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Games Idle Politics

World of Warcraft Character Becomes Campaign Issue 381

Dr. Gamera writes "Maine state senate candidate Colleen Lachowicz plays World of Warcraft. The opposing party in Maine has issued a press release attacking her for her Level 85 Orc Assassination Rogue. From the article: 'In an unusual press release issued Thursday, the Maine GOP attacked Lachowicz for a “bizarre double life” in which she’s a devotee of the hugely popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft. In the game, she’s “Santiaga,” an "orc assassination rogue" with green skin, fangs, a Mohawk and pointy ears.' Her incumbent, much to his credit, rejects the attack as 'mudslinging politics.'"
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World of Warcraft Character Becomes Campaign Issue

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  • I bet.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:28PM (#41554109)

    I bet she just gained a shit ton of voters in the 18-30 range.

    • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Funny)

      by 2.7182 ( 819680 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:30PM (#41554145)
      I'd rather vote for an orc assassination rogue than a democrat or republican.
      • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Funny)

        by flyingsquid ( 813711 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:46PM (#41554237)
        It doesn't matter whether you vote for the Horde or the Alliance. It's not a real choice because ultimately both of them are owned by the moneyed interests of the guild banks and the vendors, and will do anything for a few gold pieces and some high-level items. Until we break free of this two-faction system there will never be any change in Azeroth.
        • See, this is why you should join Tech Savvy At Risk Youth (TSARY) guild.

          We work for nobody.

          Well, except for the dragons.

        • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Funny)

          by Narcocide ( 102829 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:49PM (#41554259) Homepage

          STFU, Panda coward!

        • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Funny)

          by Culture20 ( 968837 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:56PM (#41554313)
          Well, I for one am voting for a third party Panda Bear.
          • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Funny)

            by flyingsquid ( 813711 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @09:14PM (#41555055)
            I would suggest voting Libertarian, but Azeroth is already a Libertarian paradise: no taxes, neither the Alliance nor the Horde maintain a police force, fire department, or public library system; there's minimal public investment in infrastructure like roads (in fact virtually no government to speak of), government does nothing as demons and undead stalk the land (I don't know what the official Libertarian position on a plague of the undead is, but I assume Ron Paul would argue that this should be left up to the private sector). Plus, everyone's on the gold standard!
            • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Insightful)

              by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @10:18PM (#41555349) Homepage Journal

              Yes, Libertarianism is an excellent way to run an imaginary world. The real world requires compromise with reality. Like the people forming governments to protect themselves from each other. Especially from bands of marauding warlords.

              • Re:I bet.. (Score:4, Informative)

                by Z34107 ( 925136 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @10:49PM (#41555491)

                You may be surprised to learn that the Libertarian party agrees with you 100%.

              • Sufficiently ... (Score:5, Insightful)

                by Martin S. ( 98249 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @02:00AM (#41556151) Journal

                ... subtle satire is indistinguishable real world politics.

              • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Insightful)

                by Krneki ( 1192201 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @02:24AM (#41556219)
                WoW is not Liberal, it's run by totalitarians (moderators) who will strip you from every item and kill you (ban) if you don't play by their rules, without a trial.
                • That sounds just like the Republican totalitarians who will strip your property and kill you without trial if you don't play by their rules, who created and run front "libertarian" groups like the Tea Party.

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by Anonymous Coward
              Via quests, I was paid by the leaders or governing bodies to instill discipline workers, to catch thieves, kill murders, and quite frequently to steal supplies, even from commoners on my own side. Considering every adventurer wandering through the town gets offered that too, that sounds like a police force and tax system. They even have this socialist welfare system where they basically pay to walk five feet and talk to someone else. Doesn't sound very Libertarian to me, just a lot less bureaucracy and o
            • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Informative)

              by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @01:42AM (#41556085)

              No taxes? Last time I visited Azeroth (admittedly, a few years ago), they imposed a levy on every transaction via the (government-owned and monopolized) auction house, and because my work (raiding) provided benefits, the government effectively forced me to share my hard-earned wealth with the lower and middle-classes of Azeroth. They didn't call it "taxes" in that case, however. Instead, they called it things like mandatory "repair bills" and "reagent costs" that were the result of them working in collusion with private sector members who got kickbacks like prime real estate in capital cities. And that's hardly the least of their sins.

