An Effective Consensus

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Lean Gore, but I don't really care that Kemp is going to win.

[Stm85]

We've had five alternate Presidents
Nixon
Wallace
Romney
Glenn
Kemp


What's your ranking? What about compared to the previous Presidents in RL and the TL like FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, and Hoover?

Kemp
Nixon
Glenn
Romney







Wallace

Pretty much how I’d rank them too, although I’d say Kemp is miles ahead of anyone else in this TL.

Have you been pleased with President Kemp?

Absolutely. His combination of fiscal conservatism, support for civil rights, anti-communism, and pragmatic foreign policy is exactly what I’d be looking for in a president.

No secret who I’m supporting in 88.

[Elcaspar]

I am pretty eh on both Gore and Kemp, so i might just skip out on voting this cycle.

Although i do have a feeling that Gore will narrowly prevail so that we get a set-up for a more progressive Republican to get nominated in 1992.

[KaiserDave]

I should mention that President Kemp negotiated the major missile agreements and treaties with the Soviet Union that Reagan did

[We Live in Black and White]

Hold my nose and vote for Kemp, because his deal is still preferable to the Democratic Christian Right.

(I am eagerly looking forward to John Barrasso remaining a liberal Republican in this timeline, by the by.)

I should note that Gore on the moderate wing of the Democratic Party and is by no means a conservative ideologue

Just think “raging moderate” Gore from the 80s

More a matter of principle than anything else, really.

[OBD]

By this point I'm probably a party-line Republican voter, so Kemp 1988 I guess.

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

Strongly leaning Kemp, but Gore wouldn’t be the end of the world compared to say Helms.

Glad to see this TL is back!

[America Needs R'hllor]

Very glad this is back!
Re: ranking the Presidents: Romney >>>>>>>>>>> Glenn >> Nixon >> Kemp >>>>>>>>>>>> Wallace. Bayh would've been the best, Bush probably a bit before Glenn.

Re: 1988 election: Lean Kemp. I strongly dislike Kemp's economic policies, but the way I view it, Gore is letting the religious right through the backdoor. And while I view economic conservatives as rivals and competitors, I view the religious right as the enemy. So I'd take the former over the latter every day.

[KaiserDave]

Results of the 1988 Election


Al Gore/Robert Casey: 50.9%/281
Jack Kemp/Charles Mathias: 48.5%/257

The President has been defeated in the Presidential election. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee is the President-elect and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is Vice President as once again the Democrats are back in the White House. Republicans have only been able to reelect two Presidents since the Depression, Dwight Eisenhower and George Romney and that continues because of Al Gore's victory. The 40 year old will be the youngest President ever inaugurated. Senator Gore's victory drew upon a strong result from religious voters, social conservatives, rural voters as well as industrial workers. President Kemp drew strong numbers with urban voters, suburban voters, and northern black voters but suffered with southern black voters, and a stunningly large loss among Irish and Italian Catholics. Senator Gore was brought across the finish line with strong margins among these voters, along with industrial workers in Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. As well as strong margins with rural voters propelling him across the line in Montana and South Dakota. Many of these Catholics and Industrial workers opposed Jack Kemp's supply side economics bitterly, and opposed his libertarian attitude towards social issues. They rejected him last night, despite the President's strength with suburbs, urban black voters, and with middle class voters in general. Interestingly, Baby Boomers and Generation X supported Kemp over Gore, especially in the cities.

President Kemp conceded late on election night and promised to support President-elect Gore's efforts and would pray for his success. President-elect Gore declared victory and that a "new generation of American leadership is upon us." In Congress Democrats stunned by seizing back control of the House of Representatives, propelled by gains with rural voters in the west and industrial constituencies in the midwest. Phil Gramm will take up the Speaker's gavel, and give the Democrats a long sought after majority. On the Republican side, Hillary Rodham of Illinois will become leader of the House Republican Conference.  In the Senate gains for each party were cancelled out.

