Mind the Door-Nixon Wins in 1960

SteveW

The summer of 1961 was dull and relatively uneventful, positively bureaucratic. Britain submitted the first of its bids to join the EEC. Nixon toured America.

All was quiet until mid-August. On the 15th of the month, the East German authorities began the construction of border fortifications. At a speech the next evening at Rochester (NY), Nixon furiously denounced the GDR for this "monstrous act on German freedom".

The official response from the GDR in turn denounced Nixon as a "bourgeois fascist". This in turn drew an even more furious reaction from Nixon, in the famous Albany Declaration:

"I will not be accused of Fascism, I who fought Fascism. And I will not take such an accusation from Ulbricht, who skulked in Russia whilst everyone was liberating his country".

On Adenauer's orders, the German ambassador arrived at the White House and presented Mrs. Nixon with a vintage bottle of German Sekt and a letter of thanks to the President.
 

SteveW

It can be noted that August and September saw the highest approval ratings for the Republicans seen for many years, and especially amongst German-Americans.

Nixon upped the ante at the end of August when his new Ambassador to the UN, Walter Judd, placed a resolution before the Security Council denouncing East Germany's actions. It stood no chance. However, it was carefully crafted enough to make no reference to Communism or to the Soviet Union. The Soviets voted it down; but they were deprived of a reasonable excuse for doing so, such as the usual Western aggression line.

The Berlin Wall episode is noted now as one of the defining moments in the destruction of Communism.
 

Grimm Reaper

Actually at least one and possibly more of the medications JFK was taking per the advice of the infamous Doctor Feelgood were outlawed later for their dangerous psychological side effects. If it comes out that JFK was arguably not medically or mentally competent in 1960...:eek:

The African-American vote was only lost by the Republicans in 1932 and that means only two Democrats, FDR and Truman, have held it. Let Nixon make an effort here and the combination of working class whites and African-Americans may yet replace working class whites and Dixiecrats in the GOP.

Even worse, we might see the Democrats split as it did in 1948 without a Truman to hold the center, which slowly slips to the GOP.

There is wide speculation that JFK was going to throw LBJ out in 1964 and replace him with the newly elected(1963) governor of Georgia, William Lee. Personally attractive, a decorated WWII pilot and remarkably moderate for a successful Southern politician he might have gone on to be a key voice in a more moderate Southern Democratic effort.

If Diem isn't killed by the CIA with the approval of the White House then the US is not demonstrably responsible for any subsequent problems and Nixon, unlike JFK or LBJ, could proclaim that such local incompetence is proof that Saigon is not yet worth a serious American effort. THAT was the killer in OTL, the fact that having plunged South Vietnam into chaos JFK and LBJ could not survive politically if they didn't send troops.

No chaos, no ground forces. Chaos not directly attributable to the US, perhaps no ground forces.
 

SteveW

Over in Britain, MacMillan decided it was time for a change. He felt stale and tired. But in true MacMillan style, he dealt with this by means of a massive reshuffle of his Cabinet rather than going himself. The Cabinet was massively reshaped, and many of MacMillan's enemies were unceremoniously removed.
"New blood is exactly what we need. It will keep Labour on their toes".

Lord Chancellor- Lord Kilmuir
Lord Privy Seal- Lord Home
Home Secretary-Rab Butler
Foreign Secretary- Edward Heath
Chancellor- Selwyn Lloyd
Lord President of the Council- Lord Hailsham
Colonies- Iain MacLeod
Commonwealth-Duncan Sandys
Board of Trade- Bill Deedes
Duchy of Lancaster-Reginald Maudling
Education-Peter Thorneycroft
Health-Sir David Eccles
Science-William Whitelaw
Chief Secretary to the Treasury-Lord Mills
Transport- Henry Brooke
Aviation-Charles Hill
Defence-Harold Watkinson
Scotland-John Stuart Maclay
Labour- John Hare
Agriculture-Christopher Soames
Housing and Local Government-Evelyn Emmet

The new Cabinet was notable for the appearance of William Whitelaw (previously a junior Whip) and the first female Tory to sit in Cabinet, Evelyn Emmet.
 

SteveW

Grimm Reaper said:
Actually at least one and possibly more of the medications JFK was taking per the advice of the infamous Doctor Feelgood were outlawed later for their dangerous psychological side effects. If it comes out that JFK was arguably not medically or mentally competent in 1960...:eek:

The African-American vote was only lost by the Republicans in 1932 and that means only two Democrats, FDR and Truman, have held it. Let Nixon make an effort here and the combination of working class whites and African-Americans may yet replace working class whites and Dixiecrats in the GOP.

Even worse, we might see the Democrats split as it did in 1948 without a Truman to hold the center, which slowly slips to the GOP.

There is wide speculation that JFK was going to throw LBJ out in 1964 and replace him with the newly elected(1963) governor of Georgia, William Lee. Personally attractive, a decorated WWII pilot and remarkably moderate for a successful Southern politician he might have gone on to be a key voice in a more moderate Southern Democratic effort.

If Diem isn't killed by the CIA with the approval of the White House then the US is not demonstrably responsible for any subsequent problems and Nixon, unlike JFK or LBJ, could proclaim that such local incompetence is proof that Saigon is not yet worth a serious American effort. THAT was the killer in OTL, the fact that having plunged South Vietnam into chaos JFK and LBJ could not survive politically if they didn't send troops.

No chaos, no ground forces. Chaos not directly attributable to the US, perhaps no ground forces.
Click to expand...

Interesting thoughts there, thank you! Diem is the elephant in the room here as I'm struggling to decide how to deal with him-especially as IOTL he had so much to do with the U.S. Ambassador, a certain H.Cabot Lodge.

