The Center Cannot Hold

Chapter 1: The Best Intentions


Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats


"While the full impact of the demise of the Fifth Party System on American politics continues to unfold and redefine itself with speed and fluidity which drives many experts to frustration the causes are well understood. The current consensus is, without a doubt, this great shift was the direct result of the disastrous presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan. While many of his policies continue to be criticized across the political spectrum there is little doubt the fateful meeting with National Security Adviser Robert MacFarlane in early 1985 at Bethesda Naval Hospital was the beginning of the end of his presidency."

The Partisan Muddle: The Birth of our Fractured Political System, by Professor Matthew Levendusky, Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press, 2009


"I'll tell you what really bugs me, it's all those damn socialist liberals saying they're patriots even though they are constantly finding ways to take down America from the inside! Just look at when they took out President Ronald Reagan. They knew he was standing up to their Commie buddies in Moscow and they couldn't have it so they made up Iran-Contra to bring him down!"

Clip from AM Coast to Coast with Rush Limbaugh, 1:30AM April 12th, 2005


Footage of the October 14th press conference plays in the background

Audio: In 1984 President Reagan promised "Morning in America"

Audio: Larry Speakes: "The White House considers the Boland Amendment to be an infringement on the powers of the Executive branch"

Screen fades to black

Audio: Why does this sound like a nightmare?

Cut to clip from the Nixon-Frost interview

Audio: Richard Nixon: "When the President does it, that means it is not illegal."

Fade to black

Nationwide Campaign Ad Aired by the DSCC October 22nd, 1986



July 1986 - Hezbollah agents trade a Catholic Relief aid worker for arms as part of the network established by Oliver North.

July 28th, 1986 - Medhi Hashami, a devoted supporter of the Iranian Revolution, has had enough with the secret arms deals with the United States. Hashami, after hearing of the recent hostage for arms trade, contacts the Lebanese newspaper Ash-Shiraa and arranges the leak.

August 4th, 1986 - Hashami meets in secret with Lebanese reporters in Beirut and gives them specific information confirming his story.

August 12th, 1986 - Ash-Shiraa editors approve following up on the arms-for-hostages deal following subsequent investigation.

September 23rd, 1986 - Ash-Shiraa publishes the story on the arms-for-hostages deal. The Iranian government confirms the story the next day.

October 5th, 1986 - CBS News runs a story on the arms for hostages swaps.

October 6th, 1986 - Ronald Reagan takes to the airwaves to defend the actions of his administration, addressing the American people from the Oval Office in a nationwide broadcast:

"My purpose was to send a signal that the United States was prepared to replace the animosity between us with a new relationship. At the same time we undertook this initiative, we made clear that Iran must oppose all forms of international terrorism as a condition of progress in our relationship. The most significant step which Iran could take, we indicated, would be to use its influence in Lebanon to secure the release of all hostages held there."

October 7th, 1986 -House Majority Leader Jim Wright and Senate Minority Leader Robert Byrd hold a joint press conference. They condemn the Reagan administration for violating the terms of the Boland Amendment which expressly forbid the use of government funds to support Contra efforts to overthrow the Nicaraguan government.

October 12th, 1986 - Nicaraguan forces shoot down a cargo plane running supplies to Contra forces. In a press conference held by the Nicaraguan government the lone survivor, Eugene Hasenfus, claims the flights were directly supervised by the CIA.

October 13th, 1986 - The headline on every television and newspaper today is the growing arms for hostages scandal. Many are openly wondering if this will be a new Watergate, leading to some to dub it Irangate.

October 14th, 1986 - In a contentious press conference the White House responds to the growing publicity. Press Secretary Larry Speakes says the administration position is Congress does not have the right to dictate foreign policy through its power of the purse.

October 16th, 1986 - Wright and Byrd, with all the current Democratic Congress members in attendance, hold a press conference denouncing the White House's high-handed behavior. Jim Wright denounces Reagan as another Richard Nixon.

October 20th, 1986 - New polls are in on the growing Iran-Contra scandal. A New York Times/CBS poll puts the President's approval rating at 46% down from 67%, the largest single drop in approval ratings in Presidential history. Pollsters are predicting the Democrats will retake the Senate with a strong majority and strengthen their domination of the House.

October 21st, 1986 10:00AM: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Peter W. Rodino announces the committee is beginning investigations into the Iran-Contra arms deals. The Committee issues a subpoena for all relevant National Security Council records and documents.

October 21st, 1986 3:00PM: Capitol Police charged with carrying out the subpoena enter the White House to find Colonel Oliver North and his secretary, Fawn Hill, attempting to leave the premises with National Security Council documents specified in the subpoena. The two are arrested for contempt of Congress. (1)

October 21st, 1986 6:00PM: Congressman Rodino, with the House Democratic leadership in attendance, holds a prime-time press conference denouncing the attempted obstruction of the Judiciary committee's investigation. Rodino compares North's actions to the Nixon White House's destruction of audio tape during the Watergate scandal. He vows Congress will get to the bottom of it, making the investigation top priority for the new Congressional term.

October 28th, 1986: New polls are in on the Iran-Contra affair, the President's approval ratings, and the upcoming elections. Reagan's popularity following the North incident is plummeting rapidly, reaching a new low of 36%. Senate races across the country are seeing boosts for the Democratic challengers with Missouri now too close to call and Idaho looking like a Democratic pickup. Especially noted by commentators is the silence from the White House. (2)

November 3rd, 1986: Election day results are in. The Democrats have won in a landslide. In the Senate the Democrats took control with a 57-43 majority with pickups in Florida, South Dakota, Washington, North Dakota, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Idaho. The House Democrats increased their majority by 8 seats.

November 4th, 1986: Hot on the heels of the mid-term results is a new development in the growing scandal. The White House announced the resignation of Vice Admiral John Poindexter from his position as National Security Adviser and the termination of Oliver North from his White House position.

November 5th, 1986: President Reagan announces the creation of a Special Review Board to investigate, "the circumstances surrounding the Iran-Contra matter, other case studies that might reveal strengths and weaknesses in the operation of the National Security Council system under stress, and the manner in which that system has served eight different Presidents since its inception in 1947." On the following day he appoints former Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former National Security Adviser Brent Snowcroft to the board.

November 11th, 1986: The Tower Commission begins its investigations into the Iran-Contra affair.

November 12th, 1986: Reagan testifies before the Tower Commission. His testimony is contradictory and misleading with the President stating he had authorized the arms sales early in his testimony while later when asked claimed he, "Did not recall".

December 19, 1986: Lawrence Edward Walsh is appointed as Independent Counsel to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.



