Mr. Stewart Goes to Washington
- Thread starter Arrowfan237
- Start date
A) It's like a ATL version of Crossfire! Yeah, that was the first thing on my mind.
B) Lynette Fromme may not try assassinating anyone; Charles Manson is a guitarist ITTL, not a crazy cult leader.
July 8, 1973: Alabama First Lady Lurleen Wallace announces that she will seek the Conservative Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate election in 1974.
August 28, 1973: While attending a campaign event, Alabama First Lady Lurleen Wallace and Governor George Wallace are subjected to an assassination attempt. Governor Wallace quickly dies from his wounds while Lurleen Wallace is in a coma for 2 weeks. She would eventually come out of the coma but retained permanent brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
August 29, 1973: The F.B.I. announces that they have located the assassin of Governor George Wallace. The killer is Kent Rockwell, a member of the Alabama chapter of the Rainbow Brigade. The assassination was carried out due to Wallace's support of segregation and hatred of gay rights. President Scranton later called the actions of the Rainbow Brigade "deplorable and cowardly."
August 30, 1973: San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk hold a secret closed door meeting with U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, the leading Conservative in the Senate. Milk decries the efforts of the Rainbow Brigade, stating that their actions do not constitute what the gay rights movement is fighting for. Despite Senator Thurmond seeming to accept Milk's apology, the meeting does little to heal the rift between the movement and the Conservative Party. In the coming years, the Conservative Party would move away from their policies regarding integration and instead focus on promoting an anti-gay agenda, policies that they would hold for decades. The group leading this shift later becomes known as the "Silent Majority."
August 28, 1973: While attending a campaign event, Alabama First Lady Lurleen Wallace and Governor George Wallace are subjected to an assassination attempt. Governor Wallace quickly dies from his wounds while Lurleen Wallace is in a coma for 2 weeks. She would eventually come out of the coma but retained permanent brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
August 29, 1973: The F.B.I. announces that they have located the assassin of Governor George Wallace. The killer is Kent Rockwell, a member of the Alabama chapter of the Rainbow Brigade. The assassination was carried out due to Wallace's support of segregation and hatred of gay rights. President Scranton later called the actions of the Rainbow Brigade "deplorable and cowardly."
August 30, 1973: San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk hold a secret closed door meeting with U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, the leading Conservative in the Senate. Milk decries the efforts of the Rainbow Brigade, stating that their actions do not constitute what the gay rights movement is fighting for. Despite Senator Thurmond seeming to accept Milk's apology, the meeting does little to heal the rift between the movement and the Conservative Party. In the coming years, the Conservative Party would move away from their policies regarding integration and instead focus on promoting an anti-gay agenda, policies that they would hold for decades. The group leading this shift later becomes known as the "Silent Majority."
September 10, 1973: Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme holds her first meeting with a group of others like her who fear nuclear winter in the U.S. The group discusses how they should go about either preventing the problem or living afterwards. The group eventually decides that the best thing to do is to buy a gun.
November 1, 1973: After accumulating a noticeable stockpile of firearms, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms begins to take notice of the actions of "Squeaky" Fromme and her group of followers.
December 1, 1973: Fromme and her group buy a large cabin in the middle of nowhere to live in. The government takes notice of it.
April 3, 1974: The ATF tells Attorney General Dole that they wish to conduct a raid on Fromme's headquarters in order to secure the stash of guns. Dole signs off on the action.
May 1-6, 1974: ATF agents storm "Squeaky" Fromme's cabin in an effort to retrieve the firearms that are located on the property. As soon as they step onto the land outside of the cabin, however, a series of landmines go off (Fromme and her followers placed them there in order to prevent a possible attack by survivors of the nuclear blast). Fromme's followers then engage in a gun fight with a number of the agents before retreating into the cabin. After being unable to convince Fromme and her followers to surrender, the ATF agents approve the use of tear gas in order to help flush them out of the compound. The move fails to produce any followers so a rogue agent decides to use a Molotov cocktail in order to force them out of the building. The attack burns down the cabin, killing everyone in the building, including Fromme. In the end 10 ATF agents had died as well as all 30 of Fromme's followers. Further inspection of the compound failed to find any of the firearms that Fromme and her group had collected to protect themselves against survivors after the nuclear war. It turns out that the firearms were in a unit at a storage facility in San Francisco. After discovering this, public opinion turns against President Scranton and the ATF. Scranton's approval plummets to 40%, with many people unhappy with the social unrest that seemed to have overtaken America.
September 1, 1974: Armed terrorists storm the William Wirt Justice Department Building in Washington D.C. Demanding revenge for the government actions that killed "Squeaky" Fromme and her followers, the group intends to show the country who was truly responsible for the raid. F.B.I. agents are called to the scene where they engage in a fierce fire-fight with the terrorists. By the end of the attack 5 F.B.I. agents, 2 Justice Department security guards, 5 of the terrorists, and Associate U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh were killed in the attack. President Scranton's approval drops to 37%.
