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

If 2020 is a poison chalice, it would truly be a shame since Huntsman is the kind of President that reaches across the aisle to find concensus despite a difference in ideologies with Democrats.
 
If 2020 is a poison chalice, it would truly be a shame since Huntsman is the kind of President that reaches across the aisle to find concensus despite a difference in ideologies with Democrats.

I voted for him in 2016, without a second thought. He is like a modern day George Bush, and I can see him being successful if re-elected... but that would be unfair to Haley, who wouldn't be able to get elected to the Presidency.
 
I voted for him in 2016, without a second thought. He is like a modern day George Bush, and I can see him being successful if re-elected... but that would be unfair to Haley, who wouldn't be able to get elected to the Presidency.

True. Haley is definitely someone I can see as President one day. I feel voters would have political fatigue from 16 years of Republicans, and there’s no way they can pull off 24 straight years in the White House, especially with how shifty the economy can be.
 
Of course. Mitt Romney, John McCain, Jeb Bush, ect., would all still have influence, and I can see the moderate wing at least splitting control for decades to come. The conservatives seem a little too much like Attila the Hun to ever succeed.

Thankfully, it really helped us that the Cuomo administration invested quite a bit in voter education & reviving civics education, as well as reviving the Fairness Doctrine, during both of his terms: if our problem with low-information voters had gotten as bad as, say, Poland(That poor country is damn near a complete and utter mess now thanks to 8 years of PiS rule, at this point; thank goodness we haven't had our own Kaczynski!), I'm not sure where we'd be, but perhaps not in any place too pleasant.
 
Thankfully, it really helped us that the Cuomo administration invested quite a bit in voter education & reviving civics education, as well as reviving the Fairness Doctrine, during both of his terms: if our problem with low-information voters had gotten as bad as, say, Poland(That poor country is damn near a complete and utter mess now thanks to 8 years of PiS rule, at this point; thank goodness we haven't had our own Kaczynski!), I'm not sure where we'd be, but perhaps not in any place too pleasant.

Got that right. I’m a registered Republican, and even I say that Mario Cuomo was a good President. He really reached across the aisle and compromised with Republicans to get legislation passed.

OOC: Should I post the list of Presidents from the Alternate Presidents and PMs Thread II to kind of lay out the trajectory of this timeline?
 
Based on the DBWI timeline I did where George H.W. Bush wins re-election

41) George H.W. Bush (R-TX)/Dan Quayle (R-IN): 1989-1997
- 1988: Michael Dukakis (D-MA)/Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX)
- 1992: Bill Clinton (D-AS)/Al Gore (D-TN)

George H.W. Bush was destined to be a one term President by the time 1992 rolled around. The economy began to tank following a sudden boom brought about by the Gulf War. His opponent, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, was young, determined, and was looked upon to be a shoo-in to defeat the sitting President and ending 12 years of Republican rule. This was all dashed when, in an October surprise that shook the country, Bill Clinton was accused of sexual assault by four different women. His attempts to address this controversy in the third and final debate was clumsy and stutter-filled. His approval dipped as a result, which led to Bush to claim victory in November with 279 electoral votes and a narrow 0.3% victory in the popular vote. His second term was marked by a sharp boom in the overall economy, which later became known as the dot com boom. He appointed one more Supreme Court Justice, Emilio Garza, the first Hispanic Justice. He exited office with a 74% approval rating, with most Americans crediting Bush with bringing about a flourishing economy despite early struggles. His approval rating remains the highest of a departing President to this very day. He and Reagan were credited with bringing about was is considered today to be the "Republican Revolution."

42) Mario Cuomo (D-NY)/Ann Richards (D-TX): 1997-2005
- 1996: Dan Quayle (R-IN)/Pete Domenici (R-NM)
- 2000: Spencer Abraham (R-MI)/Bill Graves (R-KS)

Mario Cuomo was narrowly elected over Vice President Dan Quayle, most due to the latter's numerous debate gaffes and blunders on the campaign trail. Bringing an end to 16 straight years of Republican rule, Cuomo led the United States into the 21st century with Ann Richards, who became the first woman elected to the Vice Presidency and the highest ranked female government official to this day. After Republicans took control of the House and the Senate in 1998, led by the young Congressman James Nussle of Iowa (who became Speaker of the House), Cuomo was unable to pass some of his key legislation, such as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1999, which was struck down in the Senate after it narrowly passed the House. However, he was able to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court in 1997, after Harry Blackmun’s retirement. Nevertheless, the economy still continued to excel, which is what Cuomo was able to use to be reelected in 2000 over Republican nominee, Spencer Abraham.

