List of Alternate Presidents and PMs II

[Mumby]

Kitchener as Jan Smuts is actually very inspired.

He is fucking ancient by the time he steps aside.

 

[Japhy]

He is fucking ancient by the time he steps aside.

I'd have gone for another WWI Flag Officer, IMO. Just besides the 98 year old PM detail.

 

[Gonzo]

He is fucking ancient by the time he steps aside.

Now Britain can say that it has its own Strom Thurmond now.

 

[Comisario]

And just to add to this, at least in my lists and I personally think in yours and @Mumby 's the Hipster PMs are never imapluasibly Hipster - there are a lot of staples who were just a few steps away from high office already IOTL and just need circumstance to get them there. Having obscure, but actually still prominent, figures at the time accede to high office isn't the same as having someone no one even vaguely knows of in office (though I also enjoy those lists...)

The banter in this is that you spelt 'implausibly' wrong.

Yes, this is what I do and I don't care.

 

[Zaffre]

Just for fun -

American Dream

1981-1989: Ronald Reagan / George H.W. Bush (Republican)
1980: Jimmy Carter / Walter Mondale (Democratic), John Anderson / Patrick Lucey (National Unity)
1984: Walter Mondale / Jean Sadako King (Democratic)
1989-1993: Jean Sadako King / Jay Rockefeller (Democratic)
1988: Pat Buchanan / Trent Lott (Republican), Lee Iacocca / Joseph R. Wright, Jr. (Talk Straight)
1993-2001: Bob Kasten / Claudine Schneider (Republican)
1992: Jean Sadako King / Jay Rockefeller (Democratic)
1996: Jay Rockefeller / Maureen O' Connor (Democratic)
2001-2009: Mike Dukakis / Blanche Lincoln (Democratic)
2000: Trent Lott / Jim Lightfoot (Republican)
2004: Gary Johnson / Bill Weld (Republican)
2009-2017: Betsy McCaughey Ross / George Allen (Republican)
2008: Blanche Lincoln / Harold Ford, Jr. (Democratic)
2012: Wesley K. Clark / Paul G. Vallas (Democratic)
2017-: Ron Kirk / Robert Reich (Democratic)
2016: Angela M. Harmon / John Ellis Bush (Republican)

 

[Aaaaasima]

1929-1933: Andrew Mellon/James Watson (Republican)
1928: Al Smith/Dan Moody (Democratic)
1933: Millard Tydings/David Walsh (Democratic)
1932: Floyd Olson/John L. Lewis (Progressive-Farmer-Labor), James Watson/Guy D. Goff (Republican)
1933-1934: Hugh Johnson/VACANT (Military)
1934: National Emergency Council

Herbert Hoover’s decision not to run for the presidency caused the Republican field for 1928 to be wide open. Calvin Coolidge made clear that he would not run for another term ruled out that possibility. The main four candidates were Charles Curtis, James Watson, George Norris and Frank Lowden. After ten inconclusive ballots, a compromise candidate was needed. Andrew Mellon agreed to be the compromise, and on the twelfth ballot, Andrew Mellon became the Republican nominee.

Mellon’s 1928 campaign was based on his experience as treasury secretary, talking about how he caused the prosperity and how he would turn the roaring twenties into the roaring thirties. Al Smith’s Catholicism hurt him in many parts of the midwest. On election day, Mellon won 41 out of 47 states.

Then, all went wrong for the president who had hoped to be the man would continue the prosperity. The great depression started on October 29th, 1929, “Black Tuesday” as it was called, when the stock market crashed. Mellon tried to stop it, but his hard-right economic beliefs got in the way. The Smoot-Hawley tariff just made it worse.

By 1932, even a pair of pants could win against Mellon. Starvation became prevalent in the more poor parts of the country, millions of people were out of work and Mellon did nothing to stop it, at least in the average American’s eyes. Mellon hated this job, and he refused to run for a second term. The 1932 Democratic convention was a threeway between Tydings, Wheeler and Smith. Millard Tydings convinced Smith to drop out and endorse him, and in return, Smith would pick Tydings’s delegate. This worked, and Tydings became the nominee, and Smith chose one of his allies: Massachusetts Senator David Walsh.

The left-wing, at first, was divided in three: Burton Wheeler as a Progressive, John L. Lewis as a Laborite and Norman Thomas as a socialist. Wheeler and Lewis decided that dividing the vote was stupid and decided to create their own party: Progressive Labor. Then they formed an alliance with Minnesota’s Farmer Labor party and formed the Progressive Farmer Labor Party. The Socialists weren’t part of the deal as PFL insiders thought it was bad PR to have a deal with the Socialists, but the Socialists endorsed them anyway. Tydings won, as expected.

