NationStates Jolt Archive

--Press Release--
Prime Minister Timothy Kaine hereby announces his plans to retire this year, on the conclusion of his tenth year as Prime Minister. His term of office has seen The Beltway open up to the outside world, regain the rest of Virginia, pass legislation guaranteeing the right of gay marriage and ensuring the welfare of poor citizens, create new public transportation projects to deal with traffic issues, and ensure the safety of The Beltway with the enlargement of the BSF.

In the Democratic Party, Agricultural Minister Chris Van Hollen and Foreign Minister Mark Warner have announced their candidacies for Prime Minister. GOP MPs Carlos Gutierrez (R-Sussex) and Constance Morella (R-Frederick), along with Senators John McCain (R-DE) and John Warner (R-VA), have also announced their candidacies.
--End of Press Release--

McCain was one of the few former US Congresspeople to have remained in DC after the Collapse. Although criticized for this in Arizona, he has become something of a symbol of the GOP, helping lead it as the loyal opposition in the Senate.

Statement from the Office of the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Kaine has served the people of the Beltway with unparalleled distinction and honour and it has been my distinct pleasure to have worked with such a gentleman to open relations between the United Kingdom and the Beltway. Whoever the successor there will undoubtedly be a large shadow of a legacy to step out of and I assure whoever succeeds my friend in the post of Prime Minister of the Beltway will have a partner in the United Kingdom willing to better cement the friendship of our two great peoples.

Alistair Tetley
Marquess of Salisbury
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

February 14, 2016 - Two months to first primary
"The first primaries are held in Arlington County, Virginia; Montgomery County and Baltimore City, Maryland; and the District of Columbia. We'll win Montgomery, while Warner will likely take Baltimore City after O'Malley's endorsement," Lisa Hernandez, campaign manager for Chris Van Hollen, said.

Everyone quietly cursed under their breath at the mention of O'Malley's endorsement. Hadn't Van Hollen agreed not to run for Governor ten years ago? Hadn't he even endorsed O'Malley that spring? That had been a costly endorsement, and Doug Duncan nearly took Van Hollen's seat in the primary for the first parliamentary election because of it.

"So the race starts with the DC area," political strategist Warren Black said. "Van Hollen will do fine there; he lives here, after all. We ought to focus on the Sussex primary; it's the only one of the next few primaries that's winnable."

"True, but we can't get cocky here," Hernandez replied. "We'll shift some funds to Sussex, but we'll get most of our money in MoCo and DC."

"How am I polling?" Van Hollen, who just walked into the campaign headquarters after a long night spent fundraising, asked.

"47% overall; 44% on education, 48% on security, and 51% on health care; 55 in Montgomery, 40 in Baltimore City, 51 in DC, 52 in Arlington. You're only outside the margin of error in MoCo and Baltimore City, Minister Van Hollen," chief pollster Joseph Martz answered, looking up from the piece of paper in his hand.

"Forty-four on education? That's the centerpiece of my campaign; why isn't it resonating?" Van Hollen asked, incredulous. "And how will we handle this?"

"We'll say that nationwide polls are useless this early in the campaign and focus on our numbers in DC and Arlington," Hernandez said. "This is going to be a tough campaign; we have seven months to win this thing, and we're behind in terms of funds. Besides, we're going against the entire party establishment here; Warner's the number two, and we have to have strong reasons why he shouldn't be promoted to number one when Kaine leaves."

"I knew what I was getting into; that's why I hired you people," Van Hollen replied. Black and Hernandez had managed Kaine's win over Warner in the '06 primary, along with his eventual win over acting Prime Minister Robert Ehrlich that same year.

"We'll get him on security; Warner's only got a slim lead on us there," Black replied. "It's never been a strong point for him, and it always plays well."

"Minister Van Hollen, we need you to come record the ad now," advertising director Shaun Kent, who had quietly walked in a bit before, whispered to Van Hollen. He nodded, excused himself, then left to shoot the ad.

February 27, 2016 - Forty-six days until the first primaries
"How are our latest poll numbers looking?" John Warner asked. "I hope the ad worked."

They had had John directly link Mark Warner's foreign policy to the genocides in Gilabad. John had personally asked to do them; he wanted to ensure that Mark Warner, the utterly useless one-term governor who had run against John twenty years back, lost. Winning was secondary.

