The Romney Administration

[OSR stands with Israel]

Vice President Rob Portman comes out in favor of Gay Marriage in an interview



Jake Tapper: What made you change your mind on gay marriage

Rob Portman: It started when my son came out to my wife and I that he was gay 3 years ago, and over the past 3 years I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care each other they shouldn't be stopped from doing so. When he first came out to us ,  I told him I was very proud of him and told him that no matter what we would love and support him. 

Jake Tapper: Will you push the President to change his view

Rob Portman: I do talk to him about this issue from time to time and ask him to reconsider his position, but we do have our differences as anyone does. What I know is that the President has never treated my son differently than anyone else because of the fact that he is gay and has always treated him with respect, and while I hope he changes his view on the issue, I also know we have our differences.

Romney reacts to news in a statement:

Romney: While I have my differences on the issue with the Vice President, I am proud he decided to share his own opinion on the issue even when it may differ from mine. While we both may be part of the same administration and party , we are still different people and it is only natural that we have differing views on some issues . I have also come to know his son , and I have profound respect for him and his bravery of coming out and I hope he is successful in whatever he may want to do in life. It is also the belief of this administration that gay couples should receive the same tax and domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights as married couples get .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney Announces that a treaty which would create a formal Alliance between the US and India has been agreed too.



Romney: I am pleased to announce that a tentative agreement has been reached between the US and India to establish a military alliance between our nations. Some details of this treaty will be


- If either the US or India is attacked by a foreign country or terrorist group, both the US and India will be at war with that country or terrorist group.

- Requires both our nations to Spend at least 2% of our GDP on defense spending

- India will provide military assistance to help in the fight against ISIS

- US will Freeze Security Aid to Pakistan


Also while we did not yet get an agreement on a potential trade agreement between our nations, we did make substantial progress in negotiations to do so

[OSR stands with Israel]

Obama announces he wont try to make a comeback in 2016 in an interview with Wolf Blitzer



Wolf Blitzer: Its a pleasure to have the chance to interview you again Mr.President

Obama: Pleasure is mine Wolf

Blitzer: Lets get started , two years have passed since Romney became president, what are somethings you think he has done well , and some things you think he hasnt

Obama: Well I wont tell you things I believe he isnt doing well because it is my opinion that former Presidents should second guess a President. Some things I believe he has done good so far is that I have liked the people who he has appointed in his cabinet and staff are very competent people,I have liked  he has reached out to members of both sides of the isle, and I have liked he unlike many politicians he has articulated a vision of how he would like to solve many of our nation's problems instead of taking the easy way out and trying to just to maintain the status quo and kick the problems down the road.

Blitzer: Well I remember that you yourself endorsed the Romney healthcare plan, even though it was a Republican plan.

Obama: Well the reason I did was that that plan did address some major issues such as costs of prescription drugs being too expensive and people not being able to see a doctor outside their periodic checkups unless they need to have a surgery done or get very ill. So while I disagree with the plan , as you know I support a Public Option it plan still was an improvement over the previous system.

Blitzer: Many of your supporters have noted that you are still young and want you to run for President in 2016 and pull a Grover Cleveland. Will you run for President in 2016

Obama: (Laughter) No I will not run for President in 2016 , and I don't plan to ever run for President again, but I have something to say to many of my supporters. There are going to many great people running for the Democratic Party nomination next year , and unlike me who would be only eligible for one more term they will be eligible for two.


Blitzer: As you may know both your Vice President Joe Biden, and your Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are considering running for President next year. Who will you endorse

Obama: I will not endorse anyone until they have won the Democratic Nomination Wolf.

Blitzer: Thanks again for coming on

Obama: Thanks as well for calling me on

[Burke Bro]

Cool timeline.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Cool timeline.

