The Middle Earth General Election: THE ELECTION DEBATE

[Jubal]

OK, the Election Campaign now begins truly in earnest.

The results of the hustings round were that Green Arda, MACHO, MEAD, and the WTA are all major parties in the election, with the SSS as a minor party.

FOR VOTERS:
This is your chance to really hammer the politicians on what YOUR constituency wants. They've argued with one another a fair bit, now it's a case of them having to answer lots of questions from around Middle-earth (though I imagine we'll still argue amongst ourselves a fair bit)...

FOR CANDIDATES:
From HanSolo's SSS, I need your choices of where to stand. You get to either pick five constituences where you think you'll do best, or one broad region (the regions as shown in the main thread). You should ideally declare these as soon as possible so people know where they can vote for you!

From everyone, I need details of your election operation. You must publicly declare your leader's seat and your deputy leader's seat; you will get decent sized boosts in both of these. You can also "deploy" four other smaller Get Out the Vote operations, which you do not have to publicly reveal, though you can do (if you want to keep them secret, message me with your choices). You can only put one GOTV operation in a constituency, but you can double them up with a leader's seat, and as it's STV your leader and deputy leader can stand in the same seat.

Also, obviously, there are questions to be answered. Please try and stick to the questions asked, in this round. Go go go!

This round continues until April 25 or thereabouts (I've slipped the time forward a bit from the original timetable), at which point people can start sending in voting choices.

Best of luck!

[Jubal]

Right, as my first MEAD post in this round, I will confirm my own target seats and selections, as I'm running things it's only fair to ensure I don't get influenced by any secret choices anyone else makes.

Our party leader, Alatar, will stand in Dorwinion
Our deputy, Pallando, will stand in Umbar
Our four additional targets (I'm not doubling up at all) will be Harad & Harondor, Dunland, Arthedain, Angmar and Forochel, and Cardolan.

Vote for MEAD! Vote for YOUR area! Vote for YOUR freedom!

[Jubal]

Also, a PSA to ensure equal access to information:

The models mentioned in the previous thread suggest the following areas of potential strength. Whether the model (which I cobbled together in excel) means anything at all is anyone's guess (it's probably meaningless, I would not advise taking these into account except where they correlate with common sense), but so candidates can see the predictions given:
- MEAD will do best in Umbar, Harad, Luin & Lindon, Evendim, and Arthedain.
- MACHO will do best in the Riverlands, Erebor & Dale, the Iron Hills, and Rhovanion
- The WTA will have its strongest results in Dol Amroth, the Vales, West Gondor, Rohan, and Ithilien
- Green Arda will have a fairly evenly distributed vote, but will do best in Cardolan, Upper Anduin, Mirkwood & Lorien, and Rhudaur & Eregion
- The SSS will likely do best in Umbar, Harad, Angmar, and Nurnen.

[HanSolo]

The SSS is NOT DEFEATED YET!

We shall claim Nurnen, Angmar, Rhudar, Upper Anduin and Minas Tirith

(Do not mock Shagrat's choices but applaud his bold claim on the people of the Original Capital City - he and his supporters may stage a Glorious March there)

VOTE SSS, VOTE SHAGRAT! 

[Jubal]

Just to let you all know, what we're doing would probably look like this:

[Tar-Palantir]

As a party that believes in transparency, MACHO shall publicly declare all their choices here:

Leader (Elladan): Rhudaur and Eregion
Deputy Leader (Elrohir): The Iron Hills

Our other targets: The Riverlands, Central Rhovanion, Emnet and Entwash, Dunland and the Isen

Vote MACHO. Make the right choice for a fairer, more prosperous Middle-earth for everyone.

[Tar-Meneldur]

The WTA's leader, Prince Imrahil, shall stand for election in his home constituency of Dol Amroth and the Coasts. His deputy, Angbor of Lamedon, shall stand in the Vales of Gondor.

Our special target constituencies shall be Minas Tirith, Erebor & Dale, The Riverlands, and the Iron Hills.

