Land of The Free: American Political Roleplay (OOC VI)

[Gordano and Lysandus]

The bill won't get put on the agenda, I don't think that Santiago should make this his 'thing'. Leadership is taking a firmly anti-Cuba stance.

Why do they take that stance?

Because there is absolutely no appetite to give credence to claims that Democrats are socialists, they want to keep Florida on the map, and because Cuba's not actually liberalised at all to justify relaxing the US stance. The Speaker's pretty consistently anti-Cuba and the nominee is pretty staunchly anti-communist.

[Madrinpoor]

Why do they take that stance?

Because there is absolutely no appetite to give credence to claims that Democrats are socialists, they want to keep Florida on the map, and because Cuba's not actually liberalised at all to justify relaxing the US stance. The Speaker's pretty consistently anti-Cuba and the nominee is pretty staunchly anti-communist.

It really doesn't matter politically if Cuba is liberalized enough to justify ending the embargo. The majority of Americans in general (60-ish% or something) are against the embargo and more than 70% of Cuban-Americans are against the embargo too. (Plus the US is/was with other dictatorships, so it isn't exactly an ideological struggle.) The Cuban-American vote is enough to flip Florida in the election. Wouldn't Dayton want to gain their vote? If she supported resuming travel with Cuba then the Cuban-Americans might support her. Pew took polls, which I have been using, and they show that foreign policy is actually one of the most important reasons to vote for a candidate for Cuban-Americans, though it isn't for Americans in general.

-- 68 percent of respondents favor restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba.

-- Among younger respondents, 90 percent of respondents favor restoring diplomatic ties.

-- When you include only registered voters, 51 percent of them support continuing the embargo.

-- 69 percent of all respondents favor the lifting of travel restrictions impeding all Americans from traveling to Cuba.

-- 53 percent of respondents said they would be likely to vote for a "candidate for political office who supported the re-establishment of diplomatic relations."

-- A large majority — 71 percent — responded that the U.S. embargo of Cuba has not worked at all or has not worked very well.

Source

[Alozia]

On Bernie Porter and Emazia's future characters

Comments on the recent events in Georgia and an outline of its out-of character consequences.

Emazia, considering the recent developments related to your character Bernard Porter and the amount of unrealistic damage his actions potentially caused, on behalf of the Administrative team of the Land of the Free RP, I am officially prohibiting you from applying for new characters of non-establishmentarian nature until further notice. This means you are not allowed to apply for characters who do not hold office and are not seeking office, characters who are holding office but do not fall into the line of more mainstream politics, or any other type of character whose main goal is to, simply, cause chaos.

Already existing characters can continue their presence, Porter is probably going to end up in jail, but one character cannot be allowed to undo the work of countless other characters and players for no other reason than to cause chaos. For legal justification please consult the original rules, particularly points 5 and 8. Porter's activities have caused a major breach of RP rules and a possible continuation of his active presence will deepen the issue.

5. Please make characters of quality and substance. We don't want Mary Sue flawless characters who are 30 year olds, models, former sharecroppers with military service earning a medal of honor and then returning from Iraq to attend Harvard. Those characters aren't very fun to play or interact with. But on the other hand-no sabotage characters. Just because you hate Democrats, don't make a hopelessly corrupt and scandal-ridden Democrat with no redeeming qualities.

8. No events that directly affect another character without permission first. In essence, avoid physical altercations and outrageous "accidents". Assassination is banned, any external action taken against politicians will take place in the form of an event.

[Deblar]

Hey, I want in on this teen stuff

[Latvijas Otra Republika]

Hey, I want in on this teen stuff

it turned Linda into a disgusting nonce (not surprised)
please don’t this is giving me 2013 fanfic vibes

[Louisianan]

So... Porter gets arrested, and Parker gets arrested. The crazy thing is, this all happened, not twenty minutes after Hypolite entered Georgia. Hypolite is never leaving Louisiana again, look at all the destruction his presence caused....

[Lavan Tiri]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Dr. Antonio Michael "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Texas (since 1995)
- House Majority Leader (2019-present)
- House Minority Leader (2013-2017)
- House Minority Whip (2011-2013)
- House Majority Whip (2007-2011)
- House Democratic Caucus Chairman (2005-2007)
- House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair (2003-2005)
- Chief Deputy Minority Whip (2001-2003)
- Assistant to Leader (not-Dick Gephardt) (1997-2001)
- 35th District (since 2013)
- 25th District (2005-2013)
- 10th District (1995-2005)

- Democratic nominee for United States Senator from Texas (1990)

- Texas General Land Commissioner (1983-1995)

- Senator for Texas's 26th Legislative District (1975-1982)
- Majority Whip (1980-1982)
- Democratic Caucus Chair (1977-1980)

- Environmental Scientist (1968-1982)

Appearance: Italian MP Pier Fernando Casini

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Austin, Texas

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:
- Solidly Democratic district
- DiAngelo has been in Federal politics for 25 years, and was in state politics for twenty years prior. He knows people and is an expert at cultivating relationships: he sits at the nexus of a spider's web of political influence and powerbrokerage that extends from Austin across the South, from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Within this web are many people: friends, proteges, mentors, allies, useful enemies, and favors owed and that he is owed
- Respected by many and even beloved by some fellow House Democrats for his combination of canny politicking and genuine kindness to colleagues.
- Staunch believer in bipartisanship, frequently the Democrat who is dispatched to talk deal with Tom Volker or Howard Frankston, due to his long and friendly relationships with both.
- One of the biggest wonks in the Democratic Caucus when it comes to public land, scientific, and energy policy
- Massive campaign warchest
- A master of image management and working the press to his and his caucus' advantage

Main Weaknesses:
- His District may be solidly Democratic, but the increasingly liberal politics of Austin are out of step with the Congressman representing it, who is fairly moderate. His worst nightmare is a Murphy-Baginski wing primary challenger.
- Old, with health issues. A fall down the stairs has sidelined him for much of this current session of Congress.
- Pushed out of the Leader spot by Douglas in 2017, a spectre of defeat that still lingers. Accordingly, his relations with Douglas' protege, Carrie Simone, are somewhat frosty at best--not helped by the fact that DiAngelo sees Carrie as a neophyte and beneficiary of nepotism. His clashes with Simone, although low-key and private, also extend to her leadership style, which Tony finds to be overly antagonistic and dictatorial.
- Known spotlight hound
- Although not corrupt, he is known for constantly stuffing and trying to stuff pork into bills to benefit Austin and San Antonio
- Will always, always cling to his allies, even past the point he should let go.
- GOP punching bag
- Somewhat eccentric and gaffe-prone (see below), to the point that a small coalition of former staffers and political nerds have created Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages called "Tony Once Said", which catalogue the odd things he says
- The specter of his loss to Howard Frankston in 1990 still haunts him
- Very very very very bad with confrontation

Biography: Tony was born in St. Louis in 1944, second son of the third son of one of the oldest Italian families in St. Louis' Italian enclave, The Hill. His father, Salvatore Andrea DiAngelo (1918-1956) was a factory worker who'd gone to war and suffered for it: a Japanese grenade on Guadalcanal had rendered his left arm useless. Sal was sent home in 1943, where his wife, Maria Dessi DiAngelo (1920-1950) waited for him patiently, as did his elder son, Mario DiAngelo (1939-present). Sal got a job working for the City, and in 1944 his second son was born.

Unfortunately, however, Salvatore DiAngelo was doomed to the fate many military men had suffered: post-traumatic stress disorder. He quickly grew sullen, stern, and occasionally violent at home, prone to night terrors and explosive anger. Only Maria, the love of his life, was able to calm and comfort him--sometimes by giving him a solid smack across the face to bring him back to St. Louis when he was stuck on Guadalcanal. The DiAngelos were not rich, but they were comfortably middle-class, and for the most part they were happy.

This made it all the more tragic when Maria died. Her mother was watching Mario and Tony while Maria did some shopping. She was crossing the street on foot outside a grocery store when a reckless driver struck and killed her. Her death destroyed Salvatore, and the man he rebuilt himself as was a shell of his former self. Gone was the boisterous, fun-loving, wise-cracking father who struggled with PTSD. In his place was a bitter, depressed, hollowed-out man, prone to violence and casual cruelty. He abused his sons, physically and mentally, and began drinking heavily. In less than a year after losing his wife, Salvatore became a monster.

The cruelty of the father was passed on to the son; Mario began bullying young Tony, using him as a verbal, mental, emotional, and literal punching bag. Tony, already bookish, shy, physically unimpressive, and young, withdrew even more. In his 2014 book, My Uncle Vinny, he stated that he "still [carries] scars on [his] body and soul" from the cruel treatment of his father and brother.

