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South Pacific Independent News Network · 10-11-2020, 09:36 PM

Year 18 | 10 October 2020

OCTOBER 2020 CABINET ELECTION
RON INTERVIEW
Moderator: Gale Weathers | Participant: RON

WELCOME TO THE RON INTERVIEW

I am Gale Weathers and I will be the host of this interview with RON, candidate for Minister of Crazy. This interview is sponsored by Real News of the South Pacific Independent News Network.

The format of this interview will consist of a single section where I will ask questions to the candidate, who will have up to 3 minutes to answer.
Opening Statement

[RON] Thank you for having me this afternoon Gale. Now, before I refuse to answer your questions I have an opening statement.

I am here because I am a candidate for Minister of Crazy and I want to ask for the support of all South Pacificans who share my belief that our region needs to embark on a new, constructive course.

I am running because I have grown increasingly concerned about the course of events in the South Pacific and in NationStates.

Government at all levels now absorbs ever more of our regions time and energy. It has become more intrusive, more coercive, more meddlesome and less effective. Our access to cheap and abundant SPIT has been interrupted, and our dependence on foreign sources is growing. A year ago the SPSF and our allies had military superiority. Today we are in danger of being surpassed by regions that have never made an effort to hide their hostility to everything we stand for.

Through détente we have sought peace with our adversaries. We should continue to do so but must make it plain that we expect a stronger indication that they also seek a lasting peace with us.

In my opinion, the root of these problems lies right here - in Fudgetropolis. Our region’s capital has become the seat of a “buddy” system that functions for its own benefit - increasingly insensitive to the needs of the average nation who supports it with their endorsements.

Today it is difficult to find leaders who are independent of the forces that have brought us our problems—the Assembly, the bureaucracy, the WA lobbyist, card traders and CRS members.

If the South Pacific is to survive and go forward, this must change. It will only change when the people vote for a leadership that listens to them, relies on them and seeks to return government to them. We need a government that is confident not of what it can do, but of what the people can do.

In the coming days I will take this message to the people of the South Pacific. I will talk in detail about responsible, responsive government. I will tell the people it is they who should decide how much government they want.

I don’t believe for one moment that four more months of business-as-usual in Fudgetropolis is the answer to our problems, and I don’t think the people of the South Pacific believe it either.

We, as a people, aren’t happy if we are not moving forward. A region that is growing and thriving is one which will solve its problems. We must offer progress instead of stagnation; the truth instead of promises; hope and faith instead of defeatism and despair. Then, I am sure, the people will make those decisions which will restore confidence in our way of life and release that energy that is the South Pacifican spirit.

Q&A

Your campaign says that "the time is now". What exactly is it time for?

[RON] It is the time for change.

For many years now government has told us it has the solution to all our problems. If something isn't working right all it will take to fix is to give them more time or more power. A Ministry has problems? Make more ministries. South Pacificans aren't participating in the WA? Make a WA department. The law doesn't make sense? Write more laws. But the problems haven't gone away; there's just an ever greater blizzard of paperwork.

The truth is Fudgetropolis has taken over functions that don't truly belong to it. In almost every case it has been a failure. Now, understand, I’m speaking of those programs which logically should be administered by individual legislators and at the in-game level. Media is a classic example. Voices that are raised now and then urging a government takeover of media don’t realize that the past failures of media are due to government interference.

Sometimes government excesses are so great that we laugh at them. But they are costly laughs. For years people have said that MoRA is too big, too bureaucratic. Now, Fudgetropolis has been loud in its promise to do something about this blizzard of bureaucracy in MoRA. And they made good. They made two more MoRA’s, with two more Ministers.

Ask the people of Osiris, Balder, The Pacific, Lazarus, and all the others; ask them what its like to live in a region where the government is Number One. I don't want to live in that kind of region, and I don’t think you do either.
Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.

My objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing region that provides equal opportunities for all nations with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous South Pacific, at peace with itself and the world.

We are a region that has a government - not the other way around. And this makes us special among the regions of the NationStates. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Fudgetropolis Establishment. All of us need to be reminded that the government did not create the region; the region created the government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work - work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other region in NationStates, it was because here in these islands we unleashed the energy and individual genius of the individual nation to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual nation have been more available and assured here than in any other region in NationStates. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price. It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government.

In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our region and reduced activity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the government and the people. Progress may be slow, measured in inches and feet, not miles, but we will progress. It is time to reawaken this great region, to get government back within its means, and to reduce the punitive bureaucracy. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles there will be no compromise.
This is the change our great region needs. And I believe the time for it is now.

Your campaign manager has said that your stand against the "Fudgetropolis Establishment" has ruffled some feathers. Do you think this would make it more difficult to govern once elected?

[RON] If ruffling some feathers is what it takes to bring real change to the South Pacific, then that is what I will do.

No government bureaucrat has ever willingly tried to make their own job redundant. If we're going to cut back on government waste and tackle the Fudgertropolis Establishment we're going to make enemies of those who rely on the big government jobs program, but that's a fight I'm ready for.

