The Romney Administration

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Recount Shows that Romney has won the Iowa Caucus  




Wolf Blitzer: After two weeks of recounts, and the results of the Iowa Caucus being in doubt, it has officially been declared that Governor Mitt Romney will win the Iowa Caucus. This is a huge blow for Senator Santorum who was hoping the momentum from winning Iowa would propel him to winning South Carolina and becoming the main challenger to Romney.

Anderson Cooper: This alongside the fact that Governor Romney easily won the New Hampshire Primary, and is currently leading in South Carolina and Florida could mean the race could be wrapped up really soon.


John King: This officially makes Speaker Gingrich the main and really only challenger left to Governor Romney. Also if Speaker Gingrich loses South Carolina, the race could be over before it really began.

Blitzer: All the more reason why tomorrow's debate will be critical

[OSR stands with Israel]

Some Other Changes from OTL:


- Major Healthcare reform fails to pass, instead Democrats just pass a bill which expands Medicaid

- Democrats lose the Colorado Senate Seat (to Jane Nortan) , so Senate composition is 52-48.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Governor Romney's Highlights from the GOP debate


Important Moment One:
John King: A CNN poll showed that most voters in South Carolina just like the country believe the economy is in terrible shape, and are pessimistic about future economic growth. If your elected what would be your plan to revive the economy.


Romney: My economic plan would do 2 different things to grow the economy. First, we will cut the tax rates for middle and lower-income Americans by 20% to significantly increase the amount of disposable income an family will have. This is important because this incentivizes them to spend more of their money thus increasing the overall demand. 2nd we will cut the top rate for all Businesses who employ 3 people or more down to 22.5%. What this will do is make sure that small businesses get to pay the same tax rate corporations do , and also this tax cut for small buisnesses and corporations will mean that these companies will get to keep more of their money, which can be used for creating new jobs, increasing supply to lower prices, or expand their buisnesses.

Gingrich: While that economic plan would be better than President Obama's , it wont be good enough to get us on a path to a booming economy instead. My plan would be simple, we will implement a 15% flat tax on anyone making $20,000 or more for singles, and $40,000 or more for individuals and reduce the top corporate tax from 35% to 12.5%. This plan will increase demand dramatically as people will have more money to sell, and it will make our country a place where corporations want to move here, instead of wanting to leave.


Romney: That tax plan is just not a realistic proposal. The CBO did an analysis on both our tax plans and it stated that Speaker Gingrich tax plan would cut revenues by 1.3 trillion in just the first year it would be implemented. So how do you plan to make up that 1.3 trillion

Gingrich: My intention is to cut spending to pay for this tax plan

Romney: There is no way you can cut 1.3 trillion dollars in spending without cutting military spending or entitlement spending and both Speaker Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel said they aren't willing to do that, and polls show the American people dont want to cut either of them. The fact is after 4 years of having a President who does nothing but give Policy Proposals which would never pass or work, I think we need a President who puts action over Rhetoric(Applause).

Key Moment 2:

King: Another issue what the people of South Carolina believe is important is the issue of healthcare. With healthcare costs so high, it is getting increasingly difficult for South Carolinians to afford Health Insurance. What would be your policy proposal to lower costs and get more people insured?


Romney: Our healthcare system has to be reformed ASAP, as its getting worse every year. The problem is the so called reform we got , was just increasing Medicaid funding. While that may have been needed, it didnt fix the problem which is health care has gotten to expensive. My solution will be simple.

- First, we will have to improve our primary care system that helps promote keeping people healthy instead of just reacting when people get sick. To do this we will work with many insurance companies, and Medicaid managed plans to design a system that does exactly that .

- Second, we will allow the Medicare to negotiate drug prices for beneficiaries, so we can lower the cost of prescriptions and reduce the cost of Medicare.

- Third, we will open up state lines , which will lower costs.

