So, I don't think I have the time or experience to pull this off alone,
but if anyone wants to co-mod this game with me, I'd be happy to move forward. The idea is pretty simple. John Kerry wins Ohio in 2004 and thus the election. I'll fill out a brief summary of his first three years in office in order to give players a frame of reference. Everyone is welcome to join, though I'd frankly prefer experienced players choose the bigger candidates while newer players take on the others. It's more fun to see someone new take a character like, say, Sam Brownback and propel them to victory in Iowa anyway. Anyway, post/PM me if you want to co-moderate,
Proposed Rules.
1. Turns will last four days and will cover a week overall. Extensions will be given generously, naturally, but the faster we move the quicker we get to the real fun. We all have lives though, so don't feel bad if you need an extra day.
2. Characters are limited to those listed below. There will be no substitutes (no fictional characters, athletes, celebrities, or kooks) but you're free to pick any candidate on the list. Third party candidates are not currently allowed, but later on once the general election phase nears, I will make allowances.
3. Fundraising must be done in order to sustain a campaign; all schedules should include fundraising strategies (whether they be dinners or simply online money bombs) at least once or twice each month if they expect to run ads, hire staff, travel, etc.
4. The more detailed the schedule, the better results. A post that says "rally at ChairmanSanchez park in Des Moines, Iowa" will get more traction than "Senator Sanchez barnstorms in Iowa." I highly recommend using the "save draft" feature while writing your posts so you don't lose any lengthy scheduling posts before it gets published (been there, done that, and it sucks).
5. Endorsements
must be approved by me; as this is an alternate setting, certain endorsers will have different jobs or roles than in our timeline. For example, in this timeline, Michael Steele beats Mfume to become Maryland's Senator, etc. I'll list those below.
6. News events and background stories will take place throughout the timeline, effecting the race and polling. I will use a random number generator twice. First, all of the players will be listed in alphabetical order. Going from one to ten, each candidate will have a random number assigned to them by a random number generator. The one with the highest number will get a positive random event, the one with the lowest will get a negative.
7. Debates will take place like in most games, but I have a new idea: instead of players writing up their own interview transcripts and questions, the moderators will take charge of the media. This means that individual candidates will have the opportunity to answer questions like the ones they'd be asked in debates on a one-on-one basis. If a candidate attacks another candidate in the media (such as during an interview with Chris Matthews or Bill O'Reilly or whatever), then the candidate attacked will be offered a chance to respond.
Player Characters.
DemocraticPresident John Kerry (MA)
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH)
RepublicanSenator George Allen (VA) -
S019Senator Sam Brownback (KS)
Former Governor Jeb Bush (FL)
Senator Lincoln Chafee (RI)
Former Governor Jim Gilmore (VA)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (GA) -
Grassr00tsFormer Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NY)
Former Governor Mike Huckabee (AR)
Congressman Duncan Hunter (CA)
Senator John McCain (AZ)
Congressman Ron Paul (TX) -
ScottGovernor George Pataki (NY)
Governor Rick Perry (TX) -
NotTylerGovernor Mitt Romney (MA) -
JakobisgoodSenator Rick Santorum (PA)
Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO)
History (2004-2007)
Senator John Kerry (D-MA)/Senator John Edwards (D-NC): 272 Electoral Votes, 50.61% of the popular vote.President George W. Bush (R-TX)/Vice President Dick Cheney (R-WY): 266 Electoral Votes, 48.39% of the popular vote.Other (
Nader,
Libertarian,
Constitution,
Green,
Peace & Freedom): 1.00% of the popular vote.
2004 Senate Elections
Freshman Senators (2005):
Ken Salazar (D-CO),
Betty Castor (D-FL),
Johnny Isakson (R-GA),
Barack Obama (D-IL),
Daniel Mongiardo (D-KY),
David Vitter (R-LA),
Erskine Bowles (D-NC),
Tom Coburn (R-OK),
Jim DeMint (R-SC),
John Thune (R-SD).
