[Presidential Address] Constitutional Crisis or Congressional Treason
DMV3
Today Canada finds itself in an unprecedented position, our Congress has violated the Constitution and ignored an Executive Order. They did not overturn an Executive Order which is their right, but they ignored it at the cost of our war efforts. This is an act of Treason and must not be ignored.
Are we a nation of laws or can individuals simply do as they please without repercussions?
A nation is built upon a foundation of laws and the principle that no man regardless of their status should be above the law. Yet, here we are. We have 15 Congressmembers who have violated the Constitution and Congressional Rules of Order for their own selfish gain, and by doing so have brought into question the fabric of our democracy. As President I can not ignore these transgressions and I will not ignore this treasonous act by our legislative branch. I no longer recognize this Congress' right to govern on behalf of the people and I will act accordingly. These criminals can not be allowed to hold their positions in government and jeopardize the security of our nation through acts of treason and through their defeatist attitudes.
Comments
Very fair and sensible; should pass yourself an enabling act and burn down the reichstag
Bullsh*t baffles brains ? Goebbels is jealous.
what part of the constitution did they ignore. what does it say. what is meant by ignore. how is executive orders described in your constitution. when are your orders not executive. what powers belong to you what powers belong to them. how did this cause warfare. this is not a good article as it requires inside knowledge which I as foreigner dont have.
I issued an executive order regarding raising taxes. Congress recognized that order as lawful by proposing it in game and then votes down the law without overturning thr executive order in the Congressional forums as is required by our Constitution and Congressional Rules of Order. They have ignored the rules governing our society and have jeopardized the war effort all for their personal greed.
Actually there's nothing in the Constitution requiring that the vote take place on the forums.
From the Government Charter of Canada:
Section II: Congressional Rules of Order
1. The Congress of eCanada
a. The Congress of eCanada is elected on the 25th of every month. Congress holds the freedom to:
iii. Vote on any proposal posted in forum by the Speaker of Congress or in game by a fellow congressman;
iv. Overturn any Executive Order with a majority of 50% + 1 vote of Congress or overturn any Presidential veto with the approval of 66% + 1 of Congress within 7 days of the President issuing the order or veto in question.
So they voted in game, as they are free to do, on a proposal to implement your Executive Order, which is your prerogative to give, and it was defeated by a vote of 13 Yes to 15 No. With 28 votes cast, 15 No's is exactly 50% + 1 vote meaning that Congress has, in effect, overturned your Executive Order.
Furthermore, I am unsure on what basis you are choosing to stop recognizing Congress' ability to govern on behalf of the people.
The second theoretical basis for powers in eCanada - both Presidential and Congressional - is the Charter. While it does outline how and when it itself can be suspended or amended, alas the President choosing to do so is not an option.
The first actual basis for power is in game mechanics. Unfortunately for you, Congressmen do not cease to be Congressmen just because you don't like them and their choices.
So, as the Charter still remains valid and unchanged as well as unsuspended in whole or in part, and as they all remain Congressmen in game, I am unsure what you hope to gain from refusing to recognize Congress' powers. You are free to do as you please - including ignoring Congress altogether (you wouldn't be the first President to take this route) but then again, so can Congress - the Charter and the game says so.
"Are we a nation of laws or can individuals simply do as they please without repercussions?"
The latter...
Obviously you missed the memo.
No one is interested in the meta game, the forum or any rules. Everyone just does what feels good for them. Meanwhile you are CP and as such responsible for bringing entertainment to the masses.
Do keep in mind as you fling poop at us, that congress can impeach you.
You can, but I'm sure the people wouldn't appreciate you impeaching the man winning our war while you traitors are trying to give the land we conquered back to our enemies.
Wait what, is it a nation with less damage or a man winning the war against us now.. You're showing some inconsistencies mate.
Canada is beating Germany, but it is the COs I'm paying for that are winning the battles. Welcome to eRepublik where one man's cash can spell disaster for an entire nation.
So basically not canada wins those wars but generics stramgers that you buy with your money do. Have you ever considered hmmhmmm ... just RENTING the regions for a few days?
