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Turquoise Blue - The People's Democracy
This was mostly done as a response to the tired "meme" of liberal Republicans and populist Democrats. Since OTL has strong soc/econ conservatives [of the American meaning], I decided to create a world where the government of the day was a ridiculously-liberal social democratic party that nevertheless keeps the working-class vote.
Improbable? Possibly. A fantasy? Probably. But it's a change, IMHO.
The People's Democracy
aka: my response to all those NSS-clones.
31: Herbert Hoover (Republican) 1929-1933
1928: def. Al Smith (Democratic)
- Basically nothing changes apart from him being succeeded by Tydings.
32: Millard Tydings (Democratic) 1933-1937
1932: def. Herbert Hoover (Republican)
- No New Deal, the economy continues to suffer. Socialists and Communists are elected to Congress, while Huey Long grows in popularity and Upton Sinclair becomes Governor of California. By the end of his term, America is falling apart.
33: Huey Long (Commonwealth) 1937-1938*
1936: def. Millard Tydings (Democratic), Alf Landon (Republican), Norman Thomas (Socialist), Earl Browder (Communist)
- In a bitter four-way election with the Communists a major also-ran, Huey Long the charismatic demagogue from Louisiana ekes out a bare plurality, and manages to get Congress to support him due to the fear of civil war. Unfortunately, a mentally-ill man influenced by fascists shot him in 1938, to a nation's outcry.
34: John Nance Garner (Democratic) 1938-1941
- The conservative Democrat from Texas watered down what Huey Long managed to pass of his "Share Our Wealth" policies. He also used the assassination to crack down on "extremes", which he defined as socialists, communists and fascists. The rioting engulfing major cities due to this doomed his election bid.
35: Joseph W. Martin (Republican) 1941-1949
1940: def. John Nance Garner (Democratic), Joachim Fernandez (Commonwealth), Upton Sinclair (Socialist)
1944: def. Harry F. Byrd (Democratic), Olin Johnston (Commonwealth), Darlington Hoopes (Socialist)
- With the Commonwealthers falling apart due to the loss of their leader and the left-wing weakened by a crackdown, America was seemingly back on track, but the economy wasn't as well-off as it was back in the Roaring Twenties and labor strikes were more common than they were, but the Union was secure.
- President Martin consciously avoided American involvement in WWII due to the fragile political scene, and continued the watering down of Huey Long's "socialistic" policies. Notably, he insisted on keeping the minimum wage and formed a new "compassionate consensus" based around fiscal conservatism and piecemeal reform. Unfortunately, his own party wasn't accepting this.
36: Robert A. Taft (Republican) 1949-1951*
1948: def. Samuel Pettengill (Democratic), Henry A. Wallace (United Labor), Lyndon Johnson (Commonwealth)
- President Taft did not have much of a mandate, being barely elected over Senator Pettengill by a margin of four electoral votes, with both Wallace and Johnson losing out on electoral votes as the country seemingly polarised itself between two conservative parties. Taft himself would die in office of a heart attack.
37: Richard Nixon (Republican) 1951-1953
- President Nixon wouldn't make much of an impact, but he did oversee a turnaround from Taft's isolationism, bringing America into the "United Nations" and returned to Martin's "compassion consensus" from Taft's hardline economic conservatism.
38: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (Democratic) 1953-1961
1952: def. Richard Nixon (Republican), Hubert Humphrey (United Labor)
1956: def. Joseph McCarthy (Republican), Walter Reuther (United Labor)
- America's first Catholic president, elected in a legendarily narrow election against Richard Nixon. The South was once again solidly Democratic thanks to the Commonwealth Party finally collapsing, but United Labor would hold on, relying on disgruntled working-class voters and labor unions. President Kennedy would get America involved into a war to defend Indochina from the Communists.
- The "Second Great Depression" starting early 1957 destroyed the Democratic Party as America's economy went back to ruin.
39: Barry Goldwater (Republican) 1961-1967**
1960: def. Henry Jackson (United Labor), John Sparkman (Democratic)
1964: def. Corley Wallace (United Labor), Strom Thurmond (Democratic)
- President Goldwater argued that dismantling the last of Huey Long's Share Our Wealth was the solution to the depression. Yeah, there's a reason he only got elected and re-elected via Democratic support. The end to the Indochinese War created relief, but the abolishment of the minimum wage only led to a General Strike that eventually led to an outright revolt. But the military would step in to prevent a senseless war. General McGovern took over in 1967 as the revolt was reaching its high.
