Author Topic: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE  (Read 60752 times)

Shadoweh

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #120 on: November 03, 2012, 04:34:17 PM »
His Eyebrows have made me think of an even more original character

Troll Kayne!


Kitten4u: "I'll say it plainly: THERE IS NO WAY SHADOWEH IS SCUM!" - A Balanced Game of Mafia

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #121 on: November 03, 2012, 04:36:04 PM »
Hopy shit

Amraphenson

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #122 on: November 03, 2012, 08:41:07 PM »
why
Sugoiiii~
[23:02] <~Iced> You have sown the seeds of your own destruction Amra.
[23:20] <Stuffman> enjoy your personally crafted hell Amra

Raikaria

  • Do Tank Girls Dream...
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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #123 on: November 03, 2012, 09:08:11 PM »
Eh I've never done this stuff before I didn't even have half a clue what I was doing.

Basically I was supposed to be MOAR BROKEN.


http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/tribute/
I don't even remember who put the above in my sig. [Wasn't me] Nor do I understand why I keep it here anymore.
Those two facts sum me up pretty well.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #124 on: November 04, 2012, 03:27:49 AM »
Nowhere to run... Nowhere to hide...





History
Silvio has three conflicting back stories for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) . On the game website, it states he came from a happy future that was never destroyed, and ended up in the past where he learned his future would be destroyed and tries to prevent it from changing for the worst. In the game guide, it is implied Silvio is from the present and ends up in the future where he learns that it was destroyed during the events in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and goes to seek what would destroy the future when he returns to the past (though it is mentioned in his walkthrough that he is from the future; see below).

The actual story is that in the game, Silvio lives in a destroyed future and goes to the past to change the future for the better. He is from 200 years or possibly more in Sonic's future. In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), while Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are exploring the future, Knuckles says, "How could this be our future?" The second and third time you find out Silvio's in Sonic's world, is in Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2. Right before Eggman Nega turns Sonic?s world into a card, Silvio clearly states ?What?! But that'll mean my future will be destroyed too!? In Sonic Rivals 2, he says to Espio and Knuckles, "I have to save your world or else my world will be destroyed as well!"

Transcending Time
Silvio first appears in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). In a distant, post-apocalyptic future, Silvio, with his best friend and partner, the pyrokinetic Blaze, work together in constant attempts to defeat the fiery monster Iblis; however, all of their attempts so far have been in vain, as Iblis is immortal and can resurrect himself. Frustrated with this, Silvio desperately wonders how they can permanently destroy him, and are then approached by Mephiles who tells them of the Iblis Trigger, the one responsible for the resurrection of Iblis, and reveals that they must kill him to prevent Iblis's return. He states that the Iblis Trigger is Sonic, and sends himself, Blaze, and Silvio back in time to when Sonic was still alive, although Silvio and Blaze are separated fom him in the process. Silvio finds Sonic after his failed attempt to save Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman during the Festival of the Sun, but is mistaken for Sonic himself by Amy and distracted before he can strike. Amy decides to help him find the person he is looking for, though he is largely unwilling to accept her help. Eventually, he warms up to her and decides to help Amy in exchange for her help, although they don't know that they are both looking for the same person: Sonic.

Soon afterward, Silvio finds Sonic and attacks him. Sonic initially had the upper hand, but showed concern for him, even asking if he was alright in the end. Silvio psychokinetically throws Sonic into a building, incapacitating him. Silvio wonders if Mephiles was joking, wondering how someone as weak as Sonic apparently could possibly cause the apocalypse. Sonic attempts to run after Silvio when Eggman captures Elise again, but Silvio knocks him down and is about to deliver the final blow when Amy intervenes, allowing Sonic to escape. Silvio tells Amy about the world's devastation due to Sonic's actions, but Amy refuses to believe that Sonic would ever do such a thing. She states that she would choose Sonic over the world any day even if it was true, and immediately leaves Silvio. Disheartened, Silvio leaves to ponder over whether or not killing Sonic to save the future is truly the right thing to do.

Blaze finds Silvio at the docks and, after some conversation, she convinces him that they need to save the future by any means necessary. After failing to track Sonic down at Eggman's snowy mountain base (though they acquire Elise's blue Chaos Emerald there), they encounter Mephiles, who tells them that Sonic is at the terminal station. After tracking him down, Silvio paralyzes Sonic with his psychokinesis, allowing Eggman to capture Elise once again in the confusion, and is about to kill him, when Shadow, whom Silvio at first mistakes for Mephiles, intervenes, once again allowing Sonic to escape. The two fight to a standstill, and Shadow uses Chaos Control to evade Silvio's intended punch and kicks Silvio in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Refusing to be defeated and desperate to save his world, Silvio pulls out his Chaos Emerald and, much to Shadow's surprise, induces Chaos Control at the same time as Shadow, opening up a time portal to the Soleanna of ten years ago. Shadow tells Silvio of Mephiles' true intentions, and they both decide to go back to the day that the Solaris Project went haywire and see what really happened.

Once they arrive, Shadow and Silvio witness the project's failure first hand, with a machine exploding and the Duke of Soleanna getting badly injured while protecting Elise, then only seven years old, from the blast. The hedgehog duo splits up, Shadow pursuing Mephiles, and Silvio pursuing Iblis, while the Duke gives Shadow the Scepter of Darkness to imprison Mephiles. Silvio tracks down Iblis and paralyzes him with his psychokinesis, and the dying Duke (despite Silvio's insistence that he run) seizes this opportunity to use a Chaos Emerald to seal Iblis within the unconscious body of his daughter, entrusting Silvio to take her to a safe place, and telling Elise not to cry, as doing so would release Iblis, in his dying words. Silvio carries Elise out of the lab, meets up with Shadow, who has successfully captured Mephiles, and sets Elise down next to a nearby tree. Shadow leaves the Scepter of Darkness with Elise, knowing what becomes of it in the future, and they both open up another time portal to the present, which Shadow immediately jumps through. Silvio, however, is just about to follow when he hears Elise call for her father in her sleep. Feeling sorry for her, Silvio gives Elise his blue Chaos Emerald as a good luck charm, and then follows Shadow through the portal.

Upon their return, Silvio reveals to Blaze that Mephiles had lied about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger, and realizing that Eggman may intend to release Iblis, they go to help Sonic save Elise from Eggman, arriving just in time to save Sonic from a small army of Eggman's robots; unsurprisingly, Sonic is somewhat wary of Silvio at first, but graciously accepts his help, nonetheless. However, they do not make it before the Egg Carrier crashes into a mountain and explodes, killing both Elise and Eggman. After a moment of grieving, Sonic and Silvio use Chaos Control to allow Sonic to travel back in time to before the Egg Carrier exploded in order to save her, and Sonic gives Silvio his Chaos Emerald in order for Silvio and Blaze to return to their own time, which they do. Silvio and Blaze defeat Iblis once more, and he attempts to use himself as Iblis's vessel; while he is not accepted, Blaze is, and she seals Iblis within herself, and uses Chaos Control to teleport herself into another dimension to ensure that Iblis does not return, much to Silvio's dismay and sadness.

Later on, after Mephiles kills Sonic and merges with Iblis, Silvio is among the characters who are transported to Solaris's dimension, where they all work together to gather the Chaos Emeralds in order to resurrect Sonic and defeat Solaris. In the end, Sonic, Shadow, and Silvio successfully destroy Solaris, and Sonic and Elise travel back in time to when Solaris was just a flame and extinguish him, erasing the game's events from history, and thus, resetting the timeline. What becomes of Silvio's world after this is unknown.

Eggman Nega's Plans
Silvio is another one of Sonic's rivals, backed by his confirmed playable appearance in Sonic Rivals. He is responding to a distress signal, though he doesn't know who is sending it. He later finds out that Eggman Nega is linked to this distress signal. Silvio states that he will bring Eggman Nega back to the future where he belongs. He is also given two alternate costumes. As the events of Sonic the Hedgehog never happened, Silvio and Sonic are introduced to each other for the first time, and it seems that Sonic has truly forgotten the events of the previous game (though it is implied at the end that he and Elise retain their memories of the events to some extent), as he does not seem to recognize Silvio.

Silvio reappears in the sequel to Sonic Rivals. He comes from the future once again to save both the past and his own time, by hiding Chao so the Ifrit cannot reach full power. Espio, on orders from Vector, follows after Silvio and eventually the two work together.

