Huzzah! It’s back!! I personally foresee the FLQ leaders as becoming martyrs.
Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
- Thread starter President_Lincoln
- Start date
Welcome back, good update, and yeah, the FLQ leaders are going to be martyrs for an independent Quebec (as others have stated). Many Anglo Quebec residents will still move to Toronto and make it Canada's largest city (this is what happened IOTL, IIRC). At least Turner is doing a better job than he was as PM OTL (of course, here, he's succeeding an assassinated prime minister, not one who departed due to scandal ahead of an election; his bad performance in his debate with Mulroney didn't help, either)…
Churchill will have difficulties and I hope he can overcome them and become a good PM (he won't be his father; then again, who becomes the prime minister in the middle of a world war)…
As for Japan, are things there still as OTL?
Overall, good chapter. BTW, the song "Who'll Stop the Rain?" was released by Clearance Clearwater Revival in January of 1970 (as part of a double-side; the A side was "Travelin' Band), so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln, and waiting for more...
Churchill will have difficulties and I hope he can overcome them and become a good PM (he won't be his father; then again, who becomes the prime minister in the middle of a world war)…
As for Japan, are things there still as OTL?
Overall, good chapter. BTW, the song "Who'll Stop the Rain?" was released by Clearance Clearwater Revival in January of 1970 (as part of a double-side; the A side was "Travelin' Band), so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln, and waiting for more...
Thank you very much, Unknown!
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the update. Japan's path ITTL is similar thus far to what it was IOTL, though that could always change as we ripple further out from the POD.
Nice update.
Churchill seems likely to ‘flood’ Rhodesia with troops, intelligence services, SAS, and all tech he can find. Killing the resistance leaders will be critical for him. Did the ruling party appoint any black Cabinet members? Or open the govt up to black recruitment as that might help.
In this timeline, it would be nice to see Northern Ireland not go down the exact same OTL route.
Get acclimatised, don’t get ill, and play Gordon Banks. Go England!
Churchill seems likely to ‘flood’ Rhodesia with troops, intelligence services, SAS, and all tech he can find. Killing the resistance leaders will be critical for him. Did the ruling party appoint any black Cabinet members? Or open the govt up to black recruitment as that might help.
In this timeline, it would be nice to see Northern Ireland not go down the exact same OTL route.
Get acclimatised, don’t get ill, and play Gordon Banks. Go England!
No Scotland in this World Cup...
Still, with a Scotland team in 1974 and 1978 will surely cause political butterflies especially with the latter in which a vote on a devolved Scottish parliament depended on the Scots winning or at least doing well in the World Cup. And some of us know what happened in that World Cup.
Will be keeping a close eye and I wonder how well England got in 1970, made the final but lost to Brazil?
Still, with a Scotland team in 1974 and 1978 will surely cause political butterflies especially with the latter in which a vote on a devolved Scottish parliament depended on the Scots winning or at least doing well in the World Cup. And some of us know what happened in that World Cup.
Will be keeping a close eye and I wonder how well England got in 1970, made the final but lost to Brazil?
No Scotland in this World Cup...
Still, with a Scotland team in 1974 and 1978 will surely cause political butterflies especially with the latter in which a vote on a devolved Scottish parliament depended on the Scots winning or at least doing well in the World Cup. And some of us know what happened in that World Cup.
Will be keeping a close eye and I wonder how well England got in 1970, made the final but lost to Brazil?
Famously they didn't do well in OTL, I hope they can pull off an upset ITTL - for added drama win on a penalty shoot-out!
Haven't folk often suggested a merged UK Football league? It would be interesting to see what go ahead, even if the team play separate at International level. Wonder if that might help in NI?
Oh damn the october crisis seems much nore serious this time. I feel like public support will be quite high among "les anglos" while in Quebec it will be vehemently against, this ought to only further the cultural divide that independence seekers will use to justify the creation of their own nation
Thanks, Ogrebear!
Churchill definitely wants to "win" the war, and is, as you mention, unlikely to let it keep being a small operation of slow, steady occupation and pacification. As his tenure begins, expect attempts to really go after Mugabe and other ZANLA leaders, as well as overtures toward PM Field to, as you mentioned, include more local blacks in elections and government. I'll definitely continue to cover the Troubles, and can say that Churchill will take a different approach than Heath did.