I would have been more than happy to rent eGerman regions, but you guys NEed us so I had no choice but to defeat your pitiful armies.
Section II: The Executive Government of eCanada
1. The President of Canada
a. Definition - The President of Canada is the head of the government as chosen in-game each month by the citizens of eCanada. The Executive Government (aka.The Executive) includes the President and any people appointed as part of the President's cabinet.
b. The President has the right to:
i) control and delegate access to individuals to control and access government assets;
ii) introduce any motion with the same rights as a congressman or give a Presidential Order to Congress on any issue that affects the forum community or involves distribution of government funds. Any order involving funds must have a 24hr cooling off period to allow for congress to voice any concerns;
iii) veto any motion passed by Congress that falls outside in-game mechanics within 7 days of approved legislation. The Speaker of the House must be informed of any Veto;
iii) create and remove Cabinet Ministries and to appoint members of the eCanadian community to these posts.
For funzzy.
Okay, if Congress broke some rules let’s see what the CP can do accordingly:
b. The President has the right to:
i) control and delegate access to individuals to control and access government assets;
(i doesn’t seem to apply to this situation)
ii) introduce any motion with the same rights as a congressman or give a Presidential Order to Congress on any issue that affects the forum community or involves distribution of government funds. Any order involving funds must have a 24hr cooling off period to allow for congress to voice any concerns;
(“any issue that affects the forum community or involves distribution of government funds”…was this Presidential/Executive Order to raise taxes? If so, then ii does not give the CP power to order Congress to make in-game proposals. Doesn’t look like any rules were broken here)
iii) veto any motion passed by Congress that falls outside in-game mechanics within 7 days of approved legislation. The Speaker of the House must be informed of any Veto;
(doesn’t sound like Congress was passing a motion outside game mechanics, but rather refused to comply with an EO that rests outside game mechanics – nope, iii does not apply)
iii) create and remove Cabinet Ministries and to appoint members of the eCanadian community to these posts.
(another iii? this charter needs some maintenance…anyway, the best that DMV can do is remove non-compliant Congress members from a Cabinet position)
The only power the CP appears to have in regards to enforcing EOs would be to strip these Congressmen of forum access/privileges. Doesn’t really seem worth the trouble of publishing an article like this that would damage the kind of recent progress for eCanada that Dill describes below. Not unless DMV is looking for a casus belli to go after something else. I wonder what that could be?
The Charter is dead and only the game exists which is kinda sad really as an organized and most of the time spirited debate made the game more interesting.
If Congress and the executive bump heads there is only one ultimate solution for each side but who will pull the trigger first and who will bring the most guns to the fight?
Which is sad when you consider that everything was starting to come together for Canada. Whether you think I knew what I was doing or not, FA was working. I realize it wasn't just me but a group effort. We had good relationships. That's slipping away. Orion will not work with a rebellious Congress calling the shots. People are already wondering what's going on.
Congress has already pulled the trigger. Canada has a traumatic head wound. Please continue to put the country out of it's misery.
Better Party Presidents
Less Crappy Candidates
Who are the offenders?
Name Names....
Secret ballot so who is to say.?
I would say that the PPs of the CPF and MDP are at least partially to blame. Both of these parties ran fewer candidates than the number of Congressmen their proportion of the vote would have allotted them. In other words, anyone who ran for these two parties got into Congress. Were they all worthy of being selected for Congress, had those PPs had a choice of candidates? From the results we've seen so far, it would seem not.
I wouldn't necessarily let the other parties off the hook either. For all we know the same situation happened to them, too, with the only difference being that they ran the exact same number of candidates as Congressmen ultimately appointed.
If we can't even have parties run a full slate of legitimate Congress candidates, what faith can we still have in the Congressional system?
Maybe it's time to go back to the old boys club, and tell these noobs to piss off
Congress should be lined up and shot.......wait,......... I'm in congress..... all congress except me should be lined up and shot.
If you did the rounding up and shooting you could use that as an excuse for not being in line.
Just give the man the taxes so we can stay in Europe for a while longer... We can always lower them back down to 1% while we complain about lack of war again.
Want to ignore th congress well become dictator and start it, if not well you are stuck with us.
