Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
- Thread starter President_Lincoln
- Start date
Great see to Reagan doing good. Also dammit, not the Weather Underground!!
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Wow, I can't believe I would ever say such a thing, but this Reagan is really one I like. No, I love him! He's certainly done some good to the whole world, curbing, denouncing, discouraging and preventing secret police overreach as well as ceasing to support US backing of right-wing dictatorships in Latin America (even though the latter was probably a tad too good to be true?). Actually, he's been doing the opposite of what his GOP successors in office have done (especially Dubya's Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and waterboarding issues) IOTL. He's developing in the direction of what Europeans call a "liberal" (un liberal, ein Liberaler): economically pro-free market and capitalist, geopolitically a torch-bearer for the free world and anti-Eastern bloc, but also pro-individual liberties and democracy everywhere.
Also, awesome developments concerning ERA and metric conversion.
Hopefully, terrorism isn't going to destabilise everything... but I fear it might... Well, it's a highly plausible plight of the 1970s (and not only then, of course).
Also, awesome developments concerning ERA and metric conversion.
Hopefully, terrorism isn't going to destabilise everything... but I fear it might... Well, it's a highly plausible plight of the 1970s (and not only then, of course).
Needless to say, if Reagan's Committee legacy lasts, we'll never see popular serials like "Alias" or "Homeland"...
Very nice chapter there @President_Lincoln - this VP Reagan seems to finally learnt democracy comes in many forms.
Good to read of the clean-up in NYC - that should change the City's 'murder hotspot' rep going forward. Go Kennedy!
Good to read of the clean-up in NYC - that should change the City's 'murder hotspot' rep going forward. Go Kennedy!
Like how Reagan is changing his views (and I like this Reagan better than OTL, BTW...)
Good to read that NYC will be doing better--maybe it won't be "basically The Purge" (1) in the 1980s ITTL...
Oh, God, something's gonna happen to Bush, isn't it? I had the same feeling of dread when Pierre Trudeau took his vacation in Los Angeles...
Wonder what happens to the Weather Underground ITTL (IOTL, the explosion that killed several WU members occurred next door to where Dustin Hoffman was living at the time; kill him off and there's butterflies, to put it mildly...)
BTW, the song "If I Needed You" was sung by none other than Townes Van Zandt and released in 1972, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln, and waiting for more, of course...
Good to read that NYC will be doing better--maybe it won't be "basically The Purge" (1) in the 1980s ITTL...
Oh, God, something's gonna happen to Bush, isn't it? I had the same feeling of dread when Pierre Trudeau took his vacation in Los Angeles...
Wonder what happens to the Weather Underground ITTL (IOTL, the explosion that killed several WU members occurred next door to where Dustin Hoffman was living at the time; kill him off and there's butterflies, to put it mildly...)
BTW, the song "If I Needed You" was sung by none other than Townes Van Zandt and released in 1972, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln, and waiting for more, of course...
Oh dear...
I actually found this part quite hilarious in its own right.
Makes two of us, Unknown.
As much as I like TTL's Reagan better than his OTL self, perhaps not seeing him as President would... well, I'm not sure what to say here.
The playlist was accordingly updated since I missed it earlier today, and @President_Lincoln did good on that promise to rectify the fact that Townes Van Zandt didn't appear at all on the soundtrack of a timeline where he's much better off. Excellent update, as always!
If Bush does gets assassinated by Sara Jane Moore, I wouldn't be surprised if some people honestly start taking those ITTL conspiracy theories that Reagan had a hand in Romney's death seriously. I mean, to conspiracy theorists, first Reagan suddenly gets sick and doesn't show up in Milwaukee, leading to Romney getting assassinated after that last minute schedule change in Milwaukee, and now possibly Bush gets killed and Reagan becomes president. I'm not normally a believer in conspiracies myself, but if I lived in this timeline in that situation, I think even I would be looking at Reagan with a bit more scrutiny and start wondering if those conspiracies might have some truth to them.
That said if Bush does get killed by Moore, your going to end up probably seeing a massive reform of the Secret Service ITTL happening. I mean, first JFK almost gets killed, then Romney is killed, and now possibly Bush, and it'd be worse here ITTL, because it'd be two successful assassinations in a row.
