The Atlasian Tribune - Mechaman's column

[Vepres]

Poll #5 : Ideological divide

Date	January 10
Question	Which ideology do you most identify with ?
Results	Social-Democracy/Radical left : 7 (16%) Liberalism/Center-left : 10 (22%) Conservative libertarianism : 2 (4%) Moderate libertarianism : 1 (2%) Radical libertarianlism : 3 (7%) Moderate conservatism/Populism : 4 (9%) Hardcore conservatism : 6 (13%) Centrism : 5 (11%) Loonyism : 3 (7%) Game reformism : 1 (2%) Other : 3 (7%)

With a quite good representativity (45 voters), this poll gives us important data to examine. While many right-wing Atlasians have repeatedly pointed out the domination of the left on Atlasia, this poll will probably give them some statistical basis. 38% of Atlasians define themselves as either "radical left" or "center-left", while only 22% of them consider themselves as "conservatives" and 13% as "libertarians". This domination is, however, far less massive than one could imagine : libertarians in Atlasia tend to be strongly right-wing, as the only issues which are really subject of debates are economic ones. That's what leads me to the conclusion that left and right are, in fact, rather equilibrate in the Atlasian political spectrum : 38% for the first, 36% for the second. Hardcore conservatives will point out Atlasia's ultraliberalism on social issues, but, frankly, few people really care about that. What about those who don't fit either with left or with right ? They're quite numerous comapred to other countries, representing more than one fourth of Atlasian citizens. Most of them are centrists, while loonies only poll 7% and game reformers only 2%. The last two, which we could call "Altasian particularisms", don't look so widespread as one could think : Atlasia remains based on a traditional divide.

Beautiful, Antonio. Truly. I've said for a long time now that Atlasia (and the forum at-large, really) is not nearly as left-wing as people say it is. It is socially left-wing, quite broadly in fact, but economically it remains rather split down the middle.

You're dead-on about the Atlasian libertarians. When have they ever voted for the JCP or other left-wing candidates? They may occasionally preference more moderate members, but the libertarians of Atlasia remain solely committed to their economic conservatism. Social issues don't even matter at all in Atlasia, and we've long determined "left vs right" in Atlasia on the Econ category. Even social conservatives, like Inks or MasterJedi, don't make their social conservatism that big of an issue for them.

It's all economic divisions. Because of that, Atlasia is fairly split and any whining about how left-wingers dominate Atlasia is nonsense. Representation is another issue, but even so, things are balanced.

I would like to point out that, in practice, the centrists, loonies, and game reformers preference the JCP higher than the RPP in most national elections.

[Purple State]

Poll #5 : Ideological divide

Date	January 10
Question	Which ideology do you most identify with ?
Results	Social-Democracy/Radical left : 7 (16%) Liberalism/Center-left : 10 (22%) Conservative libertarianism : 2 (4%) Moderate libertarianism : 1 (2%) Radical libertarianlism : 3 (7%) Moderate conservatism/Populism : 4 (9%) Hardcore conservatism : 6 (13%) Centrism : 5 (11%) Loonyism : 3 (7%) Game reformism : 1 (2%) Other : 3 (7%)

With a quite good representativity (45 voters), this poll gives us important data to examine. While many right-wing Atlasians have repeatedly pointed out the domination of the left on Atlasia, this poll will probably give them some statistical basis. 38% of Atlasians define themselves as either "radical left" or "center-left", while only 22% of them consider themselves as "conservatives" and 13% as "libertarians". This domination is, however, far less massive than one could imagine : libertarians in Atlasia tend to be strongly right-wing, as the only issues which are really subject of debates are economic ones. That's what leads me to the conclusion that left and right are, in fact, rather equilibrate in the Atlasian political spectrum : 38% for the first, 36% for the second. Hardcore conservatives will point out Atlasia's ultraliberalism on social issues, but, frankly, few people really care about that. What about those who don't fit either with left or with right ? They're quite numerous comapred to other countries, representing more than one fourth of Atlasian citizens. Most of them are centrists, while loonies only poll 7% and game reformers only 2%. The last two, which we could call "Altasian particularisms", don't look so widespread as one could think : Atlasia remains based on a traditional divide.

