Brady

Nominating Annaleigh Ashton @Bird

Nominating Winnie Zimmerman @Dak

Nominating John @Starnes

I'll self-nominate

Wow what a rookie mistake. Fixed, I just knocked off his Bronze Star to make up for the 10 points I needed for his military career. @Jefferson

Basic Information

Character Name: Cortland J. Carrington III
Avatar: Dave Reichert
Seat: West Virginia (Class 1)
Party: Democratic
Major Caucus: Blue Dog Coalition
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Race/Ethnicity: White
Religious Affiliation: Catholic
Date of Birth: February 21, 1943
Place of Birth: Wheeling, West Virginia
Place of Residence: Wheeling, West Virginia; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Family Information

Parents: Cortland J. Carrington, Jr.; Charlotte Carrington (née Harrison)
Siblings: Quinton Carrington
Spouse: Elizabeth “Bess” Carrington (née Clarke)
Children: Cortland J. “C.J.” Carrington IV; Sawyer Carrington
Grandchildren: Tucker Carrington; Grace Carrington; Addison “Addie” Carrington

Educational Information

Linsly Military Institute - Diploma (1961)
Virginia Military Institute - Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business (1965)
Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania) - Master of Business Administration (1975)

Occupational History

United States Marine Corps (1965-1973)
Executive at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel (1975-1989)
Governor of West Virginia (1989-1997)
States’ Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (1995-1996)
Chair of the Democratic Governors Association (1996-1997)
Director of the Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University (1997-2010)
U.S. Senator from West Virginia (2010-)

Key Votes

111th Congress
Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010: Yea

112th Congress
United States–Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Nay

Biography

Early Life, Education, and Career

Cortland James Carrington III was born on February 21, 1943, in Wheeling, West Virginia, the oldest of Cortland and Charlotte Carrington’s two sons. His father was an executive and eventually CEO of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, while his mother was a homemaker and piano teacher who provided lessons out of their home. On his father’s side, his family dated back to Virginia’s earliest settlers, with a long tradition of military service dating back to the Revolutionary War. It was a tradition the family carried on even after becoming titans of the American iron and steel industry.

As a student at Linsly Military Institute (now the Linsly School), Cort was an above average student and athlete, playing football and lacrosse and wrestling for the Linsly Cadets. He was a wrestling state champion in his weight class during his senior year in high school. He was also involved with the debate team and student government while at Linsly. He went on to attend Virginia Military Institute, his father’s alma mater, where he continued to wrestle at the collegiate level. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business in 1965.

After graduating from VMI, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He would go on to serve a tour of duty in Vietnam, serving as company commander. Cort would eventually be promoted to the rank of Major.

Following his military service, Cort received his MBA from Wharton in 1975. That same year, he went to work as an executive at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel during his father’s tenure as CEO. Cort’s career with Wheeling-Pitt would span fourteen years, culminating in promotion to the position of the company’s Chief Financial Officer for the last five years of his career. Colt was instrumental in securing a deal with Nippon Steel to jointly open a galvanizing plant for automotive sheet steel in Follansbee in 1986, also navigating the company through a bankruptcy decades in the making during his tenure.

Governor of West Virginia

Long interested in politics, Cort’s first foray was to enter the crowded field for Governor of West Virginia in 1988. He was an underdog, his inexperience contrasting with some of the other candidates, particularly State House Speaker Clyde See. He nonetheless eked out a plurality victory in the primary and went on to face incumbent Republican Governor Arch Moore. His victory over Moore in November was a major upset, owing in part to a perception of corruption and mismanagement in the Moore administration that Cort vowed to correct, touting his outsider experience in military service and business.

As Governor of West Virginia, Cort’s three major priorities would be fiscal stability, education, and job creation. Initially unpopular for signing into law the largest tax increase in state history in order to right the state’s finances, Cort would go on to become more popular over time. His popularity would increase in part due to West Virginia’s declining unemployment rate as it emerged from recession, dropping from 9.8% to 6.2% by the end of Cort’s two terms in office. During the Carrington administration, West Virginia created 86,000 new jobs, with reforms that would appeal to both business and labor.

