In These Times — The Election of 2032

[MAINEiac4434]

November 5, 2024
8:56 PM
Portland, Maine

"And in the Maine Senate race, we can declare that Benjamin Johnston, the former Elizabeth Warren aide, has won. He had the endorsement of the Treasury Secretary and President Kennedy, and that seems to have put him over the top This seat is held by Independent Democrat Angus King, who retired. Johnston will be the youngest Senator in Maine history, as he does not turn 30 until next month..."

It was a foregone conclusion, mostly. I had led in polls and fundraising for the entire race. Ever since 2016, though, the networks were cautious about calling races in Maine, with our conservative second district.

I expected to feel elation upon my election. Instead I felt relief. Relief in knowing that it was all over. The endless phone calls and speeches and meetings and door knocking and numbers...

Now the fun work began.

"...Now let's take a look at the electoral map..."

"...A very good night for Democrats indeed as President Kennedy appears to be cruising for reelection. We can only call the solid states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Tennessee for Ted Cruz, and the swing states of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida have all gone for the President very easily. As we approach the nine-o'clock hour, President Kennedy has 193 electoral votes and Senator Cruz 61. Democrats will maintain control of the House and the Senate, it's a Republican wipeout just like 2018 and 2020, their gains made in 2022 are being erased..."

So, I was entering the Senate with my party in the White House and with both Houses of Congress. It was good. It was only a matter of time before we popped champagne corks when the President had been officially reelected.

"And it's 9:00 in the east and we have a major projection..."

"President Kennedy has won New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska's second congressional district, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona for President Kennedy, all but ensuring him reelection. A major, major Democratic victory tonight, President Kennedy is now just two electoral votes away from becoming President and with major Democratic states like the pacific seaboard, Hawaii, Nevada with polls still open, it looks like we will be able to confirm President Kennedy as having won reelection within the hour. Let's look at the Boston headquarters...Cruz only got the Safe Republican states of Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin, bringing him up to 61 electoral votes. Cruz has to run the table, and right now that’s highly, highly unlikely especially with California closing its polls in one hour’s time.”

[America Needs R'hllor]

Wait so Wisconsin is now a solid Republican state and Kentucky is a swingstate?

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Solid R Wisconsin confirmed

[MAINEiac4434]

Wait so Wisconsin is now a solid Republican state and Kentucky is a swingstate?

Yes. Aging population in Wisconsin, a slight decline in dairy prices and a lack of union activity (unions have resurged in Kentucky) have shifted Wisconsin into solid Republican territory. Kentucky is now a swing state because of the aforementioned union resurgence.

[morgieb]

How did the unions resurge in Coal Country?

[America Needs R'hllor]

"Of course Mr. President. I'm very happy you'll be watching. Yes, I've had some water beforehand. Yes, I prefer straws, too. That's a very...nice thing to say about my wife. Of course. Thank you, Mr. President. Talk to you soon. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Bye. Bye. Yes, Mr. President. Okay, Mr. President. I really -- yes, okay. Bye."

LOL

How did the unions resurge in Coal Country?

It's not always going to be coal country, though. I'm assuming some other industry, like alternative energy, replaces the dead coal industry.

[MAINEiac4434]

How did the unions resurge in Coal Country?

Alternative energy has replaced the coal industry in Appalachia. Huge wind farms. Many workers switched over.

[Cold War Liberal]

November 5, 2024
10:49 PM
Boston, Massachusetts

"Of course Mr. President. I'm very happy you'll be watching. Yes, I've had some water beforehand. Yes, I prefer straws, too. That's a very...nice thing to say about my wife. Of course. Thank you, Mr. President. Talk to you soon. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Bye. Bye. Yes, Mr. President. Okay, Mr. President. I really -- yes, okay. Bye."

Jesus Fucking Christ the President-elect thought. How the fuck did Mueller not take that blabbering idiot down? His brain is Swiss cheese.

"Joe, you're on in five," an aide said to him.

Okay, Joe, you've got this. Your lips look fine. Good, actually. Okay. Showtime.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the 46th President of the United States, Joseph Patrick Kennedy III."

The crowd at TD Garden roared. Springsteen's "We Take Care of Our Own" played. He beamed the perfect Kennedy Smile out to the crowd.

Finally, he thought as he soaked it, we're back in the White House.

He stepped to the podium when the crowd finally started to calm down, but that only made them roar louder. He soaked it in for a few more moments.

"My fellow Americans..."

K this timeline is great but also if it's 2024 this is JPK III's reelection so why is this written like it's his first Presidential win?

