Challenge and Choice, an Obama TL
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
theflyingmongoose
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« Reply #75 on: February 16, 2021, 11:03:23 AM »

Ah, I miss Bachmann.

Make her the nominee please. She'll beat Obama.
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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #76 on: February 16, 2021, 11:17:02 AM »

Ah, I miss Bachmann.

Make her the nominee please. She'll beat Obama.

Bachmann would need to get very lucky to win the nomination. She needs to win Iowa, so she needs Santorum to drop out (given Santorum's gaffes in recent debates, that might well happen soon), she needs to be the only Tea Party candidate (so far this is true), she needs candidates like Sarah Palin to stay out of the race and endorse her (no comment on whether this will happen), and she needs wins in states outside of Iowa (Minnesota would be her best bet. She's running a close second to Newt Gingrich there). She did well in the first two debates (especially compared to Santorum, who currently is her closest competition in Iowa), and if she keeps doing well in the debates, she's got a path to a few victories. Her problem is that she has limited appeal outside Iowa (and Minnesota), and she, along with Santorum and Ron Paul are consistently the three candidates polling the worst against Obama (though she does hold the lead in Minnesota against Obama as of Mid-January 2010. Of the other Republican candidates, only Condolezza Rice is within five points in Minnesota at this point.)
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
theflyingmongoose
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« Reply #77 on: February 16, 2021, 12:27:25 PM »

That was (kinda) sarcastic. Bachman would make me vote for Obama. Romney/Kasich '12
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« Reply #78 on: February 16, 2021, 12:41:00 PM »

That was (kinda) sarcastic. Bachman would make me vote for Obama. Romney/Kasich '12

Romney has yet to announce a candidacy, and Kasich is considered possible VP material at this point.
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
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« Reply #79 on: February 16, 2021, 03:15:45 PM »

Yeah. With the current state of candidates, I think I'll be voting for... Obama. Squinting
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« Reply #80 on: February 17, 2021, 01:14:27 AM »

After a largely typical 2010 in the world of sports (the only interesting things that had really happened were the Winter Olympics in Vancouver- Canada won the most medals with thirty-nine, and the World Cup in South Africa, where Portugal defeated the United States in the final 3-0), January 2010,was a spread of interesting happenings throughout the sporting world.

In the BCS National Championship Game, held on January 10 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Boise State Broncos defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 21-20, in what College Football broadcaster Lee Corso said on Good Morning America the next day was "the best played game of college football I have ever seen".

The Australian Open, Tennis's First Major, was held in Melbourne, as usual.

The Men's tournament became legendary when Tomas Berdych became the first person to defeat all three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the same tournament, defeating Nadal in the quarterfinals, Federer in the semifinals, and Djokovic in the finals.

The Women's Tournament, meanwhile, saw forty year old Kimiko Date-Krumm shock everyone and win the tournament, defeating Li Na in the final in straight sets.

Meanwhile, at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Jiyai Shin became the first female golfer to win a PGA tour event, shooting a -17 267 to defeat Camillo Villegas by one shot.
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« Reply #81 on: February 17, 2021, 02:47:27 AM »

Outside of Presidential Politics (and the Senate Special Election in Texas), quite a bit was happening in American politics.

Stung by Charlie Melancon's 2010 victory without a runoff, Louisiana Republicans introduced legislation in January 2011 to the previous system of a jungle primary in November, and a runoff between the top two candidates if no candidate got above 50% of the vote. The measure, which would take effect with the 2011 elections, passed the House 66-32, and the State Senate 25-10.

Michelle Obama caused a diplomatic incident, when, while on vacation with Sasha and Malia Obama in Barcelona, she made comments to both La Vanguardia and El Periodico de Catalunya stating that she supported independence for Catalonia. This caused Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to condemn her comments, and on February 6, Minister of the Interior Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said that Michelle Obama "was forbidden to enter Spain". The United States Ambassador, Alan Solomont, issued a public apology over Spanish Television. On February 7, Prime Minister Zapatero, in a phone conversation with President Obama, said that unless President Obama publicly divorced his wife, and disavowed her comments about Catalonia and stated they were not American Government policy, Spain would leave NATO. Obama agreed to the second of the conditions, but refused, calling the first "extortion". Zapatero said the terms were non-negotiable, and Spain began the process of leaving NATO, a process that would be completed by Christmas 2012.

From January 9-15 an Independence referendum took place in South Sudan, as part of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement.

South Sudan Independence Referendum

Yes 96.86%
No 4.14%

In Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned, following the reveal of a campaign finance scandal. He was replaced as Prime Minister by Keiko Chiba, who became Japan's first female Prime Minister. Chiba immediately called for a general election of the Diet, to be held on March 28.