40: George McGovern (Military) 1967-1971
- The "Second Washington" as he was called later in life, formed a "Transitional Council" and summoned the United Labor Coalition and the Movement for Freedom, the two forces leading the revolt, to discuss a new America. By the time he stepped down, a new Republic was formed, one that would be dominated by leftist forces as America grew sick with conservatism.
41: Eugene McCarthy (Social Democratic) 1971-1981
1970: def. Arvo Halberg (Communist), Nelson Rockefeller (Liberal), Spiro Agnew (Constitution), Gerald Ford (Moderate)
1975: def. Jeane Jordan (Communist), Jack McCain (Liberal-Moderate), Spiro Agnew (Constitution)
- The election of 1970 was the first one under the Third Republic, and the run-off was between the left-wing SDP and far-left Communists. Even in the Second Great Depression, people were not prepared to elect a Communist president. President McCarthy and the new leftist consensus passed through a lot of leftist bills they declared would form a "Civilized Society". This included universal healthcare, dubbed "Americare".
- Re-elected with an outright majority, he would step down in 1981 a very popular president and he is ranked up there with Lincoln.
42: Lane Kirkland (Social Democratic) 1981-1986
1980: def. Arlen Specter (Liberal-Moderate), Ronald Reagan (Communist), Phyllis Schlafly (Constitution)
- The 1980 election would see a runoff between the Left and Right for the first time, and it was surprisingly narrow. President Kirkland would focus much on extending the "Civilized Society"'s reforms to labor unions. The unionisation rate continued to increase under Kirkland, especially in the American South.
43: John Chafee (Liberal-Moderate) 1986-1991
1985: def. Lane Kirkland (Social Democratic), Angela Davis (Communist), John B. Anderson (Constitution)
- Truth be told, President Chafee didn't do much wrong. In fact, he reassured Americans that he wouldn't dismantle the "Civilized Society". He was seen as "every leftist's favorite Liberal". What a pity his re-election attempt fell victim to Milkmentum.
44: Harvey Milk (Social Democratic) 1991-2001
1990: def. John Chafee (Liberal-Moderate), Pat Buchanan (Constitution), Angela Davis (Communist)
1995: def. Jim Jeffords (Liberal-Moderate), Alan Keyes (Constitution), Sam Webb (Communist), Wendell Berry (Green)
- An openly-gay president of America? This would have been unthinkable back before the Second Revolution, as it was becoming known as. But by 1990, it was thinkable. The popular Governor of California was the clear favorite to win it all, and even the fact that President Chafee was fairly popular didn't stop the Milkmentum.
- President Milk continued his policies as Governor, as President. Continuation of pro-labor policies, along with bills furthering LGBT rights dominated his presidency. However, criticism of the centralist and pro-coal policies of the Social Democrats led to the rise of the Green Party, a party that is considered America's centrist party.
45: Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic) 2001-2006
2000: def. Jerry Brown (Liberal-Moderate), Al Gore (Green), Steve Forbes (Constitution), Joe Biden (Communist)
- It would be President Sanders that oversaw the end to the "Red Honeymoon" and the start of a shift to the right, economically. The man himself was a moderate, with some seeing him as a Liberal in disguise.
- The President wanted a new understanding between the strong labor unions and the government, a "New Agreement". The labor unions refused this as they saw President Sanders as aiming to weaken them in order to also weaken the radical faction in the SDP. In the end, President Sanders used up his political capital and appeared a weak President, unable to assert his authority.
46: Hillary Rodham (Liberal-Moderate) 2006-2016
2005: def. Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic), George Walker (Green), Joe Biden (Communist), Donald Trump (Constitution)
2010: def. Elizabeth Herring (Social Democratic), Rick Santorum (Communist), Louise Heath (Green), Jon Huntsman (Constitution)
- Rodham easily won 2005 over President Sanders and others. She was a devout Methodist, and could be broadly described as a Christian Democrat. Laying down the law with the strong unions, she managed to force them to the table after a failed General Strike, and worked with Liberals and SDP to form a new economy, a social-market one. To many Social Democrats, this sounded like a concession too far and they voted for fiery communist demagogue Rick Santorum.