"Mark's down three points on defence; we went up one, but McCain's still leading us by ten there," pollster Matt Bern responded.

"I'm telling you, it's a waste to poll all of each of the counties! Just focus on the base; they're the only people who vote in the primaries, anyways," Campaign Manager Peter Williams, striding confidently into the room, said.

"We don't really know that, because we never really had a primary. Steele was practically the only one running in '11, and Ehrlich founded the Provisional Republic!" Bern countered.

"The base is the only group that ever bothers to vote in primaries. Besides, the first primaries are on a Friday, and who is going to bother voting when they've got all sorts of other things to do on a Friday?" Williams said. "You just wasted our money with a useless, inaccurate poll. We lost a story for this news cycle, meaning that we'll be behind, meaning that we'll have to play catch-up for the rest of the campaign, meaning that we'll not be able to compete well on April 14, and thus dooming our campaign!" He punctuated this pronouncement by grabbing a pen and throwing it to the floor, hard.

"Look, it's only a flubbed poll. I'm certain we'll find another story to work with," Senator Warner said. "Besides, we're helping the party over the long run."

"Hey guys, Rasmussen just released its latest polling data. We're up, 32-30 over Morella, in MoCo, in second, 27-22 to McCain, in Baltimore, dead last in DC and up, 40-23, in Arlington. The poll has a margin of error of five percent," Media Advisor Mary Quinn shouted. "Oh, and Bob Novak wants an interview."

"Fit him in tomorrow, 9:20-9:40 PM. He's coming to the fundraiser at General Dynamics, right?" Williams said.

"Don't get so excited over Rasmussen's poll; they've got Van Hollen over Mark Warner, 52-49, so it's clear their data's faulty," Bern shouted back.

"It doesn't matter; we'll take their poll and run with it," Williams replied. "Mary, call Dana Milbank at the Post and Jenny Skalka at the Sun; tell them the good news in MoCo. John, make sure you tell Novak that we're attacking the Dems while McCain and the rest are simply harming the party. And I have to leave to help coordinate tomorrow's fundraiser." With that, he walked out, joyous at the sudden turn of fortune.

March 4, 2016 - Forty-one days until first primaries

The National Security Acts were passed on March 4, 2016; they cleared the way for the use of emergency funds from Lost Hills to purchase arms from various foreign military exporters and - more controversially - Baltimore Shipyards. Four of the six announced candidates for Prime Minister voted in favor of both; Carlos Gutierrez voted no on the Baltimore Shipyards proposal, while Constance Morella, who had caught sick, abstained.

Christopher Van Hollen walked into Parliament intending to vote no. He had always opposed Baltimore Shipyards; it was a corrupt company and part of the reason for his running for office. The last thing Van Hollen wanted to do was to give money to a supporter of his opponent, especially for equipment that wouldn't be usable for three years, minimum. Yet he had to vote yes; otherwise, they'd hit him as unpatriotic and as voting against American employees. He could always go to Baltimore and stump with labor there; further, it wasn't hard to explain that we had to keep jobs here, and simply reform the way we procure military equipment. Some might call him a flip-flopper, but Van Hollen doubted it would stick.

Mark Warner voted yes; it was a no-brainer for him. Support national security and American business, all at once. The fact that Van Hollen voted in favor was dismaying - Warner couldn't attack him for voting no - yet good for the party as a whole.

John McCain voted yes; it was also a no-brainer. For him, it was a rather minor vote politically; he was more interested in moving on to measures to slow down the recession.

John Warner voted yes; finally, American ships would be berthed in Virginia's massive Newport News facility. Well, at least Gutierrez and Morella didn't vote yes; he had ammo to spend, if he wanted to spend it.

Gutierrez voted no. He had always opposed Baltimore Shipyards, and was the only senator from Delaware to vote no on Lewes. This bill supported the men who stole Lewes from him; it was a joy to vote no.

Morella threw up in bed watching C-SPAN. She was horribly sick, and being unable to help her campaign was making her worse. Well, she probably should put together some sort of answer to how she'd have voted on that bill...

