Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes V (Do Not Post Current Politics Here)
- Status
Script is Old English Futhorc, language is English written phonetically.
Nice, though if phonetic some of the Eohs should be Ises; and the Ing rune you've used is more Scandinavian than English.
A Pataki-Crist ticket sounds nice !
QUOTE="CanadianTory, post: 17868259, member: 64708"]The 2012 Republican candidates from my TL.
[/QUOTE]
QUOTE="CanadianTory, post: 17868259, member: 64708"]The 2012 Republican candidates from my TL.
[/QUOTE]
I'm aware of that, but I cheaped out on the main text and used a standard Unicode font. There isn't a special English version for that. The font I'm working on should fix that.
Is some part of NO CURRENT POLITICS unclear?
A very simple TL. Tobago passes into the hands of the Polish crown in 1640 and remains that way, as the only Polish colony, it has a small but steady population. The colony (renamed Tobagów) follows a course very similar to the metropolis. When in 1795 Poland ceases to exist, the colony passes into the hands of Russia, which is not much interested in it beyond a commercial post. When Poland gained its independence in 1918 the island is recognized as Polish again.
In 1939 World War II begins, part of the government goes to exile to the island, at the end of the war the rest of the government that is still in exile in London moves to the island, which becomes the only free Polish territory during the Cold War.
When communism falls, the government in exile returns to Warsaw. Today, Tobagów and its capital Jakubów are the only Polish overseas territory.
Anyway, happy centenary of re-independence Poland!
For a second there I thought that was Jan Mayen, which would finally give us an excuse to use that colour in SUCK. Alas.
Bookmark1995
Banned
This is a fascinating idea. I wonder how Caribbean sensibilities and Polish traditions mix together?
A joke post proudly inspired by this.
(No, I don't support Al Franken. And please don't be too hard on me with the map in the primaries box, I didn't have time to make a proper map so I just stole one from the 1984 primaries. Also, since this is now ten years old and a joke, I didn't think it would count as current politics, but if it is please tell me and I'll move it!)
(No, I don't support Al Franken. And please don't be too hard on me with the map in the primaries box, I didn't have time to make a proper map so I just stole one from the 1984 primaries. Also, since this is now ten years old and a joke, I didn't think it would count as current politics, but if it is please tell me and I'll move it!)
Asami
Banned
If you had held the election in 1959, most Americans would have easily elected Vice President Richard Nixon into the highest office in the land; but by 1960, things were changing. Some of the great economic prosperity of the 1950s was beginning to wear off, Cuba was under the throes of communist revolution, and everything just seemed to be slowing down. Among the Democrats, great rivalries were emerging between factions, threatening to shatter the New Deal Coalition. While not the most palatable choice ever considered, one candidate emerged as a unifier in the Democratic primaries, securing not only the support of the more conservative Democrats, but the Kennedies and Johnsons and Humphreys of the Party as well.
Walt Disney's five years in office were a time of hope and change, with the man's idealistic views of the future playing a huge role in his success. While not everything was rosy, Disney knew when he was over his head, and left many policy actions and internal matters to his Cabinet. While known for early fumbles, by the time of his re-election in 1964, and his subsequent death in 1966, Disney was a fondly considered President on both sides of the aisle.
The following two years were one of juggling the chaos. Kennedy had inherited what many could consider a boiling pot. Vietnam was on the forefront of America's mind, civil rights was slowly progressing, but not enough for liberal Democrats-- and things had to give. Despite the cautious stature of the Disney presidency, riots and violence were increasingly common. To this end, Kennedy squeezed a nomination in 1968, but had to come face to face with a man who had been discarded some eight years prior, along with a revolt by some members of the right-wing Democrats.
The Nixon presidency was... brief. Plagued from the start by allegations of cronyism, corruption, and an unstable "Southern Strategy", Nixon did very little to assuage an anxious America's fears that he would be the "Law and Order" President.
