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Citizens of Maine:


Thank You


First, I must tell you how appreciative I am that you chose me to represent you for a sixth consecutive term. I am especially proud to be one of the few long-serving Senators, now or in the past, to represent the same state during my entire Congressional career. As always, I will do my best to make decisions that are best for Maine and the eUS in general. I will continue to keep you informed of my Congressional activities and answer any questions or concerns you may bring to my attention via PM.


In that spirit, I want to describe a decision Congress has already been asked to make. This vote did not show up on the in-game list of events because it is not strictly part of the game the Administrators created. The decision as to whether formally to join Eden is technically the adoption of a contract among several nations. Congress votes on such contracts on the eUS forum's Congressional Caucus board.

Joining EDEN

The President presented Congress with a proposal formally to join the EDEN alliance very soon after the results of the election were finalized. This seeming haste was necessitated by the fact that the EDEN council, composed of our closest European allies, had earlier that day requested that we join. The help, both financial and military, from these allies was the only factor that prevented the complete conquest of our territories during WWIII. Quite literally, we owe them everything.


Moreover, at least some of these allies were angry with us. At the end of the war, we started paying EDEN a substantial sum to help support its operations. But, the members of the alliance felt that this was insufficient. They believed we should be bound to co-ordinate with and help the allies according to the terms of the EDEN contract. The eUS' unilateral decision to make peace with France, a decision entirely in the eUS' strategic interest, further stoked this anger, especially in eSpain, which saw it as a stab in the back.


Before this invitation, I believed that, on balance, the eUS was better off remaining formally outside EDEN while cooperating closely with the alliance. By remaining allied with Canada in the Brolliance, we would be able to maximize our ability to act independently. We would not be drawn into European conflicts not especially important to our own security. And we would be freer to pursue our interests in Asia, where the members of EDEN might not wish to go.


The invitation from EDEN changed my thinking, If we failed to join when unanimously invited by the EDEN Council at a time when members were already questioning our loyalty toward them would have risked the support of the very allies who saved our nation. A positive consideration was the fact that as members of EDEN, we would have a voice in EDEN decision-making. As cooperating non-members making substantial financial contributions to EDEN, we had no voice. A unanimous recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in favor of approval also helped persuade me. Along with the vast majority of my colleagues, I voted to join EDEN.


I believe, nevertheless, that we must keep careful watch over the actions of EDEN. To name just two areas of concern, we must be sure that EDEN will support us when we move to protect our interests in Asia. We must also be vigilant to assure EDEN does not draw us into a new war with France, a nation with which we just ended a very long state of war.