Blue Skies in Camelot (Continued): An Alternate 80s and Beyond

[LordYam]

Part of the reason I mentioned mcklesky v kemp is because it could be a flashpoint. It might end capital punishment again and that would irritate people

 

[PRM]

Part of the reason I mentioned mcklesky v kemp is because it could be a flashpoint. It might end capital punishment again and that would irritate people

Not only irritate if the supreme court or Congress abolish the death penalty the right is gonna blow a gaskett.

 

[AndyWho]

Louisiana
Dave Treen (R)

I know it is nigh impossible, but I almost wish there was a way Treen was re-elected in 1983 against Edwards. He was an effective Governor in the hiring of more black employees and, allegedly, made efforts in courting oil wealth towards improving education and coastal wetlands protection. Perhaps as means of providing himself as an image of the "New South Republican", Treen can hit on conservative values while utilizing state government to maintain wetlands, education, and infrastructure as means of giving the GOP a path to bridge conservative and liberal Republicans without a party split.

Granted, the best case to do so would be to give Edwards a reason not to run again in 1983 (and 1987, if we're lucky). I would imagine with a Kennedy administration, there's a position that Bobby could give "Fast Eddie" (albeit, at a risk)

 

[Maxthecat]

Okay, a couple things.
1. A shame John Ashbrook didn't become a senator, did he still die ITTL?
2. "Hillary Rodham Bush" always makes me do a double take no matter how long it's been.
I fucking love this TL.

 

[Uniquely Genius]

Impressive chapter update Mr. President on The 1982 US Midterm Election ITTL. The Democrats control both houses of Congress thanks to President RFK's Domestic and Foreign Policies. While they may have the upper hand, the Republicans even painted them "The Massachusetts Mafia" because of the Kennedys, holding the Northeastern Region, and as the party's New Frontier/Liberal Wing. With the announcement of Senator Long to not run for reelection, finish his term, and enjoy retirement in 1987 ITTL, he step down as the Senate Majority Leader and hoping for everyone that Senator Kennedy would succeed his place. Until every region and wing of the party disagree on putting Ted that could cause a rift, succeeding Senator Long would be Senator Ford. Senator Kennedy also step down as the Senate Majority Whip and replaced to his close friend and ally, Senator Tunney. While the Republicans still have Senators Baker as Senate Minority Leader and Rumsfeld as Senate Minority Whip, being one of their leading members and party's Moderate Wing to show support in bipartisanship.

With the 1984 US Presidential Election ITTL on the horizon, President RFK and Vice President Bentsen of the Democratic Party would be up for reelection in a clean sweep. They're unstoppable and popular! With Former Vice President Reagan retiring from politics after 1980 ITTL, who's going to take his place to run for the Republicans? Our only option is Senator Rumsfeld, but how could they keep the members of the party act together to defeat RFK again if they're fighting with each other? We'll be looking forward for it in the future. For now, let's just say this one for the upcoming election with "Kennedy-Bentsen 1984: Peace and Prosperity!" Why does President RFK hasn't made The Economic Bill of Rights passed yet as one of his campaign platforms from 1980 ITTL Mr. President?

Well geniuses, looks like we're going to The 1982 Mexican Presidential Election ITTL. Whoever the elected leader may be, hope their voting on who can unite the country from division. We'll be waiting and looking forward in the next chapter updates!

It's certainly possible. President FDR's "Economic Bill of Rights" has been the guiding light of the Democratic Party's Domestic Policy goals since 1944. President RFK certainly believes in that platform; his administration has a number of policy proposals that are broadly in line with it. Perhaps a minor spoiler, but 1983 will see President RFK's pursue the infrastructure portion of what he will term his "New Hope" initiative (rather than Reagan's "Star Wars", get it? To quote Director George Lucas, "It's like poetry... it rhymes."). Renewed spending on better freight and passenger rail, modernized roads, bridges, and highways, as well as airports and dockyards, these are the sorts of investments which Kennedy and his Economic Advisors hope will keep America competitive as the 21st Century approaches. There will also be emphasis on scientific and technological advancement, including the Space Program and a certain superconducting supercollider to be built out in Texas... Expect to hear about all of that and more in President RFK's State of the Union Address. After '83... I'll keep my cards close to the chest for now. Perhaps a Federal Minimum Wage that, at the very least, raises with inflation each year? I agree that education and housing might be priorities for a hypothetical second term. Of course, foreign policy will also occupy much of President Kennedy's time as well.

