A Time For Unity - The Lost Decades - A Tale of a Potential Future

[Person Man]

This is gonna be a fun TL, I can tell...but this is going to suck so hard for the American People, let alone People in general.

[Person Man]

Well things will tend to get worse. Never anywhere near as bad as in Germany mind you, but the Progressives are very upset people, and as is often the case when your political enemies are viewed as traitors, not particularly tolerant.

The next one should be up tomorrow which will give the Republicans a chance to try and make sense of the national situation, while we will get to see how the Progressives consolidate themselves at the state level.

What do the Progressives generally believe?

[Person Man]

Well things will tend to get worse. Never anywhere near as bad as in Germany mind you, but the Progressives are very upset people, and as is often the case when your political enemies are viewed as traitors, not particularly tolerant.

The next one should be up tomorrow which will give the Republicans a chance to try and make sense of the national situation, while we will get to see how the Progressives consolidate themselves at the state level.

What do the Progressives generally believe?

Left-wing Populist on Economics: Basically believe that international finance is a pyramid scheme, and that it was short term opportunism on the part of the national political leadership that led to most of the West including the US allowing manufacturing to be replaced with Goldman Sachs as the driver of the economy.

Basically they would favor not only bailing out the auto industry but massively subsidizing it as well as supporting protection. They accept that these are "inefficient" but feel that they are not economic but national issues and that the national interest is served from self-sufficiency. Those who focused on finance left the country exposed and at the mercy of the rest of the world, and created a system that lets a few profit.

This is not Marxist. More Bismarckian nationalism, with a touch of lynch-mob mentality thrown in as well.

Socially Far-Right - well sort of: They are starting out in Massachusetts so no direct attacks on Gay Rights as of yet, but there is attacks on the "culture of intellectualism" which they think caused intellectual fads which led to the above economic problems as well as their view that liberals care far too much about the rights of criminals, foreigners, not enough about Americans. They would find Kwanzaa celebrations in schools stupid, bans on school prayer PC running amok, and the closest they come to normal religious social conservatism, the view that a "cult of the individual" is corrupting society.

Also they view the media as parsital, not so much biased as encouraging the worst in people. politics as a sports game.

So, they are, in a way, nationalist socialist?

[Person Man]

Well things will tend to get worse. Never anywhere near as bad as in Germany mind you, but the Progressives are very upset people, and as is often the case when your political enemies are viewed as traitors, not particularly tolerant.

The next one should be up tomorrow which will give the Republicans a chance to try and make sense of the national situation, while we will get to see how the Progressives consolidate themselves at the state level.

What do the Progressives generally believe?

Left-wing Populist on Economics: Basically believe that international finance is a pyramid scheme, and that it was short term opportunism on the part of the national political leadership that led to most of the West including the US allowing manufacturing to be replaced with Goldman Sachs as the driver of the economy.

Basically they would favor not only bailing out the auto industry but massively subsidizing it as well as supporting protection. They accept that these are "inefficient" but feel that they are not economic but national issues and that the national interest is served from self-sufficiency. Those who focused on finance left the country exposed and at the mercy of the rest of the world, and created a system that lets a few profit.

This is not Marxist. More Bismarckian nationalism, with a touch of lynch-mob mentality thrown in as well.

Socially Far-Right - well sort of: They are starting out in Massachusetts so no direct attacks on Gay Rights as of yet, but there is attacks on the "culture of intellectualism" which they think caused intellectual fads which led to the above economic problems as well as their view that liberals care far too much about the rights of criminals, foreigners, not enough about Americans. They would find Kwanzaa celebrations in schools stupid, bans on school prayer PC running amok, and the closest they come to normal religious social conservatism, the view that a "cult of the individual" is corrupting society.

Also they view the media as parsital, not so much biased as encouraging the worst in people. politics as a sports game.

So, they are, in a way, nationalist socialist?

Pretty much, and would probably use that name if not for the unfortunate connotations. Some of their positions(attacks on finance) can be seen as anti-Semitic and attract support, and as will be seen in the 2020 Presidential Race, they definitely benefit from it, but they are not racial. Its more cultural.

So, its not phenotypical, but still "ethnic".

[Person Man]

Working on it now? Can we have a resistance starting by the late 2020s?

