On September 23, 1998, President Bill Clinton resigned after meeting with the Democratic Congressional leadership at the White House. Al Gore was sworn in as the 43rd President. What would it take to prevent Clinton from resigning? Would Clinton be able to survive the impeachment process? How would this impact the 2000 election?
 
Once Monica Lewinsky made that (ultimately proven false) rape allegation, Clinton’s goose was cooked - even the Senate Dems said they wouldn’t help him.
 
Maybe Al Gore would have beaten Bush in 2000, which might have caused President Edwards to step down over his scandal, but after the false allegations Dems were willing to back Edwards no matter what and wouldn't believe anyone else. Thankfully those allegations hit after 2010 or the midterms might have been dreadful- might have stripped down the Affordable Care act from a Public Option to Romneycare. Thankfully Romney's attempt at Romneycare was filibustered in the Senate successfully.

Bill Clinton's image hasn't been rehabilitated, but that's not too surprisingly given how hard the Democratic party has doubled down on populist economic issues. Thankfully Donald Trump did terribly in the 2016 Dem primaries, Bernie Sanders did a great job of shutting him down- even if he ended up losing in the end to former VP Obama. 2020 Dem primary looks like Obama vs Al Franken.

Also, we might not have had the Miseta Acts which mandated equal criminal penalties for false accusations of sexual misconduct that have been passed in several states, often with bipartisan support. Ironically those have helped to make accusers more credible in the eyes of the public.
 
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Once Monica Lewinsky made that (ultimately proven false) rape allegation, Clinton’s goose was cooked - even the Senate Dems said they wouldn’t help him.

I believe that happened because Starr pursuaded Lewinsky to flip on Clinton in January 1998. Had that not happened, Clinton might have survived. But he'd be a lame duck for the next two years and Gore would have the scandal hanging over his head in 2000.

Maybe Al Gore would have beaten Bush in 2000,

I think you mean that Gore would have beaten Bush in the popular vote. Remember that President Gore won the electoral college but lost the popular vote to Bush. This gave rise to Republican charges that Gore had stolen the election in Florida, though these accusations were never proven.

which might have caused President Edwards to step down over his scandal, but after the false allegations Dems were willing to back Edwards no matter what and wouldn't believe anyone else.

The Edwards administration is not a proud period in US history. There's a reason he lost by such a landslide to Romney in 2012.
 
Also, we might not have had the Miseta Acts which mandated equal criminal penalties for false accusations of sexual misconduct that have been passed in several states, often with bipartisan support. Ironically those have helped to make accusers more credible in the eyes of the public.

You mean that poorly-written overreaction? I don’t condone false rape allegations, but this piece of legislature was just terrible. The model law - and the one used here in Ohio - say that, if an accuser cannot put forth a reasonable prima facie case, it’s treated as a false allegation even without malice, and it’s a felony. I’m good friends with my tattoo artist, and she spent 18 months behind bars because there was a hole in her initial allegation - the guy who raped her was guilty as shit - thanks to bad instructions from a police officer. Who’s still on the job.

I mean, for any rape victim who’s halfway put together, credibility is at all-time high, but that first hurdle is a doozy.

The Edwards administration is not a proud period in US history. There's a reason he lost by such a landslide to Romney in 2012.

Man, fuck that guy. Another failure of a poorly written Miseta law. I changed my registration to Independent in 2012 and voted third party ever since because of him.
 
Thankfully Donald Trump did terribly in the 2016 Dem primaries, Bernie Sanders did a great job of shutting him down- even if he ended up losing in the end to former VP Obama. 2020 Dem primary looks like Obama vs Al Franken.

I don't think that either Obama or Franken will be the nominee. Obama is tarnished by his 2016 loss to Romney and his role in the Edwards administration. Franken on the other hand was disgraced by the credible allegations of sexual harrasment that came out last year. He's trying to make a comeback, but female primary voters will see to it that he fails.
 
We’ve had a roller coaster of scandalous administrations in recent years. We had the Clinton scandal, the Edwards scandals, no wonder between 2001 and 2012 we’ve had three one term Presidents in a row. First it was Gore, then John McCain, then John Edwards, and now we have Romney.
 
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We’ve had a roller coaster of scandalous administrations in recent years. We had the Clinton scandal, the Edwards scandals, no wonder between 2001 and 2012 we’ve had three one term Presidents in a row. First it was Gore, then Bill Frist, then John Edwards, and now we have Romney.

Romney will probably the first President to serve two full terms since Reagan. He's done an okay job in my opinion. However I think the best President we've had in the 21st Century was Gore. Losing the popular vote in 2000 was an embarrassment, but the cap-and-trade bill and his response to 9/11 were seriously great accomplishments. Even Republicans commented that he was a welcome improvement over Clinton.

VP Ryan is the Republican frontrunner for 2020. Which Democrat stands the best chance of beating him?
 
Romney will probably the first President to serve two full terms since Reagan. He's done an okay job in my opinion. However I think the best President we've had in the 21st Century was Gore. Losing the popular vote in 2000 was an embarrassment, but the cap-and-trade bill and his response to 9/11 were seriously great accomplishments. Even Republicans commented that he was a welcome improvement over Clinton.

VP Ryan is the Republican frontrunner for 2020. Which Democrat stands the best chance of beating him?

