Initially I thought that with MacBride as President and a new conservative force on the right, the GOP develops into a moderate liberal party (on social issues), but it seems like it's getting more complex. Interestine one so far!
No Southern Strategy: The Political Ramifications of an Alternate 1964 Election
- Thread starter Nofix
- Start date
Update 15: 1980 Presidential Primaries
At first no one expected the President to be primaried. Even if his term in office wasn't the strongest, and even if he wasn't that powerful, he hadn't made any major blunders. The House had been lost under No major candidates stepped forth up until December 11, 1979, when Los Angeles Mayor Robert Kenneth Dornan announced he would challenge the President. Dornan at first was discounted by most of the media, but soon he proved himself a capable candidate.
Dornan, before his election to mayor of Los Angeles, participated in the March on Washington in 1963, helped register black voters in Mississippi, he appeared in several movies and was even an Emmy-winning talk show host for six years. His campaign received the endorsement of several chapters of the NAACP and many black Republicans, such as Edward Brooke. The Republican primary was unique in each year the states that were up were randomly generated by a slot, and the first state's up that year was South Carolina and Lousiana, who had the second and third highest percentage of black voters in the country. While neither held that many delegates, and even fewer elected delegates, Dornan's campaign made an aggressive attempt to win them over. In a surprising move, Dornan won both by nearly two to one margins.
At first the White House, and the media, were shocked. How did this West Coast mayor beat the President in two southern states? Soon it was discovered that the victories had to do with three groups of voters: socially conservative whites, black Republicans, and disenchanted MacBride primary voter from 1976. The first group didn't trust the President, his refusal to go for the killing blows on abortion in 1978 and 1979 made him their enemy. The second were, at first, optimistic about MacBride, but his small-government mantra betrayed any idea on aggressive civil rights action. The third were also optimistic about MacBride back when he was still an unknown entity, but his failure to deliver much as President, and his lack of attempts to reform the primaries (whose delegates were still mostly determined by powerful state bosses) soured a lot of them very quickly.
The MacBride White House quickly moved to high gear. They had assumed they could wait until the general election to really start engaging voters, hoping to save money and effort until the end while the Democrats ran themselves ragged with a few strong candidates beating each other. That was the case no longer, the President was in desperate need to just maintain his already precarious position. The next primaries were over a week after the first two, held over one day in North Dakota, Iowa, and the biggie, Ohio. If Dornan could even make a strong second place finish, he could build up momentum to a primary victory.
The Dornan campaign was strong in emotion, energy, and ground-level support. But it was weak on actual campaign infrastructure, name-recognition, and cash. The President, benefiting from incumbency, had all three in abundance even while being rather unpopular. Dornan took a few pages from 1976 MacBride, engaging the people of the state's he was canvassing, denouncing the President as "lacking morals" and a "impractical theorist" and as betraying what the people elected him as.
After an facing the MacBride campaign, now serious and prepared, Dornan's earlier successes were written off as flukes, as the President not taking him on seriously. Macbride won the three states and would take all three states by hefty margins. Dornan would win a few more Southern states, like Georgia and Virginia, but even those states were won by smaller margins over time, and often didn't have enough pledged delegates to him. Ultimately, on the 30th of May, where the last half of the states were up, the campaign was finally broken. Dornan won his home state of California, and most of the west, but MacBride won New York, Texas, all of New England, and the remaining Midwestern states. MacBride won 29 states overall, compared to Dornan's 21.
Dornan, to his credit, took his loss maturely, thanking the people for fighting the good fight. Some Dornan partisan's wanted to get him the nomination of the National Conservative Party, who hadn't made any efforts to nominate anyone, but he declined and returned home. The official reason was the National Conservative Party hadn't yet come together enough to field a slate of electors in every state as a full party, but another reason was many inside the Party didn't feel they were ready yet to organize a run.
They didn't have that one powerful member who they could rally around, they didn't really have a full (national) party apparatus, and while many people might say they'd vote for the National Conservative candidate, party insiders suspected those voters might jump to this years Republican or Democratic candidate over a particular issue: overall government interference, military opposition to the Soviets, busing, etc.
===
Like the Republican Party four years earlier, the Democrats had no shortage of candidates. The Democrats in 1980 had a long line of candidates that faced off one another to combat MacBride. After four years in office, two of which with a Democratic Congress, he looked like prime material to be the first incumbent to lost since Hoover. The propaganda that the Democrats ran comparing the two at the time seemed to say as much.
The first candidate to declare his candidacy was Russell B. Long of Louisiana, in late 1979, who resigned as both Senate Majority Leader and Finance Chairman to make his run for President. He even made the announcement he would not run for re-election to his Senate seat. What everyone first thought was a half-serious vanity run, or favourite-son run, was now turning into an actual candidacy. Long ran as enemy number one at the MacBride White House, talking himself up as the "man who saved the New Deal", and still managed to get things done for the country aside from obstructing the President.
His status as Senate Leader gave him impeccable clout, and he tried hurriedly to gain the support of major Democrats, like former President Howell. Governor Howell, who reiterated his unwillingness to run again for President, waited for some time before handing out his endorsement. In the meantime two Senators jumped in, Birch Bayh of Indiana and Edmund Muskie (former Senator) of Maine. Shortly before the New Hampshire, a race many assumed Muskie would win, Governor Sam Yorty threw his metaphorical cowboy hat into the ring. Muskie's candidacy had led the other Democrats, aside from a half-hearted attempt by Jackson, to stay away from the first primary. By a margin of 23 votes, Yorty narrowly win the state due to a last minute media blitz, and the lukewarm reception Muskie and others received.
After the first few primaries which were won by a mixture of all of the candidates in running it became apparent that only Scoop Jackson carried support outside of his respective 'region.' Senate Majority Leader Long's support mostly lay below the Mason-Dixon line and was quite shallow elsewhere. Governor Cliff Finch won his own state and with Jackson victories in Georgia and Florida prevented the Louisianan from sweeping the South fully. Governor Ed Muskie was consigned to the North East (though mostly New England), Senator Birch Bayh won the industrial Mid West and parts of the Great Plains and former Governor Sam Yorty won his native California and surprisingly won New Hampshire due to his popularity in the Granite State and also in Alaska. Only Scoop Jackson won primaries in all regions of the country and dominated his native West of the nation.
Ultimately it was the much envied endorsement of Henry Howell which sealed the victory for Jackson and helped him win the final few primaries by a much larger lead than before. At the Convention Jackson was in the lead, with Bayh close behind him the delegate count and the other candidates placed quite far behind the two. First Yorty dropped out and endorsed fellow westerner Jackson after being promised a cabinet position (besides Defense or State) of his own choice. Then Finch pledged his delegates to Jackson and Muskie to Bayh; Long, however remained stubbornly in the race in the hope of making a deal with one of the two candidates or emerging as the compromise candidate. In the end he was left out in the cold as a Jackson/Bayh ticket was formed. Long was offered an Ambassadorship to a nice, quiet little country, which the Louisianan turned down, too melancholy to stay around now that he'd lost.