What do you think of the recent split of the Ministry of Regional Affairs? Will the South Pacific benefit from this new arrangement?

[RON] Creating more Ministries is the latest and greatest example of big governments love of bureaucracy. It's all one giant jobs program for the Fudegtropolis Establishment, a revolving door of a waste and incompetence.

Within my first term I will entirely abolish two Ministries; the Ministry of Engagement and the Ministry of Media.

The Ministry of Engagement is just yet another giant government jobs program designed to turn more nations into bureaucrats. The people of the South Pacific don’t want it and they don’t need it. Dissolving it by executive order will be my first act as Minister.

As for the Minstry of Media, a free and independent press is a cornerstone of a free region. It is essential to democracy, and the government has no place in regulating or competing with the free press. Once the Ministry of Media is abolished its staff will be freed from the crushing bureaucracy of big government, and can form their own papers and media companies. We have seen with your own organisation, SPINN, how much more effective the private sector is at delivering news.

There are also a variety of government programs I will bring to an end. The Office of World Assembly Legislation will be closed, as will the Ambassadors corps. The “job” of cabinet adviser will be scrapped. These programs do not serve the nations of the South Pacific, they serve the Fudgetropolis Establishment. They allow aspiring Cabinet members to burnish their CV’s and to have comfy government jobs, with comfy government chairs and discord privileges.

That ends the day I am elected.

There will be no more government waste if I am elected. Every single person with a government job in this region will have to reapply for their current role, and if they can’t demonstrate that their job is necessary and that they are the best person for it then they will not be hired.

As I said earlier, it's not my intention to do away with government. I’m not against government, just wasteful government.

We will keep the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we will invest more into the Ministry of Defense. In my first term we will close the endorsement gap between the South Pacific and raider regions like Lone Wolves United, and we will also do more to protect the South Pacific from invasion. We will invest in new technology and create a Strategic Defense Initiative to make sure that no raider can get into the South Pacific. This new system will automatically identify and ban raiders from the South Pacific.

The Ministry of Culture does some good work, but it is bloated and inefficient. Some of its programs will be scrapped and others will be handed over to the private sector. TSP Campus does excellent work, but it would be more efficient and productive with less bureaucracy. The same is true of TSP Roleplay. These will both be privatized. The Ministry will continue to organize cultural activities and events, but no more.

I will also bring to end the uncontrolled inflation of Discord channels. TSP Roleplay and TSP Campus will be sold off along with their departments, but all others except the main server and the SPSF HQ will be closed.

This smaller, leaner government will unleash opportunity and prosperity in the South Pacific and reduce our crippling activity deficit.

Panda has famously run campaigns on the promise of attacking repressive regimes such as those in the Pacific and Balder. Would you agree with this platform or do you think it doesn't go far enough?

[RON] The Fudgetropolis Establishment has shown a lot of patience with our regions enemies, but I don’t think they have seen it as patience. I think they have seen it as weakness. And they have no respect for us. They have humiliated us. If you read what the King of Balder is saying in his speeches, he is boasting of how they’ve rubbed our face in the dirt all this time.

But what if the South Pacific had used all the diplomatic things that we have done, all the diplomatic efforts we could make peacefully to deal with them? First of all, they are greatly dependent on other regions for activity and reliant on Imperialist regions for about 30 percent of their nations, they’re a lot weaker than they like to claim.

What we should have done is say "Now, look. We don’t want any trouble with you. We would like to be friends with you. We’d like to work with you, and we could be helpful to you." And I think they would have listened to us, because we’re a lot stronger than them. But now why would they listen to us when they look to themselves as stronger than we are because of the way we’ve gone on for so long letting this humiliation occur.

As for the Pacific and it's evil emperor, I have a simple message for East Durthang.

Mr Durthang, tear down that endorsement cap.

Would you direct the Special Forces to tear down the cap if East Durthang refuses to listen?

[RON] A vote for RON is a vote for strong regional defense. The Fudegtropolis Establishment has neglected our armed forces and allowed our foes to gain superiority over us, and that is something a RON ministry will end. If elected we I increase spending on the SPSF to close the endorsement gap between the South Pacific and raider regions like Lone Wolves United. We will also invest in new technology such as the already mentioned Strategic Defense Initiative which will automatically identify and ban raiders from the South Pacific.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the game, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free nations. It is a weapon our adversaries in NationStates do not have. Freedom is never more than one update away from extinction. We didn't pass it to the younger nations in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling new nations what it was once like in the South Pacific where nations were free.

So what we need to do is to unleash the freedom loving spirit of the nations of South Pacific. If the government gets off their backs there isn’t anything they can’t do, and that includes defeating our enemies.

The question remains, would you order military action against the Pacific if they refuse to tear down the endorsement cap?

[RON] I want to see peaceful and prosperous relations between the South Pacific and the Pacific, but that has to be a relationship based on respect. Right now they think we are weak, and because of that they think they can get away with oppressing the captive nations trapped bellow their endorsement cap.

