We Got Griff/Jimmy: It's Happening (Again) - VICTORY

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

ENDORSED

[Adam Griffin]

ENDORSED

Glorious News!

[Adam Griffin]

A PLEA TO THE REGIONS

Nearly four years ago, I began a campaign for President during one of the most tumultuous times in the history of Atlasia. Our very institutions were collapsing - brought on by years of narrow foresight - and many who remember that time would argue that for the first time in the history of the game, there was no guarantee for a brighter tomorrow, or a tomorrow of any kind.

For years prior to that, I had been making one simple argument: that the regions were too expansive, elected offices needed to be reduced and that the collective misjudgments spread across 5 regions were inhibiting the game's ability to be fully viable, contested and active. While there were certainly many supporters of reform along the way, only once the walls truly began to crumble did some people truly begin to heed my warnings. All too many were insistent upon arguing in favor of regional freedom at the cost of the game's ability to sustain itself. I never want to see that happen again.

As of late, I see a similar pattern emerging. It is arguably the single biggest reason why my interests have been piqued once again and my campaign for President has been launched. It is without argument that an incredible amount of turnover in the game has occurred since the Glorious Reset I spearheaded. There are very few remaining who remember the mistakes that led us to that moment, and many who are all too willing to repeat the mistakes of the past because they simply do not know better.

The single biggest fact that shook me to the core was that we now have more elected offices in a 3-region system than we had just prior to reset in a 5-region system. Simply put, this is unsustainable. That doesn't even begin to touch on the plethora of post-reset appointed positions that have been created that drain from the collective creativeness of the game with regard to press, polling, and other unique institutions that any and all have time to focus on in the game - but this is far less detrimental to the game's long-term viability than the former.

While it is not inherent, there seems to be a correlation between the emergence of parliamentarianism and a rapid expansion of regional offices. I have witnessed actually legitimate debates over whether or not certain regional legislatures should expand to sizes greater than that of the House. I have seen regional legislatures swell to ungodly proportions, which not only threaten to upset the competitive nature of elections as designed by the Constitutional Convention of 2015-16, but also completely invalidate the privilege that is holding office in this game.

Atlasia works best when there are roughly 40 elected offices in this game, spread across the regions and the federal government. As of now, we're knocking on 50. The entirety of the imbalance in terms of elected office expansion post-reset has come from the regions rather than the federal government. Contrary to what some might believe, there is no correlation between the number of registered voters and the level of activity or competition once the game exceeds approximately 150 voters. Yet the most recent surge of new registrants that occurred in late 2018 seems to have led many to believe that more offices are somehow needed - despite the fact that since that time, the game has contracted by almost 20% in terms of voter rolls.

I argued for a constitutional cap in 2015 that would contain the number of regional legislative positions that could exist in the game at any one time, with a Census-like apportionment method that would both keep our worst impulses in check and also discourage strategic registration (by ensuring that if a region got too small or too big, its legislature would contract in size). Sadly, this measure was not adopted by the ConCon, leaving us vulnerable to the whims of generations who would later emerge and not have first-hand experience with this fatal situation. While I completely respect the notion that this game is a platform for experimentation, there are hard mathematical realities with which tampering always causes issue. I am familiar with, have heard - and have lived through - all the arguments in favor of larger legislatures, but history backs up my position.

Unfortunately, the ConCon was a once-in-an-Atlasian-generation opportunity to address this persistent issue. Outside of such an endeavor, it is hard to see how such a measure could be adopted by both Congress and the regions at this point. Nevertheless, this is a real threat to long-term stability - and if we don't learn and accept the lessons of the past, we will fall victim to them once again. However, if this broader issue isn't rectified in an effective manner by inauguration and I am elected President, I intend to fight for a resolution on this issue in a full-throated manner.

I am happy to report that I have recently introduced an amendment in the Lincoln Council that will cull the very worst of these impulses in at least one region, capping its legislature at a maximum of 7 members (instead of the current 9). Similar discussions are also occurring in Fremont as of late - which I hope will also bear fruit.

As designed, both the House and regional legislatures were intended to be launching points for careers in this game. When we continue to expand the number of regional legislative positions, we upset that difficulty balance. I firmly believe that holding elected office in Atlasia should be a challenge, it should require effort, and we should provide as many pathways for that as possible at the same time. When the balance between federal and regional is upset, not only is the stability of the game undermined, but a stratification of the levels of government forms - much like what existed in a pre-reset, unicameral system. It also leads to a lack of appreciation for holding elected office; after all, if you only need 3 [1]s to win a seat, how much are you truly going to care about it?

As such, I implore the regions to immediately begin considering the restoration of the dynamic as designed prior to and following the reset, where holding office is a privilege and not a hand-out. No more elections where "all but one candidate wins", no more utterly predictable regional legislative elections and no more thinking that we should be handing out elected offices like participation trophies. We all get what we pay for, and we all assign value to our institutions based on how easy it is to participate in them.

