The Atlasian Post-Democracy Dies In Darkness

[Pericles]

Interview with Federalist nominee Young Texan

What drove you to run for President in this election? Can you give the voters some insight into how you reached the decision to run?
Well, as I’m sure you know, I was hesitant on running for President. I came to run for President because numerous people had asked me to do so. After conversations with friends in game I came to the conclusion that I ought to run for the Presidency and so now here we are!

So that leads into my next question-your campaign slogan and a key part of your message is 'new voices, new vision'. This might seem to contrast with the current President given he is a very experienced player. So how come you think there is a need for 'new voices, new vision' at this time in Atlasia, and can you explain more what this message actually means for Atlasia?
I think because I’m at the top of the ticket, I’m a new player relatively speaking compared to Griffin who’s been active since 2012 and Tmth even longer. Now don’t misconstrue my message, it’s in no way a dig at the President, he’s done a lot of good for the country for this term and I thank him. But I think Atlasia needs newer voices to come into the fray which is another reason why I was nudged to run. “New Voices, New Vision” means I want to try lifting up newer players and making sure opportunity exists for them. I think I give that new voice and I’ve always been a proponent of new players running for offices and getting them to hold cabinet and council jobs.

With your vice-presidential selection, can you explain why you think Vern is the best person to be your Vice President for the coming term (especially given last election you had two running mates at different times, neither of whom was Vern)?
Well, I’ve always known Vern to be a hard worker and a stand up guy, I knew he’d be good for the role as Vice President. He’s a good manager of things and with my experience with him, I think he’d make a fantastic Vice President.

You also pointed to your experience as Southern Governor in your announcement as a qualification for the presidency. So, can you give some key accomplishments from your time in that role and your opinion on how you have done as Governor so far?
A big accomplishment I would say was the budget and having that completed as well. My casino and gambling initiative which is now law was a big deal and a big accomplishment as well. I’d also point to how we’ve cracked down on pill pushers within the Southern region and the great things we’ve done regarding infrastructure as well. Another thing was I worked with former Delegate Wulfric on getting Paygo through the chamber and into law as well. Now as for how I think I’ve done as Governor, I’d say I’ve done good and judging from the people electing me twice I’d say they’re in agreement with me.

With your campaign, since your announcement you have made very few posts in your campaign thread or set out your policies and vision in greater detail. I will ask you about your policies soon, but do you plan to run a more active campaign in the remainder of the election and do you think that you have been up front with the voters so far about what they will get if you win the presidency?
I think most of the voters know what they’ll get from a YT administration but I pledge to be a bit more active in campaigning. I’ve been working out real life issues and thankfully as I’m adjusting to my new work schedule I think it will work out very well.

(follow-up) Ok, but to be clear these issues aren't big enough to hamper you if you were President, are you confident you will be able to commit the time to make your presidency a success?
I’ve had to adjust my time management but I do not think my real life will clash with the game if I become President. I’m confident if I’m elected as the next President I will have a successful term in office.

What is your agenda for the presidency and what will be your top priorities for when you take office (ideally top 3 or 4 priorities)?
The budget will be a high priority and I will keep chipping away at that deficit so we have a fiscally responsible Atlasia. Energy independence is something I’ve been looking at as well and I have an interest in achieving that. I think broadly speaking for priorities you’ll also see some infrastructure plans coming among other things we will be doing in my administration.

(follow-up)Are there any specific changes you'd like to see in the budget? Do you have any tax cut plans or areas where you would want to either cut or raise spending?
Well, I want to look at funding as a whole and really go over every detail in the budget and if elected I’ll dedicate time to do so to slash spending. I think there’s some areas we could do a little more spending in, like space for instance. As for tax cuts, once our deficit mess is fixed I want to look into tax cuts, specifically for the middle class.

(follow-up)So are you saying there will be no tax cuts until the deficit is substantially lower than it is right now, so probably not in your first term?
Well, I never want to rule out a tax cut, it is entirely possible we get one during my term as President of Atlasia. I am going to be extremely responsible on our fiscal issues as we should be very careful on these matters.

