Lazarus, Icarus, and Canadian Politics: An Infobox Timeline
- Thread starter CanadianTory
- Start date
Republicans I guess.
A wise guy, huh?
What does everyone think of the updates so far? Well written? Too boring? I thought it'd be a nice change of pace. Gives me a chance to expand the 2012 Election a bit.
They're good. I do like how, especially the Mitt one gives a lot of background as to what the candidates have been up to over the past twenty years in Lazarus.
What Gonzo said basically, but also the campaign logos look really nice and it's not something I see often in wikibox timelines.A wise guy, huh?
What does everyone think of the updates so far? Well written? Too boring? I thought it'd be a nice change of pace. Gives me a chance to expand the 2012 Election a bit.
Yeah, there was a lot of trial and error for a lot of the logos, but it does add that extra bit of realism and colour to the updates.
Decision 2012 - Chapter Four: The Runner Up
A populist to his core and beloved by his fellow evangelicals, Mike Huckabee had always looked forward to running in 2012. His likability, folksiness and optimism had carried him farther than anyone expected in 2004, ending up second in terms of votes and delegates to Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson. According to tradition, if one ignored Connie Mack’s decision to forgo a run in 2004, Huckabee was next in line to become the Republican Party’s standard bearer. The fact that it pissed off the GOP’s big wigs made it all the sweeter. They had constantly looked down at the former Arkansas Governor, and had made sure that despite the respectful vetting to be Fred Thompson’s running-mate, Huckabee would not appear on the campaign trail or any official events with the nominee. Even at the convention, all Huckabee got was a speech on the convention’s opening day - hardly the primetime speaking slot that he had so desired and believed he was entitled to. The establishment had slapped him, and by extension his supporters, in the face. Next time he ran, he’d make them regret it.
Unfortunately the campaign had also left Huckabee more than pissed off; it had also left him broke. In order to finance his bid for the White House, he had taken out a second mortgage on his own home. He had cashed in his retirement plan, life insurance, and basically anything else he could get his hands on. This meant that once his term wrapped up, Huckabee had to find a real job, a job that made money. Shortly after January 9, 2007, and in quick succession, Huckabee signed deals to serve as a political analyst and contributor to Fox News, a Radio Host, and write a book. By 2009 he had been made more than financially whole - he had enough money to enjoy the luxuries of the good life. Plus, with Fred Thompson getting the boot from office, that meant the nomination would be open come 2012. But the notion of running again wasn’t an idea so readily embraced by either Huckabee nor his wife. Having both grown-up poor, and finally for the first time in their lives enjoying wealth, a second run at the White House would mean having to cut ties with Fox News, their main source of revenue. A campaign for the presidency meant months on the road, and aside from the financial donations of others, no real steady source of income. Huckabee began floating to his advisors the possibility of pushing his run to 2016. But as Ed Rollins, Huckabee’s campaign chairman in ‘04 and Reagan’s campaign manager in ‘84, warned, a Republican was likely to win in 2012. That meant the Huck would likely have to wait until 2020 to get another chance, which would be well past his best before date. If Huckabee didn’t get in the race, Rollins warned, the Republicans would end up with someone like Mitt Romney or, God forbid, Jeb Bush. Since their shared time as Governors of their respective states, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney didn’t get along. Romney thought the former Baptist preacher was a right-wing ideologue more interested in furthering his own career than the party. Huckabee thought much the same about Romney, minus the right-wing bit. Romney, much like Bush, was a member of the compromising establishment that he, and he believed the rest of the party would agree, had enough off. Plus, they were little more than spoiled rich kids, those had been given everything from their successful fathers. They didn’t earn their wealth like the Huckabees. Meanwhile those like Haley Barbour or Mark Sanford, as good a couple of men as they were, lacked the guts to take consistent, conservative positions. They were willing to compromise with the establishment, which to the Huck meant that they were willing to sell out if it meant getting the nomination. Republicans voters would sense that insincerity, Huckabee bitterly warned.
