America's Maverick Part 2: Madame President

[OSR stands with Israel]

2012 Election Results:

Presidential Election Results:



President Hillary Clinton(D-NY)/Vice President Jay Rockefeller(D-WV) 51.73% 318
Senator Bobby Jindal(R-LA)/Former Governor Mitt Romney(R-MA) 47.26% 220

States Decided by 5 points or Less:

Virginia: Clinton 49.71% Jindal 49.28%
Missouri : Clinton 49.88% Jindal 49.26%
Florida : Jindal 50.05% Clinton 49.08%
West Virginia: Clinton 51.33% Jindal 47.89%
Colorado : Clinton 50.91% Jindal 47.36%
Ohio : Clinton 51.47% Jindal 47.54%
Arkansas: Jindal 51.67% Clinton 47.51%
Nevada : Clinton 51.42% Jindal 46.91%
Iowa : Clinton 51.76% Jindal 46.84%%

States Decided by Between 5-10 points

New Hampshire: Clinton 51.90% Jindal 46.86%
Pennsylvania: Clinton 52.12% Jindal 46.84%
Wisconsin: 51.97% Jindal 46.32%
North Carolina: Jindal 52.63% Clinton 46.53%
New Mexico: Clinton 52.73% Jindal 46.37%
Kentucky: Jindal 52.93% Clinton 46.22%
Michigan: Clinton 52.98% Jindal 45.95%
Maine-2nd: Clinton 52.84% Jindal 45.71%
Minnesota: Clinton 53.22% Jindal 45.53%
Oregon: Clinton 53.63% Jindal 44.51%
Georgia: Jindal 54.53% Clinton 44.63%
New Jersey: Clinton 54.36% Jindal 44.39%


Senate Results:



Democrats: 51(0 - -1)
Republicans: 48(0 - +1)
Too Close to Call: 1

Note: Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is counted in the Democratic Tally

Battleground Senate Races:

Montana : Tester 48.82% Rehberg 48.67%
Washington : Inslee 49.83% Rossi 49.07%
Ohio: Kasich 50.58% Brown: 48.46%
Missouri: Nixon 50.77% Talent 48.54%
Nevada: Heller 47.89% Barkley: 45.12%
Tennessee: Ramsey 51.56% Ford Jr 47.61%
Wisconsin: Baldwin 51.63% Thompson 46.59%
Virginia: Bollings 52.21% Kaine: 46.88%
Rhode Island: Roberts 52.13% Chaffee 46.18%
Michigan: Blanchard 53.03% Cox 45.92%
Maryland: Gansler 55.97% Steele 42.94%
Nebraska: Fischer 56.43% Kerrey 42.53%

House of Representatives:

Republicans: 219(-9 - -11)
Democrats: 214(+9 - +11)
Too Close to Call: 2


Gubernatorial Races:



Battleground Gubernatorial Races:

Indiana: Pence 49.44% Gregg 48.57%
Montana: Bullock 49.08% Stapleton 48.11%
Vermont: Shumlin 47.48% Dublin 46.23%
Washington: McKenna 50.35% Brown 48.19%
North Carolina: McCrory 51.74% Dalton 47.63%
Missouri: Cook 52.12% Brunner 46.89%

Are the Democratic Inroads into Suburbia a Democratic thing or a Clintons thing:

Blitzer: Throughout election night when we went over to the magic wall , we saw a pattern emerge and that is President Clinton overperformed usual Democratic margins in the suburbs. We saw this in the suburbs around DC, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Denver, Las Vegas all of which were critical in the President carrying those states and thus getting reelected. So the question is are these gains Democratic Gains or just the suburbs liking the Clintons

Borger: In my opinion we have to wait and see because if you look at the downballot races this was much more a mixed bag given you saw Republicans like Dean Heller, John Kasich and Bill Bollings put up the numbers Republicans usually do in the suburbs but on the other hand in places like Philadelphia and Kansas City you saw Democrats like Bob Casey and Jay Nixon do even better than the President did.

So I would say we have to wait cause at the moment it seems very candidate specific

King : in my opinion one major test for this will come next year in the off year elections. It is very unlikely they will be able to unseat governor Kean but the question arises whether or not they can retake the Virginia gubernatorial mansion next year . According to rumors , outgoing chief of staff Terry McAullife is expected to run for governor so the question really arises whether or not he can defeat his likely opponent in Bob McDonnell in such a race .

If not then I think the conclusion is these gains are more the Clintons popularity then the democrats popularity but if they do then I think we can say there is a trend in the suburbs for the democrats.


What will be the top priorities by Democrats in the next term

Blitzer : Assuming the two house races split like the current vote count shows and the recount in Montana confirm Tester’s lead , what will be the first priorities of the next term by democrats.