In a half-hearted attempt to court the vote of Middle America, Richard Nixon made the rounds in 1970 and 1971 to drum up the country-western audience. Starting by appearing on television shows playing to the tune of patriotic anthems, he eventually invited music star Johnny Cash to perform at the White House in April 1970.
Cash, a fervent believer in patriotism and supporting the President agreed.
In the time between his invitation in 1969 and his playing the concert in 1970, the situation in the United States worsened. Instances of overzealous police shooting innocent college students, a botched invasion of Cambodia in an attempt to beat back the Vietnamese partisans, and allegations that Vice President Agnew had been committing fraud both in Maryland and as Vice President.
In a stern rebuke to the President, Cash refused to perform Nixon's choices of Okie from Muskogee and Welfare Cadillac, in favor of tunes such as The Ballad of Ira Hayes, and What Is Truth? A new composition by Cash that illustrated the stark divide in America.
Nixon's woes worsened in mid-1972 when Agnew was indicted by a federal grand jury, and forced to resign. Briefly considering pardoning his former Vice President was stymied by opposition within his Cabinet and the Republican Party. In a hasty act, Democrat John Connally was convinced to switch parties and join the Nixon ticket, but it was too late to stop momentum.
Governor George Wallace had been a unique ally to the Disney and Kennedy administrations. Firmly standing against segregation, but maintaining some level of opposition to integration procedures, Wallace postured himself perfectly to the Southern conservatives and to the Northern liberals as a great compromise candidate heading into 1972. He was just enough of a Nixon-esque figure to keep the Southern Strategy from working a second time.
So it goes.
Wallace, for all his unique attributes, was not afraid to step into the racial rights boxing ring. Free of Alabama's peculiar sense of justice, Wallace spoke more openly on a rough, moral urge for fairness. He was not alone, joined by men such as preacher Billy Graham, the Democratic Party slammed the accelerator down on civil rights activism, fueled as well by that of Vice President McGovern.
With an America on the upswing, and a soon end to Vietnam negotiated by the Wallace administration, Wallace managed to negotiate to the American public, in good faith, the situation with OPEC and Israel, ultimately managing to get OPEC to remove their embargo in 1975 after, according to rumor, threatening to move the United States to other resources instead of petroleum.
Ultimately, faced with the "clear Nixonite candidate" of 1976, Wallace had no concerns of a potential loss.
The final four years of the Wallace administration were ones of general peace, with detente and "co-existence" being the main ways of addressing the Soviet bloc. Khrushchev and Wallace got along well, both being men of rural origin, from regions of their nations that were often demeaned as being uneducated and uncultured.
When Khrushchev passed in 1979, Wallace would remark that he had come to like Khrushchev as a man quite a bit, and was sad to see him go, but was glad that he had made such great efforts to bridge the gap between Soviet people and American people to keep the world at peace.
Wallace's health was doing just fine, but the man himself was tired. In 1980, he gladly endorsed his Vice President to step into his shoes.
McGovern needed a more moderate or conservative voice to balance his, of course. In this process, he chose Governor William Clinton of Arkansas, a fresh-faced conservative voice in the Democratic Party who was willing to work with the liberal apparatus to maintain the strength of the Disney Coalition. He faced down Ronald Reagan, famed actor and SGA president. Reagan was part of an emerging class of non-politicians who were taking shots at major offices. Where Walt Disney had tread, Reagan expected to follow.
It was to the shame of Reagan that he was unable to really bridge the gap and restore the coalition that had allowed his party to win in 1968. But the Republican hopes weren't extinguished.
A scant four years later, fueled by party fatigue and general economic malaise, President McGovern failed to secure a second term, ending the latest string of Democratic governments. Phil Crane was elected with a narrow majority of the electoral college, and made many promises relating to easing business burden, and strengthening the American economy.
Of course, these sort of things are fickle. The only reason that President Crane was able to materialize a victory in 1988 was the weak performance and scandal-ridden candidacy of Colorado's own Gary Hart. Hart, from the get go in the campaign, was plagued with allegations of plagiarism (from British politicians no less), sexual misconduct, and corruption.
