In Your Heart, You Know He's Right: Goldwater's America and Beyond

[Titanicus]

IN YOUR HEART, YOU KNOW HE'S RIGHT
In Your Guts, You Know He's Nuts.

Senator Barry Goldwater, 1964

PROLOGUE
​

Huh, Barry Goldwater 1964. Wait, what? Barry Goldwater? That's not possible.

Well, seems like it is, or will be. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I'm going to figure out. We're going to have a Goldwater Presidency. We're going to need some sort of massive Democratic screw-up. But it's going to happen. There'll probably be multiple PODs required for this sort of thing to happen because Goldwater was "ahead of the times" in the Republican Party for being a conservative in the times of the Republican Party being an alliance of moderates, conservatives and liberals.

Since this is my "second timeline" that I'm making, I'll be making an update here after I finish my update on the first one. It'll be concerning the election and how everything fell where it needed to be for his victory in the 1964 elections.

That might include candidates being changed or different circumstances, but I think it'll be interesting. We'll be seeing a different America.

Optimistically, I may update on this weekend. Let's hope that comes to pass.

 

[Titanicus]

In 1964, the presidential election was held under great duress in the USA and would be not any less close than the one that was held four years ago. With the Cold War moving its nuclear shadow over the world, the United States included, the country would remain restless. Despite this, the election in 1960 seemed to be a net positive for the United States. President John F. Kennedy was considered by many to be a stabilizing force in the Cold War as he maneuvered the waters of crisis, especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It seemed that John F. Kennedy would be a shoe-in for the nomination in the DNC and the subsequent general election. It would, however, turn out completely differently. In 1963, during his visit to Texas, President Kennedy was unable to handle the dispute between Texan Democrats, liberals - led by Ralph Yarborough- and conservative governor, John Connally. Worried that they might lose Texas in 1964, the President visited to reconcile the two wings of the Texas Democrats. Ironically, some parts of the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party would walk out on the party preceding the 1964 presidential election. While the President himself was somewhat skeptical on pushing the Civil Rights Act, afraid of backlash from his own party and a complete capitulation in the South, he and Vice President Johnson continued to lobby for it's push through Congress. In the mid-summer of 1964, the Civil Rights Act would be passed as Vice President Johnson used his influence and bully-tactics to strong-arm Democrats and Republicans into supporting Kennedy's efforts. It was, while a popular issue, still somewhat divisive as politicians and people alike argued about it's rightfulness. Famously, then-time Senator Goldwater would vote against it. While he was certainly not against Civil Rights, he disagreed with some parts of the Act. Accurately, Senator Richard Russell Jr. would tell to the President that his strong support for civil rights legislation will "not only cost you the South, it will cost you the election." However, political historians to this day seem to have reached a conclusion that the election was more affected by Kennedy's sexual escapades rather than the Civil Rights Act.

Marion Fay "Mimi" Alford Beardsley was born in Texarkana, Arkansas and would, despite her lowly position as a White House intern, receive major news coverage in 1964. Offered a position as a White House intern for the summer in 1962, she would be asked back for the following summer in 1963. In 1963, on her fourth day in the White House press office, she was offered to join a group in the residence's swimming poll, which the President joined as well. In the next days, the affair would, more or less, spiral out of control. Following a cocktail party the next day, she was offered a personal tour of the home by the President, after which Kennedy would lead her into his wife's - Jacqueline Kennedy's - blue powder bedroom. In that room, the President and Beardsley would proceed to have sex which was Mimi's first sexual encounter. During the next 18 months, the affair would continue. In August, 1963, they ceased their sexual relationship, although Beardsley retained her position in the White House. While their relationship cooled down, Beardsley would be dismayed as she would be dropped from the trip to Dallas. Either way, the circumstances escalated as Beardsley deduced that she was pregnant in October when she visited President Kennedy. Informing President Kennedy, he reportedly tried to convince Beardsley to have an abortion and tried to bribe her to stay silent, promising some "gifts". However, Beardsley refused to carry out an abortion, saying in the next few months, hounded by the press that, "I could not abort my first child - I just found it too repulsive." While initially Beardsley would keep the affair and subsequent pregnancy a secret, she was disturbed and as Kennedy distanced himself, was forced to confess the situation to her fiance, Tony Fahnestock, who had been engaged at the time. Fahnestock, while deeply hurt and angry, was understanding of the situation and promised to support Beardsley. The affair would not become public until August, around a year after the sexual encounter that impregnated Beardsley and when their - at the time - unrecognized child was around two months old. In the following months - even up to the election - the issue of Kennedy's affair would constantly waver over the airwaves. Nominated as the first hard-conservative candidate in the Republican Party in a while, Barry Goldwater used the affair to his advantage, portraying that the election was not a question about economy, but about integrity and national defense. While most pollsters predicted a Kennedy landslide before the Beardsley-Kennedy scandal, the question if the President would win re-election was a more doubtful than certain now. With the Beardsley scandal came along other allegations against the President as he was forced on the defensive. In a crucial moment before the elections, prominent southern Democrat John Connally, defected from the Democratic Party on the fourth of September and registered himself as a Republican. At the same time, he also began the "Real Democrats for Goldwater" movement as Connally endorsed Goldwater in the presidential election and invited other southern Democrats to switch parties, concluding that the Democratic Party had abandoned the South - and the whole of America - not only in morality, but also in legislation.

