shiftygiant
Gone Fishin'
This is the twain that divides us; but Laud's twitter feed was what convinced me over some of the more 'conventional' options.Lovely as ever; though I'd have gone with Arron Banks personally.
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes IV (Do not post Current Politics Here)
- Thread starter Glide08
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An Unapologetic Dem-Wank:
The winter and spring of 2010 were terrible for the American people. The economic collapse had stopped, but recovery seemed nonexistent. Jobs remained high, and as savings drained out and unemployment expired the brunt started to be felt even more severely. Many people were disgusted by the partisan bickering that seemed to consume Washington and prevent them from getting anything done.
President McCain was not entirely unsuccessful. Iraq had stabilized in a huge victory for the Republican foreign policy, and there were good trends in Afghanistan. Despite the bad economy, McCain was confident that by the end of his term, the Middle East and North Africa would be stable once more. However, he could not avoid the unpopularity that came with the poor economy, and he faced many vicious attacks. One of the most outrageous came from businessman celebrity Donald Trump, who called the President "The worst traitor this country has ever seen" and questioned whether McCain should be considered a war hero because he was captured (for these remarks, Trump was vilified in the right-wing press, with even McCain-critical Breitbart spreading conspiracy theories that Trump was secretly funding Islamist terrorism).
The Republicans knew 2010 was going to be a bad year overall, but they still had hope. There were a lot of open seats formerly held by Democratic governors throughout the midwest and northeast, and many of these governors had taken a share of blame for the bad economies. Furthermore, many poor populations of Democrats had been demoralized by the bad economy, and in some cases the loss of their homes led to them being unable to register to vote. Furthermore, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, while criticized by the President, gave outside money a lot of influence, a factor which would surely help the GOP.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, in August, gossip magazines such as the National Enquirer started to spread rumors that Vice President Mark Sanford was having an affair. Sanford and the rest of the McCain administration ignored these rumors, until more evidence started circulating in early September. Sanford publicly denied the accusations, but as evidence began to accumulate, he was eventually forced to admit that he had lied, admit to multiple affairs, and ask the nation for forgiveness. As reports started to circulate that he had used official government funds to facilitate these affairs, with rumors including even helping a mistress get an abortion, Sanford resigned in disgrace.
In the aftermath of the Vice President's resignation, the Republican Party found themselves in disarray. Their internals showed them collapsing in the polls, with evangelicals and other religious voters becoming disillusioned and their chances of turning out plummeting. The election would be fought on economic grounds, but with the executive branch distracted and crippled by scandal, McCain was unable to counteract the Democrats' attacks. The Republicans watched midwestern races where they had been polling 6 points behind collapse into 15 point deficits within weeks. They watched South Carolina, Sanford's home state, suffer an even greater collapse, with Governor André Bauer's poll numbers tanking, alongside those of Senator Nikki Haley, running in a special election to replace Secretary of Defense Lindsey Graham, and even Senator Jim DeMint.
(hard to see, but there's a special election in Connecticut won by the Democrats too)
2010 proved to be a massacre in the Senate, with collapsing turnout wrecking the Republican caucus. Unpopular incumbents in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Alaska were defeated. Arch-conservative Tom Coburn of Oklahoma was defeated by popular incumbent governor Brad Henry in a tough race. The only gain by the Republican party was in North Dakota, where popular former Governor John Hoeven managed to pick up the seat. Republican Senator Johnny Isakson narrowly lost the Georgian election in the first round; however, no candidate managed to achieve a majority, and Isakson managed to narrowly win reelection in the run-off, a result which led to Georgia Democrats later changing the electoral system of the state to a jungle primary similar to California's.
Meanwhile on the gubernatorial side, the Republicans were a bit more confident going into the midterms. Unpopular incumbent governor of Texas Rick Perry lost renomination to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who was polling much better in the general election by managing to offer change from the unpopular status quo.
The Republicans managed to win open seats in Tennessee and Wyoming in close elections, and managed to retain a handful of other seats in deep red states, but elsewhere they were crushed. Two independents were elected; Governor Eliot Cutler in Maine and Governor Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island. In both of these states, the Republicans came in a distant third place. Across the country, state legislatures saw massive Democratic surges as well, with Democrats busting through gerrymandering to win the Pennsylvania and New York Senates, and with every Democratic governor in the Midwest receiving a near-supermajority. States where the Republicans retained a trifecta consisted of Idaho, the Dakotas, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Devestation
The winter and spring of 2010 were terrible for the American people. The economic collapse had stopped, but recovery seemed nonexistent. Jobs remained high, and as savings drained out and unemployment expired the brunt started to be felt even more severely. Many people were disgusted by the partisan bickering that seemed to consume Washington and prevent them from getting anything done.
