1996: If Bill Clinton vetoed welfare reform and DOMA

[President Johnson]

What if Bill Clinton had been more liberal over the course of his first term and more forcefully fought against the Republicans in congress after the 1994 elections? For example by vetoing welfare reform (I know he did so with earlier bills) and DOMA. Could he have won regardless?

[MIKESOWELL]

He may have won, but he would have wiped out what Southern base the Democrats had left. He also would have given the GOP more ammo to use against him, besides the character issue that Dole mainly used.

[darklordoftech]

I wonder whether vetoing DOMA or vetoing Welfare Reform would have had more of an effect.

[libertpaulian]

He still would have won, given the national environment, and the domestic and foreign circumstances of the 90s; however, he probably would have lost significant ground with Southern voters and slightly less ground with suburban voters, who gave the Democrats a chance in 1992 because they believed the Democrats weren't a far-left hippie party anymore.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

There may not have been as many third-party votes as leftists would rally around Clinton in this scenario...still, Dole would've done a little better....maybe give him Kentucky and Nevada.

[NewYorkExpress]

Clinton wins reelection by about the same margin, but Democrats are destroyed in the 1998 midterms, giving Republicans just enough votes to impeach and remove him from office in 1999.

Newt Gingrich tries to also remove Al Gore and install himself as President, but fellow Republicans (like John Boehner and Bob Livingston) talk him off that ledge, and he instead runs for President in 2000, losing to George Bush in the primaries. Bush easily defeats Gore.

[Josecardoso17]

Clinton wins reelection by about the same margin, but Democrats are destroyed in the 1998 midterms, giving Republicans just enough votes to impeach and remove him from office in 1999.

Newt Gingrich tries to also remove Al Gore and install himself as President, but fellow Republicans (like John Boehner and Bob Livingston) talk him off that ledge, and he instead runs for President in 2000, losing to George Bush in the primaries. Bush easily defeats Gore.

Enough votes to impeach in the senate ? Doubt!

[Lechasseur]

Clinton wins reelection by about the same margin, but Democrats are destroyed in the 1998 midterms, giving Republicans just enough votes to impeach and remove him from office in 1999.

Newt Gingrich tries to also remove Al Gore and install himself as President, but fellow Republicans (like John Boehner and Bob Livingston) talk him off that ledge, and he instead runs for President in 2000, losing to George Bush in the primaries. Bush easily defeats Gore.

This, except the GOP wouldn't have been able to remove Clinton from office unless they got some Democrats to vote with them, which assuming the GOP was a few seats short wouldn't have been impossible but I doubt it.