Kenny Brackhaven

Kenneth Huey Brackhaven is the Prime Minister of the Tasnica Republic.

Biological

• Born November 19, 23 WB
• Sex: Male
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Balding, still some grey
• Height: 5’ 7”
• Weight: 326 lbs

Personal

• Religion: Raineric
• Nicknames and Titles: Prime Minister of the Tasnica Republic; “Kenny”, the Father of Populism
• Hobbies: Fly fishing, sailing
• Favorite Color: Orange
• Inspirations: Belgememnon, Domai Kanavem
• Motto: “Power to the people.”

Kenny Brackhaven was born a dockworker’s son in the small fishing village. He borrowed heavily to work his way through college and law school. Pursuing a dream of public office, he ran for his villages board of selectmen. Concerned with the Conservatives hands-off approach, Kenny ran as a Socialist. Improbably, he won. His victory is at least partly attributable to the fact his opponent was indicted on fourteen counts of voter fraud. Kenny’s political instincts were good; he managed to build up a political machine behind him, and he understood the cajoling of the board of selectmen very well. He ended up in the state legislature, and eventually tackled Norfrest’s popular Conservative governor. Then he came to the Seante. In 35 WR he ran against Rhodes Palmerston for Prime Minister. Kenny recognized that the Socialists were doomed to be marginalized, so he reinvented them as the Populists. Palmerston trounced Kenny, but Kenny managed to energize a new party in Tasnican politics.

The Populists slowly rose to power as their central message became clear to everyone: The AAA corporations had run amok. Corporate excesses in the Moogle Wars ™, the Foreman’s Rebellion, and the Seraphim slowly turned opinion towards the Populists. The Kanavem Act allowed for the strengthening of labor unions, another force which threw its weight behind the Populists. By that time, Kenny was Proconsul. It is unusual for a member of the minority party to be Proconsul, and Kenny’s election to that post shows how skillfully he played off the hawk/dove divide in the Conservative party and the Senatorial Conservatives’ growing resentment of Rhodes Palmerston. After the Foreman’s rebellion the Populists scored many important victories, including the creation of a Consumer Products Safety Commission to evaluate the safety of all new products that come to market.

When it was announced that Rhodes Palmerston would not run for re-election in 40 WR, Kenny immediately jumped into the race. Not only did he narrowly defeat Conservative Franklin Yeats, he managed to sweep his party into the Senate in a bare majority. Now, Kenny turns to the task of fulfilling his central ideal, a lifelong goal for him: to restore the power of the Republic to the Tasnican people by taking on the corporations. No communist by any standard, Kenny nonetheless favors an expansion of social services to counter corporate control over all walks of Tasnican life. One of his main proposals, the National Retirement Fund, has already been passed, and a Ministry of Labor has been created. Some of his other proposals, such as Federal Housing Subsidies, are currently stalled. However, Kenny is a savvy legislative tactician, and he is much more willing to compromise and work with the Conservatives than other, more radical members of his party such as Proconsul Stacia Apelbaum. This mainly extends to social issues—for Kenny, the main thing is to put the corporations back in their proper place. Capitalism is a fine thing in the bounds of democracy, the Populists say, but in Tasnica now capitalism has become the master.

In person, Kenny can appear crude and off-putting. As a public speaker, he is a trainwreck; he often refers to himself in third person for no apparent reason. His foreign policy expertise is lacking. None of this should distract from the simple fact that Kenny is a very good politician, managing to build a political party that ultimately triumphed over the extremely successful Conservative party.

Kenny is married and has two kids. He used to cheat on his wife regularly, but now he has little time or energy. His marriage is more or less a sham, but he can’t divorce her because of Rainericism’s ban on divorce. He doesn’t speak with his kids, or his grandchild. Kenny is prone to fits of depression, overcome with the feeling that “They all hate me!” He sometimes thinks the press has a personal vendetta against him.

Kenny was recently re-elected in 45 WR over conservative Vorten Tuinne in an election that rehashed many of the issues of the 40 WR election with the important difference that Kenny now had much more credibility as a sitting Prime Minister. His victory was narrow (52 percent of the vote) but a gain over the previous five years. Recently, Kenny has been diagnosed with diabetes. It is an open question at this time whether he will seek re-election in 50 WR.

Legislative Achievements

Unlike his foreign-policy-oriented predecessor, Rhodes Palmerston, Kenny's biggest achievements are his legislative ones. Despite the Populist majority in the Senate, he still makes efforts to work with the Conservatives on many issues.

• As Proconsul
  • The Kanavem Act provided sweeping political protection to Tasnica's labor unions
  • The Consumer Products Safety Administration is responsible for ensuring all consumer products brought to market are safe (duh!)
  • Instrumental in the repeal of the Extraterritoriality Act
• As Prime Minister
  • The National Retirement Fund (created 41 WR, one of the first acts of Kenny Brackhaven as Prime Minister) provides ‘social security’ payments for the elderly
  • Federal Housing Subsidies (created 42 WR) provides federal housing vouchers for low-income Tasnicans so they can have a place to live. Its enormous cost, and the fact that it tends to favor the (mostly Populist) space colonies make it contentious. (The reason is favors space colonies is due to the high cost of living in space; air isn’t free.)
  • Food Guarantee (created 46 WR) provides a small electronic-transfer credstick to low-income and unemployed Tasnicans. It is only accepted at grocery stores. The name is a reference to the Guarantees of the Code of Belgememnon.
  • The legalization of homosexual marriage

Figgy

Kenny Brackhaven was nominated for a Figgy in 2007 in the Best Male Character category ...and won!

Preceded by:	Prime Minister, Tasnica	Succeeded by:
Rhodes Palmerston	40WR-	Incumbent