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A Kinder, Gentler Nation: An American Politics TL

Jim Hightower is such an inspired choice, I wish we got to see him in more AH stuff.

i try to use Hightower as much as possible for this reason.

Hightower, Harry Lee (the sheriff), Charlotte Pritt, Earl Hilliard, Kurt Schmoke, John Norquist, Shelia Wellstone and Matt Gonzalez are all good options for a "Weird Populist" Democratic party
 
Daschle Presidency (2009-2017)
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Gary Johnson had been elected President in part because he ran counter to the predominant political atmosphere of the time. The Bush-Kemp consensus that had continued under Dianne Feinstein’s two terms in the Oval Office was largely seen as a preservation of that order, with the odd sprinkling of liberalism thrown in here and there with respect to gun control and abortion rights. In other words, both voters and the media had grown bored, as they had in 1992 when a significant number of Americans rallied around Jerry Brown’s independent campaign. Gary Johnson wasn’t necessarily charismatic like Reagan or Brown, but he elicited the intrigue and excitement that had fueled their presidential bids. He was new, fresh, funny, and promised to shake the cobwebs out of Washington. Unfortunately for Republicans, Johnson’s aptitude for eliciting excitement stopped there. The President’s flavour of libertarianism ran headfirst, if not outright counter to the realities of governance, and was only further exacerbated during a time of warfare in Libya. Vice President Neumann, with the support of congressional Republicans, attempted to forge a working relationship between his boss and Republican leadership, to little success. President Johnson saw them as stuffy relics, and would say as much to their face. Secretary of State Clark, well versed in military and foreign affairs, managed the war as best he could in a White House increasingly dominated by isolationists and anti-war nobodies. But for all their efforts, but men failed in establishing a functional West Wing. President Johnson simply did not have the attention span or intellectual disposition to serve as an effective Commander-in-Chief, and it showed, enough so that come the 2006 midterms voters handed the keys to congress back to the Democrats. Republican leaders opted not to let Johnson cause further problems, and used their considerable resources and influence to convince the former New Mexico Governor that for the sake of party unity, he should not seek a second term.

The question to who Republicans would rally around was answered not by the eventual nominee himself, but by the man that many thought would take a second shot at the nomination; Florida Senator Jeb Bush. Bush, in an apparent endorsement of the draft movement which had sprung up around Secretary of State Clark, called the former Chairman of the Joint-Chiefs the ideal candidate to restore sanity and a sense of responsibility to the presidency, effectively ruling out his own bid in the process. With the lane cleared of its only other major contender, the pathway to the Republican nomination was all but guaranteed for Secretary Clark, whose star power and statesmanship seemingly patched up the cracks political inexperience. Dispatching Rick Santorum and Haley Barbour in the primary, the now former Secretary of State opted to select Massachusetts Governor Elizabeth Warren as his partner on the ticket. Warren, a staunch Republican supporter of both President Bush and President Kemp, had first been elected governor of her home state back in 2002 as part of the growing anti-Feinstein wave that had been developing across the country. Having previously served in the Kemp White House as part of the administration’s poverty reduction strategy, Warren’s aptitude for economics, her apparent strength on television, and her status as a woman in a party dominated by men quickly established her as a rising star within the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Bush. A foreign policy Washington insider aided by a former economic policy Washington insider, it appeared as the ideal Republican ticket to correct the ship put off course by Gary Johnson.

As for the Democrats the early frontrunner for the nomination was former California governor Jerry Brown. Still the radical populist that had launched an independent campaign sixteen years earlier, Brown had reforged ties with the Democratic establishment and worked hard to build a reputation as a team player within the party. The problem was, Brown was still Brown, and many Democrats were still unwilling to forgive his transgressions of having sabotaged Bruce Babbitt’s campaign for president. He had committed heresy, and many still wanted him excommunicated. But with Gary Johnson in the White House, Brown’s mix of soft liberal populism seemed like the right answer for an electorate craving excitement and something different. Afterall, what better way to tackle a bull in the China shop than with the original party crasher? That is, until Johnson’s presidency imploded and the stock in charismatic populism crashed through the floor. Voters wanted a return of the boring, functional Washington, and wanted a President who would stay out of the news rather than keep them up at night. Instantly, the once reviled term of Washington insider became synonymous with responsibility and maturity. The Democratic primary, once dominated by the likes of Jerry Brown, Howard Dean, and Bill Richardson, ended up anointing outgoing Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as their nominee. A pragmatic progressive with a record of bipartisanship, Daschle couldn’t be more different to Jerry Brown if he tried. The American people wanted someone to look after the shop again, and Senator Tom Daschle was the unassuming, well respected Democratic Senate leader who offered just that. No one was worried that someone of Daschle’s background would end up rocking the ship. No crazy ideological battles, no calling people rude names or forgetting the names of certain countries like the incumbent resident of the Oval Office. Inside the Daschle campaign the motto was “Bland because it works”, and according to the polls it was true. Yet in a nod to the growing desire for flamboyance and dynamism, as well as an attempt to head off an independent bid by either Jerry Brown or one of his supporters, Daschle would select Illinois Senator Jesse Jackson, Jr. as the Democratic nominee for vice president. The son of 1992 Jerry Brown running mate Jesse Jackson Sr., Jackson Jr. was a popular, generational change choice that also promised Democrats the opportunity to have their party elect the first African American president in the future.

