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Quareitur
With Congressional elections now finished, and this next election looking to be a relatively quiet one as compared to last time, it's looking like the next week is going to be underwhelming media-wise. So, with a little time and opportunity on our hands, I thought I would write a series that I have been wanting to write for quite a while.

It is my intent to, over the course of the next two weeks, analyse the top 5 parties in a thoughtful way. Many have done something similar before, but where we differ is how deep I'm willing to delve in terms of the truth of each party's matters. I have a long history in inter-party politics, and I'm not at all unwilling to air out everyone's dirty laundry.

Each party will get an article. It will start with a brief three paragraph history of each party, which I will attempt to jam pack with as many links as I think are necessary. I will then go into the good, the bad, and the ugly of each party, and finish off with a nice summary of where I believe things should head for that party next, along with a rating of potential the party has to make that suggested change. These will most certainly be tl;dr in styling, so I apologise in advance to my readers under the age of 10 for the lack of pictures. I'll do my best to keep you happy.


So, without further ado, I thought it would be best to start with my own party, and the party which is in need of the greatest amount of help. Herein follows my dissection of the Liberty Advancement Party.



LAP: Old Dog, New Tricks
Forged in the fires of ATO efforts against the American Freedom Allilance, the Liberty Advancement Party started off as nothing more than a blocker party. Founded by irule777 and current President NewAzazel, it was the first real experiment in making a viable Top 5 party which would keep Ajay out of the system for good.

Based around the iconography and some of the notions which were behind America's Advancement Party, the LAP has sought to become a renaissance of sorts for the disillusionment and malaise which has swept the country in recent times. As NewAzazel said in his article announcing the party's formation: "AMP has long been focused on the military, Feds on the nation, USWP on leadership, and WTP on participation and openness. LAP is about restoration. Our name has its roots in two older parties that used to be permanent fixtures in US politics: The American Advancement Party and the Libertarian Party. Some of you might even recognize the logo of the AAP being adopted by our party. Both have been important parts of our Top 5 history but decayed to lose their stature. LAP proposes a renaissance for the eUS: to build at home and abroad."

A manufactured party in every sense of the word, the largest struggle for the party thus far has been one of identity. Both Josh Frost's announcement article and the use of the party thus far by others in the political arena has shown that it is a stopgap measure designed to insure the safety of the other four parties. With two Party Presidents and congressional rosters already under it's belt, the LAP members continue to strive to find their sense of identity and purpose in the nation, as well as how to bring about the promise of renaissance upon which it was founded.



The Good
By and large, the biggest advantage the LAP maintains it's the straight up fact that it's new. New parties are always exciting and always draw a buzz, and have been used in the past for interesting purposes.


Along with that fresh, new party smell comes new people hoping to make a name for themselves, along with older players just looking for a different way to be helpful. The party's promise of new beginnings is it's most attractive feature. Being part of the first something, being able to easily make changes and a difference because of newness, helping to build and have your name upon a lasting idea; this is what draws people to play. The creative potential for such a party to take formation is what keeps people signing up.


With a mix of mid-level players who aren't in it for the glory, and lower level players looking for something different, the LAP is already poised with a good party mix that can help it grow and foster new developments in the nation. Being given a fresh start in a game which already has so much history can be as exciting as embroiling yourself in that history, and as the LAP grows, it gets to give players an experience no other party in America offers right now: building.

All other parties are known entities, complete with wikis, forums, in-jokes, and a host of delightfully secret IRC channels. And that's great for many. But if something is not being actively created and if there is not allowance in every arena to grow and really put your name to something, then the game can get quickly stale for many. It is in this regard where the LAP currently shines brightest, and only time will tell where it goes and if it lasts.

Other attractive features of the party includes it's close association with the ATO effort. As DHS pours people into the party, it's permanent members get a sense of satisfaction knowing that the government truly cares about the party's integrity and safety. The availability of a safe environment from which to explore and build new ideas is paramount, and it further strengthens the already ingrained ideals of an American renaissance the party espouses.


Safe, easy, and bringing a wide variety of experience to the table, the seeds for possibility have been planted in the LAP, and it's time for something to be done with it.



The Bad
"But what?" That question is the one being heard most often when potential of LAP is brought up. In private meetings and public venues, the buzz surrounding every instance of party planning is always where to go with it next. The main issue with being a manufactured party is this sense of aimlessness. Certainly, the sincere effort to create something new was a part of the party's formation, but the necessity for a blocker party was priority numero uno. A party not born purely from the impetus to create a new community means that LAP currently lacks a considerable amount of inertia when it comes to building efforts.

And that's not all that's bad. Recall back to when I mentioned party mixture, namely that LAP has a wonderful blend of experienced mid-level players and relatively new and active players. But what the party does not have, and what has ultimately proved to be many a party's undoing in the long run, is political capital. A party is given legitimacy and staying power through those involved in some high level aspect of the game, primarily the Executive. And right now? LAP trails the pack in that regard.


The greatest threat to the LAP's longevity is it's lack of "elite" members and potential POTUS types. Wonder why the UIP isn't still around? Besides having helped a little myself, what really killed the UIP in the long run was its lack of Presidential types. For those of you with long memories, go ahead and list for me the United Independents who were, at one time, President of a country in this game. I can only think of three people who were ever in the party who have been President, and two of them are currently serving.

