Senator Spiral
Spiral
Atlas Politician
YaBB God
Posts: 4,544
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« on: February 22, 2015, 07:48:36 PM » |
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Following the death of the popular and accomplished President Frank Church, Howard Metzenbaum took center stage and was able to benefit from voters’ sympathy for the 1984 election, holding modest leads throughout the year over his opponent Barry Goldwater Jr. As expected, he won pretty comfortably and had the next four years to push his agenda through. Unlike his predecessor and former boss, however, Metzenbaum would turn out to be much more polarizing and less fortunate. Known as a staunch partisan, President Metzembaum’s attention-grabbing combative style earned him many enemies on the opposite side who were less willing to cooperate. The president pushed for bold proposals that were considered doomed from the start, including a massive hike in the corporate income tax and a universal healthcare program. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of his term was the advocacy of an assault weapons ban, hitting a cultural nerve and sparking outrage across the country, which would soon also be shot down by Congress. Despite these many setbacks, the president did have some accomplishments that were near and dear to his heart, such as sweeping new antitrust regulations and new laws on workers’ safety.
Foreign policy would not be Metzenbaum’s strong suit. The president made international headlines after publicly mulling over the assassination of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, and his more hardliner approach to the Soviet Union after a decade of Taft and Church caused concern that the worst may be yet to come. As America’s first fully Jewish president (Barry Goldwater’s half-Jewishness was not discussed much), Metzenbaum also fostered stronger relations with the state of Israel than ever before. As President Metzenbaum was gearing up for reelection, the stock market crash of 1987 sent the economy plunging again and his popularity continued to suffer. Unlike 1984, the president now faces significant opposition from his party with broad themes that he is too radical, too ineffectual, too histrionic, or all three combined. Gary Hart, Al Gore, and Paul Simon are all presenting themselves as less offensive alternatives to Metzenbaum who can achieve more in office. Jesse Jackson is the only candidate more left-wing than the president and is bound to also make an impact. Meanwhile, the AU has a crowded field of candidates. Jack Kemp is running again and is assumed to be the frontrunner, but others like Bob Dole and Tom Kean are trying to become the establishment favorite. Other candidates in the mix include televangelist Pat Robertson, 1984 VP nominee Pete du Pont, libertarian Ron Paul, and the all-around eccentric Jim Traficant. Finally, it should be noted that the WP officially dissolved following the arrest of de facto leader Lyndon LaRouche for tax evasion, bringing an end to a once mighty party.
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