Rally for the Farmers! Willie Nelson and the late 20th century populist movement
- Thread starter Baconheimer
- Start date
Keep Having Hart: 1990-1993
‘Colorado Woman had Sexual Relationship With Hart - Affair Lasted Three Years’
- Boston Herald, December 9th 1990
“Shit! Why didn’t we get news of this earlier? A month ago and the Senate could have been ours!”
- Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), December 11th 1990
“President Hart has done very little for American farmers. I had hoped he would take steps to solve the serious issue that is the decline of American family farming, yet he has done nothing. I cannot stand idly by while millions of Americans sink into depression and poverty.”
- Secretary of Agriculture Bruce Babbitt (D-AZ) announces his resignation, December 19th 1990
‘Jello Biafra Announces Run for Mayor - Biafra Headman of Dead Kennedys - Molinari Expresses Surprise’
- San Francisco Chronicle, January 21st 1991
“I’ve had enough.”
-Representative Jim Traficant (D-OH) to Majority Whip William Gray (D-PA) shortly before announcing a switch to the Rally for the Farmers, February 14th 1991
“Casualties are up 175% in the last two months. We’ve got to do something: it’s hard to tell who we’re fighting and who our allies are.”
- White House Chief of Staff Gary Bachula to President Gary Hart, February 27th 1991
‘Iraqi Transitional Authority to Try Saddam Hussein For Crimes Against Humanity - No Mention on When Trial To Occur’
- Washington Post, March 6th 1991
‘Missouri Ratifies 27th Amendment - Congressional Pay Raises will not Take Effect Until next Session’
- Washington Post, March 10th 1991
‘Harold Washington Party Appeal Successful in Federal Courts’
- Chicago Tribune, March 22nd 1991
“I’ll say now that Gary Hart was not everything I hoped he would be when I endorsed him for President of the United States. The Hart administration has not done all it can to assist the African-American community in the United States, and I’d urge African-American voters to keep this in mind in the future. Don’t vote for someone simply because of the ‘Dee’ next to their name, vote for someone because their policies will help you.”
- President Emeritus Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, April 4th 1991
“Former Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp is widely seen as the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Though Kemp has not yet officially announced his candidacy, surrogates are already canvassing early primary states in hopes of raising Kemp’s profile even further. Meanwhile, sources within the White House have related that the embattled President fears a primary challenge from the liberal wing of his party. Senator…”
- Lynne Russell, CNN News, May 17th 1991
‘Saddam Hussein has first Hearing - Hussein to be tried for Crimes Against Humanity’
- Chicago Tribune, July 14th 1991
“I run against the excesses of both parties. I am for America first - it is our time to shine and I won’t let politicians greed and debauchery get in our way!”
- Televangelist Pat Robertson announces his bid for the Republican nomination flanked by Oliver North and Jerry Falwell, August 5th 1991
‘Sen. Bill Bradley Announces Primary Challenge to Hart - Bradley Decries Hart As ‘Ineffective Blowhard’
- Washington Post, August 26th 1991
‘Dole - I’ll Give it Another Shot’
- New York Times, September 5th 1991
‘Dominici Announces Second Run for President - Portrays Himself as Conservative Champion’
- Santa Fe New Mexican, October 2nd 1991
“My fellow Chicagoans, what has Richard Daley done for you? Can you say your life has got any better since Daley came to be Mayor? Our city has gone deeper into debt and jobs continue to flow out, to Indiana, to China. We can’t continue on this path, join me, and we’ll take Chicago back from the politicians.”
- Harold Washington Party Nominee for Mayor of Chicago R. Eugene Pincham, October 14th 1991
“Look at what’s happening in Chicago and San Francisco - there’s serious backlash to your policies, Mr. President. The old left economic wing doesn’t seem too happy with you, and then there’s Chicago. Look, the black community there voted against Richard Daley three to one, we need to make peace with the African-American wing or there’s no way we can win next year. You’ve got to tread lightly, sir.”
- Hart reelection campaign manager Rahm Emanuel, November 15th 1991
‘Robertson, Dominici Compete for Evangelical Vote’
- Washington Post, December 7th 1991
“If elected President, I will remove American soldiers from Iraq within three years. Defending our allies is important, but Americans should not die overseas for no purpose. I ask you, what are we doing in Iraq? Is it worth it?”
- Pat Robertson in a campaign speech, December 11th 1991
“Governor Scranton may have done some good things for the people of Pennsylvania, but look at him now. He’s a practicing Buddhist and there is strong evidence that he has participated in drug use in the-
Mr. Robertson! This is hardly-
-in the past. Is this really the man you want representing our country to the world?”
