[OOC] The Shifting Sands of Politics

[Chairman Stein]

Stuck on my phone and have a (party) meeting to attend. I'll be home and able to get the CPC-ML's MPs and Immigration Policy out then

[gowia]

@Giant Yep, feel free to make a party.

Stuck on my phone and have a (party) meeting to attend. I'll be home and able to get the CPC-ML's MPs and Immigration Policy out then

@Chairman Stein

I will await with bated breath.

Got my leadership added.

@Byrd Man

I will read through now.

[thorgili]

WIP Party

Party Name: The Atlas Party
Party Acronym:
Party Motto: To each his own
Party Logo:
Party Ideology: Libertarian/Objectivist
-Government Involvement: The Atlas Party Perfers the Government to have little or no involvement in both the social and economic aspects of life. Believing that having the government meddle in the lives of the people only adjitats and angers them.
-Economy: The Atlas Party believes in a Laize-Faire Capitalist system where there is little to no government involvment in the free market system. Due to the nationalization of a bulk of industries by the previous government the Atlas party plans to quickly ret con those policies reverting back to a mainly privatized economy.
-Taxes:As for taxes the Atlas party believes that it is blatantly stealing from the people. although it does admit that taxes are needed to some extent most atlas party members are wary to raise any taxes.
-Military: The Atlas Party supports a Large albeit isolationist military to help defend and protect both its people and their foreign interests.
-Environment: Most Atlas party members acknowledge the need to conserve the Environment in hopes of preserving it for future generations. While they do see the environment as a resource for industry they also try their hardest to maximize Enviromental Protection without hurting industry.
-Citizen Rights: To the Atlas party The rights of man are penultimate when it comes to the organization of a government. Liking to have clearly stated and unbending civil and political rights.
-Education: The Atlas party are fervent supporters of a Privatized schooling system encouraging specialized trade school which they believe are much more effective at preparing the children for life as a adult than a general school system.
-Health-Care: To The atlas party one of their biggest fears/concerns is the socialization of The healthcare industry perferring it to be kept privatized in order to maintain
-Emergency Services:
-Immigration: The Atlas Parties views of legal Immigration are quite welcoming seeing the UTC as the land of oppertunity and also gives the nation a cheap and easily hired work force from which capitalists and businesses can find a hardy work force.
-Other:
WIP MP
MP Name: Andrew O'Rian
MP Appearance:
MPs Party: Atlas Party
MPs Position in his/her Party: Party Leader
Home Territory: North Eastern UTC

[Byrd Man]

I'm assuming the Atlas Party's deputy leader will end up being John O'Gault.

[thorgili]

I'm assuming the Atlas Party's deputy leader will end up being John O'Gault.

@Byrd Man

Lol perhaps perhaps

[MrFoxNews]

I'm interested as well. I'll have a sheet up in the next couple days if you're still accepting.

[gowia]

Fox you can join and one other person who hasnt declared interest already...but that will be the limit.

[The Captain]

I've got a party nearly finished. They sit somewhere between the radicals and the more centrist parties. I just need a logo. Does Civitas have a national animal or something patriotic to that effect?

[Enzayne]

I'm starting to get interested in getting us a scale with the parties on it.. xD

Also, working on my own candidates now.

[gowia]

I've got a party nearly finished. They sit somewhere between the radicals and the more centrist parties. I just need a logo. Does Civitas have a national animal or something patriotic to that effect?

@The Captain

It's national animal is the Badger.

Once the election begins I will send each party a list of party membership, some national statistics and a number of posts they are allowed to out before the debates. In effect each post is your chance to write something that will make you seem amazing. Describe a party fund raiser, a march with your supporters or simply a dinner with an 'average' family. Its up to you.

[Giant]

Christian Democratic Party

Party Name: Christian Democratic Party

Party Acronym: CDP

Party Motto: Guiding ourselves by faith.
Party Logo:

Party Ideology: The CDP has a very loose ideological agenda, although adhering strictly to the idea of Christian values, the interpretation of these varies from MP to MP. But throughout the years, the party has formed a focus around social welfare, religious freedom, conservatism (albeit only ideological) and recently, a focus on enviromental legislation. However, the doctrine is not strictly enforced within the party, which causes a lot of clashes between conservative and liberal MPs.

