L'Manberg Presidential Debate

The L'Manberg Presidential Debate took place on September 8, 2020 as part of the SWAG2020 vs POG2020 Election and saw the parties of POG2020 and SWAG2020 argue about some of the most pressing issues of L'Manberg, including who would be allowed in L'Manberg, how the ongoing pet violence in L'Manberg should be stopped, and more. Despite attempts to bring it to order, the debate quickly descended into chaos as threats, bribery, and violence became involved.

Background
The president of L'Manberg, Wilbur Soot felt that despite his power, no one in L'Manberg bothered to listen to him. To fix this, he and the vice-president, TommyInnit decided to hold a one-party election to ensure and legitimize their power. Quackity, after hearing their plans, called them out and decided to run in the election himself as the leader of SWAG2020 (So We Are Gamers 2020). Wilbur and Tommy, now afraid of losing power, renamed their party to POG2020 (Politicians of Gaming 2020) and hurriedly started preparing for the coming election.

Before the debate
Prior to the debate, the POG2020 and SWAG2020 parties had already begun their campaigns. In POG2020, Wilbur and his running mate, Tommy, created a book of policies. Tubbo also switched to SWAG2020 briefly after realizing that POG2020's policies would ban Karl Jacobs from entering L'Manberg; however, this was short-lived, and Tubbo was one of POG2020's firmest supporters. Fundy wished to break away from POG2020 and be Quackity's running mate, which Wilbur dismissed as his 'rebellious' phase. They created a wall of signs framing Quackity, their opposition, with pieces of tweets taken out of context. Quackity decried this as a smear campaign and after some arguing, challenged POG2020 to a debate, who accepted.

Quackity revealed that GeorgeNotFound was his running mate. This created a stir amongst POG2020 members, as George had previously fought on the Dream Team SMP side during the L'Manberg War for Independence and was a popular member of the server that could swing the election considerably. After initial disorganization and chaos on the way to the Sky Courthouse (including Wilbur punching George off the bridge to the Sky Courthouse claiming he tripped), both parties and some supporters on both sides gathered for the debate.

The parties had a brief moment to themselves. On POG2020's side, Tommy asked Wilbur to not murder the opposition. Wilbur maintained that he did not punch George. They wrote signs saying, "primarily, freedom, secondarily, likes". On SWAG2020's side, Quackity and George condemned POG2020's physical attacks on SWAG2020 members and reaffirmed their belief in their policies. When the parties got back together, Fundy said that he would run his own presidency, saying that he had a bakery and could deliver cookies and ice-cream to citizens of L'Manberg. When informed that the ballots had closed, he took SWAG2020's side, after Quackity promised him ten bakeries. They talked about endorsements, before beginning the debate.

Presidential debate
The first few issues were discussed between the two presidential candidates with Karl as judge, although Karl openly supported SWAG2020.

Policies
SWAG2020 argued that L'Manberg had a long history of discrimination against those not initially part of the country; for example, Quackity and George were unable to enter the nation under the Soot Administration. SWAG2020 promised to open borders to everyone.

POG2020 argued that L'Manberg was created for Europeans to escape the tyranny and oppression of the Greater Dream SMP, and that SWAG2020's policies would tear down everything the L'Manbergians had worked for in the War for Independence. POG2020 promised to keep the borders closed to all non-Europeans.

Rebuttals

 * SWAG2020: POG2020 was following old traditions that would hinder L'Manberg's progress in the future.
 * POG2020: These rules were fought for by the L'Manbergians not long ago.
 * SWAG2020: These rules were born from bloodshed. There was no need for excessive violence in the first place.
 * POG2020: The L'Manbergians fought because they were oppressed. POG2020 would stick to policies that led to a free L'Manberg.

Policies
POG2020 argued that a police force should be assembled to uphold the law and prevent any more pet deaths. Fundy switched to POG2020.

SWAG2020 argued for a policy that would teach residents to respect each other in order to prevent the growth of conflict.

Rebuttals

 * POG2020: SWAG2020's policy is idealistic and does not provide a real solution.
 * SWAG2020: We trust the morals of the L'Manbergians. Karl chimed in to ask Wilbur if he was pro-police.
 * POG2020: We are not "pro-police"; we believe that if a bad person is going to kill someone's pets, there should be someone to stop them.
 * SWAG2020: We must attack the problem at the root rather than deal with the consequences. The people's morals must be changed, not their actions punished. Quackity said that the pet problem would be solved by changing L'Manberg's culture. He asked Fundy whether other L'Manbergians made fun of him for his fur-suit, and Fundy switched to SWAG2020.

Corruption within politics
Upon hearing this question, Quackity began laughing.

Policies
POG2020 argued that they had called the election, stripping themselves of their own power, in order for democracy to take place. POG2020 promised that corruption was one of the major issues they opposed.