- Pat Robertson and William Scranton at a Republican Presidential Debate, January 15th 1992
Robertson - 42%
Kemp - 31%
Dole - 8%
Dominici - 7%
Scranton - 5%
Wilson - 4%
Alexander - 2%
Other - 1%
- Results of Republican Iowa Caucuses, February 3rd 1992
‘Hart Takes Iowa’
- Washington Post, February 11th 1992
“Brothers, we must face the reality that the Americans may not be the best thing to ever come to this country. While I do not say that we should take up arms against them as the most radical of our countrymen do, we must keep wary lest they leave all power in the hands of Baghdad again.”
- Idris Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) to the Eleventh Congress of the PDK, February 14th 1992
‘Connie Francis Announces Run For Senate - “If Willie Nelson Can Get Into Politics, So Can I”’
- Orlando Sentinel, February 15th 1992
“Shockingly, Senator Bradley won the state of New Hampshire in last night’s primary by a razor-thin margin. Both candidates will walk away with nine delegates, but Bradley’s popular vote victory over the President has sent shockwaves through the Hart campaign.
On the Republican side of the race, Pat Robertson has come from behind to take the Granite State. Senator Dominici has already suspended his campaign and endorsed Robertson. Establishment Republicans are speculated to rally behind a single candidate to prevent Pat Robertson from winning the nomination.”
- Essex Porter, KIRO Morning News, February 19th 1992
‘Can Bradley Replicate New Hampshire Successes?’
- Time Magazine, March 2nd 1992
“While Senator Bradley was able to capture Maryland and Minnesota in yesterday’s Super Tuesday primaries, the President secured six other states by comfortable margins. Hart now has a sizable delegate lead and is very much favored for renomination.”
- CNN News, March 11th 1992
“I see no path forward for victory. I am hereby suspending my campaign in the interest of party unity.”
- Senator Bill Bradley suspends his campaign after the April 7th primaries
‘Bradley Wins New Jersey Despite Dropping Out’
- New York Times, June 3rd 1992
‘Kemp Drops Out, Endorses Robertson - Scranton Remains in Race, Vows to Fight Robertson at Convention’
- Washington Post, June 3rd 1992
‘Hussein sentenced to death’
- New York Times, August 5th 1992
‘Robertson Nominated on First Ballot - Picks Penn. Senator Heinz for VP’
- New York Daily Post, August 18th 1992
“Wake up America! It’s our time.”
-Keynote Address at the 1992 Republican National Convention given by Senator Pete Dominici in Philadelphia, August 18th 1992
‘Nelson Renominated For President - Rally Chooses Former Agriculture Sec. Babbit for VP’
- August 27th, 1992
“We all knew it would be Nelson again. Sure, he didn’t have much political experience, but the Rally Party of 1992 was really very much a Willie Nelson cult of personality. Nominating anyone else would probably have alienated many of our voters, and who knows what would’ve happened if we’d done that at such a crucial point.”
- Ted Weill, Rally for the Farmers National Committeeman, 1991-1997
“We were all shocked when William Proxmire threw his hat into the ring. Bill Bradley gave us quite a shock, but we assumed that after he dropped out it would be smooth sailing. Sure, there was the possibility that Lee [Atwater] might throw some sort of scandal our way, but something like what Proxmire did? We never saw that coming.”
- Jim Carville, Hart campaign advisor in a 2011 interview for Ken Burns’ ‘The Nineties' *
Robertson - 34%
Hart - 28%
Nelson - 16%
Proxmire - 7%
Undecided/Other - 15%
- Polling on Labor Day (September 7th) 1992
“Looking back, what we did with William Proxmire wasn’t right. Al [Franken] portrayed him as a bumbling, dementia patient with almost no understanding of the political situation of the nineties. I mean, sure, we had Hart as an idiotic womanizer and Robertson as a fanatically devout redneck, but those were a lot closer to the truth than with what we did about William Proxmire. Like it or not, he did have some good ideas and was as bright a mind at eighty as he ever was.”
- Robert Schneider, Saturday Night Live Cast member speaks in a 2017 interview on his role on the show
‘Proxmire Collapses at Rally in Detroit’
-Washington Post, September 16th 1992
“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I suffered a little bout of pneumonia, but thankfully, I am recovering. A little ill health won’t push me out of this race.”
-William Proxmire speaks publicly for the first time since his collapse four days earlier, September 19th 1992
“Crime doesn’t pay if you’re a farmer, but it does if you’re a Senator. A vote for Nelson is a vote for clean government.”