The argument to run was compelling, especially when Rollins and the Huckabee family were guilt-tripping the former Governor with claims that it was God’s calling for him to run, that after his twenty years in the ministry and twelve years as governor, he could be the first real moral man elected to the presidency. God didn’t care about money, and in fact hated man’s vicious greed and idolatry. Plus Mike had amassed a comfortable egg over the last eight years, and would likely weather the financial strains of another run. In spite of his populism, there remained some wealthy individuals willing to cut Huckabee a cheque, and finance his eventual Super PAC. With the financial resources at Romney’s disposal, any campaign for the Republican nomination would need, at bear minimum, $50 million to survive the first three contests.
His wife wanted him to run, his daughter wanted him to run, his two boys wanted him to run, and he had an almost constant stream of supporters, supplied by Rollins and his inner circle, begging him to run. Huckabee prayed on it, and found himself coming to the same word over and over again – yes.
Much as he had in 2004, the plan was for Huckabee to announce his campaign early. Take the air out of some of his opponents sails, and scare off some of those said opponents from entering the race. When he made his announcement on February 28, 2011, Huckabee’s speech aimed all his anger, all his moral superiority, all his attacks at President Edwards, whom he had confided in his aids would likely stick out his scandals and run for re-election. Sure, he’d face a primary challenge which would further cripple him, but he didn’t strike Huckabee as someone who’d give up. So when President Edwards announced his resignation, the former governor was genuinely shocked, and began worrying that a campaign against his successor Janet Napolitano would be tougher. Still, he had announced his candidacy, and he couldn’t exactly back out now. Besides, for all his moral failings, John Edwards was still a married man, which was more than could be said for President Napolitano. The people were on his side, and Huckabee would ride their prayers all the way to the White House.
Unfortunately the campaign had also left Huckabee more than pissed off; it had also left him broke. In order to finance his bid for the White House, he had taken out a second mortgage on his own home. He had cashed in his retirement plan, life insurance, and basically anything else he could get his hands on. This meant that once his term wrapped up, Huckabee had to find a real job, a job that made money. Shortly after January 9, 2007, and in quick succession, Huckabee signed deals to serve as a political analyst and contributor to Fox News, a Radio Host, and write a book. By 2009 he had been made more than financially whole - he had enough money to enjoy the luxuries of the good life. Plus, with Fred Thompson getting the boot from office, that meant the nomination would be open come 2012. But the notion of running again wasn’t an idea so readily embraced by either Huckabee nor his wife. Having both grown-up poor, and finally for the first time in their lives enjoying wealth, a second run at the White House would mean having to cut ties with Fox News, their main source of revenue. A campaign for the presidency meant months on the road, and aside from the financial donations of others, no real steady source of income. Huckabee began floating to his advisors the possibility of pushing his run to 2016. But as Ed Rollins, Huckabee’s campaign chairman in ‘04 and Reagan’s campaign manager in ‘84, warned, a Republican was likely to win in 2012. That meant the Huck would likely have to wait until 2020 to get another chance, which would be well past his best before date. If Huckabee didn’t get in the race, Rollins warned, the Republicans would end up with someone like Mitt Romney or, God forbid, Jeb Bush. Since their shared time as Governors of their respective states, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney didn’t get along. Romney thought the former Baptist preacher was a right-wing ideologue more interested in furthering his own career than the party. Huckabee thought much the same about Romney, minus the right-wing bit. Romney, much like Bush, was a member of the compromising establishment that he, and he believed the rest of the party would agree, had enough off. Plus, they were little more than spoiled rich kids, those had been given everything from their successful fathers. They didn’t earn their wealth like the Huckabees. Meanwhile those like Haley Barbour or Mark Sanford, as good a couple of men as they were, lacked the guts to take consistent, conservative positions. They were willing to compromise with the establishment, which to the Huck meant that they were willing to sell out if it meant getting the nomination. Republicans voters would sense that insincerity, Huckabee bitterly warned.
