Post Archive

Region: Federation of Conservative Nations

History

Gladesville wrote:How come it's on the list then, but not the RPP or San Carlos' Republican Party?

Because the list is outdated.

cough Gagium cough

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra

Holy Rhinish Islands wrote:He bought stamps.

If you have communications perms, it doesn’t use stamps.

Gagium wrote:If you have communications perms, it doesn’t use stamps.

He made the claim that he purchased stamps (see above, $15 dollars on NS)

I was going to bring it to the Court for that reason, but then I saw that claim.

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra

Holy Rhinish Islands wrote:Because the list is outdated.

cough Gagium cough

Gagium wrote:If you have communications perms, it doesn’t use stamps.

Great, now everyone's favorite founder of the FCN is intervening.

Viridus, Gagium

Holy Rhinish Islands wrote:He made the claim that he purchased stamps (see above, $15 dollars on NS)

I was going to bring it to the Court for that reason, but then I saw that claim.

He wasted his money - Regional telegrams totally don’t cost money if you have communications perms...Oof.

Viridus, New Inglaterra

Gagium wrote:Mietkael it was wholly unnecessary for you to use your regional telegram abilities as Vice President to advertise for Ulrech

Does that constitute abuse of powers?

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra

Post self-deleted by Gladesville.

Gladesville wrote:Great, now everyone's favorite founder of the FCN is intervening.

A.) Gagium made the party dispatch, so he updates it as Sec Int.

B.) Gagium can also call out whoever he wants as he is a Resident of the FCN and has the Article I Section II right to speak out against the government.

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra

Laurel wrote:Does that constitute abuse of powers?

Debatable.

Gladesville wrote:I'm nationalist, you're leading the nationalist party, but I'll still vote for my party.

He... leads... the... Conservatives?

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra

Okay, I'm just gonna hope that's all true.

Gagium

Gladesville wrote:Would the RPP count as a Tutti Frutti flavored party?

This is the latest update. That should get you recognised.

Proposed: CA-10-57, the Freedom of Political Association Act

Any nation residing in the FCN can form a political party. Nations seeking to form new parties are required to file notice with the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their intention to form a new political party. Parties with 8+ members will be considered as a Major party, 7 or less members will be considered as Minor. Parties shall be considered disbanded when they have no members remaining, or when the party officially renders notice to the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their disbandment.

New Waldensia, Gagium, New Inglaterra

West Phoenicia wrote:This is the latest update. That should get you recognised.

Proposed: CA-10-57, the Freedom of Political Association Act

Whereas freedom of association should be recognized by the Constitution,

Noting that freedom of association as it relates to political parties is currently restricted,

HEREBY strikes Article III, Section VII and replaces it with the following underlined language:

Article III, Section VII. Any senator or non-senator can form a political party. Nations seeking to form new parties are required to gain approval from the Senate to have their party officially recognized. Parties with 8+ members will be considered as a Major party, 7 or less members will be considered as Minor. Parties with one member will be considered independent and unrecognized. The Senate must approve a new party with a simple majority vote and the Senate has the power to disband any political party with a two thirds vote. Any nation residing in the FCN can form a political party. Nations seeking to form new parties are required to file notice with the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their intention to form a new political party. Parties with 8+ members will be considered as a Major party, 7 or less members will be considered as Minor. Parties shall be considered disbanded when they have no members remaining, or when the party officially renders notice to the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their disbandment.

FTFY

Edit: Oh look Ninja edit.

New Waldensia, Gagium

West Phoenicia wrote:This is the latest update. That should get you recognised.

Proposed: CA-10-57, the Freedom of Political Association Act

Any nation residing in the FCN can form a political party. Nations seeking to form new parties are required to file notice with the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their intention to form a new political party. Parties with 8+ members will be considered as a Major party, 7 or less members will be considered as Minor. Parties shall be considered disbanded when they have no members remaining, or when the party officially renders notice to the Secretary of Internal Affairs of their disbandment.

When will that election happen to decide the fate of the RPP?

Gagium

Gladesville wrote:When will that election happen to decide the fate of the RPP?

It has already passed, if you are talking about CA-10-57.

You are too late on registration for this next election, but you can Telegram and/or Private message Gagium to become a recognized party.

Viridus, Gagium

Gagium wrote:He wasted his money - Regional telegrams totally don’t cost money if you have communications perms...Oof.

You can send a TG to a region either stamps, though... are you sure?

Viridus, Gagium

Holy Rhinish Islands wrote:It has already passed, if you are talking about CA-10-57.

You are too late on registration for this next election, but you can Telegram and/or Private message Gagium to become a recognized party.

It's not too late, the elections aren't for another 2 days

Gagium

Holy Rhinish Islands wrote:It has already passed, if you are talking about CA-10-57.

You are too late on registration for this next election, but you can Telegram and/or Private message Gagium to become a recognized party.

Oh, I saw that you crossed out that part with the legitness election.

Gagium

West Phoenicia wrote:Voting CP, It's like going to 101 flavour ice cream shop every day and ordering vanilla.

Oh great, now I have to vote for Ulrech

Ulrech, Gagium, Fluvannia

Viridus wrote:Oh great, now I have to vote for Ulrech

Aren't you gonna lick your own ice cream flavour?

Just gonna lick the same one everyone grumbles about, as it's average and doesn't get the job done?

New Waldensia, Gagium, Holy Rhinish Islands

West Phoenicia wrote:Aren't you gonna lick your own ice cream flavour?

No, I’m not partisan

Gagium, Fluvannia, Holy Rhinish Islands

I just arrived here, are there parties here? How do they work? (I translate this message, may contain errors)

Viridus, Gagium

North Azarath wrote:I just arrived here, are there parties here? How do they work? (I translate this message, may contain errors)

Yes. IDK how they work here though. Also, you did good on your English, nice job.

Viridus, Gagium

Gladesville wrote:Yes. IDK how they work here though. Also, you did good on your English, nice job.

Eu utilizei o google tradutor kkkkk

Viridus, Gagium, Holy Rhinish Islands

Vote for me!

Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power

North Azarath wrote:Eu utilizei o google tradutor kkkkk

Oh, still, good job. You're putting in effort to learn English, which should never be shamed, gives PewDiePie the death stare.

Viridus, Gagium

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:Vote for me!

oR dIe

Viridus, Gagium, The Legion Of Mankind, Dragons Of Power

[quote=gladesville;37354749]Oh, still, good job. You're putting in effort to learn English, which should never be shamed, gives PewDiePie the death stare.[/quote

Thanks

Gagium, Gladesville

Post by Furbish Islands suppressed by a moderator.

Gagium wrote:What you’re doing is using your government position (That plenty of other people don’t have and thus can’t advertise with) to advance Ulrech and the CP ahead of your government position’s duties, if I’m not mistaken..I don’t think I can recall another time you’ve seen the need to telegram anyone as VP
The case can be made that any time I bring up the fact I serve as the current Senate Speaker I’m using something no one else has the other candidates don’t have...each of us come from different standpoints with varying levels of experience...the playing field wasn’t necessarily even to begin with

Viridus, Gagium, Fluvannia

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:Vote for me!

If the FCN and MDA went to war against eachother, who would you side with.

A man/woman cannot serve 2 masters

Ulrech, New Waldensia, Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, Mietkael

West Phoenicia wrote:If the FCN and MDA went to war against eachother, who would you side with.

A man/woman cannot serve 2 masters

FCN

New Waldensia, Viridus, Gagium, West Phoenicia, Dragons Of Power, Greater Bastion, Holy Rhinish Islands, Emerisis, The Cot Corporation

Post by Death Of People suppressed by a moderator.

Ulrech wrote:The case can be made that any time I bring up the fact I serve as the current Senate Speaker I’m using something no one else has the other candidates don’t have...each of us come from different standpoints with varying levels of experience...the playing field wasn’t necessarily even to begin with

Bringing up that you are Senate Speaker, is different to what was done. I dont think that was the point being made. That is your role and no one is saying people cant mention their roles. Work experience is a must so people know you.

A better example would be if a Senate Speaker pushes his party Legislation ahead of others in the Senate Chamber to vote while posting other legislation when they felt like it. That would be inappropriately using the position.

But the factor thst should be focused on, did he used purse monies without asking his wife first.

Ulrech, Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion

> issue about tearing a historical statue down

> side with people who want to keep their statue up

> civil rights rating goes down

I know this game has a leftist bias but come on

Viridus, Dragons Of Power, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion, Emerisis, The Cot Corporation

Death Of People wrote:Snip

Suppressed under the Anti-Regional Advertising Act . . .

Viridus, Dragons Of Power

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:FCN

0.0

Viridus, The Legion Of Mankind, Emerisis

Dragons Of Power wrote:0.0

Mwhahah

Viridus, Dragons Of Power, Emerisis

Post by Furbish Islands suppressed by a moderator.

I’m gonna do a pro gamer move and quote the above message without spoilers

New Waldensia, Viridus, Gagium, The Legion Of Mankind, Dragons Of Power, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion, Emerisis, The Cot Corporation

Furbish Islands wrote:Once again, thank you all for attending the debate last night. As promised, I will put it on the RMB for all to read, behind this spoiler because it's pretty long.

[spoiler]

Furbish Islands:

Good evening, residents of the FCN, and foreigners, I hope you had a good Saturday, and thank you all for tuning in to the January 2020 FCN Presidential Debate. I am President Furbish Islands, and I will be the host of the debate. This election has an unprecedented five candidates, Ulrech, Gagium, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, Holy Rhinish Islands, and New Waldensia, the most of any election in FCN history.

Here in this channel, the debate will be taking place. I will be asking questions, directed at specific candidates. The candidate must answer, and the other four can then respond to that answer to start up some debate. I have some of my own questions, and I will be taking some from the audience. The audience will be discussing the debate in #presidential-commenting. After it finishes on discord, I will release the transcript of this debate to the RMB the next morning.

Here are the results to the pre-debate poll, which was up for a few hours before the debate started:

Ulrech - 6

New Waldensia - 4

Holy Rhinish Islands - 3

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire - 2

Gagium - 1

Will these results hold up in the post-debate poll and the election? Only time will tell.

The five candidates may begin writing their opening statements.

Ulrech:

Greetings members of the FCN...I thank you for the opportunity to debate and discuss matters of the region with my fellow candidates...I ask each and every one of you to listen to what each candidate has to say before deciding on who to vote for...because although I believe I am the best choice we all have to glory of the Federation in mind... and once again thank you for the opportunity

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Ok, hello there. I am the legion as you can tell. I don’t expect to win but this is extremely fun nevertheless. I wish luck to the rest of my opponents and god bless the FCN. If you don’t vote for me you will be destroyed by me personally. You are a bold one and you will die braver than most if you do not comply. You are as clumsy as you are stupid if you don’t do as I am asking. Thank you for letting a foreigner become the soon to be dictator of the FCN.

New Waldensia:

Greetings, FCN. I am honored to present my qualifications and goals to you this evening in my campaign to serve as President. I am also honored to share the stage with such a stellar and full stage of candidates. Any of these individuals will make fine presidents, and the FCN can rest assured that they will continue to be in good hands following this election.

