The Cause Endures: The Presidency of Edward M. Kennedy

[Electric Monk]

Reagan of course has no idea he’s about to walk into the New Hampshire buzzsaw of taxes… dudettes the ‘76 Ford campaign was the best, shock and awe on Reagan about raising taxes in NH and then murdering his favourables down Florida way for hating Social Security.

Also, uh, Bonzo. (NYTimes)

With only a smile to suggest he was not oblivious to the unusual attire of Bonzo, the President placidly told the ersatz gorilla that, after 25 years, in Washington, he “could not be categorized as a candidate of big business, big labor or big anything, but only as an official who “called them as I saw them ” The audience erupted with applause.

 

[dw93]

The New Hampshire Primary on February 24th gave Senator Kennedy a huge victory on the Democratic side. The Senator, from the neighboring state of Massachusetts won a whopping 65% of votes from New Hampshire Democrats. Former Governor Jimmy Carter managed to win 30% of votes, while 4% of votes wen uncommitted and 1% went to Governor Wallace. Senator Kennedy said in his acceptance speech that "We might've come short in Iowa, but tonight more than makes up for that. I say to the voters of New Hampshire that your neighbor to the south will always be grateful to you and thanks you from the bottom of his heart for this stunning victory tonight. We have strong momentum going into the next contests and we will continue to build on that going forward. Thank you, God Bless the great state of New Hampshire, and God Bless this great Nation."

On the Republican side, Former Governor Reagan yet again narrowly dealt a blow to President Ford's quest for the nomination. Reagan won 49.5% of New Hampshire Republicans to President Ford's 47.9%. Reagan, to a crowd of cheering supporters, said that "After our victory in Iowa, many said we were just lucky and that was happened in Iowa was a fluke. Well my friends, tonight I can say with confidence that that what happened in Iowa was no fluke and I don't think we'll be hearing anyone call the success that took place tonight a fluke. Thank you to the people of the Great state of New Hampshire, and God Bless." Sources close to the Ford campaign say that some in the campaign are beginning to panic, and that another set of Reagan victories could derail the President's campaign. Just three days later, at a Press Conference at the White House, President Ford said to reporters that "Contrary to what some have been saying, no one in my campaign is panicking. We are approaching contests on March 2nd that we are confident that we will win."

 

[dw93]

The month of March saw five contests on the Republican side and President Ford, after losing the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary won all but one of those five contests. Ford defeated Governor Reagan in Massachusetts with 62% of the vote and in Vermont with 80% of the vote. Ford also went on to win Illinois, Reagan's former home state, with 60% of the vote to Reagan's 39%, and thanks to attack ads of Reagan's stance on Social Security, Ford defeated Reagan in the state of Florida, winning 53% of the vote to Reagan's 46%. The North Carolina primary, Reagan's only win for the month of March, went to Reagan by a margin of 52% to 46% for President Ford. In an interview with CBS News, Dick Cheney, White House Chief of Staff and Ford Campaign manager said "The President lost the first two contests due to being unable to get out and campaign. We are now in the lead nationally and have won 4 of the last 5 primaries because President Ford has gotten out there and is successfully making his case to the American people."

On the Democratic side, Senator Kennedy crushed his opponents in the primaries in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Illinois, as well as the Washington State Caucus. Kennedy also narrowly won the Florida Primary and thanks to divided support between Governor Carter and Governor Wallace, was able to win the North Carolina Primary with 45% of the vote. The Democratic nomination, in the eyes of many, was as good as Kennedy's. The Kennedy victory in North Carolina prompted Governors Carter and Wallace to call on one another to exit the race in order to have unified opposition to Kennedy. In an ABC News interview that aired on March 28th, Senator Kennedy said of his victories that "I believe we're doing as well as we are because I represent change, but I'm an agent of change with experience. I witnessed my brother's Presidency up close so I know what it takes to be President and thanks to my 13 years in the Senate, I've learned what it takes to get important legislation through Congress and the American people know that, and I think that is why there will be a Kennedy win for the Democratic nomination and a Kennedy win in this November's election.

 

[dw93]

The month of April saw candidate Fred Harris of Oklahoma withdraw from the race and endorse Senator Kennedy for President. The former Oklahoma Senator, after losing his home state on April 3rd, said in a press statement that there was no longer a realistic chance to victory, and endorsed the candidate that he said is going to be the next nominee of the Democratic party and the next President of the United States. On top of winning Oklahoma, Kennedy won primaries and caucuses in Kansas, Virginia, New York, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. On April 25th, a spokesperson for the Carter campaign, in an interview with CBS News said after being asked how the campaign can overcome Kennedy's overwhelming lead, said that "We have a good ground game going into the Texas Primary coming on May 1st, we're gonna win the state of Georgia, and we have plenty of contests that are favorable to our message going forward. This race is gonna end up being much more competitive than the press is making it out to be."

On the Republican side, there were only two contests, one in Wisconsin and one in Pennsylvania, both of which President Ford won decisively. Both campaigns however had there sights on the primary in Texas, Vice President Bush's home state and a state where the Reagan campaign thinks its message will resonate strong with voters in the state. The Vice President appeared at many rallies throughout the state, and he and President Ford spent the four days following the Pennsylvania primary campaigning hard throughout the state, as did the Reagan campaign. The next contest might prove crucial on the Republican side.

 

[dw93]

Due to timing I am discontinuing this thread and this will be my last attempt at a timeline. I will remain active on this forum in other ways though.