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March Pre-Standing Senate Poll Results; NewsGrumps Poll from the Midterm Included
Topic Started: Mar 10 2016, 05:27 AM (263 Views)
Calvin Coolidge
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In addition to the poll that I conducted from March 7-9th, I will be posting the relevant results from the NewsGrumps poll conducted February 8-10th, which Seymour graciously made available to me for comparison. Both results will be analyzed by me, as I try to make this data relevant to you, the reader. Seymour’s poll received eighteen responses, mine received twenty, they were both open for 48 hours.

Did you vote in the last Senate Election?

Panda’s Pen
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With a wide majority having voted in the last election, we can assume that many of this poll’s voters were somewhat engaged this term, and will likely vote in the upcoming election, making these results somewhat meaningful.

Overall Senate Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 7.28
Mode: 9 and 7

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 4.9
Mode: 4

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments


A loss of about two points from the mean approval score of this Senate does not bode well, and we can see the difference in the comments, with more concern over the ACE party’s grip on the Senate, the general inactivity, and the gender neutral language issue leading to the decrease in approval for the Senate. In fact, this score is one of the lowest that I can recall in my time as a pollster for a Senate.

Speaker Aexnidaral Seymour’s Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 8.17 (Highest for NewsGrumps)
Mode: 10

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 6.6 (Highest for Panda's Pen)
Mode: 8

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments

The comments and scores paint a pretty polarized picture. For every comment about Aex being an awful Speaker, there is another saying he did the best in the Senate and should be commended. In both polls, he scored higher than any of his fellow Senators, a phenomenon we often see in Senate Speakers, and his score shifted down about as much as the Senate overall, so he didn’t come out of the backlash the Senate unscathed, but he’s also kept most of his support.


Deputy Speaker Sopo Rating

NewsGrumps (Sopo was not Deputy Speaker when this poll was conducted)
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Mean: 5.94
Mode: 8 and 7

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 5.2
Mode: 6

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments

The main concern people had with Sopo this term was his activity, both at the midterm and now. That is likely why his score shifted so little during this time, because the concern was there from the start of the term. On the plus side, it seems people liked his contributions when he made them, it seems he just didn’t make enough to garner any real approval.

Drecq’s Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 6.44
Mode: 9, 8, 6, and 4

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 5.25
Mode: 8, 7, and 2

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments

Drecq was constantly rated as the Senator who knew the most about legislation, but the public is divided on how effectively he used that knowledge this term in regards to helping out the legislature. It seems half thought he did the best he could, but was stymied by a bad Senate, while the other half thinks he didn’t put in enough effort this term, and since he had so much capability, that he deserves the brunt of the blame for this term’s shortcomings. His score shifted down less than Aex’s but since it was lower to begin with, we can assume the people who didn’t like him to begin with just liked him less as the term went on.


GraVandius’ Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 4.89 (Lowest for NewsGrumps)
Mode: 3

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 3.75
Mode: 5 and 3

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments

Throughout the term, GraV received overwhelmingly negative responses to his actions in the Senate, with people’s concerns essentially boiling down to the perception that he added nothing to the conversation, and wasn’t putting in much effort. If there’s any consolation, while his score shifted down from the midterm to now, he was no longer the lowest rated Senator by the end of the term, though that’s not saying much.

JGlenn’s Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 5.56
Mode: 6 and 4

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 3.2 (Lowest for Panda’s Pen)
Mode: 3

NewsGrumps Comments


Panda’s Pen Comments

JGlenn had a similar problem to GraV at the midterm, with many finding his contributions to the Senate discussions lacking. However, by the end of the term, he had not logged into the forums for weeks, so inactivity added to the public’s concern over his contributions, and combined, those concerns brought JGlenn to be the lowest rated Senator in a poorly ranked Senate. There’s not much light at the end of this tunnel for him.

Kaboom’s Rating

Panda’s Pen
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Mean: 4.55
Mode: 3

Panda’s Pen Comments

Kaboom was only recently elected, so there’s no data to compare from the midterm. In his short time as a Senator, some people had concerns about his legislative knowledge, but most thought there was not enough time to judge. It seems he didn’t have much of an impact on the legislature in the public’s eye, so we’ll see what that translates to in the next election, should he run.


