The Towers Still Stand: An Alternate take on early 21st Century America.

[dw93]

April 5th, 2002. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt says Democrats will work to defeat Social Security Reform:​

On April 5th, 2002, Democratic House Minority leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri was interviewed by Larry King on "Larry King Live" and was asked about the President's plan to reform Social Security. Gephardt told King that "The Democrats in congress are all in agreement that this bill is bad for the American people, and we will do everything we can to make sure that this plan doesn't pass, as it does nothing more than make the President's pals on Wall Street richer at the expense of the poor, working, and middle class Americans. The President, when he ran in 2000, said that he wanted to be 'a uniter and not a divider.' The President, nor the Vice President, invited a single Democrat to the White House to discuss Social Security, and this makes the President a divider, not a uniter." When asked by King if Social Security was going broke, Gephardt said "No. The bipartisan reforms that President Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neil agreed to, and got implemented in the 1980s, keep the plan solvent until well into the 2030s."

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[Knightmare]

Well, what do you think? How damaging will Social Security reform be for Bush, if at all? Will there be a push to hit Iraq?

Well, Bush is basically touching the 3rd rail of US politics, IE, SS.

He might not have the political capitol to go after Iraq, especially without Cheney to "arrange" evidence to his liking.

 

[dw93]

May 7th, 2002. Social Security Reform Narrowly Passes the House:
​

On May 7th, 2002, The Republican Controlled House narrowly passed President Bush's Social Security Reform Bill, titled "Reform for Solvency Act" or "RSA" by a vote of 218-215, with four Republicans voting with the Democrats against the bill. The President applauded the House of Representatives and said that "it was now time for the Senate to hold a vote for this bill and pass it. Young Workers and future workers deserve the option of putting some of their money into private accounts for higher return. The House gave them this option, now it's time for the Senate to do the same." Democratic Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle responded in a Press Conference with other Congressional leaders by saying that "the Senate is prepared to stop this bill. The President said that we owe it to the American people to give them an option to put their money into private accounts. I think we owe it to the American people to not put their retirement in jeopardy by handing their hard earned money over to Wall Street. The President is touching a third rail in politics and is doing so in a very partisan manner. "

Gallup Polls released one day after the passage of "RSA" in the house showed that 52% of Americans opposed President Bush's plan to reform Social Security, with 35% supporting the plan and 13% being undecided on the issue. The polls also showed President Bush's approval ratings down to 46% due to disapproval of his Social Security reform and due to the majority of Americans feeling that the economy is still sluggish. Polls also showed that a majority of Democrats, 53%, believed that the President stole the 2000 election and 49% of them believed that the President had at least some knowledge of the phony accounting practices that led to the Enron Scandal. With this, and with the likelihood of his reform bill failing in the Senate, some were beginning to write the President's Political Obituary...

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[Pericles]

Why did it pass the Hiuse given ut never got to a vote IOTL? It's doing better in that regard. Democrats get both houses 2002, Speaker Gephardt then President Gephardt?

 

[dw93]

Why did it pass the Hiuse given ut never got to a vote IOTL? It's doing better in that regard. Democrats get both houses 2002, Speaker Gephardt then President Gephardt?

The Republicans knowing they stand a good chance at getting whooped in November of '02 could be why they chose to narrowly vote for it and why Bush decided to push for it now. Kind of a "once in a lifetime" thing. Speaker Gephardt is a possibility as is President or even VP Gephardt. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

It's hard to overstate how little terrorism was on the public's mind in the late 1990s.

It can be summarized as "not at all". Terrorists were just bad guys for action movies to kill, and a lot of Americans probably never heard the term.

 

[FiendslayerPrime1976]

Well… this is not going turn out well…

If W wins re-election, and if history continues on the same way OTL did, when the financial crisis of 2007-08 hits it's going to be even worse than our own… lots of retirees are going to be left with nothing, and the people are rightfully going be furious at both the Republicans & Wall Street - even moreso than in OTL - and punish the GOP mightily in the next elections.

I suspect the Democrats will make even larger gains than in OTL, and then they'll have to deal with cleaning up the mess… we may see an even stronger and more militant Occupy Wall Street movement in response.

 

[dw93]

Well… this is not going turn out well…

If W wins re-election, and if history continues on the same way OTL did, when the financial crisis of 2007-08 hits it's going to be even worse than our own… lots of retirees are going to be left with nothing, and the people are rightfully going be furious at both the Republicans & Wall Street - even moreso than in OTL - and punish the GOP mightily in the next elections.

I suspect the Democrats will make even larger gains than in OTL, and then they'll have to deal with cleaning up the mess… we may see an even stronger and more militant Occupy Wall Street movement in response.

Keep in mind that this bill hasn't passed the Senate yet and the Democrats control it by a bigger margin than they did in 2002 OTL. It'll be a disaster for Bush politically, but we don't know to what extent yet.