Tydings was a Conservative Democrat, and as such was just Mellon but more moderate. Tydings’s approval rating dropped faster than my grades, and Americans were turning to more radical parties, whether they be left or right. As America’s suffering was prolonged, many had had enough. On December 18th, 1933, a group of 1000 communists managed to attack the White House, and killed both Tydings and Walsh. However, the military soon rushed in, and the communists were either arrested or killed. General Hugh Johnson declared himself as the President of the United States. However, many thought that Johnson was an illegitimate president, and this made Americans more angry. On January 2nd, 1934, Governor Upton Sinclair declared that California was now a separate entity from the United States. Hugh Johnson tried to take California back, but mutinies and US troops that were willing to fire on civilians hampered on the cause. Hugh Johnson’s mental health became weaker ever since California had seceded, and eventually other US generals declared him unfit for office based on a fit he threw in private, and formed the National Emergency Council. This was the final straw, and many US states seceded after that.

 

[Uhura's Mazda]

List of First Ministers of North East England
2006-2011: Stephen Byers (Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition)
2006 def: Alan Beith (Liberal Democrat), Michael Fallon (Conservative), Terry Deary (An Independent For Grammar)
2011-2011: Stephen Byers (Labour)
2011 def: Michael Fallon (Conservative), Ian Swales (Liberal Democrat), Alan Shearer (North East Party)
2011-2021: David Miliband (Labour)
2016 def: James Wharton (Conservative), Jonathan Arnott (UKIP), Ian Swales (Liberal Democrat)
2021-2022: James Wharton (Conservative-Liberal Democrat-UKIP-Continuity Liberal coalition)
2021 def: David Miliband (Labour), Julie Pörksen (Liberal Democrat), Philip Broughton (UKIP), Kathy King (Continuity Liberal)
2022-2026: Simon Henig (Labour-Continuity Liberal coalition)
2026-2028: Jonathan Arnott (Abolish the North East Assembly Alliance: Five Pints Movement-Conservative-Socialist Appeal coalition)
2026 def: Simon Henig (Labour), Guy Opperman (Conservative), Julie Pörksen (Remain!), 'It Is Illegal To Use A Legal Name' (Socialist Appeal)

The context for the period up to 2016 is here.

Part Two

Andy Burnham led Labour to an abysmal defeat in 2020 against Boris 'Fucking' Johnson, and was followed as leader by left-wing firebrand and recent embryo Owen Jones, who had come in at the Islington North by-election of 2018 and was therefore unsullied by voting for the War in Syria. The following year, a combination of Labour's national issues and local fatigue with the one-party Labour NE Government (which had made itself unpopular by implementing cuts more extreme than the national rate and actually running a sizeable budget surplus in one of the most deprived regions of the UK) lost Miliband his majority. He initially proposed to carry on with a minority administration, but to the surprise of many, all four opposition parties managed to work together for a whole eleven months. However, it couldn't last forever, and in the middle of a chaotic dispute over the impact of the Second Brexit Referendum, both the Lib Dems and UKIP pulled out of the coalition at exactly the same time, neither having heard of the other's calling of a press conference until it was too late. The Continuity Liberal AM for Tyne and Wear South supported old Labour hand Simon Henig, giving the new Government a working majority, not counting the Presiding Officer.

Henig, even with the best will in the world, could not magic up money where there was none. The Second Brexit Referendum of 2020 now meant that Britain was ejected from the EU in May 2022, without having finalised trade deals with any nations other than New Zealand, Liechtenstein and, in a move that drew some considerable criticism, the Islamic State. As such, the Pound collapsed in value and thousands of business went bust across the country. The Emergency Budget, delivered by Chancellor Rees-Mogg, saw a cut of 80% of funding to devolved areas and even the reserves that Miliband had accumulated couldn't cover the cost. After 2024, the Assembly was functionally insolvent, and no North-Easterner can forget the day that BedePower shut off the lights at Durham Castle during a debate, until Labour's James Hall found some coins to feed the meter. Jonathan Arnott, former Leader of North East UKIP, tapped into the public mood with his speeches against the very principle of the Assembly, and his multi-Party alliance swept Labour (and the feeble remnants of UKIP) aside in the 2026 elections.

