Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP Special

[Dentali]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 2

“The floor is now open to free discussion on a pathway to citizenship.”

[Jovuistan]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 2

“The floor is now open to free discussion on a pathway to citizenship.”

"I also strongly agree with my friends here that we need to repair our broken legal immigration system. Too many people seeking this country legally are stuck in an absurd backlog right now, and it would be ridiculous to try and get a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants done when we can't even do it for many legal immigrants. My administration would focus on fixing the dysfunction in the immigration bureaucracy, getting more staff and funding and immigration judges to get the work done. We will work to make our naturalizing process more fair and efficient for our legal permanent residents. We will increase the number of work and family visas. And we'll work to combat discrimination against legal immigrants and make them feel at home here in America.

"I also want to touch real quick on another aspect while we're on the topic: many of these undocumented immigrants are coming from less fortunate nations to our south. People here illegally didn't come here on a whim, they had to make a brutal decision to leave their home countries to seek a better shot here. People shouldn't be put in a position where they have to make that kind of decision, which is why I think we have an obligation to support our neighbors south of the border economically, providing them the development and resources to build their countries so their people don't feel the need to flee their homes. This would both help disincentivize illegal immigration and spur new partnerships abroad."

[Madrinpoor]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 2

“The floor is now open to free discussion on a pathway to citizenship.”

"I also strongly agree with my friends here that we need to repair our broken legal immigration system. Too many people seeking this country legally are stuck in an absurd backlog right now, and it would be ridiculous to try and get a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants done when we can't even do it for many legal immigrants. My administration would focus on fixing the dysfunction in the immigration bureaucracy, getting more staff and funding and immigration judges to get the work done. We will work to make our naturalizing process more fair and efficient for our legal permanent residents. We will increase the number of work and family visas. And we'll work to combat discrimination against legal immigrants and make them feel at home here in America.

"I also want to touch real quick on another aspect while we're on the topic: many of these undocumented immigrants are coming from less fortunate nations to our south. People here illegally didn't come here on a whim, they had to make a brutal decision to leave their home countries to seek a better shot here. People shouldn't be put in a position where they have to make that kind of decision, which is why I think we have an obligation to support our neighbors south of the border economically, providing them the development and resources to build their countries so their people don't feel the need to flee their homes. This would both help disincentivize illegal immigration and spur new partnerships abroad."

"Exactly right, Senator. There's a very famous segment of a poem I'm sure everyone has heard:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

"And I know of no more golden door than America!"

[Alozia]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 2

“Do you support a Pathway to Citizenship or Legal Status for those who entered the country illegally but are otherwise law abiding citizens?”

COLORADO DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR ROBERT WALLACE

Long story short - yes, I would. Look, many of my colleagues here have rightly pointed out the importance of immigrants to the history, culture and economy of the United States. None of us would be here if it weren't for immigrants, be they our parents, grandparents and so on.

But many viewers, listeners probably ask themselves- why should I care? After all our economy is not in a great shape and you have right-wing politicians screaming about immigrants 'stealing' our jobs. Many working-class Americans probably feel uneasy about accepting more people into our country. And to answer those anxieties I have to say this - the reason why employers are allowed to pay undocumented migrants so little, why abuse towards those individuals is so common place is exactly because of their lack of legal status. So, if we want to keep our economy healthy, workers well paid and citizens as well as migrants treated well we have to create a Path to Citizenship!

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 2

“Do you support a Pathway to Citizenship or Legal Status for those who entered the country illegally but are otherwise law abiding citizens?”

FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
GOVERNOR UPTON FLEMING

Yes, like others on this stage, I support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, for reason similar to those already given. Honestly, it is a realtively easy position to take. Overwhelming, the American people, as a whole, across the partisan divide, overwhelmingly support a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented. Which is precisely why it's so concerning that despite efforts like the DREAM act, we haven't been able to get much done and it calls for consideration for as to why that's been so. Since Undocumented workers kept in the shadows by their lack of legal status, they're easily forced into accepting inferior inferior wages and conditions that are often illegal in of themselves. We speak much of immigrants doing jobs that many citizens won't, but less about why so many citizens don't do these jobs. Ultimately, it's because the associated wages and conditions are too poor, largely due to the availability of undocumented labor to abuse. So, naturally, the existing arrangement is quite favorable to a select few special interests, who then proceed to influence both congress and conversation to maintain it. This is also why we must be wary of what comes out of immigration reform efforts. Making guest workers out of undocumented immigrants for the most part just puts a sheen of legality over these abusive dynamics, as the threat of losing one's place in America for demanding better from employers remains. A pathway to citizenship for the undocumented is not a matter of charity, it's about defending the rights of all workers.