While debates could have shored up support for Kennedy, the President refused to debate Goldwater throughout the period preceding the elections, afraid that he might come under fire for his affairs. Goldwater would famously stage a "mock debate" between himself and Kennedy, where he would mostly talk about his positions in contrast to the ones of the administration. In his one and only "debate" on the 9th of September, 1964, Goldwater would say, famously, in the end that "the only reason President Kennedy is not here is because he's afraid he'll be under fire for his impregnation of a 19 year old girl - to that I say, yes, he will." Upon the revelation that John F. Kennedy pushed Beardsley for an abortion, it even infuriated his more most loyal supporters - mainly Catholic Americans, who viewed this as immoral and repulsive, many of which decided to close their eyes and vote for Goldwater in 1964. As morality began to become a dominant issue of the political scene of 1964, the achievements of the Kennedy Presidency began to be clouded. From August until November, allegation & revelations dogged the Kennedy campaign as more scandalous information was revealed, even suspicions that Kennedy used narcotics. At the same time, the Kennedy campaign attempted to portray Goldwater as an out-of-touch radical who would destroy the world with nuclear weapons. Airing the now-infamous "Daisy" and "Confessions of a Republican" advertisements. While they garnered attention, they were overshadowed by the larger scandals involving the Kennedy administration as they consumed the front pages of both serious newsletters and more less-serious gossip magazines, while at the same time were called as "over-exaggerations" by Goldwater's supporters as he was forced on the defensive on some selective issues. At the same time, Goldwater rejected support from controversial groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, which had supported Goldwater's candidacy throughout.

In the span of a few months, the popularity of the "American Royals" and their Camelot was eschewed with each revealing newspaper until the label could not be applied anymore. However, Kennedy's escapades were not the only focus. Many also paid attention to the campaign's ideas about Vietnam and Social Security. Goldwater campaigned on being a supporter of intervention in Vietnam, going so far to even suggest deployment of nuclear weapons while the Kennedy administration was more ambivalent. Throughout the election campaign, Goldwater focused his message being that the Democratic administration and party had given up on containing communism abroad. While Kennedy supporters pointed out Kennedy's firm actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, they were dismissed by Goldwater supporters that the success in one area does not mean that America should be irresponsible, especially confronting communism in Asia. Through the campaign, Kennedy and Goldwater distinguished their foreign policies in contrast to each other. At the same time, Goldwater espoused his criticism of the "drift towards a welfare state" - as he put it - claiming that America should not capitulate to self-indulgence and privilege at the expense of the common taxpayer. While the message of Goldwater's campaign didn't ring well with liberals, it was more accepted by fiscal conservatives and other more right-leaning groups that opposed what they believed was the over-reliance on the federal government in recent decades, alongside with the federal governments' involvement in affairs that should be relegated to the states.

