Exclusive with the LRP: politics, the RNC and more

(Transcript)

Tonight we're joined by LRP president Reg Ambrose, secretary Malinda Noble and delegates Todd Richards and Cara Dellahunty discussing President TJ Norton's first term in office, the cut coalition with the RNC, re-election, politics and more. I'm John Baxter and I'll be the moderator this evening.

'evening patriots.

Mod: Reg let's start with you. How do you rate the president's first term overall?

RegA: a very sturdy President in a tough job and achieved great things with the housing act and cabinet.

Mod: Do you agree with the president's choices for cabinet and the court?

RegA: the President I think chose the best he could from the people available. Most have worked well together but I wouldn't say all.

Mod: Care to name names?

RegA: it's obvious at this point isn't it?

Mod: Sure.

Mod: I want to get into the RNC situation. The LRP voted last week to toss the coalition with the RNC. How has the reaction been and what if any impact for the government's future do you think it might have?

RegA: Quiet. The RNC have been trashing the government and the party for weeks and they let it all hang out in their newspapers. What the more irrational factions thought of the coalition that is. I don't see much negative impact for the government's reelection chances.

Mod: Switching over to Malinda Noble. Let's go back to the last presidential election. How many RNC members ended up backing the joint ticket?

Malinda: There's no math in the vote tally that says we got a net gain thanks to them. Julian put up a front story that RNC members had trouble with their citizen accounts and couldn't sign in but as people can see no problem with them working to keep the veep in office. Not much honesty from the RNC and one of many reasons they proved they were only interested in power and using the LRP to get it.

Mod: So are you saying the RNC's 'support' didn't translate into election action?

Malinda: They wrote some articles supporting the coalition candidates but it was like pulling teeth from beginning to end. The only time they got up off the bench was when the cracks started to form and we told them so. As for voting it looks like the RNC supported Reformer or they purposely abstained there's no way looking at the final numbers the usual RNC voters backed our tally.

Mod: Isn't that democracy in action?

Malinda: Of course but when you give your support to someone and then work behind closed doors to defeat the ticket that's isn't democracy it's lying. Lie after lie from the RNC corridors and LRP members like Chris Hoyt found out it was only a tactic.

Mod: What do you mean by "a tactic"?

MalNoble: The coalition between the LRP and RNC worked on rotations.

Mod: Right.

Malinda: The next in line for the presidential candidacy was the RNC.

Mod: Are you saying that they were playing out for their next chance?

Malinda: It couldn't be ruled out. When Owen was running for president the RNC was bulk mailing the LRP membership roll every day like paranoid schizophrenics begging us 'make sure you vote for Owen we need LRP support'. Where was that kind of support for Tom at the last election? I never saw a single message.

Mod: Todd Richards you've done most of the LRP's electoral strategy for the past couple of terms since the candidacy of former party president Leah Carmody. What's your opinion of the RNC split on numbers?

Todd: As Malinda pointed out there's a cloud hanging over how much support the President had from the RNC to start with. Let's say the amount of RNC vote for him was +/- 3 votes that even so seems unlikely.

The work put in and the cross party appeal built from TJ's moderate leadership can only make it a gross gain overall. The other issue is if the RNC would back another candidate who could launch a serious challenge to the President. Most of the major names are in the current government.

I can't tell what's occurred within but it looks like the big players are content, if not happy, sticking with TJ for another term.

Mod: How likely is that for real?

Todd: It's always hard to say. The government has built tremendous good will this term and there's a lot of Titulians that are hungry for the new senate legislature. Other suggestions might have good intentions but this government has solid policy, the good will to negotiate and has what it takes to make the senate happen.

Mod: Hypothetically, what's your view on policy shift if a change in administration?

Todd: If for some reason the sitting team is defeated it reverses all of that work and make for a lame duck government from day one. The rise in activity will certainly drop further and the good will developed under this president will evaporate.

Mod: Cara thanks for holding. You're probably the most right leaning in the LRP. What do you take from the RNC's actions over the last month?

Cara: They asked the vice president to dance to an election he wasn't suited for. He made no effort to campaign and the very few public comments he made when he was in office must have made the reform agenda very difficult. My hat off to Tom and our own Renee Buchanan for putting up with it. I would have resigned.

Mod: Reg. Shortly into this term former RNC president Julian released a chat with Linardist president William Money that revealed how the electoral strategy came together for Julian to seize power. What did you think of it?

RegA: I didn't read a whole lot of it, most of what I did read only confirmed things thought already. My opinion doesn't matter a whole lot.

Mod: I'm asking.

RegA: Linardist support and RNC support is the same. It comes at a price. Tom called it right that Julian knew the price of doing political business and as it happened the RNC didn't want to pay. It's either hypocritical or ill conceived to think you can come back weeks later and renegotiate a done deal when you signed on to an original agreement that no longer exists.

Mod: I didn't come into it until later on. Did the Linardist-RNC deal revelation contribute to axing the RNC coalition?

RegA: I can't say if it did or not. The party room made it clear on numerous occasions it didn't think as one mind when it came to the RNC. In the end it did more damage to Julian's credibility than it did for Bill's. The man was looking out for his party and that's all a party president's job is to be its representative and negotiate its case.

Following on from what Todd said earlier, there is a question mark over what amount of good faith existed in the RNC toward the LRP and if the chat clarified anything it was Julian's opinion of the president. One of many reasons we couldn't go on with them.

Mod: Does it change relations with the Linardist Party?

RegA: We exist together in the same state politic as the two largest political parties. In the end the LRP and the Linardist caucuses are large blocs that contribute to the fate of the government and legislative propositions. It's naive to ignore the status quo.

The LRP, I think, came to an unspoken consensus some time before my leadership to keep its distance. Unlike the RNC the LRP polity respects a position even when it doesn't fall our way. We don't have to like it but we accept it.

Likewise even if the Linardist don't like the LRP they also keep their distance in the status quo and accept that we're not prepared to pay like Julian did.

Mod: How does that add up from an electoral standpoint compared to the RNC?

RegA: If Todd's analysis holds up it proves that we can form government without the RNC. The RNC has to coalition or at least achieve large, secondary bloc party support to form a government or gain a large independent following equivalent. The latter is not likely.

Mod: One last thing. James Matthews for Associate Justice. Need I say more?

Malinda: The president said it himself but I'll give it my touch. You can't have someone doing a professional job who has no experience in the job. James is an outstanding Solicitor and is the only credible choice that could have been made.

Reg: Agreed with everyone else supporting Jim. He's a talented lawyer with a bright future ahead of him. Titulia needs that experience on the Court and I'm ecstatic in my support of the nomination.

Cara: Some people need to keep past political dramas out of their decision. The court will never be balanced if the usual mates rates names make it on there every vacancy. It needs diversity to be credible. This is about who has a proven service to Titulia on law and James has proven himself more than once.

Todd: if James isn't confirmed many will ask about Titulia's future and how serious people actually are about it. TJ was spot on about it. You wouldn't send people like librarians to perform brain surgery or doctors to sew clothes. Experienced lawyers belong in the legal profession and when there's a court vacancy put the best on it.

Mod: Thanks to all.