Dornan, before his election to mayor of Los Angeles, participated in the March on Washington in 1963, helped register black voters in Mississippi, he appeared in several movies and was even an Emmy-winning talk show host for six years. His campaign received the endorsement of several chapters of the NAACP and many black Republicans, such as Edward Brooke. The Republican primary was unique in each year the states that were up were randomly generated by a slot, and the first state's up that year was South Carolina and Lousiana, who had the second and third highest percentage of black voters in the country. While neither held that many delegates, and even fewer elected delegates, Dornan's campaign made an aggressive attempt to win them over. In a surprising move, Dornan won both by nearly two to one margins.
At first the White House, and the media, were shocked. How did this West Coast mayor beat the President in two southern states? Soon it was discovered that the victories had to do with three groups of voters: socially conservative whites, black Republicans, and disenchanted MacBride primary voter from 1976. The first group didn't trust the President, his refusal to go for the killing blows on abortion in 1978 and 1979 made him their enemy. The second were, at first, optimistic about MacBride, but his small-government mantra betrayed any idea on aggressive civil rights action. The third were also optimistic about MacBride back when he was still an unknown entity, but his failure to deliver much as President, and his lack of attempts to reform the primaries (whose delegates were still mostly determined by powerful state bosses) soured a lot of them very quickly.
The MacBride White House quickly moved to high gear. They had assumed they could wait until the general election to really start engaging voters, hoping to save money and effort until the end while the Democrats ran themselves ragged with a few strong candidates beating each other. That was the case no longer, the President was in desperate need to just maintain his already precarious position. The next primaries were over a week after the first two, held over one day in North Dakota, Iowa, and the biggie, Ohio. If Dornan could even make a strong second place finish, he could build up momentum to a primary victory.
The Dornan campaign was strong in emotion, energy, and ground-level support. But it was weak on actual campaign infrastructure, name-recognition, and cash. The President, benefiting from incumbency, had all three in abundance even while being rather unpopular. Dornan took a few pages from 1976 MacBride, engaging the people of the state's he was canvassing, denouncing the President as "lacking morals" and a "impractical theorist" and as betraying what the people elected him as.
After an facing the MacBride campaign, now serious and prepared, Dornan's earlier successes were written off as flukes, as the President not taking him on seriously. Macbride won the three states and would take all three states by hefty margins. Dornan would win a few more Southern states, like Georgia and Virginia, but even those states were won by smaller margins over time, and often didn't have enough pledged delegates to him. Ultimately, on the 30th of May, where the last half of the states were up, the campaign was finally broken. Dornan won his home state of California, and most of the west, but MacBride won New York, Texas, all of New England, and the remaining Midwestern states. MacBride won 29 states overall, compared to Dornan's 21.
Dornan, to his credit, took his loss maturely, thanking the people for fighting the good fight. Some Dornan partisan's wanted to get him the nomination of the National Conservative Party, who hadn't made any efforts to nominate anyone, but he declined and returned home. The official reason was the National Conservative Party hadn't yet come together enough to field a slate of electors in every state as a full party, but another reason was many inside the Party didn't feel they were ready yet to organize a run.
They didn't have that one powerful member who they could rally around, they didn't really have a full (national) party apparatus, and while many people might say they'd vote for the National Conservative candidate, party insiders suspected those voters might jump to this years Republican or Democratic candidate over a particular issue: overall government interference, military opposition to the Soviets, busing, etc.
===
Like the Republican Party four years earlier, the Democrats had no shortage of candidates. The Democrats in 1980 had a long line of candidates that faced off one another to combat MacBride. After four years in office, two of which with a Democratic Congress, he looked like prime material to be the first incumbent to lost since Hoover. The propaganda that the Democrats ran comparing the two at the time seemed to say as much.
The first candidate to declare his candidacy was Russell B. Long of Louisiana, in late 1979, who resigned as both Senate Majority Leader and Finance Chairman to make his run for President. He even made the announcement he would not run for re-election to his Senate seat. What everyone first thought was a half-serious vanity run, or favourite-son run, was now turning into an actual candidacy. Long ran as enemy number one at the MacBride White House, talking himself up as the "man who saved the New Deal", and still managed to get things done for the country aside from obstructing the President.
His status as Senate Leader gave him impeccable clout, and he tried hurriedly to gain the support of major Democrats, like former President Howell. Governor Howell, who reiterated his unwillingness to run again for President, waited for some time before handing out his endorsement. In the meantime two Senators jumped in, Birch Bayh of Indiana and Edmund Muskie (former Senator) of Maine. Shortly before the New Hampshire, a race many assumed Muskie would win, Governor Sam Yorty threw his metaphorical cowboy hat into the ring. Muskie's candidacy had led the other Democrats, aside from a half-hearted attempt by Jackson, to stay away from the first primary. By a margin of 23 votes, Yorty narrowly win the state due to a last minute media blitz, and the lukewarm reception Muskie and others received.
After the first few primaries which were won by a mixture of all of the candidates in running it became apparent that only Scoop Jackson carried support outside of his respective 'region.' Senate Majority Leader Long's support mostly lay below the Mason-Dixon line and was quite shallow elsewhere. Governor Cliff Finch won his own state and with Jackson victories in Georgia and Florida prevented the Louisianan from sweeping the South fully. Governor Ed Muskie was consigned to the North East (though mostly New England), Senator Birch Bayh won the industrial Mid West and parts of the Great Plains and former Governor Sam Yorty won his native California and surprisingly won New Hampshire due to his popularity in the Granite State and also in Alaska. Only Scoop Jackson won primaries in all regions of the country and dominated his native West of the nation.
Ultimately it was the much envied endorsement of Henry Howell which sealed the victory for Jackson and helped him win the final few primaries by a much larger lead than before. At the Convention Jackson was in the lead, with Bayh close behind him the delegate count and the other candidates placed quite far behind the two. First Yorty dropped out and endorsed fellow westerner Jackson after being promised a cabinet position (besides Defense or State) of his own choice. Then Finch pledged his delegates to Jackson and Muskie to Bayh; Long, however remained stubbornly in the race in the hope of making a deal with one of the two candidates or emerging as the compromise candidate. In the end he was left out in the cold as a Jackson/Bayh ticket was formed. Long was offered an Ambassadorship to a nice, quiet little country, which the Louisianan turned down, too melancholy to stay around now that he'd lost.
Update 16: 1980 Presidential election, preceded by two Chilean and one Italian elections
The initial Hubert Humphrey foreign policy emphasized two things, disengagement from Vietnam specifically, and disengagement from regime support generally. The South Vietnamese Government was massively, horribly corrupt. Some even figured them a bigger threat to South Vietnam then North Vietnam and the Viet Cong combined. Aid would be expended to allies, but actual troops would be kept to a minimum given the American distaste for "foreign adventures" Vietnam had caused. Humphrey tapped Richard Helms, then Director of the CIA, as Secretary of State, an unusually move at the very least. Helms was a nonpartisan public servant, working for the CIA in some capacity since the Truman years. Humphrey wanted a more secure link between the intelligence coming into the country, and the decisions that were made because of it.
Alongside Helms was National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, a former associate of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was the one to recommend the man to join Humphrey's Administration. Kissinger was notable for preaching a détente with the Soviet Union when it was rather unpopular in the upper echelons of the US government, at least at the time. Kissinger also made the recommendation of the US working over the People's Republic of China toward their side, and pitting the two biggest Communist countries against one another, and idea frigidly received by the rest of the Humphrey Administration. Probably the most controversial idea the man proposed was of using the CIA to dispose the Chilean government in the event of the Presidential election being won by the Socialist Salvador Allende. Humphrey excluded Kissinger from the Cabinet after that idea, instead funding an eventual Radomiro Tomic victory, and Kissinger stuck around mostly powerless until the midpoint of the Howell Administration where he was let go.
