Republican politician and lobbyist runs for election in EVE Online
"Maybe 20 years ago this would be weird, but given how mainstream gaming has become... how can anyone say 'You're throwing your life away playing these games?'"
Running in this year's EVE Online elections for a position on the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is the uniquely-placed lawyer and Republican politician Brian Schoeneman.
With a political and legal career stretching over 15 years, Schoeneman currently works as maritime law lobbyist in the state of Virginia.
"I think the largest single thing I can bring to the CSM is that I have been doing what is effectively the CSM's role for my entire political career," Schoeneman told Kotaku in a recent interview.
"I am constantly going out and lobbying the government and trying to educate them on what my members think is important, and how what the government does affects my industry, all while making sure what we do is good for the country."
"If you replace 'government' with CCP, 'union members' with the player base, and 'country' with the game world, I'm already basically a CSM. It's literally my day job."
Created as an intermediary between the players and EVE Online developer CCP Games, the CSM is an officially recognised government which is elected every year to represent the interests of the community.
"Maybe 20 years ago this would be weird, but given how mainstream gaming has become with Twitch streamers and YouTube stars making millions of dollars, how can anyone say 'You're throwing your life away playing these games?'" he said. "I'd rather be attacked for playing EVE than for being a liar, or for doing something truly bad."