The state made significant gains in education policy during the Carrington administration as well. Reforms included better teacher pay, bringing teacher salaries from 49th to 31st in the U.S., as well as investments in school infrastructure and technological improvements. He established a goal for computers in every classroom that would go on to be fully realized beyond his administration. As Governor of West Virginia, Cort also served as the States’ Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission from 1995-1996, and the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association from 1996-1997, his final year in office.

Post-Gubernatorial Career and U.S. Senator from West Virginia

Following his gubernatorial tenure, Cort retired from politics and delved into his career as Director of the Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University. The institute promotes research and engagement centered in the Appalachian region and provides immersive educational experiences for university students. The institute also administers two service-oriented scholarships and a number of local community service and youth mentorship projects. Cort’s experience as Governor and Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission afforded him unique insight to serve as the institute’s director.

On June 28, 2010, Senator Robert Byrd died in office, having served West Virginia in the U.S. Senate for more than five decades, the longest-serving Senator in the history of the U.S. Senate. From the beginning, it was rumored that Cort was on Governor Joe Manchin’s shortlist of potential appointees, though some believed Manchin would appoint a placeholder so he could run for the seat himself in the subsequent special election. Following several private calls and a well publicized meeting with Manchin, Cort was appointed to the vacant seat on July 16, 2010.

Soon after Cort’s appointment, Manchin announced he wouldn’t run in the special election for the seat and Cort declared his own candidacy, putting an end to any lingering questions regarding whether he had been appointed as a placeholder. Cort would go on to a decisive victory in a three-way Democratic primary against former West Virginia Secretary of State and U.S. Representative Ken Hechler and former State Delegate Sheirl Fletcher. That November, Cort defeated Republican businessman John Raese by just over ten percentage points. He would go on to defeat Raese again by a broader margin in 2012.

In his campaign for the Senate, Cort emphasized his record as Governor, including both his record of job growth and his positive relationship with labor, though overall he struck a more populist than conservative tone on fiscal and economic issues. He has been a longtime critic of free trade arrangements, blaming cheap Chinese steel and unlawful trade practices for the decline of the American steel industry. During his campaign and his brief tenure in the Senate, he has tacked more to the right on cultural and social issues, and taken a more hawkish approach to matters of foreign policy and national security. Cort caucuses with the Blue Dog Coalition, a coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats in Congress. He has emphasized he is an independently minded Democrat who puts state and country ahead of ideology or faction.

Personal Life

Cort met Bess Clarke when they were both juniors in high school, he at Linsly and she at Bishop Donahue Memorial High School, a private Catholic high school in McMechen. The two of them maintained a long-distance relationship while he was at VMI and she was a student at West Virginia University. Cort and Bess were married in the summer of 1965 before Cort was set to begin his service in the Marine Corps.

Cort and Bess have two sons, Cortland J. Carrington IV (“C.J.”) and Sawyer Carrington. C.J. has gone on to serve in the West Virginia House of Delegates and then the State Senate, following service in the U.S. Navy and a law career in energy and mineral rights. C.J. is married to Stephanie Carrington (née Blankenship) and the two of them have three children: Tucker, Grace, and Addie. Sawyer is a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Cort and Bess continue to reside in Wheeling, though they have also purchased a home in Harpers Ferry within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to avoid frequent long commutes. Cort often takes the train to work from their home in Harpers Ferry. Raised Episcopalian, Cort converted to Catholicism at VMI prior to his marriage to Bess, a lifelong Catholic. Cort and Bess are active in their parish communities in both Wheeling and Harpers Ferry, as well as a number of philanthropic and community service endeavors. Cort has been a longtime volunteer with Habitat for Humanity since first working with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn on a project during his time as Governor.

Cort is a wellness and fitness enthusiast, maintaining a rigorous exercise regimen every weekday he’s kept up his whole adult life. He is also an outdoorsman and hunter, and a proud gun owner. His guilty pleasures include bourbon — mint juleps are his go-to cocktail — and the occasional cigar. He also can’t say no to his wife’s homemade black walnut fudge, which he’s taken to bringing with him to the Senate for colleagues to enjoy upon returning from every recess.