Carville : my belief is the president will Tackle the issue of reducing the costs of higher education . The fact is the amount of debt students are having to incur to go to universities are unsustainable and I think her universal scholarship plan will help deal with that issue . I believe that you can see also an bipartisan bill pass as well as you’d see probably republicans wanting to use such an opportunity to cut the so called fat out of many of these universities

Begala : I agree but I think it will be one part of the President’s investment plan . We also likely will see major increases in funding for R&D which is necessary to keep us the economic super power in the future, and in then moving towards a balanced budget but asking the wealthy and large corporations to pay slightly more to ensure we can start paying down our debt . I think we are likely gonna see a very focused effort on these 3 things and given how tiny the gop majority in the house is , it’s gonna be hard to see how they can block this .

Martin : I agree with James and Paul but I’d like to add that her greatest impact in a 2nd term might not come legislatively but through her cabinet as they will be implementing the legislative achievements passed in term 1 . For example on education she signed a bill which had provisions meant to reduce the gaps we see in education. For example it correctly addresses the fact that it is our responsibility to make sure kids who come from inner cities or rural areas have the same opportunities as the kids who live in rich suburbs and really her department of education in this term can really make that a reality . Furthermore on financial reform , will the provisions be enforced in a way to really lead to a more responsible financial system because if they do that will have greater impact than any bill that gets passed .

Super Early 2016 GOP Predictions:

Blitzer: Now for fun let's have our Republicans on the panel prediction who their party's nominee will be come 2016 assuming neither Bush runs . Pat you first

Buchanan: I think you have to say it has to be Mitt Romney as one he has the most name recognition out of everyone in the field and that always helps but more importantly I think he is the candidate who will be the most acceptable to the widest swath of Republicans possible. Now there are many types of Republicans: Business Conservatives , Religious Conservatives, the Neocons are the main 3 but you also have your Nationalists and yes they still exist, your libertarians and your moderates. Mitt Romney will likely be the primary candiate of the business conservatives while able to appeal to 4 of the 5 remaining groups so I think he has the wide potential swath of support. Now obviously thinks can change but as of today, I think you have to say Mitt Romney

Navarro: I think it will be Marco Rubio. He has everything republicans are looking for in a candidate which is hes young, he has proven appeal with Hispanics, and hes governor of the 4th largest state in the union and very likely will be the third come 2016. He also is a conservative who comes from working class roots so I think he will be able to expand the republican tent more than anyone as he will be able to appeal to young voters, hispanics and working class voters in general that usually vote democratic.

Gingrich: While I may be biased since hes my friend, I am going with John Kasich. Kasich with his victory over Brown was able to successfully get his feet back into the waters of modern politics and the fact is he has a better track record than any other potential candidate. He already is the only house budget chair in the past 4 decades to balance the budget and he did it while cutting taxes and I believe the budget will be the next major issue for conservatives. The fact is for too long Republican and Democratic administrations have been irresponsible when it comes too the budget and John Kasich will be able to make the case better than anyone that he can balance the budget without raising taxes because he already has done it before.

He also hosted a successful show on Fox for 18 months so I think he will have more experience in knowing what the base wants more than anyone else as well.

Cupp: I have to go with Paul Ryan here . He is a solid conservative who was a very successful OMB chair during the McCain administration and has more substantive plans when it comes to conservative priorties than anyone whether it comes to the budget, healthcare, entitlements and is someone who can appeal to both your libertarians and national security conservative as well despite many thinking you cant in a primary. So If I had to choose today, I think the nominee would be Paul Ryan and I think he would win too

Castellanos: I agree with Ana that it will be Governor Rubio



  

[BigVic]

2012 Election Results:

Presidential Election Results:



President Hillary Clinton(D-NY)/Vice President Jay Rockefeller(D-WV) 51.73% 318
Senator Bobby Jindal(R-LA)/Former Governor Mitt Romney(R-MA) 47.26% 220

States Decided by 5 points or Less:

Virginia: Clinton 49.71% Jindal 49.28%
Missouri : Clinton 49.88% Jindal 49.26%
Florida : Jindal 50.05% Clinton 49.08%
West Virginia: Clinton 51.33% Jindal 47.89%
Colorado : Clinton 50.91% Jindal 47.36%
Ohio : Clinton 51.47% Jindal 47.54%
Arkansas: Jindal 51.67% Clinton 47.51%
Nevada : Clinton 51.42% Jindal 46.91%
Iowa : Clinton 51.76% Jindal 46.84%%

States Decided by Between 5-10 points

New Hampshire: Clinton 51.90% Jindal 46.86%
Pennsylvania: Clinton 52.12% Jindal 46.84%
Wisconsin: 51.97% Jindal 46.32%
North Carolina: Jindal 52.63% Clinton 46.53%
New Mexico: Clinton 52.73% Jindal 46.37%
Kentucky: Jindal 52.93% Clinton 46.22%
Michigan: Clinton 52.98% Jindal 45.95%
Maine-2nd: Clinton 52.84% Jindal 45.71%
Minnesota: Clinton 53.22% Jindal 45.53%
Oregon: Clinton 53.63% Jindal 44.51%
Georgia: Jindal 54.53% Clinton 44.63%
New Jersey: Clinton 54.36% Jindal 44.39%


