This interview was held on July 11, 2020 via text, every answer is printed here as given by the Candidate with edits indicated in brackets. The Candidate was asked 10 questions in the order printed below.

When did you join Virtual Congress?

MacIntyre: I joined VC around 3 months ago in April it was during the Hull presidency after Mckenna stepped down if I remember correctly. The other server I was on and a lot of other members of VC where on Virtual Canada had just shut down and everyone was talking about how great and active this server was and they weren’t wrong. I was mesmerized to see just how active the chat was and that it continued all day.

What is your best memory of VC?

M: I don’t think anything could ever beat May’s election night. I was running for Senate after just being on the server for maybe 20 days and I managed to pull it off. I remember as well Bo winning the presidency and the Senate turning completely progressive. I myself did not even think I could win that election so when I was listening to the election night broadcast and I kept hearing these numbers of me pulling ahead I was very excited. I remember staying up to 2 or 3am on the server that night just glued to the screen. I ended up winning 60 percent of the vote against one of the greatest members of this server in my opinion, Watkins. After I won that election I made a promise to myself to always give 110% and make my district proud and I really hope I have done that these past 2 months.

What is your worst memory of VC?

M: I have been fortunate in VC as to not have anything absolutely horrible happen to me. One night which was not fun was also during the election when Bean called me out for not being active. I do think that lit a fire under me and without that I don’t think I would be in the same position. That night was not too fun though, having one of the most respected members call you out. I have nothing but love for him, however, and I do list him as one of my greatest influences alongside people like Plur[ibus] or Nemoy.

What party did you first join and why?

M: I joined the Democratic Party from the start of my career on this server. I was asked and courted to join the [Socialist Party] as all of my friends had joined them and it would have made sense to join them. I just felt a calling to the Democrats and some level of loyalty. I think of great people like RFK or FDR who in my mind represented what the Democratic Party should be about. A party for everyone where everyone is welcome and that will fight for everyone. The Democrats should always be a big tent party where moderates can live in as well as progressives like Social Democrats. It should be a party with a huge range of views which can debate each other respectfully while still being a united force.

What are some of the policies you support?

M: Politically, I have always been a big supporter of a Universal Single Payer Health Care System like Canada. I realize that, with the amount of people who work in the private insurance industry, a quick switch may not be the smartest and instead a public option transition while we transition those workers to different industries might be smarter. I am for gun control in the way of background checks and gun licenses, however I don’t think guns should be banned or anything. I think the United States can have a safe gun system while not encroaching on people’s rights to own firearms as long as it’s [with]in reason. I’m for getting rid of for-profit private prisons and think that prisons should be a place for rehabilitation more than punishment, especially in the case of non violent drug offenses. As well as more funding for our public schools. I could go on for a while but I think you can summarize my views as a modern European Social Democrat or Social Liberal.

Why should people elect you as Speaker?

M: Well, I am a very experienced person in the server holding a large number of positions and helping found The Capital Tribunal. More than that, and my experience, because I think that speaks for itself, I am a very passionate member of the community especially when it comes to, for the lack of a better word, parliamentary procedure. I care very much about how systems of governments work and that is actually what I am studying in university right now. I am very much a rule nut and love to figure out the exact procedure in which things like the House operate. The idea of running the House of Representatives is a dream come true to me. As [S]peaker, I will always try my best to emilnate any for[m] of partisanship and treat every member as an honorable member who represents the American people. More than that, I want to expand upon the work that Plur[ibus] has done as speaker. From when he entered the role to now a lot has changed and the RP of the house has completely transformed and become incredible. I want to continue that and actually make progress and expand upon it, by doing things like Weekly voice debates in which we can actually act out how the House works. I will also work to make sure every point of view is heard in the [H]ouse and respectful debate always happens.

What do you think of the current President and the administration?

M: Well, as I think many people know, I am Pro-Choice and James is very much not that. Aside from that I understand that stepping into the President role is very hard especially when the President resigns without telling you. When keeping that in mind, I do think that although I disagree with him heavily and I would like a certain other person to win the upcoming election, I have the utmost respect for him for stepping into the President role and doing a competent and respectful job with it.

What have you achieved as a politician on VC, specifically regarding legislation?

M: Well, I have cosponsored quite a bit of legislation over the past few months, way too much to get into, but some recent things include National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, which I cosponsored and which [was] authored by Senator Halpert. I believe mental health awareness is very important and suicide is something that touches everyone and awareness needs to be raised about it. As well, it is very important to provide help for those who need it because no one (with few exceptions) deserves to die alone and depressed. I am very proud of cosponsoring the Drug Offense Sentencing Reform Act, which seeks to lower the minimum sentencing for drug offenses, which I think is very important as addiction should be treated as an illness and we should have compassion to those inflicted with that illness. Now something that I have written. Before taking on my current role as Senate President Pro Tempore I passed The Penny Assassination Act which aims at stopping the minting of the penny. To me the penny is a wasteful coin which is not even worth the cost of minting it. This legislation which should hopefully go up in the House soon aims at fixing this economic sin and saving us millions of dollars per year.

How many/what positions have you served?

M: Okay, you are gonna make me think hard now (chuckles). Senator for two months, Deputy Leader of the Democrats on two separate occasions under Plur[ibus] and [Rockefeller]. Representative. DNC Member for 2 months as well as DNC Vice Chair for a month. Senate President Pro Tempore and as well I was one of the founders of The Capital Tribunal and the current host of The Commonwealth Corner. I think that’s it but i might be forgetting something.

What are your goals as Speaker?

M: Well as I touched on a bit earlier, introducing regular Voice Sessions is a big aspiration of mine. Ensuring that respectful debate always happens in the House as well as making sure proper procedure is always followed. Making sure with very few exceptions every bill has the opportunity to be debated on in the House and gets the spotlight it deserves. I think the most important thing is to make sure that the max amount of RP is followed as possible to make the House more immersive and fun.