The Republic Reborn II: Reborn Again [Orders Due Jan 31]

[Polycarp]

If I may ask; I included an order to put my giudici bill to a vote, and it seems support for the legislation was widespread. To me, it looked like something big, especially since the "The Senate is corrupt!" sentence was always in the top 5 issues of the updates since game one, but it received no mention in the "News from Rome" part of the update. Was this intended?

My intention was to mention it in the "on the senate floor" segment for this update, which has yet to be posted (or written).  My feeling, however, is that the judicial proposal (and the electoral proposal, if/when it arrives in a final form) are probably better off being voted on by the players during a turn rather than being passed in the progress of an update, in a similar manner to how we vote on consulships (though it need not necessarily be that formal if there's broad agreement).

There are several reasons for this; the first and most basic is that I think I prefer to keep formal senate business "during the turn" so there's an opportunity to make speeches or take other actions even as the "voting process" is going on.  Another issue is that Llum seems to be absent, and I was reluctant to pass legislation in the update when I didn't know the opinion of a potentially important player; since the update was quite late, my hope was that maybe during that time I'd hear from him.  That didn't happen, unfortunately (and I hope he's doing alright), so we've got to keep going on regardless, but it did play into my decision this past turn.

You're right, it is big, and I'd like to get it done this turn, assuming we haven't lost too many players in these past months.  I hope my explanation makes some sense.

[Magnus Pym]

Totally.

I'm definitely going to submit the legislation to a vote whenever the "On the Senate floor" update is released then. :-)

[Polycarp]

But before that happens, there's...

Consular Election of 1160

Senators, it is time to decide who will lead our glorious city in the coming year!

[ooc=Election Rules]All PCs are eligible for Consular status, though a character who wins an election may choose not to accept the position if he so desires.  All PCs are eligible to cast a ballot, though casting a ballot is not mandatory.

Each character has a number of votes equal to his Influence score.  When you cast a ballot, you must choose how these votes are allotted.  You may spend all your votes on one candidate or split votes between candidates however you wish.  A ballot should be in a red OOC box like this one, and be in this format:

[ooc=Election of 1160]Your Senator's Name

4 votes to Senator X
2 votes to Senator Y[/ooc]

The ballot is not secret.  Who voted for whom is in-character information known by all.  The whole Senate, all 100 members, takes part in this vote; our game simulates this using Influence, meaning that when you "cast a ballot" it actually represents your character and his friends and/or family actively cajoling and convincing NPC senators to vote your way.  This is a tedious process of pandering speeches, cloying flattery, empty promises, and boring dinner parties, and is by definition not a private matter.

Bribery, specifically the expenditure of Wealth to buy votes, is permitted.  Bribery will alter the final count of votes, depending on how much Wealth was spent.  Bribery works by  "stealing" one vote from a candidate of your choice and giving it to another candidate of your choice.  Stealing a vote in this way costs 2 WP.  It may be obvious that people were bribed if the final result doesn't match who players actually voted for, but there will be no direct indication of who bribed them unless the bribery is discovered.

If the bribery is discovered, there will be a scandal resulting in a loss of Influence.  The chances of a bribe becoming a scandal are 10% for each vote bought.  Note that a scandal does not mean the bribe was unsuccessful – it is still possible to win an election by bribery despite a scandal, but the loss of Influence may make it difficult to hold on to power.

If you choose to bribe, it should ONLY be done by sending me a PM indicating how much you are spending and who the bribed Senators are supposed to vote for.  If you post a bribe in this thread, it will not be accepted, and I will laugh at you.  Bribes are non-refundable!

The two players with the most votes (after Bribery) are elected Consuls.  The Consul who receives the most votes has the privilege of deciding which Consul, external or internal, he wishes to be.  Ties will be resolved in favor of who has the most Influence or, failing that, a coin flip.[/ooc]

[Magnus Pym]

[ic=Letter to Roberto Basile]Consul,
You've championed the cause of liberty as any consul should've, and your name shall join those of the ancients in the annals of the Eternal City. In your position, I too would find it difficult to recant on my word, but I still think your stepping down is unnecessary and even potentially dangerous.

If you are truly intent on relinquishing the curule chair, who would you rather replace you?

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Arrigus Sismondii]Senator,
We are both in need of a friend that occupies the curule chair. With Basile apparently stepping aside, a senator with a like mind for reforms, both political and financial, needs to obtain the consular honour. Perhaps you would consider becoming consul?

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Vittorio Manzinni]Senator,
Have you given thought on the matter of the elections? Is there anyone in particular that you fancy to occupy this important position in these tumultuous times?

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Sanguineus Viviani]Consul,
With your help and those of the other prominent senators, the riverside gangs have gone hiding in their holes again. Will you be seeking support for an extension of your term as consul?