Also, with energy independence, what policies would you use to achieve it, and how would you seek to balance protecting the environment with protecting the economy and jobs and growth of Atlasia?
Well, we’re going to be encouraging all forms of energy, so when I say energy independence, I don’t just mean with oil. Renewable energy is a growing part of the energy sector and is critically important to the future. Ways in which we will be going at this is working with companies in the energy sector by giving them benefits and lowering taxes for them so they’ll have more encouragement. You mentioned the environment as well, when in office I will make sure to keep our environment as clean as possible. As someone who spends a lot of time in the outdoors, the issue is near to my heart.

What is your assessment of the current state of the game as a whole? Do you believe that it is sufficiently welcoming, and do any improvements/reforms need to be made to the game to make it work better (if so, what improvements do you have in mind)?
I think the current state of the game is alright, there’s some things I would prefer I did not see like with what Speaker Jimmy had said regarding one of Representative fhtagn's bills. It was a step in the right direction when he apologized and realized he was wrong but I think it just set a bad tone. I think the game overall still has some ways to go in making it better for everyone. I’ve tried my hardest to be welcome and open to new players always, left or right, and I will continue to do so. If elected as President I will maintain the reform council and task it with finding ways to better our community as well. This game means a lot to me and I want to see it running at 100% efficiency!

What are your plans for the cabinet, do you have any ideas about who will serve in your cabinet and do you have any plans to re-structure the cabinet if you win?
Well, I’ve often thought that it would be better to merge the position of Registrar General and Secretary of Federal Elections together. As for the cabinet at large, I have thought about who I’d like to serve, but will have a very open application process for the administration as well.

What do you think is your biggest regret from your time in Atlasia, and what have you learned from it?
My biggest regret would have to be not doing more to get President Yankee elected in October, I wish I had done more to help him.

Finally, your candidacy has received support from a wide range of voters. To the wider electorate, and voters who aren't natural Federalists, why do you believe they should also support your candidacy?
If you want someone who’s going to be an independent minded person who’s going to embrace every single side when he’s elected, the choice is clear, I’m your man. I’ve worked with all sides in the south to get things done, left and right, and I’m ready to do that as your President.

Note: Young Texan clarified after the interview was completed that with regards to the deficit he wants to see the federal budget audit out as it is currently in process.

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post's June 2019 elections poll is now available for you to respond to. Please respond so we can have as large of a sample as possible, which means as accurate as possible of an insight into the Atlasian public's views heading into the June 2019 presidential election.
Poll link

Go ahead!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Voted.

[Pericles]

Just to clarify, the regional questions are already optional, you don't need to clarify that you are not in 2/3 of the regions, you can just answer the question for your region. It is a bit of an inconvenience if I have to sort out proper regional response from responses that are just 'Not a (whichever region the respondent is not in'. Thank you.

[Pericles]

Interview with Representative fhtagn

What would you consider the biggest challenges facing Atlasia at this time, and what have you done in the House to help Atlasia overcome these challenges?
One of the biggest challenges facing Atlasia I feel rests with those who are too content with major party voting machines turning out and supporting them in elections, regardless of what they may or may not have done in game. We have a problem where people are so focused on elections that they can't be bothered doing their job once they are elected to office. You see that with current Labor and Federalist members of Congress, where most of them don't even bother to debate on bills, and never do anything that fulfills promises they made when they campaigned.

In the House, I've gone out of my way to force people to debate on bills (sadly most of these debates are very low effort from the opposition), be it through consistently pestering people in the thread, and stopping votes until I get an answer to something that people are ignoring. I've also worked hard to deliver on things that I promised I'd do in my campaigns, because without action, words are meaningless. The problem is, I shouldn't have to force debate to happen, both the Federalist Party and the Labor Party need to do more to ensure that their elected officeholders actually do their jobs. Voters need to stop supporting lazy officeholders. This isn't an issue one person can single handedly fix, but it is an issue worth focusing on.

