From The Ashes of the Old: A Post-American Collapse Quest

I think this is one sided enough for me to declare the vote closed, with Angela Davis winning handily. Stats page soon to follow.

Key Positions:

Chairman of the National Committee of the CPU - Angela Davis
President of the UAPR - Charlene Mitchell
Chairman of the California Communist Party - Kendra Harris Alexander
Minister of Defense - Christopher LaNeve
Head of the People's Investigative Bureau - John Bachtell
Chairman of the National Review Commission - Charlene Mitchell

Key Institutions:

National Review Commission - Your tool
Party Bureaucracy - Cowed
Young Communist League - Impatient
California Communist Party - Very Loyal
American People's Army - Very Loyal
People's Investigative Bureau (PIB) - Destroyed
Economic Ministries - ??????

Political Bureau Composition (all politburo members are also National Committee members):

1. Angela Davis
2. Charlene Mitchell
3. James Steele
4. Kendra Harris Alexander
5. Maurice Jackson
6. Daniel Rubin
7. Helen Lima

Status of the CPU: In Chaos
Popular Mood: ????
Dissident Activity: Growing Insurgency In Cascadia
Economic Situation: ???????
Relationship with the USSR: Frosty

Status of the American People's Army
Army Size: Medium-Large
Army Equipment: Adequate
Army Training: Poor
Army Morale: Average

Not super good at formatting quest posts, so the format of this post may change at a later date.

A Brief Overview of the Organization of the Communist Party of the Union

Like all Marxist-Leninist parties, the Communist Party of the Union (CPU) is organized around the principle of Democratic Centralism as proposed by V.I. Lenin and put into practice by the CPSU. It comprises two parts, freedom of discussion and unity of action. In theory the party will freely discuss a course of action until a decision is made, at which point the whole party must execute the decision of the majority. In practice a greater emphasis is placed on "unity of action" than free discussion. Party discipline requires party members to hew to the "party line" and carry out the decisions of higher party bodies.

The CPU itself is structured mostly along Leninist lines, but with multiple "Americanizations". At its lower levels, the party is organized around "clubs" responsible for party operations in a specific region. Above them sit the regional party organizations, which are in turn subordinated to either the Communist Party of their People's Republic or illegitimate warlord state. Each of these is headed by a Republican Committee which mirrors the National Committee of the CPU in structure and role.

The National Committee itself is the highest de jure authority in the party when a Party Convention is not ongoing. Its Political Bureau is ostensibly subordinated to the National Committee, and tasked with responding to issues too immediate or minor for the full Committee's attention. In practice the Politburo is the de facto executive body of the CPU and by extension the state. The National Review Commission also answers to the National Committee in theory, in charge of rooting out infiltrators, fighting misuse of party resources, and enforcing the party line.

The National Committee used to have both a General Secretary and a Chairman, with Henry Winston as Chairman balancing Gus Hall as General Secretary in a "black-white leadership team" as per the party's longstanding tradition. When Winston passed away in 1986, Hall and his supporters merged the posts into a single Chairman position. Instead, Jarvis Tyner as President of the UAPR would preserve the "black-white" leadership tradition, with Hall leading the party and Tyner leading the state.

The composition of the National Committee, overall party line, and party rules are typically determined at the party's National Convention, which hosts delegates elected by each regional party organization and vetted by the National Review Commission. The planning and delegate selection for such conventions is a vital weapon in inter-party factional struggles and often predetermines the result.

While I finish the update, have a teaser of one of your foes:

A Brief Primer on Politics in the American Republic

The American Republic can best be described as a dominant party "super-presidential" federal republic, in which the president, elected every eight years by the electoral college, wields enormous power. Although officially a multi-party representative democracy, in actuality the government is dominated by President Donald Rumsfeld's Republican Party. Such dominance is assured by a variety of measures used to influence the outcome of elections: such as not allowing parties to legally compete without them amassing 50,000 members, various voter ID and ballot access laws that effectively bar minorities and left-leaning voters from the polls, and a system of state funding for parties that grants funding based on how many votes a party received in the last election.

Despite its electoral dominance, the Republican Party is not as unified as it appears from the outside. Rumsfeld's Neoconservative faction is the largest single faction within the party, combining militarism, American ultranationalism, economic liberalism, moderate social conservatism, authoritarianism, and an aggressive foreign policy. Within the neocons, Rumsfeld's second in command Jeb Bush represents the even more hawkish and authoritarian wing of the Neocons, whereas Robert Gates, head of the CIA, represents its "moderately hawkish" wing. The other major faction of the Republican party is the Paleoconservative faction, led by Pat Buchanan, uniting right-libertarians, white nationalists, and neo-confederates under the umbrella of "traditional conservatism". The dominant strain of the Paleocons are Buchanan's Reactionaries, who call for economic nationalism, a total end to immigration, the expulsion or forcible assimilation of non-European immigrants, and the total enshrining of "Christian values" in America. Clyde N. Wilson's Southern Independence wing of the Paleocons gathers the neo-confederates and decentralists, and calls for a restoration of the Confederate States of America and increased state-level autonomy, masking its white supremacist roots in language about federal tyranny. Finally, the National Renewal wing of the paleocons, led by David Duke, are fascists in all but name, arguing that a strong national corporate state is necessary to reunite America and defend the white race and American traditions against "Judeo-Bolshevik" threats.