Vote WTA for a stable society and economy, for equality, justice and freedom, for strong infrastructure and free trade, and for good sense and moderation in all decisions. Long live the King!

[Tar-Palantir]

In an attempt to get a debate going....

MACHO feel there has been an excessive focus on economic matters so far and that voters would prefer to hear about another area of policy. As such, we thought we would take this opportunity to lay out our education policy in more detail and invite the other parties to do the same:

• Free universal education to secondary level. School age will be decided on a species-appropriate basis, but all children will attend the same schools to promote racial harmony. It is recognised that some species may have specific educational requirements and these will of course be recognised and catered for. We would also encourage members of all species to enter the teaching profession by providing them with subsidised housing to reflect their valuable service to the state and their community.
• We would institute a tertiary education sector, with both academic degrees and more vocational qualifications being equally valued and open to all. We would encourage the long-existing apprenticeship tradition to continue, to ensure valuable skills are not lost from the workforce, and would provide grants for those entering university
• Teachers would be required to complete professional qualifications, including elements of classroom and on-the-job learning, to ensure all children have access to quality teaching
• The curriculum, examination content and structure, and overall education policy would be decided by a council of teachers and education experts, rather than being prey to political whims. The body would have a budget from which to fund all educational activities. This body would meet on an annual basis, with smaller groups meeting more frequently as required. Once made, the central government would be responsible for implementing any decisions and ensuring the education system remains harmonised across Middle-earth. The Teaching Council would, however, be responsible for meeting the cost of these initiatives from its budget, though the central government will have discretionary power to authorise additional funds if it is deemed necessary

Vote MACHO for a fairer, more inclusive Middle-earth!

[Eowyn]

Green Arda roughly agrees with MACHO's proposals for education. As mentioned before, education is an important issue for us, as we believe it is key to improving things for all. Everyone needs to have access to high quality, free education and curriculums should be set by experts, not politicians. A topic-based approach to learning, rather than separate subjects would be favoured. Both vocational and academic tertiary education will be subsidised and of high standard, for the benefit of society as a whole.
Within education there needs to be an emphasis through everything on harmony, respect, care and awareness - be this of other ethnicities, species or gender (in the broadest sense of the word) or nature. The purpose of education is to provide the information with which individuals can become caring citizens in a harmonious society.

[Tiffmeister]

From the elves of Mirkwood I say to these education plans:
"I'd rather die than letting my children go to school with some dwarves."

[Jubal]

MEAD roughly concurs with the above parties, but emphasises the need for locally sensitive curricula to provide people with the skills they need for their local economy. Beyond a basis in core subjects (primarily mathematics, natural philosophy, history, geography, and westron), which we agree is needed to give local communities and people the skills to build their businesses and stand up for themselves on a national stage, we would give significant power to local education boards to direct funds and training in local vocational skills. We also recognise that some more scattered areas may have difficulty conforming to a national fixed schooling model, and would create mobile schooling units (provisionally known as "book-wains") to serve sparsely populated or semi-nomadic areas such as Harondor, central Rhovanion, or northern Eriador. We would also look at a similar mobile-unit system to create low-cost but high-impact library services that could be used over a wide area. MEAD will make an education system that is genuinely accessible to all, sensitive to local circumstances to give local people what they need.

The MEAD manifesto will also include strong promises on adult education: additional federal funds will be allocated to areas with low adult literacy rates, to give people the skills they need. We are concerned that other parties, whilst rightly stressing the importance of primary education, are failing to realise the very immediate problem that many of our low-paid and low-skilled workers are being held back by educational difficulties.

We also wish to query MACHO/Green Arda plans for a teaching board. Whilst an idea we are amenable to, we are concerned that the idea of "depoliticised" education would prove to be a fallacy in practice. How would such a board be appointed, if not politically? Would the aim be to ensure political balance within it, and if such aspects get ignored could it not end up with its own serious institutional biases? In the setting of some curriculum areas these details could prove crucial.

