WHPR 1525 - Op-Ed: Election Ethics
Day 1,525, 06:00
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Published in USA 
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by
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by James S. Brady Press Room
White House Press Room - Day 1525
Aristotle discusses election ethics.
Dateline: Monday, January 23, 2012 (Day 1525)
Location: White House Press Room
Today's Agenda: Election Ethics; Slow News Day Fill
Election Ethics
White House Press Corps Director George Armstrong Custer
Two days from now Congressional elections will be held in every country of the New World. While Congressional elections are more an individual adventure, Party President elections like we had last week draw different lines.. people come together in larger groups and behave differently. Strangely enough, as the Country President election splits more people into fewer but even larger groups, this thing doesn't seem to happen as much. "This thing" is vote buying, and vote selling.
I got to wondering about the morality of it, whether the ethics of the real world apply in game or if this is still another aspect of the game we are supposed to separate from regular reality and do differently according to the pretend reality we create here in eRep.
Obviously, an RL candidate who buys votes, and a RL citizen who sells his vote, are not acceptable. Yet we see it here, three times a month, and it's done right out in the open. It's not just "the bad guys" or "the underdogs" doing it, but candidates and voters from all segments of our e-community.
And just as obviously, there's no game rules against it, and no meta-game legislation or righteous soapbox editorializing is going to stop it.
Let's be clear on this point: It is not the intent of this writer or The White House to pass judgement or lecture on the destiny of your evil little e-souls. Do it, don't do it, have your own reasons-- it's a game... achieve your objectives however it's most comfortable to you, and above all have fun. Hopefully your idea of fun doesn't mean taking the fun out of someone else's game, but that's another point of morality/ethics for another day in another paper.
But let's talk about voter ethics for a minute, and hear what a few of our fellow citizen-players think about it.
Remember when candidates first started offering to buy round trip Moving Tickets and a few Food to recover lost Health? That was pretty controversial at the time, but became a normal and accepted practice.
Now we see not only candidates and Parties openly soliciting voters with rewards of Gold and Weapons, and voters openly offering their vote to the highest bidder, but one player has developed an enterprise for profit by organizing vote sellers into a formidable voter bloc which he offers to the highest bidder.
I could not catch Dutch Marley in IRC to get his direct comments, so let's see what might be found in his newspaper.
Dutch Marley, publisher of Huey Lewis and the News
The headline screams, "Congressional Elections - 7 Days Away - Bid Now!" so we know what's inside. I won't reprint the whole article, but these lines are absolutely relative and imperative to understanding his mindset:
Re the PP elections: The elections could not have turned out any better for my group because now the top 5 parties in the country are run by PP's who are not seen as a threat. Why is this so good for me? Well there was a contingent of people complaining about the possibility of our voting group getting paid to vote for PTO'ers. Now that problem is shifted to the PP's of the parties.
So for Dutch there's no ethics or morality question. It's a game, and he's found a niche where he can make a buck, and he feels he's helping not hurting America.
I sought out politicians in IRC to discuss this. The basic questions were about what they think of buying/selling votes, whether or not they've done it, what methods they employ in a successful election bid, and how much RL ethics they bring to the game or how much RL ethics matter in the game.
Congressman Henry "Pfeiffer" Arundel
So.. is there a line of ethics being crossed somewhere? or.. it's all good..?
I don't personally care what people do, but if they pay more than the 5 gold they'll get from the medal for votes, they're idiots.
Your own personal experience is probably that you have enough of a voter-friend base to secure your own seat and have leftover to direct elsewhere... so you don't have to write campaign articles or pay for voters..
I don't actively campaign not because I don't need to, but because I don't care. If I lose, idgaf. But like I said, I don't care what people do. If they can make a little money off of it, let them
Um.. can't legislate morality, and making a public stink is pointless..?
It's not a matter of trying to legislate morality, which is dumb. But you can't and won't stop it. There isn't a way to stop it at all. People will keep doing it if they want to win.
Pfeiffer did emphasize the importance in mass mailing, not only every resident of the region a candidate is running in but also every friend and stranger they can. The letter should be tight and concise, with a link to their platform article. The payoff may be small in comparison to the investment, but every vote counts toward a win and hard work pays better than no work.
Congresswoman Angelini
I laid the groundwork and asked the introductory questions.
It's the offering of gold that seems to set most people off.
Do you have enough of a friend-base to secure an election, or do you have to campaign or otherwise solicit..?
