NationStates should not be cast as a Civilization-type game. Civilization is an example of a 4X (explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) game. NationStates is a government simulator. The main similarity is that in both games the player is the uncontested leader. Nevertheless, they represent two distinct genres. NationStates is politically-themed because players are faced with a daily policy decisions and the totality of their decisions serve as inputs into the government simulation. Clout is a granular version of this. The players in both Clout and NationStates are making policy decisions that influence the outcome of their nations. There is far more player interaction in Clout and no big policy changes are made unilaterally, but that does not detract from the political nature of NationStates. On balance, NationStates is far more similar to Clout, in theme as well as substance, than Civilization. What does it matter if Clout isn't the first politically themed multiplayer game?
First things first: the only claim I ever made is that Clout is the first politically-themed MMORPG. Nation States obviously isn't an MMORPG. The core game of NationStates is a nation building game. You enact policies, your nation grows, it's ranked against other nations. There really aren't any politics because you are an omnipotent dictator. The abstraction layer of "choose an argument" is vaguely similar to clout, but the mechanics behind it are completely dissimilar. You are simply choosing an action that you could choose in a less abstract way in any nation-building game like Civ, Caesar, or the slew of browser-based ones that lack a 4X element. There isn't any real difference between picking the "tax increase" argument and hitting the "tax increase" button in Civ. At a base level, Clout is an RPG. Most of what you can do in-game has absolutely no equivalent in NationStates (and vise-versa). Clout is closer to Final Fantasy than NationStates.
Jennifer Government's NationStates is a multiplayer political themed online game that predated this game by several years. Nonetheless, it's existence doesn't detract from Clout's uniqueness.
I do not believe the victory criteria for any party is achievable. It'll be a 1-4 battle passing the bill, and with equal access to sex, drugs and rock & roll on both sides, I don't see any single party with sufficient resources to push it through. So are those bills just available for people to waste clout on and cause drama?
Finally, I think that having a suicide option should be available. After all, politicians have the right to commit suicide in real life. The lack of such an option deprives my digital avatar their rightful civil liberty and surely goes against the Constitution.
NationStates is a nation-building Civ game. It seems to have added an opt-in multiplayer voting element on top of the basic Civ formula, but it would be an extraordinary stretch to call it "politically-themed" the way Clout is, and such a stretch would end up including many other games that predated NationStates. Maybe "Government Themed" or something would be more fitting? There aren't really any "politics" in your nation since you just choose what to do. Anyway... yes, win condition bills are intentionally incredibly hard to pass. Certainly you agree that passing such a bill through congress would be pretty difficult? Killing yourself is not an option for gameplay fairness and balance reasons, but if you would like to have your character removed so you can make a new one, feel free to let me know.
 "Snail"){kind=icon}
 "This is not a minimalist game"){kind=icon}
 "All That Matters"){kind=icon}
 "no-one has to die."){kind=icon}
 "Clash of the Dragons"){kind=icon}
 "Clout: The Game"){kind=icon}
 "Ragdoll Avalanche 2"){kind=icon}
First things first: the only claim I ever made is that Clout is the first politically-themed MMORPG. Nation States obviously isn't an MMORPG. The core game of NationStates is a nation building game. You enact policies, your nation grows, it's ranked against other nations. There really aren't any politics because you are an omnipotent dictator. The abstraction layer of "choose an argument" is vaguely similar to clout, but the mechanics behind it are completely dissimilar. You are simply choosing an action that you could choose in a less abstract way in any nation-building game like Civ, Caesar, or the slew of browser-based ones that lack a 4X element. There isn't any real difference between picking the "tax increase" argument and hitting the "tax increase" button in Civ. At a base level, Clout is an RPG. Most of what you can do in-game has absolutely no equivalent in NationStates (and vise-versa). Clout is closer to Final Fantasy than NationStates.