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

[The Orion Islands]

Senator Colbert spends time thinking of what to do. Iran could turn into world war. There was no way he was going to allow thousands of Utahans die over a drone and the President’s insane ego. He puzzles for over fifteen minutes before he remembers he has the First Lady’s number from the State of the Union. He makes the call hoping to get any kind of response.

[Sanabel]

Velez Roadtrip, South Carolina Stops
(June 28th-29th, 2019)

Mike’s Campaign was looking for a new direction. They had seen the numbers, and they looked good, especially after the debate. They were creating a coherent center-left message, they were consolidating some Hispanic and African demographics into a solid base of support, and they were polling well across the first four and Super Tuesday states. However, the campaign realized that with the national ethics scandals, huge foreign policy threats, and the nature of summertime, people wouldn’t see Velez on television because he was buried or because they wouldn’t want to. The campaign’s general strategy of showing up worked because it met voters in their daily lives. It’s what turned around his chances in South Carolina and Nevada. The campaign needed to find a new direction that took that and brought it to a new level on a national scale.

The plan was to do a road trip, and to livestream parts of it for Facebook and other social media platforms. So, Mike, his wife, and their dog got ready to hit the road. The first stream went live as Mike’s wife was packing the car and the dog was getting settled in the back seat.

“Hey guys, it’s me, Mike! So, when I was a kid, my parents, my brother, and I always did a family road trip. We would drive from our house in Miramar, Florida, all over the place. Every summer there was a new destination, I think the furthest we ever made it was Seattle. It always sucked as a kid, being cooped up in the hot car, listening to my parents’ god-awful Colombian hits, stopping every two hours so Raúl could use the bathroom...it was a mess. So naturally, as a Dad, I wanted to subject my own kids to the same type of family fun. The Velez family carried on the tradition. The kids are grown up now, they are working, doing internships, all that. But Laura, Sukie and I aren’t going to let that or the Presidential race stop us!”

Velez walked to the car, showing his wife who waved to the camera and dog who wagged her tail.

“Anyway, Laura is packing up the car, as you can see, with Sukie getting settled in the back. We brought our favorite snacks, music, all of that. We’re ditching the staffers, but don’t worry, we still have a trunk full of campaign materials that I’m sure you all are eagerly waiting for,” he laughed.

Then he walked away from the car and flipped the camera to show a view of Charleston harbor.

“So the plan for our Velez family road trip is to go from Sea to Shining Sea. We are starting right here on the Atlantic, in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina and we are going to be driving all the way to the Pacific in sunny Los Angeles, California! I’m not expecting you all to watch all of the streams, but please tune in from time to time. Laura and I will be revealing some fun facts about ourselves, and new information about our presidential campaign along the way. Our goal is to have a good time, see as much of this beautiful country as we can, and soak up some culture! Starting right here, in Charleston. Today we are going to grab some lunch at Bertha’s Kitchen. Bertha’s is my favorite place in Charleston, if you ever make it up here I highly recommend it. We will be eating there, then jumping on over to the Blessing of the Fleet here in Charleston. After that, we start moving West, and who knows where the road will take us!”

Velez started walking back toward his car, before saying “Well, you’ll hear more from me later. I’m going to help Laura pack the car. Bye!”

They packed up, grabbed lunch, and hit the Blessing of the Fleet. There, they talked to voters, took pictures, and handed out pamphlets. Then, they drove inland to the Charleston suburbs where they spent the night at a supporter’s house, before driving over to Hollywood, a predominantly African American town. In Hollywood, the couple attended the famous Juneteenth Festival, where they enjoyed the event’s famous jazz music and food. The event was an important one- a celebration of the emancipation of slaves across the South, a time of both joy and somber remembrance. Mike spoke to some friendly faces from the Columbia protest he attended back in May, who offered to help hand out pamphlets on the Bridges Plan to those interested. Mostly, Mike and Laura used it as an opportunity to talk to voters, and listen rather than campaign. After the event, the couple hit the road again, driving north into North Carolina.

