The Revolution will not be Televised

[Emperor Charles V]

So what do you think of Gore winning? Based on how the election night progressed were you expecting it?

Coming up next is the final election map with the popular vote results. Then the Senate, House and Gubernatorial results of the 2000 elections. And then, Gore's cabinet!

The fun has just begun! Welcome the The Revolution will not be Televised!

[Emperor Charles V]

U.S. Presidential Election, 2000

Vice-President Al Gore (D-TN) / U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) - 343 EV / 52.4% PV
Governor George W. Bush (R-TX) / fmr. U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney (R-WY) - 195 EV / 43.9% PV

[Bigby]

What a shocker! Any reason why Bush failed so hard?

[Emperor Charles V]

What a shocker! Any reason why Bush failed so hard?

The POD was in the early months of 2000. Basically Gore had a better campaign strategy and team than IOTL and focused on increasing Democratic turnout and campaigning on the good economy and the success of the Clinton administration.

[Emperor Charles V]

DEMOCRATS TAKE THE SENATE!

U.S. Senate Elections, 2000

Democrats: 50 seats (+4) - led by Tom Daschle (SD)
Republicans: 50 seats (-4) - led by Trent Lott (MS)

---

Arizona
Jon Kyl (R-inc) 79%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

California
Dianne Feinstein (D-inc) 56%, Tom Campbell (R) 37%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Connecticut
Joe Lieberman (D-inc) 65%, Philip Giordano (R) 33%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Delaware
Tom Carper (D) 56%, Bill Roth (R-inc) 44%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

Florida
Bill Nelson (D) 55%, Bill McCollum (R) 42%
Connie Mack (R-inc) Retired - D Pickup

Georgia (Class 3 special)
Zell Miller (D-inc) 58%, Mack Mattingly (R) 38%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Hawaii
Daniel Akaka (D-inc) 73%, John Carroll (R) 25%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Indiana
Richard Lugar (R-inc) 67%, David Johnson (D) 32%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Maine
Olympia Snowe (R-inc) 69%, Mark Lawrence (D) 31%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Maryland
Paul Sarbanes (D-inc) 63%, Paul Rappaport (R) 37%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Massachusetts
Ted Kennedy (D-inc) 73%, Jack Robinson (R) 13%, Carla Howell (L) 12%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Michigan
Debbie Stabenow (D) 52%, Spencer Abraham (R-inc) 45%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

Minnesota
Mark Dayton (D) 51%, Rod Grams (R-inc) 41%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

Mississippi
Trent Lott (R-inc) 66%, Troy Brown (D) 32%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Missouri
Mel Carnahan (D) 53%, John Ashcroft (R-inc) 45%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

Montana
Brian Schweitzer (D) 49.1%, Conrad Burns (R-inc) 48.6%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

Nebraska
Don Stenberg (R) 52%, Bob Kerrey (D-inc) 48%
Incumbent Defeated - R Pickup

Nevada
John Ensign (R) 53%, Edward Benstein (D) 42%
Richard Bryan (D-inc) Retired - R Pickup

New Jersey
Jon Corzine (D) 52%, Bob Franks (R) 45%
Frank Lautenberg (D-inc) Retired - D Hold

New Mexico
Jeff Bingaman (D-inc) 63%, Bill Redmond (R) 37%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

New York
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-inc) 55%, Rick Lazio (R) 43%
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-inc) Retired - D Hold

North Dakota
Kent Conrad (D-inc) 61%, Duane Sand (R) 39%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Ohio
Mike DeWine (R-inc) 56%, Ted Celeste (D) 40%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Pennsylvania
Rick Santorum (R-inc) 49.4%, Ron Klink (D) 48.5%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Rhode Island
Lincoln Chafee (R-inc) 56%, Bob Weygand (D) 42%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Tennessee
Bill Frist (R-inc) 65%, Jeff Clark (D) 32%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Texas
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-inc) 65%, Gene Kelly (D) 32%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Utah
Orrin Hatch (R-inc) 66%, Scott Howell (D) 32%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Vermont
Jim Jeffords (R-inc) 66%, Ed Flanagan (D) 25%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold

Virginia
George Allen (R) 51%, Chuck Robb (D-inc) 48%
Incumbent Defeated - R Pickup

Washington
Maria Cantwell (D) 50%, Slade Gorton (R-inc) 48%
Incumbent Defeated - D Pickup

West Virginia
Robert Byrd (D-inc) 78%, David Gallaher (R) 20%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Wisconsin
Herb Kohl (D-inc) 62%, John Gillespie (R) 37%
Incumbent Re-Elected - D Hold

Wyoming
Craig Thomas (R-inc) 66%, Mel Logan (D) 25%
Incumbent Re-Elected - R Hold


---


REPUBLICANS KEEP THE HOUSE!

U.S. House Elections, 2000

Republicans (-3) - 220 seats + 1 Independent - led by Dennis Hastert (IL)
Democrats (+2) - 213 seats + 1 Independent - led by Dick Gephardt (MO)

***The sole difference in the House races from OTL is Florida's 8th District which ITTL Democrats pick up with the victory of Linda Chapin following the retirement of Republican incumbent Bil McCollum to run for the Senate.


---


U.S. Gubernatorial Elections, 2000

Republicans (-1) - 29 governorships
Democrats (+1) - 19 governorships
Independents (--) - 2 governorships

***Exactly the same as IOTL here.

[Emperor Charles V]

107th U.S. Congress
January 3, 2001 - January 3, 2003


*****


U.S. Senate

Democrats: 50 seats - led by Tom Daschle (SD)
Republicans: 50 seats - led by Trent Lott (MS)

---

President of the Senate
Joe Lieberman (D-CT) succeeding Al Gore on January 20, 2001




President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Robert Byrd (D-WV)




Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle (D-SD)




Senate Majority Whip
Harry Reid (D-NV)




Senate Minority Leader
Trent Lott (R-MS)




Senate Minority Whip
Don Nickles (R-OK)





*****


U.S. House of Representatives

Republicans - 220 seats + 1 Independent - led by Dennis Hastert (IL)
Democrats - 213 seats + 1 Independent - led by Dick Gephardt (MO)

---

Speaker of the House
Dennis Hastert (R-IL-12)




House Majority Leader
Dick Armey (R-TX-26)




House Majority Whip
Tom DeLay (R-TX-22)




House Minority Leader
Dick Gephardt (D-MO-3)




House Minority Whip
David Bonior (D-MI-10)

[Emperor Charles V]

The Gore Administration


President
Al Gore




Vice-President
Joe Lieberman




Secretary of State
Joe Biden





Secretary of the Treasury
Jack Lew




Secretary of Defense
Colin Powell




Attorney General
Eric Holder




Secretary of the Interior
Larry Echo Hawk




Secretary of Agriculture
Jill Long Thompson




Secretary of Commerce
Warren Rudman




Secretary of Labor
Maria Echaveste




Secretary of Health and Human Services
Jim McDermott




Secretary of Education
Juanita Millender-McDonald




Secretary of Housing and Urban Developement
Carol Moseley Braun




Secretary of Transportation
Norman Mineta




Secretary of Energy
Ernest Moniz




Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Jim Webb




Cheif of Staff
Ron Klain




Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Carol Browner




Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Gene Sperling




U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Jim Sasser




U.S. Trade Representative
Charlene Barshefsky

[Emperor Charles V]

Any questions/comments before I continue with events of the Gore presidency?

[New_Conservative]

Very disappointed that Bush couldn't pull it off

[Emperor Charles V]

Very disappointed that Bush couldn't pull it off

Well, there's always 2004.

[Bigby]

Oh God, Holder is Attorney General?

Al Gore lost the vote from he he'd never have to begin with.

[Captain Chaos]

Since Connecticut had a GOP Governor in 2000, he will appoint a Republican to Lieberman's Senate seat. Therefore, Republicans will now have a 51-49 majority.

Unless, Senator Jeffords decides to become an Independent and caucus with the Democrats.

