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Turquoise Blue - The People's Democracy?
I once did a list called "The People's Democracy". Now I'm doing a different version of it, seeing how the dream can become a nightmare.
The People's Democracy?
PoD: McCarthy is shot in 1974 and declines to run for a second term.
42: Gore Vidal (Social Democratic) 1976-1981
1975: def. Arvo Halberg (Communist), Jack McCain (Liberal-Moderate), Spiro Agnew (Constitution)
- The presidency of Gore Vidal was one of missed opportunities. Elected as McCarthy's successor, he initially appeared to be a good and competent president, his barbed attacks on rivals such as William F. Buckley, Jr. sank his presidency into controversy, and as a nation wished it could have a president who would unite the country, not divide it, they turned to an alternative.
43: Elvis Presley (United) 1981-1991
1980: def. Jeane Jordan (Communist), Gore Vidal (Social Democratic)
1985: def. Ronald Reagan (Communist), Birch Bayh (Social Democratic)
- The charismatic Southern preacher Elvis Presley struck a well-balanced tone. Decidely conservative, yet rejecting the "heartless ideological commitment" of Barry Goldwater in favour of a more "adaptive" view towards the economy, he created the modern American right, a very religious and socially conservative movement, yet one pragmatic on wallet issues.
44: Joe Biden (Communist) 1991-1993
1990: def. Pat Buchanan (United), Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic)
- Perhaps it was inevitable, but with the SDP languishing at twenty percent and Presley getting more extreme over time, the Communists won with the youthful revolutionary Joe Biden. But investigations into deals with the Soviet Union forced the military to step in a second time and remove the president - "for the good of the Republic".
45: Walter Mondale (Military) 1993-2001
- Admiral Mondale would not be known as the hero of the Republic like George Washington or George McGovern, but rather a deeply controversial figure. Realizing that the Communists' ties to Moscow went deep, he decided to root out the "communist menace" and when Congress voted against his actions, he sent in the troops, in what is known as "Powell's Purge" where General Powell forcibly disbanded Congress. Declaring the Third Republic dead, he oversaw a new convention that effectively made the military a fourth branch of government in the "Fourth Republic". Stepping down in 2001, he left the country far more austere and depressed than when he seized power.
46: Jefferson Blythe (Reform) 2001-2011
2000: def. Elizabeth Herring (Social Democratic), Donald Trump (Freedom)
2005: def. Condoleezza Rice (Social Democratic), John McCain (Freedom)
- Blythe was the ideal austere president for austere times. A solemn man who was rarely known for doing anything more pleasurable than finishing work, he was the ideal candidate for the conservative Reform Party, to show that America was finished with communist experimentation. His presidency was much like the man himself - boring, uncomplicated, insular.
47: Anthony Weiner (Social Democratic) 2011-2014
2010: def. Mitt Romney (Reform), Orrin Hatch (Freedom)
- A nation chafed under austere governance and wished for new hope for a new millennium. Governor Weiner, a fresh-faced and charismatic Social Democrat, promised that new hope. And for the first two years of his presidency, everything seemed to go well, moderate liberal reforms were passed and the country seemed to be slowly shifting to the left. But then it happened.
- As a country was in shock at the sexting scandal, President Weiner first denied it and then vowed never to do it again. When he was caught a second time, he was forced to resign in disgrace.
48: Evan Bayh (Social Democratic) 2014-2016
- President Bayh struggled to gather up the pieces after the SDP's popularity plummeted in the light of Weiner's scandals and resignation. The country shifted more and more to the right. His defeat was inevitable.
49: John Bush (Reform) 2016-present
2015: def. Ed Cruz (Freedom), Evan Bayh (Social Democratic)
- As the conservative establishment took control, the SDP fell to third a second time. President Bush, known for being a conservative crusader, is determined to crush out "liberal corruption" in American politics and an American populace heavily distrustful of the left after it disgraced itself twice [Biden and Weiner] is willing to let Bush return the country to conservative values for a conservative country. And the alternative to Bush? Even worse! As Social Democrats look over what went wrong, they wish things were back in the days of Eugene McCarthy. Things could have been better...
