Russell Long

[quote="Velahor";p="37069220"][align=center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress.svg/170px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress.svg.png[/img]

[hr][/hr]

Character Information Sheet[/align]

NS Nation Name: Velahor

Character Name: Russell Earl Long

Character Gender: Male

Character Age: 57

Character Height: 6’2

Character Weight: 270

Character Position/Role/Job: Governor of Louisiana (2015-present)

[spoiler=Work History]United States Representative Louisiana 2nd District (2001-2014)

Deputy Administrator of the DOT Federal Highway Administration under President Clifford (1998-2000)

Chief of Staff to the Mayor of New Orleans (1994-1998)

Campaign Manager/Political Consultant (1991-1994)

Racehorse Owner & Amateur Golfer (prior to 1994)[/spoiler]

Appearance: [spoiler=John Goodman][img]

https://www.biography.com/.image/t_share/MTE4MDAzNDEwMzkwNTE3MjYy/john-goodman-476702-1-402.jpg[/img][/spoiler]

Character State of Origin: Louisiana

Character State of Residence: Louisiana

Character Party Affiliation: Democratic

Main Strengths: is seen by many in Louisiana as the second coming of his grandfather Huey Long, populist, favored heavily among poor blacks and poor whites, commands the Louisiana Democratic Party with a heavy fist, calls for UBI echo his grandfather’s call for a “Share Our Wealth” program, well-connected and has a very active base of followers, born-and-bred Southerner with lots of GOP crossover appeal, forceful political operator, king of the smoke-filled rooms but also a commanding speaker

Main Weaknesses: is seen by many around the country as the second coming of his grandfather Huey Long, refused to endorse Clifford in the general in 2016 while not expressly backing Wolf either, uses way more Christian and religious rhetoric that most modern Democrats, regularly has to fend off allegations of socialism and communism, doesn't fit modern political paradigms, scandal from 1998 involving corruption while in Clifford administration, rather unpredictable with his moods and hard to handle, pro-life Democrat, was a late bloomer and has a bit of a lazy streak, coasted by on his name during his time in the House without many accomplishments, marriage to younger woman somewhat controversial, could be vulnerable to an attack by PETA for formerly owning racehorses

Biography: [spoiler]Russell Earl Long was born in 1962, the second son of Palmer Reid Long Sr., and a member of the Long political dynasty of Louisiana. Russell’s father was not particularly politically involved himself, but the family as a whole had a major legacy in Louisiana Democratic politics. Most notable was Russell’s grandfather Huey Long, who was a notable 1930’s populist that was beloved by the people of Louisiana.

From a young age, people compared Russell’s mannerisms to those of his grandfather, and frankly, it got to his head. He was a bully in his private Baptist school in Shreveport, Louisiana, but was also an excellent student, and went to Louisiana State University, participating in their debate team. He graduated with a bachelor’s in political science with a minor in business.

But did he go anywhere in life? Not at first. In 1991, at age 29, Russell still lived at home with his parents and had never had a job. He simply was too lazy, and lacked the motivation. Instead of working, he spent his time golfing at the local country club, drinking heavily, and getting a good 10 hours of sleep each night. He spent a good portion of his time buying and selling racehorses, though drinking and betting on horses throughout the South and occasionally buying or selling shares in a horse as well was a job, it was more just a rich boy’s hobby. He was simply a spoiled rich kid with everything he could ever want in the world, as his father was a fairly successful businessman. Unknowingly, his fooling around as a rich southern boy doing everything he could to avoid working actually worked in his favor, as his presence golfing and partying with other rich southern people built up his political connections.

But his father was fed up with his presence in the home, and told him he needed to be out of the house by his 30th birthday. Russell, finally motivated to have a job so he would have money to get his own apartment, made some calls to some old college friends and got hired to manage an old friend’s long-shot campaign to get a Democrat elected in a red State House district in western Louisiana. With a ground game orchestrated by Russell E. Long (and honestly a lucky editorial mistake in a newspaper that made it look like the paper had called the other candidate a rather embarrassing name), he got his friend elected to the seat.

He was soon hired as a field representative for the Louisiana Democratic Party for one election term, but quickly, it was recognized that his skills were just as valuable planning campaigns as he was actually knocking doors and organizing rallies. His title was quickly changed to Political Consultant. He advised campaigns on strategy and then was hired as a strategist for the Speaker of the Louisiana House.