[Emperor Charles V]

Since Connecticut had a GOP Governor in 2000, he will appoint a Republican to Lieberman's Senate seat. Therefore, Republicans will now have a 51-49 majority.

Unless, Senator Jeffords decides to become an Independent and caucus with the Democrats.

Yes. It's good you pointed this out. Daschle will be majority leader for only a few weeks (from January 3 until January 20). I will explain this in my next couple of posts.

And yes, if Jeffords switches, the Democrats get the majority back. Just like IOTL.

[Emperor Charles V]

The Presidency of Albert A. Gore, Jr.
Chapter I: The Beginning



“I, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., do solemnly swear 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. So help me God.”

On January 20, 2001, crowds watched as Al Gore was sworn in as the nation's 43rd President. The eight-year Clinton Administration marked with a prosperous economy, and concluding with a futile impeachment attempt by the Republican controlled Congress had come to a close. Now it was up to the new president to carry the torch of prosperity into the 21st Century from the man he had worked in close coordination with for the last eight years. The transition from President Clinton to President Gore made history as Gore became the first Democratic president to succeed another Democratic president by election in his own right since James Buchanan succeeded Franklin Pierce in 1856.

In his inauguration speech, President Gore promised he would fulfill his many campaign promises to the American people. He would keep the economy strong by building on the fiscal policies of the Clinton years. He would help future generations by making an effort to pay off the national debt by 2012. Also he would create a "medicare lock-box" so that Medicare payroll taxes could only be used to strengthen Medicare and pay down the national debt and pass $500 billion in tax cuts, to help people afford quality child care, higher education, health insurance and long-term care for aging or disabled relatives. Furthermore Gore would strive to establish trust funds to improve and expand access to affordable health care, dramatically improve education, and clean up America's environment along with investing in technology, revitalizing distressed communities, and opening markets to trade while at the same time negotiating worker rights, human rights, and environmental protections. Gore also promised to keep the nation's defense strong and protect Americans abroad and use part of the surplus to make reasonable increases in military spending. On social issues, Gore promised to maintain a firm separation between church and state, increase women's access to safe abortions and expand gay rights including passing a Hate Crimes Prevention Act and lifting the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy in the military supported by President Clinton.

The 2000 Elections saw the Democrats make a net gain of four seats splitting the body evenly between the two major parties which each won 50 seats. As a result, the tie-breaking vote from the swearing in of the 107th congress January 3 until Gore's inauguration on the 20th was vested in President-elect Gore who was still serving as Vice-President at the time. Therefore the Democrats led by Tom Daschle of South Dakota had control of the Senate for this two-and-a-half week time period. However, this would inevitably change when President Gore was inaugurated. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut left his seat to become Vice-President and in his place, the state's Republican governor John G. Rowland appointed popular moderate Republican congressman Chris Shays to take his place. With Shays replacing Lieberman, the Republicans as a result received a majority of 51-49, enough to retake the Upper Chamber and Trent Lott replaced Daschle as majority leader.



Senator Chris Shays (R-CT), who was appointed to succeed Joe Lieberman (D) who retired to become Vice-President

However with the new Republican majority in the Senate, President Gore still had little trouble confirming all his cabinet nominees, as he had the unequivocal support of moderates in the Republican caucus including senators Collins and Snowe (both R-ME), Jeffords (R-VT), Chafee (R-RI), Specter (R-PA), Warner (R-VA), Lugar (R-IN), Smith (R-OR) and now Shays (R-CT). Many Republicans, especially those from the conservative wing of the party began to criticize these nine senators which became known as the "Gore Nine" for their bipartisanship and voting almost in direct line with Gore during his first year in office. There were even rumors that the three most liberal of these senators, Jeffords, Chafee and Specter (especially Jeffords who represented  Vermont which was trending sharply to the left), would switch to the Democratic caucus, but all three denied, Jeffords famously saying, "I've been a Republican all my life. I didn't switch parties when Reagan was elected, I won't switch now." In addition to Shays, the 107th Congress received another new senator, Jack Markell, a Democrat, of Delaware who was appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner to replace long-time Senator Joe Biden who resigned after being appointed Secretary of State.