The election was closer than some expected as the Kennedy Campaign won narrow victories in Vermont, New Hampshire, Montana and other states as they found the "radical right wing" Goldwater not having an calm enough head to run the United States into the Cold War, but it would not be enough for victory. It was, however, massively contrasted by those who saw the Kennedy Administration as "immoral" among other negative connotations and believed that Goldwater was the man to restore "honor" to the White House. This perception was massively influenced by the Beardsley Affair, which continued to have a severe impact on the election as voters saw personal character as a large reason for their rejection of Kennedy. While Kennedy's charisma was certainly in abundance, it would be not enough to save his reputation. Riding on Goldwater's coattails, the Republican Party picked up multiple Senate and House seats during the election season as Americans went on to elect both their President, Senator and Representative. Despite Kennedy's fall from grace in the past few months, some saw Goldwater as unacceptable even despite Kennedy's actions and California, West Virginia, Ohio, Minnesota and other states decided to vote for the Kennedy ticket. It would not be enough to save the Kennedy Presidency. Only after one term, Democrat would be replaced by a Republican in the White House.

 

[Titanicus]

The American Quagmire (also known as The Quagmire), sometimes called the Goldwater Riots, were a series of civil disturbances, mostly in the Southern regions of the United States of America which were populated by a large amount of African-American people. The Quagmire is widely regarded as the immediate reaction of the American civil rights movement against the election of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. While President-elect Goldwater rejected any support of white supremacist groups such as the KKK, many African-Americans were frightened by the election of Goldwater on the back of the Beardsley Affair which struck down Kennedy's Presidency in in 1964. While losing the popular vote by a comfortable margin to Kennedy, Goldwater scored enough tight-margin victories in northern states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio to bring him a victory in the electoral college. In the months preceding to the election during the Republican Primary, the reconciliation between the more conservative and moderate wings between the GOP led to the moderate William Scranton, Pennsylvania Governor, being put on the ticket as Vice President. While the selection of Scranton as Vice President placated some, believing that a moderate voice in the administration would calm down the more conservative states' rights' voices, some were still unsettled by his victory, especially by Goldwater's loss in the popular vote and his vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, albeit Goldwater claimed to have voted only against it because he believed it to be an overreach of the federal government and an infringement on the rights of states.

Goldwater's presidential victory hastened the actions of the American civil rights movement and influential figures such as Martin Luther King and other influential figures in the movement. Spurred into action, the movement's leading figures organized many nonviolent protests across America against the victory of Goldwater with the belief that the President-elect, once President, would be characterized by inaction on civil rights issues facing everyday African Americans and, indeed, any American, deflecting criticism by claiming to defend states' rights. In a repeat of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom which occurred only a few months ago, various civil rights movements banded together and marched onto Washington to protest against the victory of Goldwater. Taking place on January 8th, 1965, only twelve days before the inauguration of Goldwater, thousands of Americans marched and filed in Washington to protest. Already the weeks before during the preceding events of the Quagmire which were more prevalent in the South, thousands of black Americans took to the street and protested. In Alabama, the March on Montgomery to the State Capitol resulted in six dead as protesters clashed with local police and national guards called in by Governor George Wallace. The South was not the only area were riots and protests occurred. Thousands of Americans, those who were not even associated with the civil rights movement, were deeply unsettled by the victory of Goldwater, who was believed by the most stringent of Kennedy's supporters as a mentally unfit person to be President. Aghast that he had been elected by a the technicality of the electoral college, thousands of Americans filled into streets across the country and protested against the victory of Goldwater. It is believed by historians that the aftermath of the 1964 presidential election is the main kickstarter of the movement for a constitutional amendment that would abolish the electoral college which was propelled, gradually, into further significance in the 80s.