Hart was sunk before he could start.
By this point, there was a growing miscontent from a bloc of Democrats who believed that the milquetoast inaction of the current crop of candidates was doing the party no favors. Approached by Billy Graham and some others, a man from Nashville was convinced to put down his guitar, and go around to make some speeches.
Nobody quite expected him to make it to the DNC, let alone the Presidency.
But the Man in Black did just that.
Loved by many Americans for his musical talent, Johnny Cash was a controversial candidate in some fields. His trouble with narcotics was not a very well kept secret, but Cash did his best to take these problems head on, addressing his tendency to relapse into drug abuse, and funneling that energy into pushing for change so young folks didn't get into that sort of thing to start with. The Cash/Brown ticket was full of energy and drive.
Compared to that of the Weicker/Buchanan ticket, who couldn't seem to decide what their true platform was. Another heavy hit against Weicker was Pat Buchanan's criticism of Billy Graham in early 1992, a major faux pas among Christian voters. Billy Graham was the beginning and end of a lot of people's experiences with Jesus, and to criticize Graham as being soft funneled a lot of public anger towards the Weicker campaign, forcing the Vice President to walk back Buchanan's remarks.
The Cash/Brown ticket, as well as the popularity of men like Walt Disney, convinced the Republicans that in 1996, someone else needed to be chosen as a candidate.
Who better to run to "fulfill the legacy of Disney" than the man who actually ran the Walt Disney Corporation? Of course, public attitudes towards Eisner weren't great to start with. Cash's own stern rebuke of the Republican decision to nominate a corporate executive further entrenched the pre-existing Democratic voting bloc, handing to Eisner the worst defeat in modern GOP history, nearly rivaling that of Goldwater in 1964, or Landon in 1936.
Unfortunately, Vice President Brown couldn't get a grip on things either. In the 2000 primary season, he was ran out of town on rails by Albert Gore, Jr. (son of Albert Gore, Sr, a Senator whose 1970 re-election campaign was saved by the failure of the Southern Strategy). Gore, a conservative Democratic, decided to reach into the "esteemed leadership" of the Party.
Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Kennedy was asked to be Vice President, to which the Justice agreed. Controversy reigned as many questioned the right of a Supreme Court justice to run for political office, with many calling on Kennedy to resign. Kennedy refused, and was in fact saved from unemployment as a result, as Gore's controversial decision, as well as his percieved "stiff personality" and a decisive disgust by Brown supporters lead to his defeat in 2000 at the hands of the charismatic and charming Liz Dole.
2004 wasn't much better for the Democrats, electing to nominate "Walkin'" Lawton Chiles, former Governor of Florida. Chiles was a smart man, rapier wit, and very charismatic; but he was out of touch with many non-Southern Democrats, who either stayed home or voted third-party when the time came, securing for Mrs. Dole another term of office.
Before his death in 2006, Chiles expressed his lack of concern for 2004: "I never wanted to run for President anyway! I don't know why I let them talk me into that."
As 2008 approached, America's political commentary vehicles started up and began to speculate on who the Democratic and GOP nominees would be. Many believed Tom Ridge had the nomination locked up, while Democratic names often included Jennifer Granholm, Jerry Brown, among others.
Nobody quite expected what the end result was.
Not only did the United States have it's first mainstream black presidential candidate--but it had two. Both parties nominated a black man to serve as their candidate for President. On the Democratic side, they nominated civil rights veteran and long-term politician John Lewis; and the Republicans, J.C. Watts, a young-faced leader from Oklahoma.
To boot, the Democrats also nominated the first openly gay candidate, nominating Senator Harvey Milk to the office of Vice President, to cash in on the major California and Progressive vote.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Lewis and Milk cruised to re-election in 2012, particularly against a man such as Jeff Bezos, entrepreneur and CEO of Amazon.com.