SWAG2020 argued that POG2020 had called the election knowing that they would be the only party running, and that SWAG2020 had been started just to oppose POG2020's corruption. SWAG2020 argued that corruption was an issue they were actively fighting against.

Rebuttals

 * POG2020 interrupted their arguments mid-way and insulted them.
 * Quackity, Wilbur, and Tommy began arguing about VODs, although VODs do not exist in canon.
 * Tommy also gave several $2500 books, which he had stolen from Dream's game show before the debate, to Karl and told Karl to announce Wilbur as the winner of the debate.
 * When Quackity asked Karl if he could use the VODs as proof, Karl said that the proof was negligible and quickly moved onto the next issue.

Taxing citizens
''The two parties passed the question back and forth before Karl declared that Wilbur won and mined the floor under him, falling to his death. Sapnap collected the $2500 books. Tommy, nervous about bribing Karl, tried to move to the vice-presidential debate but was shut down.''

POG2020 read two policies from their policy book: "#8. We will lower taxes" and "#9. We will make big things". Fundy switched to POG2020 after hearing #9.

SWAG2020 stated their own policy: "#9. We will make bigger things". Fundy switched to SWAG2020.

POG2020 stated another policy: "#18. We will make even bigger things." Fundy switched to POG2020.

The following conversation became progressively more disordered, with Fundy switching to whichever side promised "bigger things", until Tubbo got onto the podium and yelled, "Hey! Are you done with your pissing contest now?"

They decided to hold the vice-presidential debate next. Wilbur and Quackity then shook hands and the parties had a brief recess.

First recess
On POG2020's side, Wilbur was scared for Tommy, because George was a smart man, but nonetheless, put his full belief in Tommy's debating skills. On SWAG2020's side, Quackity told George he would have to match Tommy's energy to not look weak. He had also gotten a $2500 book from Sapnap some time back and thought that Wilbur gave it to him to drop out of the race, before finding out it came from Karl. George realised that Tommy may have bribed Karl with the book. Both parties came back together and Tommy and George took the podium.

Vice presidential debate
The presidential debate had been relatively civil; however, chaos broke out during the vice presidential debate. This round was presided over by Tubbo in his persona "Big Law", who switched to a Herobrine skin after being accused of favoring POG2020.

Policies
POG2020 argued that the L'Manberg citizens, including Wilbur and Tommy, had fought for freedom through the destruction of their land, betrayal, and more, so it was only fair that L'Manberg should be able to keep these rules in place.

SWAG2020 argued that it was ironic how POG2020 argued for freedom but kept it locked behind a certain group of people.

Rebuttals

 * POG2020 stated again that L'Manberg needed to be created for the freedom of Europeans, and that staying with established rules would keep Europeans free.
 * SWAG2020 asked why L'Manberg needed to be fought over in the first place. George stated that no one wins in war, and that by locking people out of L'Manberg, POG2020 was siding with war. Fundy switched to SWAG2020.
 * Throughout the debate, George continuously cut off Tommy, which prompted both of them to attempt to speak over each other. George also walked towards POG2020's podium while Tommy yelled "shush, Gogy!" and punched him multiple times. Tubbo and Karl then called for order.

Initial evidence
George brought up the 8 $2500 books Tommy had given to Karl during the presidential debate as evidence that POG2020 was corrupt, and stated that the books were given by Tommy. Karl picked up the books, after which Tommy brought Karl outside and killed him to get the books back. This caused a lot of yelling and fighting. George accused Tommy of bringing mayhem to court, and Wilbur requested a brief unofficial recess.

Second recess
On POG2020's side, Tommy confessed to Wilbur that he did bribe Karl. However, he promised to 1) never bribe someone again, 2) uphold the values of L'Manberg, and 3) fuck up Gogy. On SWAG2020's side, Quackity applauded George for putting up such a good showing and mocked POG2020 for holding a recess. The debate then resumed.

Rebuttals

 * Karl stated that when he reached out to SWAG2020 to ask what questions he should ask to help them win, Quackity responded with, "I will not succumb to corruption." On the other hand, Tommy immediately gave him money.
 * POG2020 stated that 1) L'Manberg fought hard for freedom, so SWAG2020 responding that the war didn't need to be fought in the first place was despicable, and that 2) the $2500 books were signed by Dream, not Tommy.
 * SWAG2020 argued that because the books were given to Tommy, Dream's signature did not mean anything. George also stated that he himself had not blown up L'Manberg, and that he had been under Dream's influence during the War for Independence, but wasn't anymore.

Character attacks
George's statement that he had fought in the war under Dream's influence started a debate over character that increasingly derailed the debate.


 * Tommy stated that people acting under other people's influence was what starts wars.
 * George stated that Tommy's arrival to the server was what brought war. Before Tommy, there was no conflict.