Commonly known as the Washington Massacre, the Second March on Washington is claimed to be the most tragic scene of 60s America. While widely considered as a march for the defense of black rights, thousands of Americans not affiliated with the movement joined in the march to prove their dissatisfaction of the victory of Goldwater. The march mobilized thousands of police officers and national guard soldiers to provide security as the march would file through Washington. On the home turf of the federal government, many believed that it would be impossible that the scenes that were repeated in Montgomery would be repeated in Washington. More aggressive than the last march as it had no restraints put on it's organizers by the Kennedy Administration (which was still in office), the march resulted in another famous Luther King speech as he clamored for the same points he had aimed in his last speech. At the same time, he condemned Goldwater and stated that his defense of states' rights' attacked the rights of black Americans. While this riled up the crowd, the demonstrations seemed as if they would end rather peacefully as no clashes had been reported so far. It is not known why, but spontaneous violence erupted between the peacekeepers and demonstrators, possibly after the actions of provocateur agents. With the march winding down, many thought it was over. As shots rang out in Washington as the National Guard and Washington State Police opened fire, national news shocked the nation with camera shots of dead, lying bodies in the capital city of the United States. In the aftermath of the gunfire, a sense of fear and urgency spread throughout the crowd as thousands fled and multiple people died from being stomped over. In the resulting tally, fifty-seven people marchers died and one guardsmen, one police officer died in the resulting clashes & disorder that gripped the capital. Eventually, the clashes ended and the march dispersed. In the next few hours, a flurry of accusations flew, shifting the blame from the civil rights movement, police officers, national guardsmen, white nationalist groups and other groups and individuals. Meanwhile, the Kennedy Administration, while already voted out of office, responded with deep sorrow and condemned the massacre, promising a swift investigation of those responsible. The march, while not actively supported as the previous march as Kennedy believed supporting and participating in the organization of the march as in the first march would break tradition to not condemn ones' successor, as many believed the march to be an anti-Goldwater march alongside being a march for the defense of civil rights. At the same time, Kennedy remained a friend to Goldwater, despite the rocky relationship during the election season as Kennedy failed to use his much-acclaimed charisma to shore up support in TV debates. This can explain the inaction of the Kennedy Administration in support of the march in contrast to the previous one.

Throughout the United States, an event more violent wave of disorder shook the nation, as thousands more took to the streets to protest more vigorously while the Washington Massacre consumed foreign and domestic news outlets with weeks, even months of speculation and reporting. While the previous sweep of protests were largely nonviolent, the protests succeeding the Washington Massacre were violent, despite Martin Luther King calling for restraint and peace. In the next month, the protests would tally up over a ~500 people killed all over the United States, including peacekeepers. In the South, the response by local law enforcement was much more violent than in other states and riots over the South alone resulted in ~250 people killed. America was deeply fractured and in disorder was rampant. It was clear that the Goldwater Presidency would not go as peaceful as some had assumed. With his inauguration on the 20th of January, 1965, Barry Goldwater, in his inauguration speech, acknowledged that he was not elected by a majority, but promised that he would fight for every American and called for restraint and peace as others ravaged the streets across the nation. Before this, some in Goldwater's inner circle and security services thought that he should take the oath privately due to the perceived security risk involved of a public oath. Despite this, Goldwater soldiered ahead and took the oath publicly, finishing with his inauguration speech.

"I, Barry Morris Goldwater, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."​

 

[Titanicus]

Following his inauguration in 1965, President Goldwater soon sought out to repair the dire situation in America. In his inauguration speech, Goldwater emphasized three things, namely, his opposition to big government, quick victory in Vietnam along with calling for an end to the indiscriminate violence ravaging the South and other areas of America. Despite this, the newly-inaugurated President's approval ratings were rather sub-par, considering that the economy was roaring ahead in the post-war years, fueled by European construction and rebuilding efforts and bolstered by American consumerism. While many Americans were surprised and even angered by the victory of Goldwater, public life resumed as normal for most. Situation in the South had not developed to the advantage of the Civil Rights Movement.

While the Civil Rights Act had passed and Goldwater had become somewhat infamous for voting against it, the fight for racial equality in the United States was not over. In the South, Jim Crow laws had for long since the end of the Reconstruction been the gripe of African-Americans, as the sets of laws discriminated against African-American populations by imposing literacy tests, poll taxes, property ownership quotas and other measures to depress black turnout and vote. With hindsight, many political historians point to the Goldwater Presidency as a reason for the rise of Black Power groups that sought out to establish independent African-American identity and sometimes, even to carve out black-majority nations in the South, while the Washington Massacre became a rallying point for African-Americans and segregationist Senators alike, as the former used the Massacre to point to the impossibility of compromise while the latter pointed to it as a point to crush any unapproved marches with impunity to prevent a repeat.
While desegregation was achieved, it was achieved in name only. The South continued with it's segregationist policies as Goldwater himself disagreed with certain acts of the legislation and did not enforce the certain provisions. With no tooth to the paper, as in, with no federal enforcement of desegregation in areas of the country, blacks continued to be disenfranchised and even became disillusioned with the federal government. This gave more fodder to more radical proponents of the black rights movement, however, the chief voice would remain Martin Luther King Jr. until his unfortunate death. While Civil Rights marches would continue throughout the sixties and eventually, there would be achievements on the front, the road to desegregation and black rights would be paved over by a couple thousand dead Americans in the next decade.

