The Romney Administration

[UWS]

François Fillon  elected French President, defeating the Far Right Candidate Marine Le-Pen in a landslide


First Round Results:

François Fillon 23.5%
Marine Le-Pen 20.7%
Emmanual Macron 20.4%
Jean-Luc Mélenchon 19.3%
Benoît Hamon 6.1%
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan 5.2%
Others 4.8%


Second Round Results:

François Fillon 64.9%
Marine Le-Pen 35.1%

Okay time out…this part is somewhat off the rails.  Speaking as someone who is half French how would this TL change history to allow Fillon to win?  I get Brexit not happening because Romney was not as public as Obama about it (and yay) but Fillon's defeat was due to a massive nepotism scandal that I don't see Romney really changing.  Please explain how Fillon would win because this part is a bit confusing and I don't see how this TL would have caused this (or at least caused this without a complete collapse in PS numbers)

I definitely don't like Fillon winning, but I think in this TL it's explained as a part of a global right-wing trend where the establishment right does well in elections. It's possible that an alternate history will have many different changes. However, yeah, I don't see Fillon overcoming this scandal and actually beating both Macron and Le Pen in the first round.

I guess the global centre-right just is more popular in this TL, maybe because of Romney's successes. And I don't think Fillon was lost at all. Penelopegate wasn't the only way he screwed up, his campaign was terrible and his platform cost him some votes (even though it was admirable). I don't think Fillon getting to 23-24% or so in round 1 and beating Le Pen in round 2 is far-fetched at all if he had run a good campaign or if he aced the debates like he did in the right-wing primaries. He was close to qualifying to round 2 irl anyway, but he probably wouldn't have beaten Macron (even in this TL).

IMHO, I guess another reason why Fillon lost in real life is the abolition of community policing between 2007 and 2012 by the Fillon government, which diminished Fillon's national security credibility in a time of terrorist threat after 2 terrorist attacks in Paris and another one in Nice.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I am liking this timeline.  However, there is no way that Democrats will support this (or even Republicans tbh).  The system relies too much on pork barrel spending.  Plus pretty much every respectable economist would slam this plan as being unsuitable for a financial crisis when you automatically need to spend more money to make up for the adverse shock in demand (which both W and Obama did incidentally)

The Balanced Budget Amendment in 1995 which is an ever more right-wing amendment then this one would be passed the house and was 2 votes away from passing in the Senate and both the House and Senate had less Republican Members then it does today. Does it mean it is a guarantee it will pass no, but is there a chance it will yes.


This is what pork barrel spending is and this is what will be banned: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pork_barrel_politics.asp

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney's Approval and other polls:

Romney's Approval:

Approve: 60%(-2%)
Disapprove: 38%(+2%)
Neither : 2%


House Generic Ballot:

Republicans: 53%
Democrats: 44%


Opinion of the Budgetary Reform Amendment:

Approve: 45%
Disapprove: 33%
Neither: 22%


John King: Romney and the Republicans ratings have gone down since the battle over this amendment has started. The Question people are beginning to ask now is this beginning to be Romney's version of Hillarycare, Social Security Reform, and Obamacare in which despite all 3 presidents having just recently won a huge win the year before and had their party control both houses of Congress failed to do and all of them laid the groundwork of huge wins from the other party in the years to come: Republicans in 1994, Democrats in 2006 and 2008 and Republicans in 2010 and 2012.


Or will this be a repeat of Reagan's 1986 Tax Reform in which he was able to fundamentally change the tax code. That fight also saw many setbacks but eventually Reagan was able to get that passed into law.

Time will only tell which this fight will be most like

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: 22 People killed in a Terrorist Attack at an Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester, UK.  UK Prime Minister David Cameron gives his reaction




Cameron: Today is a very sad day for all of us, 22 innocent people who were having the time of their lives at an Ariana Grande Concert tragically lost their lives due to the cowardly and evil acts of the terrorist who was responsible for this attack. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and  I hope one day we can create a world where attacks like this never happen again .

Media Member: The attacker just recently returned from Libya , and according to sources had ties to radical Islamic groups. If he was flagged before he came in , this tragedy could have been avoided so what will you do to improve our vetting and flagging system.

Cameron: I agree that we need to improve our vetting system and we are working on it but we must be careful not to put in policies that could backfire later so while we do need to improve our vetting process quickly we need to make sure that it would be a good policy as well.

