The Land Of The Free: An American Political Roleplay (OOC)

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Hey, just asking since I'm about to finish one of Vohoffsky's videos which will kickstart the AF Movement, would it be fine to end with "Don't Tread on Me" by Metallica? I just found it somewhere, but just checking OOC to ensure that nothing bad happens to Vohoffsky IC before I submit.

Probably not the best for your target audience... its better to just use public domain music, they could sue you or ask you to stop using it which is embarrassing

I was thinking about using the Battle Hymn of the Republic or another similar song, but people might attack Vohoffsky for being disrespectful or something like that.

EDIT: Also, using Civil War music will DEFINITELY piss off the Southern Legacy conservatives.

[Granluras]

[VOIDED CUZ IM AN IDIOT]

[Dentali]

God I hope the money Richardson is getting is worth the trouble

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

[VOIDED CUZ IM AN IDIOT]

Wait, what's voided?

God I hope the money Richardson is getting is worth the trouble

Yep. I did include some money for you. He's given you about $1.15 million so far.

[Granluras]

[VOIDED CUZ IM AN IDIOT]

Wait, what's voided?

I made a stupid statement because I jumped to conclusions (:

[Granluras]

Hey, is anyone in the process of reviewing my app? It's been a day so I just wanted to post a notice in case it got buried and overlooked since then.

[Dentali]

Hey, is anyone in the process of reviewing my app? It's been a day so I just wanted to post a notice in case it got buried and overlooked since then.

ill look it over tonight

[Granluras]

Hey, is anyone in the process of reviewing my app? It's been a day so I just wanted to post a notice in case it got buried and overlooked since then.

ill look it over tonight

Thanks ^-^

[Granluras]

Oh shit, Washington died?

[Dentali]

(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Granluras
Character Name: Duncan Flanagan
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 65
Character Height: 6’0
Character Weight: 197 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:

• Religious career: Deacon of the Seven Fellowships Church (1972-1978); Elder of the Seven Hills Fellowship (1978-present); Pastor of the Seven Hills Fellowship (1984-1991); Member of the North Georgia Presbytery (1986-2006); Member of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery (2006-present); Member of the South Atlantic Synod (1993-present); Member of the Mission to the World (1996-present); Member of the PCA General Assembly (1997-present)
• Advocacy career: Member of the ACU (1975-present); Member of the Family Research Council (1979-present); [Board] Member of World Concern (1983-present; Board, 2003-present); [Board] Member of the Heritage Foundation (1986-present; Board, 2002-present) Board Member of Citizens for Community Values (2006-present); Founder and Chairman of the ARF (2005-present); President of the UDCN (2008-present); Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (2012-present)
• Business career: Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of the Etowah Band Holdings (2005-present), Board Member of the Salem Media Group (2011-present), Co-Owner of P&R Publishing (2013-present), Board Member of T. Rowe Price (2016-present)

Appearance:

(Image)

Character State of Origin: Cave Spring, Georgia
Character State of Residence: Rome, Georgia
Character Party Affiliation: Republcian Party (1971-present)

Main Strengths: Owns a diverse portfolio of media companies; is a recognized entrepreneur and investor; possesses a strong connection to the Christian Right; provocative, but well-spoken; skilled and prominent lobbyist; quite charitable and - personally/privately - amicable and generous
Main Weaknesses: Has clashed publicly with the Left numerous times; a known opponent of same-sex marriage, open immigration, abortion, and several other major progressive issues; provocative speaker; near-fundamentalist Christian; has been accused of being loose-lipped with slurs

Duncan Cornelius Flanagan is a prominent Presbyterian minister and businessman born on April 9, 1953 to Elijah Flanagan, Jr. (5/12/1922-8/28/2015) and Mae Flanagan (b. 3/7/1924). The Flanagan clan, a Scottish-American Presbyterian family with Colonial American roots, has long been established in the South as a dynasty of Presbyterian ministers firstly, and a family of Southern businessmen and politicians secondly. As such, Duncan was born into an upper-middle-class upbringing, and his father was both an officer of the Georgia Presbytery of the (original) PCUSA, and a manager of a regional chain of grocers in Northern Georgia. He has extended familial connections to several former/current Georgian state politicians, one Georgian congressman, and his first cousin twice removed and second cousin once removed were - respectively - Eugene Talmadge and Herman Talmadge. Duncan is the brother of fellow Presbyterian leader Isaac Flanagan (b. 7/18/1951), financial services manager Charles Flanagan (b. 10/4/1954), and fashionista Reneé Flanagan (b. 2/23/1956).

Duncan, along with his brothers, were all educated at Darlington School (save his sisters, who attended Thornwood School for Girls), from 1957 to 1969. While at Darlington, primarily from 1964 to his graduation, Duncan participated in the Darlington football team, the Darlington newspaper “Darlingtonian”, and the school’s DECA chapter from 1966 to 1969. He was salutatorian of his class and was easily accepted into Mercer University afterwards, and pursued a Bachelor of Arts from there over the following four year period, and during the same period, Duncan was ordained and was made a deacon of his hometown church. He graduated from Mercer University in 1973 magna cum laude and fifth overall in his class; Duncan became involved in junior politics during college, joining Mercer’s College Republicans chapter in 1971 (and becoming its Vice President in his senior year), and then founding and leading the chapter at his graduate college from 1973 to 1976. Duncan went on to attend Harvard Divinity School to pursue a Master of Divinity, and he graduated summa cum laude from it. After college, Duncan returned to Rome, Georgia to begin his proper religious career. He was made a Teaching Elder of his church, Seven Hills Fellowship, soon after returning and became locally recognized (or, among his Presbytery) for being a traditionalist who stringently rejected and spoke against the increasing affiliation with “Liberal Christianity” in the PCUSA, which the Seven Hills Fellowship was affiliated with. Outside his ideological services, Duncan was a dedicated and professional minister and theologian who was famous among his congregation and an exalted member of the church’s Session, serving as its Stated Clerk several times.

In 1984, Pastor Maurice Horseleg (1922-2004) retired from his post, after fifteen years, and as the Presbytery convened to choose a replacement, Duncan used his status as the de facto highest ranking member of the congregation to leverage a “vote of independence”, backed by the PCA Presbytery. The vote was convened a week after Horseleg’s resignation, and the results were announced, 314-32, two days later. The event attained statewide recognition, the first major news coverage Duncan received, and was received negatively by its former Presbytery. Duncan began to rise in prominence meanwhile due to his other involvements, namely his contributions to the ACU, Family Research Council, World Concern, and the Heritage Foundation. Duncan began donating 7.50% of his congregations quarterly donations (around $5,000) to the World Concern, which has increased over the years from 10% to 15% (and $6,000 to $10,000), and - overall - donates 25% of his church's quarterly funds (~$80,000 per year) to several specific groups. He became a respected member of each group, beginning in the mid-80s, and began attracting his first bits of national attention because of it; Duncan’s breakout political role was in 1984, when - after gaining support from the North Georgia Presbytery he had been recently appointed to - announced his endorsement of President Reagan’s re-election campaign, which inspired several other Presbyterian groups to do the same. In 1986, he joined the ranks of the Georgia GOP by running for and becoming the 7th District Chairman of the Party (1986-1994), and Second Vice-Chairman of the Party (1994-1997). After attending the 1987 and 1994 National Prayer Breakfasts, attending five National Prayer Days at the Washington National Cathedral from 1988 to 1996, after being made a Guest Chaplain of the Senate and House numerous times, and after being elected for the first and several times thereafter as a Delegate to the PCA General Assembly, Duncan became nationally recognized as a prominent Presbyterian figure, and his media coverage intensified. However, with his rising fame and attention came increasing scrutiny and criticism from liberal factions who opposed his notably and strictly conservative stances, and he began to be labeled by certain groups as a homophobe, racist, fundamentalist, and - more radically, less commonly - a White supremacist. However, Duncan was mostly resilient to any attacks, especially due to his connections, such as word in the late-90s that he had been inducted into The Fellowship and was quickly making allies with prominent members of it.

Duncan rallied elements of the PCA in July of 2000 to officially endorse John Burke’s 2000 presidential campaign, although while a simple majority of the PCA’s General Assembly and parts of most of its Synods didn’t endorse him, a decent portion did, and a $300,000 financial contribution was made to the campaign in August of the same year. Duncan was hired by Burke’s campaign manager on July 18 and given the semi-official role of “Evangelical Outreach Liaison”, assisting with the field department of the campaign in formulating and enacting GOTV campaigns and general campaigning geared towards the Evangelical Protestant voting bloc. The mid-2000s were generally the best period for Duncan, and saw his name recognition explode a second time, namely because of the start of his entrepreneurial activities and his response to the Great Recession; Duncan saw himself appointed to board positions within World Concern, the Heritage Foundation, and Citizens for Community Values. Beginning in 2004, Duncan became interested in business, investment management, and equity, and in order to make himself knowledgeable in the principles and mechanisms behind each he contacted figures such as Charles Brandes, Robert Rubin, and Ulysses Steinks, read books such as Security Analysis, The Intelligent Investor, and several articles written by Warren Buffett. In October of 2004, Duncan approached his brother Charles - who was the founder and board chair of his own financial services company, and a recognized investor and director of several other firms - with his ambitions, and proposed the creation of a holding company. Charles courted the idea, and agreed to help him - Duncan - out, and - after finding a third partner, a childhood friend and senior investment manager, Leonard O’Passon - they founded, in March of 2005, Etowah Band Holdings (to refer to how all three - Duncan, Charles, and Leonard - used to hang out around Etowah River in their hometown of Rome, Georgia). Duncan, Charles, and Leo took the positions of Executive Vice President and Board Member, President and CEO, and Vice President of Investment respectively, while several minor partners from Charles’ company and miscellaneous agencies joined as board members and investors; Etowah Band Holdings started out with $15,000,000 in funds from thirteen total partners, and was founded as a private company.

Following that, with a staff made up of several dozen financial analysts and investors scouted by Charles and Leo, Etowah Band Holdings established a six company investment portfolio by the end of the year that brought the AUM of the company to $245,000,000. In July of 2005, Duncan founded the Alliance for Religious Freedom, an interfaith non-profit advocacy group with conservative leans that advocated for the defense of a broad definition of the Freedom of Religion clause of the Constitution (i.e., an interpretation that would lessen secularism and permit more religiosity in the public sector). The ARF started off with several hundred (entirely Christian) members, and then boomed to over 20,000 by 2010, and has since gained some Conservative/Orthodox Jewish and non-Abrahamic members. The ARF primarily lobbies Congress, state legislators, and federal judges in order to achieve its goals, and contributes an average of $2,500,000 in donations per year since 2010. Following the ARF and Etowah, Duncan became noted for a WSJ article that labeled him as “a modern American renaissance man—minister, activist, and entrepreneur”. In 2013, after a few months of debate between conservative and liberal Congressional factions, Duncan was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the Speaker of the House for his “decades of notable religious, political, and miscellaneous contribution to the American nation, and serving as a major figure in American society”. This text was used, pejoratively, by liberal opponents to label Duncan as the “Poster Pastor of the Christian Right”, which was accepted by members of the Christian Right, who began referring to Duncan, endearingly, as “The Pastor”. Duncan took more exalted roles in successive conventions held by the political groups he was apart of, most notably the CPAC held by the ACU, and began taking use of the rise in social media to “modernize the pulpit” and began using Twitter to expand his recognition, and he also began associating with rising conservative Internet personalities.