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Falco Bocca]Senator,
The Arnoldists have seen victory in the Roman church, but not yet in the Senate. Do you intend to champion their cause as consul?

Senator Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic=Before the Senate]Senators. Know that I shall never falter in my service to my beloved city, no matter titles or offices, no matter even danger to my very life. It is for the people and the citizens that we put Rome to order and ensure its good governance, and I know that none of us shall forget this duty. My term closes and election is again upon us. It has been my honour and my pleasure to serve as your Consul. I spoke before you all and I said that I would not seek that office in this election, and I remain true to my word. Signore Viviani has acquitted himself well and ably in his first term as Consul, and I can think of no better man than he to hold the Consulship. With his sharp mind and dedicated action he has proven himself, and so I shall afford him my full support in this election.[/ic]

[ic=A Letter to Hugo de Vinti]Senator de Vinti,

Your praise is unnecessary and undeserved, though I am flattered to receive it. I have done all that I have done in the name of Rome, and that is reward enough for me. But I cannot recant upon my word. The Senate has heard it, and the Senate remembers it. I too remember it. If the Romans have need of me, they shall have me, Consul or not. As to my replacement, I think it well judged that Consul Viviani retain his post. He is intelligent and able, and I judge him to have met his task. In any case our noble colleagues should be mollified that one of their own holds the office. I will be affording him my support in this election.

For the other Consulship I can only think that Senator Sismondii and yourself are most equal to the task. If he or you should run I am certain I could ensure the proper direction of Senatory votes. We must be careful in so far as we divide our support. It would not do for Bocca or Manzinni to seize the second office by our mistake.

Senator Roberto Basile[/ic]

[ooc=Election of 1160]5 votes to Sanguineus Viviani[/ooc]

[Polycarp]

[ooc=Election]Please post your votes for the consular election by Wednesday, July 1st.[/ooc]

[Magnus Pym]

[ic=Before the Senate]In these tumultuous times when kingdoms vye for the seat of St. Peter, when our August Emperor dispatches podestas to govern his cities and when the mob controls districts entire, we thank God Almighty for our continued right to elect the two most worthy of leading the republic. This annual tradition we cherish and shall protect with our lives.

We find ourselves invited to cast our vote this very moment. I will cast mine for myself, and hereby declare my intent to succeed Consul Basile on the curule chair. Both the People and the Senate suffers. Rome entire does. The Senate knows not its own power and so does the People. Confusion as to our authority causes the mob to setup a kingdom of alleys and narrow streets then, and to beg and riot for the corpse of the popes there. Foreigners gaze upon us with contempt. As if we should suffer from such indgnity! I swear to you all and to God that, should I be invested with the consular honor, I will clarify the rights of the People and those of the Senate. I will enforce the rule of law and the mob shall never again be cause for concern. I will construct the bridges of friendship with our neighbors, plank by plank but tirelessly. The Tiburtini only will incur our continued hatred, for they are the progeny of Satan. And the stone walls that protect their effeminate lords will serve to reconstruct ours. As to our youth, they are Rome's future consuls. I will strive to make the school as accessible as it can be, so that not only the equites might send their children to learn the art of letters and the wisdom of the laws.

If you think me unfit to sit on the consul's chair, direct your votes on your favorite, but work with me as I try to achieve these goals, consul or not, and partake in the project of an ever more glorious Rome.[/ic]

[ooc=Election of 1160]7 votes for Hugo de Vinti[/ooc]

[Nomadic]

Unfortunately I am going to have to back out for now. Hope this doesn't cause too much issue I just don't have the free time right now.

[Steerpike]

[ic=Letter to Hugo de Vinti]Dear Senator,

It is indeed my intention to extend my consulship if possible. It saddens me to see Rome so unbalanced. God be willing my services will be the emetic this city requires to return to harmony and prosperity. Your support, of course, would greatly increase my chances of securing the position.

Senator Sanguineus Viviani[/ic]

[ooc]6 votes for Sanguineus Vivani[/ooc]

[Polycarp]

[ooc=Election]Sanguineus Viviani and Hugo de Vinti have been elected Rome's consuls for 1160-61.  As Senator Viviani received the most votes, he has the privilege of selecting his portfolio, exterior or interior.[/ooc]

[ic=On the Senate Floor]With the bread situation at least somewhat stabilized and internal unrest at a seemingly low level, the senate is increasingly turning its attention to the world outside Rome's walls.

Although most senators seem to have pro-imperial or at least pro-Victor sympathies, few have been in any great rush to proclaim Rome's allegiance to one side or another or to take any sort of active military role in the crisis; as long as Rome's position is seen to be ambiguous, the consequences of conflict might be avoided.  With Imperial forces now entering Latium, however, the senate's days of tacit pro-imperial sentiment might be numbered.

