America's Funniest President: Mo Udall Presidency & Beyond
- Thread starter CountDVB
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Autumn 2004: Orbits and Elections
Election time would be here for the United States. With the new system having been in place for almost a decade now, more and more people were used to it. Additionally, President Clinton would remind everyone to participate in local elections besides the state and national level ones. Election Day being a holiday helped with that. The favorite was President Clinton winning reelection with Bill Weld and Jesse Jackson still competing pretty strongly. Many noted that while Weld and Jackson were determined to win, alot of the focus was also on testing the waters. After all, the Federalist Party had all but replaced the Republican Party as the political party for American conservatives, at least on the federal level. There was a bit more diversity on state levels, but still. The Democrats meanwhile were more focused on rebuilding their bases and on what issues were caring on. For the most part, things have slowed down regarding culture for the most part. The big issue was over on the growing legalization of same-sex marriages over on the state level. After all, with what the Netherlands have done and how much time has passed, more and more people coming around to the idea. One major influence was on the court cases over in Canada and began influencing the people here. In fact, the Supreme Court of Canada begins three days of hearings to determine the legality of same-sex marriage under the Constitution. [1] While it had remained a state issue so far, politicans with foresight knew it was only a matter of time before the calls for it to be held across the nation would need to be answered. All in the midst of discussions regarding civil unions and actual marriage. At the same time, there were not as many pressing issues. The economy was recovering from the brief slump regarding internet investment and unsurprisingly, minimum wage would be increased over to $8.00 and to take effect by the beginning of next year. It had been a pattern so far for presidents to do this and it has not been a big deal over with inflation. Overall, it was a pretty calm administraton so far. The Clinton Administraton had been focused on smaller and more day to day things in both domestic and foreign policy, There weren't many other big plans so far outside continuing to maintain and update the public ISP for the state and national level.
Haiti would still remain in the news, albeit this time because of Hurricane Jeanne. More and more were nations focusing on how to handle the regularity of these storms with improving infrastructure and preparation for it. Beyond that, it was a matter of dealing with various issues and developments. It was ten years now since the Iranian-Turkish started, lasting until the middle of 1997 and had further changed the Middle East. Turkey has focused more on domestic issues, civil rights and rebuilding after their defeat, especially with the rise of leftist politics in the region and attracting rebuilding assistance from the Sovereign Union. It had been a little over a year since the fall of Saudi Arabia and the birth of the State of Arabia. The interm government was doing its best to stabilize the economy with new trade deals and agreements along with help in heavy investment in their economy. The money being made in turn was being reinvested back into the nation to improve the standard of living. This along with other issues were helping to ease the lives of citizens. It made up for the current tenseness that came with the authoritarian government cracking down on reactionary dissidents against the secular regime and enforcing the new rules regarding violence against women and the like.
Developments into space exploration and research keeps being in the news. The European Space Agency probe SMART-1 arrives at the Moon, becoming the first European satellite to fly to the Moon and orbit it. NASA meanwhile would also arrive with some fascinating news of their hypersonic Scramjet breaking a record by reaching a velocity of about 7,000 mph (Mach 9.6) in an unpiloted experimental flight. [2] Beyond that and the election, it has been a surprisingly quiet autumn with the focus remaining on the electoral season and what would come next. It was a bigger deal for the smaller parties since they were hoping to grow their own influence and also part of the growing political shift. Of note would be how more and more of the Freeborn Generation would be coming of age to vote and wondering how this new generation of young voters would change the world. Having been born in the 1980s, they were the first generation maturing in the growing normalization of SATMIN+ folk acceptance and the like. They would be coming into their own in establishing a sort of proto-culture on the Internet defined by being beyond the outside culture and the like.
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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_in_Canada
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004
I believe you meant a provincial issue, not a state issue, since Canada doesn't have states, instead we have provinces and territories.
I know. I was talking about the US and how they were being influenced so far by Canada. Hence by states, I was switching the topic back to the US' states.
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Glad you'e enjoying the timeline! Sorry if I'm not giving as much info on Canada (which is funny since I moved here a few years back), but not as sure what would change. Would love to answer your questions and hear your input on the potential changes.
I am! I'm more of a lurker less of an active member of the communityYeah, 2004 was pretty quiet and uneventful
Hope everyone is still having fun with this! Hopefully not boring anyone here
He was a libertarian IIRC, so that would would be interesting if he did run.
Haven't heard of him and he sounds like an interesting character, though what specifically of libretarianism does he stand for? The closest I have found is this: https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/31/us/russell-means-runs-for-president-as-libertarian.html
Which seems to spell out his Libretarian leanings being the result of frustration with the federal government along with disappointment with the two major parties. The article even has him warn that "non-Indians" are in danger of "losing their land too".
