A Shift in Priorities

[rast]

The trouble with Communism is the Communists, just as the trouble with Christianity is the Christians.
(Henry Louis Mencken)

With content, Edith ‘The Whip’ Rowley was stepping out of the large hall. Granted, the air inside was smelly and stuffy, and the noise was awful, but that was what she had expected – and what it should be like. After all, high-grade nourishments were produced here: eggs and chicken – from a cheap mixture of several types of grain, fish meal, mussel odds and water.

The staff of the poultry plant had gathered in front of the large hall.
“I think they expect you to address them, Madam.” said the site manager, an elegant former middle class business man, who seemed to be rather competent – and to get along quite well with the plant controller.
“Oh, really?”
“Shouldn’t the shop floor, the working class people, be kept appraised of everything?”
“Yes, of course...”

“Well, comrades,” Edith addressed the work force, “I must congratulate you for your excellent results. – You know, there have been a lot of teething troubles and a lot of problems had to be overcome.”
Mass husbandry had seemed quite easy in principle, but one had underestimated the dangers of epidemics when thousands of animals were flocked together in confined space. Some initial attempts had resulted in bulk carcasses.

“But you have succeeded in getting production going, and you have become an example for all of Britain. Keep up the magnificent effort!”
While being used to operating smoothly in the controller environment and to argue stringently with producers and suppliers, Edith was not accustomed to holding public speeches. Yet, being cheered and applauded pleased her beyond expectation.

While riding home to London in the back seat of her official car, she watched the country side drift past. England was as beautiful as always, but agricultural activities were lacking in many places. Well, her scheme of industrial food production seemed to work at last. It wasn’t quite as economy-priced as expected, because the animals had to be vaccinated continuously and sanitariness requirements were paramount. And, quite surprisingly, pigs were even more susceptible than fowl.

However, she had already tasked her staff to come up with ideas how to industrialise cattle raising. If arable farming was declining, one could convert acres to pasture. While chicken and swine could be fed with fodder mixed together in a remote fodder plant, cattle required grass and hey in bulk quantities. But English climate favoured growth of grass, and one could exploit this natural fact.

The car stopped.
“What’s up, Bob?” Edith asked the chauffeur.
“Tanks, Madam!” answered Bob. “It’s the Army on the move. Look there, the new Mark Delta tank!”
Edith vaguely saw some dark shades cross the road and disappear into a cope. There was a deep rumbling noise drowning out the sound of the car’s engine.

Edith was fascinated to see the British People’s Royal Army at work. Normally, they were rather invisible, secluded in their barracks and training areas. She knew that Field Marshal Fuller was a trusted friend of Prime Minister Mosley and the undisputed hero of the British Civil War. However, there were no controllers attached to the Army, as opposed to the conditions in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. She didn’t think this was good.

The saloon moved on. Some soldiers were still busy sweeping dirt from the road. Their sergeant saluted when he noticed the car’s controller license plate. Edith waved back, smiling faintly. This good man obviously knew how beneficial the controller organisation was.

While the car was passing Andover and approaching Aldershot, Edith was skimming through her files. Yes, one was on the right track. Domestic food production was on the rise again, albeit slowly and from a very deep basis.
The damned capitalists had almost succeeded in spoiling the socialist effort; but only almost...

Well, Edith was proud to have contributed. And she knew that her name was appreciated in the leading circles of the SUP. Actually, she expected to be asked to join the cabinet next time when Prime Minister Mosley rearranged his government. Fortunately, there was no need for new elections, as the comfortable majority of the SUP allowed continuous governance. One could go on and transform Britain into a paramount example of socialist success.

[trekchu]

For a moment I was expecting and hoping for a military coup. In BRITAIN!

Knowing that this scary 1984esque UK will never get to hear and enjoy this makes me live with it....

[Kvasir]

Originally Posted by rast

Well, Edith was proud to have contributed. And she knew that her name was appreciated in the leading circles of the SUP. Actually, she expected to be asked to join the cabinet next time when Prime Minister Mosley rearranged his government. Fortunately, there was no need for new elections, as the comfortable majority of the SUP allowed continuous governance. One could go on and transform Britain into a paramount example of socialist success.

