[TB4CP] Back to the Future

Day 4,541, 14:39 Published in USA USA by Tyler Bubblar





To start I would like to say until very recently I never thought I would write an announcement article running for any kind of eRepublik office ever again. The last time I ran for Country President was August of 2016. I ran against Resoula and it was not close. I lost by nearly 15 percentage points. Not long after that election I became so slammed with mandatory overtime and 6 to 7 day work weeks that any chance to run again was impossible. I had what I felt was a strong plan for growing and empowering future leaders of the eUSA. Alas it was not to be. Until now that is.

Something happened a few months ago to bring me out of my eRepublik grave. I received an email informing me I had been messaged on the Federalist Party forums. It was from Melissa Rose, my old Federalist Party friend/nemesis. She asked me and all Feds of a bygone era to not just log in and vote, but to consider sticking around and helping to solidify a shrinking community. That is what I did. Over the last several months I have occupied myself with reviving and expanding old Fed Party programs and then expanding one of them to the national level. I have also written some articles and been a contributor to the WHPR here and there.

None of that on its face qualifies me for serious consideration as a candidate for President of the eUSA. Many of you know me as I have had an extensive history here in the eUSA from 2013 to 2017. As a refresher for those who know me and an introduction to those who do not know me I will go over that history. I do this not to tout past accomplishments, but to paint a picture of who I am, what I value, what my style of leadership is, and hopefully to sell what I have to offer to you the voters of the eUSA.



A look at my profile will show you I was heavily involved in ATO, I have served as Secretary of Media a handful of times, and I have been trusted to run a cabinet as Chief of Staff thrice, I have been Party President of the Federalist Party 10 times (I believe I still hold the record for most terms), and I have been President of the eUSA 4 times. Now my bio tells you the jobs I have held but not what I have done in those posts. So let’s go down the list.

ATO: I served as Secretary of Homeland Security so many times I will be honest with you after a while I began to feel like I was typecast and would never get the posts (Secretary of State, Chief of Staff, NSC Chair) that would allow me to be seriously considered for Country President. Yet I always accepted the offers to fill that position. At the time we were winding down the PTO threat in our midst and if we were ever to have free and clear elections it was important we not take our eye off the ball. So I wrote articles before the various elections, I sat in an IRC room until reset directing traffic as far as voter movement and trying to push the old AFA out of the top 5. I am proud to have been a part in sidelining our old friend Ajay as a serious threat to our nation.

Secretary of Media: My very first Cabinet level job was as Secretary of Media for Paul Proteus all the way back in 2013. It was and is a rough gig. I have always considered keeping the citizens of the eUSA informed and engaged in the goings on of our nation the most important task of a Presidential Administration. As Secretary of Media that is the primary job. I readily admit in an Era when Melissa Rose, Custer, Aramec, and Civil Anarchy were still active that I was not the best SecMed. However, I took the responsibility seriously and gave the months I was asked to serve in this role my best efforts.

Chief of Staff: When it comes to setting and directing the domestic agenda I consider Chief of Staff to be second only to the CP. In some instances depending on the CP and their focus, CoS is second to none in that arena. I was Chief of Staff for one of WildOwl’s terms and both of MollyEmma’s terms. Looking back I credit the terms under Molly Emma for allowing me to enter the conversation as a serious option for Country President. Her terms were not super smooth; we were ejected from SIRIUS for Molly’s refusal to put the eUSA in a position to be wiped by antagonizing powerhouse Argentina. As such Molly, WildOwl, and DMJ were focused on Alliance meetings, carving out a place for the eUSA in a post SIRIUS erepublik, and the eventual creation of Pacifica. As a result of this as Chief of Staff it was my job to direct the domestic agenda.


Federalist Party President: I have served as Party President under a variety of circumstances. Over time however I began to specialize in reclamation projects. Maintaining activity in erepublik is hard. It is easy to become disinterested and allow yourself, your Party, your MU, and even your Nation to sink into Apathy and become disengaged. After my first handful of terms as PP, I reserved running for times when the apparatuses that made up the Federalist Party needed a jolt to bring them back to normal. My battle cry became “focus on the process”, I may or may not have stolen that from the Philadelphia 76ers the timing of it has blurred in my mind with the passage of time. Focusing solely on results in this game can and usually does lead to frustration. Sometimes despite your best efforts we come up shy in an election, our membership numbers go down, we lose voter share, etc. However if we focus on a process that allows members of our Party, MU, Nation to become engaged, participate, and/or care the results will usually follow. It is much like Field of Dreams: If we build it they will come.



Country President: I have been President of the eUSA 4 times in my erepublik career. The first two were defined by Airstrikes and our response to them. Thailand in an act of trolling that still to this day makes me angry decided to Airstrike New York on September 11th 2014. We spent more than a million cc to deflect that AS. Much as that day still angers me I will never forget messages of support even from enemy nations and MUs that set their prios to hit for the eUSA in order to show disapproval for the trolling of a real life century defining tragedy. The following month I was messaged by the President of Mexico. Powerhouse Argentina was airstriking into their territory in order to make their way to eUSA core territory. MexiBro was a very close ally then and we knew if Argentina could reach the eUSA they would be able to squat on our territory indefinitely. We spent almost 6 million cc deflecting that AS. I watched that battle into the wee hours of the night and worked closely with SCI to ensure funds for COs did not run dry. Mid way through the battle the MoFA of Argentina messaged me saying if we allowed the AS to land they would just have a TW with us. I told them we like Argentina and would love to have a good relationship, but we would hold firm and defend our allies and ourselves. We were successful in deflecting the AS. A month or two later we signed an MPP with Argentina

Term 3 came almost a year later. I felt things were slipping on the domestic front as far as engagement and executive media. Posting in the PDB had also in my opinion devolved. Many also felt my likely opponent BeachBunny was not who she said she was. Turns out we were right BeachBunny became BeachBro, but she was not the PTO threat we thought. That 3rd is the one I am personally most proud of. My goal was to give every major Party and MU a seat at the table. I gave Secretary level posts to every top 5 Party and PDB access to every major MU. The rules set down were simple, no fighting about what divides us. Instead we would work together in a common cause. I lost my bid for reelection, but that Cabinet excelled many of them went on to become CP themselves and I believe for a time the gaps that separate the diverse groups of the eUSA were for a time bridged.