Hoping for President RFK to make The Economic Bill of Rights passed through Congress to make it a law. The New Hope Initiative would be an amazing idea to create more infrastructure projects that makes the country as the best in competition towards the 21st Century ITTL. And finally, a Federal Increased Minimum Wage would make the workers and laborers rejoiced with inflation increase as time goes by? I second this idea already geniuses!

Which is why I fervently hope that in The 1984 US Presidential Election ITTL, the GOP would nominate either Senator Jesse Helms, Senator Paul Laxalt, or Representative Phyllis Schlafy (she did run an insurgent campaign that almost cost Bush, Sr. his nomination in 1976 ITTL) as their presidential candidate, running on a campaign of "the only thing Ronnie did wrong was losing the election" and "Ronnie lost because he was not conservative enough." Given President RFK's popularity and their nomination angering Romneyites and possibly even Rumsfeldians or Nixonites in the party, the GOP would suffer a landslide defeat like Walter Mondale and the Democrats in The 1984 US Presidential Election IOTL. That way, after such a staggering car crash, the moderates in the party would have enough will and momentum to sideline the Reaganites and Buckleyites in the party.

Yeah, I think it's likely that that happens. I can imagine even Senator Rumsfeld looking at the situation and then saying "If we're gonna win, we need to move back to the center." They'll need to find someone who can unite all the "Kennedy Republicans." Independents, Romney Republicans and the Compassionate Conservatives.

Agreed. Also, given how popular The Second Kennedy Administration and his policies are, if there are no controversies or stumbling blocks in the next two years, the question for The 1984 US Presidential Election ITTL would be not whether President RFK will be re-elected or not, but how much votes he would get—will it be a landslide or not?

Any seasoned Republican Politicians who had a finely-tuned political antenna (chief among them, unfortunately, is the machevillian Senator Donald Rumsfeld) would probably saw how the wind would blew out and opted not to throw their name in that year's election, waiting instead for 1988 ITTL, when voter fatigues after 12 Years of Democratic Rule kicks in.

Even with voter fatigue, there's no guarantee that it'll be the Republican's Year. I mean whoever the Democratic Nominee is, the way that it's looking now, President RFK may well finish his presidency as the most popular president since his brother, and the Democratic Nominee could emphasis on that saying that electing them would be a Third RFK Term and promise to continue Bobby's Policies.

Another thing is whoever the Democratic Nominee will eventual be. If it's an exciting person like Senator Audie Murphy, a man who is a war hero, has so far dedicated his political career to helping veterans and raising awareness of PTSD, and moderate to Liberal Democrat; or even Tom Bradley who was just elected Governor of California. Any one of those candidates could excite the liberal base and exceed turnout on election day. And maybe just maybe voter fatigue doesn't become a factor in the way they vote.

However if Vice President Lloyd Bentsen becomes the nominee, then I'd say voter fatigue would really kick in since I don't see him really exciting people.

Hmmmm, well I think Vice President Lloyd Bentsen could still be elected President in 1988 ITTL (and it'll depend on who the Republicans nominated), but maybe it's a much narrower vote than predicted, with the Republicans making significant gains, to the point that by the 1990 Midterms, the Republicans increase their gains a bit more (maybe even win them) until the 1992 US Presidential Election comes ITTL.

But hey, that's my prediction.

That would make into Democrat worship ITTL. Three Democratic Presidents in a row just doesn't seem feasible.

It's a 50/50 Chance either way. As the president said, the pendulum would swing back at some point, but it would not be as regressive as IOTL but rather in a milder form. Also, having done thorough research on Vice President Lloyd Bentsen, I think he may be one of the most under-appreciated good politicians out there, overshadowed by more flamboyant contemporaries.

I think Bentsen, as RFK's Vice President, stood a good chance of becoming the next occupant of 1600 Pensylvania Avenue on the strength of the incumbent's popularity and his promise to continue Bobby's Policies, essentially taking on the role of Bush, Sr. ITTL. Personally speaking, I would give him the chance.

Yeah, he is one of the most under-appreciated politicians and I definitely wouldn't complain if he became the next president. Especially since he and Bobby are having a good working relationship.

