COE for Vice Delegate

[Crushing Our Enemies]

For Vice Delegate

Capable. Objective. Ethical.​

My name is Crushing Our Enemies, and I am running to become your Vice Delegate. I have been a member of TNP for almost two years, and in that time, I have served 10 months as Speaker of the RA, and three months as Chief Justice. I am active on the forum every day, and have participated actively in the Regional Assembly throughout my time in TNP, proposing numerous pieces of legislation. No bill I have authored has ever gone to vote without passing.

If elected, I will not consider myself a place-holder until the January elections are over. Rather, I will approach the position with the same spirit of commitment and innovation that has characterized my previous tenure in public office. Ask anyone who was around when I was Speaker: I don't do anything half-way.

The Vice Delegate is a member of the executive branch, and as such, I am willing to participate in the executive to whatever capacity the delegate desires. If r3n would prefer I take a back seat and let the cabinet function without me, I will turn my attention solely to my security-related duties. However, if r3n asks me to take on a cabinet-level role or participate in special projects of the executive, I will be at his complete disposal.

The Vice Delegate also has important security-related duties. I contributed to the legislation that created the process by which Vice Delegates security check RA applicants, and I would take that duty very seriously. I can make a promise right now that I will never allow three days to pass after an RA applicant submits their application without evaluating them to make sure they pose no threat to the security of The North Pacific. I do not consider this duty a method of screening RA applicants that are unpopular or disliked; rather, I consider this solely a security function, to keep unstable and threatening elements out of positions where they can disrupt or compromise our democratic system.

If, flem forbid, r3n should be removed from office, I will stand ready to take over his duties pending a special election for delegate. In those circumstances, I would endeavor to keep the executive running in exactly the same way as it is functioning under r3n. I am not running for the office of delegate, and I do not intend to rock the boat if I end up in that office. I think the place of a Vice Delegate in that position is to simply keep the government running until the Regional Assembly can elect a new delegate.

As chair of the Security Council, if elected I would rely on the decades of collective experience and wisdom of the council members to respond in an agile and effective manner to regional security threats. Great Bights Mum is my greatest role model in this area - she has a very sane and balanced approach to regional security, and I would be attempting to emulate her in that area if I am elected.

I will be happy to answer any and all questions you may have.

 

[Eluvatar]

Why does your topic subtitle describe you as Conscientious but your subheading describe you as Capable?

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

Ah! That would be because I originally decided on conscientious, but then changed my mind to capable and did not change it in both places before I posted it Would you or another admin or mod make that change in the topic subtitle for me?

 

[Eluvatar]

Ah! That would be because I originally decided on conscientious, but then changed my mind to capable and did not change it in both places before I posted it Would you or another admin or mod make that change in the topic subtitle for me?

Thy will be done.

 

[SillyString]

What is the worst decision you have ever made as an elected or appointed official?

And naturally, I am obliged to ask - how can we trust a sneaky tricksy raider not to coup poor innocent r3n?

 

[mcmasterdonia]

How would you rate your RMB activity over the past couple of months?

Do you intend to be more active on the regional message board if you are elected?

 

[JhawnathinJ]

What is the number one think you specifically want to achieve in your term if elected

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

What is the worst decision you have ever made as an elected or appointed official?

This is an easy question. That would be as Chief Justice, when I removed Romanoffia as the moderating justice of TNP v Grosse. I had run on a platform of speeding up criminal trials and enforcing timelines. I was concerned that Roman had not logged in for two days, and the trial had become bogged down at a crucial juncture because of his absence, so I decided to take personal control of the trial. This was a serious error in judgment - I did not consider how it would affect the reputation of the court or my professional relationship with Romanoffia. In other words, there were more important things than the trial running according to announced deadlines, and I should have considered those and allowed Roman to run the trial to completion without interruption. As a result of my mistake, Roman was furious, and brought criminal charges against me. Flemingovia, the third justice, was able to mediate between us and everything went back to normal after a few days. Definitely not my finest hour.

And naturally, I am obliged to ask - how can we trust a sneaky tricksy raider not to coup poor innocent r3n?