The biggest success in Asia was when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) seceded from (West) Pakistan after heavy grievances from it were treated with excessive military force, and India (backed by the US, Great Britain, and France) forced the Pakistan government to submit and remove their military presences. Unfortunately Humphrey's hands-on foreign policy died with him, and for the fourth time in a row, a new Democratic President moved to make changes in how it was conducted.
With the premature death of Humphrey, and Howell now in office, the foreign policy was handed off to Richard Helms and the State Department. The new President was mostly informed about the administration's policies, domestic and foreign, but Howell lacked the "intellectual rigor" (in his own words) to pursue an overarching foreign policy. Instead the new President and Vice-President worked to combat the domestic issues that were weathering down the nation, poverty, racism, urban crime, drugs, and such. Helms, who's intelligence background made him convinced how essential trust was to a working team, took the President's delegation of essentially the whole realm of foreign policy very seriously. He never kept the President out of the loop, and, even when Howell started to side with Henry Jackson over the issue of détente with the Soviet Union, always tried to pry the President more toward soft tactics against the threat of Communism, often times aggravating the President to no end.
The continued "soft power" approach meant more funding was put toward electing American allies who could both keep the Soviet-backed groups, or those assumed to be pro-Soviet, out of power. It meant that the groups they'd back would have to be ideologically flexible, in order deliver some economic relief to the kinds of voters who flocked to the Socialists and Communists. Usually they were Christian Democratic groups in Europe and Latin America, who mixed economic leftism with religious anti-communism. Often times, when the far left groups were close into power, the CIA would harass the opposition to put up a united front. When dealing with a legislature of double digit parties, in say Italy, where they ranged from far left to far right, it required some very strange coalitions.
The biggest failure in the Howell foreign policy front was the beginning of the Chilean Civil War in 1976, where the newly elected leftist government was couped by a military cabal, lead by General Roberto Viaux, and the nation erupted into a war between supporters of the elected Government, including former President's Alessandri and Tomic, and anti-Communists who saw the election of Allende as a danger to the nation. The late-term Howell Administration wasn't quite sure what to do, act decisively now and possibly hand over a quagmire to their successors, or fail and let the situation develop into a quagmire. Eventually they decided to blockade the country, hoping to pressure the coup instigators to quit. The MacBride administration began by continuing that policy, and overseeing the reconstruction of the country after the short, but painful, fighting.
Richard Helms continued on as Secretary of State until mid-1977, when the fighting stopped in Chile and he felt he was no longer needed or welcomed. While MacBride held no ill will against the man, the two didn't have the same kind of relationship as Howell and Helms did. The new President had no need to rely on Helms, having plenty of his own men he could rely on for political advice. He was urged to appoint Texas Senator George H. W. Bush as his Secretary of State, and even Helms suggested the man would be a good replacement. So, MacBride called over his Senate colleague from a few months back and asked him to join the cabinet. Despite some controversies at home, mostly regarding his son, Bush was passed by the Senate easily.
MacBride wasn't the most worldly man in office, but he was a quick study and very stubborn. He was far more engaged then Howell, leaving domestic affairs alone mostly but being very interested in exporting American democracy and freedom. He wanted to make not just America, but the world, a more free place. He was a man of strong morality, despite what his critics hit him with, and did not see allies underneath dictatorships as something to aspire to. This, like his domestic policies, were well-intentioned but mostly unsuccessful. The ideas were there, but they didn't amount to much outside of platitudes and pressuring some allies to liberalize, like the Iranian monarchy: which tipped back and forth between rule by the Shah, nearly dead by this point, and rule by the Parliament, which was gaining in power as the monarchy was hobbled by the lack strong opposition from the once all-powerful Shah.
---
But ultimately the people didn't care about foreign policy. They cared about the economy, what their Presidential candidates had to offer, and what the situation looked like. The political aura of 1980's America was somewhat odd. An unpopular President presiding over a decent economy, with little actual successes behind his back. Normally a good economy and a lack of scandals would be an autopilot victory. Not so in this year.
A reverse of four years emerged, the incumbent Republican President now faced a Democratic challenger who cleared away his more well known and traditional primary rivals for the nomination. It was a battle of wits, personality, region, and histories. MacBride represented the Libertarian faction of the Republican party, which stressed low government in business, in the bedroom, everywhere. They championed peace and economic liberty as panaceas for the worlds problems. Jackson represented what some derisively were calling "wardoliberalism" (a portmanteau of "war", referencing Jackson's known hawk views, and the German "ordoliberalism", referencing his claims in one interview that he viewed that as the ideal form of liberalism). "Wardoliberalism" became shorthand for a mixture of anti-communism and a commitment to protecting democracy and human rights with America's might. Political activist David Nolan described it as "the worst excesses of economic and bedroom statism [...] the Democrat's won't be happy until the government has complete control over the economy, over what you're allowed to do in your home, what you're allowed to think, it's a rancid belief."
The economy was doing ok. After some unstable years it was finally growing at a constant pace. MacBride was able to take credit by not actually taking credit, claiming that the Presidency had grown beyond its means, and the reduction of power allowed other parts of government to do more. Some took this as an admission he wasn't responsible for the economy, the Democratic Congress was. Despite winning his primary, the Republicans were rather pessimistic about MacBride. Sure, he had conceded more to the Democrats and gotten more done, sure he had tried to appeal to the party mainstream by adopting some measure of 'statism', but many were just not quite comfortable trusting him for a second term. Many conservative voters were swayed by Henry Jackson.
Anti-busing, strong on defense, Jackson had encouraged a lot of Republican voters to come to his side. He was a main reason why the National Conservatives weren't interested in running, he was legitimately popular among their base and could hobble them in their first run. However, if he attracted Republicans and Conservatives, he alienated black and youth voters (who were a bit turned off by his rhetoric of a "War on Drugs", by use of military for combating drug trafficking, later repudiated as a "gaffe" by the candidate). There was also the health issue. Henry Jackson was seventeen years older then MacBride (Macbride being born in 1929, Jackson in 1912) and he looked rather old and sickly at times. People didn't want another President to die of illness, nor elect a dying man to office.
Eventually, the choice was made for the safer candidate. One who didn't alienate Americans with talk of war and "taking the fight to them [the Soviets]." Jackson was probably more liked then MacBride, but ultimately deemed not to be the better choice.
MacBride won a victory that seemed to be an endorsement of his libertarian ideals over the Waroliberal New Deal and Social Conservatism of the Democratic ticket and party in General. MacBride made several inroads into the south taking states such as Mississippi and Arkansas which had, a mere four years before rested firmly in the Howell column. This may have been down to the pro-abortion stance of Birch Bayh which was played up in the South by Southern Republicans (despite the head of the Republican ticket being also quite pro-abortion.) This lead many to speculate that the Democratic iron fist grip over Dixie was finally loosening. This prediction would either be rubbished or proved wrong.