President McCain was not entirely unsuccessful. Iraq had stabilized in a huge victory for the Republican foreign policy, and there were good trends in Afghanistan. Despite the bad economy, McCain was confident that by the end of his term, the Middle East and North Africa would be stable once more. However, he could not avoid the unpopularity that came with the poor economy, and he faced many vicious attacks. One of the most outrageous came from businessman celebrity Donald Trump, who called the President "The worst traitor this country has ever seen" and questioned whether McCain should be considered a war hero because he was captured (for these remarks, Trump was vilified in the right-wing press, with even McCain-critical Breitbart spreading conspiracy theories that Trump was secretly funding Islamist terrorism).
The Republicans knew 2010 was going to be a bad year overall, but they still had hope. There were a lot of open seats formerly held by Democratic governors throughout the midwest and northeast, and many of these governors had taken a share of blame for the bad economies. Furthermore, many poor populations of Democrats had been demoralized by the bad economy, and in some cases the loss of their homes led to them being unable to register to vote. Furthermore, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, while criticized by the President, gave outside money a lot of influence, a factor which would surely help the GOP.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, in August, gossip magazines such as the National Enquirer started to spread rumors that Vice President Mark Sanford was having an affair. Sanford and the rest of the McCain administration ignored these rumors, until more evidence started circulating in early September. Sanford publicly denied the accusations, but as evidence began to accumulate, he was eventually forced to admit that he had lied, admit to multiple affairs, and ask the nation for forgiveness. As reports started to circulate that he had used official government funds to facilitate these affairs, with rumors including even helping a mistress get an abortion, Sanford resigned in disgrace.
In the aftermath of the Vice President's resignation, the Republican Party found themselves in disarray. Their internals showed them collapsing in the polls, with evangelicals and other religious voters becoming disillusioned and their chances of turning out plummeting. The election would be fought on economic grounds, but with the executive branch distracted and crippled by scandal, McCain was unable to counteract the Democrats' attacks. The Republicans watched midwestern races where they had been polling 6 points behind collapse into 15 point deficits within weeks. They watched South Carolina, Sanford's home state, suffer an even greater collapse, with Governor André Bauer's poll numbers tanking, alongside those of Senator Nikki Haley, running in a special election to replace Secretary of Defense Lindsey Graham, and even Senator Jim DeMint.
(hard to see, but there's a special election in Connecticut won by the Democrats too)
2010 proved to be a massacre in the Senate, with collapsing turnout wrecking the Republican caucus. Unpopular incumbents in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Alaska were defeated. Arch-conservative Tom Coburn of Oklahoma was defeated by popular incumbent governor Brad Henry in a tough race. The only gain by the Republican party was in North Dakota, where popular former Governor John Hoeven managed to pick up the seat. Republican Senator Johnny Isakson narrowly lost the Georgian election in the first round; however, no candidate managed to achieve a majority, and Isakson managed to narrowly win reelection in the run-off, a result which led to Georgia Democrats later changing the electoral system of the state to a jungle primary similar to California's.
Meanwhile on the gubernatorial side, the Republicans were a bit more confident going into the midterms. Unpopular incumbent governor of Texas Rick Perry lost renomination to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who was polling much better in the general election by managing to offer change from the unpopular status quo.
The Republicans managed to win open seats in Tennessee and Wyoming in close elections, and managed to retain a handful of other seats in deep red states, but elsewhere they were crushed. Two independents were elected; Governor Eliot Cutler in Maine and Governor Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island. In both of these states, the Republicans came in a distant third place. Across the country, state legislatures saw massive Democratic surges as well, with Democrats busting through gerrymandering to win the Pennsylvania and New York Senates, and with every Democratic governor in the Midwest receiving a near-supermajority. States where the Republicans retained a trifecta consisted of Idaho, the Dakotas, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
CANDIDACY TO RESTORE SANITY AND/OR FEAR
When David Paterson nominated Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy said she was going to run against her in the primaries for the 2010 Democratic nomination. McCarthy is well known for being anti-gun and was critical of Gillibrand for having the support of the NRA. In OTL, she decided not to run, but what if she did. Although Gillibrand ends up winning the nomination, McCarthy succeeds in portraying her as the "anti gun control candidate". Gillibrand ends up saying something stupid like "guns aren't that dangerous".
