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The World Turned Upside Down: A U.S. 2016-2020 politics timeline

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INB4 nobody cared because they've suffered four years of back-to-back scandals of similar magnitudes with the current presidency.
 
It's kind of funny (in a bittersweet way) to see Romney become "Senator Romney, MODERATE HERO!" in this timeline while currently OTL he's trying to out-Trump Trump.
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Seleucus said:
BREAKING NEWS!
APPARENT KAINE-WARREN SEX TAPE GOES VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA​
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It's real, but it will cause Warren to lead even further in the polls. :p
 
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Part 5.24 - September, 2020
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    Experts: Kaine-Warren 'sex tape' is clear example of sophisticated 'deepfake' technology​
    Deepfake, a portmanteau of the phrase "deep learning" and "fake", first become widely known on the internet in 2017, using artificial intelligence technology to superimpose the faces of the person of your choice into a different video. While some aficionados focused on mostly benign hobbies, such as inserting actor Nicholas Cage into every single movie, the widespread use of deepfake technology to create revenge pornography resulted in the mass ban of their videos from Reddit, Pornhub, and more.

    According to Harry Farid, a digital forensics expert and image analyst at Dartmouth, the latest sex tape that has shaken up the presidential race is merely another example of these "deepfakes" - but one with consequences infinitely higher than its predecessors. Farid says that the Kaine-Warren tape appears to feature "extremely high production values" and appears indistinguishable from the real thing to the untrained eye. "But to an expert like myself, the issues are obvious." Farid opens up the video, paused in a mid-coitus frame, and points to the shadows. With the touch of a few keys, a red outline is shown, depicting where the shadow should be based on the shape of the individuals and the source of the light. With that as guidance, I can see tiny differences - the hair, the shape of the head - but to my untrained eye, the differences are far from as "obvious" as Farid claims. I can't help but wonder how much his analysis will be trusted by others who might wonder at his own stake in this contest, the most important election in the modern history of the United States.[1]

    President Trump has already announced his own doubts at the expert evaluation. "Kaine is screwing Warren - I'll bet you a million dollars on it, and if the two of them get their way, they'll screw over this nation too!", Trump announced in a recent campaign speech. He further questioned the expert evaluation: "If this was a faked film, anyone with a lick of sense would have waited until October to release it", before pivoting to an accusation that the film was faked by the Warren-Kaine campaign themselves. "Maybe they made it themselves - who knows? That way when they really get caught, they can say it's just another one of those fake films!"

    A snap poll by SurveyUSA finds that 36% of likely voters think that Elizabeth Warren and Kaine are having an affair and 33% think they are not having an affair. The same poll finds that were the election held today, Warren/Kaine would win with 35% of the vote - with Romney/Conrad within striking range with 30%. President Trump, meanwhile, is far behind with only 24%





    It was years later when I learned of the true motive of the ridiculous "sex tape" secretly released by agents of the Trump campaign. According to a campaign insider, the Trump campaign had learned of the possible existence of a videotape depicting President Trump engaging in sexual behavior with a prostitute, that a group opposed to the President intended to release publicly in late October. Although such behavior would not especially alienate his supporters at face value, this alleged videotape was rumored to carry the distinction of showing the President willingly tied up and rendered powerless by the sex worker in question - a facet that would surely humiliate him in the eyes of the nation.

    I still don't know if the tape truly existed, or if the President truly engaged in such behavior, nor do I want to know. My source told me that the President was outraged by the accusations and demanded to strike back pre-emptively. The release of a faked sex tape involving myself and Warren would not only temporarily damage us in the eyes of the nation, but also tar any future releases with the aura of illegitimacy and the perception of payback. Perhaps it was for that reason that such a tape, if it existed, was never released. In the end, I think the result was for the best - any such tape would have been shown repeatedly on national television. And I for one am glad that our nation was never subjected to viewing President Trump's private parts - fictional or not.

    - former President Kaine, 2033







    Gun fans vow boycott of Smith & Wesson after leaks reveal donations to Warren!​
    Firearm manufacturer Smith & Wesson (S&W) is far from new to the political sphere, having donated an astonishing $500,000 to support pro-gun candidates in 2016. But now the ailing company may have fought its last battle. A disgruntled employee leaked last week that S&W had secretly funded a shadowy SuperPAC supporting the Elizabeth Warren campaign, sparking mass outrage from the company's patrons.

