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September 25, 2008 at 15:42:30
The Gore Presidency: An Alternative History by William John Cox Page 1 of 6 page(s) |
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Writing for a 5-4 majority of the divided court, Justice Anthony Kennedy, a former Professor of Constitutional Law, upheld the Florida Supreme Court’s decision that a vote was legal if there was a "clear indication of the intent of the voter." Following the recount of all "undervoted" and uncounted legal ballots, Florida’s 25 electoral votes were awarded to Al Gore giving him victories in both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Justice Kennedy continued as the Court’s "swing" voter until 2005 when, following the death of William Rehnquist, President Gore appointed Senator Hillary Clinton as Chief Justice and his Attorney General, former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. With Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the three female justices have had a collaborative influence on the Court, causing even Justice Thomas to concur in several of their decisions. In a clear reversal of its conservative drift, the Supreme Court has not only continued to uphold a woman’s reproductive choice as a matter of constitutional right, but it has also generally supported President Gore’s administrative regulations and the federal laws intended to protect the environment, workers, and the economy. With the appointments of former Senator Sam Nunn as Secretary of Defense and retired Army General Colin Powell as Secretary of State, Gore’s first serious foreign policy and national security challenge was the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist organization.
2001
Heeding warnings by the CIA that bin Laden was determined to strike America, Gore brought intense pressure on Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to cut off all funding and support of al Qaeda. He secured an UN Security Council resolution supporting military action inside Afghanistan, if its Taliban government continued to provide aid and comfort to bin Laden and al Qaeda.
Under the "Powell Plan," the United States dedicated $25 billion over a five-year period to stabilize Afghanistan and to reduce the threat of war in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. With the extradition of bin Laden in 2001 and his murder conviction for complicity in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, organized terrorist activities were substantially reduced worldwide.
Once President Gore reaffirmed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, terminated development of the ballistic missile defense system, implemented a detailed and shortened schedule to reduce and ultimately eliminate the nuclear stockpiles of both nations, and increased the funding and support of Secretary Nunn’s Nuclear Threat Initiative to safely dispose of Russia’s nuclear weapons, he and Secretary Powell focused their efforts on the elimination of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
2002
Recognizing that the recession that struck the European Union in 2000 and 2001 could affect the United States, President Gore took immediate steps to deflate the "dot com" bubble and to secure the well-paying jobs of manufacturing and professional workers through high-tech initiatives. Although there was some economic contraction, it was far less severe than anticipated, and job creation quickly resumed.
The Republican Congressional majority had been narrowed in the 2000 election, and using Vice President Lieberman as his Congressional Whip, President Gore had been able to maintain the Clinton tax reforms and to push through indexing of the Alternative Minimum Tax, relieving pressure on middle-income taxpayers.
Although the Clinton budgetary surplus was reduced by the recession, Gore came very close to balancing his first two budgets.
The 2002 Congressional elections were a judgment on Gore’s leadership and his continuing application of President Clinton’s mantra, "It’s the economy stupid!" Overall, the economy was doing well and voters responded by electing Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.
2003
Acting with public and Congressional support, President Gore commenced the series of the bold initiatives that have come to characterize his administration. Despite the initial opposition of Vice President Joseph Lieberman and the intense lobbying of AIPAC, Gore reasserted the principles of the 1993 Oslo Accords and brought extreme diplomatic and financial pressure on Israel to abide by the agreement and to publicly acknowledge its nuclear weapons program, which it did early in 2003.
Secretary Powell organized and chaired a roundtable conference at the United Nations exclusively focused on the nuclear weapons programs of Israel, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India and North Korea. Threatening an international boycott, economic quarantine and diplomatic isolation, Powell applied unrelenting pressure until Israel, Pakistan, India and North Korea agreed to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Iraq and Iran agreed to abide by its conditions.
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The REAL Alternative History.
2001: President Gore was killed when Air Force One mysteriously crashed. The Coast Guard searched for weeks but no traces of the plane were ever found. Vice-President Joe Lieberman was sworn in as President and from then on everything proceeded exactly as it has in reality to this day. by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments) on Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 at 4:14:05 PM  (0+)
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Reply: What might have been
Did Lieberman change, or was his choice one of the really dumb things that Al Gore ever did? by William John Cox (29 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 at 4:32:38 PM (0+)
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Reply: Ask Barack Obama, Bill.
Joe Lieberman was Barack Obama's mentor. But you might want to wait to ask him until after he concedes to McCain. Or do you think that the fact that Lieberman is supporting McCain is just a coincidence? Gore is a Washington insider. His father was a Senator. He was a Senator. He was Veep for eight years. He knows everybody in DC and he knows their political views. He belongs to the same Council on Foreign Relations, the same Bilderbergers Club, the same Trilateral Commission, the same Bohemian Club, and the same exclusive country clubs and private clubs that they do. Was that one of your reasons for thinking that a Gore Presidency might have made a difference, his stupidity? Because he isn't stupid and he isn't ignorant. Look at the sponsors of his global warming movie. Some of the biggest energy companies in the world. You think he doesn't know that they're responsible for global warming? Do you think he hasn't opposed the military-industrial complex because he's totally unaware that they're responsible for more than half of America's global carbon footprint? But hey, if you'll be his bodyguard, you can call him Al. ;) by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments) on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 at 3:19:54 AM (0+)
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Family Guy addressed such as background for a story.
