First Convention of the Progressive Union - Burlington VT

[PJ]

Choice A for LGBT rights
Abstain on abortion (I would support a rewrite)
Aye on all else (but I'd be open to strengthening our game reform stance)

[GAworth]

Yep, 25 years to be exact.  @.@

I know we have some pro-life members, and I don't want to offend them or drive them away.

Seriously though, we should draw a line in the sand somewhere.

Ok, so what would be your alternative?

[GAworth]

Personally I think the current Mideast statute where abortion is legal in the first trimester is an acceptable compromise.  If that's not acceptable, then I'd rather not address legality at all.

IMO, we should argue that nobody wants more abortions, but the best way to reduce them is not by banning them but by supporting comprehensive sex education and contraceptive availability.

Maybe if people are uncomfortable with addressing legality in the platform, we should focus on that last part that there are more effective means to reduce abortion than to ban it.

I can support the current law, I am personally pro-life but legislatively pro-choice. I don't see the problem with the plank, but I can accept your idea. That would be my personal position anyways.

[DemPGH]

An alternate wording for the abortion plank could read something like this:

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[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

The planks on Abortion and Game Reform have failed; LGBT Rights plank A has been adopted; the rest of the planks win easily.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the inaugural platform of the Progressive Union!

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[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Now that we have a platform, we're finally a proper party!

Bring out the baked goods, everyone!

[PJ]

Now that we have a platform, we're finally a proper party!

Bring out the baked goods, everyone!

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

There will now be a 72-hour nomination period for Chair and Vice-Chair.

Current candidates are GAworth (for Chair) and PJ (for Vice-Chair).

PJ, are you running for re-election as Vice-Chair?

[PJ]

Yes I will.

[GAworth]

A humble address to the Convention

My fellow Progressives,
I was honored to of been nominated and endorsed by so many of you for the position of chair. I am proud to see our party grow and become one of the largest parties here in Atlasia, and we can continue to grow. The position of chair to me is a technical position, it is a position to make sure that the Party can smoothly run. A well managed party can assist members in elections and once they are in office. I believe that the party should have timely processes that adhere to our by-laws, 72 hours means 72 hours, and with me I will work to make sure that our party conferences and proceedings move along at a speed everyone can accept. Ever since I joined Atlasia, I have worked to avoid devolving into name calling and the petty bickering we see all the time now. As chair, I will urge all members to avoid this, I believe that the other parties fill that role, I wish to offer a real alternative.

We are a party of diverse beliefs and backgrounds, we have members in every region of Atlasia and from the right of center to the left on the ideological spectrum. As chair, the person who holds this office must respect the diverse ranges of views, if a division occurs on policy, the chair should work to find consensus, and not exacerbate the division. I can understand both sides of many issues, as someone who grew up conservative and now is a more liberal individual I lived these different viewpoints, I can work to unite our Party and make the powerful force I know it can be.

Now I cannot do it alone, I will work closely with the Vice Chair. However, I also believe that members should always contribute to the dialogue on the going-ons of the Party. I encourage all members to get involved and to help make the Party stronger. I look forward to answering any questions any of you have. Thank you.

GAworth, Most Serene Representative of the Midwest

[PJ]

I will also be addressing the convention on my reelection campaign for Vice-Chair.


I have seen the Progressive Union grow from individual ideas to a successful political force. When I first joined Atlasia, I saw Scott and IBDD choosing to become underdogs and lead their own new parties, Light and Union of National Democrats. In June, I founded the Social Democrats, which was one of the smallest parties in Atlasia. I worked with Lumine and IBDD to merge and create the Civic Union. I also worked with butafly to merge and create the great party I am proud to be a member of. Since joining this party, I have seen the success of our members, I have worked to recruit many new forumites, and I even assisted on a presidential campaign! We've come a long way from our small ideas, but we still have a long way to go. I ask you to reelect me and help our party to grow.

[Flake]

I'm gonna run for vice chair

[Sec. of State Superique]

I think I'm going to cry, we may very well become a good and very active alternative for Atlasia =)

[DemPGH]

It's great to see people wanting leadership positions! The new census report has us at 19, so I definitely think if we adopt the right approach we are well on our way to being an ideas-based alternative to the same old. At the end of the day, though, we're all on the same team, and we're going to need to be if we're to keep building, and I really want to see that!

