But I am doing this.
I didn't want to reveal the candidate's identity, but it's now been revealed because you evidently only spoke to one candidate.North East Somerset wrote:Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:09 pmBut secondly, I've spoken to 1, just 1 electoral candidate for the Pharaohship. My involvement in this race is minimal, I've paid it very little attention. I told the one candidate I spoke to, Vac, that I didn't think he had a chance to win. After all he just lost the Speaker election by a landslide, so why would he stand a chance in this? He said he didn't mind who won as long as it wasn't Tim, and I said that in all likelihood all his candidacy was doing was splitting the voters who would likely not vote for Tim.
This is all a personal political opinion, from years of experience in NS politics, not some kind of international conspiracy. Manipulation? Don't be ridiculous. People like you make Osiran politics most unpleasant.
You can twist things, you can create political controversy - fine. But this is just pure slander.
According to Vac:
With this, later:[00:47] <Vac> NES is attempting to get me to pull out.
[00:48] <Cormac> Why?
[00:48] <Vac> He thinks I'll just steal votes from Andrew allowing Tim to win.
[00:49] <Cormac> ...
[00:49] <Cormac> Just ignore him.
[00:49] <Vac> I told him OK and went on about my business, basically.
[00:49] <Vac>
As you can see, that gives the impression of pressure and manipulation. It does not give the impression of solicited, casual political advice. If you don't like the impression, take it up with Vac or prove that it's wrong. I was told you were trying to pressure Vac to withdraw in order to get Andrew elected. If true, that is certainly manipulative, and it wouldn't surprise me.[01:05] <Vac> btw i you haven't noticed
[01:06] <Vac> I don't like being pushed around.
[01:06] <Cormac> Yes.
[01:06] <Cormac> I don't know why NES is doing what he's doing. He always has a reason and it's usually not the one he says.
[01:06] <Cormac>
As others can attest, I was considering all the candidates at the beginning of the race. I quickly narrowed it down to three -- Andrew, Syl, Tim -- due to concerns over Aba's and Vac's activity levels. I do understand their prior inactivity has been driven by RL, but, unlike Syl whose inactivity was driven by cancer treatment and whose activity has since increased, most of the RL matters that have led to Aba's and Vac's inactivity are more permanent situations like jobs and other commitments. Osiris can't risk another term of inactivity, so while I think both of them would make great Pharaohs if they could be sufficiently active, I personally had to rule them out.North East Somerset wrote:Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:09 pmAnyone with half an ounce of common sense knows you were in all likelihood always going to vote for Tim, right from the beginning. Only the really stupid or naive are going to believe this is a decision you've "come to" - it was an inevitability.
I then ruled out Andrew and Syl based on the very extensive questions I asked in each candidate's campaign thread. I think both could make great Pharaohs someday, and I hope this isn't the last we'll see of them in OFO leadership. Even after the answers to my campaign questions, I was still somewhat torn between Syl and Tim until I finally decided Tim was my choice and posted the endorsement you've quoted.
Other people with whom I discussed the race, including but not limited to Tim himself, can attest that I was not sure from the very beginning for whom I would vote. Your insinuation that I would automatically vote for Tim because he is defender, or because we are both also from Spiritus, or because we have been friends for almost three years now, or whatever exactly you're insinuating, is asinine. There have been other elections, elsewhere, in which Tim has been a candidate, and I have voted for someone else because I believed that person would do a better job. I don't vote based on my personal feelings. In this case, I believe Tim is the best candidate and therefore I'm voting for Tim. You, on the other hand, seem to prefer Andrew because he is not Tim, which is a lousy, petty reason to vote for someone, and is unfair to both Tim and Andrew.
But then, given how you feel about Syl's inactivity due to his cancer treatment, which in your view seems to be irrelevant, I guess you're at least being consistent in being deeply unfair to the candidates in this race. I think all of them have the potential to make great Pharaohs, and voted for the one I thought would do the best job. You seem to be of the opinion that none of them are good candidates but we should vote for the one who simply isn't the others. Not because he's got a lot of potential, just because he's acceptable in comparison to the other riffraff and undesirables. What a jaded view.
Excuse me? Alleged coup attempts being allegedly planned by individuals in Balder were brought to my attention, by others, and then someone publicly posted screen shots related to those plans. I wasn't even aware of the screen shots until after they had been posted. I discussed the information that was brought to my attention only with the person who brought it to my attention and with the Scribe of Security, which is more than appropriate when alerted to a potential coup attempt.North East Somerset wrote:Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:36 pmYou can laugh all you want Cormac, but you are the liar here. Firstly implicating me in "coup" attempts to try and discredit me, and then also this nonsense.
I have no idea who precisely is or isn't involved. All I know is that Balder was mentioned, and to be honest with you, given the number of times Rachel has talked to me about a political union between Balder and Osiris as well as flirting with the idea of coups d'etat in one or both regions, I assumed she was behind it. I did not necessarily, 100% assume you were involved, though I also didn't rule it out. I do recognize that Rachel has her own posse of sycophants and it's entirely possible you know nothing about it.
Again, take it up with Vac. I had the impression you had pressured him; certainly if you were advising him to withdraw so another candidate could win, that is at least mild pressure, though mitigated if he actually sought your advice as you say.North East Somerset wrote:Fri Jan 02, 2015 12:36 pmI haven't pressured anyone to withdraw from the race, I merely analysed the political situation of the elections pointing out to Vac that the likely outcome of this electoral landscape in FPTP is Tim winning. Which he said he didn't want. The only candidate with enough credibility to seriously challenge Tim is Andrew, but he can't possibly win with so many potential votes being split off for candidates who aren't serious challengers. Of course Tim would want them to remain in the race. It's not rocket science.
That's all there is to it.
What concerns me, though, is your assumption that any of these candidates were not serious challengers. I give all of them more credit than that; I think they were all serious challengers, and I remain uncertain who will actually win. I think all of them have strong records, here and elsewhere, and I've just voted for the one whom I believe is the best guy for the job at this moment. I've done it without querying people to advise them to withdraw, with a publicly posted endorsement. That's the difference between you and me. I don't feel the need to slither from query to query saying one thing to this person and another thing to that person, to give myself plausible deniability when my hand is caught in the cookie jar. I say what I think, and while that has its flaws at times -- particularly when I'm in office
-- it also has its merits at times. You should give public candor and transparency a try.