How he would develop ITTL is uncertain. On the one hand, I would assume he would heavily appreciate President Udall's reforms of universal single-payer healthcare along with the other help in homelessness and poverty, even if it wasn't specifically focus on the Native Americans. I am also unsure if he would remain with the Libretarian Party as they would be noticeably smaller than OTL as a result of the support of certain individuals, notably the Koch brothers. This along with the other political changes would force the party to have to change considerably.
I am not sure on the other Presidents. He would likely support President Askew's amendment on removing the electoral college and changing the voting system, which he would see as making it easier for other parties besides the Big 2 to run and win. However, a big note is one politician that Means did support was Ralph Nader, specifically his independent campaigns in 2004 and 2008 OTL. This does lean further into his reasoning.
As such, I could see Russel Means definitely run for governor, especially given he would likely be one of the folk invited to work President Clinton and consulting on the renamed Bureau of Native American Affairs. He seems pragmatic enough to do so, especially if it would help boost information. This along with Clinton's success as the first president winning under a third party would inspire him along with Jesse Ventura's own victory in the UCP. Honestly, I see Means taking the Nader route; he would run as an independent, but accept endorsements from the smaller parties, especially the Libretarians. Not as sure on the UCP though I suspect it's likely.
José Angel Gutiérrez revive the Raza Unida Party in Texas and Ramsey Muñiz runs for governor of Texas again
Probably no with the former and unsure on the latter. He likely wouldn't have gotten arrested though.
Nice! Would probably be a big improvement to Newsom.
2004- US Elections
2004- US Elections
2004's elections initially were viewed as a somewhat quiet or at least uneventful affair. In retrospect, more than a few scholars would look back and note that the elections of this time helped solidfy growing trends over the next couple of decades of what was to expect. And and also how it would lead to the new development seen over time. The smaller parties were running some competitors, such as the Libretarian and the Green Parties, who did get some attention. Polls indicated that the favorite would be President Bill Clinton as the incumbent. After all, his administration has seena few noticeable changes, but has overall been focused more on economic prosperity and emphasis on the growth of the technological and internet sectors. This along with such other developments would likely remain the continued pattern should the Clinton Administration get reelected. It was unknown what would be some additional cultural developments would come about, though the UCP would be pretty flexible on the matter.
For the other major parties, they were developing their own visions, though it seemed more that they were focusing more on some social issues or tying to find their footing in this rather calm time. Bill Weld and Sanford Bishop of the Federalist Party were focused on maintaining America's properity and celeberated the good times they were in. On social issues, they showed modest support amongst the growing SATMIN+ acceptability though as for regarding marriage, they noted it'd be up to the voters. That said, one key focus they were growing on was on more local autonomy along with investing into the rural communities and meeting their specific needs. The hope for them was in the focus over toward the rural communities. Another was on growing outreach with conservative minorities, promising over on supporting them and working to win them over. After all, giving how the previous conservative party met its downfall due to neglecting conservative minorities and relying on toxic reactionary sentiments, hesitation and wariness was to be expected. The Democrats meanwhile were a bit more at a loss here. While they were focusing on some progressive policies, there wasn't much sure that they could improve on, at least without considering some more radical territory. That said, there were already more than a few ideas floated around. One was increasing the parental leave. Back in the final days of the Udall Administration, he along with the pressure of the 3rd wave feminism achieved would be national parental leave. This would be inspired by the Germanies, with one parent taking up to 12 months off with maximum allowence or the two taking 6 months. This would be increased to 16 months/8 months over by the Askew Administration. It was a mixed situation, with the government pressuring companies to help add in additional months off, with some doing so as a way to try to remain competitive.
The Green and Libretarians among smaller ones were focused more on local goals or growing their names. The American Green Party was more willing to embrace more progressive goals than most of the Democrats though were still working to organize actual environmental policies, at least on the federal level. The leftover troubles caused by the division regarding the "nuclear power question" didn't help. Libretarians meanwhile maintained their classic stances on things like legalizing most drugs among bolder aspects including prostitution and the like, but the actual direction beyond that remained unclear. Were they fighting for freedom from stuff or freedom for stuff? Such questions carried different expectations and while both could be utilized, they haven't as of yet. This was especially the case as some of thier older policies, such as economic deregulation and the like would be viewed as with increasing disdain or distrust among voters.
When the results were tallied... Bill Clinton & Al Gore won reelection.
The House would remain over in the UCP having the majority, but only just and an increasing diversity of smaller parties ending up there. The Senate was a bit more regular on who got in, but even then, it was diversifying in party representation. However, it would look like the Clinton administration would have 4 more years to work on policy and enough of the House and the Senate to consider most of their party goals without much compromise needed. Additionally, it helped showed and cement the UCP's staying power as one of the bigger parties.
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