Economy: failing
Schools: Underperforming
Happiness: All time low
Your town has been in decline for quite some time now, as the biggest employer of your city (Screw + Scrooge Lighting) slowly began outsourcing all the jobs overseas to Chinese sweatshops, paying their newly hired employees a cool $3.20/hr compared to the "outrageous, obscene" cost of labor in your town ($15/hr).
With no major employers in town for the working class, the town's poverty rate has sky rocketed. There are jobs available, but only for the privileged few
[[Enough is Enough]]With every passing year of decline, the list of promises made to the people grows longer
The Congressman representing your district (Chad Bentington IV) has been in power for the past 20 years.
He's been in for so long, that he hasn't had a competitor in the election for the past 10 years. Everyone just assumes he will win no matter what.
Name recognition, money, connections: all things that Chad currently has.
But with a 34% approval rating among fellow citizens, you begin to ask yourself: [[why the fuck is this guy representing us?]]It never really occured to you that no one really likes him. In fact he seems to be the type that is everything you DON'T want in a politician: narcissistic, short temper, and can't keep his attention on one thing before spouting off into a rant on another.
Screw this guy, let's [[take him down]]Running a race is hard work, especially against a multiple-term incumbent with all the connections. Prepare yourself for the biggest struggle you'll ever face
There are two different ways you can go about it, each with pros and cons. Choose wisely.
[[1) Through family connections, you know the Attorney General, Nick Blowhard. With some coaxing, perhaps you can secure some financial + authoritative support. After all, having the AG on your side is a huge advantage.]]
[[2) You want to do things differently. Our current system isn't working, and running the same type of campaign as everyone else will only continue the problem. You pledge to take no Coporate PAC money or large donations from organizations. You will be people funded, and have to win over the masses from the bottom up.]]Smart choice. You know that you want to change the system, but there's now way to do that unless you have a chance at getting elected, right?!
You ring up Blowhard, and have a quaint 10 minute chat about boring family topics, until you mention that you're interested in Chad's Congressional seat
Intriqued by your desires for office, Blowhard listens to you talk about how much you can improve the community and fellow citizens of the town. You'll implement new programs to raise awareness/aide for things that matter most to you, such as education, homelessness, and medical care/access
However, he regrets to inform you that he has had alot of "dealings" with Chad and that he's really helped him out. However, lately, he's gone rogue and hasn't been listening to him. His confidence in him is waning, and he sees a fresh oppurtunity with you in charge.
[["I'll give you a start of $250,000. That should be able to cover the beginning costs of ads. Get your name out there, go door to door, build up your rep, and if you come close to him in the polls, I'll dish out more money"]]WOW, bravo to you. You have a lot of work cut out for you, but you know that it is the right thing to do
[[You couldn't stand taking corporate money]]
[[Or do you really?]]Well that was pleasantly unexpected.
You hit the airwaves hard with ads going against Chad
You highlight his numerous flip flops on key issues, and how the town infrastructure has collapsed under his leadership
[[but you need to do more]]Through radio and tv advertisements, you are starting to build up a name for yourself. Slowly but surely, people are recognizing your name. Or rather, you're at least known as that "guy running against Chad"
You quickly draw out a map of the congressional district, and hit the pavement with your newly hired campaign team, knocking on every door you see
Most people don't care to see you (or any politician for that matter) but the few who do talk to you seem to really like your message.
You're making [[progress]]You're numbers are slowly starting to tick upwards, and it seems that you're giving your competition some worry. Up to a few weeks ago, they weren't even putting out any ads but now, the first hit ad came against you
Their ad points out how you mysteriously received a large sum of money from 3 different companies all connected to the same man: Nick Blowhard
They say that you're effectively [[bought by him]]"No, this can't be. YOU"RE THE ONE WHO"S BOUGHT! I'M DOING THE NECESSARY EVIL TO GET YOU OUT, SO THAT I CAN MAKE THINGS RIGHT" you scream to the tv.
The things you are for are the right things! You want more people to be abel to afford housing + medicine, you want to increase the social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens, Chad doesn't care about them one bit.
[[Invite Chad to a debate. You can own him on stage then]]
[[Lie low and don't stir this pot. Simply tell people the truth that you received help from donors. It's not like it'll matter: everyone does it!]]Ahh, the good ol' debate. In your mind, you have the night planned out clear as day: you're going to attack him, and pin him down
[[You accuse him of accepting multiple loads of money from corporations in exchange for favorable laws]]Begrudgingly, you come to the realization that you must inform the citizens of how you started your campaign. You know it is the right thing to do, and that they understand your dilemna. You need money to be in politics and if you got none, then don't bother trying.
