The Libertarians and ACP could adopt Buchanans foregin Policy that be better for them. That would be better for them. also I agree on kissinger.
Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond
- Thread starter President_Lincoln
- Start date
Thank you for this. I fear sometimes saying this viewpoint, as I fear getting pounced on. I'm fine with debating, but this is the kind of issue where someone labels you as a demon and then ten people join. So thank you.
Hi Mr. President,
I just read through this, and love it.
Wonder what happens on the European Continent, especially (West)Germany.
When reading about Hillary and Bill and the public demand to still ship them be it by believing in destined soul mates
or rule or cool, I had two ideas:
I just read through this, and love it.
Wonder what happens on the European Continent, especially (West)Germany.
When reading about Hillary and Bill and the public demand to still ship them be it by believing in destined soul mates
or rule or cool, I had two ideas:- They meet, he's on a gig, she's on some election they come closer and have a contraception malfunction. Bill channels his inner a**hole and Hillary decides to become a single mom while still succeeding in politics.
- They meet fall in love and Bill channels the laid back jazz musician becoming the man on her side, main caregiver and supporter in her political career (and lots of women will envy her and/or chase her likeable husband).
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Hi Mr. President,
I just read through this, and love it.
Wonder what happens on the European Continent, especially (West)Germany.
When reading about Hillary and Bill and the public demand to still ship them bee it by believing in destined soul mates
- They meet, he's on a gig, she's on some election they come closer and have a contraception malfunction. Bill channels his inner a**hole and Hillary decides to become a single mom while still succeeding in politics.
- They meet fall in love and Bill channels the laid back jazz musician becoming the man on her side, main caregiver and supporter in her political career (and lots of women will envy her and/or chase her likeable husband).
Great ideas! What about a REVERSE MONICA!! duh duh duh
Na, he's the peoples/(women's) man, she's the single minded politician.
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By the way, I don't know if it's possible, but one thing I could see happening if in order to keep party unity and such, the Democratic winner of the 1968 primaries might be forced to chose their opponent as their running mate. So like if Humphrey wins the primary, I could see him deciding to ask Smathers to run with him in order to ensure unity in the party and such.
I' rather have it like this... And I hope she becomes a New Dealer Democrat from Illinois than as a liberal Republican.
BP Booker
Banned
I dont know, I would like to live in an America where the Overton window is so far to the left that Hillary Rodham is Republican. Im just endlessly fascinated by pre Republican Revolution America, with Republican Al D'Amato of New York and Democrat Hewell Heflin of Alabama. Alabama had TWO democratic senators in 1992!
But that dosent really happen that often doesent it? Bush Sr didnt pick Dole in 1988 and he won, Bush didnt pick McCain in 2000 and he won, Obama didnt pick Hillary in 2008 and he won, I understand the importance of Party unity and such, but at the same time, after a particulary long and nasty primary in which you spent 6 months and millions of dollars telling your co-partisans that "That Guy? He would be a terrible president!" if you go on to pick that person as your running mate thats kinda sending mixed messages.
Sometimes the party faction that lost has to suck it up
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Hi Mr. President,
I just read through this, and love it.
Wonder what happens on the European Continent, especially (West)Germany.
When reading about Hillary and Bill and the public demand to still ship them be it by believing in destined soul mates
- They meet, he's on a gig, she's on some election they come closer and have a contraception malfunction. Bill channels his inner a**hole and Hillary decides to become a single mom while still succeeding in politics.
- They meet fall in love and Bill channels the laid back jazz musician becoming the man on her side, main caregiver and supporter in her political career (and lots of women will envy her and/or chase her likeable husband).
Thank you so much, Anja!
Welcome aboard! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying the TL. If West Germany is something you're interested in, I would be happy to cover it in the next foreign affairs update. As for Bill and Hillary, only time will tell
I think it would be more if the primary was really close like it seems it may be in ITTL. By party unity, I meant Humphrey choosing Smathers as to not alienate the people who voted for Smathers, especially with how different the two candiates views are on things. Plus it helps for JFK because he doesn't have to force himself to choose between the two of them.
