December 9, 2018
Washington, DC
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, grumbled to himself as he was forced to look over some fake news articles that had just come in. Mostly about how his immigration based rhetoric had damaged the GOP's chances of holding the House, and giving him zero credit for the
four Senate seats his party had managed to win at the same time. He'd gotten used to those at this point, but
USA Today, a source he regarded as embattled between fake and real news, had gone a different direction: they were claiming he was obese
again. Hadn't they read his medical report? It had shown he was one pound
under obese, thank you very much. And honestly, this was definitely a job where a man could lose weight sitting behind a desk, even if the President would never admit as much.
He moved a hand over his face, silently counting the new, small wrinkles that had appeared over the past nearly two years. They hadn't been kidding about presidential aging. God, but he just wanted to be back on the campaign trail, taking the fight to whatever Dumbocrat the party nominated. As he reached his cheek, he realized it felt...funny. Like it was...drooping. He hurriedly stood to leave, but found his coordination was failing him.
The guards rushed in to the
thud of the President of the United States slamming facefirst into the ground.
Elsewhere in Washington
Vice President Mike Pence was enjoying a lovely dinner out with Mother when the news came to him.
"What happened?"
"A stroke, Mr. Vice President. It's quite severe. They expect it may well leave him incapable of fulfilling his duties."
"Are they sure of that?"
"Almost positive, Mr. Vice President."
Pence sighed as he rose from his chair, and looked around the room. The Secret Service man had been quiet enough that only the most curious (likely reporters in disguise; he actually saw a phone out, but the camera flash had wisely been turned off) had taken any notice.
"Should we finish our dinner, or would the Secret Service like us to go now?"
"Now, Mr. Vi-...Mr. Acting President."
And so it was that, on December 9, 2018, Mike Pence was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.
The Following Days
Across the Nation
Most of the media was gracious enough to express some level of sympathy for the President's incapacitation, for a few days at least. However, about a week after the incident, a new narrative began forming: are Presidents getting too old?
The narrative caught fire: the only reason this happened is because we elected someone to their first term who was past the legal age of retirement. Reagan's Alzheimer's and even William Henry Harrison's death to pneumonia were cited in the newly emergent case to encourage a "new generation" to step up and lead the country. Democratic heavyweights Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren all saw their stock plummet, and quickly announced they would not be candidates. The Democratic race was now open.
President Pence did not initially announce a bid for his own term (constitutionally the only one he would be allowed), but it was widely accepted that he would run. He chose to nominate Ralph Reed as his own Vice President, a stout and religious fellow (and it didn't hurt that he was from the increasingly pink state of Georgia). He was confirmed over the protests of the Democrats in both House and Senate.
And so the 2020 presidential campaign began...
Welcome all to Out to Pasture, a 2020 election game that demands a new generation of leadership!The current schedule is tentative, but I'm thinking signups will go until February 1, with gameplay starting on the 28th or 29th. The game will have four phases:
1) Early campaign (Jan. 28 - Feb. 10 IRL, Jan. 1 - Nov. 1, 2019 in-game)
Largely a period to set up your campaigns and work to gain traction; there will be two debates for each party (posted Jan. 29 and Feb. 5), and all player candidates will be invited. Schedules will be expected, but do not need to be extensive, as this is a ten month period occurring over the course of two weeks. Announcements are not required, but are encouraged (and may result in an early polling bump).
2) Late pre-primary campaign (Feb. 11 - Mar. 2 IRL, Nov. 1, 2019 - Jan. 31, 2020 in-game)
Each week will be a month-long turn, with a debate in the January turn for all remaining candidates. Schedules expected. Failure to post a schedule at all during this phase (not every turn, just in general) will be considered a dropout.
3) Primaries (Mar. 3 - May 5 IRL, Feb. 1 - Aug. 31, 2020 in-game)
Primaries will be held every few days; this will probably be the most intensive part of the campaign until the run-up to the general election. I actually
do intend to see a clear winner emerge from each party's primaries this time, although a contested convention may still be in the cards if multiple campaigns keep in the running.
4) General Election (May 6 - 22 IRL, Sep. 1 - Election Day in game)
The final battle between the two nominees (and, quite possibly, the players now serving as their vice presidential nominees), and any independents or third party candidates who join, as well. September and October will be weeklong turns, with the 20th, 21st, and 22nd being Nov. 1, 2, and Election Day, respectively.
Candidates may be chosen from the lists provided below or requested by PM if not listed.
(Note: Ridiculous and/or impossible candidates (i.e. FDR, Justin Bieber, or your creepy relative) can and will be rejected.) Real people preferable.
PM me for endorsements, and the first polls will be posted on Feb. 2, once everyone's in.
Endorsement system: credits awarded at 1 per week for every 5% a candidate attains in the polls.
