KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Hey everyone, thanks for voting! As is the tradition I'll be closing the vote in about four hours. See you then!
Hope and Change in America - A Parliamentary Political Quest
- Thread starter KarvokaQueen
- Start date
- Original Alt. History
- Location
- Fort Worth, TX
[X] Plan Spread the Word
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Thank you all for participating! It looks like we'll be a true neutral in this quest.
See you all next update!
See you all next update!
We will develop our own ideal for the party going forward
The Kickoff
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
[X] You explain your respect for his major turnaround of the city's finances since he became mayor, taking a jab at the man who would be your opponent for leaving the Mayor such a mess. Further though, you say that if you are picked and elected, you'll be an unapologetic advocate for free trade, immigration reform, and fiscal restraint. Reform Center
Given you're pitching yourself to the living embodiment of technocratic centrism within the city of New York, you feel it's prudent that's the way you pitch yourself. A pro-trade, pro-immigration, fiscal moderate. Bloomberg eats it up, and before you know it, you've got a handshake, a promise of some funds to get your team in order, and you're out the door with a promise of some solid funding to put your campaign team together.
But just because you've got a few extra dollars in your pocket, doesn't mean you can get everything you want. Money helps, but you're a completely unknown quantity politically, and finding professional staffers proves to be problematic, to put it lightly. While Bloomberg vouches for you, and this opens up doors, as does Kevin's own rolodex of contacts, it can only take you so far (and of course, you're not stupid. Having 'The Boss' hand pick your campaign team is a great way to get a team more loyal to him, than to you.). It takes a lot of legwork through the early weeks of the campaign to get things sorted to your satisfaction (or as close as you can get to satisfaction).
-[7] Organisation
Your first, absolute top priority, is putting the core organisational team together. Your campaign will be no 'fly by night' operation, you need people you know and trust running the organisation. It takes up the lion's share of your time, but soon you've got what you consider to be an absolutely top-notch team. Kevin, running the campaign's day-to-day affairs, alongside yourself, and of course, one of the only other actual political people you know. Peter J. Laxalt, of Laxalt Consulting, a political outfit you're familiar. They do good work, even if Peter's an abrasive asshole who smokes like a chimney and swears like a sailor.
Recruited: Peter J. Laxalt, Head of Laxalt Consulting.
-[5] Research
In contrast to trawling through contacts for someone, anyone with political experience you might know, or having to lean on Kevin and Bloomberg for help, setting up your research office is a breeze. You're a lawyer, after all. Research comes naturally to you, digging through the minutiae for opposition research is basically your day job! And, of course, that means you know plenty of people just as skilled as you are. It's harder, finding someone Kevin will agree with, and he often feels like your Bloomberg appointed minder during this, but eventually you reach a compromise.
Recruited: Patricia Heely, corporate lawyer/research team lead.
-[6] Press Office
In a city as dominated by media as New York, it would pay dividends to invest in robust press office, to handle media releases and keep you in the press's good graces. With things being so hectic, and your not having a huge amount of media contacts to begin with, it gets off to a rough start. Fortunately, though, Bloomberg comes to your rescue by recruiting from his own media empire to put one of his editors at your disposal. Soon enough, you've got a small but highly functional press office.
Recruited: Paul M. Bennett, Journalist, Editor, Press Office lead.
-[3] Advertising
Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, some things you just do not have time to properly organise, and while Kevin picks up the slack where he can, it's all hands on deck from the word go. Setting up an Advertising team will just have to be a bit more 'seat of the pants' than you'd have liked.
No advertising team lead.
-[3] Ground Game
While Bloomberg is popular it is becoming readily apparent to you that while his support is quite broad, crossing political lines (with the voters, if not with their parties), it is not especially deep. Bloomberg keeps the political affairs of the city out of the news as much as possible, and people like that. Unfortunately, that makes it a real pain in the ass to get people excited, not helped by your having to focus your efforts elsewhere. While you've got a small ground organisation, you've yet to recruit a team lead, a top priority, if you're to match the DFL's legendary ground game, or counter the UCP's massive advantage in ideological loyalty.
No ground game team lead.
-[2] Fundraising
Some things just have to get cut for time, and just like with setting up your ground game and your advertising team, fundraising had to wait. It's unfortunate, it means that you'll be leaning a lot more on 'The Boss' than you'd like, but needs must. You'll deal with it later.
No chief fundraiser.
Of course, even as you hit the fourth month to election mark, and your campaign starts to (more or less) come together, you're faced with a whole new set of challenges. Setting your silver tongue to work reaching out to the various movers and shakers of the New York political scene. By-elections always attract the weird and the wild, as well as the opportunistic and the avaricious, eager to make a national name for themselves.
In New York, the media capital of America, and thus, the world, this is even more intensified. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't possibly hope to reach out to all eighteen parties running before it is time for the campaigns to put out their how to vote cards. So, it becomes a matter of prioritising.