Beautiful, Antonio. Truly. I've said for a long time now that Atlasia (and the forum at-large, really) is not nearly as left-wing as people say it is. It is socially left-wing, quite broadly in fact, but economically it remains rather split down the middle.

You're dead-on about the Atlasian libertarians. When have they ever voted for the JCP or other left-wing candidates? They may occasionally preference more moderate members, but the libertarians of Atlasia remain solely committed to their economic conservatism. Social issues don't even matter at all in Atlasia, and we've long determined "left vs right" in Atlasia on the Econ category. Even social conservatives, like Inks or MasterJedi, don't make their social conservatism that big of an issue for them.

It's all economic divisions. Because of that, Atlasia is fairly split and any whining about how left-wingers dominate Atlasia is nonsense. Representation is another issue, but even so, things are balanced.

I would like to point out that, in practice, the centrists, loonies, and game reformers preference the JCP higher than the RPP in most national elections.

Yes. Although I am the lone Atlasian to vote "Game reformism," I tend to be center-left in my politics. That said, I base most of my voting here on game reform at the moment. Since the JCP is the party that holds the power, and they are usually amenable to game reform, it is easiest to pass that agenda by supporting them over the Atlasian right.

Of course, this is also why my home is the DA. I would prefer a DA candidate over a JCP or RPP candidate any day specifically because they tend to be the most amenable to game reform of them all.

[Хahar 🤔]

Not true. There are groups more amenable to game regofm.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Biased.

Sure, I was just waiting for you to provide us a fair and objective analysis.

[segwaystyle2012]

Biased.

Yes, obviously. He doesn't even consider that maybe 2-3 at the minimum Popularis members were in other parties when they voted. If you account for that, the DA, PCP, and ARC all run about even in terms of 'active' players and at-large Senate representation. It's actually his own party (JCP) that fails to be active in proportion.

[k-onmmunist]

Biased.

Sure, I was just waiting for you to provide us a fair and objective analysis.

I'm sorry but your dismissal of social issues in such an offhand manner is ridiculous. Also, the labels are pretty fluid.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Why are National Elections so boring?
by Vepres

I joined Atlasia in late-May 2009. At the time, Atlasia was at the peak of a renaissance of activity, and the elections were close and exciting. PiT and Lief ran against each other in one of the closest Presidential elections our game has had in a long while. In August, the At-large elections were close and exciting. The RPP was shooting for three seats, the two DA incumbents were fighting hard to hold on to their seats, and Jas had an involuntary write-in surge which almost tied him with the first runner-up, SPC. Indeed, as far as activity and competitiveness were concerned, things were looking great. In hindsight, this was an early warning for what was to come.

In October, Lief cruised to reelection, and further decline lead to a relatively unexciting at-large election in December despite the fact that many rising stars such as Barnes and Badger were on the ballot. No upsets, nothing close to one, in fact. Now we seem to be heading towards another boring Presidential election, as Vice-President Bacon King will surely prevail save a huge and unlikely upset by Inks or Xahar. It is clear that national elections are not nearly as interesting as they were and should be (I should note that there are regional elections which do look interesting, however). So how and why did this happen? 

First, we must look back to the June '09 Presidential election which I discussed earlier in this column. At first glance, it looks like the very situation we would want to occur in every election. Despite the closeness of the election, it should have been seen as a warning for future decline in competitiveness. Lief, a very left-wing candidate even by Atlasian standards, ran with another member of his party, Bacon King. PiT, a well respected member of the RPP, ran a coalition ticket with Happy Warrior who, ironically, is now Bacon King's VP in the upcoming election. Despite everything being stacked against the JCP, and everybody expecting a PiT victory, Lief pulled out a one-vote victory. One realizes that even a coalition of the moderates, libertarians, and conservatives, could not overcome the left's dominance in national elections. In October, PiT ran against Lief once again due to an unusual set of circumstances. However, this time, the DA ran their own ticket. This time, the DA overwhelmingly preferenced Lief over PiT, leading to a landslide JCP victory.

One month earlier, despite matching the JCP in numbers, the RPP only elected one of its candidates in the at-large elections, while Fritz and Marokai easily cruised to reelection. In December, Fritz and Badger, the JCP candidates, won easily. Two right-wingers were elected, yes, but they were elected from two different parties that dislike one another. The right, which had been unified for the first time in a long time under the RPP, was fractured once again. Hamilton is certainly partially to blame, but I will refrain from rehashing his acts, as I'm sure you're all familiar with him.

