree: I stand with conservative libertarians on matters relating to foreign policy and particularly military activities. I was proud to oppose unadulterated incursions into the Middle East when I was Senator, and I continue to be an advocate for minimal involvement when/if possible in foreign conflicts and crises of instability. We cannot bog ourselves down in the conflicts of other nations; we must instead make sensible choices that will empower our country to be insulated as often as possible from the whims of other nations' bad behaviors.

With regards to my most liberal or leftist views, I would have to say that the belief in an outright abolition of private insurance, private utilities (electricity, water, internet) and select private resources (copper, iron, rare earth metals, etc) probably ranks pretty highly. I consider all of these concepts fundamental elements of civilized society that determine the health, wealth, well-being and overall stability of a nation. Therefore, I do not believe that these concepts should be subject to profit or private whims (or at the very least, any profit generated from them should be used to better the public good).

[Adam Griffin]

Everyone,

In a little over an hour, the presidential and senatorial elections will begin. I have avoided an energized, prolonged public campaign for my re-election for numerous reasons, but perhaps most importantly, I believe that what we've accomplished together over the past four months should speak for itself.

The ConCon - despite criticisms - is quickly wrapping up and will be ready to produce a finished document in about two months.

Our game population has stabilized and is slowly regrowing.

There is more activity on the board now than there has been in several months.

We have people running now in every Region for office, and practically all regional legislative seats that can be filled are filled.

We have an active cabinet engaged in public and behind the scenes - whether it be Clyde and Classic Conservative providing continuous updates or DemPGH completely bringing the Wiki statute pages up-to-date behind the scenes.

We haven't had one major crisis during my administration, and the trolls have all but disappeared.


I made three simple campaign promises to you in October: that we would get the ConCon finished by the end of my second term, that we would stabilize and ultimately improve the trajectory of the game, and that the trolls who threatened our progress in these areas would not be allowed to do so.

All of these campaign promises have been met, and then some.

If you stay the course with me over the next four months, then I promise you that we will all have a game is enjoyable, fully recovered and prosperous by July 1. We are already beginning to see the fruits of that labor.

Allow me to deliver you to the Promised Land.

[Adam Griffin]

Endorsed for second preference. You know how Atlasia works in public and behind the scenes because of your long involvment in the game. Fpr someone with a reputation of being partisan, as President you still went ahead and nominated people not from your party (and with whom you maybe not agree on ppolitics) giving them a chance to play a role in the game they were seeking. You could probably make more public posting just to show your presence as President but my main criticism with inactivity in Nyman is the Senate. With a body of 10 people there are very few posts, only a couple active threads and I even noticed a day without any posts. The Senate has primary responsability for legislative work, not the President, but some people will wrongly blame the President for this. Maybe the Senate could use more diversity of opinions.   

I forgot to say thank you very much!

We have just a few hours until the voting booth closes.

Please get out there and do your civic duty*!

*That means electing me

[Adam Griffin]

Congratulations on your Re-Election, look forward to 4 more months, and a complete stronger revamped Constitution in May.

President Griffin. I am glad I'll be saying that for four more months.

If you have won, which I believe this election is too close to call, congratulations! Hope you have a good 4 months!

Thank you very much, guys, but we're not there yet! I personally know what it's like to be written off on the final day of an election, only to come surging back and terrify all of the pundits; I won't jinx our mission just yet!


However, I am very pleased with the results thus far.

Our campaign set an internal goal of 50 votes in order to make re-election possible. It appears we have reached that goal. Regardless of what happens, we have given it our all.

The turnout among registered voters is one of the highest that I can recall in quite some time. We already have more ballots cast in this election than were cast four months ago, despite having (I believe) about 15 more registered voters in October!

FOR PRESIDENT (78% Turnout*)
Griffin (LAB) 51 (53.1%)
Leinad (FED) 43 (44.8%)

* Includes all ballots cast by registered voters, whether valid or invalid

[Adam Griffin]

Congratulations on your re-election!

I'll certainly do what I can as both Deputy Presiding Officer and an Atlasian citizen to help complete and then ratify the new Constitution in the timeframe you've put forward, if not sooner.

Thank you very much! It certainly was not expected. Somehow I keep defying the odds; I promise that this will be the last time I roll the dice.

I look forward to working together more on finishing the ConCon in a timely fashion.

[Adam Griffin]

Congratulations on your reelection!

Thank you!

[Adam Griffin]

Congratulations, Mr. President.

Thank you very much! You ran a very strong campaign and I'm very proud of the job you did representing us in the election.

[Adam Griffin]

Mr President, congratulations.

WOO!

It's always been a pleasure, my friend.

Congratulations to you Griffin and Duke on your hard fought reelection.

I am sure both of you have much more to contribute to the growth and rebirth of this republic.

Congratulations Mr. President!!!!

Outstanding!! Congrats! Fantastic news, go get 'em for four more!

Congrats Mr President

Thank God. Congratulations!

Congrats!

Congrats!

Thank you all very much! I know that we'll move forward together toward a very bright and intense new future in the next four months.