Points

Gender: Male (0 points)
Age: 66-70 years old (-5 points)
Sexuality: Straight, married with < 3 children (-5 points)
Race/Ancestry: White/Caucasian (0 points)
Religion: Roman Catholic (0 points)
Education:

• College Degree at Public Ivy (5 points)
• Master’s Degree at Top University (20 points)

Family History: Super-Rich, Top 1% (-15 points)
Career Information:

• Business Executive (20 points)
• Commissioned Officer, O-1 to O-5 (10 points)
• Federal Political Staffer x2 (20 points)
• Private School Administration (15 points)

Political Experience:

• Governor (12 points x 2 terms = 24 points)
• Senate Term (5 points)

Total: 94 points

Mr. President,

The amendment the Senator from California has offered significantly waters down the oversight this bill would ensure. This amendment would reduce the quarterly reports in this bill to annual reports, which begs the question how long the minority and the administration believe this conflict will go on and how long we'll continue to be involved in it. What's more the special and specific oversight authority this bill would convey is seriously weakened.

We need real and specific oversight for our involvement in this conflict given its implications for our security and interests. I'm honestly surprised the Senator from California doesn't agree with that, because I'm fairly certain many Californians from his own party do. In any case, I'm against this amendment and any weakening of the oversight authority this bill would strengthen.

I yield.

Yea

Mr. President, I second the motion for cloture and I yield.

Mr. President, I second the motion for cloture and I yield.

Name: Holly Hawthorne (R-AK)

Media/Outlet: Face the Nation (CBS)

Reason: Rising Oil Prices

• Representing a state where the price at the pump is usually higher than the national average, what's happening with gas prices right now actually makes me angry. Politicians in D.C. are doing fine. Some of them are even still driving Teslas for some reason. It's working folks in Alaska and all across America who are hurting.
• I'll be the first to stand up with Jim Terrus and call on the Justice Department to look into whether there's illegal gouging going on. If there is, let's give them hell for it. But we can't ignore this would all be preventable if we were relying on our own oil, which we have in abundance.
• But instead of working across the aisle toward energy independence, Democrats have imposed higher taxes and bigger fees that are making domestic oil production less appealing. They're reducing the competitiveness of our own American energy supply. It has to stop.
• The Nassakis administration's foreign policy blunders got us into this mess, but no one wants to see Saudi Arabia bullying Americans or the multinational oil industry gouging Americans, if that's going on. So Democrats need to work with us to make sure it can't happen, by tapping into our own abundant resources.

Nay

Name: Holly Hawthorne (R-AK)

Media/Outlet: The Ingraham Angle (Fox News)

Reason: WAGE Act/Blue Collar Bonus

• It's unbelievable to me the lengths Democrats will go to avoid a serious compromise that would see the Blue Collar Bonus permanently extended and the minimum wage increased for millions of American workers.
• We have that compromise in the Senate, courtesy of Kyle Fitzgerald. We would extend the Blue Collar Bonus for all low wage workers, and workers earning the minimum wage and employed by billion dollar corporations would see a wage boost to $15. We're talking about winning the Fight for 15 for millions of Americans.
• Democrats aren't having any of it. Their bill in the House will raise the minimum wage to $15 for all businesses, including small businesses that can't afford it. It will also raise taxes on businesses, making the risk of reduced hours, layoffs, maybe even closures more likely.
• Meanwhile, they'll only extend the Blue Collar Bonus for three years, which means in three years, low income workers who make just a bit more than the minimum wage but less than the median will be at the mercy of Congress again. What will the left want then to prevent a pay cut for blue collar workers? Seizing the means of production?
• If you ask me, this is about presidential politics. Senator Fitzgerald's compromise is a solid, reasonable compromise that should be bipartisan, but they don't want to give him "a win." What they're really doing is denying millions of American workers a win and forcing a pay cut for blue collar workers come next year. I'm not surprised far left frauds who only pretend to stand for working folks like AOC are a-okay with that but you'd think it would give Blue Dogs in the House some pause.