Japan-General Election-House of Representatives

Democratic- Keiko Chiba: 248 seats
Liberal Democratic-Sadakazu Tanigaki: 217 seats
Komeito- Natsuo Yamaguchi: 6 seats
Communist- Communist- Kazou Shii: 3 seats
Social Democratic- Mizuho Fukushima: 3 seats
Your- Yoshimi Watanabe: 3 seats

Congress's first big project in 2011, would be legalizing medical marijuana nationwide. The legislation, which was introduced by Jared Polis and Henry Waxman, passed the House 228-201, and then passed the Senate 61-38 (Bruce Botehlo voted with the Republicans). President Obama signed the bill into law on February 27.

Next, Congress turned it's attention to legalizing online gambling nationwide. This legislation was introduced in the House by Jeff Van Drew and Shelley Berkely, and passed 276-159 in the House. In the Senate, it passed by a lopsided 96-4 margin with the only votes against it coming from Orrin Hatch, John Huntsman, Jim Inhofe and Jeff Sessions. President Obama signed this legislation on March 2.

Finally, Congress turned it's attention to the authorization for military force in the War on Terror. The House passed Barbara Lee's attempt to remove Congress's Authorization of Force 219-215, but the Senate failed to overcome a fillibuster led by Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, with 49 votes in favor of cloture and 50 against.
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« Reply #82 on: February 17, 2021, 04:36:44 AM »

The Republican Primary field for President was shook up again towards the end of January and beginning of February 2011, with multiple new candidates entering the race.

First, on January 26, was Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Daniels's announcement speech, made in Indianapolis, was full of platitudes about bipartisanship and was largely panned on the  right flank of the party (some of whom were backing Bachmann, others of whom were still searching for the right candidate).

On February 1, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced in Orlando that he would run for President. Bush's announcement speech, made at EPCOT in Disney World, was panned for being too reminiscent of his brother's presidency. Just hours after Bush's announcement, John Ashcroft suspended his campaign and endorsed Jeb, agreeing to become Jeb's Campaign regional campaign chairman for Missouri and Illinois. Condoleeza Rice and Christine Todd Whitman both denied rumors that they would also suspend their campaigns and endorse Bush with Rice calling it "ridiculous" and Whitman saying Bush "wasn't my type of candidate".

On February 4, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour announced he would run for President. Barbour, who's announcement took place in Pass Christian, Mississippi, highlighted the state's recovery from Hurricane Katrina in his announcement speech.

Finally, on February 6, former Senator George Allen announced that he would run for President, in a speech in Richmond. Allen drew praise for attacking the then-ongoing attempts in Congress to legalize medical marijuana and online gambling, but otherwise his announcement speech drew little attention.

After all this tumult, Republicans had their third Presidential Debate, on February 9, at The Music Hall, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was moderated by Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly, was cosponsered by The Portsmouth Herald and aired on Fox News.

The first question went to Allen, from Kelly and was about his "macaca" gaffe in his 2006 Senate reelection campaign. Allen largely ignored the question, and instead tried to suggest that his opponent in that race Jim Webb, had rigged the election, getting a round of boos from audience, and causing Rick Santorum (who had also lost reelection in 2006) to respond "when we claim that elections we lose are rigged, we devalue our own performance in those elections".

The second question went to Rice, and was from Carlson, asking who America's greatest threat in the world at present was. Rice answered that she thought it was essentially a tie between Russia and China, each of whom could do serious damage to America if they wished to.

The third question, also from Carlson, went to Bush, asking if he viewed himself as a third term of his brother, and a fourth term of his father. Bush answered yes, and said that he didn't see why that should be a bad thing, to which Ron Paul pointed out that there had been three wars started under Bush Administrations.

The fourth question, from Kelly, went to Gingrich, and asked if he thought attempting to impeach Bill Clinton cost Republicans a chance to expand their majorities in the House and Senate in 1998. Gingrich responded "hindsight is always 20-20".

The fifth question, also from Kelly, went to Rice, and was about Michelle Obama's diplomatic faux pas in Barcelona. Rice said President Obama had made the right decision, stating that "you can't let your allies hold you hostage", and that "the Spanish Government's demands were extortion. Another Government has no right to demand that the President divorce his wife.", a state which got applause from every other Republican candidate.

The sixth question, from Carlson went to all candidates, asking if they supported the then pending in Congress, online gambling legalization. Rice, Whitman and Paul stated they were in favor, the others stated they were against it.

The seventh question, from Carlson, also went to all candidates, asking if they supported the then pending in Congress medical marijuana legalization. Only Paul stated he was in favor of it, Rice said it shouldn't be a Federal issue at all, and the others were against it.