What are you talking about?

And furthermore, I asked a while back what kind of power the Trade Union movement and the Local Authorities have, especially in regards to the Controllers. Thanks.

[Expat]

Originally Posted by DanMcCollum

Snip

Really good ideas, and good candidates. I looked at Langer, and there's no really good reason why he's not the man of the hour. Basically I just short-handed the butterfllies here and gave others a chance, simply for the sake of divergence.

You're also probably right that if a regional movement were to arise, the NPL has at least as good a shot of being the aegis for it as the FLP does. Part of my reason was latching onto a better known movement, part of it was having the larger population of MN as the base for the movement.

I do definitely see potential for cooperation/crossover between Progressives and the FLP in future. For the time being, I think the Progressives are too moderate, and pushing towards the center against the America First wing of the Republican Party.

[Expat]

Share our Wealth Party
As far as Huey Long was concerned, in two years the Share our Wealth Party would BE the Democratic Party. His rivals were going down to defeat across the board. After 1936, his organization had a very good chance of representing the majority of the Democrats in the House and the Senate. With his numbers, he could dominate the remaining party apparatus with no trouble and steer the Democrats in any direction he chose. As the other factions seemingly jumped in bed with the Republicans, Long would be the only remaining opposition. And in a two-party system, power would eventually have to swing back his way. It might take 10-15 years, but he was relatively young; he could wait. And in the meantime, he'd see that his slice of America saw a form of progress and renewal that would turn the rest of the country green with envy.


America First Party
The highly-conservative America First Party also heard the siren song of independence, but decided to remain a faction within the Republican Party. After all, the Republicans were on the rise- why not stick with the winning team? Therefore the AFP leadership conference in Knoxville was a rather calm affair. They simply affirmed their status as a caucus-bound faction of the GOP and declared their intent to steer the party in a more godly and conservative direction.


Progressive Party
The rise of the AFP in the Republican camp caused disquiet among those who still saw themselves as the heirs to Lincoln and Roosevelt. In order to better express these views, a new faction emerged in 1935, albeit under an old face- the Progressive Party. Disturbed by the organizations that sought to turn the Republican Party into a bastion of isolationist conservatism, many western and mid-western Republicans decided they needed a caucus of their own.

The Progressive Party was never intended to be independent, and focused itself on steering the Republican Party in a more moderate direction. They were centered around three factions: the Wisconsin LaFollette family and their Middle-American moderates, Raymond Haight, bringing about half of the Republicans west of the Rockies, and, quite shockingly, Franklin Roosevelt, firebrand defector from the Democratic Party, bringing a small but respectable number of New England and Mid-Atlantic iconoclasts with him. While not known at the time, the entire defection had been engineered by Roosevelt's wife, a fairly close relation to Teddy Roosevelt, grandfather of the Progressive movement.

While still agreeing at the outset that they were Republicans first and Progressives second, the Progressive Party took advantage of the ground laid by the other factions and arrived on the scene as a fully-organized caucus.


Texas First Party
With no real leadership, the Texas First Party continued to be a statement of principles and no more. And even those principles could be boiled down into a remarkably simple statement: God Bless Texas. Nearly every politician in the state was therefore able to affirm to this basic criteria of membership. Whether a primary or a general election, both names on the ballot, Democrat and Republican, would also be TFP. One concept that did emerge- somewhat spontaneously- over the course of the Texas presidential primaries was that the state would send a favorite son to each of the national conventions. Texas' Democratic delegates went to former governor Dan Moody. Lieutenant governor Richard Kleberg received Texas' Republican delegates. The idea was to force the national parties to negotiate separately with Texas for their support.

Another curious development was the rise of "Texas Associations" in Oklahoma, southern New Mexico, and southern Arizona. These were groups of citizens and law enforcement officials who began adopting the Texas model of local militias and sought out advice from Texans on how best to go about protecting their communities (and the borderlands, in the case of Arizona and New Mexico.) Informal communication networks began opening up between these new voices and Texas proper. 1935's small election calendar saw seven county sheriffs and 18 small-town mayors elected outside of Texas with the support of the Texas Associations.


