Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond

[SavoyTruffle]

Great update @President_Lincoln! If I were Californian I'd have voted for Shirley Temple Black.

1974 is a very pivotal year in music I feel. IOTL you have:

* Rick Wakeman leaving Yes, and they auditioned many keyboardists (including Vangelis!) before picking Patrick Moraz as replacement.
* Genesis would release their rock opera The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and the tumultuous production would cause Peter Gabriel to tell his bandmates that he'd leave after they toured for the album.
* Queen releases Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack in this year, with the latter and its single Killer Queen catapulting them to stardom.
* ABBA wins Eurovision 1974 with their song Waterloo.

I'd imagine TTL's 1974 would be just as important in terms of music.

 

[President Earl Warren]

@President_Lincoln Does Audie Murphy survive ITTL?

Mmm this just gives me an Idea:

Audie Murphy is Elected as an Democrat to the house in Texas on a firmly Populist Johnsonian/ Kerry Platform of "taking the fight to the enemy, wether they be Communist snakes or Wall Street Fat cats"

 

[President_Lincoln]

@President_Lincoln Does Audie Murphy survive ITTL?

SECONDED please don't let his plane go down. Maybe he can help the newly reformed FBI take down organize crime rings (as he was doing OTL at the time of the crash)?

ITTL, Audie Murphy's plane never crashed. He's still kicking, and as you guessed Worffan, is helping FBI Director Frank Johnson take down organized crime rings. @President Earl Warren, I like the idea of Murphy being elected to the U.S. House in 1974 as well. @Worffan101 and @Gerbbro, what do you think?

You know I'm shocked the Democrats wouldn't push harder on the idea that when JFK was in office the USSR had practically stood down from a war footing and had a major coup not happened would likely have been currently reforming, while Romney had gotten America involved in a destructive foreign conflict that likely is part of the reason the Soviets have attacked Afganistan. It just seems like it'd be very easy to blame the continuing Cold War on Republican politics.

You're very right @volantredx! The Democrats could have pushed back harder on the foreign policy debate, rather than surrendering the issue to the Republicans. If anything, the Democrats suffer the most right now from infighting and the struggle to reconcile the two wings of the party. Though they really should be winning elections, they're sort of their own worst enemy at the moment. The real legacy of JFK's foreign policy is starting to pay dividends, of course. The PRC has been recognized by the United States and is in the process of beginning reforms under Zhou Enlai, a move which began because of JFK's foresight back in the late 60's. The Soviet Union, though hostile under Andropov, showed a real effort to, as you mentioned, make peace under Khrushchev as well. There a whole generation of politicians in the USSR, such as Gorbachev and Valentina Tereshkova, who are going to look back fondly on the Kennedy - Khrushchev detente and will want to replicate it posthaste. Maybe Kennedy and Khrushchev had the right ideas, just a generation too early for the rest of the politburo in Moscow to accept.

Great update @President_Lincoln! If I were Californian I'd have voted for Shirley Temple Black.

1974 is a very pivotal year in music I feel. IOTL you have:

* Rick Wakeman leaving Yes, and they auditioned many keyboardists (including Vangelis!) before picking Patrick Moraz as replacement.
* Genesis would release their rock opera The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and the tumultuous production would cause Peter Gabriel to tell his bandmates that he'd leave after they toured for the album.
* Queen releases Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack in this year, with the latter and its single Killer Queen catapulting them to stardom.
* ABBA wins Eurovision 1974 with their song Waterloo.

I'd imagine TTL's 1974 would be just as important in terms of music.

Thank you, @SavoyTruffle! Glad you enjoyed the update. There will be lots of news in the music world for this next update, though I will likely have some spill over into the next general pop culture update as well.

 

[Gerbbro]

ITTL, Audie Murphy's plane never crashed. He's still kicking, and as you guessed Worffan, is helping FBI Director Frank Johnson take down organized crime rings. @President Earl Warren, I like the idea of Murphy being elected to the U.S. House in 1974 as well. @Worffan101 and @Gerbbro, what do you think?