Senate Results:



Democrats: 51(0 - -1)
Republicans: 48(0 - +1)
Too Close to Call: 1

Note: Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is counted in the Democratic Tally

Battleground Senate Races:

Montana : Tester 48.82% Rehberg 48.67%
Washington : Inslee 49.83% Rossi 49.07%
Ohio: Kasich 50.58% Brown: 48.46%
Missouri: Nixon 50.77% Talent 48.54%
Nevada: Heller 47.89% Barkley: 45.12%
Tennessee: Ramsey 51.56% Ford Jr 47.61%
Wisconsin: Baldwin 51.63% Thompson 46.59%
Virginia: Bollings 52.21% Kaine: 46.88%
Rhode Island: Roberts 52.13% Chaffee 46.18%
Michigan: Blanchard 53.03% Cox 45.92%
Maryland: Gansler 55.97% Steele 42.94%
Nebraska: Fischer 56.43% Kerrey 42.53%

House of Representatives:

Republicans: 219(-9 - -11)
Democrats: 214(+9 - +11)
Too Close to Call: 2


Gubernatorial Races:



Battleground Gubernatorial Races:

Indiana: Pence 49.44% Gregg 48.57%
Montana: Bullock 49.08% Stapleton 48.11%
Vermont: Shumlin 47.48% Dublin 46.23%
Washington: McKenna 50.35% Brown 48.19%
North Carolina: McCrory 51.74% Dalton 47.63%
Missouri: Cook 52.12% Brunner 46.89%

Are the Democratic Inroads into Suburbia a Democratic thing or a Clintons thing:

Blitzer: Throughout election night when we went over to the magic wall , we saw a pattern emerge and that is President Clinton overperformed usual Democratic margins in the suburbs. We saw this in the suburbs around DC, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Denver, Las Vegas all of which were critical in the President carrying those states and thus getting reelected. So the question is are these gains Democratic Gains or just the suburbs liking the Clintons

Borger: In my opinion we have to wait and see because if you look at the downballot races this was much more a mixed bag given you saw Republicans like Dean Heller, John Kasich and Bill Bollings put up the numbers Republicans usually do in the suburbs but on the other hand in places like Philadelphia and Kansas City you saw Democrats like Bob Casey and Jay Nixon do even better than the President did.

So I would say we have to wait cause at the moment it seems very candidate specific

King : in my opinion one major test for this will come next year in the off year elections. It is very unlikely they will be able to unseat governor Kean but the question arises whether or not they can retake the Virginia gubernatorial mansion next year . According to rumors , outgoing chief of staff Terry McAullife is expected to run for governor so the question really arises whether or not he can defeat his likely opponent in Bob McDonnell in such a race .

If not then I think the conclusion is these gains are more the Clintons popularity then the democrats popularity but if they do then I think we can say there is a trend in the suburbs for the democrats.


What will be the top priorities by Democrats in the next term

Blitzer : Assuming the two house races split like the current vote count shows and the recount in Montana confirm Tester’s lead , what will be the first priorities of the next term by democrats.

Carville : my belief is the president will Tackle the issue of reducing the costs of higher education . The fact is the amount of debt students are having to incur to go to universities are unsustainable and I think her universal scholarship plan will help deal with that issue . I believe that you can see also an bipartisan bill pass as well as you’d see probably republicans wanting to use such an opportunity to cut the so called fat out of many of these universities

Begala : I agree but I think it will be one part of the President’s investment plan . We also likely will see major increases in funding for R&D which is necessary to keep us the economic super power in the future, and in then moving towards a balanced budget but asking the wealthy and large corporations to pay slightly more to ensure we can start paying down our debt . I think we are likely gonna see a very focused effort on these 3 things and given how tiny the gop majority in the house is , it’s gonna be hard to see how they can block this .

Martin : I agree with James and Paul but I’d like to add that her greatest impact in a 2nd term might not come legislatively but through her cabinet as they will be implementing the legislative achievements passed in term 1 . For example on education she signed a bill which had provisions meant to reduce the gaps we see in education. For example it correctly addresses the fact that it is our responsibility to make sure kids who come from inner cities or rural areas have the same opportunities as the kids who live in rich suburbs and really her department of education in this term can really make that a reality . Furthermore on financial reform , will the provisions be enforced in a way to really lead to a more responsible financial system because if they do that will have greater impact than any bill that gets passed .