The bottom line is this: a party's worth is primarily based on its ability to produce potential Presidents.


And right now? LAP can't do it on it's own. The culture and lack of high-level government individuals are what the party lacks the most. But there is a bigger issue that has to be addressed if the LAP ever hopes to grow into an actual Top 5. It's the elephant in the room, and you may not even know it.



The Ugly
Simply put, nobody needs LAP. The only reason the party exists is to keep the PTO parties out of the Top 5. And that's it. That's all. That's why it was made, and that's why anyone outside of it cares about it.

I previously touched on how it's manufactured nature was a good thing, but it is certainly a double edged sword. If I'm being completely honest, if irule777 had not asked me to run for Party President last time, I would have left. I've been told more than one time and by more than one person that I am supposed to stay in the party. And that, my friends, is the reason this party may fail.

There are very few people higher level players who have the patience or the willingness to leave their own established parties and help build up a new party from the ground up. You can talk all you want about sense of duty and the possibility to create something new, but we are at a time in this game where new frankly isn't wanted. What's preferred is what has worked, what is working, and what will continue to work. And no one is willing to bet on the LAP.


Everyone, including myself, is happy being comfortable. Who wouldn't be? Comfortable is nice, and party building is uncomfortable. It's full of uncertainty and misstep and hard decisions and politicking and propagandizing and no assurances that what you do at the end of the day will last. It is work, and work is expected for the newer players, not those of us who have already slogged through that. We have, in this nation, a notion that people need to prove themselves through the trial and fire of doing shit jobs: mass messaging, jumping through election hoops, contributing on forums in such a way where you don't get mercilessly trolled. Our breeding program for new players is harsh and turns out a strong blowout rate.

And no old player wants to get down with them and help. Many of our greatest educators are now long gone. The people we put into Secretary of Education and Interior and other crap departments continue to blow out because of the lack of upward promotion. Educating new players is utterly thankless. And so, we leave new players in the unknown. Right now, the LAP is a robot that has just discovered sentience and is now asking the hard questions as to why it exists.


And our nation doesn't have answers. In a recent and impromptu meeting with party officials from the Feds, USWP, and WTP, TellUrGrlThx and I pitched an idea we had concocted with Custer about turning the LAP into the America's Training Party. In essence, the idea would be to make one party the training grounds and Academy party, where new players specifically would be targeted to join it and new players only would be wanted. It would be like Flight Training for political parties, with the Top 4 sending their own new players and some experienced professors to help educate and bring about the new group of players.

It was almost unanimously panned by the small group. The Feds and USWP didn't want to give up their members, and the WTP thought it was interesting but probably wouldn't work. And that was that. "We already have retention programs, we do good enough educating our new players."

Good enough. That seems to be the political model these days. We get by, we recruit just enough. Hell, for a long time, it was good enough that we spent each month being PTO'd. But yay! Now the LAP is here to defend the other parties from such incursions. America's LAP dog is here to stay.

And that's all they're good for.



The Summary
There is tremendous potential for the LAP to be something, it just depends on if anyone cares enough to take it there. New parties are always good, but thus far the lack of organization and community direction is poised to off America's newest political plaything.

If the Liberty Advancement party is going to survive, several things must occur. The first of which is there must be a genuine base of players within it who want to make the party something and do the work to get it there. As it stands, it does not have that.

It does not have the former POTUS lingering in the IRC, doling out sage advice and helping favored noobs to network. It does not have traditions or sayings which can easily be shouted in the comments of its member's articles. No fancy graphics exist to espouse it's virtues and catch the eye. And no members exist who really want to get their hands dirty with making a new party.

The first and foremost concern of everyone who wishes this party to succeed should be finding the players who can do that. Without that player base, the LAP will wither on the vine. The next step in growth and development will be to find an angle and work it. Branding is the second most important thing after community in terms of helping to grow a party, and the LAP has nothing to sell right now.


These next three months will either make or break the party, and if someone doesn't step in to really care about what happens to it, then by Spring we'll be taking it out to the trash. Care is really at the heart of the problem. For the Liberty Advancement Party to advance itself and it's players, someone's gotta give a damn.

And right now, the wells are running dry.



Epilogue
Sorry to leave it all off on that last and someone bleak note. As the LAP Party President, I can tell you we're working to overcome these problems. It's not like we don't know what we are. The people we have in the party are very aware of what this all could become, and we're trying new things and new ways to make something people want to join. Stay tuned over the course of my term to see these developments in effect. We've got some games coming, and if you're truly interest in cabinet position or helping out, fill out this handy doc and we'll get back to you.

I am not the best person for Party President. I've already said that, and I will continue to say it because it's true. There are unanswered PM's in my inbox which I need to get to, but I don't have answers right now for the big questions. I'm not the only one who needs to care, and that's the big issue really. It's time for us to make a real community; join up and let's get it done.



VOTE IN THE COMMENTS WHICH PARTY YOU WANT TO SEE ME WRITE ABOUT NEXT!!!