Working with the the Republican majority in both houses, President Gore signed into law the bipartisan "Gore Tax Cuts" in May and June of 2001. The cuts which were aimed at helping people afford education and health care passed almost unanimously in both houses with a vote of 97-3 in the Senate. Ironically, the three dissenters were all members of Gore's own party, Senators Feingold (D-WI), Wyden (D-OR) and Akaka (D-HI). In explaining why he voted against his own party, Senator Feingold stated, "do we really need a tax cut right now?" He famously raised the pitch of his voice on the word "really" transforming the speech into a sensation on the early internet and dramatically increasing name recognition for the Wisconsin senator.

In July, Gore signed into law another landmark piece of legislation of his early presidency, "The Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act" which was aimed at reforming medicare so that payroll taxes could only be used to strengthen Medicare and pay down the national debt, the long term goal Gore strove to accomplish by 2012. This law passed with a majority in both parties in both houses and in the senate received only 11 dissenting votes, all from conservative Republicans.

By an unexpected twist of fate, the Democrats would again retake the Senate in August. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott was suddenly killed in a car accident and Mississippi's Democratic Governor Ronnie Musgrove appointed congressman Ronnie Shows, a prominent blue-dog conservative Democrat to succeed him. This as a result brought the senate caucus to a 50-50 split again, and with Vice-President Lieberman's tie-breaking vote, Daschle became majority leader again. After Lott's death, Don Nickles of Oklahoma became Senate Minority Leader and Bill Frist of Tennessee became Senate Minority Whip.



Senate Majority Leader TRENT LOTT (1941-2001)

*****

*Note that by calling this Gore's "first term" does not necessarily mean he is going to have a second term. In this timeline, I will use "first term" to refer to the first four years of a president regardless of whether they are one-term or two-term presidents.

[hurricanehink]

Interesting write up, especially with Shays and Markell as the new senators (Shays will never have to know losing to Linda McMahon. Was there something that happened with Lott in August 2001 OTL? Either way, I like the symmetry of Connecticut and Mississippi.

[Emperor Charles V]

Interesting write up, especially with Shays and Markell as the new senators

Thanks!

(Shays will never have to know losing to Linda McMahon.

We don't know that

Was there something that happened with Lott in August 2001 OTL?

No, not that I know of, and if so it would be purely coincidental.

Also just as a side note, Shays and Shows (try saying that five times fast ) are both up for special elections in 2002. Shays is likely to go against State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Shows will probably face congressman Roger Wicker. But then again who knows what can happen in primaries.

As expected, Markell easily won his special election in June 2001 against a no-name. He is also up in 2002 but for a regular election instead of a special and is likely to cruise to victory again.

[Emperor Charles V]

Senate composition following Trent Lott's death in August 2001

The Senate is split 50-50 between both parties but the Democrats have control due to Vice-President Lieberman's tie-breaking vote

Red States have two Republican senators
Blue States have two Democratic senators
Green States have one senator from each party

I will do a similar map for Governors as well.

[Emperor Charles V]

Governors of the United States by party as of August 2001

Red States (29) have Republican governors
Blue States (19) have Democratic governors
Green States (2) have Independent governors

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

So, Gore's Cabinet has three Republicans?

[MadmanMotley]

Is Gary Johnson not governor of New Mexico ITTL?

[Emperor Charles V]

So, Gore's Cabinet has three Republicans?

Powell and Rudman are both Republicans but both are moderate "Rockefeller Republicans." I'm not sure what political affiliation Webb was in 2000, but he might have been a Republican or an independent. All I know is that he was a Republican in the '80s and was a Democrat by 2006. He did endorse Allen over Robb in 2000 so he might have been a Republican, though Robb was too liberal for Virginia to begin with (especially when he was in the Senate as Virginia was a far more conservative state then compared to now) and Webb endorsing Allen as an independent or moderate Democrat.

Is Gary Johnson not governor of New Mexico ITTL?

He is. My bad. I'll change it. I was thinking Bill Richardson was governor when I made the map so I made New Mexico blue by accident.