At its core, Atlasia is an elections simulator. It is not a Discord chat group, it is not a series of appointed councils, it is not a policy-heavy platform and it is not a game for self-glorification (well, maybe just a little on that last one!). When we have competitive, contested elections that force both people and parties to fight for every vote, the rest tends to fall into place. We must ensure that the foundations are strong if we want this game to continue to be interesting - and for that right now, the regions must play their role in restoring balance.

[S019]

Reducing regional legislature size limits that ability for new players to participate in the game.

You end up with a bunch of entrenched politicians, with no new blood

[Adam Griffin]

Reducing regional legislature size limits that ability for new players to participate in the game.

You end up with a bunch of entrenched politicians, with no new blood

I appreciate your immense foresight and wisdom on this subject!

[Strong Candidate]

Best of luck!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Best of luck!

Thanks for the support!

[JGibson]

Endorsed.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed.

Thanks for the support!

[Adam Griffin]

Best of luck!

Endorsed.

Thanks so much for your support of our Glorious Deal™ for Atlasia!

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Endorsed!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed!

Thanks for the support!

[Virginiá]

endorsed!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

endorsed!

Thanks for the support!

[Ex-Assemblyman Steelers]

Endorsing

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsing

Thanks for the support!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

It's exactly 30 days until the Presidential election starts

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Endorsed!

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed!

Thanks for the support!

[Adam Griffin]

DISAVOWING WHITE SUPREMACY IS EASY

After the events of the past 24 hours, it is clear that there is a poisonous presence in our game. While the comments from matthew27 are shocking, they are not necessarily surprising. Many of us have witnessed questionable behavior coming from him for a long time. Likewise, any defense of this kind of behavior - whether crouched behind formalities or not - is unacceptable.

I publicly call on all candidates and people in positions of power to denounce matthew27's vile and reprehensible behavior, and to support the recall effort. There is no point in denouncing such behavior if you do not believe penalties should come along with it.

We can no longer be silent about the under-the-surface racism, bigotry and regressive whispers that all too many people in this game condone or outright share in common with matthew27. While he may have had the audacity to utter it publicly, I fear he is not alone in sharing these beliefs.

Calling a spade a spade is needed if we are to move this country in the right direction. A prerequisite for holding office is being able to stand up against such disgusting behaviors. We should all join together and call this big, ugly spade out today.

[Wisconsin+17]

Endorsed.

[Southern Delegate matthew27]

DISAVOWING WHITE SUPREMACY IS EASY

After the events of the past 24 hours, it is clear that there is a poisonous presence in our game. While the comments from matthew27 are shocking, they are not necessarily surprising. Many of us have witnessed questionable behavior coming from him for a long time. Likewise, any defense of this kind of behavior - whether crouched behind formalities or not - is unacceptable.

I publicly call on all candidates and people in positions of power to denounce matthew27's vile and reprehensible behavior, and to support the recall effort. There is no point in denouncing such behavior if you do not believe penalties should come along with it.

We can no longer be silent about the under-the-surface racism, bigotry and regressive whispers that all too many people in this game condone or outright share in common with matthew27. While he may have had the audacity to utter it publicly, I fear he is not alone in sharing these beliefs.

Calling a spade a spade is needed if we are to move this country in the right direction. A prerequisite for holding office is being able to stand up against such disgusting behaviors. We should all join together and call this big, ugly spade out today.

How is lowering the black on black murder rate racism? Are you saying that we should let it happen and be happy about it? God you sound more hateful then me.

The right direction would be doing something to better our country and not make it worst.

[Former President tack50]

DISAVOWING WHITE SUPREMACY IS EASY

After the events of the past 24 hours, it is clear that there is a poisonous presence in our game. While the comments from matthew27 are shocking, they are not necessarily surprising. Many of us have witnessed questionable behavior coming from him for a long time. Likewise, any defense of this kind of behavior - whether crouched behind formalities or not - is unacceptable.

I publicly call on all candidates and people in positions of power to denounce matthew27's vile and reprehensible behavior, and to support the recall effort. There is no point in denouncing such behavior if you do not believe penalties should come along with it.

We can no longer be silent about the under-the-surface racism, bigotry and regressive whispers that all too many people in this game condone or outright share in common with matthew27. While he may have had the audacity to utter it publicly, I fear he is not alone in sharing these beliefs.

Calling a spade a spade is needed if we are to move this country in the right direction. A prerequisite for holding office is being able to stand up against such disgusting behaviors. We should all join together and call this big, ugly spade out today.

Excellent speech Griffin, and I fully agree with it. We must condemn matthew's comments and I fully encourage all good citizens of the Southern region to vote Yes on his recall.

[VPH]

Endorsed

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Endorsed

Thanks for the support!