I think Romney has done a pretty good job. I think he is beginning to bring back the honor that serving in the White House brings after years of scandals. He’s made some real progress in the areas of taxes, criminal justice reform, and has even upheld the climate change legislation that Gore helped to pass with broad bipartisan support back in 2002. He’s appointed extremely qualified judges to federal positions, including the appointments of Amul Thapar and Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court, and has brought about a thriving economy.

I thought Gore was a pretty good President, and his response to 9/11 was undoubtably amazing. It’s too bad he couldn’t take that energy and get re-elected in 2004 against McCain (OOC: changed it from Frist in my last post). Frankly, I’ve always liked John McCain. I felt bad that he got the blame for the 2008 recession when it wasn’t really his fault.

2020, if all else goes well in the next two years, will be a Republican victory. Paul Ryan’s approval ratings have been steadily climbing over the last few months, and it depends on the front runner. Of course, you’ve got Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and a bunch of others lining up. I feel the front runner might be either Gillibrand, Harris, or Sanders. Those three are representing a new, more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, something they feel they need to do because it is different, and it might help them shake off the way the way Democrats stood behind Edwards in 2011.
 
I thought Gore was a pretty good President, and his response to 9/11 was undoubtably amazing. It’s too bad he couldn’t take that energy and get re-elected in 2004 against McCain (OOC: changed it from Frist in my last post). Frankly, I’ve always liked John McCain. I felt bad that he got the blame for the 2008 recession when it wasn’t really his fault.

Gore was term limited in '04 as he served more than two years of Clinton's term. VP Lieberman was the Democratic nominee in 2004. It was pretty interesting to see McCain and Lieberman as two friends competing for the Presidency. McCain was a good foreign policy President IMO, but not a great domestic policy President. Had he responded to the economic crisis better he would have beaten Edwards.

2020, if all else goes well in the next two years, will be a Republican victory. Paul Ryan’s approval ratings have been steadily climbing over the last few months, and it depends on the front runner. Of course, you’ve got Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and a bunch of others lining up. I feel the front runner might be either Gillibrand, Harris, or Sanders. Those three are representing a new, more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, something they feel they need to do because it is different, and it might help them shake off the way the way Democrats stood behind Edwards in 2011.

But remember that Democrats just took both Houses of Congress last year. That doesn't bode well for the GOP in 2020. Gillibrand isn't a strong candidate IMO. She can easily be painted as a flip-flopper due to her inconsistency on many issues. Harris and Klobuchar have better chances of winning the nomination and the election.
 
I don't think that either Obama or Franken will be the nominee. Obama is tarnished by his 2016 loss to Romney and his role in the Edwards administration. Franken on the other hand was disgraced by the credible allegations of sexual harrasment that came out last year. He's trying to make a comeback, but female primary voters will see to it that he fails.

Obama wasn't disgraced, he won the popular vote, is still well-liked, and had no role in Edwards scandal. Franken- the allegations seem legit, but a lot of progressives just don't care about these sorts of allegations anymore, even the millenial women progressives don't seem to care all that much. Usually it's only Republican women in suburban areas who care- might hurt Franken in the general but not the primary.

You mean that poorly-written overreaction? I don’t condone false rape allegations, but this piece of legislature was just terrible. The model law - and the one used here in Ohio - say that, if an accuser cannot put forth a reasonable prima facie case, it’s treated as a false allegation even without malice, and it’s a felony. I’m good friends with my tattoo artist, and she spent 18 months behind bars because there was a hole in her initial allegation - the guy who raped her was guilty as shit - thanks to bad instructions from a police officer. Who’s still on the job.

I mean, for any rape victim who’s halfway put together, credibility is at all-time high, but that first hurdle is a doozy.



Man, fuck that guy. Another failure of a poorly written Miseta law. I changed my registration to Independent in 2012 and voted third party ever since because of him.

That part was struck down by the Courts as an unreasonable standard for conviction. The NC law stood though- which said there had to be intent to falsely accuse. It's rarely used.
 
Gore was term limited in '04 as he served more than two years of Clinton's term. VP Lieberman was the Democratic nominee in 2004. It was pretty interesting to see McCain and Lieberman as two friends competing for the Presidency. McCain was a good foreign policy President IMO, but not a great domestic policy President. Had he responded to the economic crisis better he would have beaten Edwards.

But remember that Democrats just took both Houses of Congress last year. That doesn't bode well for the GOP in 2020. Gillibrand isn't a strong candidate IMO. She can easily be painted as a flip-flopper due to her inconsistency on many issues. Harris and Klobuchar have better chances of winning the nomination and the election.

Ah shit, forgot about that rule. It was a pretty clean campaign, with no real attack ads.

I forgot about the fact that Democrats control both Houses now. Romney’s at that lame duck stage, so it was expected. Luckily, Republicans controlling both houses of Congress throughout his entire Presidency up until now helped him to pass a ton of legislation and confirm numerous federal judges, so he was lucky to get a lot done in 6 years.

Gillibrand has that problem, now that you talk about it. She was a conservative Democrat in the House, but has flipped on damn near every issue. As much as I disagree with Harris and Klobuchar, I can see them as competing out front for the nomination, but the question is can they beat Ryan?
 
Bill Clinton's image hasn't been rehabilitated, but that's not too surprisingly given how hard the Democratic party has doubled down on populist economic issues.

Actually many people have forgiven Clinton, and recent assessments of his administration have been more positive. He's also had a very productive post-presidency, having dedicated much of his time to charity work. Nonetheless Clinton is usually ranked as a below average President because of his scandal and resignation. And many would argue that his policies on criminal justice and financial regulation worsened our current domestic problems.
 
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