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Sopo
Opinions Editor
Sopo @ 8:18 PM CST: @HEM is going to be "eating dinner" so I'll be taking over this liveblog tonight for the Second Minister debate. As a reminder, we have a poll out in the field open for another 40-ish minutes, and I'll be trying to push out those results while simultaneously reading the debate and doing this... wish me luck
Sopo @ 8:21 PM CST: We're going to have Istillian (Dax), Kuramia (OD), Rachael (Calvin), and Bowzin (Cuddles) facing off in this debate. General sentiment seems to be that Calvin and OD had the strongest performances last night. Therefore, Istillian and Bowzin have a bit more pressure on them to do well to make up for their running mates. Will we see some fireworks again tonight? Time will tell.
HEM @ 8:36 PM CST: Sopo edited out my comment above AND is making me convert my time to CST. What bullshit.
Sopo @ 8:37 PM CST: this is very exciting. I am thankful not to be moderating so I can fully enjoy this without having to actually be involved
HEM @ 8:38 PM CST: Opening statements are pretty boring. Bowzin is already laying the groundwork for explaining why he's running with Cuddles and why Cuddles is the right person to be First Minister.
Sopo @ 8:40 PM CST: I realize I endorsed Calvin earlier today but I promise I am not a schill and will provide thoughtful and mostly unbiased commentary.
HEM @ 8:43 PM CST: Kuramia flexing her experience muscle early, reminding people of her strong resume.
HEM @ 8:44 PM CST: Bowzin: "I will just be a Second Cuddles"
Can Europeia handle more than one Cuddles????
Sopo @ 8:44 PM CST: I think Cuddles and Bowzin are the only ones offering a "partnership" model rather than a "deputy" model. Probably a smart move.
Sopo @ 8:45 PM CST: Kuramia has a LOT of followups...
HEM @ 8:46 PM CST: LOL yeah she had a question for everyone. Continuing OD's work at staying at the center of the debate, though perhaps with a slightly less hostile touch.
HEM @ 8:47 PM CST: LOL Bowzin is not amused at Kuramia's question: "Kura, I am already involved in a multitude of Ministries and Councils, and contribute to them frequently."
HEM @ 8:48 PM CST: Do you know who has gotten a lot of love in this debate? Fucking Whitmark and Bri Shakespeare.
HEM @ 8:49 PM CST: Also i just took a shot for each time the word "accountability" was in that awkwardly worded question. I just took three (3) shots.
Sopo @ 8:51 PM CST: Actually Bowzin's response is interesting because he's openly admitted to not being a great minister of radio. I guess that's not one he'll continue to be involved in...?
HEM @ 8:53 PM CST: I will say, the benefit of having basically the same question asked over two nights is seeing how both ends of the ticket answer it. Last night Cuddles basically said he'd trust his Ministers over himself and insinuated that there'd be a high bar to terminate someone for insubordination. Bowzin's answer is definitely different.
Sopo @ 8:53 PM CST: Didn't Cuddles say he'd release everything including private chat logs if he fired someone?
HEM @ 8:55 PM CST: Istillian seems to be saying that since the public does such a great job keeping people accountable, he won't have to do much of that. I think the idea is that you want to head off a problem before it becomes obvious to the public.
Sopo @ 8:55 PM CST: Bowzin trying to get a question in for Kuramia who so far is dominating open debate
HEM @ 8:58 PM CST: Still early, but Kuramia's responses seem to be the most fleshed out and full so far
Sopo @ 8:58 PM CST: I need some spice. This is pretty bland so far
HEM @ 9:00 PM CST: Interrupting this debate with some commentary on civic duty from one of Europeia's most storied and celebrated leaders:
Writinglegend:
what if I didn't read the debate lmao
oh
it's just a support poll
sure
probably won't be online to vote LOL
Sopo @ 9:02 PM CST: Ok, I closed the poll, I should have results posted soon. Stay tuned!!!
HEM @ 9:05 PM CST: I also have some inside intel on how OD plans on winning the election.......
HEM @ 9:07 PM CST: tl;dr of the candidates strength on the ticket compared to the First Minister:
Istillian: I don't know how to lead
Rachael: I post on the RMB
Kuramia: OD will be the cop that punches people on Law and Order SVU but I will be the good female cop who uses her words
Bowzin: I will use tarot cards and chicken entrails to somehow make sense of cuddles
Sopo @ 9:10 PM CST: Honestly I'm not sure it's a good look that there's not a plan B for OD's aggressive leanings if Kura isn't there to calm him. I think OD's response to you, @HEM, on this issue was a lot better. Kura makes it sound like she has to be there to temper him
HEM @ 9:12 PM CST: Yeah I think the visual of Kuramia needing to run off to the restroom at work to calm OD down took this whole conversation into the wrong direction. I get what she's saying but.....yikes.