Throughout the campaign it appeared as though Clark, raised by his stature as the former Secretary of State, was set to win the presidency by a comfortable. That is until the economy took a nosedive. Years of deregulation by Republican Presidents, unreversed by Dianne Feinstein and ignored by Gary Johnson, created an atmosphere that was ripe for problems. Stock manipulation, unscrupulous loans, and the explosion of the housing bubble all contributed to what economists quickly dubbed the Great Recession. Seemingly overnight the progress built up under Bush and Kemp and the dot com bubble was evaporated, wiping out the life savings of countless Americans. Handicapped by his inexperience in political gladhanding, Clark’s rose garden strategy became perceived as arrogant and out of touch. In the end Americans opted to go with the insider with more experience in running the federal government over the insider with expertise on foreign affairs, despite the latter enjoying higher approvals and name recognition than his competitor. After only a single term in the White House, the Republicans found themselves left out on their butts in the cold.

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The tasks facing the incoming president and his administration were, as the punditry and politicos agreed, quite daunting. A conflict in the Middle East, a Great Recession, and a growing suspicion against America and her institutions both at home and abroad. There was a lot to do. Thus, rather than tackle healthcare reform as many other Democrats urged him to do, President Daschle opted to buckle down and focus the entirety of his administration’s focus on the growing economic crisis sweeping the United States and much of the world (albeit to a lesser degree than OTL). Passing the Economic Recovery and Investment Act in the first few months of 2009, the Daschle Administration pumped over six hundred billion dollars into the economy, with added relief to Americans immediately impacted by the recession. Unfortunately for the President, ironing out the details of the bill with congressional leadership, as well as the conflict in Libya and the growing economic protests across Russia, consumed much of his legislative agenda. A creature of Washington and its backrooms, the President had little problem explaining and selling his deal to his friends in congress. The problem was selling the deal to the American people, who because of their struggles with understanding the causes of the recession, were equally as confused by the complexities of the solution. Selling the product was left to the telegenic, and egotistical, vice president, who took little convincing to make routine appearances on Meet the Press or Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room. The long-term planning and policies of the deal did little to endear the incumbent Democrats to the increasingly frustrated electorate. In another turn of fortune, Daschle’s insider image, which helped achieve his election to the presidency, became an albatross around the necks of candidates up and down the country. Republicans, reminding the voters how well they had it back in the 1990s under their stewardship, bounce back, reclaiming the Senate and making inroads into the Democratic majority in the House, much to the embarrassment of Speaker Hoyer. So, heading into the presidential election season, Republicans were feeling confident about their chances of reclaiming the White House.

After having passed on running four years earlier and having been beaten by Gary Johnson in 2004, Florida Senator Jeb Bush, the great white knight of Republican politics, announced his intentions to seek the presidency. His only real competition for the nomination, with fellow presidential aspirant Senate Majority leader Mitt Romney rallying his supporters behind the Florida Senator, was New York Governor Rick Lazio. A former senator himself, Lazio had been among the Republican causalities in 2006. After spending a few years making money on some company boards, Lazio successfully staged a campaign for Governor of New York, defeating incumbent Andrew Cuomo in his re-election efforts. Eliminating one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party instantly bought Lazio credibility with Republicans. Still, with the money and establishment firmly behind Bush, it wasn’t long before the narrative shifted from whether or not Bush would win the primary to who he would choose as his vice presidential running mate. Selecting his friend and long-time New Hampshire Senator John Sununu, Bush pledged, as he had eight years earlier, to wrap up the war in Libya and rebuild the economy on the principles of his father and Jack Kemp. That meant shrinking the government. That meant tax cuts. That meant government intervention in the economy, but with very carefully planned policy, not just throwing billion of dollars at the problem and hoping it would go away. But as was so often the case in past elections, the reality of the campaign changed from what had been initially expected. The emergence of a mutated and in many cases deadly version of the swine flu in early 2012, dubbed H1N1, blanketed the country in illness and fear. Well-versed in the matters of healthcare policy from his time in congress, President Daschle declared a state of emergency across the country, pressing the need for masking and staging a vaccination campaign across the country.