Notably from your time in the House you filed a no-confidence motion in Speaker Jimmy, which was rejected on a party-line vote. Did you believe the no-confidence motion had a reasonable chance of success, and given its failure was it still the right thing to do?
I had hoped that fellow members of the house would have looked past party lines and considered Jimmy's behavior more seriously. Regardless of the outcome, it was the right thing to do. For me, it had nothing to do with partisan leanings. I've had a much more strained relationship with you than I've ever had with Jimmy, and had no reason to file that that motion against you when we served together. If the same circumstances which led to me filing the motion happened another time, I would not hesitate to do it all over again.

You formed an exploratory committee for President before ending it and declaring it a meme. For clarification, did you ever seriously consider running for President this cycle, and is it something you would be open to in future presidential election cycles?
I did not seriously consider running for President this cycle, nor would I really be open to it in the future. I served as President for 2.5 terms consecutively. That's 10 months of my time in this game spent in that role, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't exhausting. I also learned from that time that I am a much more effective legislator, and would rather continue doing that (at least for right now).

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment from your term in the House so far?
My biggest accomplishment in the House so far was the passing of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which added further protections for law abiding gun owners. It was something I wanted to get to in my previous House terms, and I'm glad to finally have the opportunity to do so.

If the left were to lose its House majority, would you seek a return to the position of Speaker of the House?
My goal with being in the House isn't to climb back into the Speaker role. If the right does manage to obtain a majority, I wouldn't turn down the role if there was a need for me to take it on and no one else was capable to taking on the role, however I am very content with what I'm doing now, and would very happily continue doing that.

The relationship between the Atlas Conservative Party and the Federalist Party has been strained at times. What do you consider to be the fundamental differences between the two parties, and what role does the ACP fill in Atlasian politics that the Federalist Party can't or won't fill?
One of the fundamental differences between us and the Federalist Party is that we are able to stick to conservative values, and actually hold ourselves accountable for doing so. The Federalist Party has become too much of a big tent for some of us, and I get that they need to be. This is a forum that is very predominantly left wing, so there's already a disadvantage for the right. However some of the loudest voices with the most influence in the Federalist Party have been those who truly did not embrace the values we cared for. Unlike the major parties, we aren't setting out goals (at least not yet) of winning the presidency, or winning a majority of seats in federal/regional legislature. We are running people who want to be in office, and getting them elected. One of the roles we fill in Atlasian politics, and really the main role, is that we are the loudest voice for conservative policy-making in this game right now. One of the biggest complaints with current Fed officeholders is they just aren't doing enough to decide on policies and follow through on their promises. I'm proud to have been that voice in the house, and I'm proud that our new Vice Chair, the current Southern Deputy Speaker, and a newbie to the game, Muaddib, has been that voice in the South.

What are your thoughts on the June presidential race and how the campaign has gone so far? Do you have a message for voters to consider as they decide which candidate to support?
I have mixed feelings on the June presidential race. I wouldn't say this is a race I'm particularly excited about, and there are tactics used by both sides that I am not particularly happy with, for example, bussing in personal friends who will only vote for them and either deregister or fall off the rolls by not voting after this month. Nothing about that is good for the game, and both sides know exactly what they are doing wrong by doing it.

As far as any message for voters, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I guess vote your conscience. And I hope that when voters cast their ballots, they actually think to themselves about whether or not their candidate of choice will actually better the game.