As for the Dems-they won't be over, but there's going to be some real chaos amongst the parties here. And Nixon is going to do something very unusual but utterly calculated which will set the Democrats back years.
 

alt_historian

SteveW said:
...

All was quiet until mid-August. On the 15th of the month, the East German authorities began the construction of border fortifications. At a speech the next evening at Rochester (NY), Nixon furiously denounced the GDR for this "monstrous act on German freedom".

The official response from the GDR in turn denounced Nixon as a "bourgeois fascist". This in turn drew an even more furious reaction from Nixon, in the famous Albany Declaration:

"I will not be accused of Fascism, I who fought Fascism. And I will not take such an accusation from Ulbricht, who skulked in Russia whilst everyone was liberating his country".

On Adenauer's orders, the German ambassador arrived at the White House and presented Mrs. Nixon with a vintage bottle of German Sekt and a letter of thanks to the President.
Click to expand...
I love this one... :)

One quibble, if you still can you should edit "German ambassador" to "West German ambassador." It'll save on confusion...
 

Mark E.

JFK was re-elected to the senate in 1958, so if he had lost the presidency, his term would have continued until 1965.

LBJ, on the other hand, was allowed to run for a third term in the senate at the same time he was on the ballot for VP.
 
Michel Van

Michel Van

Note on John F. Kennedy health
it was top secret in time, but JFK was very sick: the Addison's disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addison's_disease

he took steroids, testosterone and alot cortisone against the disease
(the side effect gave him a "bull-like" libido )
also he suffers of heavy Back problems, JFK took a lot painkiller
http://www.doctorzebra.com/Prez/g35.htm

most of problems were treated by "Dr" Max Jacobson aka "Dr. Feelgood" or "Miracle Max"
he gave Kennedy injections with a miracle drugs (secret recipe: amphetamines and painkillers ! )
JFK say about the treatment:
"I don't care if it's horse piss. It works."
Click to expand...

Here over Health of Nixon in 1968 to 1972
http://www.doctorzebra.com/Prez/g37.htm

Nixon had a staphylococcal infection in 1960 during presidential election
 

SteveW

Mark E. said:
JFK was re-elected to the senate in 1958, so if he had lost the presidency, his term would have continued until 1965.

LBJ, on the other hand, was allowed to run for a third term in the senate at the same time he was on the ballot for VP.
Click to expand...

Ah right, thanks. I must have got the wrong end of the stick there. I'll change it when I submit it to Timelines and Scenarios.

Right everyone- please assume that Kennedy is still a Senator and that Edward is not. But Kennedy will be running for Governor in a Murkowski-esque move.
 

SteveW

On 22nd September 1961, Congress passed the Engle-Keating Act to enforce desegregation in schools. A bipartisan agreement (Engle a California Democrat, Keating a New York GOP man), it was easily passed but there were many dissenters.

Within a week, tens of thousands of Southern voters had deserted the Democrats and many had also left the Republicans. Thousands had registered as Dixiecrats instead.

Nixon had cleverly arranged to be on a foreign tour to Italy, France and Spain at the time, so that the decision would be taken without him anywhere near. By the time he signed the law, on 2nd October, the fury of Southern voters was clear.

"The bastards will never hold the South again", Nixon told Christian Herter.

And he was right. With the Democrats seen as traitors and the Republicans as the old enemy, the South would seethe for years.

On an unrelated note, the Soviet authorities deported a young couple, Marina and Lee Harvey Oswald, to the United States on the8th October 1961.
 
Last edited:

Mark E.

I guess JFK, feeling his health declining, could opt for governor in 1962, and assume a position that involves less travel. As governor, he would use his authority to appoint a replacement for his vacant senate seat. His choice: Bobby or Teddy. Which brother will he choose?
 

Glass Onion

SteveW said:
On 22nd September 1961, Congress passed the Engle-Keating Act to enforce segregation in schools. A bipartisan agreement (Engle a California Democrat, Keating a New York GOP man), it was easily passed but there were many dissenters.

Within a week, tens of thousands of Southern voters had deserted the Democrats and many had also left the Republicans. Thousands had registered as Dixiecrats instead..
Click to expand...



shouldn't that say, desegregation. I mean, the dixiecrats would be pretty happy with a law that enforced segregation.
 

SteveW

October was a troublesome month for international relations.

India was being belligerent over Goa; and Portugal was being equally aggressive back. Nixon was no friend of democratic and socialist India, and had recently begun talks with Salazar in much the same way that Eisenhower had engaged Franco (these dealt with the possibility of an American naval base at Vila Real de Santo Antonio on the Algarve).

Nixon threatened India with serious trouble if they occupied Goa, as intelligence had warned him. India was taken aback by the fact that he knew of their preparations and of his anger.

In an act of grandstanding and the bluffing techniques he had mastered as a poker player, Nixon told India that an occupied Goa would result in all aid being cut off and re-directed to Pakistan. Prime Minister Nehru called the troops off, but would bide his time.
 

SteveW

On 9th November, Nixon and Canadian PM John Diefenbaker were in Washington as Congress ratified the Canada Tariffs Act, which reduced imports on Canadian imports in return for increased oil imports at a preferential rate. Both sides would benefit. The deal also included a connection from Quebec to Maine, funded by the United States, to make use of Hydro-Quebec's vast hydroelectric power, again at a preferential rate. Diefenbaker was supported by Quebec's Liberal Prime Minister, Jean Lesage, who saw this as a way of modernising Quebec.

As November wore on, the scale of the switch to the Dixiecrats was becoming more apparent. In Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, the number of registered Dixiecrats had overtaken the number of Republicans. In South Carolina again, Dixiecrat and Democrat numbers were fairly close.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top