Two Confederacies (Zoot and PD)

[PresidentDavid]

 

From The Secretary of State of The Confederation of MidAmerica

To The Department of Foreign Affairs of The Confederate States of America

 

 

 

Alistair Moore,

 

I am happy to see that things are going well in your part of the continent. It is a sad thing that we have not spoken since the conference in Mexico City. If you are willing to make the trip, I would like to invite you to Baton Rouge so that we can discuss matters of diplomacy and possibly focus on economic ties and mutual defense.

 

Let me know if you or another representative would be up to coming.

 

Mark Collins

Secretary of State of The Confederation of MidAmerica

[Zoot Zoot]

A standard response was drawn up by the diplomatic staffers accepting the invite to Baton Rouge.

 

Moore would fly from Montgomery to the meeting and would wait patiently for the meting to begin. With him he carried a document that enabled him to authorize anything on behalf of the Confederacy. Signed by all representatives of the States it was to simply keep travel costs down and not have an unwieldy cohort of politicians dogging every diplomatic meeting.

[PresidentDavid]

Moore would be allowed into the Confederation and would find himself guided with a military escort from the Confederate Military who utilized several humvees and two Blackhawk helicopters in the distance. The trip was a relatively short one from the border. They entered the bustling city of Baton Rouge where the former Louisiana State Capitol Building looked more like a massive monument in the distance. Unlike most other capitols that range throughout the former United States, this building was not made to model the American Capitol Building in Washington D.C. but instead was a relatively new concept that definitely made Louisiana and few other former States stand out from the rest of the former Union.

 

In then present time the capitol building served as the capitol for the Republic of Pontchartrain which was one of the many nations within the Confederation itself. Mark Collins had a pretty large amount of leeway to negotiate diplomacy. Other than giving away land larger than one-square mile - which would accommodate for things like a military base or embassy - Congress would allow him to speak on behalf of all the member nations and broker lasting terms of hopefully peace and economic cooperation. 

 

 

 

When Moore and his party would arrive in Baton Rouge an assortment of flags of both MidAmerica and the CSA would be planted in the ground around the capitol building. A large parade would be going on which marched through the streets of the city to greet the foreigners and hopefully positive news that they could bring to not only their relatively poor part of the Confederation but to all of MidAmerica as a whole.

 

Mark would meet Allistair outside. "Good morning Mister Collins!" He shouted over the partying and humming of various vehicle around them. "Welcome to the Confederation of MidAmerica! Let's go on inside. I'm sure you are hungry or would like a drink." After taking the numerous steps up inside the tower they found themselves in the lobby which was allowed to only have a few members of the press and other diplomats from across MidAmerica inside.

 

Mark would show Allistair the beautiful building. On either side of the tower were the two houses for the former congress of Louisiana: The House of Representatives and the Senate. However now only one was used for the Republic of Pontchartrain while the other remained more of a historical decoration for school children and historians to marvel about.

 

Once he gave him a quick tour of the lobby and two legislative chambers they would take the special elevator up to nearly the top of the tower where the "Governor's Office" was. The bronze plated doors had a gold-looking plaque above them which read For Governor's Use Only.

 

The two diplomats would make their way up to the former Governor's Office where the help was waiting with a tray of food and a few bottles of various different kinds of alcohol and wine. "Help yourself to anything you like," said the Secretary of State as he took a seat behind the large desk that had seen plenty of executives in its time. "We have everything from cake to stake and I have in fact not had a drink in at least twenty-four hours. Jeffery, get me some wine. Anything will be fine."

 

Mark offered Alistair a seat and then folded his hands. "So Mister Moore. I asked you to come here today because I have one goal - get this country rolling internationally and I think the Confederate States of America has the most - at least on the cultural level - the same with MidAmerica. We're southerners, we've always wanted our independence but we value unity, our people value religion and we want to preserve our way of life at all costs. Here's what I want," Mark said as he pushed a piece of paper Alistair's way.

 

"Full economic cooperation, including no income tax greater than 5-percent on any imported goods. Also I want us to have military cooperation. We report any foreign threats to the other that may come their way and an optional-defense-pact. Now tell me what we need to do to make that happen." Mark enjoyed his wine and waited for Alistair's response.

[Zoot Zoot]

"Mr Collins, I have no qualms with a free trade agreement, but a military alliance is a whole different ballgame so soon into both our nations paths. Secondly, we do not value religion as your people do, or our way of life and we may do not seek to label ourselves as Southerners. We value our Independence as a people and our personal freedom. God does not come before the needs of the people Mr Collins and I hope you can understand that. Myself and the representatives of the Confederacy enshrined such things in the Constitution to ensure we do not fall prey to the tyranny of an overpowered strong central Government." he said tersely.

 

"Whilst the document in my pocket does permit me to commit to anything agreed today, even military treaties, I do not wish to tie my nation's fate to those of another, optional or not. Not without consultation with Congress to ensure transparency. As for the income tax limit, I can negotiate. A flat line income tax can make both of us lose our on state revenue. Five percent being the first tier with an increase of three percent per $10,000 dollars of revenue being traded."

[PresidentDavid]

Mark put down his wine glass and looked back over to to the foreign diplomat. "Do not misunderstand my gesture by asking you to come here Mister Moore. If you do not wish to be here, or if you believe that it is not within the best interest of the Confederate States to have diplomatic relations with MidAmerica then I will not burden you with staying here because I do not want to waste my time. Perhaps if our people and our own beliefs are so different, Mister Moore, then we need not burden the people we serve with the friendship of each other." If Alistair was still there then Mark would continue the conversation they had started earlier.

 

"While I understand it is the idea to make money off of tariffs, however, a three-percent increase for every ten-thousand dollars of revenue is simply way too high.  If the math off the top of my head is correct, a transfer of one-million dollars would see a tariff of almost one-hundred percent which would make major trade between the Confederate States and MidAmerica virtually impossible. Wouldn't it?" Mark sat back and awaited Alistair's response and reminded him that he was more than welcome to enjoy any of the refreshments in the room.

Edited April 15, 2013 by PresidentDavid

[Zoot Zoot]

"Then I bid you a good day Mr President. I will arrange another meeting with you at another date when we are both more comfortable with each other and not waste time. But do not misunderstand me. I am not leaving through the desire to NOT have a positive relationship. I am leaving so that when I return, we can finish building the foundations of a strong alliance for the future."

[PresidentDavid]

The diplomat would be allowed to leave and safely escorted back to the border with the Confederate States of America.