- Lastly, we will make it illegal for health insurance companies to deny someone healthcare because they have preexisiting conditions

Gingrich: Currently our healthcare system is tied up in so many lawsuits,  by regulatory agencies, or waste which causes costs to skyrockets. If I am president we will sign Tort Reform for Doctors, get rid of unnecessary regulations that only please the bureaucrats, and cut waste. This alongside creating High-Risk Pool plans and incentivizing people to sign up for Health Saving Account should cause the price of insurance to go down dramatically.

Romney: Your plan does not reduce the costs of prescription drugs, or incentivizes long-term health. This means that two of the biggest reasons why healthcare costs so much will still remain with your plan.



Key Moment 3:


King: Speaker Gingrich , your ex wife says that you told her you wanted an open marriage. Can you respond to that.

Gingrich : No but I will, the fact that this question was asked in a debate is sickening . But that story is not true its just a hit piece and you should be ashamed of asking it.


Romney : The problem is that this was around the same time you were leading the charge to impeach President Clinton for what most Americans thought was an affiar. So the fact that the guy leading  a charge to impeach someone for having an affair, while having an affair it self is extremely hypocritical . So this question is fair


Gingrich: We impeached him for lying nnot for having an Affiar

Romney: Thats true but most people want someone who is going after someone for their actions to be moral . You were not and for that reasons the republican caucus fired you in 1998 and you had to resign .

[TPIG]

Go Mitt, GO!

[TheSaint250]

Go Mitt, GO!

[_]

Go Mitt, GO!

[KingSweden]

Interested to see where you take this.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Governor Romney wins the South Carolina Primary:

John King : Romney's lead keeps getting larger, and while the votes still may be theoretically there I dont see how Speaker Gingrich or Senator Santorum can win at this stage.

Anderson Cooper: Stand by for a moment




Wolf Blitzer : CNN can now project that Governor Mitt Romney has won the South Carolina Primary

John King : That may be the race, Governor Romney won in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina all of which represent a different wing of the Republican party. I dont see how he can be beaten now unless , Speaker Gingrich can pull off a miracle in Florida.


South Carolina Primary: Mitt Romney 39% , Newt Gingrich 35%, Ron Paul 16%, Santorum : 10%


Breaking News : Rick Santorum Drops out of the Race


Blitzer: Santorum has officially dropped out of the race, and here is what he said about that

Santorum: We fought hard , but there is no way I can win now so for that reasons I am dropping out of the Race and endorsing Speaker Gingrich as he is the only candidate left who can beat Governor Romney.

Governor Romney victory speech:



Romney: Thank You, South Carolina, for your support. To all my supporters who helped made this win possible, I want to let you know that today you helped begin the long process of helping our country move to a future where we have a  prosperous economy with strong growth, a balanced budget, a healthcare system which focuses on keeping people healthy instead of just waiting until people get sick, a tax code which incentives business to create jobs here instead of overseas. Thank You Again and may God Bless you and may God Bless America.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mitt Romney wins Florida Primary:




Wolf Blitzer: CNN Can now project that Mitt Romney has won the Florida primary , and due to that he will receive all 50 of Florida delegates

Cooper: Well Romney has won yet another primary, and this time a big won Florida. Do you think he can be beaten now.

Donna Brazille: No I dont see a way Gingrich can catch up to Romney now. Romney has won so far not only every state in the primaries but has won every type of Republican voter so far : Social Conservatives in Iowa, Business Conservatives in New Hampshire, and Movement Conservatives in South Carolina and Florida.

Wolf Blitzer: The Gingrich camp has just put out they are still going to be in the race until the Feb 7th Primaries .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney wins the Nevada Caucus:





Wolf Blitzer: CNN can project that Governor Mitt Romney has won the Nevada Caucus.

