MakeAmericaSaneAgain. A 2016 political campaign.
- Thread starter KarvokaQueen
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- Jersey CI
Apropos the social media/traditional media debate;I can see two possible schools of thought about this.
The first is that we have to think of our base - the Republican Party Members - as that's who in the main will be voting for us. Thus if we think of the demographic (older, white etc...) it would seem that this demo is more receptive to traditional media - as older people are more likely to read papers, listen to radio, watch television et cetera...
I would also note that those who have the youth support in republican primaries aren't always successful. I remember that Ron Paul was very popular among youths and on forums such as reddit, partially due to his overrelinace on social media. Ron Paul lost; we have to have a solid traditonal media presence.
However times have changed and ipso facto we cannot treat this election as if it was 2012 or 2008, social media has grown in importance.
I would draw our attention to what the conservatives did in the UK general election 2015, apropos Facebook ads - apparently Facebook allows you to target specific areas of a country and bombard them with ads - we could do something similar.
The first is that we have to think of our base - the Republican Party Members - as that's who in the main will be voting for us. Thus if we think of the demographic (older, white etc...) it would seem that this demo is more receptive to traditional media - as older people are more likely to read papers, listen to radio, watch television et cetera...
I would also note that those who have the youth support in republican primaries aren't always successful. I remember that Ron Paul was very popular among youths and on forums such as reddit, partially due to his overrelinace on social media. Ron Paul lost; we have to have a solid traditonal media presence.
However times have changed and ipso facto we cannot treat this election as if it was 2012 or 2008, social media has grown in importance.
I would draw our attention to what the conservatives did in the UK general election 2015, apropos Facebook ads - apparently Facebook allows you to target specific areas of a country and bombard them with ads - we could do something similar.
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KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
dilligent saved you. That would've been a lot worse if you didn't have it
Cybandeath
Lord Darkness, and Representative of Mad Science
- Location
- The United States of America
rap based new york ads?
that small idea aside cant wait till this interlude
that small idea aside cant wait till this interlude
Going through this quest, I like what we see.
Patacki must clearly go on the attack...i.
Shut up let me play Hail to the Chief
Patacki must clearly go on the attack...i.
Shut up let me play Hail to the Chief
Eurocorp
Resident Corporate Megalomaniac
But social media is very cheap. All we need to get the ball rolling is a VPN and the ability to post on /pol/!
Cybandeath
Lord Darkness, and Representative of Mad Science
- Location
- The United States of America
indeed it would be easy as hell to just post in between going places....
Valkur
The True Valkyria, Valkur!
- Location
- Fólkvangr
We should also get someone on that pernamently. Just so we know its run correctly and not fuck up like our last ads.
The Chamillion dollar deal
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Fuck you hate flying. Makes your back sore, and spending that much money for a trip seems ridiculous to you, it hurts you physically, but still, beats driving. You hate driving from Albany to NYC, never fucking mind driving NYC to Vegas. In summer. Fuck that noise. You walk down from the terminal, suitcase trailing you. Cool J insisted you come down to Vegas for a 'few days of rest'. He's a good guy, by your reckoning, which is amazing, because your reckoning almost always points to 'asshole' when you interact with people. Eh. As you walk, you pull out your phone. Jenaie insisted you get one of those 'iDroids' or whatever the fuck they are. Big, burns through power in minutes….you miss your nokia. You briefly consider dialing your house, but telling your mother you are going into Vegas…..
Yeah, not going to happen. She'd drag your ass to church faster than you can say 'hookers and blow'. You didn't survive living with your parents by alerting them to your less than pious antics. At least, not while you were alive. You aren't stupid. As you dial Cool J you spot your valet. He'd insited that you experience the proper Vegas. You don't have the heart to tell him you already have. You went to UNLV, you were very familiar with the party scene back in the day. You load your bags into the surprisingly swanky ride, and as the car goes, you call J.
It's not a long call, he just tells you to wear a nice suit, preferably one that doesn't reek of cigar smoke. You take a bit of offense to that, your aura of smoke is your natural cologne. Your manly musk! It also saves you buying actual cologne, because Jesus H. Christ is that crap expensive. You can afford it, but you hate spending money on shit you don't need, that isn't cigars or whisky. Because those things are lifestyle essentials, you couldn't exist without them.
The hotel (and Casino) you get driven to is pretty damn fancy, Caeser's palace. This place has changed a lot since you were last here. Like….a huge lot. Goddamn. As you walk inside, and a burly guy takes your bags. You walk through a huge hall full of slot machines, gambling tables, and soon to be broke idiots. You breathe it all in. Smelt like America. There was a pretty heavy buzz about the place, apparently people had spotted a bunch of celebrities. That makes you smile, and you are pretty sure they are your celebreties. As you got your room key, and made your way up, you called Cool J again. He directed you to his room, and as you knock on the door, you try to run through your head as to who, exactly, Cool J would get.
"Welcome! Come in, quick. Don't want the media figuring out where we are." He rushes you in, practically dragging you through the door. You are surprised by what you see. There are two other men in the room, the first, you recognise. If only because of the sheer size of him! It's the goddamn Rock! He rises up from the bed he was sitting on to shake your hand. Jesus H. Christ he's massive! You aren't exactly short, but….damn. "Peter Laxalt, Dwayne Johnson. You fellas thirsty?" You give a silent nod, but Dwayne laughs, holding up a partly empty glass of whisky in his giant, man-crushing hand. He offers his other hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm hearing good things about you, and about George." You shake his hand, and nod, as Cool J brings over some nice and strong whiskey. It's a good thing, too. Dwayne has a crushing handshake. It physically hurts you to shake his hand when he squeezes back. You eagerly take the whisky and use it to soothe the pain in your crushed. "What the crap do they feed you, Dwayne? You've got a grip that could crush steel." You shake the pain out of your hand, and already, you start to feel better. He just laughs you off.