1. OTL Ollie North went to shred the documents 18 days after news of the scandal broke. I'm assuming he's going to take as long to get everything together so they can try to sneak them out. It's his bad luck the House Judiciary Chairman is the same guy who impeached Nixon.

2. OTL Ronald Reagan remained silent following the initial address from the Oval Office for three months. When he broke his silence he claimed his reasons were to let all the facts come out.
 
Last edited:
Looks like they don't want to stick it in finished TLs yet :confused: whatever, on with the show and the next update!

Van555 said:
How does Rush Limbaugh have a job. :(

For the same reason he's broadcasting after midnight instead of a prime-time slot ;)
 
Chapter 2: All the President's Men


And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley


"The Reagan impeachment, falling just over a decade after Watergate, shook the Washington establishment to the core. The careful consensus which had emerged in the Ford and Carter years between the two parties had broken down. In previous scandals threatening the legitimacy of the federal government both parties consistently closed ranks to protect the establishment. At the outset many thought the apparent break in the pattern that was Iran-Contra would lead to genuine reform, improvement, and a rollback of the so-called Reagan Revolution.

While ultimately establishment forces would, true to form, close ranks to maintain the system the damage done was greater than they had thought. In their efforts to salvage the system by removing the tainted participants and re-assure the people that everything was working according to plan greater flaws were exposed. While the ultimate outcome of Iran-Contra was a bitter disappointment to many progressive voices the resolution of this latest abuse of power would lay the foundation for upheaval, rebellion, and the first real challenge to the two party system since the Civil War."

Chapter 22: The Reagan Reaction and Overreach, A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn, 1995 edition


"While Ronald Reagan was a Godly man he had the misfortune of being surrounded by most ungodly advisers. Men like ex-Admiral Poindexter, Oliver North, and others whispered false counsel in his ears leading him astray. His early promise was lost as the men closest to him led him down the road paved with the best of intentions. Many feared the cause of God in Government had been lost but as we saw last Tuesday the Lord works in mysterious ways."

Pat Robertson in a clip from the 700 Club, November 8th, 1998


Senator Joe Biden (D-DE): I'm not sure which was the worse lapse in judgment on your part Mr. MacFarlane, letting a paranoid amateur like Michael Ledeen into high levels of government or even proposing this plan in the first place.

Former National Security Adviser Robert MacFarlane: I was only doing my job Senator.

Senator Biden: Just doing your job? JUST DOING YOUR JOB?!? *slams fist on the podium* The last time someone tried that excuse was back in 1945! Was there any point when you conceived of this hare-brained scheme that you stopped to think that just maybe selling arms to an enemy of the United States was a bad idea?

MacFarlane: I was acting under the President's orders. As you know I resigned from my position after the first shipment was delivered due to my growing unease with the program.

Senator Biden: If you had such a problem with it then why did you fly to Iran in February of 1986 as a special envoy to discuss continued arms shipments?

Clip from the Senate Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Arms Sales hearings, 10:42AM, February 12th, 1987



January 3rd, 1987: The 100th Congress begins. The United States Senate announces the creation of a seven-member Select Committee to investigate the Iran-Contra affair. Democrats Joe Biden, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Al Gore, and Daniel Inouye as head of the committee and Republicans Ted Stevens, Warren Rudman, and Richard Lugar are selected for the Committee. Nationally televised House Judiciary Committee hearings begin at 9:00 AM.(1)

January 5th, 1987: Lt. Colonel Oliver North testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. He admits he attempted to shred Security Council documents claiming he did so at the suggestion of CIA Director William Casey. He states former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane asked him to remove references of direct assistance to the Contras from official documents. He further admits he lied to Congress. North defends his actions arguing the Contras are, "freedom fighters" and he thought the arms scheme was a, "neat idea." The image of North being escorted into the hearing by a bailiff before swearing his oath is branded on television screens, newspapers, and magazines across the country. On the same day President Reagan undergoes surgery for prostate cancer.

January 6th, 1987: Day 2 of North's testimony. Rodino grills North over specific elements in the documents, questioning him on the White House's role in the arms deals. North claims ignorance regarding the President's potential involvement.

January 8th, 1987: CIA Director William Casey drops a major bombshell in his testimony before the House. Casey confirms President Reagan personally authorized the arms for hostages arrangement. He verifies specific details in the Security Council documents regarding the trade arrangement, claiming Robert McFarlane set up the deal in 1985. Casey testifies a total of 2,012 TOW anti-tank missiles, 18 Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, and spare parts for the Hawk missiles were shipped to Iranian "moderate elements" via Israeli intermediaries. Casey also claims Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger participated in the transfer of arms.(2)

January 9th, 1987: Casey's testimony continues. On Day 2 when asked by Congressman Rodino what happened with the money obtained during the trades Casey states it was used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

January 12th, 1987:
Former National Security Adviser John Poindexter takes the stand before the House Judiciary Committee. Poindexter acknowledges he was aware of the arms-for-hostages agreement but his hands were tied by administration policy and the limitations of the position as National Security Adviser.(3) When grilled on specific documents claiming Poindexter was involved in the planning and proposed reaching out directly to Iranian government officials the ex-National Security Adviser stonewalls claiming he, "does not recall that specific incident."

January 14th, 1987: Former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. McFarlane admits he proposed the trade to the President, approaching him while he was recovering from surgery in 1985. He testifies his later change of position on the policy prior to his resignation on December 5th, 1985. He details the first shipment, the use of Israel as an intermediary, and the original NSA tip passed on by the Mossad which set the deal in motion. McFarlane claims no involvement in the arms deals following the original shipment in August of 1985. He also claims Vice President George HW Bush supported ending the program by December of 1985.(4) When questioned on his visits in February of 1986 McFarlane is silent.

January 20th, 1987: The Senate Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair comes to order. Their first witness: Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Weinberger says he was opposed to the transfer on principle but participated anyway. Weinberger claims he argued along with McFarlane and Bush to end the program in late December of 1985. He disputes McFarlane's claims of later non-involvement, testifying McFarlane was used as an intermediary between the Iranian and American governments in February of 1987. Weinberger states in February of 1986 the US stopped shipping the arms through Israel and began selling them to Iran directly, allegedly without the President's knowledge. He says this change in the plan was on the recommendation of Oliver North. Senator Joe Biden consistently grills the Secretary pressing him on his failure to disclose this program to Congress. The brutal tongue-lashing is carried in headlines nationwide making Joe Biden a household name.

January 29th, 1987: William J. Casey, while working at his desk at the CIA, suffers from a sudden stroke which leaves him unable to speak.(5) Casey resigns the next day.