Almost as quickly as Americans lost their savings in the recession, the Bush campaign shifted their gears and found themselves playing catch up with the President. After offering very little on healthcare, which on the outset of the campaign hadn’t been a dominant issue with voters, Bush and his advisors scrambled to remove the issue as a partisan tool by coopting the president’s agenda as their own, only to receive criticism by the punditry and humiliation by the late-night tv hosts. Before long Bush’s lead over Daschle had evaporated, and the heir to the Bush legacy began trailing the President in most opinion polls. Daschle’s calm, reassuring nature came across to voters, who were desperate for a solution to a disease that had begun shutting down businesses and schools, obliterating America’s economic recovery, and costing countless American their lives. In a notable moment of the campaign, both Daschle and Bush appeared together as part of a televised ad campaign encouraging Americans to get vaccinated. On Election Night, amid the pandemic and decreased voter turnout, Americans opted to re-elect Daschle to a second term, increasing both his popular vote support and his standing in the electoral college. For the second straight election, Republicans had lost a campaign they had entered with their nominee as the odds-on favourite to win, defeated by circumstances outside of their control.

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Adding to the President’s problems after the election was the resignation of Vice President Jackson, Jr. Rumours of financial impropriates on the part of the vice president had began to float towards the end of the campaign, but had been washed aside due to the public’s interest in H1N1. The official investigation argued that Jackson, Jr. had illegally used campaign funds meant for the president’s re-election campaign to make personal purchases for himself and his wife. If found guilty, the vice president faced up to over two years of prison time. Citing the increasing stress and effects on his mental and physical health and the fallout of the investigation on his family, Jesse Jackson, Jr. announced his resignation in October 2013. Mirroring the situation faced by Dick Nixon in Spiro Agnew’s 1973 resignation in the shadow of Watergate, Republicans in congress axed Daschle’s preferred candidate, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. Rather than allow the Democrats the opportunity to select someone with the potential of winning in 2016, Republican leadership instead offered their support for the President’s compromise choice, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed. A long-time member of the United States Senate, nobody imagined that Reed would end up anything than an effective second command in the White House during the pandemic and come 2017 nothing more then a former Vice President of the United States.

And that’s how things played out. For much of his second term President Daschle managed the swine flu pandemic. Government bailouts for businesses impacted by the virus. Financial aide for workers unable to pay their bills. Temporary freezes on student loans. All that government spending saw a rapid increase in the national debt, and an economy which remained stagnant, and as time passed left more and more Americans feeling frustrated with the politicians up in Washington. With the increased pressure on the healthcare system there were renewed efforts by some House Democrats to push for universal healthcare, similar to what was available in Canada, Great Britain, and most other parts of the industrialized world. But, worried that in doing so would take focus away from the pandemic response, or even make it appear as though the Democrats or the White House were using H1N1 for political gain, it was shelved by the leadership. Such an undertaking would be left for the next Democratic President. By the time 2015 rolled around, it appeared that the worst of the pandemic was behind the country. The vaccination rollout, in partnership with the states, was successful, and America and much of the rest of the world had begun to return to some sense of normalcy. The CDC and WHO still recommended the continued use of masking and limited social distancing, but much of these calls fell on deaf ears, with most Americans eager to return to their pre-pandemic lives. With few stories on H1N1, the media began turning their attention to who the major party nominees would be come 2016. Numerous politicians had already begun setting the stage for their campaigns. For the Democrats the frontrunner was the man the Daschle had been forced to pass over for the vice presidency only a few years prior; Anthony Foxx. With America rebounding economically and polls showing voters feeling more optimistic of the future for the first time since the pandemic began, Democrats felt comfortable about their chances in securing a third term in the White House, the first since Jack Kemp’s in 1988.