    The apparent motives of S&W executives appear to be deeply cynical and finance-oriented. According to an internal company memo we obtained, Smith & Wesson was on the verge of bankruptcy due to slumping gun sales. As such, they believed that electing Elizabeth Warren to the presidency - and inciting mass purchases of firearms from pro-gun activists afraid that their supply of firearms would be cut off - would be the only way to save the company from bankruptcy. Moreover, the memo claimed that revealing the source of funding could be used as leverage over the Warren campaign in the future, preventing her from implementing radical firearm confiscation programs.

    But such actions appear to be utterly anathema to the company's once-dedicated fan base. Youtube now abounds with videos of firearm fans smashing their once-prized S&W firearms, and the NRA has already sent out an email blast labeling S&W as "traitors" and demanding a boycott of the beleaguered corporation. Meanwhile, the Warren-Kaine campaign has announced a donation of $500,000 to The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence - twice the sum donated by S&W.



    New York City police go on strike after mass firing of perjuring policemen!​
    Decrying the longstanding failure of the NYPD to get their department under control, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed a new Police Commissioner over the weekend to replace Commissioner O'Neill. The first action of de Blasio's pick was to announce the firing of every policemen for whom their sworn testimony in court had conflicted with video evidence on multiple occasions in the past five years. Hundreds of officers have been terminated from service already, and dozens more are being fired every day as old video and court records are reviewed. [2]

    But the policemen aren't going quietly. Police across the entirety of New York City have gone on strike in protest, saying that although they will respond to violent cases such as murder or rape, they will not work otherwise. Many say that although they do not sympathize with terminated perjurers, they object to the lack of due process or evidence in the process.



    Ice picks banned in New York City​
    The humble ice pick was once ubiquitous before the invention of ice trays and freezers, used to break up large chunks of ice into smaller pieces. But the implement has little legitimate use today; the Brooklyn gang Murder Incorporated used the tool in hundreds of contract killings in the 1930s and 40s, by means ranging from repeated stabbing in the chest to thrusting through the temple or ear. Reports in 2012 indicated that the ice pick had became popular among street gangs, prompting an attempt to restrict sale of the implements to those younger than the age of 21. But it seems that the high-profile death of Russian emigre Garry Kasparov has served as the impetus to finally ban this long-obsolete implement in the city that never sleeps.

    Mr. Kasparov was murdered by an ice pick in his flat last month, and Russian president Vladimir Putin is widely believed to be responsible. Contrary to some popular reports, the murder weapon was different from the one used by Stalinist assassins to kill Leon Trotsky seventy years prior; Trotsky was murdered by an ice axe, a far different type of implement intended for climbing.





    Pew poll finds Republicans deserting party in droves for Romney​
    The latest poll from Pew Research Center reveals why President Trump has struggled to get out of third place - a full quarter of self-identified Republicans are deserting him for the Moderate Party.

    But that number belies the true exodus from the Grand Old Party, with scarcely 20% of registered voters still identifying as Republican. The same poll queried how respondents would have identified themselves a year ago, and found that the Republican Party had lost more than a fifth of its numbers in that time - almost all of them supporters of Romney. Including these former Republicans, the party has split in two, with 35% of former Republicans supporting Romney, 5% supporting Warren, and the remainder supporting Trump. The same poll found that, with the inclusion of former Republicans, the party voted for Trump over Rubio by a 55-40 margin - indicating that, as Trump complained, Rubio had only made up the difference with the inclusion of independents and temporary Republicans looking to reject the President.

    Meanwhile, a full 15% of the American population now identifies as a Moderate - putting them within striking distance of the Republican Party. Although the Moderates are running few candidates for lower-level offices, their party chair Ronna Romney McDaniel says that they plan to change that after the presidential election.




    Romney triumphs in three-way debate!​
    For the first time since 1992, a third party candidate has been allowed into the hallowed halls of the Presidential debates. Although the Trump campaign fought for months to exclude Mitt Romney from the debates, their arguments became hollow once Romney overtook Trump himself in the polling.

