The begging
4 ways to Washington we go:

The Democratic Primary [Part 1]


“The United States presidential election of 1976 was the 48th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1976. Democratic candidate Congressman Robert Sargent Shriver of Maryland and his running mate Jimmy Carter of Georgia defeated incumbent Republican President Nelson Rockefeller Conservative Congressman Phil Crane and “Independent Democrat” Governor Jerry Brown. This election is coconsidered by many historians to be “one of the most significant in American history, alongside 1860 and 1932”. The Republican Party suffered a crippling split between liberal and conservative wings, and in the Democratic Party the gap between the New Left and the old American Liberals began to widen, although their respective split would come in 1980 and would be far less acrimonious…”

- First Paragraph of the “1976 Election (Presidential)” article of the American Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 1997 Edition
"Incumbent Joseph Tydings was proving to be quite unpopular indeed, both the left and the right had grivances with him (among them, his support for gun control and controversial crome bills). Sensing a possible defeat on the midterm elections, the Party (who had never been too fond of him) asked him to step down. It was actually former President Lyndon B Johnson who suggested they ask Shriver to jump into the race, which after some encouragement form his wife Eunice and his brother-in-law Ted, he did. It was close, but ultimately Shriver maneged to defeat his Republican opponent, much to the frustration of President Nixon..."

Robert Sargent Shriver was elected to the US Senate in 1970, to represent the state Maryland. Shriver was a devout Roman Catholic, who had worked in establishing several Kennedy/Johnson era social programs in the Peace Corps and the Office of Economic Opportunity. He also served as Ambassador to France for little over a year before returning to the Unites States to practice law in Washington, at the encouragement of his brother-in-law Ted Kennedy. His wife Eunice was integral in convincing him to jump into the Congressional race and back to the government.

Shriver worked diligently with his co-partisans to protect the Great Society era programs which benefited the working class, the bedrock of the Democratic Party, which at the time was worryingly slipping away to the Republican camp thanks to Richard Nixon’s noxious “southern strategy”. This may have been the deciding factor for which Edmund Muskie selected Robert Byrd as his running mate for the 1972 election. Shriver supported the Democratic ticket with all of his energies but it was eventually defeated by large margin.

Shriver continued to work in the senate, sited on the Judicial Committee (he was a graduate of Yale Law School), the Education and the Workforce Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. It was on the first one where Shriver made a name for himself among his co-partisans, and to some degree the national media, thanks to his relentless and methodical questioning of Nixon’s associates as the Watergate scandal, and many of others Nixon’s crimes and indiscretions came to light in late 1973 and early 1974. It wasn’t for nothing that when Nixon’s Enemies List became public, Shriver’s name was quite high up on it.

Another momentous event occurred in early 1973: The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that, according to the 14th Amendment, the state could not deny the right to a woman to end her pregnancy. At the time, very few states in the Union allowed for a woman to end a pregnancy on demand, and some allowed it in cases of rape or incest. The decision effective inimitably made it so a woman could choose to end her pregnancy before the third trimester


Shriver and his wife were incensed, they were both firm believers that conception marked the begging of life. Shortly after the Supreme Court announced its ruling, he made an impassioned speech on the floor of the House denouncing “the ideology of abortion”. As the battle lines were drawing between anti-abortionists and those who believed in “The Right to Choose”, the anti-abortion camp found a Democratic Liberal ally. There were many women who opposed abortion, but were scared off by what they saw as sexist policies within the conservative movement.

