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
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
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
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
AbortionDurant 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.
ImmigrationDurant 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 PolicyDurant 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 JusticeDurant supports criminal justice reform, including restoring voting rights to non-violent felons, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and abolishing the war on drugs.
CannabisDurant believes cannabis should be legalized, though he would prefer it to be a states' rights issue rather than a federal law.
Government SurveillanceDurant 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 ChangeDurant has not embraced the scientific consensus on climate change, but believes measures should be taken to reduce pollution.
VaccinationsDurant 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