HEM @ 9:18 PM CST: We're about to get a sneak peak of the Cabinet...maybe...
Sopo @ 9:19 PM CST: Poll results are out https://forums.europeians.com/index.php?threads/dead-heat-as-first-minister-election-approaches.10048717/
HEM @ 9:21 PM CST:
Istillian - Communications
Kuramia - Communications
Bowzin - Integration
Rachael - Integration
Sopo @ 9:22 PM CST: Rach means Interior right? I think Calvin is merging the two...
HEM @ 9:23 PM CST: I thought Calvin was getting rid of integration, yeah
Sopo @ 9:23 PM CST: If she meant Interior, then maybe she should have mentioned recruiting also
HEM @ 9:25 PM CST: Kuramia is asking a TON of questions which gives the perception of being really experienced, but also stifles any real "debate" because people are too busy answering her questions. Probably why this has been so boring.
Sopo @ 9:26 PM CST: One thing I will give to Kuramia is the focus on dispatches and the Upvote Squad. That has really been dead, and no one has called the current administration out for it.
Sopo @ 9:28 PM CST: @HEM on the topic of the questions...I allowed this last night but the laundry list really isn't very interesting and preempts the other candidates.
Sopo @ 9:29 PM CST: This is a good question for Kuramia because her experience positions her best to take over. I'd honestly worry about someone as new as Istillian falling into the big chair partway through the term.
Sopo @ 9:31 PM CST: At this point it really feels like Kuramia has run the show and come out ahead for it, as I thought might be the case. The other candidates aren't bad, necessarily, but she's driving the debate. And Bowzin is actually good here too, because the partner model of FM/SM means things wouldn't change too drastically.
HEM @ 9:32 PM CST: Seems like Kuramia didn't read Bowzin's answer about him and Cuddles being co-FMs.
Sopo @ 9:34 PM CST: Meanwhile debate discussion in Eurochat has been overtaken by the Drecqashaan Bri case discussion which I honestly can't even pretend to understand right now.
HEM @ 9:35 PM CST: Bowzin's question to Ist about whether he'd be running if someone hadn't answered him to run (???) is kinda weird
Sopo @ 9:36 PM CST: I think he's trying to emphasize that Ist is inexperienced... but let's be honest, he's not really any worse off than Cuddles, who, while he's been around longer, only has a partial (poor) term in Cabinet under his belt. That line of attack would make more sense from Rach or Kuramia who have more experienced tickets.
HEM @ 9:39 PM CST: I think Istillian's honesty in the response serves him well. Lots of relatively inexperienced people have used deputy roles as a springboard to the big chair and done well.
Sopo @ 9:40 PM CST: I think this was a bad answer for Ist. To essentially say he wouldn't be prepared to take over as FM if needed is not a great look. He could have instead said he'd surround himself with good people and a strong SM....Ok, so we disagree
HEM @ 9:40 PM CST: hey, I'm just looking at your inexperienced VP picks of Vinage and Writinglegend as an example!
Sopo @ 9:41 PM CST: But in the context of succession I don't think it's smart to say you're not ready I'm pretty sure both of them had more Cabinet experience at that point! But that's ok, I think people know what they're getting with Dax and Ist. I don't think it's a big secret that Ist is a relative newcomer, I just think he could have framed his response better
HEM @ 9:45 PM CST: tl;dr closing statements:
Bowzin: there's no way we are going to win and I look forward to continue serving you as Grand Admiral.
Kuramia: I was going to tell you to vote your conscience, but actually fuck your conscience and just vote for OD / Kuramia!!!
Rachael: thank god nobody brought up that I once said i hate politics kthxbai and good night Europeia
Istillian: I sure have learned a lot about how much you guys suck
Sopo @ 9:46 PM CST: Cuddles only received one vote in the first round of our latest poll.... so either one of them didn't vote, or one of them didn't vote for their own ticket
Sopo @ 9:47 PM CST: This was not quite as interesting as the FM debate and thankfully not as long. I think Kuramia carried it the whole way, with admirable performances from Bowzin and Ist, perhaps slightly less solid from Rachael. But no one really flubbed it, and for the frontrunner SMs, that's probably enough not to change things. My real question is... will Kuramia's good performance change anything for OD, who is really lagging in the polls?
HEM @ 9:53 PM CST: Kuramia was definitely strongest here, but she kinda wasted a lot of energy going after everyone with her rolodex of questions instead of focusing and trying to take someone out of the game. As it is, I think this debate has been pretty low impact. Rachael had a weird moment where she forgot her Cabinet position (and then described her duties as if this position was going to exist) but nobody really called her on it. I think this is pretty low impact.
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