[MAINEiac4434]

November 5, 2024
10:49 PM
Boston, Massachusetts

"Of course Mr. President. I'm very happy you'll be watching. Yes, I've had some water beforehand. Yes, I prefer straws, too. That's a very...nice thing to say about my wife. Of course. Thank you, Mr. President. Talk to you soon. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Bye. Bye. Yes, Mr. President. Okay, Mr. President. I really -- yes, okay. Bye."

Jesus Fucking Christ the President-elect thought. How the fuck did Mueller not take that blabbering idiot down? His brain is Swiss cheese.

"Joe, you're on in five," an aide said to him.

Okay, Joe, you've got this. Your lips look fine. Good, actually. Okay. Showtime.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the 46th President of the United States, Joseph Patrick Kennedy III."

The crowd at TD Garden roared. Springsteen's "We Take Care of Our Own" played. He beamed the perfect Kennedy Smile out to the crowd.

Finally, he thought as he soaked it, we're back in the White House.

He stepped to the podium when the crowd finally started to calm down, but that only made them roar louder. He soaked it in for a few more moments.

"My fellow Americans..."

K this timeline is great but also if it's 2024 this is JPK III's reelection so why is this written like it's his first Presidential win?

Oops

[MAINEiac4434]

January 29, 2030
3:47 PM
New York, New York

“My guest tonight,” Stephen Colbert shouted to the cameras at this afternoon taping of The Late Show “is the current Governor of Maine, a former aide to Secretary Elizabeth Warren and campaign manager on Warren’s 2020 Presidential campaign. Her new book Take America Back!: How the Cotton Administration is Destroying President Kennedy’s Progress, And How to Stop It is a New York Times bestseller and on bookshelves everywhere. Please welcome, Governor Blake Walsh!”

“Showtime, babe,” I whispered to Blake as I gave her a peck on the cheek. She giggled, then smiled that perfect smile as she waved to the crowd. She shook Colbert’s hand before settling into the chair nearest to Colbert’s desk.

“Governor Walsh, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us this evening,”

“Thank you for inviting me!”

“Your new book, Take America Back, it’s pretty much a manifesto on how to, I don’t know...Make America Great Again?” Colbert asked. The crowd (and Blake) laughed.

“Can I just say,” Blake began “that whenever I hear Make Noun Adjective Again, I still want to like reflexively gag. I mean it’s been ten years since we beat him in 2020, seven since he died, and still it’s just like the only thing keeping me from vomiting after hearing that phrase is the fact that I’m on national television.” The crowd laughed and applauded.

“So, in the title, you don’t mince words...you said that Tom Cotton is destroying America, an—“ Colbert began, but Blake interrupted him.

“Because he is.” Blake stated, matter-of-factly, drawing a huge round of applause from the audience.

“Well,” said a grinning Colbert. “I don’t disagree, but could you just explain.”

“In his very first week in office, he started rolling back the environmental regulations, which President Kennedy implemented. And President Kennedy’s were some of the toughest in the world, going well beyond goals set in Paris, Cape Town and São Paulo. President Kennedy’s radical environmental actions are what kept the biggest city in my state, Portland, from being swept away by the ocean. But it’s not just environmental policies; Cotton’s rolled back regulations that I worked on very closely with Secretary Warren to ensure we didn’t have another crash like in 2018. He’s rolling back workers rights, he’s rolling back protections for LGBTQ people, he wants to cut Joecare, and many of the Camelot Anew policies. Tom Cotton is following the Donald Trump playbook to a T, aided by the fact that President Cotton — unlike President Trump — is a smart man.” The audience applauded the answer. She’s killing this I said to myself.

"Go on," Colbert nudged.

"Well, after President Trump succeeded a successful Democratic President in President Obama, Trump began dismantling all the progress the prior President made. Tom Cotton's doing the same thing, but because Cotton doesn't stick his twitter foot in his actual mouth like Trump did, the country isn't noticing it as much as it did when President Trump was in office. And that's what makes it even more dangerous; President Cotton gives this air of respectability, and President Cotton has no ties to any hostile foreign governments, which is what got Trump impeached, so there's been nowhere near as much pushback against Cotton as there was Trump, nowhere near as much...resistance, for lack of a better word, to Cotton's policies. There have been fewer marches, fewer boycotts...just, less outrage than there was when Trump was in office, because Cotton has the sense to respect the office, which Trump did not."

“That might be the single most thorough answer I’ve ever heard from a politician!” Colbert said to laughs. “So, you like your job...”

“Love it,” smirked Blake, knowing what was coming.

