In 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was pressured to run for President by many anti-war liberals. Yet Kennedy chose not to enter the campaign, and instead endorsed Eugene McCarthy following the New Hampshire primary. What might've happened had RFK decided to run for President in 1968?
 
In 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was pressured to run for President by many anti-war liberals. Yet Kennedy chose not to enter the campaign, and instead endorsed Eugene McCarthy following the New Hampshire primary. What might've happened had RFK decided to run for President in 1968?
No RFK winning the presiddncy in 1972? Like personally, I just don’t think he would have won the 1968 election personally, unless McCarthy didn’t run. Certainly if RFK had run after McCarthy announced a run, it would probably have felt like a betrayal to McCarthy supporters and divided the anti-war faction of the Democrats, the very people who eventually helped RFK win in ‘72.
 
Well, it's entirely possible that Nixon could've been re-elected had he been up against McCarthy or McGovern. As for Humphrey, he was too divisive a figure to even win the nomination let alone the election. In retrospect, Kennedy was the only one who could've beaten Nixon thanks to his charisma, ability to unite the Democratic base, and reach out to independent voters.

OOC: Who wins the 1976 election in this scenario?
OOC: I’m pretty sure it’s already been established in this scenario that Reagan somehow won in ‘68 and RFK won in ‘72. I assume RFK probably gets reelected in ‘76.
 
OOC: Reagan hasn't been mentioned at all in this thread until now. As for 1976, due to the poor economy and the Fall of Saigon RFK would be in big trouble. His best hope is that the GOP nominates Reagan and he can succeed where Carter failed in portraying Reagan as a right wing extremist.

OOC:
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I agree that it's really silly to imply RFK not running in 1968 would somehow lead to Reagan winning that year, but it was in fact mentioned.
 
The Reagan presidency was a weird aberration in American politics. It's rare for a party to lose the White House after only four straight years. But Reagan's mishandling of Vietnam and economic incompetence proved too much for voters to handle, and he narrowly lost to RFK in '72.
 
OOC: Sorry, but I'm ignoring the poster who wrote that Reagan wins in 1968. So I didn't see the post until I clicked "show ignored content."

OOC: You're good, I assumed as much, just didn't want you to be out of the loop on your own thread.
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As far as Kennedy goes, I think he would've had a great shot in 68' had he entered before McCarthy. When RFK hesitated, it opened the door for someone else to run as a "protest" Democrat of sorts, and ultimately that's what happened. It immediately took the wind out of any potential RFK campaign, so he was wise to wait until 72; he rightly defeated Reagan and showed America what a right wing extremist he really was, smile and charm aside. His landslide victory in 76, and the mandate it gave him after a narrow 72 victory, laid the foundation for Democratic policy up until the early 2000s, when the issue of abortion finally came to a boil. RFK and his successors within the party managed to keep a lid on it for a while, criticizing Roe but agreeing to respect the Supreme Court, but it was never going to be that way forever.
 
OOC: You're good, I assumed as much, just didn't want you to be out of the loop on your own thread.

OOC: Thanks.

As far as Kennedy goes, I think he would've had a great shot in 68' had he entered before McCarthy. When RFK hesitated, it opened the door for someone else to run as a "protest" Democrat of sorts, and ultimately that's what happened. It immediately took the wind out of any potential RFK campaign, so he was wise to wait until 72; he rightly defeated Reagan and showed America what a right wing extremist he really was, smile and charm aside. His landslide victory in 76, and the mandate it gave him after a narrow 72 victory, laid the foundation for Democratic policy up until the early 2000s, when the issue of abortion finally came to a boil. RFK and his successors within the party managed to keep a lid on it for a while, criticizing Roe but agreeing to respect the Supreme Court, but it was never going to be that way forever.

That victory in '76 was one of the biggest upsets since 1948. Illinois Senator Chuck Percy seemed to have a good shot against Kennedy in the midst of a poor economy, but RFK remained popular after taking bold measures to put the country back on track. It didn't help that former President Reagan took potshots at the more moderate Percy in interviews before the election. At least the Republicans would come thundering back in 1980 under President Howard Baker, although Democrats maintained control of Congress in 1981.
 