February 2nd, 1987: North is called to the stand by the Senate Select Committee. Senators Biden, Gore, and Richard Lugar take turns berating the disgraced colonel for his role in the scandal. North takes responsibility for the direct sale of arms to Iran, claiming the President had no knowledge of this change in the plan.

February 3rd, 1987: Poindexter is called to testify by the Senate Select Committee. He is questioned on his claims of non-involvement. Senator Al Gore, holding up a copy of a National Security Council transcript, demands to know why he proposed reaching out directly to Iranian government officials contrasting this with McFarlane's original proposal. Poindexter, like North, claims Reagan was not aware of the direct sale of arms to Iran.

February 5th, 1987: New polls are in and the President has taken a beating. His approval rating is down to 29%. 40% of respondents said the President should be impeached. A surprising 18% question Reagan's mental fitness to hold office.(6)

February 9th, 1987: The Tower Commission releases their final report to the public. The report concludes President Reagan did not have knowledge of the extent of the program, especially about the diversion of funds to the Contras, although it argued that the President ought to have had better control of the National Security Council staff. The report heavily criticizes Reagan for not properly supervising his subordinates or being aware of their actions. The report is especially critical of the actions of Oliver North, Caspar Weinberger, John Poindexter, and Robert McFarlane. The conclusion is the President should have listened to his National Security Adviser more and given the position more power to supervise the National Security Council.

February 10th, 1987: The House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Select Committee hold a press conference challenging the assertions of the Tower Commission's report. Senator Moynihan accuses the Tower Commission report of "whitewashing" the incident in its attempt to absolve the President of all responsibility. Senator Biden argues the President bears "ultimate responsibility" for everything that happens in his administration, whether or not he has knowledge of it. Congressman Rodino flatly states the Tower Commission report is not the final word on this scandal, arguing Congress has yet to determine what, "President Reagan knew and when he knew it."

February 11th, 1987: Michael Ledeen testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on his role in the arms trades. Ledeen confirms he put McFarlane in contact with arms dealers Manucher Ghorbanifar and Adnan Khashoggi, arranging the trade with the Israeli government and the Iranian moderate elements. Ledeen is grilled by committee members on his academic credentials, his approval of aspects of Mussolini's Fascist movement,(7) his connections to right-wing Italian organizations, and his work as a consultant on international terrorism.

February 12th, 1987: Robert McFarlane testifies before the Senate Select Committee. There he is raked over coals by all five senators for setting up the arms trade in the first place. Senator Lugar scolds McFarlane for his earlier evasiveness with the House committee, his failure to disclose the program's existence to Congress, and disregarding the Boland Amendment which forbid any material assistance for the Contras. Senator Biden eviscerates McFarlane for proposing the idea, his evasiveness and apparent change of heart, and bringing Ledeen into the mess in the first place(8).

February 17th, 1987: Vice President George HW Bush takes the stand before the Senate Select Committee. In his testimony Bush claims he was only aware of the program's existence and reminds the committee he argued for ending it in December of 1985. He appears genuinely repentant and apologetic for his failure to disclose what he knew about the arrangement to Congress, stating he did so out of loyalty to the President.

February 18th, 1987: Secretary of State George P. Shultz testifies before the Senate Select Committee. Like Bush Shultz repeats he was opposed to the program and had little knowledge of its extent. He claims he failed to notify Congress because, in spite of the program's illegality, the administration felt the Boland Amendment was an, "infringement on the powers of the Executive Branch to implement foreign policy."

February 19th, 1987: Attorney General Edwin Meese is called before the Senate Select Committee. Meese claims his sole involvement in the affair was as a "counselor" and a "friend" to the President. When pressed on details by Senator Gore Meese stonewalls, claiming his conversations with the President were held in the strictest of confidence.

February 23rd, 1987: The House Judiciary Committee hearings come to a close as deliberations on the findings, including the testimony of over 100 witnesses and thousands of pages of documents, begin.

February 26th, 1987: New polls on the Iran-Contra affair are in. The President's slide in the polls has slowed but not stopped with his approval sitting at 26%. 54% support impeachment proceedings against the Reagan Administration, with many arguing this is, "Worse than Watergate." 30% of the American public, up from 18% earlier in the month, believe the President is not mentally fit to hold office.

February 27th, 1987: President Reagan leaves Washington for a "long weekend" at his ranch outside of Santa Barbara, California.

March 3rd, 1987: The House Judiciary Committee votes 29-10 to present Articles of Impeachment for President Ronald Reagan, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams, Chief of the CIA's Central American Task Force Alan D. Fiers, and Chief of CIA Covert Ops Clair George. The charges include treason, obstruction of justice, perjury, and violating the Boland Amendment and laws regarding the sale of arms to state sponsors of terrorism.




1. Similar to the Senate Watergate Commission in intent. Biden was the long-time chairman/ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Moynihan was a major critic of government secrecy and would chair a commission on the subject in '91 so I can see him using seniority to get on the committee, and Gore was on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Stevens was the ranking member of the Ethics Committee and Lugar was on the Foreign Relations Committee. Inouye is Chairman since he did the same OTL as was pointed out by Plumber and Warren Rudman, also of the Ethics Committee, to balance it out.

2. OTL Casey was called to testify but suffered from a stroke shortly before his testimony and died on May 5th. ITL Congress is moving a lot faster so they'll get him in front of the committee in time before the stroke strikes him mute.

3. This was one of the recommendations of the Tower Commission's report OTL. ITTL it would make sense for Poindexter to use that line of reasoning to attempt some CYA.

4. OTL Bush had a diary where he claimed to know, "all the details" which he did not disclose during the original investigation. Congress would reprimand him for not turning over this information during the original investigation. TTL Bush, the old spook he is, burned the incriminating evidence the moment North got caught ensuring this will not come to light in print as it did OTL.

5. OTL Casey had his stroke hours before he was supposed to testify before Congress.

6. Reagan's contradictory testimony before the Tower Commission is the cause of this particular subset of opinion.

7. This guy is a real piece of work. In his doctoral thesis on Mussolini's attempts to create a Fascist International he draws a distinction between the regime and the movement, arguing the movement had some positive results saying, "fascism nevertheless constituted a political revolution in Italy. For the first time, there was an attempt to mobilize the masses and to involve them in the political life of the country", and describing the fascist state as "a generator of energy and creativity". OTL he would be later be involved in the yellowcake forgeries which were used as evidence for going to war with Iraq in 2003.

8. Among other things Ledeen claimed all international terrorism could be traced directly back to the Soviet Union and that there was Bulgarian involvement in the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. OTL he would later claim all Muslim terrorism could be traced back to Tehran, was a loud proponent of war with Iraq, and later called for war with Iran.
 
Last edited:
I thought you did this already?

