After rereading the actual Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 since I was Hunter for Halloween and rereading this TL during election day, I've mulled over a few aspects of the TL. Reading about Petraeus' resignation reminded me of Gavin. OTL hasn't gone as far as him leading a war in Syria, which is sadly similar enough.
I recently read an article about Pete McCloskey condemning the Republicans in wake of Trent Lott's "Strom Thurmond should have won in 1948" comments, where he ponders joining the Democratic Party like his colleagues Norm Mineta and Leon Panetta did. The recent Puerto Rican referendum and Fortuno's pyrrhic victory in the referendum may provide an example: McCloskey could resign the Governorship of (South) California to run in North California (I hope it isn't called Jefferson, since it's all of Norcal and not just the forgotten lands above San Francisco and under Oregon). He could narrowly lose election ironically, like Fortuno. I don't see him ending up a Democrat since third parties are on an upward swing, but I don't see him going back to the Republicans ever.
What of Hunter S. Thompson ITTL? He babbled about running for Colorado Senate in '74, but he would prefer to run as a third party candidate. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to build the Freak Power ticket into an earlier We The People movement, or been mentioned during the We The People movement. I see him as more likely to run in '76 than, say, George Carlin, who he would probably support. I could see Hunter being attracted to McCloskey, too. And the actual inspiration for the title is obviously significantly altered, especially because he wrote that writing about an election wouldn't be fun if he wasn't invested in the candidates. I'd imagine the book focuses significantly on the McGovern campaign. He'd probably be grateful that the followup in 1976 was cancelled, if it is, though I would very much love to see how he describes both Wallace and Reagan.
I recently read an article about Pete McCloskey condemning the Republicans in wake of Trent Lott's "Strom Thurmond should have won in 1948" comments, where he ponders joining the Democratic Party like his colleagues Norm Mineta and Leon Panetta did. The recent Puerto Rican referendum and Fortuno's pyrrhic victory in the referendum may provide an example: McCloskey could resign the Governorship of (South) California to run in North California (I hope it isn't called Jefferson, since it's all of Norcal and not just the forgotten lands above San Francisco and under Oregon). He could narrowly lose election ironically, like Fortuno. I don't see him ending up a Democrat since third parties are on an upward swing, but I don't see him going back to the Republicans ever.
What of Hunter S. Thompson ITTL? He babbled about running for Colorado Senate in '74, but he would prefer to run as a third party candidate. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to build the Freak Power ticket into an earlier We The People movement, or been mentioned during the We The People movement. I see him as more likely to run in '76 than, say, George Carlin, who he would probably support. I could see Hunter being attracted to McCloskey, too. And the actual inspiration for the title is obviously significantly altered, especially because he wrote that writing about an election wouldn't be fun if he wasn't invested in the candidates. I'd imagine the book focuses significantly on the McGovern campaign. He'd probably be grateful that the followup in 1976 was cancelled, if it is, though I would very much love to see how he describes both Wallace and Reagan.