One wonders how much of that might have taken place. Would Gore have taken the police rout of taking care of the al-Quada organization after 9/11/2001? It has shown to be more effective than war. If it had happened in that version of reality? There is a good chance we wouldn't have been at war with Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Nor would the Dominionists be poised to drop the next iron heel on us either. But then there is the factor of manipulated ballots and e-vote black boxes controlled by these same fascist groups would have faired in this alternate history. Gore would have lost the re-election bid in 2004 the way Kerry did, by winning it. Curiously Chuck Hegel won in Nebraska by using e-voting machines he owned in part and in suspiciously predominate democratic areas for the first time. So that would cause me problems. Otherwise there is a chance at least the first four years, barring assassination, would be different from our own line of existence. by nightgaunt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 448 comments [27 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 at 12:57:49 PM (0+)
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Reply: The Law Enforcement Model
We will never really know what Al Gore might have done as president; however, there is a pretty good chance that he would have done SOMETHING about the CIA warning that bin Laden was determined to attack the United States. That is the real alternative reality. He would not have sat around watching Barney chase armadillos waiting for the attack so he would have an excuse to do what he was already planning to do. by William John Cox (29 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 at 2:07:33 PM (0+)
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Alternate History
Its interesting that in 2002 a coup d'etat took place and the American people did nothing about it. Al Gore did nothing about it and Lieberman was complicit in the coup. Without any constitutional authority, the Supreme court chose the President of the United States. There was no precedent for that and Article II gives the authority to Congress to determine disputed elections. If the fascist storm troopers had not stormed into the polling places and interfered with the recounts going on, Gore would have won hands down. Had this happened in France the people would have been out on the barricades burning cars and shutting down the government. Here we are just greedy, compliant little sheep. by Bryan Emmel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 415 comments [32 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 27, 2008 at 3:51:23 AM (0+)
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Reply: Ultimate Appeals from Supreme Decisions
The establishment of the Supreme Court as the supreme decider of all matters in Marbury v. Madison was unprecedented and unplanned. There was no appeal from Bush v. Gore! Nobody took to the streets, and we all laid back and tried to enjoy the rape. I don't think that the result will be the same if or when the 2008 election is stolen. Did you read my article last week on The Triple Whammy of Bigotry in the 2008 Election? http://www.opednews.com/articles/5/The-Triple-Whammy-of-Bigot-by-William-John-Cox-080922-621.html There is another way. I believe a protest write-in vote by a vast majority of Americans and a vote in a National Policy Referendum would finally establish who is in control of our goverment. Try http://www.thevoters.org if interested. by William John Cox (29 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Sep 27, 2008 at 6:55:56 AM (0+)
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Reply: First things first.
The establishment of the Supreme Court as the supreme decider of all matters in Marbury v. Madison was unprecedented and unplanned. There was no appeal from Bush v. Gore! Nobody took to the streets, and we all laid back and tried to enjoy the rape. I don't think that the result will be the same if or when the 2008 election is stolen. The government doesn't think so either. They've spent billions on crowd control gear and training for local law enforcement and homeland security, hired private military companies like Blackwater, and are bringing in U.S. military troops to suppress dissent. Did you read my article last week on The Triple Whammy of Bigotry in the 2008 Election? http://www.opednews.com/articles/5/The-Triple-Whammy-of-Bigot-by-William-John-Cox-080922-621.html There is another way. I believe a protest write-in vote by a vast majority of Americans and a vote in a National Policy Referendum would finally establish who is in control of our goverment. Try http://www.thevoters.org if interested. Some states don't even require that mail-in ballots be counted. And as long as they don't do it on the basis of sex or race, it is Constitutional. If people vote in the rigged election, that becomes the official election. If people DON'T vote in the rigged election, it discredits the government, the government no longer has the support and consent of the people, it can no longer claim to be a legitimate democratically elected government, and THEN we can hold a popular referendum. But as long as we keep voting in the rigged elections, the government can claim legitimacy. It is criminal to rebel against a legitimate government, but it is not criminal to rebel against an illegitimate government. First stop voting for it, then you have a chance of successfully opposing it. by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments) on Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 at 3:05:22 PM (0+)
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Reply: Write-in Protest
Half of the people are not voting already. So what, if another quarter of us, or even more stop voting? What if only 10 percent, or 5 percent vote, those in control will still claim victory. Boycotting elections is a negative idea, and it plays into the hands of those who most count on our apathy. But, if half of us actually wrote-in the name of the person we choose to be president, count on it getting their attention. That's power! The ability to move people in a positive way. by William John Cox (29 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 at 5:39:11 PM (0+)
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