If I am so fortunate as to earn your vote, I hope to bring my experience to best in leading the FCN to even greater heights over the next term.

Thank you for your attention and consideration during this election. FCN forever!

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Hello all! I am the ex-Vice President, current Senator, Holy Rhinish Islands! I have a long story to tell, but I cannot tell all of it in the current time we have. I am very sorry for such a late night debate, but we must do what we must do. I have been an on and off member of the FCN since before the FCN was even thought of, back around January or February of the year 2017. There I had climbed up the ranks and, then, once the CCN moved to the CCN2, became a very important character, right next to Topeka and New Waldensia, in the founding of the region. I served a little while as the Secretary of Roleplay, which is now the Secretary of Internal Affairs, the position Mr. Secretary now holds. I had left the region prior to Topeka’s “tyranny”, and had came back and left again in September of 2017. Between 2017 and 2018 I was awarded a spot in the Hall of Fame by the name St. Rhiney the Vindicated, making me technically the only Religious figure in the FCN, which is funny considering my religious views. Thank you to the current Mr. Delegate for that one. Anyhow, I came back and left again in 2018, and was then transferred to the Hall of Shame. Sorry for the delay in this message. In July of 2019 I came back to the region, got temporarily switched back from the HoS to the HoF and am now in neither category. I have passed several successful pieces of important legislature, such as that of making 9/11 an FCN Holiday, setting a limit on how long a President can ignore a bill before it becomes signed into law, allowing the Senate to pass it’s own laws, and the failed-passed, legally failed, but if current laws were in affect passed, Impeachment of President Furbish. I have also re-proposed the Freedom of Political Association Act, which failed due to abstentions the first time it was proposed by Mr. Delegate, but had passed the Second time when proposed by myself, due to other laws fixing the abstention countings. I am a member of the National Populist Party, the NPP, lead by Former Senate Pro-Tempore New Inglaterra, who also happens to be running for Senate Speaker. My Running Mate is Mr. Senator Greater Bastion, who is an independent candidate in no way affiliated with the National Populists. Mr. Bastion is an accomplished individual that I think can really do the job of Vice President very well, considering it has little to no duties. Just kidding on that last bit, he can do really well. As did most of this cabinet for the last 3 months, under President Furbish. Under me you can expect much Government Transparency, Stamping out Corruption, more Raids, more Activity from the Government, and Getting Things Done! Mr. Furbish accomplished 0/6 of his campaign promises, let’s turn this Region back on a good note, eh!

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

(Holy hell)

Gagium:

Hey everyone, I’m glad to see you all turn out for this debate..To the audience and the other presidential hopefuls. I have full confidence that everyone standing here today loves our region and would make a great president, though I believe that I can do better and lead the region to a new era of unprecedented greatness, which is why I am running. I am running to put the region first and revive all aspects of our cabinet and region.

Watch this debate carefully, and vote for who you want to, not who your party leader or anyone else tells you to vote for..Unless it’s me telling you to vote for me, then vote for me! Kidding, but..Do consider voting Gagium 2020!

And remember - There’s always a bigger fish

Furbish Islands:

Thank you to all. Now the first question I have, for all of you, have you decided who to put on your cabinet and Supreme Court if you win the election?

And a follow-up, Holy Rhinish Islands, in his dispatch, mentioned appointing a Secretary of War, and as you know my administration has had no one to fill the position, after Legion resigned, and no one else was interested for the position(who I believed was qualified for a cabinet position). How do you plan on solving this, and other vacancies if no one who is qualified is interested?

Also, as with all questions, I encourage some debate between all candidates.

Gagium:

No. I have not.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I have not done my cabinet, but I have not decided my VP

Gagium:

I will not until the election is over (If I win, of course) to ensure a fair cabinet with no vote buying for positions or the like

Ulrech:

I have thought about who I’m going to appoint to said positions however I don’t intend to release them unless I’m elected

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Mr. President, I have not decided, but have thought and will not release the positions until after election occurs, if at all.

Gagium:

Ulrech, have you told your potential appointees your thoughts?

Ulrech:

I have not

Nor do I intend to

If I win this election it will be on my merit alone

Gagium:

Good to hear

Ulrech:

Not any corrupt backroom deals

I hope I can say the same for all of the other candidates

Gagium:

I am glad that the CP seems to not be doing that this time around unlike last election

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Ok, Dragons Of Power is in fact my VP

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Vice Presidential choosing has been a culture for prior to elections, as one can see by the Elections Archive.

Mr. Legion, that shouldn't be an issue that you've chosen a VP already

Furbish Islands:

Interesting. What about my follow-up question to that?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I plan on searching around and looking for anyone who would like to be the SecWar I have had raiding experience and (like a week of SecWar of doing nothing). I believe someone would like to lead raids and such

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Well your first mistake was not appointing a person to the position. For example, I've been notified of a person requesting the position and you taking it as a meme. The goal is to have the cabinet filled with the most qualified members. If that includes shuffling around members, firing one when a better one comes up, then so be it. As long as the position is filled.

Now the other vacancies are now the issue of Mr. Secretary of Internal Affairs, the Chief of Intelligence and the Deputy Secretary of Internal Affairs, along with the Deputy Secretary of War. At that point it is past the issue of the Presidency and now lies in the hands of the Secretary.

Gagium

Furbish Islands If there is no interest in the Department of War, there doesn’t need to be a department of war

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

That is true

Gagium

If there is interest, even by one person, in the department of war, there will be a secretary of war

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'm sorry, my words weren't clear, the Secretary of Internal Affairs needs to appoint a Chief of Intelligence and Deputy Secretary. The vacant Secretary of War needs to appoint a Deputy for his office.

New Waldensia:

Furbish Islands re: Justices, I hope to reappoint the current batch as I feel they have done a tremendous and professional job. That would be my preference. If any are unable or unwilling to, I would seek individuals who maintain the same level of commitment to justice and following the Constitution.

Ulrech:

My apologies

Holy Rhinish Islands:

New Waldensia I wouldn't have said that if I were you, a Citizen that is quick to jump to conclusions could charge you with Bribery if a Justice were to vote for you.

Ulrech:

We constantly have new individuals coming into the FCN as we are a growing region...I positively one of them will fulfill my requirements for Sec of War

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Now I'm not going to make that conclusion, Mr. Delegate, but that was the main reason we didn't release any Cabinet positions yet.

I haven't even talked to my Party Leader or my Vice President about Cabinet Positions.

Furbish Islands

While on the topic of secretary of war, something multiple people have said in the campaigns is creating a strong FCN defense force and raiding again. This is a question I have marked down for New Waldensia, but all the candidates may answer.

A problem with raiding is a lack of interest, which is understandable, considering that raiding requires often being awake at late hours and losing all world assembly endorsements. How do you plan on fixing this lack of interest?

Ulrech:

^^^^^

Gagium:

Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. I’m not one to tell anyone whether they should like raiding and defense or not. If nobody is interested in raiding or defense (After an effort is made to at least promote the AoF), then we simply won’t be doing that. However, I do feel like the Army of Freedom May be useful or cool as an organization asides from NS raiding and defensive gameplay.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Tbh I can’t make people stay up for raiding. This can make people even more annoyed with raiding. Either we coordinate time zones. Like create a channel which everyone that has the war dogs role will mark their time zone. Or... we stick with EST time zones and try to hit in the day and have a special team ready for deployment at any time at night, and if nobody is interested in raiding then that won’t be a main priority for me

I do agree with Gagium

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Mr. President, I do believe giving people an incentive to raid would be best. We have around 104 WA nations in the region - if we could get all of them to raid, then we'd be one of the largest raiding forces on NationStates. Like Mr. Secretary said, if there still is no interest, then we could always shut down raiding. That would be a sad ending to the AoF however.

Ulrech:

Like I've mentioned...I intend on creating a defense force which will require much less upkeep and probably much less effort...attack other regions and becoming the aggressor too often can open up a can of worms none of us want to deal with...I've seen it happen before and I'd hate to see it happen here

Gagium:

What incentive, Holy Rhinish Islands?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium the Medals do not seem to work, however, giving the Generals a place in the Hall of Fame, or some other Presidential Award, could in theory work

Gagium:

The Generals? Not everyone is a general and will be

How is that an incentive for everyone else?

Ulrech:

I 1000% disagree here

A place in the hall of fame for the generals

absolutely not

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium there is a possibility for Privates to become Generals by participating in raids, I do believe.

Ulrech:

Although they do need to be awarded a place in the hall of fame is too too much

Gagium:

A possibility? Hmmph

There’s also a possibility of you winning the election

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Ulrech of course, a separate Hall could do.

Gagium:

Now, what sort of possibility? Nobody is going to be motivated to become so dedicated to the AoF that they gain a special hall of fame trophy and a general rank, and just for that

And that would require leaders. Leaders to guide these people to become hardened AoF raiders and defenders. Now, tell me, what do you know about leadership?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands I think the only reason someone would raid is for a medal tbh.

That doesn’t seem like a good idea. I mean.... who knows if right when they get the medal they’ll end raiding altogether

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium lemme see, I have helped found the CCN2, have been Secretary of Roleplay for around a month or two, have been Chief Justice of the FCN Court at a time, and have been Vice President of the FCN.

Ulrech:

I think he's hinting at military experience

Gagium:

You..”helped found the CCN2”? You were “Secretary of Roleplay”? Someone made you “Vice President” because they had no other choices?

Ulrech Not necessarily, I’m just talking about leadership in general.

Ulrech:

Fair

Gagium:

Not necessarily related to NS or NS experience, as Holy Rhinish Islands seems to think.

Titles don’t make you a leader, no

Experience doesn’t even make you a leader by any means

I’ll stop at there so Furby can get to the next question

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

In my time, experience outranks everything

-Captain Rex

Furbish Islands:

Nice transition to the next topic, experience. The candidates have some varying levels of experience, in and outside the FCN.

Gagium and New Waldensia have both been longtime members of the FCN since the days of CCN1, holding numerous positions in government in the past, including President.

Ulrech, while also experienced, joined the FCN relatively recently compared to the rest. Most of his experience, according to his dispatch, is from Redlandia and the GC.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire has founded and lead the Monarchist Democratic Alliance, currently an FCN protectorate, and is now an FCN citizen and Senator.

Finally, there is Holy Rhinish Islands, who is the youngest of all the candidates. And while he was around nearly as long as Gagium and New Waldensia, he has had a controversial past, and held little positions in government compared to the rest.

Do any of you wish to comment on your experience, including things I left out?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I’ve raided plenty in the past. I think I am a sergeant or major?

I don’t remember

Ulrech:

I think I bring an interesting perspective to the table as I have substantial experience elsewhere so I have a different outlook on things...as you said yourself I'm by no means a rookie at NS

Gagium:

I don’t intend on running based off of experience or fancy titles that I’ve garnered over the years, though if the people are concerned about my experience please let me know

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Well you are missing the fact that I have just about as much experience in the little times I've stayed in the region for lengthy times. For example, I was Secretary of Roleplay until I had left the CCN2, was Chief Justice until I left that as well in the FCN, and have served as Vice President and Senate Clerk more recently.

