DBWI: George H.W. Bush loses re-election in 1992

I wonder if Clinton had won in 1992, would the Republican Revolution have happened in '94 instead of '98? Bush had decent coattails but not quite enough to take Congress. Would Newt Gingrich have been the Speaker? His brashness in the 1996 campaign really hurt Quayle. Boy, what a meteoric rise and fall that was...
 
The race between Quayle and Cuomo was close, and the GOP was looking at five straight terms, but Cuomo was just able to connect so damn well with a majority of the country. And again, Dan Quayle is...well, Dan Quayle.

And it is true, the Democratic Party May have to shift their ideology a bit in order to portray a new image for their party, one that doesn’t scream “Great Recession!” everytime they are mentioned.

True, instead of trying to refight 2008 Democrats will have to focus on bringing over new voters with a message focused on helping the middle class and re-energizing sectors of the economy neglected so far by the GOP. And as you pointed out, the GOP only lost in 1996 because of an incompetent candidate. (Who can forget that time during the second debate when Quayle actually said "George Bush has been one of our country's greatest Presidents, going all the way back to our first President: Martha, I mean, George Washington!")
 
I wonder if Clinton had won in 1992, would the Republican Revolution have happened in '94 instead of '98? Bush had decent coattails but not quite enough to take Congress. Would Newt Gingrich have been the Speaker? His brashness in the 1996 campaign really hurt Quayle. Boy, what a meteoric rise and fall that was...

Usually, a President’s first midterm is rough on their party and Mario Cuomo was definitely no different. Newt Gingrich’s rise in 1996 didn’t help Quayle, but honestly, I don’t think anything could have helped Quayle at that point.

True, instead of trying to refight 2008 Democrats will have to focus on bringing over new voters with a message focused on helping the middle class and re-energizing sectors of the economy neglected so far by the GOP. And as you pointed out, the GOP only lost in 1996 because of an incompetent candidate. (Who can forget that time during the second debate when Quayle actually said "George Bush has been one of our country's greatest Presidents, going all the way back to our first President: Martha, I mean, George Washington!")

Don’t remind me of that tremendous gaffe. No wonder people were so hesitant with him.

And I agree. In fact, they need to, for them, focus on trying to cater to the middle/lower class voters that were hurt so bad by the Recession. They need to basically reinvent themselves as a new party truly for the middle class.
 
Usually, a President’s first midterm is rough on their party and Mario Cuomo was definitely no different. Newt Gingrich’s rise in 1996 didn’t help Quayle, but honestly, I don’t think anything could have helped Quayle at that point.

Indeed, a fight over healthcare would have hurt any incumbent in their first midterms.
 
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Indeed, a fight over healthcare would have hurt any incumbent in their first midterms.

Another thing I think about is how the success of Bush and the Republicans in the early 90s didn't transfer to any of his sons. George lost the Governor's race in Texas in 1994, paving the way for Ann Richards to be the first woman Vice President. Jeb lost in Florida in 1994 due to some shenanigans and decided against running in 1998 (though he would have been a shoe-in).

OOC: Isn't Kerry Cuomo's VP?

Also W wouldnt have run in 1994 if his father hadn't lost - he said so himself. W would be baseball commissioner more likely.


My understanding for Presidents based off this thread is

Bush/Quayle 1992
Cuomo/Kerry 1996
Cuomo/Kerry 2000
Kerry 2004
??? 2008
??? 2012
Scott Walker 2016
 
Cuomo was pretty ineffective as a President. Between the GOP Revolution of 1998 and a good chunk of his own party's moderate faction (and folks who just didn't like a New York City ethnic) he had a tough time governing. He just sort of meandered through the first term and only won a second because Speaker Gingrich made so many folks uncomfortable.

Granted, it's not like anything really went wrong during his presidency either. The dot-com bust wasn't good but the economy recovered by the time Kerry beat Allen in 2004.

Of course we'll never be able to get over Mike Gravel's 2008 adventure. His primary challenge against Kerry had the most memorable line of the race - "Are we really going to let this election be between two jerks from Massachusetts?".
 
OOC: Isn't Kerry Cuomo's VP?

Also W wouldnt have run in 1994 if his father hadn't lost - he said so himself. W would be baseball commissioner more likely.


My understanding for Presidents based off this thread is

Bush/Quayle 1992
Cuomo/Kerry 1996
Cuomo/Kerry 2000
Kerry 2004
??? 2008
??? 2012
Scott Walker 2016

OOC: I deleted the part about the Bush's. I didn't know that about W. Guess that whole line of thought is meaningless if only one of the brothers loses in 1994.

We've established Kerry was elected in 2004, but we haven't said anything about him being Mario Cuomo's VP. Sorry, but the Democrats aren't going to nominate a New Yorker and a Bostonite on the same ticket. I also deleted the part about Ann Richards, but a Cuomo/Richards 96 ticket sounds awesome. ;)
 
OOC: I deleted the part about the Bush's. I didn't know that about W. Guess that whole line of thought is meaningless if only one of the brothers loses in 1994.

We've established Kerry was elected in 2004, but we haven't said anything about him being Mario Cuomo's VP. Sorry, but the Democrats aren't going to nominate a New Yorker and a Bostonite on the same ticket. I also deleted the part about Ann Richards, but a Cuomo/Richards 96 ticket sounds awesome. ;)

OOC: Ann Richards sounds fine to me as Cuomo’s VP. Getting a Democratic Governor from such a red state seems like it would appeal to many voters. Also, I still imagine Bush to still be Involved in politics. Perhaps maybe as a Senator from Texas, in place of John Cornyn in OTL?
 