On September 11, 2001, the country was struck by a national tragedy, when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and used them as missiles to strike the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and an attempted shot at the Capitol Building, which went down in a field in Shanksville. The country rallied together behind President Cuomo, a native New Yorker, who returned to New York City and delivered an impassioned speech vowingrevenge on the perpetrators, which was also evidenced by his Joint Address to Congress ten days later. His approval rating shot sky high, and on October 8, announced the commencement of the War on Terror in Afghanistan, aided by many countries in NATO. With the country in unityfollowing the attacks, Cuomo was able to reach across the aisle to get important legislation passed, including comprehensive healthcare reform which allowed those with pre-existing conditions to be allowed treatment (which is referred to today as CuomoCare), as well as the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2003, headed by Harvard Law professor and future Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. While this was aided by Democrats taking back the House and Senate in 2002, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in a midterm by the incumbent President's party since Franklin D. Roosevelt, multiple Republicans still agreed to seek bipartisan agreements with the Democrats. Because of this, Cuomo left office in 2005 with a 63% approval rating, the third consecutive President to leave office with high approval from a majority of Americans.

43) John Kerry (D-MA)/Joe Biden (D-DE): 2005-2009
- 2004: Lincoln Almond (R-RI)/John McCain (R-AZ)
John Kerry, a longtime Senator from Massachusetts, was perceived as the Chosen One by the Democratic Party, who was the one to carry on Cuomo's legacy when Vice President Ann Richards announced in September of 2003 that she would not run due to her health. He ended up defeating Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond, who himself had won the Republican nomination in an upset over Senator John McCain of Arizona, who he would nominate to be Vice President. He started off well, appointing Merrick Garland to be the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after the death of William Reinquist, and in 2006, nominated Johnnie Rawlinson after the suprisinf retirement of David Souter. However, what started off to be a good Presidency soon transitioned into what many considered to be political anarchy for theDemocrats. In early 2006, a scandal broke out in the Veteran Affairs department, when Secretary Eric Shinseki was revealed to be running the department incoherently and incompetently, resulting in long wait times for veterans, coupled with even longer waiting lists, VA centers in disrepair and understaffed, which resulted in the deaths of many veterans. Shinseki resigned from his post and Kerry was tasked with damage control. In what is now perceived to be a crazy move, Kerry defended Shinseki, calling him a good man, a dedicated military veteran, who was only doing what he thought was best for his country. President Kerry's comments proved to be a major gaffe, and multiple veterans groups condemned him for it, which resulted in Kerry losing a large amount of support from the military and veterans alike. If that wasn't enough, not only did this cause the Republicans to makeconsiderable gains in the Senate and House, but a major event unfolded late in 2007.

The housing market collapsed, resulting in the economy absolutely tanking. Unemployment rose to an unprecedented 14%, a nearly 50 year high. To many, it was a shock when President Kerry announced he was running for re-election in 2008. But unfortunately for him, he was going up against NFL Commissioner, former Governor of Florida, and son of former President George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush. Bush assailed Kerry on his tenure as President, accusing him of dividing the country with his rhetoric. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Bush defeated Kerry in a landslide, winning over 400 electoral votes, like his father before him, while also defeating a Massachusetts Democrat, again like his father before him. Kerry left office with an approval rating of 18%, the lowest in modern history.

44) Jeb Bush (R-FL)/Jon Huntsman Jr. (R-UT): 2009-2017
- 2008: John Kerry (D-NY)/Joe Biden (D-DE)
- 2012: Maria Cantwell (D-WA)/Brian Schweitzer (D-MT)

The country had its second Bush president, whose first and foremost job was to heal the economy. He attempted to pass a stimulus package to help alleviate the pressure on the country. However, by the time the midterms rolled around, unemployment was still at about 11%. As a result, Republicans lost the House, while retaining the Senate by a narrow margin. However, in 2012, as Jeb Bush was in the throes of running for reelection, an operation was conducted that killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind by behind the September 11th attacks in 2001. Just like that, Bush, along with an economy that was beginning to heal, had something to run on. Using his foreign policy expertise, as well as a decrease in terror attacks, Bush was able to rally the country, and defeated Washington Senator Maria Cantwell for a second term in office.