2 GPs to introduce the following legislation for passenger vehicle registration:

• First-time registration surcharge of $300 for fully electric vehicles, for all such vehicles registered for the first time after the date of enactment (for a starting total of $500 for first-time EV registration when combined with biennial fee below);
• Biennial registration fee of $200 for electric vehicles and $150 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up from the $100 biennial registration fee for all vehicles;
• The new biennial registration fees for EVs and PHEVs will be indexed to percentage increase in the CPI-U for Urban Alaska as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics;
• All additional revenue from the new fees must be allocated to the Alaska Department of Transportation for the construction, maintenance, and repair of road transport infrastructure (roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, etc).

3 GPs to boost legislation

5 GPs total

(Alaska's legislature is unique in that it is often controlled by a bipartisan majority coalition, which is currently the case. However, there are currently more Republicans than Democrats in each chamber so I've counted this as 3/3 control for GP spending. But if the AB sees it differently feel free to charge me whatever is appropriate).

How's everyone doing today? It's so great to be here in Lufkin. You know, Texas is where my husband was born and raised, so for me it feels like my home away from home in the Lower 48. As I look out at all of you, and reflect on Kyle's background and my own life, it strikes me how much this movement to put America first is a working class movement. Like Kyle, that's my background too. My dad was an oil worker on Alaska's North Slope and my mom taught kindergarten at Utqiaġvik's public elementary school, our only elementary school. I worked as a nurse, before my time in the Navy as a medic, and my husband Jeremy served in the Marines — he's a detective now. I've been blessed with being able to serve the state of Alaska and our country during the Trump administration, but my family is just like yours.

And there is no one who could possibly run for President I'd trust more with the future of my family and yours than this man, Senator Kyle Fitzgerald.

I trust Kyle to deliver results for American families because he already has. Kyle Fitzgerald had the backs of our blue collar workers when they were barely on the radar of anyone else in Congress, delivering important reforms to protect workers against predatory and increasingly "progressive" multinational corporations. And we know he'll back the blue too. He has fought every far left attempt to defund and demoralize the police, something that is so important to me, and I know it's important to all of you too. Kyle has put forward Samantha's Law to deport violent criminals, and make sure they don't come back. Kyle Fitzgerald is the kind of man who would never abandon a mission unfinished, and when it comes to our border he is going to finish the job and secure it. He is going to stop the fentanyl killing our kids, the real public health emergency our government should have been working to defeat. There is no one else who could run for President who can say they've worked more tirelessly to protect our families and communities than your Senator, and as we're seeing right now, the presidency is no place for second or third string.

I also trust Kyle to be the kind of responsible Commander-in-Chief we need in these turbulent times. As you may have heard, I know a thing or two about American foreign policy. I know what it's like to work as part of an administration that secures peace and prosperity on tough but fair terms, that for the first time this century actually resolved conflicts abroad so we could focus on a little nation-building right here at home. Right now we're seeing something very different. Right now we're seeing new conflicts erupting almost daily, provoked by feckless and reckless elites in Washington who will never bear any real consequences for any of it. Don't you want a Commander-in-Chief who understands the consequences of his actions, because he's seen firsthand the consequences of another President's actions on the battlefield? I know I do. Don't you want a President who will throw the chickenhawks out of the Oval and deliver real American leadership, unapologetically in pursuit of America's interests, and restore America's greatness? I do too, and so do millions of Americans. Kyle Fitzgerald will be that President.

Every branch of our armed forces has a very clear guiding principle — we leave no one behind. It is time for a President who will apply that guiding principle to our government. It is time to elect Kyle Fitzgerald the next President of these United States! Ladies and gentlemen, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work knocking on doors, putting up signs, doing the necessary work to put this man in the White House, because he is going to roll up his sleeves and get to work for us every day he's in office. Thank you all so much, God bless Texas and God bless America!

