MoralisticCommunist
Banned
This is the nineteenth installment in my alternate American election series. Also I'd appreciate any suggestions for which state I should cover as the 20th installment in my series.
Previous states:
Metropotamia
Alta California
North Carolina
New Jersey
Adams
Alabama
Rhode Island
Sequoyah
Assenisipia
East Florida
Tennessee
Kansas
Dakota
Arizona
Delaware
Oregon
Ozark
New Hampshire
Western Connecticut has often been described as Metropotamia's little brother, a fact which is reflected in its politics. Just like Metropotamia the state of Western Connecticut is dominated by a single city, Cleveland, with the rest of the state being little more than suburbs and exurbs of the capital. And just like Metropotamia, Western Connecticut is renown for being a Labor stronghold. Most recently, Western Connecticut has experienced the same Social Credit surge as Metropotamia has, a fact which has threaten Labor's majority greatly.
All this came to the surge 2017 election, which having been just a year after Metropotamia's, had the Labor party prepared to fight tooth and nail for a retention of their majority. Over $16 million dollars worth of political ads on TV, radio, and newspaper was poured into the state by the federal Labor party, a sum which rivals the $17 million and $19 million it spent last year in the highly competitive states of East Florida and New Jersey respectively. Yet in the end, the outcome was the almost exactly the same as in Metropotamia, with Social Credit surging up by 14 seats, resulting in Labor being short of a majority by 11 seats.
The unique feature of Western Connecticut which enabled Labor to remain in government, even without entering into a coalition, is its the Senate. The origins of the Western Connecticut Senate lie in the General Strike of 1973, during which the IWW and many other labor unions started a general strike in protest of the repeal of the Civil Rights Act as well as the Nixon administration in general. With over half of the city's workers going on strike from May 6th to July 23rd, the state was put under federal martial law and tens of thousands of strikers were arrested. After the deaths of over 1520 civilians and more than 275 police officers the Republicans finally came to the negotiating table and agreed to call elections that November.
In addition to the House been made 100% proportional in representation, albeit with a 5% cutoff, the Senate was made electable solely by labor union members. These labor unions would be divided into three key industries, Government, Manufacturing & Logistics, and Health & Education, in addition to a fourth category for miscellaneous industries. Being a chamber exclusively for labor union members the Western Connecticut Senate has been decried by many on the right as undemocratic, but it after being stripped of its power to initiate bills or overturn House bills without a 2/3 majority the Supreme Court let it be.
Regardless, anyone could see that Labor's victory in 2017 was a pyrrhic one, having lost their majority in the House and only holding on to the Senate, the one chamber preventing a vote of no confidence, by a mere 2 seats. Going into 2017 Labor had been hopeful that the tide of center-right populist parties would have lost steam, but the movement shows little sign of stopping, which worries Labor deeply for its long term future.
Government:
Labor - The dominant party of Western Connecticut, their connection with labor unions is seen greatest in the state's Senate elected by only labor union members. The Labor party of Western Connecticut is also one of the most leftist of all branches of the Labor party, mainly in response to the large anarchist presence in Cleveland. Having been a Labor safe state for decades, the Western Connecticut Labor party was thrown into chaos at how their election was a near repeat of the Metropotamia election.
Opposition:
Social Credit - Surging to become the official opposition of Western Connecticut ahead of the Republicans, the party has much to be proud of with their near repeat of Metropotamia. Even in the Senate, Social Credit endorsement from the Cleveland Police Union and the Western Connecticut Trucker's Association helped them double their seats to 12. If current trends continue, Western Connecticut risks becoming another Saratoga, wherein the Labor party was totally eclipsed by the Social Credit's promise of a socially conservative, economically protectionist utopia.
Republicans - The party of Big Business, their natural territory is in the suburbs of Cleveland among affluent middle and upper class folk. While not a major force in the state by any means, their shrinkage to third party status after the ascending Social Credit this year has left them scared of being diminished to a minor power like in Metropotamia.
International Workers of the World - Nicknamed the Wobblies, this party serves as the political arm of the IWW labor union, after the old Socialist party disaffiliated themselves from the Wobblies as a result of the Berger-Debs split. Being an anarchist labor union, the party has had its leaders jailed repeatedly for inciting riots. While the IWW no longer has any significant support outside of Western Connecticut their ability to block the streets of Cleveland with strikers alone has left the Labor government ever wary of the Wobblies' influence and forced them to shift leftwards in order to placate the revolutionary industrial unionists.
Greens - A center left party noted for their socially liberal stances, they are most popular among college students and the youth vote in general. In general the Midwest is known for its social conservatism but in a state as dominated by a city like Cleveland the Green party has managed to carve out its own little enclave.