Sure, but at a certain point, something's gotta give. And Bobby's already coming off of The Udall Administration ITTL.

Agreed. As I said, it's a 50/50 Chance either way but I would personally say that it would lean toward the Republicans in '88 ITTL. As the president said, the pendulum would swing back at some point, but it would not be as regressive as IOTL but rather in a milder form.

I guess it'll depend on how popular President RFK is by 1988 ITTL and who runs for the Republicans.

I think by the time President RFK ended his term by 1989 ITTL, it would be Vice President Bentsen's time to be his successor in The White House. After The Assassination Attempt of President RFK in 1981 ITTL, their relationship became stronger and worked together to improve the lives of many Americans whether Foreign or Domestic Policies is. Vice President Bentsen would continue his policies that he started. As I've said earlier, the Republicans would definitely lose in 1984 and 1988 ITTL. I think it would be 1992 or 1996 ITTL that they're going to get their act together to win the election.

Great! Will be looking forward to that, as well as maybe a potential chapter on The Bush Family in the 1980's as well as The Kennedys (maybe set after President JFK's Death), in which we see Caroline and Tim Kaine start a family of their own, JFK, Jr. and Diana growing closer together (with JFK, Jr. also getting his acting career into full swing, with maybe him playing Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride, maybe opposite Christopher Reeve as Westley, before JFK, Jr. maybe starting a film production company of his own), and the two youngest, Rosie and Robbie , begin their chapters of life (Still hoping for maybe the potential of them two wanting to join the military, Rosemary in the Navy and Robbie maybe joining the Marines).

Oh and since I've been loving the marriage between Hillary and George W. Bush, how's Dubya and their growing family been doing?

I'm definitely looking forward for the Kennedys after The Death of President JFK in 1985 ITTL. With his passing, it was Caroline who will continue his legacy and have big shoes to fill in politics. With her husband Timothy Michael Kaine, they're on to a great start of their careers. Maybe after teaching in university in the 80's to 90's ITTL, Caroline would run for office in Congress, then later in the Senate in the 2000's ITTL. Any geniuses here on what would you suggest the names of the their children in the future? That would be really helpful.

The relationship between JFK, Jr. and Diana Spencer ITTL is the one that I've been looking forward to. The Summer of 1983 ITTL would begin their sparks fly after ending his romance to Christina Haag. With him going to show business, we'll see where his career would go. Diana would be there for him to support and encourage his new success, while she would be working in UNICEF for humanitarian aid to help every people in need. Their children in the future have a mixed heritage and would be a happy, strong, loving family.

Rosie and Robbie Kennedy would either be part of the arts and culture community like The Kennedy Center, follow their father's footsteps and run for office like Caroline, or go into show business like JFK, Jr.. I still don't agree for them to serve in the US Army. We're still waiting and looking forward for this one as well geniuses.

 

[AndyWho]

Rosie and Robbie Kennedy would either be part of the art community like The Kennedy Center, follow their father's footsteps and run for office like Caroline, or go into show business like JFK, Jr.. I still don't agree for them to serve in the US Army. We're still waiting and looking forward for this one as well geniuses

You know, as impossible as it would be, I always found the idea of another writer's Kennedy TLs having one of the family members going to the UK for politics there quite amusing. Alas, it would be interesting to see how a more involved Kennedy family becomes in culture and the arts

Hoping for President RFK to make The Economic Bill of Rights passed through Congress to make it a law. The New Hope Initiative would be an amazing idea to create more infrastructure projects that makes the country as the best in competition towards the 21st Century ITTL. And finally, a Federal Increased Minimum Wage would make the workers and laborers rejoiced with inflation increase as time goes by? I second!

Respectfully, even in a peachier world here, I don't find the entire Economic Bill of Rights to be valid even here. Too much of a red meat effort for the GOP would kill those gains (not to mention that the good chunk of Democrats here would be Bowevills/Blue Dogs whom are economically on the side of business). What could help, however, is getting some key pieces passed that could be appealing and also base enticing; namely, a constitutional amendment overruling (even if partially) Taft-Hartley and enshrining unions (could work with a media titan in the U.S. Senate with Jerry Litton) and tying wage legislation there. Pulling a supermajority could help reverse right-to-work legislation and provide a stronger labor force against the Bubble of '84 could help in keeping Missouri and the Midwest in the Dem column as well as providing some inroads into the South.