Looking forward to seeing everything play out here, and yes, I'm strongly considering a Senate run. Others are better at the party leadership stuff than me, so have it!

[Napoleon]

I will support Siren for Chair!

[Anna Komnene]

Hi everyone,

It feels great to be here today in Burlington, a city that's been so kind to grant us hospitality for such a long convention!  As you all know, I placed my name up for nomination to be the next chair of our party.  I hope y'all will consider me when you cast your ballots in the next couple days.  While I know the chair carries a lot of technical duties, which I would certainly carry out, the reason why I'm running is because of an idea.  I've been in Atlasia for almost a year now.  I've been in three different parties, and made some great friendships.  Through all that, I can't think of anytime I've had more fun than being a member of the Progressive Union, especially when we all came together to support our party's ticket in the presidential election.  Probably the closest thing to it for me was when I ran for Mideast Senate.  The reason why this has been so much better is because we did it as a team.  We built this party up as a team, coming together to vote on pretty much everything from the name to the logo and the platform.  We hit the ground running, and barreled right into the presidential election.  Even though it was a longshot, we stuck together and kept our spirits high, and I'm convinced that's the reason why we did so well.

We're the biggest third party in Atlasia, but if we want to keep up our success, our unity, excitement, and teamwork is going to be essential.  We've had some adversity and taken a lot of heat from the two major parties.  We can't count on either of them for support, but we can and should be able to count on each other.  As long as we stay united, we have the numbers, the enthusiasm, and the right blend of experience and youth to succeed.  It's just up to us to make sure we keep that up.

Enthusiasm is totally critical.  We've made it this far as a party, but we shouldn't stop there.  The best way to keep getting votes and win elections is to stay vocal!  So a few people that are never going to vote for us anyway might cry about it?  SO what?  Nobody is going to care about the Progressive Union if we don't stay out there with active campaigns and new ideas.  That doesn't mean we have to be loony either.  A lot of the long timers around here seem to look down on active, idea oriented campaigns.  I disagree.  Ideas and excitement matter.  There's no way I would have done so well in my senate campaign if that wasn't true.

By staying vocal and excited, we'll make sure everyone knows about us, and more people will want to join.  This brings me to my last point.  We need to keep having fun!  I think everyone agrees that the presidential election was a great time.  Let's keep that up in future elections and find ways to make the time between elections fun too.  I'm not saying we need more conventions, but there's things we can do in between election seasons to keep up morale, and I'm totally open to exploring those ideas.

TLDR: As chair, my priority will be staying excited and enthusiastic, encouraging everyone to stay involved in elections, and to try to make sure being in the Progressive Union is fun.

Wow I wrote way more than I was planning to!  Thanks for taking the time to listen to my speech, and I hope no matter what happens, our party will stay what made the last election so much fun. 

[DemPGH]

I will support Siren for chair as well. She's been a true freedom fighter in the assembly of the Mideast and has articulated a fine vision.

However it works out, though, we've all got to support each other!

[GAworth]

I have to agree with our Former Vice President, no matter who wins I hope everyone will support them. If Siren wins, he will have my full support and I will continue to work with him to make the Party the National powerhouse I know it can be.

[Flake]

I have to agree with our Former Vice President, no matter who wins I hope everyone will support them. If Siren wins, she will have my full support and I will continue to work with her to make the Party the National powerhouse I know it can be.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

For Chair:
[  ] GAworth
[  ] Siren
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

For Vice-Chair:
[  ] PJ
[  ] Flo
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

72 hours, simple majority

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

[  ] GAworth
[ x ] Siren
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

For Vice-Chair:
[ x ] PJ
[  ] Flo
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

[Flake]

[ 1 ] GAworth
[ 2 ] Siren
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

I love both of you so much and it was really, really, really hard to choose.

For Vice-Chair:
[ 2 ] PJ
[ 1 ] Flo
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

[Lumine]

For Chair:
[ x ] GAworth
[  ] Siren
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

For Vice-Chair:
[  ] PJ
[ x ] Flo
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

[PJ]

Chair:

Abstain

Vice-Chair:

Me

[GAworth]

For Chair:
[ X ] GAworth
[  ] Siren
[  ] none of the above
[  ] abstain

For Vice-Chair:
[  ] PJ
[  ] Flo
[  ] none of the above
[ X ] abstain

72 hours, simple majority