[New Cobastheia]

Senator Colbert spends time thinking of what to do. Iran could turn into world war. There was no way he was going to allow thousands of Utahans die over a drone and the President’s insane ego. He puzzles for over fifteen minutes before he remembers he has the First Lady’s number from the State of the Union. He makes the call hoping to get any kind of response.

Eliza, receiving knowledge that Senator Colbert was calling her office phone, decided to pick up, "Senator, what do I owe the pleasure?"

[Gordano and Lysandus]

A neatly typed letter would be delivered to Karen Brookshire.

The Governor of West Virginia

Dear Karen,

It has taken me some time to adequately marshal my thoughts on how to best respond to the results in Texas. It was a shocking, surprising result for everyone, and there was no expectation, no belief, that the unthinkable would happen. It was a perfect storm, quite beyond your power. I think that is important to remember - it was beyond your power. You were a powerful candidate, and you are a powerful woman, and I have the deepest respect for you, no matter how much lesser men like James Burgun might seek to recriminate you for their own agendas. He is an angry, bitter little man, from a bitter little state, and you would do well to pay him no mind.

You were sabotaged from the get-go by the scorched earth campaign of Randall Cramp, backed up by Burgun and by that intolerable fascist Bernard Porter. They knew Cramp wasn't the candidate to win, they knew it had to be Brookshire, but they were willing to let Texas fall to satisfy their own lust for attention and power. They are weak men. Lesser men. And they are undeserving of the gifts of your brilliant mind, and your warm heart. Do not allow their campaign of vitriol and wickedness to taint your self-aspect. You are every bit more worthy than any one of them.

You were undermined by a lack of support from people way above even my pay-grade, who did not give you the structural support, the apparatus you needed. They didn't give you the debate preparation you needed. You are a diamond in the rough, and whilst you shone so brilliantly, that extra polish was needed and for want of it a battle was lost, but it is one battle, and the war is far from over. There is time for you to build on this experience, learn from it, and become the strong force in Republican politics that I know you can be.

I want to tell you now that if I become President of the United States, I will nominate you to the office of Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Furthermore, you would be on a list of figures I would keep available for promotion to either Secretary of Commerce or Secretary of Labor should those offices open up later in the term. You are an example of the good that business can do, from the aid you dispensed in Hurricane Harvey, to the fact you always did right by your employees. Your model of compassionate conservatism is a deep and distinct inspiration to me, Karen, and I will never forget your contributions to the state of Texas, and to America.

Ultimately, I want you to succeed. And I will always have your back. Please, you can always get into contact if you need me.

Sincerely yours,



Jonah Prendergast Jr.
Governor of West Virginia

[Sanabel]

The Oval Office, Washington, D.C.

The recent developments within the Middle East had seen Secretary Urquhart being more active than even his usual schedule, however, his mind had thought that the statement that the State Department had issued would allow the situation to settle. However, his arrival at the White House, prior to being led through saw him take a brief look through Twitter, seeing the President recent tweets unnerved the Secretary, admittedly, he had served in the Administration since the beginning, however, it was nevertheless concerning that the President twas issuing tweets of such a nature, particularly given the concerns surrounding his health since the start of the year.

Urquhart was quickly led through the White House and into the Oval Office, where he saw it was just him and the President.

"Ah, Mr President, I assume you summoned me to here to discuss recent developments in the Middle East?" The Secretary asked, stretching his hand out for the President to shake.

The president rose and shook the other man’s hand. “Hello Secretary. We have a plan in place, I want you to hear about it.” A staffer emerged and handed the Secretary another dossier like the one which had been given to Berentsen. Then the President took a seat. “What are your thoughts, Arthur? Isn’t it great? It’s great. Everyone is saying it’s great! It’s something we should’ve been doing since before Baharia was in office. It’s great!”

[New Cobastheia]

"Carrie, we're friends, unless I had some greater political reason to oppose you, why would I?"

"If you'd ask John Atang, he'd say I want to bomb everything from here to Canberra but that's really not true." She sighed, shaking her head. "I know I'm not the most progressive member of the caucus and so I'm always anxious that I'll be viewed as some sort of 'great enemy', like how people constantly attacked (not-Pelosi)."