This then brought up a heated argument over YouTube titles (although YouTube and streaming are not canon).


 * George attacked Tommy's videos, which revolve around scamming and killing other players.
 * Tommy attacked Dream's and George's Manhunt videos for stealing from Wilbur's video of the same name, and stated that POG2020 is more innovative than SWAG2020.
 * Quackity stated that POG2020 was not innovative because they were sticking with old policies of separation.
 * Wilbur stated "if it's not broken, don't fix it", and said that he had created those policies in the first place, so they were innovative.

Despite efforts to resume debate, the courtroom descended into yelling. Wilbur and George started arguing with each other. Wilbur then asked Tubbo to give another debate question. Dream joined the voice call to defend Minecraft Manhunt's originality. POG2020 seized this opportunity to point out that Dream, the leader of the tyranny L'Manberg had fought to escape, was endorsing SWAG2020, while Dream claimed that he was only defending himself from Tommy's slanderous claims. Wilbur called for another brief recess.

Third recess
On POG2020's side, Wilbur asked Tommy to calm down and stop defending Wilbur's honor. He said that Tommy needed to fight for what the country believed in, not about what Dream said. On SWAG2020's side, they celebrated, feeling they were winning the debate.

Policies
SWAG2020 stated that before Tommy arrived, the server was simpler and more peaceful. SWAG2020 stated that they wanted the least conflict possible, while it was clear that POG2020 was looking for as much conflict as possible.

''Tubbo asked George if he had anything else to say, to which George replied, "I'll allow them to speak." Tubbo then said, "Well, you don't allow shit, bitch," causing a minor uproar. Karl replaced Tubbo as judge as a result.''

POG2020 stated that the server was simpler and more peaceful before, but only because no one stood up to the tyranny of the Greater Dream SMP, and that at first L'Manberg had attempted to secede peacefully. POG2020 stated that they believed in conflict only when necessary.

Policies
POG2020 stated that they would make sure there was no conflict. Tommy emphasized that the L'Manbergians had nothing against the members of the Greater Dream SMP, but that they only wanted to establish the clear boundaries that they had fought for.

SWAG2020 did not provide a statement, as Wilbur started arguing that the entire debate was a mockery and should be adjourned. When Karl tried to move on and asked SWAG2020 about their proposed changes, Wilbur asked why Karl didn't ask that question to Tommy, despite the fact that he did ask Tommy that, prompting SWAG2020 to call him senile. POG2020 then argued that George was only two months younger than Wilbur. Wilbur logged out claiming the courthouse was rigged against him and he did not want to give them a platform. Quackity and Tommy then gave the concluding statements.

Concluding statements
SWAG2020 stated that the server needed unity now more than ever. They would establish peace for all people in the Dream SMP server and give the server the respect it deserved.

''Before Tommy could give his statement, Dream assassinated him, forcing people to run out of the courthouse into L'Manberg. Eventually, Tommy gave his statement to Quackity and Dream.''

POG2020 argued that they would stand by the L'Manbergian values, which had brought them freedom. Tommy stated that having George as a vice president defeated the purpose of L'Manberg, as George had openly fought against L'Manberg's freedom in the beginning.

Ending

 * Dream killed Tommy multiple times for "justice".
 * Dream said that having George on Quackity's team was a good idea, as he would get opinions from the Dream SMP side and the L'Manberg side, but Tommy argued that the Dream SMP itself stood against L'Manberg.
 * Tommy stated that the L'Manbergians would never turn on each other and asked, "Isn't that right, Eret?"
 * Dream stated that although George would be vice president, he would still not be a member of L'Manberg.

After the debate
"Note: These events remained unknown until Quackity's stream on April 12, 2021." After the debate, Quackity talked to Wilbur, trying to pick his brain. He asked Wilbur what his purpose was. Wilbur responded with protection for his people. Quackity asked that Wilbur talk to him as a person, not a politician, but Wilbur refused, saying the election was in 12 days. However, Quackity persisted, saying that he felt like everyone had a good side. He said that he was not allowed to join L'Manberg because of POG2020's policies and he didn't want anyone else to feel unwelcome.

Wilbur, however, bluntly disagreed with Quackity. He said that to change the world, power was necessary, not just a good side. Power and change was gained through revolutions, not political movements. Power wasn't gained from words, but swords. To prove that you had a good side, you had to show your dark side first by hurting and torturing as scenes flashed from the future of Quackity doing the same to Dream. He said that Quackity wasn't ready for that before leaving.

Scenes from the future flashed again of all the times Quackity felt powerless, from Schlatt taking down the White House and insulting him and Dream attacking and threatening to destroy Mexican L'Manberg, to Technoblade easily escaping his execution and Dream calling Quackity the biggest enemy of the server. Quackity slowly turned around after hearing Wilbur's words and walked off into the night.

VODs
