Federal Campaign Season begins!

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Register and campaign here. Registration and campaigning will last at least 1 year. (1 Rl month). Please state your full biography, platform, and objectives if you should win the Presiency.

ooc: Non-U.S. Membership may not campaign, but may comment, play the news reporters, etc. Open field outside of candidacy. If the RP stagnates I may move the election dates up.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

Delaware Candidate: E.I. du Pont
Party: Democratic-Industrialist
Biography: aged 40, du Pont is a self made billionaire who runs his family Industrial Conglomerate The du Pont Chemical Works. His interest in politics stems from the corruption he sees ongoing from Wall Street financial sectors and the lack of backbone in Washington D.C. to do anything about it. In addition du Pont feels that the lack of free education and health care damages the United States on the world stage because the citizens of the USA are not as able to compete for jobs in the growing global economy. As such du Pont supports legislation for Free Health Care as well as Education and also promises to use a vast majority of his family fortunes to start helping the under privileged of the United States gain an education, gain jobs and gain back the American Spirit.

Platform: Free Health Care/Education
Expanded United States Industries
A Balanced Budget Amendment so as to stop the deficit Washington Spending currently on going

Edited July 21, 2010 by graniteknight

[KingChris]

Texas candidate: James Johnson (Republican)

Biography: 55 years old. Born and raised in a prominent political family. Graduated from Vanderbilt University. Served as Senator in the Texas Senate. His main focuses lies with rightist views. He supports tax cuts, state control, and is pro-life, while opposing socialist agendas, such as universal healthcare.

Platform:
Economics: Promote the free market, laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism, and personal responsibility over welfare
Government: Strict interpretation of the Constitution. If the Constitution does not allocate a certain power to the national government, it belongs to the state government
Environment: Global warming is not man made. It is man contributed, but nature is the primary cause.
Social policies: No gay marriage, pro-life, oppose capital punishment, oppose affirmative action, support school choice
Defense: Strong defensive funding equals more protection.

Objectives: Promote ideas in platform above, expand U.S. territory, bring culprit of Texas nuclear attack to justice.

Edited July 21, 2010 by KingChris

[Maelstrom Vortex]

The Federal Election Commission has viewed the registrations and certified them. Gentlemen, you may begin campaigning whenever you are ready. Registration is still open to candidates.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

To kick off the du Pont campaign a whistlestop train tour was conducted through his home state of Delaware. A ringing endorsement of candidate Caesar Rodney for Governor was also part of the message for citizen voters in Delaware.
Stops for the Train Include:
* Delaware City, Delaware
* Dover, Delaware
* Harrington, Delaware
* Lewes, Delaware
* Milford, Delaware
* Newark, Delaware
* New Castle, Delaware
* Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
* Seaford, Delaware
* Wilmington, Delaware

Campaign rallies were held at each city and were well attended by the masses of Delawareans who clamored to see the new candidate who would bring glory to the state of Delaware. The train tour would continue by train up through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania and slowly move through that state in the coming days holding rallies and giving speeches to the delight of the masses.

Also of note, Television and Internet advertisements and web programmes were set up so that the public would get out and "Rock the Vote" for du Pont, Ads and Materials were distributed in the Tri Stathe e Area(Delaware, PA and NJ) with plans to take the ads and materials on trips through the New England States as well as further down the East Coast

Edited July 21, 2010 by graniteknight

[Sargun II]

[center] [img]http://stupidcelebrities.net/wp-content/mattdamonmain.jpg[/img]

[size="5"]Nico Crooks, Independent[/size]
[size="4"]No other will do.[/size]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znt8c4Cdm6U"]Official Campaign Song - Hate on Me[/url]

[u][size="3"]Biography[/size][/u]

[b]Nico Crooks[/b] was born in [b]Phoenix, Arizona[/b] 39 years ago to parents [b]Mary and James Crooks[/b], a pair of police officers with the Phoenix Police Department. Mary and James moved with Nico to [b]Kingman, Arizona[/b] when he was just four. Before he was five, Nico was reading and his parents decided to [b]home-school[/b] him rather than waste money on elementary school. He quickly progressed in his studies at home and his parents, despite working full-time as police officers for Kingman, saw him blossom. Nico's parents successfully petitioned a school board to allow him to play for athletics teams in his age group in a nearby middle school; he played starting quarterback for his middle school and won a state championship.

When it was time for high school, his parents decided to enroll him in [b]Kingman High School[/b] in order to fix what they believed was a lack of friends on his part. During high school, he was elected to various student council positions and eventually President. After he graduated as [b]Valedictorian[/b], Nico went to the [b]University of South California[/b] for a degree in Accounting. The degree was a fallback in case his only choice for a profession failed: [b]Sheriff of Phoenix[/b]. He graduated from USC at a normal rate and quickly moved back to Phoenix and became a police officer. After only three years, Nico was promoted after receiving a string of medals for exceptional bravery and extremely smart managing during high-stress situations. The celebrated Officer Crooks was pushed to run for Sheriff by his family, and with the support of most of the Phoenix Police Department he became the Sheriff of Phoenix.

