Progressive Union Party Convention June 2018 (Concluded)

[Sirius_]

Welcome to our June convention, which starts today as agreed upon by the chair. Per the bylaws this will be a major convention. The order of business for this convention is as follows:
-Electing the Chair and Deputy Chair.
-Nominations and endorsements for President, Senate, House, Governor of Lincoln, and Lincoln Assembly.
-To consider additions and changes to the party platform and bylaws.
-Anything else considered pertinent by the chair (TBD).

I open the floor for nominations for Chair and Deputy Chair. Nominations will last for 24 hours unless an extension is needed.

[Sirius_]

I nominate NeverAgain for Chair and Mike Wells for Deputy Chair.

[NeverAgain]

I will not be running for re-election to Chair.

[Sirius_]

Ok. I believe that we should allow another 24 hours for nominations.
I nominate Mike Wells to be Chair and I would like to run for Deputy Chair once again. I'm not interested in being Chair as of now.

[Sirius_]

Please note that members have until 3PM EDT to announce their nominations for Chair and Deputy Chair. That's about 2 hours! If you don't like the current nominees then you need to nominate candidates!

[NeverAgain]

I nominate Clyde1998 for Chair and Ninja0428 for Vice-Chair

[Sirius_]

Alright. As the only nominee Ninja0428 remains Deputy Chair.

PUP members may vote between the following for Chair:
-Mike Wells
-Clyde1998

The vote will last for 48 hours.

[Sirius_]

[X] Mike Wells

[Dr. MB]

[X] Mike Wells

[JGibson]

[X] Mike Wells

[Pericles]

[X] Mike Wells

[Pragmatic Conservative]

1. Mike Wells
2. Clyde

[Wells]

Abstain

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I would like to ask for the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party for Lincoln Senate.

I support bills that would modernize our infrastructure. I also support creating a national job training program to help workers acquire new skills. These two policies will work together to result in more opportunities of higher paying jobs for every citizen. I will support bills that will improve access to quality healthcare and education across Atlasia. I will support bills that protect the environment and prevent climate change. This includes increasing investment in clean and renewable energy and increasing fines and penalties on people and corporations who violate laws meant to prevent the pollution of the air, land, and water. I want to end the North Korean crisis as soon as possible, as I support a noninterventionist foreign policy. I don’t want us to get stuck other future conflicts like the current situation in Korea. Thank you.

-Lincoln Secretary of State Jimmy7812

[Senator-elect Spark]

I am seeking the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party due to my policy positions on the environment, social issues, education, and infrastructure.

[Pericles]

I would like to ask for the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party for Lincoln Senate.

I support bills that would modernize our infrastructure. I also support creating a national job training program to help workers acquire new skills. These two policies will work together to result in more opportunities of higher paying jobs for every citizen. I will support bills that will improve access to quality healthcare and education across Atlasia. I will support bills that protect the environment and prevent climate change. This includes increasing investment in clean and renewable energy and increasing fines and penalties on people and corporations who violate laws meant to prevent the pollution of the air, land, and water. I want to end the North Korean crisis as soon as possible, as I support a noninterventionist foreign policy. I don’t want us to get stuck other future conflicts like the current situation in Korea. Thank you.

-Lincoln Secretary of State Jimmy7812

Ok, I'd like to ask you a few questions and hope you can answer them.

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I commend you on this, but can you expand on what the specifics of such bills might be? Since the Senate passed Paygo(unfortunately in my view, but it's passed now), what funding would you support for such bills? Alternatively, do you believe the Senate should either exempt these bills from Paygo or get rid of Paygo altogether? And building on from the infrastructure issue, what kind of policies do you support to lower the Atlasian unemployment rate-and indeed do you believe the rate is too high currently or not?

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What kind of bills are these? For instance, would you have voted for the Free Higher Education for Atlasia Act? And to clarify, would you have voted for it when the Senate voted on it or only voted for the current House version?

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Can you expand on this please, and is there any difference between your position and Senator Madigan's on this issue?

[Sirius_]

I am seeking the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party due to my policy positions on the environment, social issues, education, and infrastructure.

Sorry, but Clyde automatically gets the endorsement.

[Senator-elect Spark]

I am seeking the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party due to my policy positions on the environment, social issues, education, and infrastructure.

Sorry, but Clyde automatically gets the endorsement.

Understood.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

[X] Wells

[Wikipedia delenda est]

[X] Mike Wells

[NewYorkExpress]

• Mike Wells

[_]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen of the Progressive Union Party.  I would like to humbly ask for your endorsement in the upcoming Lincoln Senate Election.