The only question was, after eight years out of the White House, with two of their best and brightest candidates defeated by an uncharismatic political operator from South Dakota, who would the Republicans nominate?
 
Good luck guessing the next one!
My gut says someone who would stick with Bush-Kempism but tries to expand it beyond the original tenants.

Kelly Ayotte, Darrell Issa and Joe Scarborough could be possibilities. Bob Corker too.

There’s just as much of a chance of someone like Condoleezza Rice or Mike Huckabee does well.
 
My gut says someone who would stick with Bush-Kempism but tries to expand it beyond the original tenants.

Kelly Ayotte, Darrell Issa and Joe Scarborough could be possibilities. Bob Corker too.

There’s just as much of a chance of someone like Condoleezza Rice or Mike Huckabee does well.
Nah,Condi is mostly likely a respected academic in this TL and probably a teacher at Stanford.
 
Lazio Presidency (2017-2025)
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As was the case with every presidential cycle, the question facing American voters as they marched towards 2016 was whether they would opt with a candidate that continued President Daschle’s legacy, or start fresh with a new vision entirely. With the exception of Jack Kemp in 1988, almost every successive occupant of the Oval Office had been somewhat the opposite of their predecessor. Dianne Feinstein was a Jewish liberal woman from California, everything that Jack Kemp was not. Gary Johnson had been something of a bomb thrower, hoping to upset the establishment that had been created by George Bush, Jack Kemp, and eventually Feinstein. Tom Daschle had been the designated driver that Americans had hoped would return the situation back to normal. Now, with the H1N1 pandemic in the rear-view mirror and the economy showing the first real signs of growth since before the Great Recession, voters appeared content. That, of course, posed a problem for the Republicans. 2008 appeared like the moment in which the Republicans would course correct after experimenting with Gary Johnson. Americans punished them anyway. 2012 was the moment where the dream of having another Bush in the White House seemed like it would become a reality. Instead, the onset of the virus dashed Bush’s lead and resigned the GOP to another four years outside the most powerful office in the free world. With President Daschle preparing to leave office and return home to South Carolina, and Vice President Reed fulfilling everyone’s expectations and set to join the president in retirement, it would be the first election without a President seeking re-election or a Vice President seeking a promotion since 1996.

On the Republican side the number of potential candidates was seemingly endless. Elizabeth Warren, Rick Lazio, and Rick Santorum, alumni from the 2008 and 2012 primary campaigns, hoped that Republican primary goers would be willing to lend them support in their second outing for the nomination. Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, the tanned saviour of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, sought to mold himself as the second coming of George Bush with an added touch of charisma and money. Texas Senator David Dewhurst billed himself as the compassionate conservative; the candidate who could bring evangelical voters to the polls and grow the Republican base. Brian Sandoval pitched a message that as the Governor of a blue state, he would be the most qualified candidate to work with congressional Democrats to achieve Republican legislative priorities. A solid general election strategy, but not necessarily a winning them for the primary. The frontrunner for the nomination from the outset, however, was Warren, the 2008 nominee for Vice President. Fresh off her two terms as Governor of Massachusetts, Warren promised a return to the economic principles of President Jack Kemp with an added emphasis on reigning in social programs and benefits expanded during the pandemic. With the health crisis largely over, save for a few pockets of unvaccinated Americans here and there, Warren claimed that it was well past time to return focus on balancing the budget and implement some budget cuts. But Warren’s harsh fiscal conservatism made her an easy target for her opponents to label as too extreme for the general electorate. Then there were the reports of office toxicity and staff abuse coming from former members in her administration back in Boston, suggesting that Warren had used staffers to run personal errands for her, and punished them when they refused or complained. Before long Warren’s poll numbers dipped, choking her campaign of both momentum and fundraiser dollars. Momentarily stepping in and assuming the mantle of frontrunner was Governor Huntsman. The scion of a prominent Republican family, Huntsman had served in minor diplomatic posts under both Bush and Kemp before getting appointed as the President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, saving the 2002 Olympic games from bankruptcy and scandal. Governor since 2008, Huntsman looked and sounded the part of a president, almost as if he had been lifted from a movie screenplay. The only problem was that behind-the-scenes Huntsman’s campaign was overspending, overly micromanaged by Jon Huntsman, Sr. and completely unprepared for the scrutiny that came with frontrunner status. Back in Utah Huntsman was the undisputed king of his Mormon kingdom, and rarely had to go into significant detail to explain himself. In other words, he had become rusty, spoiled, and it showed.