Super Early 2016 GOP Predictions:

Blitzer: Now for fun let's have our Republicans on the panel prediction who their party's nominee will be come 2016 assuming neither Bush runs . Pat you first

Buchanan: I think you have to say it has to be Mitt Romney as one he has the most name recognition out of everyone in the field and that always helps but more importantly I think he is the candidate who will be the most acceptable to the widest swath of Republicans possible. Now there are many types of Republicans: Business Conservatives , Religious Conservatives, the Neocons are the main 3 but you also have your Nationalists and yes they still exist, your libertarians and your moderates. Mitt Romney will likely be the primary candiate of the business conservatives while able to appeal to 4 of the 5 remaining groups so I think he has the wide potential swath of support. Now obviously thinks can change but as of today, I think you have to say Mitt Romney

Navarro: I think it will be Marco Rubio. He has everything republicans are looking for in a candidate which is hes young, he has proven appeal with Hispanics, and hes governor of the 4th largest state in the union and very likely will be the third come 2016. He also is a conservative who comes from working class roots so I think he will be able to expand the republican tent more than anyone as he will be able to appeal to young voters, hispanics and working class voters in general that usually vote democratic.

Gingrich: While I may be biased since hes my friend, I am going with John Kasich. Kasich with his victory over Brown was able to successfully get his feet back into the waters of modern politics and the fact is he has a better track record than any other potential candidate. He already is the only house budget chair in the past 4 decades to balance the budget and he did it while cutting taxes and I believe the budget will be the next major issue for conservatives. The fact is for too long Republican and Democratic administrations have been irresponsible when it comes too the budget and John Kasich will be able to make the case better than anyone that he can balance the budget without raising taxes because he already has done it before.

He also hosted a successful show on Fox for 18 months so I think he will have more experience in knowing what the base wants more than anyone else as well.

Cupp: I have to go with Paul Ryan here . He is a solid conservative who was a very successful OMB chair during the McCain administration and has more substantive plans when it comes to conservative priorties than anyone whether it comes to the budget, healthcare, entitlements and is someone who can appeal to both your libertarians and national security conservative as well despite many thinking you cant in a primary. So If I had to choose today, I think the nominee would be Paul Ryan and I think he would win too

Castellanos: I agree with Ana that it will be Governor Rubio



  

The Virginias blue

[OSR stands with Israel]

President Clinton names long time ally Rahm Emanuel as her new chief of staff:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFfXHKDKkhY

Blitzer: The newly re-elected President announced earlier today that she would be naming Congressman Rahm Emmanuel to be her new chief of staff for her 2nd term. Congressman Emmanuel has been a long time ally of the Clintons going back decades as he worked on then Governor Bill Clinton's primary campaign back in 1992 and then worked in the Bill Clinton white house until 1998. So David how big of a pick is this and what does that entail

Gergen: Well I think this does show the President is aware of the fact that during a President's 2nd term , a huge problem is a lot of people in the administration or in the party generally are very much thinking of whom the next party leader could be which many times reduces the power a President has over their staff and party. So I think Mr. Emmanuel was picked with that in mind because he is someone who you do not want to cross according to many reports so it makes sense he was picked.

List of Cabinet Members who will be retained in current positions:

Secretary of Agriculture: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Vilsack,_official_USDA_photo_portrait.jpg

Secretary of Commerce: Secretary of Commerce Kathleen Sebelius



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kathleen_Sebelius_official_portrait.jpg

Secretary of Transportation: Secretary of Transportation Mortimer Downey



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downey.jpg

Secretary of Energy: Secretary of Energy Ed Rendell



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ed_Rendell_ID2004_crop_(cropped).JPG

Cooper: Paul any surprises here, particularly the fact that no one from the President's foreign policy team seems to be staying on

Begala: Well this announcement is more just announcing who will be staying on in their current roles and says nothing about the people who will get reshuffled in the administration. For example pretty much all reports have indicated that National Security Advisor Wesley Clark will move over to head the defense department , that UN Ambassador Susan Rice then either will take Wesley Clark role as national security advisor or become deputy Secretary of State to whoever the President picks as the next Secretary of State. 

So the fact is we are likely to see quite a bit of reshuffling and this type of stuff always happens.

[2016]

OSR,
I have a bit of a different thought process when it comes to Election 2016 that do lead to the same conclusion: The Party that nominates a younger, fresher face will win.

Hence I believe Ana Navarro & Alex Castellanos are right: I think it will be Governor Rubio on the Republican Side.

Mitt Romney would approach his 70ties and Paul Ryan his 60ties. The Republican Party needs young fresh blood IMO.

[Tron1993]

OSR,
I have a bit of a different thought process when it comes to Election 2016 that do lead to the same conclusion: The Party that nominates a younger, fresher face will win.

Hence I believe Ana Navarro & Alex Castellanos are right: I think it will be Governor Rubio on the Republican Side.

Mitt Romney would approach his 70ties and Paul Ryan his 60ties. The Republican Party needs young fresh blood IMO.