I'm not going to use my age as an excuse for being less experienced or less mature, in fact maturity by no means is related to age. Correlation is not necessarily Causation.

Gagium:

Former President SecWar Current SecInt and Longtime FCN Patriot :fcn:

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

And to be fair, if I recall I think Gagium or Furbish Islands said I’m the most patriotic foreigner they’ve ever seen

Ulrech:

The only reason I mention most of my experience is because most of it involves leading regional military forces as the AoF and our military operations seem to have come to the forefront

New Waldensia:

Backing up a bit, regarding our War Department. This will be a priority for me. In the past we held some competitions with other regions to boost military involvement -- I would probably try to do that again. In the event of a SecWar who was inactive, as Commander-in-Chief I would take that responsibility upon myself to lead until I was able to find someone able to fulfill the duties of the post.

Regarding experience, I have held most of the possible posts in this government, at one time or another, and so I am well aware of the duties and responsibilities of each Cabinet position. Having such a background, I can assist the Secretaries if needed in achieving goals and hiring staff, helping to direct the administration as it seeks to grow the region.

Furbish Islands:

Next topic, foreign affairs. Many of you stated your wishes for improving relations with other conservative regions. What do you hope to accomplish in that realm?

And while on the topic, the LCN, which has been a controversial issue since last June. New Waldensia, for example, has been a strong opponent of the embassy closure, while Gagium was a strong proponent. To both if you, why do you hold such strong views towards the LCN? And what do you plan on doing with them in your term?

New Waldensia:

Our relationship with the LCN is unfinished business. I would like to see that chapter closed, and a new page turned. So, specifically, I would seek to restore the embassy and begin a start with a clean slate with the region in particular.

Gagium:

I want to reach out to our current embassy regions and open up communications - Send a diplomat or our Head Diplomat to their servers and have them send a diplomat to us if possible, and maybe even show up on some of our embassy regions discord servers and RMBs myself. Through initial cooperation and communication com friendship

Holy Rhinish Islands:

WA voting bloc with other Conservative Nations seems the best idea here. If we can rally up enough Conservative Regions, such as the LCN and/or MDA, to vote along with each other against Liberal proposals, then we could increase the Conservativeness of the World Assembly.

New Waldensia:

I would also seek to assist RTL in restoring activity again, and carry out our treaty that calls for periodic State visits.

Gagium:

New Waldensia Why did you begin with the LCN? It seemed as if you began typing that before he mentioned it - When he spoke of foreign policy, why did you instantly jump to the LCN?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

And I'd like to point out around 70% of people who voted in my most latest poll believe in a WA voting bloc, and on another topic 70% agree to rebuild relations with the LCN

Ulrech:

Like Gagium mentioned, I'm going to refrain from telling you my titles and why I should be the one to do so....instead I'll say this... looking at each conservative region and what they are interested in is a good way to build relations... taking CCD for example they seem to have a focus on roleplay so reaching out to them to talk about the possibility of setting up a roleplay is a great method to build relationships...but as the FCN is pretty large simply putting our names out there is an excellent way of finding and building relationships with other conservative regions

Also THE LCN ISNT THE ONLY CONSERVATIVE REGION

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I hope to expand our relations with other regions who aren’t just conservative case that is to be fair.... boring. I would like more people to see the FCN as a home to not just conservatives but to many ideologies on the terms of democracy and such.

As with the LCN. They are not bad people. In the name of the MDA I am active in their server. We should stay in contact with them. As for the WA I would like to see it balanced (even if that is possible). I want some conservatives and some liberal views. Most of the WA is sadly infested with left wing ideologies... too many to say. Since the FCN is already pretty big I say let’s get out there and make pals with other regions!

New Waldensia:

Gagium because I'm so intelligent I knew if would become the primary focus of this topic. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: As I said, it's the biggest "unfinished business" of foreign relations at this point in time. I'd like to see it resolved and push on with new endeavors. While I don't see us cooperating with the LCN in the manner we did against Farkasfalka, I don't want the one region we have outlawed relations with to be one that has Conservative tags and Conservative in the name, as well as one that, for better or worse, has members with FCN ties in it.

Gagium:

New Waldensia I would like to disagree. There is nothing unfinished with the LCN. It seems as if you’re seeking to ride off of the (now kind of distant past) in foreign affairs and that’s why you’re looking at the LCN, but I would like to disagree with that means. I would like to evaluate them like any other conservative region that’s out there under my presidency, nothing of the past factoring in. They’re not unique.

New Waldensia:

Furthermore, on foreign relations, I would try to make sure we don't lose a step on our Delegate's endorsement level. Currently, we have the most Delegate endorsements of any Conservative-focused region, and thus hold a position of some prominence.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

The LCN have said before that they are not a conservative region fully.

Gagium:

If I were president, that wouldn’t exactly matter..I’d look for regions that would be friendly to us and that an alliance would be mutually beneficiary for both involved parties

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

^^

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'd like to request to move on from this topic, seeing as it is nearing the end of debate time with few questions answered.

Ulrech:

Regions we align ourselves with must be carefully vetted as at the end of the day I have the glory of the Federation as my primary goal

New Waldensia:

As I mentioned, there is currently only one region in the entirety of NationStates that we have officially cut ties with, and it is the LCN. Not TCB, not Farkasfalka, not The Leftist Assembly -- it's the LCN.

To me, that is something that should be corrected.

Gagium:

New Waldensia Thats not a good thing

Ulrech:

establishing relations with the wrong regions would open up a massive can of worms

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

True, it can lead us into conflicts or drama

Gagium:

Now, New Waldensia, apart from the LCN, what is your foreign policy?

Do you have a foreign policy in general?

From your tenure as Head Diplomat, no offense, I saw no relations strengthened.

I saw no new strong allies or friends.

Why would anything change once you garnered an office that’s not specifically oriented towards foreign policy, as your current office is?

New Waldensia:

For one, in my current position I am not necessarily able or supposed to forge my own way in policy

Ulrech:

Sadly I'll have to agree with Gagium here... you have managed to increase the number of endorsements however other than that I've seen no growth in relations

New Waldensia:

I am subordinate to the President

Gagium:

You are your own person and you run your own office, not the President.

Ulrech:

Reaching out to other regions isn't new policy

New Waldensia:

As President, I have more leeway in setting a tone for the measures that would be sought by the FCN government

Gagium:

If I were in your position, I would go for anything that would benefit us and garner more allies and friends unless the President specifically said not to.

Did Furbish Islands tell you not to do your job?

Ulrech:

Sending a telegram to an ambassador from a different region isn't necessarily something that requires presidential approval

New Waldensia:

That said, there certainly are some things that I wish I had been able to accomplish. I would like to see us continue to press into the legislative arena, as I did earlier this term.

In the past, we had FCNers actively involved in writing legislation (Dobrobyt comes to mind)

Ulrech:

Gagium sounds like you'd make a great WA delegate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium I'd like to note the Constitutional Clause that states that the Delegate must follow the majority of the Senate as a matter of Formality.

If the Senate doesn't vote, how can he act on it?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands if you can pass legislation easily why don’t you change it to your likeness?

New Waldensia:

Holy Rhinish Islands is correct - the Delegate is not an independent office apart from the rest of the government

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands Can you rephrase?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium sure:

The WA Delegate is expected to follow the will of the majority and the Senate on any resolution or matter of foreign affairs, as a matter of formality.

Gagium:

The WA delegate follows his own mind if the senate isn’t telling him to do his job.

Ulrech:

I delegate can act on his own volition but for major actions of course he needs Senate approval

Gagium:

Which the senate shouldn’t have to tell him to do his job

New Waldensia:

There may be some discretion, but the Delegate is bound by restrcitions laid upon him

In foreign affairs, I was legally restricted from carrying out the duties of a diplomat in reference to a particular region, for example

Ulrech:

I personally haven't seen anything brought to the Senate in regards to this issue

New Waldensia:

Those are handcuffs on the Head Diplomat

Gagium:

How many regions are there? How many embassies do we have?

New Waldensia:

We have... 130+ embassies

Gagium:

New Waldensia, now, what stopped you from doing your job? Is there anything or anyone who told you not to strengthen our current allies, form new alliances and friends, etc etc?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

New Waldensia then why don’t people break those chains and reach out to certain regions? Try to end conflict and such.

Gagium:

No. You did little to nothing during your term when it comes to foreign affairs, and that is on you. Not on any restrictions or likewise.

Now, how would these restrictions you speak of magically disappear as President?

Furbish Islands:

Lots of good debate here. But I'm afraid our time is limited, so we must move on to the next topic, internal affairs. There are plenty of plans from various candidates, on this, and plenty of good ideas.

New Waldensia, you stated your hopes to revive the FCN Olympics, which currently is indefinitely postponed because few people applied. How do you hope to fix this?

Gagium, in your dispatch, you mention holding regional polls on ideas given by people in the region, and that is a campaign promise you also had in the last election. How exactly will people be able to give you ideas to be voted on, and do you already have any ideas you want to begin polls on?

New Waldensia:

Gagium is putting words in my mouth that I did not say in an attempt to distract from his stance on holding to the status quo on FCN-LCN relations. I have made my position clear on that matter.

Gagium:

You have, and yet you haven’t made your stance clear on the other thousands of regions on this site

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I must say the RPs here have good taste.... but.... they die out after a couple of weeks or so. The WW2 one was good until it was stale.

Gagium:

I am done with that topic.

New Waldensia:

Furbish Islands I would make sure that regular regional telegrams are sent out on events like the Olympics. Additionally, I helped several individuals put together their delegations for the previous Olympics, and in an effort to get the next Olympics off the ground I would offer assistance to those who are interested but perhaps don't know quiite how to go about joining.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Haven’t we tried TGs before? What happened then?

I would make RPs open to allied regions

Holy Rhinish Islands:

New Waldensia As far as I have received Mr. Secretary has done an excellent job on informing the region of the Olympics, FCN World Cup, etc.

New Waldensia:

The regional newspaper was a great thing for our region. I would love to see it revived, though perhaps it should be spaced out more in order to not burden the Head Journalist too much.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

If they weren’t already, I would send a RMB or discord messages to allied regions about our RPs

The head journalist left as soon as he was appointed

Gagium:

Furbish Islands I intend on making this very simple:

1. Person telegrams me on NationStates or discord with an idea. I’ll bring this to my cabinet and get some short discussion on it.

2. If the idea isn’t extraordinarily absurd (I.e. the FCN should fund and build a Death Star), we’ll have a poll on it to see what the people want using NS.

3. I’m not the one coming up with the poll topics, the people are. I have no idea what ideas people have if they haven’t spoken out on them, but I’m aiming on giving everyone a chance to have their ideas heard - literally - by the rest of the region.

