"Early in the first session of the 76th Congress, the President called a meeting with [House Speaker] Bankhead and [Senate Floor leader] Harrison for me to present my health care plan, as well as with the ranking members of the appropriate committees, Secretary Perkins, and some fellow Brain Trusters. I was nervous, but when the men all showed up in the room, I became more composed than I had been in months, detailing how the plan would work, where the Government would be forced to intervene, and how cheaply it would be, given any other alternatives. The President thanked me for the presentation, and turned the discussion to the Congressional leaders, asking them if there where any questions for me, the standard Presidential delegation thing, you know? Speaker Bankhead looked at me for a moment, cleared his throat, and stood. "Mr. Corcoran, we're right now in the middle of recovery, and as I and Pat have talked with the President, we want to start cutting back on some of the spending we've been doing over the last few years to spur the economy on, but we don't want to do it too quickly, or we might slide right back into the Depression. . . .I suppose what I wan't to say is that we'll pass your bill, but not only because its the right thing to do, but because its cheap and can only add to the recovery at the moment. I have my concerns about it hampering businesses, but I'm sure we can work all of that out in the Congress when our economy has fully recovered." I was taken aback, surprised at his level of appreciation for the plan. "Y-Yes, sir. Thank you." I nodded to him as the Speaker took his seat once more. "Does anyone else have a question?" Harrison didn't peep up, nor did the men from the committees. "It looks like we have a deal, then, Tommy." The President laughed. "Enough of this, boys, lets have a drink, and be done with the night. . . ."
- Brain Truster Thomas Corcoran, as quoted in Brain Trust: The Men behind Modern America by Nathan B. Watch, Random House, 1999 [1]
"HEALTH CARE BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE, SENATE"
- Jackson Herald, 01/11/39 [2]
"When it came down to it, I thought the bill wasn't perfect, but I intended to vote for it. Increasing health care provisions for every American was good in my book, but doing so in such an incremental way made you think that we were going to have to fight this one out forever, and that, we did. I mean, first, we did it this way, then during the war, we expanded coverage for vets, after the war it was the poor and the elderly. . . .It wasn't until much later that we actually got a 'universal' system, and by then, it was far overdue."
- Lyndon Johnson, as quoted in Fit as a Fiddle: Universal Health Care in the United States, 1939-2009 by Julius Garrett, Hindenburg, 2009 [3]
"As the bill manuevered through the house, I was a nervous wreck. On one hand, I was confident in [Speaker] Bankhead's ability to get it done, but on the other, I was worried that too much would be hashed out of it in committee. The Senate was an even bigger obstacle, but at least we had the votes to kill a fillibuster if some of the reactionaries tried to kill it. . . ."
- Brain Truster Thomas Corcoran, as quoted in Brain Trust: The Men behind Modern America by Nathan B. Watch, Random House, 1999 [1]
"HEALTH CARE BILL PASSES HOUSE, 296-144"
- Jackson Herald, 02/11/39 [2]
"When I met with the President, shortly after the [health care] bill had passed in the House, he'd regained a bit of his jovial demeanor, despite his ongoing worrying for what was happening in Europe. "Harry, I know that a lot of people in this country don't want war, and neither do I. . . .no one wants war, but. . . .it seems that, whether we like it or not, we're going to have to get involved eventually. No nation is an island unto itself, no matter how much we'd like to regard ourselves in that manner." Over the past few months, when [Roosevelt] and I talked, it had been mostly about the foreign developments in Europe, but with the health care bill, he'd been a bit swung back to domestic concerns, even talking about the election that was coming up next year now and then. "Harry, I've been talking a lot with [Eleanor] about next year, and there's a part of me that thinks that this nation needs to be prepared for war and protect its interests. . . .that part of me is telling me to run for another term come next year." He took a puff from his cigarette. "There's another part of me, however, that tells me that I'm a tired old man, and that the world needs new leadership, that my generation's time has passed. There's also a woman who seems to be telling me that, too, and I almost don't relish it. . . .It would be nice to settle down, provided that there was someone in the White House or even in the [Democratic] Party that was willing to run and keep the peace." I nodded, lighting my own cigarette up. "What about [Attorney General] Frank Murphy?" I asked as he shook his head. "He's got a fine head on his shoulders, but the boy's a Catholic. After Al [Smith]'s loss, I doubt the party heads would go for it." Thinking again, I brought up a few more names to the President's attention. "What about [Justice] Bill Douglas, or [Governor Joseph] Kennedy?" [3] Roosevelt sneered at the thought of Kennedy, noting that he too was a Catholic, and thus, probably out of the running in the eyes of the Party bosses, and that Douglas might actually be a contender. "I could see Douglas, though. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's a good man." Roosevelt noted with a smile. "But, Harry, I have someone different in mind for the job than Douglas." My interest aroused, I asked the President of whom he was reffering. "You, Mr. Harry Hopkins, are going to be the 33rd President of the United States. . . ."