United States House of Representatives
Democrats: 222 (+11)
Republicans: 212 (-11)


United States Senate
Democrats: 54 (0)
Republicans: 46 (0)

Flips: Connecticut (R to D), Montana (D to R)

[OSR stands with Israel]

I thought you promised this would be a conservative era

[KaiserDave]

I thought you promised this would be a conservative era

It may not be your Reaganite conservatism OSR, but I assure you Gore is right of center. You'll see you'll see.


The Liberals certainly won't like it.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I thought you promised this would be a conservative era

It may not be your Reaganite conservatism OSR, but I assure you Gore is right of center. You'll see you'll see.


The Liberals certainly won't like it.

Sure but Kemp is like one of my 3 favorite politicians in the last 20th century(other than Reagan and HW Bush) so im still sad that he lost.

Well hopefully with Phill Gramm as speaker , Kemp's supply side policies dont go so he could be kinda of like Atlee of the GOP that despite not being in charge for much long he was still very influential

[Elcaspar]

I had a feeling that Gore would win this. Seems to me that we might see a Republican Revolution of sorts in the coming years.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Oh, wow, that's a twist. I'm still expecting a Kemp comeback because Dave explicitly mentioned Kemp's "first term". Bayh '92--It Just Won't Stay Dead, but I'll probably support any R once Dave pulls through and makes Gore a theocrat.

[Stm85]

Very disappointed to see Kemp lose, his brand of conservatism is much more preferable to me than what the Democrats in this TL have presented so far. Here’s to hoping Kemp can pull a Grover Cleveland in 92!

[KaiserDave]

Very disappointed to see Kemp lose, his brand of conservatism is much more preferable to me than what the Democrats in this TL have presented so far. Here’s to hoping Kemp can pull a Grover Cleveland in 92!

You may like the conservative Virginian coming down the pipe soon

[America Needs R'hllor]

Interesting. Bayh/RFK 92!

[Continential]

Very disappointed to see Kemp lose, his brand of conservatism is much more preferable to me than what the Democrats in this TL have presented so far. Here’s to hoping Kemp can pull a Grover Cleveland in 92!

You may like the conservative Virginian coming down the pipe soon

I’m guessing that is Jim Webb.

[KaiserDave]

Wikimedia Commons

The Gore Administration

On the 20th of January, to a massive D.C. crowd President Albert Arnold Gore Jr. was sworn in by Chief Justice Marshall, and Vice President Robert Patrick Casey Sr. was sworn in by Justice O'Connor. Al Gore's speech focused on the future, and on how America would triumph in a rapidly changing world. His cabinet starred Madeleine Albright at State, Jeanne Kirkpatrick at Defense, Lloyd Bentsen at Treasury, and Janet Reno as Attorney General. His first 100 Days in office however were marked by how much things didn't change. Congress did pass a tax bill that partially rolled back some of the Kemp Tax Cuts, but tax levels did not return to anything resembling the pre-Kemp era. It would appear the crux of his legacy was secure. And abroad President Gore pursued a similar foreign policy, he continued to bring a diplomatic end to the Cold War.

President Gore's mild domestic agenda, which consisted mainly of investments and research in the internet, as well as attempts to make government more efficient across the board (audits, cuts, and infestations galore), led to his approval staying at around 55%. But it skyrocketed when in 1989 a botched press conference from an East German official led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The Eastern Bloc was coming crumbling down. Before the end of the year the communist regimes in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary had all fallen. The collapse of the USSR seemed inevitable. Gore became very popular, but Republicans said the real work was done by Kemp.

At home, Gore focused on creating an internet jobs boom, and on healthcare reform. He proposed reforming the Glenn Individual Mandate system to turn subsidies into tax incentives and overall reform the system to work more in tandem with the private sector. Contrary to the expectations of many of his voters, Gore did not pursue any aggressively socially conservative policy. Instead he just refused to approve new socially progressive reforms. On the whole his governing style was a pro-free trade, conservative but economically reform minded leader. However again he was swamped by foreign policy. In Mid-1990 Saddam Hussein invaded the oil rich kingdom of Kuwait. Gore gathered an international coalition and launched an assault. The American military response, directed by Collin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf devastated the Iraqi Army, and going into the midterms Gore was extremely popular, with some polls showing his approval as high as 65%.