[Dentali]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 3

“How would you revitalize agriculture and rural America”

[Jovuistan]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 3

“How would you revitalize agriculture and rural America”

FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR CAROLE MARTEL

"I've been to a few farms while on the trail, and so many of the farmers I've met tell me that they don't have the support they need from this administration. Our agricultural and rural communities are so critical to American life, and we should do everything we can to make sure they have the support they need to continue providing for themselves and the rest of us. Rural America has been on the decline, with more and more people falling into poverty.

"We need to provide our farmers with a strong safety net to undo that decline, including subsidies and a permanent disaster relief program. We need to invest more in agricultural technologies and renewable energies like ethanol, transforming and growing the rural economy and creating millions of new decent-paying jobs. We'll provide rural America with broadband that'll allow them to enjoy the same growing power of the internet that urban America has. We'll also ensure our agriculture is sustainable through funding for soil and water conservation programs. And we should also do more to help rural schools which are dramatically underperforming, incentivizing high-quality teachers to get into the classrooms, as well as supporting higher education opportunities."

[Madrinpoor]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 3

“How would you revitalize agriculture and rural America”

"See, I have a vision of America that's different from most other politicians'.

"In my America, the economy is in the hands of the majority of the people who buy and sell and grow and produce — workers and farmers — instead of in big, sleazy businessmen who manipulate, lie, steal, and pay off politicians. For my America to become a reality, the government needs to make investments; big time investments in the form farmer subsidies, relief programs for horrific natural disasters, tax cuts for the average man and the tax burden redistributed onto corporations and the wealthy, research money into better forms of pesticides and fertilizers that are healthier for the planet and the people, an increased agricultural labor force — and you know where that comes from, our southern border — an end to buying food and goods from other countries, enshrined in contracts like NAFTA, and an America devoted towards "buying American", by increasing foreign agricultural tariffs and incentivizing stores to buy from our own farmers, and stop American food from rotting in silos."

[Kargintinia]

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Let me keep things simple, it’s time to bring America back home!

Too many jobs are being shipped away overseas. My Presidency will bring on tariffs to help revitalize American industry. We will invest in agriculture with subsidies and tax cuts. You go to these rural towns in places Ohio and West Virginia and you just see how the government has failed. These Establishment politicians don’t care about the average worker. We need to bring jobs back to our shores and get America working again!”

[Dentali]

MODERATOR

“The floor is now open for free discussion on the topic of agriculture.”

[Madrinpoor]

(Image)

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Let me keep things simple, it’s time to bring America back home!

Too many jobs are being shipped away overseas. My Presidency will bring on tariffs to help revitalize American industry. We will invest in agriculture with subsidies and tax cuts. You go to these rural towns in places Ohio and West Virginia and you just see how the government has failed. These Establishment politicians don’t care about the average worker. We need to bring jobs back to our shores and get America working again!”

"I find it hilarious that an airline CEO talks about shipping jobs overseas. He makes his money by doing literally that."

[Mareadmonte]

(Image)

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Let me keep things simple, it’s time to bring America back home!

Too many jobs are being shipped away overseas. My Presidency will bring on tariffs to help revitalize American industry. We will invest in agriculture with subsidies and tax cuts. You go to these rural towns in places Ohio and West Virginia and you just see how the government has failed. These Establishment politicians don’t care about the average worker. We need to bring jobs back to our shores and get America working again!”

"I find it hilarious that an airline CEO talks about shipping jobs overseas. He makes his money by doing literally that."

"Ain't it funny?" Woolworth quipped, grin on his face. This Jean-Jaques guy was growing on him.