New Waldensia:

I am pleased with the status of our current RP. Although I have been unable to join it due to other constraints, I have heard great things about it. I would work with my SecInt on ensuring that efforts are made to continue it.

Ulrech:

Although I personally don't RP anymore you can easily tie the olympics in with the foreign policy I proposed earlier and inviting other conservative regions into our olympics

Furbish Islands:

Another question about internal affairs, which I believe will be an important issue in this term, which is Senate reform. Ulrech and Holy Rhinish Islands proposed an elected senate. How do both of you envision this elected Senate to be?

To the rest, what are your opinions on this?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I believe it should be the same. This allows the people to make and vote on what they want. If we have elections, how many elections would that be? How long? How is it decided who gets in the primaries?

Gagium:

If the Senate and the people want to be elected, then they can go on right ahead. I’m not going to tell the senate how they should function as head of the Executive branch - if I am elected, I will resign from the Senate. If you want to know my stance on an elected senate from me as a Senator, please tag me in #senate-debate-chamber or #general if you aren’t in the senate

Ulrech:

My ideas for an elected Senate are obviously still in the works...however, I'd like to maintain the the low barriers for entry for the Senate and possibly turn our government into a bicameral legislator however as President I intend on gradually pulling myself out of the legislative branch

So as President I don't intend on pushing for an elected Senate

I may speak to the future speaker about my ideas but as president I'm out of line to attempt something like that

New Waldensia:

I am excited to see reforms being discussed in the Senate. Activity has increased of late, and I would love to see more members become involved in regional politics. I do agree that Senate proceedings should be opened up to the general FCN public.

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I envision an Elected Senate to have around 12 members, 11 if you do not include the Senate Speaker, with elections being held for 3 seats at a time during general elections and midterms; each Senator would have a 3 month term that could be repeated as long as the people so choose. The 3 Senators Seats would be open for an infinite amount of people to run for, and the top 3 vote getters go on to the Senate. This could, of course, be changed, with term lengths or specific seat numbers being changed however the Senate sees fit.

As President, I would immediately Resign from the Senate, as I have pushed and pushed for separation of the branches for a long time, however, an Elected Senate could still be a possibility. If the people want it, so let them have it. If they don't, don't let them have it.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

To be fair, if an elected senate happened to be in place I wouldn’t like it. Seems we should open then to the FCN citizens so keep it the same....

Oh

New Waldensia:

I do not, however, believe that moving the Senate to NS from Discord is a wise move, as the setting would not be as conducive to deliberation, debate, and voting as Discord is

Ulrech:

Holy Rhinish Islands As I've mentioned in the past one of the things I love most about the FCN is how pretty much anyone can get involved in the government

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands Let me get this straight. You’ll immediately resign from the senate because you don’t want to be involved in it as President, but here you are detailing your perfect 12 member elected senate and how it is elected?

New Waldensia:

12 people seems like a smaller group. Almost an inner circle

Ulrech:

This is why I don't believe a unicameral legislature will work

Holy Rhinish Islands:

An elected Senate doesn’t stop involvement. It just means you need consent of those who you legislate.

New Waldensia:

I would propose a grand revision of the FCN government, renaming the President as The Grand Topeka and making it a monarchy after ditching the Senate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

And like I said, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, I am open to any changes. 16 members, 32 members, 48 members, what have you.

Ulrech:

Holy Rhinish Islands it does however stop individuals like The Clone Republic from joining the region and fighting for legislation they are passionate about

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I say keep it open.... it limits FCN creativity from the senate and involvement.

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands, are you going to be the one proposing this?

It sounds like you’re the one in charge of planning your elected senate..

Ulrech:

He would've had to bring his bill idea to a senator and hope the senator thought enough of him to propose the bill

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands

I am the senate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I voiced my opinion and I’m open to negotiating with whoever my speaker and all senators over the details of electoral reform

Gagium:

I’d you want to negotiate with the senate and take part in it, why resign from the senate?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I say keep it the same.

Gagium:

That defeats the purpose of separation of powers as you’re using it, I believe.

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium I am still allowed to talk with Senators, no? It shall still ultimately be up to them if they propose the amendments or not.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Don’t they do that already?

New Waldensia:

How the Senate decides to conduct or reform itself is primarily a role for the Senate, not the President. In the matter of the President being potentially a member of the Senate, I have begun to think that it may be a bit of a conflict of interest. Perhaps the President should be a non-voting member, able to debate and propose legislation, but unable to vote as he wields the veto pen.

Gagium:

So resigning from the Senate would be a formality, Holy Rhinish Islands?

Ulrech:

I'd also like to ask if there are any more questions as we are already running over on time

Furbish Islands:

No, I have no more questions.

Ulrech:

Well

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'd like to move on to the next question rather than to die on this hill.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Is that a wrap?

Furbish Islands:

I believe it is time for the closing statements. The candidates may give one final position or argument, a campaign promise that has not been mentioned, and why you are the best choice for president.

Gagium:

You don’t have more questions then.??

I was just getting started..

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I am the best choice because I say so. All these other buffoons (besides New Waldensia, Gagium, and Ulrech) are gay. Vote for me or die!!!!

:joy:

Clown me boys

Ulrech:

I've given my statements I have made a case for my self... I humbly ask for you vote my dms are always open if you have any questions about FCN politics....win or lose my dms will always be open to those who needs help...thank you for your time

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Love you FCN :kissing_heart::fcn:

And hail the NP

Gagium:

Furbish Islands It doesn’t matter if I think I should be President, it only matters whether the people think I should be President. I’m hoping that my campaign dispatch and debate performance has convinced them that I am the right choice for the elections on the 15th.

To recap though, you should vote for me because I will put you first, simple as that. I look to help each individual nation develop and prosper in our region through activities, meaningful roleplay, an engaging Army of Freedom, beneficial alliances and embassies, and of course a cabinet that cares and shares my enthusiasm and love for the region.

Please DM me if you have any questions. And remember, your vote is your vote, not anyone else’s...Though I hope that your vote will be cast for me! :fcn: :fcn: :fcn:

New Waldensia:

I'd like to thank the gentlemen for an invigorating and thought-provoking debate. Furbish Islands, you did an admirable job of designing questions that would prompt in-depth discussion by the candidates, and the FCN is better for having held this event.

Voters of the FCN, you have before you a field of candidates that are determined to see our beloved region flourish. Your decision will not be light, but neither will it be wrong. I am confident that our region will see continued progress with any of the candidates in this contest.

I have served the FCN since the very beginning. I plan to serve the FCN until my dying NS day. My record speaks for itself. My platform can be viewed at https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1303633. There are some additional items that were not discussed tonight that I will make a priority if elected, such as finishing the offical history of the FCN.

We have built a truly wonderful home in the FCN, and I would be honored to receive your trust in leading it through the next term.

:fcn: FCN Forever! :fcn:

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Rather Controversial Topic for a closing statement, but here goes.

I do believe that Government Transparency is the #1 issue for this Government. The Residents outside the Senate and Discord deserve to know how their President, Vice President, Candidate, or Cabinet Members and Senators, vote and how they act in this Discord. Ultimately it would be voter education so that we don't end up with a person that doesn't represent their personal beliefs in office.

I'd like to thank Furbish Islands, Ulrech, Gagium, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, and New Waldensia for the time tonight as well. Your decision on Wednesday will not be wrong.

Furbish Islands:

I'm afraid the debate has to end here due to time. Thank you to all who tuned in to the debate, and to all five candidates who participated. Hosting this debate was a pleasure, and I hope all of you had as much fun as I did. As I mentioned before, this will be put on the RMB tomorrow morning, with the results to the pre and post debate polls. Good night, and good luck to all on the elections!

And here are the results to the post-debate poll, which was up for a few hours following the end of the debate:

Ulrech - 9

Holy Rhinish Islands - 4

Gagium - 3

New Waldensia - 3

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire - 2[/spoiler]

Thank you for all who will read this debate which took me quite a bit of time to compile, because now you will be informed about your candidate of choice.

Repost this everywhere

Furbish Islands, Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Fluvannia, Dragons Of Power, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion, Mietkael, The Cot Corporation

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire wrote:I’m gonna do a pro gamer move and quote the above message without spoilers

If you do, you shall die.

Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion, Emerisis, The Cot Corporation

Post by Furbish Islands suppressed by a moderator.

Thanks Mietkael! Very cool!

Looks like I won't be voting for Ulrech.

Ulrech, Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Dragonwings

Liberated American Provinces wrote:Thanks Mietkael! Very cool!

Looks like I won't be voting for Ulrech.

unsheathes dagger

Liberated American Provinces, Furbish Islands, New Waldensia, Viridus, Gagium, Dragonwings, Emerisis, The Cot Corporation

New Waldensia

You mentioned that you now realise having the President as a voting member of the Senate may be a bit of conflict of interest.

Isn't that the same leaky boat the Justices are in. As the Court's are an Independent body they too are Senators who vote aye, nay or Present on legislation and in the same term have to weigh in issues as Justices if the lesgislatiin is bought before the Courts.

Can be it be seen As truly an independent body if the same lesgislatiin they just voted on, the next day they have to weigh in on. A very clear case of conflict of interest lies there too.

To any Presidental nominee, how do you fix this conflict of interest?

Washingtonian Republic, Gagium

[spoiler=West Phoenicia ]

West Phoenicia wrote:New Waldensia

You mentioned that you now realise having the President as a voting member of the Senate may be a bit of conflict of interest.

Isn't that the same leaky boat the Justices are in. As the Court's are an Independent body they too are Senators who vote aye, nay or Present on legislation and in the same term have to weigh in issues as Justices if the lesgislatiin is bought before the Courts.

Can be it be seen As truly an independent body if the same lesgislatiin they just voted on, the next day they have to weigh in on. A very clear case of conflict of interest lies there too.

To any Presidental nominee, how do you fix this conflict of interest?

[/spoiler]

I have new legislation that will effectively limit the use of tobacco products within the Federation Of Conservative Nations #BeTheGenerationThatQuits #StopTheCamel #ForResponsibleAdultsOnly

Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

North Azarath wrote:I just arrived here, are there parties here? How do they work? (I translate this message, may contain errors)

Basically you can join or start a party yourself, but they really don't mean much.

Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

Washingtonian Republic wrote:[spoiler=West Phoenicia ][/spoiler]

I have new legislation that will effectively limit the use of tobacco products within the Federation Of Conservative Nations #BeTheGenerationThatQuits #StopTheCamel #ForResponsibleAdultsOnly

Washingtonian Republic wrote:[spoiler=West Phoenicia ][/spoiler]

I have new legislation that will effectively limit the use of tobacco products within the Federation Of Conservative Nations #BeTheGenerationThatQuits #StopTheCamel #ForResponsibleAdultsOnly

Are you receiving kick backs from the vaping industry?

Liberated American Provinces, Washingtonian Republic, Gagium

New Inglaterra wrote:Basically you can join or start a party yourself, but they really don't mean much.

Well they actually do, because if you don't side with them you get assassinated they threaten to break your shins. The only exception is the noble conservative party, who treat their members with respect.

Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Fluvannia, Emerisis

Washingtonian Republic By the way, the Commonwealth of Commerce you decided to join is a RP thing, and I wrote a bit about it. Could you possibly reply with your joining, so it can be canon?

Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium

The Cot Corporation wrote:Well they actually do, because if you don't side with them you get assassinated they threaten to break your shins. The only exception is the noble conservative party, who treat their members with respect.

:clown:

Liberated American Provinces, Furbish Islands, Viridus, Dragons Of Power, New Inglaterra, Greater Bastion, Emerisis

Furbish Islands wrote:Once again, thank you all for attending the debate last night. As promised, I will put it on the RMB for all to read, behind this spoiler because it's pretty long.

[spoiler]

Furbish Islands:

Good evening, residents of the FCN, and foreigners, I hope you had a good Saturday, and thank you all for tuning in to the January 2020 FCN Presidential Debate. I am President Furbish Islands, and I will be the host of the debate. This election has an unprecedented five candidates, Ulrech, Gagium, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, Holy Rhinish Islands, and New Waldensia, the most of any election in FCN history.

Here in this channel, the debate will be taking place. I will be asking questions, directed at specific candidates. The candidate must answer, and the other four can then respond to that answer to start up some debate. I have some of my own questions, and I will be taking some from the audience. The audience will be discussing the debate in #presidential-commenting. After it finishes on discord, I will release the transcript of this debate to the RMB the next morning.

Here are the results to the pre-debate poll, which was up for a few hours before the debate started:

Ulrech - 6

New Waldensia - 4

Holy Rhinish Islands - 3

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire - 2

Gagium - 1

Will these results hold up in the post-debate poll and the election? Only time will tell.

The five candidates may begin writing their opening statements.

Ulrech:

Greetings members of the FCN...I thank you for the opportunity to debate and discuss matters of the region with my fellow candidates...I ask each and every one of you to listen to what each candidate has to say before deciding on who to vote for...because although I believe I am the best choice we all have to glory of the Federation in mind... and once again thank you for the opportunity

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Ok, hello there. I am the legion as you can tell. I don’t expect to win but this is extremely fun nevertheless. I wish luck to the rest of my opponents and god bless the FCN. If you don’t vote for me you will be destroyed by me personally. You are a bold one and you will die braver than most if you do not comply. You are as clumsy as you are stupid if you don’t do as I am asking. Thank you for letting a foreigner become the soon to be dictator of the FCN.

New Waldensia:

Greetings, FCN. I am honored to present my qualifications and goals to you this evening in my campaign to serve as President. I am also honored to share the stage with such a stellar and full stage of candidates. Any of these individuals will make fine presidents, and the FCN can rest assured that they will continue to be in good hands following this election.

If I am so fortunate as to earn your vote, I hope to bring my experience to best in leading the FCN to even greater heights over the next term.

Thank you for your attention and consideration during this election. FCN forever!

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Hello all! I am the ex-Vice President, current Senator, Holy Rhinish Islands! I have a long story to tell, but I cannot tell all of it in the current time we have. I am very sorry for such a late night debate, but we must do what we must do. I have been an on and off member of the FCN since before the FCN was even thought of, back around January or February of the year 2017. There I had climbed up the ranks and, then, once the CCN moved to the CCN2, became a very important character, right next to Topeka and New Waldensia, in the founding of the region. I served a little while as the Secretary of Roleplay, which is now the Secretary of Internal Affairs, the position Mr. Secretary now holds. I had left the region prior to Topeka’s “tyranny”, and had came back and left again in September of 2017. Between 2017 and 2018 I was awarded a spot in the Hall of Fame by the name St. Rhiney the Vindicated, making me technically the only Religious figure in the FCN, which is funny considering my religious views. Thank you to the current Mr. Delegate for that one. Anyhow, I came back and left again in 2018, and was then transferred to the Hall of Shame. Sorry for the delay in this message. In July of 2019 I came back to the region, got temporarily switched back from the HoS to the HoF and am now in neither category. I have passed several successful pieces of important legislature, such as that of making 9/11 an FCN Holiday, setting a limit on how long a President can ignore a bill before it becomes signed into law, allowing the Senate to pass it’s own laws, and the failed-passed, legally failed, but if current laws were in affect passed, Impeachment of President Furbish. I have also re-proposed the Freedom of Political Association Act, which failed due to abstentions the first time it was proposed by Mr. Delegate, but had passed the Second time when proposed by myself, due to other laws fixing the abstention countings. I am a member of the National Populist Party, the NPP, lead by Former Senate Pro-Tempore New Inglaterra, who also happens to be running for Senate Speaker. My Running Mate is Mr. Senator Greater Bastion, who is an independent candidate in no way affiliated with the National Populists. Mr. Bastion is an accomplished individual that I think can really do the job of Vice President very well, considering it has little to no duties. Just kidding on that last bit, he can do really well. As did most of this cabinet for the last 3 months, under President Furbish. Under me you can expect much Government Transparency, Stamping out Corruption, more Raids, more Activity from the Government, and Getting Things Done! Mr. Furbish accomplished 0/6 of his campaign promises, let’s turn this Region back on a good note, eh!

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

(Holy hell)

Gagium:

Hey everyone, I’m glad to see you all turn out for this debate..To the audience and the other presidential hopefuls. I have full confidence that everyone standing here today loves our region and would make a great president, though I believe that I can do better and lead the region to a new era of unprecedented greatness, which is why I am running. I am running to put the region first and revive all aspects of our cabinet and region.

Watch this debate carefully, and vote for who you want to, not who your party leader or anyone else tells you to vote for..Unless it’s me telling you to vote for me, then vote for me! Kidding, but..Do consider voting Gagium 2020!

And remember - There’s always a bigger fish

Furbish Islands:

Thank you to all. Now the first question I have, for all of you, have you decided who to put on your cabinet and Supreme Court if you win the election?

And a follow-up, Holy Rhinish Islands, in his dispatch, mentioned appointing a Secretary of War, and as you know my administration has had no one to fill the position, after Legion resigned, and no one else was interested for the position(who I believed was qualified for a cabinet position). How do you plan on solving this, and other vacancies if no one who is qualified is interested?

Also, as with all questions, I encourage some debate between all candidates.

Gagium:

No. I have not.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I have not done my cabinet, but I have not decided my VP

Gagium:

I will not until the election is over (If I win, of course) to ensure a fair cabinet with no vote buying for positions or the like

Ulrech:

I have thought about who I’m going to appoint to said positions however I don’t intend to release them unless I’m elected

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Mr. President, I have not decided, but have thought and will not release the positions until after election occurs, if at all.

Gagium:

Ulrech, have you told your potential appointees your thoughts?

Ulrech:

I have not

Nor do I intend to

If I win this election it will be on my merit alone

Gagium:

Good to hear

Ulrech:

Not any corrupt backroom deals

I hope I can say the same for all of the other candidates

Gagium:

I am glad that the CP seems to not be doing that this time around unlike last election

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Ok, Dragons Of Power is in fact my VP

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Vice Presidential choosing has been a culture for prior to elections, as one can see by the Elections Archive.

Mr. Legion, that shouldn't be an issue that you've chosen a VP already

Furbish Islands:

Interesting. What about my follow-up question to that?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I plan on searching around and looking for anyone who would like to be the SecWar I have had raiding experience and (like a week of SecWar of doing nothing). I believe someone would like to lead raids and such

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Well your first mistake was not appointing a person to the position. For example, I've been notified of a person requesting the position and you taking it as a meme. The goal is to have the cabinet filled with the most qualified members. If that includes shuffling around members, firing one when a better one comes up, then so be it. As long as the position is filled.

Now the other vacancies are now the issue of Mr. Secretary of Internal Affairs, the Chief of Intelligence and the Deputy Secretary of Internal Affairs, along with the Deputy Secretary of War. At that point it is past the issue of the Presidency and now lies in the hands of the Secretary.

Gagium

Furbish Islands If there is no interest in the Department of War, there doesn’t need to be a department of war

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

That is true

Gagium

If there is interest, even by one person, in the department of war, there will be a secretary of war

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'm sorry, my words weren't clear, the Secretary of Internal Affairs needs to appoint a Chief of Intelligence and Deputy Secretary. The vacant Secretary of War needs to appoint a Deputy for his office.

New Waldensia:

Furbish Islands re: Justices, I hope to reappoint the current batch as I feel they have done a tremendous and professional job. That would be my preference. If any are unable or unwilling to, I would seek individuals who maintain the same level of commitment to justice and following the Constitution.

Ulrech:

My apologies

Holy Rhinish Islands:

New Waldensia I wouldn't have said that if I were you, a Citizen that is quick to jump to conclusions could charge you with Bribery if a Justice were to vote for you.

Ulrech:

We constantly have new individuals coming into the FCN as we are a growing region...I positively one of them will fulfill my requirements for Sec of War

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Now I'm not going to make that conclusion, Mr. Delegate, but that was the main reason we didn't release any Cabinet positions yet.

I haven't even talked to my Party Leader or my Vice President about Cabinet Positions.

Furbish Islands

While on the topic of secretary of war, something multiple people have said in the campaigns is creating a strong FCN defense force and raiding again. This is a question I have marked down for New Waldensia, but all the candidates may answer.

A problem with raiding is a lack of interest, which is understandable, considering that raiding requires often being awake at late hours and losing all world assembly endorsements. How do you plan on fixing this lack of interest?

Ulrech:

^^^^^

Gagium:

Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke. I’m not one to tell anyone whether they should like raiding and defense or not. If nobody is interested in raiding or defense (After an effort is made to at least promote the AoF), then we simply won’t be doing that. However, I do feel like the Army of Freedom May be useful or cool as an organization asides from NS raiding and defensive gameplay.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Tbh I can’t make people stay up for raiding. This can make people even more annoyed with raiding. Either we coordinate time zones. Like create a channel which everyone that has the war dogs role will mark their time zone. Or... we stick with EST time zones and try to hit in the day and have a special team ready for deployment at any time at night, and if nobody is interested in raiding then that won’t be a main priority for me

I do agree with Gagium

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Mr. President, I do believe giving people an incentive to raid would be best. We have around 104 WA nations in the region - if we could get all of them to raid, then we'd be one of the largest raiding forces on NationStates. Like Mr. Secretary said, if there still is no interest, then we could always shut down raiding. That would be a sad ending to the AoF however.

Ulrech:

Like I've mentioned...I intend on creating a defense force which will require much less upkeep and probably much less effort...attack other regions and becoming the aggressor too often can open up a can of worms none of us want to deal with...I've seen it happen before and I'd hate to see it happen here

Gagium:

What incentive, Holy Rhinish Islands?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium the Medals do not seem to work, however, giving the Generals a place in the Hall of Fame, or some other Presidential Award, could in theory work

Gagium:

The Generals? Not everyone is a general and will be

How is that an incentive for everyone else?

Ulrech:

I 1000% disagree here

A place in the hall of fame for the generals

absolutely not

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium there is a possibility for Privates to become Generals by participating in raids, I do believe.