One such woman who believed one could be liberal and pro-life was Ellen McCormack of New York. She wrote to Shriver after reading his speech, telling him about how wonderfully she thought he had expressed his ideas, that she was forming a Grass-root organization based on “Pro-Life” ideals and would he like to be an honorary member? Shriver and Eunice wrote back that more than honorary members, they would like to be official members! They paid for her ticket to meet them in Washington where they started talking about the details of a coalition of working men and women, those that opposed abortion and had supported JFKs and LBJ Great Society. Ted Kennedy was also part of this meetings as a more moderating voice, and as always, one advocating for Universal Healthcare to be included in this “Pro Life” platform

1974 and Nixon was out, and almost 50 new Democrats were in. Things looked bright for the Party, they had supermajorities in the Congress and poor President Ford was in a balancing act between the old liberals and the new Reaganites. But not all was well under the surface: the new “Watergate babies” as they were called, proved to be a blessing and a curse at the same time. While they had emboldened the liberal wing of the party and stroke a blow to the seniority system (they were instrumental in overthrowing 3 southern committee chairmen in favor of more liberal younger ones) they were also quite dogmatic, overly partisan, far to combative with their moderate co-partisans and out of touch with the “peculiar liberalism” of the working class.

Shriver was conflicted about this new generation of Democrats, they were definitely on the same side, but just simply couldn’t stand the thought of the Party going down the road of partisanship and dogmatism. They had supermajorities now, what was going to happen when they had a much slimmer one? Or when they were in the minority? He allied himself with the more old-school working-class representatives, his growing pro-life coalition and the catholic base.

The 1976 Democratic Primary was a full-blown rat race, several candidates from all over the country jumped in, salivating at the thought of a Nixon level landslide. Shriver was one of them, a few weeks before the Iowa Primary he announced to a crowd of industrial workers that he was gunning for the White House. To his right were his dutiful wife Eunice and his brother-in-law Ted, evoking the memories of Camelot. To his left was Ellen McCormack, representing his “Right to Life Coalition”.

Things would get thought form here to the Convention, and the Iowa Primary provided no less clarity that January...
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Hi guys I'm president Earl Warren and I'm working with @BP Booker to creste this tl. I have to thank him for playing a huge hand in fleshing out ideas that I had proposed into a nice workable order (that is mostly his work above) I look forward to giving a good tl which we intend to at least Last into the 90s. All advise and constructful criticsism is of course wlecome.
 
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The Democratic primaries

BP Booker

Banned
4 Ways to Washington: The Democratic Primary (Part 2)

Many different and experienced Democrats from all over the country and the political axis jumped into the race, but only one could carry the banner of The Party of The People that November. Apart from the Kennedy aligned Shriver (There were calls for Ted Kennedy himself to jump into the fray, but he knew wisely that the Chappaquiddick incident of 1969 would be an albatross around his neck) there was also the 1972 VP candidate Robert Byrd, the New South Governors Jimmy Carter, Dale Bombers and Reubin Askew, the fresh-from-his-victory Jerry Brown, the hawkish cold war warrior Henry Jackson, the maybe too funny to be President Morris Udall and George “goddamed” Wallace. That is of course not counting the dozens of perennial and favorite sons’ candidates.

The Iowa caucus resulted in a very narrow victory for Morris Udall, thanks mostly to Henry Jackson deciding for a last-minute push there and syphoning votes away from other candidates. However, the vote resulted in an almost perfect split of percentages. Byrd, Jackson and Shriver all chased the Union vote, while Jerry Brown (endorsed by Frank Church) positioned himself as a liberal outsider, and the Southerners all spoling each other.

Wallace won Mississippi easily, while Carter took Oklahoma. Shriver stormed New England with 3 victories in succession and Jackson beat it out of the park in Washington and scrapped up victories in Florida and Illinois, everyone was by the edge of their seats with every contest.

Byrd was the first of “the big ones” out. It was no secret that Byrd had one been part of the infamous and reviled KKK, and that he had quite publicly opposed Johnsons Civil Rights Acts. He had since seen the wrong behind his actions and apologized profusely and sincerely. However, forgiveness was not forgetting for many, and while some Democrats showed up for Muskie/Byrd in 72, it was clear they had voted for the top, not the bottom and soon Byrd found himself shut out.

This proved to be a real boon for Shriver as after taking the rest of New England he sweep the Rust Belt, taking West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky now that Byrd was out. Another boom for him was a blunder-by-proxy from the Carter camp. Evangelist Pat Robertson had decided to support the Peach State governor out of allegiance to a fellow southern evangelical, but the ardent anti-Catholic rhetoric from the pastor served only to leave a bad taste with midwestern Catholics and those that did not care for religious intolerance.