The final question, from Kelly, went to Frist. She asked about the Terri Schiavo case, and how his position on Schaivo (keeping the brain-dead Schaivo alive against the wishes of her husband), was compatible with the Hippocratic Oath he took as a doctor to do no harm to a patient. Frist responded that he wasn't doing harm to Schaivo by keeping her alive.

Republican Primary Polling-Post Third Debate (As of February 11, 2011)

National-PPP

Jeb Bush 16%
Newt Gingrich 13%
Mitch Daniels 13%
Condolezza Rice 12%
Bill Frist 8%
George Allen 7%
Michelle Bachmann 6%
Haley Barbour 6%
Christine Todd Whitman 5%
Rick Santorum 5%
Ron Paul 1%
Undecided/Other 8%

Iowa-PPP

Mitch Daniels 17%
Michelle Bachmann 15%
Newt Gingrich 13%
Jeb Bush 11%
Condolezza Rice 9%
George Allen 9%
Haley Barbour 7%
Bill Frist 7%
Rick Santorum 7%
Christine Todd Whitman 2%
Ron Paul 0%
Undecided/Other 3%

New Hampshire- Qunnipiac

Mitch Daniels 18%
Jeb Bush 15%
Condolezza Rice 14%
Ron Paul 9%
Newt Gingrich 8%
George Allen 6%
Haley Barbour 6%
Bill Frist 4%
Rick Santorum 3%
Christine Todd Whitman 2%
Michelle Bachmann 1%
Undecided/Other 14%

Nevada-PPP

Jeb Bush 16%
Condolezza Rice 15%
Mitch Daniels 12%
Ron Paul 8%
Rick Santorum 5%
Newt Gingrich 5%
George Allen 4%
Haley Barbour 3%
Bill Frist 3%
Christine Todd Whitman 2%
Michelle Bachmann 2%
Undecided/Other 25%

South Carolina-PPP

Newt Gingrich 21%
George Allen 18%
Haley Barbour 16%
Bill Frist 15%
Jeb Bush 12%
Rick Santorum 8%
Mitch Daniels 4%
Michelle Bachmann 4%
Christine Todd Whitman 1%
Ron Paul 0%
Undecided/Other 1%

Florida-PPP

Jeb Bush 49%
Newt Gingrich 10%
Mitch Daniels 10%
George Allen 7%
Bill Frist 6%
Haley Barbour 5%
Michelle Bachmann 3%
Rick Santorum 2%
Christine Todd Whitman 1%
Ron Paul 0%
Undecided/Other 14%

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« Reply #83 on: February 17, 2021, 06:09:44 AM »

On February 2, U.N Ambassador Robert Gates announced his resignation to become Chancellor of the College of William & Mary (despite speculation, largely stoked by George Will, that he'd enter the Republican Presidential race. Gates had seen what had happened to Carly Fiorina, and wanted no part of that.). President Obama, on February 15, nominated Assistant Secretary  of Defense for International Security Affairs, and former Ambassador to Russia and South Korea in the George W. Bush Administration, and Ambassador to NATO in the Clinton Administration,  Alexander Vershbow, as the new U.N Ambassador. Vershbow faced a rough ride in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, with several Senators, mostly the Republicans on the committee, opposing his nomination on the grounds the U.S shouldn't have a U.N Ambassador at all. However, Vershbow cleared the committee on a party-line vote, and was confirmed by the full Senate on March 20, 79-17.

The first significant elections of 2011 took place in President Obama's hometown of Chicago, as voters turned out in the Mayoral election. Longtime Mayor Richard Daley was not seeking reelection, opening the door for a new candidate. Most experts expected Rahm Emanuel, or someone else in the city's Congressional delegation to run. However, Emanuel passed, as did the rest of the city's delegation, leaving no clear favorite. If no candidate received 50% of the vote, the top two would advance to a runoff in April. While the race was non-partisan, the political party of all candidates was provided to the news media for easy identification on election night.

Chicago Mayor- General Election

Hyatt Hotels heir J.B Pritzker (D) 46%
City Clerk Miguel Del Valle (D) 24%
Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun (D) 9%
State Senator Antonio Munoz (D) 8%
Former Congressional Candidate Jason Tabour (R) 5%
Non-Profit Administrator Patrica Van Pelt Watkins (D) 5%
Cook County Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. (D) 3%

Heading into the runoff Munoz, Van Pelt Watkins and Rogers Jr. endorsed Del Valle, while Moseley Braun and Tabour declined to endorse anyone.

Chicago Mayor-Runoff

Miguel Del Valle 55%
J.B Pritzker 45%

By spending $115 million combined on both the primary and the runoff, Pritzker set a record for most money self-funded by a single candidate in a Mayoral Election, surpassing Michael Bloomberg.

