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

[Sarenium]

To: [Senator Augusta Merriam]
From: [Senator Jillian Dayton]

Dear Senator,

Would it be possible for us to meet for a coffee today, I'll be in DC today and tomorrow and would appreciate a quick discussion.

Sincerely,
Jillian

[Dentali]

“Some are strong.... I think if they fielded Dayton or Velez then we would have a rough go... Westra even. Murphy is a wine track socialist, I think him winning the nomination would be a godsend.... But what if you had a chance to get the party back on track? What if you had a leadership position in a republican administration? Or prominence in the senate?”

"Oh, we could crucify Murphy, but that's beside the point. I won't be prominent in the Senate as a Republican because I think men should get the fuck out of women's bodies. I'm not sure Warrick would promote me even if you pressured him to do so as President. But I can't say I'd disapprove of the opportunity to be a prominent member of the Administration." She took another sip of her potent foreign liquor, nodding gently. "I need to know that you'll win, Nate. I need to know that you've got it in you."

“I think I have a better chance than the others. More than Wolf Jr who has all his dads weaknesses and none of the strengths, better than a coal baron from the worst run state in the country. I was elected twice statewide in a big state, a swing state Baharia won. I have a record of real success and accomplishment, I took on the bathroom bill and the monument issue and won, I got 4 billion in tax relief and healthcare reform. All with bipartisan support. I poll best with all the swing groups, the suburbs that flipped the house in 18. I campaign at a breakneck speed and connect with people. I have proven I unite and don’t divide. What else do you need?”

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Mike laughed, “Damn I really thought winning over Secretary Whitaker would seal the deal. Well, don’t worry Congresswoman, I understand your trepidation. Dayton is a great candidate.”

He opted to drink the coffee black, having eaten a massive lunch.

“I appreciate the compliment on the launch, it’s really the work of Kovacs, my campaign manager. I just make the speeches, he does all the groundwork.”

"Of course. Good staff are everything. God, I could use a good chief of staff." She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "My trepidation isn't just borne of estranging Dayton. The Speaker doesn't want me endorsing anyone before the leadership on the whole is ready to move."

[Gordano and Lysandus]

“I think I have a better chance than the others. More than Wolf Jr who has all his dads weaknesses and none of the strengths, better than a coal baron from the worst run state in the country. I was elected twice statewide in a big state, a swing state Baharia won. I have a record of real success and accomplishment, I took on the bathroom bill and the monument issue and won, I got 4 billion in tax relief and healthcare reform. All with bipartisan support. I poll best with all the swing groups, the suburbs that flipped the house in 18. I campaign at a breakneck speed and connect with people. I have proven I unite and don’t divide. What else do you need?”

"You need to stop talking like that. That is exactly what is causing you problems right now, with colleagues and with voters. You're presumptuous, and you're damn lucky that I'm the only person with the balls to tell you that to your face. I like you, I like your achievements, but every time you open your mouth, you exude a sense of ethereal arrogance that really turns people off. And that is what will cost you the general, Nate. I need to know that you can swallow your pride and level with people."

[Jovuistan]

Arnold Wolf Jr. @ArnoldWolfJr I don't speak Spanish but los demócratas impondrán impuestos a la clase media al infierno.

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

James Burgun
@RoughRiderGov

---

Ma'am with all due respect how is it racist to want American politicians to speak in a language that the majority of Americans understand? Spanish isn't a race, English isn't a race, they are languages.

Senator Augusta Merriam
@NHSenatorMerriam

---

The United States of America has no official language. The Spanish-speaking communities, whether they're Mexican-American, or Cuban-American, or come from any other background, are still deserving of our respect. They're Americans. Show them the dignity they deserve. It is not Republican to discriminate. This is not what Lincoln, or Teddy Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan would do.

James Burgun
@RoughRiderGov

---

Ma'am with all due respect do you think Mexican-Americans or Cuban-Americans cannot speak English? That sounds like the textbook definition of racism to me...

