America in the 21st Century

Is the U.S. Master of its own Fate?

2000

• Y2K Crisis doesn’t materialize

• Dot Com boom ends

• Global economy a reality

• Federal government in surplus

• Hope for Israeli/Palestinian reconciliation

2000 Election

• Bush/Cheney vs Gore/Lieberman– Gore won popular vote by half million votes– Bush won electoral vote after dispute and

litigation to the Supreme Court over 537 votes in Florida

– Supreme Court Case: Bush v. Gore, decided on a 5-4 vote

Bush II – First Term Agenda

• Reordering Clinton foreign policy– By allowing the Israeli Palestinian talks to lapse– Offensives on the “axis of evil” – Iran, Iraq, N. Korea– Rejects Kyoto Treaty on global warming

• No Child Left Behind Education Reform– Create tests to measure school effectiveness – Funding not provided to implement completely

• Tax Cuts over 10 years– Deficits to be plugged with spending cuts

September 11

• Terrorist attacks on World Trade Center, Pentagon, and possibly White House (4th plane crashes in Pennsylvania) kill 3000 people.

• October 2001: War in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban regime which harbored Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden

• December 2001: New government installed in Afghanistan; bin Laden escapes

• Prisoners brought to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for interrogation and declared “enemy combatants” (Jan 2002).

War on Terror

• Greatly increased security concerns in US, particularly in travel:– Airport Security federalized

• Restricted entry to U.S. for travelers• Patriot Act (October 2001) • Department of Homeland Security proposed,

created with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and opened in January 2003.

Homeland Security Agencies

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Transportation Security Administration • U.S. Customs and Border Protection • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services • United States Secret Service • Federal Law Enforcement Training Center • United States Coast Guard• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Homeland Security Advisory System

Iraq War

• Summer 2002: Bush Administration claims that Saddam Hussein had “weapons of mass destruction” and was supporting terrorists

• October 2002: Congress provides president with authorization for military action

• US proposes U.N. demand Iraq dismantle WMDs; UN Security Council provides authorization for inspections in November 2002

Iraq War

• February 2003: Colin Power makes case for military action at UN

• UN inspectors request more time, saying they have not found WMDs

• March 19, 2003: US and “coalition of the willing” invade Iraq without UN authorization

• April 8, 2003: Coalition takes Baghdad and Hussein disappears; April 14: Bush declares was is over

May 2, 2003: Bush declares “Mission Accomplished”

Iraq War

• Summer 2003: Continued effort to find WMDs; none found

• Insurgency against coalition occupation begins

• Fall 2003: US soldiers begin Abu Ghraib prison interrogations to find source of insurgency and WMDs

• December 2003: Hussein captured

Iraq War

• April 2004: Prisoner abuse photographs from Abu Ghraib Prison broadcast on 60 Minutes

• April 2004: Fallujah becomes battle ground between US forces and insurgency after contractors killed

Fallujah violence

2004 Election Season

• John Kerry v. George Bush• Bush cautions that elections in Iraq will

calm violence– June 2004: sovereignty transferred– Jan 2005: constitutional election– December 2005: legislative election

• Bush wins in November 2004: claims mandate

Bush, Second Term Agenda

• Complete mission in Iraq; continued focus on the “axis of evil”

• Replace social security system with individual retirement accounts

• But…..events again intervene• Hurricane season: Katrina and the

destruction of New Orleans (August-September 2005)

Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans and

Matairie, Louisiana

after Hurricane

Katrina

Gulfport, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina

War in Iraq continues…

US Deaths in Iraq

US Deaths in Iraq: Trend

2006 Off Year Elections as Mandate on Bush Administration

• Democrats propose moderate candidates in states like Virginia

• Antiwar movement tackles Democratic supporters of Iraq War: Lieberman targeted in Connecticut

• Grass roots organizing by both parties

Electoral Turnout

The Strength of Party Turnout

Wisconsin Turnout is Higher than National Average

• Presidential Elections, 1980 – 2004

Voter Turnout, U.S. and Wisconsin, 1980-2006

1978 1988 1998 2008YEAR

30

40

50

60

70

80

TURNOUT

WisconsinUS

STATE

What next?

• How will the Iraq War end?

• Who will be the major party candidates for the 2008 presidential election?

• How will Democrats run Congress?

• How will a Republican President and Democratic Congress function?

• And locally….?

Turnout, Off Year and

Presidential, US and WI