JFK not in Dallas, November 1963

It's 1963, November. Because of a sudden return of tension along the Berlin wall, JFK cancels his trip to Dallas, but his Vice President, Lyndon Johnson goes and is killed by an assassin. Some even speculate Kennedy himself, who was no friend of his VP was responsible. With no 25th Amendment, no VP would be around until the next election. While the Speaker of the House was second in command, Robert Kennedy, Attorney General becomes de facto VP. Jacqueline is getting sick of her husbands affairs and moves to a family owned place in New York City with the children but does not file for divorce due to their Catholic faith.

Starting in early 1964, President Kennedy withdraws all troops from Viet Nam and they are out by March 1965. Germany continues to be a hot spot and shooting starts across the border of East and West Germany in May 1965.

Speculate on how this plays out. Thanks!
 
In OTL, Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev on October 14, 1964. In this ATL, who controls the USSR in early 1965? Does Brezhnev take over to quell some of Khrushchev's boisterous moves?
 
Scandal!

Well, after Johnson is assinated, evidence surfaces implicating one Kennedy brother through his various ties, and the other Kennedy brother through efforts to cover up the activities of the other. Calls increase for the President and/or the Attorney-General to step down, but neither do so, leading to a victory for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.
 
Well, after Johnson is assinated, evidence surfaces implicating one Kennedy brother through his various ties, and the other Kennedy brother through efforts to cover up the activities of the other. Calls increase for the President and/or the Attorney-General to step down, but neither do so, leading to a victory for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.

That's a Conserva-wank on drugs. I doubt you could connect either Kennedy to the assassination in any way (more likely, many people would suspect the CIA, and JFK and Bobbie were very much at odds with the CIA, which could help in the election via people's suspicions and could lead to JFK thinking Hoover did it as much as Johnson thought Castro did it.). And you're not gonna get Goldwater in the office in an age of Progressive and Liberal boom like the mid 20th century.

I also think the OP has a lot of flaws, no offense.
 
That's a Conserva-wank on drugs. I doubt you could connect either Kennedy to the assassination in any way (more likely, many people would suspect the CIA, and JFK and Bobbie were very much at odds with the CIA, which could help in the election via people's suspicions and could lead to JFK thinking Hoover did it as much as Johnson thought Castro did it.). And you're not gonna get Goldwater in the office in an age of Progressive and Liberal boom like the mid 20th century.

I also think the OP has a lot of flaws, no offense.

The situation proposed may have its flaws but so does your assertion regarding "an age of Progressive and Liberal boom like the mid 20th century" when one takes into account the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations happening to fall within that range of time.
 
If you look at Nixon and take his entire legacy into account, he was only Conservative in a Social Liberal sense, if that makes any sense. Conservative at first sure, but he became more Liberal throughout his political career and especially in the presidency (though of course a bit delusional and paranoid). I'd likewise say Ford is very, very, very much a moderate and Carter a moderate. If you think any of those are Conservatives outside of Nixon, and especially as near the radically reactionary type of Conservatism you had in Goldwater in this era, I think you very much misunderstand the political situation of said era.
 
If you look at Nixon and take his entire legacy into account, he was only Conservative in a Social Liberal sense, if that makes any sense. Conservative at first sure, but he became more Liberal throughout his political career and especially in the presidency (though of course a bit delusional and paranoid). I'd likewise say Ford is very, very, very much a moderate and Carter a moderate. If you think any of those are Conservatives outside of Nixon, and especially as near the radically reactionary type of Conservatism you had in Goldwater in this era, I think you very much misunderstand the political situation of said era.

It is true that Nixon was rather progressive. Arguably, Ford and Carter were moderates by the standards of the day. However, Goldwater's firm conservatism is at times overstated, and his campaign will likely avoid some of its missteps in the situation given.
 
The situation proposed may have its flaws but so does your assertion regarding "an age of Progressive and Liberal boom like the mid 20th century" when one takes into account the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations happening to fall within that range of time.

By late 1968, a very large number of reforms had already passed (civil rights, voting rights, and more), so many moderates were willing to swing to the right of center.
 
By late 1968, a very large number of reforms had already passed (civil rights, voting rights, and more), so many moderates were willing to swing to the right of center.

The Civil Rights Act passed in its then-latest incarnation in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act was already in the works by 1964 despite its passage the following year.
 
The Civil Rights Act passed in its then-latest incarnation in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act was already in the works by 1964 despite its passage the following year.

The 24th amendment to outlaw poll taxes was ratified on Jan. 24, 1964. The civil rights act that desegregated public places was passed on July 1, 1964, but full implementation would take time. The voting public was still in the mood for more reform by election time, as the voting rights act would wait until 1965.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed on April 11, 1968. It was one of the last major hurdles to defeat law-enforced or contract-enforced segregation. The left was shifting to an anti-war pro-counterculture stand, causing the moderates who fought in wars to shift to the right.
 
The 24th amendment to outlaw poll taxes was ratified on Jan. 24, 1964. The civil rights act that desegregated public places was passed on July 1, 1964, but full implementation would take time. The voting public was still in the mood for more reform by election time, as the voting rights act would wait until 1965.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed on April 11, 1968. It was one of the last major hurdles to defeat law-enforced or contract-enforced segregation. The left was shifting to an anti-war pro-counterculture stand, causing the moderates who fought in wars to shift to the right.

Thus, the bulk of these measures and efforts were in the works by the time of the 1964 election.
 
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