Nico, always the optimist, at first refused to see the corruption in the police department and was very strong in his pursuit against communists and the like. However, after a reelection, he softened his stance after he accidentally uncovered a wide-spread ring of corruption involving new recruits in not only Phoenix but other areas as well. His famous tactics against those disliked by the Tahoan government were dropped and he took a hit to his popularity. However, the move paid off and there was a distinct drop in crime during his second stint as Sheriff. His popularity rose again and he instituted new measures and campaigned for a series of reforms in Arizona, becoming quite politically active. The controversy regarding Nico's campaigning was fierce but he ignored the naysayers and eventually became [b]"Arizona's most admired man"[/b].

Just before [b]the Conflict[/b], he was considered for a federal "security" job but this was quickly cancelled with the invasion of Tahoe. He did not participate against the invaders, but returned to his job as Sheriff and quickly was quiet in the aftermath. During [b]the Reconquista[/b] against the Loyalist uprising, Nico was captured by Loyalists and was close to being summarily executed when he escaped. During his escape, he was rescued by members of the FFF, and was quickly recruited into their special forces program to fight against the Loyalists. Working as a member of special forces, he ran three missions before a vacancy in the top spot led to his promotion. He was promoted to the head of [b]FFF Special Forces[/b] and became an important decision-maker in the fight against the Loyalists. His tactics resulted in a total of zero FFF casualties on his missions and were instrumental in bringing down the Loyalists and their eventual surrender.

His popularity in Arizona and new recognition with the [b]Second Republic government[/b] led to his successful run for [b]High Governor of South Tahoe[/b].

[u][size="3"]Platform[/size][/u]

Nico Crooks runs on a platform of what he calls "common sense policies".

[b]Tax Policy:[/b] Nico Crooks supports what many would call a "tax and spend policy". He is officially on the record that "as long as we cut out the unnecessary beaurocracy in the Federal Government, there is no reason to believe that the Federal Government is incapable of anything. Indeed, it is quite the opposite: as long as the Federal Government uses her taxes on necessary or popular items and wisely manages her budget, there are no limits to what wonders may come of it". He has clarified, however, that a steep rise in taxes would be harmful to the United States as a whole and instead of simply raising taxes and unfairly applying new budget policies, he would establish a committee of not just economic experts but also local leaders who are willing to work with the Federal Government - even if it means saying no.
[b]Trade:[/b] Nico Crooks officially has no stance on trade but wishes to see less sanctions done to other nations. "The more we try to act as though we make a difference in international trade the more we look like a fool. There has never been an instance in recent history in which an embargo or sanction has led directly to any reasonable goal."
[b]Health Care:[/b] Nico Crooks supports expanding rules requiring health insurance by all Americans and the offering of a completely optional "public option" as a last resort to those who are unable to get it via the free market insurance companies. He does not, however, plan on vigorously supporting a massive health care reform platform as right now America is still growing and needs to get her feet on the ground before she picks out her shoes.
[b]Network Neutrality:[/b] Nico Crooks supports free speech rights to any and all who would transmit data over the internet. He believes that there should be no restrictions by Internet Service Providers or the government on content, sites, platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and no restrictions on the modes of communications allowed. He also endorses a set of laws that would significantly lighten the penalties on those convicted of piracy, stating, "the people who are likely to pirate are those who have less money to buy things in the first place. Making them owe thousands of dollars more just contributes to the problem."
[b]Lobbying:[/b] Nico Crooks supports lobbyists but is against funding from lobbyists. "There are several interests that must need to be represented, and I am not against that. What I am against is those who would wish to pay off government officials rather than actually argue their points."
[b]Transportation:[/b] Wants to increase federal funding for the reconstruction of an interstate system. "Cross-state transportation is essential to the economic health of the Union."
[b]Labor:[/b] Is for the concept of unions but against most modern practices of inflated salaries and ridiculous systems. "Unions are necessary for the survival of the free market, but in their current state they have become bloated. What we need is to establish that the government is no longer in the era of the 1900s, and that workers need to understand that corporations cannot afford to double your salaries every two years. Fight for good working conditions and competitive salaries, not to become fat and greedy."
[b]Foreign Policy:[/b] Will attempt to repair image and create new allies. Is heavily for an upgrade of the United States military. Foreign policy in general would be a major review of existing ties and perhaps a shift in the way the United States goes about her business.
[b]Environment/Energy:[/b] Heavily supports the passage of new rules along the lines of those passed by South Tahoe. Is very environmentally friendly but does not support crippling industries to help the environment, as the resulting abuses would simply make the problem twice as worse.
[b]Same-sex Marriage:[/b] Supportive of same-sex marriage. "Marriage wasn't a religious institution to begin with and it isn't one now. It is a bond of love between two people, and that is it. The minute we start restricting the right to love because of how somebody is born is the minute we start collapsing from the inside out."
[b]Abortion:[/b] Supports abortion, but "not as contraception." Believes that all girls of reproductive age who have sex should be on a birth control pill, and if there is a subsequent accidental pregnancy then it is completely accidental and thus an early, first-term abortion can be performed. Otherwise, "you're wasting your health and the social fabric of our country because you were too lazy to cough up twenty bucks and swallow some water." Supports any abortions done by rape victims or incest victims during any time.
[b]Gun Control:[/b] "Guns will always be here: just restrict the grenade launchers and RPGs and we'll be fine."
[b]Death Penalty:[/b] Nico Crooks is a heavy opponent of the death penalty. "There are far too many flaws."
[b]Education:[/b] Nico Crooks is a favorite of government help for the maths and sciences. He believes that as long as we can continue to invest in our future and in our children, we will always get the money back in ways we cannot see in dollar signs: in new technologies and innovations that will help improve not just the United States, but the world for the better.
[b]Drugs:[/b] "What they do with their own body is what they should be allowed to do. Grow it, tax it, legalize it, and we'll see a rise in profits and a lowering in gang activity. Win-win for everyone."