Ulrech:

Although they do need to be awarded a place in the hall of fame is too too much

Gagium:

A possibility? Hmmph

There’s also a possibility of you winning the election

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Ulrech of course, a separate Hall could do.

Gagium:

Now, what sort of possibility? Nobody is going to be motivated to become so dedicated to the AoF that they gain a special hall of fame trophy and a general rank, and just for that

And that would require leaders. Leaders to guide these people to become hardened AoF raiders and defenders. Now, tell me, what do you know about leadership?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands I think the only reason someone would raid is for a medal tbh.

That doesn’t seem like a good idea. I mean.... who knows if right when they get the medal they’ll end raiding altogether

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium lemme see, I have helped found the CCN2, have been Secretary of Roleplay for around a month or two, have been Chief Justice of the FCN Court at a time, and have been Vice President of the FCN.

Ulrech:

I think he's hinting at military experience

Gagium:

You..”helped found the CCN2”? You were “Secretary of Roleplay”? Someone made you “Vice President” because they had no other choices?

Ulrech Not necessarily, I’m just talking about leadership in general.

Ulrech:

Fair

Gagium:

Not necessarily related to NS or NS experience, as Holy Rhinish Islands seems to think.

Titles don’t make you a leader, no

Experience doesn’t even make you a leader by any means

I’ll stop at there so Furby can get to the next question

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

In my time, experience outranks everything

-Captain Rex

Furbish Islands:

Nice transition to the next topic, experience. The candidates have some varying levels of experience, in and outside the FCN.

Gagium and New Waldensia have both been longtime members of the FCN since the days of CCN1, holding numerous positions in government in the past, including President.

Ulrech, while also experienced, joined the FCN relatively recently compared to the rest. Most of his experience, according to his dispatch, is from Redlandia and the GC.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire has founded and lead the Monarchist Democratic Alliance, currently an FCN protectorate, and is now an FCN citizen and Senator.

Finally, there is Holy Rhinish Islands, who is the youngest of all the candidates. And while he was around nearly as long as Gagium and New Waldensia, he has had a controversial past, and held little positions in government compared to the rest.

Do any of you wish to comment on your experience, including things I left out?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I’ve raided plenty in the past. I think I am a sergeant or major?

I don’t remember

Ulrech:

I think I bring an interesting perspective to the table as I have substantial experience elsewhere so I have a different outlook on things...as you said yourself I'm by no means a rookie at NS

Gagium:

I don’t intend on running based off of experience or fancy titles that I’ve garnered over the years, though if the people are concerned about my experience please let me know

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Well you are missing the fact that I have just about as much experience in the little times I've stayed in the region for lengthy times. For example, I was Secretary of Roleplay until I had left the CCN2, was Chief Justice until I left that as well in the FCN, and have served as Vice President and Senate Clerk more recently.

I'm not going to use my age as an excuse for being less experienced or less mature, in fact maturity by no means is related to age. Correlation is not necessarily Causation.

Gagium:

Former President SecWar Current SecInt and Longtime FCN Patriot :fcn:

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

And to be fair, if I recall I think Gagium or Furbish Islands said I’m the most patriotic foreigner they’ve ever seen

Ulrech:

The only reason I mention most of my experience is because most of it involves leading regional military forces as the AoF and our military operations seem to have come to the forefront

New Waldensia:

Backing up a bit, regarding our War Department. This will be a priority for me. In the past we held some competitions with other regions to boost military involvement -- I would probably try to do that again. In the event of a SecWar who was inactive, as Commander-in-Chief I would take that responsibility upon myself to lead until I was able to find someone able to fulfill the duties of the post.

Regarding experience, I have held most of the possible posts in this government, at one time or another, and so I am well aware of the duties and responsibilities of each Cabinet position. Having such a background, I can assist the Secretaries if needed in achieving goals and hiring staff, helping to direct the administration as it seeks to grow the region.

Furbish Islands:

Next topic, foreign affairs. Many of you stated your wishes for improving relations with other conservative regions. What do you hope to accomplish in that realm?

And while on the topic, the LCN, which has been a controversial issue since last June. New Waldensia, for example, has been a strong opponent of the embassy closure, while Gagium was a strong proponent. To both if you, why do you hold such strong views towards the LCN? And what do you plan on doing with them in your term?

New Waldensia:

Our relationship with the LCN is unfinished business. I would like to see that chapter closed, and a new page turned. So, specifically, I would seek to restore the embassy and begin a start with a clean slate with the region in particular.

Gagium:

I want to reach out to our current embassy regions and open up communications - Send a diplomat or our Head Diplomat to their servers and have them send a diplomat to us if possible, and maybe even show up on some of our embassy regions discord servers and RMBs myself. Through initial cooperation and communication com friendship

Holy Rhinish Islands:

WA voting bloc with other Conservative Nations seems the best idea here. If we can rally up enough Conservative Regions, such as the LCN and/or MDA, to vote along with each other against Liberal proposals, then we could increase the Conservativeness of the World Assembly.

New Waldensia:

I would also seek to assist RTL in restoring activity again, and carry out our treaty that calls for periodic State visits.

Gagium:

New Waldensia Why did you begin with the LCN? It seemed as if you began typing that before he mentioned it - When he spoke of foreign policy, why did you instantly jump to the LCN?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

And I'd like to point out around 70% of people who voted in my most latest poll believe in a WA voting bloc, and on another topic 70% agree to rebuild relations with the LCN

Ulrech:

Like Gagium mentioned, I'm going to refrain from telling you my titles and why I should be the one to do so....instead I'll say this... looking at each conservative region and what they are interested in is a good way to build relations... taking CCD for example they seem to have a focus on roleplay so reaching out to them to talk about the possibility of setting up a roleplay is a great method to build relationships...but as the FCN is pretty large simply putting our names out there is an excellent way of finding and building relationships with other conservative regions

Also THE LCN ISNT THE ONLY CONSERVATIVE REGION

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I hope to expand our relations with other regions who aren’t just conservative case that is to be fair.... boring. I would like more people to see the FCN as a home to not just conservatives but to many ideologies on the terms of democracy and such.

As with the LCN. They are not bad people. In the name of the MDA I am active in their server. We should stay in contact with them. As for the WA I would like to see it balanced (even if that is possible). I want some conservatives and some liberal views. Most of the WA is sadly infested with left wing ideologies... too many to say. Since the FCN is already pretty big I say let’s get out there and make pals with other regions!

New Waldensia:

Gagium because I'm so intelligent I knew if would become the primary focus of this topic. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: As I said, it's the biggest "unfinished business" of foreign relations at this point in time. I'd like to see it resolved and push on with new endeavors. While I don't see us cooperating with the LCN in the manner we did against Farkasfalka, I don't want the one region we have outlawed relations with to be one that has Conservative tags and Conservative in the name, as well as one that, for better or worse, has members with FCN ties in it.

Gagium:

New Waldensia I would like to disagree. There is nothing unfinished with the LCN. It seems as if you’re seeking to ride off of the (now kind of distant past) in foreign affairs and that’s why you’re looking at the LCN, but I would like to disagree with that means. I would like to evaluate them like any other conservative region that’s out there under my presidency, nothing of the past factoring in. They’re not unique.

New Waldensia:

Furthermore, on foreign relations, I would try to make sure we don't lose a step on our Delegate's endorsement level. Currently, we have the most Delegate endorsements of any Conservative-focused region, and thus hold a position of some prominence.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

The LCN have said before that they are not a conservative region fully.

Gagium:

If I were president, that wouldn’t exactly matter..I’d look for regions that would be friendly to us and that an alliance would be mutually beneficiary for both involved parties

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

^^

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'd like to request to move on from this topic, seeing as it is nearing the end of debate time with few questions answered.

Ulrech:

Regions we align ourselves with must be carefully vetted as at the end of the day I have the glory of the Federation as my primary goal

New Waldensia:

As I mentioned, there is currently only one region in the entirety of NationStates that we have officially cut ties with, and it is the LCN. Not TCB, not Farkasfalka, not The Leftist Assembly -- it's the LCN.

To me, that is something that should be corrected.

Gagium:

New Waldensia Thats not a good thing

Ulrech:

establishing relations with the wrong regions would open up a massive can of worms

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

True, it can lead us into conflicts or drama

Gagium:

Now, New Waldensia, apart from the LCN, what is your foreign policy?

Do you have a foreign policy in general?

From your tenure as Head Diplomat, no offense, I saw no relations strengthened.

I saw no new strong allies or friends.

Why would anything change once you garnered an office that’s not specifically oriented towards foreign policy, as your current office is?

New Waldensia:

For one, in my current position I am not necessarily able or supposed to forge my own way in policy

Ulrech:

Sadly I'll have to agree with Gagium here... you have managed to increase the number of endorsements however other than that I've seen no growth in relations

New Waldensia:

I am subordinate to the President

Gagium:

You are your own person and you run your own office, not the President.

Ulrech:

Reaching out to other regions isn't new policy

New Waldensia:

As President, I have more leeway in setting a tone for the measures that would be sought by the FCN government

Gagium:

If I were in your position, I would go for anything that would benefit us and garner more allies and friends unless the President specifically said not to.

Did Furbish Islands tell you not to do your job?

Ulrech:

Sending a telegram to an ambassador from a different region isn't necessarily something that requires presidential approval

New Waldensia:

That said, there certainly are some things that I wish I had been able to accomplish. I would like to see us continue to press into the legislative arena, as I did earlier this term.

In the past, we had FCNers actively involved in writing legislation (Dobrobyt comes to mind)

Ulrech:

Gagium sounds like you'd make a great WA delegate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium I'd like to note the Constitutional Clause that states that the Delegate must follow the majority of the Senate as a matter of Formality.

If the Senate doesn't vote, how can he act on it?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands if you can pass legislation easily why don’t you change it to your likeness?

New Waldensia:

Holy Rhinish Islands is correct - the Delegate is not an independent office apart from the rest of the government

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands Can you rephrase?

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium sure:

The WA Delegate is expected to follow the will of the majority and the Senate on any resolution or matter of foreign affairs, as a matter of formality.

Gagium:

The WA delegate follows his own mind if the senate isn’t telling him to do his job.

Ulrech:

I delegate can act on his own volition but for major actions of course he needs Senate approval

Gagium:

Which the senate shouldn’t have to tell him to do his job

New Waldensia:

There may be some discretion, but the Delegate is bound by restrcitions laid upon him

In foreign affairs, I was legally restricted from carrying out the duties of a diplomat in reference to a particular region, for example

Ulrech:

I personally haven't seen anything brought to the Senate in regards to this issue

New Waldensia:

Those are handcuffs on the Head Diplomat

Gagium:

How many regions are there? How many embassies do we have?

New Waldensia:

We have... 130+ embassies

Gagium:

New Waldensia, now, what stopped you from doing your job? Is there anything or anyone who told you not to strengthen our current allies, form new alliances and friends, etc etc?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

New Waldensia then why don’t people break those chains and reach out to certain regions? Try to end conflict and such.