Plus OSR has already done a Romney presidency. He’s not gonna do that again

[OSR stands with Israel]

Speaker John Boehner announces he will step down from Speakership at the end of this term



Source : https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Boehner_official_portrait.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

Blitzer: Speaker Boehner earlier today announced he will step down from the speakership at the end of this term and pass the baton to a new generation of Republican Leadership. This comes of an election where Republicans will end up losing anywhere between 9 to 11 seats but despite that many believed he would continue as speaker. Gloria are you surprised by that

Borger: No I am not Wolf and the reason for that is the fact is after 3 consecutive disappointing house elections : losing the house in 2008, not picking up 20 house seats in the midterms, and almost losing the majority again there was gonna be a push to remove him from house leadership and that is what happened. 

Blitzer: Who will replace him as the new speaker

Borger : All expectations are House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will but we are told the conservative wing of the caucus wants some concessions in exchange for giving their support. One major concession we are hearing that they want is either getting the chairmanship of either the house ways and means or budget committees.

President Clinton makes Foreign Policy team for 2nd term:

Secretary of State : Delaware Senator Joe Biden



Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_official_portrait_crop.jpg

Secretary of Defense: National Security Advisor Wesley Clark



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQVOKLCd9lk

National Security Advisor: Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jim_Steinberg.jpg

UN Ambassador: Representative Gary Ackerman



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gary_Ackerman_Portrait_c111-112th_Congress.jpg


Cooper : Seems like the President is going with seasoned veterans in each of these picks .

Gergen : Like many suspected President Clinton does not want her cabinet in her 2nd term to be dominated by people who try to get the spotlight as a potential springboard of 2016 which could reduce her power overall . As you can see for Secretary of State  Senator Joe Biden is a seasoned politician who probably would have retired 2 years from now and for UN Ambassador Representative Ackerman already has retired from the house so that leads into that theory .

[2016]

Biden being named Secretary of State means there will be a Special Senate Election.
Maybe Lisa Blunt Rochester is going to run here and waltz into the Senate a few years earlier then expected.

Also, why has the North Carolina Governor Race between McCrory and Dalton being this close? I think Roy Cooper will run in 2016 and win quite comfortably even if the State goes Red on the Presidential Level.

Finally I am wondering if Governor Rubio may dump Crist from the Ticket in 2014 and name Carlos Lopez-Cantrera as Running Mate or even a Woman.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Biden being named Secretary of State means there will be a Special Senate Election.
Maybe Lisa Blunt Rochester is going to run here and waltz into the Senate a few years earlier then expected.

Also, why has the North Carolina Governor Race between McCrory and Dalton being this close? I think Roy Cooper will run in 2016 and win quite comfortably even if the State goes Red on the Presidential Level.

Finally I am wondering if Governor Rubio may dump Crist from the Ticket in 2014 and name Carlos Lopez-Cantrera as Running Mate or even a Woman.

- Actually since Biden’s term was about to expire in 2014 there will be no special election given Delaware downs require there to be early special elections for seats

https://ballotpedia.org/Filling_vacancies_in_the_U.S._Senate

- Keep in mind in OTL The NC Dem party was absolutely decimated in 2010 which really their hurt party organization there and resulted in them losing comfortably in 2012 . Before that , the NC dem party was quite powerful so given there wasn’t a huge gop wave in 2010 here the Dems in NC still have a lot of organizational strength.

[2016]

Biden being named Secretary of State means there will be a Special Senate Election.
Maybe Lisa Blunt Rochester is going to run here and waltz into the Senate a few years earlier then expected.

Also, why has the North Carolina Governor Race between McCrory and Dalton being this close? I think Roy Cooper will run in 2016 and win quite comfortably even if the State goes Red on the Presidential Level.

Finally I am wondering if Governor Rubio may dump Crist from the Ticket in 2014 and name Carlos Lopez-Cantrera as Running Mate or even a Woman.

- Actually since Biden’s term was about to expire in 2014 there will be no special election given Delaware downs require there to be early special elections for seats

https://ballotpedia.org/Filling_vacancies_in_the_U.S._Senate

- Keep in mind in OTL The NC Dem party was absolutely decimated in 2010 which really their hurt party organization there and resulted in them losing comfortably in 2012 . Before that , the NC dem party was quite powerful so given there wasn’t a huge gop wave in 2010 here the Dems in NC still have a lot of organizational strength.

My mistake on Delaware but the Governor there (Don't know who that is) will have to appoint a Replacement for Biden assuming the Senate confirms him as Secretary of State.

[BigVic]

Will Beau run for Senate

[OSR stands with Israel]

Newly Elected Republican Iraq War veterans who look to make a name for themselves join Crossfire

Cupp: Today on a special episode of Crossfire two newly elected Republican Iraq War veterans join us , them being Congressman Elect Ron DeSantis from Florida's 6th district and Congressman Elect Tom Cotton from Arkansas's 1st district Tom Cotton. While we will get to where you guys think the Republican Party has gone wrong in the past few years, I want to first know why you are Republicans to begin with and what do you like about the party

DeSantis: SE, as you know the President of my childhood was Ronald Reagan and the President I served in Iraq under was John McCain both of whom were great Presidents and both of whom were Republicans. Under Reagan , the country came out of the malaise we were in the 1970s in an economic, foreign policy and a spiritual way and really was reborn in many ways and under McCain we really were able to come out of one of the darkest days in our nation's history and tame the threat of terrorism that had plagued us for so long. We also were able to successfully do what many including me were skeptical of and that is bring democracy to a nation like Iraq which is great.