It was not all easy for Shriver however. His promises of universal healthcare (for real this time!) attracted a fair number of liberals, but his unapologetic anti-abortion rhetoric made him loose the Golden State to Brown and nearly tie in the Empire State to Jackson. His stance against the death penalty also lost him the “law and order” crowd. Udall and Jackson took the rest, mostly in the west

The Democratic National Convention was not a happy affair. Everyone sought a piece of the pie, and of course someone wanted the Big Enchilada. Shriver had a plurality of the delegates, but just barely, trailed by Udall and Jackson.

Who knows exactly how, after the whole Pat Robertson controversy, Carter got Shriver to accept him as his VP put that took care of the Upper South contests (split between him and Wallace, the only state in the region Shriver won was Virginia). Then it was Jackson who got to write the foreign policy plank, AND got promised Secretary of State. To get the trade unions that had supported Byrd to the bitter end, he got Secretary of Energy and to balance THAT out, Shriver convinced Gaylord Nelson to be his EPA Director.

Morris Udall did turn out to be too funny to be president, but not too funny to be Speaker of the House. Soon the convention turned to a game of "what-for-delegates". It was ironically turning out to be the most "balanced" (or some would say "chaotic”) hypothetical administration in decades. But there was one candidate that didn’t get a bone thrown their way: Jerry Brown got little to no concessions, and he watched in horror as Shriver dished out cabinet positions as if they were candy. Then when he got the platform to endorse his Human Life Amendment he knew what he had to do

Despite some vigorous last-minute pleas from Ted Kennedy, Brown walked out of the Convention, announcing to the world at large that he would be the one representing the true Democratic ticket.


“Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this program to announce that former Governor Ronald Reagan of California has been shot and is in a critical condition. Our sources tell us that Governor Reagan was exiting his campaign headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire as he and his staff were celebrating his upset victory against President Rockefeller. It appears that the gunman has been apprehended, but we have no information as of yet for their motive. Once again, this is a special report and details are just coming in…”

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Hey guys, BP Booker here, this time Ill post the update. Most of the ideas are President Earl Warrens, who really knocks it put of the park with his knowledge of poltical figures, theyll be more historical characters in the future
 
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the Republican Primary and the Rockefeller Revolution

BP Booker

Banned
4 Ways to Washington: The Republican Primary

"Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was assassinated by cult member of Charles Manson's Manson Family Lynette Fromme on September 5, 1975, while he was walking into the California State Capitol building in Sacramento. Shot at point black range in the chest as he walked the public grounds in front of the building, he dies a day later. He was the fifth American president to be assassinated; his death threw his Republican Party, and the nation at large, into chaos as they were still reeling from the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon’s resignation from office. Vice-President Rockefeller succeed him into office."

While some hoped that the death of President Ford would have brought some sense of unity in the Republican Party, those really in the know understood that it only brought even more problems for the embattled OP. After Nelson Rockefeller took the oath of office conservatives within the party were on the edge of their seats to know of “Rocky” would run for a full term in 76. And they really, really wanted him not to. The progression from the conservative Nixon to the moderate Ford to the liberal Rockefeller was almost physically painful for the conservative wing.

In Halloween of 1975, most appropriately, to the horror of the right wing, Rockefeller announced that he was indeed running for a full term. As a sop to the conservatives, he selected Senator Bob Dole of Kansas to be his VP, and logically, his running mate for 1976. While on the outside this might have seen like a good idea, trying to balance the ticket between the two, it mostly backfired. Already were the conservatives not happy with “Rockefeller for 1976”, as he was seen as a man past his prime, seizing the one in a million chance opportunity of running for President with the party’s infrastructure behind him despite not a single person actually having voted for him – there were also rumors (not entirely unfounded) that, seeing as Rockefeller was quite advanced of age he would only run for one term, and then pave the way for Dole to be the presumptive nominee in 1980, a sort of “corrupt bargain” between the two men.

