Let Freedom Ring: An American Political RP (OOC)

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:12 am

CURRENT IC DATE: 22 to 28 August 2022

Let Freedom Ring! Or don't... wouldn't that be a fright?

'Let Freedom Ring', is an American Political and Character RP where players can explore the intricacies of government, from the cloak and dagger politics of the capital, to plainspoken compromise in the heartland, to the gritty in-and-outs of running some of the world’s greatest cities.

The year is now 2022, President Jim Byron has been marred by Democratic infighting, high inflation, the ongoing reverberations from the Covid-19 Pandemic, and the heightened political tension and partisanship within the United States. He is the oldest President in the history of the United States, and the first to have a female Vice President.

On the Republican side, former President Frank Wade is under legal and political pressure for his alleged involvement in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. While some want his return, others voice support for a new vision for the Republican Party, with varying tribute and respect for his past Presidency. Play as a Senator, Governor, Congressperson, Mayor or any other figure with a hand in today's politics.

Or run for office, from dogcatcher to the Presidency to fight for your own slice of the American Political landscape. Create an original character, and make your way through these trying times. Will you Let Freedom Ring?

All characters in this RP are original once player actions interfere with otherwise existing IRL equivalents. This means that until player applications cause deviations from IRL, IRL unless otherwise stated in the OP continues unimpeded. Visit the portal for all up to date information on deviations from IRL. All events that occurred in real history have occurred in this RP, the economy is in the same shape, the climate, international relations, healthcare and everything you can quantify is the same until August 15, 2022 where our world deviates. The Prologue of this story, shall last through till January 3, 2023 at which point the 118th Congress shall be seated. Chapters I-III will chronicle the following two years and new players are advised to read the histories section on the portal and NationStates to remain up to date. "You" dear reader, can trigger changes aplenty. In the midst of a time of great political chaos and confusion, where do you stand?

QUICK LINKS
The Portal • The In Character • The Congressional Page • The Discord
Please note: Roster of Characters is listed on the OOC and the Portal

THE RULES:

1. The OP's words are the words of the Gods, but these Gods are not infallible, you can argue your position in a civil way but in the end their decision is final.

2. No real people or celebrities as characters. There is no Bernie Sanders that you can play. As per the introductory note, politicians post-Reagan do not exist, or have been replaced with generic stand-ins: you can play them, should you wish. Records and history are the same, including statistics, save in the places where player-characters have brought about a change.

3. Regarding absences- If you, for whatever reason, must take a leave from the roleplay-that is of course fine. But please inform us ahead and how long it may take. If you are found to have just up and left the RP, we may have to simulate how you character act in votes per say, especially depending on their importance.

4. When it comes to writing; please do it well. We expect a certain level of quality with your posts. One or two sentences will not be acceptable, but we can be permissive-if your character is engaged in conversation, a sentence is fine

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. Character models also have to be googleable, no photoshopped models, if we can't google your character model you can't have them!

6. No cheat-edits. Once you've made an IC post, leave it. Edits to formatting are all right along with typos, but don't try to change anything major compared to what you have already written, especially if it has already been responded to. If your character said it in public, it must stay. Gaffes happen, after all.

7. If you are not sure if something is legal or okay, ask OOC first. Always better to check-and there is limited leniency for things that are obviously bad.

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.

9. No meta-gaming. Do not let the OOC influence the realism of your character's actions. If they are in a closed situation in which information is limited, they cannot state specific statistics, for example.

10. PG-13 limit. Per site-wide rules, nothing too saucy or racy. You know it when you see it.

11. The Discord is an intrinsic part of this RP for Committee Hearings and Debates. Unless your character is not at all involved in these two elements of the RP, it is strongly advised to join the Discord as linked above.

12. All characters require a character model that is; googleable, identifiable, generally a public figure who are not copy-pastas from the position the IC character holds (ie, no Senator from West Virginia may be used as the char model for a U.S. Senator from W.V.). High profile political models will be declined (world leaders, and public figures with a larger than life presence), as will celebrities with limited politician-style photos.

13. Wealthy characters, such as businessmen or celebrities, may exist but their net worth cannot exceed 1 Billion dollars. (No Billionaires)

14. Characters cannot all be identical to one another; each player’s characters need to represent a diverse range of backgrounds and ideologies.

15. Need more than just personality weaknesses and characters cannot be foreign characters, all chars must therefore be U.S. Citizens, naturalized or natural-born.

16. This RP is a story more than game! Administrators want to see characters of substance, we want to cry when they cry and laugh when they laugh, that means we will reward high quality story-telling as much as we will political gamesmanship.

17. The Administration will reserve the right to interpret and amend all rules as listed, with consultation to the community whenever relevant.

ADMINISTRATORS
Sarenium (OP) • Alozia • Greater Arab State • Lavan Tiri • Jovuistan
Administrators are responsible for decision making within the RP, they collectively manage polling, special events and son on. They are your last source of appeal if you have any issue within the RP. Do not hesitate to contact any of the above with any question or issue as you may have.

THE COMPOSITION

THE ROSTER

The below characters are canon, and therefore players cannot apply for them.

APPLY FOR A CHARACTER

Stuck writing a good application? Your application needs to do three things:

- Introduce your character.
- Be fair and balanced.
- Give other characters a rudimentary idea of your character's motivations and desires.
- Follow the QOC Principles! Q- Quality, O- Originality and C- Character; that means high quality, original (no past RP characters or irl copy-pastas), and character, bring some uniqueness and flair!

This means your strengths and weaknesses need to be more than "Struggles to Cooperate with People" or "Very Charismatic", these strengths and weaknesses should be drawn from the application itself so fill that box in after the biography.

Writing a good biography is key to getting an application quickly accepted, a good bio means detail is placed in proportion to the importance and weight of the character. If the character is a White House Staffer, you can get away with just two or three paragraphs, but if you're applying for a Senator or Governor, the Admin Team is looking for more background. How did they first get their foot in the door? What did they do before entering politics? What have they done since being in office? What's their family like? Be prepared for OPs to give you some constructive criticism, it's very rare for applications to be accepted on the first try and there might be multiple OPs who give their opinion before you receive a final approval.

Don't make a post in the IC until you're accepted! It'll be retconned and we'll only get frustrated for it.

The below application is a template, provided all essential information such as the below, are published in one form or another, your app will be eligible for review.

Once your character is accepted, an Admin will repost your application as accepted and it will no longer be amendable. Any player seeking more than three characters will need to have proven their involvement in the community

Code: Select all: [align=center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress.svg/170px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress.svg.png[/img] [hr][/hr] [img]Photo%20of%20Character%20Here[/img] [hr][/hr] Character Application and Information Sheet[/align] NS Nation Name: Character Name: Character Gender: Character Age: Character Date of Birth: Character Current Office: Character Past Office(s): Character Place of Birth: Character State of Residence: Character Party Affiliation: Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Main Strengths: Main Weaknesses: RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 200 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): The below fields will not apply to all characters but may be applicable to yours; U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Religion: Children (Name & Age of Each): Parents: Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!): Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs) I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: (Your Nation's Name Here) [size=30]Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123[/size]

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:13 am

*RESERVED*

for future posting!

by **The Sarangtus Lands** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:43 am

NS Nation Name: The Sarangtus Lands

Character Name: Estanislao Durruti

Character Gender: Male

Character Age: 38

Character Date of Birth: 29th of February 1984

Character Current Office: Host of the Durruti Show on Free Speech TV, Candidate for California Governor

Character Past Office(s): Manager of the San Bernardino County Food Bank,

Character Place of Birth: Needles, San Bernardino County, California

Character State of Residence: California

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party/Democratic Socialists of America

Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Román Meyer Falcón

Main Strengths: Charismatic, outsider, popular among progressive activists, supported by rural voters and Hispaics, working-class background

Main Weaknesses: Radical, no executive or legislative experience, little institutional support, untested politically and prone to gaffes, no personal funds, sexuality and race may pose a barrier to office.

RP Sample: LOTF, HOTB, FL68, etc

Membership(s): Democratic Socialists of America

Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): CHSPE

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Barry Wilson (m. 2013)

Religion: Irreligious privately, but does not comment on religion in public

Children (Name & Age of Each): Jorge Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015), Carolina Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015)

Parents: Enrique Durruti (b. 1950), Maria Durruti (b. 1953)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!): Brothers are Enrique Durruti Jr. (b. 1975), Valentina Durruti (b. 1976), Camiya Durruti (b. 1979), Mateo Durruti (b. 1981), Tomas Durruti (b. 1980), David Durruti (b. 1983)

Biography: Durruti was born to farmer, and former lieutenant of the Chilean army, Enrique Durruti, along with his wife who worked as a waitress at the local branch of a major food company. He went through school, mostly disinterested in academic affairs but still being able to get decent grades, spending a lot of his time socialising and getting along with others. His father being a farmer, and his semi-decent grades, allowed him to take the CHSPE, which means that he came home at the age of 16, and went back to farm, spending his spare time both doing volunteering in his local community, working on a variety of things from going to the orphanage to take care of children to spending time at a food bank where he would later become a manager. One particularly interesting thing he got to in this time was getting on political debate boards, and developing an interest in politics, along with finding out his sexuality and getting into a relationship with his long-term partner, later husband, Barry Wilson. At this point in life, he then fully committed his energy to the food bank, taking a job as the manager there, and got further involved in online political circles. He had a passion for the job, but an even stronger passion for his nascent political activism. - For a few years, he remained in post, but the recession had spurred him to start making videos on YouTube alongside his regular job, and his rather aggressive speeches had slowly allowed him to gain traction, allowing him to expand his reach to regular radio, with one of his videos - "Corporate Goon George Bush Takes Money from the Poor and Gives It to the Rich", going viral, earning him an early boost. - He used his new platform to start campaigning against Prop 8, coming out as bisexual in a 2008 video, and called on all Californians watching to oppose the proposition, as he resigned his job to commit himself to the Prop 8 campaign, touring across California opposing it. - His effort failed, but he kept strong, raising money for Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier, and as such publicising himself across California's LGBT community, his following (on all the different platforms he put himself from) continued to increase, however he wanted to avoid a sectional image, and spent a lot of the time covering the Recession, and speaking with families across California affected by it, and doing usual segments about the failures of the federal government in helping the poor. - During the very slow recovery of the US, he set up mutual aid programmes and worked to provide aid to the poor in California, and in neighbouring states, while continuing to do his show. He called for people to help him, and said that "If the government isn't going to help us, then we'll have to help ourselves." His show is reasonably popular, and its success has allowed Free Speech TV to expand to be available on every Californian TV, with most of his viewership being in-state, though interestingly he has a larger-than-expected following in Vermont.

He also started a letter-writing campaign protesting the removal of the public option from the ACA, though it wasn't particularly effective or convincing, along with others on many other issues such as calling for allowing the Bush tax cuts and PATRIOT Act to expire, as he continued doing his show and it grew further, as he was eventually upgraded to Free Speech TV where he was able to do a weekly show, as he still put out radio and YouTube content. - With his new resources, he was able to produce more sophisticated material, creating a popular documentary on poverty in America known as "Midnight of Neoliberalism", holding interviews with the American working class across all 50 states and touring the country to produce segments for the film, which was met with popular approval. He also produced another documentary, released on the day of the Obergefell decision, known as "Bursting Rainbows", covering America's LGBT communities and their struggle for equal rights, earning awards for it. He also made a film about climate change known as "The Final Crisis of Capitalism and the Myth of Eternal Growth", focusing on publicising the research about climate change in a digestible form to the public while putting forward the case that climate change was caused by systemic factors and how many so-called 'market-based' solutions would fail, and making the case for not just a Green New Deal but a complete economic rethinking in light of the climate crisis, along with another film released relatively recently in 2021 reflecting on the Trump legacy and the possible future, known as "The Lost Dream", pointing to economic anxiety and the Democrats' abandoning of the working class and its issues as the reason for Trump's victory, and raising the signal that, "it is appeasement that got us here, and it won't be appeasement that gets us out." He has also publicly criticised capitalism, calling himself a ‘staunch anti-capitalist’ in a Jacobin interview, and stuck to a traditional definition of socialism, calling for democratic ownership of the means of production, and that his fellow socialists needed to fight for that ideal harder.

He has also written a few books, such as "Manifesto: Why We Fight", which details a reflection of his own life experiences growing up in California, and while it was somewhat of an autobiography, it also served as a motivational work, calling on the reader to turn thoughts into action, along with "A Different Way", a work of political theory which outlined his thoughts on various subjects from welfare to the environment, and "America Divided", a recently released 'sequel' to 'Midnight of Neoliberalism', which covered the great gaps in American society, calling back to Dr. King's famous speech 'The Other America', along with Harrington's work on the same issue. He spoke as to how inequality in power and wealth had ripped apart the fabric of American society, and the continued atomisation and breaking down of society, and his fear that America would destroy any hope of true solidarity, instead focusing on internecine conflict and anger for the sake of it.

He is seen as a leading political theorist on the left, and has announced his run for Governor, after [not-Newsom] was embroiled in a corruption scandal, starting off relatively low but using his energised activist base and his charisma to gain in support across the entire campaign, making it to the runoff and preparing to win against [not-Jim Cooper]. He has campaigned on a platform of what he has called “The California Project”, using the strong majorities of the Democratic Party to effect change on the state level, and provide a model for working socialism in America, focusing on economic issues, and proposing a cocktail of radical solutions such as increasing public control of the energy production and fuel sectors to tackle inflation, paid for by a windfall tax, increases on the minimum wage, promoting partial employee ownership to ensure that they reap the benefits of increased profits, and New Deal-style developments in infrastructure and production to increase output, growth, and the supply of key products to tackle the supply chain crisis, and improving Californian agriculture through capital investment in order to reduce food prices in California and strengthen its exports to provide more money for farmers which will move across the economy and ensure common prosperity.

His campaign slogan is “Victory for the People!”, and he has been noted for running a rather populist, bread-and-butter campaign that many feel is critical of the current direction of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole, echoed by his calls that the left must provide a viable alternative to both what he called ‘feckless neoliberalism’ and ‘Gilded Age reactionarism’. He has also focused on making endorsements downballot, and strengthening State House and Senate candidates, running what he called the “People’s Slate”, a full list of endorsed candidates for every district, supporting his endorsers, primarying those most vociferously opposed to him, and campaigning against Republicans to bolster the Democratic majority.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: The Sarangtus Lands

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

by **Jovuistan** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:46 am

~~First~~ Second app lol

by **Jovuistan** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:40 am

The Sarangtus Lands wrote:NS Nation Name: The Sarangtus Lands

Character Name: Estanislao Durruti

Character Gender: Male

Character Age: 38

Character Date of Birth: 29th of February 1984

Character Current Office: Host of the Durruti Show on Free Speech TV, Candidate for California Governor

Character Past Office(s): Manager of the San Bernardino County Food Bank,

Character Place of Birth: Needles, San Bernardino County, California

Character State of Residence: California

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party/Democratic Socialists of America

Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Román Meyer Falcón

Main Strengths: Charismatic, outsider, popular among progressive activists, supported by rural voters and Hispaics, working-class background

Main Weaknesses: Radical, no executive or legislative experience, little institutional support, untested politically and prone to gaffes, no personal funds, sexuality and race may pose a barrier to office.

RP Sample: LOTF, HOTB, FL68, etc

Membership(s): Democratic Socialists of America

Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): CHSPE

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Barry Wilson (m. 2013)

Religion: Irreligious privately, but does not comment on religion in public

Children (Name & Age of Each): Jorge Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015), Carolina Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015)

Parents: Enrique Durruti (b. 1950), Maria Durruti (b. 1953)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!): Brothers are Enrique Durruti Jr. (b. 1975), Valentina Durruti (b. 1976), Camiya Durruti (b. 1979), Mateo Durruti (b. 1981), Tomas Durruti (b. 1980), David Durruti (b. 1983)

Biography: Durruti was born to farmer, and former lieutenant of the Chilean army, Enrique Durruti, along with his wife who worked as a waitress at the local branch of a major food company. He went through school, mostly disinterested in academic affairs but still being able to get decent grades, spending a lot of his time socialising and getting along with others. His father being a farmer, and his semi-decent grades, allowed him to take the CHSPE, which means that he came home at the age of 16, and went back to farm, spending his spare time both doing volunteering in his local community, working on a variety of things from going to the orphanage to take care of children to spending time at a food bank where he would later become a manager. One particularly interesting thing he got to in this time was getting on political debate boards, and developing an interest in politics, along with finding out his sexuality and getting into a relationship with his long-term partner, later husband, Barry Wilson. At this point in life, he then fully committed his energy to the food bank, taking a job as the manager there, and got further involved in online political circles. He had a passion for the job, but an even stronger passion for his nascent political activism. - For a few years, he remained in post, but the recession had spurred him to start making videos on YouTube alongside his regular job, and his rather aggressive speeches had slowly allowed him to gain traction, allowing him to expand his reach to regular radio, with one of his videos - "Corporate Goon George Bush Takes Money from the Poor and Gives It to the Rich", going viral, earning him an early boost. - He used his new platform to start campaigning against Prop 8, coming out as bisexual in a 2008 video, and called on all Californians watching to oppose the proposition, as he resigned his job to commit himself to the Prop 8 campaign, touring across California opposing it. - His effort failed, but he kept strong, raising money for Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier, and as such publicising himself across California's LGBT community, his following (on all the different platforms he put himself from) continued to increase, however he wanted to avoid a sectional image, and spent a lot of the time covering the Recession, and speaking with families across California affected by it, and doing usual segments about the failures of the federal government in helping the poor. - During the very slow recovery of the US, he set up mutual aid programmes and worked to provide aid to the poor in California, and in neighbouring states, while continuing to do his show. He called for people to help him, and said that "If the government isn't going to help us, then we'll have to help ourselves." His show is reasonably popular, and its success has allowed Free Speech TV to expand to be available on every Californian TV, with most of his viewership being in-state, though interestingly he has a larger-than-expected following in Vermont.

He also started a letter-writing campaign protesting the removal of the public option from the ACA, though it wasn't particularly effective or convincing, along with others on many other issues such as calling for allowing the Bush tax cuts and PATRIOT Act to expire, as he continued doing his show and it grew further, as he was eventually upgraded to Free Speech TV where he was able to do a weekly show, as he still put out radio and YouTube content. - With his new resources, he was able to produce more sophisticated material, creating a popular documentary on poverty in America known as "Midnight of Neoliberalism", holding interviews with the American working class across all 50 states and touring the country to produce segments for the film, which was met with popular approval. He also produced another documentary, released on the day of the Obergefell decision, known as "Bursting Rainbows", covering America's LGBT communities and their struggle for equal rights, earning awards for it. He also made a film about climate change known as "The Final Crisis of Capitalism and the Myth of Eternal Growth", focusing on publicising the research about climate change in a digestible form to the public while putting forward the case that climate change was caused by systemic factors and how many so-called 'market-based' solutions would fail, and making the case for not just a Green New Deal but a complete economic rethinking in light of the climate crisis, along with another film released relatively recently in 2021 reflecting on the Trump legacy and the possible future, known as "The Lost Dream", pointing to economic anxiety and the Democrats' abandoning of the working class and its issues as the reason for Trump's victory, and raising the signal that, "it is appeasement that got us here, and it won't be appeasement that gets us out." He has also publicly criticised capitalism, calling himself a ‘staunch anti-capitalist’ in a Jacobin interview, and stuck to a traditional definition of socialism, calling for democratic ownership of the means of production, and that his fellow socialists needed to fight for that ideal harder.

He has also written a few books, such as "Manifesto: Why We Fight", which details a reflection of his own life experiences growing up in California, and while it was somewhat of an autobiography, it also served as a motivational work, calling on the reader to turn thoughts into action, along with "A Different Way", a work of political theory which outlined his thoughts on various subjects from welfare to the environment, and "America Divided", a recently released 'sequel' to 'Midnight of Neoliberalism', which covered the great gaps in American society, calling back to Dr. King's famous speech 'The Other America', along with Harrington's work on the same issue. He spoke as to how inequality in power and wealth had ripped apart the fabric of American society, and the continued atomisation and breaking down of society, and his fear that America would destroy any hope of true solidarity, instead focusing on internecine conflict and anger for the sake of it.

He is seen as a leading political theorist on the left, and has announced his run for Governor, after [not-Newsom] was embroiled in a corruption scandal, starting off relatively low but using his energised activist base and his charisma to gain in support across the entire campaign, making it to the runoff and preparing to win against [not-Jim Cooper]. He has campaigned on a platform of what he has called “The California Project”, using the strong majorities of the Democratic Party to effect change on the state level, and provide a model for working socialism in America, focusing on economic issues, and proposing a cocktail of radical solutions such as increasing public control of the energy production and fuel sectors to tackle inflation, paid for by a windfall tax, increases on the minimum wage, promoting partial employee ownership to ensure that they reap the benefits of increased profits, and New Deal-style developments in infrastructure and production to increase output, growth, and the supply of key products to tackle the supply chain crisis, and improving Californian agriculture through capital investment in order to reduce food prices in California and strengthen its exports to provide more money for farmers which will move across the economy and ensure common prosperity.

His campaign slogan is “Victory for the People!”, and he has been noted for running a rather populist, bread-and-butter campaign that many feel is critical of the current direction of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole, echoed by his calls that the left must provide a viable alternative to both what he called ‘feckless neoliberalism’ and ‘Gilded Age reactionarism’. He has also focused on making endorsements downballot, and strengthening State House and Senate candidates, running what he called the “People’s Slate”, a full list of endorsed candidates for every district, supporting his endorsers, primarying those most vociferously opposed to him, and campaigning against Republicans to bolster the Democratic majority.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: The Sarangtus Lands

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

First, congratulations on being the first app, I'm not salty at all.

1. He would have virtually no shot of making the runoff in a large state that has basically never elected a Democrat statewide who wasn't a part of the party establishment, much less someone young with little to know political experience openly identifying as socialist. The California Democratic machine is far too entrenched with plenty of candidates who would much more easily beat him out for the runoff.
2. I am very confused about his background, mainly to do with his Chilean father. Why is he here? Why is a Lieutenant of the Chilean Army a Farmer in California?
3. Uploading videos on the internet, even if they get viral, is not gonna be enough to get himself a popular radio show, much less one popular enough to get himself a TV channel on all TVs in the largest state in the union, especially considering how niche democratic socialism was at the time. Free Speech TV, unfortunately, is a bit of a non-starter for me with his current career leading up to it.
4. Estanislao is a dogshit name.

I'm not sure how to feel about this one so far. I think his success is a bit too inflated to be realistic, he's too young and left-wing to make the runoff in a massive state with a powerful machine that has multiple probably more well-known, mainstream, and broadly appealing who could block him from making the runoff, parts his background are somewhat confusing, and I'm also a bit skeptical of you playing another political extreme candidate with little to no political experience and would realistically have no shot at being elected to the office he seeks, and quite frankly, he seems like a hotshot self-insert. Now, I think this app can be improved, and I think he could have an interesting dynamic in the roster, but there are some real changes to his career that need to be adjusted for this app to be acceptable in my eyes. Don't be discouraged, though.

by **The Sarangtus Lands** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:45 am

Jovuistan wrote:
The Sarangtus Lands wrote:NS Nation Name: The Sarangtus Lands

Character Name: Estanislao Durruti

Character Gender: Male

Character Age: 38

Character Date of Birth: 29th of February 1984

Character Current Office: Host of the Durruti Show on Free Speech TV, Candidate for California Governor

Character Past Office(s): Manager of the San Bernardino County Food Bank,

Character Place of Birth: Needles, San Bernardino County, California

Character State of Residence: California

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party/Democratic Socialists of America

Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Román Meyer Falcón

Main Strengths: Charismatic, outsider, popular among progressive activists, supported by rural voters and Hispaics, working-class background

Main Weaknesses: Radical, no executive or legislative experience, little institutional support, untested politically and prone to gaffes, no personal funds, sexuality and race may pose a barrier to office.

