The Land of the Free: American Political Roleplay (OOC III)

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

I hope the, as Prendy put it, shoe-banging patched up the bleeding temporarily.

There's gonna be like... 3-4 more questions this debate, plenty of time to make up ground. And at any rate, winning isn't what matters, what matters is that you made a richer roleplay, and you have done that. Everyone has grown as a consequence of their interactions with Porter, and I think Porter has grown a fair bit.

But let's hope it doesn't get worse.

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Fixed the edits!

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Character Information Sheet

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Character Name: Torrie Tammy Adelaide Volker
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 55
Height: 5 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 115 lbs.
Character Position/Role: White House Director of Communications (January 2017 - Present)

Late Career
White House Press Secretary (January 2017 - February 2017);
National Press Secretary of Wolf Transition Team (November 2017 - January 2017);
National Press Secretary of Wolf For President (April 2016 - November 2017);
Missouri State Director of Wolf For President (June 2015 - April 2016);

Mid Career
Editor for the Washington Times (April 2008 - June 2015);
Press Secretary for the (Not-Huckabee) Presidential Campaign (April 2007 - March 2008);

Early Career
Columnist for the Washington Times (February 1995 - April 2008);
Columnist for the Southeast Missourian (June 1986 - February 1995);

Character State of Origin: Tennessee
Character State of Residence: Missouri
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic (1978-1984), Republican (1984-Present)

Character Strengths
Strong appeal amongst farmers, Lengthy experience in public relations and journalism, Notable competency for organization, Has connections to the House Republican leadership specifically and the Republican Party leadership in general

Character Weaknesses:
Limited support from moderate Republicans due to vocal support for the President, Could be perceived as being overly ambitious by some on account of her career, Scrutinized and accused of using her husband’s position to help her own position, Accusations of being an overzealous and opportunistic Wolf advisor, Chronic and potentially harmful dishonesty

Biography
Torrie Tammy Adelaide Volker (née Barnes) was born on March 14th, 1964 in the small town of La Grange, Tennessee into a family of small dairy farmers whose ancestors had for the most part resided in the state since the 1790's. Torrie's childhood saw her for the most part overlooked as a result of the demand for labour on the farm, in addition to her being the second youngest in a family of six children. Subsequently, her childhood saw Torrie Barnes develop a moderate affinity for her own company as well as an avid interest in reading. The former would lead to her developing a bit of a lonely personality while the latter was something which would later spark a much larger interest, specifically in writing and journalism. However, 1972 saw the family farm that had been kept within the Barnes family for countless generations sold as a result of growing competition from larger and more corporate-oriented farms within the Fayette County area. This led to the family finding itself moving north of the Mason-Dixon and into the state of Missouri closer to more distant relatives that the Barnes matriarch had reconnected with to help find some sense of community. Hence, the family moved and began settling into the small Lead Belt town of Farmington, something that affected the Barnes quite significantly, as they were now stripped from their longtime community and had to adapt to a new area.

Her high school education saw Torrie develop a reputation as a studious and conscientious individual, even if slightly more quiet than some of the other students. This was a reason for Torrie’s few friends in school, which often led her to focus more on independent reading, schoolwork, and of course, her closest friends: her siblings. It was also a time when Torrie first began to develop a sense of political identity, with her joining the Democratic Party in 1978 as a result of her upbringing by steadfast Southern Democratic parents in the waning age of the 'Solid South'. She would hold on to these beliefs with little energy though, not solidifying her identity until later. However, the most significant consequence of her high school years was meeting a young Thomas Volker, a Farmington native in the grade above who she had met through her few mutual friends. Eventually the pair culminated in the two of them developing a rather close personal relationship that would continue to develop further in college.

Upon graduating high school and aided by being one of the youngest in her family, she was able to rely on her family’s support for pursuing a college education. Torrie's thorough interest in reading from her early years had led her to develop an ambition for a career in the media, specifically choosing to study journalism at the University of Missouri. And it was here in college when Torrie's calling finally manifested itself in the medium of print journalism. The young Barnes sent through numerous copy of college events to several local newspapers, hoping that it might just benefit her in the long run. At the same time in the time and since her later high school years, the political landscape had begun to change across the country. Specifically, the Reagan administration had increasingly begun to gather support within the South, with much of it stemming from conservative Democrats. Despite this early sign of a party switch, Torrie chose to remain a Democrat during this time, only leaving to register as a Republican after the withdrawal of then-Senator Ernst Hollings from the 1984 Democratic primaries. Ms Barnes' active involvement within the College Republicans groups brought the relationship between her and Thomas Volker closer and closer, soon after, the two married in 1985 a year before she was set to complete her degree.

