Black September

I'm probably too lazy to see this through, but I might as well make a start. At the least, it is going to be very spare compared to some of the great AH stories I have read on here. Maybe this counts as a first draft?

Wish me luck!



BLACK SEPTEMBER:


Introduction:


“I have always believed that God has been so good to our nation. But I have always worried that we have taken his blessings for granted, and have fallen short over and over and over again. But I continued to believe that in spite of our sins, God still held a place in his heart for our country. I kept the faith after President Kennedy was assassinated. I did so after Martin Luther King … a great Christian man and my friend … was assassinated. I kept it through times of violence in our cities and on our college campuses. I kept it during the terrible war in Indochina and the horrors that followed our defeat. I kept it even in the midst of the fall of someone I have considered a friend, Richard Nixon. But now, I wonder. Has God withdrawn his blessing from us? Have our sins of discrimination, of immorality, of treating life so cheaply, finally caused God to withdraw his favor from us? Has God turned his back on us? There were many times when he punished his chosen people, the Israelites, for their sins. Do we imagine ourselves somehow exempt from God’s judgment? What is happening to our country? Whatever it is, I imagine that Jesus would weep over our country just as he wept over Jerusalem.”

Rev. Billy Graham, October, 1975

 
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In what was possibly Time Magazine's most controversial cover in history, at the end of 1975:

Women of the Year:

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore.
 
In what was possibly Time Magazine's most controversial cover in history, at the end of 1975:

Women of the Year:

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore.

Insofar as controversy can be judged by media exposure, I would have to give the honour to "Is God Dead?" I don't think I had ever heard of the Fromme/Moore WOTW joint homage(or at least, not enough to remember it).

I don't doubt that the '75 cover was controversial, but probably not as much as it would be these days, when there seems to be an expectation that the title goes to someone who, if not an outright a hero, is at least not a total scoundrel. It was a bit different in those day, with the Ayatollah getting Man Of The Year in 1979, when he was still holidng hostages in Iran.
 
"We are confronted with challenges from within and without. But do not despair. We are far stronger than those who would undermine us through terrorism at home or through Communist expansion abroad. We have met these challenges before, in the leadership of Roosevelt, of Truman, and of John F. Kennedy. I pledge to you a return to greatness, to provide leadership that will not cower in fear before assassins or before relentless Communist aggression. We will move forward to an era of strong labor and business, working together for our people. And we will preserve the hard fought gains of the civil rights movement that has brought millions of our fellow citizens out of the shadows of discrimination into the sunshine of equality. At the same time, we will protect all Americans, black and white alike, from the danger of rising crime and disorder. And we will rebuild our military for our own sake and for the sake of all men who are fighting to preserve freedom's precious light against those forces that seek to extinguish that light forever."

-- excerpts from the Presidential candidacy announcement speech of Senator Henry M. Jackson (D-WA).


"I've never been afraid of anything. An assassin nearly ended my life ... and my public voice ... in 1972. So here I am, getting around on wheels instead of on my two feet. But I'm not afraid of some degenerate who wants to end me. No, sir. That has never been my way, in boxing or in war or in politics. I say to you who support me, I am with you and will never back down. And to anyone who wants to settle political differences with a gun, well, I can promise you, you better pray I don't get to the White House, because your days of terror will be over, and you will be crushed and swept away into nothing."

-- excerpts from the Presidential candidacy announcement speech of Governor George C. Wallace (D-AL).


"In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls upon his followers to love one another. Our country needs a spiritual re-awakening, leaving behind the violence and division and hatred of the last ten years. And I am running to reconcile people with one another ... North and South, black and white. You can be a proud Southerner and support equal rights for all of God's children, as I did in Georgia and will do as President. And you can be a proud nuclear submarine expert and still remember the words of John F. Kennedy, who said we should never negotiate from fear, but also never fear to negotiate.

I'm Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for President.:

-- excerpts from the Presidential candidacy announcement speech of former Governor Jimmy Carter (D-GA).
 