The real culprit is the rigidness in party loyalty. Even moderate JCPers will vote their party line even when their most radical members are on the ballot. The DA, too, while in theory a pragmatic, moderate party, has in practice preferenced the JCP over the RPP in national elections unless there is an RPP/DA unity ticket. You do see this on the right, but this is because without such rigidity, no right-wingers would be elected to national office. True, in theory the ideologies on the right an left are about evenly divided, but again, in practice “centrists” and “loonies” and “game reformers” are simply a center-left wing of the JCP. If people on the left only vote their party line in every national election, and the moderates vote like center-leftists,  than we might as well consider voting a formality, because we all know which party will prevail.

[k-onmmunist]

Very well written Vepres, I like it

[Barnes]

Why are National Elections so boring?
by Vepres

I joined Atlasia in late-May 2009. At the time, Atlasia was at the peak of a renaissance of activity, and the elections were close and exciting. PiT and Lief ran against each other in one of the closest Presidential elections our game has had in a long while. In August, the At-large elections were close and exciting. The RPP was shooting for three seats, the two DA incumbents were fighting hard to hold on to their seats, and Jas had an involuntary write-in surge which almost tied him with the first runner-up, SPC. Indeed, as far as activity and competitiveness were concerned, things were looking great. In hindsight, this was an early warning for what was to come.

In October, Lief cruised to reelection, and further decline lead to a relatively unexciting at-large election in December despite the fact that many rising stars such as Barnes and Badger were on the ballot. No upsets, nothing close to one, in fact. Now we seem to be heading towards another boring Presidential election, as Vice-President Bacon King will surely prevail save a huge and unlikely upset by Inks or Xahar. It is clear that national elections are not nearly as interesting as they were and should be (I should note that there are regional elections which do look interesting, however). So how and why did this happen? 

First, we must look back to the June '09 Presidential election which I discussed earlier in this column. At first glance, it looks like the very situation we would want to occur in every election. Despite the closeness of the election, it should have been seen as a warning for future decline in competitiveness. Lief, a very left-wing candidate even by Atlasian standards, ran with another member of his party, Bacon King. PiT, a well respected member of the RPP, ran a coalition ticket with Happy Warrior who, ironically, is now Bacon King's VP in the upcoming election. Despite everything being stacked against the JCP, and everybody expecting a PiT victory, Lief pulled out a one-vote victory. One realizes that even a coalition of the moderates, libertarians, and conservatives, could not overcome the left's dominance in national elections. In October, PiT ran against Lief once again due to an unusual set of circumstances. However, this time, the DA ran their own ticket. This time, the DA overwhelmingly preferenced Lief over PiT, leading to a landslide JCP victory.

One month earlier, despite matching the JCP in numbers, the RPP only elected one of its candidates in the at-large elections, while Fritz and Marokai easily cruised to reelection. In December, Fritz and Badger, the JCP candidates, won easily. Two right-wingers were elected, yes, but they were elected from two different parties that dislike one another. The right, which had been unified for the first time in a long time under the RPP, was fractured once again. Hamilton is certainly partially to blame, but I will refrain from rehashing his acts, as I'm sure you're all familiar with him.

The real culprit is the rigidness in party loyalty. Even moderate JCPers will vote their party line even when their most radical members are on the ballot. The DA, too, while in theory a pragmatic, moderate party, has in practice preferenced the JCP over the RPP in national elections unless there is an RPP/DA unity ticket. You do see this on the right, but this is because without such rigidity, no right-wingers would be elected to national office. True, in theory the ideologies on the right an left are about evenly divided, but again, in practice “centrists” and “loonies” and “game reformers” are simply a center-left wing of the JCP. If people on the left only vote their party line in every national election, and the moderates vote like center-leftists,  than we might as well consider voting a formality, because we all know which party will prevail.

Thanks, man. Good article too, I've noticed many of the same things.

[bgwah]

blah blah blah partisan lib'ruls. What a hack.

[Marokai Backbeat]

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Do you know why that was, Vepres? It was because of the JCP uniting much of the left-wing under it's banner a month before you joined. You should thank us.

