A Giant Sucking Sound: a President Perot TL
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"It's with a heavy heart that I have to announce that the former President of the United States, my father, Henry Ross Perot, has lost his long battle against leukemia today, at 89. He lived a long and fruitful life and devoted his life to the United States. He will be deeply missed by his wife, his five children and his nineteen grandchildren. I will take no more questions. Thank you."
-Press conference by Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman for the Perot Group, July, 9 2019
"Ross Perot, the 42nd President of the United States, my predecessor, has died today in Dallas, Texas. Jennifer and I join the Perot family in their grief for this loss and offer our thoughts and prayers, along with the entire American people. (...)
Having to offer an eulogy for a predecessor is never easy for an incumbent President, even more when he comes from another party. Nevertheless, President Perot is easy to be praised.
A true son of Texas, he was, through a highly distinguished business career, a true embodiment of the American Dream. Born in deepest poverty, during the Great Depression, he was an accomplished self-made man, gasping the potential of the information business and devoting his fortune to veterans' rights. During his political career, he devoted his energy to upset the partisanship of American politics, push for nuclear disarmament, peace in Africa, the Middle East and prepare America for the many challenges of the post-Cold War era.
I was a young man when Ross Perot changed America forever by his election and I must tell you all : we all live, and will live on, in Ross Perot's America."
-President Ben Affleck (D-MA)'s televised address from the Oval Office, July, 9 2019
Sure, I must say I owe to the ol' bastard my political career, for allowing nutjobs like me to run for office, but he also allowed Donald Trump. Had Ross Perot never existed, we would never have had Donald Trump as President and a risk for nuclear war with Russia and a military dictatorship in our time. Period. This old racist schmuck never got why he was elected for, he just improvised day by day, used his fortune to get a party built and just lost his shit when he saw how dirty politics were. Talk about a great president !
-Fmr. Gov. of California Eric R. Boucher on his YouTube Channel "JelloBiafraUS", video called "DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD"
Notable attendees for President Perot's funeral :
Australia : Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ;
Brazil : President Marina Silva ;
Canada : Prime Minister Thomas Mulcair ;
European Union : President of the European Council Alexander Stubb ; President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans ;
France : President Nathalie Kosciuzsko-Morizet ;
Germany : Chancellor Martin Schulz ;
Holy See: Secretary of State Cardinal Beniamino Stella (representing Pope John Paul III) ;
India : Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi ;
Iraq : President Hussein Kamel al-Majid ;
Iran : Reza Shah II ;
Italy : Prime Minister Elisabetta Casellati ;
Japan : Prime Minister Naoto Kan ;
Israel : Prime Minister Ayelet Shaked ;
Mexico : President Marcelo Ebrard ;
New Zealand : Prime Minister Simon Bridges ;
People's Republic of China : President Wang Huning ;
Taiwan : President Chen Chu ;
Quebec : President Pauline Marois ;
South Africa : President Tokyo Sexwale ;
Korea : President Ahn Cheol-soo ;
Russia : President Alexander Lebed ;
Ukraine : President Oleksandr Feldman ;
United Kingdom : Prime Minister Ed Miliband ;
United Nations : General Secretary Irina Bokova.
"Sure, maybe the image you've got of Ross Perot was a committed President, who put all his forces into reforming a crooked political system and preparing the world for a new era ; it was the point of view of Elizabeth Warren when she ran in the last cycle for President, and regarding the Freedomite close result, you could say that many Americans share this view. And you could abide by Ed Harris' portrayal in Oliver Stone's Perot, as a bumbling businessman who knew nothing but to rule day by day without thinking of the long-term consequences, precipitating the disaster of the Trump administration, the Iraqi Civil War, the Kivu War, StormFront and islamist terrorism.
But take a wider rupture. Where were we in 1992 ?
America had just won a worldwide war without firing any shots. With a fledging but nevertheless strong economy, she enjoyed its place as the sole superpower of the entire world, the beacon of democracy, enjoying a military strength never seen before in the history of mankind. The political system was only shared by two parties who were drawing more and more to the extremes and interrogating themselves about one thing : what would they become in the next millenium.
Where are we now in 2019 ?
America has known eight different Presidents in only twenty-four years. It has now completely lost its nuclear arsenal but its military, nevertheless, is embroiled in Iran, Korea, Venezuela, Syria and Ukraine. China dominates the world economy as the US economy only manages to recover from 2008. Russia, even if Zhirinovsky has been deposed, looks more and more as a military dictatorship and a foe of America. The European Union is stronger than ever and has made its own route, far from their American overlords. These prospects look dire, but nowadays in Congress, all three parties are able to work together, as American democracy has never been stronger, providing civil rights for all, regardless of color of skin, gender, sexual preference or income, providing free Internet, affordable health care, housing, civic representation and job equality for all. This bipartisanship (or rather tripartisanship) is the sole legacy of Ross Perot, the cradle of the Seventh Party System and the way to which America has entered the Twenty-First Century.