[Person Man]

So, its a bull-dozer type of thing? How does technology do under their iron fist? When will you make the 2018 thing? I just can't wait.

[Person Man]

This timeline is like an exquisitely aesthetically pleasing train wreck. It's excellent. Please post an update soon.

I hope we can side stories about it.

[Person Man]

So, 2019 is when the temperture hits 212. When will it hit 451?

[Person Man]

It sounds like a good program at this point....but it won't be soon, huh? I mean, a hawkish civic republican regime seems just what we would need. The common good would trump private and partial interests.

[Person Man]

So, basically the Progressive Party is like the Chinese Communist Party in that they have a paralell structure between their political offices and their party offices. The head of the Progressive Party is the president or the presidential candidate, or the congressional caucus leader ....and so on.

[Person Man]

Will this be continued?

[Person Man]

Hahaha...this is bad ass.

[Person Man]

Putsch! Putsch! Putsch!

[Person Man]

Gee....you are pretty good. How long were you thinking us this?

[Person Man]

Watcha doin overseas, anyways? I haven't been overseas in like 8 years... I used to go overseas every year...but that was long ago.

[Person Man]

So, are you a Doctoral or Master's candidate?

[Person Man]

So, are you a Doctoral or Master's candidate?

At the moment finishing up my Masters. In a Doctoral program but I may take time off. Doing some stuff for the Baker campaign freelance now, and may work there, depending how things look in a few months.

Hmmm...shouldn't have gotten my law degree and held out for my MA or MPA...or should have gotten the dual MPA/JD. ...there's just no fun in being a new attorney. ...otoh, it appears that publishers and policy kids have more fun...or is that just the movies?

[Person Man]

Yeah. Law School is a toughie...and now I am studying for the bar. I had to return to my nest in the seculed plains of Western Wyoming after graduating and leaving my last jackass of a date. At least if I survive the bar, I will never be in want again....hopefully...Hell...I think its worth the extra $20,000 a year (I hope) and at least outside of studying, I have time to finish losing my weight. It feels good to be in 32s again...

[Person Man]

Keep it up!!

[Person Man]

Is this it?

[Person Man]

What I meant to say is whether or not this is the breaking point in the storyline, where power is assumed.

[Person Man]

So, he's where Paul was just before reproclaiming the Dukeship in Dune.

[Person Man]

Well, today's young people are liberal more on social issues than the economic issues you emphasize. You may be vastly overestimating the country's economic leftism because you have a focus on Massachusetts. The idea of Massachusetts leading any sort of national movement seems, farfetched. But I don't want to get too far into nitpicking. This storyline is very impressive, especially since you're looking so far into the future with detail. Keep it coming...

Thanks for the kind remarks.

Today's young people have not entered college with dreams of being 250K a year attorneys by age thirty and ended up working for 11 dollars an hour entering data into excel. I had four friends who graduated in 2006 and went to Georgetown law. That is what they are doing for work while living with their parents. The crushed hopes has a way of shifting politics, especially if it is combined with crushed hopes in Obama.

The reason I did Massachusetts is because the forces underpinning Democratic rule are not ideologically in sync that well with the party, namely the ethnic machines, working-class voters etc. Most would not vote for a Republican, but as Cahill is proving in polls, will vote against a Democrat who they feel does not represent them.

gee you have me pinned down quite weill.  Could these changes be ineviatable if our generation continues to get pennies on its dollars (your attorney friends are getting a dime of their dollars and so am I...in fact if that is representative of Georgetown, I am pretty happy to have stayed in Wyoming. At least I can feel happy for the 54 classmates that did get jobs..I had 78 classmates...)
I mean, if I am still not doing well when I am 30, I would probably become a Progessive...the year would be 2015 and I would be marching in one of those Patriot parades against the bankers, professors and celebrites that had denied me my manhood. Heck, maybe in ten years after that, I would be a Major or Leutinant Colenel in the new American SS. A black shirt is better than no shirt. In fact, it would be cool if you modeled a Patriot villian after me when the Patriots do take hold...bwahaha...

[Person Man]

...and they won't just destroy themselves in the process...it will cause a major wound on our country...and there will be someone that will come to draw on that power that the country has gathered to heal itself.

[Person Man]

Yeah, it does seem pretty awesome, doesn't it? Unlikely but awesome...