-An RftF campaign ad from the 1992 presidential race referencing a popular saying from several years before
“Willie Nelson seems big on spending, but doesn’t seem to know where the money for that spending will come from. I support the American farmer as much as the next man, but the things he’s proposing are just unreasonable. Willie Nelson would only be able to get money to the farms by draining everywhere else dry.”
- Pat Robertson at a Presidential debate, October 12th 1992
‘Poll: Robertson Ahead’
- Washington Examiner, October 19th, 1992
‘Perhaps one of the oddest events in an campaigning season full of oddities was the Charleston debate of October 1992. In an interest to get on the map, then-President of the College of Charleston Richard Morrill devised a scheme to host a Presidential debate on the campus. Pat Robertson and Gary Hart were shoe-ins, and were sent invitations without thought. In the interest of completeness, invitations were also extended to Willie Nelson and Bill Proxmire as well as Libertarian Richard Boddie. This was a crucial moment for the Proxmire campaign, as the Wisconsinite had been excluded from all previous debates. Upon learning of Proxmire’s acceptance, Hart dropped out. Pat Robertson stated that he would not participate in a debate without Hart. This left Nelson, Proxmire, and Boddie. The College considered cancelling the debate, but decided against it as numerous stations confirmed they were still willing to broadcast it. The debate itself, held on Friday, October 23rd, turned out to be a slaughter. Willie Nelson got the best of both his opponents, and though weak on policy, Nelson was able to get the crowd entranced. Boddie, the first African-American nominee of the Libertarian Party, proved a tireless attack dog and went mercilessly after the aged Proxmire. The Charleston debate proved inconsequential, as Proxmire’s standing in the polls continued their slide downwards and Nelson’s continued up. In the end, the debate proved to be a gigantic money drain for the College, and President Morrill resigned in disgrace shortly after.”
- Fire, Brimstone, and F-16s: Decision 1992
“It’s time for a change - but first we need Gary Hart out of the White House. Get out and vote for Pat Robertson. A vote for Robertson is a vote for America.”
- A campaign ad aired primarily in the northeast in October and early November 1992
Republican: 52 (+6)
Democratic: 45 (-8)
Rally for the Farmers: 3 (+2) [Russ Feingold, Harry Lonsdale]
- United States Senate Election Results, November 3rd 1992
Democratic: 219 (-22)
Republican: 200 (+12)
Rally for the Farmers: 14 (+6) [Joseph Brennan ME-01, Dick Lamm CO, John Hickenlooper CO, Jim Hightower TX]
Harold Washington Party: 1 (+1)
Independent: 1 (+1)
- United States House of Representatives Results, November 3rd 1992 **
‘Sen. Graham Unseated by Francis - Francis, singer, has not held previous office’
- Miami Herald, November 4th 1992
‘Protests Across Country - Opposition to President-Elect Robertson Escalates’
- Washington Post, November 5th 1992
“We need calm. This nation has held strongly to the peaceful transition of power since its very beginning, and I don’t think we should end that now. I urge all who are violent to ask themselves: does America deserve this?”
- President Gary Hart, November 9th 1992
“Sure, calm is good, but Pat Robertson is perhaps the most dangerous thing to ever come to America. We need to be vigilant and maintain the separation of church and state that I fear may come to be eroded under the Robertson administration.”
- Senator Howard Metzenbaum, November 10th 1992
“The consensus view in the early nineties among the Democratic leadership was that Rally for the Farmers was one of those ephemeral political movements in America that shines for a few years, then fades into obscurity. We all figured ‘92 would be the end of them, but then Willie Nelson outperformed what anyone could have even dreamed of. It must have been early December, just about a month after the election that John Marino, party chair at the time, called a couple of the party’s top strategists in. We formed what was called the December Committee, and our goal was to bring the plains and Rally voters back into the fold. We had it all wrong, and attacking Willie Nelson wasn’t the right choice, but that’s what we did and it’s no surprise it all blew up in our faces. If we’d just done a little more research, I might not be a-”
- Jim Carville, then a Democratic strategist, speaks on the aftermath of the failed Hart re-election campaign
“Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq, was executed several hours ago by representatives of the provisional government. Hussein had appealed an August decision to execute him, but a judge recently ruled against Hussein. Reportedly, Hussein’s last words were ‘Death to America, Long Live Iraq’”
- CNN news, November 18th 1992
‘Iraqi Constitutional Convention Ends - Convention Delegates Vote to Ratify Document’
- Wall Street Times, December 12th 1992
“A day before the inauguration of Pat Robertson, Washington DC has swelled to several million times its normal population. Inaugural Committee Head Marion Edwyn Harrison has said that nearly one and a half million people are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony on the National Mall. There is no lack of opposition to the president-elect, however. Many protests are planned in the next week, and figures as diverse as Jesse Jackson and Eugene McCarthy have announced they will be present at these rallies. The Secret Service has announced they will be…”
- a local news anchor, January 19th 1993
* - Proxmire's running mate was former Carter-era Ambassador to Algeria Ulrich Haynes.