Back in 2007, when the Great Recession started, Duncan regarded the event as an opportunity to proselytize. Though Ducan had no media platform, just media coverage, he was able to garner enough attention through a series of enticing sermons to gain the spotlight and launch and indirect campaign promoting churchgoing and faith as a viable escape from financial and materialistic strain. He contracted both Rasmussen Reports and Vanderbilt University’s Statistics and Methodology Service to run national and congregational polls and analyses to collect hard evidence that churchgoing and church charities provided emotional and empirical relief for individuals. The data from either group, after being analyzed by an independent third party (the University of Georgia’s Statistical Consulting Center), were determined as showing “a moderate but undeniable trend and pattern of both emotional and mental plus empirical and real positive effects among the analyzed and tested subjects”. These results received nationwide attention, and were further analyzed by several other independent and partisan agencies, with the consensuses among them being mostly the same. While empirical data for the effect on churchgoing after the release of the report does not exist, and the credibility of a Pew Research survey on religiosity put together during a concurrent timeframe is still debated, Duncan and his allies among the a Christian Right fervently believe there was a noticeable upward trend afterwards in churchgoing. Furthermore, in 2008, Duncan - along with several other Christian Right leaders - formed the Union for the Defense of the Christian Nation (UDCN), with an initial endowment of $7,500,000 and approximately 5,000 members; the UDCN is a conservative Christian lobbying group, generally considered to be a front group of the Fellowship, and endorses conservative Christian political candidates, funds smear campaigns geared towards Democratic candidates, has been accused of using media outlets influenced by its members to affect media coverage of Democratic or non-Christian liberal candidates, and is generally considered one of the most powerful - and controversial - lobbying groups in the United States. The UDCN works, somewhat scandalously, with the ACLU on religious freedom cases, and sponsors with the Traditional Values Coalition, the ACU, the Eagle Forum, and the Liberty Counsel.

After that, Duncan focused on entrepreneurial matters once more. Noticing he lacked and could benefit from a media platform, Duncan pooled together $500,000,000 worth of funds from Etowah Band Holding’s assets, AUM, and partners to buy significant stakes of Salem Media Group and P&R Publishing, and leveraged himself onto the board of both companies. He further pushed for their expansion, and constructed the media platform he desired with nearly over a million Americans being connected to the radio and television stations affiliated with SMG. Additionally, he acquired a 20% stake in the investment firm T. Rowe Price in 2015, and in 2017 he began negotiations to acquire the firm, which would add nearly a trillion dollars of AUM to Etowah Band Holdings; the negotiations with T. Rowe have primarily been held up due to the company’s shareholders’ resistance to having T. Rowe absorbed into a private company, thus turning billions of dollars worth of shares into privately-held equity, and Duncan’s hesitance to make Etowah go public.

Since 2017, Duncan has spoken of the “demoralization of America”, the “perversion of the First Amendment to facilitate the ironic deconstruction of its provisions through ‘political correctness’ and ‘open borders’”, the “sociopolitical cancer of progressivism”, and “a need for a national rebirth”. These fiery words and their associated actions have led to decent controversy and rumors of a possible political campaign. Duncan has stated he might have political ambitions, but nothing is certain yet, and several Republican figures - including Executive Assistant Director of the NRCC, Simeon Bolton - have stated that they would endorse Duncan should he run for office. These rumors have been met with severe opposition from the Left, and the DCCC’s leadership has stated - in response to Republican endorsements - that it would nominate powerful opponents or compose strong campaigns to oppose such a move by Duncan. However, everything remains uncertain, and it is unknown exactly what might set Duncan to confirm or deny a campaign.

Other Info:

General alignment: Right-wing, traditionalist conservative

• Same-sex marriage -
  General Position: Strongly opposed
  Statements: “The Bible, which I evidently hold close to heart, clearly outlines that homosexuality and - in extension - same-sex marriage are sinful phenemona. The actions of the PCUSA in embracing Liberal Christianity and rejecting thousands of years of patriarchal and Messianic law transcribed in the Bible is utterly insulting and almost comical. It is the reason why I pushed for my congregation’s separation from the PCUSA in the 80s, and why I encourage every single faithful Presbyterian remaining in the PCUSA to do the same.”, interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2000 after a - narrowly defeated - vote accepting same-sex marriage in PCUSA General Assembly occured; “The Defense of Marriage Act is a triumph in the defense of the Christian moral basis of our country, of the institution of marriage and family, and even of biology I suppose. DOMA is a two-part victory in fact, as it allows states to - as its name states - defend marriage from Leftist degradation, and it strengthens the American federal system by following the Tenth Amendment and putting the administration of family law, not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, into the hands of the States. Yes, it is a very good law and I am glad Congress made such a historically good decision by passing it. I am also thinking more lightly of President [not-Clinton].”, Duncan’s response to a question regarding his opinion on DOMA on the Fox Report; “I’m not sure how good of a guest I can be, because frankly I am still shocked by the Supreme Court’s decision. I have always seen the Supreme Court as the final bastion of American federalism and its core spirit, and...and to see it destroy not just the Tenth Amendment, but also marriage and the family unit last Friday...I am...I am shocked and infuriated.”, his statement on [Not-Huckabee] a few days after Obergfell v. Hodges.
• States’ rights -
  General Position: Strongly supports
  Statements: “The Tenth Amendment states that any powers not given to the federal government are given to the states. The Constitution never enumerates the federal government with authority over education, family law, gun rights, healthcare, and more. These are things that should be in the hands of the States, especially since that would mean they could be more easily and accurately designed towards the demographics and socioeconomics of each state, and not by a body that serves as a generalization of the entire nation and usually disregards the individual, regional sentiments of the Union.”, a section from an op-ed Duncan wrote for and sent to The Washington Times.
• Immigration -
  General Position: Moderately opposed
  Statements: “Don’t get me wrong, immigration is a fundamental institution of our country. In the 20th century our country was grown and developed by immigrants such as Vanderbilt, Carnegie, John Jacob Astor, nearly every figure of the Revolutionary War, and others. Less notably, hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived between the 1880s and 1920s became the workers who built the buildings and rails of Rockefeller’s, Carnegie’s, Doheny’s, Crocker’s, and others’ business empires. However, these immigrants are stark contrast to modern immigration, which is open and unrestricted and primarily made up of non-Western fiends coming to mooch off of our welfare and make life harder for hardworking and true Americans. We must arm our borders, further regulate the immigration process, and enforce strict vetting policies, background checks, and meritocratic immigration policies.”, a section from Duncan’s speech at the 2013 CPAC that touched on immigration.
• Guns -
  General Position: Moderately supports
  Statements: “I suppose I’ve established myself as a strict constitutionalist over the years of political involvement I’ve had. As such I believe in the strict interpretation and administration of the Tenth, First, Third, and every amendment. I’d like to shed light on my interpretation of the Second Amendment today...the Second Amendment states that we possess the uninfringeable right to bear arms, organize militias, and defend ourselves against the Government should it turn tyrannical, which - under President Baharia - it seems to be becoming.”, shortened speech at the NRA’s 2012 annual meeting; “I do acknowledge that guns are dangerous when misused. I hate to bring it up, especially to national attention, but I have a second cousin once removed who was responsible for a minor shooting in Oklahoma in 2007, so I have an indirect family connection to the gun issue in our country. However, because of that, I have realized three things: one, good people with guns do in fact exist, since it was a man with a concealed carry license who stopped that shooting; two, the issue is not with guns, but with mental health, as this relative had been diagnosed as bipolar several years prior; and three, we need universal background checks and close the gun show loophole, but that’s it.”, statement on gun control and UBC while on Fox Report in March of 2014.
• Religious freedom and secularism -
  General Position: Moderately supports
  Statements: “I do believe that the mixture of governance and religion is a volatile cocktail. It only works when a country is either a monarchy, or deeply rooted in religion. America was founded out of religious persecution and the tyranny of the Anglican Supreme Governor, King George, and so our Founding Fathers were resistant to it. Furthermore, our country is enumerated in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence as a bastion of freedom in every form, and religious freedom as outlined in the First Amendment, so I, even as a conservative Presbyterian, can and will support Sikhs and gurdwaras, Muslims and mosques, Jews and synagogues, and non-Abrahamic worshippers and their temples and shrines.”, speech made in front of an assembly of the Family Research Council in 2007; “Our country is inherently Judeo-Christian, and we are deeply rooted in our Christian values. While we have a system of secularism and religious freedom in place in our country, the only thing our laws and Constitution states is that religious law has no say in federal law, but not that religious convictions have no place in the hearts of politicians and chambers of our governments. That’s why the Congressional chaplaincies, prayer groups in federal and state chambers, and in all our political institutions is as equally defended and qualified as the option to not participate in them are to others.”, Duncan’s official statement on the UDCN website.
• Abortion -
  General Position: Strongly opposed
  Statements: “Every living human has a soul, and that includes fetuses. There is even a scientific basis for this. There is evidence of both a heartbeat and brain activity by a month after conception. Fetuses are living! Abortion, therefore, is and should be a crime as it is totally and absolutely murder. Planned Parenthood, its supporters, and pro-choice activities should feel so guilty and sorrowful. Abortion should be criminalized!”, comments on abortion in front of the FRC in 2006; “Everyone knows I hate abortion and think it should be criminalized. Although, that doesn’t answer everything. I’ve received dozens of messages over the years asking me, ‘Mister Flanagan, what about contraceptives and sex education? Those could also work well in battling abortion since it spreads awareness of safe sex and prevents unwanted pregancies.’ I assume many of my peers think I will not accept contraceptives nor sex education as a cosnervative Presbyterian, but they’re wrong. I do think, along with the common bastion of Christian anti-abortion activists of abstinence, contraceptives and sex education are good policies that - if properly used and implemented - can work wonders in assuring the near total annihilation of unwanted pregnancies, adoption, and abortion.”, mentioned during CPAC 2010.
• Climate change -
  General Position: Believes
  Statements: “I’ve seen the data, and yeah, I suppose that climate change is real and anthropogenic. However, these responses formulated by the Democrats are laughable and so totalitarian I’d say a dictator would fear them! Like how liberals cry for ‘common sense gun control’, I say we call for ‘common sense environmental regulations’.”, statement on [Not-Tucker Carlson] Tonight after the Paris Climate Agreement.
• Education -
  • Religion in schools -
    General Position: Strongly supports
    Statements: “It has been upheld by the Supreme Court that most schools, as federally-funded institutions, are subject to the Constitution and First Amendment, a legal idea called ‘school speech’. As such, I wholeheartedly believe, as I am sure many must, that that extends to the entirety of the First Amendment, such as the Free Exercise Clause. Kids should be allowed to pray in school, should be allowed to express their religion, and whichever district restricts this right should be bared down upon by the federal judiciary with its constitutionalist fangs bared.”, statement made on Fox & Friends in November of 2014.
  • Politics in schools -
    General Position: Moderately opposed
    Statements: “Uh, well, I don’t think we should be politically indoctrinating our kids, no. Yes, I do believe that kids should be allowed to develop their own political views. But that’s not a school’s job. A school is a place of education. Family, life experiences, and their own selves are the ones who are supposed to develop political views in our children. Schools and educators should only be presenting facts to students, who should do whatever they wish with them thereafter. Furthermore, when it comes to politically inclined student organizations, yes, I’m fine with them. Joining such organizations is a voluntary and independent decision made by students, and it's not being forced upon them. I was a member of the Young Republicans myself, too.”, comment on Fox & Friends in March of 2015 during a segment about the Lawson v. Bellefonte ASD which focused on a similar topic.
  • Federal management of schools -
    General Position: Moderately opposed
    Statements: Generally, based off of his strict views on states’ rights, and past and previously stated comments it is discernible Duncan’s view on federal education is not entirely supportive, and it is likely that he supports the devolution of school administration to states.
• Foreign policy -
  General Position: Non-interventionist
  Statements: “After all the years of my life, relations with politicians and involvement in politics, and both studying and debating foreign policies, I can say with certainty I stand as a non-interventionist. I have read Machiavelli’s The Prince, listened to and even met Henry Kissinger, and I am also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. All these experiences have coalesced into the development on a pragmatic, nationalistic, and non-interventionist stance on foreign policy…”, first few sentences of a larger article on foreign policy written by Duncan and published in the CFR’s Foreign Affairs.

