Democratic Capitalist Delegation

The Democratic Capitalist Delegation , or DCD, was founded by James Lott in January of 2554 and is based out of the state of Migadon in the Republic of Telamon. The DCD promotes prosperity through free market economics and a free people to run such a market. The DCD also believes that for a free market to function at optimal efficiency, government regulation is necessary to a limited degree.

Foundation
James Lott was born on the 21st of December, 2528 in the city of Kirimati, Sevescia. His family soon after moved to Parah, Migadon where Chairman Lott would come of age. He graduated from the University of Telapolis in May 2553 with a masters degree in political science. At the age of 24, Chairman Lott was among the youngest graduates ever to earn such an honor. Throughout his collegiate years, he had gradually grown dissatisfied with the political parties in power and the stranglehold they were implementing on freedom. Immediately following his graduation, Chairman Lott became politically active and began gathering support for a capitalist movement. Eight months later, the DCD was born just in time for Telamon's new age of liberalism.

Party Ideology
Official Platform

I) We believe in the strength and prosperous potential of a free market economy.

II) We believe that in order for the free market to function as intended by its founding fathers, central government regulation and protection of the consumer is necessary. Although we favor government regulation, we do not favor government monopolization of non-essential industries.

III) We believe that it is the inherent responsibility of a central government to ensure the safety and health of its people.

IV) Just as we believe in a free market, we strongly believe in a free people and pledge to protect the rights of the individual.

V) We believe that the best way to ensure the safety of Telamonian citizens is to build friendly relations with neighboring countries.

Issue Prioritization

The DCD breaks all issues down into three categories:

Primary Issues - All issues which concern the economy or economic efficiency are considered primary issues. These are the issues which the party was founded to deal with and the DCD favors limited regulation on most primary issues.

Secondary Issues - All issues which concern foreign affairs are considered secondary issues. These are issues which the DCD recognizes any central government inherently must have a stance on, but are not largely concerned with. The DCD generally favors internationalism when the economy stands to benefit, and isolationism when it doesn't.

Tertiary Issues - All issues which do not concern the economy or foreign affairs are regarded as tertiary issues. The DCD tends to favor massive deregulation of tertiary issues.

Internal Affairs
Party Chairman James Lott has been authoritative and firm among party members for his entire tenure, preventing internal splintering, infighting, and dissidence. Although some party factions disagree with elements of his very defined platform, he has managed to maintain an exceptional internal approval rating throughout his entire career. Although tough on his subordinates, Chairman Lott is often regarded as an open negotiator with allied and opposing political parties alike. Party officials often argue that his methods of compromise have enabled the DCD to exercise more influence than most parties of comparable size would be able to.

Party Factions

Idealists - Technically not a faction, "Idealists" is the term given to the party majority who fully endorses and stands behind the current chairman and his agenda.

Devolutionists - When the party was founded, it tended to favor a mixture of deregulation and devolution for tertiary issues. However, as time wore on, the DCD leaned more and more in favor of deregulation. As party leadership strayed from devolution, they alienated a substantial minority of party members and constituents. This gave birth to the "Tertiary Devolution Chapter," more commonly referred to as the devolutionist faction. This is the largest and most significant faction of the DCD. Chairman Lott condoned the formation of the factional chapter in order to keep the Party unified.

Religious Democrats - The religious democrats are the only party sanctioned faction aside from the devolutionists. Their official chapter, the "Democratic Capitalist Theologians Chapter," is composed of market and social liberals who also hold devout religious beliefs. The religious democrats have developed into a large faction by nature of the fact that the DCD is the least secular of Telamon's liberal parties. They typically accept the fact that the party is moderate on religious issues and rarely attempt to pull it to the right. Instead, the chapter cites the purpose of its formation as insuring that the party does not slide to the secular end of the issue.

Free Market Militants - The free market militant faction is a handful of aggressive party members who agree with DCD market ideology, but believe the party should take an aggressive foreign affairs stance. These members advocate the invasion and conquering of nearby countries (especially those which do not trade with Telamon) so the country can access more resources and support a larger economy. The free market militants have long advocated for the formation of a party militia, but their efforts have been kept silent as party leadership has always been rigidly opposed to such measures.

