Helter Skelter (well sort of)

Xen

Banned
1968 is a year that is remembered in America for its horrors, both Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were shot and killed, the Vietnam War raged on in Southeast Asia, anti-war and civil rights marches clogged the streets of the US. In the south, the KKK was as strong as ever and hell bent on reversing the trend of freedom for all in the country; it was a dark chapter in American history. That year Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey in the Presidential Election, but what if something terrible happened to Tricky Dick?

After the shooting deaths of both RFK and MLK, Charles Manson, a radical and founder of “The Family” believes all the events of the year so far were predicted by the Rolling Stones on their album Their Satanic Majesties Request. Believing himself to be a catalyst of future events, Manson attends a Richard Nixon rally. When Nixon steps up to speak, Manson fires three shots, only one of them finds Nixon, the other two hit the former Vice President’s aids, killing one and wounding the other. Nixon had his throat ripped out by Mansons first shot, and was pronounced dead 11 minutes after arriving at a local hospital. Manson attempted to escape the scene, stabbing and killing one Nixon suppoter trying to subdue him before being shot and killed by a local police officer.

Two weeks after the murder of Nixon, Hubert Humphrey was nearly shot and killed by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme in Washington D.C. She refused to talk to the Secret Service or any other authorities, but a background investigation led to the arrest of other members of Charles Manson’s family for questioning. It was learned Manson planned on destabilizing the US government by assassinating key politicians, and allow his revolution to take place. It fortunately failed.

The Republican’s had the monumentous task of finding a suitable candidate to replace the late Richard Nixon. Hubert Humphrey and the DNC agreed to cease campaigning for one month out of respect for Nixon, and to give the GOP the needed time to pick up the pieces. The GOP nomination eventually went to Goveror George Romney of Michigan (who beat out Nelson Rockefeller, and long shot candidates Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater).

Romney and the GOP invoked the memory of Nixon whenever and however they could, and often to great effect, falling behind in the polls Humphrey did the same with both John and Robert Kennedy, which helped level the playing field. The election was close and both candidates hoped to lure the south to support their side, however the American Independent Party was running a successful third party campaign with George Wallace as its nominee.

November 5, 1968:
In spite of a close race, and sympathies for his party after the assassination of Nixon, George Romney lost the election to Hubert Humphrey by a narrow margin. Humphrey managed to score a victories in New Jersey, Delaware, Missouri, Ohio and Kentucky while Wallace won South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina. It is believed by many that Romney being a Mormon hurt his chances in the South and in several close states.

 

Hnau

Banned
George Romney, huh? Were the Mormons disliked more or less in 1968 than now? I mean, I could see that our stance on African Americans wouldn't be that much of a problem in '68, but what about the rest of the controversy?
 

Jasen777

Donor
The country had barely been ready for a Catholic president, it's likely not ready at all for a Mormon one.

Seems like a realistic election result overall...
 
Charles Manson wasn't really the type to murder himself, he always let others do the murdering for him, IIRC. Well, you could say that him listening to the Stones instead of the Beatles could have made him more murderous, which is believable. ;)
 

Xen

Banned
Part II: President Humphrey

President Humphrey
Hubert H. Humphrey was sworn in as the 37th President of the United States on January 20, 1969, and vowed to restore the world’s faith in America, and bring the Vietnam War to a peaceful and honorable end.

The Vietnam War dominated the Humphrey administration’s ability to govern, and in spite of vows to end the war, HHH expanded the conflict in 1970 to Cambodia after military leaders convinced him they were targeting sanctuaries of North Vietnam. Humphrey’s popularity plummeted, and his party paid the price losing both the House and the Senate. Aside from Vietnam Humphrey was forceful in integrating the school system of the south, and at times had to rely on military force to ensure the safety of black students.

Known as the do-little President Humphrey was crippled by a hostile congress, and unable to enforce many of his policies, by 1972 he was the most unpopular president since Harry Truman, and faced challenges from his own party to remain the Democratic candidate. Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington gave Humphrey a serious run for his money, but in the end lost his bid.