Duncan’s extended family, the Flanagan family (or, endearingly, clan) is primarily prominent in Georgia, with some of its more modern members having branched into national involvement (such as Duncan himself, his brother Charles, his son Michael, and his nephew Leonard). The Flanagan family owns ancestral property equivalent to three thousand hectares throughout Georgia (primarily in Floyd County), and is worth around $1 billion (Duncan himself possesses a net wet worth of $350 million). The members of the Duncan family (living, or notable deceased) are:

• of the Greatest Generation: Elijah Flanagan, Jr (5/12/1922-8/28/2015), CEO of a regional chain of grocers and supermarkets in Northern Georgia, became a lobbyist and returned to college in his mid-40s to become a CPA; Taylor Flanagan (8/2/1919-6/22/2005), one of the first politicians in the Flanagan family, served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 42nd Senatorial District from 1947 to 1967, then as Governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971 (with Lester Maddox as Lieutenant and successor), he then returned to the Senate and served from 1973 to 1997, serving as Majority Leader (1977-1981, 1983-1989) and President pro tempore (1981-1983, 1993-1995) on and off between then, after retiring from politics in 1997 he became an author of historical fiction, an autobiography, and a series of political commentaries; Mae Flanagan (b. 3/7/1924), a retired actress (active from the late-40s to mid-90s) who received Emmys, Grammys, and was nominated several times for an Academy Award throughout her career, is considered an influence for several major modern actresses; Patrick Flanagan (b. 5/16/1926) is a retired military officer, beginning as a soldier in the Korean War, and progressively building prestige and strategic prowess over the next thirty years, reaching the rank of General and serving as Director of Operations for the Joint Staff Operations Directorate from 1979 to 1983, as Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations (Dept. of Army) from 1985 to 1988, and as Chief of Staff of the Army from 1990 to 1993
• of the Baby Boom generation:
  Isaac Flanagan (b. 7/18/1951), a Presbyterian leader who has followed a similar but more religious-oriented (rather than religious and political) career, and has served as an officer of the PCA General Assembly and South Atlantic Synod multiple times for many years since the 2000s; Charles Flanagan (b. 10/4/1954), an investment manager and financier who operates or is a board member of Olonex LLP (est. 1989), Citi Group (since 2005), Lazard (since 2002), and Etowah Band Holdings (est. 2005); Reneé Flanagan (b. 2/23/1956), a fashionista who began as a runway model, then joined Calvin Klein in the late-80s as a senior designer and marketer, joined Saks Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren in the early-90s as an executive, and has served on the boards of Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, and TJX Companies since the mid-2000s
• of Generation X:
  • Duncan’s: Matthew Flanagan (b. 7/4/1977), a private attorney (since 2002) who works as a partner at Vinson & Elkins and sometimes provides counsel to his own family; Laura Flanagan (5/30/1978-9/15/2015), a former school administrator who became a nationally recognized cancer and patient advocate after being with terminal metastatic lung cancer in 2013; Adam Flanagan (b. 4/3/1979), revived his grandfather’s retailer chain in 2015, refounded as Flanagan Goods, Inc.
  • Isaac’s: Anton Flanagan (b. 10/4/1979), a Presbyterian elder since 2001, member of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery along with his father and uncle; Louis Flanagan (b. 6/11/1980), yet another Presbyterian elder, ordained in 2002, and serves as the Associate Pastor of the Seven Hills Fellowship (since 2011); Eva (Flanagan) Sutton (b. 7/3/1981), a local politician who has served on the Floyd County Board of Commissioners since 2014; Jasmine (Flanagan) Wilkinson (7/3/1981), an accountant (since 2005) and the CFO of Flanagan Goods, Inc. (since 2015), also the twin sister of Eva
  • Renee’s: Hannah (Flanagan) McDougall (b. 9/21/1989), author of mystery fiction and horror novels, affiliated with Duncan’s P&R Publishing

Duncan has donated, throughout his life, over $100 million directly, out-of-pocket, to various charities, and is a signatory of The Giving Pledge.

Duncan's personal and professional connections with the Christian Right through his career/the Fellowship are numerous but ambiguous. I won't list them, but will probably casually refer to them within posts.

Duncan's Twitter account (Duncan Flanagan, @theposterpastor) has 450,000 followers and has been active since August 22, 2013 and has made 3,000 tweets.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: Granluras

Do Not Remove: 84721

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OK, so I kind of went a bit overboard with this app I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of the largest ever posted in NS, heh. I just had a lot of information I thought of that I couldn't shorten despite two days of successive reviews. I know it's probably not problematic, but I feel like it'll be quite the task to digest for any admin who reviews it. Meh, I'm not gonna trip myself over it. Just gotta focus on getting it accepted now, hm? Good luck, whoever assigns themselves to this.

1. So some of your weaknesses aren't weaknesses, they are policy positions.
2. The Johnson Amendment was passed in 1954 to prevent nonprofits from endorsing or opposing specific political candidates. Usually this means churches, so you can support politicians like Reagan and do an event where they are invited but you can't endorse them. You definitely cannot donate money to the campaigns.
3. What did he do for Heritage? Why would they put him on the board?
4. I don't think they would let him serve as a board member for a for profit holding company and continue to be a minister
5. How/Why did his church grow so fast in the 80s?
6. AUM has a ridiculous amount of money in a short time
7. Ridiculous amount of money in general
8. He isnt qualified to be on any of these boards
9. Jesus you did a lot

[Granluras]

1. So some of your weaknesses aren't weaknesses, they are policy positions.
2. The Johnson Amendment was passed in 1954 to prevent nonprofits from endorsing or opposing specific political candidates. Usually this means churches, so you can support politicians like Reagan and do an event where they are invited but you can't endorse them. You definitely cannot donate money to the campaigns.
3. What did he do for Heritage? Why would they put him on the board?
4. I don't think they would let him serve as a board member for a for profit holding company and continue to be a minister
5. How/Why did his church grow so fast in the 80s?
6. AUM has a ridiculous amount of money in a short time
7. Ridiculous amount of money in general
8. He isnt qualified to be on any of these boards
9. Jesus you did a lot

Alright, you pointed out a few details I felt off with myself. Based off of your...nine-point critique I’m thinking of making these changes:
I’m thinking of scrapping his business career and simply replacing it with him having a prominent Christian radio talk show, which is where he’d have a media platform from. In regards to the Johnson Amendment (I actually know of the Amendment, so it’s ironic I neglected to abide by it), I’ll downgrade the endorsement to a semi-official statement of support, but nothing financial. I’ll, of course, downgrade his wealth, too, and perhaps to a more subtle multi-million dollar size(?).

Furthermore, I’d like to make responses to some of your points,

First off, by 2002, Duncan would’ve been involved in politics (even in the reformed state I’ll be editing the app to include) for around two decades. He would be a prominent conservative and evangelical figure, and personally I think that’d warrant being a board member of one the most prominent conservative and Christian Right institutions in the country.

Secondly, I’m not sure what you mean by, “how did his church grow so fast in the 80s,” since I gave no indication of growth or excessive growth. I did say, “Duncan began donating 7.50% of his congregations quarterly donations (around $5,000) to the World Concern, which has increased over the years from 10% to 15% (and $6,000 to $10,000), and - overall - donates 25% of his church's quarterly funds (~$80,000 per year) to several specific groups,” but that doesn’t indicate a growth in congregation size, rather just a growth in the amount of donated alms. In fact, all I envision the congregations size as being is around 500.

Thirdly, I do believe he is qualified to be on these boards. In regards to World Concern, I suppose I might’ve glossed over it in the biography, but as part of the Strengths and Other Info categories I included he is a philanthropist and that he’s donated over $100,000,000 to charity. If that doesn’t get you on the board of a Presbyterian-affiliated charitable organization, idk what will. In regards to the CCV, Duncan is an established social conservative and conservative Christian who's social views align with the CCV’s, with his prestige I think it is realistic he’d be appointed as an executive member.

Fourthly, yeah I did a lot. I go overboard sometimes :x

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With that said and done, I’ll go ahead and make my revisions later. Thanks for your response, Dentali.

[Granluras]

New and improved for your satisficstion! (:

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Granluras
Character Name: Duncan Flanagan
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 65
Character Height: 6’0
Character Weight: 197 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:

• Religious career: Deacon of the Seven Fellowships Church (1972-1978); Elder of the Seven Hills Fellowship (1978-present); Pastor of the Seven Hills Fellowship (1984-1991); Member of the North Georgia Presbytery (1986-2006); Member of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery (2006-present); Member of the South Atlantic Synod (1993-present); Member of the Mission to the World (1996-present); Member of the PCA General Assembly (1997-present)
• Advocacy career: Member of the ACU (1975-present); Member of the Family Research Council (1979-present); [Board] Member of World Concern (1983-present; Board, 2003-present); [Board] Member of the Heritage Foundation (1986-present; Board, 2002-present) Board Member of Citizens for Community Values (2006-present); Founder and Chairman of the ARF (2005-present); President of the UDCN (2008-present); Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (2012-present)

Appearance:

Character State of Origin: Cave Spring, Georgia
Character State of Residence: Rome, Georgia
Character Party Affiliation: Republcian Party (1971-present)

Main Strengths: Has a decent media platform with a national audience; possesses a strong connection to the Christian Right; provocative, but well-spoken; skilled and prominent lobbyist; quite charitable and - personally/privately - amicable and generous; active on social media
Main Weaknesses: provocative speaker; supports several ultraconservative positions; has been accused of being loose-lipped with slurs; name recognition falters outside of the Deep South and a majority of the general Republican membership

Duncan Cornelius Flanagan is a prominent Presbyterian minister and businessman born on April 9, 1953 to Elijah Flanagan, Jr. (5/12/1922-8/28/2015) and Mae Flanagan (b. 3/7/1924). The Flanagan clan, a Scottish-American Presbyterian family with Colonial American roots, has long been established in the South as a dynasty of Presbyterian ministers firstly, and a family of Southern businessmen and politicians secondly. As such, Duncan was born into an upper-middle-class upbringing, and his father was both an officer of the Georgia Presbytery of the (original) PCUSA, and a manager of a regional chain of grocers in Northern Georgia. He has extended familial connections to several former/current Georgian state politicians, one Georgian congressman, and his first cousin twice removed and second cousin once removed were - respectively - Eugene Talmadge and Herman Talmadge. Duncan is the brother of fellow Presbyterian leader Isaac Flanagan (b. 7/18/1951), financial services manager Charles Flanagan (b. 10/4/1954), and fashionista Reneé Flanagan (b. 2/23/1956).

