The Democrat Party Headquarters Thread (No Repubs Allowed!!)

[Chief Rum]

Welcome to the the party headquarters for the Democrat Party. This will be the thread where you can hatch your plans to dominate the country through your policies.

Only Dems are allowed in this thread.

It is now Day One and the first year of your first term in Congress.

You have three decisions to make before the Day One deadline (and preferably sooner), and in whatever manner you wish to make them.

1. You must choose your Leader. This will be the player who is the head of your party--for now. This player will propose bills in the public thread, and be the one who generally does party actions (although this is not limited to him if that is the Leader's desire). The term of the Leader is for the rest of the Congressional term (two years/days--the end of the Day cycle on Day Two), but you are free to choose the same player again next term so long as he is an elected member of Congress.

The Leader may choose a Whip, a second in command, who will serve as a step-in in his absence.

Please PM me your choice when you have made it.

2. You must choose your Liaison. This will be the player in charge of communicating with the other party when deals need to be made. This player will have PM rights with his party opposite for the duration of their term in this position. No other inter-party communication is allowed outside of the public Congressional floor thread. As with the Leader, this is a one-term gig, but there are no term limits, so long as the player is an elected member of Congress.

3. Next year is a Presidential election year. At the end of the Day Two day cycle, a Presidential election will be held, choosing the next leader of the free world. You must choose the candidate who will run for the Democrat party. You must choose this by the end of the Day One day cycle, but you are free to announce your choice at any time.

You also have Slurry/Support decisions to make, so please review the rules in the main thread on their use.

And don't forget to discuss bills! You don't have any roles right now, and the Bodyguard, as an example, is an ideal role for the Democrat Party. Please see the rules for other suggestions, or get creative and come up with your own.

You are now free to post in thread here, even if I have not started the game officially in the public thread.

Good luck, Donkeys!

P.S. Watch out for Wolves.

[path12]

I would like to welcome my friends to this thread and our caucus. I pray that we make the correct choices in order to both rid ourselves of these cursed wolves and to help our countrymen prosper as the founding fathers intended.

[Lathum]

hi.

I have no idea what is going on.

I am not a wolf .

I do not want to be leader.

I am not sure how much of my PM I should reveal.

Please help.

[Chubby]

I too welcome my fellow Democrats. I think we have the stronger side as far as players go. Still kinda getting a grasp of the rules as there is a lot to digest.

I am off from work tomorrow so I will be on all day (at the very least checking in off and on while I do other things)

[Lathum]

where does it list the dems/ republicans?

[Chubby]

post #2 of the main thread

Final Player List and Party Affiliation

DEMOCRATS

1. KWhit
2. path12
3. EagleFan
4. PackerFanatic
5. Chubby
6. henry296
7. Lathum
8. mccollins
9. chesapeake

REPUBLICANS

1. claphamsa
2. Tyrith
3. PurdueBrad
4. st.cronin
5. Mrs. Schmidty
6. illinifan999
7. jeheinz
8. Passacaglia
9. Render

[Lathum]

yesah, I saw. thanks.

I also think kwhit is a goodd choice for speaker

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Chubby

post #2 of the main thread

Final Player List and Party Affiliation



...

Good idea. These are the only players who should be posting in this thread.

I have updated Post #4 in the main thread with the congressional districts and political leanings of everyone in the game.

Here is the list of Dems:

DEMOCRATS

1. KWhit
2. path12
3. EagleFan
4. PackerFanatic
5. Chubby
6. henry296
7. Lathum
8. mccollins
9. chesapeake

[EagleFan]

I believe KWhit is a risky choice. He is far too liberal for the heart of the country to accept. We need our main voice to be closer to the center to not alienate our constituents.

mccollins may make a good choice. He is closer to the center but holds our primary values as true and will not cave to the war mongering right wingers.

[EagleFan]

dola: The toughest part of this game will be not accidentally going into that OTHER thread. I am so used to coming into this forum and clicking to show the new posts on the threads that have new posts to see what has been going on in either the games I am in or keeping up a little on the others.