-"The true Perot Legacy", a op-ed piece for the New York Times, by former Vice-President Hill Harper (F-IA)
-Press conference by Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman for the Perot Group, July, 9 2019
"Ross Perot, the 42nd President of the United States, my predecessor, has died today in Dallas, Texas. Jennifer and I join the Perot family in their grief for this loss and offer our thoughts and prayers, along with the entire American people. (...)
Having to offer an eulogy for a predecessor is never easy for an incumbent President, even more when he comes from another party. Nevertheless, President Perot is easy to be praised.
A true son of Texas, he was, through a highly distinguished business career, a true embodiment of the American Dream. Born in deepest poverty, during the Great Depression, he was an accomplished self-made man, gasping the potential of the information business and devoting his fortune to veterans' rights. During his political career, he devoted his energy to upset the partisanship of American politics, push for nuclear disarmament, peace in Africa, the Middle East and prepare America for the many challenges of the post-Cold War era.
I was a young man when Ross Perot changed America forever by his election and I must tell you all : we all live, and will live on, in Ross Perot's America."
-President Ben Affleck (D-MA)'s televised address from the Oval Office, July, 9 2019
Sure, I must say I owe to the ol' bastard my political career, for allowing nutjobs like me to run for office, but he also allowed Donald Trump. Had Ross Perot never existed, we would never have had Donald Trump as President and a risk for nuclear war with Russia and a military dictatorship in our time. Period. This old racist schmuck never got why he was elected for, he just improvised day by day, used his fortune to get a party built and just lost his shit when he saw how dirty politics were. Talk about a great president !
-Fmr. Gov. of California Eric R. Boucher on his YouTube Channel "JelloBiafraUS", video called "DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD"
Notable attendees for President Perot's funeral :
Australia : Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ;
Brazil : President Marina Silva ;
Canada : Prime Minister Thomas Mulcair ;
European Union : President of the European Council Alexander Stubb ; President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans ;
France : President Nathalie Kosciuzsko-Morizet ;
Germany : Chancellor Martin Schulz ;
Holy See: Secretary of State Cardinal Beniamino Stella (representing Pope John Paul III) ;
India : Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi ;
Iraq : President Hussein Kamel al-Majid ;
Iran : Reza Shah II ;
Italy : Prime Minister Elisabetta Casellati ;
Japan : Prime Minister Naoto Kan ;
Israel : Prime Minister Ayelet Shaked ;
Mexico : President Marcelo Ebrard ;
New Zealand : Prime Minister Simon Bridges ;
People's Republic of China : President Wang Huning ;
Taiwan : President Chen Chu ;
Quebec : President Pauline Marois ;
South Africa : President Tokyo Sexwale ;
Korea : President Ahn Cheol-soo ;
Russia : President Alexander Lebed ;
Ukraine : President Oleksandr Feldman ;
United Kingdom : Prime Minister Ed Miliband ;
United Nations : General Secretary Irina Bokova.
"Sure, maybe the image you've got of Ross Perot was a committed President, who put all his forces into reforming a crooked political system and preparing the world for a new era ; it was the point of view of Elizabeth Warren when she ran in the last cycle for President, and regarding the Freedomite close result, you could say that many Americans share this view. And you could abide by Ed Harris' portrayal in Oliver Stone's Perot, as a bumbling businessman who knew nothing but to rule day by day without thinking of the long-term consequences, precipitating the disaster of the Trump administration, the Iraqi Civil War, the Kivu War, StormFront and islamist terrorism.
But take a wider rupture. Where were we in 1992 ?
America had just won a worldwide war without firing any shots. With a fledging but nevertheless strong economy, she enjoyed its place as the sole superpower of the entire world, the beacon of democracy, enjoying a military strength never seen before in the history of mankind. The political system was only shared by two parties who were drawing more and more to the extremes and interrogating themselves about one thing : what would they become in the next millenium.
Where are we now in 2019 ?
America has known eight different Presidents in only twenty-four years. It has now completely lost its nuclear arsenal but its military, nevertheless, is embroiled in Iran, Korea, Venezuela, Syria and Ukraine. China dominates the world economy as the US economy only manages to recover from 2008. Russia, even if Zhirinovsky has been deposed, looks more and more as a military dictatorship and a foe of America. The European Union is stronger than ever and has made its own route, far from their American overlords. These prospects look dire, but nowadays in Congress, all three parties are able to work together, as American democracy has never been stronger, providing civil rights for all, regardless of color of skin, gender, sexual preference or income, providing free Internet, affordable health care, housing, civic representation and job equality for all. This bipartisanship (or rather tripartisanship) is the sole legacy of Ross Perot, the cradle of the Seventh Party System and the way to which America has entered the Twenty-First Century.