    And now, after tonight, we know the true reason why the major parties fight so hard to exclude the little guys from the debate as Romney triumphed, appearing the reasonable middle-of-the-road candidate in contrast to the two extremists. Perhaps the catchphrase of the night was the immortal words "I agree with Mitt today", spoken by a befuddled Senator Warren who quickly recovered to add "I don't know who he'll be tomorrow" over the cheers of the audience.

    A snap poll has found that a 53% majority of debate watchers believes that Senator Romney has won the debate. Moreover, a snap post-debate poll by Civiqs finds that for the first time since the spring, Mitt Romney is in contention for victory, with Warren and Romney tied at 33% of the vote, while Trump languishes at a lowly 26%.


    [1] Mr. Farid is a real expert on the topic, and shadows is indeed one way for image analysts to verify the reality of fake videos.

    [2] This is an actual problem in police departments in general [NYC is not unusual in that regard], known as 'testilying.' Here are some example sources.
     
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    • I'm rather surprised Romney did well considering Romney did pretty Ehh in the 2012 debates once Obama started putting effort into it.
     
    Seleucus said:
    Experts: Kaine-Warren 'sex tape' is clear example of sophisticated 'deepfake' technology
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    Seleucus said:
    It was years later when I learned of the true motive of the ridiculous "sex tape" secretly released by agents of the Trump campaign.
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    I FUCKING CALLED IT!

    ...I am calling it a lot in this thread, aren't I?

    Seleucus said:
    Contrary to some popular reports, the murder weapon was different from the one used by Stalinist assassins to kill Leon Trotsky seventy years prior; Trotsky was murdered by an ice axe, a far different type of implement intended for climbing.
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    Eh, ice-pick, ice-axe, same difference. Either way, Kasparov is now Putin's Trotsky. Get fucked, Putin.
     
    Are the election results coming soon? We must be late in the game if we're at the debates.
     
    Seleucus said:

    Ice picks banned in New York City
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    But the only way to stop a bad guy with an icepick is a good guy with an icepick!

    Okay, seriously it's still rather reasonable, but don't go full UK. Those guys will confiscate a butter knife as a lethal weapon.

    Banning all improvised melee weapons is tough on account of a lot of every day tools being able to kill you if smacked or stabbed with them. Hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, crowbars, spades/shovels, steak and chef knives, a bar stool or chair, a tire iron...​
     
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    Seleucus said:
    Romney triumphs in three-way debate!​
    For the first time since 1992, a third party candidate has been allowed into the hallowed halls of the Presidential debates. Although the Trump campaign fought for months to exclude Mitt Romney from the debates, their arguments became hollow once Romney overtook Trump himself in the polling.

    And now, after tonight, we know the true reason why the major parties fight so hard to exclude the little guys from the debate as Romney triumphed, appearing the reasonable middle-of-the-road candidate in contrast to the two extremists. Perhaps the catchphrase of the night was the immortal words "I agree with Mitt today", spoken by a befuddled Senator Warren who quickly recovered to add "I don't know who he'll be tomorrow" over the cheers of the audience.

    A snap poll has found that a 53% majority of debate watchers believes that Senator Romney has won the debate. Moreover, a snap post-debate poll by Civiqs finds that for the first time since the spring, Mitt Romney is in contention for victory, with Warren and Romney tied at 33% of the vote, while Trump languishes at a lowly 26%.
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    Can we figure out how to dimension-jump so we can steal this timeline's Romney and switch him with our own?
     
    Part 5.25 - October 1-15, 2020
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    Florida lawmaker shoots constituent!​
    Jason Miller (R-Valparaiso)[1] has been a member of Florida's House of Representatives since two years prior. Forced to seek early re-election thanks to court-mandated redistricting, Miller was believed almost certain to win re-election in his ruby-red western Florida district, but that didn't stop him from holding campaign rallies and town halls to head off a potential blue wave.

    It was one of those campaign rallies last afternoon that catapulted Rep. Miller to the national news, when he drew his pistol and ended up shooting an African-American constituent in the back. These are the only facts that are widely agreed upon in the case.