The last of the non-ringfenced money available to the Assembly had been spent on those elections, so Arnott and his merry band were only able to finance the conducting of Permanent Dissolution arrangements with the Department of Admin and General Crap* by selling off all of the assets of the Assembly to the highest bidder. As such, those lucky students who can afford to go to school in Northumberland still sing the Monsanto company anthem (don't ask) every morning between Chemistry and Food Technology.

*Government has become a lot more informal since the first TOWIE viewers entered the Houses of Parliament.

 

[Miss Teri]

An Original List:

1953-1961: William Knowland/ Bourke Hickenlooper
1952 def. Dan Edward Garvey/ Richard Russell, Jr.
1956 def. Dan Edward Garvey/ Paul Douglas

1961-1963: Stuart Symington/Clinton P. Anderson

1960 def. George D. Aiken/James Jeremiah Wadsworth

1963: Clinton P. Anderson/VACANT

1963-1969: Clinton P. Anderson/ John L. McCellan

1964 def. William Langer/ Robert S. Hale

1969-1977: George D. Aiken/ Claude R. Kirk, Jr.

1968 def. John L. McCellan/ Phillip A. Hart
1972 def. Frank Lausche/ Charles E. Bohlen

1977-1981: Dale Bumpers/ Ernest Hollings

1976 def. Claude R. Kirk, Jr./Henry Bellmon

1981-1988: Jack R. Williams/ Garry E. Brown
1980 def. Dale Bumpers/ Ernest Hollings
1984 def. Ernest Hollings/Marilyn Lloyd

1989-1993: Garry E. Brown/ Frank Murkowski

1988 def. Robert W. Straub/Mike Mansfield

1993-2001 John W. Carlin/David L. Boren

1992 def. Garry E. Brown/ Frank Murkowski
1996 def. Henry Bellmon/John Paul Hammerschmidt

2001-2009: Frank Keating/Chuck Grassley

2001 def. David L. Boren/Herb Kohl
2004 def. Max Baucus/ Blanche Lincoln

2009-2017: Patty Murray/Sam Nunn

2008 def. Kit Bond/Linda Lingle
2012 def. Craig Benson/ Jim Sensenbrenner

------------------------

So, the basic process of this list: find what year a President or a Presidential nominee was first elected (or, if they never held an elected position, what position they did hold, with the exception of William Knowland at the beginning), go to the House/Senate/Gubernational elections for that year, and pick a random person who also won an election that year (whether they were first elected or re-elected that), and was still alive when the Presidential election occur, and who wasn't a future President or nominee.

 

[Cevolian]

RUN, RONALD, RUN!
Washington wouldn't, Grant couldn't, Reagan shouldn't - I'm against another FDR​

1981-1990: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush (Republican)
1980 def - Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale (Democratic), John Anderson/Patrick Lucey (National Unity)
1984 def - Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro (Democratic)
1988 def - Lloyd Bentsen/Al Gore (Democratic), Ron Paul/Scattered (Conservatives against a Third Term)
1990-1993: George H.W. Bush/Bob Dole (Republican)
1993-1997: Lloyd Bentsen/Bill Clinton (Democratic)
1992 def - George H.W. Bush/Bob Dole (Republican), Pat Buchanan/Pat Robertson (Values Coalition)
1997-2005: John McCain/Elizabeth Dole (Republican)
1996 def - Lloyd Bentsen/Bill Clinton (Democratic), Newt Gingrich/Alan Keyes (Values Coalition), Denis Kucinich/Bernie Sanders (Left Democratic)
2000 def - Al Gore/Bob Kerrey (Democratic), Bernie Sanders/Ralph Nader (Progressive), Ron Paul/Rick Perry (Christian Freedom)
2005-2009: Blanche Lincoln/Mark Warner (Democratic)
2004 def - John McCain/Mitt Romney (Republican), Mike Pence/Scott Walker (Christian Freedom - Anti 3rd Term), John Kerry/Joe Biden (Progressive), Ralph Nader/scattered (Reinstate the 22nd!)
2013-0000: Lindsey Graham/Olympia Snowe (Republican)
2012 def - Blanche Lincoln/Mark Warner (Democratic), Sherrod Brown/Jill Stein (Progressive), Rick Santorum/Mike Huckabee (Christian Freedom)
2016 def - Jim Webb/Tulsi Gabbard (Democratic), Ted Cruz/Rand Paul (Christian Freedom), Kirsten Gillibrand/Zephyr Teachout (Progressive)

 

[Utgard96]

Da doo run run Ron, da doo run Ron…

 

[Sideways]

Britain Isn't Totnes
An Analogue List for Totnes' Devon County Council Ward​

The Morningstar Incident of 1969 set a chain of consequences in action that would define the whole of Harold Wilson's tenure as Prime Minister, would shae the political establishment, and would see him serve as the last Prime Minister to be the senior elected official in Great Britain. In 1970, her family wrecked by scandal and her health failing, Elizabeth Windsor was forced to resign as queen, handing over the reigns of power (briefly) to an Interim Executive Council, before a new president could be elected.