              Rather than leaving the private sector alone to manage itself, as they should, they went on that "Burning Crusade" reform campaign while I was visiting, during which they imposed stricter limits on the number of people allowed to work on a job at any given time. That, in turn, forced my company to eliminate 15 paid positions on their raid team, leaving me destitute and begging for scraps.

              And no police? As if! Not only do they have police (who they refer to as "guards", for some strange reason), but the police habitually discriminate against foreigners, even going so far as to physically assault them for doing nothing more than being in the vicinity of a city. I can't tell you how many times I invited friends to visit me, only to have the guards insist that my friend was most unwelcome.

              The public transportation system is a hodge-podge as well. The privatized zeppelin transportation seemed to be doing fine, but the publicly-funded tram system was regularly plagued by...odd problems [bitnexus.net].

            • there's minimal public investment in infrastructure like roads

              Yeah, but I hear there's a thriving shipment industry very efficient at delivering packages and gathering various goods.

            • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Insightful)

              by drsquare ( 530038 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @07:23AM (#41557393)

              Azeroth is actually communist, as all workers have free access to the means of production (anvils, forges), as well as natural resources (fishing pools, herbs). If Azeroth were libertarian, you'd have to pay a private owner for access to his copper nodes.

            • Re:I bet.. (Score:4, Informative)

              by NeutronCowboy ( 896098 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @10:00AM (#41558791)

              Funny. And, living on a PvP server, I am pretty sure that the results are very similar to what you would get in a libertarian world: don't venture outside unless you have a max-level PvP-geared killer on call (whether via an Alt or a guildie), gathering materials frequently involves killing off the competition, and then guarding the spawn points with your friends, your own city gets raided for shits and giggles, at which point everyone who isn't a max-level character can just log off or hide somewhere in the lesser-traveled regions, etc.
              Then again, being fully-geared, fully-leveled is kinda fun when you run into some lower levels. Unless, of course, they call in their guild, and proceed to corpse camp you.

              Yay libertarian paradise!

            • Also, you can see where the government is involved when you and thousands of others are tasked with bringing materials to repair a bridge and yet here, years later the bridge still isn't repaired. Stupid government scam to extract as much money and value while providing only enough service to not cause riots is a bad way to do business.

      • by naroom ( 1560139 )
        And I now have coffee on my keyboard. Well played.
      • Re:I bet.. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by drkim ( 1559875 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @07:44PM (#41554579)

        Her comeback to this should be, "I KNOW the difference between fantasy and reality. Apparently, my opponent does not."

        • by Anonymous Coward

          Her comeback to this should be, "I KNOW the difference between fantasy and reality. Apparently, my opponent does not."

          No, it should not be, that would be as dumb and misinformed as the party's statement:

          "Martin said he was unaware of the state Republican Party’s press release or Lachowicz’s hobby until contacted by POLITICO. He said he’s met his opponent once so far and she “seemed like a nice lady.” He said he deplores “mudslinging politics.” ... “Somebody’s personal life is their personal life. What you do in society and in the community is what matters."

          http://www.po

        • The attack assumes the fact that the game is a fantasy world. The substance of the attack is that she spends too much time in the fantasy world.

          If she says anything it should be to laugh along with it (haha, maybe I do spend a bit too much time with that game, we all have our foibles), or at most say something along the lines of "it's a private matter that has not and will not affect my job performance."

          • by bhlowe ( 1803290 )
            I know a few people who are addicted to that game, play it at work and too much at home. Never played it myself.. How many hours does it take to become a level 85 orc assassin rogue? The other question is, how many hours a day playing RPG games is is too many for a busy politician who I'll presume has a family...
        • Re:I bet.. (Score:4, Funny)

          by jd2112 ( 1535857 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @10:06PM (#41555285)

          Her comeback to this should be, "I KNOW the difference between fantasy and reality. Apparently, my opponent does not."

          Knowing the difference between fantasy and reality could be a handicap in the world of politics.