Why?  Because I believe that the legislation I've supported has been in step with the values of PUP, such as the Let's Try This Act that Senator Pericles co-sponsored, which strengthened background checks, and reformed the no fly list to prevent terrorists from getting weapons, while also protecting due process for Atlasians.


On Healthcare, I have supported bills that expand upon the success of AtlasCare, such as the Health Through Prevention Act, which helps to lower drug prices as well as subsidize regional vaccinations and the promotion of public health.  In addition to that, I've supported the Cheaper Medicine For the Poors Act, Right to Try Act, and the Care for Veterans Act, which help to reduce drug costs to Atlasians, allow experimental drug treatments for Atlasians, and give Atlasian veterans better mental healthcare as a small token of repayment for their service. 


On Education, as you all know, I did vote against the original Free Higher Education for Atlasia Act, but because it was poorly funded and because it would've given free college to those with incomes at $120,000, which I believe is wrong due to the fact that those with that level of income should be able to afford college by themselves under most circumstances.  I believe that the new HELIOS Act is a better bill, as it would give free college for those with an income equal or less than 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. (Which, for a Family of 2 in 2017 IRL according to this would be $40,600)  and in addition the bill doesn't just cut off aid for those disadvantaged above 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, according to Section 2. A. ii. of the bill.

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Finally, the bill offers another benefit of student loan refinancing, which consolidates 2 or more Federal student loans into a single easier to pay loan for students.  So overall, I believe the HELIOS Act is of more benefit to the truly disadvantaged hardworking Atlasians, and will offer them the help they deserve in getting an education.


On Infrastructure, I support the overall idea of the High Speed Rail Act, as it will allow the production of new high speed rail projects to be far easier, and will focus on corridors to Nyman (at least it should say Nyman), which are rather needed overall to improve transportation to our nation's capital.  I was iffy about the suggestion of privatization of Amtrak, and I would like to hear further arguments on it, especially from Representative Ninja0428, who is rather strong on Transportation issues.  Finally, this bill is already fully funded from the HELIOS Act, which gets rid of any concerns I have about expanding the deficit through this bill, and I will most likely end up supporting it.


On the Environment, I supported the Environmental Regulations Act, which regulates offshore drilling, helps prevent oil spills in pipelines, and establishes taxes on chemicals.  In addition to this, I supported the Fairness to Workers Act, which levies duties on foreign nations we trade with who don't have the same environmental  production standards as us, and will levy those duties on them until they meet the same standards we do for production of goods.  Finally, I opposed the repeal of the Carbon Tax as it's helped to reduce carbon emissions significantly, and I sponsored the Amendment to the Environmental Regulations Act which struck that repeal from the bill.   In addition, I would fully support further subsidies for green energy companies as long as they're fully funded, and I believe Atlasia should continue to move in the direction it has been in becoming a greener economy. 


Now, finally, I believe this should be said.  I don't consider myself an interventionist in the end, and I'm sick of my opponent implying I am one.  I believe in the end I lean dovish in foreign policy, and the only times I support military intervention in foreign nations are when our Allies are seriously threatened, as they have been in North Korea.  As such, I would not support military intervention in Venezuela unless the new Venezuelan government began to threaten our allies in South America.  I believe that Atlasia as a whole should stick to it's own affairs normally, and try to engage in fair trade with our allies and other nations in the world, as well as promoting the protection of the environment on the global stage, through the pursuit of new treaties like the Paris Climate Agreement. 


In finality, I promise that if reelected, I will continue my record of expanding upon AtlasCare's successes in Healthcare, promoting the expansion of education and aiding those who really need help in pursuing education, expanding and rebuilding Infrastructure nationwide in coordination with regions, protecting the environment and shifting Atlasia to a greener economy, and avoiding military intervention in foreign wars unless our allies our threatened, and pursuing new treaties to protect the environment on the world stage. 

Thank you all for your time, and I am willing to answer any further questions you all have on my positions.  May Dave bless Lincoln, the Progressive Union Party, and Atlasia.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I would like to ask for the endorsement of the Progressive Union Party for Lincoln Senate.

I support bills that would modernize our infrastructure. I also support creating a national job training program to help workers acquire new skills. These two policies will work together to result in more opportunities of higher paying jobs for every citizen. I will support bills that will improve access to quality healthcare and education across Atlasia. I will support bills that protect the environment and prevent climate change. This includes increasing investment in clean and renewable energy and increasing fines and penalties on people and corporations who violate laws meant to prevent the pollution of the air, land, and water. I want to end the North Korean crisis as soon as possible, as I support a noninterventionist foreign policy. I don’t want us to get stuck other future conflicts like the current situation in Korea. Thank you.

-Lincoln Secretary of State Jimmy7812

Ok, I'd like to ask you a few questions and hope you can answer them.