Former Deputy Speaker Calvin Coolidge’s Rating

NewsGrumps
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Mean: 6
Mode: 5

NewsGrumps Comments

Since I was elected to the Vice-Presidency soon after this poll was taken, I am no longer a Senator, and will not be running in the next Senate election. I mostly just included this for transparency, but we can see people had concerns with the quality of legislation I proposed, but at least conceded that I was active.

Reelection Numbers

The first number is those who said they would reelect the Senator, the second number is the total amount of responses. The percentage is the first number divided by the second.

Speaker Aexnidaral Seymour

NewsGrumps
15/18 (83.3%) (Highest from NewsGrumps)

Panda’s Pen
14/20 (70%) (Highest from Panda’s Pen)

Deputy Speaker Sopo (not Deputy Speaker at the time of NewsGrumps’ poll)

NewsGrumps
7/18 (38.9%)

Panda’s Pen
6/20 (30%)

Drecq

NewsGrumps
12/18 (66.7%)

Panda’s Pen
11/20 (55%)

GraVandius

NewsGrumps
5/18 (27.8%) (Lowest from NewsGrumps)

Panda’s Pen
3/20 (15%) (Lowest from Panda’s Pen)

JGlenn

NewsGrumps
6/18 (33.3%)

Panda’s Pen
3/20 (15%) (Lowest from Panda’s Pen)

Kaboom

Panda’s Pen
10/20 (50%)

Former Deputy Speaker Calvin Coolidge

NewsGrumps
12/18 (66.7%)

From this data, we can see that everybody's numbers went down about ten or fifteen points as the term progressed, but Aex and Drecq had numbers high enough at the midterm that they should have a good chance to get reelected, Sopo, GraV, and JGlenn will face a huge uphill battle, should they choose to run again. Kaboom would have a fifty-fifty shot at getting reelected, should he choose to run, likely due to his short time in office, and the desire of Europeians to see more before they judge him too harshly.

[FROM THIS POINT ON, ALL DATA WILL BE FROM THE PANDA’S PEN]

Senate’s Handling of Gender Neutral Language

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Comments

This was a very controversial issue both in this poll and in the region this term, so it is unsurprising to see that support is pretty much split right down the middle, with a plurality not really sure how to feel about the issue. There is one camp that blames the Speaker for pushing legislation through too quickly, or to pursue his own agenda, while another camp of equal size blames the Senate for inactivity, and says the issue would have been better resolved if more Senators contributed. At this point, it’s unsure where the future leads for this issue, as it will likely remain unresolved by the time the term ends.

CA Representative System

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Comments

Many are undecided what to think about this new program, and are unsure whether the extra voices confuse things (as the naysayers say), or help educate the CA members (as the supporters say). It seems many wish to see the program continue, at least until they can see some more long-term effects.


Planning on Running Next Election?

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It seems that with many agreeing this Senate needs new legislators, 55% of those polled are willing/considering to jump into the race. That should lend itself to a competitive election (or at least a crowded one) when the election begins.

What New Faces Would You Like To See Run?

Names Mentioned More Than Once


Final Comments

Comments


The region clearly had a lot to say about the Senate this term, and is hungry for change. It’ll be interesting to examine the discussion as we head into the election this week, but for now, we should have a pretty good idea of where people stand, and how that has changed as the term progressed. My thanks once again to NewsGrumps for providing their data, and I hope you all found this analysis helpful. Until next time, this is Calvin Coolidge, glad he’s moved to the Goldenblock.

NewsGrumps' Raw Data

Panda's Pen Raw Data
Edited by Calvin Coolidge, Mar 10 2016, 05:51 AM.
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Notolecta
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I will say I find people who blame drecq for not fixing the GMA to be stupid, when his whole reason for not supporting ti is that it wasn't worth the work. Why should people who don't think something is worth the work required be expected to put the work in rather than the people who think it is worth it? That just doesn't make sense to me. I think it's a bit odd to call any one person out on that anyway, when not one person from inside the Senate did any real work on any bills.
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Aexnidaral Seymour
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Interesting results! I'm used to being a polarizing politician, especially amongst older members.