Republican Primary head to head match ups-National-PPP) (as of February 12, 2011)

Barack Obama 47%
Jeb Bush 45%

Barack Obama 50%
Newt Gingrich 43%

Mitch Daniels 49%
Barack Obama 45%

Condolezza Rice 48%
Barack Obama 45%

Barack Obama 47%
George Allen 46%

Barack Obama 48%
Haley Barbour 43%

Barack Obama 47%
Bill Frist 45%

Barack Obama 50%
Rick Santorum 36%

Christine Todd Whitman 47%
Barack Obama 47%

Barack Obama 48%
Michelle Bachmann 39%

Barack Obama 49%
Ron Paul 37%
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« Reply #84 on: February 17, 2021, 07:59:28 AM »

Americans (especially in Minnesota), mourned when Walter Mondale died at 83, on February 13 after complications from surgery to remove gallstones. Former President Jimmy Carter's eulogy at his funeral became the most watched video on Youtube for the month of February.

In Super Bowl XLV, the Pittsburgh Steelers won their second Super Bowl in three years (the New Orleans Saints had won the previous year), defeating the Seattle Seahawks 36-7 at Cowboys Stadium. The halftime show, performed by Celine Dion, with guests Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson drew rave reviews, and was widely considered the best part of the night by the media.

In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe's death on February 7 at 86 of a stroke in Harare set off a power struggle for succession for the leadership of Zimbabwe. Vice President Joice Mujuru became President. However, there were protests in the streets after Mugabe's death calling for the end of ZANU-PF rule. Mujuru sent in the army, and 296 people died, 186 of them in Harare alone. Another 5,096 people were arrested, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, and were charged with treason, all of whom faced the death penalty. All except Tsvangirai were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Tsvangirai was sentenced to death, and was executed on January 9, 2012.

On February 11, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would resign, citing ill health, and desire not to die in office as his reason for resigning. The Conclave, which met two weeks later, chose the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, as the new Pope. Dolan took the Papal Name Pius XIII.

Meanwhile, in a closely watched case, the Supreme Court ruled in MPAA v. Google on February 6, by a 6-3 margin (Breyer, Lynch, Sotomayor, Garland, Kennedy and Roberts in the majority, with Roberts writing the majority opinion) that YouTube's video hosting services did not constitute a copyright violation in and of itself under U.S law, and that MPAA did not have the right to demand Google close YouTube down.

The First incumbent Senator (not count Dick Armey, who had already made clear he wasn't running for a full term) to make their plans clear was Dianne Feinsten, who announced that she would not seek reelection on February 17. Two days later, Attorney General Kamala Harris, announced that she would step down from her position in the Justice Department at the beginning of March, and would run for the seat. Despite speculation that Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis would join her, Solis denied interest in running, stating that she was happy in the Obama Administration.

Obama floated nominating Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to replace Harris, but received pushback from good government groups and Senate Republicans. Ultimately, Obama nominated California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who had served two terms as Governor decades ago, and twice ran for President. Brown easily was confirmed 80-11, by the Senate. Governor Newsom then appointed former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti as Attorney General of California to replace Brown, largely because Garcetti had no intention of running for reelection in 2014.
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« Reply #85 on: February 17, 2021, 09:35:08 AM »

On March 11, a magnitude 9.0 Earthquake off the coast of Japan, caused a tsunami and a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 16,679 people died in the Tsunami, and another 1,086 died in Fukushima as a result of the meltdown in the nuclear power plant.

The disaster, and the paralyzingly slow response, led to the fall of the government in Japan, as Prime Minister Keiko Chiba resigned, and was replaced with Naoto Kan as Prime Minister.

Shortstop Derek Jeter signed a contract for the highest annual value in baseball history, when on February 22, when he signed a two year $85 million deal to return to the New York Yankees. This caused President Obama to opine that night on The Late Show with David Letterman that Major League Baseball needed a salary cap. Hillary Clinton, echoing those sentiments, introduced legislation to the floor of the United States Senate, requiring all professional sports leagues operating in the United States to have a salary cap and a salary floor, but the bill did not make it out of committee, and the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, John Rockefeller, scolded Clinton on the Senate floor for wasting the committee's time.

On February 25, a scare happened when three secret service agents were shot two blocks from  Joe Biden's Wilmington residence, by a woman who was "obsessed" with Biden and "dreamed of being with him" according to the press statement put out by the Secret Service. Biden and his wife were not present at the time (he was in Washington, she was Kansas City,Missouri campaigning for Sly James in the Mayoral election there), and, according the Secret Service, were in no danger. The woman, a twenty-two year old from Wilmington was charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and despite speculation that she was going to attempt to kill Vice President, the prosecutors did not charge her for that. The prosecution indicated that they did not wish to pursue the death penalty (at the request of Vice President Biden, the intended victim), and the woman was found guilty on all counts. In December of 2011, Federal Judge Gregory Sleet sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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« Reply #86 on: February 17, 2021, 11:52:19 AM »

At this juncture in the Republican Presidential race, most were still waiting on decisions from Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump. Of the four, Romney had the most to lose, potentially, as he was also up for election to a full term as a Senator in 2012. On February 25, he announced that he would run for reelection, and would not run for President.