- But in the end, the forces of labor was controlled and a new understanding was in place. With the Liberals popular, she handed over to Vice-President Obama.
47: Barack Obama (Liberal-Moderate) 2016-2021
2015: def. William de Blasio (Social Democratic), Zephyr Teachout (Green), Scott Brown (Communist), Jason Kander (Constitution)
- Poor President Barack Hussein Obama, II. To come after such a transformative president is a challenge, but to deal with a recession in your term that people blame you for? No wonder history tends to forget him apart from the fact he's its first African-American president, which is still remarkable even in post-Revolution America.
48: Katherine Brown (Social Democratic) 2021-2026
2020: def. Barack Obama (Liberal-Moderate), Ernest Paul (Constitution), Scott Brown (Communist), Felito Cruz (Green)
- President Brown would lead America out of the "Obama Recession", but she was nevertheless someone well within the "New Agreement", no radical out-of-the-box ideas from President Brown, and perhaps that's why she lost re-election.
49: Richard Pence (Liberal-Moderate) 2026-2031
2025: def. Katherine Brown (Social Democratic), Joni Culver (Communist), Ernest Paul (Constitution), Loretta Sanchez (Green)
- History will remember President Pence as "the man who sold the world". Elected on a platform of "Make World Peace Real", he looked the other way as the Union of European Socialist Republics [UESR] invaded the rebellious capitalist Guyana, only offered meek condemnations when the hermit state of Israel was invaded and annexed by its Arab neighbours, and at home he folded cards to separatist movements, offering referendums that Congress quickly shot down.
50: Misty Snow (Social Democratic) 2031-20??
2030: def. Richard Pence (Liberal-Moderate), William Smith (Green), Marie Kelly (Constitution), Jason Chaffetz (Communist)
- President Snow, America's first transgender and Mormon president, has quite the mess to clean as Pence leaves Washington-McGovern an unpopular man. Time will tell if she will be successful and win a second term, or continue the row of one-term Presidents.
Improbable? Possibly. A fantasy? Probably. But it's a change, IMHO.
The People's Democracy
aka: my response to all those NSS-clones.
31: Herbert Hoover (Republican) 1929-1933
1928: def. Al Smith (Democratic)
- Basically nothing changes apart from him being succeeded by Tydings.
32: Millard Tydings (Democratic) 1933-1937
1932: def. Herbert Hoover (Republican)
- No New Deal, the economy continues to suffer. Socialists and Communists are elected to Congress, while Huey Long grows in popularity and Upton Sinclair becomes Governor of California. By the end of his term, America is falling apart.
33: Huey Long (Commonwealth) 1937-1938*
1936: def. Millard Tydings (Democratic), Alf Landon (Republican), Norman Thomas (Socialist), Earl Browder (Communist)
- In a bitter four-way election with the Communists a major also-ran, Huey Long the charismatic demagogue from Louisiana ekes out a bare plurality, and manages to get Congress to support him due to the fear of civil war. Unfortunately, a mentally-ill man influenced by fascists shot him in 1938, to a nation's outcry.
34: John Nance Garner (Democratic) 1938-1941
- The conservative Democrat from Texas watered down what Huey Long managed to pass of his "Share Our Wealth" policies. He also used the assassination to crack down on "extremes", which he defined as socialists, communists and fascists. The rioting engulfing major cities due to this doomed his election bid.
35: Joseph W. Martin (Republican) 1941-1949
1940: def. John Nance Garner (Democratic), Joachim Fernandez (Commonwealth), Upton Sinclair (Socialist)
1944: def. Harry F. Byrd (Democratic), Olin Johnston (Commonwealth), Darlington Hoopes (Socialist)
- With the Commonwealthers falling apart due to the loss of their leader and the left-wing weakened by a crackdown, America was seemingly back on track, but the economy wasn't as well-off as it was back in the Roaring Twenties and labor strikes were more common than they were, but the Union was secure.