This rise in Republicanism in the South seemed to be at the expense of the Republicans in the West. The east coast (bar California) was dominated by the Democrats who also won Arizona, California and New Mexico for the first time since the 1964 rout. This was put down to the perceived western roots and populism of Jackson (his 'conservative' credentials were intentionally and unintentionally made an issue of the campaign which saw many 'Yorty' or 'Pinto' Democrats in the border states swing the Jackson ticket. Republican domination of the North East was cemented with the Democrats falling further behind in past strongholds such as Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.
The election was marked by the large levels of negative campaigning by both campaigns; despite the supposed 'optimistic' campaign messages of the Democrats and Republicans ultimately it was an election of fear. People were terrified that Jackson would nuke Russia and start World War III. People were spreading rumors that MacBride was going to pull out of Europe and let the Soviets walk in.
---
Bob Stump was for the first half of his political life a "Pinto Democrat", which in Arizona parlance meant a rural and conservative member of the Democratic Party who affiliated with the party, often voted in their primary, and would often vote Republican (or at least the more conservative candidate) in the general. In the early days of Arizona, from statehood to the 1950's, the Democratic Party would rule the state almost completely, holding nearly every elected office possible. Often time in the legislature the battle wasn't between Democrats and Republicans, the latter of whom usually held single digits in both houses, but between liberal Democrats and conservative Democrats. The liberals denounced the Pinto Democrats as owned by the "Interests", like the mine and railroad owners, conservatives denounced the liberals as communists, beholden to union bosses and radical organisations like the IWW.
After the election of Barry Goldwater in 1952, the state started to loosen the Democratic Party's grip on the state. An influx of Pinto Democrats came in the 1960's, aided by men like the retired Goldwater. In the 1974 primary election, long time state representative, and WWII Navy veteran Bob Stump won with only 29% of the vote. He won the Senate election over a minor Phoenix councilman and served a fairly forgettable term as Senator. He was seen as distant and unresponsive to his state, a growing western one that needed money and long term support. One of the reason's Carl Hayden served so long was his ability to provide both, even after the state electorate swelled.
So, in 1978, Attorney General Bruce Babbitt announced he would not serve a second term and would instead challenge Stump for Senator. Babbitt, a young and popular state officer, risked a certain career for a semi-long shot candidacy. Eventually neither he nor Stump were challenged in their primaries, the Arizona Conservative Party declining to field a candidate (and in fact endorsing Stump), making the election season extend beyond what was normal for the state.
The main debate was Stump's non-presence in the state, physically and fiscally. Arizona needed more federal monies, argued Babbitt, and a more involved Senator then Stump, who was known as a perpetual naysayer on the topic of spending money, any money outside of the military. The Stump campaign, very little was replied by the candidate himself, argued that a commitment to fiscal responsibility was better for the state economy then high taxation and sealing off state lands, as they claimed Babbitt would support. The Stump campaign made the error of involving Senator Udall into the race, attacking them both and trying to tie Babbitt and him as one radical eco-socialist chimera. Perennial candidate, and Stump spokesperson, Evan Mecham also made an infamous statement where he dismissed Babbitt as a "Soviet stooge", and Udall as " a tree-hugging cripple", a crude allusion to the junior Senators Parkinson's Syndrome.
Babbitt's youthful appearance, his strong media presence, and support from Henry Jackson allowed him to snag the Senate seat by a fairly good margin. Stump retired back to Arizona, and made efforts to involve himself more with the people of the state, planning a possible comeback one day. Overall the Congressional results were good for the Democratic Party. They retained both Houses for now in spite of failing to take back the Presidency. 4 new Democrats were elected, 2 new Republicans, and one new Conservative to the upper house. No one would expect the Conservative Caucus to explode in size in a few years.
Alongside Helms was National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, a former associate of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who was the one to recommend the man to join Humphrey's Administration. Kissinger was notable for preaching a détente with the Soviet Union when it was rather unpopular in the upper echelons of the US government, at least at the time. Kissinger also made the recommendation of the US working over the People's Republic of China toward their side, and pitting the two biggest Communist countries against one another, and idea frigidly received by the rest of the Humphrey Administration. Probably the most controversial idea the man proposed was of using the CIA to dispose the Chilean government in the event of the Presidential election being won by the Socialist Salvador Allende. Humphrey excluded Kissinger from the Cabinet after that idea, instead funding an eventual Radomiro Tomic victory, and Kissinger stuck around mostly powerless until the midpoint of the Howell Administration where he was let go.
The biggest success in Asia was when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) seceded from (West) Pakistan after heavy grievances from it were treated with excessive military force, and India (backed by the US, Great Britain, and France) forced the Pakistan government to submit and remove their military presences. Unfortunately Humphrey's hands-on foreign policy died with him, and for the fourth time in a row, a new Democratic President moved to make changes in how it was conducted.
With the premature death of Humphrey, and Howell now in office, the foreign policy was handed off to Richard Helms and the State Department. The new President was mostly informed about the administration's policies, domestic and foreign, but Howell lacked the "intellectual rigor" (in his own words) to pursue an overarching foreign policy. Instead the new President and Vice-President worked to combat the domestic issues that were weathering down the nation, poverty, racism, urban crime, drugs, and such. Helms, who's intelligence background made him convinced how essential trust was to a working team, took the President's delegation of essentially the whole realm of foreign policy very seriously. He never kept the President out of the loop, and, even when Howell started to side with Henry Jackson over the issue of détente with the Soviet Union, always tried to pry the President more toward soft tactics against the threat of Communism, often times aggravating the President to no end.
The continued "soft power" approach meant more funding was put toward electing American allies who could both keep the Soviet-backed groups, or those assumed to be pro-Soviet, out of power. It meant that the groups they'd back would have to be ideologically flexible, in order deliver some economic relief to the kinds of voters who flocked to the Socialists and Communists. Usually they were Christian Democratic groups in Europe and Latin America, who mixed economic leftism with religious anti-communism. Often times, when the far left groups were close into power, the CIA would harass the opposition to put up a united front. When dealing with a legislature of double digit parties, in say Italy, where they ranged from far left to far right, it required some very strange coalitions.
The biggest failure in the Howell foreign policy front was the beginning of the Chilean Civil War in 1976, where the newly elected leftist government was couped by a military cabal, lead by General Roberto Viaux, and the nation erupted into a war between supporters of the elected Government, including former President's Alessandri and Tomic, and anti-Communists who saw the election of Allende as a danger to the nation. The late-term Howell Administration wasn't quite sure what to do, act decisively now and possibly hand over a quagmire to their successors, or fail and let the situation develop into a quagmire. Eventually they decided to blockade the country, hoping to pressure the coup instigators to quit. The MacBride administration began by continuing that policy, and overseeing the reconstruction of the country after the short, but painful, fighting.
Richard Helms continued on as Secretary of State until mid-1977, when the fighting stopped in Chile and he felt he was no longer needed or welcomed. While MacBride held no ill will against the man, the two didn't have the same kind of relationship as Howell and Helms did. The new President had no need to rely on Helms, having plenty of his own men he could rely on for political advice. He was urged to appoint Texas Senator George H. W. Bush as his Secretary of State, and even Helms suggested the man would be a good replacement. So, MacBride called over his Senate colleague from a few months back and asked him to join the cabinet. Despite some controversies at home, mostly regarding his son, Bush was passed by the Senate easily.
