Bicentennial Divergence: Ford wins 1976

>national independent
o h m y g o d this is VIBIN

my only question is i don’t think pete wilson would be in a rockefeller republican party-at least not one meant specifically for that purpose. how did he end up joining the NIP?
 

Thomas1195

Banned
Reagan would carry a lot of House Republicans to victory despite his own, albeit very narrow, loss.
I think with 12 years of GOP plus economic difficulties, it should be a Democrat landslide. And I really expect Hugh Carey to have better showing ITTL.
 
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>national independent
o h m y g o d this is VIBIN

my only question is i don’t think pete wilson would be in a rockefeller republican party-at least not one meant specifically for that purpose. how did he end up joining the NIP?
Well, with the GOP becoming more conservative Barry Goldwater Jr wins the Republican Senate Primary. Wilson accepts the moderate support of the NIP to hopefully win the seat for himself.
 
Bicentennial Divergence: 1982 Gubernatorial
1982 CA Gubernatorial.png
 
Potential Presidential Contenders as of 01/01/1983

Potential GOP Candidates for President


Former Governor Ronald Reagan of California
Former Vice President Bob Dole of Kansas
Former Director of Central Intelligence George H.W. Bush of Texas
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld of Illinois

Representative Dick Cheney of Wyoming
Representative Phil Crane of Illinois
Former Ambassador to the United Nations Alexander Haig of Pennsylvania
Governor Dick Thornborough of Pennsylvania
Senator John Danforth of Missouri
Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada
Representative Jack Kemp of New York

Potential National Independent Candidates for President

Former Representative John Anderson of Illinois

Former Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon
Senator Bob Packwood of Oregon
Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania
Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island
Senator Robert Stafford of Vermont

Potential Democratic Candidates for President

President Walter Mondale of Minnesota

 
Bicentennial Divergence: 1984 Primary Season
1984 GOP Primary.PNG

John B. Anderson wins the National Independent Primary unanimously

Walter Mondale wins the Democratic Primary unanimously

Jack Kemp picks Dick Thornborough as his running mate

John B. Anderson picks Arlen Specter as his running mate

Walter Mondale retains Reubin Askew as his running mate

Mondale/Askew
vs. Anderson/Specter vs. Kemp/Thornborough
 
Bicentennial Divergence: 1984 Presidential Election
The 1st term of the Walter Mondale Presidency was seen as a moderate success. The hostages were returned to the US in late 1982 and the economy was pulled from recession. Taxes did go up slightly, something which Mondale warned saying would happen. However without any major setbacks to his presidency thus far, Mondale wins the election of 1984 solidly
1984 Election.png

1984 Election Map.png

Forgot to mention that Mondale appointed Myron Bright to fill the vacancy of Justice Stewart
 
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Walter Mondale's Presidency (01/01/1988)

The Presidency of Walter Mondale has held a strong approval throughout its entire course. Mondale made history by appointing Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He also oversaw the Senate ratify the 27th Amendment, the Equal Rights Act, in 1985. The economy has greatly improved in America. The Soviet Union is starting to show its final stages of decay, as it begins to erode its communist system into a more democratic one. This is contributed to heightened US Pressure to pull out of Afghanistan. Mondale has been praised for his strong stance on communism and for being a passionate fighter for equality. Despite being hated by staunch arch-conservatives, his firebrand Progressive stances have had a lasting effect on all of America, and he is regarded by many as one of the greatest Presidents of this century, as well as all of American history.

Current Approval of President Mondale

55% approve
34% disapprove
11% no opinion

1988 Democratic Primary

Candidates:

Vice President Reubin Askew of Florida
Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts
Reverend Jesse Jackson of Washington DC
Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York

Vice President Reubin Askew has been pointed to, as most vice presidents are, as the obvious successor to Mondale, but Askew has only gained support from party moderates, an increasingly shrinking portion of the Democratic Party. Not to mention Mondale has not made any official endorsement for the primaries, and has openly called for a women President one day or another. That statement encouraged 5 term representative from New York Geraldine Ferraro to launch a presidential campaign of her own. There have also been candidacies from Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, who wants to bring what he has coined "The Massachusetts Miracle" to Washington and Reverend Jesse Jackson of Washington DC, who wants to bring the US down "A far more progressive road than Mondale could ever dream of".

1988 Republican Primary

Candidates:
Former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee
Former Representative Bob Dornan of California

Learning from their mistakes the GOP has decided to take a more moderate route with their candidate for President this year. The front runner for this years primary is Former Senator Howard Baker, who was the Senate Minority Leader for 8 years from 1977 to 1985. While only getting 6th in the Republican Primary during his 1980 run, Baker has put full effort into this years run, hoping to utilize the Old Guard of the GOP, his 2 decade long political career, and military experience as a WW2 vet. His only primary challenge is from controversial former Representative Bob Dornan of California, who lost his seat in the election of 1982, trying to take it back in 1984 and losing in one of the closest house races in US history.

1988 National Independent Primary

Candidates:

Businessman Ross Perot of Texas
Businessman Lee Iacocca of California

The Battle of the CEOs as its been dubbed by some, the National Independent Party's 1988 Primary is being contested by 2 political outsiders, hoping to change the dynamic of politics altogether in what looks to be one of the closest election years in history. Ross Perot of Texas, the CEO of Electronic Data Systems, leads in polls by a narrow margin. Lee Iacocca, who hasnt personally campaigned for the nomination, still has Ross Perot keeping his guard up, as more left wing members of the party hope to take the party from the Rockefellerites.
 
Jesse Jackson's New Day Party

After losing a very close Democratic primary to Reubin Askew, controversial reverend Jesse Jackson, hailing from Washington DC, says he will not stand down. This is exactly why he has founded the "New Day Party", an ultraprogressive and economically socialist political party that goes so far as to call for LGBTQ rights (I personally support that but this is the 80s were talking about). He has picked Geraldine Ferraro to be his running mate, and the Jackson/Ferraro ticket hopes to take on a "progressive revolution" in America.
Jesse-Jackson-1988.jpg

Jesse Jackson, founder of the New Day Party
 
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