However, while one death had ruined young Tony's life, another would, oddly, make it better: Salvatore's, in 1956. Sal, drunk, attempted to take a swing at Tony, who ducked out of the way. Sal was unable to catch his balance, and slammed his head on the kitchen floor. He was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital, leaving Tony and Mario wards of the state of Missouri for two weeks. After their father's funeral, the boys were taken in by their mother's younger brother Vincenzo "Vinny" Dessi (1923-2014), a WWII naval veteran who now served as a police officer in San Antonio, Texas.

Vinny was not the perfect father: he was hard-edged and hard-drinking, a harsh disciplinarian with high expectations for his adopted sons as well as his own daughter and son, Stefanie (1946-present) and Andre (1948-present). His wife, Patricia Miller Dessi (1927-present), was an elementary school teacher, the daughter of a rancher, and an excellent cook. Her expectations of the children were just as high as Vinny's, but she was kinder and gentler about it.

The Dessi house was where Tony found himself for the first time. No longer terrorized by his father, he was able to concentrate on school--indeed, with Vinny and Patricia breathing down his neck, he had to--and discovered a passion for the sciences. Mario soon found out his bullying ways were not accepted by Vinny and Patricia, although the method of teaching was somewhat unorthodox: Vinny told Mario that if he hit Tony, Vinny would hit Mario twice as hard. With a nightstick.

Tony flourished at the private Catholic high school he attended with his brother and cousins: Mario was captain of the football team; Stefanie was president of the student council; Andre was a debate champion; Tony had the highest grades in his class in mathematics and the sciences. Additionally, Tony was known among faculty as one of the most devout students, serious and thoughtful in his approach to religion. He considered the priesthood, but decided against it; he felt his calling was out in the world as a scientist.

He graduated high school in 1962, and that fall he started classes at Texas Christian University, pursuing a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Environmental Science. His college years were fairly quiet and boring, and he graduated summa cum laude with his Master's in Environmental Science in 1968. While at TCU he met his first wife, Suzanne Watkins (1946-present). The pair married in 1967 after dating very briefly, and divorced amicably in 1969. The marriage was annulled by the Church due to the "immaturity and psychic weakness" of Tony and Suzanne, and the pair had no children.

After graduation, Tony found work in the private sector as an environmental research scientist, and moved back to San Antonio, just a few blocks from Vinny and Patricia's home. Meanwhile, his brother was working as an oilman, his cousin Stefanie as secretary, and his cousin Andre was in seminary school. A chance meeting at church with a young woman, Gloria Hernandez Aguilar (1949-present), turned into a courtship, and the pair were wed in 1971. They have four children: Maria Patricia DiAngelo Aguilar (1971-present), Carlos Vincenzo DiAngelo Aguilar (1972-present), Jésus Martin DiAngelo Aguilar (1975-present), and Jésus' twin Isaac Emmanuel DiAngelo Aguilar (1975-present).

Tony became involved with local Democratic politics, volunteering for the Bexar County Democrats frequently and donating money as often as he could. In 1974, still galvanized by Watergate and Ford's pardon of Nixon, Tony decided to run for the state legislature, to succeed a Senator who was also a personal friend of his and his wife's. With the support of the outgoing Senator, Tony sailed through the primary to decisively win the general election in his heavily-Democratic district. He was sworn in as a State Senator in 1975.

As a Senator, Tony mostly focused on issues relating to land use and the environment, and quickly gained a reputation for his knowledge of these areas. He also, in his ingratiating way, made friends and allies quickly among his fellow Democrats, including the leadership, and he was able to leverage these friendships to rise to Caucus Chairman two years into his first term--the first time he'd tasted the power of, as he puts it, "a handshake, a smile, and a relationship" in politics. He was widely considered a rising star within his party at the time, writing legislation like the Solid Waste Recovery Refinancing Act Senate Bill 105 and being the lead Senate sponsor on House Bills 1413 and 1278 and many other cool things but Lavan literally cannot process any more Texas legislature history so don't ask.

After three years as Caucus Chair, Tony ran for and was elected Majority Whip--leading to a popular running joke among his colleagues that was simply variations on "DiAngelo will whip you but he'll cry the whole time", due to his general geniality and compromise-mindedness.

Other Info:

Public Image

Tony has spent his decades in the public eye carefully crafting his image and reputation. He began his career in the Texas Senate as an idealistic policy wonk and a bit of a nerd, seen as a young rising star. As General Land Commissioner, he laid the groundwork for his present-day image: that of a wise, weary, old cowboy, gruff but good-hearted,
with a wry sense of humor and a love for the land. After decades, it's hard to tell what's personality and what's the act.

Famous Gaffes

Ideology
Environment

Crime

Social Issues

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

I spent roughly 30 minutes combing through Texas State Legislature records and wow I hate this RP so much for making me do that.

[Meelducan]

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

is that rick harrison from hit tv show Pawn Stars?

[Lavan Tiri]

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

is that rick harrison from hit tv show Pawn Stars?

No it's Dog the Bounty Hunter

[Meelducan]

is that rick harrison from hit tv show Pawn Stars?

No it's Dog the Bounty Hunter

From hit movie Sharknado: The 4th Awakens?

[Lavan Tiri]

No it's Dog the Bounty Hunter

From hit movie Sharknado: The 4th Awakens?

Yea and he voiced Scooby Doo in Hotel Transylvania

[New Cobastheia]

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

I'm fairly certain Arizona's 2nd has a player character

[Greater Arab State]

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

If I recall, Arizona’s 2nd District currently has a Republican Congresswoman IC.

[Lavan Tiri]

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

I'm fairly certain Arizona's 2nd has a player character

(Image)
(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: me

Character Name: Antonio Nathaniel "Tony" DiAngelo

Character Gender: man

Character Age: 75, born August 25th, 1944

Character Height: 6'1

Character Weight: 150 pounds

Character Position/Role/Job:
- Congressman from Arizona's Second Congressional District (since 1991)

- Arizona Corporation Commissioner (1985-1991)

- Senator for Arizona's 10th Legislative District (1975-1983)

Appearance: Dean Norris

Character State of Origin: St. Louis, Missouri

Character State of Residence: Tuscon, Arizona

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths:

Main Weaknesses:

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Other Info:

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here)

Do Not Remove: 84721

First draft for a House Majority Leader

If I recall, Arizona’s 2nd District currently has a Republican Congresswoman IC.

That's gay. Uhh. Disregard.

[Meelducan]

Hopefully Nate gets a Molotov to the face as payback for the cringe

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Capile
Character Name: Augustin Ashley "Gus" Durant
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 59
Character Height: 6'4"
Character Weight: 230 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:

Junior US Senator from Alaska (2011 – Present)
State Representative for Alaska's 32nd District (2009 – 2010)
Mayor of Cordova, Alaska (2004 – 2009)
Cordova City Councilman (1998 – 2004)
OB-GYN (1994 – 2010)
OB-GYN Resident (1992 – 1994)
Medical Intern (1991 – 1992)
Clinical Clerk (1990 – 1991)
Private Pilot (1986 – 1990)
Quarrier (1984 – 1986)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Sales Associate (1983 – 1984)
USAF Senior Airman (1981 – 1983)
USAF Airman First Class (1979 – 1981)

Appearance: John Thune
Character State of Origin: Texas
Character State of Residence: Alaska
Character Party Affiliation:

Republican (2007 – Present)
Libertarian (1990 – 2007)
Republican (1979 – 1990)

Main Strengths: Relatively safe seat; economic-focused, laissez-faire platform appeals to moderate, independent, and Libertarian voters; military service shores up veteran vote; decently attractive; reputation for defending the 2nd Amendment and other Constitutional freedoms keeps Republican base loyal; standard-bearer for the Libertarian wing of the GOP; principled, honest, and hard-working; loving family; intelligent and intuitive; eloquent writer; skilled physician and pilot; physically fit and active
Main Weaknesses: Dwindling and thinly spread nationwide support for his politics; uncompromising and idealistic when it comes to how government should work; long history of obstructionism; almost no meaningful legislation passed in ten years; soft-spoken in person and on the debate stage; often willful, bull-headed, blunt, and tactless; isolationist and unwilling to seek help; politically isolated in Congress; [presumably] disliked by Republican leadership; critical of Arnold Wolf and his policies; refuses to endorse candidates who do not completely represent his values

Biography: When you think Alaska, the William P. Hobby Airport probably doesn't come to mind. But for Senator Gus Durant, too great a part of his youth is tied to that damnable, beautiful place.