Chapter 36
Chapter 36: I Wish It Would Rain - President Kennedy’s Agenda in His Final Year in Office
Above: President John F. Kennedy prepares to address the American people from the White House lawn. In this live televised speech, JFK planned to announce the policy initiatives which would make up the bulk of his final year in the White House.
President Kennedy didn’t take long upon returning from his vacation in Virginia to dive back into his work. The morning of January 20th, 1968 was an important one for Kennedy. It represented to him, the looming truth that he had been loathe to admit ever since being reelected: that one day his time in the Oval Office would come to an end. As Jackie had told him every time he faced doubt or uncertainty, he had done a great deal of good for his country since taking the Presidential oath seven years prior. The American people loved him. The economy boomed and the military, while its brass was angry over his diplomatic strategy in Southeast Asia, was stronger and better prepared than ever before to face any threats to freedom across the globe. The New Frontier and the War on Poverty had transformed Kennedy from just another Chief Executive to almost mythical status among his supporters. He was his generation’s FDR, they said; a great crusader for the common man, and a believer in the spirit that made America, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “the last, best, hope of the world.” Through the President’s tireless fight for Civil Rights, African Americans and other minorities saw their movement’s aims coming to fruition. Scientific research, Arts, and the Humanities had all been generously funded under the Kennedy Administration; these in the name of educating the nation to prove itself the worthy victor in the “Great Twilight Struggle” of the Cold War. And perhaps most amazingly of all, a joint team of American and Soviet scientists were overcoming mutual fear, prejudice, and paranoia to work on a mission that would land a man on the surface of the Moon. In President Kennedy’s own words: “When we allow ourselves to follow freedom’s tireless call, the possibilities before us are endless.” Yes, John F. Kennedy had already built an impressive legacy for himself that would surely earn him a place in the pantheon of American Presidential greatness. And yet, there was still more, endlessly more he wanted to accomplish.
There existed, deep in the heart of the complicated man at the helm of the ship of state, a tremendous wellspring of empathy, compassion, and heroism. One future biographer, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. described the phenomenon as “a truly unique example of noblesse oblige, the endless compulsion of a second son to prove that he was as worthy of his father’s approval and admiration as his elder brother, who by all accounts was the focus of the family’s hopes until his untimely end.” JFK believed, with every fiber of his being, that he held a great responsibility to the people of the nation, and that his duty did not end until the day he left office. To that end, the President followed up the signing of The Civil Rights Act of 1968, which sought to end housing discrimination against African Americans, with a broad, bold agenda for the last 365 days of his Presidency.
1967 had seen major legislation providing for everything from the creation of Federal public broadcasting (National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service being two prominent examples); an end to discrimination based on age in education and the workplace; supplements to Defense Appropriation; and the creation of the National Park Service. The last of these became an agency of the Department of the Interior and represented, to the President, only the beginning of one of the two major pushes he’d be making on the Hill throughout the year to come.
Years earlier, the environmentalist movement in the United States had been kickstarted by Rachel Carson, and the publication of her damning book, Silent Spring. Condemning the chemical manufacturing industry and the use of synthetic pesticides, the book had raised the issue of how the land of the free was handling its natural heritage to the attention of people and policy makers across the country. Though its publication and popularity were fought bitterly by the chemical manufacturers, the book’s message and findings caught President Kennedy’s attention almost immediately. Deeply patriotic, and passionate about the future of the country’s environment, Kennedy considered Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau to be one of his favorite books, and remained a devoted fan of Thoreau and environmentalism throughout his life. JFK voraciously read Silent Spring upon discovering it, and shortly thereafter had Carson to the White House to discuss the issue of environmental regulation personally over the winter of ‘67.
On her recommendation, and similar requests from millions of activists across the country, the President made the issue the first of his two final goals as Chief Executive. “We, as Americans, have been blessed with a bounty from Heaven in the form of our land itself, not to mention its skies and waters.” Kennedy’s speech began, following its typical platitudes and pleasantries. “And like all good shepherds, we must carefully guard and protect the beauty of our blessings. It is for this reason that I stand before you today, and ask Congress to pass legislation providing for the creation of a government agency dedicated to the regulation and protection of our environment.” Though he knew such an agency would face resistance from conservatives, the President was confident it would see its way through Congress. He had been battling blowhards for the past seven years. He was a pro at it by now. What’s more, the President knew just the man to man the helm on the project.
Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, Democrat from Washington and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, though known for clashing heads with the President for not being “hawkish” enough on foreign policy, was otherwise a close ally of Kennedy’s on most other issues. Jackson had already been pursuing a joint House-Senate colloquium on the need for the institution of a national environmental policy. A tireless fighter for causes he believed in, Jackson had skin in the game on this issue, and would be more than happy to get his name on the appropriate legislation. As the President was making his speech, Jackson was already on the phone with Ted Kennedy, drawing up a preliminary version of the bill.
In addition to The National Environmental Policy Act, which would eventually pass and lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency shortly thereafter, President Kennedy’s eventual environmental legacy would prove nothing less than impressive. Other “green” bills signed into law by the President included: The Endangered Species Preservation Act, The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, The National Trails Systems Act, The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Act, and The National Historic Preservation Act. All of these would be considered landmark achievements for the environmentalist movement, but they did not tackle another area President Kennedy was interested in: energy.
Modern American society, with its advanced technology, systems of sustenance and communication, and myriad comforts, was highly reliant on fossil fuels to generate the electricity needed to power it all. Though the study of global climate change was still very much in its infancy, and connecting higher temperatures to greenhouse gases was still years away, fossil fuels already presented concerns. Namely: that they were undoubtedly a finite resource, and the burning of them, particularly dirty coal, produced a lot of air pollution. To the end of securing America’s energy future, and of cleaning the air of dangerous pollutants, President Kennedy called on Congress to begin setting aside money to “explore and develop alternative means of powering the nation’s economy.” These grants and studies, though they would take years to pay off, would eventually lead to a boom in renewable energy research in the United States, especially in the fields of solar, wind, and safe Nuclear Power.
The other piece of the President’s remaining domestic agenda was going to be a more difficult sell, he was sure. Throughout his tenure, Kennedy had sought to wield all of the resources available to him as the leader of the wealthiest, most powerful nation in human history to wage an out and out war on poverty. It pained the President’s heart to know that any in the Land of the Free could go hungry, and his dedication to providing a stronger social safety net had always been a key focus of the New Frontier. Already, he had found great success for his efforts. Medicare and Medicaid ensured that poor and elderly Americans would have access to the health care they needed. New educational programs would extend the hand of opportunity to millions who would not have otherwise felt it. Food stamps, subsidized school lunches, and other programs would help eliminate hunger from the nation’s streets. Yet, there was still something missing in the President’s mind. All across the nation, his advisers informed him, working families were struggling to earn enough on their own to truly push ahead and attain a higher place in society. They were surviving, subsisting, but living paycheck to paycheck. Hopes or ambitions of higher achievement, like sending their children to college, still seemed a faraway dream unless you worked at a Union gig in Detroit. Thankfully to the idealistic President, a possible solution soon presented itself.
The year before, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shifting the focus of his activism from the largely successful cause of Civil Rights toward issues of economic inequality, wrote a book arguing for the implementation of a guaranteed income for families across the nation. The idea was simple, if controversial: the Federal government would pay a stipend to each American family that earned below a threshold, supplementing income they brought in already, and ensuring that every family was able to meet their basic needs. Beside the powerful moral argument for such a program, there were potential economic benefits as well. If the nation’s workers no longer had to worry about making ends meet, they could be free to attend school, get additional workplace training, develop skills, and otherwise live more successful, meaningful lives. Productivity, theoretically would soar, and American society could join hands to take one great step forward, together.
There were, of course, huge swaths of the nation that were utterly opposed to any such program. Paleoconservative Republicans like Senator Barry Goldwater (R - AZ) and Governor Ronald Reagan (R - CA) decried the idea as “socialist nonsense” and worried that productivity would suffer as people lost the incentive to work. They argued that the program was little more than the redistribution of wealth, and that it would foster laziness if it were to be passed. To Reagan, Goldwater, and others opposed to such an idea however, King pleaded: “We are wasting and degrading human life by clinging to archaic thinking.” By passing a guaranteed income plan, “A host of widespread positive psychological changes inevitably will result from widespread economic security,” King concluded. “The dignity of the individual will flourish when…he has the assurance that his income is stable and certain, and when he knows that he has the means to seek self-improvement.”