Myself, I generally rely on friend/party support. I'm not a believer in campaign articles. But that's because I don't think there's much to distinguish one person's platform from another these days.
1x Congressman (not currently) Mr. Peanuts
I'm anti vote buying/selling. I'm okay with paying for travel if they need money to get into the state to vote, but as for offering your vote or buying someone's vote for gold or tanks or money... it's not something I feel I will ever do. I've never sold my vote or bought votes in my campaigns
Do you have a sizeable friend-voter base? How much do you rely on campaign articles? Party support?
I think I rely on my party a lot, but most of the time I put a lot of effort into my campaigns. I always write an article and almost always MM the state to encourage people there to vote for me. I don't have much of a friend-voter base. I don't usually ask friends directly but I'll shout my article and such and I assume some of those people will probably vote for me
13x (not currently) Congressman Devoid
I asked the introductory questions and turned him loose.
It's always been this way as far as I can recall, and bright-eyed fresh candidates always think that they can win over the electorate with their platforms. But it just doesn't work that way. It would probably be better if it did, but it doesn't
The only thing I can think of that has changed is that vote-buying is now more or less openly accepted. I remember a day when lots of righteous indignation would be directed at anyone who got "caught" buying votes. These days people offer tanks or USD in their shouts for votes... which, I suppose, really isn't that much worse.
Why do you suppose actual issues don't matter any more? Or.. since Congress is limited to what it really can do.. why is it not important for candidates to sell their strength of character?
"I'm all for raising taxes and would advise against stupid MPPs" would at least be something people could think about.. instead of.. "he's a Party member" or "she talks dirty."
Yeah, there's really no room for ideology. The occasional two-clicker might read your platform and vote a certain way because of it, but they're the exception.
Maybe if you mass-PM your State, a couple people might read it, but it's a pretty low effort vs reward ratio. Real campaigning these days is mass PMing beyond just the State you're running in. The more people you PM, the more votes you get.
Obviously getting a few words from four players and stealing a line from another player's newspaper is not the full picture, but a thin slice from which we might draw a few indefinite conclusions.
Elections are won mostly on a candidate's friend-voter base. The second most effective tool is massive mass mailing, and a decent platform piece doesn't hurt but you can't count on that alone.
We all bring varying degrees of our RL ethics to the game.
Vote buying and selling is common practice, and like it or not it's going to continue.
Well worth repeating is a line from the top end of this piece:
Do it, don't do it, have your own reasons-- it's a game... achieve your objectives however it's most comfortable to you, and above all have fun.
In Other News from the White House
Slow news weeken
No Natural Enemy.
Renewed MPPs with Russia and Ukraine.
VAT Tax of Food was bumped from 5% to 10%, and it's still dirt cheap.
Still got 100/100 Natural Resources.
Back to back to back RWs continue at Asturias. Keep on that, folks, that's our Iron!
Mexico is back on the map, and trying to RW our Saltpeter at Baja.
New forum administrators added.
There's been threats made in the media, both in newspapers and on radio shows, about PTO'ing Congress. It's more important this month than ever before to be sure every slot is filled with either a qualified Candidate or a safe Blocker.
Contact your Party President or Election Organizer about being a Blocker!
The Grab Bags fundraiser was a huge success. See the WHPR Results Edition, which also carries an interesting interview with President Oblige.
eNPR Oval Office Radio airs live every Tuesday and Thursday night, at 19:00 eRep (10 Eastern, 7 Pacific).
Tuesday's eNPR show will be all about the Congressional Elections.
If you miss any live radio show, you can listen at your leisure, at eNPR Oval Office Radio
Tune in live Tuesday night, and join the text chat at #eNPR (on the Rizon server), and call in!
"Sure, it's a game. The most fun in any game is winning. America is winning. America is having fun!"
Read more from our President, in his newspaper: Savior
Recommended Reading:
| The President's Newspaper | Speaker's Word | DoD Civilian Orders | Dept of Education |
| White House Press Room | Pony Express | eNPR Radio | Terra Times | Voice of EDEN |
Join a Military or Militia:
| US Civilian MU | US Armed Forces Boot Camp | US Army | Special Forces | Ultramarines | SEAL Team 6 |
| EZ Company | Bad Company | Fraternity Shock Troops | Bear Cavalry | Pickle's Patriots |
| eUS Training Corps | National Guard | Mobile Infantry | eUS Army | Airborne | Marine Corps |
Secretary of Media Israel Stevens
Press Corps Director George Armstrong Custer
Press Corps Writers Kooguy, Athanaric
Special thanks to Dutch Marley, Pfeiffer, Angelini, Devoid, Mr. Peanuts and Aristotle for their contributions.