Augustin Ashley Durant was born in Houston, Texas, in 1961. An only child, he was raised mostly by his mother, Loretta; his father, Fred, a commercial airline pilot, was never around for a game of catch or a fishing trip. The Durants lived in a house much larger and nicer than they could afford on paper; the William Hobby Airport was as close as the nearest neighbor, and the noise pollution drove the property value down. When he wasn't reading, young Gus often found himself watching from his window as the sleek metal birds took wing, wondering when one would bring his father back to him— or, as he grew older, how long it would be before he was the one soaring high as eagles.

Gus was a precocious, analytical, and frank child, never quite learning when it was best to keep his mouth shut. He was prone to pointing out flaws and proposing rational solutions in everything from his math homework to others' love lives, and his deadpan remarks, always intended as informative rather than humorous, usually resulted in either a chorus of laughs or a mouthful of soap, but rarely an intellectual discussion. He thus acquired an active dislike for most people from childhood, and kept a tiny and cerebral circle of friends. When his grandfather died of cancer, Gus, still in middle school, wanted to know exactly why, and his subsequent research sparked a lifelong interest in medicine, a field whose bread and butter was diagnosing problems and prescribing solutions.

Inspired by an anti-Communist speech from then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan in 1976, Gus joined the JROTC program, enabling him to realize his long-time dream of learning to fly. He also became a varsity athlete on his high school's cross country and rowing teams, developing a robust physique he would maintain for the rest of his life. Although his athletic achievements enlarged his ego, his social life remained very limited, exemplified by the fact that he chose not to attend his senior prom. After graduating, Gus enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1979, and was granted the rank of Airman First Class because of his JROTC experience. Shortly thereafter he was transferred to Eielson Air Force Base near Moose Creek Alaska, to participate in a training program for the A-10 Thunderbolt.

Initially less than thrilled to leave balmy Texas for what he had imagined as the North Pole, Gus was surprised by the natural beauty that met him in Alaska and impressed by many of the state government's policies, such as the abolition of income tax and the Permanent Fund dividend. While stationed at Eielson, Gus' voracious appetite for literature outpaced the base's meager library, and he began reading anything he could get his hands on, culminating in a battered, second-hand copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The novel had a profound impact on Durant, who identified strongly with its "men of the mind," captains of industry inhibited by lesser men and bloated government. He soon imbibed the rest of Rand's corpus and began to work his way through abstruse tomes by Austrian school economists like Mises, Hayek, Sennholz, and Rothbard, nurturing an unabashedly libertarian worldview.

In 1980, after many years of romantic failures, Gus met his future wife, Wendy, at a local rowing event. Although Gus and Wendy took to each other quickly, finding shared interests in literature and rowing, her father, local oil baron Charles Roark, disapproved of the match, and it was only through stealth and subterfuge he could see her. With the passion of their affair magnified by its secrecy, the two began to consider elopement, an idea repellant to Gus' conservative sensibilities, but seemingly the only way they could marry. Before any plans could be executed, Gus was deployed to Grenada in 1983 in Operation Urgent Fury, promising he would return for Wendy.

Gus had emerged from his awkward teenage years a self-confident and headstrong young man well-known for arguing with his superiors and disregarding orders, frustrating any hope of promotion past Senior Airman. Nevertheless, he distinguished himself by his bravery and dedication during the operation, flying multiple back-to-back missions providing close air support to the jarheads on the ground. On one such mission, Gus forget his standard-issue earplugs; being the willful, self-reliant man he was, he refused to turn back, and suffered permanent hearing damage from the thunder of his warthog's engines. At Urgent Fury's end, Durant was decorated with a Bronze Star by the (admittedly medal-happy) Air Force; yet he did not see a future for himself there. Upon returning to Alaska and reuniting with Wendy, he sought and was granted an honorable discharge due to his hearing disability.

Military Decorations

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Bronze Star Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Although his mother compelled him to return to Texas, Gus chose to remain in the state he had come to adopt as his homeland, but had doubts as to his future. He did not want to make a living as a commercial pilot, like his father, which narrowed the opportunities in the field in which he was trained. Moreover, he resolved that he would not marry Wendy without her father's blessing, and so the pressure for a high-income job had never been more intense. Funded by the GI Bill, Augustin enrolled in the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he majored in biology. To pay the bills, he took a sales job at the local Enterprise Rent-A-Car dealership. Gus hated being a car salesman, and was not very good at it, either; his blunt candor saved many potential customers their money, to the ire of his boss. He lasted less than a year before, fed up with the sleazy business dealings he witnessed on a daily basis, he quit, trading the cushy job for a night shift at a nearby granite quarry.

The work was onerous and back-breaking, and it took a heavy toll on Gus both physically and mentally; but there was a silver lining. When Charles Roark learned that Gus was working in a quarry to fund his education and had aspirations of going to medical school, he could no longer pretend that the boy was a ne'er-do-well stringing his daughter along. Somewhat shamefacedly, he admitted he had misjudged Gus, and gave him his blessing to marry Wendy. As a gesture of contrition, Charles paid for the wedding, a stately and romantic affair officiated under the ghostly blaze of the Northern Lights in 1985. The next year, Charles also arranged for Gus to be employed as the private pilot of one of his wealthy friends, Ranjan Patel. Although Gus initially chafed at the prospect of being another man's glorified chauffeur, he and his employer shared many Libertarian politics, and the two became friends.

Durant was accepted to medical school at University of Alaska Fairbanks, and after Wendy became pregnant in 1989, chose to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, graduating in 1992. He completed his clinical clerkship and medical internship at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Juggling his education with his work, his marriage, and his newborn daughter, Autumn, proved trying, and there were more than a few nights when Gus had to turn to the bottle for solace; but he survived, completing his residency at a local women's hospital in 1994 shortly after the birth of his second daughter, April. The same year, the Durant family moved south to the remote but affluent Cordova, where Gus opened the town's first women's clinic.

All this time, Gus had been closely watching politics; he left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party in protest of President George H.W. Bush's tax hikes in 1990, and had since become firmly entrenched in Libertarian and constitutionalist philosophy, particularly due to the local success third parties enjoyed in Alaska. He had been an active member of Fairbanks' chapter of the Libertarian Party, and became a crucial organizer of the Cordova chapter, hosting meetings in his home and making large monetary donations to local candidates. He was such a lynchpin that many encouraged him to run for citywide office, despite only living in Cordova for a few years. Gus had never felt a calling for the civil service, but accomplishing Libertarian objectives on a local level seemed achievable, responsible, and patriotic, and in 1997 he ran for city council.

With only a few hundred residents to convince, Gus was easily elected— no doubt many of his voters were parents whose children he had delivered. He served two terms on the city council, repealing ordinances he felt constricted civil liberties and working to reduce government as much as possible. In his personal life, he kept a loving marriage, raised his daughters with a strict but tender hand, and remained physically active. Earning a generous salary from his clinic, he commissioned a private airstrip and acquired an 8GCBC Scout bush plane. In 2003, Durant became something of a local hero: a wildfire threatened Cordova, and Gus evacuated several families on his private plane. He regarded it as nothing more than human decency, but to his irritation, the local media idolized him. Although the flames were blown away at the last minute by a "miracle wind," the glowing press Gus received from the incident was not quickly forgotten, and his constituents urged him to run for mayor.

Endorsed by the retiring incumbent, Gus won the mayorship of Cordova in a landslide in 2003. Although he was reticent about becoming a bureaucrat, there was something about public service that was heart-warming, especially in such a small and tight-knit community; and on top of that, Gus felt he was making real, Libertarian progress. Cordova saw record economic and population growth under his tenure; relaxed business regulations encouraged job providers to migrate to the small town, and Mayor Durant halved the city's sales tax and eliminated the surtax on tobacco and alcohol. The first Libertarian to be elected to an Alaskan mayorship, Gus garnered significant renown among the Libertarian Party of Alaska, and was a keystone speaker at the state convention of 2004. However, Durant was discouraged by the disorganized, fractious, and stagnant state of the Party, as well as the growth of the radical caucus formed in 2006.

Also in 2006, Gus easily won re-election. The local state representative had recently announced that she would not seek another term, prompting several friends to suggest that Gus run for her seat in the statehouse. His father-in-law even offered to contribute $20,000 to his campaign, a sum his friend and previous employer Ranjan Patel promised to match. Durant had many reservations about leaving small town politics for state-level bureaucracy, but his opinions shifted when [not-Ron Paul] came to national attention by launching a bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Gus became a devoted follower of [not-Paul], impressed by his consistent voting record, and, anticipating a Libertarian revolution in the Republican Party, filed for candidacy in the election for state representative of Alaskas's 32nd district as a Republican.