[path12]

I'm wondering about the bills. I think we should put together a bill to enact a role, preferably one on our side of the spectrum. My thought is soothsayer -- since bodyguard is on the left end of the scale Chief put them in it might be harder to get passed off the bat. Everyone would like to find wolves -- being able to clear a statement should be something that we could get votes for.

I'll put it together in the morning, if anyone wants to co-sponsor we might as well.

[path12]

Also, remember we've likely got a couple wolves in our side as well.

[path12]

Ew. I ended both those posts with 'as well'. Damn no editing.

[PackerFanatic]

I would be willing to co-sponsor that bill with you, path. I think that is a great idea and something that we should try getting off the ground as soon as possible.

[Chief Rum]

I highly recommend picking a Leader and a Liaison as soon as possible, so you will be able to propose any bills on the floor. The sooner bills are proposed, the sooner they can be voted on and passed.

When you have made your choices, email me at [email protected] and let me know. I will then give the go ahead for you to start this.

I am off to work. See you all tonight.

[PackerFanatic]

I think we should have mccollins as our leader and path as our liaison.

[KWhit]

Thank you Lathum for the support, but I fear that my politics will get in the way of a Speaker role. I would gladly fill another position such as Leader or Liason, however, if that is the will of my colleagues.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by PackerFanatic

I think we should have mccollins as our leader and path as our liaison.

We need to have a Democrat in the running for Speaker as well.

[PackerFanatic]

That would just be our leader, wouldn't it? To my understanding, only one of the two leaders could be speaker (or that would make sense at least)

[KWhit]

MIssed that. Is that right?

[PackerFanatic]

No idea - I just asked in the other thread, nothing I read specifically states it, but it would make sense in my mind at least.

[KWhit]

True. It would make sense.

[KWhit]

I think we need to look at what the most powerful roles we can get in the game and push for those in our bills (as long as they are democratic leaning, of course). In other words, I suggest we bush for a Bodyguard asap. They will be pushing for a seer role today, I am sure, and I think it likely that our liason will have to make a deal with them so that we can get two important roles into congress as quicly as possible.

So let's not settle on going after a soothsayer today. Let's push for a bodyguard.

[chesapeake]

This table is also pretty important, as it tells us who our most vulnerable members are. We should consider providing support to Chubby and Henry and/or going after jeheinz and RendeR.

Congressional Districts:

1st: Most conservative, most Republican district--claphamsa
2nd: 2nd most "" ""--Passacaglia
3rd: 3rd most "" ""--Tyrith
4th: Moderately conservative, republican district--PurdueBrad
5th: Middle ground republican, leaning conservative--st.cronin
6th: Middle ground republican--Mrs. Schmidty
7th: Slightly centrist republican--illinifan999
8th: Moderately centrist republican--Render
9th: Strongly centrist, slight republican lean--jeheinz72
10th: Strongly centrist, slight democrat lean--henry296
11th: Moderately centrist democrat--Chubby
12th: Slightly centrist democrat--PackerFanatic
13th: Middle ground democrat--Eaglefan
14th: Middle ground democrat, leaning liberal--path12
15th: Moderately liberal, democrat district--mccollins
16th: 3rd most liberal, most democrat district--chesapeake
17th: 2nd most "" ""--Lathum
18th: Most "" ""--KWhit

[chesapeake]

On bills, we should put something forward giving one role to our side and one role to the GOP. Bipartisanship wins votes.

[KWhit]

My constituents will likely frown on bipartisanship, so at least publicly I will not be able to strongly support that.

Not saying that you're wrong, however.

[Chubby]

The citizens of the 11th district would like to see the Brothers role inacted. This would satisfy their their centrist leanings and also allow two of us good guys to PM each other. It could be used as a way to foster some bi-partisanship but we could also keep it amongst ourselves.

[EagleFan]

I think that we need to get our leader and laisson figured out before getting too far ahead of ourselves.

I would be all for mccollins as leader and KWhit as laisson at this point.


Unfortunately I have no idea if either are wolves which brings me to the next topic after electing a leader and laisson. The people within my district are becoming worried about the affects of wolves within our own borders. Our opposing party has been so focused on witch hunts within other countries to find wolves that they have not been looking herre at home. We need to ratify the role of seer so that we may discover these furry creatures before it is too late.