You were criticized when you had your exploratory committee for vilifying those you disagree with, rather than seeking the approval of everyone. How do you answer this criticism and do you think that you set a positive example in terms of civility in Atlasian politics?
Having been President for 2.5 terms previously, and really having been in the game in general, I learned that there's no way you can please everyone. Those you can't please are often be outright partisan hacks, or they can be people who just don't like you personally. When I jokingly opened an Exploratory committee, I had no intention of taking it seriously, however that doesn't mean I should do nothing when people want to argue in bad faith about what I'm doing or about the party I've put a lot of effort to. As far as whether or not I've been a positive example as far as civility, I suppose that depends on who you ask. In some ways I certainly have been as much as most others in game have been, in others, I think there are times where it's necessary to be the bad guy. And if that has to be me, so be it. I do take some issue with the fact that some of the loudest voices complaining about civility in this game and my behavior are those currently supporting Adam Griffin, who has done far worse than anything I have in this game. He has made the game very personal for numerous people, including our current president (who chose not to run for reelection because of Adam not being civil) and even myself, such as when he suggested that I only became president by whoring myself out, and targeting my personal relationships with people off Atlasia. I should note that he has since apologized to me, however my point still remains that most of the loudest voices complaining about my behavior prove themselves to be hypocrites when they support Adam Griffin.

Do you have any other comments you want to make for the Atlasian public?
Just do better to hold our officeholders accountable. Make them get active, make them earn their positions. I've already touched up on this in the first question, but there is literally no excuse to have incumbent officeholders that very rarely debate on bills, never propose new legislation, and stick to party lines rather than logic when they vote. This isn't healthy for the game to have people like that, and voters that are still willing to support them. Check with who you endorsed for President, have they addressed this issue? If so, what do they plan to do to hold people accountable for inactivity? These are leaders in their parties, and will soon be overseeing cabinet appointments. Even if they cannot force someone to get active, they need to show they're willing to do something to address this.

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post's June 2019 elections poll is now available for you to respond to. Please respond so we can have as large of a sample as possible, which means as accurate as possible of an insight into the Atlasian public's views heading into the June 2019 presidential election.
Poll link

Go ahead!

22 responses so far-keep 'em coming!

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post's June 2019 elections poll is now available for you to respond to. Please respond so we can have as large of a sample as possible, which means as accurate as possible of an insight into the Atlasian public's views heading into the June 2019 presidential election.
Poll link

Go ahead!

22 responses so far-keep 'em coming!

Now up to 33.

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post's June 2019 elections poll is now available for you to respond to. Please respond so we can have as large of a sample as possible, which means as accurate as possible of an insight into the Atlasian public's views heading into the June 2019 presidential election.
Poll link

Go ahead!

22 responses so far-keep 'em coming!

Now up to 33.

40 responses now.

[Pericles]

If you haven't taken the poll, please make sure to do so! Very interesting results so far!

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post June 2019 race ratings

Here are The Atlasian Post official ratings for the June 2019 elections, which hopefully will provide a helpful insight into the coming election weekend.

Presidency-Tossup
The presidential race is extremely competitive, and no clear favorite is apparent. Both Young Texan and Adam Griffin have a similar chance of winning the presidency. While the left has a registration advantage, Young Texan is likely to get a significant amount of left-wing defections, particularly from his friends on Discord. However, Griffin is doing better than YE with swing voters and Young Texan's appeal is narrower than tmthforu94's, and the new additions to the electorate in the last four months make the race even more unpredictable. Both sides are expected to have very strong get out the vote operations, which leaves us poised for a fascinating few days.

Fremont Senate-Safe Labor
Frankly, I cannot foresee any plausible circumstances where the left loses this race and the incumbent is not re-elected. Fremont is a heavily left-wing region, as shown by recent election results, and the incumbent does not have any scandals or other vulnerabilities that would lead to them running behind the region's partisanship. While there is now a right-wing candidate in the race with shua's recent entry, he is not a particularly strong candidate and does not have the ability to significantly outrun the region's partisanship, unlike say Lumine-who still lost two Senate races in Fremont, proving how difficult it is for a left-winger to lose a region-wide race in Fremont. Therefore, I do not see shua being competitive in terms of actually winning the Senate seat.

Lincoln Senate-Lean Labor
It is tempting to rate this race as tossup, however upon closer examination, particularly given the last-minute changes to the Lincoln electorate, I believe it would be wrong to do so. Louisville Thunder does have a shot at winning the seat, but tack50's chances are clearly better, this is not a 50-50 race. Note that this does not mean that tack will definitely win, I could see Louisville Thunder plausibly overperforming and winning narrowly (or perhaps tying the race again), but the more likely scenario is that tack50 wins a majority of the electorate and a full term in the Senate.