MacBride wasn't the most worldly man in office, but he was a quick study and very stubborn. He was far more engaged then Howell, leaving domestic affairs alone mostly but being very interested in exporting American democracy and freedom. He wanted to make not just America, but the world, a more free place. He was a man of strong morality, despite what his critics hit him with, and did not see allies underneath dictatorships as something to aspire to. This, like his domestic policies, were well-intentioned but mostly unsuccessful. The ideas were there, but they didn't amount to much outside of platitudes and pressuring some allies to liberalize, like the Iranian monarchy: which tipped back and forth between rule by the Shah, nearly dead by this point, and rule by the Parliament, which was gaining in power as the monarchy was hobbled by the lack strong opposition from the once all-powerful Shah.
---
But ultimately the people didn't care about foreign policy. They cared about the economy, what their Presidential candidates had to offer, and what the situation looked like. The political aura of 1980's America was somewhat odd. An unpopular President presiding over a decent economy, with little actual successes behind his back. Normally a good economy and a lack of scandals would be an autopilot victory. Not so in this year.
A reverse of four years emerged, the incumbent Republican President now faced a Democratic challenger who cleared away his more well known and traditional primary rivals for the nomination. It was a battle of wits, personality, region, and histories. MacBride represented the Libertarian faction of the Republican party, which stressed low government in business, in the bedroom, everywhere. They championed peace and economic liberty as panaceas for the worlds problems. Jackson represented what some derisively were calling "wardoliberalism" (a portmanteau of "war", referencing Jackson's known hawk views, and the German "ordoliberalism", referencing his claims in one interview that he viewed that as the ideal form of liberalism). "Wardoliberalism" became shorthand for a mixture of anti-communism and a commitment to protecting democracy and human rights with America's might. Political activist David Nolan described it as "the worst excesses of economic and bedroom statism [...] the Democrat's won't be happy until the government has complete control over the economy, over what you're allowed to do in your home, what you're allowed to think, it's a rancid belief."
The economy was doing ok. After some unstable years it was finally growing at a constant pace. MacBride was able to take credit by not actually taking credit, claiming that the Presidency had grown beyond its means, and the reduction of power allowed other parts of government to do more. Some took this as an admission he wasn't responsible for the economy, the Democratic Congress was. Despite winning his primary, the Republicans were rather pessimistic about MacBride. Sure, he had conceded more to the Democrats and gotten more done, sure he had tried to appeal to the party mainstream by adopting some measure of 'statism', but many were just not quite comfortable trusting him for a second term. Many conservative voters were swayed by Henry Jackson.
Anti-busing, strong on defense, Jackson had encouraged a lot of Republican voters to come to his side. He was a main reason why the National Conservatives weren't interested in running, he was legitimately popular among their base and could hobble them in their first run. However, if he attracted Republicans and Conservatives, he alienated black and youth voters (who were a bit turned off by his rhetoric of a "War on Drugs", by use of military for combating drug trafficking, later repudiated as a "gaffe" by the candidate). There was also the health issue. Henry Jackson was seventeen years older then MacBride (Macbride being born in 1929, Jackson in 1912) and he looked rather old and sickly at times. People didn't want another President to die of illness, nor elect a dying man to office.
Eventually, the choice was made for the safer candidate. One who didn't alienate Americans with talk of war and "taking the fight to them [the Soviets]." Jackson was probably more liked then MacBride, but ultimately deemed not to be the better choice.
MacBride won a victory that seemed to be an endorsement of his libertarian ideals over the Waroliberal New Deal and Social Conservatism of the Democratic ticket and party in General. MacBride made several inroads into the south taking states such as Mississippi and Arkansas which had, a mere four years before rested firmly in the Howell column. This may have been down to the pro-abortion stance of Birch Bayh which was played up in the South by Southern Republicans (despite the head of the Republican ticket being also quite pro-abortion.) This lead many to speculate that the Democratic iron fist grip over Dixie was finally loosening. This prediction would either be rubbished or proved wrong.
This rise in Republicanism in the South seemed to be at the expense of the Republicans in the West. The east coast (bar California) was dominated by the Democrats who also won Arizona, California and New Mexico for the first time since the 1964 rout. This was put down to the perceived western roots and populism of Jackson (his 'conservative' credentials were intentionally and unintentionally made an issue of the campaign which saw many 'Yorty' or 'Pinto' Democrats in the border states swing the Jackson ticket. Republican domination of the North East was cemented with the Democrats falling further behind in past strongholds such as Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.
The election was marked by the large levels of negative campaigning by both campaigns; despite the supposed 'optimistic' campaign messages of the Democrats and Republicans ultimately it was an election of fear. People were terrified that Jackson would nuke Russia and start World War III. People were spreading rumors that MacBride was going to pull out of Europe and let the Soviets walk in.
---
Bob Stump was for the first half of his political life a "Pinto Democrat", which in Arizona parlance meant a rural and conservative member of the Democratic Party who affiliated with the party, often voted in their primary, and would often vote Republican (or at least the more conservative candidate) in the general. In the early days of Arizona, from statehood to the 1950's, the Democratic Party would rule the state almost completely, holding nearly every elected office possible. Often time in the legislature the battle wasn't between Democrats and Republicans, the latter of whom usually held single digits in both houses, but between liberal Democrats and conservative Democrats. The liberals denounced the Pinto Democrats as owned by the "Interests", like the mine and railroad owners, conservatives denounced the liberals as communists, beholden to union bosses and radical organisations like the IWW.
After the election of Barry Goldwater in 1952, the state started to loosen the Democratic Party's grip on the state. An influx of Pinto Democrats came in the 1960's, aided by men like the retired Goldwater. In the 1974 primary election, long time state representative, and WWII Navy veteran Bob Stump won with only 29% of the vote. He won the Senate election over a minor Phoenix councilman and served a fairly forgettable term as Senator. He was seen as distant and unresponsive to his state, a growing western one that needed money and long term support. One of the reason's Carl Hayden served so long was his ability to provide both, even after the state electorate swelled.
So, in 1978, Attorney General Bruce Babbitt announced he would not serve a second term and would instead challenge Stump for Senator. Babbitt, a young and popular state officer, risked a certain career for a semi-long shot candidacy. Eventually neither he nor Stump were challenged in their primaries, the Arizona Conservative Party declining to field a candidate (and in fact endorsing Stump), making the election season extend beyond what was normal for the state.
The main debate was Stump's non-presence in the state, physically and fiscally. Arizona needed more federal monies, argued Babbitt, and a more involved Senator then Stump, who was known as a perpetual naysayer on the topic of spending money, any money outside of the military. The Stump campaign, very little was replied by the candidate himself, argued that a commitment to fiscal responsibility was better for the state economy then high taxation and sealing off state lands, as they claimed Babbitt would support. The Stump campaign made the error of involving Senator Udall into the race, attacking them both and trying to tie Babbitt and him as one radical eco-socialist chimera. Perennial candidate, and Stump spokesperson, Evan Mecham also made an infamous statement where he dismissed Babbitt as a "Soviet stooge", and Udall as " a tree-hugging cripple", a crude allusion to the junior Senators Parkinson's Syndrome.
Babbitt's youthful appearance, his strong media presence, and support from Henry Jackson allowed him to snag the Senate seat by a fairly good margin. Stump retired back to Arizona, and made efforts to involve himself more with the people of the state, planning a possible comeback one day. Overall the Congressional results were good for the Democratic Party. They retained both Houses for now in spite of failing to take back the Presidency. 4 new Democrats were elected, 2 new Republicans, and one new Conservative to the upper house. No one would expect the Conservative Caucus to explode in size in a few years.