No Scotland in this World Cup...
Still, with a Scotland team in 1974 and 1978 will surely cause political butterflies especially with the latter in which a vote on a devolved Scottish parliament depended on the Scots winning or at least doing well in the World Cup. And some of us know what happened in that World Cup.
Will be keeping a close eye and I wonder how well England got in 1970, made the final but lost to Brazil?
No Scotland... This time
I'll cover the World Cup finals in my 1970 Pop Culture update. Not really. The only Scottish teams that could get into the first division back then were maybe Celtic and Rangers. Northern Ireland has a pathetic domestic league and the good Welsh teams are already in the English league pyramid.
Celtic and rangers were definitely good enough, they usually performed well at international matches if im not mistaken
Ah but if all 4 divisions had teams from all over the lineup would change a lot and give folk more to cheer about even if its Belfast Town vs Sunderland United...
If a NI teammanaged an upset in the FA Cup of similar then having a First Divison team come over would generate a ton of revenue that can be used locally.
Chapter 60
Chapter 60 - Bridge Over Troubled Water: The 91st Congress, President Romney, and Director Hoover
Above: Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D - MT) and Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott (R - PA).
An old adage holds that politics is, at its core, “the art of the possible”. Nowhere was this axiom of public policy made more clear than in Washington, D.C. at the dawn of the 1970’s as high minded ideology and nitty gritty pragmatism clashed openly and often in the Chambers of Congress and the offices of the White House. Hoping to avoid being defined solely as the “wishy-washy centrist party for the war” as midterms loomed in November, Congressional Republicans began to tirelessly work to develop and pass legislation that could give their candidates more of a record to run on against their Democratic opponents. As news poured in about the American Conservative Party’s imminent self-destruction, and LBJ’s moves to build a new Democratic machine in the South began to take shape, Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott (R - PA) and House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford (R - MI) knew that they would need to develop a strategy of their own. In broadly painted strokes, this meant working against Scott and Ford’s own personal sensibilities and turning to the right, hoping to energize the GOP base and attract Thurmond and Falwell followers as the ACP imploded. In order to manage this elaborate political shimmy rightward, Scott and Ford worked with President Romney to develop a conservative agenda for the latter half of the year. First and foremost on their minds were the riots and violent protests by Yaffers and Hippies alike which seemed to be consuming American cities and college campuses in turmoil. Believing that they could “toughen up” the party’s image and that of the President by passing legislation that would be “tough on hippies, tough on crime”, Scott and Ford worked with their Democratic counterparts to create two landmark pieces of legislation in the late summer and autumn of 1970: The Organized Crime Control Act and The Controlled Substances Act.
The first of these bills was the product of two major sets of hearings before the U.S. Senate, the Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management hearings of 1957 - 1959 (in which Robert F. Kennedy had played a major role), and the McClellan Hearings of 1962 - 1964. The Act, if passed, would prohibit the creation or management of a gambling organization involving five or more people if it had been in business for more than 30 days, or accumulated $2,000 in gross revenue in a single day. It also granted Grand Juries new powers, permitted detention of unmanageable witnesses, and gave the U.S. Attorney General authorization to protect witnesses, both state and federal, and their families. This last measure helped lead to the creation of the Witness Protection Program, and was seen as the next logical step toward bolstering the nation’s fight against organized crime syndicates throughout the country. The bill swiftly passed both houses of Congress and was signed by President Romney into law on September 15th, 1970. Another bill, The Bank Secrecy Act was later passed and signed on October 26th, with the intent of helping the government fight money laundering by requiring financial institutions to keep records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments, file reports if their daily aggregate exceeds $10,000, and report suspicious activity that may signify money laundering, tax evasion, or other illegal activity. President Romney emphasized the importance he thought these new laws held and praised them frequently in media appearances and speeches, saying “For too long in this country, nebulous criminal organizations have wielded tremendous influence and control over our country, especially in the big cities. With the passage of these laws, I declare that their dominion is over. Today, we begin to fight back, and reclaim our blood-soaked streets.” Romney earned praise across the political spectrum for pursuing the Organized Crime bills, including from New York Democratic Senatorial Candidate Bobby Kennedy, who admitted that there “wasn’t anything he would’ve changed” about the bills’ content or manner of passage.
