Atlas Star:Presidential debate thread

[Lumine]

Lumine Opening Statement:

Ladies and gentlemen, may all of you have a good day.

Let me just start by thanking Game Moderator 1184AZ for hosting this debate, I think Presidential Debates are a relevant part of the democratic excercise, and I look forward for promoting my ideas and beliefs before this audience.

There is two main things I wish to do on this opening statement.

First, properly introduce myself.

I am LumineVonReuental (coming to you from such an exotic place as Chile), Lumine for short, and I have been a player in Atlasia for five years, an officeholder for four. Beyond serving on several regional governments with a consistent push on activity and accomplishments, I was President of the Republic of Atlasia from November 2014 to March 2015 during a highly contentious period, having inherited the Presidency in the aftermath of a bloody and confusing Civil Conflict which once threatened to rip Atlasia apart. We overcame the challenges of that time by leading an active, efficient and yes, controversial administration, and we took some decisive steps to, for example, make foreign policy relevant again.

Some time has passed from that, and while having already been President does in no way entitle me to return for the White House, I come before you to seek a second non-consecutive term. I return to the most intense battleground of this game rested, invigorated and far more experienced, and in consecuence, confident that I could be a very efficient and active Commander-in-Chief at a time in which this nation requires a strong, bold and independent minded President on the White House.

Second, showcase briefly my vision for Atlasia.

What I see in our Republic on the present times paints a discouraging view, even with the efforts of some active officeholders and the excellent work of the Game Engine. We live in an area of strife on account of some godawful foreign policy decisions, of no less than three different Presidents as the White House changes leaders faster than you can count, of huge battles coming in the future to address the War in the Korea, the coming Budget, necessary Game Reform, and so on.

But what I also see, is a sense of complacency mixed with a lack of proper debate. Whether you call it "echo-chamber consensus" or "Nyman Consensus", what I see is two main parties which have grown so close in the past few months that the lines are often blurred, and rather than having reasonable consensus for a reason, we seem to be embroiled in times of consensus for the sake of it as disagreements remain few and the game inevitable stagnates.

Has the game been worse? Yes, much worse. Is the game in good shape? I'm not as convinced as some other are that it is. I think we need to address some necessary reform to invigorate the game and its institutions, I think Atlasia could use a move to the center-right in some issues to move away from echo-chamber consensus, and I think that as the most experienced candidate on this stage (and the only one to be elected and serve for a full term as President) I am the man to deliver.

So I look forward to this debate and to showcasing my position on the very important issues that we face today.

I realize you can't disagree much with a certain officeholder without the Presidential Hit Squad coming to attack and discredit you, but considering how much flak I've taken on my public life in Atlasia for speaking up my mind, I'm not about to keep quiet about what I believe in.

Thank you.

[Lumine]

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I fall on the Pro-Life side of the equation, a belief that I’ve held ever since I joined Atlasia. Out of pragmatic reasons I do personally support abortion if the mother’s life is endangered and in cases of incest or rape within a certain time-span, but that is about as a far as I would personally go. Having said that, I do believe abortion is an issue best resolved and handled at the regional and not the federal level. What I would do if elected President is to pursue measures to reduce abortions on a rational, pragmatic levels, such as making adoptions easier and ensuring we have more follow-up programs for families who can’t take care of their children.

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As to the question, I think it has been a success, both in terms of public impact and in generating needed revenue for the federal government. But I am not a fan of drugs, and I would absolutely not support decriminalizing harder drugs given the damage they create not only to individuals, but whole communities. Indeed, I’ve often held the nation-wide approach to drugs has been a bit irresponsible (I would struggle to say there was a “War on Drugs” pre-reset). I very much would like to impulse rehabilitation programs so victims can move ahead and overcome addiction, but I plan to take a tough approach towards drug-dealers and hard drugs.

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I’ll be frank, being from Chile I must confess gun rights have never impacted me as much as most people in Atlasia, given the unique situation of our nation regarding the rest of the world. I don’t see gun control as a “right” or “left” issue, I would argue it is more related to common sense than ideology. So I recognize the constitutional right of our citizens regarding guns, but I believe sensible measures that include background checks and further efforts on mental health are more than necessary. We also need to start educating families regarding gun safety, it is unacceptable to see so many lives lost to accidents that could be easily prevented with some degree of care.

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I do not. Unions have an important and necessary role to play in our economy and our society, but there are limits that must be established to prevent abuse and some issues that can easily arise with unions that grow far too powerful and more beholden to the interests of a few than the interests of the workers themselves. There are also some jobs all to relevant to national security or health whose strikes could prove rather harmful if we were excessively careless.

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A universal basic income is clearly a step on the wrong direction, far from empowering the individual against the state it does the opposite, an all too dangerous trend that fails to solve the overreaching issues, places an extra burden on the budget and just doesn’t seem sustainable to me, much less justifiable if we’re aiming for a principle such as fiscal responsibility. I would suggest welfare ought to be reformed on its mindset itself: what matters isn’t how many people we can get to enter these programs, but how many people stop needing them. At the present tend, I’m afraid the direction is the opposite of empowering individuals to stand up for themselves.