"It probably helps that you aren't the public face of the Democratic establishment, probably didn't help [not-Pelosi] either after a while." She said, talking with her donut-holding hand.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"It probably helps that you aren't the public face of the Democratic establishment, probably didn't help [not-Pelosi] either after a while." She said, talking with her donut-holding hand.

"I'm still mad at Tim Westra for pretending she didn't exist to try to take all the credit for getting Bahariacare through Congress." Her expression soured, shaking her head. "I can't help feeling we could have done better this time around."

[New Cobastheia]

"It probably helps that you aren't the public face of the Democratic establishment, probably didn't help [not-Pelosi] either after a while." She said, talking with her donut-holding hand.

"I'm still mad at Tim Westra for pretending she didn't exist to try to take all the credit for getting Bahariacare through Congress." Her expression soured, shaking her head. "I can't help feeling we could have done better this time around."

"I will admit, I am not of fan of how often he brings it up on the campaign trail, we get it, you wrote an important bill, congrats." She paused for a moment, confused over just what Carrie was saying in her second sentence given that it seemed like she was talking about both the future and the past, "What do you mean?"

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"I will admit, I am not of fan of how often he brings it up on the campaign trail, we get it, you wrote an important bill, congrats." She paused for a moment, confused over just what Carrie was saying in her second sentence given that it seemed like she was talking about both the future and the past, "What do you mean?"

"It feels like we're not running our A team in these primaries. Field feels a bit... weak. Some of them out of genuine weakness, others out of lack of experience. Only one who's unequivocally strong is Mike Veléz and his full-throated defense of free trade, whilst well grounded, will land flat as a pancake in the Midwest, and will he be ready for a general if the primary isn't challenging enough? A strong primary builds a strong candidate."

[New Cobastheia]

"I will admit, I am not of fan of how often he brings it up on the campaign trail, we get it, you wrote an important bill, congrats." She paused for a moment, confused over just what Carrie was saying in her second sentence given that it seemed like she was talking about both the future and the past, "What do you mean?"

"It feels like we're not running our A team in these primaries. Field feels a bit... weak. Some of them out of genuine weakness, others out of lack of experience. Only one who's unequivocally strong is Mike Veléz and his full-throated defense of free trade, whilst well grounded, will land flat as a pancake in the Midwest, and will he be ready for a general if the primary isn't challenging enough? A strong primary builds a strong candidate."

"Eh, I'm not too sure about that, I wouldn't call 2016's Republican primary strong and I wouldn't call our primary that year weak. But it definitely isn't what I excepted, the debate made me realize just how much I wished Baganski would of ran this time around."

[Puertollano]

"To be honest, I'm sick of hearing about Texas. What'd you hear?"

"Rumblings about people blaming the loss on, well, I'd hate to say it but given the rumors you've been hearing I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together."

"People like to blame, blame, blame. Well, I can't be blamed for the fact that Brookshire single-handily lost the Texas race on her own. The RNC put so much money into the race. I rallied with her, I conducted my own events in Texas. Good thing is, all this was was a special election. Special Elections are blips, like Alabama. The Democrat there won, but he's not there for much longer. It's full of protest votes and won't mean anything come a real election."

"Sorry for rambling. Was there anything particular you wanted to talk about, other than the Maine election?"

[New Cobastheia]

"Rumblings about people blaming the loss on, well, I'd hate to say it but given the rumors you've been hearing I'm sure you can put 2 and 2 together."

"People like to blame, blame, blame. Well, I can't be blamed for the fact that Brookshire single-handily lost the Texas race on her own. The RNC put so much money into the race. I rallied with her, I conducted my own events in Texas. Good thing is, all this was was a special election. Special Elections are blips, like Alabama. The Democrat there won, but he's not there for much longer. It's full of protest votes and won't mean anything come a real election."

"Sorry for rambling. Was there anything particular you wanted to talk about, other than the Maine election?"