[u][size="3"]Objectives[/size][/u]

"I will promise nothing other than that I will work for the common good of every citizen of the United States. If I make a promise, how do I know the situation won't change? There are simply too many hazards to make promises, but I will try my best to ensure that the United States will go on a path of honesty, integrity, fairness, and common sense. No other will do."

Despite this, he has said that he will attempt reforms involving tax policy, network neutrality, drug policy, and a foreign policy renewal. [/center]

[Maelstrom Vortex]

The Federal Election Committee finds the registration of Nico Crooks to be in compliance with federal law as a legal citizen of the United States as adopted by the Senate during the South Western States reunification. You may begin campaigning now. (Not that you haven't already.)

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

Announcement from the Campaign of E.I. du Pont
Senator Ricardo Colon (D-I) from the great state of New Jersey has accepted our offer to be the Vice Presidential nominee for the du Pont campaign.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

(CNN) Wolf Blitzer - The Situation Room - "U.S. Elections are heating up, already Billionaire Candidate E.I. du Pont has selected a running mate even before the Party Conventions. Nico Crooks has issued a very strong, detailed platform that seems to be resonating with many voters. However, political pundits are saying that du Pont's move to select Senator Ricardo Colon from the industrial super centers of New Jersey may be a move that is currently giving him an edge in terms of momentum. Keep your eyes here on CNN, America's election headquarters."

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

The Whistlestop Train Tour conducted by the du Pont campaign today pulled into Baltimore, Maryland to lunch with voters and drum up support for the du Pont campaign. Flyers were posted and election materials were distributed and ads were set up on all the local and national networks costing the campaign 5 million dollars out of the 1 Billion that du Pont set aside from his family fortune for the campaign. The next stop for the train is the Naval Academy at Annapolis where du Pont will give a rousing speech to the Midshipmen.

OOC: Mael, please rp as the midshipmen at Annapolis, cheering and asking questions and such

[Maelstrom Vortex]

"Mr. DuPont, I've great concerns about my family's health care, the costs are rising out of control. What will you do about controlling these cots when you get elected? I've heard a lot of debate between total privatization and making health care universal. Which do you feel is the solution?" A midshipman inquired about Anappolis inquired.

Another asked, "If you were sitting where President Caudill was right now in Pikachurin, what message would you give the Tahoan delegation trying to reclaim the South West?"

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

It is my personal belief and the belief of this campaign that health care should not be denied to any person, no matter the cost or the type of operation or any pre-existing conditions which would otherwise limit the care of the patient under the current system. It is my current belief that the Health Care System of the United States is rampantly out of control and corrupt with Insurance companies and hospitals bilking consumers out of billions of dollars in premiums and charges and other expenses and not fully providing adequate care for all Americans, Under the current system Hospitals can basically charge for example 400 dollars for a pair of aspirin one would receive whilst in the care of the hospital, it is this type of greed, corruption and graft that needs to be put to an end, and Universal Healthcare under the du Pont Administration would do just that.

To the Question about Foreign Affairs-
This is a truly difficult question to answer, but to be perfectly honest the du Pont administration would not go to the bickering politicians to solve these questions, we would not trust a potentially biased article of reunification because of its potential of not reflecting the full views of the people. The du Pont administration would go town to town, city to city and hold the vote for Reunification, A national Referendum I believe the term is, no political dealing no back door corruption, just purely what the people wish.