[OSR stands with Israel]

President Romney gives an Oval Office address on the issue of the Budget Reform Amendment :




Romney: Good evening, as you may know for many months know there has been a fierce debate in this country about the budget reform amendment, and today I would like to share my thoughts on it. The first question people have on their mind is why do we need this amendment in the first place and here is why. As you can see from this chart here our deficit while has currently dropped significantly over the past 4 years it is set to go back up by around that same amount in the next 4 which will mean our deficits will once again surpass 1 trillion dollars. The reason for that is as you can see the amount we must pay  in interest is going to rise dramatically over the next 4 years and that will dramatically increase the deficit.Now the defict will be that high in a time of peace and prosperity, now imagine how much higher the deficit would be if we face another emergency like a war or recession so it is imperative that we must address this problem now instead of having to address it when the problem becomes a crisis.

The first thing this amendment would do is cap spending in the budget at 20% of GDP and as you can see from this graph here:


reaching that number is realistic as we have spent less than that before and we can do that again. Now people may ask what happens if we have to go to war or are in a recession and have to spend more than 20% well you can do that it is just that if you want to you must have the budget approved by 2/3 of congress. This means that when spending proposals are debated in congress now , both sides will have to make sure those spending programs are actually required and are jusnt something to please special interests. Some spending like Pork will be banned as when the federal government spends money it should be spent because spending the money will benefit the nation as a whole, and not be about spending money just so someone can be reelected.


One other question people may ask what if a budget isnt approved. What this amendment will do is instead of shutting down the government, spending will be automatically capped at the previous year's levels so we dont get unnecessary government shutdown or unnecessary continuing resolutions which create uncertainty. Now this does not mean Congress can use this provision as a get around of the 20% rule as this amendment will require 2/3 of Congress to approve it every year or else spending will be automatically cut across the board by the same proportion until that number reaches below 20%.


This issue is an important issue facing our nation and we must act about it now as it is always easier to fix problems when they are small than wait for them to become big. Thank You , May God Bless You and May God Bless America.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Budget Reform Amendment Passes in House After a change is made to the original proposal

Change From Orignal Proposal: Federal Net Outlays can surpass 20% of GDP with just a majority vote in Congress in times of Recession if unemployment is above 7%, and war.


State of Amendment in Senate

Support(62 Senators):

Every Republican Senator
Michelle Nunn(D-GA)
Tom Carper(D-DE)

Swing(7 senators):

Bruce Baley(D-IA)
Mark Begich(D-AK)
Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
Mark Warner(D-VA)
Mark Udall(D-CO)
Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
Angus King(I-ME)


Oppose(31 Senators):

All Other Democratic Senators
Bernie Sanders(G-VT)

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney tours the nation to promote the Amendment:



Romney giving a speech in Anchorage, Alaska

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Senator John McCain diagnosed with Brain Cancer. 



Chris Cuomo: We have some very sad news to report to you today and that is Senator John McCain , a guy who is truly an American Hero has been diagnosed with Brain Cancer. Senator McCain in his life has always put the Country First over himself and no matter whether you like him politically or not you have to have profound respect for John McCain for that. Many political figures from both sides have given their well wishes to him including the President and here is his statement.


Romney: Senator McCain is a True American Hero, and has always been an inspiration to all of us. He is also a great friend of mine and we all hope he can have a swift recovery.

Former President Obama also tweeted that : Senator John Mccain is an American Hero and one of the bravest fighters he knows and then wished that he can have a swift recovery.

[OSR stands with Israel]

McCain returns to the Senate and receives a standing ovation. He announces that his vote on the Budget Amendment will be the final vote of his Senate career as he will retire soon afterward

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking New: Budget Reform Amendment Passes Senate with no votes to spare as 6 Democrats and Angus King Join all 60 Republicans in Voting for it. Senator John McCain casts the vote which put the Amendment over the top. Amendment will now go to States for Ratification where it is expected to quickly be ratified



Who Voted for the Amendment:
Every Republican Senator
Michelle Nunn(D-GA)
Tom Carper(D-DE)
Bruce Baley(D-IA)
Mark Begich(D-AK)
Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
Mark Warner(D-VA)
Angus King(I-ME)

[OSR stands with Israel]

The White House hosts a Farewell Party for retiring Senator John McCain.