    Rep. Miller's story goes as such: Miller was shaking hands with constituents at the end of a rally, when he spotted a "suspicious-looking" man pushing through the crowd to approach him. Miller - a former police officer - said that his "danger sense" went off as he saw the man's hand drop towards a bulge in his pocket, where a black object was peeking out. "I didn't want to be a statistic; no one's going to make me the next Elijah Cumming", he explained.

    With that in mind, it's perhaps understandable why Miller drew his personal firearm and barked a command at the man to "drop it, raise your hands!" The man, 21-year old Scott Williams[1], responded by fleeing. "I could have let him go, but it seemed like he'd confessed his guilt by running. I wasn't going to let him get away and try again later or hurt someone else", Miller noted in a press statement.

    Instead, Rep. Miller chased after Mr. Williams, firing several shots at Mr. Williams over the course of the chase. The first few missed, but the last shot hit Mr. Williams in the back of the head, instantly killing him. Rep. Miller peacefully surrendered to police, who had arrived to see the end of the chase, whereupon it was discovered that the "suspicious black bulge" Mr. Williams had in his pocket was in fact a cell phone.

    Mr. Williams' girlfriend, Delilah Johnson, was "shocked" to hear the news of his death. "He was a nice guy, wasn't going to hurt anyone. He was working on this extra credit project for school; he was a student at Northwest State College, and they asked their students to get a selfie with one of the lawmakers who represented them. I never expected anything like this to happen."

    Rep. Miller is currently in police custody, but has not yet been charged with a formal crime.






    Vice President Kaine triumphant in VP debate!​
    With the Trump/Ernst ticket stuck in the mid-20s and third place in polling, it's perhaps no surprise that Sen. Ernst came out swinging in her sole debate appearance. But unusually for a vice presidential debate, Senator Ernst focused her attacks against Vice President Kaine, rather than the woman who fronts his ticket. Analysts believe it may have been a calculated move intended to disrupt the widespread popularity of Vice President Kaine - the "most popular politician in America" and one of the greatest strengths of the Warren/Kaine ticket. But if so, it was a move that backfired against her.

    Senator Ernst came out swinging from the start, describing Kaine as a "lying wishy-washy phony" who didn't have the guts to stand up for his beliefs during the last four years, and wouldn't have the guts to rein Warren in. "I was a hog farmer, so I know how a castrated pig acts! Everyone thinks you're the great moderate hope - but you won't have the balls to stop Warren's socialist agenda", Senator Ernst declared, resulting in gasps of surprise from the audience.

    Ernst's "wildly desperate" attacks even prompted Kaine's would-be rival, Kent Conrad, to step in in Kaine's defense. Conrad explained that "I have the greatest respect for the Vice President, and think he's done an amazing job; on some levels, he's been the only thing holding the country together for the last few years. You say that Kaine couldn't stand up for his beliefs - but you're the one who said you wouldn't put up with Trump's nonsense in 2016, only to about face and run with him now!"

    A post-debate poll by ABC News found that 61% of viewers believed that Kaine had won the debate, and a 52% majority of viewers wanted Kaine to be elected as Vice President. In contrast, 11% of viewers wanted Kent Conrad to be the next Vice President, and 19% wanted Joni Ernst. Another 10% refused to answer the question and repeatedly responded with some variant of "Kaine should be President."

    A snap post-debate poll by Public Policy Polling finds that 37% of likely voters would vote for the Warren/Kaine ticket, 31% for Romney/Conrad, and 24% for Trump/Ernst. In response, Nate Silver noted that selecting Kaine for VP was "Warren's best campaign move, bar none."





    Beachfront property values crash after Miami floods!​


    According to coastal geology professor Orrin Pilkey, Miami is living on borrowed time. "Unlike many other cities, Miami is built on porous limestone. That means there's no way to keep the water out - levees, dikes, sea walls, all of it is mostly useless. It'll stop storm surges and waves, but not the inexorable rise of the seas. The water will just seep up through the rocks - just as it's doing right now."

    But far worse than a shallow pool of water in the streets is the accelerating intrusion of saltwater into Miami's aquifers. 2.5 million Americans rely on the Biscayne aquifer for their primary source of drinking water; of the 10,000 square kilometers covered by the aquifer, a full 20% is now contaminated by saltwater and unusable for drinking purposes.[2] Although Miami has not yet entered drought conditions, the writing is on the wall now. Mayor Francis Suarez has already called for the planning of desalination plants to keep the city hydrated if current trends continue accelerating.