November 1, 1973: After accumulating a noticeable stockpile of firearms, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms begins to take notice of the actions of "Squeaky" Fromme and her group of followers.
December 1, 1973: Fromme and her group buy a large cabin in the middle of nowhere to live in. The government takes notice of it.
April 3, 1974: The ATF tells Attorney General Dole that they wish to conduct a raid on Fromme's headquarters in order to secure the stash of guns. Dole signs off on the action.
May 1-6, 1974: ATF agents storm "Squeaky" Fromme's cabin in an effort to retrieve the firearms that are located on the property. As soon as they step onto the land outside of the cabin, however, a series of landmines go off (Fromme and her followers placed them there in order to prevent a possible attack by survivors of the nuclear blast). Fromme's followers then engage in a gun fight with a number of the agents before retreating into the cabin. After being unable to convince Fromme and her followers to surrender, the ATF agents approve the use of tear gas in order to help flush them out of the compound. The move fails to produce any followers so a rogue agent decides to use a Molotov cocktail in order to force them out of the building. The attack burns down the cabin, killing everyone in the building, including Fromme. In the end 10 ATF agents had died as well as all 30 of Fromme's followers. Further inspection of the compound failed to find any of the firearms that Fromme and her group had collected to protect themselves against survivors after the nuclear war. It turns out that the firearms were in a unit at a storage facility in San Francisco. After discovering this, public opinion turns against President Scranton and the ATF. Scranton's approval plummets to 40%, with many people unhappy with the social unrest that seemed to have overtaken America.
September 1, 1974: Armed terrorists storm the William Wirt Justice Department Building in Washington D.C. Demanding revenge for the government actions that killed "Squeaky" Fromme and her followers, the group intends to show the country who was truly responsible for the raid. F.B.I. agents are called to the scene where they engage in a fierce fire-fight with the terrorists. By the end of the attack 5 F.B.I. agents, 2 Justice Department security guards, 5 of the terrorists, and Associate U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh were killed in the attack. President Scranton's approval drops to 37%.
So... Fromme is this TL's David Koresh, in a way, I suppose.
And the attorney general is dead, along with a dozen other people. That isn't good.
Scranton's approval ratings aren't too hot right now. Is he going to be this TL's Nixon, I wonder.
And the attorney general is dead, along with a dozen other people. That isn't good.
Scranton's approval ratings aren't too hot right now. Is he going to be this TL's Nixon, I wonder.
Associate Attorney General actually. Third person in chain of command.
November 5, 1974: Due to Scranton's low popularity rating and the feeling of crisis in the U.S., Democrats gain a majority in both the U.S. House and Senate. Some Republican leaders begin to wonder if President Scranton is really the best person to be the 1976 nominee.
November 13, 1974: Following an address to the United Nations, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat is shot dead while walking to his helicopter. The gunman was Robert Banks, a member of the Jewish Defense League who wanted Arafat to pay for the actions committed against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Following the assassination, the PLO claims that they will never seek a two-state solution with Israel and that war will be forthcoming shortly.
November 20, 1974: With the Middle East heading towards a state of chaos, President William Scranton invites Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO official Mahmoud Abbas, one of Arafat's most trusted lieutenants.
November 22, 1974: Rabin and Abbas both agree to accept President Scranton's invitation to discuss the Middle East at Camp David. The meeting is to take place during the first week of 1975.
January 3, 1975: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President William Scranton show up at Camp David to discuss Middle Eastern policy. PLO official Mahmoud Abbas does not show up for the conference. It later becomes clear to all parties that Abbas never intended to go to the meeting, only agreeing to meeting so that he could make Scranton and Rabin look incompetent. He succeeded. Scranton's approval rating drops to 35%.
November 13, 1974: Following an address to the United Nations, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat is shot dead while walking to his helicopter. The gunman was Robert Banks, a member of the Jewish Defense League who wanted Arafat to pay for the actions committed against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Following the assassination, the PLO claims that they will never seek a two-state solution with Israel and that war will be forthcoming shortly.
November 20, 1974: With the Middle East heading towards a state of chaos, President William Scranton invites Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO official Mahmoud Abbas, one of Arafat's most trusted lieutenants.
November 22, 1974: Rabin and Abbas both agree to accept President Scranton's invitation to discuss the Middle East at Camp David. The meeting is to take place during the first week of 1975.
January 3, 1975: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President William Scranton show up at Camp David to discuss Middle Eastern policy. PLO official Mahmoud Abbas does not show up for the conference. It later becomes clear to all parties that Abbas never intended to go to the meeting, only agreeing to meeting so that he could make Scranton and Rabin look incompetent. He succeeded. Scranton's approval rating drops to 35%.