Attendees:

President Romney and his Cabinet
Former Presidents Obama, Bush Jr, and Clinton
Vice President Portman
Former Vice Presidents Biden, Cheney, Gore, Quayle
2008 Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin
Senators John Kerry and Lindsey Graham
Former Secretary of State Richard Lugar
and many more


Anderson Cooper: We are also getting word that the Arizona Governor has called for a special election to be held on December 5th to fill the Senate Seat . The Primaries for this special election will be held on October 3rd and the main election will be held on December 5th and the winner of the election will serve out the Remaining of Senator McCain's Term. In the interim though Former Senator John Kyl has been appointed by the Governor of Arizona to fill the seat until the new elected Senator can be sworn in.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney's Approval Rating and other Polls:


Romney's Approval Rating:

Approve: 59%(+3%)
Disapprove : 39%(-3%)
Neither: 2%

House Generic Ballot:

Republicans : 54%(+2%)
Democrats: 44% (-2%)


What Specific Issue should the President and Congress Tackle Next:

Infrastructure: 38%
Climate Change: 26%
Regulatory Reform: 12%
Tort Reform: 10%
Entitlement Reform: 8%
Other: 6%

[OSR stands with Israel]

Neo-Nazi and Neo-Confederate Rally in Charlottesville causes a huge uproar as one of the protestors kills a Counter Protestor.



A rally which was organized to protest the removal of a Confederate Flag General, turned into something ugly as hundreds of protestors at the rally were marching with tiki torches throughout the city yesterday night loudly chanting Nazi and White Supremacist Slogans. It would get even worse earlier today as one of the Neo-Nazi protesters at the rally rammed his car into one of the counter-protestors named Heather Wilson which resulted in Mrs.Wilson's Death. The Governor of Virginia Responded to this by sending in the national guard which led to even more clashes but the end of this rally.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Romney will not fail to condemn the nazis, at least of that I'm sure.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney harshly condemns the protestors, calling them despicable evil human beings who have no place in our nation's political discourse.



Romney: As you may know a tragic incident happened earlier today, as a peaceful counter protestor was killed today by a Neo-Nazi Thug.  My Thoughts and Prayers go out to her family in what must be a hard time for them, and I want to let her family now that they should be proud of Heather Wilson for standing up to hate and racism and fighting it.

Media Member: What do you think about the people who took part in this rally itself

Romney: The people who took part in this Neo-Nazi rally are despicable and evil human beings and whose racist and anti-semitic beliefs have no place in today's political discourse.

Media Member 2: 2018 Virginia Senate Candidate named Corey Stewart Tweeted out that both sides are to blame for this and their are also fine people on both sides so the media shouldnt judge everyone who took part in this rally.

Romney: Mr.Stewart is 100% wrong and should be ashamed of himself totally for that tweet. No Mr.Stewart both sides are not to blame for this , the only people who are to blame are the people who took part in this despicable rally. Also if you are a fine person you would not take part in a  rally where a bunch of people are chanting Neo-Nazi Slogans. So Mr.Stewart I say again you should be ashamed of yourself.

Media Member 3: What about the protest original goals which was to protest the taking down of Confederate Statues

Romney: That doesn't matter one bit, it stopped being about confederate statues when an innocent person was murdered and it also stopped being about confederate statues when the protestors at the rally started chanting neo-nazi slogans while marching through the city.

[Pericles]

Good on Romney(though saying that would be basic for any President other than Trump)!

[BigVic]

John McCain treated with respect on the floor of the Senate prior to retirement.

[Politician]

If George Allen is the Virginia Senator, why would Stewart run? Unless he's trying to primary him.

[OSR stands with Israel]

If George Allen is the Virginia Senator, why would Stewart run? Unless he's trying to primary him.

Bob McDonnell is Virginia’s senator and Stewart is trying to primary him .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Hurricane Harvey results in record flooding in Houston, Texas. Congress Approves 7.85 Billion Dollars in Disaster Relief for the victims of the Hurricane.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Florida, making it the first time two category 4 storms hit the United States in the same year. Congress approves emergency funding

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: North Korea Tests missile that has the range to hit major US cities such as Chicago



Wolf Blitzer: We have major breaking news and that is that the North Koreans have just tested a missile that could hit major US cities such as LA , Denver, Houston, and any city in the US as far as Chicago. The President has called for an emergency meeting with his foreign policy team to discuss a potential response to this test . Secretary of State Zoellick has called the Chinese Ambassador to work out a potential solution to this crises and UN Secretary Nikki Haley has called for the UN to pass new sanctions on North Korea.

[Pericles]

Oh wow. How did they speed up their nuclear program since I think it's supposed to take until 2022 for NK to have that ability(but US intelligence being flawed would be unsruprising)

[OSR stands with Israel]

Secretary of State Robert Zoellick meets with Chinese Foreign Minister to discuss how the US and China can work together to deal with the North Koreans.



Anderson Cooper: Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met with the Chinese Foreign Minister today to discuss a potential way both the US and China can work together to deal with the North Koreans so a potential conflict can be avoided.

[MR DARK BRANDON]

Just Cerious, what is Romney’s Approval Rating? Also Check out my new TL.