Former governor of California Ronald Reagan jumped into the fray in order to defeat the uber liberal Rockefeller. The two men could not be further apart, nor could their supporters. Reagan backers called themselves the “Reagan Raiders” an homage to his old actor roles in Hollywood, while Rockefeller and the liberals – who turned out to have had quite the fight in them – were deemed “Rocky’s Fighters” by the press. In the end, the President won the Iowa caucus with an absolute majority, but far from a definitive one. President Rockefeller made the grave mistake of believing liberal New Hampshire would also be guaranteed victory for him, after all the polls indicated as much, so he disengaged from the state in other to concentrate in the southern state primaries. But then, “the gipper” surprised everybody, possibly including himself, when he pulled out a stunning come from behind victory. The conservatives had risen from the ashes and were ready for the real fight

But it was not to be, not at least with Reagan at the helm

Just as the governor was exiting his campaign headquarters to meet with his supports and thank them for all their hard work in delivering him the granite state, a young man by the name of Mark Chapman approached the governor and shot two rounds into his chest. Reagan died just a few minutes later in-route to the hospital. Chapmans motives are today till not fully clear, but there is evidence to suggest he believed Reagan was none other than the anti-Christ. (He, Chapman that is, was born again Christian with a penchant for doomsday literature). Reagans political leanings did not seem to have truly have a hand in the motive. Although this of course did not dissuade those with a more “active” imagination that blamed everyone from the President to John Lennon of having ordered the murder

This of course had no relevance with the actual problem that Reagans death represented: now the conservative movement laid fragmented. No one apart from the Californian had the infrastructure or the fallowing needed to topple the admittingly still popular Rockefeller. The conservatives failed to rally around a single candidate and despite a not too unexpected victory by Jesse Helms in North Carolina and some near misses in other contest, Rockefeller and the liberals entered the Convention fully believing that they had left the conservatives weak and shattered.

One again, this was not to be.

Turned out that there wasn’t a “a corrupt bargain” between Rockefeller and Dole, or if there was one, the President certainly welshed on the deal. The liberal and moderate delegates attempted to kick off the Kansas senator from the ticket and replace him with a more leftist one. However, the plan backfired when it came to actually picking the candidate. Between Charles Mathias, Chuck Percy and a bunch of no namers, Dole got threw. Quite miffed about that the liberals then shift gears into the platform, which turned out to be the most liberal one since 1952, endorsing such things as Denete, the ERA, the preservation of the Great Society and, other such horrors.

This was the moment the conservatives had been worrying all summer about, but they weren’t going to take it lying down. Just a few weeks prior, Jerry Brown the eccentric Governor of California had bucked the Democratic Party and formed his own ticket with Pat Leahy of Vermont as the “True Democratic” candidates. The conservatives took notes and rallied first around James L Buckley of New York and then around Phil Crane of Illinois as the latter declined to run in order to concentrate fuly on his Senate re-election campaign, but still wholeheartedly endorsed the new Conservatve Party as "the new way towards the future"

With all four tickets on the ballot, America prepared itself for its most fragmented election since 1824
 
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BP Booker

Banned
4 Ways to Washington: 4 Political ads from 1976

[Ominous music begins]
[Image of Schriver laughing it up with Richard Daley]
Narrator: “Together with corrupt machines, Sargent Schriver stole the Democratic nomination.”

[Image of Ellen McCormack and Scoop Jackson conversing]
Narrator: “In the process he proceeded to push his Theocratic and Warmongering agenda into the national platform.”

[Jerry Brown comes on screen]
Brown: “That’s not my idea of what it is to be a democrat. If you want to retake our party from the Strasserists and the Warmongers, vote for me and a Progressive Democrat near you. Together, well build a peaceful, liberal, multicultural America”

Narrator: “Brown 76. For an America we all Deserve. Paid for by the We The People PAC”


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[Image of Schriver in a Catholic Church and then Schrivers voice comes in]
Shriver: “For years my faith in Jesus Christ and the Universal Roman Catholic Church has driven me. It has taught me to be kind to the poor”

[Image of Schriver at a soup kitchen]

Shriver: “It helped me see that Life, no matter how small is worth defending”
[Image of a tiny baby in the womb, of a child attending school, and of a elderly citizen at the doctors]
Shriver: “I know that Corruption is a Great sin”

[Images of him heading up the Watergate hearings]
Shriver: “I also know that we have to stand for freedom and civil rights across the world

[On the floor of the Senate with Scoop Jackson, of President Johnson sigbing the Civil Rights Acts, and of the Prague Spring.]
Shriver: “I’m now intending to take those values to the White House, Wont you help me?