-"The true Perot Legacy", a op-ed piece for the New York Times, by former Vice-President Hill Harper (F-IA)
With the last post I guess this is the definitive list of presidents:
41. George HW Bush 1989-1993 (R-TX)
42. H. Ross Perot 1993-1997 (F-TX)
43. Dorothy Ann Richards 1997-2003 (D-TX)*
44. Joseph Robert Kerrey 2003-2005 (D-NE)
45. Donald J. Trump 2005-2007 (F-NY)**
46. Nancy Pelosi 2007-2009 (D-CA)
47. Russell Feingold 2009-2013 (D-WI)
48. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush 2013-2017 (R-FL)
49. Benjamin Affleck 2017-present (D-MA)
* (Died in office)
** (Forced to resign)
Funny how Trump is the 45th President in this TL and IRL.
41. George HW Bush 1989-1993 (R-TX)
42. H. Ross Perot 1993-1997 (F-TX)
43. Dorothy Ann Richards 1997-2003 (D-TX)*
44. Joseph Robert Kerrey 2003-2005 (D-NE)
45. Donald J. Trump 2005-2007 (F-NY)**
46. Nancy Pelosi 2007-2009 (D-CA)
47. Russell Feingold 2009-2013 (D-WI)
48. John Ellis "Jeb" Bush 2013-2017 (R-FL)
49. Benjamin Affleck 2017-present (D-MA)
* (Died in office)
** (Forced to resign)
Funny how Trump is the 45th President in this TL and IRL.
I hesitated to retcon the facts of this TL and to have Feingold re-elected, then succeeded by Marco Rubio. Then I hesitated between Stephen Colbert or Ben Affleck as President.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Really good Wikipedia page. It is definitely the one I would imagine for a President as consequential as Perot would've been.
If it is not too much trouble, I really want to know how Affleck won the democratic primaries and defeated Bush, and if there can be an infobox for the ITTL 2016 election.
Is Jello trying to be irreverent, or does he honestly think Perot was a disaster, despite Perot giving Jello a political career?
So wait. Is it still Feingold, Bush, and Affleck, or Feingold, Rubio, and Affleck?
So how has al-Majid maintained power ITTL, despite there being a civil war in Iraq?
Let's say that Jeb Bush/Melissa Hart didn't manage to handle the economy and went down against Ben Affleck/Claire McCaskill (Democrats) and Elizabeth Warren/Charlie Crist (Freedomites) ; Ben Affleck wins the nomination against harsh primaries against former President Russ Feingold on a left-wing agenda, using his youth and his outsider image as a former actor to ride on the current wave of discontent.
Jello has been into politics since 1994, but he remains irreverent as always and has become one of the most seen political commentators in social media since his retirement from Sacramento in 2019 (followed by Freedomite Sheryl Sandberg). Even if he much owe Perot everything, Perot is still villified by parts of the Freedom Party (big tent fails to qualify the party) for its role in the 2000 Primaries against Jerry Brown.
The first one.
Al-Majid fought Saddam' sons, the Kurds, the Assyrians, the Shias, the Iranians, the Turks, the Baathists, the Turkmens, all at the same time, but has managed to fight them off with American support and then destroyed the revolts ITTL Arab Spring, solidyfing his dictatorship with the US invasion of Iran, that earned Iraq Khuzestan.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Why did Elizabeth Warren join the Freedom Party ITTL? What led her to the party of Perot?
So is the Freedom Party one that is more willing to tolerant dissent within its ranks? Is this why the likes of Ralph Nader can be in the same party as Charlie Crist?
So is Majid as insane as his beloved predecessor, or does he rule as a "benevolent" dictator (if you don't get in my way, I'll give you roads and schools)?
For a minute, I legit thought you meant the child actor rather than the congresswoman.
Bookmark1995
Banned
Hello everybody. With the consent of @MaskedPickle, I've started a fanfic thread for A Giant Sucking Sound, for anybody with contribution ideas.
@MaskedPickle
Something really weird I just realized. On the sixth season of Homeland, Hill Harper plays the White House Chief of Staff.
In this timeline, he's Perot's Chief of Staff.
Guess you knew it was role he was always born to play!
Something really weird I just realized. On the sixth season of Homeland, Hill Harper plays the White House Chief of Staff.
In this timeline, he's Perot's Chief of Staff.
Guess you knew it was role he was always born to play!
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I just read this all at once and damn, those comments about Trump's presidency being ASB...
At least no major city got nuked here. Yet.
Not to mention Russia nuking itself to genocide the Chechens. Which was a real-life proposal some far-right politicians had back in the day.
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