Thanks Im glad you liked it

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: TPP Trade Agreement Finalized at Summit :




Text of Agreement : https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text

[Pericles]

I've just given the TL a good read and it looks good. It's interesting to see Comey and Mueller do well, and it's good to be reminded that Romney would be different from Trump. The immigration reform was interesting and surprising given the GOP(and that Bush failed), however with big majorities and a strong mandate it seems possible. Healthcare reform was interesting, though I was surprised about Romney's position on prescription drug prices. With Ukraine, where did the troops go exactly? One of the things I think should have been done by Obama was give greater support to the Ukrainian government, not direct intervention but supplying them with lethal weaponry, and I hope Romney did that. I don't like the travel ban with the Ebola epidemic though. The 2014 midterms were interesting, Romney has done very well and it seems a bit like 2002.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I've just given the TL a good read and it looks good. It's interesting to see Comey and Mueller do well, and it's good to be reminded that Romney would be different from Trump. The immigration reform was interesting and surprising given the GOP(and that Bush failed), however with big majorities and a strong mandate it seems possible. Healthcare reform was interesting, though I was surprised about Romney's position on prescription drug prices. With Ukraine, where did the troops go exactly? One of the things I think should have been done by Obama was give greater support to the Ukrainian government, not direct intervention but supplying them with lethal weaponry, and I hope Romney did that. I don't like the travel ban with the Ebola epidemic though. The 2014 midterms were interesting, Romney has done very well and it seems a bit like 2002.

- Immigration Reform 2006 vs 2013 : A few reasons immigration reform failed in 2006 was by 2006 Bush had almost lost all of his political capital(Social Security Reform Failed, Response to Katrina was viewed as a failure, Iraq had become unpopular, Harriet Miers failed nomination, and Bush himself had become very unpopular) , the debate was taking place during an election year , and I believe it gave a pathway to citizenship not only to the kids of illegal immigrants but illegal immigrants it self.

On the other hand in this TL Romney had lots of political capital, it didn't take place during an election year(It took place more than 8 months before even the first primaries) , and this bill only gave a pathway to citizenship to illegal immigrants brought here as kids(their parents would be only eligible for permanent residence) .

-Romney Position on Prescription Drugs: Romney framed this position as a conservative position as allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices would lower the costs of Medicare.

- Ukraine: Near the western border of Ukraine, near enough to deter further Russian Aggression, and far enough to avoid any potential skirmishes which could escalate.

2014 Midterms: Well I wouldn't say it was like 2002 because the Republicans did lose seats in the House(and would have lost 10-12 more if not for the divisive Democratic Primaries ). I would say it would be more like 2018 if a Kasich or even a Rubio was President in which Republicans make modest gains in the Senate due to a favorable map, Lose a modest amount of seats in the House but not a lot due to the good economy.


Hope that answered your questions and thanks for the praise and I hope you continue to enjoy this TL

[OSR stands with Israel]

Early CNN 2016 Election Polls:

John King: So far the race looks like will be between Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden for the Nomination
Democratic Primary Polls:
If Both Hillary and Biden Decide to run:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 33%
Former Vice President Joe Biden 30%
Former Governor Howard Dean 22%
Senator Mary Landrieu 9%
Senator Bernie Sanders 3%
Former Senator Jim Webb 2%
Governor Martin O Maley 1%


If Only Hillary Runs:

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 60%
Former Governor Howard Dean 24%
Senator Mary Landrieu 10%
Senator Bernie Sanders 3%
Former Senator Jim Webb 2%
Governor Martin O Maley 1%


If Only Biden Runs:

Former Vice President Joe Biden 57%
Former Governor Howard Dean 23%
Senator Mary Landrieu 14%
Senator Bernie Sanders 3%
Former Senator Jim Webb 2%
Governor Martin O Maley 1%

General Election Polls

Mitt Romney : 57%
Hillary Clinton : 42%

Mitt Romney: 61%
Joe Biden : 38%


John King: With Romney's Approvals at around 60-61%, Hillary is actually outperforming so far .

[America Needs R'hllor]

Since Romney will win reelection... Hillary 2016, Dean 2020!

[OSR stands with Israel]

Senate Ratifies the US-Indian Military Alliance Treaty In an Overwhelming fashion



Brooke Baldwin: We have some breaking News coming out of Washington, and that is the Senate has ratified the US-Indian Military Alliance Treaty by an overwhelming 98-2 vote. The only Senators to vote against this treaty were Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. According to their spokesman, they were worried this treaty could increase chances of war with Pakistan.

[2016]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

[OSR stands with Israel]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

Thanks , Im Glad You Liked it

Yah the reason Romney has been very successful so far is he has stuck to his center-right agenda he campaigned on in 2012, and with the majorities, he has in Congress he is able to get that through. Since the agenda he is pushing is too conservative it has made the job harder for Democrats to oppose him , then it would be if he pushed an agenda like Partially Privatizing Social Security, Huge Budget Cuts, or a Trumpcare type healthcare plan.