RFK's legacy as being the lawyer that prosecuted Jimmy Hoffa and to end up cementing union power in perpetuity would be quite the bookend.

Not only irritate if the supreme court or Congress abolish the death penalty the right is gonna blow a gaskett.

On the note of SCOTUS, I would love to see if DeShaney v. Winnebago County is found differently. A lot of institutional problems that are recognized today could be corrected with a simple shift in the ruling

 

[Nishimura89]

Respectfully, even in a peachier world here, I don't find the entire Economic Bill of Rights to be valid even here. Too much of a red meat effort for the GOP would kill those gains (not to mention that the good chunk of Democrats here would be Bowevills/Blue Dogs whom are economically on the side of business). What could help, however, is getting some key pieces passed that could be appealing and also base enticing; namely, a constitutional amendment overruling (even if partially) Taft-Hartley and enshrining unions (could work with a media titan in the U.S. Senate with Jerry Litton) and tying wage legislation there. Pulling a supermajority could help reverse right-to-work legislation and provide a stronger labor force against the Bubble of '84 could help in keeping Missouri and the Midwest in the Dem column as well as providing some inroads into the South.

RFK's legacy as being the lawyer that prosecuted Jimmy Hoffa and to end up cementing union power in perpetuity would be quite the bookend.

To be fair, the New Hope Initiative took inspiration from the Economic Bill of Rights, not a complete copy of it. You could say that New Hope is the dime-store version of it:

Doubling down on their strategy from the primaries, the Kennedy campaign emphasized not just President Udall’s successes in office, but promised bold new initiatives and programs of the Senator’s own devising. His so-called “New Hope” initiative was modeled on Franklin Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights.

His proposals included: renewed investment in railroads, highways, and other infrastructure, which would help create over 1,000,000 new jobs and modernize America’s transportation networks; legislation to combat the epidemic of drug addiction and to combat the rising tides of crime and urban decay; and a better, “fairer” tax code, which would fund these new programs, balance the budget, and eventually, pay off the national debt.

I also completely agree on the need for a constitutional amendment that either partially or completely overrules Taft-Hartley, enshrines unions, and ties wage legislation (establishing a federal minimum wage).

 

[Kennedy Forever]

It was so interesting reading about the politicking about who would be Senate Majority Leader being from a parliamentary Westminster system. Bobby was like: "Not Byrd. Anyone but him." 😂

 

[Kennedy Forever]

Also Hillary Bush (still can't get over that) is now a senator 🙂😁

 

[LordYam]

Not only irritate if the supreme court or Congress abolish the death penalty the right is gonna blow a gaskett.

congress wouldn't; The supreme court might declare another moratorium.

In 1972-73 there was a moratorium declared; in 1976 it was ended on the grounds that the problem was fixed.

Here's the details of the case in question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCleskey_v._Kemp

With McClesky v Kemp they produced a study showing that there was still a lot of racial bias in how sentencing was carried out. Thing is, McClesky also technically met non racial requirements (he killed an officer doing his duty). So if his case is used to put another moratorium in place it would definitely anger a lot of people, especially since there would be some plausible deniability that HIS case in particular was tainted with race. The finer nuances (that even if McClesky's case wasn't tainted with race that other cases WERE tainted with race) would elude a lot of people.

Long run it might force an examination of race in the justice system, but short term a lot of people would be very angered. I can see a law and order candidate taking strong offense (though a more moderate one might at least be able to concede that racial issues need to be examined.)

 

[Kennedy Forever]

It's certainly possible. FDR's "Economic Bill of Rights" has been the guiding light of the Democratic Party's domestic policy goals since 1944. RFK certainly believes in that platform; his administration has a number of policy proposals that are broadly in line with it. Perhaps a minor spoiler, but 1983 will see the President pursue the infrastructure portion of what he will term his "New Hope" initiative (rather than Reagan's "Star Wars", get it? To quote George Lucas, "It's like poetry... it rhymes."). Renewed spending on better freight and passenger rail, modernized roads, bridges, and highways, as well as airports and dockyards, these are the sorts of investments which Kennedy and his economic advisors hope will keep America competitive as the 21st Century approaches. There will also be emphasis on scientific and technological advancement, including the Space Program and a certain superconducting supercollider to be built out in Texas... Expect to hear about all of that and more in RFK's State of the Union address. After '83... I'll keep my cards close to the chest for now. Perhaps a federal minimum wage that, at the very least, raises with inflation each year? I agree that education and housing might be priorities for a hypothetical second term. Of course, foreign policy will also occupy much of President Kennedy's time as well.


Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed.


Thanks!


Thank you! We've been following Hillary for a long time ITTL. I don't plan on stopping that anytime soon. I also want to start returning to more POV characters where possible.


Indeed. Ford served as Speaker of the House from 1973 - 1977 ITTL.

If had a nickel for every time a US President turned a line from Star Wars into a policy, I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice 😂😆😁😉

 

[Nishimura89]

The mention of Star Wars makes me think of the space race that is heating up once again in the timeline. Obviously, the US would not introduce OTL’s “Star Wars” program that accelerated the economic collapse of the Soviet Union (Moscow was quite alarmed by this and continued to pour huge amounts of money into space and military-related budgets, money that is better spent elsewhere), but the current Space Race, while slightly less expensive than the Space Arms Race of OTL, obviously still isn't cheap. The US, along with Canada, the EEC, and Japan, are chipping in together to build the first permanently-crewed Earth-orbiting space station, with ambitious goals of eventually establishing a permanent Lunar base and manned trips to Mars in the future. The Soviets, of course, responded in kind, determined not to be outdone. However, unlike the West, they are doing it ALONE, with little to no contribution from either the PRC or the Warsaw Pact. Given the underperforming and stagnating Soviet economy, the money sink that is the space contest is bound to have an effect on the USSR's state finances.

On the bright side, the heating "Space Race" does have the potential to bring us to the status of being an interplanetary species, even if it was for petty reasons.

 

[Shockeye7665]

…

If the American impulse after Apollo-Svarog was to double down on renewed competition, igniting a Second Space Race, one might have expected the Soviet Union to likewise rise to the occasion and continue the contest. To some extent, this was the case.

Unwilling to lose face in the wake of these ambitious American goals, First Secretary Yuri Andorpov ordered Interkosmos and the other divisions of the Soviet space program to gather what it had learned from the A-S missions and create its own answer to the STS. Hoping to inspire public confidence in this gesture, Andropov created a new ministry, the Ministry of Space, and an associated Secretary position within the Cabinet of Ministers. To head up the Ministry, he made the historic choice of selecting a member of the Presidium of the Soviet Union, and the first Woman on the Moon, Valentina Tereshkova. In accepting, Tereshkova became the first woman in Soviet history to rise to a position among the Cabinet.

....​

Though Comrade Andropov’s tenure had been a source of stability for the Soviet Union over the last decade, it had also become a period of stagnation. The economic progress made by Alexei Kosygin’s reforms back in 1965-66 had long ago stalled. As the economy became increasingly reliant on oil and gas exports, a new generation of more forward-thinking politicians feared what this sort of planning might lead to. This affected the Soviet space program in a number of ways.

For one thing, stagnation produced little extra wealth with which to research and develop rockets and other spacecraft. With their access to American designs and more importantly, capital cut off, the Soviets were forced to go it alone. In a word, they struggled. Minister Tereshkova did her best, however, to set the program off on the right track.

Using her personal popularity and clout with the First Secretary, she fired anyone in the program who did not believe, utterly, in the mission. Clearing out the corrupt bureaucrats and pensioners wasn’t easy, but the Minister (correctly) believed it to be imperative for lifting morale. From there, she oversaw the hiring of new, fresh faces to the program. These younger men and a surprising number of women, had eager eyes and patriotic hearts. They wanted not only to continue to explore the stars, but to give the Americans a run for their money.

Eventually, this new generation of explorers, engineers, and scientists would develop, at long last, their answer to NASA’s STS: plans for a space station of their own, named Равенство - “Ravenstvo” - Equality in response to the Americans’ Freedom.
Though the R&D needed to launch Ravenstvo lagged behind the Yanks by quite a bit, especially the development of a comparable NERVA-style nuclear-powered engine for its later stages, Tereshkova remained optimistic that the Soviets could, at the very least, race the Americans to establish a permanent lunar base. She set the same date as President Udall for this objective, 1985. Mars, then, would be the real test. Could the Soviet system get human beings to the red planet by the year 2000? Tereshkova certainly hoped so.