-Government Involvement: A central point in the CDP's agenda is solidarity between neighbors and the help to the disenfranchised. The CDP supports a heavy net to cover the needs of the people, albeit with some controls, to allow them to stand up back on their feet. Whether it is unemployement subsidies, social housing, food stamps or job-seeking (and training) programs, the CDP has always (almost) unanimously supported heavy government involvement to cover the needs of many.

-Economy: The economy must be in service of humanity instead of humanity being enslaved the economy. Albeit there is some divisions on whether nationalization was the right choice, most of the CDP MPs agree on a small degree of nationalization of the current market in order to generate enough revenue to carry through the fiscal year without pushing too much of a burden into the average tax-payer. The greatest split in regards to economic matters is between the degree of regulatory measures in the economy; about half of the party believes light regulations would ensure increased investing (both from international investors and nationals) and a growth in economy, while the other half believes that ensuring a fair, equal competition would revitalize opportunities for (mainly) national investors instead of foreigners while ensuring both big and small business treats their workers fairly.

-Taxes: Almost all of the party members agree that the current income tax is equal to extorsion to the people, realizing the clear disparity between the weight carried by the general populace in comparison to the powerful and rich. There is division and doubt as how to fill the gap that would be left with a greatly reduced income tax but several propositions are appearing slowly yet clashing with one another (corporate tax v. loose regulation, concessions of natural resources v. increasing exports of nationalized industries, etc.). The consensus within the party points to a reestablishment of the Mansion Tax and the Millionare Tax, which wouldn't touch corporations, along with the removal of the recent Fast Food Tax which affects consumers, workers and companies alike.

-Military: Albeit a strong army is a priority in a nation-state, the times of peace in the region and the low spending on social issues has led to a majority of the CDP taking a more pacifistic approach. The growth of the army isn't considered necessary, albeit buying new equipment is, perhaps a more diplomatic approach can be taken and the Army slightly reduced to redirect resources to more pressing matters. The investment on intelligence services is a divisive matter, as reactionary members argue that Leftist clandestine organizations need to be destroyed, as terrorists.

Although reliance of international relations for defense has been a criticism on this position, the pacifist sector of the CDP argues that mantaining good relations diplomatically with neighbors and having allies ready to offer protection is not a bad deal for Civitas.

-Environment: One of the flags of CDP policy has been a conservation of natural resources and an investment in green energy, in order to avoid reliance on imports to keep the national electricity running. Strict enforcement and the closure of loopholes is a priority the whole party agrees on, even the more libertarian individuals. The main concern to the party is finding a balance between resource extraction, which may be necessary to keep the country afloat, and enviromentally friendly practices. A solution has yet to be found.

-Citizen Rights: The CDP was one of the parties that pushed the voting age up, under the argument of low political participation and swaying of the youth by mass movements. Aside from that, the CDP has also attempted several times to rise the age of consent to equate the age required to drink, some conservative members of the party arguing that it is immoral for the youth to do such acts at that age with the moderate sector arguing that at 16, teenagers have yet to reach financial security or a full awareness of their actions; youth pregnancy only adds to the economic struggles that a teenager must face.

Aside from that, in regards to minority groups, the CDP is almost evenly split. The more progressive groups have sided with LGBT minorities fighting for their rights while more conservative sectors have fought back, citing that it goes against Christian values and it affects children.

-Education: The CDP greatly praises the current educational system in place, although it recognizes the struggles of teachers. In order to fix that, the CDP has proposed to defer funding from the Military towards education, faced with opposition by some reactionary sectors of the party and other parties. Overall, the CDP cites education as a great national concern and has called for higher standards of quality and investment in teaching.

-Health-Care: The CDP has slowly shifted from the view of an entirely nationalized healthcare service to a semi-public health care service. The resources necessary to keep the current healthcare system running are not within reach (nor will they be, in the next fiscal year) so the stance of the CDP is one of a heavily regulated and monitored system, ensuring low prices and effective treatment for all while allowing companies to profit off a moderate monthly fee by medium and high income individuals. This would also serve to cover more costly and specialized treatments at a cheaper rate. Competition would ensure quality and accessible prices, accompanied by heavy regulation.