"I'm damned if Rockefeller is gonna drag this party back into me-too-ism. He's gotta be stopped. If no one else is around to do it, I might as well. Otherwise, I don't know, if he gets it, our people might go back to the Democrats! They got two Southerners, two anti-Communists, and a born again Christian running!"

-- from a conversation between Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), strategist Carter Wrenn, and Richard Viguerie, populist conservative leader.
 
"We are shaken, but we are strong. We have been hit, but we remain standing. I never expected or wanted to become President under these circumstances. And I would have preferred risking my party's nomination to having a great American and Republican like Governor Reagan being cut down by the Manson cult just as President Ford was in that dark month of September. But Vice President Baker and I will bring our party together around a progressive conservative program of law and order, but with civil rights respected; sound financial management of our treasury, but without neglecting our people's needs; and a commitment to our allies around the world that we will stand with them and will spare no effort to ensure the survival of liberty on our planet."

-- excerpts from the Presidential candidacy announcement speech of President Nelson Rockefeller (R-NY).
 
The Iowa Caucuses:

On the Democratic side,

January 19, 1976: little known former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter wins second place in Iowa caucuses behind “uncommitted.” While he did not "win," he certainly attracted favorable notice by finishing well ahead of the better known and more experienced candidates like Birch Bayh (Indiana Senator since 1963), Morris Udall (Arizona Congressman), Sargent Shriver (Kennedy family in-law and George McGovern's second running mate), and for that matter Henry Jackson. Carter's religious commitments and his agricultural background, combined with tireless campaigning and grassroots organizing, paid off.

Although Iowa had helped launch liberal George McGovern's candidacy in 1972, on this occasion, the more liberal candidates (Bayh, Shriver, Harris and Udall) hopelessly split the liberal vote potential and all finished far behind the Georgia Governor.

The other relatively conservative Democrat, Henry Jackson, at first glance had a terrible showing. But ... unlike the other candidates, he had made precisely zero effort in Iowa, and yet a noticeable number of caucus goers declared for him. His announcement speech, touting law and order at home and strength abroad, caused a small ripple even in dovish Iowa, allowing Jackson to beat Udall and Shriver.

Jackson and his campaign had not anticipated making any kind of notable showing and had thus bypassed Iowa. They were going to do the same in New Hampshire, whose primary would take place in late February. But these results caused Jackson to change his strategy and make a major push in New Hampshire, with important consequences for the primaries to come thereafter.


Uncommitted: 36.7%

Carter: 26.6%

Henry Jackson: 6.2%

Birch Bayh: 13.1%

Fred Harris: 9.8%

Morris Udall: 5.5%

Sargent Shriver: 3.1%


On the Republican side, given what seemed to be a lack of strong opposition, the Rockefeller organization decided to let a surrogate run in the President's place, a practice that was becoming rarer since 1968 but was not unheard of. Rockefeller would remain "Presidential" and not treat Jesse Helms, his only declared opponent, as an equal. So, the popular moderate Republican Governor Robert Ray was Rockefeller's stand-in. And ... he won. But the results showed that the Rockefeller effort needed some fine tuning to shake off Helm's challenge on the right flank. Not only did Helms surprise everyone by grabbing about 30% of the vote (religious conservatives and rural voters who found Rockefeller strange at best), but nearly 20% of caucus-goers declared themselves "uncommitted."

Governor Robert Ray: 50.2%

Jesse Helms: 29.9%

Uncommitted: 19.9%
 
The New Hampshire Primary:



There was a long pause between Iowa and New Hampshire, as the different campaigns pondered their results in the Hawkeye State and calibrated their strategies for New Hampshire. On the Democratic side, Jimmy Carter continued his full court efforts, employing his excellent retail campaigning skills. The positive press he received from Iowa gave him a needed shot in the arm for New Hampshire. Democrats who may have previously ignored the obscure, former Governor of Georgia were giving him a second look.