Once she graduated, the now Mrs. Volker used the work she had undertaken whilst in college to be hired as a columnist for the Southeast Missourian, a small newspaper in the southeastern region of the state. It was there where she found the opportunity to write work that would be beneficial and eventually act as a springboard for her ambitions for career advancement within the print media industry. But it was also during this time where Torrie felt the most alone, as her few friendships from college and high school began to slip away and Thomas’ own ambitions began to leave him with little free time. Thus, she began to invest even more time in her work despite if at times the writing was rather repetitive. However, two years into her employment there, Mrs. Volker developed an opportunity to report on some wider political coverage with the announcement of her husband's campaign for the 116th District of the State House. It was then when Torrie's work on providing a unique insight into the Volker campaign through her columns saw her own reputation begin to advance to a moderate extent. This bump in her public image would only grow after her husband's election to the House of Representatives in 1994 when she would receive an offer to work for a relatively new national newspaper, the Washington Times.

Torrie Volker's work at the Washington Times saw her climb at a steady yet quick pace through the ranks, writing columns covering events within Congress, a matter and set of content particularly helped by the political links and connections made through her husband. Her rapid rise was in addition aided by the votes on legislation for the 'Contract with America' that the Republicans had used during the 1994 campaign, ultimately culminating in her providing written coverage on the Clifford impeachment trial, a matter which did raise her name recognition to a greater yet limited extent whilst also endearing her amongst D.C.'s conservatives. Continuing to write columns on Congress afterwards, particularly during the early stages of the War on Terror saw Mrs. Volker wrote a column supporting the passage of the Patriot Act by Congress, something that garnered praise from conservative pundits who often cited it in their arguments. Despite this rapid succession of victories, she would leave the Washington Times temporarily for two years to serve as Press Secretary to the (Not-Huckabee) campaign after its announcement in 2007. It was a position in which she displayed a decent performance even if it took some getting used to the relations with the cable media. Still, it was also a moment where she learned and practiced political messaging as well as campaign strategizing when she sometimes sat in on general campaign meetings. The withdrawal of (Not-Huckabee) in the following year ended this brief reprieve and Torrie returned to the Washington Times as an editor this time.

Her new tenure at her former paper began in a difficult position, with print media suffering a slow but growing decline, exacerbated by the Great Recession as well as facing difficulty politically, with Senator Baharia leading in the polls with (Not-McCain) faltering in the polls. Soon enough, the Washington Times found itself among the national conservative opposition following Baharia's inauguration as President in January 2009, often being one of the few conservative print papers to challenge the new administration’s policies. Consequently, Torrie Volker's approach to addressing the issues faced by the Times were to attempt to focus on providing high standard journalism whilst also attacking and undermining Baharia policies and legislation using the newspaper's editorials, particularly after the passing of the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010 and the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri after a police shooting. The latter was specifically targeted, with Torrie using editorials to call out the rioting and perceived lack of support for law enforcement officials by the Baharia administration, writing specifically "A severe and lamentable breakdown in civil decency and law and order for which the President bears an element of responsibility for." Despite support for her approach towards the Administration, the extent to which Mrs. Volker was able to improve standards at the Times was limited by widespread staff resistance, claiming that doing so would mean that the character of the newspaper itself would be significantly and unfairly changed.

