alternatehistory.com

I was prompted to put up this thread when someone I know said "the closest we've ever gotten to President Ron Paul was when Taft nearly became the Republican candidate in 1952."

So. We've had several discussions on Robert Taft, but not quite like this. We've had some scenarios floated where he is elected in the early-to-mid forties (most infamously in For All Time), but that was mostly to put an isolationist in office either right before or right after WWII to create a more dangerous world, either with Nazis or Communists. Also, we've had some timelines where he is elected in 1952, but that is so he can die on time in 1952 for some other character to take the office (I've seen it done with Douglas MacArthur and Joseph McCarthy, among others).

ANYWAY, what I'm asking is how a Robert Taft who was elected in 1952, and subsequently reelected in 1956 (we use mild ASBs to handwave away his cancer) would govern the country. This is NOT a discussion on how he beats Eisenhower or why Ike doesn't jump in, or how he beats Truman/Kefauver/Stevenson/whoever. This is also NOT a conversation on who his running mate. Neither of those is important.

How would a President who was leader of the Conservative Coalition at the height of the Liberal Consensus lead the country. A champion of the Old Right who was opposed to the New Deal and and isolationist at best reluctant to support Truman on foreign policy. How would the development of NATO go? Domestically, how would he be? What would the long-term affects be?

Discuss.
Top