This is the revised version, I tried posting it in Finished TLs but the mods bounced it back here. In particular its going to give a better explanation of some of the changes alluded to in prior discussion and thematically is going to have a much broader scope than Reagan's downfall.
 
Chapter 3: The Wheel Grinds


I felt for the tormented whirlwinds
Damned for their carnal sins
Committed when they let their passions rule their reason.

The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri


"For President Gore to say he was, 'out of the loop' on what was happening in Colombia is just as disingenous as when Ronnie Ray-gun's doctor came out and said his patient was in excellent health! The latest actions by the administration are yet another example of high-handed executive abuse of power. What makes Gore worse than Nixon and Reagan is his actions have had very dire, direct consequences for the American people. From Stockton, California to Miami the American people are paying for your decisions!"

Medea Benjamin addressing a Code Pink rally protesting the Colombian War, September 8th, 2001


"Many conservatives like myself genuinely believed Ronald Reagan presented a real opportunity to return our Republic to its founding principles. Unfortunately shifts in policy starting in his second term, as best exemplified by the Iran-Contra scandal that ended his administration, flew in the face of the ideals the Founding Fathers stood for. While these failures were largely thanks to the unscrupulous men surrounding him the total inaction on the part of Republican Party leaders made it possible."

Patrick Buchanan from the A&E Biography Special: Ronald Reagan & his Tarnished Legacy, first aired April 1st, 1997


"The reason I haven't spoken to you before now is this: You deserve the truth. And as frustrating as the waiting has been, I felt it was improper to come to you with sketchy reports, or possibly even erroneous statements, which would then have to be corrected, creating even more doubt and confusion. There's been enough of that.(1) I trust Congress will get to the bottom of this and find my administration has done nothing to harm America's interests."

President Ronald Reagan, Western White House Press Conference, March 4th, 1987


March 5th, 1987: A small picket line of a little over 30 people begins to form just outside the property line of the Western White House on a plot of public land. The protestors, led by Gold Star mother Tanya Wherland and her husband Burton Sr of Jacksonville, Carolina(2), say they are picketing the President because of the Iran-Contra scandal. Says a tearful Tanya, "When I first heard the President was responsible for selling weapons to the Iranians I thought to myself, 'Burton Jr. and all his brothers in arms were sold out by the President.' We're here to hold him accountable for betraying our brave men in uniform no matter what Congress does." Burton Sr then jumps in, "He's supposed to look out for us, what was he thinking selling guns to an enemy of the United States?" A large white banner with read letters saying, "Where's Ron?" is just behind her as the CBS reporter interviews the grieving mother and father.

March 9th, 1987 10:00AM: Debate begins on the House floor regarding the impeachment articles. Congressman Rodino opens the deliberations with his remarks on the articles themselves. He asserts the level of secrecy and duplicity on the part of this administration is worse than was seen in the Watergate hearings. Rodino laments the inability of the Judiciary Committee to reach a full consensus blaming the "partisan biases" of the 10 Republicans who voted against the impeachment articles. He urges Congress to impeach the President and set an example that government abuse and corruption will not be tolerated.

March 9th, 1987 1:00PM: House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel takes to the floor. In his lengthy rebuttal Michel argues the impeachment charges are motivated by pure partisanship. He admits some wrong-doing took place while arguing the grounds for impeachment themselves are unfounded. He blames the Boland Amendment's "infringement on the executive's prerogative to set foreign policy" for setting the entire affair into motion.

March 9th, 1987 2:00PM: Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) takes to the floor. He argues the President had little to no knowledge actual sale of arms to Iran due to his deteriorating health. He cites the largely unmentioned January 5th cancer surgery and the President's contradictory Tower Commission testimony as evidence Reagan was not at fault because he may have not been fully aware of what was happening. Hunter concludes by saying, "And I'd like to know where Vice President George Bush, a former CIA man, was in all of this. It's rather curious the Vice President's name was left out of the hearings and the proposed impeachment resolution."


March 9th, 1987 2:30PM: Trent Lott, deputy to Minority Leader Michel and one of the ten Judiciary Committee members to vote against the articles of impeachment, takes the floor in the impeachment debates. He strongly rebuts Duncan Hunter's claims that the President is mentally unfit to hold office. He defends his vote against the articles of impeachment, repeating Leader Michel's arguments that the Boland Amendment was, "Congressional Monday morning quarterbacking which pushed legislative power beyond the limits proscribed in the Constitution." He argues, like Michel, the charges are partisan and unfounded. Many commentators note Lott's rebuttal very curiously left Hunter's challenge of the Vice President go unmentioned.

March 10th, 1987 9:00AM: The House debate on the impeachment articles resumes. Majority Leader Tom Foley, successor to now-Speaker Jim Wright, takes the floor blasting the arguments of infringement on executive power. He asserts Congress' power of the purse, power to regulate foreign commerce, and the command to, "provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States" as grounds for the legitimacy of the Boland Amendment. He continues by arguing Iran-Contra goes above and beyond an issue of balance of power between Congress and the Presidency. Foley concludes, "Such an abuse of power by the President is more than a matter of breaking the law, it is an attack on the rule of law itself unlike any we've seen since Richard Nixon."

March 10th, 1987 2:00PM: After breaking for lunch Congressman Ron Dellums (D-CA) takes the floor. He begins with, "Do you all remember the 'Just Say No' ads the President put out a few years ago? It's all part of the War on Drugs. But I have to ask my fellow Congressmen how are you supposed to fight a war when you're helping bankroll the other guy?" He proceeds to read off documents obtained in the subpoena process pertaining to the known links between the Contras of Nicaragua and many infamous drug cartels. He concludes in a barely contained fury, "I don't know what's worse, our own government selling weapons to a notorious sponsor of terrorism or that this money went to help drug lords poison the kids of America's cities!"

March 10th, 1987 6:00PM: The White House holds a live press conference. Press Secretary Larry Speakes assures the press President Reagan is in perfect health, "for a man his age". At the conference Dr. John E. Hutton Jr, the Physician to the President, denies all possibility of President Reagan suffering from, "any diminished mental capacity". He certifies from a medical standpoint Reagan is, "fit to hold office." When asked for why Congressman Hunter would claim otherwise Hutton bluntly says, "Hunter is a politician, I am a medical professional. I do not know what reasons Congressman Hunter would have to question the President's fitness to hold office but I can say without a doubt his concerns are unfounded." When questioned on Vice President Bush Speakes sternly rebukes the reporter saying, "The President has complete confidence in the Vice President and the Cabinet. Their loyalty and integrity is beyond question."

March 11th, 1987: CBS News runs a story on the mental health problems which are common among the elderly. They include warning signs and common symptoms as well as advice on how to help those afflicted.