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I commend you on this, but can you expand on what the specifics of such bills might be? Since the Senate passed Paygo(unfortunately in my view, but it's passed now), what funding would you support for such bills? Alternatively, do you believe the Senate should either exempt these bills from Paygo or get rid of Paygo altogether? And building on from the infrastructure issue, what kind of policies do you support to lower the Atlasian unemployment rate-and indeed do you believe the rate is too high currently or not?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

What kind of bills are these? For instance, would you have voted for the Free Higher Education for Atlasia Act? And to clarify, would you have voted for it when the Senate voted on it or only voted for the current House version?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Can you expand on this please, and is there any difference between your position and Senator Madigan's on this issue?

1. I will write a bill that would make sure infrastructure is inspected yearly and kept in good condition and one that would allocate funds to repair infrastructure that is in poor condition and for future maintenance. I support PayGo to prevent unfunded bills form being passed. To pay for the infrastructure modernization projects, I support in my platform reducing military unneeded military spending, and regions would contribute a percentage of the total cost to this as they will be the ones that benefit from it. To get all these infrastructure projects done, it will require a large number of workers in fields like construction, engineering, and other areas related to infrastructure. I support creating a program to train workers who want to work in these areas for free, which would speed up the repair of infrastructure and allow them to get betters jobs in the future. This will help reduce the unemployment rate throughout Atlasia, which I think is still too high, as I would like it to be closer to 3% nationally, which is a big goal of mine.

2. I will support bills that reduce the cost of medications and other medically necessary items. I also will support bills that increase education funding to regions, where they could then spend it in areas where it would have the most impact, such as updating textbooks and technology in schools. I would have supported both versions of the Free Higher Education for Atlasia Act, but I liked the House version which was named the Higher Education Low-Income Opportunity Subsidy Act better. This bill does more to help those going to college and those with student loans than the original Senate version.

3. I only support military action on countries that directly threaten Atlasia, unlike Senator Not_Madigan, who said in his speech to this convention:

… I support military intervention in foreign nations are when our Allies are seriously threatened, as they have been in North Korea.

Also in one of his speeches, Senator Not_Madigan expressed support for escalating the Korean War:

I support Aerial intervention in North Korea to support our allies, and the People's Republic of Korea.  Our allies have been fighting this war alone, and have been struggling already, but with the return of the Kim Dynasty to power in "Loyalist" Korea, I believe it is finally time for Atlasia to enter. 

It is clear that Senator Not_Madigan is not the same kind of noninterventionist like me, and furthermore, he actually supports a few interventionist ideas, especially those involving the Korea crisis.

[_]

Alright I'll respond to the Foreign Policy section, because I'm rather amused by Jimmy's answer.

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Also in one of his speeches, Senator Not_Madigan expressed support for escalating the Korean War:

I support Aerial intervention in North Korea to support our allies, and the People's Republic of Korea.  Our allies have been fighting this war alone, and have been struggling already, but with the return of the Kim Dynasty to power in "Loyalist" Korea, I believe it is finally time for Atlasia to enter.

It is clear that Senator Not_Madigan is not the same kind of noninterventionist like me, and furthermore, he actually supports a few interventionist ideas, especially those involving the Korea crisis.[/quote]

First, you don't support defending our Allies when they're threatened?  Well, two things on that.  One, you apparently want to abandon our commitment to aid our Allies when they're threatened, which is incredibly out there as a position, and I believe Ninja, the PUP Candidate for President, supports intervening when our allies are threatened. 

Ah he does, his position from the debate is here. 

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Two, your answer now appears to be contradicting what you said in the debate Jimmy,let me refresh you on your answer. 

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You seem to be flipping back and forth on this, which is it Jimmy?

Second, I'll respond to the speech of me supporting escalation.  I supported escalation when our allies, Japan, South Korea, and the PRK were all threatened, and even then I didn't support sending in ground troops, just air support.  But since the situation has escalated since then and the President has chosen to send in ground troops, I've backed that in order to help our Allies.

So to conclude on this, I've been consistent, and despite being generally non-interventionist I, like many others in Atlasia, including Ninja, want to stay committed to helping our allies when they're endangered.  Jimmy however, seems to be having a bit of trouble with staying consistent and has went from supporting "Full military force" in Korea to now attacking me for wanting to help our Allies, and apparently wanting to abandon our commitment to aiding them.   

I, and I assume many others, want a straight, consistent answer on this issue from a Senator (Or candidate for Senator), and would love to hear Jimmy explain this one.

[Sirius_]

Something that I would like to bring up now as not to waste time later is that I believe we should vote on a city for our next convention at the end of this one.