Gosh, it's been a while...
PM's Questions, Congress, March 13, 2016
"Mr. Prime Minister, I have a question," Mark Warner, who would leave in thirty minutes for the Georgetown Peace Conference, said. "As you may know, the Kraven Corporation - although it's not really a corporation so much as a cult of death - has risen again, and is attacking our friends, such as Kahanistan and Velkya. Obviously, we are in no position to risk war with Kraven. Nonetheless, I am of the opinion that something must be done about Kraven. What do you say?"

"Well, Mr. Foreign Minister, first off, thanks for your work in negotiating a peace with Gilabad. That is something very important to us, and quite necessary. Second, I'd like to say that this is indeed an important issue; personally, I feel that we ought to start off by upgrading our tanks. General Dynamics has announced that it will soon release an upgraded version of the Abrams; I will propose to have our troops get the upgraded version as soon as it's available. Finally, this is probably going to be a bigger issue for my successors. Thus, since you, Minister Van Hollen, Senator McCain, Senator Warner, MP Morella, and MP Gutierrez are all here, I think it would serve the viewers on C-SPAN if you all would address the issue of Kraven," Timothy Kaine replied.

"Thank you. As I have said, Kraven is a cult of death. It has attacked several friends, including Kahanistan and Velkya. Sooner or later, it will move on to us; I feel that we have to expand our military, especially our navy, and soon, if we want to avoid being destroyed by Kraven," the Foreign Minister remarked. "Agricultural Minister Van Hollen?"

"Thank you, Mark. Obviously, we can't afford to stand alone, in contrast to how our Foreign Minister has run foreign policy. We cannot negotiate with evil. We must ally with those who would stand against the evil of Kraven, must supply them with arms, must provide them with financial and moral support to stand their ground. And, if it comes to us, we must stand ready to fight Kraven's evil. Obviously, we cannot afford to fight them now, not with our nation fighting off a recession and having just come out of a war. Still, we must supply our allies with the arms needed to fight off Kraven aggression. America in 1940 was in no position to fight the Nazis; however, it could afford to - and did - supply those who did fight the Nazis until we were ready to fight them ourselves," the Agricultural Minister and rival of Mark Warner said. "Now then, Senator McCain?"

"Thank you, Mr. Agricultural Minister. Now, then, many have compared Kraven to the Nazis. This isn't quite valid; while the Nazis targeted Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, Communists, homosexuals, and the disabled, Kraven's target is humanity itself. We have to ensure that we are prepared to meet this threat; we cannot be caught flat-footed. We need to have secure alliances with strong powers like Sarzonia, Pacitalia, and Azazia if we are to ensure our safety. Quite simply, we can't afford to stand alone in this world," Senator McCain replied. "Representative Gutierrez?"

"Thank you, Senator. My district, centered around the town of Lewes, has many foreign refugees among its new citizens. These refugees have told me about what Kraven had been before the Freeks took Kraven down the first time around. Kraven is a monster. It preys on the weaker nations of the world, kills off most of those who live there, enslaves the rest, and strip-mines the land it conquers. It must be slayed now, before it's too late," Carlos Gutierrez, former Secretary of Commerce under the Bush administration and now a representative from Southern Delaware, said. "Representative Morella?"

"Thank you, Representative Gutierrez. There's not much more to say, I suppose. We need to continue to build up our military, to create strong alliances with powerful nations, and to ensure that we don't have to fight alone. I hereby propose that we purchase for our navy a force of modern battleships in order to defeat the navies of Kraven and Kraven's slave states; we'll have to buy overseas, but that's not really a severe issue. We still have some funds left over from the war subsidies, and we should use them," Connie Morella, aging liberal Republican representative from Montgomery County, replied. "Finally, Senator Warner, do you have anything to add?"

"Certainly. Thank you, Representative Morella. Kraven is what the Soviets and Nazis never managed to be. Kraven actually has the capability to destroy us, and may even have the motivation to do so. What we have to do, then, is to strengthen ourselves to the point that Kraven lacks the capability to destroy us, while ensuring that we do not draw undue attention from Kraven onto ourselves. We have to be prudent, after all," John Warner, Senator from Virginia, said.

"Well, that about does it, time-wise. I hope I have satisfied you, and I wish all of you luck in the campaign ahead. Thank you for your questions," Timothy Kaine said, noticing the C-SPAN cameraman's sudden glare at him. This was his last question session, and Kaine was quite pleased.