Senate Composition (2005):Democratic (Harry Reid): 51 (-)
Republican (Bill Frist): 48 (-)
Independent (N/A): 1 (-)
House of Representatives (2005):
Republican (Dennis Hastert): 230 (+1)
Democrats (Nancy Pelosi): 204 (-1)
Independent (N/A): 1 (-)
Speaker-elect of the House: Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Incumbent Speaker of the House: Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
House Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer (D-MD)Freshman Representatives:
Diane Farrell (CT-4),
John Salazar (CO-3),
John Barrow (GA-8),
Melissa Bean (IL-8),
Mike Sodrel (IN-9),
Geoff Davis (KY-4),
Charlie Melancon (LA-3),
Charles Boustany (LA-7),
Brian Higgins (NY-27),
Louie Gohmert (TX-1),
Ted Poe (TX-2),
Michael McCaul (TX-10),
Mike Conaway (TX-11),
Kenny Merchant (TX-24),
Dave Ross (WA-8)
The 2004 election, though not as close nor controversial as the 2000 election before it, was a tight race that went down to the wire. It was not until 3:30 AM until Ohio was called for the Senator from Massachusetts, bringing the war oriented Bush administration to a premature conclusion. But while the election was over, the eternal struggle between the two dominant American political parties was still raging. Republicans initially seemed to struggle with the reality that the scion of the Bush dynasty and the wartime leader of the free world could be upended by a Massachussetts liberal like John Kerry. 31 Republican Representatives led by Congressmen Steve King and Tom Tancredo even attempted to challenge the counting of Ohio's 31 electoral districts, but their efforts were not enough to stop President Bush and his successor from engaging in a dignified transfer of power.
Cabinet of John Kerry (2005-2007)Secretary of State:
Richard Holbrooke (2005-present)
Secretary of the Treasury:
Stuart Eizenstat (2005-present)
Secretary of Defense:
Sam Nunn (2005-present)
Attorney General:
Eric Holder (2005-present)
Secretary of the Interior:
Tim Wirth (2005-present)
Secretary of Agriculture:
Tom Vilsack (2005-present)
Secretary of Commerce:
Gary Locke (2005-present)
Secretary of Labor:
Richard Gephardt (2005-present)
Secretary of Health & Human Services:
Howard Dean (2005-present)
Secretary of Housing & Urban Development:
Ron Sims (2005-present)
Secretary of Transportation:
Juanita MacDonald (2005-2007),
Shaun Donovan (2007-present)
Secretary of Energy: Ed Markey (2005-present)
Secretary of Education:
Jeanne Shaheen (2005-2007),
Anthony Miller (2007-present)
Secretary of Veteran's Affairs:
Max Cleland (2005-present)
Secretary of Homeland Security:
Jane Harman (2005-present)
The President's first year in office was less than stellar; the President did manage to pass a bold healthcare plan modeled on his home state. The Clinton-Frist Act implemented an individual mandate which required all Americans to purchase health insurance, whereas subsidies were introduced for those who couldn't or only could partially afford it. Similarly, discrimination against patients with pre-existing conditions was outlawed by the act. Though the bill was written and first implemented by Republicans, the GOP majority in Congress immediately set to work against the initial healthcare reform effort. Under pressure from an increasingly conservative base, any form of public option was quickly taken off the table. Yet President Kerry was able to work with Senate Majority Leader Frist in the end to pass a package through the Republican Congress that disappointed more progressive minded Democrats. This bipartisan vote was a hard fought victory that would be rarely repeated throughout the first two years of Kerry's term.
The growing "Tea Party" movement formed partially as a reaction to the new President's economic policies, which included healthcare reform and stated intentions to repeal the Bush tax cuts set off a firestorm among the conservative wing of the GOP. Protests against the healthcare bill attracted large crowds, and town hall meetings turned tense as incumbents from both parties faced intense pressure to vote against the legislation. Stirred on by right-wing media figures like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly, the Tea Party peaked with a nearly 100,000 strong rally in Washington. Yet the President was determined not to be "swift boated" again, and moved forward with the bill successfully.
The Iraq War by 2006 was becoming a hopeless quagmire, and the administration initially favored a large scale draw down of American forces. But as sectarian violence pushed the country into a civil war which threatened to draw in both Iran and Saudi Arabia, a new strategy was needed. Despite his victory, Bush during the campaign had successfully marked Kerry as a "political weathervane," which made Kerry's decision to
increase the presence of American combat forces in Iraq controversial. Yet the surge, however polarizing, would prove to be a short term success in stabilizing Iraq. American casualties temporarily decreased along with insurgent violence, but it came at the cost of total withdrawal within the President's first term.