Laxalt is as much help as Kevin is here, bringing in a bottle of booze and pinning each announced campaign to the board.
"So, we can sort these campaigns into three basic buckets." He begins, scotch sloshing about in his glass as he raps his knuckles on the corkboard. He's broken it up with lines into three categories. "This here is Bucket A. The campaigns we can, and should work with." He's got four pinned there, three you recognise (as if you could've reached adulthood in New York without hearing about the DFL), and one you don't. A green diesel train? Why?
"Next, is Bucket B. These are the people we cannot work with, and can safely ignore." He takes a sip from his glass before continuing. "These are your usual crowd of leftist, elitist assholes, as well as fasci-, I mean, blood and soil conservatives. Too niche to make much of an impact beyond screaming about how we should hang the bankers, or beat up the gays, or whatever the fuck it is these people think is responsible for all the misery in their lives." Another pause, another drink. You're actually taking notes. You know next to nothing, and while Laxalt is an abrasive asshole at the best of times, he does know some things.
"Finally, Bucket C." There are three parties there, and you know them all very well. "These three right here, they're our biggest threats. First, you've got United. Cheney's little collection of bootlickers have recruited our dear former mayor, Rudy. Second, you've got NY Conservatives. These are the blood and soil types I mentioned before, but they've actually won elections. Finally, PUSH. Leftist jackasses? Absolutely. Going to put us near dead last because of Bloomberg? Abso-fucking-lutely." He finishes with a flourish, and rewards his hard labour with another, longer sip at his rapidly dwindling stock of booze.
"We've only got four parties we can really work with in the time we've got. So, the point of dragging you all down to the office tonight, on top of getting you drunk to celebrate the kick off next week, was to hash things out. We need to submit our preferences to the board in two weeks. We need this shit sorted." Kevin nods as you make good on that 'getting drunk' idea by pouring yourself a fresh glass.
Preference alliances were decided by rolling and selecting the highest result, with 1st choice getting four dice, and decreasing from there.
[1] New Democracy. The other main party in New York, at least until Bloomberg rolled in and stole some of their thunder, New Democracy typically operates through the New York city Liberal party at the local level. They're more liberal in some respects than reform, but should be an easy sell for preference swaps.
Roll = 79. A rousing success.
Despite having called the New Democracy campaign office drunk, and left a message you're sure didn't sound even a tenth as eloquent as it had at the time, it turns out that New Democracy was more than eager to meet with you. They want not just a preference swap, but proper co-operation. That's more than you're willing to give right now, but it's certainly something to keep in mind for later.
2nd place on the New Democracy How-To-Vote card/preference flow. Possibility of a non-aggression pact/agreement.
[2] Democratic-Farmer-Labor. The traditional biggest part in New York, they're not big fans of Bloomberg, and not just because they disagree with his politics. Bloomberg 'stole' the Mayoralty away from them, when by right they should've won it back. The fact that you're running under his party won't endear you to them, but really, would they want to risk Giuliani (another man who 'stole' the mayoralty away from them) becoming a federal MP?
Roll = 61. A truculent candidate, an unhappy party, an uneasy compromise.
Meeting with DFL was always going to be somewhat fraught. It isn't just their leftist politics or union political base that would be a problem, but their entitlement. They'd last held the office of the mayor in 1993, despite dominating the city's politics. However, they are quite weak on Staten Island, and they know it. Despite their dislike of Bloomberg holding the office they view as rightfully theirs, they dislike Giuliani, the man who first 'stole' it from them even more. After almost a week of awkward back and forths between your offices, a compromise is reached. You'll be put ahead of New Democracy, but behind the Greens, and a smattering of other lfetist parties that you don't know the name of. Crucially, though, you're also ahead of PUSH, and depending on how many voters just tick one box instead of all eighteen, that really could be a lifesaver.
5th party on the DFL How-To-Vote card/preference flow.
[3] Ecological Democrats. The more conservative green party, the Ecological Democracy party is more conservative than Reform, but have been very pleased with Bloomberg's environmental initiatives. While they're unlikely to pull very high numbers of votes, ensuring you're in the number 2 slot on their how to vote card could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Roll = 87. An eager agreement.
Due to their status as a bit-player in the American political scene, the Ecological Democrats actually make a point of reaching out to you instead of the other way around. They know there is no-chance of getting ahead of you on the first preference vote, but if they can stack themselves the right way they might just get ahead of one of the 'minor-major' parties like Reform, and sweep in from profitable alliances they make here. It isn't hard to reach a deal, and despite Laxalt's expectation you'd be behind a bunch of other micro-parties, you place very near the top!
4th party on the Ecological Democrat How-To-Vote card/preference flow.