After eight years, the field was once again open for new candidates. A man long-since forgotten by the mainstream media, considered a has-been, surged back into the limelight. Re-elected as Governor of the state he had once governed a very long time ago, and working his best to be a front-man for Democratic politics in the West, this man seeked the office he had long been denied.
And, facing the uncharismatic John Bush, he got what he always wanted.
The Comeback Kid managed to hit a home run.
Walt Disney's five years in office were a time of hope and change, with the man's idealistic views of the future playing a huge role in his success. While not everything was rosy, Disney knew when he was over his head, and left many policy actions and internal matters to his Cabinet. While known for early fumbles, by the time of his re-election in 1964, and his subsequent death in 1966, Disney was a fondly considered President on both sides of the aisle.
The following two years were one of juggling the chaos. Kennedy had inherited what many could consider a boiling pot. Vietnam was on the forefront of America's mind, civil rights was slowly progressing, but not enough for liberal Democrats-- and things had to give. Despite the cautious stature of the Disney presidency, riots and violence were increasingly common. To this end, Kennedy squeezed a nomination in 1968, but had to come face to face with a man who had been discarded some eight years prior, along with a revolt by some members of the right-wing Democrats.
The Nixon presidency was... brief. Plagued from the start by allegations of cronyism, corruption, and an unstable "Southern Strategy", Nixon did very little to assuage an anxious America's fears that he would be the "Law and Order" President.
In a half-hearted attempt to court the vote of Middle America, Richard Nixon made the rounds in 1970 and 1971 to drum up the country-western audience. Starting by appearing on television shows playing to the tune of patriotic anthems, he eventually invited music star Johnny Cash to perform at the White House in April 1970.
Cash, a fervent believer in patriotism and supporting the President agreed.
In the time between his invitation in 1969 and his playing the concert in 1970, the situation in the United States worsened. Instances of overzealous police shooting innocent college students, a botched invasion of Cambodia in an attempt to beat back the Vietnamese partisans, and allegations that Vice President Agnew had been committing fraud both in Maryland and as Vice President.
In a stern rebuke to the President, Cash refused to perform Nixon's choices of Okie from Muskogee and Welfare Cadillac, in favor of tunes such as The Ballad of Ira Hayes, and What Is Truth? A new composition by Cash that illustrated the stark divide in America.
Nixon's woes worsened in mid-1972 when Agnew was indicted by a federal grand jury, and forced to resign. Briefly considering pardoning his former Vice President was stymied by opposition within his Cabinet and the Republican Party. In a hasty act, Democrat John Connally was convinced to switch parties and join the Nixon ticket, but it was too late to stop momentum.
Governor George Wallace had been a unique ally to the Disney and Kennedy administrations. Firmly standing against segregation, but maintaining some level of opposition to integration procedures, Wallace postured himself perfectly to the Southern conservatives and to the Northern liberals as a great compromise candidate heading into 1972. He was just enough of a Nixon-esque figure to keep the Southern Strategy from working a second time.
So it goes.
Wallace, for all his unique attributes, was not afraid to step into the racial rights boxing ring. Free of Alabama's peculiar sense of justice, Wallace spoke more openly on a rough, moral urge for fairness. He was not alone, joined by men such as preacher Billy Graham, the Democratic Party slammed the accelerator down on civil rights activism, fueled as well by that of Vice President McGovern.
With an America on the upswing, and a soon end to Vietnam negotiated by the Wallace administration, Wallace managed to negotiate to the American public, in good faith, the situation with OPEC and Israel, ultimately managing to get OPEC to remove their embargo in 1975 after, according to rumor, threatening to move the United States to other resources instead of petroleum.
Ultimately, faced with the "clear Nixonite candidate" of 1976, Wallace had no concerns of a potential loss.
The final four years of the Wallace administration were ones of general peace, with detente and "co-existence" being the main ways of addressing the Soviet bloc. Khrushchev and Wallace got along well, both being men of rural origin, from regions of their nations that were often demeaned as being uneducated and uncultured.
