Senator Nickolai Dernilski

NS Nation Name: Karg Character Name: Nickolai Dernilski Character Gender: Male Character Age: 61 Character Height: 6' 2" Character Weight: 193 Pounds Character Position/Role/Job: Ohio State Representative (1987-1994)

Ohio State HOR Democratic Whip (1995-2004) Senator for Ohio (2007-Present) Appearance: Character State of Origin: Ohio Character State of Residence: Washington D.C Character Party Affiliation: Democratic Main Strengths: Pragmatic, determined, moralistic, Main Weaknesses: soft spoken, hawkish foreign views alienate many from his core voter base, silver spoon background, Biography: Born in Cleveland in 1958, Nickolai was raised with a silver spoon. His father was an airline pilot and his mother a state representative. Raised in an upper class neighborhood just outside the city, he was sent to a private Catholic school for all twelve years of his education. He was a shy timid boy, more interested in his studies and reading than socializing with his peers. He was lucky enough to be accepted to the University of Cincinnati where he received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Similar to high school he struggled to find a consistent friend group and would spend more time reading news articles in the paper on NASA and aircraft.

It was through reading these articles he learned of Ohio native and astronaut John Glenn. Glenn at this time was now Ohio senator and viewed as potential presidential material. As Nickolai's own nearsightedness disqualified him from following Glenn's footsteps as an astronaut, he instead decided to volunteer for the Glenn campaign and worked for it throughout the 1980 Senate race. He stayed on the Glenn campaign as an intern until 1984 when Glenn was defeated in the Democratic Presidential primaries by Mondale. He ran for the Ohio House of Representatives 63rd district in 1986 and won.

As State Representative Nickolai was seen as being on the Liberal end of the spectrum at the time. He consistently voted in favor of expanding healthcare, abortion rights, gun control and opposing discrimination policies.

In 1991 he was in favor of the Gulf War, as he saw Saddam Hussein as an evil tyrant and believed that the United States needed to take action to limit his expansion while avoiding an all-out Vietnam style war. He was also over joined at the conclusion of the Cold War, as he sees Mutually Assured Destruction as the second largest threat to mankind behind climate change. To this day he supports total nuclear disarmament worldwide. He also met his wife Marilyn that year.

In 1992 Nickolai quietly voted for (Not-Perot) in the general after (Not-Brown) failed to defeat future President Clifford in the primaries. Nickolai was not a large fan of the NAFTA treaty as he saw it compromising American workers in favor of Mexico and Canada. Nickolai wasn't the largest fan of Clifford, as the President failed to accomplish much in the way of healthcare or returning jobs to the US. He was in favor of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban though, as he saw weapons like the AR-15 to be too devastating for a civilian. He also approved of the Brady Bill.

However, he strongly strayed from Clifford on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the military, which he saw as an excuse for homophobia to persist within the ranks of the armed forces. In 96' he begrudgingly voted for Clifford rather than (Not-Perot) as he saw (Not-Dole) as simply too extreme. He figured Perot was a lost cause the second time around and stood behind Clifford instead. Nick was in favor of intervention in Kosovo through airstrikes but not ground forces.

In 1995 he became the Democratic State House Whip.

In 2000 Nick was fully behind (Not-Gore) as he saw Burke Jr. as absolutely too far right. He was brutally disappointed by the outcome and has held a general distaste for the Electoral College ever since. In the aftermath of 9/11 he was in favor of operations in Afghanistan as he wanted to see Bin Laden brought to justice. However, despite his distaste for Saddam Hussein, he did not support the War in Iraq, as he didn't see enough justification. He would've preferred keeping up sanctions as well as a heavy campaign of diplomatic pressure to defeat Saddam.

It was Iraq, the PATRIOT Act and the Burke tax cuts that made Nickolai decide he needed to run for a higher office. He did not run for re-election in 04, instead running for senate in 2006 and won due to the nationwide Blue Wave that year. He managed to successfully portray his opponent as a Burkite and a staunch supporter of the Iraq War.