I can't complain about the idea of him running, as in a Shared World's game I'm apart of right now I made Audie Murphy run for the Senate and is currently running for President. But yes, I see no issue with him running for the House.

 

[Worffan101]

ITTL, Audie Murphy's plane never crashed. He's still kicking, and as you guessed Worffan, is helping FBI Director Frank Johnson take down organized crime rings. @President Earl Warren, I like the idea of Murphy being elected to the U.S. House in 1974 as well. @Worffan101 and @Gerbbro, what do you think?

He should be POTUS someday. War hero, friend of the little guy, vets' issues advocate--only hurdle is his own dislike of the spotlight. Even then, he'd be a shoo-in for whoever got him.

 

[President Earl Warren]

BTW @President_Lincoln I think you forgot to answer my earlier question on Denton and Will

 

[Prince Daemon Targaryen]

Who's on the Supreme Court, ITTL?

 

[Worffan101]

Murphy would probably be a left-leaning (by '70s standards) anti-interventionist Democrat. Pro-military but anti-intervention, in favor of expansion of vets' benefits, continuation and expansion of Great Society programs, and civil rights. LBJ will probably recruit him for his "New South" plan instantly if Murphy shows the slightest bit of interest in politics.

 

[achilles483]

What is the latest on George W in this timeline?

 

[President_Lincoln]

BTW @President_Lincoln I think you forgot to answer my earlier question on Denton and Will

My apologies for not answering before, Mr. President! I've been trying to get back to everyone, and I'm still working through everything. Congressman Denton (R) and Congressman Will (R - MD) are finding some success at building a conservative coalition within the Republican Party, but are frustrated by the President's moderate/centrist tendencies. Whenever bills are passed in the Senate by the Democratic majority and President Bush endorses them, Denton, Will, and their young fellow firebrands will often write vicious anonymous op-eds and encourage him to push to the right at every opportunity. This has earned them no end of enmity with Speaker Gerald Ford and his fellow moderates, of course.

Who's on the Supreme Court, ITTL?

A good question, Mr. Congressman! Here's the current bench:

Current Justices (as of January, 1975) - The Freund Court

Chief Justice Paul A. Freund - Kennedy appointee, since 1968 (Liberal)

Associate Justice Warren Burger - Romney appointee, since 1972 (Conservative)

Associate Justice Byron White - Kennedy appointee, since 1962. (Moderate)

Associate Justice Arthur Goldberg - Kennedy appointee, since 1962. (Liberal)

Associate Justice William O. Douglas - Roosevelt appointee, since 1939. (Liberal)

Associate Justice William Rehnquist - Romney appointee, since 1972 (Conservative)

Associate Justice Potter Stewart - Eisenhower appointee, since 1958. (Moderate)

Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall - Kennedy appointee, since 1967. (Liberal)

Associate Justice William Brennan - Eisenhower appointee, since 1956. (Liberal)

Rumor has it around Washington that Justice William O. Douglas is planning on retiring soon, but may be waiting until the '76 election to see if a more liberal President can be elected to choose his successor.

Murphy would probably be a left-leaning (by '70s standards) anti-interventionist Democrat. Pro-military but anti-intervention, in favor of expansion of vets' benefits, continuation and expansion of Great Society programs, and civil rights. LBJ will probably recruit him for his "New South" plan instantly if Murphy shows the slightest bit of interest in politics.

I could definitely see this scenario playing out, @Worffan101. Thank you for the idea, @President Earl Warren! Populist, liberal Congressman Audie Murphy (D - TX) it is!

 

[Worffan101]

I could definitely see this scenario playing out, @Worffan101. Thank you for the idea, @President Earl Warren! Populist, liberal Congressman Audie Murphy (D - TX) it is!