March 12th, 1987 5:00PM: The House of Representatives votes down a Republican proposal to extend debate on the Articles of Impeachment 277-160 and schedules the vote on the Articles for the following day. An ABC news poll released later that evening puts the public's support for impeachment of President Reagan at 62% with his approval rating at a new all-time low of 21%. Vice President Bush's approval rating, previously mostly untouched by the scandal thanks to his lower profile, plummets to a surprising 15% with 40% of negative voters saying they think Bush is far more involved in the scandal than he claims.

March 13th, 1987 10:30AM: The House votes 281-156 to impeach President Ronald Wilson Reagan, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, and all other named executive officials on all charges.

March 14th, 1987: At a press conference from the Western White House Press Secretary Larry Speakes informs the press the President will co-operate fully with the United States Congress in the upcoming proceedings. When asked if the president had considered resignation like President Nixon Speakes replies, "These charges are a partisan ploy by the House Democrats to overturn the will of the American people. The President will fight it out to the end."

March 16th, 1987:
The Senate Select Committee holds a press conference. In it they applaud the House vote and vow to move ahead swiftly with the Senate trial of Ronald Reagan.

March 17th, 1987: In the redwoods of Mendocino County, California a small group of Earth First! activists led by Mike Roselle and Judi Bari are manning a blockade on a logging trail. They are confronted in the early morning hours by a group of loggers who demand the activists move aside. Heated words are exchanged and during the argument one logger pulls out a shotgun, brandishes it, and fires it into the air.(3)

March 19th, 1987: Camp Wherland, as the now three week long picket has been dubbed by reporters, sees an unexpectedly tense confrontation with First Lady Nancy Reagan. Over the last few weeks the number of pickets and tents has swelled from a few dozen to over a hundred. As the camp has grown in size the Reagans became increasingly reclusive. On this morning Nancy Reagan is furtively walking from the garage to the main house when she is viciously heckled by the picket line. In spite of herself she loudly snaps at them, "Can't you just leave a tired old man alone?!?" as an NBC camera rolls.

March 23rd, 1987: The Senate Trial of Ronald Reagan, Caspar Weinberger, et al begins. Congressman Peter Rodino with twelve other Democrats from the House Judiciary committee are serving as the prosecutors on behalf of the House. White House Counsel Arthur Culvahouse will be spearheading the President's defense with Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist presiding.

March 24th, 1987: Congressman Rodino gives the House opening statement. He argues the government secrecy and duplicity in the Iran-Contra scandal eclipse the abuses under the Nixon administration. He concludes, "The outright defiance of the rule of law by this administration has no precedent in American history." With the completion of his opening statement the presentation of the House's case begins. Over the next four days the House prosecution team presents the evidence, statements, and facts in their case against the Reagan administration.

March 30th, 1987: White House Counsel Culvahouse begins his presentation of the Reagan Administration's case. In it he argues the Boland Amendment oversteps the bounds set in the Constitution regarding executive privilege and the executive's powers in setting foreign policy. "Politics usually stop at the water's edge but it is clear in this case the Democrats in Congress feel this long-standing American tradition does not apply to this administration," says Culvahouse in his closing remarks. Culvahouse will spend the next two days presenting the administration's arguments.

April 1st, 1987: Witness testimony in the Senate trial begins with the now disgraced Robert MacFarlane. MacFarlane is grilled by Senator Biden over the specifics of the arms trade including admitting Reagan had full knowledge of the plan and personally approved it. Senator Gore presses MacFarlane on his earlier heavily limited testimony before the House to which MacFarlane responds, "I was acting out of loyalty to the President."

April 2nd, 1987: Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger takes the stand. In his testimony he cooperates fully, all but throwing himself on the mercy of the Senate. Multiple times he reminds them he pushed for ending the plan but continued on as part of the duties of his office.

April 3rd, 1987: Senators Bob Dole, Robert Byrd, John Stennis, Speaker Jim Wright, and Minority Leader Bob Michel leave for a private conference with Vice President George HW Bush at the Vice President's residence in Washington. A CBS news poll from the same day puts Ronald Reagan's approval rating at a record-breaking 19% with 70% of respondents demanding his immediate resignation.



1. Up to this point this statement is exactly as OTL when Reagan released a response to the Iran-Contra scandal.

2. Tanya Wherland is mostly fictional as is her husband Burton Sr. In the 1983 Beirut bombing of the Marine barracks a Corporal Burton D. Wherland, Jr. of Jacksonville, North Carolina is listed on the Beirut Memorial at Camp Lejeune. I figured having a grieving family who had lost their child to Iranian-funded Hezbollah fighters would be the most appropriate people to organize a protest at the Western White House a la Cindy Sheehan.

3. That kind of shit REALLY HAPPENED during the lead-up to Redwood Summer. One of the main reasons why Bari organized Redwood Summer in the first place was because activists were facing threats and physical violence while local law enforcement turned a blind eye to the whole situation. The reasoning was by bringing in activists from all over the country there would be too much focus & media attention for such actions to continue making it safer to operate. Bari specifically cited Freedom Summer from the Civil Rights movement as the inspiration for the action. A confrontation virtually identical to this one is described by eyewitnesses with photographs in the documentary Who Bombed Judi Bari? so it is more than plausible that something like this happened around this time.
 
Chapter 4: The King is Dead, Long Live the King


'God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Why look'st thou so?'—With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.


The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge


"The moment Acting President Bush stepped off the podium on April 6th the Republican Party's prospects for the 1988 elections were doomed. With two Republican Presidents in two decades resigning in shame some feared the GOP brand had been irreparably shattered. All the energy, excitement, and attention on the Democratic ticket coupled with the cloud hanging over the new administration left many Republicans adrift, apathetic, or reeling from the recent chain of events. The election was the Democrats' to lose and everyone knew it."

The Partisan Muddle: The Birth of our Fractured Political System, by Professor Matthew Levendusky, Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press, 2009


"But the worst of the bunch was their inside man, the so-called President George HW Bush! He'd always had it out for Ronald Reagan, all the way back to when he tried to take over when KGB sleeper agent John Hinkley shot the President back in '81. Of course I shouldn't be surprised he would do something like that, after all his daddy sold weapons to the Nazis! The commie pinkos in the so-called Democrat and Green Parties are one thing but a smug traitor like Bush is even worse. I don't know what they offered him to sell out Ronald Reagan but it must have been something good."