Finally in Washington, he rallied against free trade and encouraged the Democrats to pursue Progressive populism. He supported (Not-Edwards) for President in 2008 but ended up in the Baharia coalition. He was overjoyed to get Baharia in the White House and was an immediate supporter of the Affordable Care Act. He also supported increasing federal funding for abortion as well as increasing federal gun control.

He established a heavily liberal record, with some calling him a modern (Not-Wellstone) Despite his opponent's Iraq veteran status and heavy funding by groups such as the NRA, he managed to win re-election in 2012.

Nick was absolutely devastated by the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, so much so that he wrote and sponsored the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013, a failed attempt to revive the 1994 ban and make it permanent. In 2013 Nick stated that the consolidated banks and finance industry conglomerates needed to be broken up. Although he has stated that he is supportive of a single-payer healthcare system, he put forth a different plan in 2014 that would've allowed people 55 and older to buy into medicare. He also supported the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

He has been on the Aviation and Space Committee as well as the Healthcare Committee.

In 2016, Nick fully supported Senator Sam Baginski, but eventually came around to being in favor of Secretary Diane Clifford. In fact, he was widely considered Vice President material for the former First Lady. He came down to runner up on the shortlist. The day after election day, Nick had his largest controversy of his career when he said "If it was Baginski, he would've picked me." on video. He later apologized for the comments. The 2016 election also changed his distaste for the Electoral College into vitriolic hatred, with him now being an open advocate for it's abolishment.

In late 2018, shortly after winning re-election for the second time, it was revealed Nick had opened an exploratory committee for a 2020 Presidential run. The 2018 election was his safest, he was able to over-perform with women and minority voters due to President Wolf’s unpopularity with these groups. However in February 2019 he confirmed he would not be running for President in this election cycle. He refused to comment when asked of a 2024 run. Personally he was a supporter of Timothy Westra but never made an open endorsement. After Senator Westra's drop he has decided to endorse Senator Jillian Dayton of Virginia.

Policies:

Gun Control: Fully in support. AW Ban, Background checks, Open and Concealed Carry bans as well as Mag limits and Red Flag laws. Has an F rating from the NRA.

Abortion: Pro-Choice up to birth. Supports full federal funding for woman's services.

Healthcare: Supports an eventual switch to a single-payer model but more pragmatic in getting there. Has proposed Medicare-For-Those-Who-Want-It plans similar to Mike Velez's plan.

Taxes: Is open to raising taxes and isn't scared to admit it. Sees higher taxes as a necessary evil to fund more programs.

LGBTQ+: Fully in support. Legalized marriage, full government funding for gender transitions as well as mental health services. Also in favor of federal hate crime legislation.

Education: Supports tuition free education as well as increased funding for primary education and higher pay for teachers.

Trade: Highly Protectionist, sees deals like NAFTA as betrayals of the American Worker.

Environment: Against the green new deal and pro-fracking.

Foreign Policy: This is where Nick gets himself in hot water with the usual Progressive base. He supports maintaining a strong military to deter violent dictators. Generally follows the policy of speak softly and carry a big stick. He has condemned the Rohingya Genocide as well as the Uighur genocide. He is against the use of military force against Iran and favors returning to the JCPOA. He has caused controversy as he has spoken out against the Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory. He has voted in favor of New Start, as he sees nuclear weapons as a grave danger to mankind. In fact, he has openly said he supports a total worldwide nuclear disarmament and would make that a priority of his as President.

He is also against the Space Force despite his support for military funding, as he sees outer space as a place for peaceful co-operation and exploration. One of his signature talking points is "rockets pointed to the stars, not towards one another."

Other Info: Pragmatic Progressive, seen as potential Vice Presidential material in 2016 election. Explored potential 2020 run but decided against it. He has a wife Marilyn and two twin daughters.

I have read and accept the rules of the roleplay: Karg

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