No Cons Past Late 70s

[Killer300]

Okay, this probably requires alien space bats, but I just want to make sure. Basically, not a single conservative may be elected for president from the year 1978 to 2011. Rockafeller Republicans are okay, but no one like Reagen, no one like George W Bush, and basically no one advocating laize-fair and/or things like anti-gay.

Now, I'm guessing this is completely impossible without the help of alien space bats. You would have to have historical events that undid the entire conservative revolution of the 80s and 90s.

 

[Revolutionary Avocado]

Rockafeller Republicans are okay.

Is that when Jay-Z runs for president as a libertarian Republican?

 

[Killer300]

Yeah... I can see the issue in the 80s and 90s alone. Also, this would basically cause the GOP to cease to exist. This will probably require Alien Space Bats forcing it.

 

[Cymraeg]

The GOP baffles me at the moment. They seem to have been taken over by the batshit crazy people.

 

[vultan]

Well...Reagan beats Ford for the nomination in 1976, and narrowly beats Carter in the general. He runs into the same problems Carter did in the late 70's, and loses to Kennedy in 1980. Next Republican elected is Bob Dole in 1992, then John McCain in 2000.

 

[Thande]

Easy. Reagan beats Ford for the nomination in '76 and scrapes a victory against Carter. Then everything that went wrong during Carter's presidency happens to Reagan and he gets the blame for it all, with people saying it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't had a lightweight film star with extremist conservative views. The Democrats win the next two elections (at least) and the Republicans move leftward to be more competitive.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Vultan!

 

[Killer300]

Huh. Wow guys, thanks. This... actually is very plausible, just requires some re-positioning.

 

[EvilSpaceAlien]

I'm going with Reagan beating Carter in '76 like the other guys.

Here's a list of Presidents that I just came up with for this.

1977-1981: Ronald Reagan, Republican
1981-1989: Edward Kennedy, Democrat
1989-1993: John Glenn, Democrat
1993-2001: Colin Powell, Republican
2001-2009: Paul Wellstone, Democrat
2009-present: Lincoln Chaffee, Republican

I didn't really put a lot of thought into it though.

 

[Killer300]

Would this prevent the right wing revolution of the 80s and 90s from ever happening?

 

[Peabody-Martini]

What if the rumors that the Reagan campaign had cut a deal with the Iranians to hold those hostages through the 1980 election were not only true but blew up into a major scandal. This would be coming less than a decade after the Watergate break in. So it would reenforce the damage of the Republican party brand brought by the Nixon resignation.

Also most, if not all, of a generation of the parties leadership would be caught up in the process. The Republican party would need decades to recover.

 

[Killer300]

That idea is SWEET! That may even doom the GOP altogether.

 

[vultan]

Would this prevent the right wing revolution of the 80s and 90s from ever happening?

Well, I could see the most ardent conservatives in the country, the Southerners, just by-and-large staying with the Democrats. They'll still be there, but in a party where they have comparatively little influence.

 

[mowque]

That idea is SWEET! That may even doom the GOP altogether.

No, because you'll have someone arise to support conservative views since the USA has alot of conservative voters.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Mind you there were rumors to that effect, I cannot comment on if there was ever any validity to them. However if such events had blown up that way, it would have radically changed the last three decades.

 

[Killer300]

Well, that's why I thought this was ASB. Basically, the conservative right can have no influence on things like the presidency from 1978 to 2011.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

No, because you'll have someone arise to support conservative views since the USA has alot of conservative voters.

Religious conservatives had invested themselves in the Reagan candidacy in a manner they had not done in decades in 1980. If they had gotten badly burned as a result of a major political scandal what would have they're reaction have been? If they had withdrawn from American politics again what impact would that have had?

 

[Killer300]

The conservative side of politics will never recover. By the time the memory of the scandal gradually leaves public memory, the left will have become so entrenched politically to become unremovable.

 

[burmafrd]

ASB. Totally. Now I know that is the wet dream of all the libs here but it is ASB.

 

[Killer300]

Finding out that Reagan was working with Iran, and it blowing up in a scandal? That wouldn't be ASB, if that actually occurred.

Same goes for Reagan winning in 76, and getting all the blame for that presidency.

 

[Plumber]

Ford winning in 1976 is ok too. After that, not even Reagan can win in '80 (especially after a primary fight with VP Bob Dole).