John King: It looks like he is going to win this in a landslide as well

[OSR stands with Israel]

Governor Romney Sweeps February 7th Primaries

John King : Just look at the results of tonight's primaries. Governor Romney won Missouri by 12 points, Minnesota by 21 points and Colorado by 30 points and the runner-up in that primary was not Speaker Gingrich , but congressman Paul. Its safe to say its over

Blitzer: Well CNN wont call the primary for Romney until he gets 1144 delegates or if Speaker Gingrich and Congressman Paul Drop out.  

Newt Gingrich Drops out of the Race:




Gingrich: Thank You Thank You for all your support. We fought hard throughout this primary, but unfortunately, we have lost, and now the chances of us winning the nominations have dropped from slim to none. So For that Reasons I have decided to drop out of the race and endorse Governor Romney for President. This doesnt mean though I will stop campaigning for true conservative principles. Thank You again and May God Bless America.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mitt Romney wins the Republican Nomination



Wolf Blitzer: We are getting word that Congressman Ron Paul has decided to drop out of the race. His campaign stated that since it would now have been a two-way race, they would have no chance of getting to a convention so for that reason they are dropping out. Now since both Speaker Gingrich and Congressman Paul have dropped out , CNN can now project that Governor Mitt Romney will be the presumptive Republican nominee. Now let's listen in to his victory speech.



Romney : Thank You Thank You. Tonight was a great night for all of us, and I want to thank Speaker Gingrich and Congressman Paul for a well-fought campaign and I wish them the best with whatever they want to do in their future. I also want to thank all my supporters, my volunteers, and my family who made this victory possible tonight, as I couldnt do it without you(Applause). Although while we may have won the Republican nomination tonight, this is just the beginning, and we will need to work even harder if we want to defeat President Obama this November.

Over the past 4 years under President Obama's leadership, the economy still is struggling to recover from the recession and this has resulted in high unemployment, the middle class shrinking, poverty remaining high , a trillion dollar budget deficit and so many other fiscal economic problems.Also 4 years ago the President of the United States promised Immigration and Healthcare reform and despite the fact that his party had a super majority in Congress for the first two years of his presidency they failed to get anything passed which fixes our problems. Its time for a change , and that is why we must not reelect President Obama , because we cant afford 4 more years like the last 4 . Over the next 4 years we need a President who can fix our broken tax and regulatory code to make our economy strong again, we need someone who can pass actual healthcare reform, we need to fix our immigration system we need a President who takes actions to solve our problems, instead of just giving rhetoric. Thank You and May God Bless America.

[Canis]

A large reason Romney lost was because he drained a large amount of his coffers in the primary in this scenario Romney wins the primary more easy right?

[OSR stands with Israel]

A large reason Romney lost was because he drained a large amount of his coffers in the primary in this scenario Romney wins the primary more easy right?

Yah that was one of the reasons he lost. Newt and Santorum campaign against him also made him go pretty far to the right , which allowed Obama to easily label him as a flip flopper when Romney tried to pivot to the Center in the General. This time he pretty much has the nomination won by South Carolina, and straight up wins it 3 weeks before Super Tuesday(In 2012 there were many primaries before Super Tuesday).


Some other reasons why I think he lost in OTL were:


- Obama getting Healthcare Reform Passed(In this TL , Obamacare never passes and instead all Obama gets is increasing Medicaid funding ) . This also

- The Paul Ryan Pick(This pick cost Romney FL, and cost him I would say 2-3 percentage points in OH , PA which greatly narrowed his path to 270)

- Third Debate loss

- Overall how narrow his path to 270 was(This allowed Obama to go on the offensive while keeping Romney on the Defensive.)

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney and RNC plan out a strategy to win big in November at both the Presidential and the Congressional Level



Strategy(Private):


Presidential Election strategy :

- Run as a Competent Center-Right Republican

- Run not only against Obama's Economic Record but his failures to enact health care and immigration reform to paint him as Incompetent

- Using the above two strategies to expand the map to not only win back the Bush states Obama flipped in 08, but to expand the map.