Black Panther party - The Black Panthers are a significant force in Western Connecticut however their influence is not as large it might have been had the Wobblies not been in Cleveland.
Previous states:
Metropotamia
Alta California
North Carolina
New Jersey
Adams
Alabama
Rhode Island
Sequoyah
Assenisipia
East Florida
Tennessee
Kansas
Dakota
Arizona
Delaware
Oregon
Ozark
New Hampshire
Western Connecticut has often been described as Metropotamia's little brother, a fact which is reflected in its politics. Just like Metropotamia the state of Western Connecticut is dominated by a single city, Cleveland, with the rest of the state being little more than suburbs and exurbs of the capital. And just like Metropotamia, Western Connecticut is renown for being a Labor stronghold. Most recently, Western Connecticut has experienced the same Social Credit surge as Metropotamia has, a fact which has threaten Labor's majority greatly.
All this came to the surge 2017 election, which having been just a year after Metropotamia's, had the Labor party prepared to fight tooth and nail for a retention of their majority. Over $16 million dollars worth of political ads on TV, radio, and newspaper was poured into the state by the federal Labor party, a sum which rivals the $17 million and $19 million it spent last year in the highly competitive states of East Florida and New Jersey respectively. Yet in the end, the outcome was the almost exactly the same as in Metropotamia, with Social Credit surging up by 14 seats, resulting in Labor being short of a majority by 11 seats.
The unique feature of Western Connecticut which enabled Labor to remain in government, even without entering into a coalition, is its the Senate. The origins of the Western Connecticut Senate lie in the General Strike of 1973, during which the IWW and many other labor unions started a general strike in protest of the repeal of the Civil Rights Act as well as the Nixon administration in general. With over half of the city's workers going on strike from May 6th to July 23rd, the state was put under federal martial law and tens of thousands of strikers were arrested. After the deaths of over 1520 civilians and more than 275 police officers the Republicans finally came to the negotiating table and agreed to call elections that November.
In addition to the House been made 100% proportional in representation, albeit with a 5% cutoff, the Senate was made electable solely by labor union members. These labor unions would be divided into three key industries, Government, Manufacturing & Logistics, and Health & Education, in addition to a fourth category for miscellaneous industries. Being a chamber exclusively for labor union members the Western Connecticut Senate has been decried by many on the right as undemocratic, but it after being stripped of its power to initiate bills or overturn House bills without a 2/3 majority the Supreme Court let it be.
Regardless, anyone could see that Labor's victory in 2017 was a pyrrhic one, having lost their majority in the House and only holding on to the Senate, the one chamber preventing a vote of no confidence, by a mere 2 seats. Going into 2017 Labor had been hopeful that the tide of center-right populist parties would have lost steam, but the movement shows little sign of stopping, which worries Labor deeply for its long term future.
Government:
Labor - The dominant party of Western Connecticut, their connection with labor unions is seen greatest in the state's Senate elected by only labor union members. The Labor party of Western Connecticut is also one of the most leftist of all branches of the Labor party, mainly in response to the large anarchist presence in Cleveland. Having been a Labor safe state for decades, the Western Connecticut Labor party was thrown into chaos at how their election was a near repeat of the Metropotamia election.
Opposition:
Social Credit - Surging to become the official opposition of Western Connecticut ahead of the Republicans, the party has much to be proud of with their near repeat of Metropotamia. Even in the Senate, Social Credit endorsement from the Cleveland Police Union and the Western Connecticut Trucker's Association helped them double their seats to 12. If current trends continue, Western Connecticut risks becoming another Saratoga, wherein the Labor party was totally eclipsed by the Social Credit's promise of a socially conservative, economically protectionist utopia.
Republicans - The party of Big Business, their natural territory is in the suburbs of Cleveland among affluent middle and upper class folk. While not a major force in the state by any means, their shrinkage to third party status after the ascending Social Credit this year has left them scared of being diminished to a minor power like in Metropotamia.
International Workers of the World - Nicknamed the Wobblies, this party serves as the political arm of the IWW labor union, after the old Socialist party disaffiliated themselves from the Wobblies as a result of the Berger-Debs split. Being an anarchist labor union, the party has had its leaders jailed repeatedly for inciting riots. While the IWW no longer has any significant support outside of Western Connecticut their ability to block the streets of Cleveland with strikers alone has left the Labor government ever wary of the Wobblies' influence and forced them to shift leftwards in order to placate the revolutionary industrial unionists.
Greens - A center left party noted for their socially liberal stances, they are most popular among college students and the youth vote in general. In general the Midwest is known for its social conservatism but in a state as dominated by a city like Cleveland the Green party has managed to carve out its own little enclave.
Black Panther party - The Black Panthers are a significant force in Western Connecticut however their influence is not as large it might have been had the Wobblies not been in Cleveland.