[Gordano and Lysandus]

To: [Senator Augusta Merriam]
From: [Senator Jillian Dayton]

Dear Senator,

Would it be possible for us to meet for a coffee today, I'll be in DC today and tomorrow and would appreciate a quick discussion.

Sincerely,
Jillian

FROM: [Senator Augusta Merriam]
TO: [Senator Jillian Dayton]

Hi Jillian!

Would be delighted to have coffee, swing by my office.

Yours,

Augusta.

[Sarenium]

To: [Senator Augusta Merriam]
From: [Senator Jillian Dayton]

Dear Senator,

Would it be possible for us to meet for a coffee today, I'll be in DC today and tomorrow and would appreciate a quick discussion.

Sincerely,
Jillian

FROM: [Senator Augusta Merriam]
TO: [Senator Jillian Dayton]

Hi Jillian!

Would be delighted to have coffee, swing by my office.

Yours,

Augusta.

Jillian Dayton arrived that morning.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

James Burgun
@RoughRiderGov

---

Ma'am with all due respect do you think Mexican-Americans or Cuban-Americans cannot speak English? That sounds like the textbook definition of racism to me...

Senator Augusta Merriam
@NHSenatorMerriam

---

English is not the first language of every American. When I grew up, my family always kept our heritage as Galician Poles close to our hearts. Polish and English are equally important to us. I taught both my children Polish growing up. Are you telling me that's wrong?

[Dentali]

“I think I have a better chance than the others. More than Wolf Jr who has all his dads weaknesses and none of the strengths, better than a coal baron from the worst run state in the country. I was elected twice statewide in a big state, a swing state Baharia won. I have a record of real success and accomplishment, I took on the bathroom bill and the monument issue and won, I got 4 billion in tax relief and healthcare reform. All with bipartisan support. I poll best with all the swing groups, the suburbs that flipped the house in 18. I campaign at a breakneck speed and connect with people. I have proven I unite and don’t divide. What else do you need?”

"You need to stop talking like that. That is exactly what is causing you problems right now, with colleagues and with voters. You're presumptuous, and you're damn lucky that I'm the only person with the balls to tell you that to your face. I like you, I like your achievements, but every time you open your mouth, you exude a sense of ethereal arrogance that really turns people off. And that is what will cost you the general, Nate. I need to know that you can swallow your pride and level with people."

“What do you think I should tell people?”

[Sanabel]

Mike laughed, “Damn I really thought winning over Secretary Whitaker would seal the deal. Well, don’t worry Congresswoman, I understand your trepidation. Dayton is a great candidate.”

He opted to drink the coffee black, having eaten a massive lunch.

“I appreciate the compliment on the launch, it’s really the work of Kovacs, my campaign manager. I just make the speeches, he does all the groundwork.”

"Of course. Good staff are everything. God, I could use a good chief of staff." She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "My trepidation isn't just borne of estranging Dayton. The Speaker doesn't want me endorsing anyone before the leadership on the whole is ready to move."

Velez shook his head. “I understand the need to listen to your boss- but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Knowing Speaker Douglas, he will never be ready to make a move on that.”

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Jillian Dayton arrived that morning.

Senator Merriam was in her office, a coffee set on the desk, and she was pouring a small amount of whisky into her coffee before taking a sip. "Hi, Jillian! What brings you to my side of the aisle? Do sit down."

[Gordano and Lysandus]

“What do you think I should tell people?”

"The reason Prendergast's trajectory is up despite the fact that he's a complete ogre is because he's patient and he listens to people. He doesn't talk at them. Does that make sense? You need to show the new, bluer collar base that you'll listen to them. The suburbans you want to bring back to the party are good, that's very good, but they're not Republican members anymore. If you want to clinch the nominaton, you need to find the heart of the Republican Party today, rather than tomorrow. You follow?"