** - Independent is Bernie Sanders in Vermont, Harold Washington Party is Bobby Rush, who defeated incumbent Charles Hayes.
As usual, many of the infoboxes are made by @Gonzo
- Boston Herald, December 9th 1990
“Shit! Why didn’t we get news of this earlier? A month ago and the Senate could have been ours!”
- Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), December 11th 1990
“President Hart has done very little for American farmers. I had hoped he would take steps to solve the serious issue that is the decline of American family farming, yet he has done nothing. I cannot stand idly by while millions of Americans sink into depression and poverty.”
- Secretary of Agriculture Bruce Babbitt (D-AZ) announces his resignation, December 19th 1990
‘Jello Biafra Announces Run for Mayor - Biafra Headman of Dead Kennedys - Molinari Expresses Surprise’
- San Francisco Chronicle, January 21st 1991
“I’ve had enough.”
-Representative Jim Traficant (D-OH) to Majority Whip William Gray (D-PA) shortly before announcing a switch to the Rally for the Farmers, February 14th 1991
“Casualties are up 175% in the last two months. We’ve got to do something: it’s hard to tell who we’re fighting and who our allies are.”
- White House Chief of Staff Gary Bachula to President Gary Hart, February 27th 1991
‘Iraqi Transitional Authority to Try Saddam Hussein For Crimes Against Humanity - No Mention on When Trial To Occur’
- Washington Post, March 6th 1991
‘Missouri Ratifies 27th Amendment - Congressional Pay Raises will not Take Effect Until next Session’
- Washington Post, March 10th 1991
‘Harold Washington Party Appeal Successful in Federal Courts’
- Chicago Tribune, March 22nd 1991
“I’ll say now that Gary Hart was not everything I hoped he would be when I endorsed him for President of the United States. The Hart administration has not done all it can to assist the African-American community in the United States, and I’d urge African-American voters to keep this in mind in the future. Don’t vote for someone simply because of the ‘Dee’ next to their name, vote for someone because their policies will help you.”
- President Emeritus Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, April 4th 1991
“Former Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp is widely seen as the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Though Kemp has not yet officially announced his candidacy, surrogates are already canvassing early primary states in hopes of raising Kemp’s profile even further. Meanwhile, sources within the White House have related that the embattled President fears a primary challenge from the liberal wing of his party. Senator…”
- Lynne Russell, CNN News, May 17th 1991
‘Saddam Hussein has first Hearing - Hussein to be tried for Crimes Against Humanity’
- Chicago Tribune, July 14th 1991
“I run against the excesses of both parties. I am for America first - it is our time to shine and I won’t let politicians greed and debauchery get in our way!”
- Televangelist Pat Robertson announces his bid for the Republican nomination flanked by Oliver North and Jerry Falwell, August 5th 1991
‘Sen. Bill Bradley Announces Primary Challenge to Hart - Bradley Decries Hart As ‘Ineffective Blowhard’
- Washington Post, August 26th 1991
‘Dole - I’ll Give it Another Shot’
- New York Times, September 5th 1991
‘Dominici Announces Second Run for President - Portrays Himself as Conservative Champion’
- Santa Fe New Mexican, October 2nd 1991
“My fellow Chicagoans, what has Richard Daley done for you? Can you say your life has got any better since Daley came to be Mayor? Our city has gone deeper into debt and jobs continue to flow out, to Indiana, to China. We can’t continue on this path, join me, and we’ll take Chicago back from the politicians.”
- Harold Washington Party Nominee for Mayor of Chicago R. Eugene Pincham, October 14th 1991
“Look at what’s happening in Chicago and San Francisco - there’s serious backlash to your policies, Mr. President. The old left economic wing doesn’t seem too happy with you, and then there’s Chicago. Look, the black community there voted against Richard Daley three to one, we need to make peace with the African-American wing or there’s no way we can win next year. You’ve got to tread lightly, sir.”