[4] Greens of America. The Greens are probably less interested in making a deal with Bloomberg than most, due to their ardent criticism of his policing policies, but that doesn't mean you can't lobby them by advocating for Bloomberg's environmental positions. In the unfortunate circumstance you finish behind DFL, Greens of America's preferences could push you over the top of both them, and the UCP.
Roll = 18. No luck.
The Greens are wholly hostile to an agreement, and you suspect it's because they're part of some back-room multi-party deal to harvest preferences. It makes sense, out of all the greens and leftists they're the most likely to actually achieve something here. If you'd had more attention put upon them you might've been able to sway them away like you had been with the Ecological Democrats, but as it stands by the time you've been soundly rejected it's basically time to submit preferences. The submission reveals your hunch to be correct. They've been busy collecting minor leftist preferences and harvesting them to fashion a micro-party alliance to funnel them votes. Something to look out for.
14th party on Green How-To-Vote card/preference flows.
Before you know it, you, Kevin, and Laxalt, are all planning on what to do for your kickoff. The campaign machine is getting ready to head out and take Staten Island by storm, but Laxalt, Bloomberg, and Kevin, all have different ideas on where to start. You only get to launch your bid for congress once. It's important to pick the right audience.
Each makes a convincing pitch.
You have $1 million in your campaign account. This will serve as a demo for future campaign actions. It will be a roll against the selected part of your campaign, so choose wisely!
[] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
[] Kevin's plan is something less expensive but still important. Delivering your first pitch to the voters, primarily. The press will be there, and you'll hopefully have your press team working them over to get good coverage, but far more important in his mind is making your introduction to a core group of voters. Less lavish, more hands on, and built around interacting with voter blocs most likely to be sympathetic to you.
Roll: Ground game. Cost: $30k
[] Bloomberg's plan is the most straightforward. Doing your first big event with donors from across New York. You've got little in the way of fundraising, so if things go well, this may be the first step towards rectifying that, and will hopefully net you a nice bundle of extra cash for outfitting your advertising team, and building up your ground game.
Roll: Fundraising. Expected returns: Between $25-$100k
And then it is done. This is the first real test of your future in politics, and you can only hope it goes well. All eyes will be on you, when they're not glued to the eccentric ex-liberal mayor being parachuted to run in this seat. You are the banner-bearer for a new kind of centrist politics.
Here's hoping you don't screw it up.
Given you're pitching yourself to the living embodiment of technocratic centrism within the city of New York, you feel it's prudent that's the way you pitch yourself. A pro-trade, pro-immigration, fiscal moderate. Bloomberg eats it up, and before you know it, you've got a handshake, a promise of some funds to get your team in order, and you're out the door with a promise of some solid funding to put your campaign team together.
But just because you've got a few extra dollars in your pocket, doesn't mean you can get everything you want. Money helps, but you're a completely unknown quantity politically, and finding professional staffers proves to be problematic, to put it lightly. While Bloomberg vouches for you, and this opens up doors, as does Kevin's own rolodex of contacts, it can only take you so far (and of course, you're not stupid. Having 'The Boss' hand pick your campaign team is a great way to get a team more loyal to him, than to you.). It takes a lot of legwork through the early weeks of the campaign to get things sorted to your satisfaction (or as close as you can get to satisfaction).
-[7] Organisation
Your first, absolute top priority, is putting the core organisational team together. Your campaign will be no 'fly by night' operation, you need people you know and trust running the organisation. It takes up the lion's share of your time, but soon you've got what you consider to be an absolutely top-notch team. Kevin, running the campaign's day-to-day affairs, alongside yourself, and of course, one of the only other actual political people you know. Peter J. Laxalt, of Laxalt Consulting, a political outfit you're familiar. They do good work, even if Peter's an abrasive asshole who smokes like a chimney and swears like a sailor.
Recruited: Peter J. Laxalt, Head of Laxalt Consulting.
-[5] Research
In contrast to trawling through contacts for someone, anyone with political experience you might know, or having to lean on Kevin and Bloomberg for help, setting up your research office is a breeze. You're a lawyer, after all. Research comes naturally to you, digging through the minutiae for opposition research is basically your day job! And, of course, that means you know plenty of people just as skilled as you are. It's harder, finding someone Kevin will agree with, and he often feels like your Bloomberg appointed minder during this, but eventually you reach a compromise.
Recruited: Patricia Heely, corporate lawyer/research team lead.
-[6] Press Office
In a city as dominated by media as New York, it would pay dividends to invest in robust press office, to handle media releases and keep you in the press's good graces. With things being so hectic, and your not having a huge amount of media contacts to begin with, it gets off to a rough start. Fortunately, though, Bloomberg comes to your rescue by recruiting from his own media empire to put one of his editors at your disposal. Soon enough, you've got a small but highly functional press office.
Recruited: Paul M. Bennett, Journalist, Editor, Press Office lead.
