A little bit, though it wasn't my main inspiration, i just liked the idea as a whole pretty much
Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes VII (Do Not Post Current Politics or Political Figures Here)
- Thread starter BigVic
- Start date
Just asking since I rewatched that video yesterday and noticed that he mentioned a Dewey vs. Hopkins race in 1940. Pretty crazy that it would butterfly Japan into not attacking Pearl Harbor thus keeping America out of the war and giving the Axis a victory in a protracted WWII c. 1946.
Yeah, i intentionally wanted to make a scenario where we still got into WW2 though realistically we wouldn't have
Happy Fatty's Constitution, Part 2:
Rubén Blades has been elected President of Panama, as per the Associated Press. He has defeated Guillermo 'Billy' Ford of the liberal Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista (MOLIRENA) and José Miguel Alemán of the nationalist Arnulfist Party.
Blades, a salsa musician turned politician, is both the most and least likely victor. Most likely, insofar that the campaign that has transpired over the last few months made his victory almost certain, and least, because he never should've even been in this position. Nonetheless, he has succeeded in taking a decisive 49% of the vote, against Ford's 35% and Alemán's 16%. Blades's resounding victory is not the only thing political observers note; they point out the incredibly poor result of the incumbent Arnulfist Party's candidate, Alemán, and the MOLIRENA-led coalition's 19-point margin over them is an alarming development for a party battered after ten unpopular years in government.
To say that outgoing President Moscoso is unpopular would be an understatement. Many deride her government as continuing all the same problems of the old Endara administration, with all the same accusations of corruption and incompetence that plagued the end stages of the Endara presidency and new problems arising from failed attempts at privatization. Meanwhile, the populace seemed to be feeling tired after ten years of Arnulfism, and as 1989 fades ever more into the past, attacks based on the PRD's old links to Noriega are decreasingly salient. The opportunity was golden for the PRD, and when the time to select a candidate came, many believed they chose well: Martín Torrijos, son of the infamous Omar Torrijos, was capable of pulling much of the admiration for the deceased leader, who is much more popular than the party he founded, and was considered rather personally charismatic. He was the early frontrunner in the election.
Meanwhile, the remains of the old Endara coalition from 1989 came fully undone. The Christian Democrats and liberals finally fully abandoned Moscoso, with the former allying themselves with the devout Torrijos and the latter uniting under the candidacy of Billy Ford, party founder and former Vice-President and Economy Minister under Endara. Many Arnulfists, both out of genuine distaste for Moscoso's administration and sheer opportunism, ended up getting behind Ford as their best chance to deny Torrijos victory. José Miguel Alemán, Moscoso's former foreign minister, was left in the dust, struggling to catch up while trying to argue for the continuity of what many consider ten squandered years, with few material victories beyond the approval of the 1993 constitution.
There was, of course, another political movement whose actions were under scrutiny, and that was Blades's Papa Egoró Movement. The last five years have been rough on the organization; holding the balance of power did little to paper over the movement's internal differences, especially as Moscoso's legislative coalition fell apart, which left little to do, as the PRD had little interest in doing much during the Moscoso years, perhaps an example of cynical partisan obstructionism. Blades, in the early years of the term, was accused of selling out to Moscoso, but as her presidency progressed became more and more critical of her, especially as it became increasingly obvious there was no political cost to not working with her. His leadership of the party was still shaky; Blades held no elected position before the election, and many others in the party tried to take its leadership for their own, most notably Gloria Young, leader of the party's legislative group. Blades ultimately managed to retain control over his party, and beat back a challenge from Young for its presidential nomination, setting himself up as the fourth candidate for yesterday's elections.
However, as the electoral season went on and Ford gained momentum, many feared Torrijos could fall short like Ernesto Pérez Balladares did five years ago. With many of the Papa Egoró's adherents having found common ground with the PRD, and Blades himself developing a relationship with Torrijos, the two candidates decided to form an electoral alliance, with Blades becoming Torrijos's running mate. This alliance was quickly deemed unstoppable, as the PRD and Blades shares of the vote five years prior added up to 50.4% of the vote - even if Ford somehow attracted all voters outside that circle, he would lose. Torrijos once again seemed comfortably set to become President of Panama.
Took would take a tragic turn, however. At a campaign event in March, an Arnulfist managed to stab Torrijos in the gut - despite quick medical intervention, Torrijos died of his injuries. Under Panamanian law, the vice-presidential candidate automatically becomes the presidential candidate in such a scenario, putting Blades back at the top of the ticket. Suddenly it was Blades who was surging, further buoyed by a sympathy vote. Felipe Virzi was the preferred vice-presidential candidate of the PRD, and Blades, not wanting to alienate the party likely to provide a majority of his votes, acceded to this.
The final results yesterday were hardly surprising - though many noted an atmosphere of fear in the aftermath of the Torrijos assassination, the Arnulfists were indeed badly defeated, dropping to third place against the liberals, now the main opposition to the PRD, though legislatively the opposition parties are still fairly even. Blades is not the candidate many PRDers wanted - indeed, Torrijos was much more moderate. But at the same time, it is undeniable that he kept a similar sort of personalist profile that is crucial in Panama's generally unideological and deeply personalist politics. Many believe he has a chance to offer the country, failed first by repressive, militarily dictatorial Torrijism and now by ten years of ineffective Arnulfism, a breath of fresh air. He will, after all, begin his presidency on a high note - this December 31, the United States will formally transfer control of the Panama Canal to the nation, fulfilling the Torrijos-Carter treaties, which grants Blades an easy early win. And unlike Moscoso, as long as he can keep the PRD onside, he will have a firm legislative majority. But nothing is certain, and Blades, an unexperienced political neophyte, has a lot to prove.