"All of y'all, one...two..." he began, pointing at his fellow candidates. "three...four, you all talk about the need to save farming, save our workers, save our industries. I have one question for y'all. Have any one of you, even for one day in your life, worked on a farm. Worked in the factories, worked in the mills. No, if I'm not mistaken, none of you have. I've been farmin' since the 70s, and we sure as hell don't need no wind power or corporate money to save our farms and our jobs - we need federal investment and subsidies, we need corporate greed to get out of the picture, we need to stop ceding ground to China and Japan in trade, and we need to keep people like Mr. Wright Brothers over here out of the White House. This guy talks about the rural towns in Ohio and West Virginia, and about the establishment - but does anyone actually believe he cares? He is the establishment."

[Kargintinia]

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

"You know, this J.J. guy sure likes to hear himself speak. Many of you may have never heard of him-I can't blame you. Let me tell you bit about this individual, he is definitely a loser, two time in fact. The voters of Baltimore rejected him once, and then after four years of giving him a shot they realized what a loser he was and voted him out. Crime went through the roof. Ain't that really something? The man who fumbled Baltimore so bad he had to spend a decade rehabilitating his image in the media establishment thinks he can run the country. It took him four years to ruin Baltimore-he would ruin America even faster. Where's that second term Mr. Mayor?

And I don't even have to talk about Representative Jim Crow over there. I'm campaigning to take this nation into the future-he wants to take us back to 1860. I am the only candidate who will bring back manufacturing, revitalize our industry and get this economy working for all of us again. So while the establishment ships away your jobs in the name of profit, I will get jobs back to America again."

[Mareadmonte]

(Image)

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

"You know, this J.J. guy sure likes to hear himself speak. Many of you may have never heard of him-I can't blame you. Let me tell you bit about this individual, he is definitely a loser, two time in fact. The voters of Baltimore rejected him once, and then after four years of giving him a shot they realized what a loser he was and voted him out. Crime went through the roof. Ain't that really something? The man who fumbled Baltimore so bad he had to spend a decade rehabilitating his image in the media establishment thinks he can run the country. It took him four years to ruin Baltimore-he would ruin America even faster. Where's that second term Mr. Mayor?

And I don't even have to talk about Representative Jim Crow over there. I'm campaigning to take this nation into the future-he wants to take us back to 1860. I am the only candidate who will bring back manufacturing, revitalize our industry and get this economy working for all of us again. So while the establishment ships away your jobs in the name of profit, I will get jobs back to America again."

"If your idea of a future involves what your past looks like, I don't want to live that future. The bottom 99% of Americans don't go sleeping around with Thai women, they don't own an airline, they don't have a reality TV show, and they're certainly not as entitled as yourself, Mr. Baylor. You've spent your entire career building off of then breaking the backs of the people you now seek to support you in your ill-guided quest for personal satisfaction in running for President."

[Jovuistan]

FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR CAROLE MARTEL

"Yes, getting our trade policies in order is essential to rebuilding not just our rural economy but the economy of our whole country. We've got to re-negotiate NAFTA, of course, which for all its good intentions was not the fair deal we sought it out to be. We can't do that though without getting tougher negotiators to strike deals benefitting not only Wall Street but Main Street as well, which has been too often left behind in these types of deals. That's exactly what I would aim for as President.

"A Martel administration would enforce strict standards on international labor and the environment in any trade deal, enforce laws protecting American workers, businesses, and farmers from unfair trade policies like currency manipulation and lax consumer standards. We will show leadership at the World Trade Center and push for accountability and transparency. We will end the tax breaks for companies shipping jobs overseas and incentivize keeping those jobs here at home. And, look, in order to get the best trade deals, we need to have the best products on the market. That's why it's so critical that we invest in infrastructure, a strong workforce, and technology so America can be the leader in the global market."

[Kargintinia]

(Image)
FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR CAROLE MARTEL

"Yes, getting our trade policies in order is essential to rebuilding not just our rural economy but the economy of our whole country. We've got to re-negotiate NAFTA, of course, which for all its good intentions was not the fair deal we sought it out to be. We can't do that though without getting tougher negotiators to strike deals benefitting not only Wall Street but Main Street as well, which has been too often left behind in these types of deals. That's exactly what I would aim for as President.