Duncan, along with his brothers, were all educated at Darlington School (save his sisters, who attended Thornwood School for Girls), from 1957 to 1969. While at Darlington, primarily from 1964 to his graduation, Duncan participated in the Darlington football team, the Darlington newspaper “Darlingtonian”, and the school’s DECA chapter from 1966 to 1969. He was salutatorian of his class and was easily accepted into Mercer University afterwards, and pursued a Bachelor of Arts from there over the following four year period, and during the same period, Duncan was ordained and was made a deacon of his hometown church. He graduated from Mercer University in 1973 magna cum laude and fifth overall in his class; Duncan became involved in junior politics during college, joining Mercer’s College Republicans chapter in 1971 (and becoming its Vice President in his senior year), and then founding and leading the chapter at his graduate college from 1973 to 1976. Duncan went on to attend Harvard Divinity School to pursue a Master of Divinity, and he graduated summa cum laude from it. After college, Duncan returned to Rome, Georgia to begin his proper religious career. He was made a Teaching Elder of his church, Seven Hills Fellowship, soon after returning and became locally recognized (or, among his Presbytery) for being a traditionalist who stringently rejected and spoke against the increasing affiliation with “Liberal Christianity” in the PCUSA, which the Seven Hills Fellowship was affiliated with. Outside his ideological services, Duncan was a dedicated and professional minister and theologian who was famous among his congregation and an exalted member of the church’s Session, serving as its Stated Clerk several times.

In 1984, Pastor Maurice Horseleg (1922-2004) retired from his post, after fifteen years, and as the Presbytery convened to choose a replacement, Duncan used his status as the de facto highest ranking member of the congregation to leverage a “vote of independence”, backed by the PCA Presbytery. The vote was convened a week after Horseleg’s resignation, and the results were announced, 314-32, two days later. The event attained statewide recognition, the first major news coverage Duncan received, and was received negatively by its former Presbytery. Duncan began to rise in prominence meanwhile due to his other involvements, namely his contributions to the ACU, Family Research Council, World Concern, and the Heritage Foundation. Duncan began donating 7.50% of his congregations quarterly donations (around $5,000) to the World Concern, which has increased over the years from 10% to 15% (and $6,000 to $10,000), and - overall - donates 25% of his church's quarterly funds (~$80,000 per year) to several specific groups. He became a respected member of each group, beginning in the mid-80s, and began attracting his first bits of national attention because of it. He announced his - individual - support of Ronald Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign, and while he was barred from making any collective financial contributions, he followed Reagan around his campaigning in the South to entice Southern Evangelical voters. After attending the 1987 and 1994 National Prayer Breakfasts, attending five National Prayer Days at the Washington National Cathedral from 1988 to 1996, after being made a Guest Chaplain of the Senate and House numerous times, and after being elected for the first and several times thereafter as a Delegate to the PCA General Assembly, Duncan became nationally recognized as a prominent Presbyterian figure, and his media coverage intensified. However, with his rising fame and attention came increasing scrutiny and criticism from liberal factions who opposed his notably and strictly conservative stances, and he began to be labeled by certain groups as a homophobe, racist, fundamentalist, and - more radically, less commonly - a White supremacist. However, Duncan was mostly resilient to any attacks, especially due to his connections, such as word in the late-90s that he had been inducted into The Fellowship and was quickly making allies with prominent members of it.

Still barred to support politicians as a church, Duncan founded the PCR Political Action Committee (Proper Christian Representative; a nonprofit 527 organization) in October of 1999 to independently raise funds to endorse Christian Right political candidates; the PCR was co-founded by several other Christian Right leaders, and started off with a five-digit membership that raised nearly a million dollars in its first year. The first endorsement made by the PCR was to John Burke in 2000, it was worth $350,000 and came with a $100,000 purchase of airtime in several regions in the Deep South to run ads made by the PCR. Duncan was hired by Burke’s campaign manager on July 18 and given the semi-official role of “Evangelical Outreach Liaison”, assisting with the field department of the campaign in formulating and enacting GOTV campaigns and general campaigning geared towards the Evangelical Protestant voting bloc. Following his contribution to Burke’s campaign, and Burke’s election, Duncan saw his second burst in notoriety, culminating in his appointment to board positions within World Concern, the Heritage Foundation, and Citizens for Community Values. In July of 2005, Duncan founded the Alliance for Religious Freedom, an interfaith non-profit advocacy group with conservative leans that advocated for the defense of a broad definition of the Freedom of Religion clause of the Constitution (i.e., an interpretation that would lessen secularism and permit more religiosity in the public sector). The ARF started off with several hundred (entirely Christian) members, and then boomed to over 20,000 by 2010, and has since gained some Conservative/Orthodox Jewish and non-Abrahamic members. The ARF primarily lobbies Congress, state legislators, and federal judges in order to achieve its goals, and contributes an average of $2,500,000 in donations per year since 2010.

Back in 2007, when the Great Recession started, Duncan regarded the event as an opportunity to proselytize. Though Ducan had no media platform, just media coverage, he was able to garner enough attention through a series of enticing sermons to gain the spotlight and launch and indirect campaign promoting churchgoing and faith as a viable escape from financial and materialistic strain. He contracted both Rasmussen Reports and Vanderbilt University’s Statistics and Methodology Service to run national and congregational polls and analyses to collect hard evidence that churchgoing and church charities provided emotional and empirical relief for individuals. The data from either group, after being analyzed by an independent third party (the University of Georgia’s Statistical Consulting Center), were determined as showing “a moderate but undeniable trend and pattern of both emotional and mental plus empirical and real positive effects among the analyzed and tested subjects”. These results received nationwide attention, and were further analyzed by several other independent and partisan agencies, with the consensuses among them being mostly the same. While empirical data for the effect on churchgoing after the release of the report does not exist, and the credibility of a Pew Research survey on religiosity put together during a concurrent timeframe is still debated, Duncan and his allies among the a Christian Right fervently believe there was a noticeable upward trend afterwards in churchgoing. Furthermore, in 2008, Duncan - along with several other Christian Right leaders - formed the Union for the Defense of the Christian Nation (UDCN), with an initial endowment of $7,500,000 and approximately 5,000 members; the UDCN is a conservative Christian lobbying group, generally considered to be a front group of the Fellowship, and endorses conservative Christian political candidates, funds smear campaigns geared towards Democratic candidates, has been accused of using media outlets influenced by its members to affect media coverage of Democratic or non-Christian liberal candidates, and is generally considered one of the most powerful - and controversial - lobbying groups in the United States. The UDCN works, somewhat scandalously, with the ACLU on religious freedom cases, and sponsors with the Traditional Values Coalition, the ACU, the Eagle Forum, and the Liberty Counsel.

Duncan received some national media coverage for a 2012 WSJ article that labeled him as “a modern American renaissance man—minister, activist, and lobbyist”. In 2013, after a few months of debate between conservative and liberal Congressional factions, Duncan was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the Speaker of the House for his “decades of notable religious, political, and miscellaneous contribution to the American nation, and serving as a major figure in American society”. This text was used, pejoratively, by liberal opponents to label Duncan as the “Poster Pastor of the Christian Right”, which was accepted by members of the Christian Right, who began referring to Duncan, endearingly, as “The Pastor”. Duncan took more exalted roles in successive conventions held by the political groups he was apart of, most notably the CPAC held by the ACU, and began taking use of the rise in social media to “modernize the pulpit” and began using Twitter to expand his recognition, and he also began associating with rising conservative Internet personalities. In 2014, he created - with the help of friend Rush Limbaugh - the radio talk show From The Pulpit, By Father Flanagan, a twice a week conservative radio talk show that Duncan intended to use as a way to establish a media presence. From The Pulpit is affiliated with the Cartersville-based WTAN radio station, and ran for a year before receiving national syndication through the American Family Radio which (which is owned and operated by the American Family Association, which Duncan has allies in), and then further (in 2016) by several dozen Fox affiliates and Townsquare Media. As of 2019, From The Pulpit has nearly 100,000 weekly listeners, which jumped considerably in 2018 when it launched a website that provided live recordings of the show that drew in younger, tech-savvy, and/or non-commuting audiences.

Since 2017, Duncan has spoken of the “demoralization of America”, the “perversion of the First Amendment to facilitate the ironic deconstruction of its provisions through ‘political correctness’ and ‘open borders’”, the “sociopolitical cancer of progressivism”, and “a need for a national rebirth”. These fiery words and their associated actions have led to decent controversy and rumors of a possible political campaign. Duncan has stated he might have political ambitions, but nothing is certain yet, and several Republican figures - including Executive Assistant Director of the NRCC, Simeon Bolton - have stated that they would endorse Duncan should he run for office. These rumors have been met with severe opposition from the Left, and the DCCC’s leadership has stated - in response to Republican endorsements - that it would nominate powerful opponents or compose strong campaigns to oppose such a move by Duncan. However, everything remains uncertain, and it is unknown exactly what might set Duncan to confirm or deny a campaign.

Other Info:

