Smokin' Poll: Senate General - Aug '20

Common-Sense Politics

Common-Sense Politics

Audentes Fortuna Juvat
Deputy Minister
Honoured Citizen
Citizen
Pronouns
He/Him
​

Over the weekend 27 Europeians weighed in on the general election for Senate slated for later this month. All indicators point to an interesting contest with the Senate as a whole underwater in terms of job satisfaction and a plethora of potential candidates demonstrating strong support. Let's see what we've learned in this latest edition of Smokin' Poll.

How long have you been active in Europeia?

More than 5 years - 37%
2 to 5 years - 25.9%
Less than 6 months - 18.5%
6 months to 1 year - 11.1%
1 to 2 years - 7.4%

Who did you vote for in this past Senate by-election?

Malshaan - 74.1%
Forilian - 25.9%

"Age" demographics matter on election day. Malashaan won voters who had been here more than one year in an 84-16% romp while those here less than one year were split 50-50. Those are two drastically different paradigms that candidates need to consider. Here's to hoping the next question gives us more information on this topic!

What are the primary reasons you voted the way you did?

- Experience
- Forilian had a good platform I felt.
- Experience, readiness to make an impact right away, bring balance to the Senate
- It is Mal. Beyond that we need someone with advanced knowledge to sit in Prim's seat.
- I am the candidate :P
- Malashaan had experience I trusted, and was aligned with my political stances.
- Legal Knowledge and Experience
- Malashaan is the GOAT Senator and Forilian is Forilian. Easy choice.
- Mal was needed in this Senate
- I wanted Mal to win and had the vote been closer I would have voted for him, however as it was clear Mal would win I voted for Forilian to voice my support for him in the general election.
- I like him I guess
- I plan on voting for Forilian if they stand in the general election, and I felt Malashaan would bring some structure and forward momentum to the current debates.
- The Senate needed a good legislator
- He was what the senate needed at the time
- I prefer him
- Forilian has a lot of perspective, wanted to see him in the Senate for a shorter period to see how he'd do
- The previous Senate seemed, frankly, impotent at passing the one bill in the front of them, and I have confidence Mal will unblock that constipated turd.
- Mal's experience seemed like a good fit for this senate.
- Support on Arnhelm City
- Malashaan is a legislative genius, Forilian is enthusiastic but not ready for the prime-time yet
- The senate needed an experienced legislator to take the helm .
- Experienced candidate.
- We need an experienced hand cause the Protocol stuff is a mess.
- Fori and Mal were the only 2 choices since others didn't post platforms, and it was a bit of a tough choice. Ultimately though some of Fori's previous behavior during the Presidential election and questionable temperament tipped the scale towards Mal.
- Mal was gonna win anyway
- Newer face

15 of 22 substantive (we are using that word loosely) comments indicated that experience was a major factor in their decision. Only 3 mentioned platforms or issues. Another 3 were some version of "cuz' newcomer".

I'm going to step out of correspondent mode for a second and speak to an issue that personally bothers me. I want to speak directly to the person who referred to the sitting Senate as "that constipated turd". First of all, a turd can't be constipated but that's really not important right now. I want to tell you that the fact that you haven't said something like that in public but felt comfortable doing it here is cowardly. I want to tell you that there is a line between hard nose political commentary and being unkind, you are crossing it, and I'm calling on you to stop. In my early years here, I crossed this line more than once. I have learned that I sometimes have to think about things before I post to make my point in a constructive way even when what I have to say isn't unkind at all. I'm imperfect and I still make mistakes but I am committed to being a better person and a better friend to this community which has been a huge part of my life for almost 11 years. I invite you to join me in this commitment because right now, you're not living Europeian values and we need you back. Okay, that's enough of that.

How satisfied are you with the performance of the Senate as a whole?

Very satisfied - 0%
Somewhat satisfied - 44.4%
Unsure - 7.4%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 34%
Very unsatisfied - 11.1%

The Senate is underwater as a whole, which is something we expected to see. However, we are seeing more forgiving job satisfaction numbers for individuals, with once exception. It's hard to put one's finger on why. It's not issues. Those arguing forcefully on either side of recent debates have similar approval. It's not willingness to compromise. The most obstinate members seem to have recovered. Perhaps we are fickle and unfocused as an electorate? Maybe this poll is a fluke? Open to ideas.