On 9/8/2023 at 4:57 PM, Brady said:

 

This turned out to be the beginning of a fairly serious sinus infection so I'm extending this through at least the weekend. Will update as needed

 

Update, 9/11: Still sick, absent until further notice

Okay, back but still somewhat reduced activity until I feel 100%. But for game activity purposes I'm basically here again 

On 9/6/2023 at 6:21 PM, Brady said:

I've been having migraine issues, going to take a couple days LOA but might be back sooner if it clears up

This turned out to be the beginning of a fairly serious sinus infection so I'm extending this through at least the weekend. Will update as needed

Update, 9/11: Still sick, absent until further notice

I've been having migraine issues, going to take a couple days LOA but might be back sooner if it clears up

Senator Holly Hawthorne (R-AK) places a hold on the Ukraine Territorial Integrity Act.

CS

Name: Holly Hawthorne (R-AK)

Media/Outlet: The Ingraham Angle (Fox News)

Reason: Pro-Chinese and Pro-Iranian Turn at the UN

• I'm shocked to see the Nassakis administration not only upending our partnership with Saudi Arabia, but also voting with Beijing and Tehran at the United Nations. How is it this administration put the United States on the side of a Chinese-backed UN resolution that called for Saudi withdrawal from Yemen, but not Iranian withdrawal?
• Let's be really clear about what an Iranian victory in Yemen will look like. It will mean Saudi Arabia is surrounded by Iranian forces and proxies. It will mean Iran has even more incentive to meddle in Iraq so it can establish a stronger foothold there, the better to surround Saudi Arabia.
• This matters not because Saudi Arabia is saintly, but because Saudi Arabia is better for our interests than Iran. One in six of the American troops killed in Iraq were killed by Iran. When Iran kills our soldiers, Tehran boasts about it — sometimes they boast even when they've failed. Iran has known ties to al-Qaeda that matter today.
• An empowered and emboldened Iran is a dramatic threat to our interests in the region. An Iran that is building up its presence surrounding Saudi Arabia is also an Iran inching closer and closer to Israel's borders, threatening our closest ally in the region. This should be alarming to every American.
• This administration's pro-Iranian policy lurch is inconsistent with decades of American foreign policy norms. It's a radical departure, not only from Bush, Obama, and Trump, but also Abigail Sharp. No matter how much this administration wants to forget her, and no matter how much Democrats in Congress try to pretend she didn't exist, Abigail Sharp understood fundamentally that the real imperative for our interests in the Middle East is preventing Iranian expansion. Mya Jordan and Barak Mofaz understood that. The Nassakis administration doesn't get it, and their cluelessness couldn't be more dangerous.

Name: Holly Hawthorne (R-AK)

Media/Outlet: State of the Union (CNN)

Reason: Withdrawal from Partnership with Saudi Arabia

• It's interesting to me to see some Democrats on social media suggesting this decision to withdraw from America's partnership with Saudi Arabia was an "America First" step. It couldn't be further from the truth. Putting America first means having a clear-eyed foreign policy focused on our national interests.
• Democrats are talking as if they've just noticed Saudi Arabia does terrible things. Saudi Arabia has done terrible things for a very long time, across both Democratic and Republican administrations. But do you know who does worse things? Iran. And it's Iran that will be empowered by the end of our partnership with Saudi Arabia.
• Really putting America first means recognizing that as bad as Saudi Arabia can at times be, they are a necessary counterbalance to total Iranian hegemony in the Middle East. If you have concerns about human rights now, just wait until Iran is in the driver's seat calling the shots across the entire region. That's what's at stake here.
• The rate at which events in the Middle East are unfolding to strengthen Iran's position is shocking, and this administration's response is that we should ignore the very real threats an empowered and emboldened Iran poses to our national interests because Saudi Arabia is bad. Iran is far worse, for us, for our interests, for our allies.
• This administration needs to start dealing in facts instead of philosophy. Americans are threatened by a strengthened Iran. Our allies, especially Israel, are threatened by a strengthened Iran. We can't just say good riddance to Saudi Arabia when it means saying good riddance to our interests in the region.

CS

CS

Yea