1973: Ed Heath (Conservative)

Ed Heath (Conservative) 48.5%
Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal) 27.4%
Michael Foot (Labour) 24.1%
​

The 1973 Presidential election was the first election fought under the new constitution and was viewed by many as a referendum on the changes. Unsurprisingly Labour, and their uncharismatic left wing candidate, were viewed with scorn by the electorate. They had never hoped to win, and some viewed Foot's selection as a trap for the left of the party. However, their defeat was worse than anyone could have expected. Ed Heath won in the first round, and Thorpe's excellent performance in the televised debates saw him storm ahead in the polls, securing a comfortable second place.

Ed Heath was a staunch defender of internationalism against an sceptical Labour government and was responsible for the negotiations to join Europe in 1975 when the Conservatives won the House of Commons election in a landslide.

1977: Ed Heath (Conservative)

Ed Heath (Conservative) 57.8%
Barbara Castle (Labour) 19.2%
Margaret Wingfield (Liberal) 18.5%
Charles Windsor (Royalist) 4.5%
​

The 1977 election was considered by many to be a foregone conclusion. The Conservatives were popular, they were just about making the new republic work, and could still blame all problems on Labour, who were still riven by internal disputes. Their one fear in 1977 was the arrival of Charles Windsor onto the political scene, and the possibility of a revival of monarchy. The old Prince of Wales had built up a successful business but was keen to enter politics. To the surprise of many, his message was not entirely about a return to tradition. He instead focused on ecology, agriculture, and medicine. These messages went down well with the voters, leading to a perception that he was a "nice man" but failed to win over people who wanted a radical return to tradition.

Margaret Wingfield was a late entry to the presidential race, replacing Jeremy Thorpe following his decision to step down. For the first time, two women faced off against each other in televised debates. The campaign between them was hard and Castle was by far the better speaker, with more experience. She was also unblemished by the scandals surrounding the Liberals following the Thorpe affair. However, in spite of this, they only beat the Liberals by under 1%. Labour was still the second party in the House of Commons and the Senate, but the election was a wake up call to them that this was an advantage they were losing.

Ed Heath won the presidency in the first round once again in a contest that was mostly seen as about who came second. For the first time, senate elections were held, and saw the Conservatives dominate the Upper House as well.

1981: Ed Heath (Conservative)

Ed Heath (Conservative) 42.5%
Jo Grimmond (Liberal) 33%
Shirley Williams (Labour) 24.6%​

After eight years preparing for power, Ed Heath had developed a "presidential" persona. He attempted to be above party politics, his long opposition to some of the Conservative government's more monetarist policies meant he was viewed by many as an independent adjudicator who was above party politics. This approach worked well, until it hit into the Big Yellow Machine in its first real outing, and a resurgent Labour Party. Heath was attacked by both the challengers in all the debates, and was the subject of a huge negative campaign.

Despite all this, the Conservatives were still winning landslide victories in all elections, and his success was all but assured. For the first time, the presidential election was decided on second preference votes, with Heath coming out ahead.

The Senate elections of the same year saw the Liberals piggybacking on the success of their presidential candidate to break through and obtain 50 out of the 500 seats.

1985 David Penhaligon (Liberal) 46.7%

David Penhaligon (Liberal) 46.7%
Ed Heath (Conservative) 37.8%
Shirley Williams (Labour) 15.5%​

Ed Heath's last term as president was no less magisterial than his last, but the sheen was coming off the Conservative government, and while the public were not yet ready to vote for a non-Conservative government, David was able to tap into the protest vote and propel himself into office, easily beating Ed Heath in the second round. He also lead his party to achieve 2nd place in the Senate elections. Another notable result of this election was the election of Charles Windsor as first Green Party Senator. The Greens were a new party, created from an odd mix of Goldsmith's "Survival Party", Charles' remaining "Royalist Party" and (surprisingly) Labour activists who were tired of working within their increasingly right wing party and were looking for a party of protest.