Palin, by contrast had little to lose. Many Republicans blamed her for costing John McCain the Presidency, however, she was idolized by the Tea Party, which had successfully knocked off McCain, Lisa Murkowski and John Boehner in 2010. Palin, well aware of what her run for the Vice Presidency had done to her political brand, had her eyes on the Senate race in 2014, and on March 6, she too announced would not run, and the next day, endorsed Michelle Bachmann at a campaign stop in Waterloo, Iowa, giving Bachmann the credibility of the Tea Party's unquestioned leader.

Huckabee had dithered for months, and had found his lane in the primaries taken, first by Santorum, and then by Allen and Frist. He too would announce that he was not running on March 5 on his Fox News program.

Trump meanwhile, took every step possible to prepare for a run,commissioning polls, traveling to early states, even hiring staff. In Early March, he told NBC Executives that he would be leaving The Apprentice to pursue a Presidential bid. On March 16, Donald Trump announced, at Trump Tower in New York, that he would be seeking the Presidency as a Republican. His speech drew attention for the number of profanities used (sixty-four), calling Mexicans "rapists and murderers", calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, and expelling any Muslims already in the United States, and suggesting the United States should use a nuclear weapon on Mecca. His speech was loudly criticized by every other candidate, and John McCain summed up most politicians and other observers thoughts when he said in a Twitter post that Trump should "drop dead". In a second post, he suggested that President Obama should refuse to allow the Secret Service to protect Trump in the event he became the Republican nominee.

Republican Primary Head to Head vs Obama (As of March 20, 2011)

Jeb Bush 46%
Barack Obama 46%

Condolezza Rice 49%
Barack Obama 45%

Mitch Daniels 49%
Barack Obama 45%

Christine Todd Whitman 48%
Barack Obama 46%

Barack Obama 47%
George Allen 45%

Barack Obama 47%
Bill Frist 46%

Barack Obama 48%
Haley Barbour 44%

Barack Obama 48%
Newt Gingrich 43%

Barack Obama 49%
Rick Santorum 40%

Barack Obama 49%
Michelle Bachmann 39%

Barack Obama 50%
Ron Paul 37%

Barack Obama 51%
Donald Trump 32%
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
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« Reply #87 on: February 17, 2021, 07:22:23 PM »

Please have Obama win (wow this sounds weird). This field of candidates is so bad the even I can only see myself voting for 2 or 3 of them, none of which would actually win.
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« Reply #88 on: February 18, 2021, 07:41:57 AM »

With Donald Trump's bombastic entrance into the Presidential race the Republican Party found itself under pressure to do something, as pretty much every candidate (with the exception of Bachmann) refused to debate him. As such, on March 24, RNC Chairman Michael Steele announced that any network that aired a debate or candidate forum that included Trump would be blacklisted by the Republican Party both in the 2012 election and in future elections.

In response to the purported insult he received, Trump initially filed to run as an Independent, but after an organized movement to keep him the ballot by both parties took shape, dropped out in July 2011.

Secretary of State Leon Panetta announced his retirement, effective upon the confirmation of a successor. President Obama nominated former Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher, who earned confirmation 98-1 (John Huntsman abstained, Rick Scott voted no).

In the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Butler Bulldogs 59-55, to win their first title.

In the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament the UConn Huskies defeated the Tennessee Lady Volunteers 80-69,for their seventh National Championship, and third in a row.

Rory McIlroy won The Masters, the first Major in Golf, with a -17 271, four shots ahead of Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera, and Adam Scott.
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« Reply #89 on: February 18, 2021, 11:24:19 AM »

The fifth Republican Presidential debate took place on March 27, at Bob Jones University, in Greenville, South Carolina. Almost immediately, the choice of venue drew criticism, when the university tried to block Christine Todd Whitman and Condolezza Rice from appearing at the debate, citing their pro-choice views. RNC Chairman Michael Steele stepped in and threatened to cancel the debate if Whitman and Rice were barred from appearing, and the university backed down.

The debate was moderated by Megyn Kelly and Bill O'Reilly and was aired on Fox News and Fox.

The first question, from O'Reilly, was to Whitman and Rice, and asked if they believed a pro-choice candidate could be successful in a Republican Primary. Whitman answered that the party needed to be a big tent to be successful in a Presidential election, while Rice pointed out that she had viewpoints on other issues, such as gun control that were more in line with the base. Santorum responded that abortion and same-sex marriage were litmus tests for Republicans and that anyone who supported them were "not Republicans in any way, shape, or form".