The People's Democracy?
PoD: McCarthy is shot in 1974 and declines to run for a second term.
42: Gore Vidal (Social Democratic) 1976-1981
1975: def. Arvo Halberg (Communist), Jack McCain (Liberal-Moderate), Spiro Agnew (Constitution)
- The presidency of Gore Vidal was one of missed opportunities. Elected as McCarthy's successor, he initially appeared to be a good and competent president, his barbed attacks on rivals such as William F. Buckley, Jr. sank his presidency into controversy, and as a nation wished it could have a president who would unite the country, not divide it, they turned to an alternative.
43: Elvis Presley (United) 1981-1991
1980: def. Jeane Jordan (Communist), Gore Vidal (Social Democratic)
1985: def. Ronald Reagan (Communist), Birch Bayh (Social Democratic)
- The charismatic Southern preacher Elvis Presley struck a well-balanced tone. Decidely conservative, yet rejecting the "heartless ideological commitment" of Barry Goldwater in favour of a more "adaptive" view towards the economy, he created the modern American right, a very religious and socially conservative movement, yet one pragmatic on wallet issues.
44: Joe Biden (Communist) 1991-1993
1990: def. Pat Buchanan (United), Bernard Sanders (Social Democratic)
- Perhaps it was inevitable, but with the SDP languishing at twenty percent and Presley getting more extreme over time, the Communists won with the youthful revolutionary Joe Biden. But investigations into deals with the Soviet Union forced the military to step in a second time and remove the president - "for the good of the Republic".
45: Walter Mondale (Military) 1993-2001
- Admiral Mondale would not be known as the hero of the Republic like George Washington or George McGovern, but rather a deeply controversial figure. Realizing that the Communists' ties to Moscow went deep, he decided to root out the "communist menace" and when Congress voted against his actions, he sent in the troops, in what is known as "Powell's Purge" where General Powell forcibly disbanded Congress. Declaring the Third Republic dead, he oversaw a new convention that effectively made the military a fourth branch of government in the "Fourth Republic". Stepping down in 2001, he left the country far more austere and depressed than when he seized power.
46: Jefferson Blythe (Reform) 2001-2011
2000: def. Elizabeth Herring (Social Democratic), Donald Trump (Freedom)
2005: def. Condoleezza Rice (Social Democratic), John McCain (Freedom)
- Blythe was the ideal austere president for austere times. A solemn man who was rarely known for doing anything more pleasurable than finishing work, he was the ideal candidate for the conservative Reform Party, to show that America was finished with communist experimentation. His presidency was much like the man himself - boring, uncomplicated, insular.
47: Anthony Weiner (Social Democratic) 2011-2014
2010: def. Mitt Romney (Reform), Orrin Hatch (Freedom)
- A nation chafed under austere governance and wished for new hope for a new millennium. Governor Weiner, a fresh-faced and charismatic Social Democrat, promised that new hope. And for the first two years of his presidency, everything seemed to go well, moderate liberal reforms were passed and the country seemed to be slowly shifting to the left. But then it happened.
- As a country was in shock at the sexting scandal, President Weiner first denied it and then vowed never to do it again. When he was caught a second time, he was forced to resign in disgrace.
48: Evan Bayh (Social Democratic) 2014-2016
- President Bayh struggled to gather up the pieces after the SDP's popularity plummeted in the light of Weiner's scandals and resignation. The country shifted more and more to the right. His defeat was inevitable.
49: John Bush (Reform) 2016-present
2015: def. Ed Cruz (Freedom), Evan Bayh (Social Democratic)
- As the conservative establishment took control, the SDP fell to third a second time. President Bush, known for being a conservative crusader, is determined to crush out "liberal corruption" in American politics and an American populace heavily distrustful of the left after it disgraced itself twice [Biden and Weiner] is willing to let Bush return the country to conservative values for a conservative country. And the alternative to Bush? Even worse! As Social Democrats look over what went wrong, they wish things were back in the days of Eugene McCarthy. Things could have been better...
- Turquoise Blue
- Word Count: 730