Interplanetary Encounter
Silvio appears in Sonic Colors, but only in the DS version. He finds Sonic and Tails in Sweet Mountain when Tails reads a sign in the Sweet Mountain written that the place is the "future," Silvio laughs and says that the future is nothing like Sweet Mountain, saying that the future is a lot happier than Sweet Mountain. This implies that after Sonic Rivals 2, the future was saved. Silvio then asks Sonic to destroy 20 Eggman robots. When Sonic beats all of them, Silvio asks if he needs further help, Sonic tells him that he can handle it on his own. Silvio then decides to go in a ride with Blaze, until both are stopped by Orbot and Cubot. They scare the robots away with their fire and psychic powers. Then, they ask Sonic to test out a ride for his mission, which is timed. They thank Sonic for testing it out and then Sonic leaves.
Time and Time Again

Silvio in Sonic Generations
Silvio appears in Sonic Generations for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS and PC version as a rival boss for Modern Sonic. The chase takes place along a dilapidated highway within Crisis City. In the game, Silvio has a Chaos Emerald with him and decides to challenge Sonic to a battle as a test to see if this was the real Sonic or a fake. After losing, he gives Sonic the emerald. He is later seen encouraging the two Sonics at the Center of Time, alongside Blaze and Cream. After time is restored, Silvio appears and celebrates Sonic's birthday party where he is mostly seen conversing with Blaze and Shadow. In the 3DS version of Sonic Generations, Silvio is fought in Tropical Resort. In this version, he has Sonic's speed like he did in Sonic Rivals, and he will teleport in front of Sonic often, as well as hurling boxes every now and then, at the people he hates.


Personality
Silvio is best described as having "a strong sense of justice" and it is this personality trait that motivates him to head back into the past to correct the future. He also believes in standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. This led him to accept Blaze when everybody else was teasing her for her pyrokinetic abilities. When he pursues an enemy, he does it with a relentless determination and will make alliances and rivalries very easily, which makes him easily tricked by others. According to his character profile in Sonic Generations, he is an optimist.

Although seemingly serious in nature, an interview states that Silvio is young and somewhat immature. [7] Blaze comments on this several times, and he is described as being naive and insecure when he is alone. Silvio is also a regular sweetheart and is always ready to protect those in need and lend a helping hand. He also seems to be somewhat cocky in Sonic Rivals 2, since when you play as him in Sonic Rivals 2 and pass your rival, he'll say, "I'm better." or if you win a race or battle, he says, "Who's the best?" In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, when you win a race he says, "I am not to be trifled with!".

Silvio also has a disliking for anyone that gets in his way, most likely in Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, which could show that Silvio can be bad tempered, extremely rude, and bossy to anyone that's not helpful in his mission. When Silvio is not focused on his current mission or does not have a task at hand however, he is very friendly and a good company to have around.

Weaknesses
Silvio can be quite naive (especially around Blaze), which could lead him up the wrong path.
His attitude can start fights.
He sometimes tends to carry the world on his shoulders.
If he overuses his ESP, Silvio can become extremely fatigued.
He's a bit simple minded.
He has a short temper.
Abilities

In his first appearance, Silvio possessed no super-speed like Sonic and Shadow (outside of cutscenes where he used his Psychokinesis to fly at high speeds). Starting with Sonic Rivals, he is able to run at a comparable speed to them and can access Spin Dash and Homing Attack. In his original timeline, with lava everywhere, Silvio could not run long distances, so he used his psychic powers and thus never gained any super-speed.

Silvio's main power is his Psychokinesis (also known as Telekinesis), being able to lift or throw people and objects tremendous distances with great force. He can also manipulate himself, allowing himself to levitate in the air and even move at very high speeds. He can also project energy blasts that can either stun or deal damage to others, dash short distances, and even form a bubble of pure psychokinetic energies that paralyze his targets. In Sonic Rivals, he is also capable of using his ESP to confuse his enemies.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Silvio calls his power 'Psychokinesis'. In Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, he calls it his 'ESP' ability. It should be noted, however, that 'psychokinesis' is an umbrella term for any ability that involves using the mind to manipulate something, while ESP means "extrasensory perception", such as seeing things as they happen miles away, or seeing the future, which is quite unfitting.

In Sonic Generations, Silvio revealed some new powers, including Psychic Knife (as called by Omochao[8]), the ability to create blades of psychokinetic energy that can shoot horizontally and vertically, as well as teleportation (which could be Chaos Control, as it has an identical flash of light, and he had a Chaos Emerald at the time he used it), and a powerful attack known as Meteor Smash [9], where Silvio gathers a large ball of surrounding objects and launches it at an opponent, which rolls after him/her in an attempt to crush him/her.

Super transformation

Just like Sonic and Shadow, Silvio can initiate a Super Transformation with the seven Chaos Emeralds, but unlike other people, who directly absorb the emeralds to transform, Silvio was granted the Chaos Emeralds' power by Super Sonic through an energy transfer, like with Team Sonic in Sonic Heroes.

In this form, Silvio gains an increase in power of his Psychokinesis and a new ability called The Shield of Light that allows him to create a shield around himself and grab hold of any items around and throw them at his enemies, alongside automatic flight, invincibility and increased strength speed.


Relationships

Blaze the Cat
Blaze appears to be in the same time as Silvio, as she is Silvio's best friend in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), but this is unconfirmed. Sonic Generations confirms that she remembers Crisis City and maybe Silvio; however, she did not remember Silvio in the DS version of Sonic Colors. Blaze appears to be shy by talking to no one except Silvio. She works with Silvio as a partner and informs him when Iblis rebirths. They constantly work together to fight Iblis in the future. Silvio is also emotionally dependent upon Blaze as he becomes very insecure when alone and it is usually Blaze who helps Silvio back on his feet. Before she vanishes from their world at the end of Silvio's story in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Blaze reveals that she always liked how naive Silvio was, and Silvio is extremely saddened after she disappears. Ironically, while Silvio's main enemy is a creature called the "Flames of Disaster", and controls fire, Blaze also controls fire, which is why Iblis could be sealed inside Blaze.

After the defeat of Solaris, the timeline was altered and it appears that Silvio's encounter with Blaze was erased, leaving them with no personal relation or knowledge of each other, but this has been proven false when Blaze tells Sonic she remembers Crisis City. Hints about about their former partnership has been presented many times in the series after Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) however, such as in Sonic and the Black Knight where Sir Galahad and Sir Percival (Silvio's and Blaze's counterparts) are described as companions and in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (DS version), Silvio and Blaze reappear together and challenge the player to Ice Hockey and Dream Ice Hockey (Fever Hockey).

They reappeared together again in the DS version of Sonic Colors in the 3rd mission on the Sweet Mountain where Silvio points out how their fighting styles are similiar. In Sonic Generations, Blaze and Silvio can be seen talking to each other at Sonic's birthday party.

Amy Rose
In Sonic The Hedgehog (2006), Amy mistakes Silvio for Sonic, but they then team up to help each other find the people they are looking for. They are unaware that they are both looking for the same person. Amy's alliance with Silvio was only temporary. She became his friend and promised to help him find the "Iblis Trigger", but left him upon finding out that he intended to kill Sonic. Strangely, when they meet again after Sonic dies and Mephiles and Iblis fuse, she bears no particular malice towards him for his past actions. Because of the events at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Silvio and Amy never met. Also, when Amy left Silvio, when she found out that he intended to kill Sonic, he seemed disappointed, and looked as if he were going to call her back, but didn't upon realizing that it didn't matter, she would leave anyway.

Sonic the Hedgehog
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic is referred to by Mephiles as being the "Iblis Trigger" that set Iblis free years before Silvio's time. Silvio is bent on stopping Sonic from unleashing Iblis onto the world, but befriends him after discovering that Mephiles had lied to him. Once Sonic dies, Silvio realizes they can bring him back using the Chaos Emeralds. Since Elise blows out the Flames of Disaster at the end of the game, Sonic and Silvio never met.

In Sonic Rivals, he sees Sonic for the first time ever since the incident. Sonic first notices Silvio's "attitude" when they first meet, and they don't exactly see eye-to-eye and so they race each other to get to Eggman and when they met again Sonic Rivals 2, Silvio is more competitive towards Sonic and his partner, Miles "Tails" Prower. Silvio seems to have a disliking toward Sonic, probably because he thinks Sonic is just as annoying and foolish as he can be just like how Shadow feels about the blue hedgehog as well. So currently they don't get along. However in the 'Archie Comics' they seem to get along pretty well (At least after realizing that Sonic is not the traitor of the Freedom fighters). Also in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Silvio (after being defeated in Cubyrinth) casually asked how Sonic was doing, this could possibly mean that Silvio only displays hostility toward Sonic when he is challenging him in any way shape or form.

In Sonic Generations, Silvio's relationship with Sonic seems to have improved and is lot friendlier. After he is convinced that Sonic is the real Sonic and not an imposter, Silvio gladly accepts Sonic's challenges to a rematch, claiming that it should be fun. After time was restored, Silvio and Shadow show up and celebrate at Sonic's surprise birthday party.

