TLIAW: Running in the Digital Age
- Thread starter Oppo
- Start date
Chapter V
“If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”
-Bill Clinton
A minor scandal would open up right after the Democratic Convention. Dick Morris, the campaign manager of the Clinton/Gore campaign, resigned after it was revealed he had a prostitute (that he was involved with) listen to conversations with President Clinton. Fob James was the first to grab onto this scandal, saying that a Buchanan administration would bring back morals to the White House.
Unfortunately, things didn’t get better for Clinton. Linda Tripp had a bombshell story to be uncovered. Clinton had fathered a child with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Almost as soon as the Drudge Report published the story with audio recordings by Tripp, it spread like wildfire. The new Fox News network practically turned into the “Lewinsky network.” The day it came out, President Clinton was scheduled to appear on the first episode of Late Night With Jon Stewart. Stewart started his show with a strong comedy performance but engaged in a serious and thorough interview with the President. Clinton gave an apology and stated his actions were wrong. Despite being only a comedian, Stewart’s interview has been remembered as one of the most memorable in TV history. Stewart’s show would have amazing viewership numbers. However, the next day would be the first debate of the 1996 election season.
Ross Perot had been chosen to speak first. He said that what Clinton had done was wrong, but he said that the debate should be about policy, not personal scandals, and Perot administration would bring a complete reset to the political system. He’d end his statement asking to think of the children involved. Pat Buchanan would give his “Moral Majority” speech talking about values. He would call President Clinton a “disgrace to our flag,” called for his impeachment, and said an apology was not enough. Bill Clinton gave a similar message to the one he gave to Jon Stewart, which James Carville had shown seemed to work with voters.
The rest of the debate would be remembered by one specific moment. When asked about leadership, Pat Buchanan made a comment about Adolf Hitler, saying that while he was a bigot, he was also a great leader of courage. Perot would respond by saying, “Mr. Buchanan, what the fuck are you saying?” Jim Lehrer cut Perot’s microphone, asking him to stop from any more statements like that.
The polls showed that the clear loser of the debate was Buchanan. Many Republican leaders pulled endorsements, and the Anti-Defamation called his statements “intolerable.” Clinton kept his cool, but focus groups felt his performance was a bit too “robotic” and “politician-like.” Ultimately, Perot, the anti-politician would come up on top, despite a few on the right and left calling his comments “vulgar” and “childlike.” After the scandal came out, Clinton was down by six points. Now, it was close to a three-way tie.
Next up would be the Vice Presidential debate. Jerry Brown was brash and fiery, attacking James and Gore relentlessly. Gore, not known to be the most charismatic guy, would give a performance seen as boring. James gave a much more restrained performance than Buchanan did. Overall, the Alabama Governor was seen as the winner.
While President Clinton had succeeded in keeping the number of debates down, Buchanan and Perot decided to protest by attending the debates including minor parties. The two, along with Ralph Nader, Harry Browne, and John Hagelin attacked the President for refusing to attend. There was no clear winner seen at the debate, and given the low viewership, it made little impact.
The final debate would be much less exciting than the first one, and with President Clinton not having to directly address his scandals, it was seen as a win for him.
Right before America would go to the polls, the Justice Department announced an investigation involving a fundraiser at Hsi Lai Temple attended by Vice President Gore. The fundraiser was believed to an effort by the Chinese government to influence American politics. Responses to it depended on what party you were a member of, but with the previous Morris and Lewinsky scandals, it didn’t help.
Still, Clinton was thought to win. The question was, could he hit 270? Buchanan needed no majority to win, along with Newt Gingrich to stay on as Speaker of the House. At 6:00 on November 5, 1996, the race was on. There was no idea who would take office on January 20, with the possibility it could even be Fob James or Al Gore. It would be tense in Washington, Virginia, and Texas.
-Bill Clinton
A minor scandal would open up right after the Democratic Convention. Dick Morris, the campaign manager of the Clinton/Gore campaign, resigned after it was revealed he had a prostitute (that he was involved with) listen to conversations with President Clinton. Fob James was the first to grab onto this scandal, saying that a Buchanan administration would bring back morals to the White House.
Unfortunately, things didn’t get better for Clinton. Linda Tripp had a bombshell story to be uncovered. Clinton had fathered a child with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Almost as soon as the Drudge Report published the story with audio recordings by Tripp, it spread like wildfire. The new Fox News network practically turned into the “Lewinsky network.” The day it came out, President Clinton was scheduled to appear on the first episode of Late Night With Jon Stewart. Stewart started his show with a strong comedy performance but engaged in a serious and thorough interview with the President. Clinton gave an apology and stated his actions were wrong. Despite being only a comedian, Stewart’s interview has been remembered as one of the most memorable in TV history. Stewart’s show would have amazing viewership numbers. However, the next day would be the first debate of the 1996 election season.
