Gore in 2000: A Wikibox TL
- Thread starter LastKingOfMaryland
- Start date
2001, Part 1
The Gore administration began relatively smoothly, but the beginning of a recession in March reduced President Gore's approval rating to 46%.
The April shooting of Timothy Thomas in Cincinnati by police provoked a race riot. On April 12, Governor Bob Taft called in the National Guard. Numerous scuffles broke out over the next few days, and over 200 citizens were injured in the violence. President Gore made a statement after the riots, proclaiming that "Even in the face of injustice we must never turn to violence. Doing so hurts even more people and solves nothing."
In the following months, multiple states passed Equal Protection in Policing Acts, modeled after the Cincinnati reforms. They included various combinations of training officers to deal with low-light situations, training for dealing with the mentally ill, equipping squad cars with computers to access personal records, requiring officers to fill contact cards when stopping people for traffic, and establishing judicial boards to evaluate complaints of excessive force by police.
In June, the Grow the Economy Now Act (GENA) passed Congress and was signed by President Gore. The act cut taxes for the middle class, which was hoped to propel the economy out of recession. Gore's approval rating spiked to 57%.
On August 1st, Alabama State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore installed a statue honoring the Ten Commandments in the Judiciary Building. This provoked national outrage, with President Gore, Vice President Graham, Senator Daschle, Speaker Gephardt, and Governor Don Siegelman all condemning the move as violating the First Amendment. Among Alabama's heavily evangelical Republican base, Moore became a star overnight. Less than a week later Moore announced his run for Governor.
On August 16th, President Gore announced his support for stem cell research, which gained him support from wary liberals and incensed conservatives.
Then on September 11th everything changed.
The Gore administration began relatively smoothly, but the beginning of a recession in March reduced President Gore's approval rating to 46%.
The April shooting of Timothy Thomas in Cincinnati by police provoked a race riot. On April 12, Governor Bob Taft called in the National Guard. Numerous scuffles broke out over the next few days, and over 200 citizens were injured in the violence. President Gore made a statement after the riots, proclaiming that "Even in the face of injustice we must never turn to violence. Doing so hurts even more people and solves nothing."
In the following months, multiple states passed Equal Protection in Policing Acts, modeled after the Cincinnati reforms. They included various combinations of training officers to deal with low-light situations, training for dealing with the mentally ill, equipping squad cars with computers to access personal records, requiring officers to fill contact cards when stopping people for traffic, and establishing judicial boards to evaluate complaints of excessive force by police.
In June, the Grow the Economy Now Act (GENA) passed Congress and was signed by President Gore. The act cut taxes for the middle class, which was hoped to propel the economy out of recession. Gore's approval rating spiked to 57%.
On August 1st, Alabama State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore installed a statue honoring the Ten Commandments in the Judiciary Building. This provoked national outrage, with President Gore, Vice President Graham, Senator Daschle, Speaker Gephardt, and Governor Don Siegelman all condemning the move as violating the First Amendment. Among Alabama's heavily evangelical Republican base, Moore became a star overnight. Less than a week later Moore announced his run for Governor.
On August 16th, President Gore announced his support for stem cell research, which gained him support from wary liberals and incensed conservatives.
Then on September 11th everything changed.
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Equal Protection in Policing Acts: Reforms were proposed in all 50 states and DC
- Governor signed bill into law.
- Bill passed the legislature but was vetoed by the Governor.
- Bill passed one house of the State Legislature but died in the other.
- Bill passed neither house of the legislature.
9/11 and the Aftermath
September 11th started off like any other day. President Gore was in New York attending a rally where he would endorse Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial bid. But around 9:00 AM, two planes crashed into each of the Twin Towers. Within two hours, the Twin Towers and the 7 World Trade Center had collapsed. President Gore was whisked away to a secret bunker. At 9:37 AM a third plane crashed into the Pentagon. Finally at 10:28 AM a fourth plane crashed into the Washington Mall. al-Qaeda was responsible.
4,691 people were killed (including the 19 hijackers) and over 5,000 more were injured. President Gore's approval rating skyrocketed to 87%. While addressing Congress on September 20th, President Gore vowed to "craft a strong defense to keep our country safe."
Anthrax attacks on September 18th that also seemed to originate from al-Qaeda only prompted the government to further action.
The Department of Homeland Security was near-unanimously established, with only Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) dissenting. Retired General Colin Powell was appointed the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin introduced the Patriot Act, it too was passed with overwhelming margins. The NSA and CIA were set on the task of finding terrorists.
President Gore promised to locate and punish terrorists by using advanced intelligence and imposing sanctions on rogue countries. After Afghanistan's Taliban government refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, extremely rigorous sanctions were imposed on the country. On October 25, the United States and the U.K. began targeted bombing of Taliban hotspots in Afghanistan.
With Gore's approval ratings at a sky-high 92%, Democrats swept the off-year elections. Jim McGreevey and Mark Warner were elected Governors of New Jersey and Virginia. Even with Rudy Giuliani's popularity, Fernando Ferrer ran a dynamic campaign promising to protect New York's citizens.