David's presidency was less magisterial than Heath's. He was not above party politics, instead he was head of his party and "the often partisan nature of his comments" were noted often. He helped to begin negotiations in Northern Ireland and was a key figure in negotiations with the USSR, helping to mediate between Reagon and Gorbachev.

Momentum from David's election pushed into the 1987 Commons election, where the Liberals unseated Labour as the Official Opposition.

1989: Michael Portillo (Conservative)

Michael Portillo (Conservative) 46.7%
David Penhaligon (Liberal) 37.2%
Neil Kinnock (Labour) 16.1%​

Portillo's modern and enthusiastic campaign was viewed as a radical departure for the party, with posters warning voters of "The Orange Danger" presented by this unknown party. David's campaign was equally high energy and modern. Labour attempted to follow suit, but failed miserably due to the party's low budget and aging membership. Kinnock's Sheffield Rally was viewed as a fatal misjudgment of the national mood - it was too small and nowhere near presidential enough. Kinnock's summary that the event was "alright" would haunt him for the rest of his career. In an age where campaigns needed energy and glamour, his failure to bring either doomed the party to another depressing year.

Ultimately, voters returned to what they viewed as the safe, known quality of the Conservatives holding the reins of power. He went on to support the monetarist wing of his party in the Prime Ministerial primaries, he particularly noted that after the first presidential election without a female candidate since 1973, the country needed a woman in a position of power. Margaret Thatcher easily won the Commons election in 1991, and the pair began to implement radical economic reform.

1993: David Penhaligon (Liberal)

David Penhaligon (Liberal) 41.8%
Michael Portilo (Conservative) 41.0%
Gordon Brown (Labour) 17.2%​

Aware that their main weakness was that the public feared their lack of experience, the Liberals opted to nominate Penhaligon again in a campaign that was dominated stories of a "grudge match" between two candidates who had faced off against each other with strong negative campaigns four years ago. In fact, the pair liked each other personally. Not that this stopped the 1993 campaign from being just as nasty as the last. Gordon Brown's "First Preference Labour" campaign was a sign of just how far Labour had fallen since Morningstar. They were now a third party, with no hope of getting into government on their own.

Penhaligon was elected in the second round, and became as much a thorn in the government's side as he ever had been. In 1995, much to their own surprise, the Liberal Party won a majority in the Commons and Penhaligon found himself in the awkward position of actually supporting the government for the first time in his career.

1997: Michael Portillo (Conservative)

Michael Portillo (Conservative) Con 34.8%
David Penhaligon (Liberal) 33.2%
Tony Blair (Labour) 24.7%
Clive Lord (Green) 7.3%​

With the Liberal government very unpopular, the monetarists believed that they could use the presidential election to propel themselves back into power in their own party. Portillo was once again nominated, and once again the election became a grudge match between political rivals.

A difference was that voters were bored and Labour was on the march. Tony Blair's powerful presidential campaign, which relied on celebrity and was filmed like a reality TV show throughout, was incredibly successful with the voters and some argue it could have won, had the Greens not drawn attention away from Labour. For the first time since 1977, there was a fourth candidate, and the result was that the media had a choice between focusing on "the big two" or including all four candidates, meaning that Labour had to share their reduced airtime with a relatively haphazard and entertainingly gaffe prone campaign.

The presidential electoral system is that all parties but the top two are eliminated, and second preference votes from those are counted. With the Liberals unpopular in government, a lot of Labour's second preference votes went Green, and vice versa. This allowed Portillo to win a second term. Unfortunately for him, this did not have the desired effect with his party, who slid slightly further to the centre ground, causing difficulties between Portillo and the government.

2001: Paddy Ashdown (Liberal)

Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) 40.6%
Michael Portillo (Conservative) 40.3%
Robin Cook (Labour) 19.1%​

Voters breathed a sigh of relief when they realised that they were not going to be presented with another grudge match, but the 2001 campaign was incredible close and incredibly bitter in its own right, with Labour squeezed between what were now firmly viewed as the two main parties. The result was close, but Labour second preference votes easily swung it for the Liberals in the second round.

The Liberals took the Senate in 2001, and the Commons in 2003, allowing Paddy to serve as head of state for a government he was not in conflict with. The new Liberal government was able to push through several important Liberal policies, including STV and devolution.