Ross Perot had been chosen to speak first. He said that what Clinton had done was wrong, but he said that the debate should be about policy, not personal scandals, and Perot administration would bring a complete reset to the political system. He’d end his statement asking to think of the children involved. Pat Buchanan would give his “Moral Majority” speech talking about values. He would call President Clinton a “disgrace to our flag,” called for his impeachment, and said an apology was not enough. Bill Clinton gave a similar message to the one he gave to Jon Stewart, which James Carville had shown seemed to work with voters.
The rest of the debate would be remembered by one specific moment. When asked about leadership, Pat Buchanan made a comment about Adolf Hitler, saying that while he was a bigot, he was also a great leader of courage. Perot would respond by saying, “Mr. Buchanan, what the fuck are you saying?” Jim Lehrer cut Perot’s microphone, asking him to stop from any more statements like that.
The polls showed that the clear loser of the debate was Buchanan. Many Republican leaders pulled endorsements, and the Anti-Defamation called his statements “intolerable.” Clinton kept his cool, but focus groups felt his performance was a bit too “robotic” and “politician-like.” Ultimately, Perot, the anti-politician would come up on top, despite a few on the right and left calling his comments “vulgar” and “childlike.” After the scandal came out, Clinton was down by six points. Now, it was close to a three-way tie.
Next up would be the Vice Presidential debate. Jerry Brown was brash and fiery, attacking James and Gore relentlessly. Gore, not known to be the most charismatic guy, would give a performance seen as boring. James gave a much more restrained performance than Buchanan did. Overall, the Alabama Governor was seen as the winner.
While President Clinton had succeeded in keeping the number of debates down, Buchanan and Perot decided to protest by attending the debates including minor parties. The two, along with Ralph Nader, Harry Browne, and John Hagelin attacked the President for refusing to attend. There was no clear winner seen at the debate, and given the low viewership, it made little impact.
The final debate would be much less exciting than the first one, and with President Clinton not having to directly address his scandals, it was seen as a win for him.
Right before America would go to the polls, the Justice Department announced an investigation involving a fundraiser at Hsi Lai Temple attended by Vice President Gore. The fundraiser was believed to an effort by the Chinese government to influence American politics. Responses to it depended on what party you were a member of, but with the previous Morris and Lewinsky scandals, it didn’t help.
Still, Clinton was thought to win. The question was, could he hit 270? Buchanan needed no majority to win, along with Newt Gingrich to stay on as Speaker of the House. At 6:00 on November 5, 1996, the race was on. There was no idea who would take office on January 20, with the possibility it could even be Fob James or Al Gore. It would be tense in Washington, Virginia, and Texas.
Chapter VI
"Peoples of European descent are not only in a relative but a real decline. They are aging, dying, disappearing. This is the existential crisis of the West."
-Pat Buchanan
President William Jefferson Clinton (DEM-AR)/Vice President Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (DEM-TN): 269 EVs, 38.9%
Media Commentator Patrick Joseph Buchanan (REP-VA)/Governor Forrest Hood James Jr. (REP-AL): 242 EVs, 34.7%
Businessman Henry Ross Perot (REF-TX)/Former Governor Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (REF-CA): 27 EVs, 25.4%
It was not to be. President Clinton would be defeated by the narrowest of margins, and with Gingrich keeping the Republicans largely United under Buchanan, he would win. There was an attempt to get President Clinton the one electoral vote he needed through faithless electors, but that was balanced out by an Arkansas elector voting for Buchanan and a Vermont elector voting for Bernie Sanders.
Buchanan's bold move of targeting the South worked out, with even West Virginia voting Republican. The long ride of the 1996 presidential election would forever change US politics. Buchanan would also take the Midwest. New England would also move to Reform, seen as a response to the successful Quebec independence referendum. However, Democrats would also do better in the West.
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Pat Buchanan served as President of the United States from 1997 to 2001. His term was seen as divisive and illegitimate, leading to him, like the other President Buchanan to have one of the least popular administrations in US history. He would be defeated by New York Senator Geraldine Ferraro in 2000.
Bill Clinton after leaving office founded the Clinton Global Initiative. He would die of a heart attack in 2002. Clinton's term has been seen as moderately successful but plagued by scandal.