Last edited:
Disappointed that MacBride and his Totally Scrupulous VP get another four years in office, but at least the international scene for the most part (especially Chile- at least they have a short civil war versus years under Pinochet's rule) looks brighter than OTL from a US standpoint.
Also, what happened in Italy to cause the Communists take over as the largest single party and a neo-fascist party to become the third-largest?
Also, what happened in Italy to cause the Communists take over as the largest single party and a neo-fascist party to become the third-largest?
Some things are better, like Chile, some are worse, like the Gang of Four-run China (which will eventually be covered). The Humphrey-Howell-MacBride Presidencies featured a more clean foreign policy then their three predecessors, which some critics like to call "limp" and "ineffective" in the face of Soviet aggression.
Well for Italy, disenchantment with the Christian Democrats over the economy, the EEC, some corruption allegations, also the fear of a Communist takeover split the vote on the right, etc.
Also, kind of embarrassed to say this, I stupidly forgot to add onto the update concerning Italy:
Sorry Gonzo, egg's on my face.
Wait until you see the 1982 elections. Hint: It will feature two Taft's, one of them lost something and one of them won something because of Americas new third party.
Now this is a fascinating timeline. I'm going to read some bits over, just to be sure, but it seems like a lot has changed due to just one policy decision by GOP leaders.
That moment when you sit back and it occurs to you, you've just shotgun'd an entire TL.
It is good, though. I'm interested to see how both of the main parties develop, but also how the Conservative Party develops, as it seems to be spreading out.
That 1980 EV map is one of the strangest I have ever seen, but I mean that in a good way. If one looks at the state-by-state results of OTL your results look quite plausible. The low turnout makes sense too, as a lot of staunch progressives and staunch conservatives would feel left out by that Presidential race.
Also, your Republican primaries were very colorful with Dornan, and were particularly good because you didn't make charicatures out of the two.
Also, your Republican primaries were very colorful with Dornan, and were particularly good because you didn't make charicatures out of the two.
Update 17: 1980 and 1981 UK general elections
The Conservative Party was shocked not so much by it’s defeat in 1975 but rather the fact that they lost seats to the controversial Labour Prime Minister. The Liberal Party were buoyant that they had finally managed to hit double figures. After Maudling resigned there was a fight between the moderate to liberal ‘One-Nation’ wing of the party and the right wing ‘Monday Club’ faction of the party. Robert Carr, the now Shadow Home Secretary, was the candidate of the party left while former 1922 Committee Chairman candidate and Party Chairman, Edward du Cann was the candidate of the party right. In the end Carr won by around 55% of the votes cast (155 MPs) to du Cann’s 104 votes and the maverick ‘Powellite’ candidate Alan Clark who won 23 votes in a surprisingly strong showing. Both of the losing candidates were offered Shadow Cabinet posts, du Cann refused and remained Party Chairman, Clark accepted and became Shadow Leader of the House (of Commons.)
The Shadow Cabinet was a blend of liberal ‘Carr-ites,’ moderate upper-class traditionalists, Ulster Unionist, and Monday Club right wingers - these splits, which the leadership failed to hide mostly helped the Labour cause that was (rather ruthlessly) projected as being a party of unity. This message of unity was somewhat false considering several right wing MP’s were in the process of being de-selected by left wing controlled party constituency branches - such individuals included Reginald Prentice, who would later defect to the Conservatives, Desmond Donnelly who formed the Democratic Party and won re-election at the next election under than banner; Christopher Mayhew defected to the Liberals in 1974; Eddie Milne and Dick Taverne both left the party after being deselected and became Independent Labour and Democratic Labour Party MP’s respectively. These defections helped to starve the Labour Government of a majority and thus ensured that Short and his Whips had to rely on the support of the Liberals and (ironically) some of their defectors.
The majority of the Conservative caucus representation was dominated by hardline right wing ‘Powellite’ ‘Monday Club’ MP’s - this all but assured Carr's defeat to a right wing candidate when he was challenged in 1978 for the leadership. However the candidate selected was unexpected and was known for espousing very right wing views on immigration and other social issues. Alan Clark had served as the interim Shadow Defence Secretary and was a renowned historian and member of the Monday Club. The Plymouth MP managed to defeat Carr after several ballots of the party aided by the entrance of other liberal candidates who split the left wing vote and the withdrawal of other right wing candidates.
Things came to a head when Labour refused to support Liberal efforts to introduce PR (Proportional Representation) at the local level for elections. The Liberals in response decided to back a Tory introduced Vote of No Confidence. The measure was defeated handily, but forced Shore (out of humiliation) to go to the Palace and request Parliament be dissolved for yet another General Election. The main issues of the campaign were the economy - which had gradually been corroding over the last few years, trade union strikes which plagued the nation the year before and civil liberties - this issue was brought to ahead by the adoption of ID cards by the Government to combat the sparse Irish Republican terrorism and the various race riots in inner cities. The Tories campaigned under a radical ‘Britain First’ manifesto calling for "case by case" choices on nationalisation or privatisation, the retention of the ‘draconian’ ID cards and for a more socially conservative platform. Labour campaigned on ‘staying the course’ and not ‘changing course midstream;’ meanwhile the Liberals campaigned on a somewhat libertarian manifesto which called for the legalisation of abortion and the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
The election coincided with a planned referendum on British membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This plan was met with unease and even open opposition from those on the right of the Labour Party such as Chancellor Roy Jenkins and Defence Secretary David Owen but support from those on the left like Shore and Foreign Secretary Richard Crossman. The issue was threatening to split the Labour Party; Shore therefore resolved, not to drop his ‘pet project’ but rather go to the country once again and receive a mandate from the country specifically on this issue.
When the votes were finally counted Labour emerged with a majority of 21 and 329 seats. The Tories rebounded back to 286 seats (once again the Ulster Unionists won all 12 seats, despite West Belfast going to several recounts.) The Liberals increased their seats to 16 seats. The Scottish Nationalist Party won an extra seat, taking their number of seats to 3; mostly gaining votes from Labour in Scotland and proving to be a useful spoiler for the left of centre vote for the Tories who held firm north of the border. Plaid Cymru retain it’s only seat in parliament. Rather alarmingly the far-right National Front managed to win a seats (West Bromwich) on low turnouts and the ‘moderate’ vote being split by multiple candidates.
Shore's 'Pet Project' also was endorsed by the British people by a 54-46 margin.
Clark made no secret of his antagonism towards the liberals who had controlled the party for the past few years and sacked left wing ‘ONT’s’ from the cabinet. In response a significant group of around thirty moderates and liberals headed by former Shadow Cabinet member Ian Gilmour and Kenneth Clarke defected to the Liberal Party during July 1980.
