Challenge: Populist GOP, DLC Democrats

[Carpetbagger]

With a POD between 1960 and 2000, you must make the Republican Party the "Working Man's" party. Having liberal standpoints on economic issues, but still standing strong against Gay Marriage, Abortion, and other "Culture War issues", so almost like the Dems under Harry Truman.

Make the Democrats the Fiscally Conservative Party, which generally supports small government, small business, and low taxes. The Democrats must tack to the right on economic issues, but on the social front offer "Third Way" solutions to Culture War issues. So basically like the Democratic Party under the Clinton's and the Gores.

 

[big_ben_mi]

One option comes to my mind: Nixon wins the election of 1960. Makes a serious move on Civil Rights. This would butterfly the Southern Stradegy and Reagan Revolution. Or much like we've discussed on other threads: have Romney win in 1968. One thing though: for this to happen there really would have to be a viable third party. The Progressive movement has to go somewhere.

 

[wormyguy]

Switching the social liberalism/conservatism of the parties isn't hard at all - you could do it with a POD in the early 90s, but making the Democrats economically rightist while preserving the 2-party dichotomy with the Republicans likely requires a POD while they were still the Democratic Republicans (and simply have another ahistorical party form calling itself the Republican Party). Making the Republicans economically leftist isn't that hard, just have the most radical Republicans take over the party after the civil war, or have individuals like Roosevelt, Rockefeller, Wilkie, Nixon etc. have a(n even) greater role in the Republican Party than OTL.

 

[TNF]

If you've ever read blochead's excellent 'War of Mexican Intervention' timeline, he actually does just that, albeit through different parties emerging.

For this, you really need someone who will completely adhere to the neoliberal idioms of the DLC within the Democratic Party. Clinton isn't neoliberal enough. He still favored unions and protecting the environment, and would have proposed his own economic stimulus package had he not got torn apart in the early nineties by a combination of his own inadequacies with Congress, his tendencies to put neoliberal legislation before progressive legislation, and a media campaign to tar and feather him. So my suggestion is either change Clinton or dump Clinton.

If Clinton is dumped, that leaves a number of potential DLC candidates. Gore is still pretty much a populist, so he's out. Michael Dukakis is anti-death penalty and much too of a civil libertarian for the security state DLC. He's out. You need someone like, say, Democratic Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia. He fits the mold of DLC'er perfectly, and would not hesitate to bring a 'New Labour' style to the United States. His adoption of center-right policies, I would think, would cause enough nativists and otherwise more populist Republicans to attempt to stage a revolt within the party in opposition to NAFTA and in support of the 'little guy', who has his jobbed shipped overseas by Free Trade deals.

So, by, say, 2008 or 2012, you have a DLC Democratic Party, run by people like Evan Bayh and Joe Lieberman, and a populist Republican Party, run by Ross Perot-types.

 

[Carpetbagger]

If you've ever read blochead's excellent 'War of Mexican Intervention' timeline, he actually does just that, albeit through different parties emerging.

For this, you really need someone who will completely adhere to the neoliberal idioms of the DLC within the Democratic Party. Clinton isn't neoliberal enough. He still favored unions and protecting the environment, and would have proposed his own economic stimulus package had he not got torn apart in the early nineties by a combination of his own inadequacies with Congress, his tendencies to put neoliberal legislation before progressive legislation, and a media campaign to tar and feather him. So my suggestion is either change Clinton or dump Clinton.

If Clinton is dumped, that leaves a number of potential DLC candidates. Gore is still pretty much a populist, so he's out. Michael Dukakis is anti-death penalty and much too of a civil libertarian for the security state DLC. He's out. You need someone like, say, Democratic Senator Chuck Robb of Virginia. He fits the mold of DLC'er perfectly, and would not hesitate to bring a 'New Labour' style to the United States. His adoption of center-right policies, I would think, would cause enough nativists and otherwise more populist Republicans to attempt to stage a revolt within the party in opposition to NAFTA and in support of the 'little guy', who has his jobbed shipped overseas by Free Trade deals.

So, by, say, 2008 or 2012, you have a DLC Democratic Party, run by people like Evan Bayh and Joe Lieberman, and a populist Republican Party, run by Ross Perot-types.

That takes care of the Democrats, but how would Populists take over the GOP? I could see a Huckabee-esque figure emerging out of nowhere and start preaching "traditional values", but also wanting to "lift up the little guy" and ranting against "The Greedy Wallstreet Fatcats". And perhaps by 2008, the parties have sorted themselves out so we see:

With gray being a tossup, but i have no clue. I think African Americans would go to the GOP eventually, Hispanics and Unions probably go to the GOP. The Dems pickup the Southern suburbs, the military vote, and fiscal conservatives.

Interesting, so wed have a GOP with African Americans, Hispanics, Southern Whites, and Union Workers.
And A Democratic Party with just about everybody else.....

 

[moxieboy1876]

1996: Pat Buchanan wins the Republican nomination with a little boost from labor unions, who are furious over NAFTA and GATT.

1997: Buchanan, the new president, successfully rescinds NAFTA and GATT. To everyone's surprise, the economy doesn't totally melt down. Bouyed by his stunning success, President Buchanan solidifies his mandate by pledging complete allegience to the goals of labor. He even passes an Employee Free Choice Act, which during the next ten years swells the ranks of union members to 1950's levels. Meanwhile, he maintains the support of conservative Catholics and thinking evangelicals. Droves of Rockafeller Republicans and libertarians join the Democrats. The Reform Party is seemlessly integrated into the GOP. The Republican party becomes the party of Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, Marcy Kaptor, Pat Choate, Jessie Ventura, and yes, even Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich. The Democrats become an alliance of fiscal conservatives and social libertarians, e.g., William Weld, Olympia Snowe.