-[3] Advertising
Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, some things you just do not have time to properly organise, and while Kevin picks up the slack where he can, it's all hands on deck from the word go. Setting up an Advertising team will just have to be a bit more 'seat of the pants' than you'd have liked.
No advertising team lead.
-[3] Ground Game
While Bloomberg is popular it is becoming readily apparent to you that while his support is quite broad, crossing political lines (with the voters, if not with their parties), it is not especially deep. Bloomberg keeps the political affairs of the city out of the news as much as possible, and people like that. Unfortunately, that makes it a real pain in the ass to get people excited, not helped by your having to focus your efforts elsewhere. While you've got a small ground organisation, you've yet to recruit a team lead, a top priority, if you're to match the DFL's legendary ground game, or counter the UCP's massive advantage in ideological loyalty.
No ground game team lead.
-[2] Fundraising
Some things just have to get cut for time, and just like with setting up your ground game and your advertising team, fundraising had to wait. It's unfortunate, it means that you'll be leaning a lot more on 'The Boss' than you'd like, but needs must. You'll deal with it later.
No chief fundraiser.
Of course, even as you hit the fourth month to election mark, and your campaign starts to (more or less) come together, you're faced with a whole new set of challenges. Setting your silver tongue to work reaching out to the various movers and shakers of the New York political scene. By-elections always attract the weird and the wild, as well as the opportunistic and the avaricious, eager to make a national name for themselves.
In New York, the media capital of America, and thus, the world, this is even more intensified. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't possibly hope to reach out to all eighteen parties running before it is time for the campaigns to put out their how to vote cards. So, it becomes a matter of prioritising.
Laxalt is as much help as Kevin is here, bringing in a bottle of booze and pinning each announced campaign to the board.
"So, we can sort these campaigns into three basic buckets." He begins, scotch sloshing about in his glass as he raps his knuckles on the corkboard. He's broken it up with lines into three categories. "This here is Bucket A. The campaigns we can, and should work with." He's got four pinned there, three you recognise (as if you could've reached adulthood in New York without hearing about the DFL), and one you don't. A green diesel train? Why?
"Next, is Bucket B. These are the people we cannot work with, and can safely ignore." He takes a sip from his glass before continuing. "These are your usual crowd of leftist, elitist assholes, as well as fasci-, I mean, blood and soil conservatives. Too niche to make much of an impact beyond screaming about how we should hang the bankers, or beat up the gays, or whatever the fuck it is these people think is responsible for all the misery in their lives." Another pause, another drink. You're actually taking notes. You know next to nothing, and while Laxalt is an abrasive asshole at the best of times, he does know some things.
"Finally, Bucket C." There are three parties there, and you know them all very well. "These three right here, they're our biggest threats. First, you've got United. Cheney's little collection of bootlickers have recruited our dear former mayor, Rudy. Second, you've got NY Conservatives. These are the blood and soil types I mentioned before, but they've actually won elections. Finally, PUSH. Leftist jackasses? Absolutely. Going to put us near dead last because of Bloomberg? Abso-fucking-lutely." He finishes with a flourish, and rewards his hard labour with another, longer sip at his rapidly dwindling stock of booze.
"We've only got four parties we can really work with in the time we've got. So, the point of dragging you all down to the office tonight, on top of getting you drunk to celebrate the kick off next week, was to hash things out. We need to submit our preferences to the board in two weeks. We need this shit sorted." Kevin nods as you make good on that 'getting drunk' idea by pouring yourself a fresh glass.
Preference alliances were decided by rolling and selecting the highest result, with 1st choice getting four dice, and decreasing from there.
[1] New Democracy. The other main party in New York, at least until Bloomberg rolled in and stole some of their thunder, New Democracy typically operates through the New York city Liberal party at the local level. They're more liberal in some respects than reform, but should be an easy sell for preference swaps.
Roll = 79. A rousing success.
Despite having called the New Democracy campaign office drunk, and left a message you're sure didn't sound even a tenth as eloquent as it had at the time, it turns out that New Democracy was more than eager to meet with you. They want not just a preference swap, but proper co-operation. That's more than you're willing to give right now, but it's certainly something to keep in mind for later.
2nd place on the New Democracy How-To-Vote card/preference flow. Possibility of a non-aggression pact/agreement.
[2] Democratic-Farmer-Labor. The traditional biggest part in New York, they're not big fans of Bloomberg, and not just because they disagree with his politics. Bloomberg 'stole' the Mayoralty away from them, when by right they should've won it back. The fact that you're running under his party won't endear you to them, but really, would they want to risk Giuliani (another man who 'stole' the mayoralty away from them) becoming a federal MP?
Roll = 61. A truculent candidate, an unhappy party, an uneasy compromise.