The economy improved significantly in Bush's second term, despite the Republicans losing the Senate in 2014. Unemployment dropped down to 5.2% by the end of his second term, people were getting back to work, and strong comprehensive tax and immigration reform was passed in late 2015. Bush's idea of moderate conservatism, and a willingness to work across the aisle with Democrats, proved to be the best thing he had going for him as President. He appointed two Supreme Court Justices: Amul Thapar (who Kerry nominated for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in an deal with Senate Republicans in 2006), who replaced Sandra Day O'Connor in 2009, and Miguel Estrada, who replaced John Paul Stevens in 2010. A third candidate of his, Judge Jerome Holmes, was controversially rejected by the Senate in a narrow 51-49 vote following widespread opposition by Democrats, who held the majority. Despite this, Bush passed off the baton of his legacy and Presidency to his Vice President, Jon Huntsman Jr., who went on to be elected in 2016. Bush left office with a 65% approval rating.

45) Jon Huntsman Jr. (R-UT)/Nikki Haley (R-SC): 2017-present
- 2016: Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)/Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Huntsman, so far, has been the spitting image of his predecessor. He was able to nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch (who was appointed to the Tenth Circuit back in 2009 as Bush's first federal court pick) to the Supreme Court after Republicans were able to retake the Senate 54-46 in the 2016 elections, who was confirmed in a 53-47 vote. He also repealed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 2005, which was passed under John Kerry, as well as passing major legislation that cut taxes in late 2017. Recently, he has been receiving glowing approval ratings thanks to unprecedented growth in the stock market, and the Dow Jones closing at record highs nearly every week. He also recently appointed Judge Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court, and is preparing for the midterms, hitting the trail with Vice President Haley. In a few weeks, pundits say that the elections could go either way, but no matter what, the country is shaping up for an election of a lifetime in 2020, with the Democratic Party desperate to find that voice to put them back in the White House.
 
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OOC: Let’s get this started again! New topic!

We’re coming up on the two year anniversary of the 2016 Election. Was there a possibility that Elizabeth Warren could have beaten Jon Huntsman? Many people weren’t keen on Warren being that she was in the middle of her first term as Senator, while Huntsman was facing concern from the more conservative Republicans about whether he would govern conservatively.
 
OOC: Let’s get this started again! New topic!

We’re coming up on the two year anniversary of the 2016 Election. Was there a possibility that Elizabeth Warren could have beaten Jon Huntsman? Many people weren’t keen on Warren being that she was in the middle of her first term as Senator, while Huntsman was facing concern from the more conservative Republicans about whether he would govern conservatively.

Those conservatives nearly tore him down in the primaries... I'm glad that he was elected, but still, to think what could have been. The Republicans could have nominated someone like, ugh, Huckabee or Rick Perry. I'm not very sure how that would have turned out, I mean, the Republicans did very well in talking up the Bush administration and four more years, but with the conservatives, we could have seen moderates sit it out and independents go blue. While Warren was inexperienced and more left of center than the traditional candidate, she wasn't as alienating as Huckabee or as gaffe-prone as Perry. I voted for Huntsman in 2016, but personally, I think I would have either kept out or voted Libertarian.
 
Those conservatives nearly tore him down in the primaries... I'm glad that he was elected, but still, to think what could have been. The Republicans could have nominated someone like, ugh, Huckabee or Rick Perry. I'm not very sure how that would have turned out, I mean, the Republicans did very well in talking up the Bush administration and four more years, but with the conservatives, we could have seen moderates sit it out and independents go blue. While Warren was inexperienced and more left of center than the traditional candidate, she wasn't as alienating as Huckabee or as gaffe-prone as Perry. I voted for Huntsman in 2016, but personally, I think I would have either kept out or voted Libertarian.