The second bill however, would one day prove more controversial. The Controlled Substances Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Harley O. Staggers (D - WV) on September 5th, 1970, and called for a major overhaul of drug enforcement policy in the United States. Largely a bipartisan bill, the effort to craft a single federal statute on drug enforcement can be traced back to a speech President Romney gave early in his Presidency in May, 1969. In the speech, the President promised that Attorney General John N. Mitchell and the White House Counsel’s Office would work with lawmakers to simplify and strengthen existing drug laws, and to more effectively combat the “growing and dangerous epidemic of illicit drug use and abuse currently coursing through the United States.” The result was a bill that if passed would forever alter drug policy in the U.S. The Controlled Substances Act or CSA for short, created five Schedules (classifications), with varying qualifications for a substance to be included in each. Two Federal agencies, the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), would determine which substances are added or removed from the various schedules, although the statute passed by Congress would create the initial listing of substances. Classification decisions were required to be made based on criteria including potential for abuse, currently accepted medical use in the United States, and international treaties. The bill would eventually prove controversial because not only did it combine existing drug laws and expand their scope, it also greatly increased the role that the Federal government would play in their enforcement. This controversy did not immediately manifest however, as Congressmen seemed more motivated by the appearance of being “tough on crime” in an election year than they did by any ethical implications the law might one day have. The Act passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 341 - 6.
As The Controlled Substances Act entered the Senate for its consideration, President Romney started to sell it vigorously across the nation on the stump alongside Republican candidates up and down the ticket. Because the GOP was outnumbered in Congress and facing cries of illegitimacy in the White House for having failed to capture the popular vote in 1968, Romney felt that the party needed an issue on which they could band together, put aside the fighting between Buckley-ites and Moderates, and push back against Democratic supremacy. This effort came to a head in an ultimately infamous speech in Chicago on September 28th, in which the President boldly declared “Drug abuse is public enemy number one for the people of the United States. Now more than ever, our streets are flooded with poverty, crime, and homicide, all of which can trace their roots to the same wretched soil: illicit drugs. It is for this reason that I do hereby commit myself and the government of the United States to the necessary fight that lies ahead of us, against narcotics and those that would seek to benefit from the pain, misfortune, and misery of others. Today, I call on the Senate to follow the example of their colleagues in the House of Representatives and support The Controlled Substances Act so we may begin to take back our streets, our cities, and our country. Today, I declare a War on Drugs.” Any irony that could be found in supporting a law which would ban a substance in the city that had been at the heart of Al Capone’s empire during Prohibition was lost on the President and his supporters, who lauded the speech as “a triumph”. The bill would eventually pass the Senate with widespread support and be signed into law by the President on October 27th, 1970, only a week before the Midterm Elections.
…
Before President Romney left the capital to barnstorm, wave the banners, and blare the bugles along the campaign trail, he first arranged a meeting with “the Triumvirate” and Vice President Bush on September 13th to discuss the War in Cambodia. The Commander in Chief knew that the atmosphere would be tense, uncomfortable, even confrontational between his subordinates. Only a few days prior, the Vice President’s eldest son had been shot down and taken prisoner by the Khmer Rouge and their allies in Laos. Though knowledge of the incident was limited at the moment to Lt. Bush’s captors, the military high command, the CIA, and higher ups in the Administration, the President knew it would only be a matter of time before he would be faced with a decision on what to do with the matter. Should Lt. Bush’s capture be kept secret? Should the Administration go public? The son of the Vice President of the United States of America being held prisoner by that nation’s enemy represented a very real security risk, and in the eyes of some, a possible conflict of interest for the VP. Should the military try and stage a rescue mission? Giving preferential treatment to the children of powerful figures raised startling ethical questions, not to mention the political concerns which could result, but wouldn’t Lt. Bush’s status as a prisoner compromise the U.S.’s ability to effectively wage war and eventually, negotiate a peace? Then there was the personal side to all of this. In the time since taking office a year and a half before, the President and Vice President had grown close and become good friends, as well as political partners. Romney liked George Jr. as well, and had privately prayed for the mercy and strength of the Heavenly Father when he heard of his capture. Unsure for the moment what the best course of action would be to take, the President called the meeting, prayed once again, this time for the Lieutenant’s safety, and hoped that once again, the Heavenly Father would show him the way forward.