Ecological Deregulators - The DCD has typically aired on the side of environmentalism concerning issues of ecology. Party leaders often argue that it is a concern of public health, but many members disagree. This small group which opposes the official party stance on the issue is known as the ecological deregulation faction. This faction believes environmental regulations are an unnecessary invasion of the private sector on the part of the state. The ecological deregulators are not an especially large faction, and are often regarded as a non-threat to party unity given that they accept the rest of the party platform.

Significant Party Heads
Kirk Morrison Kirk Morrison replaced former foreign affairs minister Ted Kennedy when the DCD reclaimed the Foreign Affairs ministry in 2572. Disappointed with the lack of action on the part of Minister Kennedy, Chairman Lott sought to replace him with an ambitious and more active candidate. Minister Morrison, who served as a DCD delegate in Parliament for 6 terms turned out to be the ideal fit. While Chairman Lott is often described as a compromiser, Minister Morrison is far more firm when facing opposition. Although Chairman Lott believed this attribute would serve him well when dealing with foreign countries, it lead to a near melt down with the Telamonian ally of Lodamun when Morrison made a retaliatory diplomat withdrawal in response to a prior withdrawal made by Lodumunese Foreign Affairs Minister Rich Reynolds. The situation was quickly mopped up, and Minister Morrison has otherwise proved Diplomatic and effective.

Justin Griffith Justin Griffith has been the Officer of Internal Affairs for the DCD since its inception in 2554. Although Chairman Lott's firm and charismatic leadership is often credited with the maintenance of exceptional party unity, many party officials have privately commented that it is the iron fisted internal enforcement of Griffith's office which has suppressed the outbursts of dissenting factions. Griffith's most notable work within the party has been his control of the Tertiary Devolution Chapter. His clever manipulation of the devolutionists using Presiding Officer Gannon as a puppet has voided the need for strict reprimands while still keeping the faction in line. Griffith's no-nonsense work and fervent support for party ideals have gained him much traction within the DCD, although ranking officials fear that were he ever to reach the office of chairman, his rigid disposition would cost the party its agreeable reputation.

Daunte Woodson Daunte Woodson is a relatively new member to the ranks of notable DCD officials, and certainly the yonugest at the age of 26. Woodson enlisted as a member of the DCD in 2576 with the expectation of serving a term as an appointed DCD delegate to Parliament. However, after losing 14 seats in the '76 elections, he was not given the anticipated appointment. Undeterred, Woodson worked diligently to rise through the party ranks. As a bright young prospect, he soon garnered attention from prominent party officials including Chairman Lott. Within three years, Woodson was appointed as the party's Officer of Public Affairs and became regarded as a top flight party official. In May of 2580, he was appointed as the first ever Vice Chairman of the DCD. Woodson's politics are not typical of a high ranking party official. As an open devolutionist, he is the highest ranking DCD member to openly disagree with the official platform of unitary deregulation. Although he never technically enlisted with the Tertiary Devolution Chapter, he is often regarded as its most powerful and influential member.

Richard Gannon

Richard Gannon is the presiding officer over the Tertiary Devolution Chapter. He was appointed to the position by Chairman Lott when the devolutionist faction was sanctioned as an official party chapter in 2560. Gannon is a moderate devolutionist who has been with the party since its inception. His combination of political savvy, loyalty to the party, and popularity among devolutionaries made him the logical choice to run the chapter. Although officially Gannon is the most powerful member of the Tertiary Devolution Chapter, it is well known that Vice Chairman Woodson is the figurehead for devolutionary ideals in the DCD.

Michael Huff Michael Huff is the presiding officer over the Democratic Capitalist Theologians Chapter. Following the formation of the Tertiary Devolution Chapter in 2560, religious party members began to demand their own chapter. Religious party members formed a significant enough minority that the party leadership was not willing to risk a splinter. Chiarman Lott authorized the initiation of a religious democrats chapter eight months after the sanctioning of the devolutionist chapter. Michael Huff seemed to be the sensible choice to preside over the chapter as he was a devoutly religious and charismatic veteran of politics. However, Huff's combination of experience and cunning soon became points of concern for party leaders. Huff would not prove as easy to manipulate as his counterpart, Richard Gannon. His willingness to openly stand against party idealists has drawn him much attention from the Office of Internal Affairs over his career, which has often reprimanded him for what they call "unacceptable public comments."