More Than Just a Pretty Face

More Than Just a Pretty Face
How Women Came to Dominate the White House for 28 Years

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Part IV, Chapter 1
The Comprehensive Solution: 2029-2033

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Grace Walker became the fourth female President in a row on January 20, 2029, when she took the Presidential Oath of Office. As she became the 47th President, the world was watching. Walker had promised a bold domestic agenda, but there were still issues to be resolved when it came to foreign policy. While Iran had been dealt with, North Korea had been put off for years and they were slowly starting to legitimize themselves as a potential power. Walker was hoping for another Chinese Summit in her first term, similar to the one that Hillary Clinton had called for during her Presidency, but that was not the priority of the Walker Administration. The priority for Grace Walker was finally enacting a broad reformation of the American public school system. Congress was divided. Republicans controlled 224 House Seats and therefore had the majority, but the Democrats held the majority in the Senate with 52 seats. President Walker hoped to push for education reform but without support from her party it would be far more difficult.

During her 2029 State of the Union Address the President announced a massive domestic agenda. It expanded beyond Education Reform to encompass all aspects of society. She called it "The Comprehensive Solution." It was her version of "The Great Society" or the "New Frontier." It consisted of numerous reforms. Because aspects of the plan were more liberal and some more conservative, President Walker was able to pass almost everything by saying she would not sign one aspect of her reforms without signing all of them. Therefore more liberal measures, like a new "Federal Assault Weapons Ban," would gain support from Republicans as Democrats were forced to swallow a partial-privatization of Social Security. The Comprehensive Solution covered numerous issues and while it didn't receive unanimous support, Congressmen and Senators near the center of the political spectrum (who had witnessed their numbers rise over the last 10 years) were able to make sure that the plan got through.

The main aspect of the plan consisted of education. A series of educational reforms were passed and signed into law in President Walker's first year. It ended federal education funding for states with teacher tenure and it established a national merit-based pay system for teachers. It also took a number of reforms from successful European nations, namely Finland. The bill eliminated statewide standardized tests and replaced them with three nationwide tests. The first was conducted for all third grade students, the second for all sixth grade students, and the third for all ninth grade students (SAT's and ACT's were not affected by the provisions). It also implemented a federally-mandated school year.

Taking affect for the 2033-2034 school year, students would return to school from summer vacation the Tuesday after Labor Day. The school year would be divided into three trimesters. Each trimester would consist of 80 school days. This would mean 240 school days a year. Students would still have all of July and August off, and they would have two weeks after each trimester ended. Holiday breaks (such as Christmas Break and Thanksgiving Break) were shortened, but remained intact.

The education plan went further. It outlawed all homework for students not in High School. It also created a federally-mandated school day. School would begin at 8:30 a.m. and last until 4:30 p.m. (an eight-hour school day). Students in grades Kindergarten through Five were required to have at least 45 minutes of recess a day and students in grades Six through Eight were required to have at least 30 minutes a day. Students in High School were guaranteed a 20 minute recess as well. All of these massive reforms received significant opposition by several high-profile education experts, but the President remained firm, pointing to the successful Finnish education system.

Public support for the plan was also high. Parents were happy about many aspects of the bill and even school children were excited about some of the measures they heard about. The reforms concluded by mandating that all public school teachers have a Masters' Degree in the subject they taught and it pushed forward a strict qualification system, modeled after Connecticut and other states known for having rigorous certification requirements. Many Republicans attacked the plan as too big of an intrusion from the federal government. Liberals were heavily supportive of many of the provisions, with the exception of eliminating teachers unions, but the President fought on and established a coalition, eventually succeeding in passing the education reform. All provisions were scheduled to take affect for the 2033-2034 school year, nicknamed the "Walker School Year."

