AET: 1980 in a JFK lives TL

I'd been thinking recently about my rough idea of a JFK lives TL -- I know I like this much:

John F Kennedy (D) 1961-68
Nelson Rockefeller (R) 1969-75
Edward Brooke (R) 1975-80


... and then a Democrat wins in 1980. My question is -- aside from Robert Kennedy, who would be the leading candidates? With no full Vietnam War, nor the experience of an LBJ administration, plus 12 years of moderate to liberal Republican governance, who'd the Dems be most liky to turn to?
 
Without exploring the situation any deeper, here are some names that come to mind:
-Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York
-Senator George McGovern of South Dakota
-Governor Reubin Askew of Florida
-Governor Terry Sanford of North Carolina
-Senator John Glenn of Ohio
-Governor Milton Shapp of Pennsylvania
-Representative Mo Udall of Arizona
-Senator Ed Muskie of Maine
-Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota


This is only a brief list, but I'd imagine Mondale, Glenn, or Muskie to be the favorite in a race without RFK.
 
Without exploring the situation any deeper, here are some names that come to mind...

This is only a brief list, but I'd imagine Mondale, Glenn, or Muskie to be the favorite in a race without RFK.

That's a good list -- from the looks of it, the liberals would line up behind either Udall, McGovern, or Mondale, with the latter having the best shot...
 
Ok, I will say something.

Let me ask you this: Will the TL focus on 1963 and the events after, and that entire swath will be the focus, or will just 1980 in this TL onward be the focus?
 
I'll add Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan if butterflies don't take out his NY Senate bid in '76.

In some ways he might be a very interesting candidate as his neoconservative (it meant something differently back then) critique of the liberal policy means a rather different Democratic Party.

Oh and if Goldwater is the 1964 nominee then JFK and Goldwater will establish a very strong series of debates tradition.

Rockefeller wouldn't win in 1968 if he ran in '64. Either Nixon mounts his OTL comeback or perhaps Reagan mounts a stronger bid. I do like Edward Brooke but he's both black and liberal. If you want a more liberal Republican Party perhaps Rockefeller skips 1964 (and doesn't get divorced) and then runs in '68. Still pushing it, but possible with a very conservative VP (perhaps Rockefeller does the inverse of Reagan's '76 VP gambit).

For 1976 though (assuming a two-term Rockefeller) the Republican Party will certainly find a more conservative nominee. They never liked Rockefeller—although the people did even more than JFK, in 1960—and therefore 1976 is probably a Reagan year. If not Reagan then you can find somebody more moderate (although not as liberal as Brooke) that Rockefeller backs.
 
^^I'm nowhere close to starting it, but if I did, it'd be the former.

If you're planning a return to Camelot Revisited, and don't want spoliers -- then by all means, I understand...
 
Yeah, my list was basically OTL. There wasn't enough info on the political scene in 1980 and various congressional waves to know who was elected and how good a chance they would stand at winning the nomination.
 
^^I'm nowhere close to starting it, but if I did, it'd be the former.

If you're planning a return to Camelot Revisited, and don't want spoliers -- then by all means, I understand...

What I will tell you is don't worry about this right now. Research, research, research. Set up your world, research it more and more, and build up more and more things that happen, and uncover more causes and effects of what you've made happen. Then when all that's underway, and as its underway, start cementing what happens as a result, and do that first part again. You can frankly even figure out whats happening up till 1980 and start writing, and then once you get up to that point and see everything in place, make the decision on what happens in 1980.
 
I'll add Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan if butterflies don't take out his NY Senate bid in '76.

He's an intriguing choice, though his career would most certainly be affected TTL -- he wouldn't get pushed out of Labor under Kennedy, to start, and may even become Secretary in the second term. After that...
 
He's an intriguing choice, though his career would most certainly be affected TTL -- he wouldn't get pushed out of Labor under Kennedy, to start, and may even become Secretary in the second term. After that...

I wouldn't be surprised to see DPM as Secretary of Labor in a second Kennedy Administration. He could have undersecretary Ralph Nader!
 
Without exploring the situation any deeper, here are some names that come to mind:
-Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York
-Senator George McGovern of South Dakota
-Governor Reubin Askew of Florida
-Governor Terry Sanford of North Carolina
-Senator John Glenn of Ohio
-Governor Milton Shapp of Pennsylvania
-Representative Mo Udall of Arizona
-Senator Ed Muskie of Maine
-Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota


This is only a brief list, but I'd imagine Mondale, Glenn, or Muskie to be the favorite in a race without RFK.

Perhaps you can incorporate some of these ideas into your Camelot Forever 2.0 TL. Are you gonna post an update for 1972 hcallega? And are you thinking of Edward Brooke as a VP too?
 
Perhaps you can incorporate some of these ideas into your Camelot Forever 2.0 TL. Are you gonna post an update for 1972 hcallega? And are you thinking of Edward Brooke as a VP too?

I do plan on going back to a JFK tl at some point, but not in the near future. Too much school work + my high degree of interest with the Jon Kerry timeline.
 
I do plan on going back to a JFK tl at some point, but not in the near future. Too much school work + my high degree of interest with the Jon Kerry timeline.

Hope the next update is a very good one! Wonder if Kerry will find bin Laden earlier? Like, before the 2008 Election!
 
Here's a figure that might factor into a JFK lives world in 1980:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Litton

It would probably be too soon for a run for POTUS, but would probably be a strong contender for the VP slot, unless you want to concoct an Obama-esque scenario.

In fact, in its own right, a Litton lives timeline could be very interesting. Carter said of Litton that he'd likely be POTUS someday.
 
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