H.W Bush/Dole 1980 (Collaborative Thread)

In this TL, Reagan cannot run due to suffering from a severe spinal cord injury. Instead, George H.W Bush and Jack Kemp win the nomination, then the Presidency, with 360 electoral votes.

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My question is why would Bush pick Dole? Dole didn't help Ford in 1976 and if I remember correctly, Bush and Dole had a pretty frosty relationship at the time.
 
My question is why would Bush pick Dole? Dole didn't help Ford in 1976 and if I remember correctly, Bush and Dole had a pretty frosty relationship at the time.

I've heard his name thrown around a lot on pages covering similar topics. Perhaps he chooses Raymond P. Shafer?
 
I'd say Kemp wouldn't be the best nominee because of his social moderation.

While I agree that Kemp wouldn't have the same effect as say, Reagan, 1980 was going to be the Republicans' year to win no matter who they nominated. Carter was incredibly unpopular and seen as an incompetent technocrat who was all talk and no action. That's why the electoral margin is smaller in this timeline, because while Bush and Kemp wouldn't be bitches of the Moral Majority like Reagan, they'd at least be seen as a better alternative to Carter/Mondale.
 
While I agree that Kemp wouldn't have the same effect as say, Reagan, 1980 was going to be the Republicans' year to win no matter who they nominated. Carter was incredibly unpopular and seen as an incompetent technocrat who was all talk and no action. That's why the electoral margin is smaller in this timeline, because while Bush and Kemp wouldn't be bitches of the Moral Majority like Reagan, they'd at least be seen as a better alternative to Carter/Mondale.

Probably, but Bush would likely be among low ground among conservatives. He'd want to bring them to his side even if he had a massive lead, and the best way to do so is by picking a social conservative.

Bush would not just be complacent, that's what I'm more or less saying.
 
Probably, but Bush would likely be among low ground among conservatives. He'd want to bring them to his side even if he had a massive lead, and the best way to do so is by picking a social conservative.

Bush would not just be complacent, that's what I'm more or less saying.

I don't think Bush would care very much, since he'd know that he'd win the election no matter what. I know that this scenario is not the most realistic, but I really wanted to see what would happen if a Rockefeller Republican became President in 1980 and the Reagan Revolution did not happen, or at least was severely weakened. While I agree that IRL he probably would pick a more socially conservative running mate, for the sake of this timeline's intention, if you decide to post on it, may you accept the pair of Bush/Kemp? At least they don't win in an unrealistic landslide like Reagan. 360, while respectable, is nowhere near groundbreaking.
 
It'd be more than that. It would look something like the 1980 map in my thread, "A Nation Healed Again and Broken Again: Gerald Ford Elected in 1980."

Yeah, that seems to be the most likely, though I'd expect Minnesota to be won by Bush.
 
I don't think Bush would care very much, since he'd know that he'd win the election no matter what. I know that this scenario is not the most realistic, but I really wanted to see what would happen if a Rockefeller Republican became President in 1980 and the Reagan Revolution did not happen, or at least was severely weakened. While I agree that IRL he probably would pick a more socially conservative running mate, for the sake of this timeline's intention, if you decide to post on it, may you accept the pair of Bush/Kemp? At least they don't win in an unrealistic landslide like Reagan. 360, while respectable, is nowhere near groundbreaking.

Bush would win 450ish, I feel. The Reagan landslide plus a few northern states minus much of the South.
 
Yeah, that seems to be the most likely, though I'd expect Minnesota to be won by Bush.
I think they'd still win it. Carter carried it in 1980 OTL and in that Timeline and Mondale Carried it against Reagan in 1984 OTL as it was his home state.
 
I understand all of you guys have your own opinions on this, but Jaguar's prediction really interested me and to me, it has the potential to make this timeline much more unpredictable. Is it okay if you guys build off of the 272-266 result?
 
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