Ross Perot saw his goal of a successful third party becoming a reality when the Reform Party won the 2016 presidential election. His son, Ross Jr., would also be elected Governor of Texas in 2006.
Fob James was Vice President from 1997 to 2001. After retiring from politics, he became a business executive.
Al Gore after leaving the Vice Presidency would unsuccessfully run for the Democratic nomination in 2000, with the China scandal still following him. He has since became an environmentalist and scientific educator.
Jerry Brown is the current President of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee and Attorney General Chris Christie. After losing in 1996, he would serve as Mayor of Oakland and return to being Governor of California.
Hillary Rodham Clinton after leaving the White House engaged in a rocky personal relationship with former President Clinton. The two would separate in 1999 but would reconcile before Bill's death. Despite being mentioned as a candidate for office in Illinois and Arkansas, she has declined all efforts.
Mike Gabbard is the former Governor of Hawai'i and Congressman from 1997 to 2003 and again from 2015. He was the Republican nominee in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.
Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo is a Senator from Hawai'i since 2013, and Mayor of Honolulu from 2009 to 2013. She is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020.
Harvey Gantt is a former President of the United States, serving from 2002 (after the death of Geraldine Ferraro) to 2009. His presidency has been seen positively by historians, with the main issue of his presidency being the dot.com recession in the early 2000s. Declining to be appointed to the Supreme Court by President Garamendi, Gantt would be appointed in charge of Garamendi's task force to rebuild the U.S. Capital after the 2013 Delmarva Hurricane.
Lamar Alexander was the 2004 Republican nominee, losing to President Gantt. He would be an interim appointment to a Senate seat in his home state of Tennessee.
Steve Forbes was the 2004 Reform nominee for President. He had previously ran in 2000, but lost to Minnesota Senator Dean Barkley.
Sean Penn became an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2000, 2008, and 2012. He would also be the Green Party nominee in 2004 and 2016.
Elizabeth Dole is a Senator from North Carolina after Harvey Gantt's resignation and is Chair of the Comitee on Foreign Relations.
Bob Dole was the leader of the Republicans in the Senate from 1985 to 2005. He now works on his wife's campaigns and at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
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That concludes Running in the Digital Age, and it's actually on time. I will post a list of Presidents later tomorrow.
-Pat Buchanan
President William Jefferson Clinton (DEM-AR)/Vice President Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (DEM-TN): 269 EVs, 38.9%
Media Commentator Patrick Joseph Buchanan (REP-VA)/Governor Forrest Hood James Jr. (REP-AL): 242 EVs, 34.7%
Businessman Henry Ross Perot (REF-TX)/Former Governor Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (REF-CA): 27 EVs, 25.4%
It was not to be. President Clinton would be defeated by the narrowest of margins, and with Gingrich keeping the Republicans largely United under Buchanan, he would win. There was an attempt to get President Clinton the one electoral vote he needed through faithless electors, but that was balanced out by an Arkansas elector voting for Buchanan and a Vermont elector voting for Bernie Sanders.
Buchanan's bold move of targeting the South worked out, with even West Virginia voting Republican. The long ride of the 1996 presidential election would forever change US politics. Buchanan would also take the Midwest. New England would also move to Reform, seen as a response to the successful Quebec independence referendum. However, Democrats would also do better in the West.
---
Pat Buchanan served as President of the United States from 1997 to 2001. His term was seen as divisive and illegitimate, leading to him, like the other President Buchanan to have one of the least popular administrations in US history. He would be defeated by New York Senator Geraldine Ferraro in 2000.
Bill Clinton after leaving office founded the Clinton Global Initiative. He would die of a heart attack in 2002. Clinton's term has been seen as moderately successful but plagued by scandal.
Ross Perot saw his goal of a successful third party becoming a reality when the Reform Party won the 2016 presidential election. His son, Ross Jr., would also be elected Governor of Texas in 2006.
Fob James was Vice President from 1997 to 2001. After retiring from politics, he became a business executive.
Al Gore after leaving the Vice Presidency would unsuccessfully run for the Democratic nomination in 2000, with the China scandal still following him. He has since became an environmentalist and scientific educator.
Jerry Brown is the current President of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee and Attorney General Chris Christie. After losing in 1996, he would serve as Mayor of Oakland and return to being Governor of California.
Hillary Rodham Clinton after leaving the White House engaged in a rocky personal relationship with former President Clinton. The two would separate in 1999 but would reconcile before Bill's death. Despite being mentioned as a candidate for office in Illinois and Arkansas, she has declined all efforts.