So I have to say , that our party has a great history even recently and I would like to see it continue.

Cotton: I would like to add that I always was a conservative and as you know I was on the editorial board of the Harvard Crimison and part of its conservative minority. So I have been battle tested to fight for conservative ideas since I was in college and I think I can bring that time of attitude to Washington as well . What I like about the part is the fact that since our founding we have been the party that has stood strong in favor of strong national security which is the most important issue at the end of the day for a government .

Cupp: On the flip side what is something you want to see the Republican Party change in and how would you recommend the party go about in setting up its new leadership team in the house

DeSantis: For me it has to be actually being serious when it comes to fiscal discipline. As much of a fan I am of Presidents Reagan and McCain the fact is they were not good when it came to the issue of fiscal discipline and I believe that needs to change for the sake of the country and party. I can tell you though, that as a 34 year old who likely will face the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility, many Americans my age believe the same and they will be willing to vote for someone who has a serious plan to balance our budget. Just look at Paul Ryan , whose proposals are usually laughed at as too right wing, won a senate seat in the purple state of Wisconsin so the fact is if Republicans are willing to stand strong and fight on major issues that are facing the country we will win.

The reason is that while Americans may not know what exactly we need to do to balance our budget, they do know that we do and will vote for candidates regardless of ideology who intend to do it.

Cupp: The question though is given there is a Democratic President and Senate how should Republicans approach the issue

DeSantis: Well for one have a strong fiscal conservative on the House Budget Committee as thats where all of this starts and I want to remind you that Senator-Elect John Kasich as Budget Chairman was able to work with a Democratic President to balance the budget so the fact is this can be done. It can only be done though if you are willing to offer the types of budget deals which we saw then which is Democrats got the cuts they wanted on the budget and so did Republicans rather than what we see now which is Democrats get the spending increases they want and so do Republicans

Cupp: Congressman-Elect Cotton what about you

Cotton: I agree with Congressman-Elect DeSantis here and its why the both of us are supporting Tom Price to be the next House Budget Chair . I would like to add though that I would want to see our party to pivot away from our current policy on China because the fact is in the long run they are our biggest threat we face . Even now the Chinese Communist party bans our companies like Facebook and Twitter, manipulate their currency and are looking to diminish our influence in the world and we cannot let that happen.

So it is my belief we need to tell China that while yes we are believers in free trade, we also believe that its a two way street so if they want to ban our companies then we should respond in kind, and if they want to break trade rules then we should respond with tariffs until they start actually following the rules.

Cupp: The question though I have is wouldnt doing so increase prices on American consumers and also would our European Allies be willing to go along with that

Cotton: The answer to your question is yes they will in the short run but the fact is if we do nothing now, then the type of response we will have to do 10-15 years in the future will be far more painful and will have far more drastic impact and that is something we should avoid. So it is better to actually incentivize China to play by the rules now so we dont face such a future.

Cupp: Thanks Congressman DeSantis and Congressman Cotton for coming on and good luck for your futures.

President Clinton names 2nd term Economic team :

Secretary of Treasury: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lawrence_Summers_2012.jpg

Secretary of Labor : Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKux363Dg64

Secretary of Health and Human Services : Advisor Neera Tanden



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkk1ZNVeuQA

Director of Office of Management and Budget: Director of National Economic Council Gene Sperling



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gene_Sperling_(National_Economic_Council)_(cropped).jpg

Blitzer: It does seem like so far her cabinet looks more to be a reshuffling then any major changes.

Gergen: Oh absolutely and really all 4 of these names on this list are loyalists of the President so it does show the President is keeping a more tighter circle this time then she did in her first term like expected. The question though really is whether or not this leads to the President being very competent in her 2nd term or being someone who runs out of any new ideas and only time will tell which one of the two her 2nd term will be like.

[2016]

McConnell is going to filibuster the Nominations of Neera Tanden and Jennifer Granholm I am pretty convinced of that. Particularly Tanden could be the 1st Nomination Hillary might have to withdraw unless Majority Leader Harry Reid invokes the Nuclear Option allowing Cabinet Secretaries to be confirmed with a simple Majority Vote.

[OSR stands with Israel]

McConnell is going to filibuster the Nominations of Neera Tanden and Jennifer Granholm I am pretty convinced of that. Particularly Tanden could be the 1st Nomination Hillary might have to withdraw unless Majority Leader Harry Reid invokes the Nuclear Option allowing Cabinet Secretaries to be confirmed with a simple Majority Vote.

