Okay, I recently picked up "Barry Goldwater, Before the Storm, the shattering of the American consensus". In it, Perlstein talks about a guy who, I think, is named Clarence Manion, and apparently was a Dean of Notre Dame (or at least that's what it implies) who headed several attempts during the fifties to oppose Eisenhower Republicans and Liberal Democrats. In 1958, 1959, Manion had developed the plan that, come 1960, a Conservative in each party would be drafted for the Presidency. A Northern Conservative Republican to run in the Republican Primaries and a Southern Conservative Democrat to run in the Democratic primaries. The idea was that they would both run, building their own or capitalizing on other movements within their respective parties. After inevitable being denied the nominations by the establishments at the convention, one of the two Conservative candidates woudl launch their own third-party bid for the Presidency, combining Southern and Northern Conservatives. The independent bid would push the election to the House of Representatives where, theoretically, the Conservative ticket would bargain with either party to gain concessions, and thus shift the winner of the election to the Right.
Apparently, Manion and his friends were preparing to draft Orval Faubus, the Arkansas Governor, as the Democratic candidate. While he had been a liberal, after facing a primary challenge from the Right, Faubus became a symbol of States' Rights. On the Republican side, eyes were on Barry Goldwater who had been a rising star and had become a symbol against organized labor, during his fight with Walter Reuther. They still weren't sure about him. He even declined interest in the Presidency, though wouldn't stop the "draft Goldwater" movement from popping up. In a rally in South Carolina, Manion and co. apparently discovered that they wouldn't need a Southern candidate. Goldwater was the Southern candidate. This would lead to the publishing of "Conscience of a Conservative" and the draft Goldwater movement in 1960.
Now, let's say that the plan goes into affect. For the Republicans, we can either have Goldwater, or let's say, an alternate universe where John W Bricker survives re-election in 1958. Either works for me, and Bricker seems the natural haeir to the Taft Conservatives which were who Manion was going after. Anyway, in the Democratic column there's Orval Faubus. Goldwater/Bricker and Faubus both run for their parties' nominations and fail. In the general, they join forces. In theory, let's say we have Nixon/Rockefeller (or Lodge, whatever) as the Republican tickets. Democrats nominate either the Catholic Kennedy, which alone could drive away the South, or someone to the left of him, let's say maybe Humphrey or Stevenson. And from the Right there's the Conservative ticket. Organize it any way you want, but basically it's moderate to liberal Republican vs. liberal Democrat vs. Conservative independent.
Apparently, Manion and his friends were preparing to draft Orval Faubus, the Arkansas Governor, as the Democratic candidate. While he had been a liberal, after facing a primary challenge from the Right, Faubus became a symbol of States' Rights. On the Republican side, eyes were on Barry Goldwater who had been a rising star and had become a symbol against organized labor, during his fight with Walter Reuther. They still weren't sure about him. He even declined interest in the Presidency, though wouldn't stop the "draft Goldwater" movement from popping up. In a rally in South Carolina, Manion and co. apparently discovered that they wouldn't need a Southern candidate. Goldwater was the Southern candidate. This would lead to the publishing of "Conscience of a Conservative" and the draft Goldwater movement in 1960.
Now, let's say that the plan goes into affect. For the Republicans, we can either have Goldwater, or let's say, an alternate universe where John W Bricker survives re-election in 1958. Either works for me, and Bricker seems the natural haeir to the Taft Conservatives which were who Manion was going after. Anyway, in the Democratic column there's Orval Faubus. Goldwater/Bricker and Faubus both run for their parties' nominations and fail. In the general, they join forces. In theory, let's say we have Nixon/Rockefeller (or Lodge, whatever) as the Republican tickets. Democrats nominate either the Catholic Kennedy, which alone could drive away the South, or someone to the left of him, let's say maybe Humphrey or Stevenson. And from the Right there's the Conservative ticket. Organize it any way you want, but basically it's moderate to liberal Republican vs. liberal Democrat vs. Conservative independent.