The second question, from Kelly, was to Rice, asking if she would have approved of the American incursion into Pakistan to arrest Pervez Musharraf, Nadeem Taj and Ashfaq Kayani back in November. Rice answered that she would have. Bush responded that he thought it was a mistake to send American troops into a country that had nuclear weapons stating that it was "a nuclear war waiting to happen".

The third question, from Kelly was to all the candidates, asking if they would appoint judges that would overturn Roe v. Wade. All accept Rice, Paul and Whitman said yes. Rice said she would appoint judges who made decisions based on the merits of the case they were deciding on the time, not based on any political reality, while Whitman said she felt there were issues other than abortion that the court should address at the present time. Ron Paul, meanwhile, said abortion was for the states to decide, which got him criticism from Sanatorium, Frist and Bachmann.

The fourth question, from O'Reilly, was also to all the candidates, asking if they would support an amendment to the Constitution banning burning the United States flag. All except Ron Paul said yes. Paul said he didn't support amending the Constitution for any reason, while Santorum suggested that flag burners should "be sent to gas chambers" which drew heavy criticism from Holocaust remembrance groups, President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The fifth question, from Kelly, was to all the candidates, asking, if they were pro-life, how could they support the Death Penalty? Rice and Whitman pointed out they weren't exclusively pro-life, while Paul said the state didn't have the right to take life away. Everyone else ducked the question, for the most part.

The sixth and final question, from O'Reilly was to all the candidates, asking if they would reinstate the Mexico City policy, discontinued by President Obama, that blocked federal funding for NGO's that provided abortion services. Rice and Paul said they wouldn't, Whitman declined to answer, and all other candidates said they would.

Facing declining polling numbers, and having committed major gaffes in three of the first four debates, Rick Santorum suspended campaign for President on April 9. He pledged to endorse the winner of the Iowa Caucuses, in his withdrawal speech.
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« Reply #90 on: February 19, 2021, 12:24:20 PM »

The next big event in the Republican Presidential race, was Mitch Daniels's victory at the CPAC straw poll, where he won with 29% of the vote to Michelle Bachmann and Jeb Bush's 21%.

Meanwhile, the off-year election cycle began to heat up. Most observers regarded these elections as foreshadowing just how well President Obama would do in 2012.

First on the docket, was the Gubernatorial election in Kentucky, being held on May 17. The incumbent, Steve Beshear was running for reelection, albeit with a new running mate, after Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo's failed Senate bid in 2010. He'd named 2008 Senate nominee Bruce Lunsford as his running mate.  Republicans had a crowded field of candidates hoping to take on Beshear, and several of them were posting leads over Beshear in early polling.

Kentucky-Governor-Republican Primary

Physician, 2008 Senate candidate Rand Paul 44%
Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer 22%
Former Representative Anne Northrup 21%
State Senator Brandon Smith 13%

Polling-Kentucky Governor (As of July 4, from PPP)

Rand Paul (R) 43%
Steve Beshear (D) 39%
Gatewood Galbraith (I) 9%
Undecided/Other 9%
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BigVic
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« Reply #91 on: February 19, 2021, 11:31:43 PM »

Good TL so far
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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #92 on: February 20, 2021, 02:28:24 AM »

After intense lobbying from most of the Republican candidates (especially Jeb Bush and Mitch Daniels) the Republican Party agreed to cancel all primary debates until October, meaning the next major event in the primaries would be the Ames Straw Poll. Three candidates, Condolezza  Rice, Christine Todd Whitman and Ron Paul did not compete in the Straw poll, and the winner ended up being Michelle Bachmann, with 15% of the vote, to Mitch Daniels's 13% and George Allen's 11%.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the Government of Silvio Berlusiconi fell after the rejection of the budget by the Chamber of Deputies, and the Government's defeat in a confidence vote, with a majority of his coalition joining the opposition to bring down his government, forcing Berlusconi's resignation He was replaced as Prime Minister by his Minister of Economy and Finance, Guilio Tremonti, who would lead the coalition into elections in 2013.

In sporting news, Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League Final, held at the Stade Giuseppe Meazza in Milan over Bayern Munich 3-1.

In the Europa League Final, held at Hampden Park, in Glasgow, Borussia Dortmund defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0.