    Worse, the impact on Miami alone is small compared to the effect on beachfront property values nationwide. With this first dramatic impact of climate change on seafront property, the premium price paid by buyers for beachfront property has began plummeting nationwide, to the point where some have expressed concern about the potential for spillover into a wider housing crisis. Still, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has urged calm, reassuring Americans that the housing market downturn is a "temporary blip" that will soon blow over.






    Romney stumbles on middle class at second presidential debate!​
    Hoping to follow up his strong performance in the first debate, Senator Mitt Romney (M-UT) instead stumbled on a question regarding the middle class in a move that may fuel criticism of his perceived opportunism and "phony" nature.

    The 'iconic' moment came when moderator Jimmy Kimmel questioned Romney. "You've said that you want to raise taxes on the wealthy as part of balancing the budget, you've promised that you won't raise taxes on middle income Americans. But where do you draw the line between these two?"

    Romney responded, "Middle class, middle income, that's 200,000, $250,000 or less. We don't want to raise taxes on them - these are the ordinary Americans who drive our economy. When we get the budget under control, we'd like to lower taxes on them, simplify the tax code so it's easier for people to do their taxes."

    Senator Warren quickly pounced on his remarks. "The fact that you think someone making $250,000 a year is middle income is telling, Senator Romney. The median income in this country is $50,000 or $60,000 a year. If you're making $250,000 a year, you're in the top 2, 3% - "

    Romney attempted to respond "But Obama - ", but was cut off by Warren again.

    "Obama hasn't been president for four years; it's been eight years since you ran against him saying he was doing an awful job, and now you're supporting a lot of the policies you criticized then. This isn't about Obama; this is about you, Senator Romney, and what you truly believe." The exchange ended then, as Mr. Kimmel cut off Senator Warren with a note that it wasn't her turn to speak, and moved to a different line of questions.

    A press release by Senator Romney post-debate explained that "The definition of middle-class as $250,000/year or less is well-established in American economics. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Barack Obama all used that definition." But the exchange appears to have taken its toll on Romney's popularity, raising new questions about his true beliefs. A post debate poll by SurveyUSA found that 51% of debate viewers thought Warren had won the debate, and 53% of viewers believed that Warren "cares about people like me", compared to 42% for Romney and 29% for President Trump. The same poll found that were the election held today, 39% of likely voters would vote for Warren/Kaine, 31% for Romney/Conrad, and 21% for Trump/Ernst.
    ​

    [1] Fictional character
    [2] This number was around 12% in 2015
     
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    • Seleucus said:
    It was one of those campaign rallies last afternoon that catapulted Rep. Miller to the national news, when he drew his pistol and ended up shooting an African-American constituent in the back. These are the only facts that are widely agreed upon in the case.

    Rep. Miller's story goes as such: Miller was shaking hands with constituents at the end of a rally, when he spotted a "suspicious-looking" man pushing through the crowd to approach him. Miller - a former police officer - said that his "danger sense" went off as he saw the man's hand drop towards a bulge in his pocket, where a black object was peeking out. "I didn't want to be a statistic; no one's going to make me the next Elijah Cumming", he explained.
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    :facepalm:
    Seleucus said:
    Vice President Kaine triumphant in VP debate!
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    Hail Kaine!

    Brotherhood. Unity. Peace.
     
    Seleucus said:
    Florida lawmaker shoots constituent!
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    'No Way To Prevent This', Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.

    Seleucus said:
    Beachfront property values crash after Miami floods!
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    Beachfront houses are overrated. I've lived in a coastal village near my whole life and I'm honestly done with beaches.

    Seleucus said:
    Romney stumbles on middle class at second presidential debate!
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    $250000 a year? Lemme run the numbers real quick.

    Okay, so that comes out to about £14700 a month, which is so ridiculously not middle-class I find it hard to believe anyone could think it was middle-class.
     
    Chronometry said:
    $250000 a year? Lemme run the numbers real quick.

