Forward? – A 2012 Election Game (Gameplay Thread)

[GoTfan]

Feingold 2012

September 1-30

September 1-5: After declaring his candidacy in Wisconsin, Feingold traveled to Iowa, where he announced that he would be seeking to increase subsidies to farmers, as well as declaring his intention to pass laws preventing major companies from taking farmland from those who own it currently. He also met with local progressive leaders to secure their backing for his campaign

September 6-10: Feingold would spend this time in New Hampshire, announcing his belief that the state would be open to the ideas of a progressive administration, as well as his admiration for the state's independent streak and support for the idea of universal education, a pet project of former NH governor John Lynch.

September 11-18: Feingold would spend nearly all of this period travelling between the New England states, rallying support in particular from College campuses and working class Democrats in the state. He also attended a Jewish service in Vermont, attempting to make a play for the Jewish vote in the states before heading to new York for a surprise appearance

September 19-20

Feingold went to Zucotti Park and met with activists from the Occupy Wall Street movement, expressing his desire for increased banking regulation and the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, while simultaneously expressing disappointment with the Dodd-Frank Act, which he called "watered down". He also recruited several campaign volunteers from the activists.

September 21-25: Feingold would spend these days in Nevada, meeting with voters not just from Las Vegas, but also the state's rural population. He hit the same notes he did in Iowa about restricting major corporations from buying off land owned by individuals. In addition, he expressed interest in the idea of a considerable middle and working lass tax cut, while increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

September 26-30: Feingold spent this time touring the southern states, visiting many impoverished areas and college campuses, firmly staking his ground in the states. He met with many community leaders in the southern states as well, attempting to make a play for the black vote through meetings with local leaders.

[GoTfan]

Feingold's debate responses:

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First off, this crisis is the fault of George Bush, who passed irresponsibly large tax cuts while sending us into two major wars. The problem is that we haven't reinstated Glass-Steagall or even tried to increase taxes on the wealthiest of our citizens; people that are responsible for what many would say is outright theft.

In the aftermath of the crisis, we tried bailing the banks out. What happened? The CEOs took the money given to them by the taxpaying public, and used it to pay themselves huge bonuses and lobby Congress to kill any major reform, then they turned around and blamed immigrants, the poor and even teachers. That is not how the economy, nor our government, should work.

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What do you want me to say? Progressives like myself have been saying for years this would happen if we didn't toughen up on our banking sector. We were laughed at, told that it would never happen and told to get back in line. We sounded the warnings, and were ignored, so now, people are angry.

These people are sick and tired of being treated like pawns by a banking industry that genuinely doesn't care and by a government who gives off the impression that they don't care. THey're angry, and their anger is righteous. Moreover, they have a right to be there, and having been there with them, I can see they are there for the right reasons, despite what our opponents on the right say. They deserve to have their issues addressed, and as the progressive candidate, I ask for their support.

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I stand opposed to our intervention in Libya. Have we not learned from our intervention in Iraq? We were told it would be in and out. Instead, we've been bogged down in a counterinsurgency operation for a decade. You can't just go in to these countries and try to install a Western-style democracy without dismantling the strcutures they've lived by for years.

With regards to Colonel Gaddafi, I only say that he has dismantled his nuclear weapons. Saddam did the same before we invaded. Is it a coincidence that other countries which have nuclear weapons aren't targets of an invasion by us?

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Where do I start? He failed to deliver on his promise of universal healthcare despite running on it and wasted a chance to be tough on Wall Street. Finally, both examples notably happened when we had a majority in Congress. These are not the markers of a President who fights for what they believe in. Instead, we get what I argue is a more hawkish policy than George Bush, and a public policy of saying one thing then doing another. The same can be applied to Senator Clinton.

I am very disappointed with the President. The progressive wing cannot be taken for granted anymore, and my colleagues up here need to understand that.

[GoTfan]

Feingold 2012

October 1-7

Feingold made his first stops in Nevada and Florida, this week, organising his ground effort and meeting with progressive leaders to gain their support. He conducted several major rallies all over the states, in particular delivering a powerful speech on defending Social Security from Republican cuts. He also vowed to start using antitrust laws much more, promising that those at the top would not get away with theft again.

October 8-14

Feingold spent this week in the south, visiting impoverished neighbourhoods and meeting again with local leaders for their support. He met with several local activists as well, attempting to rally their support. In addition to impoverished areas, he also made visits to university campuses all over the south, meeting with several students to recruit them as local volunteers.

October 15-21

Feingold spent this week strategizing, as well as meeting with Senators Sanders and Brown for reasons unknown

October 22-24

Rest days

October 26-31

These days were spent in the industrial states, as Feingold attempted to rally support from unions and industrial workers through his opposition to TPP and additional free trade agreements.