Gus swept the field against a handful of obscure candidates in the primary, and faced Susan Pokiak, who was doomed to defeat by the D next to her name on the ballot, in the general election. His candidacy was boosted by his military service, a slew of endorsements from state figures, including Governor Paulette Smith, and generous campaign contributions from his father-in-law and other wealthy acquaintances. Upon entering the statehouse, Durant quickly made a name for himself by voting against an unprecedented amount of legislation, often by himself, on the grounds that it was not explicitly prescribed by either the state or US Constitution. He was also a prolific author of symbolic legislation that had little chance of leaving the House floor, though a few of his bills passed into law, such as one designating the Alaskan Malamute the state dog, another declaring Alaskan firearms exempt from federal regulation, and another expanding tax credits for the oil, gas, and fishing industries. Durant continued to reside in Cordova and practice obstetrics and gynecology when the House was not in session.

Voting Record

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1980 – Ronald Reagan
1984 – Ronald Reagan
1988 – George H.W. Bush
1992 – H. Ross Perot
1996 – H. Ross Perot
2000 – Harry Browne
2004 – Michael Badnarik
2008 – Chuck Baldwin
2012 – Ron Paul (write-in)
2016 – Ron Paul (write-in)
*Assume these names are replaced with their LOTF counterparts

Gus was disappointed when [not-Ron Paul] lost the 2008 nomination, and refused to support Jeff McDowd, whom he regarded as only superficially different from Democratic candidate Rashid Baharia. However, he was buoyed when [not-Paul] announced a possible 2012 campaign, and began to consider a federal candidacy himself. In early 2010, he was approached by Republican Party functionaries seeking a candidate to primary Senator [not-Ted Stevens], who had been convicted in a federal corruption trial. Gus was considered a rising star in the Alaskan Republican Party, with better name recognition than many statewide politicians due to his unorthodox voting habits. Supported by his family, large donors, and many state Republicans, Gus declared his intention to run early in 2010, envisioning himself as a torchbearer who would bring libertarian Republican ideals to the Senate floor and thus the center stage.

The Republican primary was vicious. Already advantaged as the longtime incumbent, [not-Stevens] attacked Durant for his relative inexperience, his obstructionist record in the statehouse, his recent desertion from the Libertarian Party, and his refusal to endorse Republican presidential candidates. Gus prided himself on running a clean campaign, emphasizing his military service and uncompromising loyalty to the principles of the Constitution, but was not afraid to criticize his opponent, leveraging the guilty verdict as evidence of [not-Stevens]'s corruption. An important issue in the primary was that of abortion; Gus favored repealing Roe v. Wade and letting states write their own abortion laws, a stance that swayed many primary voters. At first, Durant was viewed as an underdog candidate, with early polling skewed as much as 60% to 30% for [not-Stevens]; however, his campaign continued to gain momentum throughout the spring of 2010. Gus received a bevy of endorsements from well-known figures both in Alaska and nationwide, most notably former governor Paulette Smith, and was also endorsed by several conservative groups, including the National Rifle Association, the Club for Growth, and the National Right to Life Committee. He was quickly identified as the Tea Party candidate as opposed to the more establishmentarian [not-Stevens], and the primary received some national attention as a litmus test for the nascent Tea Party.

Gus' years in Cordova had humbled him somewhat; his demeanor had transformed from a loose cannon pilot to a country doctor, attentive, courteous, and wise. Soft-spoken for a politician, he was not a commanding or bombastic orator, but was recognized as eloquent nonetheless, with a clear understanding of his platform and a talent for articulating it, when given the time. The Republican candidates participated in a televised debate, which greatly increased Durant's name recognition; his performance also received praise, and he rose to within three points of [not-Stevens] in polling. A large-scale ad push by the Durant campaign in the last week before the primary, focusing on the issues of abortion and corruption, was the likely fulcrum, as Gus defeated [not-Stevens] 51.2% to 48.8% in a well-publicized upset.

Just days after conceding the primary, [not-Stevens] was killed in a plane crash, and Alaska's governor appointed a replacement to complete the last few months of his term. Meanwhile, Gus faced Democrat [not-Scott McAdams] and a handful of third party candidates in the general election. Now with the full strength of the GOP behind him, Durant vowed to campaign in all nineteen of Alaska's boroughs as well as a dozen locations in the unorganized borough, and spent the summer and fall flying from town to town in his bush plane. He concentrated on communicating his personality and core values to the voters, believing that every last one was a Libertarian— he or she just didn't know it yet.

Although the Democratic opposition attempted to use [not-Stevens]'s conviction as an indictment of the Republican Party in general, Durant was a vehemently anti-corruption candidate, and the election was widely regarded as a safe Republican hold. When the final votes were tallied, Gus Durant was elected to the United States Senate with 56.8% of the vote; [not-McAdams] placed second with only 23.5%, followed by a number of third party and independent contenders.

Swearing his oath of office on his family Bible at age 49, Gus joined Alaska's Senate delegation in January 2011, and quickly became known as one of the most eccentric voters in the Republican caucus. As in the Alaskan statehouse, Durant sponsored a great deal of symbolic legislation: his first proposal was to cut $500 billion from government spending by axing a half-dozen federal agencies. To date, he has one of the lowest legislative success rates in the Senate. However, Gus also made a name for himself as a proponent for the legalization of cannabis, gay marriage, and online gambling. He was one of the inaugural members of the Tea Party Caucus, and one of two Republicans to vote against extending provisions of the PATRIOT Act. He distinguished himself as a strident critic of President Baharia's foreign policy, taking particular exception to American intervention in the Libyan Civil War, and has consistently advocated for a 100% reduction in foreign aid. Senator Durant endorsed [not-Ron Paul] in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, and refused to support Ron Mitter after he won the nomination, deeming him "indistinguishable" from Baharia on all matters of consequence. Gus frequently filibustered legislation he disagreed with, even that originating from Republican legislators, and spoke for over ten hours in opposition to the re-authorization of the PATRIOT Act. He repeatedly introduced legislation that would fully audit the Federal Reserve, and has boasted of having never voted for a tax hike or a deficit increase.

Committee Assignments

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Committee on Appropriations

• Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
• Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Committee on Armed Services

• Subcommittee on Airland (Chair)
• Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
• Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

• Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
• Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

Committee on the Judiciary

• Subcommittee on the Constitution

Committee on Veterans' Affairs

By 2016, Gus had become the poster boy of the libertarian Republican movement— or what was left of it— and there was some speculation as to whether he would make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Instead, Durant chose to defend his Senate seat, fending off a primary challenge and dominating the general election. 51% of Alaskans sent him back to the Senate, despite his refusal to endorse a Republican presidential candidate for the third consecutive election. Gus saw Arnold Wolf as little more than bombast and showmanship, and broke with Wolf more than any other Republican in Congress over the next few years, notably opposing Wolf's proposed border wall. Although he briefly considered competing in the 2020 Republican presidential primary, Gus instead endorsed Dianne Paulson, expressing contempt for Bernard Porter and apathy toward the other candidates.

Other Info: Gus remains happily married. His two fully grown daughters are also married, and he has three grandchildren by them. He continues to reside in Cordova when not on congressional business, although he no longer practices medicine. One of the most active members of Congress, he is a regular at the annual Congressional soccer match, frequently jogs across D.C. to blow off steam, and regularly competes in local rowing regattas. Another hobby he has recently taken to is drone piloting, which has led him into several alterations with the Capitol Police. He owns a Siberian Huskies named Locke.

In 2018, Gus released his first book, Carrying the Torch: Preserving Freedom in the Modern Era, documenting the battle for the direction of the GOP and offering a Libertarian path for the Party. It sold modestly, and heightened his acclaim among the [not-Ron Paul]/Dianne Paulson wing of the GOP.

Political Positions

Abortion
Durant is personally pro-life, and supports a repeal of Roe v. Wade, arguing that abortion law should be left to individual states. He has stated that his time as an obstetrician led him to believe life begins at conception.
Immigration
Durant opposes a border wall and has proposed a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants over a five-year period as part of the yearly immigrant quota.
LGBTQ+
Although he initially believed that gay marriage law should be devolved to the states, Durant supported the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, stating that the government should not have any part in regulating marriage. However, he has denounced gender reassignment surgery as "genital mutilation" and advised that such procedures be illegal for minors.
Foreign Policy
Durant is a prominent non-interventionist, calling for a large-scale reduction in military spending and a complete suspension of foreign aid. He has stated that he considers Israel to be America's "greatest friend" but that the United States should not interfere in Middle Eastern affairs.
Criminal Justice
Durant supports criminal justice reform, including restoring voting rights to non-violent felons, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and abolishing the war on drugs.
Cannabis
Durant believes cannabis should be legalized, though he would prefer it to be a states' rights issue rather than a federal law.
Government Surveillance
Durant has made defense of Americans' right to privacy a cornerstone of his platform, opposing the PATRIOT Act and praising "whistleblowers" like [not-Edward Snowden] and WikiLeaks.
Climate Change
Durant has not embraced the scientific consensus on climate change, but believes measures should be taken to reduce pollution.
Vaccinations
Durant has stated that vaccinations should never be mandatory, but has encouraged their use.