General alignment: Right-wing, traditionalist conservative

• Same-sex marriage -
  General Position: Strongly opposed
  Statements: “The Bible, which I evidently hold close to heart, clearly outlines that homosexuality and - in extension - same-sex marriage are sinful phenemona. The actions of the PCUSA in embracing Liberal Christianity and rejecting thousands of years of patriarchal and Messianic law transcribed in the Bible is utterly insulting and almost comical. It is the reason why I pushed for my congregation’s separation from the PCUSA in the 80s, and why I encourage every single faithful Presbyterian remaining in the PCUSA to do the same.”, interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2000 after a - narrowly defeated - vote accepting same-sex marriage in PCUSA General Assembly occured; “The Defense of Marriage Act is a triumph in the defense of the Christian moral basis of our country, of the institution of marriage and family, and even of biology I suppose. DOMA is a two-part victory in fact, as it allows states to - as its name states - defend marriage from Leftist degradation, and it strengthens the American federal system by following the Tenth Amendment and putting the administration of family law, not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, into the hands of the States. Yes, it is a very good law and I am glad Congress made such a historically good decision by passing it. I am also thinking more lightly of President [not-Clinton].”, Duncan’s response to a question regarding his opinion on DOMA on the Fox Report; “I’m not sure how good of a guest I can be, because frankly I am still shocked by the Supreme Court’s decision. I have always seen the Supreme Court as the final bastion of American federalism and its core spirit, and...and to see it destroy not just the Tenth Amendment, but also marriage and the family unit last Friday...I am...I am shocked and infuriated.”, his statement on [Not-Huckabee] a few days after Obergfell v. Hodges.
• States’ rights -
  General Position: Strongly supports
  Statements: “The Tenth Amendment states that any powers not given to the federal government are given to the states. The Constitution never enumerates the federal government with authority over education, family law, gun rights, healthcare, and more. These are things that should be in the hands of the States, especially since that would mean they could be more easily and accurately designed towards the demographics and socioeconomics of each state, and not by a body that serves as a generalization of the entire nation and usually disregards the individual, regional sentiments of the Union.” An article from an op-ed Duncan wrote for and sent to The Washington Times.
• Immigration -
  General Position: Moderately opposed
  Statements: “Don’t get me wrong, immigration is a fundamental institution of our country. In the 20th century our country was grown and developed by immigrants such as Vanderbilt, Carnegie, John Jacob Astor, nearly every figure of the Revolutionary War, and others. Less notably, hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived between the 1880s and 1920s became the workers who built the buildings and rails of Rockefeller’s, Carnegie’s, Doheny’s, Crocker’s, and others’ business empires. However, these immigrants are stark contrast to modern immigration, which is open and unrestricted and primarily made up of non-Western fiends coming to mooch off of our welfare and make life harder for hardworking and true Americans. We must arm our borders, further regulate the immigration process, and enforce strict vetting policies, background checks, and meritocratic immigration policies.”, a section from Duncan’s speech at the 2013 CPAC that touched on immigration.
• Guns -
  General Position: Moderately supports
  Statements: “I suppose I’ve established myself as a strict constitutionalist over the years of political involvement I’ve had. As such I believe in the strict interpretation and administration of the Tenth, First, Third, and every amendment. I’d like to shed light on my interpretation of the Second Amendment today...the Second Amendment states that we possess the uninfringeable right to bear arms, organize militias, and defend ourselves against the Government should it turn tyrannical, which - under President Baharia - it seems to be becoming.”, shortening speech at the NRA’s 2012 annual meeting; “I do acknowledge that guns are dangerous when misused. I hate to bring it up, especially to national attention, but I have a second cousin once removed who was responsible for a minor shooting in Oklahoma in 2007, so I have an indirect family connection to the gun issue in our country. However, because of that, I have realized three things: one, good people with guns do in fact exist, since it was a man with a concealed carry license who stopped that shooting; two, the issue is not with guns, but with mental health, as this relative had been diagnosed as bipolar several years prior; and three, we need universal background checks and close the gun show loophole, but that’s it.”, statement on gun control and UBC while on Fox Report in March of 2014.
• Religious freedom and secularism -
  General Position: Moderately supports
  Statements: “I do believe that the mixture of governance and religion is a volatile cocktail. It only works when a country is either a monarchy, or deeply rooted in religion. America was founded out of religious persecution and the tyranny of the Anglican Supreme Governor, King George, and so our Founding Fathers were resistant to it. Furthermore, our country is enumerated in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence as a bastion of freedom in every form, and religious freedom as outlined in the First Amendment, so I, even as a conservative Presbyterian, can and will support Sikhs and gurdwaras, Muslims and mosques, Jews and synagogues, and non-Abrahamic worshippers and their temples and shrines.”, speech made in front of an assembly of the Family Research Council in 2007; “Our country is inherently Judeo-Christian, and we are deeply rooted in our Christian values. While we have a system of secularism and religious freedom in place in our country, the only thing our laws and Constitution states is that religious law has no say in federal law, but not that religious convictions have no place in the hearts of politicians and chambers of our governments. That’s why the Congressional chaplaincies, prayer groups in federal and state chambers, and in all our political institutions is as equally defended and qualified as the option to not participate in them are to others.”, Duncan’s official statement on the UDCN website.
• Abortion -
  General Position: Strongly opposed
  Statements: “Every living human has a soul, and that includes fetuses. There is even a scientific basis for this. There is evidence of both a heartbeat and brain activity by a month after conception. Fetuses are living! Abortion, therefore, is and should be a crime as it is totally and absolutely murder. Planned Parenthood, its supporters, and pro-choice activities should feel so guilty and sorrowful. Abortion should be criminalized!”, comments on abortion in front of the FRC in 2006; “Everyone knows I hate abortion and think it should be criminalized. Although, that doesn’t answer everything. I’ve received dozens of messages over the years asking me, ‘Mister Flanagan, what about contraceptives and sex education? Those could also work well in battling abortion since it spreads awareness of safe sex and prevents unwanted pregancies.’ I assume many of my peers think I will not accept contraceptives nor sex education as a cosnervative Presbyterian, but they’re wrong. I do think, along with the common bastion of Christian anti-abortion activists of abstinence, contraceptives and sex education are good policies that - if properly used and implemented - can work wonders in assuring the near total annihilation of unwanted pregnancies, adoption, and abortion.”, mentioned during CPAC 2010.
• Climate change -
  General Position: Believes
  Statements: “I’ve seen the data, and yeah, I suppose that climate change is real and anthropogenic. However, these responses formulated by the Democrats are laughable and so totalitarian I’d say a dictator would fear them! Like how liberals cry for ‘common sense gun control’, I say we call for ‘common sense environmental regulations’.”, statement on [Not-Tucker Carlson] Tonight after the Paris Climate Agreement.
• Education -
  • Religion in schools -
    General Position: Strongly supports
    Statements: “It has been upheld by the Supreme Court that most schools, as federally-funded institutions, are subject to the Constitution and First Amendment, a legal idea called ‘school speech’. As such, I wholeheartedly believe, as I am sure many must, that that extends to the entirety of the First Amendment, such as the Free Exercise Clause. Kids should be allowed to pray in school, should be allowed to express their religion, and whichever district restricts this right should be bared down upon by the federal judiciary with its constitutionalist fangs bared.”, statement made on Fox & Friends in November of 2014.
  • Politics in schools -
    General Position: Moderately opposed
    Statements: “Uh, well, I don’t think we should be politically indoctrinating our kids, no. Yes, I do believe that kids should be allowed to develop their own political views. But that’s not a school’s job. A school is a place of education. Family, life experiences, and their own selves are the ones who are supposed to develop political positions in our children. Schools and educators should only be presenting facts to students, who should do whatever they wish with them thereafter. Furthermore, when it comes to politically inclined student organizations, yes, I’m fine with them. Joining such organizations is a voluntary and independent decision made by students, and it's not being forced upon them. I was a member of the Young Republicans myself, too.”, comment on Fox & Friends in March of 2015 during a segment about the Lawson v. Bellefonte ASD which focused on a similar topic.
  • Federal management of schools -
    General Position: Moderately opposed
    Statements: Generally, based off of his strict views on states’ rights, and past and previously stated comments it is discernible Duncan’s view on federal education is not entirely supportive, and it is likely that he supports the devolution of school administration to states.
• Foreign policy -
  General Position: Non-interventionist
  Statements: “After all the years of my life, relations with politicians and involvement in politics, and both studying and debating foreign policies, I can say with certainty I stand as a non-interventionist. I have read Machiavelli’s [i]The Prince, listened to and even met Henry Kissinger, and I am also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. All these experiences have coalesced into the development on a pragmatic, nationalistic, and non-interventionist stance on foreign policy…[/i]”, first few sentences of a larger article on foreign policy written by Duncan and published in the CFR’s Foreign Affairs.

Duncan’s extended family, the Flanagan family (or, endearingly, clan) is primarily prominent in Georgia, with some of its more modern members having branched into national involvement (such as Duncan himself, his brother Charles, his son Michael, and his nephew Leonard). The Flanagan family owns ancestral property equivalent to three thousand hectares throughout Georgia (primarily in Floyd County), and is worth around $500 million (Duncan himself is worth $5 million). The members of the Duncan family (living, or notable deceased) are:

• of the Greatest Generation: Elijah Flanagan, Jr (5/12/1922-8/28/2015), CEO of a regional chain of grocers and supermarkets in Northern Georgia, became a lobbyist and returned to college in his mid-40s to become a CPA; Taylor Flanagan (8/2/1919-6/22/2005), one of the first politicians in the Flanagan family, served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 42nd Senatorial District from 1947 to 1967, then as Governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971 (with Lester Maddox as Lieutenant and successor), he then returned to the Senate and served from 1973 to 1997, serving as Majority Leader (1977-1981, 1983-1989) and President pro tempore (1981-1983, 1993-1995) on and off between then, after retiring from politics in 1997 he became an author of historical fiction, an autobiography, and a series of political commentaries; Mae Flanagan (b. 3/7/1924), a retired actress (active from the late-40s to mid-90s) who received Emmys, Grammys, and was nominated several times for an Academy Award throughout her career, is considered an influence for several major modern actresses; Patrick Flanagan (b. 5/16/1924) is a retired military officer, beginning as a Normandy trooper, then Korean War soldier, and progressively building prestige and strategic prowess over the next thirty years, reaching the rank of General and serving as Director of Operations for the Joint Staff Operations Directorate from 1979 to 1983, as Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations (Dept. of Army) from 1985 to 1988, and as Chief of Staff of the Army from 1990 to 1993
• of the Baby Boom generation:
  Isaac Flanagan (b. 7/18/1951), a Presbyterian leader who has followed a similar but more religious-oriented (rather than religious and political) career, and has served as an officer of the PCA General Assembly and South Atlantic Synod multiple times for many years since the 2000s; Charles Flanagan (b. 10/4/1954), an investment manager and financier who operates or is a board member of Olonex LLP (est. 1989), Citi Group (since 2005), Lazard (since 2002), and Etowah Band Holdings (est. 2005); Reneé Flanagan (b. 2/23/1956), a fashionista who began as a runway model, then joined Calvin Klein in the late-80s as a senior designer and marketer, joined Saks Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren in the early-90s as an executive, and has served on the boards of Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, and TJX Companies since the mid-2000s
• of Generation X:
  • Duncan’s: Matthew Flanagan (b. 7/4/1977), a private attorney (since 2002) who works as a partner at Vinson & Elkins and sometimes provides counsel to his own family; Laura Flanagan (5/30/1978-9/15/2015), a former school administrator who became a nationally recognized cancer and patient advocate after being with terminal metastatic lung cancer in 2013; Adam Flanagan (b. 4/3/1979), revived his grandfather’s retailer chain in 2015, refounded as Flanagan Goods, Inc.
  • Isaac’s: Anton Flanagan (b. 10/4/1979), a Presbyterian elder since 2001, member of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery along with his father and uncle; Louis Flanagan (b. 6/11/1980), yet another Presbyterian elder, ordained in 2002, and serves as the Associate Pastor of the Seven Hills Fellowship (since 2011); Eva (Flanagan) Sutton (b. 7/3/1981), a local politician who has served on the Floyd County Board of Commissioners since 2014; Jasmine (Flanagan) Wilkinson (7/3/1981), an accountant (since 2005) and the CFO of Flanagan Goods, Inc. (since 2015), also the twin sister of Eva
  • Renee’s: Hannah (Flanagan) McDougall (b. 9/21/1989), author of mystery fiction and horror novels, affiliated with Duncan’s P&R Publishing

Duncan has donated, throughout his life, over $50 million directly, out-of-pocket, to various charities, and is a signatory of The Giving Pledge.

Duncan's personal and professional connections with the Christian Right through his career/the Fellowship are numerous but ambiguous. I won't list them, but will probably casually refer to them within posts.