Meeting with DFL was always going to be somewhat fraught. It isn't just their leftist politics or union political base that would be a problem, but their entitlement. They'd last held the office of the mayor in 1993, despite dominating the city's politics. However, they are quite weak on Staten Island, and they know it. Despite their dislike of Bloomberg holding the office they view as rightfully theirs, they dislike Giuliani, the man who first 'stole' it from them even more. After almost a week of awkward back and forths between your offices, a compromise is reached. You'll be put ahead of New Democracy, but behind the Greens, and a smattering of other lfetist parties that you don't know the name of. Crucially, though, you're also ahead of PUSH, and depending on how many voters just tick one box instead of all eighteen, that really could be a lifesaver.
5th party on the DFL How-To-Vote card/preference flow.
[3] Ecological Democrats. The more conservative green party, the Ecological Democracy party is more conservative than Reform, but have been very pleased with Bloomberg's environmental initiatives. While they're unlikely to pull very high numbers of votes, ensuring you're in the number 2 slot on their how to vote card could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Roll = 87. An eager agreement.
Due to their status as a bit-player in the American political scene, the Ecological Democrats actually make a point of reaching out to you instead of the other way around. They know there is no-chance of getting ahead of you on the first preference vote, but if they can stack themselves the right way they might just get ahead of one of the 'minor-major' parties like Reform, and sweep in from profitable alliances they make here. It isn't hard to reach a deal, and despite Laxalt's expectation you'd be behind a bunch of other micro-parties, you place very near the top!
4th party on the Ecological Democrat How-To-Vote card/preference flow.
[4] Greens of America. The Greens are probably less interested in making a deal with Bloomberg than most, due to their ardent criticism of his policing policies, but that doesn't mean you can't lobby them by advocating for Bloomberg's environmental positions. In the unfortunate circumstance you finish behind DFL, Greens of America's preferences could push you over the top of both them, and the UCP.
Roll = 18. No luck.
The Greens are wholly hostile to an agreement, and you suspect it's because they're part of some back-room multi-party deal to harvest preferences. It makes sense, out of all the greens and leftists they're the most likely to actually achieve something here. If you'd had more attention put upon them you might've been able to sway them away like you had been with the Ecological Democrats, but as it stands by the time you've been soundly rejected it's basically time to submit preferences. The submission reveals your hunch to be correct. They've been busy collecting minor leftist preferences and harvesting them to fashion a micro-party alliance to funnel them votes. Something to look out for.
14th party on Green How-To-Vote card/preference flows.
Before you know it, you, Kevin, and Laxalt, are all planning on what to do for your kickoff. The campaign machine is getting ready to head out and take Staten Island by storm, but Laxalt, Bloomberg, and Kevin, all have different ideas on where to start. You only get to launch your bid for congress once. It's important to pick the right audience.
Each makes a convincing pitch.
You have $1 million in your campaign account. This will serve as a demo for future campaign actions. It will be a roll against the selected part of your campaign, so choose wisely!
[] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
[] Kevin's plan is something less expensive but still important. Delivering your first pitch to the voters, primarily. The press will be there, and you'll hopefully have your press team working them over to get good coverage, but far more important in his mind is making your introduction to a core group of voters. Less lavish, more hands on, and built around interacting with voter blocs most likely to be sympathetic to you.
Roll: Ground game. Cost: $30k
[] Bloomberg's plan is the most straightforward. Doing your first big event with donors from across New York. You've got little in the way of fundraising, so if things go well, this may be the first step towards rectifying that, and will hopefully net you a nice bundle of extra cash for outfitting your advertising team, and building up your ground game.
Roll: Fundraising. Expected returns: Between $25-$100k
And then it is done. This is the first real test of your future in politics, and you can only hope it goes well. All eyes will be on you, when they're not glued to the eccentric ex-liberal mayor being parachuted to run in this seat. You are the banner-bearer for a new kind of centrist politics.
Here's hoping you don't screw it up.
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
This is the final post before campaign season begins! Hope you all like it.
Um how big is the reformist in this quest are they what they were in IRL Or somehow big In here
- Location
- Fort Worth, TX
[X] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
The reform party was founded as Ross Perot's own electoral vehicle in 1996 in this universe, and the party has largely died without him. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took over the city's branch of the party so he could run candidates for city council in 2005, to support his agenda in reforming the city.
Bloomberg is highly popular, but how that will translate from city to federal politics remains to be seen.
[X] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
[X] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
Roll: Press Office. Cost: $70k
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Well, that wasn't much of a contest!
I'll close the vote a bit early, and get to writing the kick off.
It was a good kickoff, given you guys rolled a 2!
I'll close the vote a bit early, and get to writing the kick off.
It was a good kickoff, given you guys rolled a 2!
It feels like the White Paper or the various bombs in the field offices in your China quest. This is giving me flashbacks.
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Don't worry, Past the Post operates on a low roll system, so realistically speaking you can't have done much better!
I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for political shennanigans, you're running against the party of Dick Cheney, after all.