When I first ran for elected office, my commitment to TNP was called into question by several members of the community (the fact that my avatar was the flag of another region didn't help my case). When I was ultimately elected, I saw it as a chance to prove my loyalty and commitment to TNP, and my recognition of the Constitution and Bill of Rights as the absolute authority of the region. One of the things I like best about TNP is that it doesn't matter if you're a raider or defender here - all are equal in the eyes of the law, and no one is treated with disrespect or outcast because of their military alignment. I hope that my loyal service to The North Pacific these past two years has persuaded those who doubted me that everything I do in this region is in good faith, and that my intentions here are pure.

How would you rate your RMB activity over the past couple of months?

Overall, about par for me, which is to say bad Most of the time, people on the RMB are not talking about anything I find interesting. I have made an effort to post when I can, and I participated actively on the RMB during the halloween event. The RMB has never really attracted me much.

Do you intend to be more active on the regional message board if you are elected?

Insofar as my official duties require it, yes. However, I don't see RMB activity as a prerequisite to being a good public servant. It's just one of many ways to play the game, like role play, military participation, legislating, etc. The Vice Delegate is required to play an active on-site role as the second-highest endorsed nation in the region. To that end, I will need to improve on my relations with the game-side community. I've already been doing that by exchanging telegrams with potential endorsers. I don't see myself ever being an active player on the RMB, but my presence there will certainly expand some if I am elected.

What is the number one think you specifically want to achieve in your term if elected

The Vice Delegate doesn't get a lot of opportunity to make specific achievements (when they do, it's usually because something has gone horribly wrong and they need to fix it.) My goals are to check every RA applicant promptly, keep the region safe from security threats to the best of my ability, and to serve the delegate in whatever capacity he requests. Concrete achievements will likely be reactive, based on how those latter two goals play out.

 

[Scandigrad]

I look forward to being able to cast my vote for you, COE.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

Thank you!

 

[Lord Nwahs]

What do you think will be your greatest challenge when becoming SC Chief?

What makes you stand out against your opponents in this election?

 

[Eluvatar]

Suppose there is a nation founded which immediately joins the WA and endorses every WA nation in TNP, rising to 100 endorsements within a few hours.

What would you, as Vice Delegate, do?

 

[SillyString]

What do you think is the upper bound on how many times you can run for office without recycling campaign adjectives?

 

[SillyString]

The Vice Delegate also has important security-related duties. I contributed to the legislation that created the process by which Vice Delegates security check RA applicants, and I would take that duty very seriously. I can make a promise right now that I will never allow three days to pass after an RA applicant submits their application without evaluating them to make sure they pose no threat to the security of The North Pacific. I do not consider this duty a method of screening RA applicants that are unpopular or disliked; rather, I consider this solely a security function, to keep unstable and threatening elements out of positions where they can disrupt or compromise our democratic system.

To follow up on this section, can you talk about your thoughts on the times that the VD's security block has been used? Did you support or oppose them in your capacity as an RA member? Do you support the continued block on Douria's reapplication, or would you push to lift it if he wanted to rejoin?

 

[Syrixia]

How active do you think you will be when approving citizenship requests and RA applications?

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

What do you think will be your greatest challenge when becoming SC Chief?

Both on-site and off-site duties of the Vice Delegate are equally important. If I were to focus on one and neglect the other, I would be doing the community a disservice. As a player who has mostly been involved off-site, managing my in-game presence would therefore be my greatest challenge. I've never been in a position where I had to continuously endo-tart before, and I am also not yet heavily involved in the on-site regional community. As I stated earlier, this will need to change, and I am up to that challenge.

What makes you stand out against your opponents in this election?

I don't view this field of candidates as a backdrop for me to stand out against There is a very diverse slate of options for the voters this time around, and they all have unique qualities. My unique qualities would be when I take on a role in the government, I commit to it fully. If I cannot commit to it fully, then I make arrangements for it to be carried out satisfactorily. For example, when I was absent for several weeks last summer as Speaker, I began training SillyString to manage the office in my absence months in advance. When I found that I did not have enough time to do a good job as Chief Justice, I stepped down. I have a proven track record of leaving government offices better than I found them. Even in my somewhat dissatisfying term as Chief Justice, I laid the groundwork in a private thread for the new court rules that SillyString's court adopted. As Vice Delegate, I will continue to make our government more effective and more efficient.