"I don't know about steel, but I can definitely crush rocks! Where do you think I got my nickname?" That gets a laugh out of everyone, as you begin to look around the room. There is another man present, and he slowly gets up. He's wearing a backwards cap, and you vaguely recognise him from somewhere. As he walks up to you, he grins, similarly extending a hand.
"Hakeem Seriki. Chamillionare." He offers, and you take it. He's grip is certainly less deadly than Dwayne's is. You can't really place where you know him from. You are kinda sure he's a big name musician. Of some description.
"Peter Laxalt, Campaign Manager for Pataki 2016." He nods, and you nod. Like fuckin idiots. James cuts in.
"Now, Pete. These guys are already on board, I've been talking all week, they're ready to join in the campaign." Dwayne has to cut in, and explain that he's busy with movie work at the moment, and so is Chamillionare, both are ready to donate money, and endorse, though.
Apparently you are going to be spending the next few days, giving them a rundown of the campaign, finances, that kind of thing. Chamillionare and Cool J are apparently going to work the ground, and attempt to find more people for you, to get things going and organise a concert to raise money for the Campaign. For now, though, you'll have to settle for public endorsements.
Hah. 'settle' for endorsements from a famous and wealthy rapper, and a Super famous actor. How will you live.
(Gained. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson endorsement. He has donated 250k to 'People before Politics' SuperPAC. Hakeem "Chamillionare" Seriki endorsement. He has donated 550k to 'People before Politics' SuperPAC. They will start raising funds starting next turn.)
(A bit of a shorter one, this time! Mostly so I can refocus on Turn 3.)
Yeah, not going to happen. She'd drag your ass to church faster than you can say 'hookers and blow'. You didn't survive living with your parents by alerting them to your less than pious antics. At least, not while you were alive. You aren't stupid. As you dial Cool J you spot your valet. He'd insited that you experience the proper Vegas. You don't have the heart to tell him you already have. You went to UNLV, you were very familiar with the party scene back in the day. You load your bags into the surprisingly swanky ride, and as the car goes, you call J.
It's not a long call, he just tells you to wear a nice suit, preferably one that doesn't reek of cigar smoke. You take a bit of offense to that, your aura of smoke is your natural cologne. Your manly musk! It also saves you buying actual cologne, because Jesus H. Christ is that crap expensive. You can afford it, but you hate spending money on shit you don't need, that isn't cigars or whisky. Because those things are lifestyle essentials, you couldn't exist without them.
The hotel (and Casino) you get driven to is pretty damn fancy, Caeser's palace. This place has changed a lot since you were last here. Like….a huge lot. Goddamn. As you walk inside, and a burly guy takes your bags. You walk through a huge hall full of slot machines, gambling tables, and soon to be broke idiots. You breathe it all in. Smelt like America. There was a pretty heavy buzz about the place, apparently people had spotted a bunch of celebrities. That makes you smile, and you are pretty sure they are your celebreties. As you got your room key, and made your way up, you called Cool J again. He directed you to his room, and as you knock on the door, you try to run through your head as to who, exactly, Cool J would get.
"Welcome! Come in, quick. Don't want the media figuring out where we are." He rushes you in, practically dragging you through the door. You are surprised by what you see. There are two other men in the room, the first, you recognise. If only because of the sheer size of him! It's the goddamn Rock! He rises up from the bed he was sitting on to shake your hand. Jesus H. Christ he's massive! You aren't exactly short, but….damn. "Peter Laxalt, Dwayne Johnson. You fellas thirsty?" You give a silent nod, but Dwayne laughs, holding up a partly empty glass of whisky in his giant, man-crushing hand. He offers his other hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm hearing good things about you, and about George." You shake his hand, and nod, as Cool J brings over some nice and strong whiskey. It's a good thing, too. Dwayne has a crushing handshake. It physically hurts you to shake his hand when he squeezes back. You eagerly take the whisky and use it to soothe the pain in your crushed. "What the crap do they feed you, Dwayne? You've got a grip that could crush steel." You shake the pain out of your hand, and already, you start to feel better. He just laughs you off.
"I don't know about steel, but I can definitely crush rocks! Where do you think I got my nickname?" That gets a laugh out of everyone, as you begin to look around the room. There is another man present, and he slowly gets up. He's wearing a backwards cap, and you vaguely recognise him from somewhere. As he walks up to you, he grins, similarly extending a hand.
"Hakeem Seriki. Chamillionare." He offers, and you take it. He's grip is certainly less deadly than Dwayne's is. You can't really place where you know him from. You are kinda sure he's a big name musician. Of some description.
"Peter Laxalt, Campaign Manager for Pataki 2016." He nods, and you nod. Like fuckin idiots. James cuts in.
"Now, Pete. These guys are already on board, I've been talking all week, they're ready to join in the campaign." Dwayne has to cut in, and explain that he's busy with movie work at the moment, and so is Chamillionare, both are ready to donate money, and endorse, though.
Apparently you are going to be spending the next few days, giving them a rundown of the campaign, finances, that kind of thing. Chamillionare and Cool J are apparently going to work the ground, and attempt to find more people for you, to get things going and organise a concert to raise money for the Campaign. For now, though, you'll have to settle for public endorsements.