    Okay, so that comes out to about £14700 a month, which is so ridiculously not middle-class I find it hard to believe anyone could think it was middle-class.
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    Romney is sort of getting the short end of the stick here in that he's correct that basically everyone of note in American politics had previously defined middle class as "everyone making less than $250,000/year." Obama used it; Hillary Clinton used it. Even Bernie Sanders used that definition [and refused to raise taxes on them] in 2016. Which on the face of it is kind of ridiculous considering that that encompasses something like 97% of American families. Part of this is that the rags to riches story is a big part of the U.S. and no one likes to identify as wealthy, and most millionaires in the U.S. do identify as middle class no matter how ridiculous that sounds on the face of things [see e.g. here.]

    The problem Romney is having is that:

    - ITTL, Elizabeth Warren does want to change that definition, and calls Romney out on him. Politically, there's a lot more people who'd find $250,000/year being middle class ridiculous than people actually making $250,000/year who identify as middle class and are offended by her rhetoric, so this is a good political move for her. Most of the wealthy are already going for Romney [or Trump to a smaller degree] here, so she doesn't have much ground to lose among them anyways.

    - Romney was not very clear in his statement - he seemed to be saying that a middle class American was making $250,000/year, rather than defining that as a limit between middle class/wealthy. He did the same thing in a 2012 interview, for what it's worth. A better way to say the exact same thing would be e.g. "If you're making more than $250,000/year, you're wealthy."

    - Romney's attempt at recovery compounded his issues, since he got cut off at "But Obama" which is of course almost a meme of right-wing deflection IOTL/ITTL. What he was actually trying to do is say something like this "this isn't new, Obama agreed to this, even Bernie Sanders agreed to this, Warren is such a socialist that she even wants to raise your taxes more than Bernie Sanders", but he ended up seeming flummoxed and confused at best.
     
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    We also have to remember that the American definition of "middle class" is cultural as much as it is economic. In the US, you're middle class if you're neither rich nor poor, with "rich" meaning "I have so much money I don't need to work" and "poor" being "homeless".

    So, by that definition "middle class" is pretty much everyone from people barely getting by on minimum wage jobs to millionaires living in mansions they built from scratch.
     
    Zachanassian said:
    We also have to remember that the American definition of "middle class" is cultural as much as it is economic. In the US, you're middle class if you're neither rich nor poor, with "rich" meaning "I have so much money I don't need to work" and "poor" being "homeless".

    So, by that definition "middle class" is pretty much everyone from people barely getting by on minimum wage jobs to millionaires living in mansions they built from scratch.
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    What even is the American middle class? :V

    Because the old timey definition was that you were a skilled professional, probably with a stake in the concern which employed you, like a law or medical practice or an engineering firm.

    Nowadays it just seems to be anybody who goes into the office/factory every day to work for a living.

    Seleucus said:
    Romney is sort of getting the short end of the stick here in that he's correct that basically everyone of note in American politics had previously defined middle class as "everyone making less than $250,000/year."
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    I'd say part of that is the way people pulling down six figures in the US may not actually be any better with their money than people making a middling five. A person bringing home a fat paycheck is likelier to be financially secure, a lot likelier, simply because it is easier for them to save and pay of insurance against accidents or bad luck.

    But, there are professionals who only sustain their lifestyles by living paycheck to paycheck the same as people much poorer than themselves.
     
    Glad to see this thread's functioning well! I've gotten dual accounts to follow up on the trend of emigrating AH visitors, and I'd never expected to see this! :)
     
    Part 5.26 - October 16-31, 2020
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    • Romney continues middle class stumbles in interview​
    Reporter Katie Couric pointed out that members of the United States Congress made a salary of $174,000/year - below Romney's cutoff of $250,000/year for middle class. "So Senator Romney, do you believe members of Congress are middle class, lower middle class? Do you believe yourself to be middle class?"

    Romney's response was described by detractors as "fumbling and confused." The full text of his response is as follows:
    "Yes, that's a very good point Katie. If - if Congressmen didn't have incomes other than their salary, they would be middle class. But most Congressmen are fortunate enough that they make a lot more money than just their salary - myself included. Most Congressmen are fortunate enough to make a lot more money through investments and I'm certainly in their number - it's well-known that I have a lot of money. So no, I don't think most members of Congress are middle class, and I think we should increase taxes on those who aren't." An analyst noted that although Romney's answer was "factually reasonable", he failed to articulate his point clearly, and clumsily noted that he had "a lot of money" in a move that could alienate lower-income swing voters.

