Raptormm4: Difference between revisions

Raptor's first political experience in Cascadia would be the [[October 2023 Cascadia presidential election|October 2023 General Election]], which saw Flatvent_One face off against incumbent President [[EmpressCorgo]]. Raptor would support Corgo in this election, being opposed to Osoyoos' isolationist foreign policy and aligning himself with the Frontiersmen who were campaigning against Osoyoos. Ultimately, Corgo would win the election after the general election arrived at a tie and the House of Representatives broke the tie in her favor. Following Corgo's victory, Osoyoos seceded, promising revenge against Cascadia. It was around this time that Raptor would publicly mock Osoyoos supporters in the Cascadia Discord, usually by mocking their attempts at a "crusade" against Cascadia while residing in Africa. Raptor continued to be a political observer through the remainder of the Corgo and following Akeboun presidency.

== Early political activities ==

The only bill which Raptor proposed during his first term in the Legislature was the one which he had set out to create to begin with, the [[Cascadian Conservation Act]]. The act established the modern national parks system, different designations for different types of parks, a protections for national parkland. The act was one of the first laws in around half a year to mention conservation, with the previous National Parks Service and small parks system effectively being defunct. The bill placed national parks under the direct control of the Department of Interior, rather than a separate agency. Originally, the bill would have included a reformed National Parks Service, however this plan was shot down by more experienced Representatives who remembered the previous agency which had gone unused. The original draft of the bill also included more stringent punishments for damaging national parkland, but again more experienced Representatives advised lessening the provision.

=== Speakership ===

During his 2nd term as Speaker of the House, Raptor would speak with President Setrus, former President Akeboun, and Secretary of Defense Cheeseballfluffy about the establishment of an intelligence agency for Cascadia. The Office of National Intelligence was then established a division within the National Guard, marking the creation of Cascadia's first organized intelligence agency. Raptor would also help push for the creation of several new national parks during this time, most notably Hakai National Park, which remains one of the largest national parks in the nation. While acting as Speaker, Raptor also gained a seat on the Electoral Commission, the body which proposes the borders and names of the various electoral districts of Cascadia. A Frontiersman, Raptor was one of many upset that the Frontier's district continued to be called the "Eastern" district, and would fight for the name to be changed back to their traditional name. This battle would last for some time, and was opposed by Chief Justice [[SayerQT]], who preferred cardinal direction names in an attempt to suppress regionalism. Raptor, with the support of Moxie, ultimately won out and the Frontier District was restored, alongside the Northern District being restored to the Great North District. There was an attempt by Raptor and Moxie to do away with cardinal names all-together, proposing that the Southern District be renamed to "Sierra" or "Mojave", however these plans met opposition from the geographically and culturally diverse South, where it was ultimately determined that "Southern" was the best name acceptable to everyone.  

== Secretary of Defense ==

=== May 2024 Campaign ===

Raptor announced his long-anticipated campaign for the presidency on May 10, 2024. He was soon thereafter endorsed by Vice President Setrus, former President and sitting Representative Paper1emur, Secretary of State Milgorn123, Representative RuffWoof, and Lovelyfurball, among others. His campaign focused on promises similar to the policies he had fought for in the House, including strengthening national defense, expanding the national parks system, and improving nationwide infrastructure. There were also other focuses added to the campaign, most notably around his slogan of "A Square Deal for All!". The slogan was inspired by the words of irl president Theodore Roosevelt, from whom Raptor took a great deal of inspiration. By adopting this slogan, the campaign attempted to argue that for much of the last few months, if not years, the Cascadian government had been almost entirely focuses on what was happening in the urbanized areas of the Cascadian Metro and California, while neglecting the more isolated regions of the Frontier and Great North. In order to combat this neglect, the Raptor Campaign promised to consider all regions in the expansion of government programs and infrastructure, focus on catching up in the neglected parts of the nation before focusing again on the major cities, and create a homesteading system wherein citizens could apply for government grants to create new towns in areas that Cascadia wanted to settle. The campaign also promised to "return leadership to the presidency", addressing a perceived lack of leadership from recent presidents who had given their cabinet secretaries near-total control over their respective areas of policy. This perceived lack of transparency was also blamed by the campaign for the loss of population of slow economic growth during the spring of 2024. On May 19, 2024, Raptor won a decisive victory over Sergio, winning the Metropolitan and Frontier outright, winning all but the Great North in the final count, and winning 56.1% of votes cast. Sergio, a resident of the Great North, did manage to win twice as many votes in that district as Raptor, however strong Raptor majorities in the other 3 districts, where Raptor had support from neglected towns and liberal establishment leaders who supported his foreign policy, would ultimately win the election.

Raptor's mission of environmental conservation would continue during his presidency. During his first term in office, Strait of Georgia National Park would be established on Vancouver Island, and on June 6, 2024, Raptor would pass the Conservation Aid Act. This act created a fund which could be given to mayors in exchange for claiming land for national parkland which the Department of Interior deemed especially important. The goal of this program was to provide a financial incentive which could help convince mayors in environmentally sensitive areas to donate land to the national parks system. The funding provided by the act would ultimately be used to pay for 24 chunks of Glacier National Park, however the act was repealed in November 2024 by RAWRyoutube's Welfare Reform Act of 2024, which repealed the Conservation Aid Act and a handful of other more obscure and specialized welfare programs.

==== Foreign Policy ====

== Post-Presidency ==

Following his retirement from presidential politics, Raptor has mostly focuses on his work with the National Parks Service and Office of Intelligence, though over time he has become increasingly involved again in mainstream Cascadian politics. In late 2024, Raptor was heavily involved in the creation of Cascades National Park, the expansion of the National Parks Service through the Raptormm4 Conservation Act, and the founding of the Cascades Club, a lobbying organization for conservation issues in Cascadia. Raptor also remained commander of the office of national intelligence while it was a division under the National Guard, and became the Office's first Director when it became independent of the Department of Defense in November 2024. The work that Raptor has done with the Office of Intelligence remains mostly classified. Raptor was appointed Chancellor of the University of Cascadia on June 6, 2025, promising to reinvigorate the national university by focusing on research and the dissemination of knowledge, rather than larp classes that have never materialized. Raptor was elected to a new tenure as a Representative for the Frontier in the 35th Legislature, on June 15, 2025. He ran on the promise of continuing to support conservation issues, expanding home rule, and reforming the Department of Interior.