The meeting began solemnly enough. Secretaries Nixon and Bradley gave the Vice President their sincerest condolences about his son’s capture, and NSA Kissinger vowed to do everything in his power to bring Lt. Bush home. The Vice President offered a muted “Thank you” in response before sinking into a sofa with his head resting on his left hand. There was discussion all around about tactical advantage and strategic progress. Kissinger reported that the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) had successfully recaptured Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which had fallen to the Communist insurgents there the year before, driving Laos’ “legitimate” (capitalist) government into exile. Though the marxist insurgency was still quite strong in the jungles and hills of the countryside, and would likely not be fully pacified before the end of the year, Laos would soon be run by a pro-western government once again, and the Ho Chi Minh trail was looking like it might very well be cut off, according to plan. With the ARVN occupying Laos and American boys cleaning house in southern Cambodia, preparing for an offensive northward, Secretary Bradley felt confident that the jungle abodes of the Khmer Rouge would begin to be encircled. “With any luck, Mr. President, we’ll have Pol Pot in our custody by spring, and the boys can start shipping home shortly after that.” This was an optimistic reading of the situation, of course, but it pleased Romney to hear just the same. Before he could express his thoughts however, Secretary of State Nixon cut in.
“Glad to hear it, General. But I’m worried that we’ll be up shit creek without a paddle come November if we start kidding ourselves. Victory has not been and will never be easy in Indochina. I’ll give Jack Kennedy credit, he knew a clusterfuck when he saw one and did his best to keep us from wading in too deep without a plan-”
“Language.” The President interrupted, cringing at the Secretary of State’s sailor’s mouth. True to his religious nature, Romney abhorred cursing and forbid it from getting out of hand at important policy meetings.
Nixon resisted the urge to roll his eyes before clearing his throat and mumbling out a half hearted apology. The burning, hateful soul of Richard Milhous Nixon did not think that the leadership of the world’s most powerful nation had time for such niceties. He continued, nonetheless: “See right now there’s talk in the press. They’ve taken to calling this fight of ours ‘George Romney’s war’. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing if we win it, and win it without losing too many of our guys. But if too many of them go down or this thing keeps escalating, we’re going to start hearing about how right Jack and Bobby Kennedy were to keep us out of there, and that if only Humphrey had won, everything would be just fine and hunky dory. We can’t afford that with the ballots coming in as soon as they are. We need to retake Congress if we’re to have any hope of getting anything serious done around here. That in mind, how are the force depletion numbers looking, Henry?”
Kissinger adjusted his glasses and shifted some papers around in his lap before finding the relevant report. “Acceptable.” He said flatly. “We’ve lost 3% all told since operations began. Most of those are not KIAs however, but rather those wounded or…” he hesitated for a moment, shot a look to the Vice President. “Captured by the enemy.” He paused again, waiting for Bush to comment, but no words came, just a set of pursed lips and a sigh. Kissinger pressed forward. “A 3% loss in exchange for near complete territorial supremacy over Cambodia and Laos by next spring or summer is, in my estimation, a deal the American people are willing to make.”
“Where are we with the North Vietnamese?” The President asked, concerned he was being left out of his own meeting. “Brad, you’ve said that you don’t believe the ARVN can sustain their invasion and anti-insurgency efforts in Laos if Giap makes another attempt to cross the DMZ. I don’t want us celebrating bringing the boys home, only to need to transfer them to Saigon before the welcome wagon rolls out of the station.”
