Political System

The politics of Liberal Crime Squad are based on the United States, with a rather realistic system.

Government Structure

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is a body of people appointed on a population basis and is designed to represent the interests of the people. Each state in the U.S.A. receives a certain number of representatives proportional to its population; California and New York are the most populous states and have the most representatives. All 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for re-election every two years, so the House of Representatives tends to directly represent the current slant of the population from Liberal to Conservative.

It is considered the “lower house” of the Congress.

Senate

The Senate is an elected body designed to represent the interests of the economy and the States themselves; Senators. Each state receives equal representation in the Senate, with two Senators per state, for a total of 100 (the District of Columbia is not considered a state and is not represented in the Senate). Because Senators are elected to six year terms, with one-third of the senate up for re-election every two years, the Senate is generally less responsive to the latest shifts in opinion among the population as a whole.

The Senate is considered the “upper house” of the Congress.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is a body of judges who serve until they die, resign or are impeached. New justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate, but existing justices cannot be removed from the Supreme Court except at their own discretion or by impeachment.

The Supreme Court interprets the supreme law of the United States, the Constitution and its amendments. It has the power to review and overturn laws if the court determines that they violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court also serves as the highest court of appeals in both criminal and civil cases.

President and Cabinet

The Executive branch of government is made up of the President and Vice President, and the Cabinet and other offices under the President. The President is both the head of state and the head of government, with the responsibility to enforce laws passed by the House and Senate and to serve as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President signs or vetos all laws passed by the Senate and House. The Vice President serves to advise the President and can break ties in the Senate, but is otherwise mostly powerless. The President and Vice President are elected together by popular vote every four years. The President is limited to a maximum of two terms.

The Cabinet is composed of a number of advisers and civilian officers appointed by the President and confirmed or rejected by the Senate. The Secretary of State is the highest ranked member of the Cabinet, and is responsible for advising and executing the President's foreign policy. If both the President and Vice President were to die, the Secretary of State would be be next in line to be President. The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer and the President's top legal adviser. In cases of exceptional importance, the Attorney General will personally represent the Government as its lawyer before the Supreme Court.

Issues of the Liberal Agenda

Tax Structure

In an Arch-Conservative society, the tax code benefit the wealthiest citizens and Conservatives hoard wealth. In an Elite Liberal society, everyone is equal because all money is taxed and spent.

*Confederate: There are no taxes, yet most people have no money.
Arch-Conservative: The tax code is a nightmare designed to maintain class structure.
Conservative: A flat tax is in effect.
Moderate: Taxes are moderate, and the code has loop-holes.
Liberal: Taxes are very high and steeply graded.
Elite Liberal: Rich people are virtually unheard of, due to taxation.
*Liberal Victory: Money no longer exists, everything is free, and everyone enjoys lives of luxury.

Abortion Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, abortion is illegal and anyone who even thinks of using a contraceptive is killed by the thought police. In an Elite Liberal society, abortion is legal, regardless of trimester.

*Confederate: Use of contraception and abortion are capitial offenses.
Arch-Conservative: Abortion is a felony equal to murder.
Conservative: Abortion is prohibited except in extreme circumstances.
Moderate: Abortion is limited to early pregnancy.
Liberal: Abortion is mostly legal, but discouraged by law.
Elite Liberal: Abortion is legal.
*Liberal Victory: Free abortions are easily available at any time during pregnancy.

Animal Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, animals are property and have no rights. In an Elite Liberal society, animals are protected against research by law and are even capable of marriage. Wink wink, nudge nudge.
*Confederate victory: All forms of human experimentation on the poor are encouraged.
*Liberal Victory: All species of life have equal rights as people, even bacteria.

Police Regulation

In an Arch-Conservative society, police officers are given little oversight and torture poor people and minorities. In an Elite Liberal society, police officers are elected and can be removed from office at any time.

*Confederate: Policing is administered by corporations and has a draft.
Arch-Conservative: Law enforcement is given free reign
Conservative: Even the worst police misconduct only earns slap-on-the-wrist punishments.
Moderate: Law enforcement is regulated to prevent extreme misconduct.
Liberal: Law enforcement has heavy oversight and freedom-of-information requirements.
Elite Liberal: All law enforcement positions are subject to election and recall.
*Liberal Victory: With no police, criminals follow the honor system and turn themselves in.

Privacy Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, people are monitored at the pleasure of the government and corporations know everything about you. In an Elite Liberal society, the government has no power to watch its citizens and serves only to implement law.

