Socialism in America: President Eugene Debs

As the 1912 election neared, it was clear to see who the winner was going to be: Woodrow Wilson. With the Republican Party split between the conservatives (Taft) and the progressives (Roosevelt), there was no way that either candidate would win the nomination, save for a major scandal on Wilson. But after trying to dig up as much dirt as they could, neither campaign found anything that would swing the race in their favor. The GOP was doomed, and it was nearly certain that the US would see its first Democratic president in 20 years.

The Progressives met together on a hot August 14 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The ex-president Roosevelt, already voted the Progressive nominee in the previous convention, met with fellow Progressives Hiram Johnson, Jane Addams, and Albert Beveridge. Not a single one of the Progressive leaders meeting in Minnesota really cared about the general election, they were just proud to have made it this far and to have permanently changed the face of American politics. However, just as Roosevelt was prepared to adjourn the meeting, the phone starting ringing. Roosevelt went to pick it up.

"Hello, you are speaking to Theodore Roosevelt. Can I help you?" "Yes, you can actually." It was William Borah, a very centrist Republican that represented the middle ground between the Old Guard and the Progressives. Pleasantries were exchanged between the two, as Roosevelt considered Borah to be a very moderate man, but after that they cut to chase. "I have a proposal, straight from the RNC itself," exclaimed Borah. "They know they can't win without any support from progressives in our party and yours and they can't stand to see a Democrat on office, especially with the growing threat of war in Europe. We need to come to a compromise." Teddy despised the conservative bosses in the RNC, but he despised the Democrats more. However, he did not want to reverse the progress that his party had made, and he certainly wasn't going to give in to the demands of the Old Guard. "Now Will, you know I can't just hop right into a coalition with the GOP like this, especially not after the way the convention went." "I know Teddy, but you really are our only hope of stopping Wilson and the Democrats from getting the White House. We really need progressive backing." Roosevelt mulled this over for a bit.

After some time he finally responded to Borah. "I'm willing to negotiate. But I have some terms of my own. First: I want a new, fair convention, that takes into account the primaries held in 15 states. Secondly: I want a Progressive caucus within the Republican Party. Finally: Whether it be me as the nominee or someone else, I want a 50% say in the cabinet of the president and for progressives to have fair treatment. I also reserve the right to break away and reform the Progressive party at any time I choose. Are my demands clear?" "Quite clear indeed," replied Borah, "I will relay these requests to the RNC." "Thank you, and have a nice day," replied Roosevelt, and with that he hung up.

30 minutes later, after Roosevelt had consulted with the Progressive delegation, the phone rang again. It was Borah. "The RNC has accepted your demands; under one condition." Roosevelt was honestly ticked off. His demands were not even that severe. "What do those bastards in the Old Guard want?" asked Teddy. "They want Taft as either President or Vice President, not [Robert] La Follette," replied Borah. "And they will not budge on that." Roosevelt hated Taft even more than he hated the Old Guard. He was stubborn and out of touch with the American people, not to mention being an unbudging conservative. "I need to talk with my party first," replied the ex-president. After talking with the delegation, the Progressives decided the only way to stop a Wilson presidency was with a coalition. "We agree," replied Roosevelt and hung up the phone. The GOP-Progressive coalition had been forged.

Papers were quick to jump on the story. Reporters flocked to interview Rpublicans and Progressives alike, hoping to get some insight on the change of mind. However, many progressives felt betrayed by their leadership for defecting back to the "slimy" GOP. Progressive news sources called the coalition "an attack on left-wing politics" and "the death to the populist movement." There was still one candidate though that hadn't "sold the progressives out." There was still one candidate that appealed to farmers, workers, and populists alike. And his name was Eugene V. Debs.
 
Sounds interesting. I'm currently writing a socialism in America timeline, so it'll be interesting to see where you go with this. Not sure how realistic Debs is, but crazier stuff has happened ITOL.
 
The Second Republican/Progressive Convention

Because of the urgency needed in selecting a presidential candidate, House Minority leader James Mann and Theodore Roosevelt agreed to hold a convention on August 20 in New York City. Both parties rushed to find delegates, but by convention time, nearly 80 (mostly progressive) delegates were not accounted for. Progressive leaders Roosevelt and Hiram Johnson demanded that the convention be pushed back to a later date, but Taft and the Old Guard refused to allow it. Roosevelt managed to find 30 more progressive delegates, but came up 32 short. Procedure stated that the remaining delegates could be inserted by the head of the RNC, but Roosevelt threatened to pull out of the coalition if these vacancies filled with conservatives. Republican leadership finally gave in and appointed moderates to fill the remaining positions, including William Borah. This was seen as acceptable to both camps, as whoever won these delegates would most likely win the nomination. Furthermore, progressives appreciated Roosevelt's stand against the conservatives and reassured them that he wasn't a GOP pushover.
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Almost no one knew how the convention would go. Progressives and conservatives alike conceded that the "Bull Moose" would fare better in the general election than a typical Old Guard-endorsed candidate from the GOP like Taft. However, the Republican establishment had an enormous say over nearly half of the delegates, and many questioned Roosevelt's health. Faced with these doubts, Teddy gave a resounding speech in front of the delegations, saying that "the bull moose was stronger than the walrus [Taft]" and urging the convention to listen to the people and nominate "the most viable candidate". Taft then spoke, explaining that Roosevelt "would lead our party closer to radicalism" and that he was the candidate "most fit to carry on the legacy of Lincoln and McKinley". In addition to the candidate speeches, Hiram Johnson spoke on behalf of the progressives, "Old" Joe Cannon spoke for the conservatives, and William Borah spoke for the moderates, who wanted a compromise between the two groups. Pledged delegates were also a big factor, with Roosevelt at 144, Taft at 18, and Robert La Follette at 18 as well. Deeming it fit, the first ballot was held by the chair of the RNC, Charles D. Hilles.