Republican Primary Numbers (As of Memorial Day, 2011)

Mitch Daniels 20%
Jeb Bush 15%
Condolezza Rice 12%
Haley Barbour 9%
George Allen 8%
Bill Frist 7%
Michelle Bachmann 7%
Newt Gingrich 6%
Christine Todd Whitman 3%
Ron Paul 2%

Iowa

Michelle Bachmann 24%
Mitch Daniels 15%
Condolezza Rice 9%
George Allen 8%
Bill Frist 7%
Jeb Bush 7%
Newt Gingrich 6%
Christine Todd Whitman 2%
Haley Barbour 2%
Ron Paul 1%

New Hampshire

Mitch Daniels 18%
Jeb Bush 15%
Ron Paul 9%
Michelle Bachmann 8%
Condolezza Rice 8%
Bill Frist 7%
Newt Gingrich 5%
George Allen 5%
Haley Barbour 3%
Christine Todd Whitman 1%

South Carolina

Newt Gingrich 19%
George Allen 17%
Bill Frist 13%
Michelle Bachmann 11%
Condolezza Rice 9%
Jeb Bush 8%
Haley Barbour 7%
Mitch Daniels 4%
Christine Todd Whitman 2%
Ron Paul 0%

Nevada

Mitch Daniels 17%
Condolezza Rice 16%
Jeb Bush 13%
Michelle Bachmann 11%
Haley Barbour 10%
Mitch Daniels 9%
Christine Todd Whitman 5%
Ron Paul 5%
George Allen 3%
Bill Frist 2%
Newt Gingrich 1%


Florida

Jeb Bush 51%
Condolezza Rice 14%
Newt Gingrich 12%
Mitch Daniels 9%
Newt Gingrich 6%
George Allen 3%
Bill Frist 3%
Michelle Bachmann 1%
Christine Todd Whitman 0%
Ron Paul 0%

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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #93 on: February 22, 2021, 10:21:00 AM »
« Edited: April 25, 2021, 12:55:04 AM by NewYorkExpress »

Democrats in Congress continued to attempt to pass an ambitious agenda through Congress. Their next project was a revamping of the Voting Rights Act. The act, which eliminated any sunset provisions in the act, required all fifty states to get preclearence from the Justice Department before making changes to voting procedures or adopting new maps in redistricting, and added religious minorities to the list of groups protected by the Voting Rights Act, passed the House 219-199 on April 21. It ran into a wall of opposition in the Senate, as Jim DeMint, Dick Armey, and Jeff Sessions led a fillibuster against it, and it ultimately failed to get clouture in the Senate, 57-38 (Bruce Botelho, John Melancon and Mary Landreiu joined with the Republicans), on June 9.

Meanwhile, gunmen linked to Vladimir Putin attempted to assassinate Anderson Cooper in New York City on April 17, after he alleged that the Russian Government was responsible for the death of Garry Kasparov and numerous other political opponents of Vladimir Putin on Anderson Cooper 360, the previous Friday. In response, President Obama announced that there would be a travel ban on individuals coming to and from Russia.

Parliamentary Elections were held in Ireland on February 25. The Finnia Fail Government had been falling apart over Eurozone bailout requirements, and it was largely expected that not only would they lose their majority, but that they would lose their position as one of the Big Three parties in Ireland.

Ireland General Election-Dail Eireann

Fine Gael- Enda Kenny: 79 seats
Labour- Eamon Gilmore:  34 seats
Sinn Fein- Gerry Adams: 28 seats
Fianna Fail- Michael Martin: 16 seats
John Gormley- Green: 8 seats
Seamus Healy- Workers and Unemployed Action: 1 seat

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail came to a coalition agreement on March 2.
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« Reply #94 on: February 23, 2021, 10:17:14 PM »

On April 26, after a delay at the request of COMMEBOL President Nicolas Leoz, FIFA leadership met to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.

The 2018 World Cup was awarded to a joint bid of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (while all of the games would be in either England, Scotland or Wales, a national team training base would be in Belfast, as would a FIFA fanzone. Wembley Stadium was stated to host the final, while the Semifinal games would be at Old Trafford in Manchester and Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.), while the 2022 World Cup was awarded to a joint bid of the United States, Mexico and Canada (the final and third place game would take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, and Soldier Field in Chicago hosting the two semifinal matches).

Meanwhile, Americans were sent into a fresh wave of mourning as former President George H.W Bush died on May 1, at 85 years old after falling down the stairs at his home in Houston.

On May 2, Canadian voters went to the polls after the defeat of the budget caused the dissolution of the government.

Canada-Parliament

New Democratic Party- Jack Layton: 130 seats
Stephen Harper- Conservative: 121 seats
Michael Igniateff-Liberal: 40 seats
Gilles Duceppe- Bloc Quebecois 16 seats
Elizabeth May-Green: 1 seat.

The result, a hung parliament, nearly caused another election. However, on May 27, Layton was able to form a minority government.
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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #95 on: February 25, 2021, 05:45:07 PM »

On May 18, Ambassador to China Clark Randt announced his resignation (Randt had been reappointed by President Obama,after the Administration's first choice, Jon Hunstman, declined the position) to become a professor at the University of Hong Kong. President Obama nominated, on June 1, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) as Randt's replacement. Baucus was confirmed by the Senate 77-2 (Jon Huntsman and Richard Lugar both voted against the nomination), on July 18.