The argument to run was compelling, especially when Rollins and the Huckabee family were guilt-tripping the former Governor with claims that it was God’s calling for him to run, that after his twenty years in the ministry and twelve years as governor, he could be the first real moral man elected to the presidency. God didn’t care about money, and in fact hated man’s vicious greed and idolatry. Plus Mike had amassed a comfortable egg over the last eight years, and would likely weather the financial strains of another run. In spite of his populism, there remained some wealthy individuals willing to cut Huckabee a cheque, and finance his eventual Super PAC. With the financial resources at Romney’s disposal, any campaign for the Republican nomination would need, at bear minimum, $50 million to survive the first three contests.
His wife wanted him to run, his daughter wanted him to run, his two boys wanted him to run, and he had an almost constant stream of supporters, supplied by Rollins and his inner circle, begging him to run. Huckabee prayed on it, and found himself coming to the same word over and over again – yes.
Much as he had in 2004, the plan was for Huckabee to announce his campaign early. Take the air out of some of his opponents sails, and scare off some of those said opponents from entering the race. When he made his announcement on February 28, 2011, Huckabee’s speech aimed all his anger, all his moral superiority, all his attacks at President Edwards, whom he had confided in his aids would likely stick out his scandals and run for re-election. Sure, he’d face a primary challenge which would further cripple him, but he didn’t strike Huckabee as someone who’d give up. So when President Edwards announced his resignation, the former governor was genuinely shocked, and began worrying that a campaign against his successor Janet Napolitano would be tougher. Still, he had announced his candidacy, and he couldn’t exactly back out now. Besides, for all his moral failings, John Edwards was still a married man, which was more than could be said for President Napolitano. The people were on his side, and Huckabee would ride their prayers all the way to the White House.
StuGium
Banned
Can't buck the Huck. Huckabee vs Hillary is the dream match up of 2012, prove me wrong.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
FWIW, I think Huckabee’s charisma is underrated. I attended the 2015 Sunshine State Summit and found him to be the most compelling speaker aside from Trump.
Honestly, Jeb! is also very charismatic in person as well. It just translated to television horribly.
Honestly, Jeb! is also very charismatic in person as well. It just translated to television horribly.
With the moderate establishment and social conservative wings taken care of, I wonder who will fall into the other wings. Will Ron Paul do as he did OTL and have another quixotic run for the GOP nomination, will there be some sort of Newt Gingrich analogue running as blast from the past (no, not you George Pataki) and claiming they are the real McCoy when it comes to real conservatism?
Heh, oh trust me, every wing and faction of the GOP is going to be represented in this primary.
Even the Mugwumps?
CT told me he was going to include the Half-Breeds, but didn't feel comfortable typing out what Steve King would say upon hearing the faction's name.
Joking obviously
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
Ron Paul, Donald Trump (cliche, I know), and a few of the borings like T-Paw, etc, etc. For longshots, Congressmen Peter King and maybe a conservative woman (Fiorina?) might spice things up. Also Huntsman and Thad McCotter now that I think about it.
Giuliani. He’s always been a guilty pleasure of mine. Plus, he’s leading in that poll from awhile ago.
Well, it'll be quixotic in terms of "delusional reactionary that is a clear and present danger to those around him".
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Decision 2012 - Chapter Five: Tanned and Ready
Charlie Crist wanted to be President. It was simple. He was the Governor of Florida, one of America’s most politically important states, and believed he was entitled to the speculation and coverage that was owed the office. Tanned, with a helmet of quaffed white hair, Crist looked as much the part as Mitt Romney did. He could raise money just as well as Romney, or Barbour, or any of the other potential or declared candidates. He had a solid record that he believed would resonate with voters, despite his tenuous relationship with conservatives. In private some friends joked that Crist was almost a genuine version of his Michigan counterpart; moderate to a fault, but actually willing to embrace it. Willing to put people ahead of politics, and buck the GOP brass. As for running for president, he had been mapping out the possibility of a run for the Republican nomination since just before the midterms and his re-election. Shortly after the midterm results, and emboldened by his narrow victory over Democrat Alex Sink, Crist hunkered down in the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee and chatted with aides and longtime friends over whether he should actually put his plans into action and run. George LeMieux, Crist’s campaign manager for both of his successful gubernatorial runs, expressed concern, admitting that his boss’s record as governor, while attractive in a general election, might prove to be an albatross to Republican primary voters.