Nixon, rather than Bradley picked up the question after taking a bite of danish. “Mr. President, Giap is in something of a bind. He’s a cornered rat without too many places left to run to. He’s soon to be surrounded on all sides but one by pro-western governments, and sitting on a populace that’s tired, hungry, and wondering what it is they’re still fighting for. Most of Giap’s obvious aid is coming from Castro now. Beijing is retreating inward and focusing on their own issues for the time being, and we haven’t heard so much as a peep from Moscow since Andropov took over. That being said, my sources tell me that the First Secretary has been on a near constant tour of Eastern Europe for the last two years, suring up loyalty and parading new defense investments for the hardliners. He’s reaching out to continue the joint Space missions, but until we schedule another summit, we’ll have to assume that not all of that military spending is going toward better weather balloons and keeping down the Hungarians.”
President Romney raised his eyebrows. “Mr. Secretary, are you suggesting that the Soviets are back to arming Hanoi and the other communists down there? That would be a clear violation of the understanding President Kennedy and Khrushchev reached back in 1965.”
Nixon shrugged. “It’s impossible to say at the moment, sir. Dobrynin [The Soviet Ambassador to the United States] insists that the Kremlin is devoted to ‘continued warming relations between our peoples’, but says he cannot give an outright denial that they’re sending aid to their ‘marxist comrades’ around the world. You want my opinion, Mr. President?”
Romney nodded.
“Andropov is shipping aid again, and doing whatever he can to keep his ass in his seat. Khrushchev and Kennedy may have had this whole idealistic romance toward one another, and thought that through a dinky trip to the Moon and some hand holding they could bring about world peace, but Andropov is another beast entirely. He was head of the KGB for nearly a decade. He was the guy on the ground when the tanks rolled over protesters in Hungary. To him, this isn’t a competition between ideals, its a long, Cold War. He’s hedging his bets and slowly shifting influence in the Communist world away from Beijing and back toward Moscow. Biao is so busy murdering intellectuals and watching his back from Jiang Qing that he can’t see what’s right on his front door step: Andropov’s empire building.” The Secretary of State paused and shook his head. “It’s a damned shame, what he’s doing. By starting up the aid shipments again, which we know he’s doing, even if we don’t have the hard intel to back it up just yet, Andropov is ruining whatever chance we might have had of passing further arms limitations treaties, and easing tensions. You think Goldwater, Jackson, and their kind are going to allow more friendly hikes to the Moon while Moscow is giving Hanoi the guns they use to kill our boys? Excuse me, sir, but it’s fucking ridiculous. I say we get Dobrynin on the phone straight away and arrange a summit for you and Andropov next year, see if we can’t sort any of this shit out.”
The President’s shoulders sagged. He was clearly disappointed by the news, though he couldn’t substantively disagree with anything that Nixon had said. “Very well, I’ll have Lenny [Hall, the White House Chief of Staff] arrange a meeting tomorrow afternoon. If the North is receiving aid again, should we be worried about another invasion of the South?”
Kissinger nodded. “Yes, sir. I predict that once the rest of Cambodia is pacified and the Laotian communists are down to their last handful of forts, Giap will be left with no choice but to make a desperate gambit down to Saigon. The South is strong, Mr. President, but with Soviet aid, Cuban support, and a sense that the fate of their nation depends on it, the Viet Cong will fight harder and more effectively than ever before. President Khanh has built a formidable force, but he may not be able to stand against this threat without American ground forces assisting him. We could be looking at a longer timetable for withdrawal, not to mention the need for even more soldiers.” The National Security Advisor turned to Secretary Bradley, who nodded his agreement. “The American people have come to expect a large, bombastic victory. They don’t want a field goal. They demand a touchdown. This will not be possible without a commitment of enough men, money, and firepower to see it through.”
As the President took this all in, Nixon turned their attention back to the uncomfortable elephant in the room. “And finally sir, there’s one more topic I think we need to address here.” His eyes, brown orbs of strained pity, flicked toward the Vice President. “George, your son has been captured and it’s a tragedy, but the world goes on. As you can see, there’s still plenty of work to be done here, and I’m afraid that the public needs to be reassured that their leaders are able to put the best interests of the whole country first.”
“What are you suggesting?” The President asked, unsure if he liked where this conversation was heading.