[KaiserDave]

Results of the 1990 Midterms




United States House of Representatives
Democrats: 236 (+14)
Republicans: 198 (-14)


United States Senate
Democrats: 55 (+1)
Republicans: 45 (-1)

Flips: Nebraska (R to D)

The Midterms were characterized by a unique inertia. Gore was popular, and the expected wave for the other party did not materialize. Instead, the Democrats gained seats in both houses. Doing well with moderates, conservatives, and independents. All together, President Gore was a very popular man.

[Snazzrazz Mazzlejazz]

Results of the 1986 Midterms




United States House of Representatives
Democrats: 236 (+14)
Republicans: 198 (-14)


United States Senate
Democrats: 55 (+1)
Republicans: 45 (-1)

Flips: Nebraska (R to D)

The Midterms were characterized by a unique inertia. Gore was popular, and the expected wave for the other party did not materialize. Instead, the Democrats gained seats in both houses. Doing well with moderates, conservatives, and independents. All together, President Gore was a very popular man.

House Dems are blue

[KaiserDave]

Wikimedia Commons

The Gore Administration

Gore's first term continued to be a smashing success. In 1991 the USSR finally fell. Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms opened the floodgates, and it all fell apart. Various nationalities vied for independence, corruption was rife, and a failed coup by CPSU hardliners finally brought the entire system crashing to the ground. Gore's America entered a world as the only super power as President Yeltsin liberalized the new Russian Federation with "shock therapy." The economy continued to grow, and President Gore became the face of an America speedily entering the final decade of the 20th century.  

President Gore's liberalizing reforms for healthcare passed, as he continued in many respects a similar economic path to President Kemp, but with a strong emphasis on socially conservative policies. He played around with the idea of a Flag Burning Amendment, and he put Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Some progressives were offended he gave the Chief Justice's slot to Anthony Kennedy, and not giving Thurgood Marshall a black successor, but conservative Democrats, though reluctant to admit it were pleased a white man was back as Chief Justice.

Gore's foreign policy focused on reaching out to parts of the world abandoning communism, and expanding American hegemony. As China enacted market reforms, Gore reached out to them. He championed the North American Free Trade American, a brainchild of Jack Kemp but implemented by Gore's administration. He championed trade deals with the developing world. Vice President Casey chafed on many of these deals, working to moderate them from Kemp's free trade dreams.

In 1992, the war in Iraq was concluded. President Gore left Hussein in power, but successfully defending the sovereignty of Kuwait. Gore's popularity was meteoric. But it was moderated when in early 1992, as the Presidential election began to take shape, a Staff Scandal came out where White House employee Anthony Weiner was revealed to have exposed himself to various female staffers at the Gore White House, and had had affairs with subordinates. Gore and Casey, who had tried to put up an image of moral integrity fired him, but the damage was done. The Presidential race meanwhile was shaping up to be interesting. Pat Buchanan was challenging Gore in his own party, while at least a dozen Republicans, including Jesse Jackson, Bill Bradley, Rudy Boschwitz, and party switcher Mario Cuomo of New York.

[Roll Roons]

Hahahahaha, Anthony Weiner just screws everything up.

Are black voters strongly Republican in this TL, or are they fairly evenly split?

[KaiserDave]

Hahahahaha, Anthony Weiner just screws everything up.

Are black voters strongly Republican in this TL, or are they fairly evenly split?

Republican, but more 70/30 or 60/40 than the 90/10 domination we see for Democrats today. Expect it to move in that direction however.

[Roll Roons]

Hahahahaha, Anthony Weiner just screws everything up.

Are black voters strongly Republican in this TL, or are they fairly evenly split?

Republican, but more 70/30 or 60/40 than the 90/10 domination we see for Democrats today. Expect it to move in that direction however.

Interesting how the party coalitions are so different than what we know.

This TL is awesome btw! Can't wait to see how the King of Vermont finally makes his appearance.