Clip from AM Coast to Coast with Rush Limbaugh, 1:45AM April 12th, 2005


Vice President George HW Bush enters the room at a brisk, businesslike pace. He is followed by Secretary of State George P. Shulz, Secretary of the Treasury James A. Baker III, Secretary of Agriculture Richard Lyng, Secretary of Commerce William Verity, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services Otis R. Bowen, Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole, and Secretary of Energy John Herrington. The room is buzzing with anticipation of the latest twist in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Bush: We have a brief statement to deliver and then we will be taking questions.

This morning at 8:30AM Eastern Standard Time, with the support of the majority of the cabinet, I delivered a letter to Speaker of the House Jim Wright and Senator John Stennis declaring the cabinet believes our President, Ronald Reagan, is no longer able to discharge the powers and duties of his office due to his advanced age and declining mental state.

In accordance with the process laid out in the twenty-fifth amendment to the United States Constitution as of 8:45AM Eastern Standard Time the office of the Presidency has passed on to me. Our worst nightmare is over.

I vow to use the remainder of the former President's term working to heal the damage done to our nation by this latest scandal. Ronald Reagan was an inspiration to us all. Discovering the abuses of power perpetrated by corrupt individuals taking advantage of his mental condition shocks me to the core.

The actions of these rogue agents of government and the failure by myself and the other members of the Cabinet to act sooner were a disgrace to this great nation. I will work with Congress to ensure such abuses of power never happen again.

Thank you, I will now take your questions.

Live Press Conference, White House Press Room April 6th, 1987 9:00AM


April 6th, 1987: White House Counsel Arthur Culvahouse requests evidence regarding Ronald Reagan's mental state be admitted into evidence. The Senate agrees to consider this evidence in light of his recent removal by the Cabinet. With this evidence admitted the defense rests.

April 7th, 1987: The Senate votes on the impeachment charges against the defendants. All are charged with treason, obstruction of justice, perjury, violating the Boland Amendment, and trading with enemies of the United States:


President Ronald Reagan: Acquitted on all charges by a vote of 61-39(1). The main argument by his defenders was to acquit due to his mental condition

Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger:
Convicted on the charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and violating the Boland Amendment 98-0

Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams:
Convicted on the charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and violating the Boland Amendment 98-0

Chief of the CIA's Central American Task Force Alan D. Fiers: Convicted on the charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, violating the Boland Amendment, and trading with enemies of the United States 99-0

Chief of CIA Covert Ops Clair George:
Convicted on the charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, violating the Boland Amendment, and trading with enemies of the United States 99-0


April 8th, 1987: The Congressional leadership for both chambers hold a joint press conference on the steps of the Capitol Building. Speaker Jim Wright and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, with Minority Leaders Bob Dole and Robert Michel flanking them, vow to work with President George HW Bush to heal the damage of the Iran-Contra scandal.

April 9th, 1987:
Former National Security Adviser Robert MacFarlane is found dead in his apartment. Coroners determine the cause of death was a fatal overdose of painkillers(2).

April 10th, 1987: Acting President Bush accepts the resignations of Attorney General Edwin Meese, Secretary of the Interior Donald P. Hodel, Secretary of Labor William E. Brock, and Secretary of Education William J. Bennett. When asked by the press for answers they give short variations on, "Differences of opinion with the Acting President." The mass resignation is dubbed the "Friday Night Walkout" by reporter Mike Wallace and the name sticks.

April 11th, 1987: Senator Al Gore (D-TN) announces his candidacy for the Presidency. The handsome Gore, the youngest presidential candidate in history at 39 years old and now well-known thanks to his role on the Senate Select Committee, promises to reign in an out of control federal bureaucracy and restore, "trust and faith" in our government.

April 13th, 1987: President Ronald Reagan formally resigns from the Presidency in a letter submitted to Speaker Jim Wright and president pro tempore John Stennis. Now-President Bush is sworn in.(3)

April 14th, 1987: As mandated in the 25th Amendment President Bush nominates Senator Dan Quayle (R-IN) as his Vice President and Dick Cheney as his new Secretary of Defense. Both nominations sail through Congress with little opposition.

April 15th, 1987: Premier Mikhail Gorbachev makes his first public statement regarding the removal of Ronald Reagan from office. In it he expresses his hope the USSR's relationship with the United States will not suffer as a consequence of the change in government expressing his commitment to the agreements made at the Reykjavik Summit.(4) In a statement later that day President Bush affirms his support for the disarmament treaty negotiated between the Soviet Union and the United States.

April 17th, 1987: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher makes her first public statement on the impeachment proceedings. She wishes the new President George Bush, "all the best" and concludes by saying, "the conservative cause has suffered a terrible blow but we will recover."

April 18th, 1987: 1984 Presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson declares his intent to seek the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. Jackson advances many unabashedly democratic socialist and further left proposals including universal health care along the lines of the British NHS, increased nuclear disarmament, and, "putting an end to the military-industrial complex."

April 20th, 1987: Governor Michael Dukakis (D-MA), made famous by the "Massachusetts Miracle", declares his candidacy for President of the United States. Dukakis positions himself as an outsider vowing to reform the, "Corrupt and broken system" in Washington DC.

May 1st, 1987: former Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) addresses a rally in Denver, Colorado where he condemns the "unaccountable Washington establishment" as responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal.(5)

May 4th, 1987: Congressman Dick Gephardt (D-MO) announces his candidacy for the presidency, declaring he will focus the efforts of the United States on, "Solving problems at home instead of creating new ones overseas."

May 5th, 1987: Perennial candidate Harold Stassen announces his intent to seek the Republican nomination for the Presidency, positioning himself as a reformer seeking to, "clean up the Washington excesses."

May 11th, 1987: Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig announces his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, citing his extensive experience in government as what the country needs to, "Clean up the Executive Branch."

May 28th, 1987: Nineteen year-old West German Pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained.(6)

June 2nd, 1987: Congressman Jack Kemp (R-NY) announces his campaign for the Presidency, promising a return to, "traditional American values."

June 9th, 1987: Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), one of the stars of the Reagan impeachment hearings and Senate trial, formally announces his candidacy at Wilmington train station.

June 19th, 1987: Edwards v. Aguillard: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution is taught is unconstitutional.

June 28th, 1987: Iraqi forces bomb the town of Sardasht with mustard gas. The atrocity makes headline news the following morning in the United States. The CBS News report notes Iraq received military aid from the United States under the Reagan administration.

June 29th, 1987: Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announces there will be a formal investigation into the sale of arms to overseas governments following the Sardasht bombing. (7)

June 30th, 1987: In a surprise press conference in Oakland former Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) formally announces his intentions to seek the Democratic nomination for the Presidency. He promises to redirect Defense spending to domestic priorities, invest in solar energy, and propel America into the 21st century.