“But...have you ever considered perhaps...maybe...applying for a new one?” The crowd laughed and cheered. Blake played dumb.

“My kids’ school needs a new soccer coach, but I just don’t have the time,” grinned Blake to laughs. Colbert chuckled.

“You’re very clever, Governor, which makes asking this question tricky,” He began. “Governor Walsh, are you running for President?” Colbert continued, to cheers of encouragement from the audience.

“I mean, it’s so far away. We only just passed the one-year anniversary of Cotton’s inauguration last week. I’m very focused on serving the great people of Maine to the best of my ability, and I’m focused on making sure the 2030 elections are another blue wave reminiscent of 2018. To be honest, 2032 is so far down the road, I haven’t even thought about it.” Blake said. A perfect non-answer I thought. The nerds on Atlas will be picking it apart.

After Blake’s answer, Colbert looked directly into a camera. “Did you notice something about that answer? She didn’t say no.” The crowd laughed and cheered. “Governor Walsh, thank you so much for joining us this evening, the book is Take America Back, buy it, thank you Governor Walsh.” The crowd cheered loudly.

After exiting the studio, we were mobbed by reporters. We ducked into our car and the GPS sped it away from the studio, back towards the hotel. Blake sighed once we were away.

“Did I do good?” She asked, a cheeky smirk on her lips.

“Honey, you did excellent.” I smiled. She rested her head on my shoulder. How did I get this lucky? I thought.

[TheSaint250]

If only the real Daisy Ridley would run for office here...

Loving this TL!

[_]

As usual one of the best TL writers on Atlas, great job MAINEiac!

[Cold War Liberal]

Loving it, still

Thoughts:
- oh God if Trump had won reelection we would have had at least a year of President Pence
-"Take America Back!: How the Cotton Administration is Destroying President Kennedy’s Progress, And How to Stop It" sounds very much like the title of a book a liberal Ann Coulter would write, LOL
-you should do the fake atlas posts like from Feel the Franken. If you do can I please be a fake poster?

[America Needs R'hllor]

"FOCUSED"- Atlas is probably going crazy over it This is great!
To be honest, I'd most likely not support Blake in the primary. She's too... resistance-y, and I'd find that comment about a deceased Trump distasteful. Still, I'd easily support her over Cotton.

[MAINEiac4434]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

------

January 30, 2029
3:19 PM
New York, New York

It was my turn in the spotlight. We had booked back-to-back appearances, first on the Late Show and then on the Daily Show, the former obviously going to Blake as it was the bigger get.

I waited to get called out by Trevor Noah. How did he keep this job for so long? I wondered. He'd fallen behind every other Daily Show spinoff, from Sam Bee to John Oliver. He never clicked with audiences. But still, he was here.

"My guest tonight is the junior Senator from Maine who wrote the foreword of the new bestselling book Take America Back. Please welcome, Ben Johnston!"

I waved to the crowd before settling in across from Noah.

"Senator, thank you so much for being here," Noah said.

"Thanks for having me,"

"Yeah, well, we wanted your wife, but you'll do." Noah said to laughs. I grinned at the camera.

"She's not only more photogenic than me, she's funnier than me, too. I'm sorry you're stuck with me, Trevor." I said, to laughs in applause.

"So you wrote the foreword of the new book Take America Back, which was of course written by your wife Governor Blake Walsh...were you her first choice?" Noah asked, pausing for laughs. He continued: "Or did someone like back out of writing the foreword and then she went 'Well, I guess I'm stuck with the Senator I'm married to!'" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, literally everyone else backed out. And then she ghostwrote the foreword for me," I joked. "No, it was actually my idea for a book in the first place. Blake is just so smart, and is so acutely aware of where President Cotton is going wrong, and if you've been in politics as long as she has, you know we've been down this path before—" I began, before Noah cut me off.

"Indeed, the book lays out several similarities between what the Trump Administration did, and what Tom Cotton has done or plans on doing," the host said.

"Exactly. When Trump was President, Cotton very much nailed his colors to Trump's mast, even to the discomfort to some of his fellow Republican Senators. Lindsey Graham, who is extremely conservative, was a speaker at last year's DNC because he knew that electing Tom Cotton would be a return to a more competent Donald Trump, and that foretold disaster for America. And we're seeing it play out now. One key difference is that Trump had a Republican congress, and Cotton does not. Democrats retained their majorities even after losing the White House. But so much power lies in the White House, you're seeing him strip away all of the regulations President Kennedy implemented for climate change, you're seeing him wreak havoc on the courts and in the State Department and Justice Department. The fact that he nominated Cory Lewandowski to be Attorney General was just pure virtue-signalling to those components of Trump's base that haven't left in the 17 years since the 2016 election. Lewandowski was wholly unqualified and quite frankly President Cotton made a farce of the entire American system of Government when he made that nomination. But that was...basically, a Trumpist dogwhistle." I said. My throat felt dry.