Senate Strategy :
- Convince many former Governors to Run for the Senate in swing states held by Democrats

- Convince Richard Lugar to step down, and Mitch Daniels to run instead of him to starve of a possible Tea Party Upset

- Go after tea party candidates early before they can get traction


Both:


- Have the Senate and Presidential candidates do many rallies together, so it can benefit both candidates

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mitt Romney Releases Detailed Economic Plan:





Tax Plan:

- Cut individual tax rates under 250,000 dollars by 20% and 10% for people making between $250,000-$500,000. (Top Tax Rate of 35% is moved up too people making $500,000 or more).

- Cut the Top Corporate Tax Rate from 35% to a Business Tax Rate of 20% . This means all Businesses with 3 or more employees will no longer pay taxes at the individual rate, but at the same rate corporations pay.

- Cap State and Local Tax Deductions at $30,000 a year

- Remove the Offshore Tax Deferral Deduction


Goals of this Tax Reform: The income tax cuts will significantly increase the number of disposable income Americans get per year , so Americans have more money to spend which in turn will increase demand in the economy.

The Corporate tax cuts will incentive companies doing business in the United States. This will also give them more money to create jobs, or increase the supply to lower costs for consumers, or invest in different sectors in the economy. This tax plan also gets rid of loopholes which dont benefit middle class Americans , and dont grow the economy.


Spending Plan:

- Immediately cut non-defense discretionary spending by 5 percent

- Have heads of each department working with House and Senate committees to cut waste from each department.

- Allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, to makes prescription drugs cheaper and lower cost of Medicare

- Give States more responsibilities for programs they can run more effectively and efficiently

Goals : Is to reduce or budget deficit significantly each year so we can have a balanced budget in 8-10 years.

Free Trade Plan:

- Sign New Free Trade Agreements with Latin America, Asia, and India

- Curtail unfair free trade practices by countries who practice them

Goals: Opening up new markets for American goods and services, building stronger economic ties with countries all around the world to improve both our economy and their economy. This is important because in an increasingly interconnected world we will need to improve economic ties with the world to stay competitive. At the same time sending a message that unfair free trade practices will make free trade deals fair as well.


Energy:


- Approve of Keystone XL Pipeline

- Increasing Domestic Energy production

- Invest in Alternative Energy to create new jobs and give Americans an alternative energy source .

Goals: To become Energy Independent

Regulatory Reform:


- Make every new regulation proposed have to do a cost and benefit analysis

- Getting rid of existing Regulations that hurt small buisnesses grow

Goal : To get rid of current and future regulations that harm our economy more than they benefit it .

[UWS]

Will Romney select a different running mate?

[OSR stands with Israel]

Will Romney select a different running mate?

yes

[UWS]

A large reason Romney lost was because he drained a large amount of his coffers in the primary in this scenario Romney wins the primary more easy right?

Yah that was one of the reasons he lost. Newt and Santorum campaign against him also made him go pretty far to the right , which allowed Obama to easily label him as a flip flopper when Romney tried to pivot to the Center in the General. This time he pretty much has the nomination won by South Carolina, and straight up wins it 3 weeks before Super Tuesday(In 2012 there were many primaries before Super Tuesday).


Some other reasons why I think he lost in OTL were:


- Obama getting Healthcare Reform Passed(In this TL , Obamacare never passes and instead all Obama gets is increasing Medicaid funding ) . This also

- The Paul Ryan Pick(This pick cost Romney FL, and cost him I would say 2-3 percentage points in OH , PA which greatly narrowed his path to 270)

- Third Debate loss

- Overall how narrow his path to 270 was(This allowed Obama to go on the offensive while keeping Romney on the Defensive.)

And a reason why people say Ryan cost Romney Florida in real life must be because of Ryan's past opposition to the Cuban Embargo, which might have displeased some Cuban-American voters that are a crucial voting group to win in Florida.

[OSR stands with Israel]

A large reason Romney lost was because he drained a large amount of his coffers in the primary in this scenario Romney wins the primary more easy right?