Albeit it's not an unanimous support within the party (a couple MPs go towards fully public, while others towards fully private), the idea has gained traction among members of the CDP.

-Emergency Services: The increase in spending necessary to fund the police into a more effective force would be one that the country can't afford, although it is one sorely needed. In order to make use of what can be increased, a centralized institution that can coordinate efforts between communities needs to be put in place; the coordination of investigations, operations and outreach can be maximized through cooperation between police forces, handled by a superior body. The funding of the firefighting forces could be, in some points, be decreased slightly and invested into a recruiting effort for the police but for the time being, not many MPs support this alternative and the CDP's position is one of keeping the funding intact.

-Immigration: There's a clear split in the CDP in regards to this matter. A majority of the party is pushing for deportations, more strict border security and stronger requisites to be able to immigrate into Civitas. A vocal minority decries this treatment as inhumane towards the right of the disenfranchised, arguing for naturalization and protection towards the men and women who can provide a stronger boost to the economy; although they also support more strict checks, they do not reject the idea of lighter requisites for immigrants to come into Civitas.

-Other:

The CDP is one of the oldest parties on Civitas. Originally founded by Jesuit priests as a way to represent the interests of religious communities on the country, the party became an umbrella for every Christian denomination (and some more secular groups) in the country. As such, a great variety of views is contained within the party which also explains the constant infighting and divisions among them; however, the party started as one of the strongest, given that at the time of its founding, the religious numbered into a great majority in Civitas.

The party has lost steam over time (as has religious participation in Civitas), particularly in the last five elections, but they still mantain a relevant force in the Parliament.

Before the UTCSP and the CPC-ML appeared, the CPD was the one to push the most progressive social programs from the electoral battlefield, with several of its prominent politicians being adherents of Liberation Theology. However, with the creation of these two parties which expressively denounced religion and a capitalist economy as opressive, the CDP has taken a more cautious approach to what are considered Leftist policies. However, the tradition of social interests has remained strong within its ranks, rejecting mostly the idea that capitalism can't be put to the interests of the people and that religion can be a barrier for progress.

Given this shift in ideology, in the most recent years there has been a split between the Progressive CDP members and the Conservative CDP members. The first, more adherent to the Left, a pacifistic approach to foreign policy and regulatory measures into the economy; the second, more adherent to lassez-faire, a nationalistic, traditionalist view and an agressive stance towards Leftist parties.

MP Name: Roger Conelly

MP Appearance:

MPs Party: (Progressive) CDP

MPs Position in his/her Party: Party leader

Home Territory: UTC Northwest

Biography: Born and raised among the labor movements developing on the North, Conelly found himself vouching for charity and social justice at an early age, through the word of Christ. Elected as an MP at the age of 30, he immediatly gained the media's attention by his oratory skils, defending social reform in the Parliament; a factor that made him rise through the Party ranks eventually reaching the lead in a fiery combat against the Conservatives led by Thomas Steffano. He has always flirted with the more left leaning sections of Parliament, although this has earned the ire of a growing sector inside the CDP.

MP Name: Thomas Steffano

MP Appearance:

MPs Party: (Conservative) CDP

MPs Position in his/her Party: Party Vice-president

Home Territory: Central Eastern UTC

Biography: Born and raised in a fundamentalist family, Steffano achieved the position of minister in his local church at the young age of 24. From there, he saw the opportunity to launch himself into politics to represent his fray. Denouncing the influences that go against the founding values of the party, and the values of Civitas overall, Steffano has gained traction with older populations and more conservative members of the CDP. He has slowly started approaching parties aligned with the Right, taking the MPs that follow him along.

[The Captain]

The Civitas Renaissance Party

Party Name: The Civitas Renaissance Party
Party Acronym: CRP
Party Motto: 'To think again, to build anew, to live again.'
Party Ideology:
-Government Involvement: 'The system as we know it, the various allowances and safety nets, all breed a creeping dependence in the people of Civitas that works counter to our basic national principles. We fundamentally disagree with the principles of the traditional welfare state. We, as a party, see potential in meeting the needs of our nation's understaffed public services whilst simultaneously providing gainful employment and valuable experience to those who are struggling. Our administratrion would seek to bolster the military, the healthcare profession, and emergency services, among others and give meaningful jobs to those who seek them.'