*Confederate: Files on each citizen are easily accessible to corporations.
Arch-Conservative: Any corporation requesting private information is granted access.
Conservative: Privacy laws are full of loopholes
Moderate: Basic safeguards for medical and financial privacy are in place.
Liberal: All areas of privacy are protected with strong safeguards.
Elite Liberal: Individual privacy is sacred.
*Liberal Victory: All large organizations are prohibited from keeping any data about anyone.

Death Penalty

In an Arch-Conservative society, all poor lawbreakers are executed. In an Elite Liberal society, the death penalty is forbidden, and even mass-murderers are considered people too.

*Confederate: Poor criminals receive mandatory death sentences
Arch-Conservative: People can be put to death for minor offenses.
Conservative: The death penalty is actively enforced in many states.
Moderate: The death penalty is in effect, but under scrutiny.
Liberal: The death penalty is not permitted in many circumstances.
Elite Liberal: The death penalty is considered barbaric and never practiced.
*Liberal Victory: The death penalty, like other harsh punishments, has been abolished.

Nuclear Power

In an Arch-Conservative society, nearly all power is nuclear in origin. In an Elite Liberal society, all power comes from renewable energy sources.

*Confederate: Nuclear power plants are ubiquitous.
Arch-Conservative: Nuclear power is proliferating with no controls.
Conservative: Nuclear power is a preferred energy source.
Moderate: Nuclear power is often an energy source.
Liberal: Nuclear power is intensely regulated and seldom used.
Elite Liberal: Nuclear power is illegal.
*Liberal Victory: A global ban on nuclear power and nuclear weapons is enforced by UN inspectors.

Pollution

In an Arch-Conservative society, industry often sells pollution as food. In an Elite Liberal society, all industrial processes must capture all pollution and somehow render it into the fresh scent of roses and cannabis.

*Confederate: Deformed children are the norm in industrial zones.
Arch-Conservative: Industry pollute as much as they like.
Conservative: Industry voluntarily regulates pollution.
Moderate: Industry is subject to moderate pollution regulations.
Liberal: Industry is subject to strict pollution regulations.
Elite Liberal: Industry is subject to zero-tolerance pollution regulations.
*Liberal Victory: Pollution is unheard of, and nature has reclaimed much of the land.

Labor Laws

In an Arch-Conservative society, workers consist entirely of slaves, and factories are filled with grimy children who never go to school. In an Elite Liberal society, corporations totally support their employees and ubiquitous unions ensure all get a share in the corporation's profits.

*Confederate: People are bred in pens to be farmed out to corporations like beasts.
Arch-Conservative: There is no weekend and children are forced to work.
Conservative: Working conditions are miserable and the minimum wage is low.
Moderate: Workers still require some benefits.
Liberal: Workers are fairly compensated and have benefits.
Elite Liberal: There are universal workers' rights and a high guaranteed minimum income.
*Liberal Victory: Wage slavery has been abolished, and robots have been built to do all the work.

Gay Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. In an Elite Liberal society, gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered people are considered perfectly equal to heterosexuals.

*Confederate: Homosexuals are routinely executed for "promoting the Gay Agenda".
Arch-Conservative: Homosexuals are routinely persecuted with no recourse.
Conservative: Homosexuals are not tolerated.
Moderate: Homosexuals are grudgingly tolerated, but have few equal rights.
Liberal: Homosexuals have many rights shared by heterosexuals.
Elite Liberal: Homosexuals have equal rights.
*Liberal Victory: All sexual orientations are accepted, and most people are polyamorous.

Corporate Law

In an Arch-Conservative society, the economy has regressed to corporate feudalism and a few billionaires control everything. In an Elite Liberal society, corporations are heavily regulated and employees are guaranteed a living wage.

*Confederate: Corporations under the King run the country in a feudal system.
Arch-Conservative: Corporations essentially run the country in a feudal system.
Conservative: Corporate culture is corrupt and there is a great disparity in wages.
Moderate: Corporations are moderately regulated, although wages are still unfair.
Liberal: Corporations are stiffly regulated, and executives are fairly compensated.
Elite Liberal: Corporations are subject to intense regulation, and there is a maximum wage law.
*Liberal Victory: Corporations have been abolished, along with the rest of capitalism.

Free Speech

In an Arch-Conservative society, police suppress political dissidents and swearing is a crime. In an Elite Liberal society, anyone can say anything they want and openly advocate any behavior, even if against the law, since it's just satire, you know?