- Hart reelection campaign manager Rahm Emanuel, November 15th 1991
‘Robertson, Dominici Compete for Evangelical Vote’
- Washington Post, December 7th 1991
“If elected President, I will remove American soldiers from Iraq within three years. Defending our allies is important, but Americans should not die overseas for no purpose. I ask you, what are we doing in Iraq? Is it worth it?”
- Pat Robertson in a campaign speech, December 11th 1991
“Governor Scranton may have done some good things for the people of Pennsylvania, but look at him now. He’s a practicing Buddhist and there is strong evidence that he has participated in drug use in the-
Mr. Robertson! This is hardly-
-in the past. Is this really the man you want representing our country to the world?”
- Pat Robertson and William Scranton at a Republican Presidential Debate, January 15th 1992
Robertson - 42%
Kemp - 31%
Dole - 8%
Dominici - 7%
Scranton - 5%
Wilson - 4%
Alexander - 2%
Other - 1%
- Results of Republican Iowa Caucuses, February 3rd 1992
‘Hart Takes Iowa’
- Washington Post, February 11th 1992
“Brothers, we must face the reality that the Americans may not be the best thing to ever come to this country. While I do not say that we should take up arms against them as the most radical of our countrymen do, we must keep wary lest they leave all power in the hands of Baghdad again.”
- Idris Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) to the Eleventh Congress of the PDK, February 14th 1992
‘Connie Francis Announces Run For Senate - “If Willie Nelson Can Get Into Politics, So Can I”’
- Orlando Sentinel, February 15th 1992
“Shockingly, Senator Bradley won the state of New Hampshire in last night’s primary by a razor-thin margin. Both candidates will walk away with nine delegates, but Bradley’s popular vote victory over the President has sent shockwaves through the Hart campaign.
On the Republican side of the race, Pat Robertson has come from behind to take the Granite State. Senator Dominici has already suspended his campaign and endorsed Robertson. Establishment Republicans are speculated to rally behind a single candidate to prevent Pat Robertson from winning the nomination.”
- Essex Porter, KIRO Morning News, February 19th 1992
‘Can Bradley Replicate New Hampshire Successes?’
- Time Magazine, March 2nd 1992
“While Senator Bradley was able to capture Maryland and Minnesota in yesterday’s Super Tuesday primaries, the President secured six other states by comfortable margins. Hart now has a sizable delegate lead and is very much favored for renomination.”
- CNN News, March 11th 1992
“I see no path forward for victory. I am hereby suspending my campaign in the interest of party unity.”
- Senator Bill Bradley suspends his campaign after the April 7th primaries
‘Bradley Wins New Jersey Despite Dropping Out’
- New York Times, June 3rd 1992
‘Kemp Drops Out, Endorses Robertson - Scranton Remains in Race, Vows to Fight Robertson at Convention’
- Washington Post, June 3rd 1992
‘Hussein sentenced to death’
- New York Times, August 5th 1992
‘Robertson Nominated on First Ballot - Picks Penn. Senator Heinz for VP’
- New York Daily Post, August 18th 1992
“Wake up America! It’s our time.”
-Keynote Address at the 1992 Republican National Convention given by Senator Pete Dominici in Philadelphia, August 18th 1992
‘Nelson Renominated For President - Rally Chooses Former Agriculture Sec. Babbit for VP’
- August 27th, 1992
“We all knew it would be Nelson again. Sure, he didn’t have much political experience, but the Rally Party of 1992 was really very much a Willie Nelson cult of personality. Nominating anyone else would probably have alienated many of our voters, and who knows what would’ve happened if we’d done that at such a crucial point.”
- Ted Weill, Rally for the Farmers National Committeeman, 1991-1997
“We were all shocked when William Proxmire threw his hat into the ring. Bill Bradley gave us quite a shock, but we assumed that after he dropped out it would be smooth sailing. Sure, there was the possibility that Lee [Atwater] might throw some sort of scandal our way, but something like what Proxmire did? We never saw that coming.”
- Jim Carville, Hart campaign advisor in a 2011 interview for Ken Burns’ ‘The Nineties' *
Robertson - 34%
Hart - 28%
Nelson - 16%
Proxmire - 7%
Undecided/Other - 15%
- Polling on Labor Day (September 7th) 1992
“Looking back, what we did with William Proxmire wasn’t right. Al [Franken] portrayed him as a bumbling, dementia patient with almost no understanding of the political situation of the nineties. I mean, sure, we had Hart as an idiotic womanizer and Robertson as a fanatically devout redneck, but those were a lot closer to the truth than with what we did about William Proxmire. Like it or not, he did have some good ideas and was as bright a mind at eighty as he ever was.”