-Economy: 'The nationalisation of some of our nation's strongest industries was nothing short of a catastrophe, and only compounded the damage done by the global economic slump. Jobs were lost, exports fell, businesses died. We need to return business to Civitas and return gainful employment to its citizens. To this end further government intervention may very well be necessary, only this time in order to nurture sustainable, prosperous Civitas businesses that can hire and grow. We need to repair what our predecessors broke. Going ahead, with a stable foundation, we need to look to build Civitas into a global business and technology leader. We have the potential to do so much more, we only need to work at it.

-Taxes: 'The current tax system is doing no one any favors. The lower and middle classes are suffering under the yoke of a truly disproportionate tax burden while the rich are obligated to pay even less than their fair share. We need to all understand, however, that a simplistic solution like 'taxing the rich' won't solve anything. We need to dig deeper and build an efficient system that simultaneously meets our needs and doesn't strain us too severely. We need to pursue fiscal responsibility even in the face of an ambitious, busy future. Much of our system absolutely needs retooling, and our tax system underpins all of it. We need a a framework that doesn't scare business, that doesn't hurt the poor or middle earners, and that doesn't punish the rich. What that may truly be is hard to say, but at least we can reconsider the proportions paid for the time being.'

-Military: 'Our military, as it stands currently, is an embarassment and, more importantly, a safety hazard. The brave men and women who have enlisted to defend our country are completely and utterly unprepared to do their jobs, although through no fault of their own. Our defense has been neglected, and in the event of a crisis, whether it be a natural disaster or armed conflict, we would by all accounts be unable to muster an effective response. The generosity of our more security-minded allies in the international community is appreciated, but ultimately we must be able to stand on our own two feet no matter what comes our way. We need to be done with the days where we're subsidized by our neighbors. We need a strong military that's independent of domestic and foreign politics and we need soldiers who are shown respect rather than swept away under the metaphorical rug. Our safety, as a people, as a community, is not something we should gamble with.'

-Environment: 'Our environmental policy is currently lacking, to put it quite simply. We lack the necessary oversight and policy framework to ensure that our beautiful country is being maintained for future generations. This is not just an issue of big business or small business, rural community or urban, this is an issue that involves every single one of us. We believe the best first course of action is to re-evaluate our nation's current environmental policy in order to reach a compromise that will neither stifle business nor allow further unchecked damage to be inflicted on the environment. To this end we believe the fat needs to be trimmed from environmental law, loopholes need to be closed, statutes need to be simplified, and a system of working incentives needs to put in place to reward positive interaction with the environment.'

-Citizen Rights: 'To be a citizen of Civitas is to be free, to enjoy the right to peaceful dissent and constructive political participation. The rights of every man, woman, and child of Civitas must be safeguarded with the utmost vigilance. The previous administration's stifling of the voice of the youth is a trangression upon their rights, and we believe the restoration of the right to vote to eighteen years of age should be one of our foremost policy issues.'

-Education: 'We absolutely can not afford to sabotage the future leaders of this country in the manner that our predecessors have. Our education system is in shambles, from the bottom to the top, and the sabotage is so utterly severe that to say it 'favors the rich', by virtue of the increasing number of private institutions, would be incorrect. The rise of private education could, in fact, be attributed to the unworkable conditions in public institutions. The importance of our nation's educators can not be understated, and while we fundamentally disagree with the shift to zero hour contract, we can not abide by their holding of the minds of our youth hostage. The strikes need to stop, the teachers need to be back in the classroom and they need to be teaching with a respect for their pupils. Our univerities need to be both affordable and effective, which, while a hard balance to strike, is non-negotiable. Money needs to return to the universities of Civitas, and our students need to be able to access higher education.'