That got him noticed by the Mayor of New Orleans, who after seeing his performance in his previous position, hired him as Chief of Staff of the city of New Orleans. A scandal broke as it was found that Long had possibly allowed federal highway funding to be delayed by 6 months to projects in New Orleans in exchange for a position in the Clifford administration’s Department of Transportation. During his time in this position, he was responsible for overseeing major transportation infrastructure projects that brought new jobs to the South, which he uses as a talking point on the campaign trail. He also completely restructured the department to commit certain administrators in the DOT to certain regions of the country, which helped streamline approval of new projects. As the scandal was discovered in 2001, after he had already been elected to the US House of Representatives in the Second District, charges were never filed. He won election in 2001 mostly based on name recognition, and total plagiarism of his grandfather’s speaking style and phrases.

While Russell E. Long was in his seven terms in the House, he did not achieve much of note, other than a very moderate voting record. He served in various committees centered around finance and the budget. He served through 2015, when he decided he missed being in Louisiana, so he ran for governor instead. He beat a weak

centrist Democrat in the primary, and then won a very close race against a Republican in the general (52%-48%).

In his four years as Governor, Russell E. Long has advocated for a statewide UBI (which has not yet passed the legislature, enacted a Medicare expansion sometimes jokingly called as “Medicare for Most”, and has contributed to massive state infrastructure overhauls. Long endured criticism when he would not endorse Diane Clifford, when he said that “Clifford is one of the only Democrats I can’t stand, as she’s a big supporter of America-Last trade policies and a loser globalist.”

Long is running for re-election, and just won his uncontested incumbent primary. In spring 2019, he married former Miss Louisiana Tanya Marshall. She is 24 years his younger, and she is largely considered a bit of a gold-digger. During his tenure as Governor of a state with a Republican legislature, he has maintained a healthy budget, and passed most of the executive orders that IRL John Bel Edwards has passed. He controversially signed a bill into law banning abortion after 15 weeks.

[spoiler=Executive Orders]

-An executive order forbidding state government and government contractors from discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity, while also repealing Gov. (not-Bobby Jindal)’s Marriage and Conscience executive order.

-Medicaid expansion which made over 500,000 more adults eligible for Medicaid[/spoiler]

Other Info:

Named after his uncle and his great-uncle.

Has high blood pressure.

He is not particularly wealthy himself. He inherited some money when his father died, but spent most of it on his campaign for Governor.

[spoiler][b][u]Views (not public unless otherwise stated):[/u]

Healthcare:[/b] Medicare-for-all

[b]Climate Change:[/b] Climate change must be reversed. Believes in holding a national referendum on the Paris Climate Agreement to re-enter it.

[b]Abortion:[/b] Pro-life. He wants to ban abortion and give pregnant single mothers $50K to cover the expense of carrying a baby to term. He has signed pro-life legislation as governor.

[b]Foreign Policy:[/b] strong interventionist, believes in using US military power to stop genocides everywhere in the world.

[b]Immigration:[/b] build the wall, prioritize high-skilled immigrants, give asylum to non-skilled immigrants escaping violence but not to those suffering economic hardship.

[b]Trade:[/b] strict protectionist, believes in activating trade policy as a weapon against malignant dictatorships

[b]Gun Control:[/b] pro-Second Amendment Democrat, views can be considered similar to those of John Bel Edwards or pre-2014 Jon Tester.

[b]Workers Issues:[/b] strong trade unionist

[b]Education:[/b] mandatory pre-K, national free college and trade school, offer free English language programs for immigrants, free adult education programs ensure that every adult can obtain a GED if desired, and believes strongly in increasing teacher pay

[b]Civil Liberties:[/b] formerly against gay marriage while in the House, now pro-LGBTQ+ across the board on the grounds of “we’re all God’s children, and we’re all Americans, so we all have rights.”

[b]Taxation & Spending:[/b] believes in a national “Poverty Elimination Income”, which will pay individuals under the poverty line enough to raise them out of poverty. This plan has be noted for it’s similarities to the “Share Our Wealth” program of his grandfather’s, but is not nearly as drastic.[/spoiler]

Any other beliefs can be considered unformed or non-existent.

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

Do Not Remove: 84721

[hr][/hr]

Made a couple small fixes[/quote]