Outside of the Republicans there are a few minor parties with enough members to participate in elections. The largest of these is the Democratic Party, which promotes "liberalism for the 21st century", combining extreme American nationalism with an expanded welfare state and slightly more secular rhetoric. It may be the largest opposition party in elections, but is also completely ineffectual in actually opposing Republican rule. The other large minor party is the Conservative Citizens Party, a far-right party led by the white nationalist Jared Taylor, which seeks to supplant the "Neoconservative regime" and return to "traditional conservatism".

The security services wield immense power in the American Republic, and their leaders fill the ranks of the Neoconservative faction and Rumsfeld's administration. On the other hand, the majority of the right-wing idealogues of the Republican party perfer the Paleoconservatives instead of the more "pragmatic" Neocons. The oligarchs in bed with the state have divided loyalties, with most having loyalty to Rumsfeld's person and the benefits of state support, not a particular ideology or political grouping.

February 2nd, 2000

You didn't like Angela Davis, but you respected her. The California Communists had flirted with some downright petty-bourgeois sentiments, but without the California Communists, there would have been no revolution, no Union of American People's Republics. Davis had chops as a speaker, and real intelligence. She could win over those bra burning feminists and the homosexuals alright, maybe even make them Communists.

As much as Jarvis Tyner had your trust, he couldn't muster the same cross-sectional appeal as Davis and her clique. Foster was too much of an idealogue to unite the party, better to let him write his books. No, If you were to unite the party, if you were to ensure the victory of the Second American Revolution, you would need to support Davis.

Let nobody say that Gus Hall wasn't willing to take one for the team.

A few days later, Gus Hall passed away in his sleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

You are Angela Davis, new Chairperson of the Communist Party of the Union. Your position is tenuous. You know very well that the party's external unity is a facade. There are deep divisions for those with the eyes to see, and only the cult around Gus Hall and post-collapse pressures contain them.

You didn't like Hall. Behind his folksy mannerisms lay stubbornness, unexamined chauvinism, and a domineering and authoritarian attitude. His cult of personality and tight control had made reform next to impossible. Even Tyner couldn't get him to change the party's stance on homosexuality. Yet clearly he'd been willing to put the Party and the Revolution ahead of himself when it came to choosing his successor. You didn't like him, but you'll sure as hell use his endorsement for all it was worth.

It's time to get to work.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Select Three Actions:

[ ] A House Divided Against Itself: Jarvis Tyner is no friend of yours. He's one of Hall's lackeys, a man who called you a right-deviationist for arguing in favor of more open party discussions. That being said, he's notably more… flexible when it comes to social issues than Gus was. He's also a voting member of the politburo with major sway over the American People's Army. Getting him on-side might require some doing, but you think it's definitely possible. (Will result in a negotiation mini, mutually exclusive with Fostering Goodwill)

[ ] Fostering Goodwill: You don't hate Foster. Really, you don't. He seems well meaning, but he's a stickler for the crushing Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy which is stifling the party. He also has major clout with the economic ministries and security services, and would be a dangerous political opponent. Maybe you can sit down and talk this out? (Will result in a negotiation mini, mutually exclusive with A House Divided Against Itself)

[ ] Steeling Yourself for the Struggle: James Steele is one of Winston's people, but Winston has been dead for 14 years, and he has grown increasingly dissatisfied with Hall's leadership. He might be amenable to persuasion, giving you another vote on the Politburo.

[ ] Dealing With the NRC: James West is, politely speaking, a prick. He's one of Hall's toadies, who has spent his whole career keeping his boss in power. Perhaps you can use that loyalty to your advantage and convince him to step down rather than oppose you. It would give you the opportunity to put one of your people in charge of the National Review Commission. You don't need him to like you, just accept you.

[ ] Lock Down the California Communist Party: Kendra needs to get to work and make sure the entire California Communist Party is on the same page. California is the base of your power and support base, and you need to ensure that you can properly mobilize it.

[ ] Mobilize the Young Communist League: The Youth are with us! Let's make use of their enthusiasm and drive to sweep away the old dinosaurs which block our agenda!

[ ] Schedule a National Convention: You need a National Convention to solidify your position within the party, and there isn't currently one being organized. Scheduling one will open up new options to maneuver around the Convention and secure your powerbase in advance of the gathering.

[ ] Reform the PIB: The PIB is too powerful. The "sword and shield of the party" is nakedly partisan and often oversteps its jurisdiction. You will change this. You will propose a course of reform that will strip its Chairman of his dictatorial powers and neuter the organization's ability to act against you. The trick will be getting this past the Politburo.

[ ] Approach the American People's Army: The Army doesn't support Tyner because they care about his defense of Democratic Centralism, they support him because his agenda would mean increased importance and funding. Maybe you can peel them off from him?