- Robert Schneider, Saturday Night Live Cast member speaks in a 2017 interview on his role on the show
‘Proxmire Collapses at Rally in Detroit’
-Washington Post, September 16th 1992
“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I suffered a little bout of pneumonia, but thankfully, I am recovering. A little ill health won’t push me out of this race.”
-William Proxmire speaks publicly for the first time since his collapse four days earlier, September 19th 1992
“Crime doesn’t pay if you’re a farmer, but it does if you’re a Senator. A vote for Nelson is a vote for clean government.”
-An RftF campaign ad from the 1992 presidential race referencing a popular saying from several years before
“Willie Nelson seems big on spending, but doesn’t seem to know where the money for that spending will come from. I support the American farmer as much as the next man, but the things he’s proposing are just unreasonable. Willie Nelson would only be able to get money to the farms by draining everywhere else dry.”
- Pat Robertson at a Presidential debate, October 12th 1992
‘Poll: Robertson Ahead’
- Washington Examiner, October 19th, 1992
‘Perhaps one of the oddest events in an campaigning season full of oddities was the Charleston debate of October 1992. In an interest to get on the map, then-President of the College of Charleston Richard Morrill devised a scheme to host a Presidential debate on the campus. Pat Robertson and Gary Hart were shoe-ins, and were sent invitations without thought. In the interest of completeness, invitations were also extended to Willie Nelson and Bill Proxmire as well as Libertarian Richard Boddie. This was a crucial moment for the Proxmire campaign, as the Wisconsinite had been excluded from all previous debates. Upon learning of Proxmire’s acceptance, Hart dropped out. Pat Robertson stated that he would not participate in a debate without Hart. This left Nelson, Proxmire, and Boddie. The College considered cancelling the debate, but decided against it as numerous stations confirmed they were still willing to broadcast it. The debate itself, held on Friday, October 23rd, turned out to be a slaughter. Willie Nelson got the best of both his opponents, and though weak on policy, Nelson was able to get the crowd entranced. Boddie, the first African-American nominee of the Libertarian Party, proved a tireless attack dog and went mercilessly after the aged Proxmire. The Charleston debate proved inconsequential, as Proxmire’s standing in the polls continued their slide downwards and Nelson’s continued up. In the end, the debate proved to be a gigantic money drain for the College, and President Morrill resigned in disgrace shortly after.”
- Fire, Brimstone, and F-16s: Decision 1992
“It’s time for a change - but first we need Gary Hart out of the White House. Get out and vote for Pat Robertson. A vote for Robertson is a vote for America.”
- A campaign ad aired primarily in the northeast in October and early November 1992
Republican: 52 (+6)
Democratic: 45 (-8)
Rally for the Farmers: 3 (+2) [Russ Feingold, Harry Lonsdale]
- United States Senate Election Results, November 3rd 1992
Democratic: 219 (-22)
Republican: 200 (+12)
Rally for the Farmers: 14 (+6) [Joseph Brennan ME-01, Dick Lamm CO, John Hickenlooper CO, Jim Hightower TX]
Harold Washington Party: 1 (+1)
Independent: 1 (+1)
- United States House of Representatives Results, November 3rd 1992 **
‘Sen. Graham Unseated by Francis - Francis, singer, has not held previous office’
- Miami Herald, November 4th 1992
‘Protests Across Country - Opposition to President-Elect Robertson Escalates’
- Washington Post, November 5th 1992
“We need calm. This nation has held strongly to the peaceful transition of power since its very beginning, and I don’t think we should end that now. I urge all who are violent to ask themselves: does America deserve this?”
- President Gary Hart, November 9th 1992
“Sure, calm is good, but Pat Robertson is perhaps the most dangerous thing to ever come to America. We need to be vigilant and maintain the separation of church and state that I fear may come to be eroded under the Robertson administration.”