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

James Burgun
@RoughRiderGov

---

Ma'am with all due respect do you think Mexican-Americans or Cuban-Americans cannot speak English? That sounds like the textbook definition of racism to me...

Senator Augusta Merriam
@NHSenatorMerriam

---

English is not the first language of every American. When I grew up, my family always kept our heritage as Galician Poles close to our hearts. Polish and English are equally important to us. I taught both my children Polish growing up. Are you telling me that's wrong?

James Burgun
@RoughRiderGov

---

English is the glue that binds our nation together. Regardless of race, creed, or national origin all Americans can speak English. If you are running for President you should speak in that language when campaigning, period.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Velez shook his head. “I understand the need to listen to your boss- but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Knowing Speaker Douglas, he will never be ready to make a move on that.”

"I confess, between you and me I've had distinct concerns about the leadership. There's chaos in the Senate and Speaker Douglas has a tendency to be... lethargic. I should give it time before I explicitly come out for one candidate or another, but I can certainly make some statements which... guide things towards a more positive direction."

[Sarenium]

Jillian Dayton arrived that morning.

Senator Merriam was in her office, a coffee set on the desk, and she was pouring a small amount of whisky into her coffee before taking a sip. "Hi, Jillian! What brings you to my side of the aisle? Do sit down."

"Senator," she smiled, sitting comfortably as she placed a document on Merriam's desk, "I was hoping we'd be able to discuss this, in earnest. Short of (not-Susan-Collins), I've found few allies on your side of the aisle."

Official Name: Voter Choice Act
Nickname: VOCA
Sponsor: Jillian G. Dayton (D-VA)
Cosponsors: John Atang (D-NY), Tim Westra (D-NJ), Levi Murphy (D-MN), James Moore (D-MI), Erika Goldman (D-CT)

Overview: This bill establishes an optional-IRV system of voting in the United States for all federal offices.

Section 1: Currently the United States uses a ‘first-past-the-post’ system of voting for most federal offices. In certain states, the use of a runoff is present where no candidate attains more than 50% of votes cast. No candidate for President carried more than 50% of the vote in the 2016 Presidential Election, and in 14 states (collectively 152 Electoral Votes), the electoral votes were awarded based on a plurality of votes. This bill seeks to rectify this by establishing instant-runoff voting (preferential-voting or alternative vote), this bill which establishes optional-IRV requires that a voter be offered the chance to number candidates by order of preference, or to simply number their first preference. Hence, whomever wins any state in a federal election is guaranteed to be amenable to an absolute majority of voters in that state as they would have over 50% of votes from that election.

Section 2: For all Federal Offices of the United States, the use of optional-instant-runoff-voting shall be required.

Section 3: This bill shall take effect for all elections held after January 1, 2021.

Section 4(a): A Federal Office is defined by Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
Section 4(b): The term “optional-instant-runoff-voting” means a system for the election of candidates under which-

(i): runoff counts of candidates are conducted in rounds;
(ii): voters may rank candidates on the ballot according to their order of preference;
(iii): if in any round no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and the remaining candidates advance to the next round;
(iv) in each round, a voter shall be considered to have cast one vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not been eliminated; and
(v) the runoff counts are carried out automatically at the time the votes are cast and tabulated.

This bill is then honorably presented to United States Senate for consideration in order to establish optional-IRV voting for all federal offices and to improve the United States Law and is backed by Jillian Gillard Dayton.

Do Not Remove: 1337

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"Senator," she smiled, sitting comfortably as she placed a document on Merriam's desk, "I was hoping we'd be able to discuss this, in earnest. Short of (not-Susan-Collins), I've found few allies on your side of the aisle."

Official Name: Voter Choice Act
Nickname: VOCA
Sponsor: Jillian G. Dayton (D-VA)

Overview: This bill establishes an optional-IRV system of voting in the United States for all federal offices.