WHPR Day 1525
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/1952057/1/20
Op-Ed on Election Ethics
Late Day 1525 Update: WHPR 1525 - Op-Ed Voter Ethics was discussed on the Meet The Press radio show.
If you missed the live show, catch the recorded version, which includes the short "after party."
1760
Aristotle discusses election ethics.
Dateline: Monday, January 23, 2012 (Day 1525)
Location: White House Press Room
Today's Agenda: Election Ethics; Slow News Day Fill
Election Ethics
White House Press Corps Director George Armstrong Custer
Two days from now Congressional elections will be held in every country of the New World. While Congressional elections are more an individual adventure, Party President elections like we had last week draw different lines.. people come together in larger groups and behave differently. Strangely enough, as the Country President election splits more people into fewer but even larger groups, this thing doesn't seem to happen as much. "This thing" is vote buying, and vote selling.
I got to wondering about the morality of it, whether the ethics of the real world apply in game or if this is still another aspect of the game we are supposed to separate from regular reality and do differently according to the pretend reality we create here in eRep.
Obviously, an RL candidate who buys votes, and a RL citizen who sells his vote, are not acceptable. Yet we see it here, three times a month, and it's done right out in the open. It's not just "the bad guys" or "the underdogs" doing it, but candidates and voters from all segments of our e-community.
And just as obviously, there's no game rules against it, and no meta-game legislation or righteous soapbox editorializing is going to stop it.
Let's be clear on this point: It is not the intent of this writer or The White House to pass judgement or lecture on the destiny of your evil little e-souls. Do it, don't do it, have your own reasons-- it's a game... achieve your objectives however it's most comfortable to you, and above all have fun. Hopefully your idea of fun doesn't mean taking the fun out of someone else's game, but that's another point of morality/ethics for another day in another paper.
But let's talk about voter ethics for a minute, and hear what a few of our fellow citizen-players think about it.
Remember when candidates first started offering to buy round trip Moving Tickets and a few Food to recover lost Health? That was pretty controversial at the time, but became a normal and accepted practice.
Now we see not only candidates and Parties openly soliciting voters with rewards of Gold and Weapons, and voters openly offering their vote to the highest bidder, but one player has developed an enterprise for profit by organizing vote sellers into a formidable voter bloc which he offers to the highest bidder.
I could not catch Dutch Marley in IRC to get his direct comments, so let's see what might be found in his newspaper.
Dutch Marley, publisher of Huey Lewis and the News
The headline screams, "Congressional Elections - 7 Days Away - Bid Now!" so we know what's inside. I won't reprint the whole article, but these lines are absolutely relative and imperative to understanding his mindset:
Re the PP elections: The elections could not have turned out any better for my group because now the top 5 parties in the country are run by PP's who are not seen as a threat. Why is this so good for me? Well there was a contingent of people complaining about the possibility of our voting group getting paid to vote for PTO'ers. Now that problem is shifted to the PP's of the parties.
So for Dutch there's no ethics or morality question. It's a game, and he's found a niche where he can make a buck, and he feels he's helping not hurting America.
I sought out politicians in IRC to discuss this. The basic questions were about what they think of buying/selling votes, whether or not they've done it, what methods they employ in a successful election bid, and how much RL ethics they bring to the game or how much RL ethics matter in the game.
Congressman Henry "Pfeiffer" Arundel
So.. is there a line of ethics being crossed somewhere? or.. it's all good..?
I don't personally care what people do, but if they pay more than the 5 gold they'll get from the medal for votes, they're idiots.
Your own personal experience is probably that you have enough of a voter-friend base to secure your own seat and have leftover to direct elsewhere... so you don't have to write campaign articles or pay for voters..
I don't actively campaign not because I don't need to, but because I don't care. If I lose, idgaf. But like I said, I don't care what people do. If they can make a little money off of it, let them
Um.. can't legislate morality, and making a public stink is pointless..?
It's not a matter of trying to legislate morality, which is dumb. But you can't and won't stop it. There isn't a way to stop it at all. People will keep doing it if they want to win.
