1980 election with out Ronald Reagan

say shortly before the 1980 primaries something unpleasant happens to Ronald Reagan and he dies, who wins the nomination and do they take the presidency.

alright here are the players:

George H. W. Bush: a strong/smart campaigner, on the down side he doesn't resinate with souther conservatives

Bob Dole: national name recognition, shitty campaigner

John Connally: made of money, he rised more money than any one else in 1980 OTL, seen as a wheeler-dealer

John B. Anderson: a strong campaigner that did amazingly well in OTL, he's also a no body

Phil Crane: a deep right conservative some thing that was wanted in 1980, also a no body
 
A Bush/Dole presidency probably would have been likely, but without Reagan's charisma Bush might have been a one-termer twelve years early, even with the good economy and renewed patriotism that helped Reagan win a second term.
 
I could see Bush choosing either Baker or Connelly as his VP. Dole is a possibility too; or he could have made history by choosing Ben Fernandez. At any rate, Bush wins unless he runs a dull, uninspiring and disorganized campaign.
 
say shortly before the 1980 primaries something unpleasant happens to Ronald Reagan and he dies, who wins the nomination and do they take the presidency.

alright here are the players:

George H. W. Bush: a strong/smart campaigner, on the down side he doesn't resinate with souther conservatives

Bob Dole: national name recognition, shitty campaigner

John Connally: made of money, he rised more money than any one else in 1980 OTL, seen as a wheeler-dealer

John B. Anderson: a strong campaigner that did amazingly well in OTL, he's also a no body

Phil Crane: a deep right conservative some thing that was wanted in 1980, also a no body
OK, let's look at recent presidents
Obama - senator from Illinois
GWB - governor of texas
Bill Clinton - governor of texas
GHWBush - vice president
Reagan - governor of California
Jimmy Carter - governor of Georgia
Ford (never elected)
Richard Nixon - senator and vicepresident
LBJ - vicepresident and senator
JFK - senator
Ike - war winning general
Truman - vice president
FDR - only state senator and Asst Secretary of the Navy.
Hoover - Secretary of Commerce under 2 presidents

Note that you have to back as far FDR before you get someone who wasn't one of Governor/Senator/Vice President/heroic General.

At the time, GHWB was primarily known as director of the CIA, no? surely not a good springboard into the Presidency.

Bob Dole's a Senator, he should be possible.
John Connally has been Governor, he should be, too.

Anderson had only been a Representive (not a Senator); Phil Crane I've never heard of.

Bush and Dole are likely the only possibilities from this list, I'd say.
 
It just occured to me that Gerald Ford contemplated funning in '80. If RR died in late '79 then the former President may have thrown his hat into the ring. Had he done so, I can't see Bush or Dole challenging him. We might then see a Ford-Bush ticket in the fall of '80.

Edit: An excellent point Black Angel concerning Dole.
 
so every one get it, Dole came in LAST DEAD LAST in OTL's Primaries in 1980
he got 7,204 votes thats it! and this is four years after running as the VP in 1976 and had been a Senator for 11 years and a Congressman for 10 years before that, this all goes to say Dole sucks at campaigning and theres no reason a victorious Bush would pick him as VP
 
It just occured to me that Gerald Ford contemplated funning in '80. If RR died in late '79 then the former President may have thrown his hat into the ring. Had he done so, I can't see Bush or Dole challenging him. We might then see a Ford-Bush ticket in the fall of '80.

Edit: An excellent point Black Angel concerning Dole.

thanks i mean you know you suck at life when you are Senate Majority Leader leader of your party in the Senate for 9 years a Senator for 27 years and Congressman for 8 years before that, Former Vice Presidential nominee and you lose to Pat Buchanan.

your point on Ford is very good, though for the time being lets keep Gerry out of this.
 
OK, let's look at recent presidents
Obama - senator from Illinois
GWB - governor of texas
Bill Clinton - governor of texas
GHWBush - vice president
Reagan - governor of California
Jimmy Carter - governor of Georgia
Ford (never elected)
Richard Nixon - senator and vicepresident
LBJ - vicepresident and senator
JFK - senator
Ike - war winning general
Truman - vice president
FDR - only state senator and Asst Secretary of the Navy.
Hoover - Secretary of Commerce under 2 presidents

Note that you have to back as far FDR before you get someone who wasn't one of Governor/Senator/Vice President/heroic General.

At the time, GHWB was primarily known as director of the CIA, no? surely not a good springboard into the Presidency.

Bob Dole's a Senator, he should be possible.
John Connally has been Governor, he should be, too.

Anderson had only been a Representive (not a Senator); Phil Crane I've never heard of.

Bush and Dole are likely the only possibilities from this list, I'd say.

Bill Clinton - governor of Arkansas
He was leader of McGovern presidential campaign in Texas.
For the republicans probably Dole with Bush senior as vice president candidate.I think the chaos will allow the democratic party(for any other candidate other than Carter )to win but the democratic candidate was Carter and the situation is iffy. How Reagan dies also can affect the race to presidency.
 