- Senator Howard Metzenbaum, November 10th 1992
“The consensus view in the early nineties among the Democratic leadership was that Rally for the Farmers was one of those ephemeral political movements in America that shines for a few years, then fades into obscurity. We all figured ‘92 would be the end of them, but then Willie Nelson outperformed what anyone could have even dreamed of. It must have been early December, just about a month after the election that John Marino, party chair at the time, called a couple of the party’s top strategists in. We formed what was called the December Committee, and our goal was to bring the plains and Rally voters back into the fold. We had it all wrong, and attacking Willie Nelson wasn’t the right choice, but that’s what we did and it’s no surprise it all blew up in our faces. If we’d just done a little more research, I might not be a-”
- Jim Carville, then a Democratic strategist, speaks on the aftermath of the failed Hart re-election campaign
“Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq, was executed several hours ago by representatives of the provisional government. Hussein had appealed an August decision to execute him, but a judge recently ruled against Hussein. Reportedly, Hussein’s last words were ‘Death to America, Long Live Iraq’”
- CNN news, November 18th 1992
‘Iraqi Constitutional Convention Ends - Convention Delegates Vote to Ratify Document’
- Wall Street Times, December 12th 1992
“A day before the inauguration of Pat Robertson, Washington DC has swelled to several million times its normal population. Inaugural Committee Head Marion Edwyn Harrison has said that nearly one and a half million people are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony on the National Mall. There is no lack of opposition to the president-elect, however. Many protests are planned in the next week, and figures as diverse as Jesse Jackson and Eugene McCarthy have announced they will be present at these rallies. The Secret Service has announced they will be…”
- a local news anchor, January 19th 1993
* - Proxmire's running mate was former Carter-era Ambassador to Algeria Ulrich Haynes.
** - Independent is Bernie Sanders in Vermont, Harold Washington Party is Bobby Rush, who defeated incumbent Charles Hayes.
As usual, many of the infoboxes are made by @Gonzo
markus meecham
Banned
Well, willie is about to get a lot of seats in the future, it seems.
If he doesn't get killed by anti-stoner assault troops, that is
If he doesn't get killed by anti-stoner assault troops, that is
You guys keep coming up with great ideas. I almost like the Perot running in 1992 idea better.
Who’s to say Neo-Social Credit New Zealand hasn’t already gone on a conquering spree in the Pacific?
I'm curious as to what Rally's congressional ideology is. It seems to be a real hodgepodge of various maverick Democrats. You've got full on right-wingers like Jim Traficant, right-leaning Democrats like Tim Penny through to progressives like Russ Feingold, in addition to mavericks like Dick Lamm.
Yeah, it’s fairly big tent. Everyone subscribes to a sort of vague populism that manifests itself as an opposition to neoliberalism, and support for unions and financial protection for the little man. Socially, obviously, they’re a bit more diverse though generally there’s an attempt to distance themselves from marijuana legalization and some of the more controversial things Willie Nelson has said. Basically, they’re united more in opposition to other people than in their similarities.
Don't worry about it; the new president will be beacon of light for democracy and--oh, wait, we are talking about Pat Robertson, right? The guy who agreed with Jerry Falwell's blaming 9/11 on anything liberal?
To quote Jurassic Park, "Hold on to your butts."
This is so going to end well...
To quote Jurassic Park, "Hold on to your butts."
This is so going to end well...
Wow. Hope things don't go too badly. No mention of anything that happened with the USSR?
markus meecham
Banned
Any natural disaster during his term that he can blame on queers, abortionists and race mixers?
Old left opposition to Gary Hart’s neoliberalism and generally scandal-ridden and distrusted administration. It is, however, telling that Proxmire, as opposed to a sitting office holder challenges Hart. Proxmire is out of office and is unconcerned with burning any bridges or hurting a political future by running. It’s also important that Proxmire was unable to recruit another former elected official, even though he tried.
I’ll need to remember to include Beto in future updates. I think I have something planned for him.