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I'd like to know what in the hell you expect to happen in an at-large election? Seriously now, take a step back, and spell out your ideal situation for me, because there's really nothing else that could've happened. Two JCP Candidates won, Mint won (although his support was suspect), Duke won, one DA members won. This roughly makes sense. You seem to complain alot about the predictability of elections, but any alternatives don't really make sense. If someone can't get the votes, then they just don't win, and if someone is in the larger party and is a well respected members, as Fritz and Badger are, then it's logical that they would do well.

You also seem to complain about left-wing domination alot, which really doesn't make sense, when you figure that the economic scores, which is how we judge left and right in Atlasia, were positive for the majority of the victors in December.

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No one knows this at all and I'd like to point out just for the record that the scaremongering about how the JCP rules the world was played up in October, when PiT tried whining about how he was positive Lief would capture 60%+ of the votes.

He did not.

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An "unusual set of circumstances" certainly describes that election, but not in the way you think. PiT lost because he was a terrible candidate who was caught amid scandal throughout the entire campaign, when it was discovered he made all kinds of promises to the LNF to try and get their support. Promises such as backstabbing PiT's own party members, and promising LNF members, like Al, a cabinet position.

Vepres, it's all a matter of candidates, candidates, candidates. PiT was a horrible candidate, and he lost. Not only was he a shameless vote-grabber and a power-starved candidate, but he had already lost at this point. He was, by the dictionary definition, a loser candidate by October. Not even considering the fact that he wasn't even the RPP's first choice for the top of the ticket, and you can just come to the conclusion that the RPP was incredibly ill-prepared and mismanaged. This constant whining about how October somehow proves something is nonsense, as the RPP wasn't in even remotely good condition to seriously challenge Lief.

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Two things. First of all, I assume you're referring to August. In which case, you once again neglect to mention the candidate involved. The second RPP candidate in that election was SPC, and he's an infamous anarcho-capitalistic lunatic who, whenever he's in office, proceeds to vote no on nearly everything and proposes only repeals. Almost no one outside the RPP liked the guy.

It's also worth mentioning that the RPP suffered from bad management, not lack of voters, really. The RPP was running three candidates in that election, Rowan, SPC, and Duke. Instead of focusing on Duke, the better candidate, Duke and SPC ended up splitting support from each other, and SPC didn't even lose by that much anyway!

Secondly, this paragraph completely contradicts itself. You talk about how the right was unified under the RPP but, poor them, only managed to get one Senator elected. Then you turn around and talk about how the right was "fractured" in December, but in December they ("they" being the right-wing in general) elected two Senators! Yeah, that's some fractured pitiful right-wing there, Vepres!

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You are the misrepresentation king, Vepres. No; the culprit here is a matter of candidates, good or bad. You complaint about how "moderate" JCP members vote party-line no matter what is silly, first of all, because Fritz and Badger are not raving Social Democrats, especially Fritz. In fact, it should also be mentioned that both Badger and Fritz are former DA members!

Do you not think that the fact that Fritz and Badger are former DA members and have built a good working reputation in Atlasia has anything to do with the fact that they got strong support? No, because in your twisted rationale, no one could ever vote for a JCP member because they're good guys, it must just be because we marshalled our sheeple into the voting booths! God!

Your complaints about the DA are also a wild misrepresentation, as your incredible theory of how the DA prefers the JCP over the RPP has been demonstrated in a grand total of one presidential election. Oh yeah Vepres, that's quite the pattern.

In short, for all your whining, you fail to recognize the real problem. The real problem is the lack of good candidates to challenge us. Xahar is reviled by the RPP/PCP, so they would most likely preference the JCP above him. Hans won as a JCP member in the Midwest, not because he was a particularly strong candidate, but because all the other candidates sucked and failed to gather any significant level of support.

Lief trounced PiT October because he was a horrible candidate that was thrown onto the top of a ticket because of RPP controversies and confusion. SPC lost in August because the RPP support was split between him and Duke, and because SPC is a terrible candidate. Fritz, Badger, and myself excelled because Fritz and Badger are respected guys who are also former DA members, and I built a reputation as one of the most dedicated and active Senators in the game. The list goes on, and on, and on. We do well because we get good candidates and because our opposition usually sucks.