- President Martin consciously avoided American involvement in WWII due to the fragile political scene, and continued the watering down of Huey Long's "socialistic" policies. Notably, he insisted on keeping the minimum wage and formed a new "compassionate consensus" based around fiscal conservatism and piecemeal reform. Unfortunately, his own party wasn't accepting this.
36: Robert A. Taft (Republican) 1949-1951*
1948: def. Samuel Pettengill (Democratic), Henry A. Wallace (United Labor), Lyndon Johnson (Commonwealth)
- President Taft did not have much of a mandate, being barely elected over Senator Pettengill by a margin of four electoral votes, with both Wallace and Johnson losing out on electoral votes as the country seemingly polarised itself between two conservative parties. Taft himself would die in office of a heart attack.
37: Richard Nixon (Republican) 1951-1953
- President Nixon wouldn't make much of an impact, but he did oversee a turnaround from Taft's isolationism, bringing America into the "United Nations" and returned to Martin's "compassion consensus" from Taft's hardline economic conservatism.
38: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (Democratic) 1953-1961
1952: def. Richard Nixon (Republican), Hubert Humphrey (United Labor)
1956: def. Joseph McCarthy (Republican), Walter Reuther (United Labor)
- America's first Catholic president, elected in a legendarily narrow election against Richard Nixon. The South was once again solidly Democratic thanks to the Commonwealth Party finally collapsing, but United Labor would hold on, relying on disgruntled working-class voters and labor unions. President Kennedy would get America involved into a war to defend Indochina from the Communists.
- The "Second Great Depression" starting early 1957 destroyed the Democratic Party as America's economy went back to ruin.
39: Barry Goldwater (Republican) 1961-1967**
1960: def. Henry Jackson (United Labor), John Sparkman (Democratic)
1964: def. Corley Wallace (United Labor), Strom Thurmond (Democratic)
- President Goldwater argued that dismantling the last of Huey Long's Share Our Wealth was the solution to the depression. Yeah, there's a reason he only got elected and re-elected via Democratic support. The end to the Indochinese War created relief, but the abolishment of the minimum wage only led to a General Strike that eventually led to an outright revolt. But the military would step in to prevent a senseless war. General McGovern took over in 1967 as the revolt was reaching its high.
40: George McGovern (Military) 1967-1971
- The "Second Washington" as he was called later in life, formed a "Transitional Council" and summoned the United Labor Coalition and the Movement for Freedom, the two forces leading the revolt, to discuss a new America. By the time he stepped down, a new Republic was formed, one that would be dominated by leftist forces as America grew sick with conservatism.
41: Eugene McCarthy (Social Democratic) 1971-1981
1970: def. Arvo Halberg (Communist), Nelson Rockefeller (Liberal), Spiro Agnew (Constitution), Gerald Ford (Moderate)
1975: def. Jeane Jordan (Communist), Jack McCain (Liberal-Moderate), Spiro Agnew (Constitution)
- The election of 1970 was the first one under the Third Republic, and the run-off was between the left-wing SDP and far-left Communists. Even in the Second Great Depression, people were not prepared to elect a Communist president. President McCarthy and the new leftist consensus passed through a lot of leftist bills they declared would form a "Civilized Society". This included universal healthcare, dubbed "Americare".
- Re-elected with an outright majority, he would step down in 1981 a very popular president and he is ranked up there with Lincoln.
42: Lane Kirkland (Social Democratic) 1981-1986
1980: def. Arlen Specter (Liberal-Moderate), Ronald Reagan (Communist), Phyllis Schlafly (Constitution)
- The 1980 election would see a runoff between the Left and Right for the first time, and it was surprisingly narrow. President Kirkland would focus much on extending the "Civilized Society"'s reforms to labor unions. The unionisation rate continued to increase under Kirkland, especially in the American South.
43: John Chafee (Liberal-Moderate) 1986-1991
1985: def. Lane Kirkland (Social Democratic), Angela Davis (Communist), John B. Anderson (Constitution)
- Truth be told, President Chafee didn't do much wrong. In fact, he reassured Americans that he wouldn't dismantle the "Civilized Society". He was seen as "every leftist's favorite Liberal". What a pity his re-election attempt fell victim to Milkmentum.