Education was just the beginning. The President also pushed for a national reform of Social Security. The plan was centered around partial-privatization of Social Security and raised the retirement age from 65 to 70 over the next eighteen years (in an effort to prevent the hikes from affecting those 55 and older). The partial-privatization was in contrast to the national health care system that had come into place as a result of Hillary Clinton, but it was pushed through the Congress and enacted by the end of Walker's first term.

Other aspects of reform included another minimum wage increase and a "Federal Assault Weapons Ban" that lasted fifteen years. The entire nation had shifted to the left and the radical conservatives that had been put into place as a result of the 2010 Midterm Elections were almost completely gone. A few remained and they were opposed to many aspects of the President's measures, but they were unable to wage much of a counter assault. The Social Security reforms were a tough battle, but the President received the support of former President Bill Clinton who, at the age of 83, came out in support of the partial-privatization plan saying it was something he had pushed for in his Administration and claiming that it was the most realistic way to save social security with the program's deadline approaching so quickly. Former President Hillary Clinton also came out in support for the plan.

With high-profile Democrats on her side, the President was successful in getting the Social Security plan through Congress. Her education reform received broad support from the public and with the midterm elections approaching, members of Congress were unwilling to alienate supporters. As a result the President got her wish. The Comprehensive Solution was enacted, solving numerous problems for the country. It also included a full reimplementation of the Glass-Steagall Act and stricter reforms on banks and Wall Street. Palin's deregulation splurge resulted in a weak economy throughout her last two years and the two terms of Tulsi Gabbard, but by 2030 the nation's economy had started to finally turn around and the nation was looking at a boom.

Grace Walker wasn't done, however. Chief Justice John Roberts announced his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2030 after serving 25 years as the country's Chief Justice. Walker considered numerous potential appointments, but eventually selected Kayla McCoursey, a member of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. McCoursey, who was only 49 years old, had a moderate record, and was ultimately confirmed by the Senate by a 74-26 vote, the largest margin for a Supreme Court candidate in over 20 years. Walker would also name another justice to the bench in 2030. Merrick Garland died in November of that year, just as Democrats had feared. Walker replaced Garland with Valerie Anthony, a heavily conservative jurist. Anthony was confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 53-47. Anthony, who was 58 years old, would sway the balance of the court from five liberals and four conservatives to five conservatives (including the more moderate McCoursey) and four liberals.

The 2030 Midterm elections were interesting. They marked the return of former President Sarah Palin who fought for a more conservative Republican Party. Palin was successful in moving the party farther to the right than it had been since her coalition died-out during the Gabbard Administration. These Republicans were met with more opposition from within the party and the Republican primaries across the nation in 2030 marked the Palin Coalition versus the Walker Coalition. They basically split primary victories down the middle, but few Palin Coalition Republicans were successful in winning the general elections. The result? A Democratic Congress. Democrats took a 219-seat majority in the House and a 56-seat majority in the Senate.

The 2032 Presidential Election was highly chaotic. Sarah Palin waged a primary battle against Grace Walker. Walker lost the Iowa Caucuses to Palin, but delivered a crushing blow to Palin in the New Hampshire Primary. In South Carolina, the race was tight, but Walker edged out Palin in a surprising upset. As the two went back-and-forth, Walker was able to beat Palin after the Super Tuesday results came in, but Palin did the unthinkable and waged a Third Party candidacy. The Republican Party was divided and it looked like the Democrats were guaranteed the White House in 2032.

The Democratic Primary was just as chaotic and it led to the first deadlocked convention in 20 years. Former Vice President Heath Shuler again waged a campaign and so did Massachusetts Senator Joe Kennedy III. Both waged serious campaigns but were challenged by former Secretary of Homeland Security Christine Pelosi. Not only were primary voters divided, but so was the establishment. All three major candidates had made significant inroads with the establishment. The three candidates went back-and-forth and back-and-forth. No candidate was able to secure enough support and former President Tulsi Gabbard, largely considered the kingmaker, was unwilling to endorse a candidate.