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

Do Not Remove: 84721

[Greater Arab State]

(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

(Image)

NS Nation Name: Capile
Character Name: Augustin Ashley "Gus" Durant
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 59
Character Height: 6'4"
Character Weight: 230 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:

Junior US Senator from Alaska (2011 – Present)
State Representative for Alaska's 32nd District (2009 – 2010)
Mayor of Cordova, Alaska (2004 – 2009)
Cordova City Councilman (1998 – 2004)
OB-GYN (1994 – 2010)
OB-GYN Resident (1992 – 1994)
Medical Intern (1991 – 1992)
Clinical Clerk (1990 – 1991)
Private Pilot (1986 – 1990)
Quarrier (1984 – 1986)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Sales Associate (1983 – 1984)
USAF Senior Airman (1981 – 1983)
USAF Airman First Class (1979 – 1981)

Appearance: John Thune
Character State of Origin: Texas
Character State of Residence: Alaska
Character Party Affiliation:

Republican (2007 – Present)
Libertarian (1990 – 2007)
Republican (1979 – 1990)

Main Strengths: Relatively safe seat; economic-focused, laissez-faire platform appeals to moderate, independent, and Libertarian voters; military service shores up veteran vote; decently attractive; reputation for defending the 2nd Amendment and other Constitutional freedoms keeps Republican base loyal; standard-bearer for the Libertarian wing of the GOP; principled, honest, and hard-working; loving family; intelligent and intuitive; eloquent writer; skilled physician and pilot; physically fit and active
Main Weaknesses: Dwindling and thinly spread nationwide support for his politics; uncompromising and idealistic when it comes to how government should work; long history of obstructionism; almost no meaningful legislation passed in ten years; soft-spoken in person and on the debate stage; often willful, bull-headed, blunt, and tactless; isolationist and unwilling to seek help; politically isolated in Congress; [presumably] disliked by Republican leadership; critical of Arnold Wolf and his policies; refuses to endorse candidates who do not completely represent his values

Biography: When you think Alaska, the William P. Hobby Airport probably doesn't come to mind. But for Senator Gus Durant, too great a part of his youth is tied to that damnable, beautiful place.

Augustin Ashley Durant was born in Houston, Texas, in 1961. An only child, he was raised mostly by his mother, Loretta; his father, Fred, a commercial airline pilot, was never around for a game of catch or a fishing trip. The Durants lived in a house much larger and nicer than they could afford on paper; the William Hobby Airport was as close as the nearest neighbor, and the noise pollution drove the property value down. When he wasn't reading, young Gus often found himself watching from his window as the sleek metal birds took wing, wondering when one would bring his father back to him— or, as he grew older, how long it would be before he was the one soaring high as eagles.

Gus was a precocious, analytical, and frank child, never quite learning when it was best to keep his mouth shut. He was prone to pointing out flaws and proposing rational solutions in everything from his math homework to others' love lives, and his deadpan remarks, always intended as informative rather than humorous, usually resulted in either a chorus of laughs or a mouthful of soap, but rarely an intellectual discussion. He thus acquired an active dislike for most people from childhood, and kept a tiny and cerebral circle of friends. When his grandfather died of cancer, Gus, still in middle school, wanted to know exactly why, and his subsequent research sparked a lifelong interest in medicine, a field whose bread and butter was diagnosing problems and prescribing solutions.

Inspired by an anti-Communist speech from then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan in 1976, Gus joined the JROTC program, enabling him to realize his long-time dream of learning to fly. He also became a varsity athlete on his high school's cross country and rowing teams, developing a robust physique he would maintain for the rest of his life. Although his athletic achievements enlarged his ego, his social life remained very limited, exemplified by the fact that he chose not to attend his senior prom. After graduating, Gus enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1979, and was granted the rank of Airman First Class because of his JROTC experience. Shortly thereafter he was transferred to Eielson Air Force Base near Moose Creek Alaska, to participate in a training program for the A-10 Thunderbolt.

Initially less than thrilled to leave balmy Texas for what he had imagined as the North Pole, Gus was surprised by the natural beauty that met him in Alaska and impressed by many of the state government's policies, such as the abolition of income tax and the Permanent Fund dividend. While stationed at Eielson, Gus' voracious appetite for literature outpaced the base's meager library, and he began reading anything he could get his hands on, culminating in a battered, second-hand copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The novel had a profound impact on Durant, who identified strongly with its "men of the mind," captains of industry inhibited by lesser men and bloated government. He soon imbibed the rest of Rand's corpus and began to work his way through abstruse tomes by Austrian school economists like Mises, Hayek, Sennholz, and Rothbard, nurturing an unabashedly libertarian worldview.

In 1980, after many years of romantic failures, Gus met his future wife, Wendy, at a local rowing event. Although Gus and Wendy took to each other quickly, finding shared interests in literature and rowing, her father, local oil baron Charles Roark, disapproved of the match, and it was only through stealth and subterfuge he could see her. With the passion of their affair magnified by its secrecy, the two began to consider elopement, an idea repellant to Gus' conservative sensibilities, but seemingly the only way they could marry. Before any plans could be executed, Gus was deployed to Grenada in 1983 in Operation Urgent Fury, promising he would return for Wendy.

Gus had emerged from his awkward teenage years a self-confident and headstrong young man well-known for arguing with his superiors and disregarding orders, frustrating any hope of promotion past Senior Airman. Nevertheless, he distinguished himself by his bravery and dedication during the operation, flying multiple back-to-back missions providing close air support to the jarheads on the ground. On one such mission, Gus forget his standard-issue earplugs; being the willful, self-reliant man he was, he refused to turn back, and suffered permanent hearing damage from the thunder of his warthog's engines. At Urgent Fury's end, Durant was decorated with a Bronze Star by the (admittedly medal-happy) Air Force; yet he did not see a future for himself there. Upon returning to Alaska and reuniting with Wendy, he sought and was granted an honorable discharge due to his hearing disability.

Military Decorations

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Bronze Star Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

Although his mother compelled him to return to Texas, Gus chose to remain in the state he had come to adopt as his homeland, but had doubts as to his future. He did not want to make a living as a commercial pilot, like his father, which narrowed the opportunities in the field in which he was trained. Moreover, he resolved that he would not marry Wendy without her father's blessing, and so the pressure for a high-income job had never been more intense. Funded by the GI Bill, Augustin enrolled in the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he majored in biology. To pay the bills, he took a sales job at the local Enterprise Rent-A-Car dealership. Gus hated being a car salesman, and was not very good at it, either; his blunt candor saved many potential customers their money, to the ire of his boss. He lasted less than a year before, fed up with the sleazy business dealings he witnessed on a daily basis, he quit, trading the cushy job for a night shift at a nearby granite quarry.

The work was onerous and back-breaking, and it took a heavy toll on Gus both physically and mentally; but there was a silver lining. When Charles Roark learned that Gus was working in a quarry to fund his education and had aspirations of going to medical school, he could no longer pretend that the boy was a ne'er-do-well stringing his daughter along. Somewhat shamefacedly, he admitted he had misjudged Gus, and gave him his blessing to marry Wendy. As a gesture of contrition, Charles paid for the wedding, a stately and romantic affair officiated under the ghostly blaze of the Northern Lights in 1985. The next year, Charles also arranged for Gus to be employed as the private pilot of one of his wealthy friends, Ranjan Patel. Although Gus initially chafed at the prospect of being another man's glorified chauffeur, he and his employer shared many Libertarian politics, and the two became friends.

Durant was accepted to medical school at University of Alaska Fairbanks, and after Wendy became pregnant in 1989, chose to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, graduating in 1992. He completed his clinical clerkship and medical internship at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Juggling his education with his work, his marriage, and his newborn daughter, Autumn, proved trying, and there were more than a few nights when Gus had to turn to the bottle for solace; but he survived, completing his residency at a local women's hospital in 1994 shortly after the birth of his second daughter, April. The same year, the Durant family moved south to the remote but affluent Cordova, where Gus opened the town's first women's clinic.