Suppose there is a nation founded which immediately joins the WA and endorses every WA nation in TNP, rising to 100 endorsements within a few hours.

What would you, as Vice Delegate, do?

It is not unusual for a new player to immediately join the WA, nor is it unusual for a new player to go a bit endorsement happy, playing with a new feature they found. 100 endorsements can innocently be gathered in good faith. However, if you asked me what a typical behavior pattern would be for an inexperienced player who has dreams of being delegate, I would say that they would immediately join the WA and endorse everyone in the region. Their intentions may be even less savory - this sort of behavior is also typical of inexperienced raiders whose ambition has outpaced their stealth training.

While 100 endorsements is not a troubling figure, the rate at which they've been gathered suggests a telegram campaign. That, combined with the fact that they've endorsed every nation in the region, indicates that they are trying to gather as many endorsements as possible. They are not a security threat, but their activities need to be noted and responded to. I would send them a telegram that would look something like this:

Greetings, %NATION%, and welcome to The North Pacific! My name is COE, and I am the Vice Delegate of TNP. Thank you for your endorsement - I've endorsed you as well.

Here in TNP we are different from most regions in that we don't have any limits on how many endorsements nations can receive, as long as they stay below the number the Vice Delegate has, which is currently [#]. I wanted to let you know that, because you've gained an impressive amount of endorsements in a short amount of time and might not be aware of the legal maximum.

I hope you're enjoying NationStates so far. If you'd like to take part in our regional government, military, role play, or games, there are a lot of great opportunities on our forum: http://forum.thenorthpacific.org/. I hope to see you there!

COE

If the nation is innocently gathering endorsements, this telegram will ensure that they don't try to rise above the legal maximum, while maintaining a friendly and welcoming tone without coming across as suspicious or threatening. If their intentions were criminal, then it lets them know that they're on our radar, and should watch themselves. I would then notify the security council of my observations and actions, and ask around to see if anyone had received a telegram from that nation requesting endorsements. Seeing the telegram that nation was sending out would help us figure out whether they just liked having a lot of endorsements, or if they were trying for the delegacy.

What do you think is the upper bound on how many times you can run for office without recycling campaign adjectives?

Well, first off I'll note that I have recycled adjectives in the past, although I think all three of these are new. I confess I use a thesaurus to help me come up with them, so I could probably go quite a long time without reusing any if I really needed to.

EDIT: the previous two posts were posted after I started working on this one. I'll probably get to those questions later today

 

[Egalotir]

You've got my vote.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

Thank you!

 

[Andrew]

You've got my vote.

Same here

 

[Syrixia]

I'll vote for ya!

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

You've got my vote.

Same here

I'll vote for ya!

Thank you both!

I'm still going to answer those questions - could be tomorrow. Today's a busy day.

 

[plembobria]

How will you promote cheese in the region?

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

The Vice Delegate also has important security-related duties. I contributed to the legislation that created the process by which Vice Delegates security check RA applicants, and I would take that duty very seriously. I can make a promise right now that I will never allow three days to pass after an RA applicant submits their application without evaluating them to make sure they pose no threat to the security of The North Pacific. I do not consider this duty a method of screening RA applicants that are unpopular or disliked; rather, I consider this solely a security function, to keep unstable and threatening elements out of positions where they can disrupt or compromise our democratic system.

To follow up on this section, can you talk about your thoughts on the times that the VD's security block has been used? Did you support or oppose them in your capacity as an RA member? Do you support the continued block on Douria's reapplication, or would you push to lift it if he wanted to rejoin?