Senator Jackson decided that he was going to get at least a first look from the New Hampshire electorate. With union and moderate Democratic support, he also would go all in for the Granite State. He too was a talented retail campaigner, and would put his own skills to the test as the primary approached.



Given their underwhelming showing in Iowa, the more liberal candidates all treated New Hampshire as do-or-die. Who would win the “liberal” primary and become the choice of progressive Democrats to take on Jimmy Carter?



On February 24, the Democrats of New Hampshire rendered their verdict:





Carter: 25.4%



Jackson: 20.7%



Udall: 19.7%



Bayh: 12.5%



Harris: 10%



Shriver: 7.5%



George Wallace: 4.7%





The Georgian had done it again … a candidate from the Deep South had conquered another Northern state. With two wins under his belt, Carter was starting to look like the frontrunner, unlikely as that would have appeared just a couple of months before.



Henry Jackson’s late but energetic effort netted him a strong second place, just edging our Morris Udall, who had to feel a mixture of disappointment (being pushed into third place, albeit by a thin margin) and satisfaction (he redeemed his dreadful showing in Jowa by sailing past the other liberal candidates).



There was not much to say about Bayh, Harris, and Shriver, except that they had once again finished well behind. Shriver’s weak showing caused him to throw in the towel, in spite of some discussion in his campaign to make a last stand in Massachusetts … the home of the Kennedys and George McGovern’s single general election victory in 1972 (well, among states. McGovern also swept the District of Columbia).



The only major Democratic candidate who had ignored New Hampshire was George Wallace, who concentrated his earliest efforts in Massachusetts. He was banking on a surprise in the Bay State, which, in spite of its liberalism, was also a center of resistance to mandatory school busing. Wallace, who was always seeking the politically profitable angle, was attempting to transform his previous strident support of segregation and white supremacy to a more palatable populism that emphasized states rights and the integrity of schools and neighborhoods. His Massachusetts campaigning received notice in New Hampshire. That, and a grudging respect for his defiant campaigning after his assassination attempt (and the actual assassinations of President Ford and Governor Reagan), convinced some New Hampshire voters to pull the lever for him.





The Republican race saw a newly engaged President Rockefeller hit the hustings. Like Carter and Jackson, the President was talented retail campaigner. In addition, he carried the prestige of his office wherever he went. No other candidate campaigned with Air Force One, or with the Presidential seal affixed to the podium. Rocky had some major advantages.



But these advantages were not the entire story. Rockefeller had done poorly in New Hampshire back in 1964, coming in third behind Henry Cabot Lodge and Barry Goldwater. And, there was an unruly populist/ultra-conservative streak among New Hampshire Republicans, which Jesse Helms could exploit. He was supported by former Governor Meldrim Thompson, who was widely considered somewhat zany, but he did have a devoted core of followers. And, the state’s largest newspaper, the New Hampshire Union Leader, was known for the uncompromising conservatism of its irascible publisher, William Loeb. They despised Rockefeller in 1964, and were not much friendlier in 1976.



When Republicans voted, they showed their independent and contrarian streak in a way that embarrassed both declared candidates. Die-hard Reagan loyalists borrowed a page from the Lodge write-in campaign from 1964 to make their own statement on the race. Senator Paul Laxalt, who represented the lightly-populated and far Western state of Nevada. Laxalt had been a close friend of Ron and Nancy Reagan’s, and combined a solidly conservative record with a pleasant and open personality. He had expressed no interest in running for President. But for many New Hampshire Republicans, he became the closest thing to Ronald Reagan out there, and they voted accordingly:




President Nelson Rockefeller: 45.2%



Senator Paul Laxalt (write-in) 32.3%



Senator Jesse Helms: 22.5%



The sitting President of the United States (albeit non-elected … and in fact was appointed Vice President by another non-elected President) could not close the deal. He won the primary, but a majority of New Hampshire Republicans had chosen someone else.
 
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