Entering the presidential race in June 2015, New York Governor Rick Lazio was well versed in the inner machinations of the Republican party, having previously fought Jeb Bush for the nomination four years earlier and ending a respectable second. A member of the House of Representatives during the 1990s, a member of the Senate during the early 2000s, and Governor of his home state at the start of the 2010s after a brief hiatus following his 2006 senate re-election defeat, Governor Lazio had evolved from being the fresh-faced boy of Republican politics to one of its elder statesmen. Ironically more of an admirer of former President Bush than Kemp, Lazio prided himself in his moderate moderation. Critics had labeled him as spinless, never really attaching his name to any significant legislation or taking any firm positions during his time as a congressman. That suited him well. It gave him maneuverability in congress and the ability to garner a reputation as a leading bipartisan figure in the senate. Then as Governor he had impressed observers further by overseeing the state’s response to H1N1, eschewing small government ideology in favour of the recommendations of the CDC and White House Pandemic committee. Before anyone realized, Lazio had amassed an impressive political resume that had been capped off by a landslide re-election in 2014. The only problem was that the New York Governor’s maverick streak had often put him at odds with congressional and national Republican leadership eager to toe the party line. That suited Lazio just fine, and used it to coopt Huntsman’s outsider narrative and make the claim that he was the Republican Party’s best chance to win the White House in 2016. Winning much of the early primary states and sweeping much of the Super Tuesday contests, Lazio would ultimately march to the nomination with his opposition unable to unify behind a single candidate. Still, sensing the need to broaden the ticket and tap into a minority vote long ignored by the party, Governor Lazio would select conservative-friendly Oklahoma Governor and former House colleague J. C. Watts as his running mate, the first African American to serve on a Republican ticket.

Much of the Democratic establishment, meanwhile, would rally behind Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and their choice for the nomination. President Daschle’s original choice to succeed outgoing Vice President Jesse Jackson, Jr. after the latter’s scandal, Foxx’s nomination had been rejected by congressional Republicans uneager to elevating a potential opponent, forcing Daschle to select Rhode Island’s Jack Reed instead. But with Reed opting to stay out of the race, and many congressional Democrats eager to anoint a person of colour as the party’s nominee, it’s first ever, Foxx was for many the obvious choice. But Foxx’s tenure at the Department of Transportation had not been without scandal and disappointments, drawing a number of challengers to the outgoing secretary’s bid for the presidency. Among the candidates included Governor Hillary Rodham of Illinois, former secretary Howard Dean, House Whip Rick Perry of Texas, Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, Jason Carter of Georgia, and Governor Jerry Brown of California. With the incumbent president still enjoying relatively strong approval ratings and an economic recovery on the horizon, the eventual Democratic nominee stood a good chance at extending the party’s lease on the White House another four years. The only issue was the growing left-wing sentiment amongst primary voters.

Although Foxx had the backing of much of the White House, and Governor Rodham reported record fundraising halls, primary voters began flocking to Jerry Brown. 24 years on from his ill-fated independent bid in 1992, Brown had reinvented himself. Having gotten re-elected to his old job in California, Brown had pushed through countless liberal wish list items through the State House. Environmental regulations, more gun control, Same-Sex Marriage, renewable energy, the works. While the Bush-Kemp consensus had successfully drawn Democrats up in Washington to being more in line with Republicans, Brown had bucked the trend and, in echoes of Dianne Feinstein’s ’96 primary campaign, fully embraced his liberalism. More and more young people within the party viewed Brown as the conscience of the Democratic Party, the last true light of social democracy and progressivism that was threatened to being snuffed out by the conventional campaigns of Foxx and Rodham. Storming to victory in Iowa and Nevada, Brown’s campaign message for radical economic rethinking and environmentalism played well with voters increasingly worried that the two major parties had become too bipartisan to the point that the Democrats had abandoned offering change lest it offend their Republican colleagues in congress. In an earthquake to America’s political system not seen since Gary Johnson, Governor Jerry Brown would narrowly secure the Democratic nomination over Foxx. Aware of his weakness with his age, weary progressive voters, and the Democratic establishment, Brown would tap Minnesota Senator and former primary challenger Amy Klobuchar as his running mate. Although criticized by progressive and African American interest groups, the former worried that their champion had sold them out in selecting a senate insider and the latter disappointed by the lack of diversity, the pick was at least applauded by establishment Democrats panicked by the thought of a double-progressive ticket.