Narrator: “Sarget Shriver 76. Open Hearts, Working Hands”

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[Feeling Good About America starts playing]
[Video of President Rockefeller and Leonid Brezhnev]
Narrator: “Under the leadership of President Rockefeller, America and the East have normalized relationships and today and tomorrow is safer than ever”

[Video of the busy streets of NYC]
Narrator: “Under the leadership of President Rockefeller, Urban Areas have been renewed and given a new lease on life, like the great Apple, who President Rockefeller made it his personal mission to save from insolvency and crime”

[Video of children in classroom learning about Abraham Lincoln and Ike Eisenhower]
Narrator: “Under the leadership of President Rockefeller, our children are learning, the doors to a good and affordable education are open for any and all”

[Video of Congress working]
Narrator: “Under the leadership of President Rockefeller, America is whole and great again, working towards one goal, one government for the people”

[President Rockefeller in his desk, adders the camera]
Rockefeller: “America, I know you’ll chose right this November, I know you’ll chose to keep honest and experienced leadership at the helm, and reject partisanship, extremism and amateurishness. So, let’s keep working!”

Narrator: “Rockefeller 76: Good things are happening”


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[Photos of the Hungarian Revolution being crushed by Soviet tanks, of the Vietcong in Vietnam, and of President Rockefeller with Leonid Brezhnev]
Narrator: “Rockefellers way is appeasement, Conservative way is to be strong and not back down against communism”

[Photos of strikes, union violence, destroyed property]

Narrator: “Shriver’s way is to bow down to corrupt unions, Conservative way is to support the free market and the honest business owner”

[Photos of teenagers doing drugs, youth delinquency and general counterculture]

Narrator: “Browns way is drugs, sex and loose morals, Conservative way is law, order and the good old days”

[Phil Crane on his office]
Crane: “Hello friends, both parties have failed us in keeping the American spirit alive, I know it, you know it and they know it. Now I’m the only one who’ll tell straight what I’m gonna do: were gonna place freedom first, were gonna place entrepreneurs first, were gonna place justice first. And I am gonna place YOU first!”

Narrator: "Crane/Helms: Your way in 76"
 

BP Booker

Banned
4 Ways to Washington: The Election

After the debacle of both party conventions, the four candidates set off to convince voters that their vision was the right one for America.

Shriver campaigned mostly in the Midwest and the Northeast, appealing to the Trade Union who had remained mostly loyal to him and the Democratic machine. Catholics were also heavily targeted on his strategy: he was a very devoted man, and placed catholic compassion and altruism as his number one policy priority. The expansion of the welfare state was also the central component of his campaign (Issue #1: A universal Healthcare System, like the wildly popular and successful NHS in Britain), while he stayed away from prickly from other prickly social issues such as drugs and homosexuality – with the exception of his views on abortion, which were no secret. A key component of this happy warrior crusade was the Kennedy Machine, which along side money and connections brought some relief to the more social liberals who were daunted by Brown, Ellen McCormack’s Pro-Life Mission, a rag tag of anti-abortion, pro welfare Christian leftists run with ruthless efficiency and even and maniac enthusiasm and the near Saint Dorothy Day, a mainline figure of the Catholic Workers Movement with a spotless record of Union activism.

Jimmy Carter also had a hand in delivering the necessary electoral votes for Shriver. The former peanut farmer toured the South, with his down to earth persona, equal commitment to his Baptist faith and quiet but strong condemnation of the religious right and the Conservative ticket, it may have appeared that not all was lost for the Party of the People in Dixie.