- WPA Director Harry Hopkins, as quoted in Harry Hopkins: From Humanitarian to Warrior, 1933-1946 by Oscar Reinhart, Tidal Press, 2002 [4]
"SENATE CLEARS HEALTH CARE BILL IN 62-35 VOTE"
- Jackson Herald, 02/27/39 [2]
"The President today spoke at the signing of the Employee Health and Wellness Act, joined by Secretary of Labor Francis Perkins, Senate Floor Leader Pat Harrison, and among others, his adviser on the health care issue, Thomas Corcoran. "Today, we sign into law a statute that not only guarantees health care for thousands of Americans on the part of the compassion of the federal government, we sign into law a statute that creates a system by which every American employed in this nation will have access to adequate medical care. . . ."
- Universal Newsreel, 03/01/39
"Well, it had finally, after two pain-steaking years, become a reality. Health care reform was at least starting out well. It was a boon of popularity with the American people for Roosevelt, and well, let's just say that I wasn't disappointed, either. I realized, though, that there were still a good bit of improvements we could make, but I decided that maybe we could wait for a bit and strike again when the climate was right. Everything now was shifting from headlines of Depression to Recovery, so we'd see how it all played out. . . ."
- Brain Truster Thomas Corcoran, as quoted in Brain Trust: The Men behind Modern America by Nathan B. Watch, Random House, 1999 [1]
"CZECHOSLOVAKIA DISSOLVED AS GERMAN TROOPS ENTER CAPITAL"
- Jackson Herald, 03/15/39 [2]
"Even after he'd said it, I still had trouble taking the President seriously. "Mr. President, you want me to run for your job next year?" I asked cautiously as he struck a serious tone. "Why not, Harry? You're well known, the people recognize you as one of the most capable administrators this nation has ever seen. . . .Why shouldn't you run for office?" I thought about it for a second, leaning back to breathe in the smoke outpouring from my lit cigarette. Truth be told, I didn't know what to think. This was all so. . . .sudden. I bit my lip and turned my face upward. "Do you really think I could win, Mr. President?" [Roosevelt] laughed. "I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't think that you had a chance at it, Harry. The year is early, though. Let's talk about it some more as we move closer to the election. . . .I might change my mind." We both chuckled for a bit before continuing our meal."
- WPA Director Harry Hopkins, as quoted in Harry Hopkins: From Humanitarian to Warrior, 1933-1946 by Oscar Reinhart, Tidal Press, 2002 [4]
"FRANCO ASSUMES POWER IN MADRID"
- Jackson Herald, 03/28/39 [2]
"It was early for it, but I knew that if I didn't say something about it, I'd miss the first step for trying to gather at least some support. I wanted to make sure that the [Democratic] Party was headed in the right direction, and for me, that meant that we had to take it out of the hands of [Roosevelt's] people, once and for all."
- Former Vice President John Nance Garner, as quoted in The Presidential Election of 1940 by John Mauville, Denington, 1953 [5]
"FORMER VICE PRESIDENT GARNER DECLARES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY"
- Jackson Herald, 04/30/39 [2]
"I wasn't surprised when Garner declared his intention to seek the [Democratic] Nomination, to be quite frank. [Roosevelt] and I had already talked about potential roadblocks to my 'campaign' (If you could call it that. . . .at this point, it was more of a brainstorming session between myself, the President, and Jim Farley) in both [Vice President] Garner and even [House Speaker] Bankhead, or [Agriculture Secretary] Wallace from the left. The idea was to nab Wallace's endorsement and avoid a delegate fight in that arena and offer Bankhead the Vice Presidential spot as to cripple Garner's conservative bid before it even started. It was actually sort of strange, planning this all in mid-May a year before the election actually began, but there I was, the reluctant, undeclared candidate for the White House, bullshitting with the President and the man who ran the Postal Service. . . ."
- WPA Director Harry Hopkins, as quoted in Harry Hopkins: From Humanitarian to Warrior, 1933-1946 by Oscar Reinhart, Tidal Press, 2002 [4]
Notes:
[1] Author and work are completely fictional.
[2] Author and work are completely fictional.
[3] ATL, Joseph Kennedy isn't given the UK Ambassador Job thanks to butterflies, and instead returns to Massachusetts and becomes once again involved in state politics. He manages to primary Governor Chuck Hurley in 1938 and goes on to win the Governorship himself.
[4] Author and work are completely fictional.
[5] Author and work are completely fictional.
Rough Outline:
The health care bill passes and is enacted as law, while Roosevelt discusses the dynamics of his successor with the man he sees as his successor, Harry Hopkins. John Nance Garner, however, has different plans. . . .
Preview:
"WAR: GERMAN TROOPS CROSS POLISH BORDER, IGNITING EUROPE"
- Jackson Herald, 09/01/39
... so no surprise when in 1959 the Supremes declared the 10th Amendment as Null, Void, and Mute for any legal purposes. and removed it from the Constitution.