Going into the general, Governor Brown would pitch himself as the progressive who could get things done. He wasn’t the same radical who had launched an independent campaign decades earlier, but rather the pragmatic operator who understood the levels of Washington, of government, and who could find compromise between the different wings of the Democratic Party. But at 78 years old Brown was by far the oldest candidate nominated by either party, and concerns regarding his health and ability to perform his duties if elected plagued the campaign. Polls confirmed a significant chunk of voters were concerned that Brown would die in office if he was elected. Although the great hope of many university progressives eager for an elder stateman, blue collar progressives, African American activists and minority group advocates weren’t exactly eager that their party had nominated yet another old white man, especially over the opportunity of having the country’s first Black president. That benefited Rick Lazio, who although Brown’s junior by two decades could still go toe to toe with the Californian Governor on the issue of experience, having served separate stints in almost every major elected office available to him, and claim the title of maverick. Lazio was careful to pay homage to the successes of President’s Bush and Kemp, but campaigned on the notion that the ideas that had strengthened the country during the 1980s and 1990s weren’t necessarily the right solutions for the 2010s and 2020s. Taking a page from conservative activists, Lazio made enacting a form of individually mandated healthcare reform the cornerstone of his campaign. In the aftermath of one of the largest health crisis in over a century, it was imperative that Americans had access to healthcare, even if it was subsidized by the federal government. Brown’s embrace of Lazio’s plan would backfire on his campaign, further enraging progressives eager for a more radical policy akin to Canada’s or Sweden’s. Still, Brown’s strength of personality proved enough to keep the campaign close, with polls showing the contest even up to Election Day. By a margin of two percent and a 310 electoral vote victory, American voters elected New York Governor Rick Lazio as the 46th. President of the United States. Although some supporters on social media would claim fraud, unable to come to terms that their preferred candidate had lost to the establishment favourite, Jerry Brown would respectfully concede the race and return to California and finish his remaining few years in office.

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Making good on his election pledge, President Lazio’s first order of business was passing comprehensive healthcare reform. No easy task for any occupant of the White House, especially with a divided congress weary of large scale reform. Working closely with Speaker of the House and fellow New Yorker Joe Crowley and Senate Majority Leader Mitt Romney, President Lazio was able to successfully pass “Laziocare”, as it had quickly been dubbed by opponents. The bill mandated that almost every American citizen obtain a minimum level of healthcare insurance, with the government offering a free and subsidized option for Americans earning less than thirty thousand dollars a year. It was hoped that with more Americans covered by healthcare insurance, the federal government would see both less spending and less strain on the healthcare system. But the bill did not pass without significant criticism. Democratic holdouts argued that lack of mandate to require employers to provide health insurance would leave many without coverage. Conservative Republicans meanwhile called it government overreach and labeled it the kind of legislation that Dianne Feinstein or Tom Daschle would pass. In another controversial decision, President Lazio would significantly reduce America’s presence in Libya. After almost two decades in the Middle East, Al Haraka largely eliminated, and a civilian government somewhat in place to oversee Libya’s own response, America’s continued largescale involvement was seen by many within the West Wing as impractical. As such, President Lazio ordered that the Libyan Civilian Defence Force would lead the ongoing battle in the region, with a limited number of American soldiers remaining to provide support and logistics, lest the country fall back into the hands of warlords or religious fanatics. Although some foreign policy hawks criticized the move as leaving America vulnerable to attack, President Lazio’s decision would receive poll support from Americans eager to move on from one of America’s longest wars. Still, enough motivated voters critical of Lazio’s first two years would turn out to cause the GOP to narrowly lose their hold on the Senate, effectively making President Lazio a lame duck for the remainder of his first term in office.