RP Sample: LOTF, HOTB, FL68, etc

Membership(s): Democratic Socialists of America

Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): CHSPE

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Barry Wilson (m. 2013)

Religion: Irreligious privately, but does not comment on religion in public

Children (Name & Age of Each): Jorge Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015), Carolina Durruti-Wilson (b. 2015)

Parents: Enrique Durruti (b. 1950), Maria Durruti (b. 1953)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!): Brothers are Enrique Durruti Jr. (b. 1975), Valentina Durruti (b. 1976), Camiya Durruti (b. 1979), Mateo Durruti (b. 1981), Tomas Durruti (b. 1980), David Durruti (b. 1983)

Biography: Durruti was born to farmer, and former lieutenant of the Chilean army, Enrique Durruti, along with his wife who worked as a waitress at the local branch of a major food company. He went through school, mostly disinterested in academic affairs but still being able to get decent grades, spending a lot of his time socialising and getting along with others. His father being a farmer, and his semi-decent grades, allowed him to take the CHSPE, which means that he came home at the age of 16, and went back to farm, spending his spare time both doing volunteering in his local community, working on a variety of things from going to the orphanage to take care of children to spending time at a food bank where he would later become a manager. One particularly interesting thing he got to in this time was getting on political debate boards, and developing an interest in politics, along with finding out his sexuality and getting into a relationship with his long-term partner, later husband, Barry Wilson. At this point in life, he then fully committed his energy to the food bank, taking a job as the manager there, and got further involved in online political circles. He had a passion for the job, but an even stronger passion for his nascent political activism. - For a few years, he remained in post, but the recession had spurred him to start making videos on YouTube alongside his regular job, and his rather aggressive speeches had slowly allowed him to gain traction, allowing him to expand his reach to regular radio, with one of his videos - "Corporate Goon George Bush Takes Money from the Poor and Gives It to the Rich", going viral, earning him an early boost. - He used his new platform to start campaigning against Prop 8, coming out as bisexual in a 2008 video, and called on all Californians watching to oppose the proposition, as he resigned his job to commit himself to the Prop 8 campaign, touring across California opposing it. - His effort failed, but he kept strong, raising money for Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier, and as such publicising himself across California's LGBT community, his following (on all the different platforms he put himself from) continued to increase, however he wanted to avoid a sectional image, and spent a lot of the time covering the Recession, and speaking with families across California affected by it, and doing usual segments about the failures of the federal government in helping the poor. - During the very slow recovery of the US, he set up mutual aid programmes and worked to provide aid to the poor in California, and in neighbouring states, while continuing to do his show. He called for people to help him, and said that "If the government isn't going to help us, then we'll have to help ourselves." His show is reasonably popular, and its success has allowed Free Speech TV to expand to be available on every Californian TV, with most of his viewership being in-state, though interestingly he has a larger-than-expected following in Vermont.

He also started a letter-writing campaign protesting the removal of the public option from the ACA, though it wasn't particularly effective or convincing, along with others on many other issues such as calling for allowing the Bush tax cuts and PATRIOT Act to expire, as he continued doing his show and it grew further, as he was eventually upgraded to Free Speech TV where he was able to do a weekly show, as he still put out radio and YouTube content. - With his new resources, he was able to produce more sophisticated material, creating a popular documentary on poverty in America known as "Midnight of Neoliberalism", holding interviews with the American working class across all 50 states and touring the country to produce segments for the film, which was met with popular approval. He also produced another documentary, released on the day of the Obergefell decision, known as "Bursting Rainbows", covering America's LGBT communities and their struggle for equal rights, earning awards for it. He also made a film about climate change known as "The Final Crisis of Capitalism and the Myth of Eternal Growth", focusing on publicising the research about climate change in a digestible form to the public while putting forward the case that climate change was caused by systemic factors and how many so-called 'market-based' solutions would fail, and making the case for not just a Green New Deal but a complete economic rethinking in light of the climate crisis, along with another film released relatively recently in 2021 reflecting on the Trump legacy and the possible future, known as "The Lost Dream", pointing to economic anxiety and the Democrats' abandoning of the working class and its issues as the reason for Trump's victory, and raising the signal that, "it is appeasement that got us here, and it won't be appeasement that gets us out." He has also publicly criticised capitalism, calling himself a ‘staunch anti-capitalist’ in a Jacobin interview, and stuck to a traditional definition of socialism, calling for democratic ownership of the means of production, and that his fellow socialists needed to fight for that ideal harder.

He has also written a few books, such as "Manifesto: Why We Fight", which details a reflection of his own life experiences growing up in California, and while it was somewhat of an autobiography, it also served as a motivational work, calling on the reader to turn thoughts into action, along with "A Different Way", a work of political theory which outlined his thoughts on various subjects from welfare to the environment, and "America Divided", a recently released 'sequel' to 'Midnight of Neoliberalism', which covered the great gaps in American society, calling back to Dr. King's famous speech 'The Other America', along with Harrington's work on the same issue. He spoke as to how inequality in power and wealth had ripped apart the fabric of American society, and the continued atomisation and breaking down of society, and his fear that America would destroy any hope of true solidarity, instead focusing on internecine conflict and anger for the sake of it.

He is seen as a leading political theorist on the left, and has announced his run for Governor, after [not-Newsom] was embroiled in a corruption scandal, starting off relatively low but using his energised activist base and his charisma to gain in support across the entire campaign, making it to the runoff and preparing to win against [not-Jim Cooper]. He has campaigned on a platform of what he has called “The California Project”, using the strong majorities of the Democratic Party to effect change on the state level, and provide a model for working socialism in America, focusing on economic issues, and proposing a cocktail of radical solutions such as increasing public control of the energy production and fuel sectors to tackle inflation, paid for by a windfall tax, increases on the minimum wage, promoting partial employee ownership to ensure that they reap the benefits of increased profits, and New Deal-style developments in infrastructure and production to increase output, growth, and the supply of key products to tackle the supply chain crisis, and improving Californian agriculture through capital investment in order to reduce food prices in California and strengthen its exports to provide more money for farmers which will move across the economy and ensure common prosperity.

His campaign slogan is “Victory for the People!”, and he has been noted for running a rather populist, bread-and-butter campaign that many feel is critical of the current direction of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole, echoed by his calls that the left must provide a viable alternative to both what he called ‘feckless neoliberalism’ and ‘Gilded Age reactionarism’. He has also focused on making endorsements downballot, and strengthening State House and Senate candidates, running what he called the “People’s Slate”, a full list of endorsed candidates for every district, supporting his endorsers, primarying those most vociferously opposed to him, and campaigning against Republicans to bolster the Democratic majority.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: The Sarangtus Lands

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

First, congratulations on being the first app, I'm not salty at all.

1. He would have virtually no shot of making the runoff in a large state that has basically never elected a Democrat statewide who wasn't a part of the party establishment, much less someone young with little to know political experience openly identifying as socialist. The California Democratic machine is far too entrenched with plenty of candidates who would much more easily beat him out for the runoff.
2. I am very confused about his background, mainly to do with his Chilean father. Why is he here? Why is a Lieutenant of the Chilean Army a Farmer in California?
3. Uploading videos on the internet, even if they get viral, is not gonna be enough to get himself a popular radio show, much less one popular enough to get himself a TV channel on all TVs in the largest state in the union, especially considering how niche democratic socialism was at the time. Free Speech TV, unfortunately, is a bit of a non-starter for me with his current career leading up to it.
4. Estanislao is a dogshit name.

I'm not sure how to feel about this one so far. I think his success is a bit too inflated to be realistic, he's too young and left-wing to make the runoff in a massive state with a powerful machine that has multiple probably more well-known, mainstream, and broadly appealing who could block him from making the runoff, parts his background are somewhat confusing, and I'm also a bit skeptical of you playing another political extreme candidate with little to no political experience and would realistically have no shot at being elected to the office he seeks, and quite frankly, he seems like a hotshot self-insert. Now, I think this app can be improved, and I think he could have an interesting dynamic in the roster, but there are some real changes to his career that need to be adjusted for this app to be acceptable in my eyes. Don't be discouraged, though.

As for 2, he fled the coup in 1973, should've been former lieutenant, but I'm not sure about the rest. I may go with the Blackwell draft instead.

by **Meretica** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:52 am

Fleur Toussaint-Garnier

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Meretica
Character Name: Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 69 (turning 70 in December 2022)
Character Date of Birth: December 7, 1952
Character Current Office: Senior US Senator from Maine
Character Past Offices: Legislative Assistant to William Cohen (1975-1987); Maine Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (1987-1992); New England SBA Regional Director (1992); Massachusetts Deputy State Treasurer (1993); Executive Director of the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business (1994-1996)
Character Place of Birth: Augusta, Maine
Character State of Residence: Maine (primarily Augusta)
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Faceclaim: Lisa Murkowski
Main Strengths and Weaknesses:
RINOs, aka an Undocumented Democrat: Fleur is one of the seven Republican Senators that voted in favor of convicting President (Trump) during his second impeachment trial. From 1997 to 2016, she voted with her party a mere 57% of the time. As of January 2021, according to 538, she had ultimately voted with (Trump) around 65% of the time. During the (Obama) Administration, she voted with the 44th President 76% of the time, the highest of any Republican; likewise, during the (Biden Administration), she backed the president 92% of the time during the 117th Congress. A supporter of abortion rights, gay rights, and a known bipartisan, many in the GOP have labeled her a RINO. Despite this, she was reelected in 2020 by 8.6 points. Her status as a Republican is consistently called into question, especially after she voted in favor of the ARPA of 2021, being the only Senate Republican to do so. She was also the sole Senate Republican that did not reverse her vote on the PACT Act, as she had been sheltering in her D.C. home due to COVID; she said that had she been present, she would have voted in favor of the PACT Act. Fleur voted in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act. She is a Liberal Republican that seems to be moving further and further left if what her fellow caucus members say is to be believed.
I’ll Fight for You: Fleur has a reputation for fighting on behalf of small businesses in Maine; people involved in the lobster industry also tend to support her given her strong stance on Machias Seal Island, earning her much support in Washington County.
It Was a Fair Election: Fleur voted to confirm that the 2020 election was legitimate. She later voted to convict (Trump) for his involvement during the Second Impeachment proceeding.
Electable, Always: Despite a tougher reelection battle in 2020, Fleur has been elected to her Senate seat every six years since 1996, when she was first elected with 49.2% of the vote. She was reelected with 58.5% in 2002, 61.2% in 2008, 68.5% in 2014, and 51% in 2020. With rank-choice voting being adopted in Maine, she is confident that she'll win elections for years to come.
The Economist: Fleur has a long economic history in New England. After graduating from college as a magna cum laude with a BA in Government, she served in several positions as an economic advisor before becoming the regional director of the Small Business Administration in New England. A pragmatist when it comes to economics, her policies leave little to be desired from the status quo, though some wish that she would engage in economic populism daily.
Maine’s Senior Senator Reinvented: In recent weeks, Fleur has come to regret the things she did to enable the TEA Party and bring about the (Trump) Administration. She has publicly become somewhat more aggressive in defending her policies and beliefs, leading one Fox commentator to refer to her as “an angry puppy that’s gotten its first tooth and wants to bite everything in sight.” Given her lengthy Senate career, this has improved how many moderates and people, in general, have looked upon her. Her actions have also been matching her words lately.
I’m Rich, for Now: Fleur comes from a wealthy family with a net worth estimated to be about $45 million. Given her reinvention, she has started donating massive amounts of money to organizations like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (to whom she donated nearly $18 million). She used other personal funds to provide bonuses to staffers and campaign workers. Ultimately, her current net worth is about $15 million, a mere third of what it once was.
I Love God, but You Don’t Have To: Unlike most Mainers, Fleur is very personally religious, though she does not force her beliefs upon others. Fleur is a former Roman Catholic; she left Catholicism in the late 1990s, joining a nondenominational church in Augusta in 2002. When she’s in Washington on Sundays, she attends Union Church in Baltimore.
Power Player: Fleur is a Senate power player, wielding her seniority and moderate stances as a mighty sword to pass legislation as she sees fit. One of the “swing” votes in the Senate, her votes have lately been tending on the Democratic side of things, much to the chagrin of her colleagues. Before the 2022 midterms, Fleur is the eleventh highest-ranking member in the Senate.

RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=39582139#p39582139
U.S. Senate Committee (and Subcommittee) Memberships: HELP (Children & Families), Ethics (N/A), Select Committee on Intelligence (N/A)
Education Higher Education Institute + Degrees: St. Lawrence University (BA in Government)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s): Never married and has no interest in romance at the present time
Religion: Nondenominational Christian; becoming more “spiritual than religious” with time
Children: None
Parents: Abigail and Cyril Toussaint-Harnier (both deceased)
Other Information: This is Fleur’s full family tree.
Biography:
Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier was born on December 7 in 1952. Born just over a month after President Eisenhower was elected in a landslide. Fleur was the eldest of nine children of the wealthy Toussaint family, which was of Acadian descent. The Toussaints were politically and socially active in Maine affairs, having operated a well-off lumber company for generations. Her uncle, Lucius, had just been elected as a member of a local school board; both of her parents, Abigail and Cyril, had both served as mayors of Caribou. This, perhaps, foreshadowed Fleur’s future as a political leader.

Fleur was not spoiled, despite her family’s wealth. She was made to value hard work, contributing to her future as a liberal Republican. She attended public school; in high school, she served as president of the student council. During her senior year of high school in 1971, she was chosen to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program, through which she visited Washington, D.C., for the first time and had a two-hour conversation with Maine's first female United States Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, also a Republican. Fleur is the first program delegate elected to the Senate and holds the seat once held by Smith. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Like her father, she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society. She graduated from St. Lawrence magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in government in 1975. Per an agreement with her parents, she paid back her tuition costs with interest.

By 1975, the political fortunes of the family were becoming very apparent. Her father had joined the state’s House of Representatives; her uncle was a member of the State Senate. This, perhaps, made it easier for Congressman William Cohen to hire her as a legislative assistant from 1975 to 1987. Next, Fleur worked for Governor (John Rettie "Jock" McKernan Jr.) of Maine as the Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. She left the job in 1992 after President (George H.W. Bush) appointed her to serve as New England’s regional SBA Director. When President (Bill Clinton) was elected later that year, she left the job, taking on a job as Massachusetts’s Deputy State Treasurer.

As her family (particularly her uncle, who was appointed to the state supreme court) saw more political success, Fleur sought to run for governor of Maine in 1994. She won an eight-way primary and was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party for governor. She placed third in general, losing to independent and future Senator (Angus King). Fleur believes that she would have won had he not been in the race; however, she is thankful that she lost as it lead to a successful Senate career beginning in 1997.

A few weeks after losing this election, Fleur started the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business. Dedicated to growing and protecting small businesses, the Center prospered. She served as its executive director until November 1996. At the end of 1995, she announced a bid for Senate, and she won it over her Democratic rival for governor from the 1994 contest, (Joseph Brennan). Fleur pledged to serve only two terms, a pledge that she would break in 2008.

First Term
Fleur played an important role during the Senate's impeachment trial of (Bill Clinton) when she and fellow Maine Senator (Olympia Snowe) sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy. The motion failed, and (Snowe) and Fleur voted to acquit, believing that while (Clinton) had committed perjury, that was not grounds for removal from office.

Second Term
In May 2005, Fleur was one of 14 senators (seven Democrats and seven Republicans) to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus allowing the Republican leadership to end the debate without having to exercise the nuclear option. Under the agreement, Democrats agreed they would filibuster (George W. Bush)’s judicial nominees only in "extraordinary circumstances"; three appellate court nominees would receive a vote by the full Senate. In October 2008, Fleur criticized robocalls by the (McCain) campaign claiming that (Barack Obama) "has worked closely with domestic terrorist (Bill Ayers), whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans", asserting that those "kind of tactics has no place in Maine politics" and urging McCain to cease the calls immediately. Fleur broke her promise to not seek a third term, though this was of no consequence.

Third Term
In 2010, Fleur and (Snowe) were the only Republicans to vote for a Democratic measure that would have prevented future bailouts. She opposed the appointment of (Chuck Hagel) to the Cabinet. Fleur was one of the most outspoken supporters of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act; she has continued supporting raising the minimum wage, currently believing that a $9 minimum wage tied to inflation would be best.

Fourth Term
Fleur cast her 6,000th consecutive roll call vote in September 2015, surpassing Margaret Chase Smith, who had been the 2nd place record-holder. Only a few other Senators had cast more by that point. During the Christmas holidays that year, both of her parents died just days apart from each other due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident due to faulty breaks.

On August 8, 2016, Fleur announced that she would not vote for (Donald Trump), the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election. She said that as a lifelong Republican, she did not make the decision lightly but felt he was unsuitable for office, "based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics". She considered voting for the Libertarian Party's ticket or a write-in candidate; ultimately, she voted for the Libertarian ticket, praising (Gary Johnson) and (Bill Weld) for their leadership qualities and saying that “these are the leaders the Republican Party needs.

Fleur was a somewhat active Republican opponent of (Trump) and MAGA rhetoric during his term. She largely came across as a voice of common sense and honesty during a controversial, ultra-partisan session of Congress. Because of this, she was successful in passing several pieces of major, bipartisan legislation in the 115th and 116th Congresses, such as the Taiwan Travel Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the First Step Act, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, several coronavirus relief plans, the Great American Outdoors Act, and the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act. Fleur was also a supporter of the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2019 and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

Fleur voted against the nomination of (Betsy DeVos). Fleur sponsored the BOLD Act, the OCRA Act, and the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act. She voted “not guilty” regarding the impeachment of (Donald Trump) in 2020 and later voted against the nomination of (Amy Coney Barrett). She announced that she did not vote for (Trump) again; the media and most people assume she left the top of her ballot empty when in reality she voted for (Joe Biden). Before the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Fleur had yet to announce whether or not she would vote for (Trump); thus, she was privately asked to attend the DNC and endorse (Biden). She quietly declined; she did not attend any Republican National Convention events, nor was she asked to.

On Election Night in 2020, Fleur tweeted several statements condemning those that were claiming (Trump) won while ballots were still being counted. “This election is not yet over, and it is premature to claim that either candidate has won the election while millions of votes have yet to be counted. The voices of the American people must be heard.” Fleur was one of the first Republicans to congratulate the President-elect publicly and privately when the results were officially called by news networks, and she actively condemned those that claimed the election was stolen. “I have full confidence in the results,” she said.

Fifth Term
On January 6, 2021, Fleur was participating in the certification of the Electoral College vote count when (Trump) supporters stormed the United States Capitol. She was on the Senate floor listening to speeches related to the objection to counting Arizona's votes when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Capitol Police removed Vice President (Mike Pence) and Senators (Mitch McConnell) and (Chuck Schumer). She called the experience "frightening and appalling." Fleur later called the storming "a dangerous, shameful, and outrageous attack on our democracy" and blamed (Trump) for "working up the crowd and inciting this mob". She called on him to call off the rioters. When Congress reconvened after the Capitol was secure, Collins voted to certify the count.
Toward the end of January 2021, Fleur led a group of 10 Republican senators who requested that President (Joe Biden) join bipartisan negotiations when creating his COVID-19 economic relief package.

On February 13, 2021, Fleur was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict (Trump) in his second impeachment trial. Fleur cast her 8,000th consecutive roll call vote on October 28, 2021; only (Chuck Grassley) and William Proxmire has set longer streaks. Fleur voted to confirm (Ketanji Brown Jackson) to the Supreme Court, making her one of the only three GOP senators to support her nomination. According to 538, Fleur has become increasingly liberal during her current term.

Recently, an op-ed in the New York Times called on Fleur to run for president. She stated very clearly that she “would not run for president unless a national grassroots effort began to draft her name for 2024. Fleur, having much more seniority than many other members of Congress, has her choice of committee memberships. She has not become the ranking member of any committees, however, due to opposition from within the more right-wing parts of the caucus. Other than (Dianne Feinstein), Fleur is the only person in the 31 top-ranking Senators ordered by seniority that does not have a committee of leadership position; this decision by Republican Senate leaders is taken as a slight by Fleur, and it has encouraged her to take more independent stances in the Senate.

She voted in favor of the COVID package but raised concerns about the price tag. She has apologized for her yes votes for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, saying that she will do her best to protect the right to privacy and the right to choose.

Personal Life
Fleur tends to be a very private person in public, though, behind closed doors, she is very personable and open about her life and experiences. The eldest of nine children, she is the only child that did not marry, and she has never felt a need to marry. “I’ve never met the right person,” she said in 2008 when a friend inquired about her personal life. She has 73 living relatives (as far as she is aware). Her mother, Abigail, is the matriarch of the family. Nearing her 99th birthday, Abigail has grown weary and stays at the family manor with a number of relatives often coming and going as they will.

In 2021, Rita (Fleur’s youngest sister) unexpectedly died. Adonis Boudreaux, Rita’s husband, “took to the bottle,” to use his own words. Fleur took in all of Rita’s children that were still living at home. The youngest of these, Aurora, still lives with “Tante Fleur.” Aurora is 15 and is homeschooled by private tutors; she travels with her aunt between Maine and Washington. Her other siblings are spread across New England, much like the rest of the family. The death of Rita has had some effect on Fleur’s newfound conscience. Fleur has more actively worked to better the world around her, especially as she has come to realize that the world that Aurora will live to see will be very different than the world that Fleur has always known. Fleur has made it her goal to make the future as bright as she possibly can for her future relatives, much to the chagrin of conservatives and MAGA Republicans.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Meretica
Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

by **Sao Nova Europa** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:00 am

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Sao Nova Europa
Character Name: Gabriel Wilson
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 74
Character Date of Birth: 20 August 1948
Character Current Office: United States Senator for Virginia (2020 - )
Character Past Office(s):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
First Lieutenant - 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team (1970 - 1973)
Command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1973 - 1975)
Operations Officer of 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1975 - 1977)
Aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught of the 24th Infantry Division (1977 - 1978)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)
Operations Officer of 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment (1984 - 1985)
Aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1985 - 1986)
Lieutenant colonel - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment (1986 - 1989)
Colonel - 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (1989 - 1995)
Chief Operations Officer of United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff (1995 - 1997)
Executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (1997 - 1999)
Acting Commanding Officer of 82nd Airborne Division (1999 - 2000)
Chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg (2000 - 2001)
NATO Stabilization Force assistant Chief of Staff in Bosnia (2001 - 2002)
101st Airborne Division (2003 - 2004)
Commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (2004 - 2005)
Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq (2007 - 2008)
Commander of the United States Central Command (2008 - 2010)
Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (2010 - 2011)
Honorary chairman of the OSS Society (2013 - 2019)
Visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York (2013 - 2019)
Chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. Global Institute (2013 - 2015)

Character Place of Birth: Richmond, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Richmond, Virginia
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Scott Bakula
Main Strengths:

War Hero: Gabriel is a veteran of the US invasion of Panama and the First Gulf War, and he was a commanding officer in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He is widely seen as one of the best American generals of his generation and has great name recognition.

Policy wonk: Gabriel prefers to avoid slogans and instead prefers to mention statistics, numbers and charts to back up his political arguments. This has earned him recognition as a policy wonk.

Handsome: For a man of his age, Gabriel looks good and this helps him in the media environment.

Main Weaknesses:

Iraq and Afghanistan: The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are unpopular and considered a failure by most, especially in the Democratic Party which has a strong anti-war progressive wing. Gabriel is regularly accused for his conduct in the two wars, and some left wing activists even consider him a war criminal. This accusation is reinforced by a botched airstrike based on faulty intelligence that led to the death of Afghan civilians.

KKR Housing Scandal: As Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

Cheater: In 2013, it was revealed that back in 2007-8 he had cheated on his wife with a much younger woman. Even worse, that woman was a Washington Post journalist covering the Iraq War and raising concerns about the fairness of the (positive) coverage Gabriel had gotten from this and other papers at that time.

Boring: Gabriel is smart, is a policy wonk, but he is no great orator. While he has the numbers and data to back up his policy points, he cannot fire up the crowd.

Old age: Gabriel is already 74 years old, and if he intents to run for President in 2024, his old age can be a weakness.

RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 200 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): RP Sample

U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Committee for Armed Services (subcommittees: Personnel, Readiness and Management Support, Strategic Forces)
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Amelie Lloyd (married 1978, 67 years old)

Gabriel met her while he was studying at Kansas through mutual company. She is a Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Virginia. She has published a number of papers and two books on Medieval Italy.

Religion: Protestant
Children (Name & Age of Each):

Jonathan "Jack" Wilson (39 years old, works as financial lawyer)
Emily Wilson (35 years old, works as an archaeologist specializing in Ancient Egypt)
Marianne Wilson (35 years old, crime fiction novelist)

Parents: Jonathan Wilson and Helena Wilson (both deceased)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!):

Gabriel owns three cats, and is a know animal welfare advocate. He is a practitioner of Taekwondo and has a black belt.

Biography:

Early Life

Gabriel Wilson was born in 20 August 1948. His father – Jonathan – was employed at a desk job in a big company while his mother was working as a librarian. As a young boy, going into the library where his mother worked, he would read books about the exploits of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was a rather reserved young man who was lacking in social interactions, those books provided him company. He would dream of one day becoming a great general, like those men, and even surpassing them.

Growing up, his uncle Alexander - a Korean War veteran - helped Gabriel become more socially competent and gain more friends. He also instilled in him a love for baseball. Gabriel graduated from high school with good grades, especially on history, mathematics and literature. He went on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. During that time, Gabriel was a baseball star and often played on semi-pro teams for no remuneration. He was considered one of the most outstanding college players in the nation during his junior and senior seasons at West Point, noted as both a power hitter and an outfielder, with one of the best arms in his day. He rejected multiple offers to play professional baseball, choosing to pursue his Army career. Gabriel became a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating first in the Class of 1970 with an academic score of 2424.12 merits out of a possible 2470.00 or 98.14.

After completing Ranger School (Distinguished Honor Graduate and other honors), Gabriel was assigned to the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team, a light infantry unit stationed in Vicenza, Italy. After leaving the 509th as a first lieutenant, Gabriel became assistant operations officer on the staff of the 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in 1975 he assumed command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), and then served as that battalion's operations officer, a major's position that he held as a junior captain.

Gabriel became aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught - commanding general of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - in 1977. Gabriel then attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1978-9, earning the General George C. Marshall Award as the top graduate of the Class of 1979, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science. He subsequently earned an M.P.A. in 1981 and a Ph.D. in international relations in 1983 from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 1984–1985, he served as operations officer to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment. He was then posted as an aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General John A. Wickham Jr., in Washington, D.C.

