alternatehistory.com
Mumby - Frank Rose 2020
2017-2021: Donald Trump (Republican)
2016 def Hilary Clinton (Democrat)
2021-2037: Frank Rose (Democrat)
2020 def. Donald Trump (Republican)
2024 def. Bill Walker (Republican), Donald Trump ('Alternative' Republican)
2028 def. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican)
Trump's Presidency wasn't the worst ever. But his economic policies did lead to a trade war with China. His domestic policies led to industrial action, federal lawsuits and some of the worst unrest for a century. His foreign policy led to the collapse of NATO and the Russian occupation of Russophone majority areas of the Baltic states and the installation of Kremlin-friendly governments in Ukraine and the Baltic. There were attempts at impeachment but it never quite flew. The Second Great Depression, he attempted to fight with infrastructure spending and this was not an entire failure. But the 2020 presidential election was virtually a forgone conclusion. Frank Rose was a dynamic force, another New Yorker who took the country by storm, welding together a coalition of the working poor who had believed in Trump and been betrayed, the Democratic progressive base, the minorities who had been cast out and left aside over the last four years. He not only won the Presidency, but destroyed the Republican majorities in Congress.
Rose promised to give America a Fresh Slate, and this amounted to far more ambitious construction and anti-poverty programmes than Trump had ever dreamed of. He also pivoted America away from it's softly pro-Russian foreign policy and made it clear that there would be no more expansion for Russia in Europe. More controversially, Rose had a slate of constitutional amendments, including removing Presidential term limits, and made it clear he planned to fill the empty gaps in the Supreme Court. This was condemned as 'packing' but the Democratic majorities in Congress approved and broady so did the American people. The addition of more Justices gave the President a pro-Fresh Slate majority in the highest court of the land and allowed him to force through the establishment of the ambitious Federal Reconstruction Authority, which would otherwise have been found unconstitutional.
The Third World War was almost an inevitability. The clash between Washington and the Kremlin had grown to great to ignore. And Putin had grown used to limp-wristed reactions to his actions from the West, and he had become an older man, his judgment less sound than it had once been. Russian troops crossed into Kazakhstan in 2023 and the result was an American declaration war. There was a limited nuclear exchange but counter-atomic weaponry had become so sophisticated, the promised mutually-assured destruction never happened. It was to be a conventional war then.
The 2024 presidential election was fought primarily on the conduct of the war and the advance of Rose's Fresh Slate. While the Republicans largely agreed with Rose's assessment of the Russian threat, they were hostile to his domestic agenda. By contrast, Donald Trump led his most diehard of supporters, decrying Rose's 'war-mongering' while being supportive of the Fresh Slate, claiming Rose had stolen the ideas from Trump who had been restrained by 'Old Republican liberalism'.
The war was mixed at first. Le Pen's France was pro-Russian, and aided in Russia's invasion and occupation of much of Europe. Similarly, Russia had managed to secure alliance with Saudia Arabia. The old Gulf monarchy had started to stagger in the increasingly post-fossil fuel era, and with Trump's isolationism had allied with Russia in return for suzerainty over the Middle East. Putin's aging mind pictured a new world order, with Russia in command of Eurasia, France in the western European peninsula, Saudi Arabia over the Arab World, and China as a quiet friend and ally.
But China was not Putin's friend. The rulers in Beijing were disquieted by Putin's advances in Central Asia, remembering keenly the days when Russia had ruled Xinjiang as a vassal. While America struggled on in the European front, China drew their plans against Russia.
By the time of the 2028 presidential election, the Russian led Alliance was on its last legs. Saudi gains had been rolled away, France had surrendered and American-European forces were inside Russia herself, advancing toward Moscow. In the East, Chinese forces had 'liberated' Central Asia and had occupied much of the Russian Far East. Most expected Rose to step down and hand over to a worthy successor, perhaps Tulsi Gabbard. Instead, he chose to run for a third term, believing himself the only person who could see the war through to a conclusion that benefited the country the most. The Republican opposition was somewhat tepid, though they performed better than most expected. The Trumpist 'National Alternative' barely broke 1%.
It is now 2029 and the world is at peace once more. While Saudi-remnant forces continue to emerge from the Empty Quarter, the Middle East is under American occupation along with most of Europe. Most of Russia is under Chinese occupation, and Moscow is a divided city. Rose hopes that a new world emerge from the ash of the Third World War, one that will live up to the ideals he has espoused. But tensions between Washington and Beijing over the shape of this new world are already rising. At home, there are calls for Rose to step down as soon as possible now that he has ended the war, and there are allegations that hard-leftists, possibly in the pay of China have infiltrated the FRA and subverted American liberties...
