Biereland gubernatorial candidates trade insults

GERBANNON, Biereland - They're supposed to be setting their sights on their Nationalist opponent. But instead, Conservative gubernatorial candidates Ben Jordan and Bob Kozzy (pronounced "Cause-ee") are aiming their ammunition at each other.

Jordan - the state's attorney general - and Kozzy - a former senator - are running for the CNS nomination for governor. They are joined by Brookings Mayor Rich DeFrancesco, who has largely stayed out of the limelight.

The winner of the three-way primary will take on Nationalist Gov. San Bartholomew, who is seeking a second term.

It's unclear if it's a good thing or bad thing, but DeFrancesco has largely stayed out of the fray, while Jordan (who is the favored candidate), and Kozzy duke it out in a bruising primary race.

And this weekend, the insults were flying through the air.

Appearing together at a candidate forum in Gerbannon in the state's north-central region, Jordan called Kozzy a "kook" for his anti-government conspiracy theories and his belief in UFOs.

Kozzy returned the favor by labeling Jordan "an arrogant windbag," and saying Jordan panders to the far right with gimmicks and "political theatre."

"(Ben Jordan) excites the base of the party by filing frivolous lawsuits against the federal government. And he gives rousing speeches that denounce the president or the governor with almost hate-like passion. And why does he do these things? Because he knows it will energize the base and get them excited for his campaign. But it's merely pandering. It's not genuine. He knows these lawsuits will go nowhere. He knows he shouldn't be speaking ill of the governor or the president in a hateful manner. But he does it anyway for political gain and it's reprehensible."

Kozzy continued, "If all you want is a dramatic monologue or an Oscar-worthy performance, then vote for Ben Jordan. But if you want real change that will restore this state and bring it back from the precipice of disaster, vote for me. Because that's what I plan to do as governor."

Jordan then jabbed Kozzy with a tongue-in-cheek UFO joke.

"Tell me, Bob, will you nominate any extra-terrestrials to serve in your cabinet if you're elected?"

The laughter and applause from some of the crowd did not hide the animosity between the two strikingly different candidates.

Meanwhile, back in Brookings, Mayor Rich DeFrancesco also jumped into the ring with his own take on the Jordan-Kozzy feud.

"While Ben Jordan and Bob Kozzy were in Gerbannon debating the possibility of alternative life forms, Rich DeFrancesco spent the weekend meeting with voters in Brookings - talking about issues that matter to people: the economy, jobs, roads, infrastructure, health care, education, taxes. These are the issues Bierelanders care about."

San Bartholomew was asked about the infighting among his Conservative opponents. He joked with reporters that he would be calling an "inter-planetary conference" and would invite Jordan and Kozzy to appear.

Sen. Chambers criticizes administration over 'power vacuum' at Foreign Affairs Office

FAIRFIELD, South Ceona - A top NAT senator is taking the Menuhaeo administration to task for what he perceives to be a "power vacuum" at the office of Foreign Affairs.

Appearing on the GBC's Landscape with Jim Danderfield, centrist Nationalist Sen. Vic Chambers of South Ceona said the president is taking too long to name a nominee for Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Currently, Deputy Secretary Dawnelle Hunter-Garrett is serving in an interim role, until the president announces his nominee.

Hunter-Garrett assumed in the interim position after former Secretary Jim McCaren stepped down back in February.

"I respect the president and I think he's a good man. And I respect Deputy Secretary Hunter-Garrett. But I'm concerned that our country has gone several months now without a formal leader at the Office of Foreign Affairs. It gives the appearance of a power vacuum at the Foreign Affairs Office and that weakens our image and our influence," said Chambers.

Hunter-Garrett is doing a "fine job" for the time-being, Chambers said. But he would prefer the president nominate a candidate with more experience in diplomacy.

"The Deputy Secretary is very knowledgeable, but we really need someone who has experience as a diplomat, not just a professor," said Chambers.

Hunter-Garrett was a the chair of the International Affairs program at Kinn College prior to taking the deputy secretary post.

Chambers, who is up for re-election in 2014, also urged President Menuhaeo and the international community to do more to help ease the tension in Ukraine, following Russia's forceful annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

"I think we ought to be doing more instead of just sitting idly by while (Vladimir) Putin takes what doesn't belong to him," said Chambers. "We don't have to send thousands of troops over there, but we could do more than just freezing assets in Western bank accounts."

Chambers has no opponent yet in the fall race. Several no-name Conservatives are running to challenge him in November. But he is considered potentially vulnerable, since South Ceona is a more conservative state and the minority party (the CNS this go-round) historically fares better in mid-term elections (2014 is a mid-term election).

In other words, he's not considered vulnerable yet. But he could face a tough fight for re-election, depending on which CNS candidate wins the primary and how much money party leaders and conservative activists are willing to spend on the race.

Earlier this year, rumors were circulating that Chambers might switch parties and become a Conservative. A spokeswoman for his campaign shot down that idea, saying in a statement that "Vic Chambers is running for re-election as a Nationalist, and he is proud to be a Nationalist."

Meanwhile, also appearing on Landscape next to Chambers, was another senator who is up for re-election this year.

Conservative-turned-Democratic-Reformist Sen. Paul Ludtke of Ansleigha expressed similar sentiments about the lack of a Foreign Affairs nominee, but disagreed with Chambers on the Ukraine crisis.

"The last thing we need to do is up the rhetoric and make a military provocation. The days of Grassadellia and the United States being the world's policemen are over. Those days ended when George W. Bush and Dan Byelle left office, and we don't want to bring them back," said Ludtke. "What we need to do is put pressure on Russia diplomatically and through the seizure and freezing of assets, and also through other economic sanctions. Hit them in the pocket book. And build international public opinion against them so they are forced to stop this very provocative move."

Ludtke added that Russia's invasion of Crimea was "absolutely unjust, and a total violation of international law." But he cautioned against military involvement by Western powers.

"Military involvement should be a last resort, and I don't think we're at that point yet. But obviously, if Putin keeps marching across Europe swallowing up countries like Hitler did in the 1940's, then that would be an appropriate time to act swiftly and with decisiveness."

Ludtke was a moderate Conservative until switching parties four years ago after what he called the "lunacy of the Conservative Party" and its "obsession" with social issues.

Holding mostly libertarian views, Ludtke is an accountant and CPA by trade, and also an adjunct professor of Economics at Randolph College in Ansleigha. He is fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

It's unclear who Ludtke's opponent(s) will be in the coming fall election. Former senate candidates Mark Altberg and Jon Schauman, both Nationalists, are thought to be considering a run against him. Schauman narrowly lost to Ludtke in 2010.

Conservatives are also planning to challenge Ludtke. Former Assemblywoman McKendra Brown, a moderate pro-choice Conservative who represented the seat of Gowlinson, which encompasses Koeurn, the state's largest city, is mulling a bid.

Current Assemblywoman Tara Burlingame of Chadwick and the Donsides, an electorate based in southwest Ansleigha's coal country, is also considering a run.

However, there is concern among some in the CNS that some of Burlingame's more libertarian views may overlap with Lutke's. and that she may have more in common with the incumbent than preferred, though Burlingame is decisively more conservative on social issues.

Whichever candidates win each parties' respective nominations, the Senate race in Ansleigha will be one worth watching. A likely three-way race could result in either a close finish, or a split centre-right vote, which would virtually hand the seat to the Nationalists, who hold a sizable majority of seats in the upper house.