"When I was a kid in Kingston, growin' up in a sharecropper house with a good-for-nothing Pa who left us and a Ma struggling to raise a dozen kids by herself, they called people like us Okies and spat on us 'cause we were poor. When my ancestors came over here from the Emerald Isle, they got spat on and told 'no Irish need apply' so they got to stay poor. I served my country in three countries, fighting Mussolini and the Führer both, killed men and saw friends die, and I came back to a pension that can barely support a kid, let alone a grown man. The War left me with nightmares so bad I got hooked on painkillers and had to lock myself in a hotel room for a week to get myself un-hooked, 'cause nobody knew or cared how to treat vets for shell-shock. Now, I'm glad I fought for my country, but that fight isn't over. Just like I fought Hitler to save America overseas, I'm gonna fight for America here at home. I'll fight the war-hawks who want to get our boys killed for nothing in Asia just like I'll fight the polluting sons of bitches who want tax cuts for setting our rivers on fire and the sheet-wearing cowards who think they speak for white men. We need a comprehensive system of health and mental health care for American veterans, we need a continuation and expansion of existing social services from Social Security to wellfare, we need regulation of big business to protect the common folk from rich men's greed and excess, and we need a set of laws that ensure that all Americans can exercise their rights to vote, pray, speak, and fight for their country as they wish, without restriction or penalty.

"Vote for me, and I'll fight for you like I fought the Nazis."

"Vote Murphy for Congress. Farm boy. War hero. Patriot. This advertisement paid for by Audie Leon Murphy for Congress."
--------
How does that sound?

 

[Bene Tleilax]

What happened to Newt Gingrich, Harry Reid and Wayne Owens? Did they run/win OTL?

 

[Nagisaki]

I could definitely see this scenario playing out, @Worffan101. Thank you for the idea, @President Earl Warren! Populist, liberal Congressman Audie Murphy (D - TX) it is!

"When I was a kid in Kingston, growin' up in a sharecropper house with a good-for-nothing Pa who left us and a Ma struggling to raise a dozen kids by herself, they called people like us Okies and spat on us 'cause we were poor. When my ancestors came over here from the Emerald Isle, they got spat on and told 'no Irish need apply' so they got to stay poor. I served my country in three countries, fighting Mussolini and the Führer both, killed men and saw friends die, and I came back to a pension that can barely support a kid, let alone a grown man. The War left me with nightmares so bad I got hooked on painkillers and had to lock myself in a hotel room for a week to get myself un-hooked, 'cause nobody knew or cared how to treat vets for shell-shock. Now, I'm glad I fought for my country, but that fight isn't over. Just like I fought Hitler to save America overseas, I'm gonna fight for America here at home. I'll fight the war-hawks who want to get our boys killed for nothing in Asia just like I'll fight the polluting sons of bitches who want tax cuts for setting our rivers on fire and the sheet-wearing cowards who think they speak for white men. We need a comprehensive system of health and mental health care for American veterans, we need a continuation and expansion of existing social services from Social Security to wellfare, we need regulation of big business to protect the common folk from rich men's greed and excess, and we need a set of laws that ensure that all Americans can exercise their rights to vote, pray, speak, and fight for their country as they wish, without restriction or penalty.

"Vote for me, and I'll fight for you like I fought the Nazis."

"Vote Murphy for Congress. Farm boy. War hero. Patriot. This advertisement paid for by Audie Leon Murphy for Congress."
--------
How does that sound?

Feels appropriate:

 

[President_Lincoln]