However, the election of America’s proud moderate president did little to quell the growing frustration which had delivered Gary Johnson and Jerry Brown. Although the President had managed to pass bipartisan healthcare reform and scale down America’s involvement in the war against terrorism, more and more Americans still found themselves frustrated with the political establishment. When asked whether their party had sacrificed too much in the name of bipartisanship, an increasing number of Americans polled agreed. Terms like “out of touch”, elitists”, and “arrogance” began popping up more and more in town hall debates across the country, forcing more and more candidates for political office to adopt a more populist approach to their campaigns. The establishment was more worried about keeping their jobs, of preserving their status quo, and not helping out Americans struggling to make ends meat, or tackling growing income inequality, or making good on environmentalism. Especially on the political left of America, progressives felt as though consensus and bipartisanship were equated with giving the Republicans what they wanted, at the expense of offering their own, ideologically opposed ideas. Simply put, voters were starting to get restless again, and began looking for something different. The beneficiary of that growing unrest appeared to be former Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, the socialist firebrand who had long advocated for tearing down the Bush-Kemp consensus. Establishing the Reform Party in the aftermath of President Feinstein’s second term, Reform was long dismissed as Kucinich’s ploy to keep himself relevant in American politics, and his routine bids for the presidency were largely ignored by Americans and the media. Luckily for Kucinich, the development of social media had allowed the former congressman to bypass the mainstream outlets and establish a deeply loyal online following, many of whom were more than happy to lend him their money in the hopes of achieving the political revolution he had long called for. Feeling screwed by the system? Politicians making too many deals in smoke filled rooms? Angry about not getting more out of the American dream? Kucinich preached his solutions for all of it. For some Americans the only issue was burning down the current political order and starting fresh. Democrats hoped to quell that growing anti-establishment fury, but with an candidate who could speak their language. Nominating former Transportation Secretary and 2016 primary runner up Anthony Foxx seemed like the right pitch to calm people down.

A member of President Daschle’s inner circle, Foxx had long been promoted as a rising star within Democratic circles. As Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina he had been in favour of removing Confederate statues and flags. As Transportation Secretary he made tackling racial injustice the priority for his department. While his self-described radical centrism ran counter to the growing populist sentiment growing across the country, Foxx’s experience as an African American living in 21st Century America made him all too familiar with such frustration. The inability to achieve the kind of change that you knew to be right. A political system seemingly designed to keep the people in charge happy. Blatant racism and inequality. As a victim of it, Foxx claimed that although he was a centrist at heart, he knew where many of the populists were coming from. Choosing former New Orleans Mayor and HUD Secretary Mitch Landrieu as his running mate, the former Transportation Secretary hoped that voters would be willing to keep their faith long enough for real political reform within the system before placing their faith in political bomb throwers. Besides, Democratic insiders were adamant that populist outrage was overrated, and that faced with the possibility of electing America’s first Black president the party activists and supporters would fall in line. Nobody expected another 1992. That lesson had been learned. While the Foxx-Landrieu ticket was popular with African American Democrats, those who favoured reform within the system, and university educated White voters, it proved unpopular with blue collar progressives and students fed up with yet another member of the establishment on the top of the ticket. Before long Kucinich was polling in the double digits, securing a place at the debate stage, and further promising to disrupt the carefully planned campaigns of Rick Lazio and Anthony Foxx. Selecting Harvard professor Zephyr Teachout as his vice presidential running mate, Kucinich pledged to raise the minimum wage to above $15 dollars an hour, immediately begin phasing the United States off of fossil fuels, end what he called America’s illegal occupation in Syria and raise taxes on the billionaires and trillionaires who had long escaped paying their fair share. Though shunned by the mainstream media, Kucinich’s campaign used that to their advantage, instead pouring their funds on social media groups on Facebook and Instagram to spread their message.

Embracing the opportunity presented by Kucinich’s populist movement, President Lazio’s re-election would portray the incumbent as the adult in the room, the only candidate not willing to play games and prepared to govern the country. Foxx, forced to move further to the left to motivate the base and grab soft Kucinich voters, opened the Democrats up to accusations of flip-flopping. Halfway through the general the Kucinich campaign would experience setbacks after their candidate would suffer a major heart attack whilst on the trail, forcing Teachout to step in for over a month while Kucinich recovered, costing the campaign momentum and raising serious concerns over the former congressman’s fitness for office. Returning to the campaign in time for the debates, Kucinich would post a strong performance, citing the similarities between Lazio and Foxx as proof that the major two parties offered more of the same, no matter which of them actually prevailed. Despite the populist’s strength, polls continued to show the race as a neck-and-neck battle between Lazio and Foxx, with chatter of a deadlocked electoral college making its way to the forefront of likely what if scenarios. Ultimately, despite garnering almost twenty percent of the national popular vote, the 2020 election would turn out more like 1992 than anyone predicted. Despite failing to win an outright majority in the popular vote, President Lazio increased his victory in the electoral college, winning 341 electoral votes compared to Anthony Foxx’s 197. Hindered by Kucinich’s split of the anti-Republican vote, Democrats would secure Florida as their only swing state victory, with Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada falling to the GOP. Even New York, which had solidly voted Democratic in the last seven presidential elections, opted to narrowly side with their native son, making President Lazio the first Republican to win the state since Kemp’s ’88 victory. Making matters worse for the Democrats, they would again find themselves hindered by the lack of enthusiasm amongst their base, handing both the House and the Senate back to the GOP.

