Cao/RC October 2022: Recharging Atlasia (VICTORY; THANK YOU ALL!)

[Joseph Cao]

Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

My fellow Atlasians, my dear friends and colleagues and everyone watching, good evening. Glad you made it.

If you are reading this, you know and I know you know perfectly well that the game is at a crossroads, we must rise to face the occasion, et cetera. You may read this as referring to any one of several policy fronts as others have, and it would fit. I’ll get back to those in a moment. But I think you also know perfectly well that I’m referring to the game at large and how AFE, and to a lesser extent AFG, has suffered in recent times. Instead of asking what you think should be done about it, I will remind you that we’re all playing the same game here. You have plenty of power to change things, too. What do you intend to do about it?

And I’ll tell you what I have been doing about it. I am dedicated to empowering all aspects of the game, not just the one that happens to meet in the Capitol Building – we have regions to work with, a Game Engine to engage with, other players to interact with and butt heads against. Everyone needs a battery, of sorts. To that end this administration has provided a greater focus on legislation that helps the regions and works with them. We’ve kicked the Game Engine back into gear. On the topic of of the legislative branch we’ve also given Congress and the courts a bigger sandbox to play in, and put up a budget that completely erases the deficit. And there’s more on the way! I’m looking into a couple of environmental measures that will further engage the regions. I’m working on a bill revisiting the EITC and expanding the assistance it provides for low-income families. I’m hopeful for the progress that we’re making in the Senate reorienting the CUBI toward the not-rich.

It is not simply Nyman that needs a recharge, what with all the zombies shambling around the Capitol. It is every part of the game, every institution and every region and every prospective media outlet or discussion thread or quote pyramid argument. In the past three months we have begun the recharging of every conceivable part of the game under the administration’s control. That process is not complete, but it will never be complete without a general player involvement that comes from wanting to improve the game for everyone. It will not come from a return to unified Labor government #56 with its fallback into a well-worn and well-debated track, or to the mindset of “it’s just a game provided you agree with me” which has provided the justification for multiple efforts at centralization and pushing everyone else out of the sandbox. Add a little bit of boredom to either of those and you get April.

So you can perhaps understand my reluctance not to turn the clock back! I’ve been described many ways. A Michigan man has informed us on many occasions that I am a fake conservative. My esteemed Labor friends think that any rightward leaning in my administration is too much. Carry on! I’m not particularly attached to whatever people might choose to call me. If I may take a leftward or rightward step, or whichever ideological direction you want to ascribe to this or that action, I still want ultimately to move forward. That’s what the batteries are designed for.

And if you’d like to help recharge and revitalize those parts of the game that necessarily involve ordinary Atlasians coming in and stirring things up, join us! Or not. But come on in either way and get posting, the water’s fine.

[Joseph Cao]

Thanks for all the words of support, everyone!

[Joseph Cao]

Voting is ongoing so be sure to vote if you haven't yet! We're about halfway through, there's still time left.

I'm hearing the voter drive initiatives in a few places across Lincoln have been going like a finely tuned machine. Let's see whether the rest of the nation can match the pace they've got going…

[Joseph Cao]

Payphone by empty field just outside Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

Well, wow.

Senator DC gave me a call a few minutes ago, and it was very nice and we talked for a bit about the next term. I have every confidence he’ll keep up his long record of fighting for Atlasia and the game. We’ll see how the coming months turn out. Very excited!

I like to wait for the certifications before giving the speechifying (and I need an early night) but stay tuned, we’ll be back.

[Joseph Cao]

Bloomington–Normal, Illinois

Well, the election’s certified and Battista has told me about the absolutely awful fractionals in the calculations. And it feels a little bit more concrete now.

That is thanks above all to the wonderful, wonderful people of multiple parties who oversaw this campaign’s GOTV and put their backs into making sure our citizens came out to vote this weekend, to the voters who responded and came out, to everyone who tuned in this weekend and exercised your right to make this country a better one. I said before that we couldn’t have done it without you and I will say it again. You rock.

It’s getting hard to think back to the last presidential reelection we saw. As it happens that was my very first presidential election after joining the game, and I want to echo what Pericles said back then about wanting an Atlasia that works for everyone – that’s what recharging this game is all about, what the Federalist Party has worked toward with A More Welcoming Atlasia with support from many others in the past. It’s what I want us to strive toward as much as possible and it needs your help and your participation more than it needs anything else, I cannot stress this enough; the country did its best to oblige back then, especially to the call for people with the courage to run strong campaigns or to run, period. I believe we can oblige again with activity in whatever shape or form. If anyone wants to give a swift kick where it hurts most to the narrative of a dying game, that’s your chance.

Most of this is out of my hands with you the people but there is plenty I can still do. I will, for one, do my utmost best to listen to you and work with you all and with the Senate on good positive reforms that benefit Atlasia and Atlasians; you’re the ones who sent me back to the big chair after all. So I want everyone to know we are going to do this together as we’ve done before, in my years of service to you folks in every capacity. We’ll face the challenges together, we’ll celebrate the good times together, and we’ll recharge Atlasia together, bit by bit, player by player, every one of us. That won’t stop while I’m here serving you.

Thank you all for listening, and I really cannot stress enough how much of an honor this is. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Dave bless you all and Dave bless this great nation of ours.