Gagium:

No. You did little to nothing during your term when it comes to foreign affairs, and that is on you. Not on any restrictions or likewise.

Now, how would these restrictions you speak of magically disappear as President?

Furbish Islands:

Lots of good debate here. But I'm afraid our time is limited, so we must move on to the next topic, internal affairs. There are plenty of plans from various candidates, on this, and plenty of good ideas.

New Waldensia, you stated your hopes to revive the FCN Olympics, which currently is indefinitely postponed because few people applied. How do you hope to fix this?

Gagium, in your dispatch, you mention holding regional polls on ideas given by people in the region, and that is a campaign promise you also had in the last election. How exactly will people be able to give you ideas to be voted on, and do you already have any ideas you want to begin polls on?

New Waldensia:

Gagium is putting words in my mouth that I did not say in an attempt to distract from his stance on holding to the status quo on FCN-LCN relations. I have made my position clear on that matter.

Gagium:

You have, and yet you haven’t made your stance clear on the other thousands of regions on this site

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I must say the RPs here have good taste.... but.... they die out after a couple of weeks or so. The WW2 one was good until it was stale.

Gagium:

I am done with that topic.

New Waldensia:

Furbish Islands I would make sure that regular regional telegrams are sent out on events like the Olympics. Additionally, I helped several individuals put together their delegations for the previous Olympics, and in an effort to get the next Olympics off the ground I would offer assistance to those who are interested but perhaps don't know quiite how to go about joining.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Haven’t we tried TGs before? What happened then?

I would make RPs open to allied regions

Holy Rhinish Islands:

New Waldensia As far as I have received Mr. Secretary has done an excellent job on informing the region of the Olympics, FCN World Cup, etc.

New Waldensia:

The regional newspaper was a great thing for our region. I would love to see it revived, though perhaps it should be spaced out more in order to not burden the Head Journalist too much.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

If they weren’t already, I would send a RMB or discord messages to allied regions about our RPs

The head journalist left as soon as he was appointed

Gagium:

Furbish Islands I intend on making this very simple:

1. Person telegrams me on NationStates or discord with an idea. I’ll bring this to my cabinet and get some short discussion on it.

2. If the idea isn’t extraordinarily absurd (I.e. the FCN should fund and build a Death Star), we’ll have a poll on it to see what the people want using NS.

3. I’m not the one coming up with the poll topics, the people are. I have no idea what ideas people have if they haven’t spoken out on them, but I’m aiming on giving everyone a chance to have their ideas heard - literally - by the rest of the region.

New Waldensia:

I am pleased with the status of our current RP. Although I have been unable to join it due to other constraints, I have heard great things about it. I would work with my SecInt on ensuring that efforts are made to continue it.

Ulrech:

Although I personally don't RP anymore you can easily tie the olympics in with the foreign policy I proposed earlier and inviting other conservative regions into our olympics

Furbish Islands:

Another question about internal affairs, which I believe will be an important issue in this term, which is Senate reform. Ulrech and Holy Rhinish Islands proposed an elected senate. How do both of you envision this elected Senate to be?

To the rest, what are your opinions on this?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I believe it should be the same. This allows the people to make and vote on what they want. If we have elections, how many elections would that be? How long? How is it decided who gets in the primaries?

Gagium:

If the Senate and the people want to be elected, then they can go on right ahead. I’m not going to tell the senate how they should function as head of the Executive branch - if I am elected, I will resign from the Senate. If you want to know my stance on an elected senate from me as a Senator, please tag me in #senate-debate-chamber or #general if you aren’t in the senate

Ulrech:

My ideas for an elected Senate are obviously still in the works...however, I'd like to maintain the the low barriers for entry for the Senate and possibly turn our government into a bicameral legislator however as President I intend on gradually pulling myself out of the legislative branch

So as President I don't intend on pushing for an elected Senate

I may speak to the future speaker about my ideas but as president I'm out of line to attempt something like that

New Waldensia:

I am excited to see reforms being discussed in the Senate. Activity has increased of late, and I would love to see more members become involved in regional politics. I do agree that Senate proceedings should be opened up to the general FCN public.

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I envision an Elected Senate to have around 12 members, 11 if you do not include the Senate Speaker, with elections being held for 3 seats at a time during general elections and midterms; each Senator would have a 3 month term that could be repeated as long as the people so choose. The 3 Senators Seats would be open for an infinite amount of people to run for, and the top 3 vote getters go on to the Senate. This could, of course, be changed, with term lengths or specific seat numbers being changed however the Senate sees fit.

As President, I would immediately Resign from the Senate, as I have pushed and pushed for separation of the branches for a long time, however, an Elected Senate could still be a possibility. If the people want it, so let them have it. If they don't, don't let them have it.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

To be fair, if an elected senate happened to be in place I wouldn’t like it. Seems we should open then to the FCN citizens so keep it the same....

Oh

New Waldensia:

I do not, however, believe that moving the Senate to NS from Discord is a wise move, as the setting would not be as conducive to deliberation, debate, and voting as Discord is

Ulrech:

Holy Rhinish Islands As I've mentioned in the past one of the things I love most about the FCN is how pretty much anyone can get involved in the government

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands Let me get this straight. You’ll immediately resign from the senate because you don’t want to be involved in it as President, but here you are detailing your perfect 12 member elected senate and how it is elected?

New Waldensia:

12 people seems like a smaller group. Almost an inner circle

Ulrech:

This is why I don't believe a unicameral legislature will work

Holy Rhinish Islands:

An elected Senate doesn’t stop involvement. It just means you need consent of those who you legislate.

New Waldensia:

I would propose a grand revision of the FCN government, renaming the President as The Grand Topeka and making it a monarchy after ditching the Senate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

And like I said, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, I am open to any changes. 16 members, 32 members, 48 members, what have you.

Ulrech:

Holy Rhinish Islands it does however stop individuals like The Clone Republic from joining the region and fighting for legislation they are passionate about

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I say keep it open.... it limits FCN creativity from the senate and involvement.

Gagium:

Holy Rhinish Islands, are you going to be the one proposing this?

It sounds like you’re the one in charge of planning your elected senate..

Ulrech:

He would've had to bring his bill idea to a senator and hope the senator thought enough of him to propose the bill

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Holy Rhinish Islands

I am the senate

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I voiced my opinion and I’m open to negotiating with whoever my speaker and all senators over the details of electoral reform

Gagium:

I’d you want to negotiate with the senate and take part in it, why resign from the senate?

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I say keep it the same.

Gagium:

That defeats the purpose of separation of powers as you’re using it, I believe.

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Gagium I am still allowed to talk with Senators, no? It shall still ultimately be up to them if they propose the amendments or not.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Don’t they do that already?

New Waldensia:

How the Senate decides to conduct or reform itself is primarily a role for the Senate, not the President. In the matter of the President being potentially a member of the Senate, I have begun to think that it may be a bit of a conflict of interest. Perhaps the President should be a non-voting member, able to debate and propose legislation, but unable to vote as he wields the veto pen.

Gagium:

So resigning from the Senate would be a formality, Holy Rhinish Islands?

Ulrech:

I'd also like to ask if there are any more questions as we are already running over on time

Furbish Islands:

No, I have no more questions.

Ulrech:

Well

Holy Rhinish Islands:

I'd like to move on to the next question rather than to die on this hill.

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Is that a wrap?

Furbish Islands:

I believe it is time for the closing statements. The candidates may give one final position or argument, a campaign promise that has not been mentioned, and why you are the best choice for president.

Gagium:

You don’t have more questions then.??

I was just getting started..

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

I am the best choice because I say so. All these other buffoons (besides New Waldensia, Gagium, and Ulrech) are gay. Vote for me or die!!!!

:joy:

Clown me boys

Ulrech:

I've given my statements I have made a case for my self... I humbly ask for you vote my dms are always open if you have any questions about FCN politics....win or lose my dms will always be open to those who needs help...thank you for your time

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire:

Love you FCN :kissing_heart::fcn:

And hail the NP

Gagium:

Furbish Islands It doesn’t matter if I think I should be President, it only matters whether the people think I should be President. I’m hoping that my campaign dispatch and debate performance has convinced them that I am the right choice for the elections on the 15th.

To recap though, you should vote for me because I will put you first, simple as that. I look to help each individual nation develop and prosper in our region through activities, meaningful roleplay, an engaging Army of Freedom, beneficial alliances and embassies, and of course a cabinet that cares and shares my enthusiasm and love for the region.

Please DM me if you have any questions. And remember, your vote is your vote, not anyone else’s...Though I hope that your vote will be cast for me! :fcn: :fcn: :fcn:

New Waldensia:

I'd like to thank the gentlemen for an invigorating and thought-provoking debate. Furbish Islands, you did an admirable job of designing questions that would prompt in-depth discussion by the candidates, and the FCN is better for having held this event.

Voters of the FCN, you have before you a field of candidates that are determined to see our beloved region flourish. Your decision will not be light, but neither will it be wrong. I am confident that our region will see continued progress with any of the candidates in this contest.

I have served the FCN since the very beginning. I plan to serve the FCN until my dying NS day. My record speaks for itself. My platform can be viewed at https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1303633. There are some additional items that were not discussed tonight that I will make a priority if elected, such as finishing the offical history of the FCN.

We have built a truly wonderful home in the FCN, and I would be honored to receive your trust in leading it through the next term.

:fcn: FCN Forever! :fcn:

Holy Rhinish Islands:

Rather Controversial Topic for a closing statement, but here goes.

I do believe that Government Transparency is the #1 issue for this Government. The Residents outside the Senate and Discord deserve to know how their President, Vice President, Candidate, or Cabinet Members and Senators, vote and how they act in this Discord. Ultimately it would be voter education so that we don't end up with a person that doesn't represent their personal beliefs in office.

I'd like to thank Furbish Islands, Ulrech, Gagium, The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire, and New Waldensia for the time tonight as well. Your decision on Wednesday will not be wrong.

Furbish Islands:

I'm afraid the debate has to end here due to time. Thank you to all who tuned in to the debate, and to all five candidates who participated. Hosting this debate was a pleasure, and I hope all of you had as much fun as I did. As I mentioned before, this will be put on the RMB tomorrow morning, with the results to the pre and post debate polls. Good night, and good luck to all on the elections!

And here are the results to the post-debate poll, which was up for a few hours following the end of the debate:

Ulrech - 9

Holy Rhinish Islands - 4

Gagium - 3

New Waldensia - 3

The Neo Austro Hungarian3 Empire - 2[/spoiler]

Thank you for all who will read this debate which took me quite a bit of time to compile, because now you will be informed about your candidate of choice.

Yay

Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, Emerisis

Gagium wrote::clown:

:randomguydabbing:

Gagium, Dragons Of Power, Emerisis

West Phoenicia wrote:New Waldensia

You mentioned that you now realise having the President as a voting member of the Senate may be a bit of conflict of interest.

Isn't that the same leaky boat the Justices are in. As the Court's are an Independent body they too are Senators who vote aye, nay or Present on legislation and in the same term have to weigh in issues as Justices if the lesgislatiin is bought before the Courts.