2005: Paddy Ashdown (Liberal)

Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) 49.9%
Ken Clarke (Conservative) 24.8%
Betty Boothroyd (Labour) 15.8%
John Redwood (UKIP) 9.4%​

With the Liberals in power once again, the Conservatives played for the protest vote and misjudged hard, nominating a former Prime Minister as their candidate. However, the Liberals were still ahead in the polls and even mid-term were still in a honeymoon period. The rise of UKIP - an anti-EU party headed by former Conservative John Redwood, further harmed the Conservatives, allowing for a decisive Liberal victory.

2009: Jenny Jones (Green)

Jenny Jones (Green) 32.5%
Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) 32.0%
David Davis (Conservative) 27.2%
David Miliband (Labour) 8.3%​

By 2009 the Liberals were mid-way through their second term and the honeymoon period was firmly over. Particularly as global financial crisis was forcing the government to implement cuts to social spending, while unemployment was rising. However, with the Labour party now little more than a third party, voters found themselves casting about for somewhere to lodge their protest.

They found this in the energetic Green campaign that pushed their candidate as a principled crusader who would be emboldened to act for the common good even if she didn't win the election. Midway through the contest, however, people began to wonder if she might be in contention to win. She achieved excellent performances in the debates, which coincided with the GCHQ hacking scandal and the Sellafield nuclear reactor accident. She also proposed a referendum on the EU - a policy not copied by any other party which proved exceptionally popular, though out of her power to actually do. She won comfortably on second preference votes.

2012: Jenny Jones (Labour)

The defection of Jenny Jones to Labour with just one year left of her term came as a surprise to most people. The reasons for it were well known - she clashed with her party on many important political issues, and internally she supported the modernisation of the party against the dominant view of the leadership. Her defection was an act of desperation to find support for her policies, particularly surrounding an EU referendum and legal reform. Unfortunately, she was never very popular with Labour and the defection was misjudged. In a tight primary, the party opted to support a different candidate in the next presidential election.

2013: Chris Huhne (Green) 31.9%

Chris Huhne (Green) 31.9%
David Cameron (Conservative) 24.7%
Jo Rowling (Labour) 18.9%
Nigel Farage (UKIP) 15%
Nick Clegg (Liberal) 9.4%​

The Greens selected a former Liberal, Chris Huhne, as their candidate, and prepared to defend their good position in presidential elections, in spite of being only the third largest party in Senate and the Commons, and not having an incumbent. For the first time ever, the presidential election had a representative from each of the major parties, and it was unknown how voters would react to the defection.

Labour's campaign was doubtlessly presidential and high energy, but the party had limited resources to work with, and it was clear that the Greens and Conservatives were pulling ahead. The big surprise at election night was the Liberal's being knocked down to third party in the Senate behind the Greens, and coming decisively last. Panic began to set in, with many defections in the commons before the 2015 election, which saw the Conservatives decisively returned to government.

2016: Chris Huhne (Liberal)

Chris Huhne's defection was not as unexpected as the last Green president's had been. The Green presidential primary had already happened, and Huhne had lost decisively, after being heavily criticised for his willingness to work with the Tories. Huhne was, however, popular with the public, and the Liberals offered to re-run their own Primary in order to have him as their candidate.

2017: ????

Chris Huhne (Liberal)
Caroline Lucas (Green)
Sarah Wollaston (Conservative)
Diane Abbott (Labour)
Douglas Carswell (UKIP)
​

The next presidential election is now a month away, and it is not clear how people will vote. Will they once again stick with the Greens who have twice now run candidates who defect on winning? Will Chris Huhne's personal popularity and the recovery of his party in the polls push him forward? Or will they both split the left-wing vote and let the Conservatives in? Time will tell.

 