Upon promotion to lieutenant colonel, Gabriel moved from the office of the chief of staff to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Iron Rakkasans", from 1986 to 1989. Gabriel was promoted to colonel and assumed command in 1989 of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, centered on the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In that capacity, he took part in United States invasion of Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force (1–504th, 2–504th INF, 4–325th INF, Company A, 3–505th INF, 3–319th FAR) was to oust Manuel Noriega from power. They were joined on the ground by 3–504th INF, which was already in Panama. The invasion began with a night combat jump and the takeover of airfields. This was followed by air assault missions in Panama City and the surrounding areas of the Gatun Locks. The 82nd then successfully assaulted multiple strategic installations, such as the Punta Paitilla Airport in Panama City and a Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) garrison and airfield at Rio Hato, where Noriega also maintained a residence. Several key objectives such as Madden Dam, El Ranacer Prison, Gatun Locks, Gamboa and Fort Cimarron were secured.

Seven months later, the 82nd Airborne Division was again called to war, this time in the First Gulf War. In August 1990, the division was deployed to Riyadh and Thummim Saudi Arabia. Intensive training began in anticipation of desert fighting against the heavily armored Iraqi Army. On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began. The 1st Brigade (commanded by Gabriel) and 3d Brigade consolidated at the Division HQ (CHAMPION Main) near Dhahran. In the coming weeks, using primarily the 5-Ton cargo trucks of these NG truck companies, the 1st Brigade moved north to "tap line road" in the vicinity of Rafha, Saudi Arabia. Eventually, these National Guard truck units effectively "motorized" the 325th Infantry, providing the troop ground transportation required for them to keep pace with the French Division Daguet during the incursion. The ground war began almost six weeks later. On 24 February, the 1st Brigade moved forward to extend the Corps flank along with 3d Brigade. In the short 100-hour ground war, the 82d drove deep into Iraq and captured thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. During that time, the 82nd's band and MP company processed 2,721 prisoners.

Upon returning to the United States, Gabriel retained his command of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. His brigade's training cycle at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center for low-intensity warfare was chronicled by novelist and military enthusiast Tom Clancy in his book Airborne. In 1995, Gabriel was assigned to the United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff as its chief operations officer during Operation Uphold Democracy. His academic background helped him to dialogue with civilian aid groups and UN officials, and he learned how to communicate effectively with senior military and political leaders in Washington. He supervised training programs for the police, sought funding to build schools and civic buildings, and helped to coordinate transportation and support for raids targeting criminal elements that still disrupted stability in the major towns. Gabriel even found a way to restore power to key parts of Port-au-Prince: he sent a staff officer to the foreign embassies in the capital, seeking donations to purchase generators.

From 1997 to 1999, Gabriel served in the Pentagon as executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Henry Shelton. In 1999, Gabriel returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the acting commanding officer. From the 82nd, he moved on to serve as chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg during 2000–2001.

During 2001–2002, as a brigadier general, Gabriel served a ten-month tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Forge. In Bosnia, he was the NATO Stabilization Force assistant chief of staff for operations as well as the deputy commander of the U.S. The hunt for war criminals, which Gabriel directly oversaw as the deputy commanding general, was the army’s largest special operations and intelligence deployment in the world at the time.

Iraq and Afghanistan

Senator:

Gabriel retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2011. With the end of his military career, he declined the President's offer to become the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Instead, he focused on writing his military memoirs. Published in May 2013, it was titled A Soldier's Life – Gabriel Wilson. It was widely praised and became a bestseller. Gabriel also expanded his social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to promote himself and the book. Some spoke of the general harboring political ambitions, as he had never hidden his liberal political views.

In March 2013, Gabriel accepted the role of honorary chairman of the OSS Society. In July 2013, he was named visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. In September of that year, he was harassed by some of the students while walking on campus. The encounter was uploaded on social media and Gabriel’s calm, polite and measured response became viral. On May 1, 2013, the University of Southern California named Gabriel as a Judge Widney Professor, "a title reserved for eminent individuals from the arts, sciences, professions, business and community and national leadership".

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a New York investment firm, hired Gabriel as chairman of the firm's newly created KKR Global Institute in May 2013. At his new position, he would support its investment teams and portfolio companies when studying new investments, especially in new locations. In December 2014, Gabriel was named a partner at KKR and remained chairman of the KKR Global Institute until January 2015. In that position, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

In June 2014, Gabriel announced the creation of the gun control group Veterans Coalition for Common Sense. He was strongly opposed to Frank Wade's presidency and gained some reputation (and ire) for his strong public comments against the President. He would also be occasionally called on TV shows to offer commentary on current affairs. In 2019, he announced his intention to run for the office of Senator of Virginia. "I have always believed that the power of government can make peoples' life better," Gabriel said. "That was my philosophy in Iraq and Afghanistan; that clean, decent government can promote economic and social progress. That is my philosophy for the United States of America too."

Gabriel easily won the Democratic Senate primaries, owing to his national profile and war hero status, despite opposition from anti-war progressive Democrats. He ran on a rather progressive domestic platform: expanding health insurance coverage to 97% of Americans, reducing income tax on lower-class families while ensuring that the wealthy would pay their fair share, raising the minimum wage, investment into American infrastructure and criminal justice reform. On social issues, he took pro-choice stance on abortion rights and a moderate liberal position on immigration. He also strongly attacked Frank Wade as being 'mentally deranged', 'unfit to lead' and a 'danger to American democracy'. Foreign policy did not feature that prominently, but Gabriel supported a presence where need be to stand strong against terrorism ("we cannot allow terrorists to threaten the safety of American citizens"), strong support for NATO and containment of Russia and China. He also made veterans' welfare a big issue of his campaign. He won his Senate race with 55% of the vote.

In the aftermath of the January 6 riot, Gabriel accused Wade of having planned a coup and called him an enemy of democracy and freedom. As Senator, Gabriel has earned a reputation of a policy wonk, as he eschewed sloganeering for charts and statistics in explaining his policy proposals. He criticized the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan - claiming that it was this botched up withdrawal that led to the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and eroded trust in the US internationally - but strongly support Jim Byron's support for Ukraine. He called Putin "our century's Hitler" and "a menace to the liberal international order". He has been pushing for stronger support for Ukraine and has been one of the most hawkish US Senators on the issue. At the same time, he has also expressed his strong support for Taiwan and called for the US to increase military shipments to the island republic. He has also blasted the CCP as enemies of freedom and democracy, criticized them for cracking down on Hong Kong and for their genocide in Xinjiang, and called for massive public investments into US domestic production to decouple from China.

Some believe that he eventually desires to become President, though Gabriel has publicly denied having such ambitions.

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

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by **Dentali** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:22 am

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([url=<Photo%20of%20Character%20Here>]Image[/url])

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Dentali
Character Name: Joanne Mendoza
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 60
Character Date of Birth: 1962
Character Current Office: Senator from Nevada Class 3
Character Past Office(s):
Major US Army Medical Corps
Deputy Administrator Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health 2004 - 2006
Secretary of the Nevada Department of Health 2006 - 2008
Representative Nevada’s 1st District 2010 - 2016
Character Place of Birth: Nevada
Character State of Residence: Nevada
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Faceclaim (Name of Claim):
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Main Strengths: Blue Collar Background, Military Background, Strong Ties to Hispanic Community, Respectable Legislative Record
Main Weaknesses: Fights with Teachers Unions, History of minor corruption and scandal, alienated Nevada progs in 2020

U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s):
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): BS Johns Hopkins, MD Johns Hopkins
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Emilio Mendoza (m. 1988)
Religion: Roman Catholic
Children (Name & Age of Each): Daniel Age 26, Rebecca Age 24, Michael Age 21
Parents: Danny and Catherine Rosen

Other Info: Plays Piano and was in a cover band with other members of the medical corps while serving in the military (clever name to come later). Speaks fluent Spanish.

Biography: (Minimum 2-3 paragraphs)

Joanne (goes by Joan) was born in 1962, the youngest of 5 siblings, to Danny and Catherine Rosen of Reno, Nevada. During the Texas War of Independence her ancestor Stephan Mendoza fought under Juan Seguin for the Texan army alongside other rancheros and Tejanos. A frontier family, the Rosen family held their small ranch in Central Texas until 1929 when the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl left them destitute. The family would wander the country before settling in Nevada.

Danny would meet Catherine, an immigrant from Columbia, in high school and would marry and Danny returned home from serving in the Korean War in 1953. Danny opened a hardware store on the outskirts of Las Vegas and the pair started a life together, having 5 children. They were a working class family through and through but always strove to move upward in life. Their two oldest sons would serve in the US military and by extension the Vietnam War in order to help pay for college.

As the military opened up more pathways for women Joan saw her own opportunity. She was a good student, held a stable part time job and was a strong member of her high school softball team, this combined with her family history of military service made her an ideal ROTC candidate. She attended Clark County Community College for 2 years from 1980-1982, obtaining high marks before enrolling in Johns Hopkins University. During the summers she would return home and waitress at Caeser’s Palace.

She studied health policy and management at Johns Hopkins from 1983-84 and then began 4 years of Medical School at Johns Hopkins, getting a Med School Education Delay from the ROTC before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation in 1988. That same year she would marry her long term boyfriend Emilio Mendoza, an engineer working out of a Reno based firm.

Joan Mendoza spent 8 years in the military from 1988 to 1996, being deployed in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield as part of the 1st Medical Brigade, 1st Medical Group deployed with the III Armored Corps. During this deployment she would receive the Combat Medical Badge and Meritorious Service Medal. She left Service in 1996 at the rank of major and the age of 34, expecting her first child.

Joan and Emilio Mendoza settled in Carson City, Nevada where Emilio worked at an engineering firm and Joan took a job with the Nevada Department of Health in 1996. They would have 3 children during this time and Joan would spend 10 years distinguishing herself in the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, leading the division in 2004, during this time she became well known and active among Nevada veterans associations and with the local school board. She quickly developed into a good speaker as well as an administrator, something the local Democratic Party took notice of in a rapidly changing state. She was however publicly nonpartisan which assisted in her selection by Not-Governor Kenny Guinn as the Secretary of Health in early 2006 as the moderate Republican looked for an easy confirmation.

Privately however the war in Iraq had made Joan pay increasing attention to politics, switching her party registration from independent to Democrat in 2004 amid her anger at the SwiftBoat smear heaped at Not-Kerry. Privately from ‘04 to ‘07, and then publicly after her short and non-controversial term as SoH was over, Joan became an active member of the Democratic Party, organizing veterans, women, anti-war advocates and hispanics, doing door to door retail and applying her managerial skills to a number of positions in the Nevada Democratic Party.

In 2008 she made the decision to join the Not-Obama bandwagon after the New Hampshire primary, working for the campaign organization in Nevada and promoting his healthcare plan throughout the campaign. Her surrogacy as a woman, veteran, hispanic, and healthcare expert made her stand out in Nevada and set her up to run to represent Nevada’s 1st Congressional district in 2010. In the solidly liberal district it was not a difficult general election, despite the overall Republican wave.

She was placed on committees for Veterans Affairs (Health), and later on Appropriations (Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies), she also joined the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, The Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, and The Problem Solvers caucuses.

Her early term was spent defending the Affordable Care Act from Republican attempts to dismantle it. She also quickly hopped on board to the DREAM Act and became a protege of Senator Not-Reid and was widely considered being groomed as a successor throughout her tenure. She would often struggle to do anything notable in the first years given the Republican majority in the house and the general intransigence of the GOP. She tried to focus on immigration and education reform but was often stifled.

Joan announced in June 2012 that she would turn over all $11,900 in campaign contributions from indicted lobbyist Harvery Whittemore to the U.S. Treasury. Whittemore was charged with violating campaign finance laws and misleading law enforcement. Before pledging to give up the contributions from Whittemore, Berkley said that she was holding his contributions in escrow while awaiting the outcome of the investigation against him.

She fought strongly in the House in favor of the Gang of Eight Immigration proposal, speaking passionately on the floor of the US House of Representatives in favor of a bi-partisan path forward on immigration reform, championing a pathway to citizenship with increased border security.

While originally more moderate and measured on Gun Control the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting caused her to “reassess” her views on Gun Control, and has since supported various measures to increase background checks and curb the purchase of assault weapons.

Overall the 112th Congress saw her mostly as a no name backbencher with a mild scandal. She was re-elected without much difficulty and did manage to get her name attached to the JOBS and Middle Class Tax Relief Acts but she didn't do anything of note. Frustrated, she would re-evaluate and re-orient herself to try and make her own path forward.

Her first order of business was to join the Democrats working towards the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. She was able to focus on expanding the bill to protect same sex couples and battered foreigners in the country illegal, this gave her a moral focus to rally around and find her fire again. She would begin meeting one on one with members of Congress to sway them towards the expansion and re-authorization. Ultimately she played a small role but it was not an insignificant one, and her performance encouraged her participation in other important legislation, such as IMPACT, Ukraine Freedom Support, and the Gang of 8 immigration bill.

Still easily avoidable mistakes were made. In November of 2013 a Las Vegas television station caught Joan illegally parking her SUV with his personalized license plate in a handicapped parking space at a park for six hours. The mother of a disabled child noticed the car. Joan apologized, saying, "There was no excuse. It should have never happened." She then made a donation to a nonprofit group benefiting the disabled in the amount that she would have been fined had she been caught by law enforcement.

In 2014 Mendoza co-sponsored legislation to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour over 5 years and then peg the wage to inflation.

In 2015 Mendoza seemed to finally be hitting her stride in Congress, helping to write and negotiate the Every Student Succeeds Act. A short time later she Co-Sponsored the Bipartisan Working Parents Flexibility Act which would create parental savings accounts employers and parents could invest savings tax free, with unused funds eligible to be rolled into retirement, college or ABLE accounts. In the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting she helped organize the sit-in protest of the US House.

In 2016 Mendoza was one of 9 members of Congress to Baku that was later found to have been secretly funded by the government of Azerbaijan. Investigations found lawmakers had no way of knowing about the improper funding of the trip.

SENATE

After Not-Harry Reid announced his retirement he threw his support, and the support of the Nevada Democratic Machine, behind Mendoza. She would easily win the primary and win in the general election by 3 points, becoming the first woman to represent Nevada in the Senate and the first Latina to serve in the Senate. During the campaign she had repeatedly warned the Not-Clinton campaign to not underestimate Not-Trump’s WWC support she was seeing in the more rural areas of Nevada, stating that many of the traditionally Democratic voters were becoming ardent Not-Trump supporters. While Not-Trump did not take the state the trend around WWC voters was seen around the country.

Joan expressed discomfort in the early days of 2017 as some of her colleagues attempted to slow or block the inauguration of Not-Trump to the Presidency.

2017 saw Mendoza come to true national prominence after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. She and Not-Feinstein sponsored two bills, one to ban bump stocks, and another background check related bill. She frequently promoted the legislation on television and was highly visible in the days following the massacre.

Co-Sponsored the Marketplace Certainty Act to bring more stability to the health insurance marketplace. Co-Sponsored STATES Act that would recognize the legalization of cannabis and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their legislatures or citizen initiative. One of five senators to send a letter to acting director of ICE Thomas Homan about the standards the agency uses to determine how to detain pregnant women.

In 2019 Joan voted for both articles of impeachment against Not-Trump but was fairly disinterested in the entire process behind the scenes, feeling that while an investigation was important it was being badly handled and easily turned into a partisan circus by the GOP. Ultimate a distraction from the work to be done.

Joan wrote a letter with 34 other senators criticizing Not-Trump for cutting foreign assistance to El Slavador, Guatemala, and Honduras. She also introduced the Home Ownership Dreamers Act, legislation that mandated that the federal government was not authorized to deny mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Agriculture Department solely due to applicants' immigration status.

As the Democratic primary season began Mendoza’s growing reputation and star power led multiple new outlets and insiders to predict she may run for President herself, though she never seriously considered the prospect. She did however take several meetings with contenders about a potential Vice Presidential Slot or cabinet position, which she ultimately decided against pursuing very seriously though this did not stop her name from being included as among those being considered on the nightly news coverage, ultimately further boosting her name recognition.

She stayed out of the early primaries, weighing in on news programs about the ongoing contests but not endorsing until the results of the New Hampshire Primary made it clear that Not-Sanders was the man to beat. Recognizing the writing was on the wall for any other candidate, Mendoza threw her endorsement and resources behind the Not-Biden campaign, something she was loath to do amid the surging Not-Sanders contingent in her home state.

Mendoza began to heavily campaign for Not-Biden and Democrats ahead of the general election, focusing on Latinos, Women and Veterans who she had developed significant ties to in the preceding decade but then COVID changed everything. As soon as the extent of the crisis became clear Joan dropped everything and committed herself to Washington, working tirelessly on the various economic relief and healthcare support packages that would emerge. Pausing only to march with the BLM movement though she did little mechanically to benefit them.

She would often be the mouthpiece for Senate Democrats when it came to the health aspects of the pandemic, later chastising Not-Trump for his careless actions during the health crisis and downplaying the severity of the pandemic. As the worst of the pandemic subsided and the vaccine rollout was progressing, Joan began advocating for ‘safe and secure reopenings’ at a more accelerated pace, especially of schools, which led her to private and public clashes with teachers unions.

Economically during this time Joan lobbied heavily for regulatory changes which allowed businesses with fewer than 500 employees that derive more than half of their income from gaming to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans, sending millions in loans to Nevada. She typically supported more generous packages of direct checks to Americans but ultimately supported Not-Biden proposals in full.

In September of 2020, Mendoza was named a Co-Chair of the Presidential Transition team and was considered as a candidate for the US Secretary of Health and Human Services but expressed little interest in the position.

BIDEN PRESIDENCY

Mendoza was present during the storming of the US Capitol. While sheltering in place she live-tweeted the experience and condemned the attack.

Saw Mendoza take further steps in what had been an evolution since 2016. The fury of the WWC voters and rejection of ‘elitist’ Democrats had led her to re-evaluate many of her views and she began to experiment with more populist themes and positions. After the 2016 election, she began pushing publicly and privately for tax reform packages which would set alternative minimum taxes for major companies which were not paying their fair share, combined with a large increase to the CTC and EITC. As she gained traction with these proposals she slowly refined them and made them more of a centerpiece of her rhetoric.

In Policy she committed herself to the President’s Agenda, defending Not-Biden’s proposals and participating in negotiations with Not-Manchin and Not-Sinema, even coming to their defense on national tv when some doubted their intentions or said they were not negotiating above board, though she shared in frustration the slow process. She was even caught on a hot mic in late 2021 saying “The entire Not-Biden Communications team needs to be fired,” for which she apologized.

After the overturning of Roe she once again took the public eye, heaping heavy criticism on the justices and the GOP for taking away women’s rights, and has drawn a clear line to other court rulings such as Obergefell v. Hodges which she believes is on the chopping block next. She has announced she intends to introduce legislation codifying Gay Marriage.

As of 2022 Joan has voted with Not-Biden 95% of the time.

POSITIONS

Supported Same-Sex Marriage entire public career. Overall supportive of LBTQ+ rights. Has said she does not like the term LatinX

Large Companies should not be allowed to withhold coverage for birth control based on religious beliefs

Supports abortion rights

Supporters DREAM Act and a pathway to citizenship

ACA is great but imperfect

Senate Filibuster needs to be reformed to a talking filibuster

Pro Legalization of Marijuanna

F from the NRA, close loopholes and expand background checks, assault weapons ban

Against the Death Penalty

Consistently made statements of support for Israel and has supported improvement to defense and security assistance provisions, even condemning the UNSC’s criticism of Israeli settlement building in occupied Palestinian territories.

Increasingly populist stances on taxes since 2016

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Dentali

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

by **Jovuistan** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:36 pm

Sao Nova Europa wrote:
(Image)

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Sao Nova Europa
Character Name: Gabriel Wilson
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 74
Character Date of Birth: 20 August 1948
Character Current Office: United States Senator for Virginia (2020 - )
Character Past Office(s):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
First Lieutenant - 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team (1970 - 1973)
Command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1973 - 1975)
Operations Officer of 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1975 - 1977)
Aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught of the 24th Infantry Division (1977 - 1978)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)
Operations Officer of 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment (1984 - 1985)
Aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1985 - 1986)
Lieutenant colonel - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment (1986 - 1989)
Colonel - 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (1989 - 1995)
Chief Operations Officer of United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff (1995 - 1997)
Executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (1997 - 1999)
Acting Commanding Officer of 82nd Airborne Division (1999 - 2000)
Chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg (2000 - 2001)
NATO Stabilization Force assistant Chief of Staff in Bosnia (2001 - 2002)
101st Airborne Division (2003 - 2004)
Commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (2004 - 2005)
Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq (2007 - 2008)
Commander of the United States Central Command (2008 - 2010)
Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (2010 - 2011)
Honorary chairman of the OSS Society (2013 - 2019)
Visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York (2013 - 2019)
Chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. Global Institute (2013 - 2015)

Character Place of Birth: Richmond, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Richmond, Virginia
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Scott Bakula
Main Strengths:

War Hero: Gabriel is a veteran of the US invasion of Panama and the First Gulf War, and he was a commanding officer in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He is widely seen as one of the best American generals of his generation and has great name recognition.

Policy wonk: Gabriel prefers to avoid slogans and instead prefers to mention statistics, numbers and charts to back up his political arguments. This has earned him recognition as a policy wonk.

Handsome: For a man of his age, Gabriel looks good and this helps him in the media environment.

Main Weaknesses:

Iraq and Afghanistan: The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are unpopular and considered a failure by most, especially in the Democratic Party which has a strong anti-war progressive wing. Gabriel is regularly accused for his conduct in the two wars, and some left wing activists even consider him a war criminal.

KKR Housing Scandal: As Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

Cheater: In 2013, it was revealed that back in 2007-8 he had cheated on his wife with a much younger woman. Even worse, that woman was a Washington Post journalist covering the Iraq War and raising concerns about the fairness of the (positive) coverage Gabriel had gotten from this and other papers at that time.

Boring: Gabriel is smart, is a policy wonk, but he is no great orator. While he has the numbers and data to back up his policy points, he cannot fire up the crowd.

Old age: Gabriel is already 74 years old, and if he intents to run for President in 2024, his old age can be a weakness.

RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 200 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): RP Sample

U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Committee for Armed Services (subcommittees: Personnel, Readiness and Management Support, Strategic Forces)
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Amelie Lloyd (married 1978, 67 years old)

Gabriel met her while he was studying at Kansas through mutual company. She is a Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Virginia. She has published a number of papers and two books on Medieval Italy.

Religion: Protestant
Children (Name & Age of Each):

Jonathan "Jack" Wilson (39 years old, works as financial lawyer)
Emily Wilson (35 years old, works as an archaeologist specializing in Ancient Egypt)
Marianne Wilson (35 years old, crime fiction novelist)

Parents: Jonathan Wilson and Helena Wilson (both deceased)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!):

Gabriel owns three cats, and is a know animal welfare advocate. He is a practitioner of Taekwondo and has a black belt.

Biography:

Early Life
Gabriel Wilson was born in 20 August 1948. His father – Jonathan – was employed at a desk job in a big company while his mother was working as a librarian. As a young boy, going into the library where his mother worked, he would read books about the exploits of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was a rather reserved young man who was lacking in social interactions, those books provided him company. He would dream of one day becoming a great general, like those men, and even surpassing them.

Growing up, his uncle Alexander - a Korean War veteran - helped Gabriel become more socially competent and gain more friends. He also instilled in him a love for baseball. Gabriel graduated from high school with good grades, especially on history, mathematics and literature. He went on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. During that time, Gabriel was a baseball star and often played on semi-pro teams for no remuneration. He was considered one of the most outstanding college players in the nation during his junior and senior seasons at West Point, noted as both a power hitter and an outfielder, with one of the best arms in his day. He rejected multiple offers to play professional baseball, choosing to pursue his Army career. Gabriel became a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating first in the Class of 1970 with an academic score of 2424.12 merits out of a possible 2470.00 or 98.14.

After completing Ranger School (Distinguished Honor Graduate and other honors), Gabriel was assigned to the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team, a light infantry unit stationed in Vicenza, Italy. After leaving the 509th as a first lieutenant, Gabriel became assistant operations officer on the staff of the 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in 1975 he assumed command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), and then served as that battalion's operations officer, a major's position that he held as a junior captain.

Gabriel became aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught - commanding general of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - in 1977. Gabriel then attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1978-9, earning the General George C. Marshall Award as the top graduate of the Class of 1979, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science. He subsequently earned an M.P.A. in 1981 and a Ph.D. in international relations in 1983 from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 1984–1985, he served as operations officer to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment. He was then posted as an aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General John A. Wickham Jr., in Washington, D.C.

