alternatehistory.com
Part 30: United States presidential election, 2004
For most of the three years following the loss of the White House to the Democrats, the Republican front-runner had been former Vice President Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. Wilson's vice president, despite proving himself as an able vice president and governor, was viewed as a dull moderate who could not inspire voters to ditch a president who had strong approval ratings following the turnaround, and subsequent victory, in the Congo. That's when a challenger appeared.
Former First Lady Elizabeth Dole had become a senator for her home state of North Carolina during the same election that had brought Pete Wilson to the White House and had emerged as one of the most popular Republicans in the country. When Dole announced her candidacy, it quickly turned the race from an Alexander coronation into a slugfest between the two lead candidates. Alexander's strengths of having executive experience and being able to appeal to moderates was blunted by Dole's ability to appeal to appeal to both moderates and conservatives while also making inroads with female voters, a huge priority for the GOP. The campaign soon devolved into vicious mud-slinging as Super Tuesday provided no clear winner. The absence of former President Dole (who was 80 years old when his wife began campaigning) from much of the campaign trail led to nasty rumors of marital trouble between the former first couple and the Dole campaign retaliated by drawing attention to shady real estate deals Alexander may have been involved in during the gap between his service as Tennessee governor and selection by Wilson for the vice-presidential spot.
Dole finally came out on top in April after swinging around to Alexander's right, with the former VP suspending his campaign and endorsing the former First Lady, making Dole the first ever female presidential nominee of a major party. To reassure moderates and independent voters as well as provide a direct contrast to the Democratic campaign, Dole selected South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler, whose reputation for integrity and pragmatism were unmatched, as her running mate.
President Gephardt, as expected, won his party's nomination uncontested except by a few perennial candidates and cranks. Vice President Brown had by this time become a liability to the campaign after damning news broke of improper deals and finance irregularities from when Brown was New York's governor. Although debate raged within the Gephardt campaign on whether to keep the embattled VP, Gephardt made the decision to drop him from the ticket, the first time since 1944 that a sitting vice president had been denied renomination on his party's ticket. Gephardt selected former North Carolina governor Jim Hunt as his new running mate and, as a gesture of loyalty to Brown, publicly refused the suggestion that he ask Brown to resign (which constitutional lawyers pointed out, Brown, alone out of all cabinet members, could refuse when asked by the president).
Dole's selection of a moderate, even one as well-liked as Pressler, led conservatives in her party concerned and she defied conventional expectations and did not move to the center post-convention in order to prevent conservatives from voting third-party or sitting home. Hitting the president for corruption and blaming him for the Internet bubble, Dole squandered any gains the GOP had in the Hispanic community by saying she would continue Wilson's legacy, including a revisited push against illegal immigration and undocumented workers within the United States. Gephardt struck back, pointing to the success in the Congo, the economic turnaround and bashed Dole for what he called "punitive measures" against illegal immigrants.
Gephardt held a small lead throughout the campaign after the replacement of Brown, and the Dole's campaign all but ensured that the president would win reelection as a result of one of the infamous "Rainbow" advertisement. The ad, which showed Gephardt receiving the endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, attempted to play on anti-gay and anti-transgender prejudices to smear the Democratic campaign. The fierce backlash that resulted caused the campaign to pull the ad and fire its media director but the damage had already been done.
The twin damages caused by the Rainbow ad and the Dole campaign's support of harsh measures against illegal immigrants within the United States led to a Gephardt electoral college blowout and a comfortable win in the popular vote. Hispanic votes for Gephardt, as a response to a second straight Republican campaign pushing for strict measures against illegal immigrants, swung Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona (which had not voted Democratic since 1948) to the Democrats, leaving only Colorado (where strong campaigning by Pressler towards the end of the race narrowly averted a Democratic win) and ruby-red Texas as the only states with a sizable Hispanic population not to fall into the Democratic column. The presence of small right-wing third parties on the ballot also gave Gephardt a surprise victory in Arkansas. The House also just went back to Democratic control, but President Gephardt's coattails, were not long enough to swing the Senate and indeed the party actually lost a seat overall as a result of retirement of open seats formerly held by conservative Democrats in the south.