*Confederate: Unacceptable speech is a capital crime.
Arch-Conservative: Armored squads are tasked with suppressing unacceptable speech.
Conservative: Some individuals are harassed for their speech.
Moderate: Free speech is tolerated.
Liberal: Free speech is encouraged.
Elite Liberal: Free speech is universally supported.
*Liberal Victory: Free speech is sacrosanct and diverse points of view are celebrated.

Flag Burning

In an Arch-Conservative society, burning the flag is treasonous and considered on par with murder. In an Elite Liberal society, a flag is for all legal purposes just a piece of cloth.

*Confederate: Images or words describing flag burning are punished by death.
Arch-Conservative: Burning the flag is a crime on par with murder.
Conservative: Burning the flag is a felony.
Moderate: Flag burning is a misdemeanor.
Liberal: Flag burning is legal, but stigmatized.
Elite Liberal: Flag burning is legal.
*Liberal Victory: Flag-burning is traditionally done on July 4th to celebrate freedom.

Gun Control

In an Arch-Conservative society, machine guns are bought and sold freely in supermarkets and pawn shops. In an Elite Liberal society, it is illegal to buy, sell, or carry guns except for the military and the police.

*Confederate: Gangs of young children carrying AK-47s roam the streets.
Arch-Conservative: Machine guns can be bought and sold freely.
Conservative: Military weapons are banned, but similar-looking guns are available.
Moderate: A comprehensive ban on military-style weapons is in effect.
Liberal: Most guns cannot be sold to anyone outside of law enforcement.
Elite Liberal: It is illegal to buy, sell, or carry a gun in public.
*Liberal Victory: All gun manufacturers have been shut down and all existing guns destroyed.

Civil Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, non-whites are either working low-wage jobs or fodder for the prison-industrial complex. In an Elite Liberal society, all races and ethnicities are equal under the law.

*Confederate: Segregation has been reintroduced.
Arch-Conservative: Racial discrimination is prohibited in name only.
Conservative: Civil rights laws are inconsistently enforced.
Moderate: Pervasive racial inequality exists.
Liberal: Affirmative action is in place to counteract discrimination.
Elite Liberal: Racial equality is guaranteed and vigorously enforced.
*Liberal Victory: The very idea of "race" has been universally discarded as pseudoscience.

Drug Law

In an Arch-Conservative society, drugs are only legal if they provide profits to domestic economic interests and a drug war is fought as a cover to throw unemployed poor people in prison. In an Elite Liberal society, all drugs are legal and treatment is provided on an as-needed basis.

*Confederate: Talking about recreational drugs is punishable by death.
Arch-Conservative: Violent criminals are released to make room for drug offenders.
Conservative: Prisons are filled with the targets of a war on drugs.
Moderate: Recreational drugs are prohibited unless medically prescribed.
Liberal: Marijuana is regulated and taxed.
Elite Liberal: Recreational drugs are regulated and taxed.
*Liberal Victory: The government distributes recreational drugs to anyone who wants them.

Election Reform

In an Arch-Conservative society, wealthy interests can use any means necessary to get their preferred candidate into office. In an Elite Liberal society, all elections are monitored by international agencies and no funding other than public funding of campaigns is permitted, while elections are conducted through ranked voting aimed to permit wider access for third parties.

*Confederate: Only independently wealthy candidates have a chance of defeating incumbents.
Arch-Conservative: Virtually no ethics restrictions exist on political officeholders.
Conservative: Elections are mostly unregulated, but basic ethic restrictions are in place.
Moderate: Moderate campaign finance reform is implemented.
Liberal: Election financing is transparent and well-regulated.
Elite Liberal: Election expenses are publicly funded, and voting is by ranked list.
*Liberal Victory: There is proportional representation, and over a dozen major political parties.

Immigration

In an Arch-Conservative society, huge expense is taken to monitor national borders and "illegals" are shot on sight. In an Elite Liberal society, the borders are porous and anyone within our borders are granted equal rights.

*Confederate: Border guards shoot suspected foreigners on sight.
Arch-Conservative: Immigration is illegal, and noncitizens are shipped to Mexico at gunpoint.
Conservative: The military has been deployed to the borders to slow immigration.
Moderate: Great expense is taken to slow immigration, without success.
Liberal: The government works to accommodate potential immigrants.
Elite Liberal: Immigration is unregulated.
*Liberal Victory: There are open borders, and no distinctions between citizens and non-citizens.

Women's Rights

In an Arch-Conservative society, women are subordinate to their fathers and husbands and, while employed, restricted to menial jobs. In an Elite Liberal society, women are universally equivalent to men under the law.