You’re not exactly a conservative, warned LeMieux. By current Republican estimates, this was true. Crist’s record on key issues like the environment, same-sex relations, and abortion, were closer in line to many centrist Democrats than the average Republican office holder. Yet when Crist looked at the rest of the field, all he saw were men who were inferior to him. He assailed Mitt Romney as too politically driven and lacking in the human emotion department. As much as he enjoyed Haley Barbour’s company, the Mississippi governor was too unhealthy, too southern, and too unpredictable to serve as Commander-in-Chief. Mike Huckabee suffered from the same problem, plus the relationship between Crist and the former Arkansas governor had soured since the latter moved to Florida. At fundraisers, luncheons, and to whomever would listen, Huckabee decried Charlie Crist as representing what was wrong with the Republican Party. Moderate, unprincipled, and elitist, Huckabee claimed that Florida’s governor suffered from it all. Plus there had been rumours that if he didn’t get the Republican nomination, the former Arkansas resident was looking into nabbing Crist’s job come 2014. To put it plainly, the two men hated one another.
But that was nothing compared to Crist’s relationship with the Bush family. Big money donors weary of Romney had lined up, begging for Jeb Bush to jump into the race. Son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of failed presidential candidate and former Veterans Secretary George W. Bush, the former Florida Governor and current Senator enjoyed the limelight. After all, Jeb told those who approached him that if he did enter the race, which was far from a sure thing, he’d wipe the floor with Crist for their state’s support. Crist’s success had been built on Jeb’s, and the Senator felt both blind sighted by the amount of coverage his successor was garnering, and angered by his lack of consultation over the presidential race. Former President Bush thought Crist was a lightweight. Barbara Bush routinely called him a traitor to Jeb. George W. encouraged his brother to get into the race before Crist had the chance, and save the party from the likes of “yahoos and weirdos”. But Jeb was torn on the issue. Being a senator meant a stable job, good income, a pulpit to address the issues he was concerned about. Running for president would put all of that, and his family’s much guarded privacy, in jeopardy. Plus it would only confirm all the criticism his Democratic opponents had thrown at him in the midterms; that the senate seat was just a stepping stone for yet another Bush to seek a higher office. Personally, he didn’t feel that way at all. Voters had trusted him to represent them, and they expected him to serve the full six-year term. Ultimately, so did Jeb. According to the Bush clan, Jeb’s refusal to enter the race didn’t mean Florida was Charlie Crist’s for the taking. They’d do everything in their power to make sure he’d have to work for it.
That suited Governor Crist just fine. He had no problem with hard work. To him it was the Bush’s who lacked experience with hard work, with both Jeb and his older brother practically handed everything by their father.
One of Crist’s favourite phrases was “If there’s a will, there’s a way,”. As his campaign team mapped out his admittedly difficult path to the Republican nomination, the Florida governor would utter the phrase and dispatch any potential criticism or worry. In the campaign’s war room there was a white board with a list of issues that would likely plague the governor in the upcoming GOP presidential debates. The governor would mark down the phrase on a yellow sticky-note, slap it on the board, and reassure his team that they would overcome the obstacles in front of him. Sure, voters were pissed off at John Edwards and the members of his administration, but Crist was sure that the angry radicals in his party were a vocal minority, and the common-sense majority, who were concerned with the economy, healthcare, and America’s place in the world, would rally to his campaign and propel him to victory. Iowa was a no go, but with a strong showing in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and a win in Florida, he’d have a shot.
With supporters gathered for Crist’s official announcement in Tampa, Florida, the governor pledged to breath new life into the American promise. He would present them with a positive agenda for the country’s future. Country ahead of partisan politics. Jobs ahead of social issues. Echoing the words of Ronald Reagan, Charlie Crist proclaimed it was time to make America great again.