At least Reagan here is better than his OTL counterpart, so he might be somewhat of a better president. Cheney is screwed if Reagan becomes president though...
Hopefully Bush isn't killed here by Moore though.
That said if Bush does get killed by Moore, your going to end up probably seeing a massive reform of the Secret Service ITTL happening. I mean, first JFK almost gets killed, then Romney is killed, and now possibly Bush, and it'd be worse here ITTL, because it'd be two successful assassinations in a row.
At least Reagan here is better than his OTL counterpart, so he might be somewhat of a better president. Cheney is screwed if Reagan becomes president though...
Hopefully Bush isn't killed here by Moore though.
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I'll be honest.....I think this is too obvious....
I think he's not only doing a fake-out, I think he's "pulling Joss Whedon".
A number of people have mentioned not liking Reagan for one reason or another....
I think he's "redeeming the character" and then killing (or at least seriously wounding) him.
I think Reagan's going to be the one that Moore targets (maybe his OTL luck will hold out and she'll fail to kill him).
The way this is structured, it looks like shes gonna go for one of the Democrats instead of Bush. Also if Bobby becomes president in 1980 (which he will), is Ed Koch gonna take his place?
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On the one hand, I'm happy about the CIA (about time they were restrained! They were becoming too much like Starfleet's Section 31) and New York. On the other hand, I'm worried about this new possible terrorist. People like Sara Jane Moore are way more dangerous than those like Terry Robbins, IMO.
This Reagan's certainly better IOTL. Having him focus his energies on fighting corruption and state opacity and realizing that the soc dems have a point should help him.
New York looks good.
The Weather Underground worries me.
New York looks good.
The Weather Underground worries me.
Sorry for the late response. Awesome chapter. Loved Reagan and his commission. I also really liked how you touched on MK ULTRA and more on the CIA. Reagan is certainly shaping up to be a very influential Vice President and I mean that in a good way not like puppet master Cheney when he was VP. I credit you with making me like this version of Reagan compared to the one in OTL. I also really liked the Weather Underground. I don't know much about them except with what you've said about them. I also like how you brought back the ER movement too. Interesting to see who the Democrat candidates for President will be and if anyone will challenge Bush from the Republican Party.
Here is my guesses:
Johnsonians/New Dealers:
Scoop Jackson:made a splash last time and critically endorsed Johnson to win the nomination. I think he may see his succsess in 72 as encourgenment that he could indeed win the nomination in 76 and Scoop will no doubt to be encouraged to do this by his close confidant John Kerry and will recive the full weight of the AFL-CIO. Has a definite road to victory if he manages to secure the Working Class and take the south. Has a critical charisma deficit however and his hawkishness will make the Left and Liberal wing opposed.
Southerners:
Reubin Askew: a Southern Democrat who is firmly secure with Socially Conservative stances and Moderate economic stances I can see him taking the place of Jimmy Carter and sweeping the South. His main problem is that of appeal outside of the South, where the Northern new dealers, often Catholic card carrying Union Men who may distrust an evangelical Southerner, and will pull the lever for Jackson.
the Maverick:
Eugene Mccarthy: Appeals to both the left (for his devotion to Doveishness.) and the New Dealers (Firmly Anti Illegal Immigration and Pro Life Warrior), problem he has is juggling the two wings and his personality may upset the apple cart.
the Left:
Shirly Chisolm: Black woman who had a great campagin last time, her main appeal is Leftist college students, Black Voters and Women. However will face difficulty winning the hearts and minds of workers and will face opposition from Social conservatives for her Abortion stance and the ERA.
Thank you all for your kind words! 
This update was a long time coming and I had a lot of fun developing these story-lines and hearing what you had to say.
To answer some questions:
These are some very interesting ideas... Keep these in mind as the next group of updates come down the pike.
As for Ed Koch and Bobby Kennedy's futures, my lips are firmly sealed. Just because I have foreshadowed something in the timeline does not necessarily mean that it will come to pass.
This update was a long time coming and I had a lot of fun developing these story-lines and hearing what you had to say. To answer some questions:
These are some very interesting ideas... Keep these in mind as the next group of updates come down the pike.
As for Ed Koch and Bobby Kennedy's futures, my lips are firmly sealed.
Just because I have foreshadowed something in the timeline does not necessarily mean that it will come to pass.