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Discussion Thought experiment- what if Mitt won in 2012?

NTMBK

NTMBK

Lifer
Let me preface this by saying- I think Obama was the much better candidate, and I preferred his policies to Romney's. But if he had won in 2012, what would have happened? Here's my thought experiment:

  • Inequality increases even faster than it did under Obama and Trump... but it's not like Obama did much to keep it under control.
  • Democrats see a huge backlash from the left against the centrist policies that cost them the Presidency in 2012. They nominate Bernie Sanders in 2016 as a reaction against Obama's legacy.
  • Sanders loses to Romney in the general, when Romney paints him as a communist and scares the Jesus out of suburban America.
  • Donald Trump continues to rant on Twitter with a few thousand followers, mostly ignored.
  • Romney, not Trump, is the one to face Covid. He puts sensible precautions in place and does not undermine public health officials. Tens of thousands of American lives are saved, compared to our timeline.
  • The President does not attempt to overthrow democracy.
I don't know how the 2020 election plays out in my timeline... probably the Democrats win, because the opposition usually holds a slight advantage in a Presidential race after two terms. No idea who the candidate would be though.

As much as I hate to admit it, I would take that timeline over the one we are in now.
 
NTMBK said:
Let me preface this by saying- I think Obama was the much better candidate, and I preferred his policies to Romney's. But if he had won in 2012, what would have happened? Here's my thought experiment:

  • Inequality increases even faster than it did under Obama and Trump... but it's not like Obama did much to keep it under control.
  • Democrats see a huge backlash from the left against the centrist policies that cost them the Presidency in 2012. They nominate Bernie Sanders in 2016 as a reaction against Obama's legacy.
  • Sanders loses to Romney in the general, when Romney paints him as a communist and scares the Jesus out of suburban America.
  • Donald Trump continues to rant on Twitter with a few thousand followers, mostly ignored.
  • Romney, not Trump, is the one to face Covid. He puts sensible precautions in place and does not undermine public health officials. Tens of thousands of American lives are saved, compared to our timeline.
  • The President does not attempt to overthrow democracy.
I don't know how the 2020 election plays out in my timeline... probably the Democrats win, because the opposition usually holds a slight advantage in a Presidential race after two terms. No idea who the candidate would be though.

As much as I hate to admit it, I would take that timeline over the one we are in now.
Click to expand...
Just so we won't imagine if the actual person who ran against Trump in the last election won. Sweet justification.
 
NTMBK said:
Let me preface this by saying- I think Obama was the much better candidate, and I preferred his policies to Romney's. But if he had won in 2012, what would have happened? Here's my thought experiment:

  • Inequality increases even faster than it did under Obama and Trump... but it's not like Obama did much to keep it under control.
  • Democrats see a huge backlash from the left against the centrist policies that cost them the Presidency in 2012. They nominate Bernie Sanders in 2016 as a reaction against Obama's legacy.
  • Sanders loses to Romney in the general, when Romney paints him as a communist and scares the Jesus out of suburban America.
  • Donald Trump continues to rant on Twitter with a few thousand followers, mostly ignored.
  • Romney, not Trump, is the one to face Covid. He puts sensible precautions in place and does not undermine public health officials. Tens of thousands of American lives are saved, compared to our timeline.
  • The President does not attempt to overthrow democracy.
I don't know how the 2020 election plays out in my timeline... probably the Democrats win, because the opposition usually holds a slight advantage in a Presidential race after two terms. No idea who the candidate would be though.

As much as I hate to admit it, I would take that timeline over the one we are in now.
Click to expand...
Generally speaking I think America would be largely better off if Republicans were in charge. This has nothing to do with them having better policies (they are much, much worse!), it is that when Republicans control the White House they stop trying to actively sabotage the country in order to regain the White House.

Of course this is no reason to give in as rewarding bad behavior simply encourages it, but I think it's true.

Romney would have been a perfectly fine president and I agree he would have handled the COVID epidemic competently. I didn't vote for him because I find his overall policies bad but he would be a competent manager of the federal government. He is also proven himself to be a fundamentally decent and honorable individual, something we sorely lack right now.
 
hal2kilo said:
Just so we won't imagine if the actual person who ran against Trump in the last election won. Sweet justification.
Click to expand...

Oh the timeline where Hilary won is obviously better. That's not a fun thought experiment, that's just self-evident!
 
Ah yes, harking back to a time not so long ago when the Republicans were led by principled politicians like Romney and McCain. The antithesis of today's amoral Trump and Cruz.

For my own thought experiment, if the Republicans had somehow nominated Mitt instead of Trump this time around I would have voted for him.
 
hal2kilo said:
At least he's not an insane narcissist.
Click to expand...
Right, so we're effectively playing Limbo to pick the Republican nominee. How low can they go!?

Well, he's not an insane narcissist, so let's vote this one in!

If that's truly the case, this country is over, the collapse will not stop, and your best bet is to move to a location that can sustain itself after the inevitable full collapse.

At least Rmoney won't intentionally incite insurrection while letting hundreds of thousands of Americans die.

Godspeed everyone.
 
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