Special At-Large Senate Election Debate

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Would the candidates for the At-Large Senate seat be interested in having a debate?

[Goldwater]

Sure.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Sure.

[Franzl]

Sure.

[Franzl]

I'm ready when you all are.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Same here, but I think we should wait until the Whig primary is over.

[Franzl]

We're really running out of time for this...

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

So...

Pepsi or Coke? I choose Coke.

[Goldwater]

Coke FTW!

[Franzl]

So...

Pepsi or Coke? I choose Coke.

Neither. And I'm disappointed that you're advocating sugary drinks despite our child obesity problem.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

So...

Pepsi or Coke? I choose Coke.

Neither. And I'm disappointed that you're advocating sugary drinks despite our child obesity problem.

I weigh 115 pounds, Mr. Franzl. I can afford to eat pure sugar. This is a question of brand loyalty and I'm disappointed that you're trying to make this political. We're not even debating yet.

[Franzl]

So...

Pepsi or Coke? I choose Coke.

Neither. And I'm disappointed that you're advocating sugary drinks despite our child obesity problem.

I weigh 115 pounds, Mr. Franzl. I can afford to eat pure sugar. This is a question of brand loyalty and I'm disappointed that you're trying to make this political. We're not even debating yet.

Will someone please think of the children?

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

When are the Whigs having their primary?

[Goldwater]

When are the Whigs having their primary?

I guess whenever Supersonic comes online & sees how much we [Inks]ed up the first primary.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

We don't need government messing with our sugary drinks. And I'll take Coke due to A&W Root Beer.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

What do y'all think of Cheerwine?

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

What do y'all think of Cheerwine?

Cherries disgust me.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Begin the debate now. Allow both Whigs to participate until the party has selected a candidate.

Scott, are you moderating?

I guess?  Technically I never volunteered, but I suppose I can moderate if no one else wants to.

Candidates, please deliver opening statements.

[tmthforu94]

To anyone who chooses Pepsi over Coke - don't expect a first preference from me.

Thank you for your answer, Alfred, even though you support childhood obesity.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Begin the debate now. Allow both Whigs to participate until the party has selected a candidate.

Scott, are you moderating?

I'm trying to smooth things over as best I can, but I have no official authority—it's a bit difficult. I'm working on it.

At this point though, I don't know what will happen in terms of a primary. We could end up fielding both candidates. So I agree that it would probably be best to include both JCL and Goldwater.

[Franzl]

Begin the debate now. Allow both Whigs to participate until the party has selected a candidate.

Scott, are you moderating?

I guess?  Technically I never volunteered, but I suppose I can moderate if no one else wants to.

Candidates, please deliver opening statements.

Thank you, Scott

I'll try and keep this statement short and I ask voters to visit my campaign thread for more detailed explanations of my top priorities.

Atlasia has problems. We live in an unstable world (particularly the 2012 board) and we need to be serious about protecting our citizens from these threats, using primarily soft power but also by keeping the capability to go further when, unfortunately, it becomes necessary.

More and more people are having trouble paying for education. As someone who believes that education is the best possible social program, this is unacceptable and we have a moral responsibility to ensure education both at secondary and higher education levels. Of course we need an advanced welfare state, but properly educating our citizens for the jobs of today and tomorrow will go a long way towards reducing dependency on the welfare state.

We need to ensure affordable transportation for our citizens. Fuel prices are getting higher and higher, and to be quite honest, the days of cheap individual travel are not coming back. When I was in the Senate, I sponsored a program to bring high speed rail to Atlasia, for example. We need to do more to encourage rail and at a more regional, local level: local public transportation. A high speed train from Nyman to New York is not worth a whole lot if someone living in the suburbs can't make it to the train station.

So in general, I'm running for the Senate to make Atlasia a more livable place. Healthy, educated and mobile citizens that are responsible for their lives....but also a society willing to stand together and help each other when required.

I hope that my record speaks for itself and that you, my friends, will vote for me and allow me to start working for you again!

Thank you.

[Pingvin]

To candidates: What is your opinion on Dr. Pepper and Laimon Fresh?

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Well, here we all are. Four men and a Scott all on stage (good name for a play, I should write that).

Opening Statement:

My fellow Atlasians, we all know that we are still in the midst of a recession that seems to be only gradually ending. People are hurting, and it's the job of the government to make it stop. That's why I'm running for Senate.

Franzl mentioned an Atlasian community that helps itself when in need. My friends, that time is now. Atlasia is in need. The middle class is in need. We need good, well-paying jobs, and we need relief for those of us who are struggling to lift themselves out of poverty so that they can take them. Above all, we need a strong, vibrant middle class. If elected, I would focus immediately on creating jobs right here, and repairing our damaged infrastructure to boot (we could also focus on that high-speed rail Mr. Franzl was talking about ); I've already done that here in the Northeast. If I go to Nyman, I will make Atlasia better just as I've made the Northeast better here in New York. I'm going to fight for you, the average Atlasian, and I'm going to succeed.

Thank you.

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To candidates: What is your opinion on Dr. Pepper and Laimon Fresh?

OK, we're having a debate here.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

JCL, Goldwater, you may both participate.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Thank you Scott, Franzi, Goldwater, and Alfred for your desire to serve.

When a government is massively in debt and that same government decides to have sharp progressive rates that hurts job creators from creating the jobs we need in these difficult times, it shoots itself in the foot when trying to meet these goals.

When that government seeks to strip the judicial and law endorsement of laying upon the most stringent of consequences for the most heinous of crimes, that is a massive problem.

When a president is vocally opposing reasonable restrictions upon the practice of abortion and not being an advocate for the unborn, that is not just.

As both Franzi and Alfred have both stated in both of their opening statements, they support various of mass transport, so do I. Yet I think we can get there another way. Loosen the regulations on the market so they, if they see a workable way, work with the regional governments and Nyman to accomplish this massive project. Until that, we can have affordable individual and family travel by unleashing our own energy reserves. We can find ways to minimize enviromental impact if the Nyman government would loosen the regulations and have environmentalists work with the energy producers to create those ways and doing so in a way that doesn't make prices explode much worse than what we're dealing with now.

Franzi speaks of educational reform, I've been at the forefront of that fight trying to find solutions for rising tuition costs. Though my plan was essentially defeated I've demonstrated that I can, along with Governor-elect Tmth that this is an important matter that must be addressed.

I heard it once said that "The role of government is to defend liberty." I will add to it that it's the role of the individual, family, faith community, town, city, county and regional government to steward that liberty.