“No need to answer, Dick.” Bush spoke up for the first time in the meeting, and stood, wiping a tear from his eye. “I know what I have to do.” The Texan reached into his grey sports coat and retrieved a white envelope, the seal of the Vice President stamped along the side. “Sir,” he said to Romney, with a solemn edge to his New England accent, half learned John Wayne and half natural Fred Rogers. “It’s been an absolute honor to serve alongside you, and I hope that someday I may be of service to our country again. But for the time being, I’m in no position to be in meetings like this.” He approached the Resolute Desk and set the envelope before the Leader of the Free World. “Tell Lenore and the kids that I’ll be seeing you around, I’ve chartered a flight back to Houston for Babs and I.”
Romney stared at the letter for a second, looked back up at his number two, then blinked. In a flash, the old man rose from behind his desk, causing the three other seated men to do the same. The President came around the hulking piece of furniture between them and pulled the Vice President into a hug. For several seconds the two men remained like that, locked together in sorrow. To anyone watching, they appeared almost as close as a father and son, and given the seventeen year age gap between them, they could very well have been. The President at last pulled away and seized the letter from the desk, ripping it forcefully in two. “George, I do not accept your resignation of the office of Vice President of the United States. Nor do I believe that you are unfit to serve in meetings such as this one today. If anything, you are exactly the one I want to attend all of these sessions from here out. Unlike the rest of us, you have a son in the hands of our enemy. If there is anyone who is going to understand the human element, the real cost of every decision that is to be made in this room, it’s going to be you, do you understand? I’m not interested in hearing about ‘force depletion’ or other neutered, savvy language like that. I want to know how many men we’ve lost, how many parents either I or the Joint Chiefs are going to have to call every day to see this thing through.” He gestured for everyone but Bush to sit, which they did. “I believe we should go public with the information we have. Show the nation and the world the heroic resolve of both you, and your son. We’re sitting here worried about how the people are going to see the war, the politics of it all, we’ve got a great rallying cry right here in front of us. The Vice President and his brave son fight on for the righteousness of our cause and the enduring struggle for freedom from tyranny around the world.”
Bush forced himself to smile. “Sir, thank you for the vote of confidence and these inspiring words. But I think you overestimate my bravery. I’m terrified of what they might do to my son.”
Romney nodded solemnly. “As am I, George. But you will not have to fear for long, if I have my way.” He turned his head to Kissinger and Bradley. “Gentlemen, get the Director of the CIA on the phone. I want to personally arrange a mission.”
…
In addition to running a war in Southeast Asia out of the Oval Office, President Romney began to consider the possibility of starting another war right at home in Washington. Namely, the President wanted to try and force the retirement of the aging, but enormously powerful FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover. Having served as Director since 1924, Hoover had amassed a reputation as not just the nation’s preeminent law enforcer, but also in the words of Harry S. Truman, as the leader of his “very own Gestapo in the nation’s capital”. Through the careful collection and cataloging of “dirt” and compromant on nearly every major politician to make their way through the beltway during his long and venerated career, Hoover managed to maintain his own unique position of influence as head of a highly independent organization. In many ways, Hoover saw himself as above the law because he was the law. After serving alongside Hoover as Attorney General for four years, during which time the two had clashed numerous times over surveillance of leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Bobby Kennedy had suggested to his brother that 1965, when Hoover turned 70, would be the perfect time to force the aging Director into retirement. 70 was the national retirement age for federal employees and if the President threw a massive retirement party and benefits package at the Director unannounced, he would be in no position to refuse. Unfortunately for JFK, Hoover caught wind of the conspiracy ahead of time and immediately demanded a meeting in the Oval Office. At this meeting, Hoover demanded to know why Kennedy was going around his back and threatened that if the President and his “pencil pusher” brother did not lay off and abandon their operation, then the press would receive all of Hoover’s “files” on President Kennedy in an anonymous leak. These files contained years worth of health issues and extramarital affairs with everyone from Hollywood starlets to foreign nationals who could be spies, to the First Lady’s own press secretary, all meticulously tracked and recorded in sealed documents. The President and Bobby were horrified. Though Jack had just been handily reelected and hadn’t cheated on Jackie in more than a year, the possibility of being brought before Congressional hearings over his previous affair with a possible East German spy in Ellen Rometsch would absolutely murder his approval ratings, grind his legislative agenda to a halt, and possibly result in his impeachment and removal from office. Furious but caught in a bind not even he couldn’t get out of, Kennedy was forced to compromise with Hoover. JFK, in one of the few great regrets of his Presidency failed to fire Hoover, allowing him to remain in power on account of the embarrassing details of his previously torrid sex life. As Kennedy left office, he entered the pantheon of Presidential greatness without the world yet knowing of his prior affairs. Meanwhile, Hoover prepared for a working relationship with yet another newly elected President. The veteran G Man was soon to discover however, that George Wilcken Romney was a horse of a different color.