[Catalunya]

~~~~ Partying like it's 1912 on steroids ~~~~

1909 - 1912: William Howard Taft / James S. Sherman (Republican)
1908: Joseph W. Folk / Charles A. Towne (Democrat), William Randolph Hearst / Thomas L. Hisgen (Independence)
1912 - 1913: William Howard Taft / vacant (Republican)
1913 - 1914: William Jennings Bryan / Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)
1912: Theodore Roosevelt / Hiram Johnson (Progressive), William Howard Taft / James S. Sherman (Republican), Eugene V. Debs / Emil Seidel (Socialist)
1914 - 1917: William Jennings Bryan / Woodrow Wilson (Populist - Democrat)
1917 - 1921: Theodore Roosevelt / Henry Cabot Lodge (Progressive - Republican)
1916: William Jennings Bryan / Eugene V. Debs (Populist - Socialist), Woodrow Wilson / Oscar Underwood (Democrat - Prohibition)

More to come later.

 

[The Red]

"Our Sasha"

"The intervention in the Socialist Republic of Romania by the WTO, without prior consultation, was a mistake. Our fraternal alliance exists to defend the sovereignty of socialist states and to maintain peace across Europe, it has caused great distress amongst many that it might not be fit for these admirable purposes. Recent events have damaged the image of our cause in the eyes of the world but not our resolve. The strength of our revolution comes not from our ignorance of past mistakes but our acknowledgement of them. Today, that great work begins anew."

~ Alexander Dubček, August 15th 1968
​

The criticism of the Warsaw Pact was restrained to say the least though Dubček would later admit that he was a nervous wreck whilst delivering his speech to the massed crowd in Wenceslas Square. He knew what such open condemnation of the Soviet Union might endager not only his position but also his life, nonetheless he had seen an opportunity and he had to take it. Despite his almost grieiving manner, the message drew popular support not just from the audience but from those listening to their radios and watching their televisions later on in the day. A bullet had been dodged and Socialism With A Human Face was there to stay.

General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

Klement Gottwald (1945-1953)
Antonín Novotný (1953-1968)
Alexander Dubček (1968-1975) [1]
Ota Šik (1975-1984) [2]
Rudolph Vlček (1984-1988) [3]
Vaclav Kotyk (1988-1990)

Leaders of United Czechslovakia

Vaclav Kotyk (1990-????) [4]


[1] The true "Father of the nation" in the eyes of his adherents, definitely not beloved by all but respected by most. Introduced a series of liberal reforms in the belief he had the tacit consent of Moscow, subtly told them to go fall down a well in the wake of their invasion of Romania before making it clear that Czechslovakia was staying in the Warsaw Pact and that allowing his country a modicum of independence wouldn't be a terrible message for a superpower focused on ensuring stability in Europe or spreading socialism throughout the developing world. Resigned in triumph after negotiating convertibility between the Koruna and most Western currencies, ensuring a large amount of French and West German investment. Increasingly there is a consensus that he may have deliberately got out when the going was good.

[2] 1975 would turn out to be a bad year to be a reform-minded Marxist as the oil-hungry western economies ground to a halt and the investment alongside it. Šik, the mastermind behind the economic prosperity delivered under Dubček's leadership, now found himself having to be something more than a brilliant economist. His ideals of a true "Social Market" were left by the side of the road as he was forced the juggle the demands of a large new middle class and the industrial workers who had always been the backbone of the Communist Party. This involved a large number of wage and pension increases on one hand and greater access to childcare and university on the the other, an endless cycle of spending and flashy policies that keep people convinced that things were getting better with no long-term plan. When the bubble burst Czechoslavkia suddenly found itself on the verge of economic collapse, negotiations over a new trade deal with the EEC fell through and a bailout from the Comecon forced a return to greater press censorship and restrictions on markets trading outside of the domestic economy. When the demonstrations turned violent, Šik privately admitted that he had lost control of the situation and resigned shortly after.

[3] It's probable that Šik could have remained in power for some time had he wished to do so, given the Politburo's apparent unwillingness to inherent the poisoned chalice. The election of Rudolph Vlček raised eyebrows across the Eastern Bloc but in hindsight it seems as if the relative outsider may have been chosen almost at random as a capable technocrat that some people actually liked. The ruddy faced engineer and former coal miner was virtually unknown to most of the Czechoslovakian population though ironically the confusion did help quell the protests against the dire state of the economy. Vlček wasn't a politician, but he understood the working class, and knew that he could trade off certain freedoms for a return to prosperity. This was delivered by the Comecon, whose loans were finally beginning to have a beneficial effect and Vlček used his folksy cham to great effect in informing anyone who would listen that Czechoslovakia was back on the right (left) track. It seemed as if people were forgetting all about the violence of the so-called "Prague Winter"...

[4] ...until a 54 year old with an interesting birthmark had to go and ruin everything.

​

 

[Japhy]

~~~~ Partying like it's 1912 on steroids ~~~~
1916: William Jennings Bryan / Eugene V. Debs (Populist - Socialist), Woodrow Wilson / Oscar Underwood (Democrat - Prohibition)

More to come later.

Neither of those fusions make any sense in any potential context.

 

[Augenis]

"Our Sasha"

So this is what you're doing while you're slacking off on Our Struggle?

 

[Catalunya]

Neither of those fusions make any sense in any potential context.

I'll have to agree with the second one, but Debs was actually pretty populist himself and their fusion ticket is supposed to be a anti-war ticket.