How satisfied are you with the performance of Speaker GraVandius?

Very satisfied - 19.2%
Somewhat satisfied - 34.6%
Unsure - 7.7%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 23.1%
Very unsatisfied - 15.4%

How satisfied are you with the performance of Senator Calvin Coolidge?

Very satisfied - 18.5%
Somewhat satisfied - 33.3%
Unsure - 14.8%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 18.5%
Very unsatisfied - 14.8%

How satisfied are you with the performance of Senator Darkslayer?

Very satisfied - 37%
Somewhat satisfied - 33.3%
Unsure - 7.4%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 22.2%
Very unsatisfied - 0%

How satisfied are you with the performance of Senator Lime?

Very satisfied - 11.1%
Somewhat satisfied - 25.9%
Unsure - 22.2%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 37%
Very unsatisfied - 3.7%

Every other Senator is bouncing back from a rough showing in recent polling except Lime. His woes continue later on in this one.

How satisfied are you with the performance of Senator Mr. Verteger?

Very satisfied - 51.9%
Somewhat satisfied - 25.9%
Unsure - 0%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 14.8%
Very unsatisfied - 7.4%

How satisfied are you with the performance of Senator Pichtonia?

Very satisfied - 25.9%
Somewhat satisfied - 33.3%
Unsure - 14.8%
Somewhat unsatisfied - 14.8%
Very unsatisfied - 11.1%

How many members should the next Senate have?

Depends on how many people run - 33.4%
7- 29.6%
5 - 14.8%
6 - 7.4%
8 - 7.4%
9 - 3.7%
10 or more - 3.7%

Which individual(s) would you encourage to run for Senate in the upcoming election?


First, the 'stand and you're in' category. Malashaan's stock seems to have rose back to what might be considered normal for him following his victory in last week's by-election. Perception of Lloenflys' skill set and interests have a lot of common threads with Mal's so it's no surprise to see him where he is. Darkslayer is perhaps better known (and acclaimed) for his work in executive government than in the Senate but he seems to have figured out his own unique recipe for electoral success in Europeia and could be someone to watch in the run up to the next presidential election as well. Finally, it appears Euro's latest little engine that could is a shoe-in, not a long shot. If these four stand, they will win. Take it to the bank.​


It's a mixed bag for some of our incumbent senators. On one hand, they're certainly not getting the kind of support they'd like. On the other, they are by no means in a weak position, especially when you consider that a few people ahead of them are unlikely to run. Siph has been polling well recently. Might be time to make a move.​

Lime's in trouble. He's the only incumbent who would be a clear underdog in a re-election bid. Kuramia comes in lower than she's used to. HEM registers support even though he really only lives in the Republic Square and the unknowable borderlands of Admin world these days. We wouldn't be surprised to see a solid campaign from someone like Ervald who, along with Kuramia, is probably the strongest in this grouping.​
This polling and subsequent analysis does not seek to disqualify any potential candidates, included or not. I used my own personal judgement and included anyone I viewed to be a serious candidate based on a number of factors.
 
These are sure some interesting results.
 
Not terribly surprising, given the recent round of polling, like you said. It does sort of strike me as odd that there's no clear reason why the Senate is getting such bad numbers. Fatigue over the VP stuff, maybe?
 
Honestly I think less of our active members follow what's going on in the Senate than at any time in our history. They do hear people who they think know stuff talking about it and that commentary ends up having an undue influence. So they know they're supposed to think the Senate has been not so great but don't know who or what to blame for it.
 
Seems plausible enough to me. I'll reiterate that I think some good could come of the Speaker, perhaps, writing an end of week summary of everything that's transpired in the Senate. Would help to summarize what's been happening, as I know from what I've seen, this Senate can be a little...verbose.
 
I think individually there's some really strong Senators here, there just seemed to be a lot of derailing and difficulties in the conversations over the term; a great write-up though CSP, these were interesting results.
 
Interesting... 🤔

This was a great article CSP! Informative
 
As CSP said I think that most people are very disengaged with what the Senate does, either because they are not interested in the legislative aspect or the region or specifically don’t care about the Senate. Due to the two, major flair ups of heated discussion around the arnhelm issue and the VP amendment, that is the entirety of the exposure to the Senate for those people. Thus if all you are aware of is a thing you see other people mad about, you probably won’t give the Senate a good rating.