Edited July 21, 2010 by graniteknight

[KingChris]

Johnson kicked off his campaign at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the site where he spent the four greatest years of his life. The college students gathered on the Peabody campus, the largest open space in Vanderbilt. Flyers of red elephants surrounded the black and yellow of the university, paid by the Republican candidate. Any and all questions were allowed.

OOC: If anyone else here is gonna RP a Republican candidate, are we gonna have a primary?

[Maelstrom Vortex]

ooc: If we get more than one candidate per party.. yup.. primaries will be had.

[Maelstrom Vortex]

The U.S. Government publicly notifies the world of its intended method of dividing the electorate. Each territory shall be allotted one electoral vote per x citizens. (ooc: With X being whatever the CNRP representation of 5000 citizens IG is, assume it is there.) The minimum electoral vote count per territory is 1.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

OOC: Will you do a map then with the electoral votes all assigned out?
IC; In the first major move of the du Pont campaign attack ads were launched to go nation wide painting Nico Crooks as just that a Crook who does not truly care for the American people. (OOC: http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?showtopic=89466&st=60)

[Sargun II]

In a swift response, a simple ad was launched in retaliation. It was simply these words on a black screen, narrated by a woman:

[i]The du Pont campaign says that Nico Crooks is a crook that does not care for the American People. Nico Crooks does not want to tell you what you should believe. You should believe what you want. Read this statement for yourself and then ask: does Nico Crooks hate the American people?

"...we are talking about millions of lives here hanging in the balance because one ousted, unpopular government seems incapable to understand that in a legitimate vote, they [b]lost[/b]. I have more important things to care about than losing a few electoral votes..."

Think about it. Nothing else will do.[/i]

[Maelstrom Vortex]

[b](CNN) Wolf Blitzer - The Situation Room -[/b] The du Pont campaign just released a VERY controversial ad smearing Nico Crooks with his own words as a South West Centered candidate that could care less about the rest of the United States. This amid high level talks in Pikachurin about the destiny of the states in the region and the exiled Tahoan Government. It seems the campaign season is really starting to catch fire.. with the first attack ads of the season hitting the air waves. As always, keep with CNN for your American election coverage.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Maelstrom Vortex

[AironthFlamewing]

A second advertisement was sent out to reply to the Crooks Campaign, The du Pont ad, stated simply a [i]few[/i] electoral votes, the Northeast and Midatlantic and all the United States are worth more to du Pont then to Crooks

[Sargun II]

"Mr. du Pont, I wish to extend to you an offer to debate me one-on-one; I wish to extend to you the honor of being part of the first debate of the Presidential election campaign."

[AironthFlamewing]

In other news, The Whistlestop Tour continued and reached the great city of Annapolis and E.I. du Pont walked into the hallowed halls of the Naval Academy to prepare a speech and to campaign. Walking into the Main Hall du Pont stood before the cheering mass of midshipman and opened the floor to questions before his speech.

[AironthFlamewing]

Yes, I agree to this debate, but it is at my location with impartial moderators(Gwynne Ifill)

[Gunther]

Senator Ricardo Colon (D) New Jersey has accepted Mr. du Pont of Delaware's offer of the Vice Presidency on the Democratic ticket for the Presidential Election.

[spoiler]Richard "Ricardo" Colon (born August 12, 1954) is the junior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. In December 2005, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate, and was sworn into office in January 2006. Colon was elected to his own full six-year term in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, defeating Republican Brian Hawkins. He is the first person of Latino ethnicity to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.

Prior to his appointment to the U.S. Senate, Colon was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2006. A resident of Hoboken, he previously served as Mayor of Union City (1986–1992) and a member of the New Jersey General Assembly (1987–1991) and the New Jersey Senate (1991–1993).

Following the 2008 elections, Colon was appointed to head the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Richard Colon is in favor of making it illegal for foreign governments to buy U.S. port operations. Colon said, "Our ports are the front lines of the war on terrorism. They are both vulnerable targets for attack and venues for smuggling and human trafficking. We wouldn't turn the Border Patrol or the Customs Service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either."

Supports a National Health Care Plan.

Supports efforts to place further controls on the Banking industry

Seeks to hold CEOs of major corporations accountable for the adverse effects of their policy-making that lead to higher unemployment rates.

Seeks to improve the educational standards of all public schools across the nation so that they are more competitive with the students in the global community.

Endorsed the Democratic presidential bid in a previous election and was given the position of National Campaign Co-Chair. Subsequently he made numerous media appearances voicing his support for the campaign. [/spoiler]

[Maelstrom Vortex]

Gwynne Ifill accepts the role as moderator and will begin to prepare a battery of questions.. each candidate will have 5 minutes (500 characters) to phrase their response.

[KingChris]

OOC: Anyone going to ask me anything?