Tea Party
The Tea Party focused on building a constituency. They made some small inroads into the labor vote, though were often stymied by the CUP. Mostly they relied on those who had shown up at the convention. One would think Hollywood would be a natural constituency for this group, but the pickings in Lala Land were quite thin. The studios held everyone in the industry in tight contracts, and the studios didn't want any trouble from the mainstream. While a few high-profile actors could afford to buck the trend and speak out, most had too much to lose.

The Tea Party had a certain amount of success with the younger generation- perhaps 10-20% of college students joined up. These were kids who had grown up in the privileged bubble of loose credit and loose morals in the 1920s and early 30s.


The party's biggest obstacle to reaching this very large faction of would-be free-thinkers stemmed from a series of loosely-connected publications collectively called "The Epoch." There was a different Epoch run from almost every college campus in the country. They advocated a kind of unique melding of Futurism and Dadaism that looked (to the outside world) like a kind of industrial anarchy. The movement had taken America's privileged youth by storm, and the campus set was aswim with loud, discordant music, brash graffiti, sexual roulette, demolition derbies, motorcycle races, and an embrace of chemistry to provide them with newer, crazier drug cocktails. Their interests were almost perversely diverse: fireworks and firearms; body paint and pet birds; model rockets and pagan bonfires; European jazz and Indian dance. It was all random ephemera with no heart and soul.

The Tea Party found that the Epoch crowd was almost universally unapproachable- which was somewhat odd, considering how independent each publication was supposed to be. Was someone pulling their strings? As the only group paying attention to the Epoch, perhaps the Tea Party had a duty to investigate...but they had elections to lose, let someone else worry about it.

[Archangel]

Good updates, rast and Expat!

The crisis will favour the Share our Wealth, Progressives and the Tea Party, with a good chance that in future elections, at least one of the first two effectively takes control of their parent party(ies).

[Rooster Cogburn]

I'm conservative, but even I want to someday see a President Huey Long in TTL just for the shear awesome factor

[Bmao]

Originally Posted by Rooster Cogburn

I'm conservative, but even I want to someday see a President Huey Long in TTL just for the shear awesome factor

Maybe a Patton vs Long Presidential campaign then ITTL for 1940?

Anyhow, with the all but certain demise of the Democrats, it looks like there's going to be a lot of jockeying for which is going to be the second major party that replaces it.

The Tea Party and Free Market Party seem the best two candidates to replace it, while the Progressives seem liable to become absorbed into the left wing of the Republican Party.

[rast]

The sea, washing the equator and the poles, offers its perilous aid, and the power and empire that follow it... Beware of me, it says, but if you can hold me, I am the key to all the lands.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The Imperial Chinese Navy was a force in the shadow. Soundly defeated in the Sino-French and the Sino-Japanese Wars of the last century, it had virtually been immaterial during the events following the Xinhai-Revolution of 1911 leading to the Chinese re-unification of 1925. And, of course, the Xinjiang War had drained away even more attention and funds from a service that could contribute nothing to the effort in Central Asia.

On the other hand, the ICN was at least profiting from continuous leadership. A veteran of the Battle of Weihaiwei, Admiral Sa Zhenbing had been briefly been appointed Minister of the Navy by President Yuan Shikai in 1912 and had commanded the Beiyang (Northern Ocean) Fleet since 1918. In 1925, Imperial Prime Minister Chiang Zhongzheng had accepted him as Commander-in-Chief of the re-formed ICN and had promoted him to Grand Admiral in 1928. Keeping aloof from all troubles at the end of the Chiang Era, Sa had survived in office – and was now, aged 76, still serving under Prime Minister Feng.

Because the Minister of War, General Liou, didn’t care much about the navy, Sa was given a free hand in running his service – but unfortunately no open purse. Expecting the next major conflict to arise from Sino-Russians tensions, the Feng Government saw no need for investing in men of war and other naval assets. Opposite Russia, one required tanks, guns and aeroplanes; truly, warships were at the bottom end of the priority list.

From the many ancient ships acquired during the late nineteenth century, when the Qing Empire had in vain tried to keep up with Japan and the Western Powers, nothing remained. Only the Chien An and Hu Peng Class torpedo boats, built after the turn of the century and modernised in the 1920ies, were serving still. – Because Northern China had been a Japanese client, and Southern China had been supported by Germany until re-unification, the current inventory was rather mixed.