When Khrushchev passed in 1979, Wallace would remark that he had come to like Khrushchev as a man quite a bit, and was sad to see him go, but was glad that he had made such great efforts to bridge the gap between Soviet people and American people to keep the world at peace.
Wallace's health was doing just fine, but the man himself was tired. In 1980, he gladly endorsed his Vice President to step into his shoes.
McGovern needed a more moderate or conservative voice to balance his, of course. In this process, he chose Governor William Clinton of Arkansas, a fresh-faced conservative voice in the Democratic Party who was willing to work with the liberal apparatus to maintain the strength of the Disney Coalition. He faced down Ronald Reagan, famed actor and SGA president. Reagan was part of an emerging class of non-politicians who were taking shots at major offices. Where Walt Disney had tread, Reagan expected to follow.
It was to the shame of Reagan that he was unable to really bridge the gap and restore the coalition that had allowed his party to win in 1968. But the Republican hopes weren't extinguished.
A scant four years later, fueled by party fatigue and general economic malaise, President McGovern failed to secure a second term, ending the latest string of Democratic governments. Phil Crane was elected with a narrow majority of the electoral college, and made many promises relating to easing business burden, and strengthening the American economy.
Of course, these sort of things are fickle. The only reason that President Crane was able to materialize a victory in 1988 was the weak performance and scandal-ridden candidacy of Colorado's own Gary Hart. Hart, from the get go in the campaign, was plagued with allegations of plagiarism (from British politicians no less), sexual misconduct, and corruption.
Hart was sunk before he could start.
By this point, there was a growing miscontent from a bloc of Democrats who believed that the milquetoast inaction of the current crop of candidates was doing the party no favors. Approached by Billy Graham and some others, a man from Nashville was convinced to put down his guitar, and go around to make some speeches.
Nobody quite expected him to make it to the DNC, let alone the Presidency.
But the Man in Black did just that.
Loved by many Americans for his musical talent, Johnny Cash was a controversial candidate in some fields. His trouble with narcotics was not a very well kept secret, but Cash did his best to take these problems head on, addressing his tendency to relapse into drug abuse, and funneling that energy into pushing for change so young folks didn't get into that sort of thing to start with. The Cash/Brown ticket was full of energy and drive.
Compared to that of the Weicker/Buchanan ticket, who couldn't seem to decide what their true platform was. Another heavy hit against Weicker was Pat Buchanan's criticism of Billy Graham in early 1992, a major faux pas among Christian voters. Billy Graham was the beginning and end of a lot of people's experiences with Jesus, and to criticize Graham as being soft funneled a lot of public anger towards the Weicker campaign, forcing the Vice President to walk back Buchanan's remarks.
The Cash/Brown ticket, as well as the popularity of men like Walt Disney, convinced the Republicans that in 1996, someone else needed to be chosen as a candidate.
Who better to run to "fulfill the legacy of Disney" than the man who actually ran the Walt Disney Corporation? Of course, public attitudes towards Eisner weren't great to start with. Cash's own stern rebuke of the Republican decision to nominate a corporate executive further entrenched the pre-existing Democratic voting bloc, handing to Eisner the worst defeat in modern GOP history, nearly rivaling that of Goldwater in 1964, or Landon in 1936.
Unfortunately, Vice President Brown couldn't get a grip on things either. In the 2000 primary season, he was ran out of town on rails by Albert Gore, Jr. (son of Albert Gore, Sr, a Senator whose 1970 re-election campaign was saved by the failure of the Southern Strategy). Gore, a conservative Democratic, decided to reach into the "esteemed leadership" of the Party.
Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Kennedy was asked to be Vice President, to which the Justice agreed. Controversy reigned as many questioned the right of a Supreme Court justice to run for political office, with many calling on Kennedy to resign. Kennedy refused, and was in fact saved from unemployment as a result, as Gore's controversial decision, as well as his percieved "stiff personality" and a decisive disgust by Brown supporters lead to his defeat in 2000 at the hands of the charismatic and charming Liz Dole.