Despite all the doom and gloom in the sixties, the Republican Party could cheer on Goldwater until 1967. In 1964, the Republican Party had seized numerous seats from the Democratic Party in the Senate and was able to hurt their majority in the House. Riding on the coattails of Goldwater and Kennedy's enormous scandal, Republicans would soon be seated in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio and Nevada, while at the same time, they were able to keep their hold on New York and New Mexico. Despite Goldwater losing Ohio and Nevada, the mood of the nation was able to put over Robert Taft Jr. and Paul Laxalt over the top in their respective states. Meanwhile, in New York, many looked to Robert F. Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy and Attorney General as the man to beat Kenneth Keating who had been in the Senate since 1959. However, Robert F. Kennedy refused to run in the Democratic Primary as he feared his brothers' scandals would cost him an embarrassing loss over Keating. The Democratic Party nominated Representative Samuel S. Stratton to the Senate race, who surprisingly managed to put up a tough fight and lost in a tight race against Keating. In Massachusets, another Kennedy brother, Ted Kennedy, had prevailed in his victory over his challenger with a comfortable margin despite the scandal. In Tennessee, Republican Howard Baker beat Ross Bass in a tight race, with similar results in an Oklahoma race between Bud Wilkinson and Fred R. Harris. Paul Laxalt seized the mantle of victory in Nevada with comfortable margins, while Ohio walked into the Republican camp. By about a margin of ~2,000 votes, Edwin L. Mechem secured victory in New Mexico against Joseph Montoya. While the Republican Party shored up considerable victories in the Senate, many doubted whether those gains would be kept or lost soon.

On the foreign front, the Vietnam War began to seize the attention of every American. With a deteriorating domestic situation and an ever-more worrying insurgency in South Asia, Goldwater promised that America would defend Vietnam from communist aggression & expansion. While many had worried before the elections about the nuclear tendencies of Goldwater, many voters were tamed and doubted that any use of nuclear weapons would occur. After all, North Vietnam was not as much of a danger as Japan was to American security. Goldwater employed Curtis LeMay as his ally at the Department of Defense, elevating him to it's Secretary in his cabinet after the election. Throughout the 60s, America under Goldwater came to pursue a more aggressive and indiscriminate policy in Vietnam. Reinstating the draft and beginning saturated bombing campaigns as early as 1966, the unpopularity of the Goldwater Presidency became more evident as every month, hundreds of thousands of protesters would descend around cities in America, protesting either racial discrimination, the draft, the war itself, the inaction of the administration and a whole array of issues. William Westmoreland, appointed as Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1967, and other figures in the Goldwater Administration began to call for the use of nuclear weapons against the Vietnamese, coupled with a conventional offensive to crush Hanoi. Keen to end the Vietnam War before the election and egged on by his advisors, Operation Fracture Jaw began in January, 1968 after a buildup in Vietnam. Historical accounts from the North Vietnamese show that they suspected that there could be a conventional invasion with the buildup of US forces in coordination with the ARVN. Pre-empting the later-shelved Tet Plan, the Vietnamese were nonetheless caught by surprise.

America, Vietnam and anything else would never be the same.


AUTHOR NOTE: I hope this update was okay. I myself realize I'm not very that good at describing what would happen during a term of a President, but I guess I tried. I hope you guys liked the update and the next update is going to be concerning the actual Fracture Jaw Operation and it's domestic & foreign consequences. After that, we'll move on to 1968. Considering school and other 'distractions', I'll still try to post when I can, more so, when I feel the inspiration to write. I suppose you can expect at least one update per month, or at the least, per two months.