Hah. 'settle' for endorsements from a famous and wealthy rapper, and a Super famous actor. How will you live.
(Gained. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson endorsement. He has donated 250k to 'People before Politics' SuperPAC. Hakeem "Chamillionare" Seriki endorsement. He has donated 550k to 'People before Politics' SuperPAC. They will start raising funds starting next turn.)
(A bit of a shorter one, this time! Mostly so I can refocus on Turn 3.)
Cybandeath
Lord Darkness, and Representative of Mad Science
- Location
- The United States of America
why do i feel like the people before politics SuperPAC is gonna get a SHITON of donations from your everyday man? among various other artists of course
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Cybandeath
Lord Darkness, and Representative of Mad Science
- Location
- The United States of America
one connection forms another connection its our continued good luck and choice in politics and the charecter overall
- Location
- Leeds
But what if someone like Parker gets on it permanently?
Useless Interns.
- Location
- Leeds
We're throwing a lot of dice each turn so its actually likely that we get a major success.
That said I do have a sneaking suspicion that multiple actions doing the same thing are required in order to gain these events. We got Cool L J from multiple successful fundraising actions and this interlude from multiple Endorsers. By contrast we got a crit success on the SuperPAC but it doesn't appear that we'll get a event for that.
Maybe we can get The Rock to challenge Trump and his tiny hands to a wrestling match.
Artemis
What's a pirate's least favourite letter?
- Location
- The Seven Seas
Ok,We should recruit The rock as our VP in general election.
Actually, if we continue building up a solid group of people like we're doing, we could get Chamillionaire to be VP, if he'd be willing to lend his business acumen to the effort. The people we're getting are honestly going to go great to appeal to the Democrats, and the Republicans may vote for us by virtue of not being Trump/being a Republican too.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I don't think Mitt Romney would make a good VP, though...
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Turn 4. Beanslide.
KarvokaQueen
Queen of the Coffee Cups
- Location
- City of Coffee, Upside-down land
Well, it's happened. After devastating Walker last week, you come into the office after touching down at JFK airport to find he's apparently laying into 'Lazy Liberal Pataki' while on the campaign trail. You don't know how much damage it is really doing, especially after he called your campaign 'Not worth a hill of beans'. That was a weird attack. You get it, but you don't think most people did. It's fed the political news cycle, though. Almost as much as that lardbag Trump announcing his campaign. He's been getting a shitload of press. Bashing on immigrants and Mexico. You envy the amount of press coverage he's getting. Whenever that spray-tanned fucker opens his mouth you swear people can't shut up. They just eat that shit up. They condemn him, sure, but they still give him air-time. You doubt anyone in the race outside of Jeb goddamn Bush could afford this kind of television coverage.
Speaking of Jeb! You haven't really heard much out of his camp. Not after you humiliated him in South Carolina last Thursday. As you walk into the office, you can see Harry scooting about in that damn chair of his, carrying a huge sheaf of files on his lap as he entered his office. You wave him good morning, and somewhere behind the huge piles of paper you think you hear a response that sounded vaguely positive. Jeanie grins as you walk past her. SHe's been in an unreasonably good mood. You are roughly 100% sure this is the first political campaign you've ever worked on that has reduced your stress levels. The smoking and the shooting guns in Vegas might've helped with that.
Christ does it feel good to just let loose with a fucking cannon of a gun at some targets. It really does wonders. You swear your hair is even less grey. As you get down to buisness, opening up your emails, mostly full of questions about enjoying your break, how you'll deal with trump, and of course, Harry's polls. He still hasn't quite figured out his capslock key, god bless him. Still, as you open his emails and start checking them off, you are visibly shocked (you know this, because your cigar fellt onto your lap and burned your fucking pants!)
Hitting the intercom and swearing up a storm, you yell "Jeanie! Call the pants guy! I need a new pair! Fetch my spare! And bring me some damned coffee!" You extinguish the cigar in your ash tray, brush the ash off your pants, and curse some more. Before you open the bottom drawer on your desk and ready your early morning wake up whisky and coffee ritual. Jeanie walks in, looking as sarcastic as ever, overly painted face struggling to conceal a broad smirk as she sees you pour your drink out.
"Your coffee, Mr. Laxalt" You take it and upend the cup into your whiskey, and dismiss her for now. She rolls her eyes and leaves as you down the toxic mixture. It burns like goddamn fire! After spluttering and choking on the poison you drink every morning. Thusly composed, you look at the emails, trying to reassure your mind that you'd been seeing filthy, filthy lies.
They aren't.
Yep. There it is. Christ fucking help you, there it is. Fourth place. Granted, it's a tight as shit race, and fourth is tied three ways, but still! Fourth. Fucking. Place. Fuck yes! The other polls could show you at negative fucking 500 and you wouldn't care right now! You are riding high. Seeing Walker's absolutely abysmal ratings just make you feel better. 3%. Hill of Beans your ass! It's a fucking beanslide! Heh, you like that. You jot down to tell that to the ad guys, and the SuperPAC guys. Might be able to use that in some attack ads on Walker…
Well, the National Polls seem to be holding up, and Walker is suffering badly. You aren't sure it was you or yours, but you are pretty sure they had at least something to do with it. You are hoping 5% is your general position at the moment. That positions really, really well in the coming weeks. Thank christ you managed to get that ad pulled at the last minute. As you close the polling emails, you open some others. Apparently (predictably) fundraising is through the goddamn roof after the double endorsement you got on the weekend. 90k in small donations over two days ain't chump-change, and at the very least, it pays your bills, and then some. You open some other emails, several from James. He's apparently in talks with someone else. Another rapper, apparently.
