AH Challenge: Ron Paul GOP 2008 Nominee

Your Challenge if you choose to accept is to have the popular Dr. Ron Paul become this year's Republican Party's nominee for President with a POD no earlier than 2003. All Ideas are welcome
 
This should be posted in the ASB forum, because that's what it would take.

No, no...just very unlikely occurrences.

Iraq needs to turn into a complete disaster, and the Republican Party's foreign policy needs to be disgraced into oblivion. You could do this by having an Iranian confrontation of whatever level you can manage right after the "glory days" in Iraq of 2003, resulting in a hellish Vietnam-style combination of American troops trying to introduce democracy to Iraq and Iran at the same time. Ignite a PDRK-gets-every-break-it-can invasion of the South: you could conceivably get tens of thousands of dead American serviceman here, followed by casualties in whatever mess is sure to follow in the remnants of the Korean Peninsula. Add in another terrorist attack that kills key contenders for the nominations in DC (senators), as well as an earlier, more catastrophic economic crisis, and you might just be able to pull it off with the isolationist/anti-big business bent.

He'll be lucky if he wins electoral votes in the double digits, though.
 
Let's say that he is nominated instead of Huckabee and he becomes the Republican canadate instead of McCain. What now? Who would you be for?
 
Aside from the war, though, Paul would go back to the economics of the 1920s. Even Republicans have by and large moved beyond that. :D
 

Xen

Banned
The guy's been on here for four years and has 800 posts. I think that's a bit extreme for a sockpuppet.

Maybe so, Maybe so, but the response is a bit on the weird side. Of course I suppose thats AH.com for you
 
What if he's a "Walter Mondale"?

Economy tanks in 2004, after another terrorist strike kills key Senators; A different person than Kerry is the Democratic nominee and beats Bush..

U.S. reaches deal with neighboring countries to divide up Iraq into Shiite, Sunnie, and Kurdish regiong, Iran taking one (not sure which is which), Jordan one (weren't their kings related?) and Turkey the northern Kurdish one. Democratic president wins Nobel Peace Pirze. (Okay,, this is very unlikely, but at least theoretically possible.) War over by 2006, economy recovers big-time.

Democratic President is so popular, Republicans feel they don't have a chance; with several key ones dead, a couple others choose not to run. Mike Huckabee is considered, but then "has a revelation from God" that he should go back into the ministry.

Ron Paul, meanwhile, is seen as a hero for pulling seveal people from the wreckage of the terrorist strike. He's remembered well enough that the Republicans, already looking foward to 2012, decide to push him, and he wins the nomination.

Only question, is the peace plan viable, and who replaces Kerry?
 
If Ron Paul tries to sound more like Pat Buchanan and not Michael Moore, he might be more successful.

("Not in our national interest" sounds a lot better than "our Empire" to Republican ears, IMO)

Keeping more control over his more belligerent, conspiracy-minded supporters might be a good idea, since their behavior turned people off to Paul's candidacy.
 

NomadicSky

Banned
I would have voted for him in the primaries, however I knew Hillary needed my vote.

Maybe if he'd kept his views on legal marijuana to himself, until after he was in office.

I think he would be a very good president.
 
What if he's a "Walter Mondale"?

Economy tanks in 2004, after another terrorist strike kills key Senators; A different person than Kerry is the Democratic nominee and beats Bush..

U.S. reaches deal with neighboring countries to divide up Iraq into Shiite, Sunnie, and Kurdish regiong, Iran taking one (not sure which is which), Jordan one (weren't their kings related?) and Turkey the northern Kurdish one. Democratic president wins Nobel Peace Pirze. (Okay,, this is very unlikely, but at least theoretically possible.) War over by 2006, economy recovers big-time.

Democratic President is so popular, Republicans feel they don't have a chance; with several key ones dead, a couple others choose not to run. Mike Huckabee is considered, but then "has a revelation from God" that he should go back into the ministry.

Ron Paul, meanwhile, is seen as a hero for pulling seveal people from the wreckage of the terrorist strike. He's remembered well enough that the Republicans, already looking foward to 2012, decide to push him, and he wins the nomination.

Only question, is the peace plan viable, and who replaces Kerry?

Interesting Scenario, I just think it would be interesting to see an Alternate Timeline where Paul is able to actually translate his debate performance, Internet Money Bombs, and Popularity into actual Primary Victories. What about a more intense anthrax attacks in 2001(We may have to push the POD back to get this off the ground) where top GOP Senators like John McCain, Fred Thompson, and others are killed leaving a vaccum of power where many longtime Representives such as Ron Paul(We can have Kay Bae Hutchinson or Phill Gram die in the attacks)are nominated to fill the vacant seats. After which after which the war downhill alot faster in otl, and due to lack of interest by the Bush Adminstration to find the Anthrax killer(s), I'd say that Wesley Clark will do alot better in TTL and actually clinch the nomination and the presidency...So you have a popular(The Economy may still be in the shitter but it may not be as bad) President Wesley Clark run against the Mondale-esque Senator Ron Paul of Texas.

Yeah, I know it's kinda unlikely, You would have to have the GOP shift sides completley to run away from the failed war, the bad economy and an unpopular Bush. But I think it would have been a smart thing to do atleast in OTL lol
 
I think Iraq must be less popular and maybe even Afganistan needs to be unpopular. North Korea can't attack South Korea, it would just make the public angry. Instead, have a more unpopular US presence in South Korea. It's more along Ron Pauls lines.

And have the economy go bust earlier, ideally just after a strong Paul warning about a upcomming bubble in a debate. And have the other candidates, confused over Pauls economic ideas, say the American economy is strong and stuff like that.

And make him carismatic.
 

Jasen777

Donor
All the other candidates are found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy a month before the Iowa caucus. Then the 6 new major candidates who join after that have the same thing happen to them.
 
I think Iraq must be less popular and maybe even Afganistan needs to be unpopular. North Korea can't attack South Korea, it would just make the public angry. Instead, have a more unpopular US presence in South Korea. It's more along Ron Pauls lines.

And have the economy go bust earlier, ideally just after a strong Paul warning about a upcomming bubble in a debate. And have the other candidates, confused over Pauls economic ideas, say the American economy is strong and stuff like that.

And make him carismatic.

Ron Paul is, to be fair, at least charismatic.
 
In summer 2006, Dick Cheney suffers a heart attack and must retire in a disabled condition. Bush nominates Ron Paul for VP and the republican congress approves.

Now, if Bush must leave office (impeachment, resignation, disablement, death) Ron Paul becomes president and runs as an incumbent.

This "Gerald Ford" path is the least ASB requisite.
 
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