I have to say, perhaps these gems are my favorite:
Quote:
 
His performance this term has been awful, and he has shown absolutely 0 leadership capabilities.

Quote:
 
For every single issue Ax sought to politicize it and whine until his ACE majority agreed with him

Quote:
 
He pushed everthing through as fast as possible before the tide could turn ... Whenever something was against him, however, it sat in stagnation.

Quote:
 
Aex rushed a lot of legislation when he wanted, stalled legislation when he wanted, and seemed to game the system, much to the disadvantage of the legislative process.

Quote:
 
definitely used the Speakership in a very political way,

Quote:
 
He was definitely an action oriented Speaker.


I genuinely got a chuckle out of some of those, especially when compared to each other (and, specifically the ones that were in the same comment!). I thank everyone who thinks I am an awful leader who can't get anything done, but am yet powerful enough to whine and armtwist my way into getting what I want.

The only real other comment I want to make is in relation to these types of comments:
Quote:
 
...incompetent people like Aex which leads to incompetent leadership and an incompetent Senate.

Quote:
 
Drecq should be ashamed of himself.


While, of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and equally entitled to speak them... they should, however, have enough intellect and tact to stay away from such foolish comments as those above. Calling someone outright "incompetent" or implying they're "shameful" is absolutely, and totally, something that is just beyond the pale. That's not a fair criticism of leadership or style, that's outright personal-- and insults like that are unnecessary and uncalled for.
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Kazaman
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I got the impression that this Senate was doing a mediocre job, but I didn't expect the public to voice negative feedback to this degree.
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Drecq
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We didn't do as well as expected and what we did pass (whether I was for or against it) did have issues. I can understand people's frustration. Every senator contributed to the downturn this term, me certainly included. I still thinks it's less shameful than not running, not trying, and then blaming it on the people who do. We can and will do better in the future but not because of people that throw blame around and don't engage but because of people that actively participate.
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Sopo
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At least one person brought up my LoA as an issue, and I agree that it was one. Generally I'm able to access the forums and meet the minimum requirements of the office while I'm gone, so I did not appoint a replacement. It was an error on my part as I ended up having much more difficulty logging on over my trip.

More generally, I've taken these comments to heart. Its been a difficult term for a number of reasons. While I believe it started out well, I ended up wrapped in additional things beyond my control, and it definitely hurt my performance in the Senate. I also agree that since Trinn's election, Senate performance has dropped off remarkably, because of inactive Senators (myself included) and because too much time was wasted on something that I initially thought would be a simple change to implement (gender neutral language).

The second half of the term has gotten away from me, and I wasn't able to accomplish the things I had hoped to accomplish. I apologize to every citizen of Europeia that entrusted me with this duty that I ultimately let down. I let myself down. I won't be seeking re-election, both because my upcoming schedule continues to be travel-heavy, but because I genuinely feel out of my depths on issues like the Judicature Act.

As the years have gone by, Europeia has become more and more sophisticated legally and legislatively, and the issues facing the region today--the legislation we need to address--require a level of expertise that I honestly don't believe I have and do not wish to invest time in developing. My number one priority is always and will always be making this region a better place, but the Senate as an institution now is different than the one I used to thrive in. Whether anyone other than Mal, Drecq, and a few others can meet the expectations we've come to have over the past few years is not for me to say, but I know that I can't. I ran on the idea that I could, but for a number of reasons that turned out not to be true.

I wish the next Senate the best of luck, and I genuinely hope that this term is not indicative of terms to come.
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Fortunado
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My only problem, which was highlighted by the poll, is that the use of the term "obstructionist" to describe the senate. I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that "obstructionism" is a bad thing for the senate, at least in what people are calling "obstructionist". The term is such an odd thing to use as a backhand in the senate. I could understand its use if somebody deliberately tried to get a tie for every vote, but not when somebody is providing discourse on a bill. Aren't we supposed to debate the effectiveness of every legislation? If we begin calling views that we don't like "obstructionist" than we become bobbleheads and yes-men. If everybody liked a bill, than that bill goes forth, and could easily have a myriad of problems with it. I ask that more people like Drecq (who has done a good job in providing that sort of beneficial discourse) obstruct this process.