    The independent leftist SuperPAC Demand Change Now has already began running ads featuring an excerpt from the interview, where Romney is asked if he believes himself to be middle class, and cuts off with his first word of "Yes." The ad in question has been criticized as inaccurate, for not including the following excerpt in which Romney explains that he does not consider himself to be middle class.






    Fringe group of evangelicals believes Rubio to be "Republican Jesus"​
    The membership of the group in question is believed to be very small, and its members have refused to answer questions or explain their ideology; as such, the seriousness of their beliefs are unknown. Their views appear to focus on the fact that Rubio was widely touted as a "savior" for the party in both 2016 and 2020, even as Rubio himself pushed back on the narrative, stating that "There is only one Savior and it is not me." But the trajectory of Rubio's political career vanished in a hail of gunfire a few months ago, leading the group to declare that "As Christ had died for the sins of the world, so has Rubio died for the sins of our party." Many of its members believe hence that Rubio may return from death to save his party, as Christ did. One commentator in the group reminded other members that "It says in 2 Peter 3:8 that a day is like a thousand years for the Lord - there's no telling when the three days will end and the Savior may return, but as long as we have faith, he will surely do so."






    "The inmates are running the asylum"
    Even with landslide defeat imminent, Republicans continue shifting rightward!    ​
    Scarcely a year ago, 37 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump. But come November, none of them will be Republican Congressmen any longer - 12 lost their primary, 16 are running for election under the Moderate Party banner, and the remaining chose to retire.

    A similar situation is evident with Republicans in the Senate. Senators Martha McSally and Lindsey Graham were the only two Republicans in the Senate to vote to convict Trump on both charges. But Senator Graham chose to retire rather than fight it out; Senator McSally chose to run for election as an Independent after polls showed her losing heavily to Kelli Ward in a primary - she announced post-Phoenix that she would caucus with the Moderates if elected. Eight more Senators voted to convict Trump for abuse of power. Of those, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins co-founded the Moderates; Kelly Ayotte, Tom McArthur, and Mike Lee joined the Moderates post-Phoenix. Senator Ben Sasse attempted to fight it out, but lost his primary to Adrian Smith, while Rand Paul will be the sole Republican who voted for impeachment to remain in Congress next year - but who knows how his re-election will turn out in 2022. Cory Gardner saw a backlash for merely straddling the line and voting "Not Proven" - that vote saw him tossed out in the party convention, replaced with Congressman Doug Lamborn - who recently made headlines for his demand that trans Americans were "mentally disturbed" and should be "rounded up" for their "own safety, to keep them from mutilating themselves." But the writing is on the wall for the remaining dissidents within the Republican Party. Every Republican who chose to oppose Trump - whether in the impeachment vote, or by turning on him post-Pompeo - failed to win their primary.

    With such numbers, it's no surprise that in the three-way race for Congress, many Moderates in areas without a candidate of their party are opting to vote Democratic over Republican. A recent poll by Quinnipiac found that were the election held today, Elizabeth Warren would win 41% of the vote, to 29% for Mitt Romney and 21% for President Trump. The same poll found that in the race for Congress, Democrats enjoy a stunning 50%-30% edge, with 15% saying that they'll vote Moderate. But even with the prospect of landslide defeat looming, Republicans show no sign of moderation as they continue moving rightward off a cliff.

    According to political scientist Norm Ornstein, "The culprit appears to be the formation of the Moderate Party as a safety valve for the remaining moderate Republicans to exit into. The Republican Party appears to have now entered a positive feedback loop in which the exodus of relatively moderate party members means that the remaining party base shifts further to the right. As a result, Republican politicians are forced to adopt increasingly extreme policies to win the approval of their right-shifting primary base - causing an exodus of more moderates, and causing the party to shift further to the right."