Can be it be seen As truly an independent body if the same lesgislatiin they just voted on, the next day they have to weigh in on. A very clear case of conflict of interest lies there too.

To any Presidental nominee, how do you fix this conflict of interest?

As a matter of consistency, yes, it's very much the same situation. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I intend to pursue some reforms on this vein.

Gagium, West Phoenicia, Emerisis

Hey everyone. Old to the game, but been on a very long hiatus and now I’m back. Looking forward to chatting with you all and enjoy this region. Cheers.

Ulrech, Furbish Islands, New Waldensia, Tesyky, Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, Emerisis

Jeepan wrote:Hey everyone. Old to the game, but been on a very long hiatus and now I’m back. Looking forward to chatting with you all and enjoy this region. Cheers.

No go away. Jk welcome back

Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, Emerisis, Jeepan

Ulrech you served as Chief Intelligence for, what, three-ish months, and you failed to do any basic duties of that job as laid out in the bill that created it..(You told Furby that if he appointed you to the position again, the first thing you'd do is abolish it). Why would your presidency be different? We couldn't count on you to do anything then while you were on the executive, so why should we when you lead the executive?

Furbish Islands, Viridus, West Phoenicia, Dragons Of Power, Holy Rhinish Islands

Tbh. Only people who care about community building and gameplay that can construct an experienced, technocratic cabinet should be elected President. The amount of people running for pres or not who have turned away from that is concerning.

Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power, The Cot Corporation

San Carlos Islands wrote:Tbh. Only people who care about community building and gameplay that can construct an experienced, technocratic cabinet should be elected President. The amount of people running for pres or not who have turned away from that is concerning.

Haha I was fash

Gagium, Dragons Of Power

New Waldensia wrote:As a matter of consistency, yes, it's very much the same situation. Regardless of the outcome of the election, I intend to pursue some reforms on this vein.

Good answer. The trouble I had when I introduced a bill to make that possible was, a number of people voted no, because they worried that without 3 extra people the Senate would quiet down in activity, while agreeing they did pose a conflict of interest.

Gagium

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:Haha I was fash

Wut

Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

West Phoenicia wrote:[nation]New Waldensia[nation]

You mentioned that you now realise having the President as a voting member of the Senate may be a bit of conflict of interest.

Isn't that the same leaky boat the Justices are in. As the Court's are an Independent body they too are Senators who vote aye, nay or Present on legislation and in the same term have to weigh in issues as Justices if the lesgislatiin is bought before the Courts.

Can be it be seen As truly an independent body if the same lesgislatiin they just voted on, the next day they have to weigh in on. A very clear case of conflict of interest lies there too.

To any Presidental nominee, how do you fix this conflict of interest?

I believe that the 3 branches should be entirely separated. No Citizen should be in two branches - or even positions - at once, sans the Senate Speaker, Pro-Tempore, and Clerk in the Senate, because that's kind of obvious, the leaders of the branch should be able to vote in the branch. This could also give the Vice President more power in breaking ties, seeing as the VP is already the President of the Senate and would now have no vote, giving him/her the power to break ties.

Gagium, West Phoenicia, New Inglaterra

Gagium wrote:Ulrech you served as Chief Intelligence for, what, three-ish months, and you failed to do any basic duties of that job as laid out in the bill that created it..(You told Furby that if he appointed you to the position again, the first thing you'd do is abolish it). Why would your presidency be different? We couldn't count on you to do anything then while you were on the executive, so why should we when you lead the executive?

Frankly the office of Chief of Intelligence is a joke as I’ve stated before the position is a joke... I received absolutely no intel on what I was expected nor required to do...I’m not blaming anyone for my job not being accomplished but I would’ve liked a bit of assistance for those in higher positions than myself when it comes to helping me settle into the role and technically I was never appointed to it for this 2nd term

Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:Haha I was fash

Remember when I won every time but one?

Viridus, Gagium, The Legion Of Mankind

Ulrech wrote:Frankly the office of Chief of Intelligence is a joke as I’ve stated before the position is a joke...and technically I was never appointed to it for this 2nd term

Why did you hold and accept the office then rather then resign..? As a joke?

New Inglaterra

Gagium wrote:Why did you hold and accept the office then rather then resign..? As a joke?

I didn’t hold the office...I was never appointed

Gagium, Emerisis

Ulrech wrote:I didn’t hold the office...I was never appointed

Ulrech wrote:[Post acknowledging that you held the office as chief intelligence for the RCS]

Viridus

Gagium wrote:

The second term under Furby’s presidency boss

Viridus, Gagium

Ulrech wrote:The second term under Furby’s presidency boss

Well, if I'm talking about you holding and accepting the office and you didn't for Furby's term, I'm probably not talking about anything related to Furby's term on that

Once you're actually willing to explain..Why did you accept the executive position of Chief of Intelligence if you thought it was a 'joke'? You very well could've resigned rather than accept the position - Why should we believe that you won't take the office of President as a joke when you did the office of Chief of Intelligence?

Viridus

San Carlos Islands wrote:Remember when I won every time but one?

Yes.

Viridus, Gagium, Dragons Of Power

Gagium wrote:Well, if I'm talking about you holding and accepting the office and you didn't for Furby's term, I'm probably not talking about anything related to Furby's term on that

Once you're actually willing to explain..Why did you accept the executive position of Chief of Intelligence if you thought it was a 'joke'? You very well could've resigned rather than accept the position - Why should we believe that you won't take the office of President as a joke when you did the office of Chief of Intelligence?

the only time I accept led said office was before I realized how much of a joke it was...you continue to mix two separate terms together to attempt to trip me up..

Gagium, Fluvannia

Ulrech wrote:the only time I accept led said office was before I realized how much of a joke it was...you continue to mix two separate terms together to attempt to trip me up..

Why didn't you resign when you realized "how much of a joke it was"? You were clearly not fit for the position in that instance, but you held on to your title..why?

Viridus, The Legion Of Mankind

Gagium wrote:Why didn't you resign when you realized "how much of a joke it was"? You were clearly not fit for the position in that instance, but you held on to your title..why?

Because the position doesn’t matter...it’s rather insignificant...it points to something I’ve pushed for during my time in the Senate...the streamlining of government positions allowing for those in power to acting perform tasks...something that actually came up while you were criticizing New Waldensia last night

Viridus, Gagium

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=the_legion_of_mankind/detail=factbook/id=1267803

Furbish Islands, Tesyky, Viridus, Gagium, New Inglaterra, Emerisis

Who do you think is going to get to the Superbowl?

Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

West Phoenicia wrote:Are you receiving kick backs from the vaping industry?
Yes, be we are attempting cooperation with raising the legal age to 21.

Viridus, Gagium

The Greysonian Empire wrote:Who do you think is going to get to the Superbowl?

Titans.

Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis, Jeepan

Washingtonian Republic wrote:I have new legislation that will effectively limit the use of tobacco products within the Federation Of Conservative Nations #BeTheGenerationThatQuits #StopTheCamel #ForResponsibleAdultsOnly

Good job, weed is gay. There's a reason why we're at war with it.

Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium, The Legion Of Mankind, Emerisis

Washingtonian Republic wrote:Yes, be we are attempting cooperation with raising the legal age to 21.

Such a nanny state

Washingtonian Republic, Gagium, Emerisis

West Phoenicia wrote:Such a nanny state

Okay pot grower.

#WeedIsGay #VapingIsLesbian #Juulain'tcuul

Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium

West Phoenicia wrote:Such a nanny state

Ok boomer

Viridus, Gagium, Mietkael, Emerisis, Freethinkers

Gladesville wrote:Okay pot grower.

#WeedIsGay #VapingIsLesbian #Juulain'tcuul

Do not disrespect mary jane like that

Washingtonian Republic, Viridus, Gagium

West Phoenicia wrote:Such a nanny state
Such a narco state

https://youtu.be/0Pwj6BuS8Ds

Viridus, Gagium

Post by Furbish Islands suppressed by a moderator.

[spoiler=Poll advertisement]New Poll! Most people here may not agree with any of the democratic candidates, but just choose the one you would pick if you had to pick one.[/spoiler] Let me know if you do not want notifications for polls from IDA.

Not sure if any of you remember IDA which has fallen into inactivity, but I'm trying to get it going again.

New Waldensia, Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

Post by Furbish Islands suppressed by a moderator.

Furbish Islands wrote:Biden gang assemble

I'm afraid Yang Gang rolls off the tongue a little more smoothly

Viridus, Gagium

VOTE ME OR BE DED

Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Dragonwings, Emerisis

The Legion Of Mankind wrote:VOTE ME OR BE DED

I'D RATHER KERMIT SUICIDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h9PvUHsaXI

Viridus, Gagium, Dragonwings

Gladesville wrote:Okay pot grower.

#WeedIsGay #VapingIsLesbian #Juulain'tcuul

I don't see how vaping is lesbian. They don't like putting their mouth on things long and hard.

Viridus, Gagium, Fluvannia, Dragonwings, Holy Rhinish Islands

West Phoenicia wrote:I don't see how vaping is lesbian. They don't like putting their mouth on things long and hard.

Lol

Viridus, Gagium, Holy Rhinish Islands

Gladesville wrote:Okay pot grower.

#WeedIsGay #VapingIsLesbian #Juulain'tcuul

Daddy government, I need your oversight on everything I do in my life. Freedom is cringe.

Gagium, Holy Rhinish Islands

Furbish Islands wrote:

Obviously it's the last option

Furbish Islands, Gagium

Knechting wrote:[spoiler=Poll advertisement]New Poll! Most people here may not agree with any of the democratic candidates, but just choose the one you would pick if you had to pick one.[/spoiler] Let me know if you do not want notifications for polls from IDA.

Not sure if any of you remember IDA which has fallen into inactivity, but I'm trying to get it going again.

Buttigieg = Homocracy. If you want even your pet to not be branded with the most hideous LGBT stamp, vote for anybody except Assigayg

Knechting, Viridus, Gagium

Gladesville wrote:Buttigieg = Homocracy. If you want even your pet to not be branded with the most hideous LGBT stamp, vote for anybody except Assigayg

....

Liberated American Provinces, Gagium, Greater Bastion, Emerisis

Knechting wrote:[spoiler=Poll advertisement]New Poll! Most people here may not agree with any of the democratic candidates, but just choose the one you would pick if you had to pick one.[/spoiler] Let me know if you do not want notifications for polls from IDA.

Not sure if any of you remember IDA which has fallen into inactivity, but I'm trying to get it going again.

Voted for mommy.

Liberated American Provinces, Knechting, Viridus, Gagium, Greater Bastion

Anyone who does not believe in the Donut Earth is an idiot and should be burned at the stake

Knechting, Furbish Islands, Viridus, Gagium, Emerisis

Gladesville wrote:Buttigieg = Homocracy. If you want even your pet to not be branded with the most hideous LGBT stamp, vote for anybody except Assigayg

tf lmao XD

Viridus, Gagium

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1305579

Remember to vote Inglaterra!

Viridus, Gagium, Greater Bastion

Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.