Yeah, Huckabee and Perry were people who were incredibly divisive in their rhetoric. It was weird how they were talking up the successes of the Bush administration, yet were tearing Huntsman down at every opportunity, when he helped in almost everything Bush did. It also didn’t help that people like Tomi Lahren and Laura Ingraham were constantly fanning the flames in favor of Perry and Huckabee.
 
I was surprised at why so many more right-wing conservatives wanted to take down a Vice President who was willing to govern the same as the very President that they continually praised. I mean, did they even see Huntsman’s record as Governor of Utah, one of the most conservative states in the country? He was so damn popular there that he won re-election in 2004 with nearly 80% of the vote!
 

samcster94

Banned
I just came back from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, and I have to say, I’m quite astounded by what I saw. I mean, here’s a guy that took what seemed to be his election to lose in 1992, and somehow, managed to turn it all around in his second term. He’s constantly rated as one of the best presidents in recent memory.

It got me thinking, and I want to see what others think, of what might have been had Bill Clinton actually beat George H.W. Bush in 1992. What would our country be like had we had a Democrat in the White House during the 1990’s economic boom.

OOC: The POD here is that the sexual assault allegations against Bill Clinton come to light during the 1992 election, causing the Arkansas Governor to lose in the slimmest of electoral margins to the sitting Republican President. As a result, Bush receives much of the credit for the economic boom and rapid American GDP growth that occurred during the 1990’s.

This is my first alternate history of any kind, so bear with me on this one.
If they had ran Cuomo early, or even Gore, they probably could have pulled it off. A triangulating Democrat earlier in the 90's would have been interesting(just one who wasn't a sex offender).
 
I was surprised at why so many more right-wing conservatives wanted to take down a Vice President who was willing to govern the same as the very President that they continually praised. I mean, did they even see Huntsman’s record as Governor of Utah, one of the most conservative states in the country? He was so damn popular there that he won re-election in 2004 with nearly 80% of the vote!

While most conservatives did stay loyal to the party (Huntsman did, after all, win the nomination and the election by fairly large margins), I think it was a big example of people exploiting (and creating) divides in order to increase their gains. You can see it with the anti-Mormon sentiment in some of these campaigns. It wasn't like Rick Perry was really trying to combat that part of his base. Sad, but smart.
 
While most conservatives did stay loyal to the party (Huntsman did, after all, win the nomination and the election by fairly large margins), I think it was a big example of people exploiting (and creating) divides in order to increase their gains. You can see it with the anti-Mormon sentiment in some of these campaigns. It wasn't like Rick Perry was really trying to combat that part of his base. Sad, but smart.

It’s because they come from two different worlds, religiously speaking. Utah is a state known for its Mormon faith, while Texas is more Christian conservative, becoming even more so under Rick Perry.

I mean, of course conservatives would still flock to Huntsman after wining the nomination. If they didn’t vote for him, they might have handed Elizabeth Warren the White House on a silver plate, and the way conservatives talked up how Warren would be horrible for everything Bush did for them over the eight years he was President, voting for Huntsman was a necessity to avoid such a thing.
 
It’s because they come from two different worlds, religiously speaking. Utah is a state known for its Mormon faith, while Texas is more Christian conservative, becoming even more so under Rick Perry.

I mean, of course conservatives would still flock to Huntsman after wining the nomination. If they didn’t vote for him, they might have handed Elizabeth Warren the White House on a silver plate, and the way conservatives talked up how Warren would be horrible for everything Bush did for them over the eight years he was President, voting for Huntsman was a necessity to avoid such a thing.

I'm just using Perry as the example. My point is that the negative nature of the campaign was more than just because of the issues. Huckabee, Perry, and, one of the least talked about candidates most guilty of it, Newt Gingrich, all used these tactics, and while Gingrich withdrew early, Huckabee and Perry stayed, and really went on the attack. Fortunately for Huntsman, they turned on each other to determine which one of them was the "real conservative candidate." Also, I'm saying that when you look at the numbers, it wasn't like Huntsman was Dukakis in 88'. His challengers mostly cannibalized each other, and he benefited from early fundraising.
 
If they had ran Cuomo early, or even Gore, they probably could have pulled it off. A triangulating Democrat earlier in the 90's would have been interesting(just one who wasn't a sex offender).

In retrospect, just about anybody besides Clinton could've beaten Bush in 1992.
 
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