"A Martel administration would enforce strict standards on international labor and the environment in any trade deal, enforce laws protecting American workers, businesses, and farmers from unfair trade policies like currency manipulation and lax consumer standards. We will show leadership at the World Trade Center and push for accountability and transparency. We will end the tax breaks for companies shipping jobs overseas and incentivize keeping those jobs here at home. And, look, in order to get the best trade deals, we need to have the best products on the market. That's why it's so critical that we invest in infrastructure, a strong workforce, and technology so America can be the leader in the global market."

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Don’t be fooled folks, Money Martel is not the one to clean this system. She speaks of keeping jobs here and looking to protect our workers, yet she is part of the system that sent our jobs in the first place! Senator Martel is Establishment through and through. She gave us Iraq, she gave us this horrible trade situation.


When she was voting for the AUMF, she probably thought it stood for Authorization of More Monetary Funds. Make no mistake, Money Martel is the establishment candidate through and through. Vote for Martel for more wars and less jobs, vote Baylor for both jobs and troops home.”

[Jovuistan]

(Image)
FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR CAROLE MARTEL

"Yes, getting our trade policies in order is essential to rebuilding not just our rural economy but the economy of our whole country. We've got to re-negotiate NAFTA, of course, which for all its good intentions was not the fair deal we sought it out to be. We can't do that though without getting tougher negotiators to strike deals benefitting not only Wall Street but Main Street as well, which has been too often left behind in these types of deals. That's exactly what I would aim for as President.

"A Martel administration would enforce strict standards on international labor and the environment in any trade deal, enforce laws protecting American workers, businesses, and farmers from unfair trade policies like currency manipulation and lax consumer standards. We will show leadership at the World Trade Center and push for accountability and transparency. We will end the tax breaks for companies shipping jobs overseas and incentivize keeping those jobs here at home. And, look, in order to get the best trade deals, we need to have the best products on the market. That's why it's so critical that we invest in infrastructure, a strong workforce, and technology so America can be the leader in the global market."

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Don’t be fooled folks, Money Martel is not the one to clean this system. She speaks of keeping jobs here and looking to protect our workers, yet she is part of the system that sent our jobs in the first place! Senator Martel is Establishment through and through. She gave us Iraq, she gave us this horrible trade situation.


When she was voting for the AUMF, she probably thought it stood for Authorization of More Monetary Funds. Make no mistake, Money Martel is the establishment candidate through and through. Vote for Martel for more wars and less jobs, vote Baylor for both jobs and troops home.”

"Mr. Baylor, I'll ignore your childish name-calling to talk about the facts. I've already answered on Iraq multiple times in this debate, we're talking about agriculture and trade now. I didn't 'give' any of our country's trade issues, I've taken issue with NAFTA for years, and I wish I were in a better position at the time to push for it to be changed. I actually have a record of creating jobs, starting when I was Mayor of San Francisco and put thousands of people to work in constructing new affordable housing, and uniting our community together to rebuild after Loma Prieta. I was proud to introduce the Tax Relief and Health Care Act last year which spared middle-class America from an undue tax burden. Even now the ROSE Act I've introduced in the Senate would bring new good-paying jobs in new renewable energy technologies. My entire career has been about creating opportunities for my constituents, and I'm proud of the work I've done on that."

"Honestly, Money Martel doesn't sound so bad. It works because we're going to be putting money back in the hands of American families after John Cush's stagnation. Thanks, Tripp."

[Dentali]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

[Madrinpoor]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

"The only limitation I'd like to put on abortion is a limitation on the government legislating about abortion. I'm personally opposed to abortion, but I won't pretend to know better than a woman or a doctor. It should be a personal thing — people who feel they need it should be able to get a safe, legal abortion, and people who oppose it can just...not. It's that simple."

[Jovuistan]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR CAROLE MARTEL

"Well, Melissa, I believe as I think the majority of Americans do in a woman's right to choose. The question is whether the government trusts women with their own health decisions, which I think the government should. I do think it's important to recognize that this is a difficult decision that women don't just make lightly, and for many Americans, this is just a hideous issue to discuss. Abortion is a procedure that should be safe, legal, and rare. I would ensure that all of my nominees to the Supreme Court are pro-choice and will protect Roe v. Wade. On the very serious topic of partial-birth abortion, the thing to understand is that this is an incredibly rare procedure that accounts for not even one percent of all abortions, and it should be rare, reserved for when the life or health of the woman in question is put at stake.