I put to vote first before your EO the raise of tax you ask congress refuse then you ask another congress man to put it again and said was EO.
Well pretty much the same vote, asking the same question and expecting a different result in 24 hours period with out new argument what you expect?
I expect Congress to honor our Constitution and thr Congressional Rules of Order.
I forgot over half the people elected are only there fo the 5 gold and the medal. God forbid they honor the laws of eCanada.
From the Constitution:
b. The President has the right to:
ii) introduce any motion with the same rights as a congressman or give a Presidential Order to Congress on any issue that affects the forum community or involves distribution of government funds.
I still don't see how Congress broke any rules. It doesn't look like your EO could apply to a vote on taxes. If I'm wrong on that, I'd be happy to have the laws of eCanada explained to me.
[removed]
Is taxation not the redistribution of funds from the people to the government?
I thought taxation was about collecting funds, rather than distributing them. But since this is a game with its own rules and its own definitions of words in those rules, maybe in eCanada "redistribution" means both gathering and giving out funds. It depends on precedent and how much people really care about the 'word' of the law.
But you know what, probably Congress didn't choose to vote contrary to the EO because of a misunderstanding over word meanings. Sounds like some were confused rather than treasonous. Maybe the real crisis here is a breakdown of communication between the Exec and Congress (just a guess on my part).
Congress honoured our constitution and the rules of Order. No version of the constitution gives the president jurisdiction to decide on the rate of taxation, or to dictate to congressmembers how they will vote.
It is probably wise to increase the rate of tax. A reasoned and non-combative approach to relevant opinion leaders will achieve the desired result. However, if the desired result is pure emotional drama and NOT increased revenue, well then you have chosen the correct path.
Actually Oliver, that interpretation of thr Constitution is the sole jurisdiction of the Speaker. And since Congress did not elect a Speaker until today as a sign of the utter disrespect for their duty. Whether or not I had that right was up in the air. So as far as anyone should have been concerned it was a lawful order until the Speaker ruled otherwise.
Of course if Congress had done their job in the first place by electing a Speaker when they took office over two weeks ago this article would have never been necessary, but alas the majority of Congress only cared about their shiny medals and the 5 gold. It wasn't until I pressed Congress on electing a Speaker that they got off their lazy a**es and did it. Say what you want for my methods, but too many people respond better to a stick than a carrot.
We're finally seeing signs life out of Congress and the nation, you're welcome.
dennis: the congress voted against the tax increase. Twice. They didn't respond to the stick. Hence you are unhinged and say silly stuff. If, as you say, there is some unclarity in the constitution which only a speaker can legitimately resolve, it isn't appropriate for you to make believe that only your weirdo interpretation is correct, as a pretext to call players traitors etc.
I would have preferred to see a tax increase. I think it can be explained quite simply and plenty of support rallied. There are also plenty of reasons to not raise taxes by 100percent including an emotional distaste for doing what the bully wants. You may be correct, however, about the best means to achieve your goals.
I have three words for you my dear friend, Richard Potato Boat! Wait, that came out wrong, lemme rephrase... Dick Tater Ship. Yep, that sounds better. 😉
@Oliver: It seems a bit dramatic but isn't the best part of drama the fact that it's not boring?
@DMV: The Charter says that the Speaker is, "the ultimate interpreter of the Government Charter of eCanada..." That's why I give my interpretation, Oliver his, and you yours and known of us are necessarily wrong until we've heard from the Speaker otherwise. That said, I have to agree with Oliver when he wrote, "it isn't appropriate for you to make believe that only your weirdo interpretation is correct, as a pretext to call players traitors etc." Then again, see my first point to Oliver above.
And I just fixed the maskings for Congress. *sigh*
You're always the best, it doesn't make the majority of Congress this term useless. Hopefully the next session of Congress is better.
Oh, in the name of Dio. Will people who write comments (especially the shit, pointless ones) please do so in fewer words. It would make things easier for me to read. And it's all about me. K?
if only there were game mechanics that would allow a player to take singular control over a country.
Its not like you to get pissy about this kind of stuff. Don't pretend you actually give a shit about eCanada.