The War on Terror had begun.
September 11th started off like any other day. President Gore was in New York attending a rally where he would endorse Andrew Cuomo's gubernatorial bid. But around 9:00 AM, two planes crashed into each of the Twin Towers. Within two hours, the Twin Towers and the 7 World Trade Center had collapsed. President Gore was whisked away to a secret bunker. At 9:37 AM a third plane crashed into the Pentagon. Finally at 10:28 AM a fourth plane crashed into the Washington Mall. al-Qaeda was responsible.
4,691 people were killed (including the 19 hijackers) and over 5,000 more were injured. President Gore's approval rating skyrocketed to 87%. While addressing Congress on September 20th, President Gore vowed to "craft a strong defense to keep our country safe."
Anthrax attacks on September 18th that also seemed to originate from al-Qaeda only prompted the government to further action.
The Department of Homeland Security was near-unanimously established, with only Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) dissenting. Retired General Colin Powell was appointed the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin introduced the Patriot Act, it too was passed with overwhelming margins. The NSA and CIA were set on the task of finding terrorists.
President Gore promised to locate and punish terrorists by using advanced intelligence and imposing sanctions on rogue countries. After Afghanistan's Taliban government refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, extremely rigorous sanctions were imposed on the country. On October 25, the United States and the U.K. began targeted bombing of Taliban hotspots in Afghanistan.
With Gore's approval ratings at a sky-high 92%, Democrats swept the off-year elections. Jim McGreevey and Mark Warner were elected Governors of New Jersey and Virginia. Even with Rudy Giuliani's popularity, Fernando Ferrer ran a dynamic campaign promising to protect New York's citizens.
The War on Terror had begun.
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To a degree, yes. Bill Clinton was fairly conservative fiscally, and he ended up very popular with the public. With a slowing economy, middle class tax-cuts were seen as the best way to get economically stimulating reforms through a more-or-less evenly divided Congress.
2002
On January 8th, the Better Education and Standardized Testing (BEST) Act passed Congress. The test required all public schools to administer a standardized test, the NEST (National Education Standards Test) to all students in specific grade levels. National standards were placed, with the initial cutoff for a passing grade being sixty percent. The Adequate Yearly Progress provision requires students in a specific grade to do x amount better than last year's students, with x varying depending on a complex statistical formula. State standards could be set for what constituted "highly qualified" teachers. The act also created an "opt-in" policy where if students wanted their records shown to the military, they could.
On January 16, a student shot 6 people and killed 3 at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia. President Gore encouraged Congress to pass stricter gun control measures.
In the State of the Union, President Gore kept it simple: keep the economy good, continue bombing in Afghanistan, and protect Americans home and abroad were the main points. He avoided divisive social issues- with the Ten Commandments fiasco in Alabama, stem cell research, and gun control, he didn't need any more reasons for conservatives to hate him.
The Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City. The president, first lady, vice president, second lady, and the speaker of the House attended the opening ceremonies and a handful of events.
On February 10, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was found dead in Pakistan. He had been beheaded, and on March 21st several al-Qaeda members were responsible. On April 16, Congress approved motions to send a limited number of ground troops into Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to flush the area of al-Qaeda and Taliban members.
On April 19, President Gore signed a law passed through Congress banning the drilling of oil or mining for fuel on public lands. His approval rating sat at 60%.
On July 15, John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty to treason and aiding the Taliban, and he was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for each crime.
By October 1, the U.S. Army was mostly succeeding in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By using guerilla warfare, the army was able to keep the two countries relatively intact. President Gore had a nice, shiny approval rating of 73%.
On October 25, an expose in the Chicago Tribune featured a woman accusing House Minority Leader Dennis Hastert of molesting her late brother while her brother was a student at Hastert's high school. Hastert denied the allegations, but then a man came out to say that the Minority Leader had abused him as well, and had been paying him hush money to keep him quiet. Hastert announced his resignation from Congress on November 1st. Tom DeLay of Texas was elected Minority Leader and Roy Blunt of Missouri was elected Minority Whip.
On Sunday, November 3, a Gallup poll was released.
In Tuesday's Congressional election, who will you be voting for?
Democrat- 56%
Republican- 32%
Other- 8%
Not Sure- 4%
On January 8th, the Better Education and Standardized Testing (BEST) Act passed Congress. The test required all public schools to administer a standardized test, the NEST (National Education Standards Test) to all students in specific grade levels. National standards were placed, with the initial cutoff for a passing grade being sixty percent. The Adequate Yearly Progress provision requires students in a specific grade to do x amount better than last year's students, with x varying depending on a complex statistical formula. State standards could be set for what constituted "highly qualified" teachers. The act also created an "opt-in" policy where if students wanted their records shown to the military, they could.
On January 16, a student shot 6 people and killed 3 at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia. President Gore encouraged Congress to pass stricter gun control measures.
In the State of the Union, President Gore kept it simple: keep the economy good, continue bombing in Afghanistan, and protect Americans home and abroad were the main points. He avoided divisive social issues- with the Ten Commandments fiasco in Alabama, stem cell research, and gun control, he didn't need any more reasons for conservatives to hate him.
The Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City. The president, first lady, vice president, second lady, and the speaker of the House attended the opening ceremonies and a handful of events.
On February 10, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was found dead in Pakistan. He had been beheaded, and on March 21st several al-Qaeda members were responsible. On April 16, Congress approved motions to send a limited number of ground troops into Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to flush the area of al-Qaeda and Taliban members.
On April 19, President Gore signed a law passed through Congress banning the drilling of oil or mining for fuel on public lands. His approval rating sat at 60%.
On July 15, John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty to treason and aiding the Taliban, and he was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for each crime.
By October 1, the U.S. Army was mostly succeeding in Afghanistan and Pakistan. By using guerilla warfare, the army was able to keep the two countries relatively intact. President Gore had a nice, shiny approval rating of 73%.
On October 25, an expose in the Chicago Tribune featured a woman accusing House Minority Leader Dennis Hastert of molesting her late brother while her brother was a student at Hastert's high school. Hastert denied the allegations, but then a man came out to say that the Minority Leader had abused him as well, and had been paying him hush money to keep him quiet. Hastert announced his resignation from Congress on November 1st. Tom DeLay of Texas was elected Minority Leader and Roy Blunt of Missouri was elected Minority Whip.
On Sunday, November 3, a Gallup poll was released.
In Tuesday's Congressional election, who will you be voting for?
Democrat- 56%
Republican- 32%
Other- 8%
Not Sure- 4%
2002 Senate Elections
- Alabama: Moderate Democratic congressman Bud Cramer beat Jeff Sessions in his reelection bid after bringing up Session's controversial racial remarks, which cost him a federal judgeship in the 1980's. Cramer's campaign drove up black turnout, giving him a narrow win. High black turnout also helped Governor Don Siegelman sail to an 12-point reelection over controversial judge Roy Moore.
- Alaska: Ted Stevens was reelected by a landslide.
- Arizona: Matt Salmon narrowly won the special election for John McCain's seat over Terry Goddard.
- Arkansas: In the wake of a highly publicized divorce, Tim Hutchinson lost to Attorney General Mark Pryor.
- California: Loretta Sanchez won the special election for Barbara Boxer's seat by a landslide.
- Colorado: Wayne Allard lost reelection to U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland.
- Delaware: Joe Biden was reelected by a landslide.
- Florida: Incumbent Republican Katherine Harris lost a special election to former Governor Buddy McKay.
- Georgia: Interim appointee Nathan Dean retired, and Governor Roy Barnes won the open seat.
- Idaho: Larry Craig was reelected by a landslide.
- Illinois: Dick Durbin was reelected by a landslide.
- Iowa: Tom Harkin was reelected by a landslide.
- Kansas: Pat Roberts was reelected by a landslide.
- Kentucky: Governor Paul Patton beat Mitch McConnell by an incredibly thin margin of only 263 votes.
- Louisiana: Mary Landrieu was reelected by a landslide.
- Maine: Susan Collins narrowly lost reelection to Independent Governor Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats.
- Massachusetts: John Kerry was reelected by a landslide.
- Michigan: Carl Levin was reelected by a landslide.
- Minnesota: Paul Wellstone narrowly beat Norm Coleman.
- Mississippi: Thad Cochran was reelected by a landslide.
- Montana: Max Baucus was reelected by a landslide.
- Nebraska: Chuck Hagel was reelected by a landslide.
- New Hampshire: Governor Jeanne Shaheen beat Bob Smith by a healthy margin.
- New Jersey: Robert Torricelli lost a primary to Jon Corzine.
- New Mexico: Pete Domenici was reelected by a landslide.
- North Carolina: Jesse Helms was succeeded by Liddy Dole.
- Oklahoma: Jim Inhofe was reelected by a landslide.
- Oregon: Governor John Kitzhaber beat Gordon Smith.
- Rhode Island: Jack Reed was reelected by a landslide.
- South Carolina: In a truly remarkable election, former segregationist Strom Thurmond was succeeded by Jim Clyburn, who became South Carolina's first black Senator.
- South Dakota: Tim Johnson was narrowly reelected.
- Tennessee: Fred Thompson was narrowly reelected.
- Texas: In a shocking upset, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte beat Lt. Gov. Rick Perry in the race for Phil Gramm's seat.
- Virginia: John Warner was reelected by a landslide.
- West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller was reelected by a landslide.
- Wyoming: Mike Enzi was reelected by a landslide.
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Senate Results, 2002
U.S. Senate of the 108th Congress
62 Democrats, 37 Republicans, 1 Independent
-House Minority Leader Tom DeLay watching the returns.
U.S. Senate of the 108th Congress
62 Democrats, 37 Republicans, 1 Independent
- 2 Democrats
- 2 Republicans
- 1 Democrat, 1 Republican
- 1 Republican, 1 Independent
-House Minority Leader Tom DeLay watching the returns.
You haven't seen the last of them. Fritz Hollings is retiring...
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Do you really think a far-left tree hugger would get elected in Alabama?