President Kennedy loved the idea, but agreed with more moderate voices in his party that practical legislation would require a few tweaks. For starters, he would need to counter claims that the program would be “redundant” by making arrangements to have the new program replace AFDC - Assistance for Families with Dependent Children. This would mean setting stringent requirements on who could receive “foundational supplemental income” as it came to be described. The version of President Kennedy’s “Aid for Families Plan” or AFP that eventually made its way to Congress was fairly moderate when compared to some of the more radical versions of universal basic income being proposed by Senator George McGovern (D - SD) among others. AFP would apply only to families with children, meaning childless couples or individuals were out of luck. It also included a work requirement for household members considered “employable”. This latter requirement being included to placate conservatives.
The bill championing the AFP was first introduced to the House of Representatives on January 24th, 1968 by Congressman William F. Ryan (D - NY). Though it was met with a warm reception in the lower chamber of Congress, the President and his allies, led by brother Teddy, expected stiff resistance in the Senate. So President Kennedy turned once again to the American people, asking them to call their Representatives and Senators, and let them know that a basic universal guarantee that their needs would be met if they needed help, would go a long way toward making the nation stronger. With an approval rating hovering around 75%, Kennedy had no trouble at all getting the people to listen. The real challenge would be on the hill, where several Senators had a vested interest in doing everything they could to stop the proposal.
Senator Goldwater, in the lead up to the New Hampshire Primary, made his opposition to the AFP a central tenet of his campaign. “We cannot win the ideological struggle we face with Communism if we allow this sort of socialist sedition to run the way we do things!” Goldwater declared to a roaring crowd. “Do you think the government can take care of you? Do you think the government is efficient? Have you tried driving on the toll roads lately?”
Though the President knew the fight for the AFP would not be easy, he insisted it was for that very reason that it was worth pursuing. It was like he had once said regarding his pledge to land a man on the Moon:
“We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”
…
In addition to working with President Kennedy on a proposal for AFP, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continued to join African Americans across the nation in their fight for better treatment and equal rights. Beginning in February of 1968, sanitation workers in the city of Memphis, Tennessee began striking and orchestrating walkouts to protest unequal wages and safety conditions imposed by Mayor Henry Loeb. At the time, black workers were paid roughly a third of the wages earned by their white counterparts for the same work, and due to the unsafe work environment, several of them had been killed in the past few years alone. Another edict held that black workers would receive no pay if they stayed at home, no matter the weather. This resulted in African-Americans being forced to work always, even in terrible, treacherous rain and snow storms. On April 3rd, Dr. King flew into Memphis to address a congregation at Mason Temple, the Headquarters of the Church of God in Christ. Hir airline flight wound up delayed due to bomb threats being received by his entourage and pilot, but King insisted on going forward with the trip nonetheless. On landing, King told his wife, Coretta; “This society is sick. Only bravery can overcome and cure the sort of cowardice that makes one man treat another this way.”
In his speech at the Temple, King referenced the threats in his speech:
“And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats... or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. [Applause] And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! [Applause] And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!” The congregation sang hymns together long into the night, and King squeezed his wife’s hand tightly all the while. He was not afraid to die, though thankfully for the cause and the nation as a whole, it was not yet his time to go.
The next evening, around 6:00 PM on April 4th, Dr. King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where he and his entourage were staying during their time in Memphis. Unbeknownst to King, across the street, a would be assassin was lying in wait, lining up a shot with his Remington Model 760 rifle. The man, one James Earl Ray was preparing to squeeze the trigger when he was caught off guard by the sight of Coretta King opening the door to Room 306, where they were staying. “Martin,” her soft voice was caught on a billowing spring breeze. “Come inside, there’s a man from Washington on the phone. He says that Senator Kennedy wants to speak with you. He told me to tell you that it’s of the utmost importance.”