People have also generally languished about the Senate taking too much time to discuss the VP issue but it’s not like there were other efforts put on hold in the meantime. The Senate can discuss as many topics as it sees fit and throughout the term I have tried to introduce proposals and ideas as I found them. We passed significant voting reform, laid out a guideline for oversight and made a few smaller changes along this way. I won’t say that this was an amazing Senate term but every Senate can’t vastly overhaul our laws so if you disapprove I don’t know what a lot of you were expecting. This was a fine term and all of my colleagues generally were active and did their jobs. In the wake of executive modernization, we did alright.
 
Im going to interpret the fact that I'm polling on par with Drecq as being the most impressive achievement of my political career.
 
Common-Sense Politics said:
Lime's in trouble. He's the only incumbent who would be a clear underdog in a re-election bid.
Click to expand...
Did I miss myself in those tiers, or did I poll even lower than 33.3 percent? Either way, thanks for these results, and I agree with GraV and CSP that I think people are only seeing the bad from this Senate and ignoring a lot of the good, but it is what it is.
 
Honestly I'm disappointed with these results, and unfortunately having no comments means it's difficult to know where I should focus on improving. So if anyone who gave me an "unsatisfied" rating would be willing I'd love for you to message me privately with your feedback. I won't judge or get annoyed with you, I'm genuinely interested in knowing where you want me to improve.

Following from the EBC poll, a lack of viability is apparently a concern for some. While my Senate activity may have dipped around when I became MinComm I think I've been active throughout the term. I mean just after the EBC poll I proposed new legislation to the Senate, so it's a little annoying that people appear to think I've not been active in the Senate.
 
Calvin Coolidge said:
Common-Sense Politics said:
Lime's in trouble. He's the only incumbent who would be a clear underdog in a re-election bid.
Click to expand...
Did I miss myself in those tiers, or did I poll even lower than 33.3 percent? Either way, thanks for these results, and I agree with GraV and CSP that I think people are only seeing the bad from this Senate and ignoring a lot of the good, but it is what it is.
Click to expand...
Bruh, I fucked up. Hold on. I am so sorry.
 
Wait, no I didn't. You're there. There appear to be broken images that I can't see or fix so for reference, here are the candidate support results:

Frontrunners
Malashaan - 85.2
Lloenflys - 74.1
Darkslayer - 70.4
Forilian - 70.4

Second Tier
Drecq - 63
Vert - 63
Ist- 59.3
Pichto - 55.6
Siph - 51.9
CSP - 51.9
Grav - 51.9
McEntire - 51.9
Peeps - 51.9
Calvin - 44.4
Maowi - 44.4

Dark Horses
Ervald - 40.7
Kuramia - 40.7
SEC 40.7
UV - 40.7
Aex - 37
HEM - 37
DH - 33.3
Lime - 33.3
Sky- 33.3
Seva 33.3
 
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I think some of the images are playing up on the second list. Looks like there should be four more images after GraV.

Screenshot_20200811-191012_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
Thank you for calling out the whole toxicity of the constipated turd comment. You can say stuff like that with actual words and not "edgy" descriptors that serve as fluff. Give real comments!

And finally people are understanding I don't like being in the Senate. Thank you!
 
I took the poll but didn't give much in terms of commentary. I'll raise my hand and say I'm in the camp of players who just don't follow the Senate closely as of late.
 
Results of our flash poll:



1. Malashaan - 19 (86.4%)
2. Lloenflys - 17 (77.3%)
3. Istillian - 15 (68.2%)
4. Darkslayer - 14 (63.6%)
Forilian - 14 (63.6%)
6. Pichtonia - 13 (59.1%)
7. Peeps - 12 (54.5%)
8. Astrellan - 10 (45.5%)
CSP - 10 (45.5%)
Maowi - 10 (45.5%)
11. GraVandius - 9 (40.9%)
McEntire - 9 (40.9%)9 (40.9%)
13. Calvin Coolidge - 8 (36.4%)
14. SkyGreen24 - 6 (27.3%)
15. Lime - 5 (22.7%)
16. Ervald - 2 (9.1%)
17. Aexnidaral - 1 (4.5%)
Rotasu - 1 (4.5%)
Seva - 1 (4.5%)
 
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