An example of how he has been able to avoid his agenda from going off track was on education reform, as it became clear that the entire proposal wouldnt pass due to Democrats opposing the K-12 Reform plan as a block. On the other hand the higher education reform portion of the bill did have the votes to break a filibuster so the GOP decided to just pass that portion of the bill and fight for K-12 Education Reform another day.



 

[2016]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

Thanks , Im Glad You Liked it

Yah the reason Romney has been very successful so far is he has stuck to his center-right agenda he campaigned on in 2012, and with the majorities, he has in Congress he is able to get that through. Since the agenda he is pushing is too conservative it has made the job harder for Democrats to oppose him , then it would be if he pushed an agenda like Partially Privatizing Social Security, Huge Budget Cuts, or a Trumpcare type healthcare plan.

An example of how he has been able to avoid his agenda from going off track was on education reform, as it became clear that the entire proposal wouldnt pass due to Democrats opposing the K-12 Reform plan as a block. On the other hand the higher education reform portion of the bill did have the votes to break a filibuster so the GOP decided to just pass that portion of the bill and fight for K-12 Education Reform another day.



 

I'm glad President Romney got Immigration & Health Care done. That was big.

[America Needs R'hllor]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

The differences in realism and formatting are pretty huge between this TL and yours, imho. This one is favourable to Romney, of course (just like other TLs are favourable to other politicians), but in a far more subtle and elegant way.

[2016]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

The differences in realism and formatting are pretty huge between this TL and yours, imho. This one is favourable to Romney, of course (just like other TLs are favourable to other politicians), but in a far more subtle and elegant way.

Why don't you go over to your TL instead of polluting others? And btw, the other TL isn't mine. UWS granted me permission to write a Posting in there.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

This is a great TL as well quite similar to the one by UWS with Rubio. The Differences in the two TL's are actually quite small.

Portman though probably won't be running in 2020 (too old IMO). Let's see if President Romney can elect a Republican Successor like Reagan did with GHWB in 1988 assuming he beats Hillary or Biden in 2016.

The differences in realism and formatting are pretty huge between this TL and yours, imho. This one is favourable to Romney, of course (just like other TLs are favourable to other politicians), but in a far more subtle and elegant way.

Why don't you go over to your TL instead of polluting others? And btw, the other TL isn't mine. UWS granted me permission to write a Posting in there.

Well you are his sockpuppet.

[President Johnson]

I very much enjoy reading that TL. Great work! And while I have ideological differences with Romney and wish the Dems would be doing much better, I'd like to see this to be the Republican future instead of Trumpism. I'm curious whether Trump still runs for the 2016 Republican nomination, though I don't see President Romney losing unless he makes a very heavy blunder in the time to come. Also like Rob Portman and bigly FF Dick Lugar, though the latter wasn't mentioned for a while

[OSR stands with Israel]

I very much enjoy reading that TL. Great work! And while I have ideological differences with Romney and wish the Dems would be doing much better, I'd like to see this to be the Republican future instead of Trumpism. I'm curious whether Trump still runs for the 2016 Republican nomination, though I don't see President Romney losing unless he makes a very heavy blunder in the time to come. Also like Rob Portman and bigly FF Dick Lugar, though the latter wasn't mentioned for a while

Don’t worry Secretary Lugar will be mentioned soon

[Pericles]

Romney is doing very well, it looks like 2016 will be another 1984 at this rate. Wonder if Hillary's email scandal still comes out or if Bernie does better.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I could be wrong but I think the Democratic field will be larger then in OTL. Even if Romney is heavily favored I think the Democratic establishment will be less likely to clear the field for Hillary in a world where she's associated with a one-term administration.

[Pericles]

I could be wrong but I think the Democratic field will be larger then in OTL. Even if Romney is heavily favored I think the Democratic establishment will be less likely to clear the field for Hillary in a world where she's associated with a one-term administration.

Maybe there'd be a narrative that Hillary would have done better than Obama and have been a two-termer and so she should have been nominated over Obama in 2008. While she did serve in his cabinet the 2008 primary was very bitter and tightly contested.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I could be wrong but I think the Democratic field will be larger then in OTL. Even if Romney is heavily favored I think the Democratic establishment will be less likely to clear the field for Hillary in a world where she's associated with a one-term administration.

