Joe McCarthy without alcoholism

Let's say he somehow gets rehabbed or not addicted, so his health is better but not great. Does he keep his seat in the Dem '58 sweep? Fade away by early 60s?
 
Even in the GOP year of 1952, he lagged well behind Eisenhower and Governor Kohler in Wisconsin. In 1958 Proxmire defeats him easily.

Maybe he's so angry at Nixon ("whom McCarthy particularly blamed for his downfall" https://books.google.com/books?id=iIv3uHbcLG4C&pg=PA309) that he runs as a third-party candidate for president in 1960 with support from Robert Welch and other Birchers.
 
Even in the GOP year of 1952, he lagged well behind Eisenhower and Governor Kohler in Wisconsin. In 1958 Proxmire defeats him easily.

Maybe he's so angry at Nixon ("whom McCarthy particularly blamed for his downfall" https://books.google.com/books?id=iIv3uHbcLG4C&pg=PA309) that he runs as a third-party candidate for president in 1960 with support from Robert Welch and other Birchers.

Constitution Party; in alliance with the segregationists; or as a wholly independent candidate?
 
Even in the GOP year of 1952, he lagged well behind Eisenhower and Governor Kohler in Wisconsin. In 1958 Proxmire defeats him easily.

Maybe he's so angry at Nixon ("whom McCarthy particularly blamed for his downfall" https://books.google.com/books?id=iIv3uHbcLG4C&pg=PA309) that he runs as a third-party candidate for president in 1960 with support from Robert Welch and other Birchers.

If that happened, I'd imagine it'd look something like this:

mJjyWiT.png


After just barely winning re-election in 1958, McCarthy would run as an alternative to Nixon, accusing the VP of being too weak on Communism while basically ignoring Kennedy due to closeness to that family. This convinces the Republicans that he is working with the Democrats, and this theory is justified when McCarthy's presence in the electoral college splits just enough states to allow Kennedy to win. McCarthy and his running mate barely win their home states, and their biggest amount of support comes from the South due his conservative stance on racial integration. After this, if JFK still gets 86ed, I imagine McCarthy could then forego running for re-election to the Senate in 1964 to run for the Republican nomination that year instead (likely claiming JFK was killed by Communist spies, which could garner some support), only to lose to either Goldwater or Rockefeller, pending butterfly levels. After that, either he'd return to the bottle and /or die in the early 1970s from overall poor health, try a political comeback at some point a la Richard Nixon, or become the Evil Harold Stassen of Wisconsin.

Or whatever...
 
If that happened, I'd imagine it'd look something like this:

mJjyWiT.png


After just barely winning re-election in 1958, McCarthy would run as an alternative to Nixon, accusing the VP of being too weak on Communism while basically ignoring Kennedy due to closeness to that family. This convinces the Republicans that he is working with the Democrats, and this theory is justified when McCarthy's presence in the electoral college splits just enough states to allow Kennedy to win. McCarthy and his running mate barely win their home states, and their biggest amount of support comes from the South due his conservative stance on racial integration. After this, if JFK still gets 86ed, I imagine McCarthy could then forego running for re-election to the Senate in 1964 to run for the Republican nomination that year instead (likely claiming JFK was killed by Communist spies, which could garner some support), only to lose to either Goldwater or Rockefeller, pending butterfly levels. After that, either he'd return to the bottle and /or die in the early 1970s from overall poor health, try a political comeback at some point a la Richard Nixon, or become the Evil Harold Stassen of Wisconsin.

Or whatever...
McCarthy would be lucky to win any states in that scenario. He was no LaFollette.
 
Top