    Last presidential debate!
    Romney attacks Trump on climate change!    ​
    Although officially billed as focusing on domestic issues, the last presidential debate focused heavily on climate change, buoyed by recent news regarding the flooding of Miami, and the news that Chinese carbon emissions had been dropping so far in 2020 thanks to the slowing economy and an increased uptake of renewable energy. Moderator Megyn Kelly questioned President Trump first if he believed climate change was occurring, and if so, what's the country's responsibility in dealing with it. The President's response is provided below:

    "Climate change, there's cooling and there's a heating going on, I mean look it used to be global cooling, then it was global warming, and now it's climate change. The climate is changing, definitely, no one knows more about that than me, I have so so much beachfront property in these coastal areas - New York, New Jersey, Florida. But the scientists keep changing what they say about it, and this idea we need to completely change our behavior to deal with something that's not even our fault? That's ridiculous, that's bad, so bad. As President I've tried my best to focus on the economy instead of these special interests but now they're back again with this Chinese hoax saying that we should worry about this climate change that we didn't even cause."

    But Senator Romney wasn't having any of President Trump's excuses. Given time for a response, he attempted to go straight for the jugular.

    "What's ridiculous is this response President Trump just made - he admits that the climate is changing - he just told all of us that - but he says it isn't our fault so we shouldn't do anything about it. Burying your head in the sand like an ostrich isn't going to make the problem go away, Mr. President! Things happen to everyday Americans all the time that isn't their fault - maybe their car got rear-ended and they have to fix it, maybe their company went bankrupt and they have to get a new job. But we still have to fix the problems that come up whether we caused them or not! The city of Miami is flooding, just a few weeks ago Alabama was hit by a hurricane. But the President's solution is 'This wasn't our problem, we didn't cause it so we have no responsibility to fix it' - so he isn't going to help you. And it's almost criminal that he's ordered our military - the group in charge of defending America - to ignore any problems caused by it! I'm not a scientist - I don't know what's behind climate change, how much of it is human caused and how much of it is natural - but I do know that it's happening and that as Americans we have to come together and fix the problems it's causing."

    Analysts noted that Romney was apparently attempting to "thread the needle" between left-wing and right-wing answers, noting that Romney refused to attribute climate change to human action, but focused on an answer that portrayed himself as a pragmatic problem-solver willing to solve problems even when the source of the problems was not necessarily clear, assuaging center-left voters unhappy about his equivocation on the source of climate change with a series of attacks on the President.







    ASSAILANT ATTEMPTS TO ASSASSINATE ROMNEY! ROMNEY UNHARMED!
    WITNESSES: ATTACKER SHOUTED "DEATH TO THE ANTICHRIST!"    ​
    Details are still mostly unknown, but it appears that an assailant attempted to assassinate Senator Romney (M-UT) at a campaign rally in Fort Worth, Texas earlier today. The assailant reportedly pulled out a plastic gun and shouted "Death to the Antichrist", but his shot went wild into the air when he was tackled by a plainsclothed Secret Service agent. No one is believed to have been seriously harmed in the shocking incident.

    Analysts say that the assailant's words appear to refer to a "fringe" religious theory that places Mitt Romney in the role of the White Horse from the Book of Revelations, which is in turn placed in the role of the Antichrist.








    American hacking group hacks into Russian government server - leaks Russian hacking plans!​
    The independent U.S. hacking group WhiteHack was most prominently known for their role in performing a demonstration hack of the South Carolina presidential primary election earlier this year. But with the release of a new trove of documents - reportedly stolen from Russian governmental servers - they have entered into the fore of the political arena.

    The documents - provided by WhiteHack to a collection of news organization - indicate that Russia is planning a series of election-day hacks aimed at sowing chaos and boosting the vote total for Donald Trump. They aim to do so through a series of methods - including destroying voter registration documents and manipulating vote totals, and are reportedly already in the elections systems of multiple states.

    Although President Trump has denounced the news as "LIES AND FABRICATIONS", an emergency session of Congress has already passed a bill mandating same-day voter registration, mandatory paper trail partial recounts, and beefing up election security in response to the news.


    Author's note: I'm focusing primarily on Romney-centric news articles, just because his ideology and position on the issues in-universe is much less clear to readers than Warren/Trump. In-universe, all three candidates are getting attention, though Romney has received more with his recent high-profile stumbles
     
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