I agree that it's really silly to imply RFK not running in 1968 would somehow lead to Reagan winning that year, but it was in fact mentioned.
OOC: While I do agree that Reagan somehow winning in ‘68 without RFK running is indeed unlikely, I’m not entirely sure it’s outright impossible. Assuming LBJ still drops out, RFK not being in the race may have meant Nelson Rockefeller decides to get in the race earlier, which could in turn means the 1968 RNC could have ended up a full contested convention, with Reagan becoming a potential compromise candidate like he originally intended. After that, you just need Reagan to somehow win the general election and he’d get the presidency.

So while it’s certainly unlikely, and basically requires a lot of factors going right for it to work, it’s not completely impossible.
 
OOC: While I do agree that Reagan somehow winning in ‘68 without RFK running is indeed unlikely, I’m not entirely sure it’s outright impossible. Assuming LBJ still drops out, RFK not being in the race may have meant Nelson Rockefeller decides to get in the race earlier, which could in turn means the 1968 RNC could have ended up a full contested convention, with Reagan becoming a potential compromise candidate like he originally intended. After that, you just need Reagan to somehow win the general election and he’d get the presidency.

So while it’s certainly unlikely, and basically requires a lot of factors going right for it to work, it’s not completely impossible.
OOC: How would Reagan be a compromise in this scenario? He's to the right of Rocky AND Nixon. If anything, if it were a brokered convention Nixon would be a compromise.
 
OOC: How would Reagan be a compromise in this scenario? He's to the right of Rocky AND Nixon. If anything, if it were a brokered convention Nixon would be a compromise.

OOC: In OTL, there was an idea that a Rocky/Reagan ticket could be the result of a brokered convention and both Rockefeller and Reagan were interested. But Reagan refused to be Rockefeller's VP, so the idea went nowhere. In any case I'm hard pressed to see how exactly Reagan would be nominated for President in 1968. He's a political newbie, hasn't even been Governor for two years, an arch-conservative in a party still largely dominated by moderates, etc. And even in the event that he were nominated, Reagan would lose to Humphrey. He's an opponent of the Civil Rights Act and Medicare, back when those bills were still new and Reagan hadn't yet...how shall I put it, "refined" his political image to be more appealing to the wider electorate. Even then, remember that he was trailing Jimmy Carter of all people in the polls until the 1980 debate. Given that Nixon just barely edged out HHH in the popular vote, I think Reagan loses the popular vote if not the election altogether.
 
OOC: While I do agree that Reagan somehow winning in ‘68 without RFK running is indeed unlikely, I’m not entirely sure it’s outright impossible. Assuming LBJ still drops out, RFK not being in the race may have meant Nelson Rockefeller decides to get in the race earlier, which could in turn means the 1968 RNC could have ended up a full contested convention, with Reagan becoming a potential compromise candidate like he originally intended. After that, you just need Reagan to somehow win the general election and he’d get the presidency.

So while it’s certainly unlikely, and basically requires a lot of factors going right for it to work, it’s not completely impossible.

OOC: It's not impossible, but is contingent upon a lot more than just RFK not running in 1968, therefore making it less logical a presumption for this DBWI (in my opinion). A fun narrative, perhaps, but if I had posted before the other user, I would've just assumed Nixon won instead of changing that much.
 
If he ran, he might have won the presidency instead of crushing Charles Goodell in the 1970 election. Yes, THAT Charles Goodell - the crooked NBA commissioner who tried to rig outcomes and killed the league. Would be worse, but the ABA absorbed some of the iconic franchises (Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, Lakers, etc) when the NBA folded.
 
If he ran, he might have won the presidency instead of crushing Charles Goodell in the 1970 election. Yes, THAT Charles Goodell - the crooked NBA commissioner who tried to rig outcomes and killed the league. Would be worse, but the ABA absorbed some of the iconic franchises (Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, Lakers, etc) when the NBA folded.

If he won the presidency, Kennedy would resign his Senate seat - allowing Governor Rockefeller to appoint a Republican in his place. The appointee would probably be a moderate to liberal Republican, but a Republican nonetheless. Goodell might ironically become a Senator anyway if he is Rockefeller's choice. It's true he was a pretty bad NBA Commissioner. Unlike former MLB Commissioner George W. Bush, Goodell wasn't able to make the transition from politics to sports.
 
I don't know if you remember the very last NBA game. The Omaha Kings defeating the Lakers in Game 5 in 1976 to win the NBA Championship.

At least the New York Nets were able to stay here and play their home games at Nassau Coliseum. They won 5 ABA Championships with Julius Erving.
 
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