MUSICIAN RUBÉN BLADES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF PANAMA
May 3, 1999Rubén Blades has been elected President of Panama, as per the Associated Press. He has defeated Guillermo 'Billy' Ford of the liberal Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista (MOLIRENA) and José Miguel Alemán of the nationalist Arnulfist Party.
Blades, a salsa musician turned politician, is both the most and least likely victor. Most likely, insofar that the campaign that has transpired over the last few months made his victory almost certain, and least, because he never should've even been in this position. Nonetheless, he has succeeded in taking a decisive 49% of the vote, against Ford's 35% and Alemán's 16%. Blades's resounding victory is not the only thing political observers note; they point out the incredibly poor result of the incumbent Arnulfist Party's candidate, Alemán, and the MOLIRENA-led coalition's 19-point margin over them is an alarming development for a party battered after ten unpopular years in government.
To say that outgoing President Moscoso is unpopular would be an understatement. Many deride her government as continuing all the same problems of the old Endara administration, with all the same accusations of corruption and incompetence that plagued the end stages of the Endara presidency and new problems arising from failed attempts at privatization. Meanwhile, the populace seemed to be feeling tired after ten years of Arnulfism, and as 1989 fades ever more into the past, attacks based on the PRD's old links to Noriega are decreasingly salient. The opportunity was golden for the PRD, and when the time to select a candidate came, many believed they chose well: Martín Torrijos, son of the infamous Omar Torrijos, was capable of pulling much of the admiration for the deceased leader, who is much more popular than the party he founded, and was considered rather personally charismatic. He was the early frontrunner in the election.
Meanwhile, the remains of the old Endara coalition from 1989 came fully undone. The Christian Democrats and liberals finally fully abandoned Moscoso, with the former allying themselves with the devout Torrijos and the latter uniting under the candidacy of Billy Ford, party founder and former Vice-President and Economy Minister under Endara. Many Arnulfists, both out of genuine distaste for Moscoso's administration and sheer opportunism, ended up getting behind Ford as their best chance to deny Torrijos victory. José Miguel Alemán, Moscoso's former foreign minister, was left in the dust, struggling to catch up while trying to argue for the continuity of what many consider ten squandered years, with few material victories beyond the approval of the 1993 constitution.
There was, of course, another political movement whose actions were under scrutiny, and that was Blades's Papa Egoró Movement. The last five years have been rough on the organization; holding the balance of power did little to paper over the movement's internal differences, especially as Moscoso's legislative coalition fell apart, which left little to do, as the PRD had little interest in doing much during the Moscoso years, perhaps an example of cynical partisan obstructionism. Blades, in the early years of the term, was accused of selling out to Moscoso, but as her presidency progressed became more and more critical of her, especially as it became increasingly obvious there was no political cost to not working with her. His leadership of the party was still shaky; Blades held no elected position before the election, and many others in the party tried to take its leadership for their own, most notably Gloria Young, leader of the party's legislative group. Blades ultimately managed to retain control over his party, and beat back a challenge from Young for its presidential nomination, setting himself up as the fourth candidate for yesterday's elections.
However, as the electoral season went on and Ford gained momentum, many feared Torrijos could fall short like Ernesto Pérez Balladares did five years ago. With many of the Papa Egoró's adherents having found common ground with the PRD, and Blades himself developing a relationship with Torrijos, the two candidates decided to form an electoral alliance, with Blades becoming Torrijos's running mate. This alliance was quickly deemed unstoppable, as the PRD and Blades shares of the vote five years prior added up to 50.4% of the vote - even if Ford somehow attracted all voters outside that circle, he would lose. Torrijos once again seemed comfortably set to become President of Panama.
Took would take a tragic turn, however. At a campaign event in March, an Arnulfist managed to stab Torrijos in the gut - despite quick medical intervention, Torrijos died of his injuries. Under Panamanian law, the vice-presidential candidate automatically becomes the presidential candidate in such a scenario, putting Blades back at the top of the ticket. Suddenly it was Blades who was surging, further buoyed by a sympathy vote. Felipe Virzi was the preferred vice-presidential candidate of the PRD, and Blades, not wanting to alienate the party likely to provide a majority of his votes, acceded to this.
The final results yesterday were hardly surprising - though many noted an atmosphere of fear in the aftermath of the Torrijos assassination, the Arnulfists were indeed badly defeated, dropping to third place against the liberals, now the main opposition to the PRD, though legislatively the opposition parties are still fairly even. Blades is not the candidate many PRDers wanted - indeed, Torrijos was much more moderate. But at the same time, it is undeniable that he kept a similar sort of personalist profile that is crucial in Panama's generally unideological and deeply personalist politics. Many believe he has a chance to offer the country, failed first by repressive, militarily dictatorial Torrijism and now by ten years of ineffective Arnulfism, a breath of fresh air. He will, after all, begin his presidency on a high note - this December 31, the United States will formally transfer control of the Panama Canal to the nation, fulfilling the Torrijos-Carter treaties, which grants Blades an easy early win. And unlike Moscoso, as long as he can keep the PRD onside, he will have a firm legislative majority. But nothing is certain, and Blades, an unexperienced political neophyte, has a lot to prove.
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Not necessarily failed, but the GOP decided to move away from it to add further distance between itself and Richard Nixon, figuring that they've been able to win without the south before.
1940: The American Election after the War of the Worlds
Despite missing the contest for the reddit, have my take on War of the Worlds
The fuck happened? The Martians melt the ice caps?
Despite missing the contest for the reddit, have my take on War of the Worlds