2016 def Hilary Clinton (Democrat)
2021-2037: Frank Rose (Democrat)
2020 def. Donald Trump (Republican)
2024 def. Bill Walker (Republican), Donald Trump ('Alternative' Republican)
2028 def. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican)
Trump's Presidency wasn't the worst ever. But his economic policies did lead to a trade war with China. His domestic policies led to industrial action, federal lawsuits and some of the worst unrest for a century. His foreign policy led to the collapse of NATO and the Russian occupation of Russophone majority areas of the Baltic states and the installation of Kremlin-friendly governments in Ukraine and the Baltic. There were attempts at impeachment but it never quite flew. The Second Great Depression, he attempted to fight with infrastructure spending and this was not an entire failure. But the 2020 presidential election was virtually a forgone conclusion. Frank Rose was a dynamic force, another New Yorker who took the country by storm, welding together a coalition of the working poor who had believed in Trump and been betrayed, the Democratic progressive base, the minorities who had been cast out and left aside over the last four years. He not only won the Presidency, but destroyed the Republican majorities in Congress.
Rose promised to give America a Fresh Slate, and this amounted to far more ambitious construction and anti-poverty programmes than Trump had ever dreamed of. He also pivoted America away from it's softly pro-Russian foreign policy and made it clear that there would be no more expansion for Russia in Europe. More controversially, Rose had a slate of constitutional amendments, including removing Presidential term limits, and made it clear he planned to fill the empty gaps in the Supreme Court. This was condemned as 'packing' but the Democratic majorities in Congress approved and broady so did the American people. The addition of more Justices gave the President a pro-Fresh Slate majority in the highest court of the land and allowed him to force through the establishment of the ambitious Federal Reconstruction Authority, which would otherwise have been found unconstitutional.
The Third World War was almost an inevitability. The clash between Washington and the Kremlin had grown to great to ignore. And Putin had grown used to limp-wristed reactions to his actions from the West, and he had become an older man, his judgment less sound than it had once been. Russian troops crossed into Kazakhstan in 2023 and the result was an American declaration war. There was a limited nuclear exchange but counter-atomic weaponry had become so sophisticated, the promised mutually-assured destruction never happened. It was to be a conventional war then.
The 2024 presidential election was fought primarily on the conduct of the war and the advance of Rose's Fresh Slate. While the Republicans largely agreed with Rose's assessment of the Russian threat, they were hostile to his domestic agenda. By contrast, Donald Trump led his most diehard of supporters, decrying Rose's 'war-mongering' while being supportive of the Fresh Slate, claiming Rose had stolen the ideas from Trump who had been restrained by 'Old Republican liberalism'.
The war was mixed at first. Le Pen's France was pro-Russian, and aided in Russia's invasion and occupation of much of Europe. Similarly, Russia had managed to secure alliance with Saudia Arabia. The old Gulf monarchy had started to stagger in the increasingly post-fossil fuel era, and with Trump's isolationism had allied with Russia in return for suzerainty over the Middle East. Putin's aging mind pictured a new world order, with Russia in command of Eurasia, France in the western European peninsula, Saudi Arabia over the Arab World, and China as a quiet friend and ally.
But China was not Putin's friend. The rulers in Beijing were disquieted by Putin's advances in Central Asia, remembering keenly the days when Russia had ruled Xinjiang as a vassal. While America struggled on in the European front, China drew their plans against Russia.
By the time of the 2028 presidential election, the Russian led Alliance was on its last legs. Saudi gains had been rolled away, France had surrendered and American-European forces were inside Russia herself, advancing toward Moscow. In the East, Chinese forces had 'liberated' Central Asia and had occupied much of the Russian Far East. Most expected Rose to step down and hand over to a worthy successor, perhaps Tulsi Gabbard. Instead, he chose to run for a third term, believing himself the only person who could see the war through to a conclusion that benefited the country the most. The Republican opposition was somewhat tepid, though they performed better than most expected. The Trumpist 'National Alternative' barely broke 1%.
It is now 2029 and the world is at peace once more. While Saudi-remnant forces continue to emerge from the Empty Quarter, the Middle East is under American occupation along with most of Europe. Most of Russia is under Chinese occupation, and Moscow is a divided city. Rose hopes that a new world emerge from the ash of the Third World War, one that will live up to the ideals he has espoused. But tensions between Washington and Beijing over the shape of this new world are already rising. At home, there are calls for Rose to step down as soon as possible now that he has ended the war, and there are allegations that hard-leftists, possibly in the pay of China have infiltrated the FRA and subverted American liberties...
- Mumby
- Word Count: 910