The guy is apparently worried that George isn't conservative enough, to get his endorsement. Now, of all the issues you expected to have with the rap community when James came up with this crazy, bullshit idea, lacking conservative credentials is not one of them. You shrug, though. Simply telling James to keep up the good work.
That done, you set about planning the week ahead. You've got a lot that needs doing.
CURRENT DATE: June 22nd, 2015
NEXT DEBATE: August 6th, 2015
NEXT PRIMARY: Iowa, February 1st, 2016
Campaign Funds.
Campaign Warchest: 337k
Ongoing Costs: 21k
SuperPAC Warchest: 1.25m
CAMPAIGN ACTIONS:
This stuff is your bread and butter. Organised by you, actions conducted by the Campaign machine are things you will have most direct influence over. Pick three.
[] Ads of the future! Setting up some internet campaign infrastructure is something Chamillionare suggested. No-one else really seems to be doing it at the moment. He's suggested using twitter a lot more, organising bots to push Pataki's tweets up in the ranks… Frankly, it seems fucking ingenious to you. (Cost: 20k Chance of Success: 85% Time to Completion: 2 Weeks Result: Internet Campaigning unlocked. +2 Momentum nationwide. +Name recognition.)
[] Bigger, shinier ads. Well, now you are packing cash, you can look into seriously pumping out ads. In proper Newspapers, like the Des Moine register, and the Manchester Union-Leader! It'll cost way more, but it'll also do way more. (Cost: Varies. Min: 5k (Production costs) 38k (Running costs, NH.) Chance of Success: 75% Result: Large Momentum/Name recognition boost. Specify state.)
[] Money makes the (political) world go round! You are cashed up, and can now largely support yourself, New York might be tapped for a little bit, but you can always head to California, Texas and even Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan for cash! Getting some more big donations would be a huge boon, but you shouldn't neglect the small folk either. (Cost: Free. Chance of Success: 50% Result: +Unknown amount of K. Possible major fundraiser contacted. Specify State)
[] The Pataki Elbow. Apparently the Rock has some time off his busy schedule to raise cash in Cali. He'll only do it if you can fly out and give him a hand. Apparently he's never done this before. (Cost: 15k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Unknown (high) amount of k raised. Get to know the Rock better.)
[] Expand the army. You've got Ground Pounders in all three starting states. It's time to start thinking bigger though. You need more men and women. More banners. More placards. More of those cheap, shitty lawn signs! Mooooooooooooore! (Cost: 30k Chance of Success: 70% Time to Completion: Two weeks. Result: Ground Campaign expanding IA, NH, SC)
[] Hunt for endorsers. With Jeb! On the decline already, and Walker's campaign in bloody, bitter tatters right out of the gate, it would be a good idea to go hunt for more endorsers. It can't hurt! (Cost: 10k Chance of Success: 60% Result: Endorsers found. +Momentum in State. Specify state for search.)
[] Fuck 'em. You can always start to pump out some negative advertising. It would be foolish to rely on your SuperPAC to do it for you, and you should probably at least make sure the campaign staff are on board with making them. (Cost: 12k. Chance of Success: 70% Result: [CANDIDATE] Momentum lowered, potentially into negative. Specify state and Candidate. Price/Chance of success will be adjusted. Choose method of attack. (Experience/Immigration/Religion, etc.)
RESEARCH TEAM
Well, you aren't going to lie. Harry doesn't seem super happy to be here, but hey, who cares? He's already taken a small group of your smarter interns (Parker not included), and he's fortified the office you'd been using as a storage room as his own personal fortress of doom. Eh, it works for you! Pick two.
[] Keeping tabs. All considered, this was nearly a fucking catastrophe. Nearly being the operative word here. It wasn't, not quite. Still, now you've got the basic outline of Walker's campaign, and sent him into paranoia mode, it might be a good idea to search out everyone else. (Cost: 5k Chance of Success: 65% Time to Completion: Two Weeks Result: Information on a specific campaign gained. Specify Candidate.)
[] The rise of state polling. You could broaden your horizons a bit, by setting up state polling in all three front-running states. It'd be expensive, but Harry is insistent that you do this. He also wants a nicer office, to better fit all the computers and shit that a pollster apparently needs. (Cost: 40k. Chance of Success: 80% Result: State Polling commenced in IA, NH, SC. -15k running costs.)
[] Expanding the machine. He's got an upgraded office, but he wants more. This time, though, it's not random comfort crap. Not mostly, at least. He wants to upgrade his tech to better keep track of goings on, and to better co-ordinate his steadily growing team of pollsters. He's mentioned that if he can get things up and running, he might be able to bring someone on board who's got more experience than the interns you throw at him. (Cost: 20k. Result: Research stat raised. Possibly friend of Enten recruited.)
PATAKI ACTIONS
Of course, as his chief advisor, you can naturally give Pataki his schedule for the week. He's surprisingly agile, so you reckon he can take on quite the workload! That's good, because he's got a lot of work to do. (Pick 4)
[] Storm the barn! Pataki's spent almost a month in Iowa, and you'd be pushing your luck by sending him in again, but still….you don't have a huge brand in the state, what could possibly go wrong? (Cost: 4k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in IA increased)
[] Fundraise! Probably a good idea to send him to one of the bigger states (New York, California, Texas) for this one, but he should be able to generate a decent amount of income for the Campaign! Might even be able to find you a proper big-name donor to beef up the 'People before Politics' PAC (Cost: Varies by state. Chance of Success 80% Result: Varying amounts of money raised, potential donors located. Specify State.)