In a private memo to Bobby written in 1963, JFK confirmed that of all of his potential opponents in 1964, Governor Romney was the one he feared the most. Why? Because he was, unlike Kennedy’s eventual opponent, Governor Rockefeller, utterly without vice or seemingly, sin. Romney’s religiosity meant he never drank, smoke, swore, or (in Kennedy’s imagination) slept with his wife for any reason other than procreation, let alone had an extramarital affair. He was, unlike just about any other leader Hoover had encountered in the past, utterly untouchable. Romney combined this spotless moral standing with a high regard for civil rights and the plight of African Americans that was nearly as strong and passionate as the Kennedy brothers’ had been. So when Hoover’s obsessions with painting the Civil Rights Movement, the black community, and its leaders in a negative light became apparent to the new President through a warning memo from Bobby Kennedy, Romney was appalled and disgusted.
These views of Hoover’s came again to Romney’s attention during the multilayered investigation into the Manson killings out in California in the late summer of 1969. The FBI was involved immediately, per Governor Reagan’s request, and Hoover personally wanted to oversee the investigation, seeing as a foreign Head of State had been murdered on American soil. Sensing the trail of breadcrumbs Manson and his followers had left behind that attempted to lead the authorities toward the conclusion that the crimes had been perpetrated by Black Panthers, Hoover played into their hand and took the bait. Overruling the suspicions and findings of numerous field agents to the contrary, Hoover believed strongly that such vicious, bloodthirsty murders must have been committed by the city’s aggressive contingent of the Black Panther Party. This behavior set the FBI’s investigation back by months and nearly enabled Manson and his followers to escape justice entirely. Were it not for the brave work of the Canadian RCMP and the stroke of luck that was the Krenwinkel defection, Manson’s Family might never have been caught. Governor Reagan gave Hoover political cover, insisting to the public that “these things take time”, but in private he fumed, and called the President personally to tell him. “Enough is enough, sir. However good at this Hoover might have been in the past, he’s not the same man anymore. With all due respect, you must talk to him. He simply needs to go.”
Romney let the Director enjoy his Christmas vacation and revel in the victory of finally bringing the Manson crew to justice before scheduling their meeting for January 11th, 1970. That afternoon, Hoover brought the President a box of donuts and coffee, not realizing that Romney’s Mormon faith prohibited the consumption of caffeinated beverages, an unintended slight upon the Chief Executive. After they exchanged small talk and pleasantries, mostly about Mitt and Ann’s honeymoon, the President cut right to the chase. He was not “considering” replacing Hoover at the FBI, he was giving him advance warning that the time for his retirement had come. “You have one year to find a suitable replacement for yourself as Director.” Romney said as cordially as he could manage through gritted teeth. “While you search, I expect a monthly report on your potential candidates, who they are, what their experience level is, and what their views are on the Civil Rights Movement. If your selections are not to my liking, then in one year’s time I will select someone who fulfills their duty to all the people of this country, do I make myself clear?”
Hoover was absolutely dumbfounded. He did not, could not believe that any man, even a sitting President of the United States, would dare to challenge his right to serve his country as FBI Director. He had been a loyal servant in the domestic fight against Communism, crime, you name it, and this is how he was being repaid? Furious, Hoover pretended to search for his successor, made a game of it with his right hand man, closest friend, and possible livelong lover, Clyde Tolson, but in reality intended to wait out Romney’s deadline and force a reckoning on he and the entire political world come the following January. If the capital was going to try and take J. Edgar Hoover down, then he was going to bring the whole political world down with him. As the 1970 midterms loomed just around the corner, Hoover laughed to himself. I hope the fools know what they’re getting themselves into. He thought. They’re about to walk into the biggest scandal in the nation’s history.