The Speech
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
[X] Laxalt wants a big press event. Bloomberg already has media connections, and you've got a pretty solid press team of your own. It makes sense to put that to work and get as much media attention as possible. This is especially important, he notes, because Giuliani is a complete media whore who knows how to get them by the horns.
It's a big day. It's taken the better part of a week, in between putting the finishing touches on organisational efforts, and going through every single political reporter you know (and every political reporter that your press office knows), you barely have time to eat or sleep. It's worth it, though, you muse to yourself, as outside you hear a gaggle of reporters talking amongst themselves.
You made a big gamble, putting up the money for a proper location. It was a bold strategy, going with the Borough Hall, but Laxalt and Kevin were in agreement it was very much necessary. With your non-existent name recognition, you need to make a big impact. It was hard to pick a better spot to pitch yourself as the candidate of Bloomberg than a press conference at the hall?
It works better than you could've hoped. For days, your press office is inundated with calls from reporters eager to get a drop on the latest electoral curveball being thrown against the Conservatives. The fact it's being held at the hall (and thus, by implication, being held with the support of NYConservatives, thanks to the borough president being an eager Bloomberg ally) creates a buzz in and of itself. By the time you're in the prep room the day of, you'd actually had to get a bit draconian in culling the 'lesser' press from it. Of course, you do make a good show of inviting the likes of Fox News. Despite being as close to a party-run media organisation as is legally allowable, they're also suckers for drama and agree to broadcast your announcement on their city affiliates.
You take a drink of your soda. Laxalt had offered to give you some booze, but Kevin shut him down before you could. Keep the heavy stuff for after you crush this announcement. Laxalt himself has no such compunctions about drinking, taking a swig from a flask before continuing his rant about the media in New York. "Alright. So. These reporters. They're like sharks. Really, really asshole sharks." The perfidy of the media is a favorite Laxalt talking point, he's been drilling it into you, that no matter the media org, liberal, conservative, centrist, any paper that people actually read is all about getting headlines. Good, Bad, doesn't matter. They want to sell papers, end of.
"You need to be laser-focused on the message here. If you slip up, they'll rip you to pieces. They're looking for a moment of weakness." Another pause, another swig from the flask. "Which works in our favor. Most of these people think Staten Island might as well be bumfuck nowhere Illinois, where the population is inbred and the people don't speak English good. Which means if you're on point up there, if you take the questions and roll with the punches? They'll be impressed. They'll have no choice but to be, and we get all the nice, glowing headlines, about the God-Mayor finding some new political whizkid." You nod along, running through all the likely questions in your head. Really, this isn't that different from being in court. Except instead of one judge bound by law to be impartial, you've got about forty judges, all with wild political biases seeking to undermine you. Just another day in New York!
Message control will be key, you remind yourself. No interruptions no matter what, until you've given your big speech. Fortunately, you've got an incredibly abrasive deputy campaign manager who's spent the week alternately ranting about the press in new york, and working as your springboard for handling the media at its worst. You've been watching disastrous campaign speeches and being asked to explain how to fix them, and finally, after a week, you think you're ready.
"Hey, uh, everyone's seated, more or less." One of Laxalt's people, you think his name is Peter Parker? Pokes his head into the prep room. Laxalt fixes him with a stare that makes the boy cringe a bit.
"Good! Now get back out there and get on that Camera. We've already spent too much fucking money getting this venue, no way in hell I'm paying some damn press photographer for a picture of our candidate when we've got interns to do that." He huffs, and Parker vanishes back into the hall.
"Alright, people. It's showtime. Someone put on Fox News!" He turns to face you as you rise from your seat and take a steadying breath. "And Lewis. I'd say 'imagine them in their underwear' but if Fox sent the guy I met with, that'd just make you throw up. So just remember. Breath. Shut it all out until you're done with your pitch, just like we practiced." You nod and head out into the hall. Most of the press team is here, and you see Bennet is ushering in a few late arrivals as you approach the podium.
Already, there is a smattering of Camera flashes capturing what you hope will be the first step on your road to political office. You give them a wave and your best smile as you come to a stop. Straightening your tie slightly, you begin, straight to the focal point of the speech you'd spent a week practicing.
Pick a Focus:
[ ] The Economy. It's 2006, and New York has experienced unheard of peace and prosperity, but it hasn't been shared equally. Staten Island has been left behind by neighboring boroughs, despite the best efforts of the Mayor, even as the other four boroughs swell with people, jobs, and cash, getting more than a few paltry scraps from the Government is all but impossible. But as their MP, you'll do your level best to bring the forgotten borough back into the light, building bridges for investment and breaks for the future troubles, so that even as other boats may sink, this Island will rise with the waves.