2004 wasn't much better for the Democrats, electing to nominate "Walkin'" Lawton Chiles, former Governor of Florida. Chiles was a smart man, rapier wit, and very charismatic; but he was out of touch with many non-Southern Democrats, who either stayed home or voted third-party when the time came, securing for Mrs. Dole another term of office.
Before his death in 2006, Chiles expressed his lack of concern for 2004: "I never wanted to run for President anyway! I don't know why I let them talk me into that."
As 2008 approached, America's political commentary vehicles started up and began to speculate on who the Democratic and GOP nominees would be. Many believed Tom Ridge had the nomination locked up, while Democratic names often included Jennifer Granholm, Jerry Brown, among others.
Nobody quite expected what the end result was.
Not only did the United States have it's first mainstream black presidential candidate--but it had two. Both parties nominated a black man to serve as their candidate for President. On the Democratic side, they nominated civil rights veteran and long-term politician John Lewis; and the Republicans, J.C. Watts, a young-faced leader from Oklahoma.
To boot, the Democrats also nominated the first openly gay candidate, nominating Senator Harvey Milk to the office of Vice President, to cash in on the major California and Progressive vote.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Lewis and Milk cruised to re-election in 2012, particularly against a man such as Jeff Bezos, entrepreneur and CEO of Amazon.com.
After eight years, the field was once again open for new candidates. A man long-since forgotten by the mainstream media, considered a has-been, surged back into the limelight. Re-elected as Governor of the state he had once governed a very long time ago, and working his best to be a front-man for Democratic politics in the West, this man seeked the office he had long been denied.
And, facing the uncharismatic John Bush, he got what he always wanted.
The Comeback Kid managed to hit a home run.
Bookmark1995
Banned
If you had held the election in 1959, most Americans would have easily elected Vice President Richard Nixon into the highest office in the land; but by 1960, things were changing. Some of the great economic prosperity of the 1950s was beginning to wear off, Cuba was under the throes of communist revolution, and everything just seemed to be slowing down. Among the Democrats, great rivalries were emerging between factions, threatening to shatter the New Deal Coalition. While not the most palatable choice ever considered, one candidate emerged as a unifier in the Democratic primaries, securing not only the support of the more conservative Democrats, but the Kennedies and Johnsons and Humphreys of the Party as well.
Walt Disney's five years in office were a time of hope and change, with the man's idealistic views of the future playing a huge role in his success. While not everything was rosy, Disney knew when he was over his head, and left many policy actions and internal matters to his Cabinet. While known for early fumbles, by the time of his re-election in 1964, and his subsequent death in 1966, Disney was a fondly considered President on both sides of the aisle.
View attachment 420520View attachment 420521
The following two years were one of juggling the chaos. Kennedy had inherited what many could consider a boiling pot. Vietnam was on the forefront of America's mind, civil rights was slowly progressing, but not enough for liberal Democrats-- and things had to give. Despite the cautious stature of the Disney presidency, riots and violence were increasingly common. To this end, Kennedy squeezed a nomination in 1968, but had to come face to face with a man who had been discarded some eight years prior, along with a revolt by some members of the right-wing Democrats.
View attachment 420523
The Nixon presidency was... brief. Plagued from the start by allegations of cronyism, corruption, and an unstable "Southern Strategy", Nixon did very little to assuage an anxious America's fears that he would be the "Law and Order" President.
In a half-hearted attempt to court the vote of Middle America, Richard Nixon made the rounds in 1970 and 1971 to drum up the country-western audience. Starting by appearing on television shows playing to the tune of patriotic anthems, he eventually invited music star Johnny Cash to perform at the White House in April 1970.
Cash, a fervent believer in patriotism and supporting the President agreed.
In the time between his invitation in 1969 and his playing the concert in 1970, the situation in the United States worsened. Instances of overzealous police shooting innocent college students, a botched invasion of Cambodia in an attempt to beat back the Vietnamese partisans, and allegations that Vice President Agnew had been committing fraud both in Maryland and as Vice President.