    • Who would vote for a nub [battle.net] with ilvl 345? ;p
    • Why just 18-30? I'm 40 and grew up in the 80's --- pretty much when home gaming started. I don't have the time to play like I used to, but I still play once in a while, and have been involved in a few MMORPG's (EVE Online, WoW, LotRO). I tend to play more games with a pause button, or family oriented games now, but I understand the line between gaming and real life. Not that I'm running for office, but I have no problem with the fact that someone that is plays games. There are plenty of people who work

  • Not surprising (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Mashiki ( 184564 )

    Gaming still isn't mainstream outside of the "sub 35" group in turn this makes them into a loner, even within geek circles(and don't deny it) MMO's still hold that, same with MP games that old stereotype still holds sway with some people. It'll take another few decades before that opinion changes, though it's ugly politics at it's finest and the GOP candidate should be called on it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by zaibazu ( 976612 )
      Actually over the years WoW went from the go-to MMORPG to a cause of massive eye rolling in geek circles.
    • by Anonymous Coward

      From TFS, "Her incumbent, much to his credit, rejects the attack as 'mudslinging politics.'"

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by mrchaotica ( 681592 ) *

        It doesn't really matter that it was "technically" the party's SuperPAC that did it; they did it on his behalf and he should be held responsible. Maybe the party would learn to back off a little (although overturning Citizens United is required to fix the problem completely).

        • by Intropy ( 2009018 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @08:06PM (#41554701)

          Absolutely right. And let me just add that anyone who disagrees is a Nazi.

          -- Paid for by the mrchaotica fan club.

        • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @08:13PM (#41554733) Journal
          If negative ads didn't work, you wouldn't see them. Parties use them because people see them and are influenced as a result. They work.
    • Re:Not surprising (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:38PM (#41554195)

      Gaming still isn't mainstream outside of the "sub 35" group

      I'd say that number is at least 45 now, and gets bigger with each passing year.

    • Re:Not surprising (Score:4, Insightful)

      by LordLimecat ( 1103839 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @08:53PM (#41554949)

      Nevertheless when you read some of her posts it does look like she has a serious maturity issue. Anyone who resorts to calling the opposing party "teabaggers" probably isnt going to be non-partisan, and probably isnt senate material.

      I mean, not a huge fan of this kind of politics, but her maturity and partisanship certainly are relevant.

  • by bl968 ( 190792 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:30PM (#41554143) Journal

    They say that like it's a bad thing?

  • by Steve1952 ( 651150 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:32PM (#41554163)
    ...But the sword was considered to be too powerful for anyone to possess, so it was removed from the game and stored on a one gig flash drive. But it was foretold that one day players who could wield the sword might reveal themselves...
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:35PM (#41554173)

    Someone with an empty socket in her belt does not deserve our sympathy.

  • Armory link (Score:5, Insightful)

    by goodmanj ( 234846 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:37PM (#41554177)

    You're all going to do it anyway, so I'll save you the trouble. Here's her character:

    http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/garrosh/Santiaga/simple [battle.net]

    My question is, how the hell can we trust her to work hard for the citizens of Maine when she can't even find the time to pug a few heroic dungeons? Her gear is terrible! Does she even know where the justice point vendor is?

    Seriously though, it looks like she played heavily up until a few years ago. I guess she's spent more time lately on real-life issues. Like running for Senate.

  • In my experiance... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Kaenneth ( 82978 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:37PM (#41554179) Journal

    People who roleplay 'evil' characters are much nicer than those who play 'good' characters...

    Those who play 'good' (particularly Paladins) tend to think they are always right, while 'evil' (Necromancer players for example) are more open minded and accepting.

    YMMV

    • by Mike Buddha ( 10734 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:53PM (#41554287)

      In my experience it hasn't been nearly as cut and dried as this. There are jerks of every ilk.

    • by brit74 ( 831798 )
      Ahhh, a trap! We know you're just trying to sucker us into trusting you, necromancer.
    • by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      i have had the same experiance vis-a-vis christians and satanists
  • alienating all her Alliance followers. "Death to the Horde" and all, right? ;)

  • Screenshot or it didn't happen.