[["And so, I again apologize for any appearance of being misleading by my part. I should've been open and transparent with my finances. However, this won't stop me. In a few weeks time I will win, and I will restore faith in our democratic system. Let's work together to lessen money's effects on elections!]]HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA you think people are going to trust you now???
First rule: Always deny, Always attack
You end up losing 20% in the upcoming polls and pundits are commenting that it is ALL OVER
You made a good run, kid.You're able to point to all the various corporate executives that have a good relationship with him and, coincidentally, they all have given him heaps of money. Clear as day bribery, in your opinion
Don't be so naive though: you don't think he prepared for this?
Chad mentions that yes, he indeed does have some friends high up. But that's the point: the game is rigged. He accuses you of doing the same thing, but not being honest about it. The crowd roars with approval
[[you're left stunned]]LOL he flipped that on your head, and with barely anytime left to spare in the debate, you come up with a flimsy response before time runs out and the event is over.
It's clear to political pundits and regular folk alike: [[you did not come out on top]]With a few days to the election, there's not much else to do but what you've doen before: hit the people with ads and speaking events
[[Election day is here]]You end up losing 58%-42%
The people were unanimous in the exit poll data: you did not seem like a trustworthy person
Interestingly enough, they also knew that Chad wasn't that trustworthy either. However, Chad was framed as a "loose cannon," someone who will tell you what's on his mind whether you like it or not
Although he acts childish, the people still see that more postively than someone who claims to be for the people, but doesn't tell them where they get the money from.You first start off at the library designing your campaign logo.
Once complete, you send it to the copiers, print off hundreds of pages, and go about the town plasterning it on anything you can stick it on.
[[You go about greeting the townsfolk, curious as to who you are and what you're doing]]On the low, you've been offered some money from financial executives
They see that you have risen slightly in the polls, and are intriqued by you
They say that Chad has backed out of settled deals with them, and they want pay back
THey're willing to give you $500,000 if you are able to "see their side of things" on key issues, including prescription drug prices and tax codes
They would set it up so it appears you are getting 100 x $5000 donations from random citizens
[["The people will never know"]]You explain to them your mission to get Chad out of office. They laugh at the idea: he's been there forever
But once you mention that you only are taking small donations from individuals, they perk up. They haven't heard that talk in... well forever really
[[Slowly, your name starts to build]]Through knocking on thousands of doors, your name has become quite popular, and is even giving Chad a worry
With the election in a few days, you are neck and neck
Who would've ever thought that being an honest, good person can be beneficial?
[[To election night|wait for the results to come in]]You ponder this decision heavily. After all, you did decide to start this campaign to change the whole system. Now you're going to go back on that and potentially risk the trust of your constituents?
[[Screw these guys, I'm sticking with my priciples]]
[[Screw this, I need to win if I want to make things right. Give me the money]]Honorable move
You politely decline their donation, and prepare for election night in the next couple of days.
You've been running as many ads as you can, but it's been hard, given that you've been outspent literally 10-1 on donations.
[[Things aren't looking good as election night approaches]]Fair enough, you accept the money and within a week, you have it all
You begin spending a large portion of it on ads, and now the election is finally on even terms: you have a shot!
Until this [[bombshell hits]]Alas, Election Night is here!
After all those months of preperation and canvassing and meet and greets and speeches, you're finally here!
Now, all there is to do is [[wait for the results to come in]]THE RESULTS ARE IN:
Chad- 51.7%
You- 48.3%
[[A Hard fought election ends in dissapointment. But you can take positive notes from this]]You literally came in outspent 10-1 against a 10 term incumbent
You shouldn't have even been on stage, yet you held him to within 2%
[[That is insane and it tells us something]]People want honesty. Even if they don't agree with you on a lot of your positions, they would rather see someone in office who abides by principal rather than the whims of the rich/powerful.
In two years time, if you can keep your name recognition up, you can run again and that time will surely be your time
Being mean and selfish might win in the short run
But it's clear that goodness, kindness, compassion wins out in the long run. Keep your head high, run again, change the system, change peoples' lives for the better
Nice jobREPORT: WORKING CLASS "REVOLUTIONARY" A FRAUD: RECEIVED $500,000 IN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VARIOUS CORPORATE SOURCES"
I think you forgot that people are really smart, and can start connecting dots. An up and coming political reporter was studying the financial reports of your campaign, and discovered an anomaly with your donors
They were able to uncover the whole scheme, and now you're in the spotlight..
[[Time to wallow in self pity]]Election night comes and goes, and there's no surprise
YOU LOST
Maybe stick to being trustworthy next time?