STRAIGHT TO HELL-A Tea Party TL

[Shadowlord]

Great timeline! I second Constantinople's idea of a leadership challenge to Boehner and him having to be propped up by Pelosi and the Democrats to his disgrace.

When are the election results going to be posted?

 

[Constantinople]

When are the election results going to be posted?

Yes... this!

And Hurricane Sandy hasn't even happened yet...

 

[Osterreich]

1. Hurricane Sandy I'm butterflying away.

2. I've been fairly ill recently and my life has kind of relegated posting the update for about a week now. It'll be done fairly soon.

 

[Osterreich]

'STRAIGHT TO HELL'
A Tea Party TL

This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell'-Maxine Waters

The campaign that began with so much promise for a new Republican party ended with the widest margin of defeat they had suffered since the 1996 election, where popular President Bill Clinton routed Bob Dole. But Obama was far from popular, being the first President since George H.W. Bush to have a smaller popular vote upon re-election rather than when you were first elected. Turnout was the lowest that the US had experienced in years, and in exit polls there were record numbers of disapproval of the main candidates. Whilst many liked the President personally, they felt he was out of his depth and ineffective. As for DeMint, the nation agreed that he was far too extreme to be President. Record numbers of voters regarded their vote as a “vote against the other guy”.

---

Immediate post-election analysis mostly told the same story. The Republican party had traveled far to the right, and was paying the price at the ballot box. Pundits compared DeMint’s crushing 35 point loss in Massachusetts to the less narrow than expected Senate race, where Scott Brown eked out a 3 point victory. Elizabeth Warren had failed to paint Brown a part of the national party in the election, mostly aided by Brown’s open criticism of DeMint and refusal to endorse him. In the days that followed, a Pew research poll revealed that 60% of voters believed that the Republican party must moderate in order to win future elections, with 38% saying that it must move further right.

---

Jim DeMint gave his concession speech merely hours after the polls closed, crediting the President with his election victory, but saying little else about his former opponent. He thanked his supporters, his vice-presidential candidate and friend Herman Cain, and the Republican party.
---

Just two years after taking back the Senate, Mitch McConnell was pushed back out of the Majority leadership. The Republican’s fragile 1 seat Majority was shattered by convincing wins for Democrats in North Dakota, Missouri and Nevada- whilst moderate GOP candidates claimed victory in narrow races. Scott Brown and Tommy Thompson, who were quick to criticize DeMint on the campaign trail, won support from Obama voters. Brown was up against meticulously well-funded Elizabeth Warren, whose attacks never really hurt Brown and Thompson benefited from facing a weak candidate after Tammy Baldwin, the strongest candidate democrats had, beat Scott Walker in the recall election and took his spot in Madison.