[ ] Respectability & Reliability. As both a distinguished lawyer, and Staten Island's prospective future MP, you will not rest until you've dealt with the corruption plaguing the government. Despite claiming to stand up for 'Conservative values' when running for election on Staten Island, those 'values' seem mighty short on stemming the endless tide of political largesse and corruption that has long plagued Washington. Unlike the UCP, Reform knows how to handle a budget, after all, the Mayor brought the city back into fiscal solvency after it was left a total mess. It's a matter of comparing and contrasting. Under the Conservatives, you've had Scooter Libby getting indicted, the Abrahamoff affair, Coingate in Ohio, and the government still refusing to form a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption! Make no mistake, Reform stands against the 'politics as usual' approach to dealing with the corruption plaguing the federal government.
[ ] A New Era. It's as plain as a day that the old style of politics has failed Staten Islanders badly. Despite things getting better under the new Mayor, the 'forgotten borough' is chronically underinvested in by the federal government. The Conservative party expects their candidate to be crowned by the people of Staten Island, despite him not living here, and they expect us to be grateful for the privilege. The Democrats, of both varieties, are totally disconnected from what the people of Staten Island need. Not Reform! Staten Islanders want a bold new vision that takes their needs into account. Bringing jobs, growth, and ending the graft that plagues DC.
==============================
I know I said the last update was the final one before the campaign, but this one really bogged me down, and I figured I'd at least give you something! This focus of the speech will set the tone for the early campaign, so choose wisely.
It's a big day. It's taken the better part of a week, in between putting the finishing touches on organisational efforts, and going through every single political reporter you know (and every political reporter that your press office knows), you barely have time to eat or sleep. It's worth it, though, you muse to yourself, as outside you hear a gaggle of reporters talking amongst themselves.
You made a big gamble, putting up the money for a proper location. It was a bold strategy, going with the Borough Hall, but Laxalt and Kevin were in agreement it was very much necessary. With your non-existent name recognition, you need to make a big impact. It was hard to pick a better spot to pitch yourself as the candidate of Bloomberg than a press conference at the hall?
It works better than you could've hoped. For days, your press office is inundated with calls from reporters eager to get a drop on the latest electoral curveball being thrown against the Conservatives. The fact it's being held at the hall (and thus, by implication, being held with the support of NYConservatives, thanks to the borough president being an eager Bloomberg ally) creates a buzz in and of itself. By the time you're in the prep room the day of, you'd actually had to get a bit draconian in culling the 'lesser' press from it. Of course, you do make a good show of inviting the likes of Fox News. Despite being as close to a party-run media organisation as is legally allowable, they're also suckers for drama and agree to broadcast your announcement on their city affiliates.
You take a drink of your soda. Laxalt had offered to give you some booze, but Kevin shut him down before you could. Keep the heavy stuff for after you crush this announcement. Laxalt himself has no such compunctions about drinking, taking a swig from a flask before continuing his rant about the media in New York. "Alright. So. These reporters. They're like sharks. Really, really asshole sharks." The perfidy of the media is a favorite Laxalt talking point, he's been drilling it into you, that no matter the media org, liberal, conservative, centrist, any paper that people actually read is all about getting headlines. Good, Bad, doesn't matter. They want to sell papers, end of.
"You need to be laser-focused on the message here. If you slip up, they'll rip you to pieces. They're looking for a moment of weakness." Another pause, another swig from the flask. "Which works in our favor. Most of these people think Staten Island might as well be bumfuck nowhere Illinois, where the population is inbred and the people don't speak English good. Which means if you're on point up there, if you take the questions and roll with the punches? They'll be impressed. They'll have no choice but to be, and we get all the nice, glowing headlines, about the God-Mayor finding some new political whizkid." You nod along, running through all the likely questions in your head. Really, this isn't that different from being in court. Except instead of one judge bound by law to be impartial, you've got about forty judges, all with wild political biases seeking to undermine you. Just another day in New York!
Message control will be key, you remind yourself. No interruptions no matter what, until you've given your big speech. Fortunately, you've got an incredibly abrasive deputy campaign manager who's spent the week alternately ranting about the press in new york, and working as your springboard for handling the media at its worst. You've been watching disastrous campaign speeches and being asked to explain how to fix them, and finally, after a week, you think you're ready.
"Hey, uh, everyone's seated, more or less." One of Laxalt's people, you think his name is Peter Parker? Pokes his head into the prep room. Laxalt fixes him with a stare that makes the boy cringe a bit.
"Good! Now get back out there and get on that Camera. We've already spent too much fucking money getting this venue, no way in hell I'm paying some damn press photographer for a picture of our candidate when we've got interns to do that." He huffs, and Parker vanishes back into the hall.
"Alright, people. It's showtime. Someone put on Fox News!" He turns to face you as you rise from your seat and take a steadying breath. "And Lewis. I'd say 'imagine them in their underwear' but if Fox sent the guy I met with, that'd just make you throw up. So just remember. Breath. Shut it all out until you're done with your pitch, just like we practiced." You nod and head out into the hall. Most of the press team is here, and you see Bennet is ushering in a few late arrivals as you approach the podium.