Meanwhile, in New York, Governor David Paterson was forced to resign on June 16, after being caught threatening to have a lobbyist killed, because he was being "annoying". Paterson's resignation made Gary Ackerman the Governor of New York. Ackerman expressed little interest in running for reelection in 2014, stating to Newsday that he viewed the Governor's mansion as a three-year rental.

Meanwhile, following an eleven-month investigation into the bidding procedures and the sale of television rights for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the Justice Department arrested the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, the President of CONCACAF, and the Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago, Jack Warner, UEFA President Michel Platini, and the President of the United States Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati. Each were charged with a superseding indictment of enterprise corruption, under federal RICO statutes. Each were sentenced by District Court Judge Kimba Wood to fifteen to thirty years in federal prison.
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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #96 on: February 26, 2021, 10:58:40 AM »

On July 27, following days of speculation over the vacant Senate seat in Montana (thanks to Max Baucus's confirmation as Ambassador to China), Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that he would appoint Attorney General Steve Bullock as Baucus's replacement in the Senate. Bullock would face the voters in a special election in 2012.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Robert Menendez was indicted on by a federal grand jury over taking bribes from Opthamologist Saloman Melgen to advance his business interests. Menendez was found guilty of bribery and perjury on November 12, and was sentenced by Federal Judge William Walls to two years in prison. Menendez resigned from the Senate that day. On November 16, Governor Chris Christie appointed State Assemblyman Jon Bramnick to the vacant Senate seat, giving Republicans a Senate gain.

Following a poor result in the Ames Straw Poll, Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign for President on September 2, endorsing Jeb Bush.
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Roll Roons
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« Reply #97 on: February 27, 2021, 04:58:22 PM »

On July 27, following days of speculation over the vacant Senate seat in Montana (thanks to Max Baucus's confirmation as Ambassador to China), Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that he would appoint Attorney General Steve Bullock as Baucus's replacement in the Senate. Bullock would face the voters in a special election in 2012.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Robert Menendez was indicted on by a federal grand jury over taking bribes from Opthamologist Saloman Melgen to advance his business interests. Menendez was found guilty of bribery and perjury on November 12, and was sentenced by Federal Judge William Walls to two years in prison. Menendez resigned from the Senate that day. On November 16, Governor Chris Christie appointed State Assemblyman Jon Bramnick to the vacant Senate seat, giving Republicans a Senate gain.

Following a poor result in the Ames Straw Poll, Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign for President on September 2, endorsing Jeb Bush.


Purple heart Let's go Jon!!!
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NewYorkExpress
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« Reply #98 on: February 27, 2021, 05:06:05 PM »

On July 27, following days of speculation over the vacant Senate seat in Montana (thanks to Max Baucus's confirmation as Ambassador to China), Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that he would appoint Attorney General Steve Bullock as Baucus's replacement in the Senate. Bullock would face the voters in a special election in 2012.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Robert Menendez was indicted on by a federal grand jury over taking bribes from Opthamologist Saloman Melgen to advance his business interests. Menendez was found guilty of bribery and perjury on November 12, and was sentenced by Federal Judge William Walls to two years in prison. Menendez resigned from the Senate that day. On November 16, Governor Chris Christie appointed State Assemblyman Jon Bramnick to the vacant Senate seat, giving Republicans a Senate gain.

Following a poor result in the Ames Straw Poll, Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign for President on September 2, endorsing Jeb Bush.


Purple heart Let's go Jon!!!

I haven't actually decided who Bramnick will face in 2012, or for that matter if he'll even run for reelection (it's not out of the realm of possibility Christie runs for the seat.)
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Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom
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« Reply #99 on: February 27, 2021, 05:30:38 PM »

On July 27, following days of speculation over the vacant Senate seat in Montana (thanks to Max Baucus's confirmation as Ambassador to China), Governor Brian Schweitzer announced that he would appoint Attorney General Steve Bullock as Baucus's replacement in the Senate. Bullock would face the voters in a special election in 2012.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Robert Menendez was indicted on by a federal grand jury over taking bribes from Opthamologist Saloman Melgen to advance his business interests. Menendez was found guilty of bribery and perjury on November 12, and was sentenced by Federal Judge William Walls to two years in prison. Menendez resigned from the Senate that day. On November 16, Governor Chris Christie appointed State Assemblyman Jon Bramnick to the vacant Senate seat, giving Republicans a Senate gain.

Following a poor result in the Ames Straw Poll, Newt Gingrich suspended his campaign for President on September 2, endorsing Jeb Bush.


I don't see why Menendez would resign.
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