Let’s get one thing straight: Al Gore and Hillary Clinton both won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College and — in Gore’s case — also due to various (conservative) legal rulings. In terms of actual votes accrued, they both deserved to become our president.
But that’s not how our (bonkers) Electoral system works.
When I think about what might have been if both of them had won their elections, it both chills and excites me. I’ve thought about this over the years, and the basic outlines of an ‘alternative history’ began to take shape in my mind.
Thus… this essay. First, I want to review some of the strongest trends or sociopolitical events that have affected our society over the past 25 years. Then we’ll examine whether many of these trends or directions might have been very different if Gore and Clinton had won.
Major trends and events, 2000–2024
Looking back over this period, a few major trends and events stand out. This is MY take on our recent history, which may not coincide with other writers’ or historians’ views.
In (mainly) sequential order, they are:
1. The rise of right-wing talk radio and Fox ‘News,’ and the accompanying, intensifying antagonism between Democrats and Republicans and between ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives.’
2. The growing awareness of the impact of our fossil fuel addiction on the accelerating process of ‘climate change’ — which was rapidly followed by intensive, long-term efforts by right-wingers and the oil industry to divert, shut down, and deny all scientific validation of climate change — and all efforts to contain it.
3. In Nov. 2000, the race between Al Gore and George W. Bush turned into one of the nastiest, most drawn-out elections in U.S. history. It took three weeks to reach a final result; there was the absurd spectacle of Florida’s infamous ‘hanging chads’; and the Supreme Court finally stepped in, stopped all ongoing recounts, and anointed Bush the winner.
4. The 9/11/2001 terror attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and the skies above Shanksville, PA shifted our entire approach to terrorism and national security. They resulted in the creation of a new Homeland Security agency and several draconian new laws designed to rein in or avert terrorism — but which also trampled on some of our most basic freedoms.
5. These terror attacks also led to widespread anti-Muslim and anti-Arab fervor in the U.S. and instigated a warlike, angry atmosphere that led directly to the Iraq War — which was entirely based on faulty intel that claimed Saddam Hussein was stockpiling ‘weapons of mass destruction.’
6. We also invaded Afghanistan, a haven for terrorists, and got bogged down in a seemingly endless series of skirmishes with the Taliban. This turned into our longest war — by far. Yet, like every other nation that’s attempted to control or redirect Afghan society, we failed miserably.
7. In the early-to-mid 2000s, our nation was caught up in a growing ‘housing bubble’ — and in 2007–2008 the bubble burst, throwing the U.S. into a prolonged ‘Great Recession.’ Millions of jobs were lost, and Americans’ confidence in our economy, society, and leadership took a huge hit. And the ‘recovery’ was painfully slow, starting in 2009 but lasting several more years. Some say we never fully recovered.
8. In 2008 Barack Obama was elected the first Black president, and immediately sparked fierce opposition from conservatives, racists, and other right-wing elements. They effectively ‘killed’ almost everything he tried to accomplish, though he DID succeed eventually in passing the Affordable Care Act and creating so-called ‘Obamacare.’ Obama was re-elected in 2012 (amazingly), and the right-wing was even more infuriated — and determined to ‘get even.’
9. The super-conservative ‘Tea Party’ movement took off in the early 2010s, largely in reaction to Obama’s presidency and the supposed ‘liberal takeover’ of the U.S.
10. In 2015, Donald Trump announced he was running for president, and started with his trademark ‘Make America Great Again’ rallies and equally predictable demagoguery, racism, misogyny, and insults. Then, in Nov. 2016, he won the presidency in a massive upset over H. Clinton; he won in the Electoral College, even though he lost the popular vote by 2.9 million.
11. Of course, in 2020–21 we all experienced the worst global pandemic in 100 years, the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump often undermined or mocked our public health efforts as ‘woke’ or ‘oppressive,’ and influenced many people to not get the vaccine (which he helped create) and not wear masks. The result? Many, many people died or got ‘Long Covid.’
Right-wing propaganda and ‘denialism’ flourish
When I look back over the years since the turn of the century, I see a nation moving slowly but steadily to the political right. Sure, there were a few ‘progressive’ gains, like marriage rights for gay couples, but they did NOT represent the bulk of political and social changes.
By the time we entered the new millennium in 2000, right-wing ideas and propaganda were already inundating our airwaves (thanks for nothing, Rush Limbaugh!), and Fox ‘News’ was dominating conservative TV (ditto, Rupert Murdoch!).
Simultaneously, climate science was getting ever more certain about human-caused climate change/disruption, and near-total scientific unanimity emerged about our disastrous role in climate change.
But this didn’t sit well — at all — with the oil industry or right-wing capitalists and ideologues, so they devised a long-term plan to undermine and ridicule established climate science. This plan was so successful, over several decades, that it led to a whole new category of right-wing ideology: climate change denial, peopled by rabid ‘climate deniers.’
If Al Gore had become president…
But that long-term propaganda effort was still in its early stages in 2000 — and that brings us to the Gore-Bush contest. Al Gore is famous for his strong pro-environmental stance and for the film highlighting his educational efforts about climate change/disruption, “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006).
So, what would have changed if Gore had become president instead of Bush?
