Join the new world

This has been an interesting CP run for me. I know both of the main contenders pretty well. I have served in more than a few Cabinets with DMJ, and I was his VP during his two term CP administration a few summers ago. Through our years of mutual service I have learned one very important thing about DMJ: when he is put in charge of something be it his Party, USAF, or the Country he has produced excellent results. More on this later

Melissa and I have been in the Federalist Party together for nearly 3 years now. At times she and I have been the best of friends and worked in near lockstep towards common goals. Other times we have been borderline enemies fighting working with passion and zeal for our differing visions.

This cycle continued for sometime between us until we both realized something. When she and I allowed our differences to spill out into the Party arena sometimes she won and sometimes I won, but every time our mutual friends and Party suffered for our squabbles. After this we worked to mend our fences and today enjoy a solid relationship.





I have seen many say there is little difference between these two candidates. With respect I disagree. While it is true they both have a fairly extensive history of service , however, their experiences are wildly different. Melissa has been primarily involved at the Party level, her list of offices held in the Federalist Party is too large to list. Suffice it to say she has been Party President for the Federalists 4 times a number equalled or exceed by only 4 people in the 7+ year history of the Feds. She has at the national level run ATO operations (this done at a time when the PTO was still very much a threat) , been a Secretary of Media(multiple times and was excellent), and currently Chief of Staff under Israel Stevens.

DMJ has also served in more than a few Party functions. He was a prominent member of WTP and played an integral role in ripping WTP from the top 5 when their PP went rogue and betrayed them during Congressional elections. This is something I believe is worth note given the ugly climate between some of the Parties at this time. WTP Leaders and members valued the oft used mantra of Country > Party > Self so much that in order to protect the nation from the slate of Serbian Congress their rogue PP was threatening to run, they abandoned ship and went in droves of Hundreds (yes at that time the Parties had hundreds of members) to the BSP in order to push them into the Top 5 and pull themselves out of the Top 5.

At the time I remember both admiring the organization and selflessness displayed during this mass exodus. I also remember privately wondering if we were witnessing the demise of WTP as a prominent Party in the eUSA. As many Party Presidents from the PTO era can tell you it is usually relatively easy to get your members to move in ATO operations, but it is another thing entirely to recover the deployed members. The Federalist Party sacrificed hundreds of members to ATO operations, USWP, and the AMP very likely have similar numbers they put on the line for ATO. However, WTP bounced back. DMJ and other prominent members of WTP emerged and worked very hard to ensure they would fully move past their betrayal.

To balance his Party work DMJ is widely regarded as one of the finest Secretaries of Defense in eUSA history. He has served in that role numerous times. Each time he did so he produced extraordinary results. He once served double duty as SecMed and SecDef under MollyEmma while also playing an active role in shaping international events. At that time we were in transition from SIRIUS to the formation of PACIFICA. Last but definitely not least DMJ is a two time President of the eUSA. Another position he did very well in.





Ok enough with comparing resumes. Let’s get to the meat of the election. To me it all comes down to plans. Much has been made about how little turnover there is at the Executive Cabinet level. So conceding that the people running things will be somewhat similar it comes down to two things for me. The person at the top of the ticket of course and their plans. While I think Melissa is a bit light on experience at the national level, what she does have is more than enough for doing the job. I have already touched on DMJ’s experience. So let’s talk about plans.

Both Candidates will be putting WildOwl in as MoFA so more than likely there will be little difference on the Foreign Affairs front. Which leaves us the ever important domestic side of things. DMJ has published an article in which he exclusively focused on his plans for invigorating the eUS community. His plans include reviving eNPR (with myself as a Co-Host) and an assortment of activity nights. The Federalist Party does something very similar in having weekly game nights. It has worked well at the Party level, and I believe it will work very well at the National level. As for eNPR, there is a reason I have agreed to Co-Host it. Throughout my time in eRepublik, the community has seemed more involved and engaged when we had regular episodes of eNPR. DMJ has also published an article addressing the growing partisan divide within our nation. It will not solve everything immediately, but it is really the first serious and public call for de-escalation that I have seen from either side. It’s a strong beginning.

On the other side of things Melissa has put forward creating a new Cabinet position for community outreach. To my knowledge this is not something that has ever been done before. It would give a new player Executive access and have one person solely dedicated to bringing the concerns of the citizens to the Cabinet. After looking through the rest of Melissa’s campaign articles I really could not find anything else in the way of plans for involving the community. Her initial announcement article touched on the need to transcend the meta culture while also encouraging and involving new players. A narrative that I feel has been somewhat damaged by well known events of this campaign. Beyond that though nothing specific has up to this point been published.

So it is with a side by side comparison of specific plans I have decided I will be voting for DMJ. He has a proven track record of success, a clear agenda, and the strength of character to not just begin community outreach, but to see it through regardless of political consequences. I have the utmost respect for Melissa and her capabilities. I have no doubt she will be a fine CP, but I think the person for this moment is Dmjohnston.