"But I think ultimately we need to find ways we can agree on reducing the need for women to anguish over these decisions. Things like reducing teen pregnancy, affordable family planning services, age-appropriate sex education. Those are all ways we can lower the number of women being pushed into making these sorts of brutal decisions, ways I think we can put into practice."

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
GOVERNOR UPTON FLEMING

"I think the american people as a whole, outside of the fringe if either side of the question, can agree to a limit on late term abortions. In Pennsylvania, we put that limit at 6 months of fetus development. Though I have a personal opposition to abortion informed by my faith, the reality is, in the early stages particularly, the only result of criminalizing abortions is well off people finding a way to do it safely elsewhere and less fortunate people doing it dangerously in the shadows. The most effective way to limit abortions is avoiding unwanted pregnancies in the first place and ensuring that we maintain public services and programs that encourage and reward healthy motherhood. It this through these strategies that while a women's choice remains safe in Pennsylvania, the number of abortion clinics have dropped year over year, largely out of a fall in demand."

[Kargintinia]

Nesbitt Tripp Baylor

”Roe v. Wade must not be overturned. As it stands, we need abortion to be safe, legal and rare. We need to create the conditions in which abortions are not as needed, by providing contraceptives and protection, as well as economic conditions in which a family is capable of having kids without worry. Representative Jim Crow and the Republicans want to totally destroy abortion and force women to have ectopic pregnancies.

I can understand some limitations, such as preventing partial-birth abortions. But what the Republicans want is simply too far and completely out of touch with modern America.”

[Mareadmonte]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

"Psalm 22:10 says ``From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.``. The Ten Commandments state that thou shalt not murder! This is not a political issue! This is not left or right, libertarian or authoritarian - it's about life. Life. Is. Sacred. We shouldn't have folks out here using abortion like it's some end-all solution to pregnancy, just havin' abortions like a form of birth control. If you don't want a baby, don't do the act. If you're raped, in danger, anything like that - of course, nobody's gonna stop you. But if I become President, any and all funding to facilities that promote abortion as something other than a last, last resort - will be ended. I will seek a federal ban on abortion before the second trimester. We've gotta protect the unborn of America, and I think the first steps that I've described must be taken."

[Madrinpoor]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

"Psalm 22:10 says ``From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.``. The Ten Commandments state that thou shalt not murder! This is not a political issue! This is not left or right, libertarian or authoritarian - it's about life. Life. Is. Sacred. We shouldn't have folks out here using abortion like it's some end-all solution to pregnancy, just havin' abortions like a form of birth control. If you don't want a baby, don't do the act. If you're raped, in danger, anything like that - of course, nobody's gonna stop you. But if I become President, any and all funding to facilities that promote abortion as something other than a last, last resort - will be ended. I will seek a federal ban on abortion before the second trimester. We've gotta protect the unborn of America, and I think the first steps that I've described must be taken."

J.J. shook his head. He liked Bob. It'd be hard to see him get mauled on live TV.

[Alozia]

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE 1 QUESTION 4

“What limitations if any do you support on Abortion?”

COLORADO DEMOCRATIC DEBATE
SENATOR ROBERT WALLACE

"Let me say this clearly, so that there is no confusion - women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights.

Two questions ago we discussed how America is a diverse nation, made up of diverse people, people from all walks of life, with different experiences. Some of those experiences are what lead countless women across this nation to consider and, if they choose to do so, undergo an abortion. The list of reasons why a woman might decide to have an abortion is incredibly long, but they all have one thing in common - just as with any other medical procedure it is and should be up to the patient, a patient who should not have to fear seeking medical advice and medical care.

We don't scrutinize other medical decisions, so why should this be different? This double standard must end. We must make sure that patients have the power to make decisions about what's right for them and not people like Mr. Woolworth, who'd like to bring us back to the Dark Ages with their self-righteousness and cruelty. Our government is here to help people, not to make one individual feel powerful!

My colleagues have also rightly pointed out Roe v. Wade. If elected President I will make sure that our Supreme Court maintains and strengthens the Constitution, instead of acting as a group of conservative activists, like Republicans would want it to."