44: Harvey Milk (Social Democratic) 1991-2001
1990: def. John Chafee (Liberal-Moderate), Pat Buchanan (Constitution), Angela Davis (Communist)
1995: def. Jim Jeffords (Liberal-Moderate), Alan Keyes (Constitution), Sam Webb (Communist), Wendell Berry (Green)
- An openly-gay president of America? This would have been unthinkable back before the Second Revolution, as it was becoming known as. But by 1990, it was thinkable. The popular Governor of California was the clear favorite to win it all, and even the fact that President Chafee was fairly popular didn't stop the Milkmentum.
- President Milk continued his policies as Governor, as President. Continuation of pro-labor policies, along with bills furthering LGBT rights dominated his presidency. However, criticism of the centralist and pro-coal policies of the Social Democrats led to the rise of the Green Party, a party that is considered America's centrist party.
45: Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic) 2001-2006
2000: def. Jerry Brown (Liberal-Moderate), Al Gore (Green), Steve Forbes (Constitution), Joe Biden (Communist)
- It would be President Sanders that oversaw the end to the "Red Honeymoon" and the start of a shift to the right, economically. The man himself was a moderate, with some seeing him as a Liberal in disguise.
- The President wanted a new understanding between the strong labor unions and the government, a "New Agreement". The labor unions refused this as they saw President Sanders as aiming to weaken them in order to also weaken the radical faction in the SDP. In the end, President Sanders used up his political capital and appeared a weak President, unable to assert his authority.
46: Hillary Rodham (Liberal-Moderate) 2006-2016
2005: def. Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic), George Walker (Green), Joe Biden (Communist), Donald Trump (Constitution)
2010: def. Elizabeth Herring (Social Democratic), Rick Santorum (Communist), Louise Heath (Green), Jon Huntsman (Constitution)
- Rodham easily won 2005 over President Sanders and others. She was a devout Methodist, and could be broadly described as a Christian Democrat. Laying down the law with the strong unions, she managed to force them to the table after a failed General Strike, and worked with Liberals and SDP to form a new economy, a social-market one. To many Social Democrats, this sounded like a concession too far and they voted for fiery communist demagogue Rick Santorum.
- But in the end, the forces of labor was controlled and a new understanding was in place. With the Liberals popular, she handed over to Vice-President Obama.
47: Barack Obama (Liberal-Moderate) 2016-2021
2015: def. William de Blasio (Social Democratic), Zephyr Teachout (Green), Scott Brown (Communist), Jason Kander (Constitution)
- Poor President Barack Hussein Obama, II. To come after such a transformative president is a challenge, but to deal with a recession in your term that people blame you for? No wonder history tends to forget him apart from the fact he's its first African-American president, which is still remarkable even in post-Revolution America.
48: Katherine Brown (Social Democratic) 2021-2026
2020: def. Barack Obama (Liberal-Moderate), Ernest Paul (Constitution), Scott Brown (Communist), Felito Cruz (Green)
- President Brown would lead America out of the "Obama Recession", but she was nevertheless someone well within the "New Agreement", no radical out-of-the-box ideas from President Brown, and perhaps that's why she lost re-election.
49: Richard Pence (Liberal-Moderate) 2026-2031
2025: def. Katherine Brown (Social Democratic), Joni Culver (Communist), Ernest Paul (Constitution), Loretta Sanchez (Green)
- History will remember President Pence as "the man who sold the world". Elected on a platform of "Make World Peace Real", he looked the other way as the Union of European Socialist Republics [UESR] invaded the rebellious capitalist Guyana, only offered meek condemnations when the hermit state of Israel was invaded and annexed by its Arab neighbours, and at home he folded cards to separatist movements, offering referendums that Congress quickly shot down.
50: Misty Snow (Social Democratic) 2031-20??
2030: def. Richard Pence (Liberal-Moderate), William Smith (Green), Marie Kelly (Constitution), Jason Chaffetz (Communist)
- President Snow, America's first transgender and Mormon president, has quite the mess to clean as Pence leaves Washington-McGovern an unpopular man. Time will tell if she will be successful and win a second term, or continue the row of one-term Presidents.
- Turquoise Blue
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