"So, Donald Trump, even seven years after his death, remains the single least popular President the United States of America has ever had...why do you think President Cotton seeks to emulate him so much?" Noah asked.

"Because the last time the Republican Party actually accomplished what they set out to do — which is, fundamentally, make it easier to be rich at the expense of the poor, that's their whole game — was when President Trump was in office and the Republican congress passed tax reform at the end of 2017. Everyone knows 2018 was swept up in Russiagate and the Democrats landslided, and 2019 was swept up in the impeachment and trial, and 2020 was swept up in the presidential election. Tom Cotton still very much believes in Trumpism. He saw its power firsthand. He's more disciplined than President Trump. As far as we know, Tom Cotton hasn't committed any crimes, like Donald Trump did. And Tom Cotton can speak — and tweet — without putting his foot in his mouth. Vice President Haley is popular, while Mike Pence was not. All of this has the wrappings of becoming an even more dangerous situation than when Trump was president for this nation's vulnerable people." I said.

"So, we've been discussing big, heady issues, not a lot of laughs out there—" Noah began before I interrupted him.

"Sorry, Blake's much more funny than me." I smiled, to laughter and applause.

"Well, speaking of Blake. There's been some rumors that one of you might be running for President..." Noah began, gauging my reaction. "Have you given it any thought."

"I can unequivocally say, tonight, that I will not run for President of the United States in 2032." I said.

"What about Blake?" Noah asked.

"No comment," I grinned to audience laughter.

"Oh, come on!" Noah shouted in mock anger. "You can't do that!"

"All I know is that Blake is extremely focused on being the best Governor she can be for the people of Maine." I smirked, knowingly.

"That's not a no..." Noah said, teasing, as the audience giggled.

"You're right, it certainly isn't a no," I said, my smirk turning into a full-on grin.

"So you've discussed it." He said.

"I never said that," I grinned again.

"This is why people hate politicians!" Noah shouted, again in mock anger. "We can't get a straight answer out of you!"

"Let me put it this way: some very, very important and special people have spoken to Blake and I about one of us running for President. I have no desire to become President. None whatsoever. But Blake...she likes being in charge. And that's all I'm gonna say, Trevor." I said.

"'She likes being in charge,' Senator I think you just revealed a little bit too much about you and Governor Walsh's personal life," Trevor said teasingly, causing me to snort in laughter. "And we'll have to leave it at that. Senator Benjamin Johnston, everyone!"

[America Needs R'hllor]

Trevor's actually my favourite host, his book ("Born a Crime") is absolutely fantastic, so I hope he does stay until 2032

[Sestak]

1. This is absolutely amazing.

2. Can I be a fake atlas poster? (I'd probably have changed states by then, so you don't have to keep me in CA, though I'd still probably be a Dem in a Cotton admin)

3. Is Justin Amash still around? Is he still a Republican? Does he support what the Cotton administration has been doing? Bonus points if he's a Senator.

4. Is Ethan Sonneborn still around?

[Cold War Liberal]

You said "Vice President Bush;" Haley is Cotton's VP IIRC

Also did Jewell Jones ever do anything important in MI? I would think he'd probably move up a bit, possibly being in Congress or even the US Senate, or the MI Governor's mansion.

[America Needs R'hllor]

You said "Vice President Bush;" Haley is Cotton's VP IIRC

Also did Jewell Jones ever do anything important in MI? I would think he'd probably move up a bit, possibly being in Congress or even the US Senate, or the MI Governor's mansion.

Oh yeah, though a Vice President George P. Bush (I assume- GWB and GHWB are obviously not the ones, and Jeb! would be a ridiculous choice for Cotton) would be interesting.

[Duke of York]

Your timelines are amazing however are you going to continue camelot anew chapter 2?

[MAINEiac4434]

Your timelines are amazing however are you going to continue camelot anew chapter 2?

Don't worry

[morgankingsley]

Can we please for the love of god get a timeline where Trump actually wins 2020

[MAINEiac4434]

Can we please for the love of god get a timeline where Trump actually wins 2020

Too unrealistic

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Your timelines are amazing

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Can we please for the love of god get a timeline where Trump actually wins 2020

Too unrealistic

Your timelines are amazing