2012 Senate Elections:

Arizona
Jeff Flake 49% Richard Carmona 47%

California
Dianne Feinstein 68% Elizabeth Emken 30%

Conneticut
Chris Murphy 57% Linda McMahon 40%

Delaware
Tom Carper 68% Kevin Wade 28%

Florida
Bill Nelson 59% Allen West 38%

Hawaii
Mazie Hirono 57% Linda Lingle 42%

Indiana
Joe Donnelly 52% Richard Mourdock 38%

Maine
Angus King 58% Charles E. Summers Jr 25% Cynthia Dill 8%

Maryland
Ben Cardin 62% Dan Bongino 25%

Massachusetts
Scott Brown 51% Elizabeth Warren 48%

Michigan
Debbie Stabenow 59% Pete Hoekstra 37%

Minnesota
Amy Klobuchar 68% Michelle Bachmann 28%

Mississipi
Roger Wicker 59% Albert N. Gore Jr 39%

Missouri
Claire McCaskill 38% Todd Akin 35% Jonathan Dine 26%

Montana
Jon Tester 49% Denny Rehlberg 42% Dan Cox 9%

Nebraska
Deb Fisher 57% Bob Kerrey 42%

Nevada
Dean Heller 45% Shelley Berkeley 46%

New Jersey
Bob Menendez 60% Joe Kyrillos 38%

New Mexico
Martin Heinrich 54% Bill English 45%

New York
Kirsten Gillibrand 75% Rick Lazio 20%

North Dakota
Heidi Keitkamp 52% Rick Berg 48%

Ohio
Sherrod Brown 51% Josh Mandel 42%

Pennsylvania
Bob Casey Jr. 54% Tom Smith 43%

Rhode Island
Sheldon Whitehouse 68% Barry Hinckley 32%

Tennesee
Bob Corker 65% Mark Clayton 30%

Texas
Ted Cruz 53% Paul Sadler 41%

Utah
Orrin Hatch 66% Scott Howell 29%

Vermont
Bernie Sanders 71%John MacGovern 23%

Virginia
Tim Kaine 55% George Allen 45%

Washington
Maria Cantwell 65% Art Coday 33%

Wisconsin
Tommy Thompson 49% Peter Barca 46%

Wyoming
John Barrasso 78% Tim Chestnut 20%

2012 Gubernatorial Elections

Montana
Steve Bullock 49% Rick Hill 47%

Delaware
Jack Markell 70% Christine O’ Donnell 24%

Missouri
Jay Nixon 58% Dave Spence 40%

Indiana
John R. Gregg 49% Mike Pence 45%

Washington
Jay Inslee 49.5% Rob McKenna 48%

North Carolina
Pat McCrory 52% Walter Dalton 45%

New Hampshire
Maggie Hassan 55% Ovide Lamontagne 39%

West Virginia
Earl Ray Tomblin 51% Tom Maloney 45%

Vermont
Peter Shumlin 65% Randy Brock 34%

North Dakota
Jack Dalrymple 63% Ryan Taylor 32%

Utah
Gary Herbert 65% Peter Cooke 30%

---

---

“Karl we need to talk-”

“I told you, Reince, I told you- DeMint was never going to win. If you had followed my advice we’d be looking at a President Jindal right now, and we wouldn’t have lost the Senate and almost lost the House. The Tea Party was useful to an end last cycle, but DeMint has just poisoned our party for years to come. You let him get the nomination and turn the RNC into his own little personal Tea Party machine and we lost in Nevada, in North Dakota, in Florida, in Indiana because of it”.

“Karl I’m sorry. But this means that I’m most likely going to be toppled next year and I want to do something big beforehand. We can’t let them fuck up our chances in 2014. I have a plan and I need my successor to finish what I’ve started.”​

 

[thekingsguard]

Out of curiosity, what were Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party's poll numbers given we have a less lucky Obama and an even worse Republican? I doubt he'd win any states, but getting a few percent of the vote nation wide would still have big ramifications for the Libertarian Party.

 

[Osterreich]

Out of curiosity, what were Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party's poll numbers given we have a less lucky Obama and an even worse Republican? I doubt he'd win any states, but getting a few percent of the vote nation wide would still have big ramifications for the Libertarian Party.

Both the Green Party and the Libertarians got a larger share of the vote, probably amounting to 3.5% in total whilst other protest candidates took up the other 1.5%. The Democrats who voted mostly voted against DeMint and the majority of Republican voters voted against DeMint.

 

[d32123]

Relatively realistic election outcome. What does the House look like?

 

[AdmiralMB]

These election results feel forced, especially with Hurricane Sandy being butterflied for no reason. It was a big October surprise this past election cycle and you can't call this TL a true alternate look at a victorious tea party if you ignore another October surprise.

And I'm gonna call BS on Scotty B's victory, not just because I'm from MA and didn't vote for him, but that his voting record in ATL congress hasn't been touched upon. The only high profile bipartisan vote he took in office that anyone in MA can recall was the DADT repeal, other than that he was rank and file GOP. With a senate in GOP hands, he never had a DADT repeal to run on back home, and would be rank and file most of the time. Don't see him winning in MA in that scenario.

 

[Constantinople]

Relatively realistic election outcome. What does the House look like?

Yeah, and what exactly does the House and Senate look like now?


I agree. Though I don't see why Hurricane Sandy would be butterflied. It would certainly be an even bigger deal, since Obama already had a huge string of victories.

Love the update, and it should be how you think it would be, but maybe reconsider having the hurricane?

 

[d32123]

I actually think the butterflying of Hurricane Sandy was 100% realistic given how far back the PoD was. Butterfly effect, yo.