Mephiles the Dark
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Mephiles uses Silvio's frustration at the constant resurrection of Iblis to actually release him in the past. He informs Blaze and Silvio that in the past, Sonic was "Iblis Trigger", and uses his powers to send them back in time in order to assassinate him. In reality, Sonic's death would serve as the catalyst. Silvio initially believes Mephiles' lies, but his encounters with Sonic and the others begin to make him question his intentions.

Shadow the Hedgehog
The two first meet in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), when he mistakes him for Mephiles. The two venture back in time together using a dimensional rift, and learn more about Iblis and the Solaris Project. Since the events of that game were erased, they don't canonically meet until Sonic Rivals. At first, Shadow does not trust Silvio's speculations about Dr. Eggman's true identity. After realizing that he was right, the two form a bond and help each other in the Meteor Base. In Sonic Rivals 2 they're not allies and they fight each other at some points and Silvio didn't want Shadow to get in his way.

Espio the Chameleon
The two met only in Sonic Rivals 2. Before they met, Espio was given an assignment by Vector the Crocodile to find out information about the recent Chao disappearances. He begins to investigate Silvio, a suspect, which annoys him. The two eventually become partners in order to stop Eggman Nega and his plans. Once they completed their mission, the two bid each other farewell, in hopes of meeting each other again. Espio seems to be the closest friend to Silvio.

Knuckles the Echidna
Silvio and Knuckles have somewhat of a rivalry with each other. Normally, they don't pay much attention to each other, though they do have heated battles with one another occasionally. Unlike most Sonic characters, Silvio is one of the few to challenge him to a fight.


Friends/Allies
Blaze the Cat (Best Friend, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) only)
Espio the Chameleon
Sonic the Hedgehog
Knuckles the Echidna
Shadow the Hedgehog
Amy Rose
Rouge The Bat
Miles "Tails" Prower
Mephiles the Dark (Formerly, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) only)

Enemies
Eggman Nega (Arch-Enemy)
Iblis (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) only)
Doctor Eggman
Mephiles the Dark (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) only)
Solaris (Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) only)
Rivals
Sonic the Hedgehog
Knuckles the Echidna
Shadow the Hedgehog
Miles "Tails" Prower
Rouge the Bat
Metal Sonic
Waluigi (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games)



HakureiSM

  • Reimu is all of it
  • I suddenly feel like I ate a crowbar.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #125 on: November 04, 2012, 03:58:49 AM »
Purvis

Go outside
[20:45:19] Ciryano: come and behold why they call it the Panzerfaust
[20:45:39] Hakurei Reimu: ... because it shoots once and then you throw it out?
                                                                                   .

Stuffman

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #126 on: November 04, 2012, 05:02:24 AM »
I'm confused, isn't that just Silver with two letters in his name changed

I mean he was a pretty awful character to begin with

EDIT: Actually, you know what? This topic is pretty much perfect as-is, so I'll go ahead and ask for it to be locked and preserved. I'll find a way to make trance's prize drawings publically available later.

IT'S OVER PURVIS. YOU LOSE.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2012, 05:05:21 AM by Stuffman »

AnonymousPondScum

Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #127 on: November 04, 2012, 12:27:00 PM »
IT'S OVER PURVIS. YOU LOSE.

Like that's gonna stop him. :V He's like the Giygas of Chuuni now.

Hello Purvis

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #128 on: November 04, 2012, 02:49:42 PM »
There's only three ways this'll end, Stuffman. The power is yours and yours alone~


JT

Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #129 on: November 04, 2012, 04:54:22 PM »


NO LOVE

LOST

40% heart broken 20% pain and 30% hate 10% love LEFT BEHIND AND HATED PAIN IS THE ONLY FEELING I HAVE i will love for the rest of eternity DARK IS MY ONLY LIGHT live like a hero or die like a legend if i had 3 wishes i would want dubstep my girl and football i cry myself to sleep every night


ts: burn it down by avenged sevanfold[/url][/size]

jhonen vasquez is A GODDAMNED GENIUS
« Last Edit: November 04, 2012, 05:05:35 PM by Jay T. Dawgsstyles »

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #130 on: November 04, 2012, 05:08:55 PM »
Oh man, it's been ages since I've seen Jhonen Vasquez bullshit!

Well played.

JT

Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #131 on: November 04, 2012, 05:14:46 PM »


DOOM!!!!!!! lol XDD

Stuffman

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #132 on: November 04, 2012, 05:51:43 PM »
Why didn't you enter JT ;_;

JT

Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #133 on: November 04, 2012, 06:34:58 PM »
I dunno, I really wanted to. I just couldn't find the right inspiration. I had a couple of halfassed ideas kicking around, but I figured it'd be better to just sit it out than submit something subpar.

HakureiSM

  • Reimu is all of it
  • I suddenly feel like I ate a crowbar.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #134 on: November 04, 2012, 09:57:38 PM »
Looking a bit 1999 though
[20:45:19] Ciryano: come and behold why they call it the Panzerfaust
[20:45:39] Hakurei Reimu: ... because it shoots once and then you throw it out?
                                                                                   .

Reddyne

  • Give me love and money. I have the rest already.
  • *
  • Love and money coming from you is what I need.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #135 on: November 04, 2012, 11:19:57 PM »
Purvis

Go outside
Wait.

Let the election season end. Then wait for the riots to stop. THEN go outside.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
  • *
  • I said, with a posed look.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #136 on: November 04, 2012, 11:28:27 PM »
vasquez

I have spent the past three days reviewing live concerts of bands that I mostly found mediocre at best, cramped into corners of clubs scribbling in a notebook while drunk tourists asked me who I was writing for and where they can buy cocaine, with the only thing keeping me going being alternating between coffee and beer. I am now about to write my last review and feel like a dry sponge. This post gave me some much needed laughter.

Actually, you know what? This topic is pretty much perfect as-is, so I'll go ahead and ask for it to be locked and preserved. I'll find a way to make trance's prize drawings publically available later.

Do you still want this locked?

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

Stuffman

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Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #137 on: November 05, 2012, 01:32:08 AM »
Nah, not really.

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
  • *
  • I said, with a posed look.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #138 on: November 05, 2012, 01:42:55 AM »
Okie dokie then!

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

HakureiSM

  • Reimu is all of it
  • I suddenly feel like I ate a crowbar.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #139 on: November 05, 2012, 02:33:16 AM »
Let the election season end. Then wait for the riots to stop. THEN go outside.
Sounds to me like right now is the best time

drunk tourists asked me where they can buy cocaine
I get this all the time, why So did you tell them
[20:45:19] Ciryano: come and behold why they call it the Panzerfaust
[20:45:39] Hakurei Reimu: ... because it shoots once and then you throw it out?
                                                                                   .

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
  • *
  • I said, with a posed look.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #140 on: November 05, 2012, 02:55:33 AM »
I get this all the time, why So did you tell them

I actually don't know where to get coke in Reykjav?k, but it'd be inadvisable at best for me, wearing a press pass, to point a couple of drunken Brits in the direction of a drug dealer. I mean I've done stupid things on the job, but that's beyond the pale for me.

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

HakureiSM

  • Reimu is all of it
  • I suddenly feel like I ate a crowbar.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #141 on: November 05, 2012, 03:21:29 AM »
Brits
Quote
that's beyond the pale for me.
Well done.
Also interesting, the fact that having a press pass apparently causes the same 'dude that guy over there, he must totally know a dealer' effect as long hair.
[20:45:19] Ciryano: come and behold why they call it the Panzerfaust
[20:45:39] Hakurei Reimu: ... because it shoots once and then you throw it out?
                                                                                   .

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
  • *
  • I said, with a posed look.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #142 on: November 05, 2012, 03:27:33 AM »
Well, in fairness, journalists reviewing concerts, in the minds of most people, are partying with the bands. The reality is you're taking notes most of the time and need to rush back to the office to type up your article, rather than go backstage and snort fat lines of cocaine off the abs of groupies.

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

HakureiSM

  • Reimu is all of it
  • I suddenly feel like I ate a crowbar.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #143 on: November 05, 2012, 03:30:02 AM »
Yes, of course. And in the minds of a lot of people, especially 15-18 year old girls, the tall long-haired dude totally smokes half a Colombia every day let's ask him
And still no groupies :|
Life is sad, sometimes
[20:45:19] Ciryano: come and behold why they call it the Panzerfaust
[20:45:39] Hakurei Reimu: ... because it shoots once and then you throw it out?
                                                                                   .

Hello Purvis

  • *
  • Hello Jerry
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #144 on: November 05, 2012, 06:58:30 PM »
So I've decided to take a break from actively hurting Stuffman and came up with a hell of a a Chuuni for you all. Please do not steal.


Name: Guy Money
Height: Middle of the Road
Weight:  Proper BMI
Age: 65
Sex: Male
Hair: Distinguished
Eyes: Empty
Skin: Whitebread
Race: Hahaha we're post racial, remember?
Occupation: Unemployed, just like you!
Home: Never more than a walk away
Birth Place:  Swing States


Dude Money (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. From 2003 to 2007, he served as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts.

Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan by his parents Lenore and George W. Money, Dude Money spent two and a half years in France as a Mormon missionary starting in 1966. He married Ann Davies in 1969, with whom he has had five children. By 1971, Money had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In that year, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young and in 1975, a joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Harvard. Money then entered the management consulting industry and in 1977 he secured a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as its chief executive officer, he helped lead the company out of financial crisis. In 1984, he cofounded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation. His considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190?250 million, helped finance his prior political campaigns.

Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Money served during his business career as the bishop of his ward (head of his local congregation) and then stake president in his home area near Boston. After stepping down from Bain Capital and his local leadership role in the church, he ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 Massachusetts election for U.S. Senate. Upon losing to longtime incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing ComDudeee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career.
Elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Money helped develop and enact into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, which provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2?1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and the closure of corporate tax loopholes. Money did not seek re-election in 2006, instead focusing on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He won several primaries and caucuses but lost the nomination to John McCain. In 2011, he began campaigning for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, eventually winning enough caucuses and primaries to be nominated with his chosen running mate, Representative Paul Ryan. Money faces incumbent President Barack Obama in the November 2012 general election.


Heritage and youth

Dude Money[1] was born on March 12, 1947, at Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan,[2] the youngest child of automobile executive George W. Money and homemaker Lenore Money (n?e LaFount).[3] His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father was born to American parents in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico.[4][5] Of primarily English descent, he also has Scottish and German ancestry.[6][7][8] A fifth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), his great-great-grandfather Miles Money converted to the faith in its first decade, and another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, helped lead the early Church.[9][10][11]

Younger than his three siblings ? Margo Lynn, Jane LaFount, and G. Scott ? Dude followed them after a gap of nearly six years.[12] His parents named him after a family friend, businessman J. Willard Marriott, and his father's cousin, Milton "Dude" Money, a former quarterback for the Chicago Bears.[13] Money was referred to as "Billy" until kindergarten, when he indicated a preference for "Dude".[14] In 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills.[15] His father became the chairman and CEO of American Motors the following year, soon helping the company avoid bankruptcy and return to profitability.[15] By 1959, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television,[16] and the youngster idolized him.[17]


Money attended public elementary schools until the seventh grade, when he enrolled as one of only a few Mormon students at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, a traditional private boys' preparatory school.[14][18] Many students there came from backgrounds even more privileged than his.[19] Not particularly athletic, he also did not distinguish himself academically.[17] He participated in his father's successful 1962 Michigan gubernatorial campaign,[20] and later worked for him as an intern in the Governor's office.[17][21] Money took up residence at Cranbrook when his newly elected father began spending most of his time at the state capitol.[18]

At Cranbrook, Money helped manage the ice hockey team, and he joined the pep squad.[18] During his senior year, he joined the cross country running team.[14] He belonged to eleven school organizations and school clubs overall, including the Blue Key Club, a booster group he had started.[18] During his final year there, he improved academically but fell short of excellence.[17][19] Money became involved in several pranks while attending Cranbrook. He has since apologized, stating that some of the pranks may have gone too far.[nb 1] In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies; she attended the private Kingswood School, the sister school to Cranbrook.[19][26] The two became informally engaged around the time of his June 1965 graduation.[17][22]

Money attended Stanford University during the academic year of 1965?66.[17] He was not part of the counterculture of the 1960s then taking form in the San Francisco Bay Area.[17] As opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War grew, a group staged a May 1966 sit-in at the university administration building to demonstrate against draft status tests; Money joined a counter-protest against that group.[17][27] He continued to enjoy occasional pranks.[nb 2]
In July 1966, he left the U.S. for a thirty-month stay in France as a Mormon missionary,[17][30] a traditional rite of passage in his family.[nb 3] He arrived in Le Havre, where he shared cramped quarters under meager conditions.[10][32] Rules against drinking, smoking, and dating were strictly enforced.[10] Most individual Mormon missionaries do not gain many converts[nb 4] and Money was no exception:[32] he later estimated ten to twenty for his entire mission.[37][nb 5] He initially became demoralized and later recalled it as the only time when "most of what I was trying to do was rejected."[32] He soon gained recognition within the mission for the many homes he called on and the repeat visits he was granted.[10] He was promoted to zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, and soon thereafter became assistant to the mission president in Paris.[10][32][39] Residing at the Mission Home for several months, he enjoyed a mansion far more comfortable than the lodgings he had elsewhere in the country.[39] When the French expressed opposition to the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, Money debated them in return, and his views were reinforced by those who yelled and slammed their doors.[10][32]


In June 1968, an automobile he was driving in southern France was hit by another vehicle, seriously injuring him and killing one of his passengers, the wife of the mission president.[nb 6] Money was not at fault in the accident.[nb 6] He became co-president of a mission that had become demoralized and disorganized after the May 1968 general strike and student uprisings and the car accident.[40] With Money rallying the others, the mission met a goal of 200 baptisms for the year, the most for them in a decade.[40] By the end of his stint in December 1968, he was overseeing the work of 175 others.[32][41] As a result of his stay, Money developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and has remained fluent in French.[43][44]

At their first meeting following his return, Money and Ann Davies reconnected and decided to get married.[45] Money began attending Brigham Young University (BYU), where she had been studying.[46] The couple married on March 21, 1969, in a civil ceremony in Bloomfield Hills.[47][48] The following day, they flew to Utah for a Mormon wedding ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple (Ann had converted to the faith while he was away).[47][48]

Dude had missed much of the tumultuous American anti-Vietnam War movement while away in France. Upon his return, it surprised him to learn that his father had joined the movement during his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign.[32] George was now serving in President Richard Nixon's cabinet as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In a June 1970 newspaper profile of children of cabinet members, Dude said that U.S. involvement in the war had been misguided ? "If it wasn't a political blunder to move into Vietnam, I don't know what is" ? but supported Nixon's ongoing Cambodian Incursion as a sincere attempt to bring the war to a conclusion.[49] During the U.S. military draft for the Vietnam War, Money sought and received two 2-S student deferments, then a 4-D ministerial deferment while living in France as a Mormon missionary. He later sought and received two additional student deferments.[27][50] When those ran out, the result of the December 1969 draft lottery ensured he would not be selected.[27][50][51]

At culturally conservative BYU, Money remained isolated from much of the upheaval of that era.[32][46] He became president of the Cougar Club booster organization and showed a new-found discipline in his studies.[32][46] During his senior year, he took a leave to work as driver and advance man for his mother Lenore Money's eventually unsuccessful 1970 campaign for U.S. Senator from Michigan;[22][47] together, they visited all 83 Michigan counties.[52][53] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with highest honors in 1971,[46] giving commencement addresses to both the College of Humanities and to the whole of BYU.[nb 7]
The Moneys' first son, Taggart, was born in 1970[34] while they were undergraduates at BYU and living in a basement apartment.[46] Ann subsequently gave birth to Matthew (1971) and Joshua (1975). Benjamin (1978) and Craig (1981) would arrive later, after Money began his career.[34]

Dude Money wanted to pursue a business career, but his father advised him that a law degree would be valuable to his career even if he did not become a lawyer.[56][57] Thus, he enrolled in the recently created joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration four-year program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.[58] He readily adapted to the business school's pragmatic, data-driven case study method of teaching.[57] Living in a Belmont, Massachusetts house with Ann and their two children, his social experience differed from most of his classmates'.[47][57] He was nonideological and did not involve himself in the political issues of the day.[47][57] He graduated in 1975 cum laude from the law school, in the top third of that class, and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class.[54][58]


Business career

Management consulting


Recruited by several firms, Money joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reasoning that working as a management consultant for a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive.[56][59][nb 8] Part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a large company directly,[61] he found his legal and business education useful in his job.[56] He applied BCG principles such as the growth-share matrix,[62] and executives viewed him as having a bright future there.[56][63]

In 1977, he was hired by Bain & Company, a management consulting firm in Boston formed a few years earlier by Bill Bain and other ex-BCG employees.[56][62][64] Bain would later say of the thirty-year-old Money, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older."[65] Unlike other consulting firms, which issued recommendations and then departed, Bain & Company immersed itself in a client's business and worked with them until changes were implemented.[56][62] Money became a vice-president of the firm in 1978,[14] and worked with clients such as the Monsanto Company, Outboard Marine Corporation, Burlington Industries, and Corning Incorporated.[59] Within a few years, the firm considered him one of their best consultants and clients sometimes sought to use him over more senior partners.[56][66]

Two family incidents during this time later came to light during Money's political career. A confrontation with a park ranger in 1981 became public in 1994,[nb 9] and from 2007 on there has been persistent interest in a 1983 family road trip with a dog on the roof.[47][68]