Yah that was one of the reasons he lost. Newt and Santorum campaign against him also made him go pretty far to the right , which allowed Obama to easily label him as a flip flopper when Romney tried to pivot to the Center in the General. This time he pretty much has the nomination won by South Carolina, and straight up wins it 3 weeks before Super Tuesday(In 2012 there were many primaries before Super Tuesday).


Some other reasons why I think he lost in OTL were:


- Obama getting Healthcare Reform Passed(In this TL , Obamacare never passes and instead all Obama gets is increasing Medicaid funding ) . This also

- The Paul Ryan Pick(This pick cost Romney FL, and cost him I would say 2-3 percentage points in OH , PA which greatly narrowed his path to 270)

- Third Debate loss

- Overall how narrow his path to 270 was(This allowed Obama to go on the offensive while keeping Romney on the Defensive.)

And a reason why people say Ryan cost Romney Florida in real life must be because of Ryan's past opposition to the Cuban Embargo, which might have displeased some Cuban-American voters that are a crucial voting group to win in Florida.

and his plan to voucherize Medicare

[Kingpoleon]

If by “middle class,” Romney means people making under $80,000 a year, cutting their taxes by 20% would greatly - massively - increase the deficit.

[OSR stands with Israel]

If by “middle class,” Romney means people making under $80,000 a year, cutting their taxes by 20% would greatly - massively - increase the deficit.

The offshore tax deferral tax deduction will be eliminated, and SALT deductions will be capped at $30,000.


This plan is also less of a tax cut than his OTL plan

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mitt Romney releases Healthcare, Immigration , and Education Reform Plans


Healthcare Reform :

-  We will have to improve our primary care system that helps promote keeping people healthy instead of just reacting when people get sick. To do this we will work with many insurance companies, and have Medicaid managed plans to design a system that does that .

- Allow the Medicare to negotiate drug prices for beneficiaries, so we can lower the cost of prescriptions and reduce the cost of Medicare.

- We will open up state lines, which will lower costs.

- Incentivize insurance companies to enter counties which only currently have carrier on the exchange, to create more competition

- We will make it illegal for health insurance companies to deny someone healthcare because they have preexisting conditions

Goals: To reduce the costs of health insurance, which will make it easier for people to get coverage.

Immigration Reform :

- Improve Border Security, by increasing the number of agents on the border, and also by improving border security technology.

- Mandates All Buisnesses to use E Verify

- Increases Fines on Employers and Buisnesses who hire illegal immigrants, and sanctions Buisnesses who are repeat offenders.

- Allow Illegal Immigrants who were brought here as kids to receive a pathway to citizenship within the next 6-10 years.

- Making it easier for people who have H1B visas and other high skilled visas to receive green cards, so we can attract an retain the best and the brightest from around the world.

Goal: To secure our borders, and  to retain the best and brightest immigrants so we can stay competitive in the future 
Education Reform

- Give students who graduated in the top 20% of their class a full ride scholarship to any in-state public university

- Requiring all public universities to be transparent about career prospects of each of their degree programs

- Increase Funding for Trade Schools

- To incentivize universities against raising tuition by rewarding public universities who work to lower tuition costs.


Goal : To make it more affordable to go to college

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

My prediction for how the Senate Races will end up in this time line:

D in real life, R in this:

North Dakota
Montana
Indiana (Mourdock not nominated)

D in real life, hard to guess in this:

New Mexico
Wisconsin
Ohio
Virginia
Massachusetts

D in real life, still D in this:

Everything else

[OSR stands with Israel]

My prediction for how the Senate Races will end up in this time line:

D in real life, R in this:

North Dakota
Montana
Indiana (Mourdock not nominated)

D in real life, hard to guess in this:

New Mexico
Wisconsin
Ohio
Virginia
Massachusetts

D in real life, still D in this:

Everything else

Wait until you see what the Senate candidates will be , because many of the Senate Nominees wont be the same as OTL.