[Tar-Palantir]

MACHO recognise MEAD's concerns regarding the teaching board. We agree that there is no way to avoid any large consultative assembly becoming political; but that is a failure of the nature of sentient species, not the policy. To endeavour to mitigate the risk, MACHO would ensure that all headteachers have an automatic place on the Board, with representatives of the teaching unions (which we imagine will form) included too. This wider body would then appoint a smaller leadership council to run the Board. We feel this would provide sufficient protection against domination by the political elite.

We also wish to reject the claim that we are not concerned with the problem of adult education - we merely wished to set out our vision for the future. Of course, widespread adult education will be required, and MACHO will ensure that basic skills courses are available for free in all population centres, from rural villages to the largest cities, by correspondence if necessary.

We are concerned that MEAD's policies will lead to differing educational standards across Middle-earth, consigning some areas to perpetual second-class status.

To the voter from Mirkwood: whilst we respect your right to hold such views, it is these very views that have held Middle-earth back for uncounted ages. We would plead with you to give rapprochement a chance, to create a more prosperous, fairer and more tolerant Middle-earth for all. Our Dwarven brethren have been invaluable allies through the years and, as shown by Gimli, they can be altogether admirable. Admittedly, some Dwarves are less sympathetic, but I challenge you to point to any race which does not have members of a more unpleasant disposition. We feel that by working and living together, the races of Middle-earth can finally achieve equality and live in peace. Is that not a goal worth striving for? We therefore urge you to give toleration a chance.

[HanSolo]

GARN! The SSS and Shagrat take offense at MACHO's implied slur against the "more unpleasant" Orcish race This proves what we claimed before: the Elves are evil under their pretty demean. Shagrat actually agrees with Elf of Mirkwood - the Elves should be left to educate themselves, segregated from the rest of the peoples of Middle Earth. They've done that for ages past, hoarding knowledge and sneering at us "lesser folk". Let them educate themselves still, while Shagrat and the SSS build a better, brighter, shinier education system for everyone else!

Firstly, Shagrat supports equal education for women and men and is confused as to how this is an issue for the rest of Middle Earth. For centuries Orcs have not discriminated on this basis: our clothes, our duties, even our names are non-gender specific! Shagrat wishes to share this equality with other races, even suggesting identical uniforms to promote the idea that 'male' and 'female' only exist in the loins not the mind.

In terms of what should be taught, while Shagrat unfortunately may not, in this election, spread his wisdom throughout Middle Earth, his curriculum would certainly include lessons on himself and the ideals of the SSS. Regaining what is Yours and Never Surrendering are important life lessons, as is the historical lessons on the Importance of Shinyness. Military training should also be encouraged, even compulsory to defend against the weakness this land suffered during the last days of the Last War. Would Saruman have conquered the Shire in a few months if the Hobbits had had compulsory military training? No. Would Minas Tirith have had so few defenders in its walls if it's farmers and women had been trained in arms instead of evacuated? No. Would the Men of Umbar have drowned themselves at the sight of a ghost army if they'd had proper military training not just naval? Possibly not. Either way, military training is an essential part of the upcoming educational system.

As you can see, Shagrat is a brilliant educationalist, better than those Elvish sneaks, and the SSS is not afraid to put pressure on others to change their way of thinking, to educate them to the right way of thinking.

Vote SSS, Vote Shagrat! 

[Tar-Palantir]

MACHO are confused - we have not, as SSS so stridently claim, slurred the Orcs in any way, and wonder where the SSS got this impression from. Let us reiterate: MACHO believes in the equality of all races and will enshrine this in legislation.

Whilst we applaud the SSS's commitment to gender equality, we are concerned their educational policies veer dangerously towards the cultic and will simply reinforce the sectarianism, factionalism and inter-race mistrust that have dogged Middle-earh for so long. The last thing the peoples of Middle-earth need is a vast reserve of armed, trained and radicalised militia(wo)men, all of whom mistrust each other. The First Age shows us the perils of mistrust between members of the same race, let alone those of different race....

[Eowyn]

Hear, hear