It Didn't Happen Here: Part 1 (The 2000s)

[Kyle Rittenhouse is a Political Prisoner]

2001:



On a chill January day in Washington D.C, George Walker Bush stepped up to a podium and recited those words that 41 other men had before him. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”.

And with that, the first true presidency of the 21st century had began.

 *********

Things seemed bright. The CBO was predicting a massive budget surplus, and the US reigned unchallenged as global hegemony. Bush was planning to expand the military after the drawdown of the Clinton years, but foreign policy would not be the focus of his administration. Bush had an ambitious domestic agenda, hindered only by Democrats slim majority in the Senate. He called for taking the surplus and putting it to use for the american people in the forms of tax cuts. Yes, the future seemed bright.

But just as no man is an island, so is no nation. A diplomatic crisis with a submarine and a FBI agent being arrested for espionage were bad enough. But the joint action against Iraq’s airfields were the main foreign policy crisis. Iraq was growing increasingly intransigent, and many in the US now called for war. Meanwhile, terror seemed to be growing worldwide. In early June, a suicide bomber killed 22 in Tel Aviv. The BBC was bombed by the IRA. FBI agents warned of a terror attack in Saudi Arabia or Israel.
All of this distracted from Bush’s agenda significantly. It took until June 19th for the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation act of 2001 to be signed. Meanwhile, progress on the No Child Left Behind Act was still slow.
Events occurred. China and Russia signed a treaty of friendship. NATO had to send a peacekeeping force to Macedonia. Many in the administration worry about the endless self-sustaining growth of the Military-Industrial complex. On September 10th, Donald Rumsfeld gives a speech about trillions of dollars of unaccounted money from the pentagon. His case was weakened by the fact that back in August, a young radical named Zaharias Moussaoui was arrested on conspiracy to commit an attack on the World Trade Center. These “9/11” attacks could have killed dozens, maybe even up to a hundred, the head of the FBI reported.


[Kyle Rittenhouse is a Political Prisoner]

The remainder of 2001 was interesting. The 9/18 anthrax attacks killed over a dozen people. Militants attacked in Kashmir. An airline crashed in Queens, killing 259. Pakistani terrorist attacked the Indian parliament, killing 14 and seemingly bringing them to the brink of war. Bush’s administration seemed a marked failure, and this was reflected in November. Democrats flipped the Virginia and New Jersey statehouses, both by massive margins. Bush had a 50% approval rating, and a divided government. Pundits were already calling him a one term president.


[Kyle Rittenhouse is a Political Prisoner]

2002 passed quickly. Europe, growing rapidly, quickly introduced the Euro in January. In March, Bush and Putin signed a nuclear disarmament treaty, the signature success of his first term. The International Criminal Court was established. War swept a dozen countries in Africa. The quagmire that was Iraq was growing increasingly threatening. In September, militants attacked a nightclub in Indonesia. In October, Chechen rebels killed 350 Russians. Putin, furious, declared a War on Terror. Indeed, terrorism seemed to be growing, and quickly, worldwide. Bush’s popularity was not high going into the midterms. Most thought that the Democrats would make gains. Bush was fairly popular, but not overwhelmingly so, and the Democrats had a slight lead in the generic ballot. Gaining the house and keeping the Senate seemed within reach.


[Kyle Rittenhouse is a Political Prisoner]

The 2002 midterm elections had been good for the democrats. Pickups in Arkansas, Colorado, and New Hampshire more than balanced out their painful loss in Georgia. In the house, they managed to get 9 seats and Dick Gephardt the speaker’s gavel. The gubernational elections were interesting, with many seats flipping for both parties. Democrats flipped Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Tennessee, along with narrowly keeping Alabama, Vermont, and Maryland. Unfortunately, they fell just short in Georgia’s runoff, along with Arkansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. Furthermore, painful flips of New Hampshire, Alaska, and Minnesota blunted their gains. Still, the democrats emerged with a six seat net gain, and 27 governorships to republicans 23. The democratic party seemed dominant in everything except the presidency. Pundits eagerly predicted that 2004 would be democrat’s year. Preliminary polling of the field suggested that Al Gore was the early frontrunner.

2004 Democratic Polling (Feb 2002)
Gore: 32%
Edwards: 16%
Kerry: 11%
Daschle: 10%
Jackson: 6%
Gephardt: 5%
Wellstone: 3%
Kucinich: 2%
Lieberman: 2%
Undecided: 13%

[Kyle Rittenhouse is a Political Prisoner]

2003 was rough for the bush administration. Bush’s domestic agenda was stymied, the democratic leadership claiming a mandate. His attempts at social security reform were met with predictable outrage. Outside the US, his administration was able to accomplish little more. American forces had to leave Saudi Arabia, and Israel attacked Syria. The European Union, meanwhile, was expanding ever closer to Russia’s borders. An intervention in Libya aimed at destroying their nuclear program in December nearly turned into a full blown. Meanwhile, Bush’s approval ratings dropped, his disapproval passing it in September. Things got worse. Lincoln Chafee, an opponent of bush’s social and environmental agenda, along with the tax cuts, announced a primary challenge on November 24th. Polling showed Bush with a lead, but not much. For the democrat’s, meanwhile, polling had become confused after Gore announced he was not running in late May. Many predicted the Democrat’s would have to go to a brokered convention, something no one wanted. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina seemed the frontrunner, but he polled behind even undecided. Pundits dubbed this the year of the Senators, what with the top four candidates being Senators.  The only positive note that year was the 2003 gubernational elections, where republicans successfully defended an open seat in Louisiana, captured one in Kentucky, and defeated democratic incumbents in Mississippi and California for a sweep. Democrats, of course, attributed these losses to candidate quality.

June 13 Democratic Polling (PPP)
Edwards: 22%
Daschle: 17%
Kerry: 16%
Braun: 7%
Gephardt: 4%
Kucinich: 4%
Jackson: 3%
Graham: 2%
Lieberman: 1%
Undecided: 24%