Upon promotion to lieutenant colonel, Gabriel moved from the office of the chief of staff to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Iron Rakkasans", from 1986 to 1989. Gabriel was promoted to colonel and assumed command in 1989 of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, centered on the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In that capacity, he took part in United States invasion of Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force (1–504th, 2–504th INF, 4–325th INF, Company A, 3–505th INF, 3–319th FAR) was to oust Manuel Noriega from power. They were joined on the ground by 3–504th INF, which was already in Panama. The invasion began with a night combat jump and the takeover of airfields. This was followed by air assault missions in Panama City and the surrounding areas of the Gatun Locks. The 82nd then successfully assaulted multiple strategic installations, such as the Punta Paitilla Airport in Panama City and a Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) garrison and airfield at Rio Hato, where Noriega also maintained a residence. Several key objectives such as Madden Dam, El Ranacer Prison, Gatun Locks, Gamboa and Fort Cimarron were secured.

Seven months later, the 82nd Airborne Division was again called to war, this time in the First Gulf War. In August 1990, the division was deployed to Riyadh and Thummim Saudi Arabia. Intensive training began in anticipation of desert fighting against the heavily armored Iraqi Army. On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began. The 1st Brigade (commanded by Gabriel) and 3d Brigade consolidated at the Division HQ (CHAMPION Main) near Dhahran. In the coming weeks, using primarily the 5-Ton cargo trucks of these NG truck companies, the 1st Brigade moved north to "tap line road" in the vicinity of Rafha, Saudi Arabia. Eventually, these National Guard truck units effectively "motorized" the 325th Infantry, providing the troop ground transportation required for them to keep pace with the French Division Daguet during the incursion. The ground war began almost six weeks later. On 24 February, the 1st Brigade moved forward to extend the Corps flank along with 3d Brigade. In the short 100-hour ground war, the 82d drove deep into Iraq and captured thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. During that time, the 82nd's band and MP company processed 2,721 prisoners.

Upon returning to the United States, Gabriel retained his command of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. His brigade's training cycle at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center for low-intensity warfare was chronicled by novelist and military enthusiast Tom Clancy in his book Airborne. In 1995, Gabriel was assigned to the United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff as its chief operations officer during Operation Uphold Democracy. His academic background helped him to dialogue with civilian aid groups and UN officials, and he learned how to communicate effectively with senior military and political leaders in Washington. He supervised training programs for the police, sought funding to build schools and civic buildings, and helped to coordinate transportation and support for raids targeting criminal elements that still disrupted stability in the major towns. Gabriel even found a way to restore power to key parts of Port-au-Prince: he sent a staff officer to the foreign embassies in the capital, seeking donations to purchase generators.

From 1997 to 1999, Gabriel served in the Pentagon as executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Henry Shelton. In 1999, Gabriel returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the acting commanding officer. From the 82nd, he moved on to serve as chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg during 2000–2001.

During 2001–2002, as a brigadier general, Gabriel served a ten-month tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Forge. In Bosnia, he was the NATO Stabilization Force assistant chief of staff for operations as well as the deputy commander of the U.S. The hunt for war criminals, which Gabriel directly oversaw as the deputy commanding general, was the army’s largest special operations and intelligence deployment in the world at the time.

Iraq and Afghanistan
In 2003, Gabriel assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division during V Corps's drive to Baghdad. He led his division through fierce fighting south of Baghdad: in Karbala, Hilla and Najaf. Gabriel routed any remaining Iraqi army units and subdued pockets of fedayeen after several sharp engagements. Following the fall of Baghdad, the division conducted the longest heliborne assault on record in order to reach Nineveh Governorate, where it would spend much of 2003.

When the 101st’s advanced units reached Mosul on 22 April, they found a gloomy and daunting situation. There were no competent security forces in the city, and pillaging was widespread. Gabriel employed classic counterinsurgency methods to build security and stability: targeted kinetic operations and using force judiciously, jump-starting the economy, building local security forces, staging elections for the city council within weeks of their arrival, overseeing a program of public works, reinvigorating the political process, and launching 4,500 reconstruction projects in Iraq. Gabriel had long experience in nation-building thanks to his previous commands in Haiti and Bosnia. He firmly believed that good governance, personal security and economic and social growth would win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. As a political progressive, he had faith in the power of government to change peoples' lives.

Gabriel also took the novel step of reorganizing the division, starting with key staff functions, to better align with existing Iraqi governmental structures. The 101st’s division surgeon and medical team were assigned to work with the Iraqi Ministry of Health. The staff communications experts were paired with the Telecommunications Ministry, and the division engineers with the Ministry of Public Works. The division aviation brigade, in addition to flying their helicopters, would also support the students and faculty of Mosul University, which had been closed due to violence. The restoration of the Mosul University was one of the most important public works launched by Gabriel, who strongly supported the use of commanders' discretionary funds for public works. "Money is ammunition," he said, which quickly became a catchphrase.

In February 2004, the 101st was replaced in Mosul by a portion of I Corps headquarters. As Gabriel left Mosul, the region collapsed: the governor of Nineveh Province was assassinated, and most of the Sunni Arab Provincial Council members walked out in the ensuing selection of the new governor, leaving Kurdish members in charge of a predominantly Sunni Arab province. Later that year, the local police commander defected to the Kurdish Minister of Interior in Irbil after repeated assassination attempts against him. The failure was attributed to the change of attitude: whereas Gabriel was a 'builder', his successors were occupiers. They did not have a people-centric approach, which Gabriel had, or interest in local governance.

In June 2004, less than six months after the 101st returned to the U.S., Gabriel was promoted to lieutenant general and became the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq. This newly created command had responsibility for training, equipping, and mentoring Iraq's growing army, police, and other security forces, as well as developing Iraq's security institutions and building associated infrastructure, such as training bases, police stations, and border forts. During Gabriel’s fifteen months at the helm of MNSTC-I, he stood up a three-star command virtually from scratch and in the midst of serious fighting in places like Fallujah, Mosul, and Najaf.

By late summer, the Iraqi troops faced their first test: Najaf, about 100 miles south of the capital, a U.S. Marine patrol approached the hiding place of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite radical whose militias had been generating widespread violence in Sadr City, Baghdad’s largest slum. Sadr’s militia reacted by attacking U.S. and government personnel and facilities throughout the city. Several U.S. Army battalions and three of the newly stood-up Iraqi battalions were ordered to retake the city along with marine units already there. The ensuing combat was intense and validated Gabriel’s direction. While U.S. forces on the ground and in the air had done the bulk of the fighting, the Iraqi forces at least had stood their ground and had not fled.

By the end of Gabriel’s command, some 100,000 Iraqi Security Forces had been trained; Iraqi Army and Police were being employed in combat; countless reconstruction projects had been executed; more than 39,000 weapons, 22 million rounds of ammunition, 42,000 sets of body armor, 4,400 vehicles, 16,000 radios, and more than 235,000 uniforms, and other equipment had been distributed in what was described as the largest military procurement and distribution effort since World War II, at a cost of over $11 billion.

In the fall of 2005, Gabriel returned to the United States. As the insurgency got worse in Iraq, Gabriel began to develop a counterinsurgency doctrine. In the recent decades few American leaders had studied counterinsurgency seriously, and even fewer had practical experience. Gabriel approached the creation of the new doctrine in a typically unorthodox manner. In February 2006 he assembled a team of experts with wide-ranging expertise. Over the winter months, he oversaw the writing of the first draft. The team of experts was decidedly unmilitary, because in addition to soldiers and marines, professors, writers, intelligence officers, and even representatives from nongovernmental organizations were asked to contribute. Formally published in December 2006, it advocated a different approach to war than the prevailing US doctrine.

Political power was the key to counterinsurgency operations, Gabriel argued. The occupying force had "to get the people to accept its governance or authority as legitimate". Ensuring the population's sense of security was thus vital. To achieve this, Gabriel proposed a novel set of solutions involving not only combat operations, but the development of host-nation security forces, the provision of essential services by the host nation’s government, the building of host-nation political legitimacy, and the restoration of civilian economic activities.

The publication received extensive positive coverage. In January 2007, Gabriel succeeded Gen. George Casey as commanding general of MNF-I to lead all U.S. troops in Iraq. During Gabriel’s tenure, the Multi-National Force-Iraq endeavored to work with the Government of Iraq to carry out Gabriel’s strategy that focused on securing the population. Doing so required establishing—and maintaining—persistent presence by living among the population, separating reconcilable Iraqis from irreconcilable enemies, relentlessly pursuing the enemy, taking back sanctuaries and then holding areas that have been cleared, and continuing to develop Iraq's security forces and to support local security forces, often called Sons of Iraq, and to integrate them into the Iraqi Army and Police and other employment programs. In order to ensure domestic support for his efforts, Gabriel aggressively leveraged his media networks and talents to invite think-tank experts, pundits, and journalists to Iraq, providing them access and telling the story of the U.S. effort.

On August 28, Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) militias, in what amounted to a bid for supremacy among Shia militia factions, attacked the Imam Hussein shrine in the city of Karbala, one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam. The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) had expected that Sunni fighters might conduct an attack, but violence by Shia militants initially caught them by surprise. The ensuing battle resulted in more than 100 casualties and prompted a harsh response from the ISF, which conducted a full clampdown. House-by-house searches for the perpetrators ensued, and the pressure on Sadr himself grew so intense that he ordered JAM to adhere to a ceasefire. It was a significant victory for the ISF, which proved that they would place Iraq above their own sectarian identity as Shias and stand up to criminal behavior wherever it was found. Gabriel took this as a sign that his ideas of good governance were taking root in Iraq. He attributed this success to the reforms he pushed forward: removing some militant leaders from opposition to the government; political reforms that were beginning to clean up the national ministries; and the positive influence of development activities.

In December 2007, The Washington Post's "Fact Checker" stated that "While some of Wilson’s statistics are open to challenge, his claims about a general reduction in violence have been borne out over subsequent months. It now looks as if Wilson was broadly right on this issue at least". By the early months of 2008, U.S. deaths were at their lowest levels since the 2003 invasion, civilian casualties were down, and street life was resuming in Baghdad. In late May 2008, the Senate Armed Services Committee held nomination hearings for Gabriel, who was widely praised. On September 16, 2008, Gabriel formally gave over his command in Iraq to General Raymond T. Odierno.

On October 31, 2008, Gabriel assumed command of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) headquartered in Tampa, Florida. He was responsible for U.S. operations in 20 countries spreading from Egypt to Pakistan—including Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In mid-August 2009, Gabriel established the Afghanistan-Pakistan Center of Excellence within the USCENTCOM Directorate of Intelligence to provide leadership to coordinate, integrate and focus analysis efforts in support of operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On June 23, 2010, the President announced that Gabriel would be nominated as commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. After being confirmed by the Senate on June 30, Gabriel formally assumed command on July 4. He focused on governance expansion, anti-corruption initiatives, promoting economic development, investing in infrastructure projects and improving security. The surge in troops supported a sixfold increase in Special Forces operations. 700 airstrikes occurred in September 2010 alone versus 257 in all of 2009. From July 2010 to October 2010, 300 Taliban commanders and 800 foot-soldiers were killed.

In early February 2010, Coalition and Afghan forces began highly visible plans for an offensive, codenamed Operation Moshtarak, on the Taliban stronghold near the village of Marjah. It began on 13 February and was the first operation where Afghan forces led the coalition. Led by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (US), the offensive involved 15,000 US, British, Canadian, Estonian, Danish, French, and Afghan troops. It was the biggest joint operation since the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban. While initially successful, ISAF and the Afghans failed to set up a working government in the town, leading to a successful resurgence by the Taliban, but by early December the fighting there was declared "essentially over".

As a commanding officer, Gabriel was popular with subordinates and peers alike, for not only his human understanding and consideration of their needs, but also his humility. For example, he invited his peers’ criticism to refine military plans for success. Gabriel learned and honed his leadership skill by watching superior officers – good and bad — for traits to emulate or avoid. His leadership style had as key aspects: growing his people, building a community within each of his commands, and exercising foresight. One of his primary goals was to unleash his team’s talent to solve problems. He established a community of openness, which encouraged staffers to respectfully disagree with him or other superiors, if they thought them wrong on some point.

In 2013, after Gabriel had retired from the US military, it was leaked that he had an affair with Alexandra Wright during 2007 - 2008, a journalist for the Washington Post covering the Iraq War. Aside from the fact that he cheated on his wife with a much younger woman, there were also ethical concerns raised about how fair the coverage of Gabriel's conduct by the Washington Post had been given the relationship between Gabriel and the journalist. Some claimed that Gabriel had also used Alexandra's connections with journalists in other papers to influence the way he was covered by other publications as well. Gabriel apologized for the relationship but claimed that the reporting of his command in Iraq was unbiased.

Senator:
Gabriel retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2011. With the end of his military career, he declined the President's offer to become the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Instead, he focused on writing his military memoirs. Published in May 2013, it was titled A Soldier's Life – Gabriel Wilson. It was widely praised and became a bestseller. Gabriel also expanded his social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to promote himself and the book. Some spoke of the general harboring political ambitions, as he had never hidden his liberal political views.

In March 2013, Gabriel accepted the role of honorary chairman of the OSS Society. In July 2013, he was named visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. In September of that year, he was harassed by some of the students while walking on campus. The encounter was uploaded on social media and Gabriel’s calm, polite and measured response became viral. On May 1, 2013, the University of Southern California named Gabriel as a Judge Widney Professor, "a title reserved for eminent individuals from the arts, sciences, professions, business and community and national leadership".

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a New York investment firm, hired Gabriel as chairman of the firm's newly created KKR Global Institute in May 2013. At his new position, he would support its investment teams and portfolio companies when studying new investments, especially in new locations. In December 2014, Gabriel was named a partner at KKR and remained chairman of the KKR Global Institute until January 2015. In that position, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

In June 2014, Gabriel announced the creation of the gun control group Veterans Coalition for Common Sense. He was strongly opposed to Frank Wade's presidency and gained some reputation (and ire) for his strong public comments against the President. He would also be occasionally called on TV shows to offer commentary on current affairs. In 2019, he announced his intention to run for the office of Senator of Virginia. "I have always believed that the power of government can make peoples' life better," Gabriel said. "That was my philosophy in Iraq and Afghanistan; that clean, decent government can promote economic and social progress. That is my philosophy for the United States of America too."

Gabriel easily won the Democratic Senate primaries, owing to his national profile and war hero status, despite opposition from anti-war progressive Democrats. He ran on a rather progressive domestic platform: expanding health insurance coverage to 97% of Americans, reducing income tax on lower-class families while ensuring that the wealthy would pay their fair share, raising the minimum wage, investment into American infrastructure and criminal justice reform. On social issues, he took pro-choice stance on abortion rights and a moderate liberal position on immigration. He also strongly attacked Frank Wade as being 'mentally deranged', 'unfit to lead' and a 'danger to American democracy'. Foreign policy did not feature that prominently, but Gabriel supported a presence where need be to stand strong against terrorism ("we cannot allow terrorists to threaten the safety of American citizens"), strong support for NATO and containment of Russia and China. He also made veterans' welfare a big issue of his campaign. He won his Senate race with 55% of the vote.

In the aftermath of the January 6 riot, Gabriel accused Wade of having planned a coup and called him an enemy of democracy and freedom. As Senator, Gabriel has earned a reputation of a policy wonk, as he eschewed sloganeering for charts and statistics in explaining his policy proposals. He criticized the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan - claiming that it was this botched up withdrawal that led to the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and eroded trust in the US internationally - but strongly support Jim Byron's support for Ukraine. He called Putin "our century's Hitler" and "a menace to the liberal international order". He has been pushing for stronger support for Ukraine and has been one of the most hawkish US Senators on the issue. At the same time, he has also expressed his strong support for Taiwan and called for the US to increase military shipments to the island republic. He has also blasted the CCP as enemies of freedom and democracy, criticized them for cracking down on Hong Kong and for their genocide in Xinjiang, and called for massive public investments into US domestic production to decouple from China.

Some believe that he eventually desires to become President, though Gabriel has publicly denied having such ambitions.

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

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

I like him. There's really only one potential issue I would like to see addressed real quick, but other than that, solid.

His military career of course is meant to be impressive, but I do question if it might be a bit too clean. Now, I'm not saying have him go commit war crimes or anything, but perhaps there could have been an instance or two where he was forced to do something that may not be so popular with the anti-war crowd. It definitely doesn't have to be big since I think his other weaknesses are good for balance, but Generals sometimes have to make tough choices, and having Wilson have to do something that may be a bit morally questionable (again, doesn't need to be a war crime, it can be something that some would defend) could give his Iraq and Afghanistan weakness some teeth beyond just sheer association, and potentially give him an extra bit of character having to grapple with his morals and his job.

Note that I am willing to have my mind changed on this. I like the app.

by **Based Illinois** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:55 pm

tag for interest

by **Deblar** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 1:50 pm

tag for interest

by **Jovuistan** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:11 pm

Sao Nova Europa wrote:
(Image)

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Sao Nova Europa
Character Name: Gabriel Wilson
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 74
Character Date of Birth: 20 August 1948
Character Current Office: United States Senator for Virginia (2020 - )
Character Past Office(s):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
First Lieutenant - 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team (1970 - 1973)
Command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1973 - 1975)
Operations Officer of 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (1975 - 1977)
Aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught of the 24th Infantry Division (1977 - 1978)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)
Operations Officer of 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment (1984 - 1985)
Aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff (1985 - 1986)
Lieutenant colonel - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment (1986 - 1989)
Colonel - 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (1989 - 1995)
Chief Operations Officer of United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff (1995 - 1997)
Executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (1997 - 1999)
Acting Commanding Officer of 82nd Airborne Division (1999 - 2000)
Chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg (2000 - 2001)
NATO Stabilization Force assistant Chief of Staff in Bosnia (2001 - 2002)
101st Airborne Division (2003 - 2004)
Commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (2004 - 2005)
Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq (2007 - 2008)
Commander of the United States Central Command (2008 - 2010)
Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (2010 - 2011)
Honorary chairman of the OSS Society (2013 - 2019)
Visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York (2013 - 2019)
Chairman of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. Global Institute (2013 - 2015)

Character Place of Birth: Richmond, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Richmond, Virginia
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Scott Bakula
Main Strengths:

War Hero: Gabriel is a veteran of the US invasion of Panama and the First Gulf War, and he was a commanding officer in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He is widely seen as one of the best American generals of his generation and has great name recognition.

Policy wonk: Gabriel prefers to avoid slogans and instead prefers to mention statistics, numbers and charts to back up his political arguments. This has earned him recognition as a policy wonk.

Handsome: For a man of his age, Gabriel looks good and this helps him in the media environment.

Main Weaknesses:

Iraq and Afghanistan: The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are unpopular and considered a failure by most, especially in the Democratic Party which has a strong anti-war progressive wing. Gabriel is regularly accused for his conduct in the two wars, and some left wing activists even consider him a war criminal. This accusation is reinforced by a botched airstrike based on faulty intelligence that led to the death of Afghan civilians.

KKR Housing Scandal: As Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

Cheater: In 2013, it was revealed that back in 2007-8 he had cheated on his wife with a much younger woman. Even worse, that woman was a Washington Post journalist covering the Iraq War and raising concerns about the fairness of the (positive) coverage Gabriel had gotten from this and other papers at that time.

Boring: Gabriel is smart, is a policy wonk, but he is no great orator. While he has the numbers and data to back up his policy points, he cannot fire up the crowd.

Old age: Gabriel is already 74 years old, and if he intents to run for President in 2024, his old age can be a weakness.

RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 200 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): RP Sample

U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Committee for Armed Services (subcommittees: Personnel, Readiness and Management Support, Strategic Forces)
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)):

United States Military Academy - West Point (1966-1970)
Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science (1978 - 1979)
Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - M.P.A. and Ph.D. in international relations (1979 - 1983)

Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Amelie Lloyd (married 1978, 67 years old)

Gabriel met her while he was studying at Kansas through mutual company. She is a Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Virginia. She has published a number of papers and two books on Medieval Italy.

Religion: Protestant
Children (Name & Age of Each):

Jonathan "Jack" Wilson (39 years old, works as financial lawyer)
Emily Wilson (35 years old, works as an archaeologist specializing in Ancient Egypt)
Marianne Wilson (35 years old, crime fiction novelist)

Parents: Jonathan Wilson and Helena Wilson (both deceased)

Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!):

Gabriel owns three cats, and is a know animal welfare advocate. He is a practitioner of Taekwondo and has a black belt.

Biography:

Early Life
Gabriel Wilson was born in 20 August 1948. His father – Jonathan – was employed at a desk job in a big company while his mother was working as a librarian. As a young boy, going into the library where his mother worked, he would read books about the exploits of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was a rather reserved young man who was lacking in social interactions, those books provided him company. He would dream of one day becoming a great general, like those men, and even surpassing them.

Growing up, his uncle Alexander - a Korean War veteran - helped Gabriel become more socially competent and gain more friends. He also instilled in him a love for baseball. Gabriel graduated from high school with good grades, especially on history, mathematics and literature. He went on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. During that time, Gabriel was a baseball star and often played on semi-pro teams for no remuneration. He was considered one of the most outstanding college players in the nation during his junior and senior seasons at West Point, noted as both a power hitter and an outfielder, with one of the best arms in his day. He rejected multiple offers to play professional baseball, choosing to pursue his Army career. Gabriel became a cadet captain on the brigade staff, and was a "distinguished cadet" academically, graduating first in the Class of 1970 with an academic score of 2424.12 merits out of a possible 2470.00 or 98.14.

After completing Ranger School (Distinguished Honor Graduate and other honors), Gabriel was assigned to the 509th Airborne Battalion Combat Team, a light infantry unit stationed in Vicenza, Italy. After leaving the 509th as a first lieutenant, Gabriel became assistant operations officer on the staff of the 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in 1975 he assumed command of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), and then served as that battalion's operations officer, a major's position that he held as a junior captain.

Gabriel became aide-de-camp to General James B. Vaught - commanding general of the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - in 1977. Gabriel then attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1978-9, earning the General George C. Marshall Award as the top graduate of the Class of 1979, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science. He subsequently earned an M.P.A. in 1981 and a Ph.D. in international relations in 1983 from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 1984–1985, he served as operations officer to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized)'s 30th Infantry Regiment. He was then posted as an aide and assistant executive officer to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General John A. Wickham Jr., in Washington, D.C.

Upon promotion to lieutenant colonel, Gabriel moved from the office of the chief of staff to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he commanded the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)'s 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Iron Rakkasans", from 1986 to 1989. Gabriel was promoted to colonel and assumed command in 1989 of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, centered on the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In that capacity, he took part in United States invasion of Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force (1–504th, 2–504th INF, 4–325th INF, Company A, 3–505th INF, 3–319th FAR) was to oust Manuel Noriega from power. They were joined on the ground by 3–504th INF, which was already in Panama. The invasion began with a night combat jump and the takeover of airfields. This was followed by air assault missions in Panama City and the surrounding areas of the Gatun Locks. The 82nd then successfully assaulted multiple strategic installations, such as the Punta Paitilla Airport in Panama City and a Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) garrison and airfield at Rio Hato, where Noriega also maintained a residence. Several key objectives such as Madden Dam, El Ranacer Prison, Gatun Locks, Gamboa and Fort Cimarron were secured.

Seven months later, the 82nd Airborne Division was again called to war, this time in the First Gulf War. In August 1990, the division was deployed to Riyadh and Thummim Saudi Arabia. Intensive training began in anticipation of desert fighting against the heavily armored Iraqi Army. On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began. The 1st Brigade (commanded by Gabriel) and 3d Brigade consolidated at the Division HQ (CHAMPION Main) near Dhahran. In the coming weeks, using primarily the 5-Ton cargo trucks of these NG truck companies, the 1st Brigade moved north to "tap line road" in the vicinity of Rafha, Saudi Arabia. Eventually, these National Guard truck units effectively "motorized" the 325th Infantry, providing the troop ground transportation required for them to keep pace with the French Division Daguet during the incursion. The ground war began almost six weeks later. On 24 February, the 1st Brigade moved forward to extend the Corps flank along with 3d Brigade. In the short 100-hour ground war, the 82d drove deep into Iraq and captured thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. During that time, the 82nd's band and MP company processed 2,721 prisoners.

Upon returning to the United States, Gabriel retained his command of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. His brigade's training cycle at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center for low-intensity warfare was chronicled by novelist and military enthusiast Tom Clancy in his book Airborne. In 1995, Gabriel was assigned to the United Nations Mission in Haiti Military Staff as its chief operations officer during Operation Uphold Democracy. His academic background helped him to dialogue with civilian aid groups and UN officials, and he learned how to communicate effectively with senior military and political leaders in Washington. He supervised training programs for the police, sought funding to build schools and civic buildings, and helped to coordinate transportation and support for raids targeting criminal elements that still disrupted stability in the major towns. Gabriel even found a way to restore power to key parts of Port-au-Prince: he sent a staff officer to the foreign embassies in the capital, seeking donations to purchase generators.

From 1997 to 1999, Gabriel served in the Pentagon as executive assistant to the director of the Joint Staff and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Henry Shelton. In 1999, Gabriel returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the acting commanding officer. From the 82nd, he moved on to serve as chief of staff of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg during 2000–2001.

During 2001–2002, as a brigadier general, Gabriel served a ten-month tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Forge. In Bosnia, he was the NATO Stabilization Force assistant chief of staff for operations as well as the deputy commander of the U.S. The hunt for war criminals, which Gabriel directly oversaw as the deputy commanding general, was the army’s largest special operations and intelligence deployment in the world at the time.

