Short (Not So Short Anymore) Backstory:
1988 presidential election between Senator Pete Stark (D-CA) and Senator John Danforth (R-MO). In 1968, George McGovern pulls a victory in the 1968 Democratic primary and subsequent presidential election after Barry Goldwater escalates the Vietnam War and uses nuclear weapons, with Goldwater being impeached and replaced by William Scranton who then declines to run on the Republican ticket in 1968. In a tight primary race between McGovern, McCarthy and Humphrey, McGovern ekes out a win in the primary after winning California and persuading multiple delegates to support the ticket.
The two-term presidency of McGovern was seen as a large success, vindicating the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. In 1976, the Republican Party under Ronald Reagan, Goldwater-protege, ekes out a win against McGovern Vice-President and Democratic Party presidential nominee Walter Mondale. While the moderate and more conservative - some say radical wings - of the Republican Party clashed, Reagan compromised and picked Richard Nixon, a well-known moderate and primary opponent as running mate. The Reagan Administration was plagued with stagflation throughout the period, although all hopes were not lost on re-election.
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Reagan Administration involved itself directly by attacking Iranian military installations and positions. While this produced a rally-around-the-flag effect, the United States was forced into military conflict with Iran after the situation escalated. By the election, public opinion hadn't yet shifted against the war as US forced made steady progress, albeit one could claim the major factor was the Iraqi attack by the end of 1979 that resulted in an general Iranian collapse. However, many feared the war would become a second-Vietnam and with stagflation and other detrimental issues, Milton Shapp, the Democratic presidential nominee and Pennsylvanian Governor won the tight election. Throughout Shapp's tenure, the war became more unpopular as American casualties mounted. Even when US forces entered Tehran in December 1981, the fortunes of the war had turned against the US, with mounting casualties.
With the US also arming the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan against the Soviet-backed government there, the Soviet Union repaid the favor to the US by arming the Tudeh and other militant groups in Iran. While the domestic situation would seem to force a US withdrawal, Shapp, to the dismay of many in his own party, refused to withdraw from Iran, citing national security as a reason and attempted to keep stability in the region. By February 1982, the Pahlavi dynasty was reinstalled and while
de jure a constitutional monarchy, Iran would remain an absolute monarchy until democratic elections could finally take place in 1987. Either way, despite the economic rebound from 1982 and onwards, many felt that Shapp was becoming too attached to Iran. The
New York Times would sarcastically write in 1982,
"it is only a matter of time before Goldwater rises from the grave and nukes Tehran."
In 1982, Pete Stark, an outspoken anti-war activist and media dubbed
"Warrior Pete" is elected to the US Senate in a tight race against Pete Wilson, which was surprising victory given the Democratic losses in the period. Warrior Pete was soon dubbed a rising star in the Democratic Party, seen as inspiring new-blood in the party, with comparisons being drawn to George McGovern, who spearheaded a decade of liberal America. Known for his
stark disapproval of the Iran War, the deficit and known for routinely calling Republicans
"fat cats", political historians describe Pete Stark as a
liberal populist, mixing attacks on the Republican Party with liberal policy. In a contentious primary battle, Stark unseated Milton Shapp as the Democratic nominee for 1984, while the Republican Party nominated the equally-inspiring Senator John Danforth from Missouri. The two sparred throughout the election campaign, although the central issue was the Iran War. Stark, while a fierce pacifist, supported a year-long stunted withdrawal while handing over counter-insurgency and military objectives to the new Iranian government. Meanwhile, the Danforth Campaign proposed remaining in Iran for longer - until 1990 - claiming that it would be sufficient with a six-year period with a gradual withdrawal of US forces. In 1985, Danforth, after his electoral defeat, conceded that his campaign had "greatly misread" the electorate, with the problem being not
when to withdraw from Iran, but the matter of
how fast they could do it. The Stark Campaign also focused greatly on the deficit, blaming the Reagan and even Shapp Administrations with blowing them up and promising to cut it down, with Stark also proposing to cut military spending, akin to McGovern's 1968 campaign pledge. While Danforth routinely argued that it was not the time to cut down the US Armed Forces, it was not enough to convince the electorate. Political historians nowdays attribute Stark's victory due to their innovative campaign tactics and large grassroots support among the younger generation.
With the victory of Pete Stark, liberal Democrats felt confident that they could carry on their mantle in the 80s victorious and confident that the 80s could be another Democratic
McGovernite or, more precisely, Starkite decade. Pete Stark would be inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States of America on the 20th of January, 1985.
"What could possibly go wrong? I suppose you'd think a thousand less dead Americans is a wrong?" quipped Pete Stark, angrily at Danforth in 1984 in a debate, alluding that there would be no backlash to a withdrawal. Seriously, though.
What could go wrong?