Chapter Fifty-Eight - Part Three - Two Tribes
“I bet I wouldn’t be doing so well if I hadn’t campaigned as half as liberal as I really am.”
"Hello, we’re back with more Decision ‘84 coverage of this year’s presidential election. Senator Dale Bumpers has a clear lead in both the popular vote and electoral college thus far, with President Paul Laxalt trailing behind him.
We can project that Dale Bumpers has won the state of Pennsylvania. This seems to be a realigning election or America. Senator Bumpers has portrayed himself as a new kind of Democrat, a type of Democrat he has portrayed as pragmatic, reasonable, and bipartisan, who will be able to work with Congress to pass American and liberal priorities. Coming in now, we can also project that Dale Bumpers has won the District of Columbia. We can also report in the South that Dale Bumpers has won in Tennessee. The South remains competitive but Bumpers is in a clear lead there. Northeast, in New England, Dale Bumpers has won Connecticut, he has won Connecticut. That state has eight electoral votes, which gives Bumpers over two hundred electoral votes. As we’ve said, a candidate needs two hundred and seventy to win. In the southwest, Paul Laxalt has won Oklahoma.
We can also report that Delaware has gone for Bumpers. Delaware is one of those states that last voted for the Democrat in 1964 with Lyndon Johnson.
The results in the South are interesting. President Laxalt was hoping to hold on to the South, were social issues, like busing and the death penalty, were generally considered to hold the most sway. Senator Bumpers does not have the clearest record on busing, having spoken against it in Arkansas but voted in favour of busing measures in the Senate. Likewise, Bumpers had seemingly written off the death penalty as a non-issue when it was abolished by the Supreme Court. This didn’t stop Paul Laxalt however, as he campaigned extensively on social issues in the South, and promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overturn certain rulings of the court. Of course, there was a certain expectation that Dale Bumpers, being a Southerner himself, would do better in the South than previous Democrats such as Gene McCarthy and Mo Udall. Not only has Bumpers made some gains in the South, but he has won most Southern states. There are still a few Southern states that have yet to be called, namely Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Bumper’s home state of Arkansas, but if Bumpers, Senator Bumpers continues his performance in the South thus far, he won’t have anything to worry about.
Some more news coming from the western states. Paul Laxalt has won in South Dakota, and Nebraska. While this is good news for the Laxalt camp, these were considered safe states for the President, and do not particularly change the trajectory of the election. In the South, we project that Dale Bumpers has won Maryland, as well as his home state of Arkansas. While this isn’t necessarily a surprise, it does put Dale Bumpers that much closer to the winning number of two hundred and seventy electoral votes. Right now he’s at two hundred and twenty-three, and many high value states, such as Illinois, New York, and California, have yet to come in. Right now, polling has closed in Illinois and New York, but it’s still open in California.
We’ll be back after this commercial break.
We’re back. We have more coverage to share with you, and it’s big news. Results have come in from the rest of the South: Dale Bumpers is the winner in Louisiana and North Carolina. North Carolina, the home of Senator Jesse Helms, a staunch supporter of Paul Laxalt, was considered a key part of any sound re-election strategy for the President.
Dale Bumpers has swept New England, winning Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Earlier tonight, he also won New Hampshire and Connecticut.
With Rhode Island moving into the Democratic column, we can confirm that Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas will be the next President of the United States. Dale Leon Bumpers, age fifty-nine years old, Senator for Arkansas, is now the President-elect of the United States. The Bumpers ticket has made history tonight: Thomas Bradley, Governor of California, age sixty-seven, is now Vice President-elect, and, when sworn in, will be the first African American Vice President in US history.
But that’s not all. We have more results coming in from the Midwest. Dale Bumpers has also won in Illinois, he’s won in Wisconsin, he has taken Minnesota, and Iowa. Further northeast, the results are in, and we can confirm that Bumpers has won in New York. With the exception of Indiana, and with the results still coming in from Missouri, President-elect Dale Bumpers has done a clean sweep of the Midwest.
These really are astounding results. As described in the past, American presidential elections have either been squeakers, or they’ve been blowout landslides. This has clearly turned into a blowout landslide for Bumpers and the Democrats, after getting absolutely trounced in 1980 nd 1976, and barely winning in 1972 and 1968. Senator, President-elect Bumpers may well establish an even bigger landslide than Lyndon Johnson did in 1964 in the popular vote, but we’ll have to wait for the results to come in from the more western states to confirm that. In the electoral vote, Bumpers’ margin of victory isn’t quite as big of that of Lyndon Johnson’s, but it is sizable nevertheless.
Looking at the popular vote now, Dale Bumpers has dropped slightly to fifty-nine percent, with Paul Laxalt at forty-one percent. This is still liable to change, but in comparison, Lyndon Johnson holds the record for the popular vote at sixty-one percent in 1964, while Jim Rhodes managed to get sixty point five percent in 1980, just four years ago. Quite the dramatic shift.
We’ll be going to commercial break, but afterward we’ll see how the other states shape up. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, President-elect of the United States, and Governor Tom Bradley, Vice President-elect, and first African American Vice President-elect of the United States."