Section 1: Currently the United States uses a ‘first-past-the-post’ system of voting for most federal offices. In certain states, the use of a runoff is present where no candidate attains more than 50% of votes cast. No candidate for President carried more than 50% of the vote in the 2016 Presidential Election, and in 14 states (collectively 152 Electoral Votes), the electoral votes were awarded based on a plurality of votes. This bill seeks to rectify this by establishing instant-runoff voting (preferential-voting or alternative vote), this bill which establishes optional-IRV requires that a voter be offered the chance to number candidates by order of preference, or to simply number their first preference. Hence, whomever wins any state in a federal election is guaranteed to be amenable to an absolute majority of voters in that state as they would have over 50% of votes from that election.

Section 2: For all Federal Offices of the United States, the use of optional-instant-runoff-voting shall be required.

Section 3: This bill shall take effect for all elections held after January 1, 2021.

Section 4(a): A Federal Office is defined by Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
Section 4(b): The term “optional-instant-runoff-voting” means a system for the election of candidates under which-

(i): runoff counts of candidates are conducted in rounds;
(ii): voters may rank candidates on the ballot according to their order of preference;
(iii): if in any round no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and the remaining candidates advance to the next round;
(iv) in each round, a voter shall be considered to have cast one vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not been eliminated; and
(v) the runoff counts are carried out automatically at the time the votes are cast and tabulated.

This bill is then honorably presented to United States Senate for consideration in order to establish optional-IRV voting for all federal offices and to improve the United States Law and is backed by Jillian Gillard Dayton.

Do Not Remove: 1337

"Ah." Merriam shifted slightly uncomfortably in her seat, going to take another sip of her whisky imbued coffee. "You understand, of course, that I have a difficult re-election race in 2022? This legislation isn't exactly particularly helpful to my long term survival, Jillian."

[Sanabel]

Velez shook his head. “I understand the need to listen to your boss- but that doesn’t make much sense to me. Knowing Speaker Douglas, he will never be ready to make a move on that.”

"I confess, between you and me I've had distinct concerns about the leadership. There's chaos in the Senate and Speaker Douglas has a tendency to be... lethargic. I should give it time before I explicitly come out for one candidate or another, but I can certainly make some statements which... guide things towards a more positive direction."

“Well, there are ways you can help me without an all-out endorsement. I am trying to establish my healthcare plan as dominant among the candidates. If you could even tweet out some support for Medicare for All Who Want It, I would be very grateful.”

[Sarenium]

"Senator," she smiled, sitting comfortably as she placed a document on Merriam's desk, "I was hoping we'd be able to discuss this, in earnest. Short of (not-Susan-Collins), I've found few allies on your side of the aisle."

Official Name: Voter Choice Act
Nickname: VOCA
Sponsor: Jillian G. Dayton (D-VA)

Overview: This bill establishes an optional-IRV system of voting in the United States for all federal offices.

Section 1: Currently the United States uses a ‘first-past-the-post’ system of voting for most federal offices. In certain states, the use of a runoff is present where no candidate attains more than 50% of votes cast. No candidate for President carried more than 50% of the vote in the 2016 Presidential Election, and in 14 states (collectively 152 Electoral Votes), the electoral votes were awarded based on a plurality of votes. This bill seeks to rectify this by establishing instant-runoff voting (preferential-voting or alternative vote), this bill which establishes optional-IRV requires that a voter be offered the chance to number candidates by order of preference, or to simply number their first preference. Hence, whomever wins any state in a federal election is guaranteed to be amenable to an absolute majority of voters in that state as they would have over 50% of votes from that election.

Section 2: For all Federal Offices of the United States, the use of optional-instant-runoff-voting shall be required.

Section 3: This bill shall take effect for all elections held after January 1, 2021.