1 credit: "minor" endorsement: US House or state legislator
2 credits: former: Cabinet officials, Senators, Governors
3 credits: sitting Senators and Governors (sitting Cabinet officials will not endorse in the primaries); political organizations (i.e. AFL-CIO, NRA, etc.)
Ads will be limited to one per player per week to prevent overload until there are fewer than 10 candidates.
Candidates
Democrats
Stacey Abrams, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives - VirginiaAaron
Tammy Baldwin, US Senator from Wisconsin - Mycool
Michael Bennet, US Senator from Colorado
Cory Booker, US Senator from New Jersey - adamevans
Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana - meepcheese16
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, IN
Bob Casey, Jr., US Senator from Pennsylvania
Julian Castro, former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from Texas
Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina - dsg_2020
Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York
Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City
John Delaney, former US Representative from MD-06
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago
Tulsi Gabbard, US Representative from HI-02
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Kirsten Gillibrand, US Senator from New York - jakobisgood
Andrew Gillum, former Mayor of Tallahassee, FL
Kamala Harris, US Senator from California - Classic GOPer
Tim Kaine, US Senator from Virginia
Joe Kennedy III, US Representative from MA-04
Amy Klobuchar, US Senator from Minnesota - raymundoflx
Mitch Landrieu, former Mayor of New Orleans
Rachel Maddow, liberal commentator from Massachusetts
Terry McAuliffe, former Governor of Virginia
Jeff Merkley, US Senator from Oregon - Elcaspar
Wayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, FL
Seth Moulton, US Representative from MA-06 - JacksonHitchcock
Chris Murphy, US Senator from Connecticut
Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey
Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States from Illinois
Richard Ojeda, West Virginia State Senator
Martin O'Malley, former Governor of Maryland
Beto O'Rourke, former US Representative from TX-16
Deval Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts
Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island
Tim Ryan, US Representative from OH-13
Joe Sanberg, entrepreneur from California
Joe Scarborough, former US Representative from FL-01
Adam Schiff, US Representative from CA-28
Jon Stewart, comedian and television host from New York - GoTfan
Tom Steyer, hedge fund manager and liberal megadonor from California - KaiserDave
Billie Sutton, former Minority Leader of the South Dakota Senate
Eric Swalwell, US Representative from CA-15
Jon Tester, US Senator from Montana
Andrew Yang, entrepreneur from New York - Robert Sanders
Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneur from California
Others by request
Republicans
Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas
Justin Amash, US Representative from MI-03
Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts
Chris Christie, former Governor of New Jersey
Doug Collins, US Rep. from GA-09
Tom Cotton, US Senator from Arkansas
Ann Coulter, conservative commentator from Florida
Dan Crenshaw, US Representative from TX-02
Ted Cruz, US Senator from Texas
Mark Cuban, entrepreneur from Texas
Rodney Davis, US Representative from IL-13
Doug Ducey, Governor of Arizona
Joni Ernst, US Senator from Iowa
Jeff Flake, former US Senator from Arizona
Allan Fung, Mayor of Cranston, RI
Matt Gaetz, US Representative from FL-01
Greg Gianforte, US Representative from MT-AL
Paul Gosar, US Representative from AZ-04
Lindsey Graham, US Senator from South Carolina
Nikki Haley, outgoing US Ambassador to the United Nations from South Carolina
Larry Hogan, Governor of Maryland
Jon Huntsman, Jr., US Ambassador to Russia from Utah
Will Hurd, US Representative from TX-23
Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist from Texas - loganzombieoftime
Jim Jordan, US Representative from OH-04 - UWS
Kris Kobach, former Secretary of State of Kansas
Mark Meadows, US Representative from NC-11
Lisa Murkowski, US Senator from Alaska
Rand Paul, US Senator from Kentucky - New Tennessean Politician
Mike Pence, President of the United States - RGM2609
Austin Petersen, libertarian activist from Missouri
Rob Portman, US Senator from Ohio - Grassr00ts
Bruce Rauner, former Governor of Illinois
Marco Rubio, US Senator from Florida
Ben Sasse, US Senator from Nebraska
Phil Scott, Governor of Vermont
Tim Scott, US Senator from South Carolina
Ben Shapiro, conservative commentator from California - romanthaddeus007
Rick Snyder, former Governor of Michigan
Elise Stefanik, US Rep. from NY-21
Donald Trump, Jr., businessman from New York
Ivanka Trump, businesswoman from New York - iBizzBee
Scott Walker, former Governor of Wisconsin
Bill Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts
Meg Whitman, businesswoman from California
Todd Young, US Senator from Indiana
Others by request
Independents/Third Parties
Austin Petersen (Libertarian) - x-Guy
That said, don't forget the most important rule: have fun!
Poll