Last edited:
Due to a seeming lack on continued interest in this timeline and a lack of motivation, I feel the need to end it. Here is what I had planned for the future:
Presidents-
1977-1985: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1985-1993: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1993-2001: Patsy Mink/Neil Armstrong (first man to orbit Earth)/Mario Cuomo
2001-2005: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2005-2009: Herman Cain/George Pataki
2009-2014: Howard Dean (assassinated)/Evan Bayh
2014-2021: Evan Bayh/Elizabeth Warren
2021-2025: Tom Steyer (elected Governor of California in 2014)/Julian Castro
2025-2033: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
Democratic Tickets-
1976: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1980: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1984: Reubin Askew/Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy
1988: Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy/Betty Friedan (Senator from New York)
1992: Patsy Mink/John Glenn (does not run again due to age)
1996: Patsy Mink/Mario Cuomo
2000: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2004: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2008: Howard Dean/Evan Bayh
2012: Howard Dean/Evan Bayh
2016: Evan Bayh/Elizabeth Warren
2020: Tom Steyer/Julian Castro
2024: Tom Steyer/Julian Castro
2028: Julian Castro/Kamala Harris
Republican Tickets-
1976: William Scranton/Sandra Day O’Connor (is challenged in the primaries by Congressman Clint Eastwood. Scranton wins the nomination by only 10 delegates)
1980: Clint Eastwood (Governor of California)/Lloyd Bentsen
1984: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1988: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1992: James A. Baker III (Governor of Texas. Former Lieutenant Governor under Lloyd Bentsen (resigned to run for VP in 1980). Former Attorney General of Texas)/Jerry Brown
1996: Robert “Bob” Dole/Jack Kemp
2000: Jerry Brown/General Norman Schwarzkopf
2004: Herman Cain/George Pataki
2008: John McCain/Tom Ridge
2012: Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan
2016: Brian Schweitzer/Marco Rubio
2020: Scott Walker/Nikki Haley
2024: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
2028: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
Conservative Tickets-
1976: Robert Byrd/Jerry Falwell
1980: Jerry Falwell/Jim Bakker
1984: Jim Bakker/Phyllis Schafly
1988: Pat Robertson/Jimmy Swaggart
1992: Jimmy Swaggart/Evan Mecham
1996: Evan Mecham/Woody Jenkins
2000: Woody Jenkins/Carol Campbell
2004: Carol Campbell/Rick Santorum
2008: Mike Huckabee/Rick Santorum
2012: Rick Santorum/Sarah Palin
2016: Ted Cruz/Michele Bachmann
2020: Sarah Palin/Trey Gowdy
2024: Donald Trump Jr./Bristol Palin
2028: Ted Cruz/Tim Tebow
2032: Tim Tebow/Eric Trump
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justices-
Herbert Brownell Jr. (1969-1981)
Robert F. Kennedy (Betty Friedan is appointed to Senate Seat) (1981-2005)
John Roberts (2005-2023)
Sonia Sotomayor (2023-???)
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices:
James Buckley (1975)
Sandra Day O'Connor (1986)
Anthony Kennedy (1986)
Antonin Scalia (1988)
Clarence Thomas (1990)
Orrin Hatch (1991)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993)
Richard Riley (1994)
Paul Clement (2005)
Sonia Sotomayor (2009)
Elena Kagan (2010)
Barack Obama (2018)
Deval Patrick (2018)
Sri Srinivasan (2019)
Thomas Hardiman (2026)
Neil Gorsuch (2028)
Pam Bondi (2029)
Presidents-
1977-1985: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1985-1993: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1993-2001: Patsy Mink/Neil Armstrong (first man to orbit Earth)/Mario Cuomo
2001-2005: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2005-2009: Herman Cain/George Pataki
2009-2014: Howard Dean (assassinated)/Evan Bayh
2014-2021: Evan Bayh/Elizabeth Warren
2021-2025: Tom Steyer (elected Governor of California in 2014)/Julian Castro
2025-2033: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
Democratic Tickets-
1976: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1980: Birch Bayh/Reubin Askew
1984: Reubin Askew/Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy
1988: Edward Moore “Ted” Kennedy/Betty Friedan (Senator from New York)
1992: Patsy Mink/John Glenn (does not run again due to age)
1996: Patsy Mink/Mario Cuomo
2000: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2004: Paul Wellstone/Bill Bradley
2008: Howard Dean/Evan Bayh
2012: Howard Dean/Evan Bayh
2016: Evan Bayh/Elizabeth Warren
2020: Tom Steyer/Julian Castro
2024: Tom Steyer/Julian Castro
2028: Julian Castro/Kamala Harris
Republican Tickets-
1976: William Scranton/Sandra Day O’Connor (is challenged in the primaries by Congressman Clint Eastwood. Scranton wins the nomination by only 10 delegates)