Already, there is a smattering of Camera flashes capturing what you hope will be the first step on your road to political office. You give them a wave and your best smile as you come to a stop. Straightening your tie slightly, you begin, straight to the focal point of the speech you'd spent a week practicing.
Pick a Focus:
[ ] The Economy. It's 2006, and New York has experienced unheard of peace and prosperity, but it hasn't been shared equally. Staten Island has been left behind by neighboring boroughs, despite the best efforts of the Mayor, even as the other four boroughs swell with people, jobs, and cash, getting more than a few paltry scraps from the Government is all but impossible. But as their MP, you'll do your level best to bring the forgotten borough back into the light, building bridges for investment and breaks for the future troubles, so that even as other boats may sink, this Island will rise with the waves.
[ ] Respectability & Reliability. As both a distinguished lawyer, and Staten Island's prospective future MP, you will not rest until you've dealt with the corruption plaguing the government. Despite claiming to stand up for 'Conservative values' when running for election on Staten Island, those 'values' seem mighty short on stemming the endless tide of political largesse and corruption that has long plagued Washington. Unlike the UCP, Reform knows how to handle a budget, after all, the Mayor brought the city back into fiscal solvency after it was left a total mess. It's a matter of comparing and contrasting. Under the Conservatives, you've had Scooter Libby getting indicted, the Abrahamoff affair, Coingate in Ohio, and the government still refusing to form a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption! Make no mistake, Reform stands against the 'politics as usual' approach to dealing with the corruption plaguing the federal government.
[ ] A New Era. It's as plain as a day that the old style of politics has failed Staten Islanders badly. Despite things getting better under the new Mayor, the 'forgotten borough' is chronically underinvested in by the federal government. The Conservative party expects their candidate to be crowned by the people of Staten Island, despite him not living here, and they expect us to be grateful for the privilege. The Democrats, of both varieties, are totally disconnected from what the people of Staten Island need. Not Reform! Staten Islanders want a bold new vision that takes their needs into account. Bringing jobs, growth, and ending the graft that plagues DC.
==============================
I know I said the last update was the final one before the campaign, but this one really bogged me down, and I figured I'd at least give you something! This focus of the speech will set the tone for the early campaign, so choose wisely.
- Location
- colombia
[x] A New Era. It's as plain as a day that the old style of politics has failed Staten Islanders badly. Despite things getting better under the new Mayor, the 'forgotten borough' is chronically underinvested in by the federal government. The Conservative party expects their candidate to be crowned by the people of Staten Island, despite him not living here, and they expect us to be grateful for the privilege. The Democrats, of both varieties, are totally disconnected from what the people of Staten Island need. Not Reform! Staten Islanders want a bold new vision that takes their needs into account. Bringing jobs, growth, and ending the graft that plagues DC.
breaking the 2 parties system sounds like fun
breaking the 2 parties system sounds like fun
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
I'll also hopefully finally have the parties document done. It's...quite long. So when it finally goes up it'll probably need a lot of formatting on my part so you can skip over the DEEPLORE and just get to the bits that (hopefully) interest you guys!
[X] A New Era. It's as plain as a day that the old style of politics has failed Staten Islanders badly. Despite things getting better under the new Mayor, the 'forgotten borough' is chronically underinvested in by the federal government. The Conservative party expects their candidate to be crowned by the people of Staten Island, despite him not living here, and they expect us to be grateful for the privilege. The Democrats, of both varieties, are totally disconnected from what the people of Staten Island need. Not Reform! Staten Islanders want a bold new vision that takes their needs into account. Bringing jobs, growth, and ending the graft that plagues DC.
- Location
- United States
Dude, there's been no two party system for decades. That's the entire point of the quest.
[X] Respectability & Reliability. As both a distinguished lawyer, and Staten Island's prospective future MP, you will not rest until you've dealt with the corruption plaguing the government. Despite claiming to stand up for 'Conservative values' when running for election on Staten Island, those 'values' seem mighty short on stemming the endless tide of political largesse and corruption that has long plagued Washington. Unlike the UCP, Reform knows how to handle a budget, after all, the Mayor brought the city back into fiscal solvency after it was left a total mess. It's a matter of comparing and contrasting. Under the Conservatives, you've had Scooter Libby getting indicted, the Abrahamoff affair, Coingate in Ohio, and the government still refusing to form a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption! Make no mistake, Reform stands against the 'politics as usual' approach to dealing with the corruption plaguing the federal government.
This seems like both the most unique and achievable goal for us to aim for. Not sure we should promising a revolution as the center of the center.
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
I mean, you are running against Rudy Giuliani, amongst others.
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Respectability & Reliability.