All this time, Gus had been closely watching politics; he left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party in protest of President George H.W. Bush's tax hikes in 1990, and had since become firmly entrenched in Libertarian and constitutionalist philosophy, particularly due to the local success third parties enjoyed in Alaska. He had been an active member of Fairbanks' chapter of the Libertarian Party, and became a crucial organizer of the Cordova chapter, hosting meetings in his home and making large monetary donations to local candidates. He was such a lynchpin that many encouraged him to run for citywide office, despite only living in Cordova for a few years. Gus had never felt a calling for the civil service, but accomplishing Libertarian objectives on a local level seemed achievable, responsible, and patriotic, and in 1997 he ran for city council.

With only a few hundred residents to convince, Gus was easily elected— no doubt many of his voters were parents whose children he had delivered. He served two terms on the city council, repealing ordinances he felt constricted civil liberties and working to reduce government as much as possible. In his personal life, he kept a loving marriage, raised his daughters with a strict but tender hand, and remained physically active. Earning a generous salary from his clinic, he commissioned a private airstrip and acquired an 8GCBC Scout bush plane. In 2003, Durant became something of a local hero: a wildfire threatened Cordova, and Gus evacuated several families on his private plane. He regarded it as nothing more than human decency, but to his irritation, the local media idolized him. Although the flames were blown away at the last minute by a "miracle wind," the glowing press Gus received from the incident was not quickly forgotten, and his constituents urged him to run for mayor.

Endorsed by the retiring incumbent, Gus won the mayorship of Cordova in a landslide in 2003. Although he was reticent about becoming a bureaucrat, there was something about public service that was heart-warming, especially in such a small and tight-knit community; and on top of that, Gus felt he was making real, Libertarian progress. Cordova saw record economic and population growth under his tenure; relaxed business regulations encouraged job providers to migrate to the small town, and Mayor Durant halved the city's sales tax and eliminated the surtax on tobacco and alcohol. The first Libertarian to be elected to an Alaskan mayorship, Gus garnered significant renown among the Libertarian Party of Alaska, and was a keystone speaker at the state convention of 2004. However, Durant was discouraged by the disorganized, fractious, and stagnant state of the Party, as well as the growth of the radical caucus formed in 2006.

Also in 2006, Gus easily won re-election. The local state representative had recently announced that she would not seek another term, prompting several friends to suggest that Gus run for her seat in the statehouse. His father-in-law even offered to contribute $20,000 to his campaign, a sum his friend and previous employer Ranjan Patel promised to match. Durant had many reservations about leaving small town politics for state-level bureaucracy, but his opinions shifted when [not-Ron Paul] came to national attention by launching a bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Gus became a devoted follower of [not-Paul], impressed by his consistent voting record, and, anticipating a Libertarian revolution in the Republican Party, filed for candidacy in the election for state representative of Alaskas's 32nd district as a Republican.

Gus swept the field against a handful of obscure candidates in the primary, and faced Susan Pokiak, who was doomed to defeat by the D next to her name on the ballot, in the general election. His candidacy was boosted by his military service, a slew of endorsements from state figures, including Governor Paulette Smith, and generous campaign contributions from his father-in-law and other wealthy acquaintances. Upon entering the statehouse, Durant quickly made a name for himself by voting against an unprecedented amount of legislation, often by himself, on the grounds that it was not explicitly prescribed by either the state or US Constitution. He was also a prolific author of symbolic legislation that had little chance of leaving the House floor, though a few of his bills passed into law, such as one designating the Alaskan Malamute the state dog, another declaring Alaskan firearms exempt from federal regulation, and another expanding tax credits for the oil, gas, and fishing industries. Durant continued to reside in Cordova and practice obstetrics and gynecology when the House was not in session.

Voting Record

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1980 – Ronald Reagan
1984 – Ronald Reagan
1988 – George H.W. Bush
1992 – H. Ross Perot
1996 – H. Ross Perot
2000 – Harry Browne
2004 – Michael Badnarik
2008 – Chuck Baldwin
2012 – Ron Paul (write-in)
2016 – Ron Paul (write-in)
*Assume these names are replaced with their LOTF counterparts

Gus was disappointed when [not-Ron Paul] lost the 2008 nomination, and refused to support Jeff McDowd, whom he regarded as only superficially different from Democratic candidate Rashid Baharia. However, he was buoyed when [not-Paul] announced a possible 2012 campaign, and began to consider a federal candidacy himself. In early 2010, he was approached by Republican Party functionaries seeking a candidate to primary Senator [not-Ted Stevens], who had been convicted in a federal corruption trial. Gus was considered a rising star in the Alaskan Republican Party, with better name recognition than many statewide politicians due to his unorthodox voting habits. Supported by his family, large donors, and many state Republicans, Gus declared his intention to run early in 2010, envisioning himself as a torchbearer who would bring libertarian Republican ideals to the Senate floor and thus the center stage.

The Republican primary was vicious. Already advantaged as the longtime incumbent, [not-Stevens] attacked Durant for his relative inexperience, his obstructionist record in the statehouse, his recent desertion from the Libertarian Party, and his refusal to endorse Republican presidential candidates. Gus prided himself on running a clean campaign, emphasizing his military service and uncompromising loyalty to the principles of the Constitution, but was not afraid to criticize his opponent, leveraging the guilty verdict as evidence of [not-Stevens]'s corruption. An important issue in the primary was that of abortion; Gus favored repealing Roe v. Wade and letting states write their own abortion laws, a stance that swayed many primary voters. At first, Durant was viewed as an underdog candidate, with early polling skewed as much as 60% to 30% for [not-Stevens]; however, his campaign continued to gain momentum throughout the spring of 2010. Gus received a bevy of endorsements from well-known figures both in Alaska and nationwide, most notably former governor Paulette Smith, and was also endorsed by several conservative groups, including the National Rifle Association, the Club for Growth, and the National Right to Life Committee. He was quickly identified as the Tea Party candidate as opposed to the more establishmentarian [not-Stevens], and the primary received some national attention as a litmus test for the nascent Tea Party.

Gus' years in Cordova had humbled him somewhat; his demeanor had transformed from a loose cannon pilot to a country doctor, attentive, courteous, and wise. Soft-spoken for a politician, he was not a commanding or bombastic orator, but was recognized as eloquent nonetheless, with a clear understanding of his platform and a talent for articulating it, when given the time. The Republican candidates participated in a televised debate, which greatly increased Durant's name recognition; his performance also received praise, and he rose to within three points of [not-Stevens] in polling. A large-scale ad push by the Durant campaign in the last week before the primary, focusing on the issues of abortion and corruption, was the likely fulcrum, as Gus defeated [not-Stevens] 51.2% to 48.8% in a well-publicized upset.

Just days after conceding the primary, [not-Stevens] was killed in a plane crash, and Alaska's governor appointed a replacement to complete the last few months of his term. Meanwhile, Gus faced Democrat [not-Scott McAdams] and a handful of third party candidates in the general election. Now with the full strength of the GOP behind him, Durant vowed to campaign in all nineteen of Alaska's boroughs as well as a dozen locations in the unorganized borough, and spent the summer and fall flying from town to town in his bush plane. He concentrated on communicating his personality and core values to the voters, believing that every last one was a Libertarian— he or she just didn't know it yet.

Although the Democratic opposition attempted to use [not-Stevens]'s conviction as an indictment of the Republican Party in general, Durant was a vehemently anti-corruption candidate, and the election was widely regarded as a safe Republican hold. When the final votes were tallied, Gus Durant was elected to the United States Senate with 56.8% of the vote; [not-McAdams] placed second with only 23.5%, followed by a number of third party and independent contenders.

Swearing his oath of office on his family Bible at age 49, Gus joined Alaska's Senate delegation in January 2011, and quickly became known as one of the most eccentric voters in the Republican caucus. As in the Alaskan statehouse, Durant sponsored a great deal of symbolic legislation: his first proposal was to cut $500 billion from government spending by axing a half-dozen federal agencies. To date, he has one of the lowest legislative success rates in the Senate. However, Gus also made a name for himself as a proponent for the legalization of cannabis, gay marriage, and online gambling. He was one of the inaugural members of the Tea Party Caucus, and one of two Republicans to vote against extending provisions of the PATRIOT Act. He distinguished himself as a strident critic of President Baharia's foreign policy, taking particular exception to American intervention in the Libyan Civil War, and has consistently advocated for a 100% reduction in foreign aid. Senator Durant endorsed [not-Ron Paul] in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, and refused to support Ron Mitter after he won the nomination, deeming him "indistinguishable" from Baharia on all matters of consequence. Gus frequently filibustered legislation he disagreed with, even that originating from Republican legislators, and spoke for over ten hours in opposition to the re-authorization of the PATRIOT Act. He repeatedly introduced legislation that would fully audit the Federal Reserve, and has boasted of having never voted for a tax hike or a deficit increase.