1980: Clint Eastwood (Governor of California)/Lloyd Bentsen
1984: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1988: Howard Baker/James “Jim” Thompson
1992: James A. Baker III (Governor of Texas. Former Lieutenant Governor under Lloyd Bentsen (resigned to run for VP in 1980). Former Attorney General of Texas)/Jerry Brown
1996: Robert “Bob” Dole/Jack Kemp
2000: Jerry Brown/General Norman Schwarzkopf
2004: Herman Cain/George Pataki
2008: John McCain/Tom Ridge
2012: Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan
2016: Brian Schweitzer/Marco Rubio
2020: Scott Walker/Nikki Haley
2024: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
2028: Nikki Haley/Mia Love
Conservative Tickets-
1976: Robert Byrd/Jerry Falwell
1980: Jerry Falwell/Jim Bakker
1984: Jim Bakker/Phyllis Schafly
1988: Pat Robertson/Jimmy Swaggart
1992: Jimmy Swaggart/Evan Mecham
1996: Evan Mecham/Woody Jenkins
2000: Woody Jenkins/Carol Campbell
2004: Carol Campbell/Rick Santorum
2008: Mike Huckabee/Rick Santorum
2012: Rick Santorum/Sarah Palin
2016: Ted Cruz/Michele Bachmann
2020: Sarah Palin/Trey Gowdy
2024: Donald Trump Jr./Bristol Palin
2028: Ted Cruz/Tim Tebow
2032: Tim Tebow/Eric Trump
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justices-
Herbert Brownell Jr. (1969-1981)
Robert F. Kennedy (Betty Friedan is appointed to Senate Seat) (1981-2005)
John Roberts (2005-2023)
Sonia Sotomayor (2023-???)
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices:
James Buckley (1975)
Sandra Day O'Connor (1986)
Anthony Kennedy (1986)
Antonin Scalia (1988)
Clarence Thomas (1990)
Orrin Hatch (1991)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993)
Richard Riley (1994)
Paul Clement (2005)
Sonia Sotomayor (2009)
Elena Kagan (2010)
Barack Obama (2018)
Deval Patrick (2018)
Sri Srinivasan (2019)
Thomas Hardiman (2026)
Neil Gorsuch (2028)
Pam Bondi (2029)
I also have a few titles of new timelines that I am looking into writing. Please let me know which one you think sounds the most interesting:
"We Need an Astronaut": What if Ford and Reagan were deadlocked in 1976 and attention turned to a surprise compromise candidate?
"The Lion's Roar: The Life and Times of Robert F. Kennedy": What if Bobby survived?
"Trading One President for Another": What if Hinkley's bullet had killed Reagan and a different VP took over?
"You Won't Have Richard Nixon to Kick Around Anymore": What if Nixon won in 1962?
"Romney vs. Trump": What if Romney won in 2012 but faced problems in 2016?
"Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away": An alternate path for General Pershing.
"Kennedy for President": What Kennedy would be able to take over President Roosevelt's job?
"We Want Rockefeller": Not John D. Rockefeller and not Nelson Rockefeller. Who does that leave you with?
"We Need an Astronaut": What if Ford and Reagan were deadlocked in 1976 and attention turned to a surprise compromise candidate?
"The Lion's Roar: The Life and Times of Robert F. Kennedy": What if Bobby survived?
"Trading One President for Another": What if Hinkley's bullet had killed Reagan and a different VP took over?
"You Won't Have Richard Nixon to Kick Around Anymore": What if Nixon won in 1962?
"Romney vs. Trump": What if Romney won in 2012 but faced problems in 2016?
"Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away": An alternate path for General Pershing.
"Kennedy for President": What Kennedy would be able to take over President Roosevelt's job?
"We Want Rockefeller": Not John D. Rockefeller and not Nelson Rockefeller. Who does that leave you with?
Last edited:
Some other events that I forgot to mention:
- San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk uses his popularity with the gay rights movement to be elected Governor of California
- Pastor Jim Jones is arrested and convicted for having inappropriate relations with members of his world-renowned children's choir
- James Earl "Jimmy" Carter becomes the U.S. Secretary of State under President Patsy Mink.
- President Birch Bayh refuses to send arms to Afghanistan while they are at war with the Soviet Union. A young man named Osama bin Laden is killed in the ensuing war.
- San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk uses his popularity with the gay rights movement to be elected Governor of California
- Pastor Jim Jones is arrested and convicted for having inappropriate relations with members of his world-renowned children's choir
- James Earl "Jimmy" Carter becomes the U.S. Secretary of State under President Patsy Mink.
- President Birch Bayh refuses to send arms to Afghanistan while they are at war with the Soviet Union. A young man named Osama bin Laden is killed in the ensuing war.
I have just started my new thread:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/we-need-an-astronaut.412049/
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/we-need-an-astronaut.412049/