1. It takes a 2/3rds majority to convict an impeached official.

2. OTL MacFarlane nearly died of a similar overdose a year later.

3. While dragging this out longer COULD be fun I think at this point Reagan would be too broken of a man to try. Nancy certainly prodded him into it but Reagan, thanks to a combination of Alzheimer's, the shocks of the scandal, and his isolation in the Western White House since February 27th, is simply in no position to try to fight. Certain other offers, including ensuring his presidential pension and Secret Service detail, helped sweeten the deal.

4. This went ahead as OTL, the negotiations and circumstances regarding the conference were already in motion and unlikely to be disrupted by Iran-Contra which was still unfolding when the summit took place in October of 1986.

5. On this day OTL the Donna Rice story hit the press. The impact of Iran-Contra butterflied away Hart meeting Rice earlier in 1987 averting the affair that destroyed his campaign.

6. As OTL. One thing I'm going to do include to help establish context will be some notable international events related to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc as well as other trends that will impact the TL going into the 90s. If a major event goes unmentioned assume it happened as OTL.

7. This is not as per OTL and is one of the butterflies from Iran-Contra. Congress has to look like it's serious about cleaning up the place so hard on the heels of the scandal. The media is paying closer attention to foreign affairs thanks to the recent scandal.
 
Chapter 5: Bread and Circuses


Puck:
Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand,
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!

A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare


"There was little doubt which candidates establishment forces favored in the 1988 elections. While you did have the excitement of Reverend Jesse Jackson's surprisingly successful campaign, Joe Biden's underdog image, and the colorful Pat Robertson bid ultimately the outcome was already determined in advance. The spectacle of the nomination process on both sides was necessary to maintain the appearance of democratic process to conceal the real interests of the main forces supporting each party."

Necessary Illusions, Noam Chomsky, Boston, South End Press, June 1989


"There was a general malaise settling over the Republican Party in those primaries. I know a lot of people now like to say, '1988 was the year the GOP went nuts!' but that's not the whole story. The fact was whoever got the nomination was going to get slaughtered in the general election no matter what. We all knew that, that's why Bob Dole stayed out of the race! When there's a race to the bottom people like Pat Robertson are always going to come out ahead."

Grover Norquist from the A&E Biography Special: Ronald Reagan & his Tarnished Legacy, first aired April 1st, 1997


Clip of George HW Bush from the 1980 primary debates with Ronald Reagan

Bush: "I call that voodoo economics"

Cut to Bush from the October 27th, 1987 press conference

Bush: "The policies of this administration and the previous administration did not lead to Black Monday. It is the nature of a market economy"

Voiceover as audio fades

Do we really want more of the same representing the Republican Party? Isn't it time for honesty? Isn't it time for a change?

Television Ad released by the Jack Kemp campaign in Michigan, Kansas, Hawaii, and Iowa, October 28th, 1987


July 1st, 1987: President Bush nominates moderate Anthony Kennedy to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell.(1)

July 13th, 1987: The Senate confirms Anthony Kennedy's nomination by a vote of 97-0.

July 14th, 1987: Senator John Kerry holds a press conference announcing the publication of the Senate Foreign Relations' Committee report on the use of State Department funds to pay drug traffickers. The report concludes the State Department paid $806,000 to drug traffickers funneling supplies to the Contras. Many of these traffickers are under federal investigation with some facing charges for their activities.(2)

July 15th, 1987: The House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committees hold a joint press conference announcing the formation of the House Select Committee on Drug Policy. The stated intent of the Select Committee is to investigate the use of government funds to support drug trafficking and its impact on the United States of America.

July 20th, 1987: The Pell Hearings on US arms sales begins with the testimony from Donald Rumsfeld, special envoy to Iraq in 1983. In his testimony Rumsfeld reveals the contents of their 90 minute discussion. They largely agreed on opposing Syria's occupation of Lebanon; preventing Syrian and Iranian expansion; and preventing arms sales to Iran. Rumsfeld suggested that if U.S.-Iraq relations could improve the U.S. might support a new oil pipeline across Jordan, which Iraq had opposed but was now willing to reconsider. Rumsfeld also informed Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz that "Our efforts to assist were inhibited by certain things that made it difficult for us." When pressed by Senator Pell if this concerned chemical weapons Rumsfeld hems and haws before saying, "Chemical weapons were one of many items under discussion."

August 4th, 1987: The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.(3)

August 19th, 1987: ABC News' chief Middle East correspondent Charles Glass escapes his Hezbollah kidnappers in Beirut, Lebanon, after 62 days in captivity.

September 2nd, 1987: The Mathias Rust trial begins in Moscow for his penetration of Soviet airspace in his Cessna in May of 1987.

September 12th, 1987: The Ames Straw Poll is held in Iowa. In a surprising upset potential candidate televangelist Pat Robertson wins the straw poll with 40.1% of the vote.

1 Pat Robertson 1,533 40.1%
2 George H. W. Bush 1103 28.9%
3 Jack Kemp 760 19.8%
4 Pete duPont 258 6.7%
5 Alan Heslop 56 1.5%
6 Alexander Haig 42 1.4%
7 Ben Fernandez 20 0.5%
8 Others 50 1.3%

September 17th, 1987: At a small rally in Harlem, televangelist Pat Robertson announces his candidacy for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination. He declares it is time to bring, "God back into government and restore American dignity abroad."(4)

October 3rd, 1987: The talks for the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement are concluded and an initial agreement is announced.(5)

October 11th, 1987: The first National Coming Out Day is held in celebration of the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

October 15th, 1987: The Great Storm of 1987 hits South England. The region is devastated by hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall in the worst storm the region has seen in over two hundred years. The storm persists into the next day, forcing the financial markets in London to unexpectedly close for the day.

October 16th, 1987: The oil tanker Sea Isle City is struck by a Silkworm missile launched from the Iranian-occupied Al-Faw Peninsula. The ship's wheelhouse and crew quarters are struck, blinding the ship's master and wounding eighteen sailors.(6)

October 19th, 1987: Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply on Wall Street and around the world. Starting in the early morning hours East Asian stock markets showed dramatic declines. As the news spread panic gripped the market, leading to the largest single-day percentage drop in Dow Jones history. On the same day six US warships destroy two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the alleged attack on the Sea Isle City.

October 26th, 1987:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 156.83 points.

October 27th, 1987: President Bush holds a press conference assuring the nation, "The fundamentals of our economy are sound." When asked if Reagan's "voodoo economics" contributed to the recent crash President Bush responds, "It is the nature of a market economy to have short dips. I have faith that our free market system will right itself."