Pfeiffer did emphasize the importance in mass mailing, not only every resident of the region a candidate is running in but also every friend and stranger they can. The letter should be tight and concise, with a link to their platform article. The payoff may be small in comparison to the investment, but every vote counts toward a win and hard work pays better than no work.
Congresswoman Angelini
I laid the groundwork and asked the introductory questions.
It's the offering of gold that seems to set most people off.
Do you have enough of a friend-base to secure an election, or do you have to campaign or otherwise solicit..?
Myself, I generally rely on friend/party support. I'm not a believer in campaign articles. But that's because I don't think there's much to distinguish one person's platform from another these days.
1x Congressman (not currently) Mr. Peanuts
I'm anti vote buying/selling. I'm okay with paying for travel if they need money to get into the state to vote, but as for offering your vote or buying someone's vote for gold or tanks or money... it's not something I feel I will ever do. I've never sold my vote or bought votes in my campaigns
Do you have a sizeable friend-voter base? How much do you rely on campaign articles? Party support?
I think I rely on my party a lot, but most of the time I put a lot of effort into my campaigns. I always write an article and almost always MM the state to encourage people there to vote for me. I don't have much of a friend-voter base. I don't usually ask friends directly but I'll shout my article and such and I assume some of those people will probably vote for me
13x (not currently) Congressman Devoid
I asked the introductory questions and turned him loose.
It's always been this way as far as I can recall, and bright-eyed fresh candidates always think that they can win over the electorate with their platforms. But it just doesn't work that way. It would probably be better if it did, but it doesn't
The only thing I can think of that has changed is that vote-buying is now more or less openly accepted. I remember a day when lots of righteous indignation would be directed at anyone who got "caught" buying votes. These days people offer tanks or USD in their shouts for votes... which, I suppose, really isn't that much worse.
Why do you suppose actual issues don't matter any more? Or.. since Congress is limited to what it really can do.. why is it not important for candidates to sell their strength of character?
"I'm all for raising taxes and would advise against stupid MPPs" would at least be something people could think about.. instead of.. "he's a Party member" or "she talks dirty."
Yeah, there's really no room for ideology. The occasional two-clicker might read your platform and vote a certain way because of it, but they're the exception.
Maybe if you mass-PM your State, a couple people might read it, but it's a pretty low effort vs reward ratio. Real campaigning these days is mass PMing beyond just the State you're running in. The more people you PM, the more votes you get.
Obviously getting a few words from four players and stealing a line from another player's newspaper is not the full picture, but a thin slice from which we might draw a few indefinite conclusions.
Elections are won mostly on a candidate's friend-voter base. The second most effective tool is massive mass mailing, and a decent platform piece doesn't hurt but you can't count on that alone.
We all bring varying degrees of our RL ethics to the game.
Vote buying and selling is common practice, and like it or not it's going to continue.
Well worth repeating is a line from the top end of this piece:
Do it, don't do it, have your own reasons-- it's a game... achieve your objectives however it's most comfortable to you, and above all have fun.
In Other News from the White House
Slow news weeken
😛
No Natural Enemy.
Renewed MPPs with Russia and Ukraine.
VAT Tax of Food was bumped from 5% to 10%, and it's still dirt cheap.
Still got 100/100 Natural Resources.
Back to back to back RWs continue at Asturias. Keep on that, folks, that's our Iron!
Mexico is back on the map, and trying to RW our Saltpeter at Baja.
New forum administrators added.
There's been threats made in the media, both in newspapers and on radio shows, about PTO'ing Congress. It's more important this month than ever before to be sure every slot is filled with either a qualified Candidate or a safe Blocker.
Contact your Party President or Election Organizer about being a Blocker!
The Grab Bags fundraiser was a huge success. See the WHPR Results Edition, which also carries an interesting interview with President Oblige.
eNPR Oval Office Radio airs live every Tuesday and Thursday night, at 19:00 eRep (10 Eastern, 7 Pacific).
Tuesday's eNPR show will be all about the Congressional Elections.
If you miss any live radio show, you can listen at your leisure, at eNPR Oval Office Radio
Tune in live Tuesday night, and join the text chat at #eNPR (on the Rizon server), and call in!
"Sure, it's a game. The most fun in any game is winning. America is winning. America is having fun!"