The power of the VD to block RA candidates and subject their application to a majority vote of the RA has been used four times. Here's a chart I made of how it has been used:

Applicant[c]Date[c]Vice Delegate[c]Provided Reasoning[c]RA Vote Result[c]Douria/Treize_Driezehn[c]2013-10-23[c]Sanctaria[c] "Douria was a delegate that couped...Osiris. ... Douria also lied and bore false witness throughout the duration of his Delegacy." [c]Upheld 29-9[c]Empire of Narnia[c]2014-02-16[c]Democratic Donkeys[c] "My reasoning for this move, though entirely unnecessary for me to have to share, was that I don't like him." [c]Defeated 6-15[c]Madjack[c]2014-05-02[c]Democratic Donkeys[c] "My reasoning is that they are registering simply to vote in our elections, after which they will disappear from pur political process." [c]Defeated 9-19[c]Rach[c]2014-05-02[c]Democratic Donkeys[c] "My reasoning is that they are registering simply to vote in our elections, after which they will disappear from pur political process." [c]Defeated 0-25

In the case of Douria/Trieze_Dreizehn, I supported the block. It had not been a very long time since Douria couped Osiris who was our treatied ally at the time. He also had a reputation for guile, trickery, and keen intelligence. It was my worry that if he were let into the RA, he would use it to try to gain power for himself, and then abuse that power. If I were Vice Delegate and Douria were to reapply to the RA, I would notify the assembly of his application, and generate some discussion on whether the block should be removed or not. I no longer personally support the block. I've gotten to know him a little better, and saw the work he did as a prosecutor (while it lasted) and I think his existence in TNP would be relatively benign. I would still never vote for him for Vice Delegate or Delegate, however. I don't think anyone really gets to live down a GCR coup - once you've abused that power, you should never be trusted with it again. If he weren't already blocked and he applied, I would probably block him simply because there is an element of doubt, and I would want the RA to decide whether that element of doubt is sufficient to keep him out of their region. Personally, however, I would vote against my own block when it came down to it.

In the case of Narnia, I opposed the block, because I do not see the power to block RA applications as a political tool to be used against people one does not like. I don't like Narnia either, but if Narnia applied while I was Vice Delegate, I would not block the application. Narnia is annoying and a bit of nuisance, but not a security threat.

I did not support the blocks on Madjack and Rach, either. I recognize the importance of having TNP elections reflect the will of the RA, but let's face it: most RA members don't stick around for more than one election anyway. I don't think Rach and Madjack swore their RA oaths in bad faith, and while plenty of people have personal problems with Madjack, I don't think he was ill-intentioned in applying for the RA. Rach, of course, has been in TNP on and off for quite some time. Blocking her application was entirely inappropriate. I would be wary in general of blocking RA applications for election-related reasons. As an elected official, the Vice Delegate should not appear as if they are using their power to try to influence the outcome of an election - it might prompt accusations of corruption. Unless it can be demonstrated that participation by an RA applicant in an election constitutes a threat to regional security (for example, if 15 members of Gatesville applied to join the RA just before an election in a coordinated fashion), I do not intend to block any RA applications in order to stop new applicants from voting.

How active do you think you will be when approving citizenship requests and RA applications?

As Speaker, I subscribed the RA application thread and checked it (or had it checked by a deputy) at least once every 24 hours, as a rule. Over my ten months in office, it was rare that any RA application waited on a speaker's approval for more than a day or two. As Vice Delegate, I would again subscribe to the thread and receive PM notifications of new posts so that I would be reminded to do security checks every time I log onto the forum (which is at least once per day, with rare exception).

How will you promote cheese in the region?

If all you want out of a Vice Delegate is cheese promotion, vote for Romanoffia.

 

[Syrixia]

DD doesn't like Narnia?

CORRUPTION ALERT!
CORRUPTION ALERT!

Thus strengthening my vote for COE.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

I do not think Democratic Donkeys was corrupt as Vice Delegate. I disagree with how he used the power to block RA applicants, but the automatic vote of the RA that is triggered by such a block is an effective oversight tool.

 

[Syrixia]

Nah, that's good. I was just testing you to see if you harbored ill will against anybody. Your logic and kindness strengthens my vote. GJ buddy.

 

[mcmasterdonia]

How would you rate your RMB activity over the past couple of months?

