WI: George W. Bush dies in office
- Thread starter JRogyRogy
- Start date
Unless he chose Strom Thurmond or something, I don't think confirmation would be a major concern regardless.
A timeline with Bush being assassinated and 9/11 happening within a few years of each other is going to be a timeline with way more emphasis on national security than even the post-9/11 years IOTL, and given the threat of more assassinations to come, Cheney would probably pick someone who could step into the Presidency immediately with a very limited learning curve. Cheney would want a VP with military or national security experience, potentially Colin Powell (Obviously he had some pretty major disagreements with Cheney on policy, but it wouldn't be the first time the Vice-Presidency was offered to somebody the party wanted to shut up, and he might be seen as a moderating force by Democrats) or John McCain. Other options include Tom Ridge, if the assassination takes place after DHS is established, Chuck Hagel, or Richard Lugar. You could also have Cheney just pick a general.
That is actually quite a good movie, probably the one mockumentary that comes closest to approximating the experience of a real documentary. You really feel like you're watching actual interviews, probably because(unlike ham-handed agitprop such as Bob Roberts). the script doesn't stoop to one-dimensional caricatures of the people it's critiquing.
I think Cheney could pick Powell: a popular non ambitious moderate black General who can balance is "Deep State" hawk conservative imagine. And this move opens Secretary of State slot for his friend Rumsfeld (and Wolfowitz replaces Rummy as Secretary of Defense).
A lot depends on who assassinated George W Bush. That would be a different reaction if it was an Islamic extremist, a mentally unbalanced individual, or a radical left winger.
An Islamic extremists expect a crackdown on security and immigration, what does xenophobic wing of the Republican Party taking advantage of the situation.
If it was a mentally ill individual expect more resources to be devoted to mental health care.
If it was a left-wing nut Job, expect more security and the right wing would go total paranoid and start attacking the Constitution out of fear and paranoia. Red scare style.
But if a gun was used, gun control would become a lot more popular.
An Islamic extremists expect a crackdown on security and immigration, what does xenophobic wing of the Republican Party taking advantage of the situation.
If it was a mentally ill individual expect more resources to be devoted to mental health care.
If it was a left-wing nut Job, expect more security and the right wing would go total paranoid and start attacking the Constitution out of fear and paranoia. Red scare style.
But if a gun was used, gun control would become a lot more popular.
if it's a far-left member right after his second election as president you can see the Democrats not winning the 2006 elections not taking control over the Senate and Congress this might even affect the 2008 election because people will point to the fact that if the president hadn't been killed we would have a better economy and not a financial collapse. even if Barack Obama still wins the presidency I don't see him having a supermajority in the Congress. I think one or both of the houses of Congress will still be in Republican control
if it's a terrorist who kills the president Republicans will hold onto the Congress in 2006 but after that I can see a blue wave coming maybe not as big as in our timeline but it will still sweep away the Republican control for at least a good while. Dick Cheney would most likely light up the Middle East hell this might scare enough people to actually find Bin Laden earlier.
I don't see Dick Cheney running after either of these his health is already s*** being a president for a good while I don't see it helping his health either.
if it's a terrorist who kills the president Republicans will hold onto the Congress in 2006 but after that I can see a blue wave coming maybe not as big as in our timeline but it will still sweep away the Republican control for at least a good while. Dick Cheney would most likely light up the Middle East hell this might scare enough people to actually find Bin Laden earlier.
I don't see Dick Cheney running after either of these his health is already s*** being a president for a good while I don't see it helping his health either.
Dick Cheney did not really see eye-to-eye with either Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice. As a result, he recommended Donald Rumsfeld to serve as Secretary of Defense in order to counter Powell's influence. For this reason, I do not believe Cheney would pick either of OTL's Secretaries of State, and he would replace either of them with John Bolton when convenient. For Vice President, I believe Cheney's shortlist would include Tom Ridge, John McCain, or George Pataki. Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, and Jeb Bush are some other options, but they would be too recently elected or re-elected as governors of their respective states. Romney and Bush would be available 2007 onwards, however.
There are a LOT of variables here. Bear in mind that, until 9/11, most people seemed to assume Bush would be a one-term President with very little influence on American policy long-term. There was a lot he wanted to do, like cut taxes and institute faith-based initiatives, but he hardly had the political capital to do so. Also factoring in Jeffords jumping to the Democrats (he was technically an independent but he was caucusing with the Dems, which hamstrung his Senate majority) and a no-9/11 Bush Presidency is pretty forgettable.
Historically Presidents who take over after assassinations have tended to avoid replacing cabinet members immediately to promote a sense of stability. A "promotion" to the relatively powerless Vice Presidency might be the best way for Cheney to minimize Powell/Rice's influence.
I understand he would not replace Powell or Rice as Secretary of State immediately, hence why I wrote "when convenient." The vice presidency is not entirely powerless, as Cheney demonstrated in OTL. Him and Biden were even able to behave as surrogates for their respective presidents overseas. The vice presidency also positions a candidate to win their party's presidential nomination during the next primary season. So if Cheney did not run for re-election, would containing Powell/Rice's influence include elevating either of them as his heir apparent?
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The Vice-President is as powerful as the President wants him/her to be, and neither Powell nor Rice had any interest in running for President (Powell had already turned down a Presidential run in 1996). If Cheney had appointed them VP, he could have just kept them out of the loop on important decisions while sending them to funerals and ribbon cuttings.
elkarlo
Banned
What would the lefts reaction be? As was clearly seen, they wanted him dead. I lived around DC at the time of W, and I heard many off hand comments stating as much. Would these people back track and suddenly become flag waving Republicans out of fear of reprisal? The ground level dynamic would be interesting to see
The reaction would be " I I don't like the guy but he didn't deserve to die". That and the respect normally given to a fallen president. Plus they will realize I know have to deal with the President Dick Cheney, who would actually be far easier to defeat then W.
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