The new Liberal MP's managed to sway the party to the right on several economic issues, something which earned the ire of many of the ‘real’ Liberals who were annoyed the amounts of influence that the new Tory intake held. Up until late 1980 Labour held a continuous lead of the Conservative opposition. Then at the Labour Conference in winter 1980, Shore announced his intention to stand down (and not be beaten by the Tories in a potential rematch against Clark.) In the ensuing melee that saw left and right face off in an increasingly nasty race the centre-right Anthony Crosland beat out Michael Foot, Barbara Castle, John Silkin, Dennis Healey, Albert Booth and Tony Benn to claim the prize. His victory proved to the straw that broke the camel's back, when a group of 20 left wing MP’s left the party and formed the Democratic Socialist Party in protest against Crosland's ‘right wing agenda.’ Crosland was faced with a resurgent Conservative Party rising in the polls and being within several points of winning the election. Crosland therefore reluctantly called a General Election in October 1981 with the hope that he could at the very least form a coalition with the Liberals. His chance were harmed when it transpired through an expose in the Daily Sketch that he (allegedly) had engaged, while at university, in an "illicit" homosexual affair with fellow Labour grandee, Roy Jenkins - a claim both vehemently denied (but made to see less true - due to Jenkin's support of socially liberal policies in the late 1960's.)
Despite gaining in the polls in the last few days of the campaign the damage was done and it was Alan Clark who went to the palace on the 16th of October 1981 to seek to form a Government of 353 Conservative & Scottish & Ulster Unionist MP’s. The Tory 'landslide' managed to take out most of the defectors to the Liberals (Kenneth Clarke noticeably held on in his Rushcliffe seat) and provided troubles for several members of the Cabinet (including Chancellor David Owen who was defeated in Plymouth Devenport.) The two most important results of the night were the defeats of Crosland and Thorpe in their respective constituencies - both by a handful of votes and after several recounts. The DSP won 8 seats out of their original 20 MP’s while 2 of the 3 SNP MP’s were wiped out in the Tory landslide in Scotland; meanwhile the NF rose to three seats and the PC's remained steady with their sole seat.
The Shadow Cabinet was a blend of liberal ‘Carr-ites,’ moderate upper-class traditionalists, Ulster Unionist, and Monday Club right wingers - these splits, which the leadership failed to hide mostly helped the Labour cause that was (rather ruthlessly) projected as being a party of unity. This message of unity was somewhat false considering several right wing MP’s were in the process of being de-selected by left wing controlled party constituency branches - such individuals included Reginald Prentice, who would later defect to the Conservatives, Desmond Donnelly who formed the Democratic Party and won re-election at the next election under than banner; Christopher Mayhew defected to the Liberals in 1974; Eddie Milne and Dick Taverne both left the party after being deselected and became Independent Labour and Democratic Labour Party MP’s respectively. These defections helped to starve the Labour Government of a majority and thus ensured that Short and his Whips had to rely on the support of the Liberals and (ironically) some of their defectors.
The majority of the Conservative caucus representation was dominated by hardline right wing ‘Powellite’ ‘Monday Club’ MP’s - this all but assured Carr's defeat to a right wing candidate when he was challenged in 1978 for the leadership. However the candidate selected was unexpected and was known for espousing very right wing views on immigration and other social issues. Alan Clark had served as the interim Shadow Defence Secretary and was a renowned historian and member of the Monday Club. The Plymouth MP managed to defeat Carr after several ballots of the party aided by the entrance of other liberal candidates who split the left wing vote and the withdrawal of other right wing candidates.
Things came to a head when Labour refused to support Liberal efforts to introduce PR (Proportional Representation) at the local level for elections. The Liberals in response decided to back a Tory introduced Vote of No Confidence. The measure was defeated handily, but forced Shore (out of humiliation) to go to the Palace and request Parliament be dissolved for yet another General Election. The main issues of the campaign were the economy - which had gradually been corroding over the last few years, trade union strikes which plagued the nation the year before and civil liberties - this issue was brought to ahead by the adoption of ID cards by the Government to combat the sparse Irish Republican terrorism and the various race riots in inner cities. The Tories campaigned under a radical ‘Britain First’ manifesto calling for "case by case" choices on nationalisation or privatisation, the retention of the ‘draconian’ ID cards and for a more socially conservative platform. Labour campaigned on ‘staying the course’ and not ‘changing course midstream;’ meanwhile the Liberals campaigned on a somewhat libertarian manifesto which called for the legalisation of abortion and the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
The election coincided with a planned referendum on British membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This plan was met with unease and even open opposition from those on the right of the Labour Party such as Chancellor Roy Jenkins and Defence Secretary David Owen but support from those on the left like Shore and Foreign Secretary Richard Crossman. The issue was threatening to split the Labour Party; Shore therefore resolved, not to drop his ‘pet project’ but rather go to the country once again and receive a mandate from the country specifically on this issue.
When the votes were finally counted Labour emerged with a majority of 21 and 329 seats. The Tories rebounded back to 286 seats (once again the Ulster Unionists won all 12 seats, despite West Belfast going to several recounts.) The Liberals increased their seats to 16 seats. The Scottish Nationalist Party won an extra seat, taking their number of seats to 3; mostly gaining votes from Labour in Scotland and proving to be a useful spoiler for the left of centre vote for the Tories who held firm north of the border. Plaid Cymru retain it’s only seat in parliament. Rather alarmingly the far-right National Front managed to win a seats (West Bromwich) on low turnouts and the ‘moderate’ vote being split by multiple candidates.
Shore's 'Pet Project' also was endorsed by the British people by a 54-46 margin.
Clark made no secret of his antagonism towards the liberals who had controlled the party for the past few years and sacked left wing ‘ONT’s’ from the cabinet. In response a significant group of around thirty moderates and liberals headed by former Shadow Cabinet member Ian Gilmour and Kenneth Clarke defected to the Liberal Party during July 1980.
The new Liberal MP's managed to sway the party to the right on several economic issues, something which earned the ire of many of the ‘real’ Liberals who were annoyed the amounts of influence that the new Tory intake held. Up until late 1980 Labour held a continuous lead of the Conservative opposition. Then at the Labour Conference in winter 1980, Shore announced his intention to stand down (and not be beaten by the Tories in a potential rematch against Clark.) In the ensuing melee that saw left and right face off in an increasingly nasty race the centre-right Anthony Crosland beat out Michael Foot, Barbara Castle, John Silkin, Dennis Healey, Albert Booth and Tony Benn to claim the prize. His victory proved to the straw that broke the camel's back, when a group of 20 left wing MP’s left the party and formed the Democratic Socialist Party in protest against Crosland's ‘right wing agenda.’ Crosland was faced with a resurgent Conservative Party rising in the polls and being within several points of winning the election. Crosland therefore reluctantly called a General Election in October 1981 with the hope that he could at the very least form a coalition with the Liberals. His chance were harmed when it transpired through an expose in the Daily Sketch that he (allegedly) had engaged, while at university, in an "illicit" homosexual affair with fellow Labour grandee, Roy Jenkins - a claim both vehemently denied (but made to see less true - due to Jenkin's support of socially liberal policies in the late 1960's.)
Despite gaining in the polls in the last few days of the campaign the damage was done and it was Alan Clark who went to the palace on the 16th of October 1981 to seek to form a Government of 353 Conservative & Scottish & Ulster Unionist MP’s. The Tory 'landslide' managed to take out most of the defectors to the Liberals (Kenneth Clarke noticeably held on in his Rushcliffe seat) and provided troubles for several members of the Cabinet (including Chancellor David Owen who was defeated in Plymouth Devenport.) The two most important results of the night were the defeats of Crosland and Thorpe in their respective constituencies - both by a handful of votes and after several recounts. The DSP won 8 seats out of their original 20 MP’s while 2 of the 3 SNP MP’s were wiped out in the Tory landslide in Scotland; meanwhile the NF rose to three seats and the PC's remained steady with their sole seat.