Iraq and Afghanistan
In 2003, Gabriel assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division during V Corps's drive to Baghdad. He led his division through fierce fighting south of Baghdad: in Karbala, Hilla and Najaf. Gabriel routed any remaining Iraqi army units and subdued pockets of fedayeen after several sharp engagements. Following the fall of Baghdad, the division conducted the longest heliborne assault on record in order to reach Nineveh Governorate, where it would spend much of 2003.

When the 101st’s advanced units reached Mosul on 22 April, they found a gloomy and daunting situation. There were no competent security forces in the city, and pillaging was widespread. Gabriel employed classic counterinsurgency methods to build security and stability: targeted kinetic operations and using force judiciously, jump-starting the economy, building local security forces, staging elections for the city council within weeks of their arrival, overseeing a program of public works, reinvigorating the political process, and launching 4,500 reconstruction projects in Iraq. Gabriel had long experience in nation-building thanks to his previous commands in Haiti and Bosnia. He firmly believed that good governance, personal security and economic and social growth would win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. As a political progressive, he had faith in the power of government to change peoples' lives.

Gabriel also took the novel step of reorganizing the division, starting with key staff functions, to better align with existing Iraqi governmental structures. The 101st’s division surgeon and medical team were assigned to work with the Iraqi Ministry of Health. The staff communications experts were paired with the Telecommunications Ministry, and the division engineers with the Ministry of Public Works. The division aviation brigade, in addition to flying their helicopters, would also support the students and faculty of Mosul University, which had been closed due to violence. The restoration of the Mosul University was one of the most important public works launched by Gabriel, who strongly supported the use of commanders' discretionary funds for public works. "Money is ammunition," he said, which quickly became a catchphrase.

In February 2004, the 101st was replaced in Mosul by a portion of I Corps headquarters. As Gabriel left Mosul, the region collapsed: the governor of Nineveh Province was assassinated, and most of the Sunni Arab Provincial Council members walked out in the ensuing selection of the new governor, leaving Kurdish members in charge of a predominantly Sunni Arab province. Later that year, the local police commander defected to the Kurdish Minister of Interior in Irbil after repeated assassination attempts against him. The failure was attributed to the change of attitude: whereas Gabriel was a 'builder', his successors were occupiers. They did not have a people-centric approach, which Gabriel had, or interest in local governance.

In June 2004, less than six months after the 101st returned to the U.S., Gabriel was promoted to lieutenant general and became the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq. This newly created command had responsibility for training, equipping, and mentoring Iraq's growing army, police, and other security forces, as well as developing Iraq's security institutions and building associated infrastructure, such as training bases, police stations, and border forts. During Gabriel’s fifteen months at the helm of MNSTC-I, he stood up a three-star command virtually from scratch and in the midst of serious fighting in places like Fallujah, Mosul, and Najaf.

By late summer, the Iraqi troops faced their first test: Najaf, about 100 miles south of the capital, a U.S. Marine patrol approached the hiding place of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite radical whose militias had been generating widespread violence in Sadr City, Baghdad’s largest slum. Sadr’s militia reacted by attacking U.S. and government personnel and facilities throughout the city. Several U.S. Army battalions and three of the newly stood-up Iraqi battalions were ordered to retake the city along with marine units already there. The ensuing combat was intense and validated Gabriel’s direction. While U.S. forces on the ground and in the air had done the bulk of the fighting, the Iraqi forces at least had stood their ground and had not fled.

By the end of Gabriel’s command, some 100,000 Iraqi Security Forces had been trained; Iraqi Army and Police were being employed in combat; countless reconstruction projects had been executed; more than 39,000 weapons, 22 million rounds of ammunition, 42,000 sets of body armor, 4,400 vehicles, 16,000 radios, and more than 235,000 uniforms, and other equipment had been distributed in what was described as the largest military procurement and distribution effort since World War II, at a cost of over $11 billion.

In the fall of 2005, Gabriel returned to the United States. As the insurgency got worse in Iraq, Gabriel began to develop a counterinsurgency doctrine. In the recent decades few American leaders had studied counterinsurgency seriously, and even fewer had practical experience. Gabriel approached the creation of the new doctrine in a typically unorthodox manner. In February 2006 he assembled a team of experts with wide-ranging expertise. Over the winter months, he oversaw the writing of the first draft. The team of experts was decidedly unmilitary, because in addition to soldiers and marines, professors, writers, intelligence officers, and even representatives from nongovernmental organizations were asked to contribute. Formally published in December 2006, it advocated a different approach to war than the prevailing US doctrine.

Political power was the key to counterinsurgency operations, Gabriel argued. The occupying force had "to get the people to accept its governance or authority as legitimate". Ensuring the population's sense of security was thus vital. To achieve this, Gabriel proposed a novel set of solutions involving not only combat operations, but the development of host-nation security forces, the provision of essential services by the host nation’s government, the building of host-nation political legitimacy, and the restoration of civilian economic activities.

The publication received extensive positive coverage. In January 2007, Gabriel succeeded Gen. George Casey as commanding general of MNF-I to lead all U.S. troops in Iraq. During Gabriel’s tenure, the Multi-National Force-Iraq endeavored to work with the Government of Iraq to carry out Gabriel’s strategy that focused on securing the population. Doing so required establishing—and maintaining—persistent presence by living among the population, separating reconcilable Iraqis from irreconcilable enemies, relentlessly pursuing the enemy, taking back sanctuaries and then holding areas that have been cleared, and continuing to develop Iraq's security forces and to support local security forces, often called Sons of Iraq, and to integrate them into the Iraqi Army and Police and other employment programs. In order to ensure domestic support for his efforts, Gabriel aggressively leveraged his media networks and talents to invite think-tank experts, pundits, and journalists to Iraq, providing them access and telling the story of the U.S. effort.

On August 28, Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) militias, in what amounted to a bid for supremacy among Shia militia factions, attacked the Imam Hussein shrine in the city of Karbala, one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam. The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) had expected that Sunni fighters might conduct an attack, but violence by Shia militants initially caught them by surprise. The ensuing battle resulted in more than 100 casualties and prompted a harsh response from the ISF, which conducted a full clampdown. House-by-house searches for the perpetrators ensued, and the pressure on Sadr himself grew so intense that he ordered JAM to adhere to a ceasefire. It was a significant victory for the ISF, which proved that they would place Iraq above their own sectarian identity as Shias and stand up to criminal behavior wherever it was found. Gabriel took this as a sign that his ideas of good governance were taking root in Iraq. He attributed this success to the reforms he pushed forward: removing some militant leaders from opposition to the government; political reforms that were beginning to clean up the national ministries; and the positive influence of development activities.

In December 2007, The Washington Post's "Fact Checker" stated that "While some of Wilson’s statistics are open to challenge, his claims about a general reduction in violence have been borne out over subsequent months. It now looks as if Wilson was broadly right on this issue at least". By the early months of 2008, U.S. deaths were at their lowest levels since the 2003 invasion, civilian casualties were down, and street life was resuming in Baghdad. In late May 2008, the Senate Armed Services Committee held nomination hearings for Gabriel, who was widely praised. On September 16, 2008, Gabriel formally gave over his command in Iraq to General Raymond T. Odierno.

On October 31, 2008, Gabriel assumed command of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) headquartered in Tampa, Florida. He was responsible for U.S. operations in 20 countries spreading from Egypt to Pakistan—including Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In mid-August 2009, Gabriel established the Afghanistan-Pakistan Center of Excellence within the USCENTCOM Directorate of Intelligence to provide leadership to coordinate, integrate and focus analysis efforts in support of operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On June 23, 2010, the President announced that Gabriel would be nominated as commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. After being confirmed by the Senate on June 30, Gabriel formally assumed command on July 4. He focused on governance expansion, anti-corruption initiatives, promoting economic development, investing in infrastructure projects and improving security. The surge in troops supported a sixfold increase in Special Forces operations. 700 airstrikes occurred in September 2010 alone versus 257 in all of 2009. From July 2010 to October 2010, 300 Taliban commanders and 800 foot-soldiers were killed.

In early February 2010, Coalition and Afghan forces began highly visible plans for an offensive, codenamed Operation Moshtarak, on the Taliban stronghold near the village of Marjah. It began on 13 February and was the first operation where Afghan forces led the coalition. Led by the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (US), the offensive involved 15,000 US, British, Canadian, Estonian, Danish, French, and Afghan troops. It was the biggest joint operation since the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban. While initially successful, ISAF and the Afghans failed to set up a working government in the town, leading to a successful resurgence by the Taliban, but by early December the fighting there was declared "essentially over".

In 21 May 2011, a NATO helicopter airstrike of a village led to the death of twenty-three Afghan civilians, including nine young children. The operation was launched after faulty intelligence indicated that Taliban insurgents were hidden in the village and that there was low danger of civilian casualties. Gabriel gave a deeply emotional public apology in the aftermath of the airstrike, and said: "These deaths should have never happened." Although several journalists noted the candor in Gabriel's open regret, some on the left used this as evidence that Gabriel was a war criminal.

As a commanding officer, Gabriel was popular with subordinates and peers alike, for not only his human understanding and consideration of their needs, but also his humility. For example, he invited his peers’ criticism to refine military plans for success. Gabriel learned and honed his leadership skill by watching superior officers – good and bad — for traits to emulate or avoid. His leadership style had as key aspects: growing his people, building a community within each of his commands, and exercising foresight. One of his primary goals was to unleash his team’s talent to solve problems. He established a community of openness, which encouraged staffers to respectfully disagree with him or other superiors, if they thought them wrong on some point.

In 2013, after Gabriel had retired from the US military, it was leaked that he had an affair with Alexandra Wright during 2007 - 2008, a journalist for the Washington Post covering the Iraq War. Aside from the fact that he cheated on his wife with a much younger woman, there were also ethical concerns raised about how fair the coverage of Gabriel's conduct by the Washington Post had been given the relationship between Gabriel and the journalist. Some claimed that Gabriel had also used Alexandra's connections with journalists in other papers to influence the way he was covered by other publications as well. Gabriel apologized for the relationship but claimed that the reporting of his command in Iraq was unbiased.

Senator:
Gabriel retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2011. With the end of his military career, he declined the President's offer to become the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Instead, he focused on writing his military memoirs. Published in May 2013, it was titled A Soldier's Life – Gabriel Wilson. It was widely praised and became a bestseller. Gabriel also expanded his social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to promote himself and the book. Some spoke of the general harboring political ambitions, as he had never hidden his liberal political views.

In March 2013, Gabriel accepted the role of honorary chairman of the OSS Society. In July 2013, he was named visiting professor at Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. In September of that year, he was harassed by some of the students while walking on campus. The encounter was uploaded on social media and Gabriel’s calm, polite and measured response became viral. On May 1, 2013, the University of Southern California named Gabriel as a Judge Widney Professor, "a title reserved for eminent individuals from the arts, sciences, professions, business and community and national leadership".

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a New York investment firm, hired Gabriel as chairman of the firm's newly created KKR Global Institute in May 2013. At his new position, he would support its investment teams and portfolio companies when studying new investments, especially in new locations. In December 2014, Gabriel was named a partner at KKR and remained chairman of the KKR Global Institute until January 2015. In that position, he was involved in a publicly unpopular deal in which he bought a chain of properties of low income people and raised their rents. He has since apologized for this, but it remains a sore point for many in the left.

In June 2014, Gabriel announced the creation of the gun control group Veterans Coalition for Common Sense. He was strongly opposed to Frank Wade's presidency and gained some reputation (and ire) for his strong public comments against the President. He would also be occasionally called on TV shows to offer commentary on current affairs. In 2019, he announced his intention to run for the office of Senator of Virginia. "I have always believed that the power of government can make peoples' life better," Gabriel said. "That was my philosophy in Iraq and Afghanistan; that clean, decent government can promote economic and social progress. That is my philosophy for the United States of America too."

Gabriel easily won the Democratic Senate primaries, owing to his national profile and war hero status, despite opposition from anti-war progressive Democrats. He ran on a rather progressive domestic platform: expanding health insurance coverage to 97% of Americans, reducing income tax on lower-class families while ensuring that the wealthy would pay their fair share, raising the minimum wage, investment into American infrastructure and criminal justice reform. On social issues, he took pro-choice stance on abortion rights and a moderate liberal position on immigration. He also strongly attacked Frank Wade as being 'mentally deranged', 'unfit to lead' and a 'danger to American democracy'. Foreign policy did not feature that prominently, but Gabriel supported a presence where need be to stand strong against terrorism ("we cannot allow terrorists to threaten the safety of American citizens"), strong support for NATO and containment of Russia and China. He also made veterans' welfare a big issue of his campaign. He won his Senate race with 55% of the vote.

In the aftermath of the January 6 riot, Gabriel accused Wade of having planned a coup and called him an enemy of democracy and freedom. As Senator, Gabriel has earned a reputation of a policy wonk, as he eschewed sloganeering for charts and statistics in explaining his policy proposals. He criticized the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan - claiming that it was this botched up withdrawal that led to the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and eroded trust in the US internationally - but strongly support Jim Byron's support for Ukraine. He called Putin "our century's Hitler" and "a menace to the liberal international order". He has been pushing for stronger support for Ukraine and has been one of the most hawkish US Senators on the issue. At the same time, he has also expressed his strong support for Taiwan and called for the US to increase military shipments to the island republic. He has also blasted the CCP as enemies of freedom and democracy, criticized them for cracking down on Hong Kong and for their genocide in Xinjiang, and called for massive public investments into US domestic production to decouple from China.

Some believe that he eventually desires to become President, though Gabriel has publicly denied having such ambitions.

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

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

With the update, congratulations on being the first app to be officially ACCEPTED!

by **New Luciannova** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:54 pm

(Image)

([url=<Photo%20of%20Character%20Here>]Image[/url])

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: New Luciannova
Character Name: Leonidas Calbraith Gaines IV (Cal Gaines)
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 59
Character Date of Birth: 11-28-1962
Character Current Office: US Senator from Tennessee (2013-Present), Ranking Member of Foreign Relations Committee (2021-Present)
Character Past Office(s): Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2015-2021), Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (2007-2013), Acting Governor of Tennessee (2011), US Ambassador to Bangladesh (2004-2006), Congressman Tennessee’s 6th District (2001-2004), State Senator, Tennessee State Senate (1997-2001), Adjunct Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt (1995-2004;2006-2008), Attorney (1993-2004; 2006-Present), Anglican Missionary (1980-1982; 1985; 1993-1994)
Character Place of Birth: Alexandria, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Tennessee
Character Party Affiliation: Faceclaim (Steve Forbes)
Main Strengths: Reliably Conservative, Religiously Devout, Wealthy and “Old Money.” Intellectual and seen as honest and earnest, able to express himself in such a way that he can appeal to both conservatives and moderates without alienating the other, foreign policy experience, widely respected as an expert in foreign policy, law, religion, and economics. His experience in many countries has earned him respect. He is also not the only politician in his family.
Main Weaknesses: Seen as hard right, can be extremely stubborn, speculation that spouse was involved in insider trading, occasionally negative comments toward regions and cultures, runs an orphanage overseas that has engaged in corrupt behavior, tied to “lost cause” agendas
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Foreign Relations Committee (Ranking Member), Judicial Committee
Education: Vanderbilt University, BA, Economics; Vanderbilt University, MA, Economics; Georgetown University, JD.
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Grace Liu, married 1988.—Grace Liu (b. 1968) is a venture capitalist from Hong Kong, educated in the United Kingdom, and grew up Christian.
Religion: Anglican
Children:
Leonidas Calbraith “Lon” Gaines V (b. 1993)
Bernadette Gaines (b. 1995)
Isadora Gaines (b. 1999)
Augustine Gaines (b. 2004)
Aynsley “Ayn” Gaines (b. 2007)

Parents: The name Leonidas Calbraith Gaines began in his family during the US Civil War, where the first was a general in the Confederate Army, his grandfather Leonidas Calbraith Gaines II was a decorated war veteran in World War I, his father, who also bore the name was a decorated Lieutenant Colonel and later successful medical doctor and investor in the Korean War. Leonidas Calbrain “Leo” Gaines III served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Virginia in the early 1990’s.
Leonidas Calbraith Gaines has family members in political positions [will address this with moderators].
Biography: Cal Gaines was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the eldest child of three to Leo Gaines, a medical doctor and Korean War Veteran. Gaines was a gifted student and took pride in knowledge in general especially religion and current events. Upon graduating high school he took time to become a missionary, his trips spanning throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s brought him to many parts of the world including Peru, Angola, Ethiopia, Morocco, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, and ultimately Bangladesh, where he spent most of his time. His trips usually were in the summer but stopped during his JD program. Although after passing the bar he continued. During one of his trips to Bangladesh he met Grace Liu, a wealth former resident of Hong Kong who had lived and studied in the United Kingdom. The two shared many common interests and passions and were wed in 1988, having five children. Gaines served in Tennessee’s state Senate and the United States House of Representatives before being appointed as Ambassador to Bangladesh, a post he served in for two years. During that time he continued to serve the most impoverished residents of the country and regularly was willing to actively participate in any efforts to improve the country, dedicating large sums of money to building an orphanage. Gaines dedicated his time as ambassador to improving infrastructure and foreign investment in the impoverished nation, working to meet the since postponed MDGs proposed by the United Nations.
Upon returning from his post, he ran for Governor of Tennessee, but lost narrowly in the Republican primaries, instead becoming Lieutenant Governor under Governor Francis Downs. During his tenure as Lieutenant Governor, he served as acting governor for four months when the incumbent had suffered a stroke and had not recovered. Gaines was opposed to the death penalty, but did not pardon any inmates, but granted them all stays of execution. Ultimately one was pardoned by Francis Downs his first day back. For a short-lived tenure as Governor, Gaines was widely respected for a number of his actions including passing a balanced budget (something that had fallen short in previous years), advancing legislation to improve access and choice in education, and appropriating relief for a particularly severe tornado season in the western parts of the state.
Gaines sought to run for United States Senate, he touted his background in foreign policy and his ability to serve as a Congressman and Governor. He was seen as a household name in his state and was able to be elected somewhat easily. He was promptly appointed to a leadership position in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His career in the Senate had led to increased public scrutiny regarding allegations of insider trading against his wife, who ran a hedge fund, as well as poor management of his orphanage that resulted in the exploitation of some of the children present for unjust labor and even sexual abuse. Gaines has promised a strict review of the orphanage in an effort to uncover the scandal, however what happened there haunts him morally and fuels his critics. While Cal Gaines and his family had no role, the corruption was still at their business. The orphanage also had been used to launder money, as his wife runs a hedge fund it is controversial.
Cal Gaines has been known for being a passionate conservative, but also one willing to go his own way and make his own mind up. He is a devoted federalist and a rigid Constitutionalist. He favors diplomacy, but believes that military might can solve many probems globally.

RP Example: NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: (New Luciannova)

by **Lavan Tiri** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:28 pm

New Luciannova wrote:
(Image)
([url=<Photo%20of%20Character%20Here>]Image[/url])
Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: New Luciannova
Character Name: Leonidas Calbraith Gaines IV (Cal Gaines)
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 59
Character Date of Birth: 11-28-1962
Character Current Office: US Senator from Tennessee (2013-Present), Ranking Member of Foreign Relations Committee (2021-Present)
Character Past Office(s): Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2015-2021), Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (2007-2013), Acting Governor of Tennessee (2011), US Ambassador to Bangladesh (2004-2006), Congressman Tennessee’s 6th District (2001-2004), State Senator, Tennessee State Senate (1997-2001), Adjunct Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt (1995-2004;2006-2008), Attorney (1993-2004; 2006-Present), Anglican Missionary (1980-1982; 1985; 1993-1994)
Character Place of Birth: Alexandria, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Tennessee
Character Party Affiliation: Faceclaim (Steve Forbes)
Main Strengths: Reliably Conservative, Religiously Devout, Wealthy and “Old Money.” Intellectual and seen as honest and earnest, able to express himself in such a way that he can appeal to both conservatives and moderates without alienating the other, foreign policy experience, widely respected as an expert in foreign policy, law, religion, and economics. His experience in many countries has earned him respect. He is also not the only politician in his family.
Main Weaknesses: Seen as hard right, can be extremely stubborn, speculation that spouse was involved in insider trading, occasionally negative comments toward regions and cultures, runs an orphanage overseas that has engaged in corrupt behavior, tied to “lost cause” agendas
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Foreign Relations Committee (Ranking Member), Judicial Committee
Education: Vanderbilt University, BA, Economics; Vanderbilt University, MA, Economics; Georgetown University, JD.
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Grace Liu, married 1988.—Grace Liu (b. 1968) is a venture capitalist from Hong Kong, educated in the United Kingdom, and grew up Christian.
Religion: Anglican
Children:
Leonidas Calbraith “Lon” Gaines V (b. 1993)
Bernadette Gaines (b. 1995)
Isadora Gaines (b. 1999)
Augustine Gaines (b. 2004)
Aynsley “Ayn” Gaines (b. 2007)

Parents: The name Leonidas Calbraith Gaines began in his family during the US Civil War, where the first was a general in the Confederate Army, his grandfather Leonidas Calbraith Gaines II was a decorated war veteran in World War I, his father, who also bore the name was a decorated Lieutenant Colonel and later successful medical doctor and investor in the Korean War. Leonidas Calbrain “Leo” Gaines III served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Virginia in the early 1990’s.
Leonidas Calbraith Gaines has family members in political positions [will address this with moderators].
Biography: Cal Gaines was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the eldest child of three to Leo Gaines, a medical doctor and Korean War Veteran. Gaines was a gifted student and took pride in knowledge in general especially religion and current events. Upon graduating high school he took time to become a missionary, his trips spanning throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s brought him to many parts of the world including Peru, Angola, Ethiopia, Morocco, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, and ultimately Bangladesh, where he spent most of his time. His trips usually were in the summer but stopped during his JD program. Although after passing the bar he continued. During one of his trips to Bangladesh he met Grace Liu, a wealth former resident of Hong Kong who had lived and studied in the United Kingdom. The two shared many common interests and passions and were wed in 1988, having five children. Gaines served in Tennessee’s state Senate and the United States House of Representatives before being appointed as Ambassador to Bangladesh, a post he served in for two years. During that time he continued to serve the most impoverished residents of the country and regularly was willing to actively participate in any efforts to improve the country, dedicating large sums of money to building an orphanage. Gaines dedicated his time as ambassador to improving infrastructure and foreign investment in the impoverished nation, working to meet the since postponed MDGs proposed by the United Nations.
Upon returning from his post, he ran for Governor of Tennessee, but lost narrowly in the Republican primaries, instead becoming Lieutenant Governor under Governor Francis Downs. During his tenure as Lieutenant Governor, he served as acting governor for four months when the incumbent had suffered a stroke and had not recovered. Gaines was opposed to the death penalty, but did not pardon any inmates, but granted them all stays of execution. Ultimately one was pardoned by Francis Downs his first day back. For a short-lived tenure as Governor, Gaines was widely respected for a number of his actions including passing a balanced budget (something that had fallen short in previous years), advancing legislation to improve access and choice in education, and appropriating relief for a particularly severe tornado season in the western parts of the state.
Gaines sought to run for United States Senate, he touted his background in foreign policy and his ability to serve as a Congressman and Governor. He was seen as a household name in his state and was able to be elected somewhat easily. He was promptly appointed to a leadership position in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His career in the Senate had led to increased public scrutiny regarding allegations of insider trading against his wife, who ran a hedge fund, as well as poor management of his orphanage that resulted in the exploitation of some of the children present for unjust labor and even sexual abuse. Gaines has promised a strict review of the orphanage in an effort to uncover the scandal, however what happened there haunts him morally and fuels his critics. While Cal Gaines and his family had no role, the corruption was still at their business. The orphanage also had been used to launder money, as his wife runs a hedge fund it is controversial.
Cal Gaines has been known for being a passionate conservative, but also one willing to go his own way and make his own mind up. He is a devoted federalist and a rigid Constitutionalist. He favors diplomacy, but believes that military might can solve many probems globally.

RP Example: NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: (New Luciannova)

- Tennessee's Lieutenant Governor is a member of the State Senate, not a separate official. He could be elected to the Senate earlier? Stay in the House longer?

- Ridiculous insane name. I like it.

- Extremely unlikely that a freshman Senator would be chosen as Chair of Foreign Relations, that's a big boy Committee

Fix the Committee and the Lieutenant Governor thing and we'll talk more.

by **Tehrangeles** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:59 pm

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Tehrangeles
Character Name: Leila Adamma Ramskill (née Edozie)
Character Gender: Girl
Character Age: 50
Character Date of Birth: January 5, 1972
Character Current Office: Vice President of the United States (2021-Present)
Character Past Office(s): Impeachment Manager (2019-2020), House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair (2017-2021), Representative for California’s 33rd District (2011-2021), Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice (2009-2010),
Partner at Lauder-Hillsborough (2006-2009),
Candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney (2005),
Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California (1999-2005),
Legislative Assistant for Not-Nancy Pelosi (1994-1996)
Character Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts
Character State of Residence: Washington, DC/ Los Angeles, California
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Faceclaim: Rashida Tlaib
Main Strengths: Extremely well connected and liked by powerful people, very strong fundraiser, perceived as charismatic by a small but vocal voter base
Main Weaknesses: Generally unaccomplished, totally unprincipled, perceived as a charisma black hole by most voters who follow politics
RP Sample: None.

