Chapter XXX: April 2007.
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
Chapter Thirty:
Governor George Pataki was the latest longshot candidate to emerge.
Governor George Pataki was the latest longshot candidate to emerge.
The Iraq withdrawal announcement boosted public support for President Kerry at a time when the Republican presidential field remained divided on foreign policy matters. While Governor Bush maintained that an aggressive approach to potential terrorist hotspots would keep the threat of radical Islamism away from American shores, other rising stars like Senator Allen promised “peace with honor” and an end to nation building. But only one candidate, Congressman Paul, called for a complete end to American involvement in the Middle East. The Republican Party of South Carolina and Fox News announced that the first debate of the primary season will be held in Charleston, followed by MSNBC and Politico announcing their own debate would be conducted in New Hampshire. New York Governor George Pataki, recently reelected for a fourth term, emerged as the latest presidential candidate to seek the GOP nomination. Congressman Duncan Hunter also launched his campaign, though his lack of name recognition strangled his candidacy in the cradle. With thirteen Republicans vying to challenge President Kerry, the May debates were greatly awaited by Republican and Tea Party voters.
The Equal Pay Act is at last passed by the Senate after months of stalling by Majority Leader McConnell, who allowed a free vote on the matter after public opinion turned sharply against the Republicans. Passed by a 72-28 margin, President Kerry signed the bill into law with great fanfare at a Rose Garden ceremony, with Senator Hillary Clinton hovering noticeably in the background behind the President. Though it was a relatively smooth (if not also extremely delayed) process, the President was fully aware that the signing of the bill would mark his last legislative victory of what he hoped would prove to be his first term. But these events were buried in the news cycle by a tragic story out of western Virginia. In an incident that stunned and horrified America, Seung-Hoi Cho, a student at Virginia Tech, locked the doors of a classroom building and proceeded to shoot and kill 41 students in one of the deadliest mass shootings in memory. Cho killed himself when responding police were able to breach the chained and padlocked door, ending the slaughter after ten minutes of carnage. In the wake of the massacre, the Virginia State Legislature passed a law which introduced “red flag” provisions aimed at stopping those with mental illness from being able to legally purchase firearms. But this was only the start of another political fight. In the wake of the shooting at Virginia Tech, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) reintroduced the Assault Weapons Ban to the Senate, setting the course for another battle with Congress that the President knew he was sure to lose. With a Republican majority in both Houses, the President instead agreed to meet with Speaker Dreier and Senator McConnell in order to lay out a shared policy agreement. McConnell made it abundantly clear to the President that an assault weapons ban being restored was a non-starter, though the administration was still willing to pursue a federal version of Virginia’s “red flag” law as a compromise.
The Virginia Tech shooting saw 40+ casualties.
2008 Republican Primary (Nationwide)
Jeb Bush: 25%
George Allen: 19%
Rudy Giuliani: 16%
Mike Huckabee: 13%
Mitt Romney: 9%
John McCain: 7%
Newt Gingrich: 3%:
Ron Paul: 2%
Rick Perry: 2%
George Pataki: 1%
Sam Brownback: 1%
Duncan Hunter: 1%
Tom Tancredo: 1%
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