"Mmm, if anyone comes up to you and gives you trouble for it, might as well point out even your Dad couldn't save her campaign. And no, nothing in particular, unless of course, you have anything else on your mind."

[Puertollano]

"People like to blame, blame, blame. Well, I can't be blamed for the fact that Brookshire single-handily lost the Texas race on her own. The RNC put so much money into the race. I rallied with her, I conducted my own events in Texas. Good thing is, all this was was a special election. Special Elections are blips, like Alabama. The Democrat there won, but he's not there for much longer. It's full of protest votes and won't mean anything come a real election."

"Sorry for rambling. Was there anything particular you wanted to talk about, other than the Maine election?"

"Mmm, if anyone comes up to you and gives you trouble for it, might as well point out even your Dad couldn't save her campaign. And no, nothing in particular, unless of course, you have anything else on your mind."

"No, but I could use your input on the debates. I wanted to restrict the number of candidates, stream-line the primary. Thoughts?"

[Puertollano]

Levi Murphy Retail
Dubuque, Iowa

Team Levi arrived in the rural and urban mixed city of Dubuque, Iowa. Due to this combination, and high white population, Levi believed he could court both sectors of the local community. He started with a visit to a construction site, the boss on the site which was an old friend of the Senator. He gave a short speech to the workers there. After he finished his speech, Levi would go on to talk with all of the workers and have lunch with them. Campaign material was given out to those who wanted it.

"If the union taught me anything, it is that we are strongest united. Our voice is unparalleled when united, when we stand-up to the corporate Democrats and the Republican Party, we make it clear that we are sick of the politics for the rich and powerful. That's why we decided on our campaign slogan as: 'For the many, not the few.' Because it is of our belief that this political system has been working brilliantly for the top 1%, but has been ignoring the bottom 99%. That's why we cannot continue to elect Democrats or Republicans that continue to take dirty money from the banks or major corporations. We need clean politics, based on the votes of the people, not based off the Super PACs and corporate contributions from Wells Fargo. And speaking of Wells Fargo, we cannot forget the Senator Ben Little attended a closed-door fundraiser with them, to build up the dirty money for his upcoming Presidential campaign. It's appalling, it's detestable. That's why I stand here in a clear manner and say that I will not accept any corporate contributions whatsoever. We cannot only just overturn Citizens United, but we need to change the electoral laws to ban the donations that rig the election against the working people of this nation and this state."

The Senator then went to the more rural part of Dubuque. The campaign organised a meeting with local farmers and their workers. It was called a 'Meet and Greet' with the Presidential candidate. Many people came out to hear him speak. He gave a short speech before going on to speak to all of them personally.

"As President, I want to deliver for farmers. I believe that starts with breaking up big agribusiness once and for all. We need to use our anti-trust laws that aren't being used to break it up and restore the power back to the people, people like all of you here. Put the land back in the hands of small and medium sized family farms, not big business. I want to see subsidies ended for agribusiness and put back into all of you, I will safe guard farming subsidies as President and I will use the money taken from agribusiness to re-invest into all of you. I was recently attacked by another candidate, Tim Westra on my plan for a fair deal for our farmers. Truth is, Mr Westra wants to gut $20 billion from subsidies to family farms like all of yours. He's no better than some of the Republicans trying to cut the subsidies. Let's make it quite clear this election: we will not stand by as Westra intends to gut, slash and cut subsidies by $20 billion. I won't stand for it, and I hope you all won't either."

[New Cobastheia]

"Mmm, if anyone comes up to you and gives you trouble for it, might as well point out even your Dad couldn't save her campaign. And no, nothing in particular, unless of course, you have anything else on your mind."

"No, but I could use your input on the debates. I wanted to restrict the number of candidates, stream-line the primary. Thoughts?"

"I suppose it would depend on the candidates you'd be trying to take out of the race." She said more curious than anything else even though it sounded like a terrible idea right off the bat.

[Dentali]

Senator Colbert: “Alright, any other areas of policy you want to discuss?”

"I would like to know if you had any ideas regarding energy policy?"