[] Practice debate. Having a few practice debates with the team should get George in the right state of mind for August. Sure, it's awhile away, but it doesn't hurt to prepare. (Debating skill increased by +10)
[] Practice Issue familiarity. This is important for when the debate season starts, but also if you have to give interviews. Having George able to not fuck up the few interviews he will land would be a very, very good idea. (Issue Familiarity increased by +10)
[] Made from Granite. He's spent almost a month with Libby rushing through New Hampshire, and while it's clearly been successful, it might be a good idea to give the state a bit of a break. Don't want to overstay your welcome. (Cost: 6k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in NH increased.)
[] In the shade of the Palm Trees. With you doing better in South Carolina than you thought, it might be a good idea to give the other two states a rest, and start stomping in SC. It'd be a big kick up the pants to state morale! (Cost: 8k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Momentum/Footsoldier morale raised in SC)
[] The middle of nowhere. It might be a good idea to send George to test the waters of Nevada. Hell, you'll go with him. After all, you look hispanic. And you speak spanish (Not as good as George, but you haven't told him that). This will let you gauge things for the state down the line. (Cost: 5k. Chance of Success: Unknown. Result: Momentum raised in NV. General feel of NV gained.)
[] Prepare a speech. You know what fires up a crowd? A good speech. You are rising, and fast, so it can't hurt you to turbo-charge that with a big speech in one of the upcoming states! Especially with debates coming up in just over a month. You have to qualify. (Pick topic of speech, State it will be given in. Cost: 10k Chance of Success: Varies by state. Result: Momentum greatly increased in [STATE])
[] Slam down. This is a presidential race, and the only guys who remain positive lose. Totally positive at least. You need to be ready to try and smash the competition, and hard! (Pick state, and issue of attack. Cost: 6k Chance of Success: Varies by target Result: Reduced momentum for [CANDIDATE] in [STATE]. Can create negative momentum.)
[] Brushing up old contacts. Pataki knew a lot of people, back in the day, and his personal word carries a helluva lot more weight than yours. Maybe he can dig up some endorsers? (Cost: 10K Chance of Success: 75% Result: Endorsers found. +Momentum in State. Specify state)
LIBBY PATAKI ACTIONS
Candidate's wives have a long tradition on the campaign trail, augmenting their respective partners by appearing alongside them and campaigning in their stead. Libby stands ready to assist you as best you can. (Pick 1)
[] Barnstorm with George. Having Libby appear alongside her husband would both increase the amount of terrain they could cover, and increase the impact. Having two smiling waving people happy to talk is better than just one (Cost: 2k Chance of Success: Automatic Result: +10 chance of success to barnstorming action/s, +1 momentum generated
[] Raise money. Libby has contacts in the beauty product industry, primarily with Revlon, as well as having ties to the pro-Israel lobby. Hopefully she can bring in some more cash for the campaign and SuperPAC with these people(Cost: Free. Chance of Success: 50% Result:
[] Barnstorm in general. She won't be anywhere near as effective on her own, but she might still be able to do something, which means you could barnstorm two states! (Cost: 6k. Chance of Success: 40% Result: Momentum raised in [STATE]. Specify state.)
JAMES TODD SMITH
James has been campaigning hard, but he's regrettably informed you that he has plans this week, and so must take time off to focus on his endorsement campaign, and personal business ventures. He's donated 15k to the campaign to make up for this, though.
Speaking of Jeb! You haven't really heard much out of his camp. Not after you humiliated him in South Carolina last Thursday. As you walk into the office, you can see Harry scooting about in that damn chair of his, carrying a huge sheaf of files on his lap as he entered his office. You wave him good morning, and somewhere behind the huge piles of paper you think you hear a response that sounded vaguely positive. Jeanie grins as you walk past her. SHe's been in an unreasonably good mood. You are roughly 100% sure this is the first political campaign you've ever worked on that has reduced your stress levels. The smoking and the shooting guns in Vegas might've helped with that.
Christ does it feel good to just let loose with a fucking cannon of a gun at some targets. It really does wonders. You swear your hair is even less grey. As you get down to buisness, opening up your emails, mostly full of questions about enjoying your break, how you'll deal with trump, and of course, Harry's polls. He still hasn't quite figured out his capslock key, god bless him. Still, as you open his emails and start checking them off, you are visibly shocked (you know this, because your cigar fellt onto your lap and burned your fucking pants!)
Hitting the intercom and swearing up a storm, you yell "Jeanie! Call the pants guy! I need a new pair! Fetch my spare! And bring me some damned coffee!" You extinguish the cigar in your ash tray, brush the ash off your pants, and curse some more. Before you open the bottom drawer on your desk and ready your early morning wake up whisky and coffee ritual. Jeanie walks in, looking as sarcastic as ever, overly painted face struggling to conceal a broad smirk as she sees you pour your drink out.
"Your coffee, Mr. Laxalt" You take it and upend the cup into your whiskey, and dismiss her for now. She rolls her eyes and leaves as you down the toxic mixture. It burns like goddamn fire! After spluttering and choking on the poison you drink every morning. Thusly composed, you look at the emails, trying to reassure your mind that you'd been seeing filthy, filthy lies.
