North Mexico 2012 Presidential General Election and Debates

[North Mexico]

To all candidates:
What will your policy be towards Mexico Proper if elected?

VILLA REPLIES:
If I may speak first, for a change (in English. Then through interpreter...) Let me make clear that "National Liberation" is a movement for both Mexicos. As much as I despise los gringos grises, I will concede that at least here, we have an opportunity to effect change through an election - as tainted and corrupt as the process might be. But our fellow members of la Raza down south have no such opportunity, as they have been living under the boot heel of military dictators for going on 150 yeas now. Therefore, winning this election is only half the duty of National Liberation. The other half will only be accomplished when the task that Madero, Villa and Zapata began more than a century ago is finally realized - both Mexicos, united, under a government that is both democratic and native.

First I made North Mexico, and I made up Mexico Proper afterwards. But for balance, I had to make Mexico Proper just as evil as North Mexico, and the best way to achieve that was by making the present rulers of Mexico (proper) the successors of the pre-revolutionary Porfirian/Huerista dictatorship. And besides, of the five key figures of the Mexican Revolution, four were either from or did the majority of their work in the northern states that are part of in-universe North Mexico, so, thus divided, there's no way the rebels could have won. See?

Huckabee and Perry looked at one another before responding.
Through gestures, Huckabee yeilded the floor.

PERRY REPLIES:
I think he just made himself clear right there. Sr. Villa has never been a man of peace. Just like he tried to overthrow this government with terrorism back in the 80s and 90s, now he wants to declare perpetual war against our southern neighbor! Our southern neighbor who, despite our historical bad blood, is our best ally in the Drug War today! Grassy-ass, Sr. Villa, for letting us see your true colors.
And to answer your question, what will the Perry administration's policy towards Mexico (proper) be? Well, first and foremost, it will be to continue the cooperation in our mutual efforts to destroy the drug trade. Everything else comes secondary.

HUCKABEE REPLIES:
I agree with Governor Perry, every word. But I want to add that, yes, cooperation in the war is first and foremost, but as a larger goal, we need to work towards cooperation in many other areas of the economy as well.

[North Mexico]

To all candidates:
How would you respond to a terrorist attack on a major national land mark or building.

PERRY REPLIES:
Oh, you mean like the attacks that Sr. Villa and his predecessors used to launch against the innocent and law-abiding people of the Confederacy on an almost daily basis for almost 50 years? Well, first, let me tell you what a Perry administration wouldn't do. Unlike certain presidents who came from the Liberal Party, a Perry Administration wouldn't surrender even the tiniest fraction of an inch of our way of life to these gutless cowards who don't even have the courage to show their faces, even when they're on a nationwide stage like this. What a Perry administration would do is give law enforcement and the military the tools it needs to hunt these Godless anarchists to extinction, on whichever side of the border they're hiding.

VILLA REPLIES:
(Through interpreter) Thank you for the question, because this is a very serious issue. Because terrorism is happening right now in Mestizo and black neighborhoods throughout North Mexico. After all, when when so many Mestizos and blacks are being scared away from the polls by armed white men, what would you call that other than terrorism? And I'm under no illusion that after National Liberation takes power, certain of the more obstinate whites aren't going to like it and make trouble for the majority. Of course, we will equip law enforcement to handle the situation. But in the meantime, I ask everyone in the majority - Mestizo, black and non-land-owning whites too - to show the same courage we always have when faced with tyranny from this nation's oppressive ruling class.

HUCKABEE REPLIES:
My opponent Governor Perry likes to criticize, but my answer is very simple. The Huckabee Administration will employ the same tactics used by the greatest terrorism fighter in the history of the Confederacy, President William Jefferson Blythe. You see, Governor Perry, unlike your hero Strom Thurmond, whose ham-handed approach to fighting terrorism did nothing but cost the Confederacy tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars over the span of almost 50 years, Bill Blythe's approach of using both carrot and stick neutralized the terrorists in only two years.
By betraying everything we stand for!
I don't feel betrayed. I feel safe. And I feel that what the Confederacy stands for will be safe and secure for generations to come thanks to my predecessor and fellow Chihuahuan Mr. Blythe. And I think making any deviation from his anti-terror policies would be the most foolish thing the Confederacy can do.