Former First Lady Elizabeth Dole had become a senator for her home state of North Carolina during the same election that had brought Pete Wilson to the White House and had emerged as one of the most popular Republicans in the country. When Dole announced her candidacy, it quickly turned the race from an Alexander coronation into a slugfest between the two lead candidates. Alexander's strengths of having executive experience and being able to appeal to moderates was blunted by Dole's ability to appeal to appeal to both moderates and conservatives while also making inroads with female voters, a huge priority for the GOP. The campaign soon devolved into vicious mud-slinging as Super Tuesday provided no clear winner. The absence of former President Dole (who was 80 years old when his wife began campaigning) from much of the campaign trail led to nasty rumors of marital trouble between the former first couple and the Dole campaign retaliated by drawing attention to shady real estate deals Alexander may have been involved in during the gap between his service as Tennessee governor and selection by Wilson for the vice-presidential spot.
Dole finally came out on top in April after swinging around to Alexander's right, with the former VP suspending his campaign and endorsing the former First Lady, making Dole the first ever female presidential nominee of a major party. To reassure moderates and independent voters as well as provide a direct contrast to the Democratic campaign, Dole selected South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler, whose reputation for integrity and pragmatism were unmatched, as her running mate.
President Gephardt, as expected, won his party's nomination uncontested except by a few perennial candidates and cranks. Vice President Brown had by this time become a liability to the campaign after damning news broke of improper deals and finance irregularities from when Brown was New York's governor. Although debate raged within the Gephardt campaign on whether to keep the embattled VP, Gephardt made the decision to drop him from the ticket, the first time since 1944 that a sitting vice president had been denied renomination on his party's ticket. Gephardt selected former North Carolina governor Jim Hunt as his new running mate and, as a gesture of loyalty to Brown, publicly refused the suggestion that he ask Brown to resign (which constitutional lawyers pointed out, Brown, alone out of all cabinet members, could refuse when asked by the president).
Dole's selection of a moderate, even one as well-liked as Pressler, led conservatives in her party concerned and she defied conventional expectations and did not move to the center post-convention in order to prevent conservatives from voting third-party or sitting home. Hitting the president for corruption and blaming him for the Internet bubble, Dole squandered any gains the GOP had in the Hispanic community by saying she would continue Wilson's legacy, including a revisited push against illegal immigration and undocumented workers within the United States. Gephardt struck back, pointing to the success in the Congo, the economic turnaround and bashed Dole for what he called "punitive measures" against illegal immigrants.
Gephardt held a small lead throughout the campaign after the replacement of Brown, and the Dole's campaign all but ensured that the president would win reelection as a result of one of the infamous "Rainbow" advertisement. The ad, which showed Gephardt receiving the endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, attempted to play on anti-gay and anti-transgender prejudices to smear the Democratic campaign. The fierce backlash that resulted caused the campaign to pull the ad and fire its media director but the damage had already been done.
The twin damages caused by the Rainbow ad and the Dole campaign's support of harsh measures against illegal immigrants within the United States led to a Gephardt electoral college blowout and a comfortable win in the popular vote. Hispanic votes for Gephardt, as a response to a second straight Republican campaign pushing for strict measures against illegal immigrants, swung Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona (which had not voted Democratic since 1948) to the Democrats, leaving only Colorado (where strong campaigning by Pressler towards the end of the race narrowly averted a Democratic win) and ruby-red Texas as the only states with a sizable Hispanic population not to fall into the Democratic column. The presence of small right-wing third parties on the ballot also gave Gephardt a surprise victory in Arkansas. The House also just went back to Democratic control, but President Gephardt's coattails, were not long enough to swing the Senate and indeed the party actually lost a seat overall as a result of retirement of open seats formerly held by conservative Democrats in the south.
- lord caedus
- Word Count: 860