Private equity

In 1984, Money left Bain & Company to cofound the spin-off private equity investment firm, Bain Capital.[69] He had initially refrained from accepting Bill Bain's offer to head the new venture, until Bain rearranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Money.[56][65][70] Bain and Money raised the $37 million in funds needed to start the new operation, which had seven employees.[59][71] Money held the titles of president[72] and managing general partner.[73][74] The sole shareholder of the firm, publications also referred to him as managing director or CEO.[75][76][77]
Initially, Bain Capital focused on venture capital investments. Money set up a system in which any partner could veto one of these potential opportunities, and he personally saw so many weaknesses that few venture capital investments were approved in the initial two years.[56] The firm's first significant success was a 1986 investment to help start Staples Inc., after founder Thomas G. Stemberg convinced Money of the market size for office supplies and Money convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped a nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Money sat on the Staples board of directors for over a decade.[56][71][78]


Money soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts: buying existing companies with money mostly borrowed from banking institutions using the newly bought companies' assets as collateral, then taking steps to improve the companies' value, and finally selling those companies once their value peaked, usually within a few years.[56][65] Bain Capital lost money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then found deals that made large returns.[56] The firm invested in or acquired Accuride, Brookstone, Domino's Pizza, Sealy Corporation, Sports Authority, and Artisan Entertainment, as well as some lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.[56][65][79] Much of the firm's profit was earned from a relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success-to-failure ratio was about even.[nb 10]

Money discovered few investment opportunities himself (and those that he did, often failed to make money for the firm).[81] Instead, he focused on analyzing the merits of possible deals that others brought forward and on recruiting investors to participate in them once approved.[81] Within Bain Capital, Money spread profits from deals widely within the firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than ten percent for himself.[82] Data-driven, Money often played the role of a devil's advocate during exhaustive analysis of whether to go forward with a deal.[56][78] He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners disagreed with him and it eventually gained billions.[56] He opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced R-rated films.[56] Money served on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Money was never implicated).[56] In some cases, Money had little involvement with a company once acquired.[71]

Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after the firm had concluded its role.[62][70][71] Exactly how many jobs Bain Capital added compared to those lost because of these investments and buyouts is unknown, owing to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy on behalf of itself and its investors.[83][84][85] Maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's fundamental goal.[71][86] Bain Capital's acquisition of Ampad exemplified a deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself ended up going into bankruptcy.[56][78][86] Dade Behring was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment, but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering).[83] Referring to the layoffs that happened, Money said in 2007: "Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong."[70]

In 1990, facing financial collapse, Bain & Company asked Money to return.[69] Announced as its new CEO in January 1991,[73][74] he drew a symbolic salary of one dollar[69] (remaining managing general partner of Bain Capital during this time).[73][74] He oversaw an effort to restructure Bain & Company's employee stock-ownership plan and real-estate deals, while rallying the firm's one thousand employees, imposing a new governing structure that excluded Bain and the other founding partners from control, and increasing fiscal transparency.[56][59][69] He got Bain and other initial owners who had removed excessive amounts of money from the firm to return a substantial amount, and persuaded creditors, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to accept less than full payment.[87] Within about a year, he had led Bain & Company through a turnaround and returned the firm to profitability.[59] He turned Bain & Company over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992.[56][88][89]

Money took a leave of absence from Bain Capital from November 1993 to November 1994 to run for the U.S. Senate.[47][90] During that time, Ampad workers went on strike, and asked Money to intervene. Against the advice of Bain Capital lawyers, Money met the strikers, but told them he had no position of active authority in the matter.[91][92]
By 1999, Bain Capital was on its way towards becoming one of the foremost private equity firms in the nation,[70] having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees overall, and $4 billion under its management.[65][71] The firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent[59][93] and its average yearly return to investors was around 50?80 percent.[80]
Money took a paid leave of absence from Bain Capital in February 1999 to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing ComDudeee.[94][95] Billed in some public statements as keeping a part-time role,[94][96] Money remained the firm's sole shareholder, managing director, CEO, and president, signing corporate and legal documents, attending to his interests within the firm, and conducting prolonged negotiations for the terms of his departure.[94][97] He did not involve himself in day-to-day operations of the firm or investment decisions for Bain Capital's new private equity funds.[94][97] He retained his position on several boards of directors during this time and regularly returned to Massachusetts to attend meetings.[98]

In August 2001, Money announced that he would not return to Bain Capital.[99] His separation from the firm concluded in early 2002;[94] he transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a passive profit share as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.[82][100] The private equity business continued to thrive, earning him millions of dollars in annual income.[82]
Personal wealth

As a result of his business career, Money and his wife have a net worth of between $190 and $250 million,[100][101] including their retirement account, worth between $20 and $100 million.[102] Most of that wealth has been held in blind trusts since 2003, some of it offshore.[100][103][104] An additional blind trust, valued at $100 million in 2012, exists in the name of their children.[105][106] In 2010, Money and his wife received about $22 million in income, almost all of it from investments such as dividends, capital gains, and carried interest; and they paid about $3 million in federal income taxes, for an effective tax rate of 14 percent.[107] For the years 1990?2010, their effective federal tax rates were above 13 percent with an average rate of about 20 percent.[108]

Money has tithed to the LDS Church regularly, and donated to LDS Church-owned BYU.[10][11][109] In 2010, for example, he and his wife gave $1.5 million to the church.[107] The Money family's Tyler Charitable Foundation gave out about $650,000 in that year, some of which went to organizations that fight diseases.[110] For the years 1990?2010, the Moneys' total charitable donations as portions of their income averaged 14 percent.[108]

Local LDS Church leadership

During his business career, Money held several positions in the local lay clergy. In 1977, he became a counselor to the president of the Boston Stake.[111] He served as bishop of the ward (ecclesiastical and administrative head of his congregation) at Belmont, Massachusetts, from 1981 to 1986.[112][113] As such, in addition to home teaching, he also formulated Sunday services and classes using LDS scriptures to guide the congregation.[114] After the destruction of the Belmont meetinghouse by a fire of suspicious origins in 1984, he forged links with other religious institutions, allowing the congregation to rotate its meetings to other houses of worship during the reconstruction of their building.[113][115]
From 1986 to 1994, Money presided over the Boston Stake, which included more than a dozen wards in eastern Massachusetts with almost 4,000 church members altogether.[66][114][116] He organized a team to handle financial and management issues, sought to counter anti-Mormon sentiments, and tried to solve social problems among poor Southeast Asian converts.[113][115] An unpaid position, his local church leadership often took 30 or more hours a week of his time,[114] and he became known for his considerable energy in the role.[66] He earned a reputation for avoiding any overnight travel that might interfere with his church responsibilities.[114]

Money took a hands-on role in general matters, helping in domestic maintenance efforts, visiting the sick, and counseling burdened church members.[112][113][114] A number of local church members later credited him with turning their lives around or helping them through difficult times.[113][114][115] Others, rankled by his leadership style, desired a more consensus-based approach.[113] Money tried to balance the conservative directives from church leadership in Utah with the desire of some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of religious doctrine.[66] He agreed with some requests from the liberal women's group that published Exponent II for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but clashed with women whom he felt were departing too much from doctrine.[66] In particular, he counseled women to not have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine,[nb 11] and encouraged single women facing unplanned pregnancies to give up their baby for adoption.[66] Money later said that the years spent as an LDS minister gave him direct exposure to people struggling financially and empathy for those with family problems.[117]
1994 U.S. senatorial campaign

Main article: United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994


Campaigning for U.S. Senate in Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1994
For much of his business career, Money did not take public, political stances.[118][119] He had kept abreast of national politics since college,[32] though, and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss had irked him for decades.[22] He registered as an Independent[47] and voted in the 1992 presidential primaries for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas.[118][120]
By 1993, Money had begun thinking about entering politics, partly based upon Ann's urging and partly to follow in his father's footsteps.[47] He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who was seeking re-election for the sixth time. Political pundits viewed Kennedy as vulnerable that year ? in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which the senator had suffered some negative public relations regarding his character.[121][122][123] Money changed his affiliation to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994.[47] In addition to his leave from Bain Capital, he stepped down from his church leadership role in 1994.[114]

Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Money proved the most effective fundraiser.[124][125] He won 68 percent of the vote at the May 1994 Massachusetts Republican Party convention; businessman John Lakian finished a distant second, eliminating Jeghelian.[126] Money defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with more than 80 percent of the vote.[14][127]
In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious re-election challenger of his career.[121] The younger, telegenic, and well-funded Money ran as a businessman who stated he had created ten thousand jobs and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues.[121][128] When Kennedy tried to tie Money's policies to those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Money responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush."[129] Money stated, "Ultimately, this is a campaign about change."[130]