Maybe there'd be a narrative that Hillary would have done better than Obama and have been a two-termer and so she should have been nominated over Obama in 2008. While she did serve in his cabinet the 2008 primary was very bitter and tightly contested.

This plus the fact that since really no one has officially declared yet its really just media speculation.

Hillary and Biden are the two biggest names in the Democratic Party , Dean was a former candidate and former DNC Chair  , Landrieu is the only Democratic Senator left from the South(other than the Virginias) and Sanders, Webb , O Maley have already announced they have formed exploratory committees . So due to that they are the only people being polled but its very possible the field could be different by May of 2015.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney announces Comprehensive Energy Plan



Romney: One of the most important issues facing our nation today is the issue of energy independence. To achieve energy independence we must invest in the energy sources of today and tomorrow, and the energy sources we must produce them here in North America. We have already started to take action on this issue by

- approving the Keystone pipeline which is in the process of being built right now
- increasing the amount of oil produced in the US
- working with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to have both our countries sell more oil to each other to put both our nations on the pathway to energy independence

Now while we may have done a lot we cant do it all alone, and for that reason, I am proposing congress passes a bill which does these things

- Giving the States more power to approve permits for driling

- Investing in Green Infrastructure

- Investing in Research on ways to make alternative energy sources better and cheaper

- Giving tax breaks to companies developing these new technologies


These changes along with the changes we already make should help us reach our goal of North American Energy Independence
 

[OSR stands with Israel]

Romney Gives the 2015 State of the Union Address:

President Romney Gives his State of the Union Address:



Romney: Thank You, Thank You. Mr. Vice President, Mr.Speaker, and members of Congress: we are now entering our 15th year in this new century and over the past 15 years our country has faced many crises from being attacked in the worst terrorist attack in history, to fighting a long and hard war on terror which continues to this day to make sure something like 9/11 never happens again, and then experienced worst recession since the Depression. All these crises could have meant that our nation was beginning the stage in which great nations begin their decline but as our nation always does it was not the beginning of a decline, and today our nation is heading towards a point where we will be stronger than ever(Applause) . Today our unemployment rate has dropped to less than 5.3% and is continuing to drop , and our deficit is on pace to lowest point since 2007(Standing Ovation). this doesnt mean our work is done because if we want to keep our nation strong we have a lot of work to do(Applause).

First thing is we must put our nation on a path to energy independence, by investing in the sources of today and tomorrow(Applause). We have already begun to do that by building the Keystone pipeline, increasing domestic production and working with Canada to do so(Applause). That though is not enough as the process of giving out permits is too slow and I propose congress gives more power to the states to approve or disapprove permits so we can speed up the process(Applause), and then I want Congress to invest in alternative energy by funding infrastructure projects, government-funded research into new technologies, and tax credits for developing these new technologies(Applause). This will ensure we can keep energy prices low today , not rely as much on middle eastern oil while at the same time reducing the impact of climate change without imposing new taxes or regulations(Applause).

Now while we must change our energy policy we must also change our education policy as well. Without a strong education system, our nation will fall behind the world in the next generation and we can not afford that(Applause). That is why I believe every kid who graduates high school not only graduates knowing math, english , civics, and Science but basic engineering and technology skills as well(Applause). In the future more and more of our jobs will require you to be tech savy and for that reason, I believe it is critical that our schools teach our students those skills as well. I also believe we must increase the accountability of our public schools in making sure our kids succeed. One way I propose we do that by making it easier to reward good teachers while making it easier to get rid of bad ones, and by increasing school choice in struggling schools so we can give the parents of kids attending failing schools another choice(Applause).

Last but not least one of the most important jobs we all have is to keep our nation safe. As you may know currently a terrorist group named ISIS is gaining more and power influnce in Iraq and Syria and in every area they take over they bring back horrors from the dark ages we all thought we moved passed away from centuries ago . These people dont only have a goal to conquer both Iraq and Syria and send those countries back into a dark age, their goal is to send our entire planet back into one and all I can say is our country will not stand by and let the do so(Applause). I have ordered our airforce along with military advisors to help the Iraqi Government fight ISIS and so far we have stopped them from advancing(Applause) any further , and now we will begin the process of destroying ISIS once and for all(Applause).


Thank You , May God Bless You and May God bless America