Sa had never attempted to transform the ICN into more than a coastal defence force, his largest vessels were some light cruisers, copies of Japanese Kuma Class and German Königsberg II Class vessels, generally used as torpedo boat and destroyer flotilla leaders. In revenge, he commanded a plethora of small craft: destroyers, torpedo boats, mine layers, mine hunters, gun boats, submarines, and fast light attack boats modelled after the Ottoman ŞDMs.

The Imperial Shipyards and Arsenals at Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Tianjin were more than sufficient for a slow and methodical expansion of the force. With the austere funds allocated, it was a very slow expansion however. Nevertheless, the ICN was no paper tiger – but very much capable of defending the Chinese homeland against invasion from sea – or at least make the invader pay dearly for the aggression and attrite him thoroughly.

Sa didn’t like the Japanese. Since the humiliation of Weihaiwei, where he, as the last Chinese Captain still alive, had been forced to surrender to the Japanese Admiral, he hated them from the bottom of his heart. Thus, his main concern was to make sure that his force was able to cope with an attack of the IJN. And quite frankly, he could not identify any other potential enemy, who one day might challenge his navy.

[Shogo]

I kind of want to see Huey Long as well . . . Especially if we get Patton vs Long.

[Expat]

Is the Chinese air force getting any coastal/open sea training?

Another thought on the Philippines: Vietnamese observers inserted into the Scouts, or maybe even some "volunteers." Given their northern neighbor, they're going to want some first-hand experience on how to wage an asymmetrical jungle war against a modern army.

[Bmao]

Basically what I thought. The Japanese Navy is basically the Chinese Navy.

Admiral Sa's attitude also toward the Japanese also speaks for the attitude of a vast number of politically aware Chinese. Even though they're nominally allies, the wounds of Chinese humiliations opposite the Japanese are still fresh and view them as more competitors than allies. Relying upon the Japanese Navy to keep your coasts safe is a rather precarious one.

Its a catch 22 then; if you keep the navy a second class service, you'll keep your coasts vulnerable to the mercies of the Japanese, yet if China expands the navy then you'll increase tensions with Japan.

Expat:, beyond a few observers, I don't see why the Vietnamese need to get involved in the Philippines at all. It'll needlessly antagonize both the USA and more importantly China, who will intepret the move as the Vietnamese acting in a defiant manner. The last thing Vietnam needs right now is a Chinese hostility, so don't even given them reason to suspect treachery.

[Kitiem3000]

Originally Posted by rast

Fortunately, there was no need for new elections, as the comfortable majority of the SUP allowed continuous governance.

So is there any pretense of democracy left? And is no one at least questioning the lack of elections?

[rast]

An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the commonwealth.
(Sir Henry Wotton)

“This will not be easy.” said Imperial Russian Ambassador Voldemar Khristianovich Aussem to his embassy’s First Secretary, Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky. “This will not be easy at all, I fear.”
Maisky, staring at the decoded telegram, nodded in approval. “True, Voldemar Khristianovich, I do not envy you. – But we’re diplomats, and this is our bread and butter work, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course, Ivan Mikhailovich, but I sometimes think I’m getting too old for all this claptrap. – I’d rather go sailing on the Wannsee – than face Chancellor Wels in this matter, although he is quite a nice chap...”

“Well, Mister Ambassador, what leads you here?” asked Imperial Chancellor Otto Wels, after they had exchanged the habitual welcoming formulas and social niceties.
“Now, Your Excellency, there is some worry at home about recent events in the Ukraine. You know, there have been some very nasty incidents involving ethnic Russians. The – how shall I say? – inquisitions, if you know what I mean, seem to be taking a strange direction. The fact that the two assailants, who did kill the late Hetman, were ethnic Russians does not justify the current witch hunt in the Ukraine.”