Section 4(a): A Federal Office is defined by Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
Section 4(b): The term “optional-instant-runoff-voting” means a system for the election of candidates under which-

(i): runoff counts of candidates are conducted in rounds;
(ii): voters may rank candidates on the ballot according to their order of preference;
(iii): if in any round no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and the remaining candidates advance to the next round;
(iv) in each round, a voter shall be considered to have cast one vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not been eliminated; and
(v) the runoff counts are carried out automatically at the time the votes are cast and tabulated.

This bill is then honorably presented to United States Senate for consideration in order to establish optional-IRV voting for all federal offices and to improve the United States Law and is backed by Jillian Gillard Dayton.

Do Not Remove: 1337

"Ah." Merriam shifted slightly uncomfortably in her seat, going to take another sip of her whisky imbued coffee. "You understand, of course, that I have a difficult re-election race in 2022? This legislation isn't exactly particularly helpful to my long term survival, Jillian."

"This type of bill would enable you to win election," Jillian spoke, "you face a difficult bid in 2022, a Democrat unseating you is unlikely to be in a landslide or any margin bigger than a plurality. This type of bill could be your path to winning."

[Gordano and Lysandus]

“Well, there are ways you can help me without an all-out endorsement. I am trying to establish my healthcare plan as dominant among the candidates. If you could even tweet out some support for Medicare for All Who Want It, I would be very grateful.”

"That'll certainly be on my agenda, though you know that Tweets get far less attention than full-blown congressional statements. I'll make sure you get plenty of air among the caucus, don't worry." She smiled gently, giving a nod. "Have you met with Senator Volek whilst you're in the Big Apple?"

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"This type of bill would enable you to win election," Jillian spoke, "you face a difficult bid in 2022, a Democrat unseating you is unlikely to be in a landslide or any margin bigger than a plurality. This type of bill could be your path to winning."

"Well, that depends on the situation in part, I admit." She scratched her chin. "So far, instant runoff voting hasn't worked out well for members of my Party. I may be pressured to oppose this by the leadership."

[Sarenium]

"This type of bill would enable you to win election," Jillian spoke, "you face a difficult bid in 2022, a Democrat unseating you is unlikely to be in a landslide or any margin bigger than a plurality. This type of bill could be your path to winning."

"Well, that depends on the situation in part, I admit." She scratched her chin. "So far, instant runoff voting hasn't worked out well for members of my Party. I may be pressured to oppose this by the leadership."

"Instant runoff hasn't worked well for the controversial members of your party. You're hardly anything like Burgun, and a fairer voting system is better for us all, I could've lost my bid for Governor in 2013 under such a bill," she smiled.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

"Instant runoff hasn't worked well for the controversial members of your party. You're hardly anything like Burgun, and a fairer voting system is better for us all, I could've lost my bid for Governor in 2013 under such a bill," she smiled.

"Even if I come out in support of it, there's every possibility Warrick and Volker will make Wolf veto it."

[Sarenium]

"Instant runoff hasn't worked well for the controversial members of your party. You're hardly anything like Burgun, and a fairer voting system is better for us all, I could've lost my bid for Governor in 2013 under such a bill," she smiled.

"Even if I come out in support of it, there's every possibility Warrick and Volker will make Wolf veto it."

"The President could have had a bigger victory, his ego can be massaged, or he can veto a good bill and the next President can sign it in their first hundred days."

[Sanabel]

“Well, there are ways you can help me without an all-out endorsement. I am trying to establish my healthcare plan as dominant among the candidates. If you could even tweet out some support for Medicare for All Who Want It, I would be very grateful.”

"That'll certainly be on my agenda, though you know that Tweets get far less attention than full-blown congressional statements. I'll make sure you get plenty of air among the caucus, don't worry." She smiled gently, giving a nod. "Have you met with Senator Volek whilst you're in the Big Apple?"

“Thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll need more support down the line, however. New York is a must-win state for us.”

He took a sip of coffee.

“I’m going to have to do it on my next visit, it seems. He’s been difficult to get ahold of, a very busy man.”