For my 4th term it was Resource Wars 2.0, the resource wars were a smashing success the credit for which rests with the NSC team (Yui chief amongst them), the MUs, and the citizenry of the eUSA for their near flawless coordination. Lost in that term was a near MTO of the eUSA. The Dark Knight and Iran were angry over the seizure of 3 million cc an Iranian MU was storing in the Org that had been assigned to the USAF MU Rogue Squadron. During this time the eUSA had what we called a Defensive Dictatorship. Due to maintenance costs it had to be periodically renewed. After a cooldown as CO of USAF the CP would hit the button to do a military coup. Twice our efforts were defeated by TDK, Iran, and the COs they threw at us. The only thing that stopped TDK from outright installing himself as Dictator was the fact that we managed to push the button twice before he did.

So I messaged the prime people involved on the other side to see what could be done to stop this takeover. They unequivocally replied they wanted the seized 3 million cc back. I told them that it required a vote by Congress and would take some time to go through, and asked for time to work with Congress. TDK replied “no money no honey”. So I started a dialog with Congress but when it became obvious we just would not reach a conclusion in time to stop another takeover attempt, I bought the 3 million cc myself and paid the Iranian MU back. True to their word the takeover attempts stopped. Under normal circumstances a hostile dictatorship would have been a disaster, but in the midst of the resource wars with so much potential for long term damage it was beyond a disaster. As CP, I considered it my responsibility to prevent such a scenario.



Again I tell you this not to honor myself, but to give you a clear view of who I am and what I am about. In a recent conversation with Melissa Rose she asked me if I would be okay with stepping aside if someone else wanted to run. I told her I have been CP 4 times. Unless I have a fantastic vision in place for a potential administration blocking someone else would be more about vanity than anything worthwhile. With that said I believe that I have a fantastic plan in place for the next several months.



Last month I supported Paul Proteus for CP, but also along with Paul made it clear I think Groot is a great person and would happily contribute to his term for the betterment of the eUSA. So it is that Paul and I have jumpstarted the WHPR. We have also had writing and weird contests with prizes. Things like that will continue if I am elected CP. We will also kick in the doors of Education/Interior/Citizen Affairs. There is a laundry list of old programs to dust off, bewbs4newbs, AARP, Meals on Wheels, Question of the Day, American University, Bank Up to Strength Up, Tank Up to Rank Up, Stack the Wall, etc. Yet we are also in the unique position of not having to be slavishly tied to the past. Yes I am for reexamining old programs to see why we abandoned them or if we should have, but we can let the past die kill it even if we must.

That said in the past we held ourselves, our leaders, and our prospective leaders to a higher standard. So many players have left us and of those of us who remain many have downgraded to 2 clicker status. This game is shoddy at best. In years past I compared erepublik to a simplistic backdrop on a stage that we the community of the eUSA have constructed a far more complex meta process to buttress and complete what Plato has given us. For many years it has worked, but now piece by piece we surrender to apathy and disengagement. Our community is only dead if we allow it to be. So it is that as a candidate I am committing myself to “Focus on the Process” I will for the next 10 days publish every other day. I will message the 6ther Parties for their endorsements, I will start a Q&A with the top 6 Parties, I will build a team of rivals from every major group in our nation that wants a seat at the table. I will mm until I start getting complaints about spamming, and even then I will continue. Win or lose I will focus on restoring the process.

As CP I will put players that want to be involved in positions of strength and interest for them. I will then publish articles extolling the excellent job they are doing. It is my intent to help those in my Cabinet to position themselves for future CP runs of their own. I will ask the admins of the eUSA forums to restore the Executive section of the Boards. I will also restore the Press Briefings that Aramec and Scolbert used to inform, and entertain us all. I will as CP work with Congress to establish a common direction. In years past Congress has developed a well deserved reputation as Kongress, a near directionless food fight of personal attacks, naked hostility, and grudges. Yet Congress also has a well deserved reputation for backing the agenda of the Executive. Over the course of my 4 terms as CP I have always worked well with Congress in getting the eUSA moving.



Lastly it is my intent to engage with the citizens of the eUSA through any and all possible means. Presidential Media, WHPR, DoCA any government org that has a newspaper.The goal is to get those orgs publishing in the areas of their purview on a regular basis. A TB administration and candidacy will be open to feedback. This is our community and our country if there is a demand for a program or service that has not been thought of I will be open to creating it.

I have never been the CP or Candidate for CP that generates much buzz. I ran against BB twice and each time she had the cult following and enthusiasm, same for Gnilraps and Aramec. As CP my Administrations did a workmanlike job and rose to the occasion no matter what was thrown at us but did not have the flair of a Josh Frost. I guess what I am saying is I know I am not a sexy choice for CP. However, I am the person who gets things done, positions things for the future, helps others with no strings attached, and then steps aside to let others lead. I truly believe that is what we and our beleaguered community need right now. I thank you for taking the time to read this. Until next time please consider voting TB4CP.