- Senator Dale Bumpers to his wife, Betty Bumpers, election night 1984
"Hello, we’re back with more Decision ‘84 coverage of this year’s presidential election. Senator Dale Bumpers has a clear lead in both the popular vote and electoral college thus far, with President Paul Laxalt trailing behind him.
We can project that Dale Bumpers has won the state of Pennsylvania. This seems to be a realigning election or America. Senator Bumpers has portrayed himself as a new kind of Democrat, a type of Democrat he has portrayed as pragmatic, reasonable, and bipartisan, who will be able to work with Congress to pass American and liberal priorities. Coming in now, we can also project that Dale Bumpers has won the District of Columbia. We can also report in the South that Dale Bumpers has won in Tennessee. The South remains competitive but Bumpers is in a clear lead there. Northeast, in New England, Dale Bumpers has won Connecticut, he has won Connecticut. That state has eight electoral votes, which gives Bumpers over two hundred electoral votes. As we’ve said, a candidate needs two hundred and seventy to win. In the southwest, Paul Laxalt has won Oklahoma.
We can also report that Delaware has gone for Bumpers. Delaware is one of those states that last voted for the Democrat in 1964 with Lyndon Johnson.
The results in the South are interesting. President Laxalt was hoping to hold on to the South, were social issues, like busing and the death penalty, were generally considered to hold the most sway. Senator Bumpers does not have the clearest record on busing, having spoken against it in Arkansas but voted in favour of busing measures in the Senate. Likewise, Bumpers had seemingly written off the death penalty as a non-issue when it was abolished by the Supreme Court. This didn’t stop Paul Laxalt however, as he campaigned extensively on social issues in the South, and promised to appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overturn certain rulings of the court. Of course, there was a certain expectation that Dale Bumpers, being a Southerner himself, would do better in the South than previous Democrats such as Gene McCarthy and Mo Udall. Not only has Bumpers made some gains in the South, but he has won most Southern states. There are still a few Southern states that have yet to be called, namely Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Bumper’s home state of Arkansas, but if Bumpers, Senator Bumpers continues his performance in the South thus far, he won’t have anything to worry about.
Some more news coming from the western states. Paul Laxalt has won in South Dakota, and Nebraska. While this is good news for the Laxalt camp, these were considered safe states for the President, and do not particularly change the trajectory of the election. In the South, we project that Dale Bumpers has won Maryland, as well as his home state of Arkansas. While this isn’t necessarily a surprise, it does put Dale Bumpers that much closer to the winning number of two hundred and seventy electoral votes. Right now he’s at two hundred and twenty-three, and many high value states, such as Illinois, New York, and California, have yet to come in. Right now, polling has closed in Illinois and New York, but it’s still open in California.
We’ll be back after this commercial break.
We’re back. We have more coverage to share with you, and it’s big news. Results have come in from the rest of the South: Dale Bumpers is the winner in Louisiana and North Carolina. North Carolina, the home of Senator Jesse Helms, a staunch supporter of Paul Laxalt, was considered a key part of any sound re-election strategy for the President.
Dale Bumpers has swept New England, winning Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Earlier tonight, he also won New Hampshire and Connecticut.
With Rhode Island moving into the Democratic column, we can confirm that Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas will be the next President of the United States. Dale Leon Bumpers, age fifty-nine years old, Senator for Arkansas, is now the President-elect of the United States. The Bumpers ticket has made history tonight: Thomas Bradley, Governor of California, age sixty-seven, is now Vice President-elect, and, when sworn in, will be the first African American Vice President in US history.
But that’s not all. We have more results coming in from the Midwest. Dale Bumpers has also won in Illinois, he’s won in Wisconsin, he has taken Minnesota, and Iowa. Further northeast, the results are in, and we can confirm that Bumpers has won in New York. With the exception of Indiana, and with the results still coming in from Missouri, President-elect Dale Bumpers has done a clean sweep of the Midwest.
These really are astounding results. As described in the past, American presidential elections have either been squeakers, or they’ve been blowout landslides. This has clearly turned into a blowout landslide for Bumpers and the Democrats, after getting absolutely trounced in 1980 nd 1976, and barely winning in 1972 and 1968. Senator, President-elect Bumpers may well establish an even bigger landslide than Lyndon Johnson did in 1964 in the popular vote, but we’ll have to wait for the results to come in from the more western states to confirm that. In the electoral vote, Bumpers’ margin of victory isn’t quite as big of that of Lyndon Johnson’s, but it is sizable nevertheless.
Looking at the popular vote now, Dale Bumpers has dropped slightly to fifty-nine percent, with Paul Laxalt at forty-one percent. This is still liable to change, but in comparison, Lyndon Johnson holds the record for the popular vote at sixty-one percent in 1964, while Jim Rhodes managed to get sixty point five percent in 1980, just four years ago. Quite the dramatic shift.
We’ll be going to commercial break, but afterward we’ll see how the other states shape up. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, President-elect of the United States, and Governor Tom Bradley, Vice President-elect, and first African American Vice President-elect of the United States."