"When I was a kid in Kingston, growin' up in a sharecropper house with a good-for-nothing Pa who left us and a Ma struggling to raise a dozen kids by herself, they called people like us Okies and spat on us 'cause we were poor. When my ancestors came over here from the Emerald Isle, they got spat on and told 'no Irish need apply' so they got to stay poor. I served my country in three countries, fighting Mussolini and the Führer both, killed men and saw friends die, and I came back to a pension that can barely support a kid, let alone a grown man. The War left me with nightmares so bad I got hooked on painkillers and had to lock myself in a hotel room for a week to get myself un-hooked, 'cause nobody knew or cared how to treat vets for shell-shock. Now, I'm glad I fought for my country, but that fight isn't over. Just like I fought Hitler to save America overseas, I'm gonna fight for America here at home. I'll fight the war-hawks who want to get our boys killed for nothing in Asia just like I'll fight the polluting sons of bitches who want tax cuts for setting our rivers on fire and the sheet-wearing cowards who think they speak for white men. We need a comprehensive system of health and mental health care for American veterans, we need a continuation and expansion of existing social services from Social Security to wellfare, we need regulation of big business to protect the common folk from rich men's greed and excess, and we need a set of laws that ensure that all Americans can exercise their rights to vote, pray, speak, and fight for their country as they wish, without restriction or penalty.

"Vote for me, and I'll fight for you like I fought the Nazis."

"Vote Murphy for Congress. Farm boy. War hero. Patriot. This advertisement paid for by Audie Leon Murphy for Congress."
--------
How does that sound?

I love it! This speech is canon now.

 

[President_Lincoln]

What happened to Newt Gingrich, Harry Reid and Wayne Owens? Did they run/win OTL?

Harry Reid is currently serving as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, Wayne Owens is representing the Utah 2nd in Congress, and Newt Gingrich is earning a living as an Alternate History author... more on that last one soon.

 

[Worffan101]

I love it! This speech is canon now.

!!! Awesome! Thank you, Mr. President!

 

[PresidentZinn]

What about Congressman Evan Mecham (R) - AZ.

He would make a great addition to the lingering hardline of the party who in this TL haven’t been humbled by a landslide Goldwater defeat.

 

[President Earl Warren]

Harry Reid is currently serving as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada

May he stay their and wallow in obscureness. It shall be much better for everyone if his style of political demagougery never gains any attraction

 

[Worffan101]

Harry Reid is currently serving as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, Wayne Owens is representing the Utah 2nd in Congress, and Newt Gingrich is earning a living as an Alternate History author... more on that last one soon.

Hope Reid gets into the Senate as OTL. He helped contribute to the spineless neoliberal takeover of the Democrats OTL, but hopefully he can wise up and...well, not do that TTL.

I love the idea of Newt Gingrich as TTL's Harry Turtledove, lol. Having him not get into politics and thereby not poison the well with his cheap tricks and sleazy promises would help avoid the insane polarization we're seeing OTL.

 

[President_Lincoln]

What about Congressman Evan Mecham (R) - AZ.

He would make a great addition to the lingering hardline of the party who in this TL haven’t been humbled by a landslide Goldwater defeat.

A great addition, @PresidentZinn, due to '74 being a surprisingly strong Republican year, Congressman Mecham managed to get himself finally elected Governor of Arizona. He plans on using his term in office to slash taxes and drive the GOP as far to the right as he can manage, though he is also hoping to wage a campaign to combat adult illiteracy. (Mecham seems to me, an endlessly complicated figure). His largest bases of support are his fellow Mormons and the remnants of the ultra-right wing John Birch Society, but he may try to paint himself as just a very conservative "mainstream" GOP man.

Hope Reid gets into the Senate as OTL. He helped contribute to the spineless neoliberal takeover of the Democrats OTL, but hopefully he can wise up and...well, not do that TTL.

I love the idea of Newt Gingrich as TTL's Harry Turtledove, lol. Having him not get into politics and thereby not poison the well with his cheap tricks and sleazy promises would help avoid the insane polarization we're seeing OTL.

@Nerdman3000 recently sent me some ideas about Gingrich becoming an Alternate History author ITTL that I absolutely loved. I plan on putting them into a pop culture update in the future as Gingrich's career gets more underway.

As for Harry Reid, I won't say too much for now. He is hoping to one day run for the Senate of course, and his is dismayed at the news that there is talk of a Federal nuclear waste storage and treatment facility in his home state. Remember that ITTL JFK pushed for all kinds of alternative energy research, include safe Nuclear.