Duncan's Twitter account (Duncan Flanagan, @theposterpastor) has 450,000 followers and has been active since August 22, 2013 and has made 3,000 tweets.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: Granluras

Do Not Remove: 84721

[The Nordic Model]

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Character Information Sheet[/align]

NS Nation Name: Nordic Model
Character Name: Rebekah Sharansky
Character Gender: F
Character Age: 49
Character Height: 5' 9"
Character Weight: 115 lbs.
Character Position/Role/Job: United States Junior Senator from Illinois (2017-), Attorney General of Illinois (2010-2014), Illinois State Senator from the 13th District (2004-2010)
Appearance:

Character State of Origin: Illinois
Character State of Residence: Illinois
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Main Strengths: Charismatic and magnetic, very articulate and well-spoken, likable and friendly, very good grassroots fundraiser, broad voter coalition, popular with Jewish community
Main Weaknesses: Seen as too calculating, perceived to be superficial by many, not overly clear on policy views, sometimes trusts people too easily, gets bullied easily, questionable connections because of her spouse's job, defended some corporations as a litigator
Biography:

The Sharansky family were immigrants from Israel. Rebekah's mother, an Israeli Arab Jew, was a professor of biology at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, while her father (whose family were Russian Jews) was a general practitioner in Tel Aviv. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1969, when her mother was offered a position by Northwestern University.

Rebekah was born in 1970, the third child of six children. She was often not paid much attention to; she attended her local public school in Evanston, where she was an average math and science student, to her mother's disappointment, but she was however an able writer, excelling in English and Social Studies. Rebekah was raised as a quite devout Conservative Jew, and was particularly close to her eldest two sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth. Deborah started to study law at UChicago in 1990, when Rebekah was finishing school, while Elizabeth finished college in 1988 having majored in political science; she soon started working as a press coordinator for the mayor of Chicago.

Rebekah discovered her talents early on while participating in school plays. She became an active theater kid, and became well known in her school for her skill in singing, dancing, and performing. She was a confident actress, and this lent itself well to her years in high school as a public forum debater. She reached the Illinois State debate finals twice, and became known for that skill as well.

Rebekah enrolled at Brown University in 1988. The liberal environment of Brown shaped her political views; her parents were registered Democrats, but nonetheless Rebekah had never been exposed to politics until college. She joined the Young Democrats at Brown and was an active member, campaigning for local Democrats frequently.

In her first year at Brown, Rebekah was a victim of date-rape by another student. After complaining to the administration, her case was dismissed and she was told that the alleged perpetrator was a "fine upstanding member of the Brown community. " After this, Rebekah started to spearhead several student strikes and sit-ins related to sexual assault on campus until the administration improved their policy relating to campus assault. She also lead the on-campus activist movements, Students for Admissions and Minority Aid (SAMA), calling for the administration to boost boost financial aid initiatives to ensure class diversity among future student populations. She organized a sit-in at University Hall, delivering a fiery speech. She was arrested in that occupation.

She also interned for several reputable law firms during the summers while she was an undergrad, including at Skadden, where she interned under a commercial litigator at the firm. In 1992 Rebekah enrolled at Boston University to receive her J.D., and graduated with her law degree in 1995. After law school, she married a longtime family friend, Jacob Gerwitz, an employee at the private equity firm Apollo. He soon became an executive through familial connections. They had their first son, Jonah, a few months after the wedding in 1995. They had their second child, Rachel, in 1996.

In late 1998, after working in several positions at other firms, Rebekah was hired as an associate commercial litigator at Sidley Austin, where she worked in antitrust litigation. One of the notable cases she worked on was against several railroad companies who had been engaged in price-fixing. She also took up a litigation case against several coal companies who had dumped pollutants in the Chicago River. She won both cases, and was engaged in many more high-profile ones, including one where she defended a tobacco company against litigation that claimed the company used subversive advertising to lie about the effects of smoking.

Rebekah personally understood the problem of balancing family life with job life throughout her career. She already had two kids, but wanted to have more – she felt that her Jewish faith gave a lot of importance towards having children. She gave birth to her daughter Naomi in 1999, and her son Gabriel in 2001, and her daughter Zahava in 2003. She took very little time off, and they were mostly raised by extended family.

In 2004, she ran for State Senate representing Chicago's 14th district. She had an easy time raising funds from her connections in the legal world as well as her husband's financial networks. She out-raised her opponents and won the seat, which she held for four years. In the State Senate, Rebekah sponsored legislation to expand tax credits for low-income children as well as increase subsidization of childcare. During this time, Rebekah had also spoken about her opposition to the Iraq War and the [not Bush] Tax Cuts. She also had two more children while in office; she gave birth to Anne in 2007 and Golda in 2008.

In 2009, Rebekah ran for Attorney General upon the resignation of the incumbent, who was making a bid for Senate. She had the same fundraising strength, but greatly benefited from several congressional endorsers. She also demonstrated not just an ability to fundraiser with high-dollar donors, but also with the grassroots, who were inspired by her campaign stump to bring "people-powered justice" to the office. She won narrowly, beating out her opponent, a local judge, with 50.4% of the vote.

As attorney general, Rebekah had a good working relationship with Senator Helen Whitaker as well as the former governor's successor. Rebekah was the first attorney general in almost 2 decades to argue a case in the Supreme Court, defending the legality of police officers using trained dogs without a warrant or probable cause to detect drugs and other illegal substances.

In 2012, Rebekah opened an investigation into for-profit higher education organizations in Illinois. She also investigated data-mining by certain Illinois industries. She made student debt a central theme in her tenure as AG; in 2013 and 2014, she investigated and successfully arguing cases against several companies in the student debt help settlement industry that scammed students in Illinois.

She was a fairly popular figure amongst young people and student activists, although some far-left progressives viewed her as soft on the financial industry because of her husband's job. Indeed, Rebekah did not open or authorize any major cases or investigations of banks, hedge funds, or private equity firms during her time as Attorney General.

It was speculated that Rebekah would run for higher office, and she became a big name in Democratic politics, with good connections in the media. She was placed at the top of many "young politicians to watch" lists. In 2015, the incumbent Illinois Senator made clear his intention not to seek reelection due to a serious family bereavement. As such, Rebekah began preparing the infrastructure for a Senate run in late 2015. She made top hires early on, appointing a former JPMorgan Chase and Brookings analyst as her policy director, and she found a campaign manager in a longtime staffer for Senator Whitaker. With several advisers hired, she launched her campaign better-prepared than any other candidate. She entered the race as the clear frontrunner, where she touted her credentials as an experienced lawyer who knew how to get things done. She demonstrated her youthful charisma heavily in this race, and also capitalized on her identity as a Jewish woman of color.

She was endorsed by both President Baharia and his Vice President. She easily defeated her primary challengers, who could not overcome her charisma, fundraising ability, and political connections. She defeated her Republican opponent, a Congressman, 54% to 40%.

As a Senator, Rebekah has been known for her fiery speeches on the Senate floor and she has been a relatively reliable party vote. She has been most notable on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she rigorously questioned [not Brett Kavanaugh], saying: "Judge Kavanaugh, I was a victim of rape in college. I know what it's like to be dismissed and not be listened to; I was told that the perpetrator was a 'fine upstanding member of the Brown community.' Judge, when we are told to ignore [not Christine Blasey Ford's] claims, we are simply following the status quo. I am [Dr. Ford]. And so are thousands of other women who are told by the people in power that they aren't credible. Judge Kavanugh, do you believe someone who reports a sexual assault or some kind of sexual misconduct weeks, month or even years after it allegedly took place is less credible than someone who immediately reports it?"

Her tough line of questioning against the Supreme Court nominee was a big breakout moment for her. However, she has been a champion for issues pertaining to higher education, similar to her AG tenure; she sponsored a bill to cancel the majority of student debt and a bill to make 4-year public college tuition free for low-income families and impose a cap on public college tuition for others. She also had several pieces of important legislation to her name, including a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level as well as a piece of legislation that would further regulate pesticides like glyphosate.

As a Senator, she has been close to both J-Street and AIPAC. She has been vocal in her opposition to Wolf's strategy in Israel, although she supports the decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. She openly decried members of her party who made antisemitic comments.

She has been openly contemplating a bid for the presidency in 2020.

Other Info: Has seven children; her oldest son, Jonah Gerwitz, is 24, and works in a junior position at the UN in NYC. Her daughter Rachel is 23 and recently graduated from UPenn having majored in economics. Her daughter Naomi is 20 and studies at New York University, her son Gabriel is 18, her daughter Zahava is 16, Anne is 12, and Golda is 10.

Healthcare: Was a cosponsor on the Medicare for All bill, but remains ambiguous about her precise position on single-payer healthcare. Her name is also listed on bills to introduce a public option as well as Medicaid expansions,
Drugs: Has expressed support for decriminalizing marijuana and expunging criminal records for illegal possession.
Abortion: 100% pro-choice, with no limits.
Trade: Strongly against the Wolf tariffs, but against trade deals like TPP. Against Wolf's renegotiated NAFTA.
Gun control: Universal background checks, reinstatement of assault weapons ban, voluntary buybacks.
Climate change: Supports the Green New Deal and a carbon tax.
Taxes: Raise the capital gains tax to make it equal to income, raise the estate tax, raise the top marginal rate, cut taxes on the middle class. Personally open to a wealth tax.
Education: Student debt cancellation, free public college for low income students. For universal-prekindergarten.
Israel: Big issue for her, considering her heritage. Very pro-Israel. For a two-state solution, but against conditioning aid to Israel.
Criminal Justice Reform: Keep the death penalty. End cash bail.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: The Nordic Model
Do Not Remove: 84721

[Dentali]

1. So some of your weaknesses aren't weaknesses, they are policy positions.
2. The Johnson Amendment was passed in 1954 to prevent nonprofits from endorsing or opposing specific political candidates. Usually this means churches, so you can support politicians like Reagan and do an event where they are invited but you can't endorse them. You definitely cannot donate money to the campaigns.
3. What did he do for Heritage? Why would they put him on the board?
4. I don't think they would let him serve as a board member for a for profit holding company and continue to be a minister
5. How/Why did his church grow so fast in the 80s?
6. AUM has a ridiculous amount of money in a short time
7. Ridiculous amount of money in general
8. He isnt qualified to be on any of these boards
9. Jesus you did a lot

Alright, you pointed out a few details I felt off with myself. Based off of your...nine-point critique I’m thinking of making these changes:
I’m thinking of scrapping his business career and simply replacing it with him having a prominent Christian radio talk show, which is where he’d have a media platform from. In regards to the Johnson Amendment (I actually know of the Amendment, so it’s ironic I neglected to abide by it), I’ll downgrade the endorsement to a semi-official statement of support, but nothing financial. I’ll, of course, downgrade his wealth, too, and perhaps to a more subtle multi-million dollar size(?).

Furthermore, I’d like to make responses to some of your points,

First off, by 2002, Duncan would’ve been involved in politics (even in the reformed state I’ll be editing the app to include) for around two decades. He would be a prominent conservative and evangelical figure, and personally I think that’d warrant being a board member of one the most prominent conservative and Christian Right institutions in the country.

Secondly, I’m not sure what you mean by, “how did his church grow so fast in the 80s,” since I gave no indication of growth or excessive growth. I did say, “Duncan began donating 7.50% of his congregations quarterly donations (around $5,000) to the World Concern, which has increased over the years from 10% to 15% (and $6,000 to $10,000), and - overall - donates 25% of his church's quarterly funds (~$80,000 per year) to several specific groups,” but that doesn’t indicate a growth in congregation size, rather just a growth in the amount of donated alms. In fact, all I envision the congregations size as being is around 500.