South Senate-Safe Federalist
The South's race is like a reverse of the Fremont race. While there is a left-wing candidate, weatherboy1102, following his failed presidency, is a weak and unpopular candidate. More importantly, the South is heavily right-wing and like Fremont, Vern is a strong candidate who does not have any vulnerabilities that would cause him to underperform the region's lean. It is extremely difficult to see any plausible scenario in which this race is actually competitive (in terms of which party holds the seat), and therefore it is a safe seat for the Federalists.

Senate rating-Lean outright Labor majority
Note that Labor has a high chance of keeping the Senate, as Labor only needs to win one of Lincoln Senate or the presidency to win a majority, while the Federalists need to win both contests to bring the Senate to a tie and so control the tie-breaking vote.

House rating-Lean Labor/Peace majority
The House race is relatively competitive, with both the right and the left fielding slates large enough to win a majority (3 Federalists + fhtagn (ACP) + ReaganClinton (Independent) vs 3 Labor candidates + 2 Peace candidates). However, given Young Texan will probably outperform the right-wing House slate, the left-wing slate is probably favored to win a majority over the right-wing slate (especially since the left-wing slate generally has more popular candidates with greater appeal to swing voters and ability to get crossover voters). Therefore, the House rating is Lean Labor/Peace majority.

Lincoln council special-Lean Peace
PSOL is favored for this race for similar reasons to tack50 being favored for the regional Senate race. The Lincoln council seat probably has stronger odds for the left than the Lincoln Senate race, this is primarily because Louisville Thunder is a stronger candidate than the generic Federalist, however given it will share a ballot with the Senate race there likely won't be very much split-ticket voting or undervoting, so Wazza will run similarly to Louisville Thunder. It was tempting to rate this as Likely Peace but that seems to overstate PSOL's odds so Lean Peace is probably a more accurate rating, as Wazza does have a viable chance of victory but PSOL's chances are significantly higher.

[Pericles]

SHOCK POLL: YT TAKES NARROW LEAD

This poll had 49 respondents.
Regional composition*
Lincoln-45.8%
The South-29.2%
Fremont-25.0%
Presidential matchup
Young Texan/Vern-46.9%
Adam Griffin/Jimmy7812-46.9%
Kingpoleon/Smilo-2.0%
Undecided-4.1%
Presidential matchup without undecided
Young Texan/Vern-51.0%
Adam Griffin/Jimmy7812-46.9%
Kingpoleon/Smilo-2.0%
Presidential candidate favorability
Adam Griffin-68.8%
Young Texan-58.3%
Kingpoleon-50.0%
Vice-presidential candidate favorability
Vern-72.9%
Jimmy7812-66.7%
Smilo-43.8%
Preferred House composition
Left-wing majority (Labor +Peace)-50.0%
Right-wing majority (Federalist + ACP +RC)-41.7%
Undecided-8.3%
Preferred House composition without undecided
Left-wing majority (Labor +Peace)-54.2%
Right-wing majority (Federalist + ACP +RC)-45.8%
President tmthforu94 approval rating
Approve-60.4%
Disapprove-31.3%
Undecided-8.3%
Direction of Atlasia
Right direction-35.4%
Wrong direction-27.1%
Unsure-37.5%
Fremont Senate
ON Progressive-53.8%
Right-wing candidate-23.1%
Undecided-23.1%
Lincoln Senate
tack50-52.2%
Louisville Thunder-39.1%
Undecided-8.7%
South Senate
Vern-58.8%
Left-wing candidate-35.3%
Undecided-5.9%
Partisan composition
Federalist-32.7%
Labor-30.6%
Peace-12.2%
Independent-8.2%
ACP-6.1%
Montfortian-4.1%
Other-4.1%
Confederate-2.0%