Heck, US democracy put tons of tons of tons of barriers, such as going to both houses, going through committees, and other such slow-downs as to have a long and lengthy process. They made it difficult to pass a bill as a safeguard. A quality assurance. If bills just fly to through the senate, than their is definitely not any quality assurance. That is why I am also against looking at a slower senate and trying to rush a bill if nobody talks about it. You can't rush legislation in the senate; you must discuss, discuss, debate, and "obstruct."

Need I mention that in the same response that said Drecq, was the derogatory "Obstructionist", he was described as "the one Senator actually trying to give some constructive back and forth on legislation"? Maybe, that fact should be immediately apparent. This is why I felt that notty shouldn't have been so divisive just because he was labelled an "obstructionist", as well. If we begin feeling dissent is some obstruction to the system, than we are surely going downhill in legislation.
Edited by Fortunado, Mar 10 2016, 05:55 PM.

I consider myself an idealist, mostly because realists are just pessimists who don't do anything.
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Sopo
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It doesn't even make sense to call Drecq an obstructionist, as he couldn't stop anything from passing on his own.
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GraVandius
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I personally agree with all the comments detracting against my performance in the Senate. I was not a good Senator nor did I particularly enjoy being one (it has been my least favorite position in Euro so far). I found out over the course of the term that I did not have the legal or procedural knowledge to be a good senator, or the substantial time to learn it all. Therefore, I found myself simply following the greater legal minds of Aex or Drecq, especially later in the term. Truthfully, I probably should have resigned as Senator when this became clear to me but I didn't and I assume this will be a substantial blot on my record going forward. I humbly ask for you to look past this one substantial blot to perhaps my other achievements when I run for a position in the future.
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Please don't run again.
I won't, dont worry.

On another note, I would like to defend my colleges in the Senate. While a few of us experienced activity issues many were more than mediocre senators this term. The anonymous vulgar broadsides against Drecq and Aex in particular are un-warranted and less productive then the same people claim the Senate term was. I don't necessarily believe we were a fantastic senate this term but I dont believe we were the living embodiment of disaster that some in this poll suggest.

Furthermore, some people in this poll seem to suggest that speaker Aex was able to get votes, in favor of legislation he supported, by simply calling on the fact that a few of his fellow senators were also ACE members. This accusation is preposterous. ACE members voted opposite of Aex a number of times across the term. I personally believe that this stems more from an anti-political party sentiment that seems to be embedded in a few of our citizens than actual fact.

Sincerely,
GraVandius

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Kuramia
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I have to agree with you, Sopo. Part of the reason I don't run for Senate is because I am well aware I would in over my head in a lot of issues. I read Mal and Dreq's back and forth (not to mention CSP when he was in the Senate), and it's easy for me to see where the gaps in my knowledge lie.

Hopefully, with time, we can learn what we need to and advance to Europeian legislation where it currently resides. Maybe I just need more Boston Legal reruns.
Edited by Kuramia, Mar 10 2016, 09:53 PM.
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Trinnien
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So... I'm just going to leave this here: 113 Days to past and future Senators.
Edited by Trinnien, Mar 11 2016, 03:14 AM.
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Notolecta
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I think people are being a bit over-dramatic with the implications that only someone with a legal scholar background like drecq and mal can be in the senate for it to properly operate. There is a balance that needs to be met, but that balance leaves room for some people that fill different roles. The problem this term was multiple fold. One there just wasn't a lot of activity in the senate period, which is related but not 100% caused by the unbalance of roles, and two there were too many senators who all filled the same role, and it's one of the roles that is definitively problematic in excess(not because the people that fill the role aren't useful, but their abilities leave gaps that need to be filled, so if there are too many people with the same sort of gap it's difficult to fill it with one or two people).
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Lethen
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