Committee Assignments

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Committee on Appropriations

• Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
• Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Committee on Armed Services

• Subcommittee on Airland (Chair)
• Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
• Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

• Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
• Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

Committee on the Judiciary

• Subcommittee on the Constitution

Committee on Veterans' Affairs

By 2016, Gus had become the poster boy of the libertarian Republican movement— or what was left of it— and there was some speculation as to whether he would make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Instead, Durant chose to defend his Senate seat, fending off a primary challenge and dominating the general election. 51% of Alaskans sent him back to the Senate, despite his refusal to endorse a Republican presidential candidate for the third consecutive election. Gus saw Arnold Wolf as little more than bombast and showmanship, and broke with Wolf more than any other Republican in Congress over the next few years, notably opposing Wolf's proposed border wall. Although he briefly considered competing in the 2020 Republican presidential primary, Gus instead endorsed Dianne Paulson, expressing contempt for Bernard Porter and apathy toward the other candidates.

Other Info: Gus remains happily married. His two fully grown daughters are also married, and he has three grandchildren by them. He continues to reside in Cordova when not on congressional business, although he no longer practices medicine. One of the most active members of Congress, he is a regular at the annual Congressional soccer match, frequently jogs across D.C. to blow off steam, and regularly competes in local rowing regattas. Another hobby he has recently taken to is drone piloting, which has led him into several alterations with the Capitol Police. He owns a Siberian Huskies named Locke.

In 2018, Gus released his first book, Carrying the Torch: Preserving Freedom in the Modern Era, documenting the battle for the direction of the GOP and offering a Libertarian path for the Party. It sold modestly, and heightened his acclaim among the [not-Ron Paul]/Dianne Paulson wing of the GOP.

Political Positions

Abortion
Durant is personally pro-life, and supports a repeal of Roe v. Wade, arguing that abortion law should be left to individual states. He has stated that his time as an obstetrician led him to believe life begins at conception.
Immigration
Durant opposes a border wall and has proposed a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants over a five-year period as part of the yearly immigrant quota.
LGBTQ+
Although he initially believed that gay marriage law should be devolved to the states, Durant supported the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, stating that the government should not have any part in regulating marriage. However, he has denounced gender reassignment surgery as "genital mutilation" and advised that such procedures be illegal for minors.
Foreign Policy
Durant is a prominent non-interventionist, calling for a large-scale reduction in military spending and a complete suspension of foreign aid. He has stated that he considers Israel to be America's "greatest friend" but that the United States should not interfere in Middle Eastern affairs.
Criminal Justice
Durant supports criminal justice reform, including restoring voting rights to non-violent felons, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and abolishing the war on drugs.
Cannabis
Durant believes cannabis should be legalized, though he would prefer it to be a states' rights issue rather than a federal law.
Government Surveillance
Durant has made defense of Americans' right to privacy a cornerstone of his platform, opposing the PATRIOT Act and praising "whistleblowers" like [not-Edward Snowden] and WikiLeaks.
Climate Change
Durant has not embraced the scientific consensus on climate change, but believes measures should be taken to reduce pollution.
Vaccinations
Durant has stated that vaccinations should never be mandatory, but has encouraged their use.

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

Do Not Remove: 84721

Senator Augustin “Gus” Durant is hereby Accepted.

[Louisianan]

So, I've gone into depth about Linda's life to make her a better character and to help people get to know her. I've gone a bit into depth about Hypolite. Finally, I get to work on Henry's life.

[Shinea]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: The Democratic States of Shinea
Character Name: Grace Unicornia
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 25
Character Height: 5 foot 4 inches
Character Weight: 118IB
Character Position/Role/Job: Senator
Appearance: (Photo required)
Character State of Origin: New York
Character State of Residence: California
Character Party Affiliation: Democrat
Main Strengths: Smart, Popular, and Empathetic
Main Weaknesses: Stubborn, Strong-Willed, and Sometimes Quite Rude
Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs) : Grace Unicorncia is a 25-year-old computing student who enjoys listening to music, planking and going to the movies. She is Smart and Empathetic, but can also be very Stubborn and a bit rude.

She is a British Christian who defines herself as straight. She is currently at college. studying computing. She is obsessed with films and over-knee socks.

Physically, Grace is in pretty good shape. She is average-height with chocolate skin, red hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a film reel between her shoulder blades.

She grew up in an upper class neighbourhood. After her father died when she was young, she was raised by her mother

She is currently in a relationship with Gloriana Marvin Weldon. Gloriana is 18 years older than her and works as a doctor.

Grace's best friend is a computing student called Vala Lambert. They are inseparable. She also hangs around with Wednesday Gough and Bunny Merritt. They enjoy worship together.
Other Info: None

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

Do Not Remove: 84721

[Alozia]

(Image)

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: The Democratic States of Shinea
Character Name: Grace Unicornia
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 25
Character Height: 5 foot 4 inches
Character Weight: 118IB
Character Position/Role/Job: Senator
Appearance: (Photo required) (Image)
Character State of Origin: New York
Character State of Residence: California
Character Party Affiliation: Democrat
Main Strengths: Smart, Popular, and Empathetic
Main Weaknesses: Stubborn, Strong-Willed, and Sometimes Quite Rude
Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs) : Grace Unicorncia is a 25-year-old computing student who enjoys listening to music, planking and going to the movies. She is Smart and Empathetic, but can also be very Stubborn and a bit rude.

She is a British Christian who defines herself as straight. She is currently at college. studying computing. She is obsessed with films and over-knee socks.

Physically, Grace is in pretty good shape. She is average-height with chocolate skin, red hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of a film reel between her shoulder blades.

She grew up in an upper class neighbourhood. After her father died when she was young, she was raised by her mother

She is currently in a relationship with Gloriana Marvin Weldon. Gloriana is 18 years older than her and works as a doctor.

Grace's best friend is a computing student called Vala Lambert. They are inseparable. She also hangs around with Wednesday Gough and Bunny Merritt. They enjoy worship together.
Other Info: None

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

Do Not Remove: 84721

love it!

[New Cobastheia]

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Character Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: New Cobastheia
Character Name: Talitha Washington
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 49
Character Height: 5′ 5″
Character Weight: 150 lbs
Character Position/Role/Job:

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator from Georgia (2020)
Chair of the Georgia Democratic Party (2015-2020)
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 42nd District (2015-)
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 89th district (2013-2015)
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 84th district (2011-2013)

Character State of Origin: District of Columbia
Character State of Residence: Georgia
Character Party Affiliation:

Democratic (1989-)

Main Strengths: She's a Black Woman in the South, Good Fundraiser, Who Doesn't Like Doctors, Family Name Recognization
Main Weaknesses: She's a Black Woman in the South, Accusations of Benefitting from Nepotism, Untested as a Statewide Candidate

Talitha Irene Cedella Washington was born in Washington, DC on April 16, 1971, to Moses and Jennifer "Jenna" Washington. Moses hailed from rural Georgia, while his family had been sharecroppers since the end of the Civil War, Moses had big dreams when he was a kid and he was planning on making them come true. Jenna meanwhile, grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, as the daughter of an Irishman and a Black Jamaican, and originally only came to the US to get an education, but of course, plans changed. The pair had met in Atlanta while they were students at Morehouse and Spelman. They got married a few weeks after graduation and moved to DC before Moses started his law education at Howard University. It was during his second year there when the two would bring Talitha into the world.

Talitha doesn't have many memories from her youth in DC, given that the family moved away by the time she was 2 years old. After graduating and clerking for a judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the family moved to Albany, Georgia, a small city in rural Georgia near where Moses had grown up. In 1974, Moses would found the first black-owned law firm in the county, and the year after that, Talitha would get two younger brothers, a pair of fraternal twins that she'd quickly become smitten with. As the years went by, Moses's law career would continue to advance, leading him to run for office in 1982 with support from the fairly new Georgia Legislative Black Caucus after the incumbent State Representative announced his retirement. He would win the race and from that point on, the Washingtons would be spending a lot more time in Atlanta. Moses, while a fairly moderate Democrat overall, quickly became known as a fighter for his people. Whether his people meant Black Georgians or poor, rural Georgians overall, well, he was never one to tell, preferring to let others come to their own conclusions about that.