They aren't.
|
Sulfolk University Margin of error: ± 4.4% Sample size: 500 |
June 18–22, 2015 |
Jeb Bush 14% |
Donald Trump 11% |
Marco Rubio 9% |
Ben Carson 6%, George Pataki 6%, Rand Paul 6%, Chris Christie 5%, Ted Cruz 4%, Carly Fiorina 4%, Scott Walker 3%, Mike Huckabee 2%, John Kasich 2%, Rick Perry 1%, Rick Santorum 1%, Lindsey Graham 0%, Bobby Jindal 0%, Bob Ehrlich 0%, Mark Everson 0%, Jim Gilmore 0%, Other 1%, Undecided 29% |
| Pollster | Survey Size | Margin of Error | Date Conducted | Jeb Bush | Ben Carson | Chris Christie | Ted Cruz | Carly Fiorina | Lindsey Graham | Mike Huckabee | Bobby Jindal | John Kasich | George Pataki | Rand Paul | Rick Perry | Marco Rubio | Rick Santorum | Donald Trump | Scott Walker | Others |
|
The Economist/ YouGov[273] |
235 | ± 4.2% |
June 20–22, 2015 |
10% | 10% | 2% | 9% | 3% | 2% | 6% | 0% | 1% | 5% | 11% | 2% | 11% | 2% | 11% | 7% |
Other 1% No preference 8% |
|
NBC News/ Wall Street Journal[274] |
236 | ± 6.38% |
June 14–18, 2015 |
20% | 11% | 4% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 12% | 0% | 1% | 3% | 7% | 5% | 14% | 0% | 1% | 12% |
None 0% Other 1% Not Sure 1% |
The guy is apparently worried that George isn't conservative enough, to get his endorsement. Now, of all the issues you expected to have with the rap community when James came up with this crazy, bullshit idea, lacking conservative credentials is not one of them. You shrug, though. Simply telling James to keep up the good work.
That done, you set about planning the week ahead. You've got a lot that needs doing.
CURRENT DATE: June 22nd, 2015
NEXT DEBATE: August 6th, 2015
NEXT PRIMARY: Iowa, February 1st, 2016
Campaign Funds.
Campaign Warchest: 337k
Ongoing Costs: 21k
SuperPAC Warchest: 1.25m
CAMPAIGN ACTIONS:
This stuff is your bread and butter. Organised by you, actions conducted by the Campaign machine are things you will have most direct influence over. Pick three.
[] Ads of the future! Setting up some internet campaign infrastructure is something Chamillionare suggested. No-one else really seems to be doing it at the moment. He's suggested using twitter a lot more, organising bots to push Pataki's tweets up in the ranks… Frankly, it seems fucking ingenious to you. (Cost: 20k Chance of Success: 85% Time to Completion: 2 Weeks Result: Internet Campaigning unlocked. +2 Momentum nationwide. +Name recognition.)
[] Bigger, shinier ads. Well, now you are packing cash, you can look into seriously pumping out ads. In proper Newspapers, like the Des Moine register, and the Manchester Union-Leader! It'll cost way more, but it'll also do way more. (Cost: Varies. Min: 5k (Production costs) 38k (Running costs, NH.) Chance of Success: 75% Result: Large Momentum/Name recognition boost. Specify state.)
[] Money makes the (political) world go round! You are cashed up, and can now largely support yourself, New York might be tapped for a little bit, but you can always head to California, Texas and even Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan for cash! Getting some more big donations would be a huge boon, but you shouldn't neglect the small folk either. (Cost: Free. Chance of Success: 50% Result: +Unknown amount of K. Possible major fundraiser contacted. Specify State)
[] The Pataki Elbow. Apparently the Rock has some time off his busy schedule to raise cash in Cali. He'll only do it if you can fly out and give him a hand. Apparently he's never done this before. (Cost: 15k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Unknown (high) amount of k raised. Get to know the Rock better.)
[] Expand the army. You've got Ground Pounders in all three starting states. It's time to start thinking bigger though. You need more men and women. More banners. More placards. More of those cheap, shitty lawn signs! Mooooooooooooore! (Cost: 30k Chance of Success: 70% Time to Completion: Two weeks. Result: Ground Campaign expanding IA, NH, SC)
[] Hunt for endorsers. With Jeb! On the decline already, and Walker's campaign in bloody, bitter tatters right out of the gate, it would be a good idea to go hunt for more endorsers. It can't hurt! (Cost: 10k Chance of Success: 60% Result: Endorsers found. +Momentum in State. Specify state for search.)
[] Fuck 'em. You can always start to pump out some negative advertising. It would be foolish to rely on your SuperPAC to do it for you, and you should probably at least make sure the campaign staff are on board with making them. (Cost: 12k. Chance of Success: 70% Result: [CANDIDATE] Momentum lowered, potentially into negative. Specify state and Candidate. Price/Chance of success will be adjusted. Choose method of attack. (Experience/Immigration/Religion, etc.)
RESEARCH TEAM
Well, you aren't going to lie. Harry doesn't seem super happy to be here, but hey, who cares? He's already taken a small group of your smarter interns (Parker not included), and he's fortified the office you'd been using as a storage room as his own personal fortress of doom. Eh, it works for you! Pick two.
[] Keeping tabs. All considered, this was nearly a fucking catastrophe. Nearly being the operative word here. It wasn't, not quite. Still, now you've got the basic outline of Walker's campaign, and sent him into paranoia mode, it might be a good idea to search out everyone else. (Cost: 5k Chance of Success: 65% Time to Completion: Two Weeks Result: Information on a specific campaign gained. Specify Candidate.)