It should also be said that, in the grand scheme of things, the Presidency is a symbolic office. You have a valid point about JCP dominance on only one office where we choose candidates wisely. The Senate is perfectly balanced, and for all your bitching and moaning, the game is not controlled by the JCP in some vast, left-wing conspiracy.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vepres]

Firstly, some of the things you talked about I wasn't aware of being a relative newbie, Marokai.

The big picture is that in the perfect storm for the right, the June election, the left still prevailed.

As for at-large elections, I like ones that are nail biters to the end. Compare August to December.

Again, though, many of the flaws (in your opinion of course) would be due to the fact that I am relatively new here. I have never known an Atlasia without a very united left (though I was/am aware of the SDP to an extent). Remember, this is my perspective of things, and thus I would not know things that you would, Marokai. From my experiences in this game, that is my perspective of things. Maybe February will prove me wrong.

Oh, and on the DA, I would note that even afleitch, perhaps their most conservative member, voted for both of Lief's major initiatives.

Who would you say would be a strong right wing candidate Marokai? Duke is the only one that comes to mind based on what you seem to view as a strong candidate.

Edit: BTW, I still stand by my column

[Antonio the Sixth]

FTR, I also totally disagree with what you said. And there's a thing I want to add to what Marokai said : when such repetitive elections show continuous victories of one political side, it only shows the necessity to redefine your political standards.

Basically, you define "left" and "right" on American politics critera, neglecting to consider the fact that US are one of the most right-wing countries in the world. What's the real problem with so-called "Atlasian right" ? That they believe they can be as powerful, arrogant and ideologicallymonopolistic as American right. They were once. The foundation of the RPP and its ideological and political domination (5 seats in the Senate, a situation that occurred only four times in Atlasian history - and mostly held by ultralibertarians or hardcore conservatives) gave them the feeling that they could act as the American right. What they didn't understand is that their domination was only caused by short term political configuration. June 2009 wasn't the proof that left dominates politics in Atlasia : to the contrary, it can be seen as a return to normality, when the real configuration of Atlasian electorate appeared to everybody.

Altasia is not the USA. The average economical political matrix in the USA is around +3/+4. Atlasia is just more left-wing than the USA, which doesn't mean it's left-wing. Why is the RPP unable to win presidential elections, or to get a bigger number of seats ? Simply because it's a ridiculously radical party, while the JCP is pretty moderate. When you call Lief a "radical" you think with American standards. The Lief/BK ticket was as equilibrated as the Pit/Happywarrior was : the first was center-left, the second was center-right, both with radicals on the top of the ticket and moderates on the bottom.

Complaining about the electorate makes no sense. Obama could also complain and saying that Americans are ridiculously right-wing and the left can't win any decisive victory and achieve anything because of the bias of the electorate. But it would make no sense. You can't say the electorate is "biased toward left/right", because the electorate determines what is left and what is right, what is moderate and what is radical.

Now I adress the whole RPP, as well as anyone who consider himself as "right-wing". Stop complaining that you can't win elections, and change in order to win elections. The reason why the JCP wins so many elections is that it's an extremely moderate left-wing party ; the reason why you lose so many elections is that you are a ridiculously radical right-wing party. The domination of one party is not a good thing indeed, when it's a structural domination, and when such situation occurs, it just means that Atlasia needs a massive realignment. To put it clearly : the RPP should fusion with conservative DA members and abandon its most right-wing positions (accept health care, accept the stimulus bills, accept the fiscal responsibility act ; such measures aren't left-wing, but centrist), the JCP could maybe split one day, if its domination becomes really too stong. Stop complaining that you're not competitive, and start making yourself competitive : just adapt yourself to reality.

[k-onmmunist]

LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[President Mitt]

LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trolls

[k-onmmunist]

No, we're just anarcho-capitalists. DOWN WITH THE DEMOCRATS.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

No, we're just anarcho-capitalistsbunch of bored retards. DOWN WITH THE DEMOCRATSRETARDS.

(oh, don't take it personally, buddy )

[Vepres]

Antonio, given the fact that the vast majority of Atlasians are American, I don't see a problem with looking at it from the American political spectrum.

[Mechaman]

No, we're just anarcho-capitalistsbunch of bored retards. DOWN WITH THE DEMOCRATSRETARDS.