Rockefeller ran mostly on his (admittedly quite good) record of administrating the Empire State and his at the time successful foreign policy with the Soviet Union (At the beginning of the year he and Secretary Brezhnev had signed the SALT II collective security and disarmament treaty). “President Rockefeller will lead us to Peace, President Jackson will leave us in pieces” was a popular campaign slogan, referring both to the previous Nixon-Ford and now Rockefellian policies of rapprochement with the East and how the hawkish Scoop Jackson had more than one deck staked with the future Shriver administration. While the President targeted the North East and New England, plus the crucial swing states, Dole worried himself with the west.

The Conservative ticket, naturally, targeted the South in the absence of a strong Republican opposition to the Democrats, as well as some of the more conservative states in the west. Crane continued to campaign on Reagans policies of direct actions against the Communist powers, a dismantling of the welfare bureaucracy, tax cuts for the wealthy, “Supply Side economics” (referred to as “Make-Believe Economics” by Shriver and the much more vulgar “Screw You Economics” by Brown) and more than a few dog whistles courtesy of Helms. The race in Dixie was fiercely competitive, but many thought that the ticket was far too to the right for it to be appealing at the national level. However, after the Democratic ticket for the 1976 Senate Election in New York was divided between Bella Abzug and Pat Moynihan, James Buckley was suddenly much freer to tour the nation and stump for the Conservative duo, giving it much more legitimacy

Brown and Leahy suffered from being seen as too junior and too to the left, but still managed to make an impression in the race. While working men and blacks remained loyal to the National Democratic Party there were quite a few women that did in fact cross over. Prominent feminists such as Gloria Steinman and Betty Freidman vocaly supported the “Rebel Democrat” ticket thanks to its support of the ERA and Row v Wade (both opposed by the Democratic ticket). Brown was also quite in favor of drug legalization, always mindful of his home state and the youth vote. Jimmy Carter joked that “Now there really is an Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion Democratic ticket!” (The Shriver campaign was however more vocal in its support for immigrant rights, a careful balancing act with the trade unions).

The four tickets attacked each other relentlessly: At the debates Shriver called Brown a barnburner and abortionist, Rockefeller an elitist millionaire and Crane a far right racist. Brown called Shriver a strasserist theocrat (and that was truly the first time anyone had ever called an American politician a strasserist), Rockefeller a tool of Wall Street and Crane “discount Thurmond”. Crane called Rockefeller a communist appeaser and ultra-liberal and Shriver and Brown borderline socialists. The President himself managed to bring in some much-needed dignity to the race and refrained from personal insults.

Shriver and Brown had behind them probably the most devoted legion of activists since Bobby Kennedy. At the results of mixing them could be quite explosive. In what is now referred to as the “second hard hat riots” a group of white and black working-class men squared off against a bunch of student activists and even a few ladies in Georgetown (no guesses as who supported who). While Rockefeller had his fans, no one was particularly excited about him, and Crane and Buckley preferred to go down the “silent majority” route.


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1976 Presidential Election
Shriver/Carter – Democratic 316 EV
Rockefeller/Dole – Republican 89 EV
Crane/Helms – Conservative 75 EV
Brown/Leahy – “Progressive” Democratic 58 EV

The results reflected all credible predictions: Shriver held a consistent lead over Rockefeller, the Republicans had far more defection to the conservatives than the Democrats to “Progressives”, and no candidate managed to win an absolute majority of the popular vote both nationality (although Shriver won a strong plurality) nor in any one state, with the exceptions of working-class West Virginia and Carters own Georgia. The Democrats won exactly half of the south while the conservatives took the other half, Rockefeller scraped by in his home state but rather surprisingly lost his running mates Kansas. Brown also won his own home state by the skin of his teeth along with one lone state in New England and Shriver won just about everywhere else except for the great plains and the west.


Down ballot the Democrats didn’t lose many seats to Brown backed progressives but they did manage to spoil quite a few races for them, most notably the Senate election in New York, allowing senator Buckley to win re-election.
 
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