[North Mexico]

To all candidates:
How would you respond to a larger nation directly threatening nuclear action against North Mexico?

OK, since the United States would never allow Russia or China (or India or Pakistan or France or England or any other member of the nuclear club) to directly threaten its friend and neighbor, the "larger nation" you're referring to can only be the United States itself...
And if the United States wanted to destroy the Confederacy (or should I say, if the Union wanted to destroy the Confederacy again), they definitely wouldn't use nuclear weapons because there's no way they could prevent the fallout from wafting north and crippling the southwestern part of their own country..
So really, the question as you phrased it is moot.
I think it would have been better if you'd phrased it this way:

To all candidates:
How would you respond to a larger nation the United States directly threatening nuclear action against to invade North Mexico?

HUCKABEE REPLIES:
That's almost a hypothetical. I mean, that's kind of like if we were Americans running for the presidency of the United States and you asked, "What would you do if the British threatened to invade and reincorporate us into their colonial empire?" Plus, I'm almost insulted by that question because we all have relatives of my parents' generation who fought alongside the damnyankees against the Japs in the Solomons and the Philippines. But, since I supposed it's not out of the realm of possibility, I'll answer it.
First of all, they would be stupid to threaten. That would do nothing but give us time to prepare our defenses. Sure, I don't think we could ever hope to match the United States' technological or numerical superiority - couldn't in 1861, can't today - but if they tried it again today, unlike in 1861, they'll find themselves up against a Confederacy that has been doing nothing but fighting in defense of its territory for more tha 150 years now, and we've only gotten better and better at it as time has gone by. So I suppose my response would be to tell those Linclon lovers to bring a lot of body bags, because they're going to need them.

PERRY REPLIES:
I'd like to second everything my opponent said, starting with how absurd that question really is to begin with, all the way through the "Lincoln lovers in bodybags" line. That was a good one, Mike. But I also want to add, if that were to happen, and I were president, I would lead the main body of the Confederate Army into battle myself.

VILLA REPLIES:
(Through interpreter) Well, unlike my gringo opponents, I don't think the question is "hypothetical" or "absurd." In a lot of ways, the United States isn't any more just a country than North Mexico or Mexico proper. Sure, damnyankeeland is more culturally inclusive than either of the Mexicos, but it's still a profit-motivated capitalist nation, and I have little doubt in my mind that Washington is rooting just as hard for the defeat of National Liberation as Mexico City and Monterrey are. And when National Liberation wins this election, I'm not under any illusion. We will prepare to face invasions on both our southern and northern borders. After all, don't forget, before los gringos grises invaded in 1865, los gringos azules invaded in 1846.

[North Mexico]

Does anybody else have any questions for any of our candidates?

(Or trivia questions about the Confederacy of North Mexico in general?)

Or maybe you want to post an ad or statement of endorsement?

Just about 72 more hours till the election is over...

[Bythyrona]

To all candidates: how much do you value the term "free speech"?

[Durra]

OOC: Just re-read your factbook (I read it first in the Conservative election thread) and I noticed that you don't explain the peace treaty of the American civil war, which I imagine would be an important part of your nation's history. I've been learning a bit about American history and it seems unusual to me that the Americans would accept the existence of the Confederate states given political philosophies at the time seemed to revolve around attaining more land and keeping America stable.
I'd also be interested to know if you've thought of any other historical divergences which have happened in your world due to the Confederacy's exestance.
Also, you didn't reply to my ridiculous post early on in the thread!

[Armedland]

To all candidates:

What are your positions on taxation, would you promote flat taxes on the populace, or perhaps a rising tax depending on wealth?

[North Mexico]

To all candidates: how much do you value the term "free speech"?

HUCKABEE REPLIES:
Oh, I hold it dearly, just the way Thomas Jefferson inteded it. If I may quote the first ammendment of the Confederate constitution, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." As the leader of the Confederate government, I will never sign any bill from congress that would abridge freedom of speech, and I would encourage state governors to do the same, though it would certainly be state leaders' prerogative to do so, if they so choose. After all, this is not the United States of America. Our states actually have the right to govern themselves.