Soon after however, opportunity struck Mrs. Volker to once again involve herself in a presidential campaign with the announcement of Arnold Wolf Sr. in the Republican primaries in June 2015. She, like her husband, supported him unequivocally, and thus soon after was offered the position of serving as the Missouri State Director for the campaign, during which she targeted areas of the state which continued to be involved in heavy industry as well as coordinating with her husband’s office. Torrie planted and used her own connections to target Missouri farmers while leaning into Thomas’ own political roots and support to win over a large share of the Tea Party elements in the state, ultimately leading to Wolf narrowly winning the Missouri primary by 0.21% enabling him to successfully gain the Republican nomination for President. This was a strategy that did not go ignored by Wolf Sr., ultimately landing her a swift and monumental rise through his national campaign, often meeting, along with Thomas, with the candidate himself. The meetings fostered a strong relationship between the Volkers and Wolf himself, cementing themselves in his favor as well as proving their political loyalty to him. In early April 2016, Torrie was elevated to the role of national press secretary, acting as a chief spokesperson for the campaign and controlling messaging towards rural voters as well as managing information to independent and moderate voters. She also gained notoriety among conservtive outlets and some mainstream press as a strong conservative who could help support Wolf’s messaging towards suburban women as well, though Torrie has tried to reject and dispel any ties to being a woman Republican, instead leaning into her credentials as a journalist.

By the election rolled around, Torrie continued her targeting messaging and public relations campaign for the candidate, routinely focusing on working-class voters in particular. This was a strategy that she invested the majority of campaign resources on and a reason for which many credit the Wolf campaign’s success to, even if it was Mrs. Volker’s doing. Still, her organization showed through as she led the public and media relations arm of the campaign, playing damage control when she needed to as well as going on the attack against Clifford. It greatly bolstered her reputation as a political operative and many often followed the Wolfist party line she developed. With Wolf’s victory and eventual inauguration, Torrie was elevated to White House Director of Communications. She also briefly held the position of Press Secretary at the same time, before stepping aside for (Not-Sean Spicer) in mid-February. As the Director of Communications, Volkers were elevated to a powerful political duo. Mrs. Volker led the public push for the Wolf Tax Cuts and guided the messaging of much of the President’s domestic policy and foreign policy when needed. She cut back on her appearances on news and media platforms, instead choosing to focus on crafting the administration’s messaging on a number of political issues as well as eventually protecting and shielding the President from attacks. This latter piece is especially important now that he announced he will not seek a second term, leaving both Volkers at a loss of who will succeed the Wolfist vision and how the current White House will shape up without the Wolf man succumbing to pain and disease. She now often writes statements on behalf of the administration with little oversight and quite unilaterally, often lying and deceiving both members of the cabinet and the media repeatedly as she has done before to keep the image of a strong Wolf and help herself and her husbamd. Torrie and Thomas speak about this quite often and often quite notably share information on the issues, acting as an informal bridge between Congress and the President.

Ideology
Mrs. Volker is an ardent Wolfist, describing her political beliefs as entrenched in rural American and Tea Party values, leaning heavily on her own family’s background to describe how she sees the world. She has shied away from being viewed as a woman, wanting to be seen as a conservative first hence numerous political beliefs based in these Reagan-like and Wolf-like ideals first.

Other Information
Torrie is a practicing Southern Baptist and has been married to her husband Thomas Volker for 34 years, having with him a total of 4 children: Thomas Jr (Born August 1989), Sadie (Born April 1991), and William & John (Born January 1993). Despite only being the Director of Communications, Mrs. Volker continues to have a close relationship with President Wolf and remains very aware of everything happening in Washington as it is her job to craft the White House's stance.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Martha needs to stop doing that or Jonah's going to jump her bones after the debate

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Martha needs to stop doing that or Jonah's going to jump her bones after the debate

whut

[Gordano and Lysandus]

There's gonna be like... 3-4 more questions this debate, plenty of time to make up ground. And at any rate, winning isn't what matters, what matters is that you made a richer roleplay, and you have done that. Everyone has grown as a consequence of their interactions with Porter, and I think Porter has grown a fair bit.

I'll probably have him retire somewhere to some lobbyist thing and drown himself down in alcohol.

He's still got legs to do many things.

[Kargintina the Third]

Should have Porter run for Representative or Senator Somewhere if he loses

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Should have Porter run for Representative or Senator Somewhere if he loses

Alabama!

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Should have Porter run for Representative or Senator Somewhere if he loses

Alabama!

Actually Louisiana could work....

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

I'll probably have him retire somewhere to some lobbyist thing and drown himself down in alcohol.

He's still got legs to do many things.

Eh, true, but he's too...broken, I guess. In any case, he was just a character meant to run for President anyway, as a litmus test of that specific combination of policy.