(OOC: my debate answers will be up soon. Very personal tragedy occurred here)

[GoTfan]

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Well one solution to this could be in fact retraining these workers to operate renewable energy plants across the nation, whether they're hydroelectric dams, wind farms or biofuel plantations. These workers can be retrained, and it would be done through extensive job retraining programs.

Where we have gone wrong is that we expect these people to just stop working and know instantly what to do. That is not the case. What we can do is gradually phase out fossil fuels, like coal, and retrain miners a few thousand at a time for jobs on the plants. It's not that hard. These people would get paid well and would combat climate change for the future.

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Amnesty for all that are here, so beating around the bush. It needs to be done and done now. We also need a path to citizenship for immigrants. We don't need a tougher border security system-we have one of the toughestin the world. We need to ensure that Border Patrol is supplied with advanced equipment to aid in surveying immigrants. Finally, any immigrant who has committed a crime in our country should be deported immediately.

Despite what you hear from our friends on the right, getting rid of immigrants would not be good for the economy. It would drain billions from our GDP. I thought Republicans were supposed to be fiscally responsible. What happened?

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Occupy is not a violent movement. They have concerns that have not been addressed. Concerns that myself and my colleagues on the left have tried to warn everyone about for years, and then get told to shut up. Many of the protests have been disrupted by overly enthusiastic police eager to break up protests for the first time. These people should get their concerns addressed without delay, and the only reason I'm being criticised for associating with them shamelessly is because I threaten to upset the apple cart and am reminding Democrats that the progressive vote cannot be taken for granted anymore.

Al Gore made this mistake in 2000. John Kerry made it in 2004. Obama ran as a progressive in 2008 then governed as a moderate. The progressive vote is not a card to be played. They are voters who want their concerns addressed, and I'm being criticised because I'm the only one up here doing that.

[GoTfan]

Feingold spent the month campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan. He continued to build a base from progressive voters, attempting to forge a winning coalition in the north and build his campaign infrastructure there. He also tributed President Obama and welcomed Vice President Joe Biden into the race during a campaign stop in Detroit.

Feingold also turned his fire on major banks, giving several fiery speeches against the greed of the major banks and Wall Street and vowing to crack down on them. He also conducted rallies in New Hampshire and Ohio with his first endorsers, Senators Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown, trying to use their reputations to consolidate his left wing base. He also declared his support for Elizabeth Warren, Brown and Sanders in their Senate elections in 2012, appearing at a fundraiser for Brown in Cincinnati.

He also made several targeted appeals to younger voters, appearing at college campuses all over the early primary states, shoring up his support from there.

[GoTfan]

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Simple: Negotiate. We tried the carrot and stick approach, and it hasn't worked. We've tried beating them with a stick, and it hasn't worked. We need to never be afraid to engage these rogue nations in dialogue in order to achieve a desirable end. How would things have looked if Kennedy had employed the same strategy during the Cuban Missile Crisis as we do with North Korea?

We need to negotiate with these countries. Negotiation is often a more powerful weapon than a gun, and we should never be afraid to use it.

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I stand opposed to any trade agreement that harms our nation. I am opposed to NAFTA, CAFTA and the TPP. We are haemorrhaging jobs thanks to these deals. The current administration has failed to do anything to reform these deals, and that is the great failure of this administration. Our jobs need to be protected, and I have been fighting for them since day one! I will protect our jobs and only sign deals when the American worker benefits from it.

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My loss in 2010 was part of the voters' answer to an administration that failed them. It was part of a larger response. Voters were angry at being left behind. Granted, I did not run the best campaign I could've. I floundered quite badly at several points and ran a poor campaign. However, like I said, it was part of a larger answer.

I am attempting to address the issues of the people who voted me out of office. Let me know how I failed you, and we can work on that. So take my 2010 defeat how you will. I'm not going to tell you how to look at it.

[GoTfan]

Feingold would spend time campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada as he endeavours to build a strong foundation for his future campaign. He also made several visits to the industrial States, looking to build support from blue-collar workers and union members. He also held rallies in Vermont and Ohio with Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown respectively. The three would hit speaking points related to trade, unions and the minimum wage, which Feingold says must be raised to $15 an hour.

(Sorry for the brief schedule. My personal tragedy has exacerbated itself.)

[GoTfan]

Speech from Russ Feingold in Delaware

Ladies and gentlemen,  thank you all for coming.

Well, here we are, at the end of all things. We hoped that Iowa would give us the boost we needed, but it didn't. To all those who have supported me, you have my utmost thanks. I would not have been able to go on this incredible journey without you and that backing you have gicen me.

There is one person in the race still who will push for our priorities. One person who will listen to our concerns and cour cees and act upon them. One person who will see that Glass Steagall is reinstated. One person who will protect our workers. One person who will stand up to the billionaire class and say "You can't have it all".

Today, I am formally announcing my withdrawal from the race for President, and am throwing my full support to the Vice President of the United States of America, Joe Biden!