GAME IDEA: 2008 in President Kerry's America (Needs a Co-mod)

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

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.

Democratic
President John Kerry (MA)
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH)

Republican
Senator George Allen (VA) - S019
Senator Sam Brownback (KS)
Former Governor Jeb Bush (FL)
Senator Lincoln Chafee (RI)
Former Governor Jim Gilmore (VA)
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (GA) - Grassr00ts
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NY)
Former Governor Mike Huckabee (AR)
Congressman Duncan Hunter (CA)
Senator John McCain (AZ)
Congressman Ron Paul (TX) - Scott
Governor George Pataki (NY)
Governor Rick Perry (TX) - NotTyler
Governor Mitt Romney (MA) - Jakobisgood
Senator 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 Riley
AK: Sarah Palin
AZ: Janet Napolitano
AR: Asa Hutchison
CA: Arnold Schwarzenegger
CO: Bill Ritter
CT: Jodi Rell
DE: Ruth Ann Miner
FL: Charlie Crist
GA: Sonny Perdue
HI: Linda Lingle
ID: Butch Otter
IL: Judy Baar Topinka
IN: Mitch Daniels
IA: Sally Pederson
KS: Kathleen Sebelius
KY: Ernie Fletcher
LA: Kathleen Blanco
MD: Martin O'Malley
MA: Mitt Romney
ME: Chandler Woodcock
MI: Jennifer Granholm
MN: Tim Pawlenty
MS: Haley Barbour
MO: Claire McCaskill
MT: Brian Schweitzer
NE: David Heineman
NV: Jim Gibbons
NH: John Lynch
NJ: Chris Christie
NM: Bill Richardson
NY: George Pataki
NC: Mike Easley
ND: John Dalyrymple
OH: Ken Blackwell
OK: Brad Henry
OR: Ted Kulongoski
PA: Lynn Swann
RI: Don Carcieri
SC: Mark Sanford
SD: Mike Rounds
TN: Phil Bredesen
TX: Rick Perry
UT: Jon Huntsman Jr.
VT: Jim Douglas
VA: Jerry Kilgore
WA: Christine Gregoire
WV: Joe Manchin
WI: Jim Doyle
WY: Dave Freudenthal
So.........good scenario or nah?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Looks fun!  I've modded a game before but never played, so this should be interesting.

I will take Dr. RON PAUL.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Looks fun!  I've modded a game before but never played, so this should be interesting.

I will take Dr. RON PAUL.

Granted. If you have any tips for running the game, feel free to PM me. I'm hoping that somebody who has run a game like this before would join me in the effort, because it's a pretty expansive concept for a first timer.

[Grassroots]

Can I have Gingrich?

[McGovernite]

I'd love to play, can i just pick anyone?

[OBD]

Semi-interested in a populist independent Trump run, but I'd also be willing to help out with moderating a bit (these are mutually exclusive though).

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Just saw all the replies! I’m thrilled everyone’s interested - definitely could use some help on the moderator side.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'd love to play, can i just pick anyone?

Absolutely!

[McGovernite]

I'll take Romney.

[Orwell]

Richard Holbrooke?

[S019]

George Allen, please

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'll take Romney.

Granted.

Richard Holbrooke?

What about him?

George Allen, please

Granted.

[Orwell]

I'll take Romney.

Granted.

Richard Holbrooke?

What about him?

George Allen, please

Granted.

Could I have Holbrooke?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'll take Romney.

Granted.

Richard Holbrooke?

What about him?

George Allen, please

Granted.

Could I have Holbrooke?

Characters are limited to the list provided. Holbrook wouldn’t run for POTUS much less primary his politically similar boss.

[Orwell]

I'll take Romney.

Granted.

Richard Holbrooke?

What about him?

George Allen, please

Granted.

Could I have Holbrooke?

Characters are limited to the list provided. Holbrook wouldn’t run for POTUS much less primary his politically similar boss.

I could co-moderate then I guess.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'll take Romney.

Granted.

Richard Holbrooke?

What about him?

George Allen, please

Granted.

Could I have Holbrooke?

Characters are limited to the list provided. Holbrook wouldn’t run for POTUS much less primary his politically similar boss.

I could co-moderate then I guess.

We could certainly use a President Kerry!

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Can I have Rick Perry

[Continential]

I want a Kerry run or a Pataki run.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I want a Kerry run or a Pataki run.

Either one are fine with me!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

IMPORTANT (well kinda) ANNOUNCEMENT: I was thinking about this today while driving from Tallahassee to Palm Beach County, and I think I might be a bit more flexible in regards to Democratic candidates. Kucinich would start against Kerry with roughly ~10%. If a third player wants to join the Democratic primary, I think I'll allow it on the grounds that he/she is running to the right of Kerry, thus weakening him slightly in order to make for a more interesting primary.

I will not allow Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden as challengers. The timeline provided in the first post accounts for a largely uneventful first term for Kerry, with his reelection prospects being roughly similar to Barack Obama's in 2012.

Part of the reason I will definitely need to have a co-moderator is that I have a planned timeline of events that will take place around the world and the country for which the players will have to respond to. I think a co-mod would help me be able to account for each character's reactions and properly award them by assigning poll numbers.

The severity of these pre-planned incidents (imagine situations like the Virginia Tech shooting, etc) will be decided by a random number generator. Likewise, I'll throw each player an obstacle of sorts by the same mechanism. Eventually each player will be given a scenario specifically relating to them, the severity of which will be also decided by a random number between 1-10. All of these will be based in real life. For example, I'll use Joe Lieberman as a hypothetical candidate (he defected to the GOP and is not a playable candidate) here: if I generate a 8 level scandal for Lieberman, I'd dig up something related to corruption that he may have been accused of in real life. Another example would be if I had Mark Sanford (again, not playable) in the race and rolled a 10. If Mark Sanford rolled a ten under my rules, he'd have to deal with his affair being revealed. Does that make sense?

[OBD]

Is a co-moderator(s) still needed?

[Joe Biden 2024]

If no one wants him, I'll take Kerry. If he's already claimed, then I'll take Rudy.

[Continential]

I'll take Pataki then.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Is a co-moderator(s) still needed?

KaiserDave has offered to co-moderate, which I'm grateful for. We'll get the project rolling soon enough, but there are a few more details in the timeline I want to work out. But I'd love to have as many players as possible, so you're more than welcome to participate!

I'll take Pataki then.

Granted!

If no one wants him, I'll take Kerry. If he's already claimed, then I'll take Rudy.

Either one is fine, Kerry hasn't been officially claimed yet IIRC.

[OBD]

Is a co-moderator(s) still needed?

KaiserDave has offered to co-moderate, which I'm grateful for. We'll get the project rolling soon enough, but there are a few more details in the timeline I want to work out. But I'd love to have as many players as possible, so you're more than welcome to participate!

Alrighty, I'll think about it. I might wait until the GE to jump in as a third party candidate though, I've been a little busy as of late.