[Convallaria]

"We go with Diane Paulson instead. She's well-funded, strong candidate. Richardson's base is too unenthusiastic. Sure, a lot of people are willing to support him, but I'll doubt they're willing to turn out. I think she's a good woman too. We need a candidate that can win, and Paulson can win. Have you seen her polling numbers?"

"Yes, I've seen them, and they're straightforward enough. So yes, I guess what you're saying is true, but that doesn't make the decision any easier. I mean, are we straight out un-endorsing him? Retracting our previous allegiance? Paulson is strong in the northeast, but who's to say she'll be able to make it in the south and the southwest?"

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"We go with Diane Paulson instead. She's well-funded, strong candidate. Richardson's base is too unenthusiastic. Sure, a lot of people are willing to support him, but I'll doubt they're willing to turn out. I think she's a good woman too. We need a candidate that can win, and Paulson can win. Have you seen her polling numbers?"

"Yes, I've seen them, and they're straightforward enough. So yes, I guess what you're saying is true, but that doesn't make the decision any easier. I mean, are we straight out un-endorsing him? Retracting our previous allegiance? Paulson is strong in the northeast, but who's to say she'll be able to make it in the south and the southwest?"

"Momentum. Me, you, Daniel Park, we all switch at the same time, cripple Richardson's hand and break his nose, cause him to bleed support to the right. So do you stand with me and Park or not?"

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"Eh, I'm not too sure about that, I wouldn't call 2016's Republican primary strong and I wouldn't call our primary that year weak. But it definitely isn't what I excepted, the debate made me realize just how much I wished Baganski would of ran this time around."

"Ah, well, then you're going to drive me down the road of a full-throated defense of Diane and I don't want to relitigate 2016. I worked so hard for that election..." She shook her head. "I want to twist the Republicans' arms to get your reapportionment bill passed but I've got no idea what I could possibly offer them."

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

He nodded and smiled, looking at Felix in the suit...

Felix caught his gaze, and cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, let's get in." Theo said, trying not to attract attention. "But before we go in...How good are you at swimming? I mean, I'm not that good myself, but I can still swim in water above my height."

[Titanne]

Felix caught his gaze, and cocked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, let's get in." Theo said, trying not to attract attention. "But before we go in...How good are you at swimming? I mean, I'm not that good myself, but I can still swim in water above my height."

"Well, back when I was a teenager I used to lifeguard for the community pool, so I consider myself decent."

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"Alright, let's get in." Theo said, trying not to attract attention. "But before we go in...How good are you at swimming? I mean, I'm not that good myself, but I can still swim in water above my height."

"Well, back when I was a teenager I used to lifeguard for the community pool, so I consider myself decent."

"Alright..." Vohoffsky pulled a valve to increase the water level.

"Should be about 7 feet across the entire pool. Ready to jump in?"

[Convallaria]

Momentum. Me, you, Daniel Park, we all switch at the same time, cripple Richardson's hand and break his nose, cause him to bleed support to the right. So do you stand with me and Park or not?"

Linda sat quietly, contemplating things, tapping her fingers on the desk anxiously. She grabbed a framed photo of her daughter off her desk and examined it silently, before setting it down, and letting out a sigh. "Okay then," she said standing up while extending her hand, "Let's do this."

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Momentum. Me, you, Daniel Park, we all switch at the same time, cripple Richardson's hand and break his nose, cause him to bleed support to the right. So do you stand with me and Park or not?"

Linda sat quietly, contemplating things, tapping her fingers on the desk anxiously. She grabbed a framed photo of her daughter off her desk and examined it silently, before setting it down, and letting out a sigh. "Okay then," she said standing up while extending her hand, "Let's do this."

"Alright. We'll send over the signal, release it whenever we'll need it." Vohoffsky smiled, surprised at how the meeting went so well.

[Titanne]

"Well, back when I was a teenager I used to lifeguard for the community pool, so I consider myself decent."

"Alright..." Vohoffsky pulled a valve to increase the water level.

"Should be about 7 feet across the entire pool. Ready to jump in?"

“Yup.”