Thirdly, I do believe he is qualified to be on these boards. In regards to World Concern, I suppose I might’ve glossed over it in the biography, but as part of the Strengths and Other Info categories I included he is a philanthropist and that he’s donated over $100,000,000 to charity. If that doesn’t get you on the board of a Presbyterian-affiliated charitable organization, idk what will. In regards to the CCV, Duncan is an established social conservative and conservative Christian who's social views align with the CCV’s, with his prestige I think it is realistic he’d be appointed as an executive member.

Fourthly, yeah I did a lot. I go overboard sometimes :x

---

With that said and done, I’ll go ahead and make my revisions later. Thanks for your response, Dentali.

Perhaps i should rephrase the growth of church to "growth of popularity and notability"

[Dentali]

(Image)

---

Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Nordic Model
Character Name: Rebekah Sharansky
Character Gender: F
Character Age: 49
Character Height: 5' 9"
Character Weight: 115 lbs.
Character Position/Role/Job: United States Junior Senator from Illinois (2017-), Attorney General of Illinois (2010-2014), Illinois State Senator from the 13th District (2004-2010)
Appearance:
(Image)
Character State of Origin: Illinois
Character State of Residence: Illinois
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Main Strengths: Charismatic and magnetic, very articulate and well-spoken, likable and friendly, very good grassroots fundraiser, broad voter coalition, popular with Jewish community
Main Weaknesses: Seen as too calculating, perceived to be superficial by many, not overly clear on policy views, sometimes trusts people too easily, gets bullied easily, questionable connections because of her spouse's job, defended some corporations as a litigator
Biography:

The Sharansky family were immigrants from Israel. Rebekah's mother, an Israeli Arab Jew, was a professor of biology at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, while her father (whose family were Russian Jews) was a general practitioner in Tel Aviv. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1969, when her mother was offered a position by Northwestern University.

Rebekah was born in 1970, the third child of six children. She was often not paid much attention to; she attended her local public school in Evanston, where she was an average math and science student, to her mother's disappointment, but she was however an able writer, excelling in English and Social Studies. Rebekah was raised as a quite devout Conservative Jew, and was particularly close to her eldest two sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth. Deborah started to study law at UChicago in 1990, when Rebekah was finishing school, while Elizabeth finished college in 1988 having majored in political science; she soon started working as a press coordinator for the mayor of Chicago.

Rebekah discovered her talents early on while participating in school plays. She became an active theater kid, and became well known in her school for her skill in singing, dancing, and performing. She was a confident actress, and this lent itself well to her years in high school as a public forum debater. She reached the Illinois State debate finals twice, and became known for that skill as well.

Rebekah enrolled at Brown University in 1988. The liberal environment of Brown shaped her political views; her parents were registered Democrats, but nonetheless Rebekah had never been exposed to politics until college. She joined the Young Democrats at Brown and was an active member, campaigning for local Democrats frequently.

In her first year at Brown, Rebekah was a victim of date-rape by another student. After complaining to the administration, her case was dismissed and she was told that the alleged perpetrator was a "fine upstanding member of the Brown community. " After this, Rebekah started to spearhead several student strikes and sit-ins related to sexual assault on campus until the administration improved their policy relating to campus assault. She also lead the on-campus activist movements, Students for Admissions and Minority Aid (SAMA), calling for the administration to boost boost financial aid initiatives to ensure class diversity among future student populations. She organized a sit-in at University Hall, delivering a fiery speech. She was arrested in that occupation.

She also interned for several reputable law firms during the summers while she was an undergrad, including at Skadden, where she interned under a commercial litigator at the firm. In 1992 Rebekah enrolled at Boston University to receive her J.D., and graduated with her law degree in 1995. After law school, she married a longtime family friend, Jacob Gerwitz, an employee at the private equity firm Apollo. He soon became an executive through familial connections.

In late 1998, after working in several positions at other firms, Rebekah was hired as an associate commercial litigator at Sidley Austin, where she worked in antitrust litigation. One of the notable cases she worked on was against several railroad companies who had been engaged in price-fixing. She also took up a litigation case against several coal companies who had dumped pollutants in the Chicago River. She won both cases, and was engaged in many more high-profile ones, including one where she defended a tobacco company against litigation that claimed the company used subversive advertising to lie about the effects of smoking.

In 2004, she ran for State Senate representing Chicago's 14th district. She had an easy time raising funds from her connections in the legal world as well as her husband's financial networks. She out-raised her opponents and won the seat, which she held for four years. In the State Senate, Rebekah sponsored legislation to expand tax credits for low-income children as well as increase subsidization of childcare. During this time, Rebekah had also spoken about her opposition to the Iraq War and the [not Bush] Tax Cuts.

In 2009, Rebekah ran for Attorney General upon the resignation of the incumbent, who was making a bid for Senate. She had the same fundraising strength, but greatly benefited from several congressional endorsers. She also demonstrated not just an ability to fundraiser with high-dollar donors, but also with the grassroots, who were inspired by her campaign stump to bring "people-powered justice" to the office. She won narrowly, beating out her opponent, a local judge, with 50.4% of the vote.

As attorney general, Rebekah had a good working relationship with Senator Helen Whitaker as well as the former governor's successor. Rebekah was the first attorney general in almost 2 decades to argue a case in the Supreme Court, defending the legality of police officers using trained dogs without a warrant or probable cause to detect drugs and other illegal substances.

In 2012, Rebekah opened an investigation into for-profit higher education organizations in Illinois. She also investigated data-mining by certain Illinois industries. She made student debt a central theme in her tenure as AG; in 2013 and 2014, she investigated and successfully arguing cases against several companies in the student debt help settlement industry that scammed students in Illinois.

She was a fairly popular figure amongst young people and student activists, although some far-left progressives viewed her as soft on the financial industry because of her husband's job. Indeed, Rebekah did not open or authorize any major cases or investigations of banks, hedge funds, or private equity firms during her time as Attorney General.

It was speculated that Rebekah would run for higher office, and she became a big name in Democratic politics, with good connections in the media. She was placed at the top of many "young politicians to watch" lists. In 2015, the incumbent Illinois Senator made clear his intention not to seek reelection due to a serious family bereavement. As such, Rebekah began preparing the infrastructure for a Senate run in late 2015. She made top hires early on, appointing a former JPMorgan Chase and Brookings analyst as her policy director, and she found a campaign manager in a longtime staffer for Senator Whitaker. With several advisers hired, she launched her campaign better-prepared than any other candidate. She entered the race as the clear frontrunner, where she touted her credentials as an experienced lawyer who knew how to get things done. She demonstrated her youthful charisma heavily in this race, and also capitalized on her identity as a Jewish woman of color.

She was endorsed by both President Baharia and his Vice President. She easily defeated her primary challengers, who could not overcome her charisma, fundraising ability, and political connections. She defeated her Republican opponent, a Congressman, 54% to 40%.

As a Senator, Rebekah has been known for her fiery speeches on the Senate floor and she has been a relatively reliable party vote. She has been most notable on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she rigorously questioned [not Brett Kavanaugh], saying: "Judge Kavanaugh, I was a victim of rape in college. I know what it's like to be dismissed and not be listened to; I was told that the perpetrator was a 'fine upstanding member of the Brown community.' Judge, when we are told to ignore [not Christine Blasey Ford's] claims, we are simply following the status quo. I am [Dr. Ford]. And so are thousands of other women who are told by the people in power that they aren't credible. Judge Kavanugh, do you believe someone who reports a sexual assault or some kind of sexual misconduct weeks, month or even years after it allegedly took place is less credible than someone who immediately reports it?"

Her tough line of questioning against the Supreme Court nominee was a big breakout moment for her. However, she has been a champion for issues pertaining to higher education, similar to her AG tenure; she sponsored a bill to cancel the majority of student debt and a bill to make 4-year public college tuition free for low-income families and impose a cap on public college tuition for others. She also had several pieces of important legislation to her name, including a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level as well as a piece of legislation that would further regulate pesticides like glyphosate.

As a Senator, she has been close to both J-Street and AIPAC. She has been vocal in her opposition to Wolf's strategy in Israel, although she supports the decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. She openly decried members of her party who made antisemitic comments.

She has been openly contemplating a bid for the presidency in 2020.

Other Info: Has four children; her oldest boy is 16, the rest are girls.

Healthcare: Was a cosponsor on the Medicare for All bill, but remains ambiguous about her precise position on single-payer healthcare. Her name is also listed on bills to introduce a public option as well as Medicaid expansions,
Drugs: Has expressed support for decriminalizing marijuana and expunging criminal records for illegal possession.
Abortion: 100% pro-choice, with no limits.
Trade: Strongly against the Wolf tariffs, but against trade deals like TPP. Against Wolf's renegotiated NAFTA.
Gun control: Universal background checks, reinstatement of assault weapons ban, voluntary buybacks.
Climate change: Supports the Green New Deal and a carbon tax.
Taxes: Raise the capital gains tax to make it equal to income, raise the estate tax, raise the top marginal rate, cut taxes on the middle class. Personally open to a wealth tax.
Education: Student debt cancellation, free public college for low income students. For universal-prekindergarten.
Israel: Big issue for her, considering her heritage. Very pro-Israel. For a two-state solution, but against conditioning aid to Israel.Criminal Justice Reform: Keep the death penalty. End cash bail.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: The Nordic Model
Do Not Remove: 84721

Hey look Kamala Harris

[The Nordic Model]

(Image)

---

Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Nordic Model
Character Name: Rebekah Sharansky
Character Gender: F
Character Age: 49
Character Height: 5' 9"
Character Weight: 115 lbs.
Character Position/Role/Job: United States Junior Senator from Illinois (2017-), Attorney General of Illinois (2010-2014), Illinois State Senator from the 13th District (2004-2010)
Appearance:
(Image)
Character State of Origin: Illinois
Character State of Residence: Illinois
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Main Strengths: Charismatic and magnetic, very articulate and well-spoken, likable and friendly, very good grassroots fundraiser, broad voter coalition, popular with Jewish community
Main Weaknesses: Seen as too calculating, perceived to be superficial by many, not overly clear on policy views, sometimes trusts people too easily, gets bullied easily, questionable connections because of her spouse's job, defended some corporations as a litigator
Biography:

The Sharansky family were immigrants from Israel. Rebekah's mother, an Israeli Arab Jew, was a professor of biology at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, while her father (whose family were Russian Jews) was a general practitioner in Tel Aviv. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1969, when her mother was offered a position by Northwestern University.

Rebekah was born in 1970, the third child of six children. She was often not paid much attention to; she attended her local public school in Evanston, where she was an average math and science student, to her mother's disappointment, but she was however an able writer, excelling in English and Social Studies. Rebekah was raised as a quite devout Conservative Jew, and was particularly close to her eldest two sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth. Deborah started to study law at UChicago in 1990, when Rebekah was finishing school, while Elizabeth finished college in 1988 having majored in political science; she soon started working as a press coordinator for the mayor of Chicago.

Rebekah discovered her talents early on while participating in school plays. She became an active theater kid, and became well known in her school for her skill in singing, dancing, and performing. She was a confident actress, and this lent itself well to her years in high school as a public forum debater. She reached the Illinois State debate finals twice, and became known for that skill as well.