A strong South Pacific with an SPSF that can challenge the Pacific will change that. We can't free the nations of the Pacific overnight, but we can help them free themselves.

Some say that the South Pacific has forgotten its faith in Max Barry. Do you share this concern?

[RON] I believe Max Barry had a divine purpose in creating this region to be found by those who had a special love of freedom. From our antiquarians to our newly founded nations, we've come from every corner NationStates and we've become a new breed in this game. We’re South Pacificans and we have a rendezvous with destiny. We spread across this region, rearing Llamas and wearing lampshades, and we did it without a Ministry of Engagement or a World Assembly Programme.

Both Sandaoguo and North Prarie are running for Prime Minister on a platform of strong leadership as opposed to simply supporting ministers. Are you concerned that if either is elected the government would increase its role in regional life?

[RON] I think Mr Rhodes and Mr Prarie are both part of the same old Fudgetropolis Establishment that has been running things for too long. They've forgotten who our elected leaders answer to; the ordinary nations of the South Pacific, not the big government bureaucrats.

I think it's very clear that nothing will change if either of them is elected Prime Minister. The government will keep expanding, our activity deficit will keep growing as more and more time is spent on paperwork, and our regional defense will keep being neglected as the endorsement gap with raiders grows day by day.

What would you say to those who say your campaign is a joke and that you should let experts run the government?

[RON] I’ve been taking my message to the ordinary nations of the South Pacific directly on the RMB, and the reception there has been fantastic. They’re all sick and tired of being talked down to and taken for granted by big government. If what we have in this region is a government run by experts, then they are clearly only experts in one thing; creating more government jobs.

Real TSP isn't the Cabinet Office, the Joint Security Room, or the Legislators Lounge. Real TSP is wherever freedom loving nations gather to enjoy the great bounty Max Barry put in this game for us. It’s about damn time the Fudgetropolis Establishment remembered that.

Now, I’m very proud that there are brave some politicians in the South Pacific who have broken with the Fudgetropolis Establishment and joined me in the fight for freedom on the RMB. My message of hope and prosperity has been supported by Local Councilors Auphelia and Drystar and I thank them for that. My hope is that together we can rally the nations of the South Pacific and go forward into a bright new era of freedom.

A candidate of your stature has a lot of influence. How would you settle the cake and pie debate that has ravaged Government Island since time immemorial?

[RON] I think it's the Max Barry given right for every South Pacific to enjoy and eat any type of pudding they want, be that cake, or pie, or even ice cream. I myself am partial to all three.

I don't want the kind of government that tells me what type of pudding I can eat.

I don't think the South Pacific does either.

Have you been told any jokes about the Pacific or Balder in any of your visits to those lands?

[RON] One time I was visiting the poor, oppressed people of Balder and I heard someone tell a good joke.

What’s as boring as a telephone book, takes twenty minutes to read, contains a load of nonsense and hot air, and declares war on the FRA?

An Onder speech meant to declare war on the UDL.

Unfortunately the nation who told that joke was then declared persona non grata.

This was also announced in a twenty minute long Onder speech.

Closing Statement

[RON] Thank you Gale, it has been a real pleasure to talk to you this afternoon.

Recently on one of my campaign trips I was doing a question-and-answer session on the RMB, and suddenly I received a question from a little nation who couldn’t have been over six or seven weeks old. I’d heard the question before but somehow in their asking it, they threw me a little bit. They said, why do you want to be Minister of Crazy?

Well, I tried to tell them about giving government back to the people; I tried to tell them about turning authority back to the legislators and in-game community, and so forth; winding down the bureaucracy. It might have been an answer for forum going nations, but I knew that it wasn’t what that little nation wanted, and I left very frustrated. It was on the way to the next stop that I said I wish I had it to do over again because I'd like to answer their question.

Well, maybe I can answer it now.

I would like to go to Fudgetropolis. I would like to be Minister of Crazy, because I would like to see this region become once again a region where a little six-week old nation can grow up knowing the same freedom that I knew when I was six weeks old, growing up in the South Pacific.

If this is the South Pacific you want for yourself; if you want to restore government not only of and for but by the people; to see the South Pacifican spirit unleashed once again. To make this region the shining, golden hope Max intended it to be, I’d like to hear from you. Write, or send a PM I’d be proud to hear your thoughts and your ideas.

Join me in the only fight that matters; the great fight for freedom.

This concludes our interview with RON. Thank you RON for your time and thank you to our faithful audience for attending. Now you have the Real News!

The South Pacific Independent News Network (SPINN) is an independent news organisation established in 2003 with the goal of providing good, insightful and timely commentary on regional events for the citizens of the South Pacific. This publication is satirical and does not necessarily reflect the facts or the views of the Editorial Board. Content is published via pseudonyms. The SPINN is not associated with the Government of the South Pacific.

(This post was last modified: 10-11-2020, 09:37 PM by South Pacific Independent News Network.)