[] The rise of state polling. You could broaden your horizons a bit, by setting up state polling in all three front-running states. It'd be expensive, but Harry is insistent that you do this. He also wants a nicer office, to better fit all the computers and shit that a pollster apparently needs. (Cost: 40k. Chance of Success: 80% Result: State Polling commenced in IA, NH, SC. -15k running costs.)
[] Expanding the machine. He's got an upgraded office, but he wants more. This time, though, it's not random comfort crap. Not mostly, at least. He wants to upgrade his tech to better keep track of goings on, and to better co-ordinate his steadily growing team of pollsters. He's mentioned that if he can get things up and running, he might be able to bring someone on board who's got more experience than the interns you throw at him. (Cost: 20k. Result: Research stat raised. Possibly friend of Enten recruited.)
PATAKI ACTIONS
Of course, as his chief advisor, you can naturally give Pataki his schedule for the week. He's surprisingly agile, so you reckon he can take on quite the workload! That's good, because he's got a lot of work to do. (Pick 4)
[] Storm the barn! Pataki's spent almost a month in Iowa, and you'd be pushing your luck by sending him in again, but still….you don't have a huge brand in the state, what could possibly go wrong? (Cost: 4k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in IA increased)
[] Fundraise! Probably a good idea to send him to one of the bigger states (New York, California, Texas) for this one, but he should be able to generate a decent amount of income for the Campaign! Might even be able to find you a proper big-name donor to beef up the 'People before Politics' PAC (Cost: Varies by state. Chance of Success 80% Result: Varying amounts of money raised, potential donors located. Specify State.)
[] Practice debate. Having a few practice debates with the team should get George in the right state of mind for August. Sure, it's awhile away, but it doesn't hurt to prepare. (Debating skill increased by +10)
[] Practice Issue familiarity. This is important for when the debate season starts, but also if you have to give interviews. Having George able to not fuck up the few interviews he will land would be a very, very good idea. (Issue Familiarity increased by +10)
[] Made from Granite. He's spent almost a month with Libby rushing through New Hampshire, and while it's clearly been successful, it might be a good idea to give the state a bit of a break. Don't want to overstay your welcome. (Cost: 6k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in NH increased.)
[] In the shade of the Palm Trees. With you doing better in South Carolina than you thought, it might be a good idea to give the other two states a rest, and start stomping in SC. It'd be a big kick up the pants to state morale! (Cost: 8k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Momentum/Footsoldier morale raised in SC)
[] The middle of nowhere. It might be a good idea to send George to test the waters of Nevada. Hell, you'll go with him. After all, you look hispanic. And you speak spanish (Not as good as George, but you haven't told him that). This will let you gauge things for the state down the line. (Cost: 5k. Chance of Success: Unknown. Result: Momentum raised in NV. General feel of NV gained.)
[] Prepare a speech. You know what fires up a crowd? A good speech. You are rising, and fast, so it can't hurt you to turbo-charge that with a big speech in one of the upcoming states! Especially with debates coming up in just over a month. You have to qualify. (Pick topic of speech, State it will be given in. Cost: 10k Chance of Success: Varies by state. Result: Momentum greatly increased in [STATE])
[] Slam down. This is a presidential race, and the only guys who remain positive lose. Totally positive at least. You need to be ready to try and smash the competition, and hard! (Pick state, and issue of attack. Cost: 6k Chance of Success: Varies by target Result: Reduced momentum for [CANDIDATE] in [STATE]. Can create negative momentum.)
[] Brushing up old contacts. Pataki knew a lot of people, back in the day, and his personal word carries a helluva lot more weight than yours. Maybe he can dig up some endorsers? (Cost: 10K Chance of Success: 75% Result: Endorsers found. +Momentum in State. Specify state)
LIBBY PATAKI ACTIONS
Candidate's wives have a long tradition on the campaign trail, augmenting their respective partners by appearing alongside them and campaigning in their stead. Libby stands ready to assist you as best you can. (Pick 1)
[] Barnstorm with George. Having Libby appear alongside her husband would both increase the amount of terrain they could cover, and increase the impact. Having two smiling waving people happy to talk is better than just one (Cost: 2k Chance of Success: Automatic Result: +10 chance of success to barnstorming action/s, +1 momentum generated
[] Raise money. Libby has contacts in the beauty product industry, primarily with Revlon, as well as having ties to the pro-Israel lobby. Hopefully she can bring in some more cash for the campaign and SuperPAC with these people(Cost: Free. Chance of Success: 50% Result:
[] Barnstorm in general. She won't be anywhere near as effective on her own, but she might still be able to do something, which means you could barnstorm two states! (Cost: 6k. Chance of Success: 40% Result: Momentum raised in [STATE]. Specify state.)
JAMES TODD SMITH
James has been campaigning hard, but he's regrettably informed you that he has plans this week, and so must take time off to focus on his endorsement campaign, and personal business ventures. He's donated 15k to the campaign to make up for this, though.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Plan: All in on Iowa and Internet Memes. Oh, and South Carolina too I guess.
[] Ads of the future! Setting up some internet campaign infrastructure is something Chamillionare suggested. No-one else really seems to be doing it at the moment. He's suggested using twitter a lot more, organising bots to push Pataki's tweets up in the ranks… Frankly, it seems fucking ingenious to you. (Cost: 20k Chance of Success: 85% Time to Completion: 2 Weeks Result: Internet Campaigning unlocked. +2 Momentum nationwide. +Name recognition.)