I would like to see a rider to that bill to enact a national health care act to enable potential healing of those who fall victim to these wolves.

First thing is first though, we need a leader and laisson.

[chesapeake]

It is not an election year. The Brothers would be great for next year, but we should take our risks this year and then placate our consituencies with the more moderate bill in the election year.

Am I right in thinking that the Seer and the Bodyguard are the most important roles? Combining them together in one bill this year is probably the best way of getting them enacted. My constituents are happy because Dems get the BG, GOP folks are happy because they get the Seer, and gamewise I am happy because I am not a wolf and the village has 2 important tools to fight wolvery everywhere.

We need a leader and a Speaker candidate to move the ball forward regardless. We should decide here who we will support so we can present a united front in the main forum.

Proposing a moderate Dem for Speaker makes sense. Henry, Chubby, PackerFan, and EagleFan are our moderates. Assuming experience in that role has value, who is the most experience in this group and also wants the job?

Spacing on the spectrum for the Democratic Leader appears not to matter. Who is our best player? This is only my third game, but I know that Path and Lathum are highly regarded. I would be comfortable with either of them.

Time matters. We want our leader to propose a bipartisan bill with Democratic co-sponsors so we can max out our gains from a bill that should pass -- assuming folks accept my proposal for a bill that includes Dem and GOP roles.

[EagleFan]

vote mccollins democratic leader

vote KWhit democratic laisson

[chesapeake]

Has mccollins checked in yet? Our leader needs to be accessible and active. KWhit has been, so I'd be OK with him as leader.

[KWhit]

PF just posted this in the main thread.

In case anyone was wondering, as well, the Speaker does not (and probably should not) need to be a party leader. Since both the leaders and the Speaker get the chance to propose a bill, we'd be better off electing someone completely outside the party leaders to be speaker.

So it really won't matter who is our leader (IOW doesn't need to be centrist).

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

Has mccollins checked in yet? Our leader needs to be accessible and active. KWhit has been, so I'd be OK with him as leader.

I'll be here and active.

And since I know that I'm not a member of the Wolf Party, I would rather see myself as Leader than anyone else. I realize that all of you don't know this, but it's the reason why I am now kind of pushing for the position.

We should have mccollins be our candidate for Speaker.

I'd gladly take Leader if you guys would have me.

Someone kind of centrist should probably be our liason. I fear if I were to be that role, my constituents would see that as weakness - working with the Repubs.

[KWhit]

Also, remember, we can have multiple bills come up for vote in a day. I figure the repubs will put a seer bill up, and we can put up a bodyguard bill.

They will both likely pass.

[Chubby]

I'm open to roles that call for a centrist. My work schedule is open til 4pm the rest of the week so I will be around afternoons til night

[EagleFan]

unvote all

Just saw that SoH doesn't have to be our leader which was the only reason I didn't put KWhit as leader.


vote KWhit Democratic Leader

[KWhit]

Thank you for the support, EagleFan.

[mccollins]

Originally Posted by PackerFanatic

I think we should have mccollins as our leader and path as our liaison.

As a middle of the road kind of guy, I would gladly serve as Leader. Personally, I wouldn't mind going for President, but I may be a bit too far to the left to accomplish that.

[Chubby]

I don't see any negatives to electing as leader the person in the most democratic district

vote KWhit Dem Leader

[chesapeake]

Does anyone have an objection to KWhit being our leader for the first term? We can always boot him next term if he gets too shifty.

Strategically, there is value to preemptively bundling a BG/Seer bill. We would get to pick both co-sponsors, meaning that our guys would get the boost from it and theirs wouldn't.

We have a possible advantage in the Speaker race if we stick together. As Mrs. Schmidty has already voted, unless they all vote for Pass, we can win by proposing a moderate.

[KWhit]

We need to think about our roles within the party also. I plan on playing a back-room leader type of person since I know I won't ever get support from the other side of the aisle. So Dem Leader is perfect for that.