In a stern rebuke to the President, Cash refused to perform Nixon's choices of Okie from Muskogee and Welfare Cadillac, in favor of tunes such as The Ballad of Ira Hayes, and What Is Truth? A new composition by Cash that illustrated the stark divide in America.
Nixon's woes worsened in mid-1972 when Agnew was indicted by a federal grand jury, and forced to resign. Briefly considering pardoning his former Vice President was stymied by opposition within his Cabinet and the Republican Party. In a hasty act, Democrat John Connally was convinced to switch parties and join the Nixon ticket, but it was too late to stop momentum.
Governor George Wallace had been a unique ally to the Disney and Kennedy administrations. Firmly standing against segregation, but maintaining some level of opposition to integration procedures, Wallace postured himself perfectly to the Southern conservatives and to the Northern liberals as a great compromise candidate heading into 1972. He was just enough of a Nixon-esque figure to keep the Southern Strategy from working a second time.
So it goes.
View attachment 420524
Wallace, for all his unique attributes, was not afraid to step into the racial rights boxing ring. Free of Alabama's peculiar sense of justice, Wallace spoke more openly on a rough, moral urge for fairness. He was not alone, joined by men such as preacher Billy Graham, the Democratic Party slammed the accelerator down on civil rights activism, fueled as well by that of Vice President McGovern.
With an America on the upswing, and a soon end to Vietnam negotiated by the Wallace administration, Wallace managed to negotiate to the American public, in good faith, the situation with OPEC and Israel, ultimately managing to get OPEC to remove their embargo in 1975 after, according to rumor, threatening to move the United States to other resources instead of petroleum.
Ultimately, faced with the "clear Nixonite candidate" of 1976, Wallace had no concerns of a potential loss.
View attachment 420526
The final four years of the Wallace administration were ones of general peace, with detente and "co-existence" being the main ways of addressing the Soviet bloc. Khrushchev and Wallace got along well, both being men of rural origin, from regions of their nations that were often demeaned as being uneducated and uncultured.
When Khrushchev passed in 1979, Wallace would remark that he had come to like Khrushchev as a man quite a bit, and was sad to see him go, but was glad that he had made such great efforts to bridge the gap between Soviet people and American people to keep the world at peace.
Wallace's health was doing just fine, but the man himself was tired. In 1980, he gladly endorsed his Vice President to step into his shoes.
View attachment 420528
McGovern needed a more moderate or conservative voice to balance his, of course. In this process, he chose Governor William Clinton of Arkansas, a fresh-faced conservative voice in the Democratic Party who was willing to work with the liberal apparatus to maintain the strength of the Disney Coalition. He faced down Ronald Reagan, famed actor and SGA president. Reagan was part of an emerging class of non-politicians who were taking shots at major offices. Where Walt Disney had tread, Reagan expected to follow.
It was to the shame of Reagan that he was unable to really bridge the gap and restore the coalition that had allowed his party to win in 1968. But the Republican hopes weren't extinguished.
View attachment 420529
A scant four years later, fueled by party fatigue and general economic malaise, President McGovern failed to secure a second term, ending the latest string of Democratic governments. Phil Crane was elected with a narrow majority of the electoral college, and made many promises relating to easing business burden, and strengthening the American economy.
Of course, these sort of things are fickle. The only reason that President Crane was able to materialize a victory in 1988 was the weak performance and scandal-ridden candidacy of Colorado's own Gary Hart. Hart, from the get go in the campaign, was plagued with allegations of plagiarism (from British politicians no less), sexual misconduct, and corruption.
Hart was sunk before he could start.
View attachment 420530
By this point, there was a growing miscontent from a bloc of Democrats who believed that the milquetoast inaction of the current crop of candidates was doing the party no favors. Approached by Billy Graham and some others, a man from Nashville was convinced to put down his guitar, and go around to make some speeches.
Nobody quite expected him to make it to the DNC, let alone the Presidency.