 

[dw93]

May 15th, 2002. "Reform for Solvency Act" fails in the Senate:​

The "Reform for Solvency Act" failed to pass the Senate on May 15h, 2002 with all 51 Democrats, independents Jim Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee, and 6 Republican Senators voting against the bill. This was a major victory for the Democrats, who as House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi said, "protected the future of working Americans." For President Bush however, this was bad as he spent what was left of his political capitol, on the passage of this bill. Bush said that he was disappointed that the Senate failed to pass this bill, and that the American People deserved better.

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[Pericles]

Ah and so the Bush presidency starts to fall. Hope we get more!

 

[Knightmare]

that the American People deserved better.

​

Well, we already got Cheney sent down to his Dark master, so it'd be hard to get much better than that.

 

[FiendslayerPrime1976]

Well bless my soul, the RfSA has failed in the Senate! This is a huge setback for W - I wonder what he's going to do next…

 

[Indicus]

This is going to hurt him in the midterms.

 

[dw93]

This is going to hurt him in the midterms.

True, but without 9/11, and even without this, the Democrats would've probably gained seats, as historically the party out of power almost always gains seats (except twice in the last 40 years, 1998 OTL and TTL, and 2002 OTL) not to mention the Democrats will probably (at least try to anyway) use Enron against him.

 

[dw93]

May 24th, 2002. Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty signed:​

On May 24th, 2002, President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, which limited the number of Nuclear arsenal to between 1700 and 2,200 operationally deployed warheads for each country. This treaty would replace the ABM treaty of 1972, which the US withdrew from earlier in the year and the START II treaty of 1993, which the Russians withdrew from as a response. The Treaty was sent to the United States Senate and the State Duma of Russia for ratification.

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[dw93]

July 21st, 2002. WorldCom files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy:​

On July 21st, 2002 telecommunications company WorldCom filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in history. The bankruptcy was the result of almost three years of faulty accounting, which would maintain the price of the company's stock and hide declining in the company's earnings.

July 30th, 2002. The Sarbanes Oxley Act is Singed into Law by George W. Bush:
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On July 30th, 2002 President George W. Bush signed the Sarbanes Oxley Act, which set expanded or new requirements for public accounting firms, boards, and management. There are also provisions for privately held companies as well. This bill came as a result of corporate scandals, that led to the bankruptcies of Enron and WorldCom The bill passed the house with 423 congressmen supporting the bill and passed the Senate with all but one senator voting in favor of the bill. President Bush, after signing the bill, said that "this was strongest piece of business reform since the days of FDR."

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[dw93]

August 20th, 2002. Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia is Bombed. 200 U.S. Military Personnel are Killed:​

On the morning of August 20th, 2002 The Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia was bombed, and 200 U.S. military personnel were killed in the attack. The Prince Sultan Air Base had a large presence by the United States Military, who used the base to enforce Operation Southern Watch, a mission where the United States Armed Forces and allied forces monitored and controlled the airspace south of the 32nd parallel in Iraq.

On the night of the attack, President Bush addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House:

"Good Evening. This morning, the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia was attacked and 200 of our brave men and women were tragically killed in this cowerdace act. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. I pledge to the American people tonight that this government will do everything in its power to find out who is responsible for this act and we will bring them to justice. Thank you, and God Bless America."

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[dw93]

August 26th, 2002. Secretary Rumsfeld announces all US forces will be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia. Suggests Saddam Hussein might've been behind the Attack:​

On August 26th, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a press conference at the Pentagon, suggested that Saddam Hussein might've been involved in the attack in Saudi Arabia that took place the previous Tuesday. After announcing that the US would withdrawal all forces from Saudi Arabia, the Defense Secretary was asked how the United States would enforce the sanctions and "No Fly Zones" placed on Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War if we were to withdrawal from Saudi Arabia. Rumsfeld said that "we might be beyond sanctions and no fly zones. With the Air base that housed the U.S. military personnel who enforced these sanctions being attacked and with his contently violating the UN resolutions, we have reason to believe that Saddam Hussein might've been involved in these attacks. If this is the case, we might not have any choice, but to take drastic military action against Iraq."

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[Emperor Norton I]

If Rumsfeld is asked to step down over this, you will blow my mind. However, I don't know if it is in Bush's nature. In fact, I dare say it is not. This is not going to play well with a non 9/11 public as with a post 9/11 public. This baseless speculation with a *hint hint* towards American combat in Iraq has the potential to be rather embarrassing.

 

[dw93]

If Rumsfeld is asked to step down over this, you will blow my mind. However, I don't know if it is in Bush's nature. In fact, I dare say it is not. This is not going to play well with a non 9/11 public as with a post 9/11 public. This baseless speculation with a *hint hint* towards American combat in Iraq has the potential to be rather embarrassing.

We'll see how it plays out...