Overall, about par for me, which is to say bad Most of the time, people on the RMB are not talking about anything I find interesting. I have made an effort to post when I can, and I participated actively on the RMB during the halloween event. The RMB has never really attracted me much.

Do you intend to be more active on the regional message board if you are elected?

Insofar as my official duties require it, yes. However, I don't see RMB activity as a prerequisite to being a good public servant. It's just one of many ways to play the game, like role play, military participation, legislating, etc. The Vice Delegate is required to play an active on-site role as the second-highest endorsed nation in the region. To that end, I will need to improve on my relations with the game-side community. I've already been doing that by exchanging telegrams with potential endorsers. I don't see myself ever being an active player on the RMB, but my presence there will certainly expand some if I am elected.

As I said in Malvad's campaign thread, while the in-game aspects from a legal standpoint are limited i.e. having the second highest endorsement count, I personally believe that the in-game commitment is far more significant than that.

"I believe that RMB activity is important for a number of reasons. One crucial aspect for an effective Vice Delegate in a time of crisis is that they have the appropriate name-recognition from game side nations. Endotarting is one way of doing that, but I don't think it is enough. You need to keep building that relationship beyond simply that initial telegram, so that if the time comes, the nations who actively log in, know that you are 1) active 2) trustworthy and 3) engaged with their community."

I think your involvement in the last two (three??) Halloween events has been excellent and I think it will definitely help you in that task. Your contributions to the Northern Lights should also assist with that aspect, with nations recalling that you were the Minister responsible for that significant revitalization of our Communications Ministry. So for you, I don't see the issue as likely to be as significant as it would be for Malvad.

Good luck in the election. As I have said before, I believe you will make an excellent Vice Delegate.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

Thank you for your advice, Mcm. I definitely understand the value of game-side activity a little better now.

Which brings up a fair point: as Vice Delegate, I would consider the advice of the Security Council frequently, and seek it out whenever I encounter a situation where I think it is needed. One reason we have a security council is so that the Vice Delegate will never be in over their head - they always have a team of security experts who have their back. A key part of being Vice Delegate is understanding the depth of experience and expertise the SC has, and giving that strong consideration when making tough decisions.

 

[Democratic Donkeys]

DD doesn't like Narnia?

CORRUPTION ALERT!
CORRUPTION ALERT!

Thus strengthening my vote for COE.

I do like Narnia a lot actually. Love him, even.

As to the whole RMB thing, I do hope to see COE on there more often. If you don't like the subject then you can always introduce a new one, or call the current subject dumb. Both work pretty well.

Sorry to butt in to your thread.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

As to the whole RMB thing, I do hope to see COE on there more often. If you don't like the subject then you can always introduce a new one, or call the current subject dumb. Both work pretty well.

I'll bear that in mind if I'm elected.

 

[punk d]

You've got my vote.

That may surprise you, but I have a clear respect for your affinity towards TNP and believe that you being a heartbeat away from the delegate's chair isn't a bad thing at all.

Good luck to you!

 

[Romanoffia]

Mr. COE, is it ethical to post trash in other people's campaign threads just to try to tank their campaign?

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

You've got my vote.

That may surprise you, but I have a clear respect for your affinity towards TNP and believe that you being a heartbeat away from the delegate's chair isn't a bad thing at all.

Good luck to you!

Thank you!

Mr. COE, is it ethical to post trash in other people's campaign threads just to try to tank their campaign?

No, absolutely not.

 

[Romanoffia]

Mr. COE, is it ethical to post trash in other people's campaign threads just to try to tank their campaign?

No, absolutely not.

Then why do you insist upon punishing yourself with complete confusion by doing so in my thread? [that was an IC statement and should be considered and IC statement because COE seems confused as to the difference between IC and OOC as he has been expressing in my campaign thread. I have made this not as per the request COE has demanded in my campaign thread to clarify for him what is IC and OOC since he cannot tell the difference by his own admission.]


[OOC tag for COE's benefit as he requests] Edited for format and tag correction.

 

[Crushing Our Enemies]

I don't see any of my posts in your campaign thread as personal attacks against you.