But the Man in Black did just that.
View attachment 420531
Loved by many Americans for his musical talent, Johnny Cash was a controversial candidate in some fields. His trouble with narcotics was not a very well kept secret, but Cash did his best to take these problems head on, addressing his tendency to relapse into drug abuse, and funneling that energy into pushing for change so young folks didn't get into that sort of thing to start with. The Cash/Brown ticket was full of energy and drive.
Compared to that of the Weicker/Buchanan ticket, who couldn't seem to decide what their true platform was. Another heavy hit against Weicker was Pat Buchanan's criticism of Billy Graham in early 1992, a major faux pas among Christian voters. Billy Graham was the beginning and end of a lot of people's experiences with Jesus, and to criticize Graham as being soft funneled a lot of public anger towards the Weicker campaign, forcing the Vice President to walk back Buchanan's remarks.
The Cash/Brown ticket, as well as the popularity of men like Walt Disney, convinced the Republicans that in 1996, someone else needed to be chosen as a candidate.
Who better to run to "fulfill the legacy of Disney" than the man who actually ran the Walt Disney Corporation? Of course, public attitudes towards Eisner weren't great to start with. Cash's own stern rebuke of the Republican decision to nominate a corporate executive further entrenched the pre-existing Democratic voting bloc, handing to Eisner the worst defeat in modern GOP history, nearly rivaling that of Goldwater in 1964, or Landon in 1936.
Unfortunately, Vice President Brown couldn't get a grip on things either. In the 2000 primary season, he was ran out of town on rails by Albert Gore, Jr. (son of Albert Gore, Sr, a Senator whose 1970 re-election campaign was saved by the failure of the Southern Strategy). Gore, a conservative Democratic, decided to reach into the "esteemed leadership" of the Party.
Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Kennedy was asked to be Vice President, to which the Justice agreed. Controversy reigned as many questioned the right of a Supreme Court justice to run for political office, with many calling on Kennedy to resign. Kennedy refused, and was in fact saved from unemployment as a result, as Gore's controversial decision, as well as his percieved "stiff personality" and a decisive disgust by Brown supporters lead to his defeat in 2000 at the hands of the charismatic and charming Liz Dole.
2004 wasn't much better for the Democrats, electing to nominate "Walkin'" Lawton Chiles, former Governor of Florida. Chiles was a smart man, rapier wit, and very charismatic; but he was out of touch with many non-Southern Democrats, who either stayed home or voted third-party when the time came, securing for Mrs. Dole another term of office.
Before his death in 2006, Chiles expressed his lack of concern for 2004: "I never wanted to run for President anyway! I don't know why I let them talk me into that."
As 2008 approached, America's political commentary vehicles started up and began to speculate on who the Democratic and GOP nominees would be. Many believed Tom Ridge had the nomination locked up, while Democratic names often included Jennifer Granholm, Jerry Brown, among others.
Nobody quite expected what the end result was.
Not only did the United States have it's first mainstream black presidential candidate--but it had two. Both parties nominated a black man to serve as their candidate for President. On the Democratic side, they nominated civil rights veteran and long-term politician John Lewis; and the Republicans, J.C. Watts, a young-faced leader from Oklahoma.
To boot, the Democrats also nominated the first openly gay candidate, nominating Senator Harvey Milk to the office of Vice President, to cash in on the major California and Progressive vote.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Lewis and Milk cruised to re-election in 2012, particularly against a man such as Jeff Bezos, entrepreneur and CEO of Amazon.com.
After eight years, the field was once again open for new candidates. A man long-since forgotten by the mainstream media, considered a has-been, surged back into the limelight. Re-elected as Governor of the state he had once governed a very long time ago, and working his best to be a front-man for Democratic politics in the West, this man seeked the office he had long been denied.
And, facing the uncharismatic John Bush, he got what he always wanted.
The Comeback Kid managed to hit a home run.
Man this TL looks really interesting. I wish you provided the electoral map.
- Status