Rebekah enrolled at Brown University in 1988. The liberal environment of Brown shaped her political views; her parents were registered Democrats, but nonetheless Rebekah had never been exposed to politics until college. She joined the Young Democrats at Brown and was an active member, campaigning for local Democrats frequently.

In her first year at Brown, Rebekah was a victim of date-rape by another student. After complaining to the administration, her case was dismissed and she was told that the alleged perpetrator was a "fine upstanding member of the Brown community. " After this, Rebekah started to spearhead several student strikes and sit-ins related to sexual assault on campus until the administration improved their policy relating to campus assault. She also lead the on-campus activist movements, Students for Admissions and Minority Aid (SAMA), calling for the administration to boost boost financial aid initiatives to ensure class diversity among future student populations. She organized a sit-in at University Hall, delivering a fiery speech. She was arrested in that occupation.

She also interned for several reputable law firms during the summers while she was an undergrad, including at Skadden, where she interned under a commercial litigator at the firm. In 1992 Rebekah enrolled at Boston University to receive her J.D., and graduated with her law degree in 1995. After law school, she married a longtime family friend, Jacob Gerwitz, an employee at the private equity firm Apollo. He soon became an executive through familial connections.

In late 1998, after working in several positions at other firms, Rebekah was hired as an associate commercial litigator at Sidley Austin, where she worked in antitrust litigation. One of the notable cases she worked on was against several railroad companies who had been engaged in price-fixing. She also took up a litigation case against several coal companies who had dumped pollutants in the Chicago River. She won both cases, and was engaged in many more high-profile ones, including one where she defended a tobacco company against litigation that claimed the company used subversive advertising to lie about the effects of smoking.

In 2004, she ran for State Senate representing Chicago's 14th district. She had an easy time raising funds from her connections in the legal world as well as her husband's financial networks. She out-raised her opponents and won the seat, which she held for four years. In the State Senate, Rebekah sponsored legislation to expand tax credits for low-income children as well as increase subsidization of childcare. During this time, Rebekah had also spoken about her opposition to the Iraq War and the [not Bush] Tax Cuts.

In 2009, Rebekah ran for Attorney General upon the resignation of the incumbent, who was making a bid for Senate. She had the same fundraising strength, but greatly benefited from several congressional endorsers. She also demonstrated not just an ability to fundraiser with high-dollar donors, but also with the grassroots, who were inspired by her campaign stump to bring "people-powered justice" to the office. She won narrowly, beating out her opponent, a local judge, with 50.4% of the vote.

As attorney general, Rebekah had a good working relationship with Senator Helen Whitaker as well as the former governor's successor. Rebekah was the first attorney general in almost 2 decades to argue a case in the Supreme Court, defending the legality of police officers using trained dogs without a warrant or probable cause to detect drugs and other illegal substances.

In 2012, Rebekah opened an investigation into for-profit higher education organizations in Illinois. She also investigated data-mining by certain Illinois industries. She made student debt a central theme in her tenure as AG; in 2013 and 2014, she investigated and successfully arguing cases against several companies in the student debt help settlement industry that scammed students in Illinois.

She was a fairly popular figure amongst young people and student activists, although some far-left progressives viewed her as soft on the financial industry because of her husband's job. Indeed, Rebekah did not open or authorize any major cases or investigations of banks, hedge funds, or private equity firms during her time as Attorney General.

It was speculated that Rebekah would run for higher office, and she became a big name in Democratic politics, with good connections in the media. She was placed at the top of many "young politicians to watch" lists. In 2015, the incumbent Illinois Senator made clear his intention not to seek reelection due to a serious family bereavement. As such, Rebekah began preparing the infrastructure for a Senate run in late 2015. She made top hires early on, appointing a former JPMorgan Chase and Brookings analyst as her policy director, and she found a campaign manager in a longtime staffer for Senator Whitaker. With several advisers hired, she launched her campaign better-prepared than any other candidate. She entered the race as the clear frontrunner, where she touted her credentials as an experienced lawyer who knew how to get things done. She demonstrated her youthful charisma heavily in this race, and also capitalized on her identity as a Jewish woman of color.

She was endorsed by both President Baharia and his Vice President. She easily defeated her primary challengers, who could not overcome her charisma, fundraising ability, and political connections. She defeated her Republican opponent, a Congressman, 54% to 40%.

As a Senator, Rebekah has been known for her fiery speeches on the Senate floor and she has been a relatively reliable party vote. She has been most notable on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she rigorously questioned [not Brett Kavanaugh], saying: "Judge Kavanaugh, I was a victim of rape in college. I know what it's like to be dismissed and not be listened to; I was told that the perpetrator was a 'fine upstanding member of the Brown community.' Judge, when we are told to ignore [not Christine Blasey Ford's] claims, we are simply following the status quo. I am [Dr. Ford]. And so are thousands of other women who are told by the people in power that they aren't credible. Judge Kavanugh, do you believe someone who reports a sexual assault or some kind of sexual misconduct weeks, month or even years after it allegedly took place is less credible than someone who immediately reports it?"

Her tough line of questioning against the Supreme Court nominee was a big breakout moment for her. However, she has been a champion for issues pertaining to higher education, similar to her AG tenure; she sponsored a bill to cancel the majority of student debt and a bill to make 4-year public college tuition free for low-income families and impose a cap on public college tuition for others. She also had several pieces of important legislation to her name, including a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level as well as a piece of legislation that would further regulate pesticides like glyphosate.

As a Senator, she has been close to both J-Street and AIPAC. She has been vocal in her opposition to Wolf's strategy in Israel, although she supports the decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem. She openly decried members of her party who made antisemitic comments.

She has been openly contemplating a bid for the presidency in 2020.

Other Info: Has four children; her oldest boy is 16, the rest are girls.

Healthcare: Was a cosponsor on the Medicare for All bill, but remains ambiguous about her precise position on single-payer healthcare. Her name is also listed on bills to introduce a public option as well as Medicaid expansions,
Drugs: Has expressed support for decriminalizing marijuana and expunging criminal records for illegal possession.
Abortion: 100% pro-choice, with no limits.
Trade: Strongly against the Wolf tariffs, but against trade deals like TPP. Against Wolf's renegotiated NAFTA.
Gun control: Universal background checks, reinstatement of assault weapons ban, voluntary buybacks.
Climate change: Supports the Green New Deal and a carbon tax.
Taxes: Raise the capital gains tax to make it equal to income, raise the estate tax, raise the top marginal rate, cut taxes on the middle class. Personally open to a wealth tax.
Education: Student debt cancellation, free public college for low income students. For universal-prekindergarten.
Israel: Big issue for her, considering her heritage. Very pro-Israel. For a two-state solution, but against conditioning aid to Israel.Criminal Justice Reform: Keep the death penalty. End cash bail.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: The Nordic Model
Do Not Remove: 84721

Hey look Kamala Harris

Lol I sincerely wasn't thinking of her but now you mention it yeah I see some similarity

[Granluras]

Alright, you pointed out a few details I felt off with myself. Based off of your...nine-point critique I’m thinking of making these changes:
I’m thinking of scrapping his business career and simply replacing it with him having a prominent Christian radio talk show, which is where he’d have a media platform from. In regards to the Johnson Amendment (I actually know of the Amendment, so it’s ironic I neglected to abide by it), I’ll downgrade the endorsement to a semi-official statement of support, but nothing financial. I’ll, of course, downgrade his wealth, too, and perhaps to a more subtle multi-million dollar size(?).

Furthermore, I’d like to make responses to some of your points,

First off, by 2002, Duncan would’ve been involved in politics (even in the reformed state I’ll be editing the app to include) for around two decades. He would be a prominent conservative and evangelical figure, and personally I think that’d warrant being a board member of one the most prominent conservative and Christian Right institutions in the country.

Secondly, I’m not sure what you mean by, “how did his church grow so fast in the 80s,” since I gave no indication of growth or excessive growth. I did say, “Duncan began donating 7.50% of his congregations quarterly donations (around $5,000) to the World Concern, which has increased over the years from 10% to 15% (and $6,000 to $10,000), and - overall - donates 25% of his church's quarterly funds (~$80,000 per year) to several specific groups,” but that doesn’t indicate a growth in congregation size, rather just a growth in the amount of donated alms. In fact, all I envision the congregations size as being is around 500.

Thirdly, I do believe he is qualified to be on these boards. In regards to World Concern, I suppose I might’ve glossed over it in the biography, but as part of the Strengths and Other Info categories I included he is a philanthropist and that he’s donated over $100,000,000 to charity. If that doesn’t get you on the board of a Presbyterian-affiliated charitable organization, idk what will. In regards to the CCV, Duncan is an established social conservative and conservative Christian who's social views align with the CCV’s, with his prestige I think it is realistic he’d be appointed as an executive member.

Fourthly, yeah I did a lot. I go overboard sometimes :x

---

With that said and done, I’ll go ahead and make my revisions later. Thanks for your response, Dentali.

Perhaps i should rephrase the growth of church to "growth of popularity and notability"

Well I’m still confused as where you’re getting that from, but in general the congregation would’ve become noted due to:
It’s secession from the PCUSA, which would’ve garnered at least statewide attention, and picked up as second priority news elsewhere
As it is associated with Duncan, it would be given quite some attention itself to monitor the sentiments and activities of its members

[Granluras]

Also, Dentali, what characters do you have in this RP?

[Dentali]

Also, Dentali, what characters do you have in this RP?

Nathaniel Richardson, Republican Governor of North Carolina and candidate for President
James Moore, Democratic Senator from Michigan
Jane Martinez, Republican CEO of the Susan B Anthony List
Speaker Malcolm Douglas Democratic Speaker of the House and Representative of New Jersey's 9th District

[Granluras]

Also, Dentali, what characters do you have in this RP?

Nathaniel Richardson, Republican Governor of North Carolina and candidate for President
James Moore, Democratic Senator from Michigan
Jane Martinez, Republican CEO of the Susan B Anthony List
Speaker Malcolm Douglas Democratic Speaker of the House and Representative of New Jersey's 9th District

Ooh, interesting group. And, after looking at their apps, Martinez and Richardson both sound like people Flanagan could warm up to.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Anyone and everyone is welcome to pose as questioners for the event I just opened up. I'd like to get this done over the weekend, so feel free to post questions back-to-back if needed, or telegram them to me (if they start to pile up without responses).

[Dentali]

New and improved for your satisficstion! (:

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(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Granluras
Character Name: Duncan Flanagan
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 65
Character Height: 6’0
Character Weight: 197 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:[list]

I need to chat with the others about net worth a bit and make sure you don't have a game breaking amount of money... He also probably needs another weakness, otherwise good app.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

[quote=Nathaniel_Richardson]"...CA 45..."[/quote]

Oh shit, I didn't realise that Vohoffksy's seat is a marginal. Better campaign then.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

How much would be a poll, of around 500 in CA45, cost for Vohoffsky? And how many major tech CEOs/tech celebrities would be willing to support the Red Silicon/American Futurist Movement?

[Dentali]

[quote=Nathaniel Richardson]"...CA 45..."

Oh shit, I didn't realise that Vohoffksy's seat is a marginal. Better campaign then.[/quote]


yea its only R+3, honestly though you'll be fine unless you massively fuck up