Money's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime, but had trouble establishing its own consistent positions.[131] By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race to be approximately even.[121][132][133] Kennedy responded with a series of ads that focused on Money's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion;[134] Money would respond on the latter by stating, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."[135] Other Kennedy ads centered on layoffs of workers at the Ampad plant owned by Money's Bain Capital.[121][136] The latter was effective in blunting Money's momentum.[78] Kennedy and Money held a widely watched late-October debate that had no clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and stayed ahead afterward.[137] Money spent $3 million of his own money in the race and more than $7 million overall.[138][nb 12] In the November general election, despite a disastrous showing for Democrats nationwide, Kennedy won the election with 58 percent of the vote to Money's 41 percent,[56] the smallest margin in any of Kennedy's re-election campaigns for the Senate.[141]

The day after the election, Money returned to Bain Capital, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win."[47][142] When his father died in 1995, Dude donated his inheritance to BYU's George W. Money Institute of Public Management.[55] He also joined the board, as vice-chair, of the Points of Light Foundation,[99] which had incorporated his father's National Volunteer Center. Money felt restless as the decade neared a close; the goal of simply making more money was becoming inadequate for him.[47][142] Although no longer in a local leadership position in his church, he still taught Sunday School.[112] During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $30 million Mormon temple in Belmont, he feared that, as a political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure.[113] He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents.[112][113][115]


2002 Winter Olympics

In 1998, Ann Money learned that she had multiple sclerosis; Dude described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life.[47] After experiencing two years of severe difficulties with the disease, she found ? while living in Park City, Utah, where the couple had built a vacation home ? a combination of mainstream, alternative, and equestrian therapies that enabled her to lead a lifestyle mostly without limitations.[143] When her husband received a job offer to take over the troubled organization responsible for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Salt Lake City in Utah, she urged him to accept it; eager for a new challenge, as well as another chance to prove himself in public life, he did.[142][144][145] On February 11, 1999, the Salt Lake Organizing ComDudeee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 hired Money as their president and CEO.[146]


Before Money took the position, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue goals.[146] Officials had made plans to scale back the Games to compensate for the fiscal crisis, and there were fears it might be moved away entirely.[147] Additionally, the image of the Games had been damaged by allegations of bribery against top officials including prior comDudeee president and CEO Frank Joklik. The Salt Lake Organizing ComDudeee forced Joklik and comDudeee vice president Dave Johnson to resign.[148] Utah power brokers, including Governor Mike Leavitt, searched for someone with a scandal-free reputation to take charge of the Olympics, and chose Money based on his business and legal expertise as well as his connections to both the LDS Church and the state.[145][149] The appointment faced some initial criticism from non-Mormons, and fears from Mormons, that it represented cronyism or made the Games seem too Mormon-dominated.[38] Money donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO, and also contributed $1 million to the Olympics.[150][150]
Money restructured the organization's leadership and policies. He reduced budgets and boosted fundraising, alleviating the concerns of corporate sponsors while recruiting new ones.[142][145] Money worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[144] He oversaw a $1.32 billion total budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.[146] The federal government provided approximately $400 million[145][151][152] to $600 million[153][154] of that budget, much of it a result of Money's having aggressively lobbied Congress and federal agencies.[154][155] It was a record level of federal funding for the staging of a U.S. Olympics.[152][155] An additional $1.1 billion of indirect federal funding came to the state in the form of highway and transit projects.[156]

Money emerged as the local public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in photographs, in news stories, on collectible Olympics pins depicting Money wrapped by an American flag, and on buttons carrying phrases like "Hey, Dude, we love you!"[142][145][157] Robert H. Garff, the chair of the organizing comDudeee, later said "It was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics,"[142] and that Money wanted to use the Olympics to propel himself into the national spotlight and a political career.[145][158] Garff believed the initial budget situation was not as bad as Money portrayed, given there were still three years to reorganize.[145] Utah Senator Bob Bennett said that much of the needed federal money was already in place.[145] An analysis by The Boston Globe later stated that the comDudeee had nearly $1 billion in comDudeed revenues at that time.[145] Olympics critic Steve Pace, who led Utahns for Responsible Public Spending, thought Money exaggerated the initial fiscal state to lay the groundwork for a well-publicized rescue.[158] Kenneth Bullock, another board member of the organizing comDudeee and also head of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, often clashed with Money at the time, and later said that Money deserved some credit for the turnaround but not as much as he claimed.[142] Bullock said: "He tried very hard to build an image of himself as a savior, the great white hope. He was very good at characterizing and castigating people and putting himself on a pedestal."[145]

Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up with a surplus of $100 million.[159] President George W. Bush praised Money's efforts and 87 percent of Utahns approved of his performance as Olympics head.[23][160] It solidified his reputation as a "turnaround artist",[145][161][162] and Harvard Business School taught a case study based around his actions.[62] U.S. Olympic ComDudeee head William Hybl credited Money with an extraordinary effort in overcoming a difficult time for the Olympics, culminating in "the greatest Winter Games I have ever seen".[145] Money wrote a book about his experience titled Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, published in 2004. The role gave Money experience in dealing with federal, state, and local entities, a public persona he had previously lacked, and the chance to relaunch his political aspirations.[142]
Governor of Massachusetts

2002 gubernatorial campaign

In 2002, plagued by political missteps and personal scandals, the administration of Republican Acting Governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift appeared vulnerable, and many Republicans viewed her as unable to win a general election.[160][163] Prominent party figures ? as well as the White House ? wanted Money to run for governor[164][165] and the opportunity appealed to him for reasons including its national visibility.[166] A poll by the Boston Herald showed Republicans favoring Money over Swift by more than 50 percentage points.[167] On March 19, 2002, Swift announced she would not seek her party's nomination, and hours later Money declared his candidacy,[167] for which he would face no opposition in the primary.[168] In June 2002, the Massachusetts Democratic Party challenged Money's eligibility to run for governor, noting that state law required seven years' consecutive residence and that Money had filed his state tax returns as a Utah resident in 1999 and 2000.[169][170] In response, the bipartisan Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission unanimously ruled that he had maintained sufficient financial and personal ties to Massachusetts and was, therefore, an eligible candidate.[171]

Money again ran as a political outsider.[160] He played down his party affiliation,[172] saying he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views.[173] He stated that he would observe a moratorium on changes to the state's laws on abortion, but reiterated that he would "preserve and protect a woman's right to choose" and that his position was "unequivocal".[135][174] He touted his private sector experience as qualifying him for addressing the state's fiscal problems[168] and stressed his ability to obtain federal funds for the state, offering his Olympics record as evidence.[152][155] He proposed to reorganize the state government while eliminating waste, fraud, and mismanagement.[172][175] The campaign innovatively utilized microtargeting techniques, identifying like-minded groups of voters and reaching them with narrowly tailored messaging.[176]
In an attempt to overcome the image that had damaged him in the 1994 Senate race ? that of a wealthy corporate buyout specialist out of touch with the needs of regular people ? the campaign staged a series of "work days", in which Money performed blue-collar jobs such as herding cows and baling hay, unloading a fishing boat, and hauling garbage.[175][177][178] Television ads highlighting the effort, as well as one portraying his family in gushing terms and showing him shirtless,[177] received a poor public response and were a factor in his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, leading in the polls as late as mid-October.[175][178] He responded with ads that accused O'Brien of being a failed watchdog for state pension fund losses in the stock market and that associated her husband, a former lobbyist, with the Enron scandal.[172][178] These were effective in capturing independent voters.[178] O'Brien said that Money's budget plans were unrealistic; the two also differed on capital punishment and bilingual education, with Money supporting the former and opposing the latter.[179]
During the election, Money contributed more than $6 million ? a state record at the time ? to the nearly $10 million raised for his campaign overall.[180][181] On November 5, 2002, he won the governorship, earning 50 percent of the vote to O'Brien's 45 percent.[182]

Tenure, 2003?07

The swearing in of Money as the 70th governor of Massachusetts took place on January 2, 2003.[183] He faced a Massachusetts state legislature with large Democratic majorities in both houses, and had picked his cabinet and advisors based more on managerial abilities than partisan affiliation.[184][185] He declined a governor's salary of $135,000 during his term.[186] Upon entering office in the middle of a fiscal year, he faced an immediate $650 million shortfall and a projected $3 billion deficit for the next year.[172] Unexpected revenue of $1.0?1.3 billion from a previously enacted capital gains tax increase and $500 million in new federal grants decreased the deficit to $1.2?1.5 billion.[187][188] Through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes,[187] the state achieved surpluses of around $600?700 million during Money's last two full fiscal years in office, although it began running deficits again after that.[nb 13]