King nodded, correctly believing that the call was probably about the progress of the AFP in the Senate. As soon as the Memphis trip was wrapped up, King would be flying back to the capital to testify before the Senate and make speeches rallying public support for the initiative. Ted Kennedy had unsurprisingly been given the task of seeing his brother’s final major piece of legislation through to passage, and wanted to work closely with King and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement to see it done. King smiled at Coretta and took a step toward the now open door when he heard a prodigious CRACK. It seemed for an instant to split the air around him in two. Intense pain ripped through his abdomen, a trail of fire leading to the left from his stomach. Holding his stance against the fierce quivering in his legs and the screams of his wife, Dr. King forced himself to move with as much haste as he was able to the door and behind cover.
Three more shots rang out in the Memphis sky that evening, but not another one of them found their mark. Ray, realizing his chance at killing the Reverend had passed, quickly escaped from his nest across the street and out into the night. Dr. King would suffer tremendous pain from the .30-06 bullet lodged in his midsection, but after emergency surgery at nearby St. Joseph’s Hospital, it was announced that besides the shock and dizziness from blood loss, he would likely make a full recovery. President Kennedy, upon hearing the news of the attempt on King’s life, immediately called Coretta at the hospital and made plans to visit King as he recovered in Memphis. Despite the best efforts of a hateful southerner to snuff him out, one of the great lights of the Civil Rights Movement would live on and burn bright for years to come.
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: The Trials and Tribulations of the Fab Four
OOC: My apologies once again for the temporarily disjointed schedule for updates! This chapter will probably be the last one I am able to get up before this upcoming Friday, on account of more school work and real life stuff. In the meantime, allow me to thank you all once again for your continued readership and support! I'll still be doing my best to participate in discussion and read/answer my PM's, so hopefully I won't disappear completely.
Cheers!
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thatsbunkers
Banned
With probably no Prague spring since there is no Brezhnev, I could see European communist parties in France and Italy (and greece once the Junta falls) being more successful.
This has to be my favorite update thus far. It would be nice if we got installments beyond the Kennedy years.
Good update; I like that King lives ITTL, and it makes a lot of sense. Also like some of the other details...
"I Wish it Would Rain" was a song released by The Temptations in December of 1967, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln...
"I Wish it Would Rain" was a song released by The Temptations in December of 1967, so congrats for continuing the pattern, @President_Lincoln...
Italy I could definitely see—there’s a strong support for Communism even today in certain regions there.
Wouldn’t Greece be more opposed to it from the Civil War?
thatsbunkers
Banned
The Greek communist party is still significant today and got seats in the first free elections in the 70s
never mind then
Still, Communist victories in major European countries wouldn’t go uncontested by the CIA and the like; Hoover’s still going at it for now
Fantastic update! I really enjoy seeing the last year of JFK’s historic terms.
With much of OTL’s environment laws passed earlier, as well as support in alternative energy sources, we could see a greener America. This will affect the pollution problem IOTL.
The idea of a universal basic income, even a proto- one, is something quite shocking to hear Kennedy support. There will definitely be backlash by Republicans and Conservatives, but I also suspect that there will be support by the New Left for it. However, I worry there will be political fighting within the party over the more moderate members of the Democratic Party over such a radical idea.
As for MLK surviving, I must say HALLELUJAH! With such a powerful voice saved from death, the Civil Rights Movement, as well as Black Power and all the other militant groups, will definitely be affected.
Anyway, can’t wait for more news on the Beatles!
With much of OTL’s environment laws passed earlier, as well as support in alternative energy sources, we could see a greener America. This will affect the pollution problem IOTL.
The idea of a universal basic income, even a proto- one, is something quite shocking to hear Kennedy support. There will definitely be backlash by Republicans and Conservatives, but I also suspect that there will be support by the New Left for it. However, I worry there will be political fighting within the party over the more moderate members of the Democratic Party over such a radical idea.
As for MLK surviving, I must say HALLELUJAH! With such a powerful voice saved from death, the Civil Rights Movement, as well as Black Power and all the other militant groups, will definitely be affected.
Anyway, can’t wait for more news on the Beatles!
thatsbunkers
Banned
Yeah the CIA and Italian government had plans for a coup in the case of a communist victory in Italy. Setting up a Junta in Italy would cause a lot of international blowback I'm sure and could push Portugal, Spain, and Greece away from NATO after they overthrow their juntas.