The rest of Yuri Andropov’s tenure as First Secretary would see Madam Secretariat devote herself to this task, though come 1982, she would, along with the rest of her country, undergo a tremendous change.

Well, with this talk about the Soviet state of the space race, it looks like (given Chapter 121) we'll be seeing Tereshkova's Ministry of Space develop the VKK Space Orbiter programme (which not only includes the five orbiter vehicles, but the Energia launch vehicle), in addition to establishing Ravenstvo, which I believe will be utilising resources from the Almaz/Salyut programme (no doubt also helped by the Soviets taking in their experiences with Skylab) rather than starting from scratch.
And, crazy thought: will the Ministry of Space actually get the N1 rocket to work in the 1980s, given that the Soviets will be racing to the moon for a permanent lunar base?
Presumably, without the whole Star Wars thing to make the Soviets overspend, they'll have some breathing room to spend, but not much.

Either way, will be intrigued to see more in regards to the space race in future!

 

[MNM041]

By the way, a few suggestions regarding pop culture.

1. When The Breakfast Club comes out, either have all of the students played by underage actors or none of them played by underage actors.

2. Just don't have Jeffery Jones be in Ferris Bueller when that movie comes out.

 

[LordYam]

By the way, a few suggestions regarding pop culture.

1. When The Breakfast Club comes out, either have all of the students played by underage actors or none of them played by underage actors.

2. Just don't have Jeffery Jones be in Ferris Bueller when that movie comes out.

Or at the very least make it so that teen movies are a lot less rapey (though even that might be a tall ask)

At the very least there should be more commentary on it at the time (though of course just like today there will be pushback)

 

[MNM041]

Or at the very least make it so that teen movies are a lot less rapey (though even that might be a tall ask)

At the very least there should be more commentary on it at the time (though of course just like today there will be pushback)

Yeah, that too.

 

[MNM041]

By the same token of what I've already mentioned, another suggestion is that nothing that qualifies as rape by fraud happens in Revenge of the Nerds.

 

[Nishimura89]

While popular culture is not my specialty, and I don't know if this has been brought up before in this thread or not, I was wondering whether Sylvester Stallone's Rambo trilogy has been made in this timeline. Of course, while the Cambodian War in this timeline shares some similarities with the OTL Vietnam War, it is also quite different given that it ended in a costly American victory, which in turn less radicalized the Hippies and New Left. This translated to a slightly better treatment of TTL Cambodian War veterans back in the US.

So while I think the first movie could still be made, albeit slightly modified from the OTL version, the second movie will be quite different. The third movie is still very plausible as the Soviets, even in this timeline, can't help themselves to not be involved in that country famed for being the "Graveyard of Empires." Then again, it could also be plausible that the entire trilogy didn't get made at this time, and Stallone is more famous for his role in the Rocky trilogy.

 

[Uniquely Genius]

You know, as impossible as it would be, I always found the idea of another writer's Kennedys ITTL having one of the family members going to the UK for politics there quite amusing. Alas, it would be interesting to see how a more involved the Kennedy Family becomes in the arts and culture.

See genius, I told you I was right to put Rosie and Robbie Kennedy work in The Kennedy Center as part of their father's legacy in advocate of the arts after JFK passed away in 1985 ITTL. Maybe they're going to take notes, advices, and lessons from their mother Jackie because during her time as The First Lady of President JFK, she redecorate The White House in 1962 IOTL from the furnitures, paintings, and even textiles down to every detail that she later became an interior designer after they left in 1969 ITTL. Whether Rosie and Robbie Kennedy study Art, Film, and Visual Studies; Art History and Architecture; Literature; Linguistics; Music; or Theater, Dance, and Media at Harvard University, I'm putting my suggestion here Mr. President and we'll be waiting for your response in the future.