“Shouldn’t your colleague in Kiev tell this Hetman Danylo Skoropadskyi?”
“Well, certainly, this protest shall be brought forward in due form. But my government has asked me to raise this issue here in Berlin.”
“You see me puzzled, dear Mister Ambassador. Why should Moscow want you to do that?”
Aussem sighed. “The Russian Government cannot sit idle when the rights and the lives of Russians are at stake, even if these Russians are citizens of the Ukraine.”

“This I can understand. We would also protest, if Germans were persecuted for dubious reasons in Russia. However, we would voice our protest in Moscow – and not in Kiev.”
“Now, my government sees Germany as the hegemon of the COMECON; Hetman Skoropadskyi will certainly comply with our concerns when he receives the right signals from Berlin. – And Prime Minister Savinkov prefers to negotiate on an equal footing.”

“Are you suggesting that Russia doesn’t consider the Ukraine an independent nation?”
“Well, they are – shall we say – your clients? Created by you after the Great War from the substance of the Russian Empire. Prime Minister Savinkov does not want to perpetuate the misconception that all these post-war creations are sovereign states. He would rather prefer to discuss important matters directly with you, not with your vassals.”

[rast]

Originally Posted by Kitiem3000

So is there any pretense of democracy left? And is no one at least questioning the lack of elections?

Parliament can rescind all former acts of parliament. The SUP has 361 seats of 598. The King - after his failed attempt of escape - is a pawn of the SUP. So, the SUP is in control whether there shall be new elections - and Edith obviously is believing that there will be none.

[Kvasir]

Originally Posted by rast

Parliament can rescind all former acts of parliament. The SUP has 361 seats of 598. The King - after his failed attempt of escape - is a pawn of the SUP. So, the SUP is in control whether there shall be new elections - and Edith obviously is believing that there will be none.

I don't buy the people accepting it, certainly not the Liberals in the House of Commons. There'd be uproar. Then there are all the elections to local government which one presumes continues.

It's not about Acts of Parliament, it is about Tradition and Tradition is important. Elections must happen every 5 years unless there is a state of emergency. And the Labour party are bound to have upset a large number of people with actions in Government. They can't help but not.

[rast]

Originally Posted by Kvasir

Elections must happen every 5 years unless there is a state of emergency.

Well, the five year period was introduced only in 1911, so it's not a strong tradition yet, as immediately broken by the Great War. The SUP would probably not face great problems to go back to the seven years period.
But we shall see how it works out.

[sloreck]

As predicted, the rule of the SUP is beginning to look very much like the rule of the CPSU OTL. Being British, not Russian, they are less violent and more civilized about things but agricultural collectivization (trying to make industrial proletariat out of "peasants"), command industry (becoming less competitive for export - the lifeblood of the UK), political purging throughout (not just the armed forces) where vetting by the SUP is the key factor not competence (and pity the sods getting care from the most politically approved doctors), nationalization=confiscation (one wonders how much of the private holdings of the "capitalists/bourgeois" such as family silver, art work etc is ending up amongst controllers rather than in museums open to the proles), and of course the rise of the new aristocracy - controllers and higher ups of the SUP (who of course "deserve" their new perks). The putting off of elections is to be expected, and if and when they are held one can be sure that "opposition parties" will be approved in advance, and that the electoral process will make the worst excesses of Tammany Hall or the Chicago machine look pristine.

The reality is that Britain cannot produce enough food to feed itself, and has no significant raw materials to export - it only is a going concern because of value added production whether industrial goods or financial services (the latter of course no longer exist under the SUP). The SUP is living off the rapidly depleting "fat" and the UK in the not too distant future will find itself without adequate hard currency to purchase foodstuffs and the raw materials its factories need. The SUP will be faced with significant food shortages and lack of materials to keep the factories working (and the workers employed). Of course the remnant "capitalists" & "aristocrats" will be blamed as will "wreckers"..and I wonder how one says GULAG in British English.

[SAVORYapple]

Originally Posted by sloreck

The SUP will be faced with significant food shortages and lack of materials to keep the factories working (and the workers employed). Of course the remnant "capitalists" & "aristocrats" will be blamed as will "wreckers"..and I wonder how one says GULAG in British English.

They shall be sent FARMSIDE for work

[Rooster Cogburn]

With Britain, its times like this when you just sit and think "Maybe Churchill should have won afterall...."