Challenge: JFK v. Reagan

Here's a quick little scenario

Nixon narrowly wins in 1960. Come 1964, he faces the rise of an angry conservative branch within his own party. It isn't exactly going to wrest the nomination away from the President, though there may be some weak attempts to get Goldwater the nomination instead, which puts Goldwater and Nixon on less than friendly terms, though I somehow doubt Goldwater would be personally involved in this anti Nixon conservative group. In any case, the upsurge is at least somewhat vocal, leading to Reagan giving the speech he did IOTL as part of this conservative upsurge.

He then goes on to wins the Governorship as per OTL. Sorry if that seems unlikely and unoriginal, I just can't think of any other way to get Reagan politically involved in the given time frame. Come 1968, the conservatives having been denied the opportunity to get Goldwater the nomination in 1964 because of Nixon's incumbency, conclude that Senator Goldwater is too old to be their standard bearer in 1968, and they rally around Governor Reagan instead. The conservatives press hard enough for Reagan to actually get the nomination instead whoever Nixon would actually prefer as his successor. Meanwhile Senator Kennedy, the loser of 1960, having remained in the senate since his defeat eight years prior somehow manages to pull a Nixon, and gets the Democratic nomination a second time.

Reagan the standard bearer of the conservative movement faces off against the 51 year old Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

sorry if the situation sounds a little twee, specifically the conservative upsurge at the 64' GOP convention, I just needed a way to get Reagan into a position where he could be governor and the heir presumptive to the Goldwater wing of the party. There probably a whole lot of problems with it, but you'd know them better than I would.
 
Nixon would be open to a conservative successor: IOTL he would have preferred either Connally or Reagan in 1976 had Watergate not occurred. JFK pulling a Nixon is quite plausible, though his health will likely start to detoriate, but not fatally, after turning 50. Keep in mind that if JFK is defeated, RFK will enter electoral politics as well, either in MA or NY, and very likely that he will become President by 1980 if Jack decides to remain in the Senate.
 
Nixon would be open to a conservative successor: IOTL he would have preferred either Connally or Reagan in 1976 had Watergate not occurred. JFK pulling a Nixon is quite plausible, though his health will likely start to detoriate, but not fatally, after turning 50. Keep in mind that if JFK is defeated, RFK will enter electoral politics as well, either in MA or NY, and very likely that he will become President by 1980 if Jack decides to remain in the Senate.

I'm not entirely sure, given my scenario Nixon would be very fond of Reagan. Since if Reagan gives what conservatives sometimes call The Speech. (In my opinion, you probably need that to get Reagan in the Governors mansion in 1966.)At the 1964 convention, it'd be part of a general conservative rebellion against Nixon in 1964, and while it wouldn't come close to actually succeeding in unseating Nixon, it'd probably leave a very bad taste in the President's mouth. Now, my concept of a conservative upsurge in 1964 may be a bit implausible, it depends a lot on how Nixon's first term goes. But, the conservative wing was on the rise in 64, as demonstrated by the disastrous nomination of Goldwater IOTL. So it may not be completely out of the question. This is probably the weak point of the scenario, because it is perhaps tweely inspired what happened at the 1964 Republican convention in OTL.

In any case, while Nixon would be open to conservative successor, I'm not sure he'd be open to a man who four years earlier, in very friendly terms denounced his policies and asked the convention to consider nominating Goldwater instead. I can't imagine Nixon forgetting about that, or being really willing to forgive Reagan for it. Though it's true that a Nixon who wins in 1960 isn't the grudge bearing Nixon we know from his historical Presidency.
 
Nixon rarely forgave and never forgot a real or perceived slight, even before 1960. If he's weak enough to be challenged in 1964, that means his first term was not a success. Successful presidents are not challenged by definition. But I do not see anything happening at the convention. One lesson drawn from the Democrats in 1952 and 1968 is that an incumbent withdraws because they know they'll be defeated in November if they cling on. The arsenal of incumbency will always deliver a renomination, but it becomes an exercise in futility. In a sense, the challengers have to outflank because a frontal assault is doomed.
 
Nixon rarely forgave and never forgot a real or perceived slight, even before 1960. If he's weak enough to be challenged in 1964, that means his first term was not a success. Successful presidents are not challenged by definition. But I do not see anything happening at the convention. One lesson drawn from the Democrats in 1952 and 1968 is that an incumbent withdraws because they know they'll be defeated in November if they cling on. The arsenal of incumbency will always deliver a renomination, but it becomes an exercise in futility. In a sense, the challengers have to outflank because a frontal assault is doomed.

In that case, the challenge here is to somehow have Reagan give something like The Speech in the context of the Nixon incumbency. It's quite a challenge I'll readily admit. And a full on Goldwater challenge is unlikely for the reasons you demonstrated above. But without Reagan's speech, I'm not sure you can get Governor Reagan in 1966, and have him be the champion of the Goldwater wing in 1968. Though perhaps I'm over emphasizing the importance of that particular speech in getting Reagan the governorship in 1966.
 
The speech introduced Reagan onto the national scene, much as Kennedy's concession speech in '56, Clinton's keynoter in '88 or Obama's keynoter in '04. Though he was pushing it somewhat "a vote for LBJ is a vote for a thousand years of darkness" :)rolleyes:) the base loved it.
 
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