  • I think the GOP just envious that the skill tree of their double life is recognized to be comparatively sparse. As I recall, it was basically like this...

    Level 1: Oversized Lawn Mowing

    Level 2: Summon Underpaid Lawn Mowing Minion

    Level 3: Summon Cardboard Golems With -5 Intelligence and +5 Gold Detection For Dinner Party Disparaging Underpaid Lawn Mowing Minions

    I pretty sure at that point they hit their level cap.

  • "I am not a witch!"

    "But you play a warlock"

    "Well, yes, it was either that or get bogged down playing healers all the time"

  • by VAElynx ( 2001046 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:52PM (#41554285)
    from voters playing Alliance characters.
    That said, I love the fact that her "secret life" involves a computer game while that of a lot o republicans involve fucking men in public bathrooms.
  • by bogidu ( 300637 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @06:59PM (#41554325)

    503 - Service Unavailable . . . . HA!

  • by Cl1mh4224rd ( 265427 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @07:04PM (#41554361)

    For the Horde!

  • by theurge14 ( 820596 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @07:09PM (#41554377)

    Well I was going to vote for Sen. Tom Martin but then I got sapped.

    I then waited 8 seconds without trinketing but then the polling booth was obscured.

    I gave up and ran.

  • by Sponge Bath ( 413667 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @07:19PM (#41554427)
    She could be a Farmville player. That disqualifies you to run even a fry cooker.
  • by tlambert ( 566799 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @07:19PM (#41554437)

    ...they will complain that she ganked the election.

  • As long as she's not a dorf, it's all good.
  • Good thing her assassin wasn't a level 19 Twink [wowwiki.com].

    Lord knows what they would have made of that.

    God hates Twinks. Twinks burn in hell!

    Or
    She couldn't even reach the level cap?

  • Level 85? (Score:4, Informative)

    by SuperMog2002 ( 702837 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @08:26PM (#41554833)

    She's a devotee of the hugely popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft

    She's still level 85. She's clearly not that devoted.

  • Lying creep (Score:5, Informative)

    by PopeRatzo ( 965947 ) on Thursday October 04, 2012 @10:02PM (#41555255) Journal

    Her incumbent, much to his credit, rejects the attack as 'mudslinging politics.'"

    Credit my ass.

    Is there still anyone in America who doesn't realize that when the party apparatus slings mud and the candidate then "distances" himself from the remarks that it's all bullshit?

    It's like the fiction of SuperPACs and campaigns not coordinating their efforts.

    It's like those fuckers are laughing at us.

    I have to say that I'm impressed with the American people's willingness to overlook this kind of stuff and suffer silently. If it were up to me, there would be pikes around capital buildings with the heads of politicians who lied on them. Of course, we'd have to ramp up pike manufacturing, but that's heavy industry and would be good for the economy.

    Tell me most Americans wouldn't feel better to see some politicians' heads on pikes. It improves my consumer confidence just thinking about it.

    • by Pav ( 4298 )
      Northern or southern pike? I don't think the politicians need it though... they already smell fishy enough.
  • Seriously... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by xonen ( 774419 ) on Friday October 05, 2012 @08:01AM (#41557655) Journal

    What is that with Americans playing on the person all the time?

    In Holland, we have had politicians who were publicly known to visit SM dungeons and black rooms. Are publicly gay. Or just unmarried, like our current prime minister. And no-one, literally no-one, makes a fuzz out of that.

    Any debate will be about political issues. The worst accusations regarding personal lifes is about possible activist behaviour in the past. Working for greenpeace for example, like the current leader of the big labour party who has been arrested at least 10 times due to his activist history.

    So.. I think this is a good thing. I'm not seeing how a politicians personal life, sexlife, hobbies, children, wife or man, has anything to do with the quality of the person as politician, and the message he or she brings. They are ordinary humans just like you and me with human desires, emotions and errors.

    So, why with 'you' it is an issue if a politician plays a rogue in WoW? I wouldn't know, and have no issue with it myself untill she ganks me. If any, it only proves she's just as human as the 2 million other rogues around in this game, and is in for some fun and entertainment at a time, proving she's got a modern youthful mind..

    2 cents from over the atlantic.

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