(oh, don't take it personally, buddy )

LOL

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Vepres makes some good points, but Marokai nailed it when he talked about the poor leadership and unity within the RPP following the June 09 elections, and I think that speaks more to our troubles than anything else. The problem in the right of Atlasia is, there are too many competing personalities who lust more for personal power than winning elections. One thing I admire about the left is that they always seem to come together under a goal of furthering their collective interests, rather than their personal goals.

On the right, we are still fighting. It started with tmth, who joined the RPP and threatened to leave the party if we didn't make him happy, and continued with Hamilton, who tried to first tear apart the RPP internally, and then with the ARC. Today, we have several right leaning parties which do not work together. They hurl insults towards the RPP, fail to preference our candidates, and then complain when the left cleans clock in national elections. The leaders that be are more interested in forming their own legion of followers than actually winning. If not, we'd all unite under one umbrella. We did early on and did well, but it didn't last.


As for your comment, Antonio, it's ironic you mention the RPP should stop opposing the financial bills, because I think our current delegation (myself and Yankee) actually are a bit more pragmatic than our past candidates. Hell, I failed to get votes from several of my party members because I'm too "liberal" in my politics, and I got better preferences from the DA than I did from the ARC (which may show either that I'm not a hard-right winger, or that they were just told by Hamilton that I was some right winged authoritarian, who knows.)

In many ways, the right is going through the same growing pains that the left did prior to the JCP uniting. Whether someone sets up and disbands for the good of the right wing in Atlasia, as Marokai did when the SDP died, remains to be seen.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

To clarify, my post is not meant to sound like I am whining that we do not receive support from other right leaning parties, but it is merely to point out that some of the vitriol coming out of their camps were more pointed towards the RPP than the left leaning parties. If there was concern about actually winning elections on the right, the coalitions should not sit around and fight with each other. It is, in many ways, our fault that we are in this state right now. The tables have turned from the days when the RPP was dominating.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Antonio, given the fact that the vast majority of Atlasians are American, I don't see a problem with looking at it from the American political spectrum.

That means nothing. The political spectrum of a nation shall be determined by the composition of its electorate, and since Atlasia's is more to the left than America's, you can't use the same ideological categories.

As for your comment, Antonio, it's ironic you mention the RPP should stop opposing the financial bills, because I think our current delegation (myself and Yankee) actually are a bit more pragmatic than our past candidates. Hell, I failed to get votes from several of my party members because I'm too "liberal" in my politics, and I got better preferences from the DA than I did from the ARC (which may show either that I'm not a hard-right winger, or that they were just told by Hamilton that I was some right winged authoritarian, who knows.)

I wasn't criticing you or the RPP in particular. Actually, I think you're following a good path in these days (DWTL's crushing made you a lot of good, I think). If this trend is confirmed, maybe you'll be rewarded in next cycles.

Still, my point remains : the parties need to adapt themselves to the electorate and not the contrary. Complaining about the election results makes no sense. Instead, the Atlasian right need to stop ignoring them and change somewhat if it wants elections to be less "boring". The problem exists, but the solution is up to you.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Antonio, given the fact that the vast majority of Atlasians are American, I don't see a problem with looking at it from the American political spectrum.

That means nothing. The political spectrum of a nation shall be determined by the composition of its electorate, and since Atlasia's is more to the left than America's, you can't use the same ideological categories.

As for your comment, Antonio, it's ironic you mention the RPP should stop opposing the financial bills, because I think our current delegation (myself and Yankee) actually are a bit more pragmatic than our past candidates. Hell, I failed to get votes from several of my party members because I'm too "liberal" in my politics, and I got better preferences from the DA than I did from the ARC (which may show either that I'm not a hard-right winger, or that they were just told by Hamilton that I was some right winged authoritarian, who knows.)

I wasn't criticing you or the RPP in particular. Actually, I think you're following a good path in these days (DWTL's crushing made you a lot of good, I think). If this trend is confirmed, maybe you'll be rewarded in next cycles.

Still, my point remains : the parties need to adapt themselves to the electorate and not the contrary. Complaining about the election results makes no sense. Instead, the Atlasian right need to stop ignoring them and change somewhat if it wants elections to be less "boring". The problem exists, but the solution is up to you.

Yes you were, you don't even know what RPP stands for and frankly, very few among the left actually do.

LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK CONSERVATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trolls

The Smiley face won't cut it for me. DON'T EVER CALL ME A TROLL AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!