The below fields will not apply to all characters but may be applicable to yours (Admins will inform you to use them if you fail to and their use is deemed required);
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s):
Education: B.A. in History- Princeton University (1994)
J.D. - UCLA (1999)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s): Gordon Lauder Ramskill, married in 2006
Religion: Nondenominational Christian

Highly Recommended Fields:
Children (Name & Age of Each):
Casey Goldsmith Ramskill (step daughter), 32 years old, is an attorney
Clark Goldsmith Ramskill (step son), 28 years old, is a journalist for The LA Times and an aspiring politician.
Arya Edozie Ramskill, 19 years old, is a student at UCLA
Cyrus Edozie Ramskill, 16 years old, is a student at The School Without Walls
Parents: Leila Ramskill was born to Francis Edozie, a naturalized American of Igbo descent who moved to the United States as a teenager, and Bapsi Yasna, an Indian citizen belonging to the Parsi community. Both Francis and Parmis worked as professors at Boston College, and met and married in the year 1971.
Other Information: Her sister, attorney Anahita Edozie served as her campaign chair when she ran for president, and served on her staff while on the vice presidential ticket. The pair remain close, with Edozie serving as a consigliere of sorts to her sister. After her own high-powered legal career, Edozie currently serves as Counsel to the Vice President.

Biography: Francis Edozie, ethnically Igbo and hailing from a wealthy family, came from Nigeria to the United States on an exchange from his university. He studied at the University of Massachusetts during his second-to-last year. After performing well, he was able to transfer to the university, completing his degree in 1961. He then completed a masters degree at the same university, followed by a doctorate at Harvard. In the years after, he worked as a professor of political science at Boston College, naturalizing as a citizen along the way.

Parmis Yazna was born to a wealthy Parsi family in Gujarat. Her father came from a long line of merchants, and was a devout Zoroastrian. A desire to preserve his heritage led her father to send her to Bombay University, which had a program engaged with Parsi studies. This was followed by a PhD in History at Delhi University, where she then took up an assistant professorship. Her western-oriented, liberal parents supported this, even as she was ostracized by some of her peers, particularly for avoiding marriage. Three years later, Parmis was given the opportunity to work as a visiting fellow at Boston College in the United States, which her parents encouraged her to accept. There, she met and fell in love with Francis Edozie. Marrying this man was a bridge to far for her parents, but Parmis did not see much room for career growth in India, so she opted to marry Edozie and remain in Massachusetts. Soon thereafter, her fellowship was converted to a full time teaching position.

Following marriage in 1971, this couple gave birth to their first daughter, Leila Edozie. One year later they gave birth to their second, final daughter, Anahita. They raised the two in a liberal fashion, exposing them to a multitude of religious beliefs, including their own loose Zoroastrian and Christian views. Both daughters spent their youth striving for excellence, participating in debate clubs and honors society, as they attended the prestigious Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

With their (self-perceived) intelligence and boundless ambition, combined with being told by their parents that they were exceedingly unique and destined for greatness, the Edozie sisters were generally maladjusted in social settings. They desperately wanted acceptance and struggled to understand why they weren’t. Regardless, both succeeded at winning over the approval of authority figures, including teachers and coaches.

In 1990, Leila enrolled at Princeton, where she studied history. She spent her four years leading numerous clubs and editing the Daily Princetonian, but failed to win entry to any supper clubs or other exclusive social organizations. Ultimately, she graduated with a long resume and growing ambition, but few friends and even fewer than positive memories.

After Princeton, Leila moved to Washington, DC for two years. She served as a legislative assistant to not-Nancy Pelosi, Representative from California. She saw this time as purely a networking exercise, a way to make the necessary contacts to win appointments and elections down the line. While she built a solid Rolodex, Leila continued her track record of making few lasting friendships.

In the fall of 1996, Leila began law school at UCLA. She realized rather quickly that her ability to win the favor of authority figures through doting and striving would not work as well moving forward. Her astronomical rise was not as astronomical as she thought it would be. Though she wrote for the law review and had decent grades, she came out as a newly minted Assistant United States Attorney, failing to win a prestigious counsel appointment on a congressional committee or executive agency.

This was acceptable for her, as she believed she could chart another path forward- rising quickly to become an incredibly young United States Attorney. As it turned out, she was not a particularly competent lawyer, and this did not materialize. In her six years as Assistant United States Attorney, she primarily focused on prosecuting federal marijuana charges, which gave her a “cop” reputation that returned to bite her in later progressive criticism. Unfortunately, she was not good enough to be placed on high profile cases.

Seeing herself stuck in place, the ever ambitious Edozie ran for Los Angeles District Attorney in 2005, utterly flopping. Feeling discouraged, she realized her skills could only take her so far on her path to power. So, she began seeing a much older businessman and high-profile bundler for the Democratic Party, Gordon Ramskill. Gordon was actually introduced to her by Not-Nancy Pelosi when she worked as a legislative assistant. Very quickly, Leila charmed and married the lonely widower, sealing the deal with the pregnancy of her first biological child, Cyrus Ramskill. She knew Gordon could bankroll her future campaigns, grant her access to the upper echelons of party politics, and wipe the slate clean of her District Attorney loss through a name change.

She could not rush into it, however. She restarted her career by working at Gordon’s cousin’s high-powered law firm in Los Angeles, Lauder-Hillsborough. Through family connections she almost immediately became a partner, in what was understood to be a stepping stone. She spent most of her time there helping her husband run fundraisers out of their West Hollywood mansion than she did in her office at the firm. It was through this experience that she met the young Senator Not-Obama, who she immediately developed a sycophantic relationship with.

In 2008, she took a leave of absence from the firm to help Gordon fundraise in California full-time for his presidential campaign. These efforts were rewarded after he took office as President, as Leila was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice, and Gordon took a position on the Council of Economic Advisors after being passed over for Trade Representative, and wanting to remain in DC with his wife rather than assume an ambassadorship.

In this role, Leila did not do too much. She encouraged and helped to organize commutations, encouraged the president to “Ban the Box,” and recommended the creation of a presidential commission to study mass incarceration and suggest high-impact reforms. This is what her campaign website says, anyway. Most of her time in Washington was spent networking and laying the groundwork for a House campaign in 2010, being elected in the 33rd district where she resided. She raised far more money than most analysts thought necessary, and advertised across all state media markets, rather than just Los Angeles.

The expected statewide race did not materialize. In 2015, Not-Trump was on the rise and Ramskill forewent her initial ambitions to run for higher office. Instead, she cozied up to the Clinton campaign, hoping to win a cabinet position, like Attorney General. This did not happen for obvious reasons.

In 2017, Ramskill had no accomplishments having spent so long as a minority backbencher. She had no clear path to statewide office, with powerful opponents running for Governor and other prominent positions. But with the return of the Democratic majority came a lifeline- her new position as Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee could win her some much-needed attention.

This angle worked, as she took a forceful stance during the Mueller testimony. This put her star back on the rise, as she became a fixture on MSNBC, CNN, and other networks. In 2019 her popularity among Democrats hit a high watermark, as she served in the 2019 inquiry and subsequently as an impeachment manager in the 2020 trial against Not-Donald Trump.

After weighing her options, Ramskill endorsed Jim Byron immediately before the 2020 South Carolina primary. She then leveraged perceived popularity, connections, and fundraising prowess to gain the Vice Presidential nod after a protracted process.

She delivered a stiff, wooden speech at the Democratic National Committee, and was not seen a lot on the campaign trail, despite Byron’s age. Nevertheless, pundits and audiences generally perceived her as winning the Vice Presidential debate, and she and Byron went on to win the election.

Following January 6, 2021, Ramskill issued forceful condemnations of right wing extremism. However, her popularity began a rapid decline, as her role in the administration became unclear, and she bungled her role in coordinating immigration policy. However, she still took a critical role in passing the American Rescue Plan, supported and assisted with the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, smoothed relations with France after the submarine debacle, and a forceful stance on the Ukraine invasion, meeting with world leaders to discuss the crisis.

She has received high staff turnover, criticism over inclusion of her family in policy development, and has been rankled for her general weirdness. One case of this is her adult step-children calling her “Momeila,” and her most vocal supporters lauding the second gentleman for supposed sexual charisma.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Tehrangeles

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:13 pm

Jovuistan wrote:~~First~~ Second app lol

(Image)

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Jovuistan
Character Name: Rex Underhill
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 70
Character Date of Birth: June 15th, 1952
Character Current Office: Republican Nominee for Governor of Arizona
Character Past Office(s):
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. (2017-2019)
U.S. Senator from Arizona (2007-2017)
White House Chief of Staff (2001-2006)
U.S. Representative from Arizona's 4th District (1995-2001)
Chief of Staff to (not-John McCain) (1987-1993)
Character Place of Birth: Yuma, Arizona
Character State of Residence: Arizona
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Jean-Luc Mélenchon
Main Strengths: Highly experienced, high name recognition, effective campaign organizer, calm, steady, many connections, generally liked by moderate voters
Main Weaknesses: Association with unpopular Iraq War, accusations of election rigging by primary opponent, somewhat out of step with the political moment, true introvert, boring, aging, walking a political tightrope
RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 200 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): You may remember me from Washington, Land of the Free, America the Beautiful, Twilight's Last Gleaming, and maybe a few other RPs I'm forgetting.

The below fields will not apply to all characters but may be applicable to yours;
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): N/A
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): Arizona State University - B.A. in Political Science
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Gail Underhill (née Roy) - 1983
Religion: Protestant Christian (Pentecostal)
Children (Name & Age of Each): Erica (37), Cole (34), Kara (33), Lucy (31)
Parents: Paul & Dorothy (both deceased)
Other Information (Big Broad Banner of anything and everything else applicable to your character that simply was not reflected above!): No

Biography: Rex Stuart Underhill was born in Yuma, Arizona. His father, Paul Underhill, worked as a Border Patrol Agent, continuing the family's tradition of civil and military service since Rex's grandfather was deployed to Fort Yuma in the 1870s. His mother generally stayed at home to care for her seven children, though had a knack for baking and would often sell baked goods at the local market when she had the opportunity. Thanks to all of this, the Underhills enjoyed a decent income and afforded Rex and his siblings a decent public education.

Rex's parents weren't particularly big on politics, and thus, neither was he growing up. His disinterested view changed quickly however when he was conveniently (or inconveniently depending on your view) drafted into the late stages of the Vietnam War. Being in the center of the conflict forced Rex to see with his own eyes the consequences of politics. The frontlines of the Cold War brought a renewed sense of patriotic duty within him, and by the time he returned home, he had found his calling. Aside from that, he was a resourceful and brave soldier, receiving the respect of his colleagues.

Upon returning to Arizona, he took advantage of G.I. benefits to get into college at Arizona State University. He wrote for the college's State Press Newspaper and became a member of the college Republicans. Politically, he was influenced by his state's favorite son Barry Goldwater, as well as Ronald Reagan (partly because he liked his movies). Rex graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and quickly got to work. He served on the campaign staff of Rep. John Jacob Rhodes' campaign in 1978, getting his first foot in the door of political aspirations. However, Rex was adamantly disinterested in becoming a politician himself. He was a true introvert, not a fan of being in the spotlight, and preferred to sway things from behind the curtain.

During his time on the Rhodes campaign, he met his future wife, a co-worker by the name of Gail Roy. Rex spent the next few years working on various campaigns and jobs within the Arizona GOP. Of special note was his work as campaign manager for the 1982 Congressional campaign of one (not-John McCain) the two Vietnam veterans got along swiftly, and they became good friends while on the trail. Rex served as his campaign manager again when he ran for Senate in 1986, and when all was said and done, appointed him to the position of his Chief of Staff.

Rex's position close to a sitting U.S. Senator boosted his profile with the state GOP massively. With his profile on the rise, there was even more pressure from the state party for him to run. Even (not-McCain) himself suggested it on a few occasions. Still, Rex was hesitant. His anxieties as yet remained unquenched, not to mention his recent secret diagnosis of PTSD from his time in Vietnam. He did begin to feel swayed shortly after he retired from his position under (not-McCain). Rex had a real dislike for (not-Bill Clinton) for his various promiscuities and his attempts to dodge the Vietnam draft. With a wave year seeming inevitable, Rex eventually made the call to run for election.

He campaigned for election in Arizona's 4th District, where he faced a surprisingly uncompetitive primary. (not-McCain) and other prominent Arizona Republicans who believed in him managed to clear the field and endorsed him wholeheartedly. While he wasn't the most charismatic and inspiring candidate on account of not being used to the attention of the trail, he was considered a steady hand in a post-Cold War world, and he easily won the general election with 60% of the vote. It wasn't the easiest thing for him to adjust to, but he began to feel it was his duty to serve the country in such a capacity.

In the House Chamber, Rex preferred to go back to his old ways to take action from the shadows. He wasn't nearly as much of a firebrand in his youth, thanks to growing older along with (not-McCain)'s influence. His early legislative work primarily focused on economic issues. He helped write the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, and was involved in negotiations during the 1995-96 government shutdown, all in his first term. He supported DOMA and the war in Bosnia. He easily won re-election in 1996 and continued to raise his profile outside the public eye.

Rex was a key figure in creating the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, continuing his hyper-focus on fiscal policy. Rex received public attention by being a vocal supporter of the impeachment of (not-Bill Clinton). He spoke out frequently in favor of his impeachment and removal, citing the President's "clear sullying of the office he holds and his blatant abuse of the powers that be". Rex voted in favor of all four impeachment articles. Once his third term rolled around, Rex was quick to support (not-McCain) during his run for President. He campaigned actively for his friend in Arizona and neighboring states, even helping with his campaign organization. Alas, it was not to be. In spite of having a different dog in the primary race, Rex was an active surrogate for (not-Bush) Jr. The two had actually managed to form a decent working relationship, which for Rex, would pay off substantially.

Republicans took back the White House, with (not-Bush) taking the helm. Color Rex surprised when he received a call from the President-elect one morning, and color him shocked when he heard that he was being tapped as the next Chief of Staff. Partly because of the two's developing relationship, partly Rex's experience in such a position, and partly to compensate the (not-McCain) camp, Rex was appointed the new Republican President's Chief of Staff. The first few months weren't too eventful. Getting things organized for the first tax cuts, advising the President, and getting appointments done. A lot less communicating with the public and a lot more grunt work. Then on one very peaceful day, they hit the fucking towers! Rex was catapulted into the limelight when he had to inform (not-Bush) about the attack on the World Trade Center. The iconic photo was plastered everywhere, and it kind of freaked Rex out. Suddenly he was showing up on international news, and thousands of reporters wanted to interview him. His introvertedness made him scream inside, yet still, he pressed on.

His job only got more intense post-9/11, having to help lead a wartime administration. Rex was one of the many pushing for a war in Iraq, bringing up the prospect with the President quite frequently. He would eventually get his wish, though it certainly wouldn't be the triumph of freedom and democracy he had hoped. Over time, Rex became increasingly disillusioned with the administration's performance, and he struggled to take the blame for it. He saw the writing on the wall with (not-Bush)'s crumbling poll numbers, the sluggish economy, and the unpopularity of the Iraq War, and he chose to leave in January of 2006. Instead, he opted to return to Congress, running for the open Senate seat in Arizona that year.

The primary was especially competitive. His time in the administration was both a benefit and a hindrance. He had tons of name recognition now with a substantial establishment war chest, but he was still tied to an increasingly hated President. Ultimately, he won the primary with around 42% of the vote compared to his main opponent's 34%. The Arizona seat was considered a key battleground, with potential for a Democratic upset. Not helping the matter was that Rex still wasn't the best campaign in terms of getting himself out there. He simply wasn't the inspiring type and had to campaign more on experience and ability. With plenty of money burned by both sides, Rex was only able to win the seat by 5%, a notable underperformance compared to the average Arizona Republican. The relative closeness of the race was a big hit to Rex's morale.

His first year in the Senate was focused on salvaging the Iraq War he helped create. He was an advocate for the troop surge, speaking in favor of it on the floor and making moves to help gather the votes for it. Then things got even worse when the Great Recession began. Rex tried desperately to keep things afloat, being involved and effectively representing the administration during the negotiations for the emergency economic package. It was pretty clear by the time (not-Obama) easily crushed (not-McCain) in the election that the administration Rex worked under was a failure. Did blame himself for it? Only partly. He was frustrated by (not-Bush)'s incompetence in handling the increasing crises facing America. Ultimately, however, that was all in the past. A new President was in power, and a new era was about to begin.

Unfortunately, Rex would turn it to really not be a fan of said new era. He watched helplessly as the Tea Party and more ridiculously extreme ideologies took root in the GOP. The rise of individuals like (not-Ted Cruz) and the birther conspiracies annoyed him to no end. Meanwhile, Rex opposed the ACA, along with other parts of (not-Obama)'s agenda. That's not to say he was a partisan obstructionist, however, as he was willing to work with the Democrats in some cases such as the 2010 Tax Relief Act. He also was a frequent main character in negotiations to avoid government shutdowns throughout the (not-Obama) Presidency.

Rex was an early supporter of (not-Mitt Romney) in the 2012 Republican primary, organizing for him heavily in Arizona. He managed to make the shortlist for Vice-President before being passed over for (not-Paul Ryan). He was rising in the ranks of the Senate GOP, and yet he only wanted more and more to find a way out. He ran for re-election and won by 7 points, a decision he found himself regretting the more he had to listen to (not-Cruz) recite children's stories on the floor of the highest legislative body in the country. He felt embarrassed to even be associated with these people.

On the policy front, he was particularly critical of the President on Russian aggression in Crimea and Georgia, echoing the sentiments of (not-Romney) that Russia had become the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States and her allies. Domestically, he was a member of the Gang of Eight responsible for negotiating the (eventually failed) immigration reform bill in 2013. Once Republicans took control of the Senate in 2014, Rex was offered a position in leadership, which he respectfully declined. By this point, his desire to leave the Senate behind was no secret in his inner circle, but still, he didn't want to resign before the end of his term without assurance that he could still be at work in public service.

Then Frank Wade happened. Holy fuck, Frank Wade. Rex hated Wade with a true passion. He criticized him for his attacks on (not-McCain), his tax records, and his flirting with white supremacist dog whistling. He endorsed fellow Gang of Eight member (not-Marco Rubio), then declined to endorse fellow the Senate dropping out. Once Wade eventually secured the nomination, Rex hesitantly held his nose and supported him. He still did his usual work organizing for the Arizona GOP as the state increasingly turned purple, and privately was shocked and nervous to see Wade actually win. (Plz Fix Grammatical Issues)

It may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as soon his colleagues within the party would find an opening to give Rex what he wanted: to leave for a better job. His name was pushed for UN Ambassador even before Wade won, and though they had a strained relationship, the President-elect was swayed as a way to appease the more hostile wing of the party and get a potential enemy in the Senate out of the picture. Rex for his part couldn't have been happier to get the job, both to finally get away from Congress and to hopefully tame some of the more dramatic elements of Wade's international vision.

Rex was confirmed by his colleagues almost unanimously, despite some tough questions on his role in the Iraq War. His early tenure as Ambassador was most notable for his harsh rhetoric and stance against Russia and Iran, stating that the two nations "have no desire for peace" and accusing the latter as well as Hezbollah of harboring, funding, and conducting terrorist attacks for decades, and the former of blocking the necessary inspections under the Iran Nuclear Deal. He also expressed interest in moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and claimed that Israel had become an international target for bullying by nefarious governments. He supported Wade's decision to withhold aid to Palestinians UNRWA.

The U.S. under Wade and Underhill was one of the few nations to vote against a resolution condemning the arbitrary and discriminatory application of the death penalty. Significant backlash was faced, with the administration claiming in defense that the vote was made due to broader concerns with the resolution's approach in condemning the death penalty in all circumstances. In 2018 he condemned China for their treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in the country, calling the use of re-education camps "an unconscionable act not seen since the worst days of the last century."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rex was willing to openly go against his boss, opposing the Muslim ban in 2017 and stating in an interview that the women who accused the President of sexual assault deserved to be heard. This made their working relationship tense over the years, and as time went on, it became increasingly difficult for the two to manage together. Thus, at the start of 2019, Rex tendered his resignation, choosing to live the rest of his life in a happier retirement.

He spent the next couple of years relaxing in Scottsdale, taking a few vacations, and enjoying time with family. He avoided interviews and political discussion wherever possible, and generally fell off the radar of many despite some pundits (delusionally) listing him as a potential future candidate for President. Even through the chaos of 2020, he was radio silent, only giving out endorsements for Arizona Republicans and casual life tweets. He only spoke out following the election of Jim Byron by criticizing Wade's conspiracies of a stolen election, especially January 6th. He was however still willing to defend his and Wade's records before the election, saying that Wade was "an innovator who strengthened America's standing in a hostile world. I don't regret my work with him." That was a lie.

He could've stayed like this, but as 2021 gave way to 2022, he realized just how far the GOP, both in Arizona and national, was falling to extreme Wadeism. Rex felt a deep fear that a Wade Republican winning would be the end of real democracy in Arizona. Thus, he felt a duty to stop the tide and run for Governor. His entry in the race was a shock for many, and his name recognition as a longtime politician and member of the Wade administration gave him immediate frontrunner status. His main opponent was a staunch Big Lie supporter and Wadeist, and they frequently attacked Rex as a RINO. Rex for his part was careful in addressing the former President, opposing the conspiracies but praising his work as President beyond that, being sure to emphasize his own role in the administration. Balancing on a tightrope, Rex was able to win the primary vote by around 3 points thanks to his name recognition, strong support from the party establishment, and being seen as more competent and capable of winning after Republicans repeatedly lost in statewide races. His opponent, however, naturally alleges voter fraud, threatening to sue over the unfavorable results.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Jovuistan

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

I have two things to raise here!

1- This person is qualified for more than UN Ambassador and it would be seen as an embarrassing demotion to accept the role, they could do that obviously, but I believe you could perhaps keep them in the House and then throw them into that role. Alternatively, perhaps some more in the app that indicates they have ties at the UN or something to justify taking a U.S. Senator out of what would be a competitive seat, to then make them UN Ambassador.

2- The 2022 Primary, they may win it, but they should win by the same margin as Oz/McCormick, to better reflect what would be the Wade-Endorsement factor imo.

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:20 pm

Meretica wrote:Fleur Toussaint-Garnier
(Image)
(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Meretica
Character Name: Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 69 (turning 70 in December 2022)
Character Date of Birth: December 7, 1952
Character Current Office: Senior US Senator from Maine
Character Past Offices: Legislative Assistant to William Cohen (1975-1987); Maine Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (1987-1992); New England SBA Regional Director (1992); Massachusetts Deputy State Treasurer (1993); Executive Director of the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business (1994-1996)
Character Place of Birth: Augusta, Maine
Character State of Residence: Maine (primarily Augusta)
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Faceclaim: Lisa Murkowski
Main Strengths and Weaknesses:
RINOs, aka an Undocumented Democrat: Fleur is one of the seven Republican Senators that voted in favor of convicting President (Trump) during his second impeachment trial. From 1997 to 2016, she voted with her party a mere 57% of the time. As of January 2021, according to 538, she had ultimately voted with (Trump) around 65% of the time. During the (Obama) Administration, she voted with the 44th President 76% of the time, the highest of any Republican; likewise, during the (Biden Administration), she backed the president 92% of the time during the 117th Congress. A supporter of abortion rights, gay rights, and a known bipartisan, many in the GOP have labeled her a RINO. Despite this, she was reelected in 2020 by 8.6 points. Her status as a Republican is consistently called into question, especially after she voted in favor of the ARPA of 2021, being the only Senate Republican to do so. She was also the sole Senate Republican that did not reverse her vote on the PACT Act, as she had been sheltering in her D.C. home due to COVID; she said that had she been present, she would have voted in favor of the PACT Act. Fleur voted in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act. She is a Liberal Republican that seems to be moving further and further left if what her fellow caucus members say is to be believed.
I’ll Fight for You: Fleur has a reputation for fighting on behalf of small businesses in Maine; people involved in the lobster industry also tend to support her given her strong stance on Machias Seal Island, earning her much support in Washington County.
It Was a Fair Election: Fleur voted to confirm that the 2020 election was legitimate. She later voted to convict (Trump) for his involvement during the Second Impeachment proceeding.
Electable, Always: Despite a tougher reelection battle in 2020, Fleur has been elected to her Senate seat every six years since 1996, when she was first elected with 49.2% of the vote. She was reelected with 58.5% in 2002, 61.2% in 2008, 68.5% in 2014, and 51% in 2020. With rank-choice voting being adopted in Maine, she is confident that she'll win elections for years to come.
The Economist: Fleur has a long economic history in New England. After graduating from college as a magna cum laude with a BA in Government, she served in several positions as an economic advisor before becoming the regional director of the Small Business Administration in New England. A pragmatist when it comes to economics, her policies leave little to be desired from the status quo, though some wish that she would engage in economic populism daily.
Maine’s Senior Senator Reinvented: In recent weeks, Fleur has come to regret the things she did to enable the TEA Party and bring about the (Trump) Administration. She has publicly become somewhat more aggressive in defending her policies and beliefs, leading one Fox commentator to refer to her as “an angry puppy that’s gotten its first tooth and wants to bite everything in sight.” Given her lengthy Senate career, this has improved how many moderates and people, in general, have looked upon her. Her actions have also been matching her words lately.
I’m Rich, for Now: Fleur comes from a wealthy family with a net worth estimated to be about $45 million. Given her reinvention, she has started donating massive amounts of money to organizations like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (to whom she donated nearly $18 million). She used other personal funds to provide bonuses to staffers and campaign workers. Ultimately, her current net worth is about $15 million, a mere third of what it once was.
I Love God, but You Don’t Have To: Unlike most Mainers, Fleur is very personally religious, though she does not force her beliefs upon others. Fleur is a former Roman Catholic; she left Catholicism in the late 1990s, joining a nondenominational church in Augusta in 2002. When she’s in Washington on Sundays, she attends Union Church in Baltimore.
Power Player: Fleur is a Senate power player, wielding her seniority and moderate stances as a mighty sword to pass legislation as she sees fit. One of the “swing” votes in the Senate, her votes have lately been tending on the Democratic side of things, much to the chagrin of her colleagues. Before the 2022 midterms, Fleur is the eleventh highest-ranking member in the Senate.

RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=39582139#p39582139
U.S. Senate Committee (and Subcommittee) Memberships: HELP (Children & Families), Ethics (N/A), Select Committee on Intelligence (N/A)
Education Higher Education Institute + Degrees: St. Lawrence University (BA in Government)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s): Never married and has no interest in romance at the present time
Religion: Nondenominational Christian; becoming more “spiritual than religious” with time
Children: None
Parents: Abigail and Cyril Toussaint-Harnier (both deceased)
Other Information: This is Fleur’s full family tree.
Biography:
Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier was born on December 7 in 1952. Born just over a month after President Eisenhower was elected in a landslide. Fleur was the eldest of nine children of the wealthy Toussaint family, which was of Acadian descent. The Toussaints were politically and socially active in Maine affairs, having operated a well-off lumber company for generations. Her uncle, Lucius, had just been elected as a member of a local school board; both of her parents, Abigail and Cyril, had both served as mayors of Caribou. This, perhaps, foreshadowed Fleur’s future as a political leader.

Fleur was not spoiled, despite her family’s wealth. She was made to value hard work, contributing to her future as a liberal Republican. She attended public school; in high school, she served as president of the student council. During her senior year of high school in 1971, she was chosen to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program, through which she visited Washington, D.C., for the first time and had a two-hour conversation with Maine's first female United States Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, also a Republican. Fleur is the first program delegate elected to the Senate and holds the seat once held by Smith. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Like her father, she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society. She graduated from St. Lawrence magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in government in 1975. Per an agreement with her parents, she paid back her tuition costs with interest.

By 1975, the political fortunes of the family were becoming very apparent. Her father had joined the state’s House of Representatives; her uncle was a member of the State Senate. This, perhaps, made it easier for Congressman William Cohen to hire her as a legislative assistant from 1975 to 1987. Next, Fleur worked for Governor (John Rettie "Jock" McKernan Jr.) of Maine as the Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. She left the job in 1992 after President (George H.W. Bush) appointed her to serve as New England’s regional SBA Director. When President (Bill Clinton) was elected later that year, she left the job, taking on a job as Massachusetts’s Deputy State Treasurer.

As her family (particularly her uncle, who was appointed to the state supreme court) saw more political success, Fleur sought to run for governor of Maine in 1994. She won an eight-way primary and was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party for governor. She placed third in general, losing to independent and future Senator (Angus King). Fleur believes that she would have won had he not been in the race; however, she is thankful that she lost as it lead to a successful Senate career beginning in 1997.

A few weeks after losing this election, Fleur started the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business. Dedicated to growing and protecting small businesses, the Center prospered. She served as its executive director until November 1996. At the end of 1995, she announced a bid for Senate, and she won it over her Democratic rival for governor from the 1994 contest, (Joseph Brennan). Fleur pledged to serve only two terms, a pledge that she would break in 2008.

First Term
Fleur played an important role during the Senate's impeachment trial of (Bill Clinton) when she and fellow Maine Senator (Olympia Snowe) sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy. The motion failed, and (Snowe) and Fleur voted to acquit, believing that while (Clinton) had committed perjury, that was not grounds for removal from office.

Second Term
In May 2005, Fleur was one of 14 senators (seven Democrats and seven Republicans) to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus allowing the Republican leadership to end the debate without having to exercise the nuclear option. Under the agreement, Democrats agreed they would filibuster (George W. Bush)’s judicial nominees only in "extraordinary circumstances"; three appellate court nominees would receive a vote by the full Senate. In October 2008, Fleur criticized robocalls by the (McCain) campaign claiming that (Barack Obama) "has worked closely with domestic terrorist (Bill Ayers), whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans", asserting that those "kind of tactics has no place in Maine politics" and urging McCain to cease the calls immediately. Fleur broke her promise to not seek a third term, though this was of no consequence.

Third Term
In 2010, Fleur and (Snowe) were the only Republicans to vote for a Democratic measure that would have prevented future bailouts. She opposed the appointment of (Chuck Hagel) to the Cabinet. Fleur was one of the most outspoken supporters of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act; she has continued supporting raising the minimum wage, currently believing that a $9 minimum wage tied to inflation would be best.

Fourth Term
Fleur cast her 6,000th consecutive roll call vote in September 2015, surpassing Margaret Chase Smith, who had been the 2nd place record-holder. Only a few other Senators had cast more by that point. During the Christmas holidays that year, both of her parents died just days apart from each other due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident due to faulty breaks.

On August 8, 2016, Fleur announced that she would not vote for (Donald Trump), the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election. She said that as a lifelong Republican, she did not make the decision lightly but felt he was unsuitable for office, "based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics". She considered voting for the Libertarian Party's ticket or a write-in candidate; ultimately, she voted for the Libertarian ticket, praising (Gary Johnson) and (Bill Weld) for their leadership qualities and saying that “these are the leaders the Republican Party needs.

Fleur was a somewhat active Republican opponent of (Trump) and MAGA rhetoric during his term. She largely came across as a voice of common sense and honesty during a controversial, ultra-partisan session of Congress. Because of this, she was successful in passing several pieces of major, bipartisan legislation in the 115th and 116th Congresses, such as the Taiwan Travel Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the First Step Act, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, several coronavirus relief plans, the Great American Outdoors Act, and the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act. Fleur was also a supporter of the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2019 and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

Fleur voted against the nomination of (Betsy DeVos). Fleur sponsored the BOLD Act, the OCRA Act, and the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act. She voted “not guilty” regarding the impeachment of (Donald Trump) in 2020 and later voted against the nomination of (Amy Coney Barrett). She announced that she did not vote for (Trump) again; the media and most people assume she left the top of her ballot empty when in reality she voted for (Joe Biden). Before the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Fleur had yet to announce whether or not she would vote for (Trump); thus, she was privately asked to attend the DNC and endorse (Biden). She quietly declined; she did not attend any Republican National Convention events, nor was she asked to.

On Election Night in 2020, Fleur tweeted several statements condemning those that were claiming (Trump) won while ballots were still being counted. “This election is not yet over, and it is premature to claim that either candidate has won the election while millions of votes have yet to be counted. The voices of the American people must be heard.” Fleur was one of the first Republicans to congratulate the President-elect publicly and privately when the results were officially called by news networks, and she actively condemned those that claimed the election was stolen. “I have full confidence in the results,” she said.

Fifth Term
On January 6, 2021, Fleur was participating in the certification of the Electoral College vote count when (Trump) supporters stormed the United States Capitol. She was on the Senate floor listening to speeches related to the objection to counting Arizona's votes when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Capitol Police removed Vice President (Mike Pence) and Senators (Mitch McConnell) and (Chuck Schumer). She called the experience "frightening and appalling." Fleur later called the storming "a dangerous, shameful, and outrageous attack on our democracy" and blamed (Trump) for "working up the crowd and inciting this mob". She called on him to call off the rioters. When Congress reconvened after the Capitol was secure, Collins voted to certify the count.
Toward the end of January 2021, Fleur led a group of 10 Republican senators who requested that President (Joe Biden) join bipartisan negotiations when creating his COVID-19 economic relief package.

On February 13, 2021, Fleur was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict (Trump) in his second impeachment trial. Fleur cast her 8,000th consecutive roll call vote on October 28, 2021; only (Chuck Grassley) and William Proxmire has set longer streaks. Fleur voted to confirm (Ketanji Brown Jackson) to the Supreme Court, making her one of the only three GOP senators to support her nomination. According to 538, Fleur has become increasingly liberal during her current term.

Recently, an op-ed in the New York Times called on Fleur to run for president. She stated very clearly that she “would not run for president unless a national grassroots effort began to draft her name for 2024. Fleur, having much more seniority than many other members of Congress, has her choice of committee memberships. She has not become the ranking member of any committees, however, due to opposition from within the more right-wing parts of the caucus. Other than (Dianne Feinstein), Fleur is the only person in the 31 top-ranking Senators ordered by seniority that does not have a committee of leadership position; this decision by Republican Senate leaders is taken as a slight by Fleur, and it has encouraged her to take more independent stances in the Senate.

Personal Life
Fleur tends to be a very private person in public, though, behind closed doors, she is very personable and open about her life and experiences. The eldest of nine children, she is the only child that did not marry, and she has never felt a need to marry. “I’ve never met the right person,” she said in 2008 when a friend inquired about her personal life. She has 73 living relatives (as far as she is aware). Her mother, Abigail, is the matriarch of the family. Nearing her 99th birthday, Abigail has grown weary and stays at the family manor with a number of relatives often coming and going as they will.

In 2021, Rita (Fleur’s youngest sister) unexpectedly died. Adonis Boudreaux, Rita’s husband, “took to the bottle,” to use his own words. Fleur took in all of Rita’s children that were still living at home. The youngest of these, Aurora, still lives with “Tante Fleur.” Aurora is 15 and is homeschooled by private tutors; she travels with her aunt between Maine and Washington. Her other siblings are spread across New England, much like the rest of the family. The death of Rita has had some effect on Fleur’s newfound conscience. Fleur has more actively worked to better the world around her, especially as she has come to realize that the world that Aurora will live to see will be very different than the world that Fleur has always known. Fleur has made it her goal to make the future as bright as she possibly can for her future relatives, much to the chagrin of conservatives and MAGA Republicans.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Meretica
Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

I can see this person being branded 'barren and unlovable' by more than one uppity radio talk show host - how did she vote on the Covid-19 package in March 2021, and what has she done post-Roe?

by **Meretica** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:28 pm

Sarenium wrote:
Meretica wrote:Fleur Toussaint-Garnier
(Image)
(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Meretica
Character Name: Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier
Character Gender: Female
Character Age: 69 (turning 70 in December 2022)
Character Date of Birth: December 7, 1952
Character Current Office: Senior US Senator from Maine
Character Past Offices: Legislative Assistant to William Cohen (1975-1987); Maine Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (1987-1992); New England SBA Regional Director (1992); Massachusetts Deputy State Treasurer (1993); Executive Director of the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business (1994-1996)
Character Place of Birth: Augusta, Maine
Character State of Residence: Maine (primarily Augusta)
Character Party Affiliation: Republican
Faceclaim: Lisa Murkowski
Main Strengths and Weaknesses:
RINOs, aka an Undocumented Democrat: Fleur is one of the seven Republican Senators that voted in favor of convicting President (Trump) during his second impeachment trial. From 1997 to 2016, she voted with her party a mere 57% of the time. As of January 2021, according to 538, she had ultimately voted with (Trump) around 65% of the time. During the (Obama) Administration, she voted with the 44th President 76% of the time, the highest of any Republican; likewise, during the (Biden Administration), she backed the president 92% of the time during the 117th Congress. A supporter of abortion rights, gay rights, and a known bipartisan, many in the GOP have labeled her a RINO. Despite this, she was reelected in 2020 by 8.6 points. Her status as a Republican is consistently called into question, especially after she voted in favor of the ARPA of 2021, being the only Senate Republican to do so. She was also the sole Senate Republican that did not reverse her vote on the PACT Act, as she had been sheltering in her D.C. home due to COVID; she said that had she been present, she would have voted in favor of the PACT Act. Fleur voted in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act. She is a Liberal Republican that seems to be moving further and further left if what her fellow caucus members say is to be believed.
I’ll Fight for You: Fleur has a reputation for fighting on behalf of small businesses in Maine; people involved in the lobster industry also tend to support her given her strong stance on Machias Seal Island, earning her much support in Washington County.
It Was a Fair Election: Fleur voted to confirm that the 2020 election was legitimate. She later voted to convict (Trump) for his involvement during the Second Impeachment proceeding.
Electable, Always: Despite a tougher reelection battle in 2020, Fleur has been elected to her Senate seat every six years since 1996, when she was first elected with 49.2% of the vote. She was reelected with 58.5% in 2002, 61.2% in 2008, 68.5% in 2014, and 51% in 2020. With rank-choice voting being adopted in Maine, she is confident that she'll win elections for years to come.
The Economist: Fleur has a long economic history in New England. After graduating from college as a magna cum laude with a BA in Government, she served in several positions as an economic advisor before becoming the regional director of the Small Business Administration in New England. A pragmatist when it comes to economics, her policies leave little to be desired from the status quo, though some wish that she would engage in economic populism daily.
Maine’s Senior Senator Reinvented: In recent weeks, Fleur has come to regret the things she did to enable the TEA Party and bring about the (Trump) Administration. She has publicly become somewhat more aggressive in defending her policies and beliefs, leading one Fox commentator to refer to her as “an angry puppy that’s gotten its first tooth and wants to bite everything in sight.” Given her lengthy Senate career, this has improved how many moderates and people, in general, have looked upon her. Her actions have also been matching her words lately.
I’m Rich, for Now: Fleur comes from a wealthy family with a net worth estimated to be about $45 million. Given her reinvention, she has started donating massive amounts of money to organizations like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (to whom she donated nearly $18 million). She used other personal funds to provide bonuses to staffers and campaign workers. Ultimately, her current net worth is about $15 million, a mere third of what it once was.
I Love God, but You Don’t Have To: Unlike most Mainers, Fleur is very personally religious, though she does not force her beliefs upon others. Fleur is a former Roman Catholic; she left Catholicism in the late 1990s, joining a nondenominational church in Augusta in 2002. When she’s in Washington on Sundays, she attends Union Church in Baltimore.
Power Player: Fleur is a Senate power player, wielding her seniority and moderate stances as a mighty sword to pass legislation as she sees fit. One of the “swing” votes in the Senate, her votes have lately been tending on the Democratic side of things, much to the chagrin of her colleagues. Before the 2022 midterms, Fleur is the eleventh highest-ranking member in the Senate.

RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=39582139#p39582139
U.S. Senate Committee (and Subcommittee) Memberships: HELP (Children & Families), Ethics (N/A), Select Committee on Intelligence (N/A)
Education Higher Education Institute + Degrees: St. Lawrence University (BA in Government)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s): Never married and has no interest in romance at the present time
Religion: Nondenominational Christian; becoming more “spiritual than religious” with time
Children: None
Parents: Abigail and Cyril Toussaint-Harnier (both deceased)
Other Information: This is Fleur’s full family tree.
Biography:
Fleur LeBeau Marie Toussaint-Garnier was born on December 7 in 1952. Born just over a month after President Eisenhower was elected in a landslide. Fleur was the eldest of nine children of the wealthy Toussaint family, which was of Acadian descent. The Toussaints were politically and socially active in Maine affairs, having operated a well-off lumber company for generations. Her uncle, Lucius, had just been elected as a member of a local school board; both of her parents, Abigail and Cyril, had both served as mayors of Caribou. This, perhaps, foreshadowed Fleur’s future as a political leader.

Fleur was not spoiled, despite her family’s wealth. She was made to value hard work, contributing to her future as a liberal Republican. She attended public school; in high school, she served as president of the student council. During her senior year of high school in 1971, she was chosen to participate in the U.S. Senate Youth Program, through which she visited Washington, D.C., for the first time and had a two-hour conversation with Maine's first female United States Senator, Margaret Chase Smith, also a Republican. Fleur is the first program delegate elected to the Senate and holds the seat once held by Smith. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Like her father, she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society. She graduated from St. Lawrence magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in government in 1975. Per an agreement with her parents, she paid back her tuition costs with interest.

By 1975, the political fortunes of the family were becoming very apparent. Her father had joined the state’s House of Representatives; her uncle was a member of the State Senate. This, perhaps, made it easier for Congressman William Cohen to hire her as a legislative assistant from 1975 to 1987. Next, Fleur worked for Governor (John Rettie "Jock" McKernan Jr.) of Maine as the Commissioner of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. She left the job in 1992 after President (George H.W. Bush) appointed her to serve as New England’s regional SBA Director. When President (Bill Clinton) was elected later that year, she left the job, taking on a job as Massachusetts’s Deputy State Treasurer.

As her family (particularly her uncle, who was appointed to the state supreme court) saw more political success, Fleur sought to run for governor of Maine in 1994. She won an eight-way primary and was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party for governor. She placed third in general, losing to independent and future Senator (Angus King). Fleur believes that she would have won had he not been in the race; however, she is thankful that she lost as it lead to a successful Senate career beginning in 1997.

A few weeks after losing this election, Fleur started the Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business. Dedicated to growing and protecting small businesses, the Center prospered. She served as its executive director until November 1996. At the end of 1995, she announced a bid for Senate, and she won it over her Democratic rival for governor from the 1994 contest, (Joseph Brennan). Fleur pledged to serve only two terms, a pledge that she would break in 2008.

First Term
Fleur played an important role during the Senate's impeachment trial of (Bill Clinton) when she and fellow Maine Senator (Olympia Snowe) sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy. The motion failed, and (Snowe) and Fleur voted to acquit, believing that while (Clinton) had committed perjury, that was not grounds for removal from office.

Second Term
In May 2005, Fleur was one of 14 senators (seven Democrats and seven Republicans) to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus allowing the Republican leadership to end the debate without having to exercise the nuclear option. Under the agreement, Democrats agreed they would filibuster (George W. Bush)’s judicial nominees only in "extraordinary circumstances"; three appellate court nominees would receive a vote by the full Senate. In October 2008, Fleur criticized robocalls by the (McCain) campaign claiming that (Barack Obama) "has worked closely with domestic terrorist (Bill Ayers), whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans", asserting that those "kind of tactics has no place in Maine politics" and urging McCain to cease the calls immediately. Fleur broke her promise to not seek a third term, though this was of no consequence.

Third Term
In 2010, Fleur and (Snowe) were the only Republicans to vote for a Democratic measure that would have prevented future bailouts. She opposed the appointment of (Chuck Hagel) to the Cabinet. Fleur was one of the most outspoken supporters of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act; she has continued supporting raising the minimum wage, currently believing that a $9 minimum wage tied to inflation would be best.

Fourth Term
Fleur cast her 6,000th consecutive roll call vote in September 2015, surpassing Margaret Chase Smith, who had been the 2nd place record-holder. Only a few other Senators had cast more by that point. During the Christmas holidays that year, both of her parents died just days apart from each other due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident due to faulty breaks.

On August 8, 2016, Fleur announced that she would not vote for (Donald Trump), the Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential election. She said that as a lifelong Republican, she did not make the decision lightly but felt he was unsuitable for office, "based on his disregard for the precept of treating others with respect, an idea that should transcend politics". She considered voting for the Libertarian Party's ticket or a write-in candidate; ultimately, she voted for the Libertarian ticket, praising (Gary Johnson) and (Bill Weld) for their leadership qualities and saying that “these are the leaders the Republican Party needs.

Fleur was a somewhat active Republican opponent of (Trump) and MAGA rhetoric during his term. She largely came across as a voice of common sense and honesty during a controversial, ultra-partisan session of Congress. Because of this, she was successful in passing several pieces of major, bipartisan legislation in the 115th and 116th Congresses, such as the Taiwan Travel Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the First Step Act, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, several coronavirus relief plans, the Great American Outdoors Act, and the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act. Fleur was also a supporter of the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2019 and the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

Fleur voted against the nomination of (Betsy DeVos). Fleur sponsored the BOLD Act, the OCRA Act, and the Fallen Journalists Memorial Act. She voted “not guilty” regarding the impeachment of (Donald Trump) in 2020 and later voted against the nomination of (Amy Coney Barrett). She announced that she did not vote for (Trump) again; the media and most people assume she left the top of her ballot empty when in reality she voted for (Joe Biden). Before the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Fleur had yet to announce whether or not she would vote for (Trump); thus, she was privately asked to attend the DNC and endorse (Biden). She quietly declined; she did not attend any Republican National Convention events, nor was she asked to.

On Election Night in 2020, Fleur tweeted several statements condemning those that were claiming (Trump) won while ballots were still being counted. “This election is not yet over, and it is premature to claim that either candidate has won the election while millions of votes have yet to be counted. The voices of the American people must be heard.” Fleur was one of the first Republicans to congratulate the President-elect publicly and privately when the results were officially called by news networks, and she actively condemned those that claimed the election was stolen. “I have full confidence in the results,” she said.

Fifth Term
On January 6, 2021, Fleur was participating in the certification of the Electoral College vote count when (Trump) supporters stormed the United States Capitol. She was on the Senate floor listening to speeches related to the objection to counting Arizona's votes when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate and U.S. Capitol Police removed Vice President (Mike Pence) and Senators (Mitch McConnell) and (Chuck Schumer). She called the experience "frightening and appalling." Fleur later called the storming "a dangerous, shameful, and outrageous attack on our democracy" and blamed (Trump) for "working up the crowd and inciting this mob". She called on him to call off the rioters. When Congress reconvened after the Capitol was secure, Collins voted to certify the count.
Toward the end of January 2021, Fleur led a group of 10 Republican senators who requested that President (Joe Biden) join bipartisan negotiations when creating his COVID-19 economic relief package.

On February 13, 2021, Fleur was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict (Trump) in his second impeachment trial. Fleur cast her 8,000th consecutive roll call vote on October 28, 2021; only (Chuck Grassley) and William Proxmire has set longer streaks. Fleur voted to confirm (Ketanji Brown Jackson) to the Supreme Court, making her one of the only three GOP senators to support her nomination. According to 538, Fleur has become increasingly liberal during her current term.

Recently, an op-ed in the New York Times called on Fleur to run for president. She stated very clearly that she “would not run for president unless a national grassroots effort began to draft her name for 2024. Fleur, having much more seniority than many other members of Congress, has her choice of committee memberships. She has not become the ranking member of any committees, however, due to opposition from within the more right-wing parts of the caucus. Other than (Dianne Feinstein), Fleur is the only person in the 31 top-ranking Senators ordered by seniority that does not have a committee of leadership position; this decision by Republican Senate leaders is taken as a slight by Fleur, and it has encouraged her to take more independent stances in the Senate.

Personal Life
Fleur tends to be a very private person in public, though, behind closed doors, she is very personable and open about her life and experiences. The eldest of nine children, she is the only child that did not marry, and she has never felt a need to marry. “I’ve never met the right person,” she said in 2008 when a friend inquired about her personal life. She has 73 living relatives (as far as she is aware). Her mother, Abigail, is the matriarch of the family. Nearing her 99th birthday, Abigail has grown weary and stays at the family manor with a number of relatives often coming and going as they will.

In 2021, Rita (Fleur’s youngest sister) unexpectedly died. Adonis Boudreaux, Rita’s husband, “took to the bottle,” to use his own words. Fleur took in all of Rita’s children that were still living at home. The youngest of these, Aurora, still lives with “Tante Fleur.” Aurora is 15 and is homeschooled by private tutors; she travels with her aunt between Maine and Washington. Her other siblings are spread across New England, much like the rest of the family. The death of Rita has had some effect on Fleur’s newfound conscience. Fleur has more actively worked to better the world around her, especially as she has come to realize that the world that Aurora will live to see will be very different than the world that Fleur has always known. Fleur has made it her goal to make the future as bright as she possibly can for her future relatives, much to the chagrin of conservatives and MAGA Republicans.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Meretica
Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

I can see this person being branded 'barren and unlovable' by more than one uppity radio talk show host - how did she vote on the Covid-19 package in March 2021, and what has she done post-Roe?

She voted in favor of the COVID package but raised concerns about the price tag. She has apologized for her yes votes for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, saying that she will do her best to protect the right to privacy and the right to choose.

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:29 pm

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:31 pm

Meretica wrote:She voted in favor of the COVID package but raised concerns about the price tag. She has apologized for her yes votes for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, saying that she will do her best to protect the right to privacy and the right to choose.

Put in the app

by **Lavan Tiri** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:43 pm

Tehrangeles wrote:

(Image)

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Tehrangeles
Character Name: Leila Adamma Ramskill (née Edozie)
Character Gender: Girl
Character Age: 50
Character Date of Birth: January 5, 1972
Character Current Office: Vice President of the United States (2021-Present)
Character Past Office(s): Impeachment Manager (2019-2020), House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair (2017-2021), Representative for California’s 33rd District (2011-2021), Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice (2009-2010),
Partner at Lauder-Hillsborough (2006-2009),
Candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney (2005),
Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California (1999-2005),
Legislative Assistant for Not-Nancy Pelosi (1994-1996)
Character Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts
Character State of Residence: Washington, DC/ Los Angeles, California
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Faceclaim: Rashida Tlaib
Main Strengths: Extremely well connected and liked by powerful people, very strong fundraiser, perceived as charismatic by a small but vocal voter base
Main Weaknesses: Generally unaccomplished, totally unprincipled, perceived as a charisma black hole by most voters who follow politics
RP Sample: None.