On the May 13, 2010 episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart announces his candidacy in the New York Senate special election, running from the Liberal Party of New York. Stewart also announced that he would be stepping down from hosting the show indefinitely and would only return if he lost the race. In the interim, John Oliver began hosting the show starting June 1.
Stewart ran a campaign on being more left than Gillibrand and even received the endorsement of McCarthy. In September, Stewart appeared as a guest on The Daily Show to announce a campaign rally. This rally was based on an idea his team had when he was still hosting the show. It later combined with Stephen Colbert's March to Keep Fear Alive. Although the entire rally was a comedy routine, Stewart and Colbert ended it by making an impassioned plea to convince people to vote for Stewart. Stewart received the endorsements of many high profile celebrities, including fellow comedians, actors, and the other late night hosts.
All the way to election day, the news treated Stewart's campaign as a joke and giant publicity stunt. Stewart even expected to lose and began making preparations to re-assume hosting duties the day after the election. However, Stewart ended up winning a narrow plurality, less than 7,000 votes more than Gillibrand. His victory was treated as the biggest upset of the year. His victory was credited to massive turnout among young voters.
In the 112th Congress, Stewart caucused with the Democrats. He ran as a Democrat in the 2012 regular election. Throughout his six years in the Senate, Stewart was a strong advocate for gun control, social progress and fighting climate change. He also fought against renewing parts of the Patriot Act when they came up and was instrumental in the renewal of the 9/11 First Responders ACT. Stewart gained a reputation for disparaging both Republicans and his fellow Democrats at times.
----
Stewart would never have run, and certainly not against Gillibrand, but I figured why not. Also we get The Daily Show with John Oliver.
When David Paterson nominated Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy said she was going to run against her in the primaries for the 2010 Democratic nomination. McCarthy is well known for being anti-gun and was critical of Gillibrand for having the support of the NRA. In OTL, she decided not to run, but what if she did. Although Gillibrand ends up winning the nomination, McCarthy succeeds in portraying her as the "anti gun control candidate". Gillibrand ends up saying something stupid like "guns aren't that dangerous".
On the May 13, 2010 episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart announces his candidacy in the New York Senate special election, running from the Liberal Party of New York. Stewart also announced that he would be stepping down from hosting the show indefinitely and would only return if he lost the race. In the interim, John Oliver began hosting the show starting June 1.
Stewart ran a campaign on being more left than Gillibrand and even received the endorsement of McCarthy. In September, Stewart appeared as a guest on The Daily Show to announce a campaign rally. This rally was based on an idea his team had when he was still hosting the show. It later combined with Stephen Colbert's March to Keep Fear Alive. Although the entire rally was a comedy routine, Stewart and Colbert ended it by making an impassioned plea to convince people to vote for Stewart. Stewart received the endorsements of many high profile celebrities, including fellow comedians, actors, and the other late night hosts.
All the way to election day, the news treated Stewart's campaign as a joke and giant publicity stunt. Stewart even expected to lose and began making preparations to re-assume hosting duties the day after the election. However, Stewart ended up winning a narrow plurality, less than 7,000 votes more than Gillibrand. His victory was treated as the biggest upset of the year. His victory was credited to massive turnout among young voters.
In the 112th Congress, Stewart caucused with the Democrats. He ran as a Democrat in the 2012 regular election. Throughout his six years in the Senate, Stewart was a strong advocate for gun control, social progress and fighting climate change. He also fought against renewing parts of the Patriot Act when they came up and was instrumental in the renewal of the 9/11 First Responders ACT. Stewart gained a reputation for disparaging both Republicans and his fellow Democrats at times.
----
Stewart would never have run, and certainly not against Gillibrand, but I figured why not. Also we get The Daily Show with John Oliver.
The idea of Breitbart attacking Trump as a crypto-Muslim is delicious.
I doubt he'd go for the Liberal nomination, they're pretty well kaput by 2010.
Yeah, there was no way I could justify a margin that big being reversed, since unlike Coburn or DeMint he didn't run against some complete nobody who didn't campaign in OTL who I could replace with someone more competent.