Bill Clinton - governor of Arkansas
He was leader of McGovern presidential campaign in Texas.
For the republicans probably Dole with Bush senior as vice president candidate.I think the chaos will allow the democratic party(for any other candidate other than Carter )to win but the democratic candidate was Carter and the situation is iffy. How Reagan dies also can affect the race to presidency.

lets say he fell off his horse like Christopher Reeve, but dies.

and as i said before i don't see Dole pulling it off give his OTL showing in 1980. Bush is good but i have trouble seeing him win out side the northeast and Texas, but Connally may give him a really run in the Texas (and the southwest) and Anderson is a liberal (in 1980) so he'll have a fight in the north, Phil Crane is very conservative so i see him running well in the south and west,
 

Xen

Banned
say shortly before the 1980 primaries something unpleasant happens to Ronald Reagan and he dies, who wins the nomination and do they take the presidency.

alright here are the players:

George H. W. Bush: a strong/smart campaigner, on the down side he doesn't resinate with souther conservatives

Bob Dole: national name recognition, shitty campaigner

John Connally: made of money, he rised more money than any one else in 1980 OTL, seen as a wheeler-dealer

John B. Anderson: a strong campaigner that did amazingly well in OTL, he's also a no body

Phil Crane: a deep right conservative some thing that was wanted in 1980, also a no body

I think Connally actually has the best chance out of all of these, in fact he is alot like Reagan. He is a former Democrat turned Republican, very conservative, charismatic, and can rally the chest thumping crowd. He can also bring up JFK, he after all was shot during the JFK assassination, so he has that legacy to fall back on.

Who would be his veep? Now that is the question, it wont be Bush, two Texans on the same ticket, aint gonna happen.

Dole wouldn't help balance the ticket out in the least, Texas/Kansas, possible but not likely

Anderson wont happen, and Crane is a possibility but not very likely, we could however see someone such as Alexander Haig perhaps, maybe even Howard Baker, or one of Dubyas cronies such as Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld, or even a young Senator such as Dick Lugar.
 
lets say he fell off his horse like Christopher Reeve, but dies.

and as i said before i don't see Dole pulling it off give his OTL showing in 1980. Bush is good but i have trouble seeing him win out side the northeast and Texas, but Connally may give him a really run in the Texas (and the southwest) and Anderson is a liberal (in 1980) so he'll have a fight in the north, Phil Crane is very conservative so i see him running well in the south and west,
The GOP has to have a solid candidate that will keep the party unified as Reagan did. If they cannot decide who the presidential candidate will be or someone will squeek by it will give the democrats under Carter the victory, even if the democratic president is widely unpopular. Probably the candidates will be compromise between the conservative and the liberal wing. If what you say about the GOP candidates is true then the best you can have is Connally/Anderson or Bush/Anderson .
Reagan was a bit of an exception as I understand USA politics he appealed to both the liberal and conservatives in the GOP.
 
I think Connally actually has the best chance out of all of these, in fact he is alot like Reagan. He is a former Democrat turned Republican, very conservative, charismatic, and can rally the chest thumping crowd. He can also bring up JFK, he after all was shot during the JFK assassination, so he has that legacy to fall back on.

you have a point, but unlike Reagan Connally jumped ship after a long time in politics, he was Governor of Texas for 6 years as a Dem, there will be big big trust issues between him and the people, also Connally was a friend and insider to two of the most hated men in US Politics Johnson and Nixon, Connally backed a "any military means necessary" doctrine in the Vietnam War.
 
Reagan was a bit of an exception as I understand USA politics he appealed to both the liberal and conservatives in the GOP.

given the way USA politics are the whole left wing and the whole right wing have to fit into one party each so any good candidate must reach both the left and right of his (or her) party.
 
given the way USA politics are the whole left wing and the whole right wing have to fit into one party each so any good candidate must reach both the left and right of his (or her) party.
Yes this is the idea but many candidates from both the republican and the democratic parties do not succeed in gaining a large acceptance from their parties. Probably most of this candidates will never win the presidency. Another factor of Reagan success was his alliance with the religious conservatives and the so called Reagan democrats.
 
Yes this is the idea but many candidates from both the republican and the democratic parties do not succeed in gaining a large acceptance from their parties. Probably most of this candidates will never win the presidency. Another factor of Reagan success was his alliance with the religious conservatives and the so called Reagan democrats.

Reagan democrats and religious conservatives aren't really different, Reagan democrats were (and are) white workingclass Social conservatives that voted democratic because saw Democrats as champions of their working class aspirations, in 1980 they saw the Democrats as working primarily for the benefit of others: the very poor, the unemployed, African Americans, and other groups. the dems had become to Socially Liberal and Carter fucked the Economy so they run to RWR
 
I think Bush would get the nomination, because if nothing else he was a superb campaigner. For veep I'm less sure. Maybe Ford or perhaps Dole or Jack Kemp.
 
Bush might also consider Haig or Lugar for VP. Jack Kamp may be as well, though Bush & Kemp differed on economic philosophy.
 
Bush might also consider Haig or Lugar for VP. Jack Kamp may be as well, though Bush & Kemp differed on economic philosophy.
How about Arlen Specter for Veep ...

In 1980 he was Trying Yet AGAIN for Public Office; In OTL he Won a Senate Seat from Pennsylvania, But there's No Way he could Have Know this would Be his Lucky Year ...

As a North-Easterner he's a Great Ticket Balancer for Any Southerner; Besides, it'd be Nice to Have a Jewish Man a Heart-Beat Away from The Presidency!

:D
 
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