On the other side of the aisle the Republican Party nominated California Governor and 1968 Vice President nominee Ronald Reagan as their candidate. Reagan electrified the Republican Party in a manner that hadn’t been done since Theodore Roosevelt, and would define the GOP and the conservative movement in America.

The deep south feeling ostricized by the GOP and DNC continued to support the American Independent Party, and renominated George Wallace. Many of the racists and bigots that had once been loyal democrats joined the new party, further hurting the Democratic numbers in the House and Senate.

On November 7, 1972 the United States voted overwhelmingly in support of Ronald Reagan, making Humphrey the first sitting President to lose his bid for a second term in the White House since Herbert Hoover forty years earlier, and only the second in the twentieth century.



During President Humphrey's term, the United States landed a man on the moon, the British rock band The Beatles broke up in 1970 and the CIA helped topple the government of Cambodia supporting a pro-American military coup.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
What are the maps supposed to show?

They do not come close to what the body of the post outlines.
 

Xen

Banned
What are the maps supposed to show?

They do not come close to what the body of the post outlines.

The maps are how the votes in 1968 and 1972 turn out. Red is Republican, Blue is Democrat and Green is American Independent.
 

CalBear

Moderator
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Monthly Donor
The maps are how the votes in 1968 and 1972 turn out. Red is Republican, Blue is Democrat and Green is American Independent.


In that case, they are REALLY wrong.

The map for '68 shows an electoral massacre (its OTL's 68) with a 301/191/46 split rep/dem/ind.

There is VERY little chance that Texas would not go Reagan in '72, he was almost the Poster Child for the Independent Party's ideals on everything but segregation. Segregation in and of itself was not a sufficiently strong hot button in the state by '72.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
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Then why did they do it in OTL 68 :p


California fractured pretty badly in '68. Nixon carried the state with 47.82%, Humphery was at 44.74%. Popular vote was only 220,000 in Nixon's favor. Back in '68 California was a very moderate, even slightly Right, state. Reagan was a hugely popular Governor and he was conservative as all hell. Of course he had been precceded, and was followed, by the Browns (Pat & Jerry) neither of whom can be labeled conservative.

California has only been safely Democratic in White House races since 1992. The National GOP has moved too far Right from the majority of voters in the state, especially in the matter of Abortion and other "moral" issues. Republicans can win in the, witness the statehouse, which has been in the GOP's hands for 21 of the last 25 years, but the California Republican is a different breed of cat from the National version. Think moderate all the way (JFK or Ike, not Goldwater or Bush 43) and you are in the ballpark. That is probably why California governors, with the notable exception of Reagan, sink from view if the run for the White House. Moderate doesn't win primaries in most states, far Left or Right does, with the nominee trying to get back to the center. Successful California politicos are never going to be able to survive that sort of test.
 
California fractured pretty badly in '68. Nixon carried the state with 47.82%, Humphery was at 44.74%. Popular vote was only 220,000 in Nixon's favor. Back in '68 California was a very moderate, even slightly Right, state. Reagan was a hugely popular Governor and he was conservative as all hell. Of course he had been precceded, and was followed, by the Browns (Pat & Jerry) neither of whom can be labeled conservative.

California has only been safely Democratic in White House races since 1992. The National GOP has moved too far Right from the majority of voters in the state, especially in the matter of Abortion and other "moral" issues. Republicans can win in the, witness the statehouse, which has been in the GOP's hands for 21 of the last 25 years, but the California Republican is a different breed of cat from the National version. Think moderate all the way (JFK or Ike, not Goldwater or Bush 43) and you are in the ballpark. That is probably why California governors, with the notable exception of Reagan, sink from view if the run for the White House. Moderate doesn't win primaries in most states, far Left or Right does, with the nominee trying to get back to the center. Successful California politicos are never going to be able to survive that sort of test.

It was a rhetorical question...
 

Xen

Banned
In that case, they are REALLY wrong.

The map for '68 shows an electoral massacre (its OTL's 68) with a 301/191/46 split rep/dem/ind.

Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong and Wrong

I shall do you the honor of a quick and painless death



This is the actual electoral college of 1968, notice Humphrey has won in New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and Delware on my map, while Wallace won in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee? The losses of those states alone is enough to give Humphrey a victory, however narrow, in the 1968 election.
 
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