Chapter 1: In Miami Beach, they Love the Governor: Wallace in the 1972 Primary
This is my first foray into writing an AH TL, so feel free to leave any feedback on this first chapter. I'd love for this to be a collaborative deal, so leave any ideas or suggestions below! I'm foreseeing this TL getting a little wild as things progress and I plan to use the polling feature extensively to guide how this all plays out!
In Miami Beach, they Love the Governor: Wallace in the 1972 Primary
The Democratic Party is decadent and depraved. Or at least, that was the feeling of many members of the 1972 Wallace coalition, a ragtag group of Lost Causers and working-class whites that sought to challenge the progressive tide that appeared to be sweeping across the Democratic Party. Squaring off against the legendary Dixiecrat were the arch-liberal George McGovern and the moderate bulwark Hubert Humphrey. McGovern's critical wins in Wisconsin and Massachusetts left him a clear frontrunner, and many analysts began to consider Wallace an increasingly irrelevant candidate. However, the most unlikely figures saved Wallace's campaign, his attempted assassin Arthur Bremer and the man he would trounce come November, Richard Nixon.
Arthur Bremer was a deeply troubled man. After bailing on his previous plot to kill then-president Richard Nixon, Bremer set his sights on George Wallace. Whether he was motivated by mental illness, megalomania, political radicalism, or some Wallaceites have speculated, Nixon's subterfuge, Bremer was determined to slay Alabama's Goliath. Having missed his mark at Wheaton Plaza, Bremer stalked Wallace to his next campaign spot in his Maryland stronghold, the Laurel Shopping Center on May 15, 1972. After a milquetoast campaign event, Wallace took to shaking the hands of his local supporters. After pushing his way through the sparse crowd, Bremer aimed his .38 revolver at Wallace's chest and opened fire. The Dixiecrat firebrand collapsed to the ground, gushing blood onto the pavement. Once the dust had settled, Bremer had deposited four bullets into Wallace's torso and severely wounded three bystanders. Although this attack had badly maimed Wallace, his would-be assassin's rounds narrowly missed his spine. Wallace was rushed to the hospital, requiring hours of surgery and significant blood transfusions to stay alive. Despite the prayers of his detractors, the Southron firebrand would live to see another day.
As if Bremer's bullets were not enough to rally public opinion in favor of Wallace, one of Nixon's notorious "dirty tricks" sealed the deal on Wallace's ascendency. After Bremer's identification as Wallace's would-be murderer, the FBI and Nixon began a race to Bremer's Milwaukee apartment. The Baltimore director of the FBI phoned his colleagues in Minnesota, informing them of Bremer's address. Nixon, seeking to pin the assassination attempt on McGovern's supposedly radical supporters, dispatched E. Howard Hunt, one of the Committee to Re-Elect the President's greatest assets, to Bremer's apartment to plant evidence connecting Bremer to the radical left. Hunt barely dodged the two FBI agents sent by the Milwaukee office to seal the apartment and managed to gain entry. By the time the FBI was able to investigate, they found a series of publications related to the ACLU, the Black Panthers, and the George McGovern campaign neatly stacked on Bremer's desk, seated next to a paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye.
The Bremer situation proved disastrous for the McGovern campaign. Pro-Nixon and Pro-Wallace media outfits worked in tandem, decrying his campaign as being fueled by a covert Communist cadre evidenced by characters like Arthur Bremer. Wallace swept Michigan and Maryland as expected, but his support amongst the white working-class swelled beyond the wildest dreams of his campaign staff in the weeks following the supposed revelations from Bremer's apartment. Picking up Oregon, New Mexico, the second-place spots in Rhode Island and California, and a significant deal of the New York delegates, Wallace was a force of nature heading into the July Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. Although the idea of Wallace at the helm of their party made many Northern Democrats queasy, the connection between the McGovern campaign and Arthur Bremer proved more than enough to torpedo McGovern as an option. Hubert Humphrey felt like a natural choice to please the bulk of the Democratic coalition, but the groundswell around Wallace robbed him of the necessary electoral support to defeat Wallace in the end. Although Wallace did come out on top, the Convention was one of the most chaotic in the party's history. The party largely failed to construct a coherent agenda due to the fierce Dixiecrat convictions of their nominee, but provisions against the continuation of the Vietnam War and pro-union measures were decided on as key pillars of the Democratic platform. The choice of a running mate for Wallace also proved a contentious one. Virtually every prominent Democratic figure was floated: Scoop Jackson, Mike Gravel, Jimmy Carter, and Endicott Peabody were party favorites. After a long and often hectic period of deliberation, Wallace's Dixiecrats and Northern liberals decided on a candidate both could live with, Richard J. Daley. Reviled as one of the nation's last true "bosses," Daley's urban expertise and party influence made him a favorite of both Wallace's campaign and the delegates who supported him. Much like in the case of Wallace's nomination in the first place, progressives protested this move heavily, but the situation had rapidly left their control. By the end of the Miami Convention, the unlikely Wallace/Daley ticket was ready to take on Tricky Dick.
