Alternate 1976-2008 presidencies plausibility check

I want to know how likely this sounds.

Gerald ford (R) 1974-1980
Jerry Brown (D) 1980-1988
Ted Kennedy (D) 1988-1996
Colin Powell (R) 1996-2004
John Mc Cain (R) 2004-2008

The idea here is that republicans end up winning in 1976 only to than be in the wilderness for 16 years, with a democrat in power during the cold war that ends around 1993 instead. The GOP reforms considerably to the point that Colin Powell comfortably runs in 1996 for the presidency shifting the GOP to the center (they’re still pretty right wing however) while democrats moved to the left in general after having multiple liberal presidencies. The GOP retains an urban base and liberal wing in this scenario while the Democrats managed to keep more of the working class. One of the general trends is that it became common that a political party holds the presidency for 3-4 terms instead of switching hands every 2 terms with set exceptions.

The political events I didn’t think of much, but one of the big differences is more tension with China than in OTL as China never joins the WTO and the Soviet Union falls with more of a struggle as there is no gorbachev due to butterflies.
 
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Is Ford running for reelection in 1980? This matters because if he loses badly and drags down the entire GOP with him he has basically discredited the moderate wing of the party, paving the way for Reagan-style conservative ascendancy.

The dynamics of American politics makes it very difficult to sustain one party domination. Brown could be a two-term president but this would likely result in Reagan-style conservatives sweeping into Congress in the midterms. In other words, I imagine your version of the 80s would look a lot like the Obama years. Liberal president but massive conservative backlash that shifts the GOP rightwards.
 
Kennedy won't run, Dole isn't running in his 80s. Brown as an American David Lange is plausible though. This would only make the New Right somewhat weaker in the GOP though.
 
Ford could have beaten Carter if all had gone favourably and he hadn't made the Poland gaffe, polls were narrowing significantly. So that is plausible. Agree with comment above about Kennedy, his past a bit tarnished and he knew it. Plus, I agree that after a two term Democrat a Republican is very probable. Probably James Baker or George H Bush. Or maybe Tommy Thompson?
 
Is Ford running for reelection in 1980? This matters because if he loses badly and drags down the entire GOP with him he has basically discredited the moderate wing of the party, paving the way for Reagan-style conservative ascendancy.

Ford took office in August 1974 and had more than two years left on Nixon’s term, so if he’s elected in 1976 he can’t run in 1980.
 
Is Ford running for reelection in 1980? This matters because if he loses badly and drags down the entire GOP with him he has basically discredited the moderate wing of the party, paving the way for Reagan-style conservative ascendancy.

The dynamics of American politics makes it very difficult to sustain one party domination. Brown could be a two-term president but this would likely result in Reagan-style conservatives sweeping into Congress in the midterms. In other words, I imagine your version of the 80s would look a lot like the Obama years. Liberal president but massive conservative backlash that shifts the GOP rightwards.

I wonder if that also would mean a more reactionary 1990’s down the line.

So would having Reagan from 1976-1980 work better for this?

(Presuming democrats in 1976 nominate someone who ends up with some huge scandal in their campaign)
 
I wonder if that also would mean a more reactionary 1990’s down the line.

If successive Brown and Kennedy administrations increase the scope and power of the Federal government then we will see a backlash along economic and cultural lines. The 80s would be remembered as the high-water mark of liberalism while the 90s would be the rise of conservatism. There would be many butterflies depending on what liberal dream project they spend their political capital on. We might get a Federal universal healthcare program in the 80s or comprehensive immigration reform.

So would having Reagan from 1976-1980 work better for this?

(Presuming democrats in 1976 nominate someone who ends up with some huge scandal in their campaign)

Reagan conservatism would have to be discredited somehow in order to get the GOP to embrace Colin Powell-style centrism. A lot of the problems of the late 70s were well beyond the control of the person in the Oval Office so making Reagan a one-term president perceived as ineffectual might do the trick. It is, after all, what happened to Carter OTL.
 
Kennedy seems more likely for 1980

What brings Colin Powell to prominence in this timeline?

The Warm War from 1990-1993 where he is sorta like the eisenhower for the biggest conflict since WW2. It’s not a nuclear war though. It’s more like a wave of many conflicts that erupt around the world due To someone more hawkish and less willing to accept independence from the USSR than Gorbachev being in power.
 
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