Alternative History
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2008[]

September:[]

The economic crisis takes a turn for the worse when Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs asks for billions from the US government to be bailed out of their economic situation. After a mere week of being under government funding, the major CEOs are reported to be giving themselves millions in bonuses, and vacationing in the Bahamas. The younger half of the American public responds with demands that they be fired, the Baby Boomers simply continue their complacentcy.

October:[]

The 700 billion dollar bailout is put before Congress, live testimonies by the Major CEOs of faliing Wall Street Financial markets are witnessed ot have no grasp of what they did wrong when it is so abundantly clear to the majority of the country, and also appear to have no desire to do anything about it. The bailout holds no accountability to the CEOs or the Fed. Before the bill passes in Congress (Unlike OTL it is likely to go through the first time with minimal resistance) a massive march is held in Washington DC, with protesters around every major city blocking off major companies from conducting business. Most of the demonstrators are 18 to 30 years old, and the chant being led is simply, "NO MORE!" Police are sent to push the protestors back into "Free Speech Zones," but the crowd refuses to move, continuing to shout "NO MORE!" Eventually the police begin using riot sticks to beat the crowd into submission in New York. The crowd revolts into a mob, and begins to fight the police forces. Within twelve hours one protestor jumpus up next to the stature of George Washington and shouts, "He would tell us to take back our freedom!" the mob floods into the stock exchange overwellming the guards and destroys the trading floor, continuing to chant, "NO MORE!" In DC when word of the riot in New York reaches them they break past the police, and flood into Congress, chanting "NO MORE!" and attack Congressmen and Senators. Gunfire ensues outside, and the protestors fight back, most with rocks and clubs, others with their own weapons. The Second American Revolution Begins.

November:[]

DC falls to the rioters, the Speaker of the House, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Paulson, and President Bush are all captured by the rioters. The police are simply unable to subdue the mob, and the National Guard is without any leadership from Washington to know how to procede. Many members of the Guard join the rioters. By Christmas, New York, Seattle, Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago, and Detroit have all fallen to the Protesters. Their is no apparent leader of the rioters, they simply communicate their plans via social networking sights in popular concensus. Just before election night Senator Obama, who was recently returning from Hawaii, made a public statement declaring that the rioters were absolutely in the right for what they did, and should not be punished, but commended for finally stepping up to truly voice what they believe. Obama wins in a landslidel, with McCain calling him a Socialist on national television. The blogosphere responds in kind with, "Good, we need one!"

December[]

President-elect Obama meets with the Protestors in DC and promises to change his policies to immediately begin placing a far greater say of legislation into the hands of the people. He outlines in his weekly Youtube address his new plans for the US:

    • The Middle Class Rescue Act: Re-converts all of the bailouts to wealth re-distribution to the middle class via a new series of large taxes on corporations and the rich, or People who make 250,000 a year or more.
    • Single Payer Universal Health Care Act: Essentially Passes HR 676 granting medicare to every American.
    • 28th Amendment: Balanced Budget Amendment
    • 29th Amendment: Expands Congress to 1000 seats, and forces every legislator to send their proposals through a Wikia like sight, that allows every registered voter to edit a bill and voice their opinion of it. This effecitively abolishes the Committee.
    • Corporate Punishment: The bailout will be retooled to not give major corporations of the financial sector one cent, but rather seize the companies for far less than their worth, and redirect their profits to the public.
    • Global Troop Recall: All US troops are to be recalled to aide in economic recovery, Afghanistan is the only country that shall receive additional troops.
  • The Revolutionaries begin drafting the 28th and 29th Amendment to be passed much like the 27th Amendment was, by popular referendum, and confirmation by legislatures.
  • Congress reconvenes under the shadow of the Revolutionaries to begin impeachment proceedings of supreme court justices, fellow Congressmen and the current Presidency.
  • President Obama is recorded to having said, "I don't think anyone knows what kind of a slippery slope we're heading down."
  • Rioters in Indiana confront the Revolutionaries, many of them diehard republicans and more right wing libertarians.
  • In an interview with CNN Wolf Blitzer one of the Revolutionaries' representatives gives a more accurate definition of who they are for those who don't know what side they're on.
    • Full Transcript-
      • Wolf: So one of the main questions on everybody's mind is who exactly are you people?
    • Rep: We are students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, and generally people who were just fed up with our government giving the rich and powerful everything that they wanted without question or accountability, and wanted to do something about it. We are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, but most of all we are true Libertarians.
      • Wolf: How do you mean?
    • Rep: Many of these so called Libertarians are just partisan budget fanatics who profess a belief in the constitution, but really they only like the parts that give businesses the unrestrained power to do whatever they want. We are devout believers in the Constitution and what our founders left behind for us, which is if our government continues to screw up, we as the citizenry have the right, no the duty to through them out. That is a true Libertarian.
      • Wolf: But many of your policies are quite socialist in nature.
    • Rep: So? There's nothing in the Constitution that says that socialism is illegal, we simply want to put certain elements of socialism into government that makes the government work for us, the people, and not for these giant businesses that sign their bonus's while we have to sign their paychecks.
      • Wolf: But don't you think you're ultimately limiting individual liberty by introducing socialism into government?
    • Rep: Its not so much socialism as you're used to, the profits from these companies that we're taking over are going to be evenly distributed to the middle and lower class. The government regulations are just the oversight that Reagan thought we didn't need.
    • Wolf: You don't think Reagan was a good President?
      • Rep: Are you kidding? He's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, and no one's saying anything because they think he singlehandedly defeated the Soviets. He's the reason this economic crisis happened in the first place. He was the one who started this absurd idea of unfettered capitalism that caused the collapse of our economy.
    • Well certainly some new found perspective. Thank you sir for coming here today, and we will probably be hearing from you again soon.
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