-Health-Care: 'Healthcare is expensive, there's no way around that, but to shift the burden directly to the citizens of Civitas would be both dangerous and morally wrong. We need to ruthlessly pursue the means to cut costs, or at least cover costs, while expanding coverage and efficiency so that no one has to wait an hour for an ambulance or a day for a doctor. In the immediate future we'd like to encourage the growth of the healthcare profession to meet our nation's demands, the dialogue on the finer points of healthcare reform can wait until we know precisely what scale we're working on.'

-Emergency Services: 'It's important for our law enforcement agencies to remain centered on the communities that they safeguard. These are their homes, their neighbors, that's their community and they know it better than any gendarmerie or militia from across the country would. Each town or city should be capable of maintaining its own force, but we need to collectively help these communities - your communities - maintain the level of excellence in stewardship and safety that Civitas police ought to be known for. The ability for individual departments to collaborate and assist each other should be enhanced in order to better prepare them for cross-jurisdiction issues and crises on a larger scale. Now, in regards to our firefighters, we have no immediate plans to scale back their budget considering the performance they've put out with it. After all, proportionally speaking, the amount of money invested more than pays for itself in prevented damage and saved lives.'

-Immigration: 'Civitas is a state that was founded on the principles of egalitarianism, opportunity, and social mobility, and we should never forget that. We must also never forget that, as a community, we must keep vigilant for potential abuses of our hospitality. An unsecured border provides a struggling family an opportunity, we're fortunate that we can say there are many who would rather live here than elsewhere. An unsecured border also provides the worst elements of the societies of our neighbors an avenue by which to do business or to take refuge. This lack of security is only compounded by our thinly stretched police forces. We need to find a balanced and morally upright approach to the problem of illegal immigration, one that doesn't hurt those who wish to live the way we do and one that doesn't endanger Civitas.'

-Other: 'While ultimately we want to bring about change for the better for Civitas we want to do so in a safe, structured fashion. Our initial goals will be to turn back the more egregious legislation of our predecessor and create a stable economic environment. A down-to-earth vision for the future, that's what you can count on. No stagnation. No radical pipe dreams.'

MPs to come.

[Giant]

Woop, that is one long post. I am possibly the party with the most inner conflicts right now, which some other party can use to sway the votes in Parliament.

Waiting for the GM's green light to post in CS section.

[UltikanaRe]

Party Name: The Great Reformist Party of Civitas
Party Acronym: GRPC
Party Motto: "There is no road to tomorrow built without both sacrifices and a wish for equality."
Party Logo:
Party Ideology:
(WIP, for now putting vague terms)
-Government Involvement: High
-Economy: High Priority, European-style capitalism (i.e. more sheltered) although no embargoes/tariffs of any kind.
-Taxes: High
-Military: Medium
-Environment: Medium-High Priority
-Citizen Rights: Maximum
-Education: Extremely High Priority
-Health-Care: Universal and covers everything.
-Emergency Services: Large funding bloc.
-Immigration: More the merrier (mostly because of taxes)!
-Other: More popular with the Northern and Lower-Class sectors of Civitas, who of course want more pensions and less taxes. Certain sectors of south despise them, although a few businessman vote for them due to their stance on tariffs.

[ethanjory]

My apologies, I posted in the character tab by mistake. Anyway, with the surplus of parties, perhaps I will just join up with one... or run as independent, just for a laugh. Does the ruling party select the president/prime minister/whatever?

[Byrd Man]

The party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will be the party that gets to form the government. The party leader will become the president. And with the abundance of parties I'm just going to withdraw mine and make an MP for a party.

[Giant]

The party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons will be the party that gets to form the government. The party leader will become the president. And with the abundance of parties I'm just going to withdraw mine and make an MP for a party.

@Byrd Man

Make a batshit crazy fundamentalist for the CDP. You know you want to see Parliament burn.

also prime minister not president

[Bright_Ops]

The Socialist Party is looking for more MP's. Just try not to be to insane. That's what the communists are for.

[gowia]

I am more than happy for people to create MPs rather than Parties.

Also @Giant it is President and Vice President, not Prime Minister. This is not England exactly...it is all of my own amalgamation.

[Giant]

@gowia Alright. By the way, I posted my Party Sheet on the CS section because I was replying to a post made there but I didn't get your approval. :/ Is my sheet alright? If it isn't, I'll edit the post there, because I can't delete it.