Now the only issue was convincing enough Republican primary voters that he was the man to make it happen.
You’re not exactly a conservative, warned LeMieux. By current Republican estimates, this was true. Crist’s record on key issues like the environment, same-sex relations, and abortion, were closer in line to many centrist Democrats than the average Republican office holder. Yet when Crist looked at the rest of the field, all he saw were men who were inferior to him. He assailed Mitt Romney as too politically driven and lacking in the human emotion department. As much as he enjoyed Haley Barbour’s company, the Mississippi governor was too unhealthy, too southern, and too unpredictable to serve as Commander-in-Chief. Mike Huckabee suffered from the same problem, plus the relationship between Crist and the former Arkansas governor had soured since the latter moved to Florida. At fundraisers, luncheons, and to whomever would listen, Huckabee decried Charlie Crist as representing what was wrong with the Republican Party. Moderate, unprincipled, and elitist, Huckabee claimed that Florida’s governor suffered from it all. Plus there had been rumours that if he didn’t get the Republican nomination, the former Arkansas resident was looking into nabbing Crist’s job come 2014. To put it plainly, the two men hated one another.
But that was nothing compared to Crist’s relationship with the Bush family. Big money donors weary of Romney had lined up, begging for Jeb Bush to jump into the race. Son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of failed presidential candidate and former Veterans Secretary George W. Bush, the former Florida Governor and current Senator enjoyed the limelight. After all, Jeb told those who approached him that if he did enter the race, which was far from a sure thing, he’d wipe the floor with Crist for their state’s support. Crist’s success had been built on Jeb’s, and the Senator felt both blind sighted by the amount of coverage his successor was garnering, and angered by his lack of consultation over the presidential race. Former President Bush thought Crist was a lightweight. Barbara Bush routinely called him a traitor to Jeb. George W. encouraged his brother to get into the race before Crist had the chance, and save the party from the likes of “yahoos and weirdos”. But Jeb was torn on the issue. Being a senator meant a stable job, good income, a pulpit to address the issues he was concerned about. Running for president would put all of that, and his family’s much guarded privacy, in jeopardy. Plus it would only confirm all the criticism his Democratic opponents had thrown at him in the midterms; that the senate seat was just a stepping stone for yet another Bush to seek a higher office. Personally, he didn’t feel that way at all. Voters had trusted him to represent them, and they expected him to serve the full six-year term. Ultimately, so did Jeb. According to the Bush clan, Jeb’s refusal to enter the race didn’t mean Florida was Charlie Crist’s for the taking. They’d do everything in their power to make sure he’d have to work for it.
That suited Governor Crist just fine. He had no problem with hard work. To him it was the Bush’s who lacked experience with hard work, with both Jeb and his older brother practically handed everything by their father.
One of Crist’s favourite phrases was “If there’s a will, there’s a way,”. As his campaign team mapped out his admittedly difficult path to the Republican nomination, the Florida governor would utter the phrase and dispatch any potential criticism or worry. In the campaign’s war room there was a white board with a list of issues that would likely plague the governor in the upcoming GOP presidential debates. The governor would mark down the phrase on a yellow sticky-note, slap it on the board, and reassure his team that they would overcome the obstacles in front of him. Sure, voters were pissed off at John Edwards and the members of his administration, but Crist was sure that the angry radicals in his party were a vocal minority, and the common-sense majority, who were concerned with the economy, healthcare, and America’s place in the world, would rally to his campaign and propel him to victory. Iowa was a no go, but with a strong showing in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and a win in Florida, he’d have a shot.
With supporters gathered for Crist’s official announcement in Tampa, Florida, the governor pledged to breath new life into the American promise. He would present them with a positive agenda for the country’s future. Country ahead of partisan politics. Jobs ahead of social issues. Echoing the words of Ronald Reagan, Charlie Crist proclaimed it was time to make America great again.
Now the only issue was convincing enough Republican primary voters that he was the man to make it happen.