First and foremost, I think the anti-science ‘climate change denial’ crowd would have experienced a huge setback, and real climate science and proposals limiting climate change would have come to the forefront (instead of being relegated to oblivion).
This is especially true because the 2001–2003 Senate was split 50–50, so if Gore had won the Democrats would have controlled the tie-breaking Vice-presidential vote, and many ‘denialist’ right-wing proposals could have been defeated or averted.
Plus, the president always has ultimate veto power over legislation. With Gore as president, we would at least have had a chance of effectively combatting climate change and bringing our fossil fuel addiction under tighter control.
At that time — over 20 years ago — we still had time to actively deal with these issues, and might have experienced some success. Under Gore, we might have even registered some major victories in the fight against climate change/disruption.
. . .
But that time is gone now, and so are our chances of ever reining in climate change (over the past 20 years global emissions have gone inexorably UP, and they continue to do so). Under both Bush and Trump we dilly-dallied, denied, and frittered away our chances — and now it’s too late, practically speaking. The global process of climate change/disruption is out of control, now, and is accelerating fast.
So when Gore ‘lost’ to Bush, our nation — and perhaps the world — lost its last, best chance to effectively counteract climate change. That ‘lost’ election was that momentous, and led to severe, ever-more-dangerous consequences regarding our use of fossil fuels and our climate.
How Gore might have dealt with 9/11
Next, let’s imagine what might have happened if Gore was in office when the 9/11 attacks took place. I’m sure he too would have wanted to coordinate a swift and effective response and may have even employed the military to do so — but I doubt very much he would have embraced the gung-ho war fever and anti-Muslim hate that started to consume us.
Thus, I believe Gore would have gathered the best and brightest minds, both military and civilian, to confer and hash out the best, least warlike and least violent response.
He would not have succumbed to knee-jerk ‘attack fever’ or anti-Muslim sentiment, and would have insisted on a more level-headed, well-planned response. He would NOT have bought into all the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ propaganda — but would have still insisted on strong, effective counter-measures.
Under Gore, we probably would have avoided the senseless “Iraq War” — which was in truth an illegal invasion of Iraq — and could have avoided enraging millions of young Iraqis, Arabs, and other Middle Easterners… who will likely morph into many more future terrorists. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot….
Our invasion of Afghanistan was a bit more practical, with better motivations and objectives, so it’s likely we would have gotten embroiled in Afghanistan under a president Gore as well. Yet overall, Gore may have prevented our awful Iraq debacle, and may have led the ‘War on Terror’ in a very different direction. Our modern world may have been very different — if only that ONE election had turned out differently.
Plus, if Gore was in office for the entire eight years — like G.W. Bush was — the right wing’s influence and power in the U.S. government may have been quite diminished (especially due to Gore’s veto power). Then Obama — if he still got elected — may have come in with a better ‘floor’ under him and a better chance of actually getting things done.
The 2016 travesty of Trump vs. Clinton
Now, let’s fast-forward to the 2016 election between Trump and Hillary Clinton. If everything else had remained the same — that is, the 2007–2008 ‘Great Recession’ had still happened, and the economic recovery process was still slow and halting — and yet Clinton ended up winning both the popular and Electoral College votes, the difference it could have made for our nation is immense.
All we have to do is compare Clinton’s professionalism and intelligence (a big factor in her unpopularity) with Trump’s racism, divisiveness, immaturity, and gross incompetence.
Imagine how different our response to the pandemic would have been; and how much more effective our efforts to rebuild our economy could have been, along with efforts to rebuild our middle class and move some of the wealth concentrated in the top .5%’s hands back into the hands of the middle class.
Once again, the inroads of the far right would have been limited, and in some cases reversed; voting rights and women’s rights could have been expanded instead of further restricted, and Americans of color would have been lifted up and strengthened instead of demonized and oppressed. And Clinton would have guided our nation to combat climate disruption instead of denying it and adding to the problem.
If Clinton had been president during the pandemic, I have no doubt that our terrible death toll — the worst in the world, at 1.14 million — could have easily been halved or even reduced by two-thirds. Where Trump was derisive and dismissive toward vital public health measures, Clinton would have been supportive and would have encouraged full citizen participation.
. . .
Of course, Hillary Clinton was not especially popular or endearing, and many people even hated her (much of which was due to relentless right-wing vilification). Yet, if she was our sitting president, she still would have had massive power and influence — the ‘bully pulpit’ and veto power — at her disposal, and would likely have used them far better, and for far better purposes, than Trump — who used them mainly to glorify himself and his far-right sycophants.
Plus, if Clinton was president from 2016–2020, she would have undoubtedly carried on — or even strengthened — the environmental and climate change initiatives of Gore and Obama. We would have still had a chance of greatly slowing climate change/disruption.
If Gore and H. Clinton had won, our nation and the world might be in a far better place today
So here’s the bottom line: if both Gore and H. Clinton had won their elections, our nation and the world would likely be in a far, far better place than we are today.
If the pro-democracy and pro-ecological-sanity forces had won, the entire human race and our planet would both be much better off.
So the next time someone tells you that ‘elections don’t matter’ or that ‘it doesn’t matter WHO we elect, since they’re all a bunch of lying bums,’ perhaps you can relate the sad tale of Gore and Clinton, and gently remind them that sometimes it can make all the difference in the world.
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This post was previously published on Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs.
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