Last edited:
So the Tories are cutting to the right in Britain as well, and have won a fairly powerful majority? Interesting. Let's see how Mr. Clark performs.
Update 18: The Manson Family attacks
1981 was one of the most shocking years in American politics. Unlike other years where the news was a matter of the quantity of scandals or problems, '81 was dominated by one event and one event alone: The April 12 White House Attack.
A little background is needed. On November 12, 1934, a sixteen year old girl named Kathleen Maddox gave birth to a boy in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was soon named Charles Milles Maddox, and after his mother married a laborer by the name of William Manson, his name was changed to Charles Milles Manson. Little is known about his biological father, although some speculate he was a black man by the name of Colonel Walker Scott, which Manson denied throughout his life. His family life wasn't easy, his mother a habitual drinker and petty thief, and at a young age he was moved around to various family members to take care of him.
Manson began committing small acts of burglary and moved his way up to more violent crimes such as armed robbery, and was rotated in and out of various camps and prisons as he got older. Eventually he married a hospital waitress, Rosalie Jean Willis, and had a child with her, who was born while Manson was imprisoned. Circa the late 1960's he was living with multiple women in a kind of commune in California. He repeatedly kept getting arrested, worked in the music industry, and was caught stalking actress Sharon Tate at her home in California in 1969 armed with weapons. Despite previous convictions, Manson was able to avoid arrest and was let go. After that incident him and his 'family' dropped under the radar for some time.
In later years it was found they were committing various murders and crimes in the California desert, but were able to avoid being captured or noticed for almost a decade. Some suspect all their of their victims haven't yet been found.
The Manson family appeared again publicly around the late 1970's, preaching an end of the world, of racial riots, nuclear warfare, and the ultimate damnation of all mankind. The eventual culmination of their apocalyptic rhetoric was an attempted false flag attack on the White House, armed with various kinds of guns and even a rocket launcher, they would assassinate the upper echelons of the American Government, pin it on the Black Panthers, and start the race war they were planning.
Over thirty people were planned to meet up on April 12th, only sixteen showed up as various others were found smuggling in guns, arrested for public drinking or fighting, and other minor acts that nearly derailed the whole plan. Eventually the remaining group went ahead and attacked the White House. The rocket launcher missed hitting the Oval Office head on, but blew out most of it, injuring many (including the President) and killing several aides and Secret Service members. Half of Manson's group was killed by the guards, and six others were heavily wounded, one being rendered brain-dead after the shootout was over.
Thirty-nine people in the White House died in the attack, and an additional fourteen were injured. President MacBride was left unconscious for nearly two weeks. Roy Cohn, who was in New York visiting a friend of his wife at the time, was immediately picked up and briefed on the situation. For the two weeks he was surrounded by agents who needed to keep the Acting President safe.
There was a prevalent fear that the attack was a sign of things to come, with even more of Manson's goons ready to assassinate government members. Instead almost all of them were found and detained within several days of the attack. The suspense of a possible government overthrow was quickly debunked, but the memory of the attack, and the paranoia of the next few days stuck with many Americans.
By the time MacBride woke, a full month after the attack, he found himself with the news of what happened as well as his situation. The attack hadn't mortally wounded him, but damage to his spine left him crippled from the waist down. Several hours after finding the news, and being declared mentally competent enough to make the decision, he decided to resign the Presidency. Acting President Cohn became the 40th President of the United States. Cohn himself was informed of this promotion almost immediately and got to work finding a suitable Vice-President for himself and repairing the White House, which had most of the North Portico destroyed by the attack.
For the next two and a half years Charles Manson would be the most infamous man in America. His trial was probably the most covered in the world at the time, and possibly even today. The eventual jury decision to execute him was met with a sense of relief by Americans. The President himself noted "Our long national nightmare is over [. . .] and now we may finally rest easy."
A little background is needed. On November 12, 1934, a sixteen year old girl named Kathleen Maddox gave birth to a boy in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was soon named Charles Milles Maddox, and after his mother married a laborer by the name of William Manson, his name was changed to Charles Milles Manson. Little is known about his biological father, although some speculate he was a black man by the name of Colonel Walker Scott, which Manson denied throughout his life. His family life wasn't easy, his mother a habitual drinker and petty thief, and at a young age he was moved around to various family members to take care of him.
Manson began committing small acts of burglary and moved his way up to more violent crimes such as armed robbery, and was rotated in and out of various camps and prisons as he got older. Eventually he married a hospital waitress, Rosalie Jean Willis, and had a child with her, who was born while Manson was imprisoned. Circa the late 1960's he was living with multiple women in a kind of commune in California. He repeatedly kept getting arrested, worked in the music industry, and was caught stalking actress Sharon Tate at her home in California in 1969 armed with weapons. Despite previous convictions, Manson was able to avoid arrest and was let go. After that incident him and his 'family' dropped under the radar for some time.
In later years it was found they were committing various murders and crimes in the California desert, but were able to avoid being captured or noticed for almost a decade. Some suspect all their of their victims haven't yet been found.
The Manson family appeared again publicly around the late 1970's, preaching an end of the world, of racial riots, nuclear warfare, and the ultimate damnation of all mankind. The eventual culmination of their apocalyptic rhetoric was an attempted false flag attack on the White House, armed with various kinds of guns and even a rocket launcher, they would assassinate the upper echelons of the American Government, pin it on the Black Panthers, and start the race war they were planning.
Over thirty people were planned to meet up on April 12th, only sixteen showed up as various others were found smuggling in guns, arrested for public drinking or fighting, and other minor acts that nearly derailed the whole plan. Eventually the remaining group went ahead and attacked the White House. The rocket launcher missed hitting the Oval Office head on, but blew out most of it, injuring many (including the President) and killing several aides and Secret Service members. Half of Manson's group was killed by the guards, and six others were heavily wounded, one being rendered brain-dead after the shootout was over.
Thirty-nine people in the White House died in the attack, and an additional fourteen were injured. President MacBride was left unconscious for nearly two weeks. Roy Cohn, who was in New York visiting a friend of his wife at the time, was immediately picked up and briefed on the situation. For the two weeks he was surrounded by agents who needed to keep the Acting President safe.
There was a prevalent fear that the attack was a sign of things to come, with even more of Manson's goons ready to assassinate government members. Instead almost all of them were found and detained within several days of the attack. The suspense of a possible government overthrow was quickly debunked, but the memory of the attack, and the paranoia of the next few days stuck with many Americans.
By the time MacBride woke, a full month after the attack, he found himself with the news of what happened as well as his situation. The attack hadn't mortally wounded him, but damage to his spine left him crippled from the waist down. Several hours after finding the news, and being declared mentally competent enough to make the decision, he decided to resign the Presidency. Acting President Cohn became the 40th President of the United States. Cohn himself was informed of this promotion almost immediately and got to work finding a suitable Vice-President for himself and repairing the White House, which had most of the North Portico destroyed by the attack.
For the next two and a half years Charles Manson would be the most infamous man in America. His trial was probably the most covered in the world at the time, and possibly even today. The eventual jury decision to execute him was met with a sense of relief by Americans. The President himself noted "Our long national nightmare is over [. . .] and now we may finally rest easy."