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: The 1970 Midterm Elections
Last edited:
Excellent update one nit pick though, I doubt Romney would go along with the Rightward shift of the GOP, considering he openly condemend gold water even after Rockey and Co made their profourma endorsements
Thank you, Mr. President! Glad you enjoyed the update.
Romney's shift to the right is not entirely political theater. As I'll expand upon in the next few updates, he realizes he needs conservatives in the GOP if he's going to successfully pass the agenda he wants and thereafter be reelected in 1972. IOTL, Nixon made similar moves to placate the right wing of the Republican Party, who accused him of being too moderate. Though I do appreciate the constructive criticism! Thank you, @C2sg!
He'll have a lot riding on any sort of rescue attempt, but it could be a great operation if it goes successfully. As for Hoover, he's on his last legs in Washington, but he won't want to go down without bringing someone else with him.Loved it. Poor George. Ugh, Hoover the slime. Romney showed him who's boss, though. He's going down for sure.
Excellent update @President_Lincoln! I sure as hell hope the communists don’t win in Southeast Asia. Also want Dubya back safe and sound.
And I don’t trust Hoover.
And I don’t trust Hoover.
Last edited:
Thank you, historybuff!
Yeah, Bush is in a tough spot, but there may be light yet at the end of the tunnel. Largely, Bush's fate may be decided by the CIA's ability to put together a rescue op for his son. I share your hopes for freedom in southeast Asia, and a safe and sound Dubya.
Hoover IOTL was a very complicated man. I do not mean, with my portrayal of him ITTL to paint him as overly unsavory or "evil", but it is a purposeful interpretation on my part, of how I think he would behave if someone genuinely tried to force him from power.Good update. While I don't like Romney's going along with the rightward shift of the GOP, I can understand why it would be necessary. I feel bad for Bush and his family and I hope Dubya gets rescued...
Wonder how many people Hoover will take down with him ITTL (with regards to his being gay, there was speculation, but no actual proof; IMO, he probably wasn't (1), but he was a deeply unpleasant person who enjoyed abusing power too much (there's a reason why FBI directors since Hoover have had a limited time in office (unless Congress approves them for more time)). Like that Romney is taking him down, as he's the one president who couldn't be blackmailed into keeping Hoover (LBJ, IIRC, was Hoover's next-door neighbor and preferred to keep Hoover in his job, so that Hoover didn't attack him otherwise)...
Did Jim Garrison still do an inquiry into the attempted assassination of JFK ITTL, BTW?
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" was a song released by Simon and Garfunkel in January of 1970, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln. BTW, Elvis Presley did a cover version of it OTL (and, hopefully, TTL as well) and, by all accounts, it was a good version...
(1) Hoover has been described as a "cold fish"; Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald's widow, has been quoted as saying that when she shook hands with Hoover, it was like she was shaking hands with a dead person. There has also been speculation that Hoover was asexual, not homosexual, though Tolson might have been homosexual (again, I could understand why he would hide it if true, given the era)...
Wonder how many people Hoover will take down with him ITTL (with regards to his being gay, there was speculation, but no actual proof; IMO, he probably wasn't (1), but he was a deeply unpleasant person who enjoyed abusing power too much (there's a reason why FBI directors since Hoover have had a limited time in office (unless Congress approves them for more time)). Like that Romney is taking him down, as he's the one president who couldn't be blackmailed into keeping Hoover (LBJ, IIRC, was Hoover's next-door neighbor and preferred to keep Hoover in his job, so that Hoover didn't attack him otherwise)...
Did Jim Garrison still do an inquiry into the attempted assassination of JFK ITTL, BTW?
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" was a song released by Simon and Garfunkel in January of 1970, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln. BTW, Elvis Presley did a cover version of it OTL (and, hopefully, TTL as well) and, by all accounts, it was a good version...
(1) Hoover has been described as a "cold fish"; Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald's widow, has been quoted as saying that when she shook hands with Hoover, it was like she was shaking hands with a dead person. There has also been speculation that Hoover was asexual, not homosexual, though Tolson might have been homosexual (again, I could understand why he would hide it if true, given the era)...