Read more from our President, in his newspaper: Savior
Recommended Reading:
| The President's Newspaper | Speaker's Word | DoD Civilian Orders | Dept of Education |
| White House Press Room | Pony Express | eNPR Radio | Terra Times | Voice of EDEN |
Join a Military or Militia:
| US Civilian MU | US Armed Forces Boot Camp | US Army | Special Forces | Ultramarines | SEAL Team 6 |
| EZ Company | Bad Company | Fraternity Shock Troops | Bear Cavalry | Pickle's Patriots |
| eUS Training Corps | National Guard | Mobile Infantry | eUS Army | Airborne | Marine Corps |
Secretary of Media Israel Stevens
Press Corps Director George Armstrong Custer
Press Corps Writers Kooguy, Athanaric
Special thanks to Dutch Marley, Pfeiffer, Angelini, Devoid, Mr. Peanuts and Aristotle for their contributions.
WHPR Day 1525
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/1952057/1/20
Op-Ed on Election Ethics
Late Day 1525 Update: WHPR 1525 - Op-Ed Voter Ethics was discussed on the Meet The Press radio show.
If you missed the live show, catch the recorded version, which includes the short "after party."
1760
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Comments
It is not the intent of this writer or The White House to pass judgement or lecture on the destiny of your evil little e-souls.
~hyuu~
Yes... it is more important than ever to ensure 100% tools elected to Congress!
Votado,
And Pizza, wtf that made even less sense then your normal trolling
There's rampant vote buying in RL as well... Lobbyist firms, as well as the promise of political office.
Good stuff/Voted
What is democracy? Well my friend what is Democracy?.. it is a Rose... When you look at it, it looks beautiful, when you smell it is superb... but when you get close to it... It has thorns!
Do we chose to cut the thorns? Well I dont know that answer but I question myself "If you cut the thorns.. is it stil a rose?"
Personaly I just know I am candidating from NCP in Wisconsin and if I am alected will ALWAYS defend eUSA interests.
Power to USA
Power to TERRA
Power to EDEN
As stated on PBR when I guest hosted... Dutch's "business" is only the natural evolution of voting in game because of the limited communication tools available to candidates and party presidents.
At one time, all you could offer was a ticket. A few months ago, every single Top Five party offered USD to move, food, and tanks. Today, Dutch has expanded the idea to a "for profit" business.
It was/is inevitable. It was/is tomorrow's norm.
Maybe he should call it, 'Dutch Marley's Super PAC'...!
Buying votes is the RL right of all American Politicians and may the deepest pocket win...!?!?!?
When I first ran for Congress a couple of years ago, the USWP candidate running against me began buying votes once he realized I was beating him. The response was enough to force him out of the country; all of the Top 5 parties blacklisted him and through their endorsements to me.
I think that one reason that this came about is because of the old fortress strategy and its remnants. Populations are largely based in the same states, still, and not really spread out--so voting in other states just comes to a few votes able to be influenced by sniping and vote buying. If the came were to be populated again and mechanics not force us into a fortress-like mentality, a more spread population might help resolve the issue.
This article was talked about on eRepublik Meet the Press today.
http://tobtr.com/s/2799605
Make sure to call into future episodes at 626-213-5635
I LOL when people say that "buying" votes is unacceptable in RL. Wake up people, why do you think only rich f'ers get elected in the real US (or anywhere for that matter). Why do these guys exist? http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml
it happens, Picklebro, but it is not acceptable behavior or we'd see it blatantly advertised. IRL there is a rule against it. Here in eRep there is no such Rule, and our eSociety is obviously not shy of engaging in all manner of behavior that don't fly IRL.
But Custer, even though openly buying votes IRL is not acceptable behavior, one reason the FEC exists is to "regulate contributions" to candidates. (Regulate contributions is a polite way of saying "We make sure no single person or group pays off a politician with too much compensation.".)
True, the RL model is different in that solicitors are buying politicians to vote for what the solicitor desires and not the other way around (where the politician pays people to get into office). So I guess you are correct. I have to say that with that much payola flying around Washington and the State Capitols you must wonder if money doesn't change hand to get a special person elected.
Anyhow, a game is a game and if mechanics allow it "it" will happen.
Happy gaming all!
In RL politicians don't offer money they just offer entitlements.
So Hispanic Community Group needs a new center? Well if they vote for me as US President they get one!
I know it's a crappy analogy but you see what I'm saying.
good article
Yeah it's been slow very slow, but thats good let's just keep ONE from emerging strong now ok.