Everyone loves John Hoeven. So friendly with the petrol companies
Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA)/Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) - 334 EV, 52.69%
VP George H. W. Bush (R-TX)/Dan Quayle (R-IN) - 204 EV, 46.06%
Rep. Ron Paul (L-TX)/State Rep. Andre Marrou (L-AK) - 0 EV, 0.64%
Through A Mirror, Darkly
The Type 12 Motor Torpedo Boat is the standard PT boat used by the United States and other Allied powers. Small, simple and cheat, PT boats can be found across the known universe fulfilling a variety of roles. They are commonly used in littoral areas in island-choked seas for quick hit-and-run attacks, intelligence gathering, minelaying, minesweeping, anti-submarine patrols, troop transport and so much more. Thousands are currently in service with more than a doze navies and coast guards, and while losses can be quite high, local commanders put great faith in their PT boats. Most are crewed by members of the so-called Tincan Fleet--PT boats, patrol frigates, submarine chasers, minesweepers and landing ships. The vast majority of officers are members of the Naval Reserve or the NROTC on temporary active duty, while others are officers that have washed out or done something to deserve punishment.
PT boats commonly attack in swarms, and have garnered a reputation for being mosquito boats. While many news magazines have played up the reputation of PT boats, combat can be rare for the boats, which rarely engage enemy capital ships. Almost all boats have received some sort of field modification in terms of equipment and weapons. Crews add or remove weapons depending on the local needs, and all boats are equipped with weapons lockers that include machine guns, battle rifles, submachine guns and grenades. Some are modified to serve as littoral monitors with heavier guns or rockets, and some are used as stop-gap radar pickets. PT boats are most commonly used on smaller moons where oceans are shallower and where islands are more common. Movies, television series and radio serials have all been made about PT boats, though the reality is far less romantic and prestigious.
Crews on PT boats are small and tightly knit, but don't remain together for long. Officers are assigned to PT boats for short tours before cycling back to civilian life. The Navy has established a cadre of staff officers to oversee PT boat operations, often by convincing competent USNR officers or NROTC cadets to become full-time active Navy. Boats are forward deployed on small islands, usually far from major resupply centers, and patrol primarily at night, creating a nocturnal pattern for them. As with the rest of the Navy as a whole, PT crews are majority female, with women making up nearly three-quarters of all positions. As with other Tincan Fleet ships, PT boat crews have a certain reputation for laxness and openness that would not be acceptable in the regular Navy.
The Type 12 Motor Torpedo Boat is the standard PT boat used by the United States and other Allied powers. Small, simple and cheat, PT boats can be found across the known universe fulfilling a variety of roles. They are commonly used in littoral areas in island-choked seas for quick hit-and-run attacks, intelligence gathering, minelaying, minesweeping, anti-submarine patrols, troop transport and so much more. Thousands are currently in service with more than a doze navies and coast guards, and while losses can be quite high, local commanders put great faith in their PT boats. Most are crewed by members of the so-called Tincan Fleet--PT boats, patrol frigates, submarine chasers, minesweepers and landing ships. The vast majority of officers are members of the Naval Reserve or the NROTC on temporary active duty, while others are officers that have washed out or done something to deserve punishment.
PT boats commonly attack in swarms, and have garnered a reputation for being mosquito boats. While many news magazines have played up the reputation of PT boats, combat can be rare for the boats, which rarely engage enemy capital ships. Almost all boats have received some sort of field modification in terms of equipment and weapons. Crews add or remove weapons depending on the local needs, and all boats are equipped with weapons lockers that include machine guns, battle rifles, submachine guns and grenades. Some are modified to serve as littoral monitors with heavier guns or rockets, and some are used as stop-gap radar pickets. PT boats are most commonly used on smaller moons where oceans are shallower and where islands are more common. Movies, television series and radio serials have all been made about PT boats, though the reality is far less romantic and prestigious.
Crews on PT boats are small and tightly knit, but don't remain together for long. Officers are assigned to PT boats for short tours before cycling back to civilian life. The Navy has established a cadre of staff officers to oversee PT boat operations, often by convincing competent USNR officers or NROTC cadets to become full-time active Navy. Boats are forward deployed on small islands, usually far from major resupply centers, and patrol primarily at night, creating a nocturnal pattern for them. As with the rest of the Navy as a whole, PT crews are majority female, with women making up nearly three-quarters of all positions. As with other Tincan Fleet ships, PT boat crews have a certain reputation for laxness and openness that would not be acceptable in the regular Navy.
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[Reminder that Oliver was actually fairly good when he did host the Daily Show in 2013]
shiftygiant
Gone Fishin'
I mean, if you thought he was good, all the more power to you.
I can't agree.
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