Senate Seat 5A Election HQ

[Gabu]

Seattle, WA-

As we all know by now, Gustaf has resigned from his presidency.  As there was no vice president at the time that this happened, Sen. John F. Kennedy instead rose to the office.  Gustaf was a good president, and I wish him well, whatever his reasons were.  Likewise, I have no doubts in my mind that Sen. Kennedy will be remembered after his term as a good president.  I wish both of these men the best, and I salute their service.

However, Sen. Kennedy's becoming president has left a noticeable gap in the Senate.  It is for this reason that I have declared my candidacy for this vacancy in the hopes that I may follow in the footsteps of these men who have served Atlasia to the best of their abilities.  We do not have much time before the election is held, but I nevertheless felt compelled to make a speech to District 5's electorate.  I don't feel that it would be fair to them to expect them to vote without knowing who they are voting for.

I have seen some candidates in elections who seem to have the wrong idea about what they're all about.  Elections should not be about us.  They should be about you.  Elections should not be regarded as a chance for us to get what we want.  They should be regarded as a chance for you to get what you want.  Elections should not be a time for us to tell you what's best for you.  Elections should be a time for you to stand up and have a say on what you feel is best for yourself.  The fate of every election is solely in your hands.  It's a time during which you can have a voice and make a difference.

I believe that my actions during the time I've had with you form a good basis to define who I am.  Whenever I speak, I do my best to be informed about what I am talking about, to ensure that none of what I say can be misleading to anyone.  I do my best to consider all points of view in a debate and to address them in a satisfactory manner, and I do my best to act in a nonpartisan nature, acting out of practicality and logic, rather than strict ideology.  Ideology should be a guide and a rule to be broken, not a strict law.  If what I try does not work, I will do my best to look for and try something else, rather than simply doing it again and expecting a different result.

I don't claim to be perfect; indeed, I realize that I am far from it, as is anyone.  There may be times when the above does not apply despite my best attempts to be self-observant and self-critical when necessary.  I recognize this and will not attempt to hide it.  However, I do my best to logically consider any criticism people might have, and, if I indeed have been acting in a different way than I'd like to believe I had been, I will admit it and do my best to improve my actions.  Mistakes are inevitable; their repeated continuation, however, is not.  I will not hesitate to apologize and correct myself if I am wrong.

I recognize the intelligence of the District 5 electorate, and, as such, I will not tell you who to vote for.  I will merely make my own suggestions of what I believe.  Based on the above qualifications, I believe that I am a good candidate for Senate seat 5A.  However, the bottom line rests with you.  This election's outcome rests in your hands, and your hands alone, and I do not for one moment doubt your ability to make informed decisions and to pick the best candidate in this election.

Likewise, I have no intention of maligning my opponent, Lt. Gov. King, nor any other opponent who may enter the race at a later time.  I believe that the voters want someone who they can vote for on account of liking that candidate's platform, not simply because they dislike everyone else.  I believe that the voters want to feel happy with the election's outcome, not resigned to it.  I believe that the voters want someone they can believe in.  I will do my best to become that person.  Lt. Gov. King will do the same.  It is, again, in your hands alone who is successful at doing so.

If elected, I will do my best to listen to my constituents and to represent them effectively in the Senate.  If elected, I will do my best to make informed, practical, nonpartisan decisions and proposals that benefit as many as possible, not just my base.  If elected, I will do my best to make District 5 proud.

I wish Gustaf and now-President John F. Kennedy the best in their new positions and I wish Lt. Gov. King the best in his candidacy.

If anyone has any questions that they would like to ask, I invite and, indeed, encourage those people to do so, as I want to paint as clear a picture as possible of what District 5 will receive in voting for me.

This election is in your hands.

Good night, God bless you, and God bless Atlasia!

[Gabu]

If anyone would like a general overview of where I stand, simply consult the Democratic platform, as I realized that attempts to write an explanation would be basically saying what has already been said.  I joined the party because I found pretty much nothing I disagreed with.

However, I don't mean to imply that your quest for knowledge will be sufficiently satisfied by pointing you to something someone already wrote.  If there is any issue that someone feels strongly about and is concerned about, feel very free to ask and I will give you a detailed description of exactly where I stand on that issue.  I simply feel that it would get enormous to list where I stand on every single issue I could think of and I don't want to force people to read through pages of material just to find the paragraph that they're interested in.  I want to give people personal representation and attention, not form letters.

[Akno21]

Gabu, where do you stand when it comes to the War on Trolls? Do you think NixonNow should be banned?

[minionofmidas]

I endorse Gabu.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The AFDNC Platform is silent on the issues of Federalism and Regional Rights.  What is your view on these issues Gabu?

[Patunia]

The AFDNC Platform is silent on the issues of Federalism and Regional Rights.  What is your view on these issues Gabu?

I like that question

But I will stay out of this debate since I have no vote here. Let those who are represented in this district sling the mud

[Gabu]

Gabu, where do you stand when it comes to the War on Trolls? Do you think NixonNow should be banned?

I'm in favor of giving people plenty of leniency, as trolls aren't evil or anything, but if someone repeatedly posts nothing but comments obviously intended for annoyance, the incitement of anger, or to otherwise be a nuisance, I do think banning is appropriate.  If someone contributes absolutely nothing to anything and has ignored repeated warnings and pleadings for it to cease, I feel that there is no reason for that person to continue to have a presence at the forum.  I don't believe that it is an abridgement of freedom of speech to remove an incorrigible troll, since his presence degrades everyone else's experience; it would rather be a freeing of the other legitimate posters from having to endure a pointless annoyance.

As for NixonNow in particular, he's very borderline.  While I did express a desire to see him go in a recent post to another topic, I don't think he posts quite enough inflammatory posts per week yet to warrant banning.  It would not be very hard for him to convince me otherwise if he continues along the track he's on, however.

The AFDNC Platform is silent on the issues of Federalism and Regional Rights.  What is your view on these issues Gabu?

I personally think that there are not that many things that need to be addressed at the federal level.  I believe that certain fundamental things such as basic human rights that should be rendered inalienable of speech, freedom, religion, etc. should be handled at a federal level, since they should not be subject to legislation.  Other things that affect the nation as a whole should also be handled at the federal level.  For instance, I believe that it is in the nation's best interest to have standardized, national procedures in place for the presidential election, since the process would flow much smoother that way if there were no issues with compiling data from different voting procedures across the country and every citizen would know exactly what to expect no matter what.

However, everything else should be left out of federal affairs and left up to the regions.  Basically, my view on it is one of selective exclusivity: we should start with everything being left up to the regions and figure out from that what should instead be given to the federal government to handle.  There's no reason to force national standards on things that do not affect the nation as a whole.

I appreciate your questions and I hope I answered them to your satisfaction.

[Gabu]

I endorse Gabu.

Thank you.  I won't let you down.

[Gabu]

In case anyone has not seen this thread yet who would have liked to, I'm bumping it once.  My final election speech is here.