PERRY REPLIES:
I agree with everything my opponent said, except I want to add that one thing we Conservatives understand that I don't think the other party does is that the words that Thomas Jefferson wrote were only intended for God-fearing white citizens, not the colored folks. It was probably the greatest tragedy in the history of this continent that the founders held that that truth as self-evident instead of stating it explicitly.

VILLA REPLIES:
(Through interpreter) When National Liberation takes power, the Confederate Constitution will be thrown out and replaced with a document that gives justice and recognition to the majority. And since there is such a wide array of opinions in the National Liberation Movement, that will not be a brief process. However, I guarantee that as president, I will advocate strongly for freedom of speech, true freedom of speech, in both Mexicos.

[North Mexico]

I hope Durra doesn't mind, since Her Majesty's question is a bit more broad, I'm going to skip to the next one in the order. I know she won't mind because she's in Europe and probably in bed right now anyway, so I'm going to take this one:

To all candidates:
What are your positions on taxation, would you promote flat taxes on the populace, or perhaps a rising tax depending on wealth?

Actually, we covered that here:
viewtopic.php?p=9444078#p9444078

The abridged version is, Governors Perry and Huckabee are firm proponents of a flat tax,
Sr. Villa is a stanch advocate of using taxes for social leveling purposes.

Does that answer your question?
Feel free to ask a follow up.

[Bythyrona]

To Mr. Villa, is your goal the reunification of both Mexicos?

[North Mexico]

Sorry, Durra, I will get to you soon, it's just that your question is a bit broader and I might want to answer it in installments (gotta keep bumping the thread for another 36 hours or so, after all).
In the meantime, I'll address this one:

To Mr. Villa, is your goal the reunification of both Mexicos?

And he actually answered that here:
viewtopic.php?p=9512935#p9512935

Do you have a follow-up question about it for him?


(Another note: Finally, North Mexico is back to being a "Right-Wing Utopia!" It's what it started out as, and it's what I think the accurate thing for it to be is, but we detoured through "corporate police state," "compulsory consumerist state" and "capitalist paradise." But now, I think we're back in the category where we belong. No way of knowing until I cycle through all the issues, though.)

[North Mexico]

OOC: Just re-read your factbook (I read it first in the Conservative election thread) and I noticed that you don't explain the peace treaty of the American civil war, which I imagine would be an important part of your nation's history. I've been learning a bit about American history and it seems unusual to me that the Americans would accept the existence of the Confederate states given political philosophies at the time seemed to revolve around attaining more land and keeping America stable.
I'd also be interested to know if you've thought of any other historical divergences which have happened in your world due to the Confederacy's exestance.

OOC: I explained to our distinguished foreign guest in a telegram that in the real history, there was no peace treaty to end the US Civil War, and why there was not.
Now let me tell you a little bit of the alt history I’ve made up here for the CS of NM.

Alternate History of the North Mexican Confederacy’s Founding
Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at Appomattox (just like in the real history), but (where we diverge from the real history) few if any other rebel generals surrendered. However, they did realize that victory was no longer possible, and the only way to preserve the Confederacy was to move it elsewhere. So other Confederate leaders, led by Generals Braxton Bragg, Nathan Bedford Forrest and Joseph Wheeler fled with most or all of their troops south across the Rio Grande. In the following years, hundreds of thousands if not millions of American Southerners who refused to submit to the Union’s reconstruction policies followed, creating the Confederate States of North Mexico. (And the Union didn’t mind, they were actually happy to see the malcontents go.)

And there’s more divergences as well, but I’ll save them for a later post.

Are there any more questions for our candidates?
Or any other questions about North Mexico at all?

Got about 30 hours till the polls close...

[The Mexicos restored]

Hang on, please, everyone. I have a moderator ruling to appeal...

EDIT: The tyranny of the mods is insufferable. Thank you to everyone who contributed to what I thought was a pretty creative and thought-provoking alternate history I made up.
Too good for this website, I'm afraid.