When it came time for college, Talitha settled on the University of Georgia, wanting to go with to a place with a big school feel, and started attending in 1990. She had known beforehand that she wanted to go into medicine. The Pre-Med program only confirmed her desire to become a doctor. She ended up getting herself and a AB in Psychology with minors in Jazz Music and Public Health. During her time at UGA, she was known to follow the work-hard/party-hard lifestyle. She also became a sister of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority during her Sophomore year at the behest of her Mom who had become a sister in the sorority during her time at Spelman.

During her last summer before officially becoming a medical student, Talitha worked on her Dad's reelection campaign, this time as a State Senator as he had made the jump between chambers in the 1992 elections. Med School was Med School, it was hard and grueling, but it was only the beginning. Talitha had already gained an interest in public health, as might be apparent seeing as she minored in it, so she took advantage of Emory's MD/MPH program and after five long years, she graduated with both degrees in 1999. Of course, after that, she had her Emergency Medicine residency, which she would also take at Emory, and after three years of that, she was finally done with her education.

During this time period, Talitha wasn't the only member of her family advancing her career. In 1997, after the then-AG of Georgia resigned in order to run for Governor, Moses was appointed to the job by [not-Zell Miller], in the process becoming the first Black person to hold the job in Georgia. A year after that, he won the election to a full term in office. He would begin his time as AG pursuing policies that had largely bipartisan support, and as his tenure would go on he would embrace a more populist image, culminating at the end of his tenure fighting to protect homeowners against mortgage brokers and advocating for Georgia to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, he would also try to enact various criminal justice reforms in the later years. He went on to serve in the office till 2011.

Now board certified, Talitha was quick to get a job at Grady Memorial while on the side becoming an unofficial health law/policy advisor to her Dad. While starting her career at Grady, she was able to get involved in a few public health NGOs too, eventually even founding one herself with a few colleagues, who also grew up in rural Georgia, in 2005 focused primarily on two things; spreading knowledge about various preventative measures for various situations in rural Georgia and getting physicians who worked in the Atlanta area out to rural Georgia to offer their services pro-bono for at least two weeks a year. Talitha herself spent two weeks in the Summer and another two in the Winter to volunteer and continues to try her best to reach that commitment.

Give her Dad's position within the Georgia Democratic Party, she was able to become an advocate for adopting healthcare reforms and public health measures within the state party as well as forming relationships with people who were important in it, which would come in handy a few years down the line. During the 2008 cycle, while her Dad was preparing for a Gubernatorial run, Talitha took up a job as a surrogate for the Baharia campaign as both a young Black woman from the South and a Healthcare/Public Health professional. While she originally thought she's be spending most of her time in Georgia in the role, but soon enough told she was told to transfer her efforts to North Carolina after the campaign decided it was more winnable than Georgia. Talitha was disappointed by the move, not to mention the fact that Georgia voted for McCain. As such, she got involved in the then-new movement to increase voter registration and turnout in Georgia once the election was over.

Only two years later and she'd be involved in another campaign, this time, of course, being her Dad's run for Governor, and this time she was both a campaign surrogate and a health policy advisor. It originally looked like he had a pretty good shot, but after [not-Roy Barnes] entered the race looking for a second shot Governor's Mansion, the campaign was just never able to fight back and as such [not-Roy Barnes] would win the primary with a majority of the vote. It was a massive setback to the Washington family, politically speaking of course, but a new hope would soon be found in Talitha. About two months after the primaries had come and gone in Georgia, the Democratic nominee for the State House district Talitha lived in died unexpectedly. This would set off a chain of events that led to Talitha being selected by the Georgia Democratic Party to serve as the Democratic nominee on the ballot for the November election. It has been suggested by some who've opposed Talitha at one point or another that she only got the job because her Dad was the AG. And with this being a safe district in Metro Atlanta, Talitha would win by a pretty good margin.

While Talitha clearly landed in the liberal wing of the party, given that this is Georgia, there isn't much a Democrat in the State Legislature can do, so she generally followed the whip, whether that meant opposing bills like HB 87 and voting for bipartisan bills the Democratic Caucus had managed to get out of [not-Nathan Deal]. Overall, her time in the State House was rather quiet.

That was until her State Senator, [not-Jason Carter] announced a run for Governor, which of course, would leave his seat vacant. After her Dad advised her to run for the seat, Talitha would run for the seat. She would win both the primary and the general by good margins as this is Metro Atlanta and she lacked any major opposition on both levels of the election. Putting that aside for a second, Talitha would see statewide attention and even some minor national attention after serving as a leader in the Medicaid Expansion protests at the State Capital that year, getting herself arrested in the process. No charges would ever be filed in Talitha's case, luckily enough though.

Outside of her own ticket, Talitha was widely disappointed in the performance of the Georgia Dems, especially in the statewide races, and after some nudging from her Dad, Talitha would announce a run to become the new Chair of the Georgia Dems. It was a tough election, especially seeing as the incumbent had refused to step aside, but with a mix of her Dad applying a good amount of grease, her relationships with party officials and party activist, and the demographic nature of the Georgia Democratic Party, Talitha was able to pull a victory out of it all with about 53% of the vote, officially becoming the first Black woman, the third woman, and second African American to chair the party in the process. Despite her achievement, her win spawned several rumors similar to those that followed her appointment by the party in 2010.

Her new responsibilities/status as the party chair, not to mention the attention she gained after the Medicaid Protests, brought with it several changes to Talitha's life. One of which was that she had to leave her job at Grady, it was just impractical to be doing both simultaneously, although she maintains her medical license to this day. The other was her stature in the State Legislature, going from just another member of the State House in 2013 to a State Senator in 2015 with the gravitas to pull together major bipartisan legislation in response to the various natural disasters Georgia had been increasingly living with the last few years.

Soon enough, however, Talitha would soon turn her attention from the day-to-day responsibilities of a State Senator to elections, overall she was rather pleased with the outcome of the 2016 election, Georgia was one of the few states Clifford did better in than Baharia, so that was nice. In the lead up to the 2018 elections, she was able to recruit [Not-Lucy McBath] and [Not-Carolyn Bourdeaux] for Georgia's 6th and 7th respectively as well as many candidates for the State Legislature elections, but the one thing she didn't predict when she took office was that Sandy Fields if for nothing else that the woman was the only White Democratic congressperson from the Deep South left.

Still, she made do with what she got. Talitha was decently surprised when Fields showed that her plan to win the race was more in line with Talitha's own rather than the same strategy of appealing to White moderates in one or two suburban counties that had failed Democrats in Georgia and the South time after time ever since a Black man became President. It also helped that Fields became a national figure after the media took a spotlight to her. It should also be noted that Talitha was never a fan of the fact that Fields was seemingly willing to take credit for the whole of the political machine that had been built in Georgia, mostly by people of color, over the last decade.

In the end, Fields would "lose" her race but it was overall a win for the Georgia Dems, and as such Talitha would easily be reelected as party chair. Looking at the future, Talitha was hopeful. Fields would run for Senate in 2020 and the groundwork for 2022 in Georgia could be laid from the national level. But of course, Sandy Fucking Fields just had to though that plan in disarray. As the dust settled in created major questions for the Georgia Dems, namely who the hell is supposed to run in 2020 now?

And that's when Talitha's Dad told her he thought she should run, and soon enough, Cassius Parker was asking for a meeting. She did as much as she could to set now-Representative [not-McBath] and repeat challenger [not-Carolyn Bourdeaux] for success before resigning from the Party Chair in June and announcing her run to become Georgia's next Senator. It's been a long year, but thanks to a mix of institutional support and putting in the work to create a multiracial, multilocational coalition, most polls show Talitha winning the June 9th primary. And from there, well it's high time for Georgia to get some real representation in the Senate.

Other Info: Married to Marcus Winston (b. 1969) since 2004 and has 2 children with him, Zahara (b. 2007) and Andre (b. 2009). Attends Ebenezer Baptist Church. The oldest of her two brothers is openly gay and married his long-time partner shortly after Obergefell. The younger of her two brothers took up a legal career and runs the law firm their Dad founded, which has since become an established firm in Georgia. Both of her parents are still alive and doing fairly well.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: New Cobastheia

Do Not Remove: 84721

[The Orion Islands]

Nebraska has a few big banks in Omaha, so the asset freeze isn’t entirely symbolic.

[Louisianan]

Bernard is nuts.

[Democratic Peoples republic of Kelvinsi]

Park's argument is probably going to be one of the most disingenuous arguments that I have ever made, rivaling even Burgun's insane ramblings.

[Alozia]

Alexa, play footage of drone strikes.