Respectfully, even in a peachier world here, I don't find the entire Economic Bill of Rights to be valid even here. Too much of a red meat effort for the GOP would kill those gains (not to mention that the good chunk of Democrats here would be Bowevills/Blue Dogs whom are economically on the side of business). What could help, however, is getting some key pieces passed that could be appealing and also base enticing; namely, a constitutional amendment overruling (even if partially) The Taft-Hartley Act and enshrining unions (could work with a media titan in the U.S. Senate with Jerry Litton) and tying wage legislation there. Pulling a Supermajority could help reverse right-to-work legislation and provide a stronger labor force against the Bubble of '84 ITTL could help in keeping Missouri and the Midwest in the Democratic column as well as providing some inroads into the South.

President RFK's Legacy as being the lawyer that prosecuted Jimmy Hoffa and to end up cementing union power in perpetuity would be quite the bookend.

To be fair, The New Hope Initiative took inspiration from The Economic Bill of Rights, not a complete copy of it. You could say that The New Hope Initiative is the dime-store version of it:

I also completely agree on the need for a constitutional amendment that either partially or completely overrules Taft-Hartley, enshrines unions, and ties wage legislation (establishing a Federal Minimum Wage).

Alright then genius, we should look forward for President RFK to passed The New Hope Initiative Act through Congress maybe in 1983 ITTL.

If had a nickel for every time a US President turned a line from Star Wars into a policy, I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice. 😂😆😁😉

I understood that reference!

By the way, a few suggestions regarding Pop Culture ITTL.

1. When The Breakfast Club comes out, either have all of the students played by underage actors or none of them played by underage actors.

2. Just don't have Jeffery Jones be in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when that movie comes out.

Now that you've mentioned that movie genius, only Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall are perfect teenagers who can convinced to act high school students when they made the movie. While Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, and Ally Sheedy are in their Early-Mid 20s when they made it. For me, it's hard to imagine who can we replace them because their characters are perfect and director John Hughes made an amazing movie.

Who can we replace him to play as Ferris Bueller's Dean of Students ITTL? Any suggestions or ideas geniuses?

Or at the very least, make it so that teen movies are a lot less rapey (though even that might be a tall ask).

At the very least there should be more commentary on it at the time (though of course just like today there will be pushback).

Yeah that too. By the same token of what I've already mentioned, another suggestion is that nothing that qualifies as rape by fraud happens in Revenge of the Nerds IOTL.

In retrospect, some clichés or hijinks of the teen movies from 60's to 80's IOTL would not fly in today's climate. With The So Have I Movement in it's early years ITTL, they're either never made or change the plot of these movies to make it appropriate for audiences to watch without cringing.

While Popular Culture is not my specialty, and I don't know if this has been brought up before in this thread or not, I was wondering whether Sylvester Stallone's Rambo Trilogy has been made ITTL. Of course, while The Cambodian War ITTL shares some similarities with The Vietnam War IOTL, it is also quite different given that it ended in a costly American victory, which in turn less radicalized The Hippies and New Left. This translated to a slightly better treatment of The Cambodian War Veterans back in the US.

So while I think the first movie could still be made, albeit slightly modified from the IOTL version, the second movie will be quite different. The third movie is still very plausible as the Soviets, even ITTL, can't help themselves to not be involved in that country famed for being "The Graveyard of Empires." Then again, it could also be plausible that the entire trilogy didn't get made at this time, and Stallone is more famous for his role in The Rocky Trilogy ITTL.

Mr. President, what happened to the veterans of The Vietnam War, The Cambodian War and The Rhodesian Conflict ITTL? Did they get better treatment and services during The Udall and Kennedy Administrations ITTL? I was also hoping for Rocky III to be the last one ITTL to make it The Rocky Trilogy, so too with First Blood to make it The First Blood Trilogy ITTL as well genius. The final scene in the first movie really shows that Sylvester Stallone really can act aside doing action genre and dedicating it to the veterans who return from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Rhodesia that suffered from the backlash of The Boomer Generation who were against it in the 70's ITTL.

I also agree that the second and third movie from First Blood to make the plot different ITTL. With President RFK leading the country throughout the decade ITTL, there's going to be a lot of changes to these movies that they've mentioned.

 

[MNM041]

Who can we replace him to play as Ferris Bueller's School Principal ITTL? Any suggestions or ideas geniuses?

I had this vague idea where he's played by Henry Winkler. Said version of Rooney would also be less extreme, with his disdain for Ferris coming from the fact that he sees a younger version of himself in him and doesn't want to see Ferris throw his life away with his crazy antics.