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Much of President Lazio’s second term would be dealt with addressing the fallout from his decision to scale back American military involvement in the Middle East. In the power vacuum of Al Haraka’s collapsed emerged an even more radical group to fill the void, ISIS. Since its formation in late 1999 The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria had been a junior member of the terrorist coalition, formerly led by Al Haraka. But with the death of Abu Ali al-Anbari and much of its remaining leadership throughout 2013 and 2015, ISIS’s approach of capturing and governing territory as opposed to simply conversion gained ground amongst the remaining holdouts eager to keep hold of what remained. Within two years of Lazio’s scale down efforts, ISIS had absorbed or garnered the loyalty of much of the splinter groups throughout the Middle East and had made significant inroads in blocking the advances of the Libyan Civilian Defence Force. With more beheadings, bombings, American deaths, refugees seeking asylum, and the threat of ISIS overthrowing the fragile civilian government of Libya, it appeared that President Lazio’s decision had backfired. Efforts to recommit American resources to the region would come under significant fire from both the growing Isolationist Caucus within the Republican Party, formed of recently elected populists eager to avoid wasting American resources fighting pointless wars, and the Progressive Senate Caucus, which consisted primary of anti-war Democrats who equated policing the world with American imperialism. Unable to securing enough votes in congress to back a return to the Middle East, President Lazio’s approval ratings would stagger in the lead-up to the midterms. Making matters worse for the administration, the growing number of displaced Syrians seeking refuge on American shores had unleashed a wave of xenophobia across much of the country. Radio and online personalities unencumbered with the facts suggested that the refugees were spies for ISIS, terrorist plants, would suck resources and jobs from Americans, and could even see the rise of the Islamic faith across America’s schools. Only able to secure the settlement of 15,000 refugees, even that number garnered criticism towards Lazio, dooming the President’s agenda ahead of the midterms. Although able to keep the Senate in Republican hands, the House would again fall to the Democrats, with Joe Crowley once again installed as Speaker. Without control of both chambers, the final two years of President Lazio’s term in office would largely be spent trying to guilt congress into enacting aspects of his once ambitious legislative agenda.

Prepping for his retirement in 2025, President Lazio would enter his final year in office beset with middling approval ratings. After achieving bipartisan success on healthcare reform and overseeing successful economic growth, Lazio proved unable to tackle the growing partisanship that had begun sweeping the nation. America, tired of the consensus which had governed the country for over forty years, seemed set on adopting a more combative political tone, and environment where politicians from the other side were no longer viewed as colleagues with differing opinions, but adversaries who had to be defeated, no matter the cost. Even the word bipartisan had begun to get equated to “sellout”, with more and more populists unwilling to compromise lest it mean watering down the agenda which voters had elected them on. Voters were tired of waiting for change, and wanted someone to do something, anything, right away. With President Lazio set to return to his native New York, pundits across the country began wondering whether the Republican who had taken pride in his moderate moderation would be the last centrist to hold the office for a very long time to come.
 
In hindsight I should have kept track of previously mentioned names more, but still it's a solid update

With this in mind, I'm willing to bet on Jason Carter, Hillary Rodham and Rick Perry, in that order

though Governor of Ohio Nina Turner is not out of the question

I find it unusual that Arizona hasn't been won by a Republican in 20 years
 
In hindsight I should have kept track of previously mentioned names more, but still it's a solid update

With this in mind, I'm willing to bet on Jason Carter, Hillary Rodham and Rick Perry, in that order

though Governor of Ohio Nina Turner is not out of the question

I find it unusual that Arizona hasn't been won by a Republican in 20 years

With a POD set forty years or so ago that gives me a little bit of leeway. 😉
 
With President Lazio set to return to his native New York, pundits across the country began wondering whether the Republican who had taken pride in his moderate moderation would be the last centrist to hold the office for a very long time to come.
And so ends an excellent timeline, I like how this has a more Centrist America that isn’t just ‘and then, John Anderson dominates all’ and that.
 
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