The Seventh Party System: Part LXIV
Map of the United States
Part I - Metropotamia
Part II - Alta California
Part III - North Carolina
Part IV - New Jersey
Part V - Adams
Part VI - Alabama
Part VII - Rhode Island
Part VIII - Sequoyah
Part IX - Assenisipia
Part X - East Florida
Part XI - Tennessee
Part XII - Kansas
Part XIII - Dakota
Part XIV - Arizona
Part XV - Delaware
Part XVI - Oregon
Part XVII - Ozark
Part XVIII - New Hampshire
Part XIX - Western Connecticut
Part XX - New York
Part XXI - Santo Domingo
Part XXII - South Carolina
Part XXIII - Baja California
Part XXIV - Chersonesus
Part XXV - Canal Zone Territory
Part XXVI - West Florida
Part XXVII - Missouri
Part XXVIII - Colorado
Part XXIX - Trinidad and Tobago
Part XXX - Pennsylvania
Part XXXI - Wisconsin
Part XXXII - Lincoln
Part XXXIII - Deseret
Part XXXIV - Platte
Part XXXV - Kiribati
Part XXXVI - New Mexico
Part XXXVII - Maine
Part XXXVIII - Alaska
Part XXXIX - Hamilton
Part XXXX - Mississippi
Part XXXXI - North Virginia
Part XXXXII - Bioko
Part XXXXIII - Hawaii
Part XXXXIV - Louisiana
Part XXXXV - Seward
Part XXXXVI - Illinoia
Part XXXXVII - Georgia
Part XXXXVIII - Columbia
Part XXXXIX - Maryland
Part L - Texas
Part LI - District of Columbia
Part LII - Vermont
Part LIII - Yazoo
Part LIV - Jefferson
Part LV - Virgin Islands
Part LVI - Washington
Part LVII - Puerto Rico
Part LVIII - Kentucky
Part LIX - Massachusetts
Part LX - South Virginia
Part LXI - Arkansas
Part LXII - Saratoga
Part LXIII - Connecticut
Labor Coalition
Republicans
Democrats and Social Credit
Hispanos Unidos and Allies
Political Positions of State Governments
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Original DeviantArt Post Here
The state of Nickajack, similar to Lincoln and North Virginia, is a pro-unionist state created due to the American Civil War. As a result, the Democratic party has often struggled to gain much support in this state, even centuries after the civil war has ended, resulting in the party system being mainly a two horse race between Labor on the left and the Republicans on the right.
A strong Republican stronghold prior to the First Great Depression, the collapse of the stock market in 1929 would turn the political tides of the state, as people began to swing more towards Labor. The hallmark Tennessee Valley Authority, while centered around the state of Tennessee, also covered Nickajack and showed the people of this state, especially those in isolated rural regions, the power of government run programs. As such, the state would switch to become a solid Labor stronghold throughout the 1930s and 40s.
However, things began to go downhill in the 1950s when competition from the newly rebuilt European industries began to compete with Knoxville's textile industry. The construction of massive highways in the 1950s also decreased the importance of America's railroads, and with Nickajack being a hub for Southern railroads their economy took yet another hit. By the early 1970s the economy of Nickajack was in free fall, and with Wade v Roe legalizing abortion in this 1971 court case with the help of LBJ's Justices the state turned widely against Labor. Thus in 1972 Republicans once again seized control of Nickajack's state legislature, pledging to revitalize the state's declining economy by giving tax cuts to corporations while slashing labor regulations that protected unions.
With access to cheap power from the TVA and cheap tax levies offered by the GOP once again industry in Nickajack was booming leading to a thriving middle class especially in the state's suburban areas. With a new dichotomy between the poorer rural regions and the richer suburban cores Nickajack became a vital swing state throughout the subsequent decades. Like many other states, Labor was able to come to power here following their 2010 wave year, and stayed in power for the next couple of elections. But in 2016 the Democrats managed to steal enough Labor voters to give the Republicans a plurality, and thus a Republican Democratic coalition was able to overturn the previous Labor government. In 2018, the Nickajack Democrats have collapsed again back towards their normal level of support, however the Republicans are now the ones gaining massively, allowing them to seize a majority all by themselves in the Senate for the first time since 2008.
Having a majority in the Senate the Republicans were thus able to ditch their moderate Democratic partners and opt instead for Constitution to join their government. And while this technically leaves them five votes short of a majority in the House with the GOP firmly controlling the Senate it is enough to protect the government from a vote of no confidence and enables them to pass their pension reform plan by working with the most right wing of Democrats, bypassing the Longite majority.
Government:
Republicans - The party of big business, they are dominated by the Buckley faction of the GOP which pushes for both social conservatism and economic conservatism. By attracting young conservative minded folks from the more liberal Northern and Western states with low income and property taxes they have built a large base of supporters in the suburbs of many Nickajack cities.
Constitution - A growing force in the state of Nickajack, they are the party of the Christian right and have been able to rise in popularity to the detriment of the Democrats, allowing for more right wing economic proposals to be passed.
Opposition:
Labor - The second largest party in Nickajack, they remain a strong force among many of the state's poor rural voters who rely on the TVA for jobs, as well as the state's black population in cities like Chattanooga. However they are much more socially conservative than many branches of Labor, and have lost many urban voters to the more socially liberal Greens.
Democrats - The party of the South, their connection to the legacy of the Confederacy has prevented them from becoming a major force in the state, preventing them from gaining much support outside of the culturally southern Chattanooga suburbs.
Greens - The only socially liberal party in the entire state, they find most of their support in the two college towns of Asheville and Boone.
Credit for the base map goes to Chicxulub.
Update produced by MoralisticCommunist and posted here with permission