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Well, it is clear to me that a simple “place-holder” budget or one that focuses on further spending increases across the board simply will not do. What Atlasia requires right now is a strong dose of fiscal responsibility, and as President I would take a strong stance towards a budget that is committed to radical debt reduction, decreasing spending and directly aid our citizens and small business through necessary tax cuts. So I would support strong cuts against waste on every government department and a freeze of some crucial areas of the budget, only increasing spending on the military to account for new foreign policy challenges and, of course, the space program.

[Lumine]

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I believe it is time to take stronger measures in favor of our environment, but that shouldn’t mean that we’re abandoning thousands of Atlasians to unemployment and poverty while we punish countless more through taxation to achieve that. I would suggest a gradual but certain reduction of such sources of energy in favor of renewable ones, while at the same time making sure those working in the energy sector receive the necessary support and education to find new jobs, jobs that are better than then ones they left. I cannot be convinced it is for the best for, for example, coal miners to destroy their health over generations when we can find different solutions.

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Evidently Atlasia’s role in the world is not to dictate how every nation should live and intervene on every matter, small as it might be, that emerges on the world stage. But it should be remembered that intervening at the right time in the proper way can save us a lot of trouble down the road. If we had handled some situations in Africa earlier and more decisively, thousands if not millions of lives could have been saved. If we had handled some situations in the Middle East in a more measured way, I don’t have to tell you the world would look much more different right now, and I would suggest for the better. Human rights is one of the guiding principles to keep in mind, but it is not the only one nor does it rule (or should rule) our foreign policy. It is far better to consider each case by its own merits than apply a general rule that is bound to generate more problems than it actually solves.

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Evidently I do not support Russia’s claim to Crimea, and it worries me that through a terrible deal Russia is left immensely strengthened as sanctions are removed and their aggressive intentions remain, all while Ukraine is left behind and feeling, quite rightfully, betrayed. I do not believe in further appeasement of Russia, and further undermining of Ukraine should be responded forcefully with the return of effective sanctions. We need to make it clear that nations under potential threat such as Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic States will count on our support, and that Russia will never be allowed to pull this stunt twice. As to the President’s proposal, forgive me by not being convinced that a fair referendum could ever be held in Crimea under the Russian government, particularly given the way they’ve run their own domestic election.

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Evidently it is not the more responsible thing to do to discuss tactics openly on a debate as well, but I believe overwhelming force can be used effectively to bring the North Korean regime to complete and total defeat. Passivity will not help us as we continue to take losses and see further losses as in Guam, and while we are bound by again, another godawful deal that forces up to capitulate before China, we should fight with the all the means we have within that agreement to secure a rapid end to this war and not a never-ending quagmire.

Let this war serve as a lesson to us all. We cannot continue to ignore the rest of the world and fail to take action when it necessary to do so, and we cannot run our foreign policy through violent improvisation or an inability to stand for our beliefs and our standing. I can only hope that the blunders of the past few months will not be repeated in the future, and as President I intend to lead on an active, effective foreign policy that makes sure to address this issues with the energy and leadership they deserve.

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We require both significant changes in the way the game is played as well as the Constitution (more on this on the next question), as well as showing the merits of leading as an active officeholder. As President I was consistently active on the media front and from the White House through the so called “bully pulpit”, a form of leading by example (as Truman says) that can be effective in inspiring others to be more active as well. We also need to pursue the reduction of offices in Nyman to allow for more talent to remain or prefer the regions, which is one of the reasons why I promote a return to unicameralism despite the fear-mongering of some as if this was some sort of back door to socialism. 

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Several. I’ve already suggested returning to a single chamber of Congress, and my running mate Rpryor has already outlined our overall intentions to reform the Constitution through a Commission on the Constitution that will look into the electoral system, Congress, officeholding laws, registration, the cabinet, the Presidency and even the Game Engine. If there’s something which bothers me is how some pretend things are alright in Atlasia and we do not need some significant constitution change to improve the game and the way its played. I strongly disagree with the notion that the current Constitution should remain as it stands (much as it is an improvement over the past one), and I will fight for constitutional reform as a key area of a future Lumine Administration.

[Lumine]

Lumine Closing Statement:

Well, first of all, I wish to thank again the Game Moderator and the other candidates for taking part on this debate. I hope this has been an informative debate for the Atlasian public, that the views of each candidate have become clearer, and that you find the current selection one that encourages you to vote for an candidate, not against one.

I'll be brief, because as you know I have a tendency to write too much.

My friends, we stand an at important moment for our Republic. It may not look like it at a first glance, but we stand in a context in which we must decide what type of country we want, how we want to get there, whether we should change, what we should change, and so on.

I don't believe all is well in Atlasia. I don't believe things are working as they should.

I believe we're stuck in a cycle of echo-chamber consensus in which two main parties have grown too close to the detriment of public debate on many aspects. I believe we face activity issues, which are related to the current number of offices and how government works. That is not say debate has died, or activity is unsustainable. But for me it is undeniable Atlasia is in need of some straight-talking reform, from an independent minded President and an independent minded government.

That is why I invite you to cast your ballot for me and Rpryor, for two statesmen not afraid to speak their minds and say what they believe no matter the abuse, no matter the attacks.

My friends, let us seize the moment! Let us change Atlasia for the better!