Keep in mind McConnell lost here in 2008 and Reid lost here in 2010 so the leaders in the senate are:

Dems: Schumer
GOP: TBA as it was Kyl from 2008-12 and he retired. I will announce the GOP leaders in both the House and Senate in the update after my next

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Recount Confirms that Jon Tester Wins Montana Senate Race by 703 votes

Copper : We have some breaking news to report and that is an official statewide recount has confirmed that Senator Jon Tester has been re-elected by 703 votes . While it’s down from the 731 votes the initial results showed , the recount didn’t change the results by much at all . This means the democrats will remain at the 52 senate seats they have had the past two years for another 2 years while republicans will remain at 48 .

In the House we are also now able to project that The republicans will win the outstanding race in California’s 36th district and the Democrats will win the outstanding race in California’s 26th meaning the House Balance for the next two years will be 220 Republicans to 215 democrats.

President Clinton names heads of Justice , DHS and FBI:

Attorney General: Solicitor General Elena Kagan



Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/reports-obama-to-name-elena-kagan-as-supreme-court-pick

Department of Homeland Security: FBI Director Robert Mueller



Source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Director_Robert_S._Mueller-_III.jpg#

FBI Director : Attorney Lisa Monaco



Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/author/lisa-o-monaco

Blitzer: With the Pick of FBI Director Mueller , it seems like the President has picked her first Republican so far for the 2nd term

Borger: Yes and the pick is no surprise given that Director Mueller is someone who is well renowned in both parties given the fact that in the after math of 9/11 he was able to transform the department into being an effective agency in the war on terrorism. So it is no surprise that now that his tenure is about to end in a few months, he is being asked to now head the DHS as well given that experience.

As for the new pick for FBI, Mrs. Monaco worked directly under Mueller at some point in the FBI so this pick is no surpirse as well.

[2016]

I still think whoever is the new Republican Senate Leader will block the Nominations of Neera Tanden and Jennifer Granholm leaving Schumer to go for the "Nuclear Option" if he wants them confirmed.

Tanden withdrew in the OTL after being nominated by Pres Biden.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Florida Senator Jeb Bush to take over as Republican Leader of the Senate while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to be the next speaker


[size=pt6]Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/jeb-bush-believe-candidate-stands-11-issues
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eric_Cantor,_official_113th_Congress_photo_portrait.jpg[/size]

Blitzer: We have breaking news to announce and that is Florida Senator Jeb Bush, the son of Former President George HW Bush and brother of Texas Governor and former 2008 Republican Nominee George W Bush has been officially named the new Republican Senate Leader.  The Florida Senator was first elected in 2004 after serving as governor of the state of Florida for 6 years now be the 2nd most powerful man in the Senate so Alex what do you take of this news.

Castellanos: One , I would have to say it is no surprise as many expected that Senator Jeb Bush would succeed Jon Kyl as long as his brother does not have any presidential ambitions left and it seems like thats the case. The fact is though he will be tested almost immediately and only time can tell how good of a job he will do as leader.

Navarro: I think it is a good choice from Republicans as not only is Jeb Bush is a very capable individual given his record as governor and senator shows that but he gives the Republicans in many some sort of counter bully pulpit to President Clinton.

Blitzer: Now turning to the House , it seems like Republicans have named House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to be their new leader and thus he will be the next speaker of the house of representatives. We did here he did have to make some concessions though

Borger: Oh Absolutely as not only was Eric Cantor named the new GOP Leader, it was also announced that Congressman Tom Price a huge budget hawk will be leading the budget committee for the next two years. This is very big because keep in mind that the vast majority of legislation that gets to floor of the house has to go through committee first and with a major budget hawk like Tom Price as the head of the budget committee, its gonna be very challenging for the President to get her spending priorities through. Now don't get me wrong it can be done but its gonna be tougher with someone like Tom Price heading the budget committee.

Gergen: I also want to add while yes the Republicans have a super slim majority, that is exactly why different factions of the party can now extract concessions. Moderates usually have a lot of leverage in situations like this purely because of the fact that bills cannot pass without their vote and its very hard to enforce the whip against them because the party needs them to keep that district in their column. Now the ideologues also have a lot of power too in this situation as well because keep in mind that Eric Cantor is not speaker yet as that election has yet to take place and 1. a candidate must get a majority of the house to become speaker not just a plurality 2. there is nothing stopping other candidates from being nominated too.

So in a situation like this its very easy for these types of politicians to extract concessions from their party leadership and usually it is committee chairs. The reason for that is they know they have very little leverage on policy promises because of moderates so the best avenue for them is to get a like minded person head a major committee and thats exactly what happened.