OOC: Ann Richards sounds fine to me as Cuomo’s VP. Getting a Democratic Governor from such a red state seems like it would appeal to many voters. Also, I still imagine Bush to still be Involved in politics. Perhaps maybe as a Senator from Texas, in place of John Cornyn in OTL?

That's certainly plausible, although if the Baseball Commissioner position opens up first I'm sure Dubya would take that in a heartbeat. That's what he always really wanted to do and the line of work he was cut out for.
 
Cuomo was pretty ineffective as a President. Between the GOP Revolution of 1998 and a good chunk of his own party's moderate faction (and folks who just didn't like a New York City ethnic) he had a tough time governing. He just sort of meandered through the first term and only won a second because Speaker Gingrich made so many folks uncomfortable.

Granted, it's not like anything really went wrong during his presidency either. The dot-com bust wasn't good but the economy recovered by the time Kerry beat Allen in 2004.

Of course we'll never be able to get over Mike Gravel's 2008 adventure. His primary challenge against Kerry had the most memorable line of the race - "Are we really going to let this election be between two jerks from Massachusetts?".

The GOP controlling both houses of Congress only made it harder, especially when centrist Democrats often aligned themselves with the GOP in key votes. Remember the Federal Assault Weapons ban? It was defeated by a 49-51 vote, mainly due to Democratic hesitation. And the dot com bubble bursting really did serve as the ending for that economic boom in the 90’s. It had to end sometime.

Mike Gravel’s primary challenge was what made that election. XD Him hammering away at an established politician like Kerry made him a viral sensation to the GOP. I heard that some Democrats today still vilify him for hurting Kerry so much. They believe that Kerry could have beaten Jeb Bush. if it weren’t for him.
 
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OOC: Really? I didn’t know that honestly.

OOC: Yep, and he almost got it in '92 but just barely was past over. After losing his dream job and Pappy went down that same year, he ran for Governor against his own family's wishes but won! Obviously, whoever snubbed Dubya made a big mistake that changed the course of history - for the worse.
 
OOC: Yep, and he almost got it in '92 but just barely was past over. After losing his dream job and Pappy went down that same year, he ran for Governor against his own family's wishes but won! Obviously, whoever snubbed Dubya made a big mistake that changed the course of history - for the worse.

OOC: Got that right. But I guess George W. Bush can have a successful life outside of politics ITTL. Plus, he’d be looked upon more positively.
 
OOC: Got that right. But I guess George W. Bush can have a successful life outside of politics ITTL. Plus, he’d be looked upon more positively.

OOC: Right. If anything he'd be viewed as a positive success story: the reckless party boy who turned his life around became a great businessman and sports figure. And it would be Jeb, not Dubya, who takes up the mantle of leadership from 41. Actually, had Dubya not run for governor, the Bush family could have put more resources into Jeb's 1994 race and he probably would have won as expected. That makes him the front-runner going into 2000. But whether or not he would beat Gore is another story.
 
OOC: Right. If anything he'd be viewed as a positive success story: the reckless party boy who turned his life around became a great businessman and sports figure. And it would be Jeb, not Dubya, who takes up the mantle of leadership from 41. Actually, had Dubya not run for governor, the Bush family could have put more resources into Jeb's 1994 race and he probably would have won as expected. That makes him the front-runner going into 2000. But whether or not he would beat Gore is another story.

OOC: Maybe we could implement Jeb! (gotta spell it with that exclamation point) into the timeline somewhere.
 
You know, Kerry was a failure as President but rewatching the 2008 debates with Jeb! Bush (who went onto win the White House in a landslide) kind of made me feel bad for him in a way. Here was a guy who suffered Vietnam, a divorce, and now he is saddled with the worst economy since 1929 and a term of office with no chance of reelection. Sad how life works out that way sometimes.
 
The GOP controlling both houses of Congress only made it harder, especially when centrist Democrats often aligned themselves with the GOP in key votes. Remember the Federal Assault Weapons ban? It was defeated by a 49-51 vote, mainly due to Democratic hesitation. And the dot com bubble bursting really did serve as the ending for that economic boom in the 90’s. It had to end sometime.

Mike Gravel’s primary challenge was what made that election. XD Him hammering away at an established politician like Kerry made him a viral sensation to the GOP. I heard that some Democrats today still vilify him for hurting Kerry so much. They believe that Kerry could have beaten Jon Huntsman Jr. if it weren’t for him.

OOC: Just posted a reply making Jeb! POTUS in 2009, seemed to have missed the reference to Huntsman. Did you plan on making him President from 2009-2017? Earlier I saw that term missing so I filled in Jeb! If you want to keep Huntsman I can edit the post about President Jeb (it's your thread, your call).
 
OOC: Just posted a reply making Jeb! POTUS in 2009, seemed to have missed the reference to Huntsman. Did you plan on making him President from 2009-2017? Earlier I saw that term missing so I filled in Jeb! If you want to keep Huntsman I can edit the post about President Jeb (it's your thread, your call).

OOC: Just changed it to Jeb! instead of Huntsman. Maybe Huntsman can be VP?
 
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