[] The Pataki Elbow. Apparently the Rock has some time off his busy schedule to raise cash in Cali. He'll only do it if you can fly out and give him a hand. Apparently he's never done this before. (Cost: 15k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Unknown (high) amount of k raised. Get to know the Rock better.)
[] Expand the army. You've got Ground Pounders in all three starting states. It's time to start thinking bigger though. You need more men and women.More banners. More placards. More of those cheap, shitty lawn signs! Mooooooooooooore! (Cost: 30k Chance of Success: 70% Time to Completion: Two weeks. Result: Ground Campaign expanding IA, NH, SC)
Let's capitalize on this. The internet is not going to save us, but it could get us out there, and the ground game backs it up.
[] The rise of state polling. You could broaden your horizons a bit, by setting up state polling in all three front-running states. It'd be expensive, but Harry is insistent that you do this. He also wants a nicer office, to better fit all the computers and shit that a pollster apparently needs. (Cost: 40k. Chance of Success: 80% Result: State Polling commenced in IA, NH, SC. -15k running costs.)
[] Storm the barn! Pataki's spent almost a month in Iowa, and you'd be pushing your luck by sending him in again, but still….you don't have a hugebrand in the state, what could possibly go wrong? (Cost: 4k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in IA increased)
[] In the shade of the Palm Trees. With you doing better in South Carolina than you thought, it might be a good idea to give the other two states a rest, and start stomping in SC. It'd be a big kick up the pants to state morale! (Cost: 8k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Momentum/Footsoldier morale raised in SC)
[] Practice debate. Having a few practice debates with the team should get George in the right state of mind for August. Sure, it's awhile away, but it doesn't hurt to prepare. (Debating skill increased by +10)
[] Practice Issue familiarity. This is important for when the debate season starts, but also if you have to give interviews. Having George able to not fuck up the few interviews he will land would be a very, very good idea. (Issue Familiarity increased by +10)
[] Barnstorm with George. Having Libby appear alongside her husband would both increase the amount of terrain they could cover, and increase the impact. Having two smiling waving people happy to talk is better than just one (Cost: 2k Chance of Success: Automatic Result: +10 chance of success to barnstorming action/s, +1 momentum generated
Okay, this plan really does focus heavily on Iowa and SC, but I think that's important. We also need to be ready to fucking kill that debate. I think next week we might make a big speech in SC, maybe? If we have enough hype?
[] Ads of the future! Setting up some internet campaign infrastructure is something Chamillionare suggested. No-one else really seems to be doing it at the moment. He's suggested using twitter a lot more, organising bots to push Pataki's tweets up in the ranks… Frankly, it seems fucking ingenious to you. (Cost: 20k Chance of Success: 85% Time to Completion: 2 Weeks Result: Internet Campaigning unlocked. +2 Momentum nationwide. +Name recognition.)
[] The Pataki Elbow. Apparently the Rock has some time off his busy schedule to raise cash in Cali. He'll only do it if you can fly out and give him a hand. Apparently he's never done this before. (Cost: 15k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Unknown (high) amount of k raised. Get to know the Rock better.)
[] Expand the army. You've got Ground Pounders in all three starting states. It's time to start thinking bigger though. You need more men and women.More banners. More placards. More of those cheap, shitty lawn signs! Mooooooooooooore! (Cost: 30k Chance of Success: 70% Time to Completion: Two weeks. Result: Ground Campaign expanding IA, NH, SC)
Let's capitalize on this. The internet is not going to save us, but it could get us out there, and the ground game backs it up.
[] The rise of state polling. You could broaden your horizons a bit, by setting up state polling in all three front-running states. It'd be expensive, but Harry is insistent that you do this. He also wants a nicer office, to better fit all the computers and shit that a pollster apparently needs. (Cost: 40k. Chance of Success: 80% Result: State Polling commenced in IA, NH, SC. -15k running costs.)
[] Storm the barn! Pataki's spent almost a month in Iowa, and you'd be pushing your luck by sending him in again, but still….you don't have a hugebrand in the state, what could possibly go wrong? (Cost: 4k Chance of Success: 55% Result: Momentum in IA increased)
[] In the shade of the Palm Trees. With you doing better in South Carolina than you thought, it might be a good idea to give the other two states a rest, and start stomping in SC. It'd be a big kick up the pants to state morale! (Cost: 8k. Chance of Success: 75% Result: Momentum/Footsoldier morale raised in SC)
[] Practice debate. Having a few practice debates with the team should get George in the right state of mind for August. Sure, it's awhile away, but it doesn't hurt to prepare. (Debating skill increased by +10)
[] Practice Issue familiarity. This is important for when the debate season starts, but also if you have to give interviews. Having George able to not fuck up the few interviews he will land would be a very, very good idea. (Issue Familiarity increased by +10)
[] Barnstorm with George. Having Libby appear alongside her husband would both increase the amount of terrain they could cover, and increase the impact. Having two smiling waving people happy to talk is better than just one (Cost: 2k Chance of Success: Automatic Result: +10 chance of success to barnstorming action/s, +1 momentum generated
Okay, this plan really does focus heavily on Iowa and SC, but I think that's important. We also need to be ready to fucking kill that debate. I think next week we might make a big speech in SC, maybe? If we have enough hype?
- Location
- Moon-Station
[X] Plan: All in on Iowa and Internet Memes. Oh, and South Carolina too I guess.