 

[5000 Cows]

I get why people say geological events like earthquakes should stay pretty much the same, but... meteorological? The term Butterfly Effect *comes* from weather variables. I can totally accept Sandy not occurring.

 

[thekingsguard]

Both the Green Party and the Libertarians got a larger share of the vote, probably amounting to 3.5% in total whilst other protest candidates took up the other 1.5%. The Democrats who voted mostly voted against DeMint and the majority of Republican voters voted against DeMint.

Huzzah! Ballot access! Will the Libertarians and Greens having more attention and greater ease in the electoral process have many butterflies?

 

[AdmiralMB]

I actually think the butterflying of Hurricane Sandy was 100% realistic given how far back the PoD was. Butterfly effect, yo.

That's straying into ASB territory, this story wasn't the slightest bit ASB before that. Besides, it just makes the final post feel way too rushed.

 

[d32123]

That's straying into ASB territory, this story wasn't the slightest bit ASB before that. Besides, it just makes the final post feel way too rushed.

It's not ASB, it's how the butterfly effect works.

 

[Gorrister]

That's straying into ASB territory, this story wasn't the slightest bit ASB before that. Besides, it just makes the final post feel way too rushed.

A. No, it's very possible to butterfly away a storm, it's not as if the Writer butterflied away an earthquake and volcano.

B. This isn't the final post, the author stated before that they want to go past the election.

 

[Osterreich]

That's straying into ASB territory, this story wasn't the slightest bit ASB before that. Besides, it just makes the final post feel way too rushed.

I didn't have Sandy in this TL for a couple reasons:

1. For a TL with a POD so far back as 2009, it's very unlikely to have a hurricane occur at that exact same time.

2. I didn't want this TL to be "WI Jim DeMint wins the Republican nomination in 2012", but instead an election in a TL which has already diverged from reality.

3. I don't want Republicans/Tea Partiers to turn around and say that Sandy cost DeMint the election.

4. I have plans for Chris Christie and they revolve around him not being branded a RINO by the Tea Party.

In summary, the first reason is probably the most important, but the other 3 confirmed my decision.

 

[Seleucus]

4. I have plans for Chris Christie and they revolve around him not being branded a RINO by the Tea Party.

....embraced by the Tea Party and then sent to jail, to further discredit them?

(Please don't hand-wave away Christie's corruption and skeletons.)

 

[Osterreich]

These election results feel forced, especially with Hurricane Sandy being butterflied for no reason. It was a big October surprise this past election cycle and you can't call this TL a true alternate look at a victorious tea party if you ignore another October surprise.

And I'm gonna call BS on Scotty B's victory, not just because I'm from MA and didn't vote for him, but that his voting record in ATL congress hasn't been touched upon. The only high profile bipartisan vote he took in office that anyone in MA can recall was the DADT repeal, other than that he was rank and file GOP. With a senate in GOP hands, he never had a DADT repeal to run on back home, and would be rank and file most of the time. Don't see him winning in MA in that scenario.

In regards to Scott Brown, the biggest issue in his 2012 race was that whether he was an independent voice for Massachusetts. Warren was able to tie him to his support of Mitt Romney, obedience to the Senate leadership and the fact that he had an (R) next to his name. In this TL he is a prominent critic of DeMint and the national party and worked with people like Biden and Klobuchar on a jobs bill- spurning a hard Republican alternative. Brown is a different candidate in this TL and wins because of it.

 

[Osterreich]

....embraced by the Tea Party and then sent to jail, to further discredit them?

(Please don't hand-wave away Christie's corruption and skeletons.)

Christie hasn't even announced that he is running for re-election at this point in the TL. I really don't want to cover Christie's troubles in the TL, especially as A: He hasn't been proven guilty yet of anything and B: I don't think anyone on this site wants me to regurgitate the Fort Lee scandals in my own words in the space of something original. I will disclose however that I have no intention at all of making Christie President.

 

[Seleucus]

Fair enough.

Just as an NJ resident, I'm kind of annoyed with all the TL's featuring a President Christie without mentioning his myriad issues.

(By the way, he currently has long-time aides and friends fingering him as guilty and claiming that they have evidence, so though there's no direct proof yet, it's essentially very close to over. Unless there's a vast conspiracy.)