 

[Japhy]

I'll have to agree with the second one, but Debs was actually pretty populist himself and their fusion ticket is supposed to be a anti-war ticket.

No he wasn't. Debs was a died in wool Socialist Hardliner. And the Prohibitionists wouldn't have supported a Wet over their own hero.

 

[The Red]

So this is what you're doing while you're slacking off on Our Struggle?

 

[Aaaaasima]

@Catalunya Underwood was a wet

 

[Cevolian]

2009-2010: Barack Obama/Joe Biden (Democratic)

After the maverick young Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton the Democratic Nomination it was widely expected he would name her Secretary of State if he won the Presidency, and yet this did not transpire... Seeming outwardly accepting Clinton through herself into her Senatorial work, quickly emerging as the DNC's go to to run the campaign for Joe Biden's old Senate seat in Delaware. Seeming to relish in this and her husband's work for the Clinton foundation, she seemed to be entirely over her failure to gain high office and had converted to a loyal acolyte to President Obama. When Joe Biden decided in 2010 to resign as VP (citing the fact that he was "totally frozen out - a load of absolute malarkey") and to regain his Senate seat in the Special Election, she was the natural choice of VP.

2010-2013: Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton (Democratic)
2013-2015: Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton (Democratic)
2012 def - Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan (Republican)

Clinton slotted into her new role perfectly, balancing the ticket even better than Biden had and drawing conderiable national name recognition and support. The two cruised to victory, especially after rumours surfaced amongst journalists for Politico that Romney's company "Bain Capital" had acquired money from Salvadorean Death Squads, as well as questions about Paul Ryan's health when his family history of heart attacks was made public. For two years the Clinton's were the ideal second couple, especially as the Obama marriage began to deteriorate over allegations of infidelity. Then, in 2015, the worst occurred - a witness appeared on the scene who seemed to be able to prove that Barack Obama had been born in Kenya as many had claimed - unable to dispel the rumours any longer and with evidence mounting Obama reluctantly resigned to "save my party and my family". The Kenyan birth certificate provided later was proven to be false, and the witness testimony is highly dubious at best.

2015-2017: Hillary Clinton/Mark Warner (Democratic)
2017-2021: Hillary Clinton/Mark Warner (Democratic)
2016 def - Ted Cruz/Ben Carson (Republican), Donald Trump/Steve Bannon (Independent)

Hillary Clinton sought to restore dignity to America as she emerged as President and appointed Virginian Mark Warner as her Vice President, facing off against Ted Cruz and Ben Carson in the 2016 election only for her old friend Donald Trump to make a run from the right, split the Republican vote and hand her a landslide. Here everything began to fall apart, as allegations of misconduct from both Clinton's surfaced again, as well as claims she had played a role in Obama's downfall. The invasion of Syria in 2018 to deal with "Daesh" quickly dealt with these worries for a while, but also generated outrage from many on the left of her party and leading to a break away faction to form around Bernie Sanders for the 2020 election in 2019.

2021-2022: Mark Warner/Hillary Clinton (Democratic) - acting
2020 def - Hillary Clinton/Mark Warner (Democratic), Tom Cotton†/Mike R. Pence (Republican), Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren (Independent "Democrats")
2022-2022: Hillary Clinton/vacant (Democratic) - acting

Whilst Clinton won a popular vote victory in 2020 the Electoral College was tied, with the electoral vote tally sitting at Cotton - 268, Clinton - 266 and Sanders - 4. Sanders electors would not flip to Clinton, and Progressive Democrats in the House refused to back Clinton whilst Warner was rushed through by the Senate in order to ensure an Acting Presidency could be in place effectively. Warner quickly made Clinton his Acting VP under dubious constructional grounds and then after a year in which no progress was made resigned in her favour - it was during this Acting Presidency that a rogue Secret Service Agent fired twice into Senator Tom Cotton's back, killing him almost immediately, and during which Sanders' staffers were accused of stealing DNC information to target key swing voters. With her main rival dead, the Republicans in the new congress of 2022 had little choice but to vote with Clinton loyalists and reinstate her as President.

2022-0000: Hillary Clinton/Mark Warner (Democratic)

Now legally secure in her Presidency, everything nevertheless seems to be tumbling down for President Clinton as her troops are slaughtered senselessly in Syria and more and more details of her peculiar involvement in Obama's scandalous resignation, Paul Ryan's health scares, and the deaths of Tom Cotton and a number of journalists emerge...