Mike Gabbard is the former Governor of Hawai'i and Congressman from 1997 to 2003 and again from 2015. He was the Republican nominee in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.
Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo is a Senator from Hawai'i since 2013, and Mayor of Honolulu from 2009 to 2013. She is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020.
Harvey Gantt is a former President of the United States, serving from 2002 (after the death of Geraldine Ferraro) to 2009. His presidency has been seen positively by historians, with the main issue of his presidency being the dot.com recession in the early 2000s. Declining to be appointed to the Supreme Court by President Garamendi, Gantt would be appointed in charge of Garamendi's task force to rebuild the U.S. Capital after the 2013 Delmarva Hurricane.
Lamar Alexander was the 2004 Republican nominee, losing to President Gantt. He would be an interim appointment to a Senate seat in his home state of Tennessee.
Steve Forbes was the 2004 Reform nominee for President. He had previously ran in 2000, but lost to Minnesota Senator Dean Barkley.
Sean Penn became an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2000, 2008, and 2012. He would also be the Green Party nominee in 2004 and 2016.
Elizabeth Dole is a Senator from North Carolina after Harvey Gantt's resignation and is Chair of the Comitee on Foreign Relations.
Bob Dole was the leader of the Republicans in the Senate from 1985 to 2005. He now works on his wife's campaigns and at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
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That concludes Running in the Digital Age, and it's actually on time. I will post a list of Presidents later tomorrow.
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1989-1993: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle (Republican)
1988: Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic)
1993-1997: Bill Clinton/Al Gore (Democratic)
1992: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle (Republican), Ross Perot/James Stockdale (Independent)
1997-2001: Pat Buchanan/Fob James (Republican)
1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore (Democratic), Ross Perot/Jerry Brown (Reform)
2001-2002: Geraldine Ferraro/Harvey Gantt (Democratic)
2000: Pat Buchanan/Fob James (Republican), Dean Barkley/William Weld (Reform)
2002: Harvey Gantt/Vacant (Democratic)
2002-2009: Harvey Gantt/John Garamendi (Democratic)
2004: Lamar Alexander/Jim Bob Duggar (Republican), Steve Forbes/Ron Paul (Reform)
2009-2017: John Garamendi/Tony Knowles (Democratic)
2008: Mike Gabbard/Thomas Ravenel (Republican), Charlotte Pritt/Tom Golisano (Reform)
2012: Larry Pressler/Ron Wyden (Reform), Mike Gabbard/Walter Jones (Republican)
2017-Present: Jerry Brown/Austin Petersen (Reform)
2016: Chris Christie/Kay Hagan (Democratic), Dan Quayle/Allen West (Republican), Sean Penn/Howie Hawkins (Green)
1988: Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic)
1993-1997: Bill Clinton/Al Gore (Democratic)
1992: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle (Republican), Ross Perot/James Stockdale (Independent)
1997-2001: Pat Buchanan/Fob James (Republican)
1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore (Democratic), Ross Perot/Jerry Brown (Reform)
2001-2002: Geraldine Ferraro/Harvey Gantt (Democratic)
2000: Pat Buchanan/Fob James (Republican), Dean Barkley/William Weld (Reform)
2002: Harvey Gantt/Vacant (Democratic)
2002-2009: Harvey Gantt/John Garamendi (Democratic)
2004: Lamar Alexander/Jim Bob Duggar (Republican), Steve Forbes/Ron Paul (Reform)
2009-2017: John Garamendi/Tony Knowles (Democratic)
2008: Mike Gabbard/Thomas Ravenel (Republican), Charlotte Pritt/Tom Golisano (Reform)
2012: Larry Pressler/Ron Wyden (Reform), Mike Gabbard/Walter Jones (Republican)
2017-Present: Jerry Brown/Austin Petersen (Reform)
2016: Chris Christie/Kay Hagan (Democratic), Dan Quayle/Allen West (Republican), Sean Penn/Howie Hawkins (Green)
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Why didn't Gantt run for a second term? Unless Ferraro died very early in January, she'd have already completed half of her term.
“This so-called ‘Holocaust Survivor Syndrome’ involves ‘group fantasies of martyrdom and heroics.’ Reportedly, half of the 20,000 survivor testimonies in Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem are considered ‘unreliable,’ not to be used in trials[…]The problem is: Diesel engines do not emit enough carbon monoxide to kill anybody.”
http://realchange.org/holocaus.htm