At the Democratic National Convention in Seattle, Washington, the Democratic Party was heavily divided. By the third ballot there was still no nominee. As a result, a compromise candidate emerged. On the fourth ballot, the Democrats nominated Thomas Winfield. Winfield was the Governor of Washington and received the endorsements of Pelosi and Kennedy, winning him the nomination. He selected Pelosi as his running mate, but this man who had never been on a ballot outside of Washington before was now the party's presidential nominee. He hadn't had over a year to establish a campaign like Palin and he certainly didn't have the name recognition to wage a campaign like the President was able to. The result was a disaster for the Democratic Party.

Independents and center-left Democrats came out to support the President to prevent another Palin Administration. The President secured victory, winning just over the minimum number of electoral votes necessary, but managing to win 50.01% of the popular vote. Winfield and Palin tied for second in the Electoral College, but Palin had actually beat out Winfield in the popular vote by a tight margin. It was one of the craziest Presidential elections in history, but Walker had secured a second term and she wasn't prepared to throw it away.
 

DTanza

Banned
I was hoping that the conservative wet dream of destroying unions and privatizing social security would have died by the 2030s. Now I'm hoping for another Gabbard to fix them. :p
 
I was hoping that the conservative wet dream of destroying unions and privatizing social security would have died by the 2030s. Now I'm hoping for another Gabbard to fix them. :p

Destroying unions is basically over, but even Clinton Administration officials said the only way to make social security solvent is through partial privatization
 

DTanza

Banned
Destroying unions is basically over, but even Clinton Administration officials said the only way to make social security solvent is through partial privatization

The right always spreads fearmongering about Social Security. It's been a decade away from going bankrupt or bankrupting us ever since it was created. It is not going bankrupt. Privatization is just going to screw over people like my family members who rely on Social Security (Survivors and Retirement) to stay alive. I have absolutely no interest in my loved ones being left to the good will of the stock market just because of doomsaying with no basis in reality.
 
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The CBO (I think its the CBO, definitely a government agency if sorts) projected it going bankrupt in 2040. When the plan passed that was about 10 years away. It really was crunch time. Democrats get a public option for health care. Republicans get social security. Anyways, there will be the second term of grace walker and then that will have covered the 28 years I talked abt. Any last issues youd like to see resolved?
 

DTanza

Banned
The CBO (I think its the CBO, definitely a government agency if sorts) projected it going bankrupt in 2040. When the plan passed that was about 10 years away. It really was crunch time. Democrats get a public option for health care. Republicans get social security. Anyways, there will be the second term of grace walker and then that will have covered the 28 years I talked abt. Any last issues youd like to see resolved?

The prediction is that it could continue paying out all the way to 2084 if they started giving out 75% of benefits starting in 2037. Which is essentially full benefits when you account for inflation. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html

If we raised payroll tax cap, which more people support than raising the retirement age or privatization, it would be solvent indefinitely.
 
That's interesting, didn't know that.

By 2029, people will be living even longer, though, and so raising the retirement age to 70 by ~2040 isn't a huge issue.
 

DTanza

Banned
That's interesting, didn't know that.

By 2029, people will be living even longer, though, and so raising the retirement age to 70 by ~2040 isn't a huge issue.

That's true, I can easily see people staying active years longer than they do now. It probably won't be an issue by then.
 
Interesting TL and projection of the next two decades. (Plus altenrate for the Obama years). I think the lost Hillary Presidency is a rich area for exploring what might have been (and could yet be).

Is "Grace Walker" a prototype figure as opposed to a real person, or someone you know of who isn't well-known yet but could be this person in the future?
 
Interesting TL and projection of the next two decades. (Plus altenrate for the Obama years). I think the lost Hillary Presidency is a rich area for exploring what might have been (and could yet be).

Is "Grace Walker" a prototype figure as opposed to a real person, or someone you know of who isn't well-known yet but could be this person in the future?

She's a completely made up character.
 
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