[Velahor]

Martha needs to stop doing that or Jonah's going to jump her bones after the debate

Huh what?

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Martha needs to stop doing that or Jonah's going to jump her bones after the debate

Huh what?

She's so adoring, and Jonah REALLY loves his wife.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Welp, I checked Special Events. Now I'm going to see how IC Twitter reacts.

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Martha needs to stop doing that or Jonah's going to jump her bones after the debate

Huh what?

I either think it means he's gonna beat her or mount her.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

He's still got legs to do many things.

Eh, true, but he's too...broken, I guess. In any case, he was just a character meant to run for President anyway, as a litmus test of that specific combination of policy.

He's not broken, he's unique. He's still a threat to everyone on that stage. You think people'd be taking him this seriously if they weren't afraid of him?

[Greater Arab State]

Should have Porter run for Representative or Senator Somewhere if he loses

Alabama!

To be fair, I think he was actually planning on running in what was Kramer’s Senate seat in Washington at some point earlier in the campaign if I recall.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Huh what?

I either think it means he's gonna beat her or mount her.

*cough*

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Eh, true, but he's too...broken, I guess. In any case, he was just a character meant to run for President anyway, as a litmus test of that specific combination of policy.

He's not broken, he's unique. He's still a threat to everyone on that stage. You think people'd be taking him this seriously if they weren't afraid of him?

I just hope he doesn't completely collapse. Below 10% and he's dropping out.

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

We are Legion.

We are the AHGHG.

[Velahor]

Huh what?

I either think it means he's gonna beat her or mount her.

Ah I messed up the slang in my head for some reason and thought he was mad.

Well, there’s always whatever hotel room they rented in Salt Lake...

It’s one of the most redeeming things about Martha, her undying loyalty and admiration of Jonah. She seriously adores him like they’re a new couple all these years later, and it’s honestly cute.

[Gordano and Lysandus]

Ah I messed up the slang in my head for some reason and thought he was mad.

Well, there’s always whatever hotel room they rented in Salt Lake...

It’s one of the most redeeming things about Martha, her undying loyalty and admiration of Jonah. She seriously adores him like they’re a new couple all these years later, and it’s honestly cute.

They probably have the most strong and stable relationship in the RP despite the gulf of political differences between them.

Looking at you on that one, Eliza.

[Kargintina the Third]

I should make Tenson’s wife a character

[Federal States of Xathuecia]

Ah I messed up the slang in my head for some reason and thought he was mad.

Well, there’s always whatever hotel room they rented in Salt Lake...

It’s one of the most redeeming things about Martha, her undying loyalty and admiration of Jonah. She seriously adores him like they’re a new couple all these years later, and it’s honestly cute.

They probably have the most strong and stable relationship in the RP despite the gulf of political differences between them.

Looking at you on that one, Eliza.

Nah, the Volkers are stronger.

[Velahor]

Eh, true, but he's too...broken, I guess. In any case, he was just a character meant to run for President anyway, as a litmus test of that specific combination of policy.

He's not broken, he's unique. He's still a threat to everyone on that stage. You think people'd be taking him this seriously if they weren't afraid of him?

You’ve done a great job with Porter, I know I couldn’t have gotten him above 10%. He’s added a fresh, interesting dynamic to a primary that otherwise is just not-Romney, not-Paul, and not-Trump+Coal Baron.

If he fails, you’ve still made a huge mark on the race.

[Titanne]

Ah I messed up the slang in my head for some reason and thought he was mad.

Well, there’s always whatever hotel room they rented in Salt Lake...

It’s one of the most redeeming things about Martha, her undying loyalty and admiration of Jonah. She seriously adores him like they’re a new couple all these years later, and it’s honestly cute.

They probably have the most strong and stable relationship in the RP despite the gulf of political differences between them.

Looking at you on that one, Eliza.

What, you don't think Felix and his husband have a strong relationship?

[Gordano and Lysandus]

They probably have the most strong and stable relationship in the RP despite the gulf of political differences between them.

Looking at you on that one, Eliza.

What, you don't think Felix and his husband have a strong relationship?

I'm not saying thaaaaaaaaaaat. I'm just saying maaaaaaaaybe Holtoffsky has become far too popular these days.