How MMTM Works

The HRE of simdem: how MMTM works.

This is the sister article to "How does the LDP Work?" (shown above). This article gathers its research from public events and statements, personal knowledge of the author, and several interviews with MMTM members and the party leader, Mufflin.

MMTM (named after its founders Muggy, Mypen, Thyme, and Matty) is a party of many contradictions. With MMTM senators voting against a MMTM appointment which was insulted by the MMTM administration that made it, the party seems constantly fracutred, disorganized, and reliabaly contradictory. However, when a party remains a major power in the political field of SimDem, there is almost always a reason. So, let's take a look.

There is no doubt that MMTM is a "wide tent party," which means that its built to appeal to a wide amount of people, boosting its membership, and therefor securing a relatively large amount of voters. With such a wide appeal, however, there comes a glaring question: what does the party believe? Well, the members of the party don't seem to entirely agree. When asked what he percieved as the party's goals, Senator Rein (a former member of the party) said "piece and love is the only thing I got." However, when asked a similar question, Senator Logry (current member of the party) cited "expansion" as the largest party policy, also citing an "efficient government and strong private sector." Despite apparent uncertainty within the ranks, the primary policy of MMTM seems to be "kindess and inclusion," as stated by the party's newly elected leader, Mufflin. On all accounts, there seems to be very little consensus amongst the party in what actual policy goals should be pursued, or what actions the party should take outside of being "kind and respectful." However, there is one area where MMTM whips seem to start cracking across the board in recent times, and that's during confirmations. The only instance where any MMTM members had reported being whipped was for confirmations, including that of former CRB director Lyoko for Secretary of the Treasury. However, even when the MMTM leadership is actively pursuing party votes, some MMTM senators did not always play ball.

With no unified policy or voting block, it shouldn't come as a suprise that when asked "What is MMTM's actual strategy to affect policy and sway public opinion in its favor," the party's leader struggled to answer - first citing their policy of being "positive and respectful," and when asked "what does that strategy look like," the party leader instead citied the party's charter, and stated how the questions were "kinda stressful." Later in that same interview, Mufflin cited "[debating] with folks in SimDem" as their primary tactic for swaying policy and changing public opinion. I go into how Mufflin answered and not just what he answered for one particular reason: nobody in MMTM seems to be prepaired to answer questions and to then be held to defend that answer. This was seen throughout the Thyme Administration, in Lyoko's hearing, and now in Mufflin's interview. With no real strategy or unifying factors within the party, it is easy to explain how other major parties like the LDP have held such a sway over SimDem politics despite being vastly outnumbered. MMTM's weakness in behing made to defend it's actions doesn't necessarily come from incompetence or even form being wrong, but it is likely an effect of two causues

1. MMTM simply isn't used to it. Saying that someone is being "mean" or claiming "it isn't that big of a deal" has been a common tactic for members of the party, since their "wholesome and kind" image often relies on maintaining the emotional high ground.

2. As a result of the first cause, the talking points of MMTM's members will often evoke specific emotions in the by-standing readers, and will frequently utilize quick, simple, and easy to understand arguments that appeal to the "first glance" (meaning it looks correct on the surface but is likely to fail under scrutiny).

Because of the reasons above, the party is often caught off gaurd when scrutiny comes in a persistent manner, and demands explinations beyond the surface. Wether right or wrong, this often causes issues in defending their position. This weakness, however, is almost always remedied by MMTM's large membership, which will be addressed soon.

If MMTM can't reliably whip votes, or make public and defend their own policies, then how is MMTM so big, and how are they still a major player in SimDem politics? Well, with all of MMTM's weaknesses, there comes some major virtues. Firstly, public appearance. There is no doubt that MMTM has mastered the use of "wholesome 100" messaging, drawing people into the party with good vibes and nice feelings. To this end, MMTM has a strong sense of friendship within the party. When asked why they joined MMTM, both Logry and Rein cited the people already in the party either already being their friends, or simply being extra nice to them. Despite this, these nicities don't always extend to other major parties, often causing partisianship in national discussion, due to what one member called "disdain within the party," particularly toward their "main rival," the LDP. However, this may be a feature, not a bug: when a new member joins MMTM, they see a friendly community with nice people, and notice that there is one particular group who this new found community doesn't seem to particularly like: the LDP. For this reason, these new members may tend to stay away from the LDP, pushing them further into MMTM as a result. However, it should be noted that the MMTM party leader, Mufflin, has said that the party "[doesn't] really talk about partisanship very much." But is this partisanship manufactured on purpose? Almost certainly not. This is a common cycle throughout political systems where a political group is organized to focus on the community as opposed to policy goals, and partisanship is just an unfortunate (but often beneficial) side effect for such parties.

All in all, MMTM largely acts as a SimDem version of the Holy Roman Empire; made up of many individual members often with little overlap or thought for the goals of the whole. However, like the HRE, MMTM's sheer size and wholesome (for the HRE it was being "holy") image has rendered the party a titan in SimDem politics, forcing all other political players to take the party into account when doing their political calculus. Often acting as a swarm in public debate, the lack of organization often has the effect of multiple MMTM members debating one person, all bringing up different or even conflicting points, making it difficult or impossible for the other side to get off the back foot. MMTM's power comes in numbers. With nearly every big name in politics on their roster, and many more lesser known members, it isn't difficult for them to dominate a conversation, wether it be in support of their own policies, or in opposition of others.

MMTM is a party of accidents; every winning strategy that the party has adopted has no indication of prior planing or foresight. As Party Leader Mufflin said, "as long as party members stay within that bubble, they can really do whatever" (with "that bubble" refering to being kind, open, and respectful), suggesting that MMTM isn't much of a party, but a club of political titans who just want to hang out and obtain public office in the process.