The consequences of war give many pause.  The Tusculani forces alone were able to precipitate a years-long food crisis in the city with their raiding; the Frangipani are regarded as even more powerful, and now the Colonna have joined Alexander's ranks as well.  Tusculum, that menacing fortress ever looming over Rome, may once again be in "hostile" hands.  Rome's allies in the region are few – perhaps not even Rieti, with a new overlord, can be counted on.

Not everyone is reluctant.  Some believe that now is the time to join the conflict in earnest on the pro-imperial side – starvation, they say, will always be a threat so long as the Church and the nobility control so much of what should rightfully be the Roman contado.  Only by reasserting Rome's territorial greatness will Rome no longer cower at the prospect of raiding.

Discussion still continues over the matter of elections and judicial reform.  Some of the middle class senators are still beating the drum for elections, but for the moment the demands are somewhat subdued; with war on the horizon many are more worried about maintaining strong leadership than reasserting the rights of the citizenry.  The matter, however, is far from dead.  The judicial proposals enjoy fairly strong support across the spectrum.  The chief interest of the Senate is that the Senate retain control over justice rather than ceding it to any third party, for passing judgment is integral to rulership.  If a king cannot judge, he cannot rule – and in this great city, the Senate ought to be king.[/ic]

[ic=Arnold Speaks]Arnold of Brescia addresses a great crowd...

So asks the knight and the senator, the ploughman and the merchant – which of the holy fathers is true?  Which of the exalted cardinals have chosen rightly?

O Christians, have you forgotten who these men are?  Are they not the same princes whose evil deeds against your city you know too well?  Has their college, notorious for its pride and avarice, ceased now to become a source of manifold shame for all Christendom?  I have told you that these hypocrites, these successors not to the apostles, but to the scribes and Pharisees, have made the Roman Church a den of thieves; now that they have rent themselves in twain, how can we have anything but two dens of thieves?  Are we to imagine that, having come to blows in the temple of God, having debased themselves in greed, intrigue, and violence so gladly, they have now lifted from their number a man of piety and sanctity?  Where were these saintly men, these apostolic fathers, when Rome knelt before their prefects, reduced to penury and starvation while the Curia drank and feasted?

A man who loves God hates the idols raised up as false gods.  Just so, I love our lord the Pope; but I hate the idolaters who have been raised up as false popes.  I reject the man who calls himself shepherd when he has abandoned his flock.  I reject the man who calls himself a fisherman whose nets are left to rot.  I reject the man who calls himself a Christian who disdains the life of Christ.  And above all, I reject the man who calls himself apostolic, but would cast out God's own apostles from his forechamber, as they lacked the coin to grease his servants' palms.

Pray with me, Romans; pray that the scales shall be lifted from the eyes of the clerics who turn their back on Christ, who turn faces away from heavenly glories and set their gaze on earthly treasures.  Pray for the love and mercy of God, that he will make them true believers like Saul on the road to Damascus, who through God's majesty and power was turned from a persecutor of Christ to his great evangelist, Paul the Apostle.

Yet let us not praise the sinner before he has repented, and let us not forget that the men who have rejected Christ in their actions cannot give his sacraments.  They who defile themselves with their profane lifestyles, they who snatch up benefices like thieves and amass properties to satiate their lusts, cannot give you the bread of life, nor the cup of salvation.  The bread they offer you will not nourish you; the cup they extend to you is empty.

They have nothing to offer you, and so to them nothing is owed.  There is no obligation of reverence, nor obedience, to false apostles.  Let the simoniacs hold their conclaves and councils, let them snuff out their candles and toll their bells.  In Christ alone is salvation; and those who are not his apostles, who disdain the apostolic life, possess no power to withhold what Christ has offered mankind, nor to bestow it upon you.  Remember this always; and when you are asked whose side you take, say without hesitation that it is the side of Christ![/ic]

[LD]

[ooc]I missed the vote. For what it is worth, Manzinni would have sent support to Viviani, out of the two options.[/ooc]

[Polycarp]

Well, don't worry about it if you were planning on running yourself - there's always next year. :P

I've been really busy lately getting ready for a cross-country trip.  I'll be leaving on Sunday and will probably be on the road for four days, but after that I'll set a due date for orders and be back in regular communication.

[TheMeanestGuest]

I've got a few letters in mind. Should be up sometime in the next couple days.

[Magnus Pym]

This'll be interesting. I'm actually glad to once again be consul.

[Steerpike]

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet, but I just wanted to note that as winner of the election I'll select Consul of the Interior as my portfolio.