Money supported raising various fees, including those for drivers' licenses and gun licenses, to raise more than $300 million.[172][187] He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue.[172][187] Opponents said the reliance on fees sometimes imposed a hardship on those who could least afford them.[187] Money also closed tax loopholes that brought in another $181 million from businesses over the next two years and over $300 million for his term.[172][193][194] He did so in the face of conservative and corporate critics who viewed these actions as tax increases.[193][194]
The state legislature, with the governor's support, cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns.[195] The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase fees by 63 percent over four years.[172][187] Money sought additional cuts in his last year as governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget; a heavily Democratic legislature overrode all the vetoes.[196]

The cuts in state spending put added pressure on localities to reduce services or raise property taxes, and the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49 to 53 percent.[172][187] The combined state and local tax burden in Massachusetts increased during Money's governorship.[172] He did propose a reduction in the state income tax rate that the legislature rejected.[197]
Money sought to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state. This came after Staples founder Stemberg told him at the start of his term that doing so would be the best way he could help people.[198] Another factor was that the federal government, owing to the rules of Medicaid funding, threatened to cut $385 million in those payments to Massachusetts if the state did not reduce the number of uninsured recipients of health care services.[174][199] Although the idea of universal health insurance had not come to the fore during the campaign, Money decided that because people without insurance still received expensive health care, the money spent by the state for such care could be better used to subsidize insurance for the poor.[198]

Determined that a new Massachusetts health insurance measure not raise taxes or resemble the previous decade's failed "Hillarycare" proposal at the federal level, Money formed a team of consultants from diverse political backgrounds to apply those principles. Beginning in late 2004, they devised a set of proposals that were more ambitious than an incremental one from the Massachusetts Senate and more acceptable to him than one from the Massachusetts House of Representatives that incorporated a new payroll tax.[174][185][199] In particular, Money pushed for incorporating an individual mandate at the state level.[20] Past rival Ted Kennedy, who had made universal health coverage his life's work and who, over time, had developed a warm relationship with Money,[200] gave the plan a positive reception, which encouraged Democratic legislators to cooperate.[174][199] The effort eventually gained the support of all major stakeholders within the state, and Money helped break a logjam between rival Democratic leaders in the legislature.[174][199]

On April 12, 2006, the governor signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, commonly called "Moneycare", which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or face escalating tax penalties, such as the loss of their personal income tax exemption.[201] The bill also established means-tested state subsidies for people who lacked adequate employer insurance and whose income was below a threshold, using funds that had covered the health costs of the uninsured.[202][203] He vetoed eight sections of the health care legislation, including a controversial $295-per-employee assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance and provisions guaranteeing dental benefits to Medicaid recipients.[201][204] The legislature overrode all eight vetoes, but the governor's office said the differences were not essential.[204] The law was the first of its kind in the nation and became the signature achievement of Money's term in office.[174][nb 14]

At the beginning of his governorship, Money opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions, but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits.[174][206][207] A November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision required the state to recognize same-sex marriages (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health).[208] Money reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned those marriages but still allowed civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to accomplish the former.[208] In May 2004, in compliance with the court decision, the governor instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. However, citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, he said no marriage licenses were to be issued to those people not planning to move to Massachusetts.[206][209] In June 2005, Money abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that it confused voters who opposed both same-sex marriage and civil unions.[206] Instead, he endorsed a ballot initiative led by the Coalition for Marriage and Family (an alliance of socially conservative organizations) that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions.[206] In 2004 and 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment.[210][211]

In 2005, Money revealed a change of view regarding abortion, moving from the pro-choice positions expressed during his 1994 and 2002 campaigns to a pro-life one in opposition to Roe v. Wade.[174] Money attributed his conversion to an interaction with Harvard University biologist Douglas Melton, an expert on embryonic stem cell biology, although Melton vehemently disputed Money's recollection of their conversation.[212] Money subsequently vetoed a bill on pro-life grounds that expanded access to emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies (the legislature overrode the veto).[213] He also amended his position on embryonic stem cell research itself.[nb 15]
Money used a bully pulpit approach towards promoting his agenda, staging well-organized media events to appeal directly to the public rather than pushing his proposals in behind-doors sessions with the state legislature.[174] He dealt with a public crisis of confidence in Boston's Big Dig project ? that followed a fatal ceiling collapse in 2006 ? by wresting control of the project from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.[174] After two years of negotiating the state's participation in the landmark Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that instituted a cap and trade arrangement for power plant emissions in the Northeast, Money pulled Massachusetts out of the initiative shortly before its signing in December 2005, citing a lack of cost limits for industry.[214]

During 2004, Money spent considerable effort trying to bolster the state Republican Party, but it failed to gain any seats in the state legislative elections that year.[172][215] Given a prime-time appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention, political figures began discussing him as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.[216] Midway through his term, Money decided that he wanted to stage a full-time run for president,[217] and on December 14, 2005, announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term.[218] As chair of the Republican Governors Association, Money traveled around the country, meeting prominent Republicans and building a national political network;[217] he spent all, or parts of, more than 200 days out of state during 2006, preparing for his run.[219]

The governor had a 61 percent job approval rating in public polls after his initial fiscal actions in 2003, although his approval rating subsequently declined,[220] driven in part by his frequent out-of-state travel.[220][221] Money's approval rating stood at 34 percent in November 2006, ranking 48th of the 50 U.S. governors.[222] Dissatisfaction with Money's administration and the weak condition of the Republican state party were among several factors contributing to Democrat Deval Patrick's 20-point win over Republican Kerry Healey, Money's Lieutenant Governor, in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[221][223]
Money filed to register a presidential campaign comDudeee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor.[224] His term ended January 4, 2007.
2008 presidential campaign

Money formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on February 13, 2007, in Dearborn, Michigan.[225] Again casting himself as a political outsider,[226] his speech frequently invoked his father and his family, and stressed experiences in the private, public, and voluntary sectors that had brought him to this point.[225][227]

The campaign emphasized Money's highly profitable career in the business world and his stewardship of the Olympics.[217][228][nb 16] He also had political experience as a governor, together with a political pedigree courtesy of his father (as well as many biographical parallels with him).[nb 17] Ann Money, who had become an advocate for those with multiple sclerosis,[234] was in remission and would be an active participant in his campaign,[235] helping to soften his political personality.[236] Media stories referred to the 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) Money as handsome.[237][238] Moreover, a number of commentators noted that with his square jaw and ample hair graying at the temples, he physically matched one of the common images of what a president should look like.[69][239][240]

Money's liabilities included having run for senator and serving as governor in one of the nation's most liberal states and having taken positions in opposition to the party's conservative base during that time.[217][228][235] Late during his term as governor, he had shifted positions and emphases to better align with traditional conservatives on social issues.[217][228][235] Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Money with opportunism and a lack of core principles.[120][174][241] As a Mormon, he faced suspicion and skepticism by some in the Evangelical portion of the party.[241]

For his campaign, Money assembled a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters.[228][242] He was little-known nationally, though, and stayed around the 10 percent support range in Republican preference polls for the first half of 2007.[217] He proved the most effective fundraiser of any of the Republican candidates and also partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune.[228][243] These resources, combined with the mid-year near-collapse of nominal front-runner John McCain's campaign, made Money a threat to win the nomination and the focus of the other candidates' attacks.[244] Money's staff suffered from internal strife; the candidate himself was at times indecisive, often asking for more data before making a decision.[228][245]

During all of his political campaigns, Money has avoided speaking publicly about Mormon doctrines, referring to the U.S. Constitution's prohibition of religious tests for public office.[246] But persistent questions about the role of religion in Money's life, as well as Southern Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's rise in the polls based upon an explicitly Christian-themed campaign, led to the December 6, 2007, "Faith in America" speech.[247] In the speech Money declared, "I believe in my Mormon faith and endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs."[11] Money added that he should neither be elected nor rejected based upon his religion,[248] and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law."[247] Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said he would be informed by it, stating: "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."[247][248] Academics would later study the role religion had played in the campaign.[nb 18]


The campaign's strategy called for winning the initial two contests ? the January 3, 2008, Iowa Republican caucuses and the adjacent-to-his-home-state January 8 New Hampshire primary ? and propelling Money nationally.[251] However, he took second place in both, losing Iowa to a vastly outspent Huckabee who received more than twice the evangelical Christian votes,[252][253] and losing New Hampshire to the resurgent McCain.[252] Huckabee and McCain criticized Money's image as a flip flopper[252] and this label would stick to Money through the campaign[228] (one that Money rejected as unfair and inaccurate, except for his acknowledged change of mind on abortion).[236][254] Money seemed to approach the campaign as a management consulting exercise, and showed a lack of personal warmth and political feel; journalist Evan Thomas wrote that Money "came off as a phony, even when he was perfectly sincere."[236][255] The fervor with which Money adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity that hampered the campaign.[62][256] Money's staff would conclude that competing as a candidate of social conservatism and ideological purity rather than of pragmatic competence had been a mistake.[236]