First Ballot (423 needed for a win):
Theodore Roosevelt-413
William Taft-391
Robert La Follette-19
William Borah-7
Albert Beveridge-5

It was still anybody's guess on who would win the nomination...
 
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MERRICA

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So will Debs be the vice president of the US? Also, just a noob question, how do you subscribe to a thread? This looks to a very interesting thread.
 
Who Will Win?

Robert La Follette was angry. Not only angry, but infuriated. The man who had called him "too progressive", Theodore Roosevelt, was now the leader of the Progressives. This is my progressive party! La Follette thought. I was the first progressive in the House! I formed the progressive caucus! I should be the leader of the party, not Roosevelt!. As he stared out upon the new Progressive convention, he was determined to never join this cursed party. He was determined to crush Roosevelt.
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Hilles was stunned. Cannon was stunned. Borah was stunned. Johnson was stunned. No one in the convention expected these results, but for different reasons. The conservatives were stunned that Taft had such a poor showing among establishment delegates. The progressives were stunned that La Follette hadn't pledged his delegates to Roosevelt, and even with 144 primary delegates, they couldn't win the nomination. Borah was surprised that he actually got votes. All in all, the delegation was splintered.

Radical progressives, though outnumbered, had gone to Beveridge, seen as the more progressive alternative to Roosevelt. The Roosevelt progressives felt confident that they could pull these voters over by promising Beveridge a cabinet seat and creating a new radical progressive caucus in congress. La Follette's delegates were a different story; since they were pledged primary delegates, La Follette would have to personally cede them to Roosevelt. But Teddy knew how he and the Wisconsian had fought over party leadership. La Follette wanted an agrarian, populist party, whereas Roosevelt felt perfectly fine with keeping the Republican mantra of an urban, elitist party. The Roosevelt progressives knew they couldn't win the nomination without the La Follette votes, unless somehow Borah's delegates could be swayed to the left-wing. All they knew for certain is that they had to act fast, before the Old Guard could sway more delegates over to Taft.

The conservatives were in a whole different level of panic. Sure, Taft was tied in primary delegates with La Follette so he had more ground to make up. But the conservatives were certain he would make it up with establishment delegates. It wasn't panning out that way. Several moderates were swayed by the up-and-coming party's enthusiasm, and even establishment GOP delegates questioned Taft's electability. All this speculation forced Taft to make a very well informed speech on why he was the best candidate for the future of the GOP. He pointed to poll numbers published in the Boston Globe showing that any Republican candidate would beat Wilson soundly, 54-40 (these numbers were inaccurate, as papers usually only polled readers, which were predominantly Republican. An accurate poll would've likely been 48-46 for the Republicans). Taft further stated that the GOP had always stood for liberty, freedom, and a small government, and that these new "radical progressives" threatened to turn the GOP into a "negro-tolerant Democratic Party". Taft received resounding applause from conservatives, and even from Borah's moderates.

Roosevelt was next to speak. Roosevelt stated that nominating a progressive would lead the Republicans to a landslide, and that the growing progressive movement was something the GOP needed to take advantage of, before the Democrats were able to. "The people look at the Republicans. The people look at the Democrats," exclaimed Roosevelt. "And what they see are two parties that doesn't help the working man, that doesn't help the segregated negro, that doesn't help the woman to vote. And I say the people deserve a party that does better. It's what they want. It's what they need. And with me, it's what they'll get!" Applause erupted from the progressive camp, even from La Follette. If one thing was clear, it's that the GOP was irreversibly split, and that the coalition wouldn't last after the convention.

With both camps ready, it was time for the next ballot. Right before the vote, Beveridge threw his support behind Roosevelt, and Borah requested that no delegates be allocated to him. However, in spite of Roosevelt's emotional speech, La Follette refused to pledge his primary delegates to the Bull Moose Party, angering Hiram Johnson among other people. Anyway, with all parties in accord, Chairman Hilles called the next vote among the convention:

Second Ballot (423 to win):
Theodore Roosevelt-417
William Taft-400
Robert La Follette-18

Taft was starting to gain momentum. And there was only one person that could stop him.
 
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So will Debs be the vice president of the US? Also, just a noob question, how do you subscribe to a thread? This looks to a very interesting thread.

It's very possible. But go up to the top of the thread, click on thread tools, and hit subscribe.
 
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