*Confederate: Women have been stripped of the right to vote.
Arch-Conservative: Women are second-class citizens.
Conservative: Non-discrimination laws do not apply to gender.
Moderate: Women are nominally equal under law.
Liberal: Women have substantial recourse against discrimination.
Elite Liberal: Gender equality is universally respected.
*Liberal Victory: Binary gender identities no longer exist, and gender segregation has ended.

Military Spending

In an Arch-Conservative society, the military is funded beyond any semblance of necessity in order to benefit the wealthy industrial contractors of the upper class. In an Elite Liberal society, the military is reduced to only what is strictly necessary to defend the borders of the country.

*Confederate: The massive military is a tool of political oppression.
Arch-Conservative: Ballooning military boondoggles are utterly out of control.
Conservative: Massive investment is put into the military.
Moderate: Military spending is growing each year.
Liberal: Military strength is not a major priority.
Elite Liberal: The military has been weakened significantly.
*Liberal Victory: The military has been abolished, and the entire world is at peace.

Human Rights

*Confederate: Torture is a prescribed practice in police interrogations.
Arch-Conservative: Military and intelligence interrogators regularly engage in torture.
Conservative: The line between standard interrogation and torture is severely blurred.
Moderate: Torture allegations still occasionally crop up.
Liberal: The government strongly enforces a ban on torture.
Elite Liberal: The country is respected as an international leader on Moral Interrogation Practices.
*Liberal Victory: Terrorism ended after the government formally apologized to terrorist leaders.

How Laws are Changed

Propositions of Congress

The House and Senate must both pass legislation before it can become law, and then it must be signed by the President. If the President vetos the law, it can be forced into law only if 2/3 of the Senate votes to overturn the veto, and is otherwise defeated.

Propositions before Voters

In Liberal Crime Squad, some laws are put before the public instead of the House and Senate. If voters approve the passage of a law, it cannot be vetoed by the President.

Decisions of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court cannot make laws, but it can overturn laws and alter its legal interpretation of the Constitution. These legal decisions by the court have significant power to alter the face of the law.

Amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land, with power over other laws, treaties, and even the structure of government itself. It is very difficult to pass an amendment to the Constitution, but once an amendment is passed, it is equally difficult to repeal it. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by either a 2/3 majority of both the House and the Senate or by a special Constitutional Convention called by the legislatures of 34 of the 50 States. Once an amendment has been proposed, it must be independently ratified by 38 of the 50 States in order for it to take effect. If the required number of States ratify the amendment, it takes effect for the entire country, even for States that have not ratified the Amendment. If the required number of States do not ratify the amendment, it does not take effect anywhere.

In Liberal Crime Squad, you may lose the game by allowing an Arch-Conservative Amendment to be passed, thereby allowing Conservatives to permanently remake the country in their image.

Miscellaneous notes

- The "*Confederate:" Changes only apply if the Arch-Conservative agenda is completely fulfilled, resulting in "The Abject Failure of the Liberal Agenda".

- The "*Liberal Victory:" Changes only apply if the country achieves Elite Liberal status, resulting in "The Triumph of the Liberal Agenda". (As of LCS 4.10.0)

- Public interest influences the course of elections, especially Presidential elections, as issues with high interest tend to be important issues for voters. Senators and Representatives take a generally broader swath of issues, so it's possible to see the President elected as a Liberal and see the Conservatives make major strides in Congress, just based on the combination of issues and public interest.

- The public mood on political issues is represented in-game using hidden "view" values. Each "view" usually has a one-to-one correspondence with an issue, so, for instance, the "gay" view affects public mood on the "Gay Rights" issue. There are a few exceptions: the "women" view affects "Women's Rights" and "Abortion"; "free speech" affects "Free Speech" and "Flag Burning"; and the "Corporate Law" issue is affected by both the "corporate culture" and "CEO salary" views.

- The LCS will never be liked by a higher proportion of people than generally advocate Liberal policies. As a result, if you seek higher LCS approval, you must first change the opinions of the populace on the political issues of the day.

- When the country's political system is mostly liberal, the Liberal Party is renamed The Progressive Elite Social Liberal Party. When the country's political system is mostly conservative, the Conservative Party is renamed The $$ U.S.A. Flag Eagle $$ Conservative Party.

- When you control a supermajority in congress and the senate, congress can propose an ELITE LIBERAL AMENDMENT, which will flush the supreme court of "conservative" (which includes moderate and liberal) judges and replace them all with elite liberal justices.

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