The below fields will not apply to all characters but may be applicable to yours (Admins will inform you to use them if you fail to and their use is deemed required);
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s):
Education: B.A. in History- Princeton University (1994)
J.D. - UCLA (1999)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s): Gordon Lauder Ramskill, married in 2006
Religion: Nondenominational Christian

Highly Recommended Fields:
Children (Name & Age of Each):
Casey Goldsmith Ramskill (step daughter), 32 years old, is an attorney
Clark Goldsmith Ramskill (step son), 28 years old, is a journalist for The LA Times and an aspiring politician.
Arya Edozie Ramskill, 19 years old, is a student at UCLA
Cyrus Edozie Ramskill, 16 years old, is a student at The School Without Walls
Parents: Leila Ramskill was born to Francis Edozie, a naturalized American of Igbo descent who moved to the United States as a teenager, and Bapsi Yasna, an Indian citizen belonging to the Parsi community. Both Francis and Parmis worked as professors at Boston College, and met and married in the year 1971.
Other Information: Her sister, attorney Anahita Edozie served as her campaign chair when she ran for president, and served on her staff while on the vice presidential ticket. The pair remain close, with Edozie serving as a consigliere of sorts to her sister. After her own high-powered legal career, Edozie currently serves as Counsel to the Vice President.

Biography: Francis Edozie, ethnically Igbo and hailing from a wealthy family, came from Nigeria to the United States on an exchange from his university. He studied at the University of Massachusetts during his second-to-last year. After performing well, he was able to transfer to the university, completing his degree in 1961. He then completed a masters degree at the same university, followed by a doctorate at Harvard. In the years after, he worked as a professor of political science at Boston College, naturalizing as a citizen along the way.

Parmis Yazna was born to a wealthy Parsi family in Gujarat. Her father came from a long line of merchants, and was a devout Zoroastrian. A desire to preserve his heritage led her father to send her to Bombay University, which had a program engaged with Parsi studies. This was followed by a PhD in History at Delhi University, where she then took up an assistant professorship. Her western-oriented, liberal parents supported this, even as she was ostracized by some of her peers, particularly for avoiding marriage. Three years later, Parmis was given the opportunity to work as a visiting fellow at Boston College in the United States, which her parents encouraged her to accept. There, she met and fell in love with Francis Edozie. Marrying this man was a bridge to far for her parents, but Parmis did not see much room for career growth in India, so she opted to marry Edozie and remain in Massachusetts. Soon thereafter, her fellowship was converted to a full time teaching position.

Following marriage in 1971, this couple gave birth to their first daughter, Leila Edozie. One year later they gave birth to their second, final daughter, Anahita. They raised the two in a liberal fashion, exposing them to a multitude of religious beliefs, including their own loose Zoroastrian and Christian views. Both daughters spent their youth striving for excellence, participating in debate clubs and honors society, as they attended the prestigious Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

With their (self-perceived) intelligence and boundless ambition, combined with being told by their parents that they were exceedingly unique and destined for greatness, the Edozie sisters were generally maladjusted in social settings. They desperately wanted acceptance and struggled to understand why they weren’t. Regardless, both succeeded at winning over the approval of authority figures, including teachers and coaches.

In 1990, Leila enrolled at Princeton, where she studied history. She spent her four years leading numerous clubs and editing the Daily Princetonian, but failed to win entry to any supper clubs or other exclusive social organizations. Ultimately, she graduated with a long resume and growing ambition, but few friends and even fewer than positive memories.

After Princeton, Leila moved to Washington, DC for two years. She served as a legislative assistant to not-Nancy Pelosi, Representative from California. She saw this time as purely a networking exercise, a way to make the necessary contacts to win appointments and elections down the line. While she built a solid Rolodex, Leila continued her track record of making few lasting friendships.

In the fall of 1996, Leila began law school at UCLA. She realized rather quickly that her ability to win the favor of authority figures through doting and striving would not work as well moving forward. Her astronomical rise was not as astronomical as she thought it would be. Though she wrote for the law review and had decent grades, she came out as a newly minted Assistant United States Attorney, failing to win a prestigious counsel appointment on a congressional committee or executive agency.

This was acceptable for her, as she believed she could chart another path forward- rising quickly to become an incredibly young United States Attorney. As it turned out, she was not a particularly competent lawyer, and this did not materialize. In her six years as Assistant United States Attorney, she primarily focused on prosecuting federal marijuana charges, which gave her a “cop” reputation that returned to bite her in later progressive criticism. Unfortunately, she was not good enough to be placed on high profile cases.

Seeing herself stuck in place, the ever ambitious Edozie ran for Los Angeles District Attorney in 2005, utterly flopping. Feeling discouraged, she realized her skills could only take her so far on her path to power. So, she began seeing a much older businessman and high-profile bundler for the Democratic Party, Gordon Ramskill. Gordon was actually introduced to her by Not-Nancy Pelosi when she worked as a legislative assistant. Very quickly, Leila charmed and married the lonely widower, sealing the deal with the pregnancy of her first biological child, Cyrus Ramskill. She knew Gordon could bankroll her future campaigns, grant her access to the upper echelons of party politics, and wipe the slate clean of her District Attorney loss through a name change.

She could not rush into it, however. She restarted her career by working at Gordon’s cousin’s high-powered law firm in Los Angeles, Lauder-Hillsborough. Through family connections she almost immediately became a partner, in what was understood to be a stepping stone. She spent most of her time there helping her husband run fundraisers out of their West Hollywood mansion than she did in her office at the firm. It was through this experience that she met the young Senator Not-Obama, who she immediately developed a sycophantic relationship with.

In 2008, she took a leave of absence from the firm to help Gordon fundraise in California full-time for his presidential campaign. These efforts were rewarded after he took office as President, as Leila was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice, and Gordon took a position on the Council of Economic Advisors after being passed over for Trade Representative, and wanting to remain in DC with his wife rather than assume an ambassadorship.

In this role, Leila did not do too much. She encouraged and helped to organize commutations, encouraged the president to “Ban the Box,” and recommended the creation of a presidential commission to study mass incarceration and suggest high-impact reforms. This is what her campaign website says, anyway. Most of her time in Washington was spent networking and laying the groundwork for a House campaign in 2010, being elected in the 33rd district where she resided. She raised far more money than most analysts thought necessary, and advertised across all state media markets, rather than just Los Angeles.

The expected statewide race did not materialize. In 2015, Not-Trump was on the rise and Ramskill forewent her initial ambitions to run for higher office. Instead, she cozied up to the Clinton campaign, hoping to win a cabinet position, like Attorney General. This did not happen for obvious reasons.

In 2017, Ramskill had no accomplishments having spent so long as a minority backbencher. She had no clear path to statewide office, with powerful opponents running for Governor and other prominent positions. But with the return of the Democratic majority came a lifeline- her new position as Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee could win her some much-needed attention.

This angle worked, as she took a forceful stance during the Mueller testimony. This put her star back on the rise, as she became a fixture on MSNBC, CNN, and other networks. In 2019 her popularity among Democrats hit a high watermark, as she served in the 2019 inquiry and subsequently as an impeachment manager in the 2020 trial against Not-Donald Trump.

After weighing her options, Ramskill endorsed Jim Byron immediately before the 2020 South Carolina primary. She then leveraged perceived popularity, connections, and fundraising prowess to gain the Vice Presidential nod after a protracted process.

She delivered a stiff, wooden speech at the Democratic National Committee, and was not seen a lot on the campaign trail, despite Byron’s age. Nevertheless, pundits and audiences generally perceived her as winning the Vice Presidential debate, and she and Byron went on to win the election.

Following January 6, 2021, Ramskill issued forceful condemnations of right wing extremism. However, her popularity began a rapid decline, as her role in the administration became unclear, and she bungled her role in coordinating immigration policy. However, she still took a critical role in passing the American Rescue Plan, supported and assisted with the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, smoothed relations with France after the submarine debacle, and a forceful stance on the Ukraine invasion, meeting with world leaders to discuss the crisis.

She has received high staff turnover, criticism over inclusion of her family in policy development, and has been rankled for her general weirdness. One case of this is her adult step-children calling her “Momeila,” and her most vocal supporters lauding the second gentleman for supposed sexual charisma.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Tehrangeles

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

I have no problems here.

by **Sarenium** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:16 pm

Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: Sarenium
Character Name: Moe Croxton Jr.
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 86
Character Date of Birth: 8 March, 1936
Character Current Office: U.S. Senator from West Virginia (1989-)
Character Past Office(s):

Character Place of Birth: Stotesbury, West Virginia
Character State of Residence: West Virginia
Character Party Affiliation: Democratic
Faceclaim (Name of Claim): Bob Katter (Australia)
Main Strengths: Well-known in-state name recognition and branding.
Main Weaknesses: A leftover relic of a bygone era of W.V. Democrats
RP Sample (Please provide an RP Sample of no more than 250 words, or a link to past RPs you have been involved in): Land of the Free, AtB, Twilight's Last Gleaming.
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s):

Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Education (Higher Education Institute + Degree(s)): U.S. Naval Academy (BSc - Majoring in Chemical Engineerin)
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Ethel Connelly Croxton (Nee Bresch)
Religion: Catholic
Children (Name & Age of Each): Oster Croxton (47), Sarah Jobs (39) & Rory Croxton (39)
Parents:

Biography:
Moe Bellarmine Croxton (Born 8 March, 1936), is the current senior U.S. Senator from West Virginia, having held the office since 1989. Previously, he served as the Governor of West Virginia (1981-1985), and prior to his election as Governor was a U.S. Representative from West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District (1975-1981).

Croxton’s political career has spanned over fifty years, with most of them spent in the U.S. Senate. He has faced significant electoral challenges in election in only two races across his career, 1988, and 2018. He has emerged more recently as a conservative and centrist Democrat in the evenly divided 50-50 Senate.

Early Life and Education

Born into a political family, his father served as a U.S. Senator at the time of his birth. The same seat was nicknamed the Croxton Seat, as Moe Croxton Sr. held it from 1935 until his death in 1987. Born as the third of four Croxton sons, he was never meant to enter politics. Raised in Stotesbury, WV; coal mining has been an intrinsic element of the family branding. While having never personally mined coal, the Croxtons and WV Organized Labor have had a long lasting relationship. Both of his older brothers, Jeremiah and Tucker died in Korea, having also joined the Armed Forces. His younger brother, Gaston, chose to become a physician.

In 1958 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned within the U.S. Marines. He served in Vietnam, enjoying a decorated service for his meritorious behavior in the course of the war, including a Medal of Honor. From December 1965 until February 1966, Croxton served on temporary duty in Vietnam as an artillery forward observer with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. During Operation Harvest Moon, Croxton was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 18, 1965 — for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty". He had taken over command of a rifle company when its commander had been killed in action, and reorganized it for defense and successful evacuation after destroying the enemy. In 1967 an exploded grenade caused damage to his legs and ankles. The damage led to his inability to walk or mobilize his lower limbs effectively for the next year as he underwent rehabilitation. He accepted the offer of an honorable discharge at the rank of Captain. Receiving a Medal of Honor became a key pillar of his political branding as an honorable veteran.

He married his high school sweetheart Ethel Connelly Bresch through his rehabilitation, citing her grit and resilience as the daughter of miners and eventually his nurse, as the inspiration that let him out of the ward. The two wed in 1972 as soon as Moe was able to dance with reasonable consistency. He fathered three children with her, Oster and twins, Sarah, and Rory.

Early Career

In 1976, having been working as a staffer in the office of West Virginia’s other Senator at the urging of his father and to avoid the appearance of impropriety, he seized on a political opening in West Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. Opting to enter the race for U.S. Representative after the retirement of Ken Hechler, he optimized the use of his name and military record to handily win the primary and later the general. Hechler, who had lost their gubernatorial primary nomination mounted a write-in challenge to no avail against Croxton at the eleventh hour.

His two terms in the House were uneventful, while he had a hand in legislation and engaged in the committee work he was handed, he found the process dull and slow. He also found the side of working for his constituents to be more rewarding. Thus he developed a reputation for modest pork barreling, and strong constituent advocacy.

He was easily re-elected in 1978, before mounting a bid for Governor of West Virginia. Using his family name, he narrowly won the primary against Hechler, who identified strongly with the liberal side of West Virginia Democrats. Croxton for his part, embraced the establishment and his ties to the miners union. After winning the primary, Croxton narrowly won the general election. In the last weeks of campaigning, images of his father as a member of the KKK became apparent. Croxton Sr. had filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other efforts at civil rights. The images, and news articles that followed led to the widest rebuke of the Croxton family within West Virginia in living memory. While enough to dampen his appeal, Moe Croxton Jr. was elected Governor of West Virginia despite the scandal. He began to distance himself from his father politically from here on, calling himself a Modern Croxton and facilitating his father’s commitment to retire after re-election in 1982.

As Governor, he oversaw political decisions made to manage the early-80s recession in the state. He bolstered funding of coal mines, and the state government’s rolls of unemployed swelled as high as 20% by 1983. Despite these economic challenges, blame was not laid on the Croxton Administration, and by his re-election bid in 1984, he had claimed to have reduced unemployment to 9% through a combination of new infrastructure funds, school funding and targeted shovel-ready public works programs. His efforts had also been assisted by the help of his federal colleagues, and his father, who effectively barreled substantial federal dollars into West Virginia from his perch atop the Appropriations Committee. Croxton survived by just a few hundred votes. He had been considered the underdog by the middle of the campaign. He spent the rest of his gubernatorial tenure focused on economic issues, funding an overhaul of public infrastructure across the state.

He wasted no time putting into action the same campaign infrastructure that had worked for his father and him, into preparing for a run for the U.S. Senate. He used the next year to refine his personal branding, going so far as to ‘walk the state’ shaking thousands of hands and developing a deeper personal bond with West Virginians that remains to this day. Planning to run for his father’s seat, with his father by his side, it did not eventuate. Moe Croxton Sr. died of bowel cancer in 1987 and be replaced by an elderly Democratic appointee. Croxton Jr. mounted a significant campaign for U.S. Senate, winning the primary handily while winning the seat by seven points.

His in-state branding was carefully manicured ahead of future elections. In 1994 he won all but three counties, in 2000 and 2006, he won every county. In 2012 he was re-elected by a narrower though still substantial twenty-two point margin, and in 2018 he experienced his first single-digit victory since his first in 1988. He is considered the most vulnerable Senate Democrat and the most conservative member of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Junior U.S. Senator
As U.S. Senator, Croxton developed a penchant for earmarks and Senatorial procedure. He became excelled at using procedural tactics in committee and on the floor, to postpone consideration of legislation if necessary or slide his amendments into the bill subtly. What he lacked in oratory, he made up for with a profound preparedness to do the tedious. He supported President Reagan's War on Drugs, and was a firm advocate for Bush Sr.'s intervention in the First Gulf War. He voted against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

He remained out of the fray on the healthcare debate occurring during Clinton's first two years, and instead chose to devote his energies to unsuccessfully opposing NAFTA. From here, he voted with Republicans on DOMA, and welfare reform. In 1997 he was considered instrumental in writing and passing CHIP into law. He considered it his first real 'big win'. Having written it with his fellow West Virginian Democrat, he was ecstatic to see it passed.

In late October, 2000, his campaign passed along an internal poll that showed Croxton comfortably being re-elected, with the then Democratic nominee down by three points. The poll was not made public, but he had hoped to see the national party make a greater effort to retain the state.

Modern Era
Entering the Bush Era, he commented on growing partisanship and division across the nation in early 2001, and post-9/11 was apprehensive to support the Iraq War Resolution. The other West Virginian was equally hesitant. Ultimately, Moe took the advice of Senator Ted Kennedy and joined the Democratic filibuster against the War in Iraq. He later joined with Republican Senator John McCain to pass the McCain-Croxton Campaign Reform Act and joined Republicans in passing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.

Approaching his 2006 bid for re-election, Republicans nominated a sacrificial lamb, and Croxton collected endorsements from a number of Republican Senators with whom he was on friendly terms. He gave Senator Ted Kennedy a tour of Charleston early in the campaign, and return the favor in a visit to Boston. The two were seen to be generally good friends, as Croxton considered Kennedy a mentor even if they had some major ideological differences. In 2008, he endorsed Barack Obama for President the week prior to the West Virginia primary. Pundits expected for that to translate into an Administration position, but Croxton was considered too valuable in the 60-40 Senate of 2009 and the possibility of having a possibly durable supermajority meant that no Democrats could be appointed to the Senate. After the death of Ted Kennedy, Croxton switched his vote and supported ending debate on the Affordable Care Act, saying, "I do this for my friend, Ted".

He approached his 2012 re-election bid taking an increasingly anti-Obama position. He refused to endorse Obama for re-election and touted his NRA endorsement. What could have been a close race turned into a landslide of 22 points. Between 2012 and 2018, the Senate changed, America changed, the world changed. Enter, Frank Wade. By god, Frank Wade was a nightmare. He was able to keep his head down for the end of the Obama era, but in 2017 and 2018 he was forced to take votes he hated. He voted for Neil Gorsuch, and was conveniently undergoing surgery during the vote on Brett Kavanaugh. He was re-elected once more, but this time, by fewer than five points, and for the first time since the 80s, he was walking the state and campaigning in ways he had not done since he was much younger.

As a U.S. Senator he has become increasingly uncomfortable with his own steady rise to power. Where his father’s rise to power had been precipitated by a climb in his seniority, Croxton Jr. was rising solely by virtue of increasing political division and his ability to bridge it in his home state. Once upon a time he was able to sit across from Republicans and hammer out agreements until five, then share drinks until dawn. Now? Now he was forced to contend with a 24 hour news cycle, cable news determined to dramatize the ordinary, and a Democratic Party angrier and more frustrated than ever before. All while Republicans who once stood for small government and personal liberty, ran on platforms of election denial, and grievance politics.

His July 2022 approval rating was 64%, most of that coming from Republicans and Independents.

I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: Sarenium

Do Not Remove: DRAFT123123

by **Meretica** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:20 pm

Sarenium wrote:
Meretica wrote:She voted in favor of the COVID package but raised concerns about the price tag. She has apologized for her yes votes for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, saying that she will do her best to protect the right to privacy and the right to choose.

Put in the app

Added

by **New Luciannova** » Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:00 pm

Thanks, didn't know the LG thing, maybe I can make him AG and change the temporary time?
It initially was Leonidas Calvin Gaines, but I thought Calvin was too boring for an Old Money Southerner. A lot of names from antiquity were once popular among those types.
As for the committee assignment, I can see him definitely rising in his second term, Gaines was Ambassador to Bangladesh, the eighth largest country by population and one that struggles with poverty, but has been considered a recent "success story" by many development economists, the World Bank, and the United Nations for its advancements in rights--especially those of women, democracy, development, and increases in real income.
But I can retool that.

Lavan Tiri wrote:
New Luciannova wrote:
(Image)
([url=<Photo%20of%20Character%20Here>]Image[/url])
Character Application and Information Sheet

NS Nation Name: New Luciannova
Character Name: Leonidas Calbraith Gaines IV (Cal Gaines)
Character Gender: Male
Character Age: 59
Character Date of Birth: 11-28-1962
Character Current Office: US Senator from Tennessee (2013-Present), Ranking Member of Foreign Relations Committee (2021-Present)
Character Past Office(s): Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2015-2021), Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (2007-2013), Acting Governor of Tennessee (2011), US Ambassador to Bangladesh (2004-2006), Congressman Tennessee’s 6th District (2001-2004), State Senator, Tennessee State Senate (1997-2001), Adjunct Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt (1995-2004;2006-2008), Attorney (1993-2004; 2006-Present), Anglican Missionary (1980-1982; 1985; 1993-1994)
Character Place of Birth: Alexandria, Virginia
Character State of Residence: Tennessee
Character Party Affiliation: Faceclaim (Steve Forbes)
Main Strengths: Reliably Conservative, Religiously Devout, Wealthy and “Old Money.” Intellectual and seen as honest and earnest, able to express himself in such a way that he can appeal to both conservatives and moderates without alienating the other, foreign policy experience, widely respected as an expert in foreign policy, law, religion, and economics. His experience in many countries has earned him respect. He is also not the only politician in his family.
Main Weaknesses: Seen as hard right, can be extremely stubborn, speculation that spouse was involved in insider trading, occasionally negative comments toward regions and cultures, runs an orphanage overseas that has engaged in corrupt behavior, tied to “lost cause” agendas
U.S. Congressional Committee (and Subcommittee) Membership(s): Foreign Relations Committee (Ranking Member), Judicial Committee
Education: Vanderbilt University, BA, Economics; Vanderbilt University, MA, Economics; Georgetown University, JD.
Spouse(s)/Partner(s) (and year married): Grace Liu, married 1988.—Grace Liu (b. 1968) is a venture capitalist from Hong Kong, educated in the United Kingdom, and grew up Christian.
Religion: Anglican
Children:
Leonidas Calbraith “Lon” Gaines V (b. 1993)
Bernadette Gaines (b. 1995)
Isadora Gaines (b. 1999)
Augustine Gaines (b. 2004)
Aynsley “Ayn” Gaines (b. 2007)

Parents: The name Leonidas Calbraith Gaines began in his family during the US Civil War, where the first was a general in the Confederate Army, his grandfather Leonidas Calbraith Gaines II was a decorated war veteran in World War I, his father, who also bore the name was a decorated Lieutenant Colonel and later successful medical doctor and investor in the Korean War. Leonidas Calbrain “Leo” Gaines III served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Virginia in the early 1990’s.
Leonidas Calbraith Gaines has family members in political positions [will address this with moderators].
Biography: Cal Gaines was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the eldest child of three to Leo Gaines, a medical doctor and Korean War Veteran. Gaines was a gifted student and took pride in knowledge in general especially religion and current events. Upon graduating high school he took time to become a missionary, his trips spanning throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s brought him to many parts of the world including Peru, Angola, Ethiopia, Morocco, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, and ultimately Bangladesh, where he spent most of his time. His trips usually were in the summer but stopped during his JD program. Although after passing the bar he continued. During one of his trips to Bangladesh he met Grace Liu, a wealth former resident of Hong Kong who had lived and studied in the United Kingdom. The two shared many common interests and passions and were wed in 1988, having five children. Gaines served in Tennessee’s state Senate and the United States House of Representatives before being appointed as Ambassador to Bangladesh, a post he served in for two years. During that time he continued to serve the most impoverished residents of the country and regularly was willing to actively participate in any efforts to improve the country, dedicating large sums of money to building an orphanage. Gaines dedicated his time as ambassador to improving infrastructure and foreign investment in the impoverished nation, working to meet the since postponed MDGs proposed by the United Nations.
Upon returning from his post, he ran for Governor of Tennessee, but lost narrowly in the Republican primaries, instead becoming Lieutenant Governor under Governor Francis Downs. During his tenure as Lieutenant Governor, he served as acting governor for four months when the incumbent had suffered a stroke and had not recovered. Gaines was opposed to the death penalty, but did not pardon any inmates, but granted them all stays of execution. Ultimately one was pardoned by Francis Downs his first day back. For a short-lived tenure as Governor, Gaines was widely respected for a number of his actions including passing a balanced budget (something that had fallen short in previous years), advancing legislation to improve access and choice in education, and appropriating relief for a particularly severe tornado season in the western parts of the state.
Gaines sought to run for United States Senate, he touted his background in foreign policy and his ability to serve as a Congressman and Governor. He was seen as a household name in his state and was able to be elected somewhat easily. He was promptly appointed to a leadership position in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His career in the Senate had led to increased public scrutiny regarding allegations of insider trading against his wife, who ran a hedge fund, as well as poor management of his orphanage that resulted in the exploitation of some of the children present for unjust labor and even sexual abuse. Gaines has promised a strict review of the orphanage in an effort to uncover the scandal, however what happened there haunts him morally and fuels his critics. While Cal Gaines and his family had no role, the corruption was still at their business. The orphanage also had been used to launder money, as his wife runs a hedge fund it is controversial.
Cal Gaines has been known for being a passionate conservative, but also one willing to go his own way and make his own mind up. He is a devoted federalist and a rigid Constitutionalist. He favors diplomacy, but believes that military might can solve many probems globally.

RP Example: NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
NationStates • View topic - Twilight's Last Gleaming: An American Political RP IC (Open)
I have read and accepted the rules of the roleplay: (New Luciannova)

- Tennessee's Lieutenant Governor is a member of the State Senate, not a separate official. He could be elected to the Senate earlier? Stay in the House longer?

- Ridiculous insane name. I like it.

- Extremely unlikely that a freshman Senator would be chosen as Chair of Foreign Relations, that's a big boy Committee

Fix the Committee and the Lieutenant Governor thing and we'll talk more.

Let Freedom Ring: An American Political RP (OOC)

Let Freedom Ring: An American Political RP (OOC)

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