President Clinton names heads of Interior and EPA:

Secretary of Interior: Former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Bradbury.jpg

EPA Administrator: Commissioner of Connecticut Department of Energy Daniel Esty



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dan_Esty_-_World_Economic_Forum_Annual_Meeting_2011.jpg

Cooper: Seems like President Clinton is once again picking people with long time experience for the jobs

Begala: Yes it does seem like that as Mr. Esty has spent decades working on environmental policy including working in the EPA during the Bush administration so he could very well have bipartisan credibility. This is especially true given how much he has spent his career talking about how to balance the interests between growing the economy and protecting the environment which is generally what the median voter believes needs to be done.

As for Mr.Bradbury he has also been a long time environmentalist and with his experience as the Secretary of State in Oregon, I think he fits this position as well.

[2016]

Jeb Bush elected as Republican Senate Minority Leader is the clearest sign already that Florida Governor Marco Rubio is planning a 2016 Presidential Run. And now he has a really big Ally in the Senate.

It also probably makes it harder for Neera Tanden & Jennifer Granholm to be confirmed.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Mass Shooter murders 20 elementary school students in Newton , Connecticut



Blitzer: Today has been an extremely tragic day as a Mass Shooter opened fired in an elementary school and murdered 20 elementary school students as well as 6 teachers causing the 2nd worst mass shooting in the history of the country before killing himself. What began as just another ordinary day turned into something more tragic than any of us could have imagined and all of our thoughts and prayers today are with the families of those who lost loved ones as well as survivors of the shooting.

The President is expected to give a statement about this tragedy so lets listen in

Clinton: As a parent, today was a day that I truly never hoped to see . 20 elementary school kids who began there day like it was another day , going to school to learn something new and meet their friends but instead it ended in something completely tragic. A shooter came into their school and murdered countless amount of innocent children and scarred countless more for life as well . The shooter also robbed the parents of all those children so many joyful memories any parent hopes to have with their kids . As a mother, like I am sure all mothers did made sure to tell their child that they love them and cry for all the mothers who no longer have the ability to tell that to their child.

In our sadness though we all must work together to ensure something like this never happens again.  From reforming our gun laws to improving mental health across this nation, we must all now resolve to take action regardless of ideology. There are too many of these shootings that take place across our nation, and it is unacceptable that we continue to do nothing and let our kids die because of such inaction. Due to this I will be creating a bipartisan commission in the White House to research what policies we can do to ensure such shootings dont happen again and then propose concrete reforms to achieve that goal.

May God Bless all the victims of today's shooting and their families.


Republican Governors Giuliani and Schwarzenegger call for bipartisan action on gun reform

Giuliani: I want to second the President's call to action as it is critical that we never let the tragedy that took place in Sandy Hook Elementary School ever happen again and to do that we must reform our gun laws. At the very least I believe its high time, we implement universal background checks to ensure that no criminal or someone with mental issues can have access to guns as well as increase penalties for people who commit crimes with guns . I also believe that the laws we have passed in the state of New York are a good model for the nation to follow as I believe such laws would greatly improve public safety as well while staying true to the 2nd amendment

Schwarzenegger: The issue of guns is a very emotional issue and I think that it would be a mistake to implement a policy that gets rid of guns but also a mistake not to pass some sort of reform . In fact I think the best way to get reform passed is to have the 10 most moderate Democrats and Republicans in the senate work together on a bipartisan basis and come up with potential solutions for the rest of the senate to vote on. Doing so would ensure individuals right to bear arms isnt infringed while also we pass the types of reform needed to prevent the tragedy that happened in Sandy Hook to never happen again.

[OSR stands with Israel]

New Senate Minority Leader Jeb Bush says he does not believe gun control is the solution to shootings

Blitzer: New Senate Minority Leader Jeb Bush has stated that he does not believe gun control is the solution to mass shootings, believing rather more security at schools and addressing mental health is the solution. He also said he believes that it would be the responsibility of states and not the federal government to deal with such an issue so he’d oppose any federal solution to such an issue .

So Gloria with Senate Minority Leader Jeb Bush coming out in opposition to gun control, that means that any bill would require 60 votes.

Borger: Yes it would meaning you would need at least 9 republicans to vote for it and probably even more given not every democrat will probably vote for the bill. So it seems like for such reform to pass you probably will have to adopt some version of Governor Schwarzenegger’s suggestion of taking the 10 most pro gun democrats and 10 most pro gun control republicans and get them to write such a proposal.

Blitzer: What about in the house , with the Republicans controlling the chamber will it be able to pass

Borger : Probably given how narrow the Republican majority is , it will be very hard to stop such a bill in committee and if it passes the committee it likely will pass the house given reforms made to house rules in 2001 that reduced the Speaker’s power .

So really the question is whether or not a proposal could get the support of 60 senators or not and really only time will tell

President Clinton finishes out her cabinet:

Secretary of Education: Rhode Island Senator Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_Chafee_official_portrait.jpg

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Former Speaker of NYC Council Christine Quinn



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvp2nVcxa-E


Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Former Director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth



Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tammy_Duckworth,_official_portrait,_113th_Congress.jpg