So I am leaning toward the POWER area on this matrix (and not the popularity):

5-- Most honest and not in the pockets of special interests (popularity bonus, power negative, some role protection/action)
4-- Generally well-regarded and only slightly influenced by lobbyists (slight popular bonus and power negative, no role protection/action)
3-- Middle of the road politician--not honest, not dishonest, subject to normal special interests (no bonuses, no role protection/action)
2-- Generally regarded as somewhat dishonest and influenced by lobbyists (slight popular negative and power bonus, no role protection/action)
1-- Regarded as conniving and throughly in the pockets of special interests (popularity negative and power bonus, some role protection/action)

However, those of you near middle who we thing could be good Speaker candidtaes and good Presidential Candidates should probably consider the Popularity portion of this matrix as it will likely help get you elected President one day.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

Does anyone have an objection to KWhit being our leader for the first term? We can always boot him next term if he gets too shifty.

Strategically, there is value to preemptively bundling a BG/Seer bill. We would get to pick both co-sponsors, meaning that our guys would get the boost from it and theirs wouldn't.

We have a possible advantage in the Speaker race if we stick together. As Mrs. Schmidty has already voted, unless they all vote for Pass, we can win by proposing a moderate.

Interesting thought. I will see if CR can give us an indication whether or not a 2 role bill would possibly be rejected by the Supreme Court.

[mccollins]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Also, remember, we can have multiple bills come up for vote in a day. I figure the repubs will put a seer bill up, and we can put up a bodyguard bill.

They will both likely pass.

But to be clear, the best strategy would probably be for only our 2 or 3 most centrist members to cross over and vote for the seer bill, right? And only if the GOP is going to do the same?

Would it make sense to propose a bill with both the seer and BG in it so that we make sure they vote for our measure?

[EagleFan]

Who may have the most access to the site? That person should be our laisson.

I would be all for mccollins as SoH.

Nothing against anyone else in the party as I am going with names I have played with (or against) a few times.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by mccollins

But to be clear, the best strategy would probably be for only our 2 or 3 most centrist members to cross over and vote for the seer bill, right? And only if the GOP is going to do the same?

Would it make sense to propose a bill with both the seer and BG in it so that we make sure they vote for our measure?

Yes and yes. I just asked CR this question though, because it would be BAD if our bill was overturned by the courts.

Can you give me a likelihood of whether or not a single bill that establishes BOTH a seer and a bodyguard would be ok? Or would it likely be overturned by the Supreme Court?>>

I'll let you know when I get an answer.

[mccollins]

Originally Posted by KWhit

We need to think about our roles within the party also. I plan on playing a back-room leader type of person since I know I won't ever get support from the other side of the aisle. So Dem Leader is perfect for that.

So I am leaning toward the POWER area on this matrix (and not the popularity):



However, those of you near middle who we thing could be good Speaker candidtaes and good Presidential Candidates should probably consider the Popularity portion of this matrix as it will likely help get you elected President one day.

This understanding of the Power/Popularity matrix makes the most sense to me. Being in the middle of the Dem party, I'm not sure which way I'll go, but I'm leaning towards the +1 popularity (#4 on the list).

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by KWhit

We need to think about our roles within the party also. I plan on playing a back-room leader type of person since I know I won't ever get support from the other side of the aisle. So Dem Leader is perfect for that.

So I am leaning toward the POWER area on this matrix (and not the popularity):



However, those of you near middle who we thing could be good Speaker candidtaes and good Presidential Candidates should probably consider the Popularity portion of this matrix as it will likely help get you elected President one day.

I'm glad that the person I support for party leader and I see eye to eye on this matter.

I am on the popular side of the spectrum tho I will refrain from disclosing the exact number at this time.

[chesapeake]

Since the chamber is evenly divided, we probably need to stick with a moderate for Speaker. I am guessing that RendeR and jeheinz's constituents would be more pleased if he voted for Chubby, for example, than for Pass or St.C since he is closer on the spectrum to them even though Chubby is from a different party. mccollins being almost as liberal as me probably makes him unacceptable as Speaker to any republican.

[PackerFanatic]

VOTE KWHIT DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER

I think KWhit will serve us well.

[chesapeake]

VOTE KWHIT FOR DEMOCRATIC LEADER

baaaa...but it seems like a solid choice.