In Miami Beach, they Love the Governor: Wallace in the 1972 Primary
The Democratic Party is decadent and depraved. Or at least, that was the feeling of many members of the 1972 Wallace coalition, a ragtag group of Lost Causers and working-class whites that sought to challenge the progressive tide that appeared to be sweeping across the Democratic Party. Squaring off against the legendary Dixiecrat were the arch-liberal George McGovern and the moderate bulwark Hubert Humphrey. McGovern's critical wins in Wisconsin and Massachusetts left him a clear frontrunner, and many analysts began to consider Wallace an increasingly irrelevant candidate. However, the most unlikely figures saved Wallace's campaign, his attempted assassin Arthur Bremer and the man he would trounce come November, Richard Nixon.
Arthur Bremer was a deeply troubled man. After bailing on his previous plot to kill then-president Richard Nixon, Bremer set his sights on George Wallace. Whether he was motivated by mental illness, megalomania, political radicalism, or some Wallaceites have speculated, Nixon's subterfuge, Bremer was determined to slay Alabama's Goliath. Having missed his mark at Wheaton Plaza, Bremer stalked Wallace to his next campaign spot in his Maryland stronghold, the Laurel Shopping Center on May 15, 1972. After a milquetoast campaign event, Wallace took to shaking the hands of his local supporters. After pushing his way through the sparse crowd, Bremer aimed his .38 revolver at Wallace's chest and opened fire. The Dixiecrat firebrand collapsed to the ground, gushing blood onto the pavement. Once the dust had settled, Bremer had deposited four bullets into Wallace's torso and severely wounded three bystanders. Although this attack had badly maimed Wallace, his would-be assassin's rounds narrowly missed his spine. Wallace was rushed to the hospital, requiring hours of surgery and significant blood transfusions to stay alive. Despite the prayers of his detractors, the Southron firebrand would live to see another day.
As if Bremer's bullets were not enough to rally public opinion in favor of Wallace, one of Nixon's notorious "dirty tricks" sealed the deal on Wallace's ascendency. After Bremer's identification as Wallace's would-be murderer, the FBI and Nixon began a race to Bremer's Milwaukee apartment. The Baltimore director of the FBI phoned his colleagues in Minnesota, informing them of Bremer's address. Nixon, seeking to pin the assassination attempt on McGovern's supposedly radical supporters, dispatched E. Howard Hunt, one of the Committee to Re-Elect the President's greatest assets, to Bremer's apartment to plant evidence connecting Bremer to the radical left. Hunt barely dodged the two FBI agents sent by the Milwaukee office to seal the apartment and managed to gain entry. By the time the FBI was able to investigate, they found a series of publications related to the ACLU, the Black Panthers, and the George McGovern campaign neatly stacked on Bremer's desk, seated next to a paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye.
The Bremer situation proved disastrous for the McGovern campaign. Pro-Nixon and Pro-Wallace media outfits worked in tandem, decrying his campaign as being fueled by a covert Communist cadre evidenced by characters like Arthur Bremer. Wallace swept Michigan and Maryland as expected, but his support amongst the white working-class swelled beyond the wildest dreams of his campaign staff in the weeks following the supposed revelations from Bremer's apartment. Picking up Oregon, New Mexico, the second-place spots in Rhode Island and California, and a significant deal of the New York delegates, Wallace was a force of nature heading into the July Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. Although the idea of Wallace at the helm of their party made many Northern Democrats queasy, the connection between the McGovern campaign and Arthur Bremer proved more than enough to torpedo McGovern as an option. Hubert Humphrey felt like a natural choice to please the bulk of the Democratic coalition, but the groundswell around Wallace robbed him of the necessary electoral support to defeat Wallace in the end. Although Wallace did come out on top, the Convention was one of the most chaotic in the party's history. The party largely failed to construct a coherent agenda due to the fierce Dixiecrat convictions of their nominee, but provisions against the continuation of the Vietnam War and pro-union measures were decided on as key pillars of the Democratic platform. The choice of a running mate for Wallace also proved a contentious one. Virtually every prominent Democratic figure was floated: Scoop Jackson, Mike Gravel, Jimmy Carter, and Endicott Peabody were party favorites. After a long and often hectic period of deliberation, Wallace's Dixiecrats and Northern liberals decided on a candidate both could live with, Richard J. Daley. Reviled as one of the nation's last true "bosses," Daley's urban expertise and party influence made him a favorite of both Wallace's campaign and the delegates who supported him. Much like in the case of Wallace's nomination in the first place, progressives protested this move heavily, but the situation had rapidly left their control. By the end of the Miami Convention, the unlikely Wallace/Daley ticket was ready to take on Tricky Dick.