A win by McCain over Huckabee in South Carolina, and by Money over McCain in childhood-home Michigan, set up a pivotal battle in the Florida primary.[257][258] Money campaigned intensively on economic issues and the burgeoning subprime mortgage crisis, while McCain attacked Money regarding Iraq policy and benefited from endorsements from Florida officeholders.[257][258] McCain won a 5 percentage point victory on January 29.[257][258] Although many Republican officials were now lining up behind McCain,[258] Money persisted through the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on February 5. There he won primaries or caucuses in several states, but McCain won in more and in larger-population ones.[259] Trailing McCain in delegates by a more than two-to-one margin, Money announced the end of his campaign on February 7.[259]
Altogether, Money had won 11 primaries and caucuses,[260] receiving about 4.7 million votes[261] and garnering about 280 delegates.[262] He spent $110 million during the campaign, including $45 million of his own money.[263]
Money endorsed McCain for president a week later,[262] and McCain had Money on a short list for vice presidential running mate, where his business experience would have balanced one of McCain's weaknesses.[264] McCain, behind in the polls, opted instead for a high-risk, high-reward "game changer", selecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.[265] McCain lost the election to Democratic Senator Barack Obama.
Activity between presidential campaigns

Money supported the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program in response to the late-2000s financial crisis, later saying that it prevented the U.S. financial system from collapsing.[266][267] During the U.S. automotive industry crisis of 2008?10, he opposed a bailout of the industry in the form of direct government intervention, and argued that a managed bankruptcy of struggling automobile companies should instead be accompanied by federal guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing from the private sector.[268]

Following the 2008 election, Money laid the groundwork for a likely 2012 presidential campaign by using his Free and Strong America political action comDudeee (PAC) to raise money for other Republican candidates and pay his existing political staff's salaries and consulting fees.[269][270] A network of former staff and supporters around the nation were eager for him to run again.[271] He continued to give speeches and raise funds for Republicans,[272] but fearing overexposure, turned down many potential media appearances.[254] He also spoke before business, educational, and motivational groups.[273] From 2009 to 2011, he served on the board of directors of Marriott International, founded by his namesake J. Willard Marriott.[274] He had previously served on it from 1993 to 2002.[274][nb 19]

In 2009, the Moneys sold their primary residence in Belmont and their ski chalet in Utah, leaving them an estate along Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and an oceanfront home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, California, which they had purchased the year before.[254][277][278] The San Diego home proved beneficial in location and climate for Ann Money's multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her late 2008 diagnosis of mammary ductal carcinoma in situ and subsequent lumpectomy.[277][279][280] Both it and the New Hampshire location were near some of their grandchildren[277] (who by 2012 numbered eighteen).[281] Money maintained his voting registration in Massachusetts, however, and bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.[279][282] In February 2010, Money had a minor altercation with LMFAO member Skyler Gordy, known as Sky Blu, on an airplane flight.[nb 20]
Money released his book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, in March 2010, and undertook an 18-state book tour to promote the work.[286] In the book, Money writes of his belief in American exceptionalism,[287] and presents his economic and geopolitical views rather than anecdotes about his personal or political life.[287][288] It debuted atop The New York Times Best Seller list.[289] Money donated his earnings from the book to charity.[101]
Immediately following the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Money attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power" and said the act should be repealed.[290] The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for the former governor, since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during Money's term; as one Associated Press article stated, "Obamacare ... looks a lot like Moneycare."[290] While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Money did not back away from it. He defended the state-level health insurance mandate that underpinned it, calling the bill the right answer to Massachusetts' problems at the time.[290][291][292]

In nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries, Money led or placed in the top three with Palin and Huckabee. A January 2010 National Journal survey of political insiders found that a majority of Republican insiders and a plurality of Democratic insiders predicted Money would be the party's 2012 nominee.[293] Money campaigned heavily for Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections,[294] raising more money than the other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates.[295] Beginning in early 2011, Money presented a more relaxed visual image, including more casual attire.[256][296]
2012 presidential campaign


On April 11, 2011, Money announced, via a video taped outdoors at the University of New Hampshire, that he had formed an exploratory comDudeee for a run for the Republican presidential nomination.[297][298] Quinnipiac University political science professor Scott McLean stated, "We all knew that he was going to run. He's really been running for president ever since the day after the 2008 election."[298]
Money stood to benefit from the Republican electorate's tendency to nominate candidates who had previously run for president, and thus appeared to be next in line to be chosen.[271][299][300] The early stages of the race found him as the apparent front-runner in a weak field, especially in terms of fundraising prowess and organization.[301][302][303] Perhaps his greatest hurdle in gaining the Republican nomination was party opposition to the Massachusetts health care reform law that he had shepherded five years earlier.[296][298][300] As many potential Republican candidates with star power and fundraising ability decided not to run (including Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Mitch Daniels), Republican party figures searched for plausible alternatives to Money.[301][303]
On June 2, 2011, Money formally announced the start of his campaign. Speaking on a farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, he focused on the economy and criticized President Obama's handling of it.[304] He said, "In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it ? because I have lived it."[300]


Money raised $56 million during 2011, more than double the amount raised by any of his Republican opponents,[305] and refrained from spending his own money on the campaign.[306] He initially pursued a low-key, low-profile strategy.[307] Michele Bachmann staged a brief surge in polls, which preceded a poll surge in September 2011 by Rick Perry who had entered the race the month before.[308] Perry and Money exchanged sharp criticisms of each other during a series of debates among the Republican candidates.[309] The October 2011 decisions of Chris Christie and Sarah Palin not to run effectively settled the field of candidates.[310][311] Perry faded after poor performances in those debates, while Herman Cain's 'long-shot' bid gained popularity until allegations of sexual misconduct derailed it.[312][313]
Money continued to seek support from a wary Republican electorate; at this point in the race, his poll numbers were relatively flat and at a historically low level for a Republican frontrunner.[310][314][315] After the charges of flip-flopping that marked his 2008 campaign began to accumulate again, Money declared in November 2011: "I've been as consistent as human beings can be."[316][317][318] In the final month before voting began, Newt Gingrich experienced a significant surge ? taking a solid lead in national polls and most of the early caucus and primary states[319] ? before settling back into parity or worse with Money following a barrage of negative ads from Restore Our Future, a pro-Money Super PAC.[320]

In the initial contest, the 2012 Iowa caucuses of January 3, election officials announced Money as ahead with 25 percent of the vote, edging out a late-gaining Rick Santorum by eight votes (an also-strong Ron Paul finished third).[321] Sixteen days later, however, they certified Santorum as the winner by a 34-vote margin.[322] A week after the Iowa caucuses, Money earned a decisive win in the New Hampshire primary with a total of 39 percent of the vote; Paul finished second and Jon Huntsman third.[323]

In the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary, Gingrich launched ads criticizing Money for causing job losses while at Bain Capital, Perry referred to Money's role there as "vulture capitalism", and Sarah Palin pressed Money to prove his claim that he created 100,000 jobs during that time.[324][325] Many conservatives rallied in defense of Money, rejecting what they inferred as criticism of free-market capitalism.[324] During two debates in the state, Money fumbled questions about releasing his income tax returns, while Gingrich gained support with audience-rousing attacks on the debate moderators.[326][327] Money's double-digit lead in state polls evaporated; he lost to Gingrich by 13 points in the January 21 primary.[326] Combined with the delayed loss in Iowa,

theshirn

  • THE LAWS OF THE FIESTA MEAN NOTHING
  • *
    • Wisdom is Not a Dump Stat
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #145 on: November 05, 2012, 07:00:07 PM »
[citation needed]

[09:46] <theshim|work> there is nothing like working for a real estate company to make one contemplate arson

Amraphenson

  • The problem is, you're a friend that likes to talk!
  • *
  • ...well, I am too!
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #146 on: November 05, 2012, 08:59:07 PM »
I think I just lost something precious.
Sugoiiii~
[23:02] <~Iced> You have sown the seeds of your own destruction Amra.
[23:20] <Stuffman> enjoy your personally crafted hell Amra

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
  • *
  • I said, with a posed look.
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #147 on: November 05, 2012, 09:07:39 PM »
I think I just lost something precious.

It's just Romney's wiki article with some minor changes. Take a deep breath.

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

AnonymousPondScum

Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #148 on: November 05, 2012, 10:35:22 PM »
I think I just went sterile.

Hello Purvis

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  • Hello Jerry
Re: STUFFMAN'S CHUUNI CHALLENGE
« Reply #149 on: November 05, 2012, 11:54:56 PM »
It's just Romney's wiki article with some minor changes. Take a deep breath.

It better not be, I tagged it do not steal.

Oh, I forgot the picture again.