Other foreign policy successes included the Amsterdam Accords, in which the US and EU successfully negotiated an end to the Iranian nuclear program. In exchange for IAEA oversight of Iranian nuclear plants, the Islamic Republic agreed to halt their weapons of mass destruction plan. North Korea on the other hand remained intransigent as ever, though backroom negotiations would continue to take place with relatively little success throughout his first term. Attempts by President Kerry to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in the Senate proved to be fruitless as well. Angered by Kerry's more multilateral approach to foreign policy, Senator Joe Lieberman - who was only five years earlier the running mate of Al Gore - defected to the Republican Party, increasing their Senate presence to 49 seats.
The Republican Congress was more amenable to President Kerry's education program, which included massive funding increases and pay raises for teachers at struggling schools. Another successful legislative win for the administration saw the implementation of a Military Family Bill of Rights. Efforts to pass immigration reform, new campaign finance regulations, and the return of the Fairness Doctrine were stalled by the partisan animosity surrounding the healthcare reform effort. The Clinton-Tauscher Act was initially an expansive effort, that while short of the progressive dream of Medicare-for-All, was none the less inclusive of a public option. Though House Republicans had expressed tepid support for provisions protecting those with preexisting conditions, the individual mandate and the expansion of CHIP into a universal, cost free health insurance program for all Americans under the age of 21 was simply too much for the GOP to stomach.
Ultimately, in the spring of 2006, a deal was reached. Patients with preexisting conditions would be given new protections which would prevent discrimination by insurance companies, and insurance co-ops were established. Americans would be mandated to purchase health insurance or face a fine, though a small subsidy program would be launched and consumers would be free to purchase plans across state lines. The bipartisan Clinton-Frist bill, as the watered down healthcare package came to be known as, was fiercely opposed by the Tea Party movement regardless, but it managed to clear the House by a vote of 225-210 and the Senate 59-41. This vote put the administration on a collision course with an energized Republican base. Bill Frist himself was forced to retire from the Senate and the Republican leadership, being replaced by Mitch McConnell in the summer of '06.
2006 Senate Elections
Freshman Senators (2007): Adam Putnam (R-FL),
Michael Steele (R-MD),
Mike Bouchard (R-MI),
Amy Kloubuchar (D-MN),
Tom Kean (R-NJ),
Mike Johanns (R-NE),
John Hoeven (R-ND),
Bob Corker (R-TN),
Bernie Sanders (I-VT)Senate Composition (2007):
Republican (Mitch McConnell): 55 (+6)
Democratic (Harry Reid): 44 (-6)
Independent (N/A): 1 (-)
Gubernatorial Incumbents (2007):
AL:
Robert RileyAK:
Sarah PalinAZ:
Janet NapolitanoAR:
Asa HutchisonCA:
Arnold SchwarzeneggerCO:
Bill RitterCT:
Jodi RellDE:
Ruth Ann MinerFL:
Charlie CristGA:
Sonny PerdueHI:
Linda LingleID:
Butch OtterIL:
Judy Baar TopinkaIN:
Mitch DanielsIA:
Sally PedersonKS:
Kathleen SebeliusKY:
Ernie FletcherLA:
Kathleen BlancoMD:
Martin O'MalleyMA:
Mitt RomneyME:
Chandler WoodcockMI:
Jennifer GranholmMN:
Tim PawlentyMS:
Haley BarbourMO:
Claire McCaskillMT:
Brian SchweitzerNE:
David HeinemanNV:
Jim GibbonsNH:
John LynchNJ:
Chris ChristieNM:
Bill RichardsonNY:
George PatakiNC:
Mike EasleyND:
John DalyrympleOH:
Ken BlackwellOK:
Brad HenryOR:
Ted KulongoskiPA:
Lynn SwannRI:
Don CarcieriSC:
Mark SanfordSD:
Mike RoundsTN:
Phil BredesenTX:
Rick PerryUT:
Jon Huntsman Jr.VT:
Jim DouglasVA:
Jerry KilgoreWA:
Christine GregoireWV:
Joe ManchinWI:
Jim DoyleWY:
Dave Freudenthal
So.........good scenario or nah?