New Ideas: Part 1
‘The Natural Law Party (NLP) was an international political party and a political outgrowth of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement. The first branch of the NLP was founded in Britain in the spring of 1991 under the orders of the Maharishi. The platform drafted focused on the implementation of Transcendental Meditation practices in the government to reduce crime and violence. The platform also included strict bans on pollution and advocacy for renewable energy. Branches were founded in other countries soon after and most modelled their platforms and structure on the British party. Up to 75 states had NLP branches at the movement’s height in the 1990s, though the British branch experienced the most electoral successes. Natural Law candidates stood in Parliamentary by-elections in 1990 and early 1991, but most lost their deposits as they received far less than 5 percent of the vote. Shortly after Parliament was dissolved in June 1991, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, both of the Beatles and practitioners of Transcendental Meditation, opted to stand in the upcoming election. While skeptical of becoming involved in politics, both were swayed by the strong performance of fellow singer Willie Nelson in the 1988 United States Presidential Election. The popularity of Harrison and Starr brought the party five seats in the election and nearly 1.5 percent of the vote nationally. Starr, elected Party Leader in the House of Commons, quickly was sidelined in actual policy-making by Party Whip Christopher Barwood, as Starr and Harrison showed little political ability. Private correspondence between the Maharishi and Harrison recovered after Harrison’s death show he contemplated resigning from Parliament throughout 1991, but was dissuaded from doing so. Natural Law’s next major stepping stone was the by-election to the European Parliament triggered by the death of Birmingham West Labour MEP John Tomlinson in a motor vehicle accident in May 1992. Attempts at recruiting Paul McCartney to stand for the seat fell through, and Ringo Starr was persuaded to give up his Parliamentary seat. In a shocking upset, Starr beat Labour opponent Theresa Stewart and Alan Sked of the newly formed British Alliance. Natural Law MPs were especially important in Parliament in advocating for clean energy and government subsidies for its expansion. In the 1994 Parliamentary election, George Harrison declined to stand again, and Natural Law ended with only three MPs and a significantly smaller share of the popular vote as many of its 1991 voters defected to Mandelson’s Labour Party. 1994 signalled the start of the decline of the Parliamentary Natural Law Party, as their share of MPs fell to just one, Martin Creese, by the time of the party’s merging with the Greens to form the Ecological Alliance in 2006. The Natural Law Party experienced more successes in European Parliament elections, however. Ringo Starr proved a much more astute MEP than MP, and retained his seat until XXXXXXX’X XXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXX XX XX 2009 though after the foundation of the Ecological Alliance, Starr identified himself as a member of the Continuity Natural Law Party. The pro-European Union Natural Law Party had as many as six MEPs in the Fifth Session of the European Parliament, but their numbers gradually fell afterwards. Both the Ecological Alliance and Continuity Natural Law parties hold several local Scottish Assembly and local government seats today but are more or less defunct on the national scale.
Branches of the Natural Law Party in other countries proved much less successful than in Britain. An American division fielded dozens of candidates in the 1992 election to the House of Representatives, but had no success. Interestingly, future Rally for the Farmers Presidential contender and Governor of Hawaii Jim Channon stood in California, but garnered less than three percent of the votes cast in his district. As the Rally for the Farmers grew, many Natural Law voters transferred their support to the new Rally Party. The American branch recruited candidates for every major election up until its dissolution in 2002, but excepting a single Iowa State House of Representatives member, experienced no electoral success. A Canadian arm also fielded candidates, but dissolved in XXXX XXXXXX in the wake of XXXXXX’X 2004 XXXXXXXX. A Quebec branch managed to hold on, and currently holds several seats in the legislature there.
The Natural Law Party fared better in continental Europe than North America, and parties have managed to hold on in the European Union. They currently hold a single EU Senate seat and three Parliamentary constituencies as well as numerous subnational legislative seats. Natural Law candidate and former MEP Notker Schweikhardt recently came in second place in the contentious 2016 Berlin Mayoral election, barely falling to Ursula Von Der Leyen.
The Natural Law Party also currently is active in India and several African countries, but has had very few victories in elections there. Outside of the European Union, the international Natural Law Party has much declined from its heyday in the early 1990s.’
- From ‘Natural Law Movement’ in the Encylopædia Britannica, retrieved 2018 *
* - Heavily influenced by the Wikipedia article on the Natural Law Party.
Branches of the Natural Law Party in other countries proved much less successful than in Britain. An American division fielded dozens of candidates in the 1992 election to the House of Representatives, but had no success. Interestingly, future Rally for the Farmers Presidential contender and Governor of Hawaii Jim Channon stood in California, but garnered less than three percent of the votes cast in his district. As the Rally for the Farmers grew, many Natural Law voters transferred their support to the new Rally Party. The American branch recruited candidates for every major election up until its dissolution in 2002, but excepting a single Iowa State House of Representatives member, experienced no electoral success. A Canadian arm also fielded candidates, but dissolved in XXXX XXXXXX in the wake of XXXXXX’X 2004 XXXXXXXX. A Quebec branch managed to hold on, and currently holds several seats in the legislature there.
The Natural Law Party fared better in continental Europe than North America, and parties have managed to hold on in the European Union. They currently hold a single EU Senate seat and three Parliamentary constituencies as well as numerous subnational legislative seats. Natural Law candidate and former MEP Notker Schweikhardt recently came in second place in the contentious 2016 Berlin Mayoral election, barely falling to Ursula Von Der Leyen.
The Natural Law Party also currently is active in India and several African countries, but has had very few victories in elections there. Outside of the European Union, the international Natural Law Party has much declined from its heyday in the early 1990s.’
- From ‘Natural Law Movement’ in the Encylopædia Britannica, retrieved 2018 *
* - Heavily influenced by the Wikipedia article on the Natural Law Party.
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