November 5th, 1987: At a Democratic debate hosted by Iowa State University the candidates jockey for position each seeking to define themselves from one another. Joe Biden, with his earthy, less polished style and heightened publicity from the Senate impeachment hearings, does well winning over the crowd. Many in the press note how the debate rapidly devolved into Hart vs Biden with the other candidates struggling for the limelight. Of the second tier Michael Dukakis come across as solid and dependable while Jerry Brown manages to catch attention with the novelty of his ideas such as investments in solar energy and a flat tax. Jesse Jackson stands out from the rest with his strongly liberal platform calling for single-payer healthcare, the formation of a Palestinian state, and a new Works Project Administration. Every candidate blasts Bush's response to Black Monday, blaming the new crisis on Reagan's "voodoo economics."

November 15th, 1987: In Braşov, Romania, workers rebel against the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceaușescu. Early in the morning workers at the local Steagul Roşu truck plant protested reduced salaries and the proposed elimination of 15,000 jobs in the city. 20,000 workers walked off the job and marched toward the Communist headquarters at the city center shouting slogans like “Down with Ceauşescu!”, “Down with Communism!”, and chanting anthems of the 1848 Revolution "Down with the Dictatorship" and "We want bread." At dusk, Securitate forces and the military surround the city center and disband the revolt by force. 300 protesters are arrested though, thankfully, none are killed.

November 18th, 1987: In the Republican debate hosted by Iowa State University the name of the game is, "Dogpile on Bush." Candidates spend most of their time denigrating the Bush administration from a variety of different angles. Bush wins some points in the press for keeping his cool during a hot debate in spite of his transparent attempts to dodge his, "voodoo economics" remark. The two candidates who stand out the most are Jack Kemp and Pat Robertson. Kemp attacks Bush on the grounds of his credibility as a leader, citing he was one of the many cabinet officials who completely missed Reagan's growing senility. Robertson upbraids Bush for, "failing to defend the legacy of the conservative movement against the distortions and denigrations of the liberal establishment." DuPont struggles to carve out his own line of attack while Haig and Stassen struggle to be noticed.

December 1st, 1987: News for the Biden campaign couldn't be better. Starting as one of the Seven Dwarves to the giant of Gary Hart Biden has pulled ahead in Iowa and is running neck in neck with Hart. His continued success in raising funds has given him a huge warchest with his campaign posting considerable donations in the 3rd quarter. Gary Hart, the former frontrunner and presumptive nominee, is now fighting for his life against Biden's increasingly popular insurgency campaign on the left and Dukakis' solid operation run by John Sasso(7) on the right which is trailing in at a close third. Jesse Jackson is polling solidly in the Deep South but is struggling to break out in other parts of the country. Al Gore is struggling with Jackson for the same ground and is, in spite of his youth and heightened profile thanks to Iran-Contra, finding himself losing ground to Dukakis. Jerry Brown, with his unorthodox campaign funded by a 1-800 hotline and his positions on renewable energy, a flat tax, and investments in NASA adds color to debates but is struggling outside of California to break out.

December 2nd, 1987: Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. That evening presidential candidate Pat Robertson appears on prime-time CBS news to discuss Hustler v Falwell. In his interview he insists the First Amendment does not, in fact, protect "obscenity, licentiousness, or perversity."

December 3rd, 1987: Former Attorney General Edwin Meese and former Secretary of Education William Bennett publicly endorse Pat Robertson for President as, "the new standard-bearer of the conservative movement." They praise his staunch defense of, "traditional American, Christian values."

December 8th, 1987: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President George HW Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In the Gaza Strip and the West Bank the PLO launches the First Intifada.

January 1st, 1988: The Soviet Union begins implementing Premier Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika economic restructuring program. One of the major elements of the plan is shifting Gosplan's role away from formulating detailed production plans and towards setting general guidelines and national investment priorities. State enterprises would be allowed to sell any surplus products not earmarked for government use to any customers they saw fit.

January 2nd, 1988: With the first Republican caucuses approaching the race is turning sour for incumbent nominee George HW Bush. Pat Robertson has emerged as the clear favorite for conservative voters in the GOP having effectively sidelined Jack Kemp in the fight for control of the right. Kemp, for all his efforts to break out as the clear alternative to Bush, has failed to carve out a serious constituency among the conservative bloc dominated by Robertson. Pete DuPont, painted as an out of touch novice for his unusual campaign proposals, is pinning all his hopes on a strong showing in New Hampshire. Other voters are split between being undecided or supporting Bush. Unlike the supporters of other candidates the Bush supporters have largely resigned themselves to, "the least bad candidate."

January 14th, 1988: George Bush ekes out a narrow victory in the Michigan Republican caucus over Pat Robertson.

February 1st, 1988: Pat Robertson decisively sweeps the Kansas Republican caucus.

February 4th, 1988: Robertson takes the Hawaii Republican caucus by storm, building momentum going into the crucial Iowa caucuses.

February 8th, 1988: The Iowa caucuses are held. On the Republican side Pat Robertson carries the day with 37% of the vote leaving George Bush in the dust with 19%. Jack Kemp comes in at 12% while Pete DuPont only receives a dismal 6%. On the Democratic side the results are a closer nail-biter with Biden and Hart duking it out for victory. At the end of the night the results are in with Joe Biden at 31%, Dick Gephardt at 27%, Gary Hart at 22%, and Michael Dukakis at 14%.

February 9th, 1988: Presidential candidate and recent victor of the Iowa Caucuses Joe Biden is rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery.




1. Between Ginsburg's marijuana use and Bork's close ties to Reagan as Solicitor General Kennedy would be the most likely choice I could see the Bush White House making. They also don't want to make huge waves seeing as Reagan just got pushed out of office.

2. OTL the Kerry report doesn't come out until 1989. The report's first conclusions were released in 1986, with all the documents and evidence uncovered by the impeachment proceedings the Kerry Committee's work will be finished sooner and more completely.

3. As OTL, even with Iran-Contra I see no way this is going to be butterflied away.

4. As OTL. With Pat Robertson that rounds out the GOP slate for 1988. The candidates in the running (to recap) are:

President George H.W. Bush
Congressman Jack Kemp
Former Governor Pierre S. DuPont, IV
Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig
Former Governor Harold Stassen
Reverend Pat Robertson

5. This is going as OTL so far, there's no reason it would be butterflied away since it was originally a Canadian initiative and many Americans were unaware it was even being negotiated. It still needs to be passed by Congress to take effect.

6. This incident is a bit murky as to if the attack was deliberate or accidental. The tanker's route took it close enough to the Iran-Iraq warzone that it was escorted by US warships until it reached Kuwaiti waters so it was clearly in some pretty dangerous territory.

7. Who does NOT run the plagiarism ad since Joe doesn't forget to cite his source TTL.
 
Top