Young Texan holds a lead in the poll for The Atlasian Post over Adam Griffin, however this presidential race remains extremely competitive, as shown by the tied result when undecided was included as an option. The left looks favored to win both houses of Congress, with tack50 leading in the Lincoln Senate race and the left-wing House slate leading for the House, though both remain within reach (the House looking closer than Lincoln Senate was an interesting result, though it's hard to tell whether that is a meaningful indicator). What is clear is that Young Texan is overperforming the congressional Federalists, enabling him to compete strongly in the presidential race. There does not appear to be much of a mood for change, as there was in the last two elections, with people unsure about the direction of Atlasia but approving of President tmthforu94 by a strong 29.1% margin. The sample may be slightly biased in favor of the Federalists. This race is clearly a tight two-party race, and shows again that no side has a clear advantage in the race for the presidency.

*A lot of people responded to multiple region-specific questions, I did my best to clear this up but it's possible I may have missed one.

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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OPTION 4 TAKES FINAL ROUND LEAD IN FLAG REFERENDUM

Round 1
Option 1: 3 votes 25.00%
Option 2: 0 votes 0.00%
Option 3: 5 votes 41.67%
Option 4: 4 votes 33.33%
Final round
Option 4: 6 votes 54.55%
Option 3: 5 votes 45.45%

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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OPTION 3 GAINS NARROW LEAD IN FLAG REFERENDUM

Round 1
Option 1: 4 votes 26.67%
Option 2: 0 votes 0.00%
Option 3: 7 votes 46.66%
Option 4: 4 votes 26.67%
Final round
Option 3: 7 votes 53.85%
Option 1: 6 votes 46.15%

or...
Option 3: 7 votes 53.85%
Option 4: 6 votes 46.15%

Note; two final rounds were given as it is unclear which of Option 1 or Option 4 would go to a final round given they are currently tied in first preferences.

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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OPTION 4 AGAIN HOLDS FINAL ROUND LEAD IN FLAG REFERENDUM

Round 1
Option 1: 5 votes 27.78%
Option 2: 0 votes 0.00%
Option 3: 7 votes 38.89%
Option 4: 6 votes 33.33%
Final round
Option 4: 9 votes 56.25%
Option 3: 7 votes 43.75%

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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FLAG REFERENDUM REMAINS A NAILBITER, IS A TIED RACE

Round 1
Option 1: 5 votes 22.73%
Option 2: 1 vote 4.55%
Option 3: 9 votes 40.91%
Option 4: 7 votes 31.81%
Final round
Option 3: 10 votes 50.00%
Option 4: 10 votes 50.00%

[/quote]

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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OPTION 3 TAKES FLAG REFERENDUM LEAD

Round 1
Option 1: 5 votes 20.00%
Option 2: 1 votes 4.00%
Option 3: 11 votes 44.00%
Option 4: 8 votes 32.00%
Final round
Option 3: 12 votes 52.17%
Option 4: 11 votes 47.83%

[Pericles]

The Southern Flag Referendum is currently in progress. The Atlasian Post urges all eligible Southerners to vote in this referendum by midnight Sunday, here is voting booth link.
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OPTION 3 CLINGS TO FLAG REFERENDUM LEAD

Round 1
Option 1: 5 votes 18.52%
Option 2: 1 votes 3.70%
Option 3: 12 votes 44.45%
Option 4: 9 votes 33.33%
Final round
Option 3: 13 votes 52.00%
Option 4: 12 votes 48.00%

[Pericles]

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The Spanish Inquisition does not approve of this unexpected result.

[Orwell]

I like the flag, I think it looks nice. But that's just me.

[Continential]

I hate the southern logo.

[Pericles]

The Atlasian Post's August 2019 elections poll is now available for you to respond to. Please respond so we can have as large of a sample as possible, which means as accurate as possible of an insight into the Atlasian public's views heading into the August 2019 midterm elections.
Poll link

Go ahead!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Voted

[Pericles]

18 responses so far, keep 'em coming!

[Pericles]

As a reminder, please avoid responding in races for regions that you're not registered in, responses that vote in one Senate race are the best.