Rumsfeldia: Fear and Loathing in the Decade of Tears

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Remember, Rummy himself was largely the fault of Nixon, Wallace and Agnew. Yet both the American people and the framing of this story conclude that those three are just who we need to deal with him.

I think their reputations are the result of rose-colored lenses. Their flaws will be wiped away by the sheer madness that followed them. Nixon especially might remembered as from a time when even corrupt politicians could compromise and work with the other side of the aisle.


It’s still moral hazard of the highest order. I honestly find it despicable that they’re just allowed to betray their most fundamental principles, one of the main ones being that criminals like them don’t deserve a second chance. Rummy and Coe have nothing on them in the hypocrisy department.

Well, a civil war is probably more important then thinking about those issues.
 
Well, a civil war is probably more important then thinking about those issues.

That doesn’t mean they have anything to contribute. It’s just that in this story everyone to Agnew’s left is either dead or blisteringly incompetent. Conveniently leaving the “principled” center-right as the only line of defense against gibbering madness.
 
That doesn’t mean they have anything to contribute. It’s just that in this story everyone to Agnew’s left is either dead or blisteringly incompetent. Conveniently leaving the “principled” center-right as the only line of defense against gibbering madness.

But, when the dust clears, you're gonna need Keynes on steroids to rebuild the US.
 
But, when the dust clears, you're gonna need Keynes on steroids to rebuild the US.

And I have no expectations that a generation of consistently terrible decisions will end there. More likely the reconstruction gets abandoned after the Bozeman Communes and New England nuke each other, Boston and New York are incinerated, and Lost Freeway’s vignette about Somali-style warlords becomes the norm everywhere besides the West Coast and Texas.
 
And I have no expectations that a generation of consistently terrible decisions will end there. More likely the reconstruction gets abandoned after the Bozeman Communes and New England nuke each other, Boston and New York are incinerated, and Lost Freeway’s vignette about Somali-style warlords becomes the norm everywhere besides the West Coast and Texas.

I'm sorry, that was so over the top I laughed.

It sounds like the ITTL version of For All Time.
 
This story gets compared to that one for a reason. The dictators in this story are arguably even less sane than For All Time’s.

For All Time is just "make shit worse out of some weird schadenfreude."

The TTL Decay of the world, thinks to Drew's brilliant writing, feels more real-and scary.
 
For All Time is just "make shit worse out of some weird schadenfreude."

The TTL Decay of the world, thinks to Drew's brilliant writing, feels more real-and scary.

This one is more “make shit worse to make the real world seem even scarier because of what you’ve convinced yourself now lurks beneath the surface.” That’s certainly a criticism people had for that Chris Hedges book Drew cited as inspiration. The eagerness of people here to compare Trump to Rumsfeld reinforces that impulse of self-terrorization. And frankly, I’m not sure it’s healthy. In fact, isn’t that a reason Drew’s said he doesn’t update as much anymore?
 
This one is more “make shit worse to make the real world seem even scarier because of what you’ve convinced yourself now lurks beneath the surface.” That’s certainly a criticism people had for that Chris Hedges book Drew cited as inspiration. The eagerness of people here to compare Trump to Rumsfeld reinforces that impulse of self-terrorization. And frankly, I’m not sure it’s healthy. In fact, isn’t that a reason Drew’s said he doesn’t update as much anymore?

Well, partly he is busy (which is why I work with him), and partly because he sees a lot of what he wrote comin true.
 
I’ve got a question: are there ANY bright spots in this timeline? So far things seem to have been going downhill for the world.
 
Soviet Russia, which has managed to reform its economy.

Mexico.

Southeast Asia.
One criticism of Rumsfeldia that I read on another thread was that the entire world, regardless of region, should have been economically worse off than OTL, by virtue of less wealth and goods being generated due to what happened in America, China, India and South Africa, and that Drew chose to handwave it away.
 
One criticism of Rumsfeldia that I read on another thread was that the entire world, regardless of region, should have been economically worse off than OTL, by virtue of less wealth and goods being generated due to what happened in America, China, India and South Africa, and that Drew chose to handwave it away.

China at this time was still very, very poor and not much involved in the global economy. And with the Lesser Mao, it went even more backward. India at this time was under the control of the License Raj, so it again was extremely poor.
 
One criticism of Rumsfeldia that I read on another thread was that the entire world, regardless of region, should have been economically worse off than OTL, by virtue of less wealth and goods being generated due to what happened in America, China, India and South Africa, and that Drew chose to handwave it away.
This is probably very true. While China and India don't really get into the industrial powers club until the 1990s, the global economy's gone bad overall. Russia and Mexico's improvement come as exceptions, not the rule.

I mean, it's been made pretty clear that American goods under complete deregulation are so inferior some countries won't let them in, and almost all of them have the stigma of being made under practically slave labor. While there are still markets for them, some European countries would put barriers against American goods, especially with increasing trade with the rising Soviet star.
 
odd question, where are pete seeger and Mr Rodgers right now in this timeline?
(please tell me there both safe)
 
If they were smart, they got as far away from Rummy's America as possible.

Wouldn't be suprised if Seeger organised a small 'concert tour' in Australia & NZ early on in the piece & claimed asylum as soon as his plane touched down. Fred Rogers might have scored himself a Melbourne University 'scholarship', and have done the same on arrival.
 
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