Sending a Message
"Let us rise to the call of freedom-loving blood that is in us, and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South." - George Wallace
"We are launched on a course from which there is no turning back." - Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
"There is only one thing to do — take it to the country!" - Eugene McCarthy
Nixon's second term as President was coming to an end, after serving valiantly under Eisenhower and then himself serving the role of President. It was not hard to see that after 16 years of arguably two of the most tumultuous jobs on the Planet, Nixon wanted to rest. His hair was greying and his trademark smile became withered with age. Going into 1968, it was apparent to all that worked with him, that he would have enjoyed nothing more than to get this final year over and done with. But what Nixon didn't know was that this election would shake American society to it's core.
The Republicans had thrown their weight behind incumbent Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who had declared his intention to run last the previous year. Though he had faced a heated back-and-forth from opposition such as George Romney, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, Lodge was able to triumph over all of them, riding on the wave of Nixon's popularity. In an attempt to unite the GOP as a united force, Lodge would end up choosing Nelson Rockefeller as his Vice Presidential nominee, who was seen as the head of the rising 'Rockefeller Republicans' who were seen as much more Liberal as compared to the base GOP. Overall, Lodge tried to walk an increasingly finer line between the Conservative and Liberal wings of the Republican Party. Goldwater, despite giving it a good attempt, graciously accepted defeat for a position in Cabot's cabinet, throwing his supporters behind the Lodge/Rockefeller ticket.
The Democratic race however, was much less cleaner than the one across the aisle, especially with Humphrey declaring his intention to not run, obviously still feeling the sores from his failed '64 bid. All in all, with the divisions in the party and no clear figure to rally behind, it was going to be a very crowded field for the Democrats. Despite the clogging for the nomination, no one could have expected that George Wallace would once again seek the position.
Wallace, who had run against Humphrey's bid in '64 was able to win two primaries before being forced out in the final primary in favor of Hubert. Learning from the failures of his '64 bid, Wallace would move away from the issue of segregation quietly, not being as much of a supporter as other southerner politicians like Maddox or Connor. On the advice of campaign supporter Jimmy Hoffa, he would remove every single outward reference to Segregation from his campaign. Instead focusing on the rise of the Vietcong, the working-class and his policy of 'law-and-order'.
On the other side of the political spectrum sat Eugene McCarthy, who in many ways was the opposite of George Wallace. While Wallace campaigned stopping the Vietcong, McCarthy declared his intentions to pull out troops from Vietnam and when Wallace declared he would bring 'law and order!" in response to riots, McCarthy would plead for peace. McCarthy would form a grassroots movement within the Democratic Party, campaigning on an expansion of the Civil Rights bill signed into law by Nixon and the previously mentioned withdrawal from Vietnam.
Jack Kennedy, who had originally been the democratic nominee 8 years prior once again entered into the race for the Democratic Nomination, becoming the favorite to win by a landslide majority. Kennedy would focus on the failures of Nixon especially, which had turned off some from his campaign, seeing it as dogmatic in nature and Kennedy having a grudge against Nixon. Kennedy would have the support of many famous people and politicians however, giving him an early one-up in comparison to the other Candidates. This lead would not last however, as details of Kennedy's Addison's Disease began to spread and both McCarthy and Wallace fired up their bases.
Originally beginning as a 'favorite son', George Smathers would be convinced by Humphrey to run for the nomination, though his candidacy would struggle to find support or coverage, especially between the other candidates like Wallace, Kennedy or McCarthy. Despite being dealt a bad hand, Smathers would keep his head-hung high, trudging on into the primaries with jubilance.
The Campaigns of all four would begin to form along region lines, with much of Kennedy's support coming from the cities, the Midwest throwing their support behind McCarthy and Wallace, who would whip up the south into a blazing fury not seen since the days of the Confederacy. The Primaries of Florida, Nebraska, Indiana and Pennsylvania would go to Wallace, shocking even the most diehard Wallace supporters. Kennedy would take much of the Western Primaries, taking California, Oregon and on the east coast, Ohio, Massachusetts and New Jersey. McCarthy would take the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Montana and key Great Lakes states. The confusion of the Primaries would begin to soil the hopes of a clean convention and the worst fears of many were looking ever more closer to happening.
Though Kennedy originally looked to be able to pull off an upset at the Convention, he would be rocked with several internal issues, the most glaring one being his much more rowdy brother Ted Kennedy, who would be accused of sexual deviancy leading up to the convention. Though the accusations would be dropped after no substantial evidence had turned up, the damage was done. Wallace and McCarthy would begin to surge in the polls afterward, using the scandal to their advantage. Just as Kennedy began to get back on his feet, another shocking blow was dealt to him, his Addison's disease had kicked in. This event, leaving Kennedy hospitalized for 2 weeks, would lead to the so-called 'Kennedy Curse' Myth to gain traction, which is the idea that the Kennedy Family, moreover JFK, are cursed. Even more shockingly, Kennedy refused to quit and after his tenure in the hospital was up, he stormed across the country, trying to rally what support he could in the weeks before the convention. Though it endeared him to some, most were now concerned about Kennedy's capabilities to lead the nation, one of those people being John Connally.
While supporters decked out in political slogans such as "Stand Up For America!, "Kennedy's the One!" and "Gene!" wandered through the potent cigarette smoke almost aimlessly across the convention floor, backroom deals would be made at the last minute. In a moment forever infamous, George C. Wallace would win the Democratic Nomination for the Presidency. This win could mostly be attributed to John Connally, who would, along with Samuel Yorty, split the nomination in favor of Wallace. Connally would split the nomination under one condition however, being that Connally is given the Vice Presidential nomination and is put on Wallace's ticket. Connally would actually end up being a boon to Wallace's bid, giving him the appeal of moderation to northern voters.
As Kennedy, Smathers and the others would begrudgingly congratulate and announce their support for Wallace, McCarthy and his delegates would stage a massive walkout upon hearing that Wallace had secured the bid. 3 days later, McCarthy would announce his candidacy under the Progressive-Labor Party, which would be molded out of the old Farmer-Labor Party and the 'Anti-Wallace' Camp. McCarthy would choose George McGovern to serve as his vice president, who also staged a walkout of the convention and joined the P-Ls.
Going into November, Wallace would lag behind Lodge, with the first few Gallup Polls showing Lodge at 53% while Wallace sat at 46%, giving McCarthy 7%. Slowly but surely however, like how he did with the Nomination, clawed his way back into prominence, whipping up the south into a frenzy and deploying Hoffa to speak on his behalf for Unions. Lodge would campaign on his last 8 years as Vice President, though his ability to continually fall back on his experience began to wane with the Vietcong issue and the beginning of economic stagnation. McCarthy would win over those who were disillusioned with the two parties, becoming seen as a political outsider when it came to national politics. For the first time, 3 candidates would be on the debate stage, talking directly to the American People, warts and all.
Wallace: "Mr. Lodge, is it not apparent that the Communists are going to gain the upper hand in Vietnam?"
Lodge:" The Communists are on the backfoot, Mr. Wallace-"
McCarthy: "American boys do not deserve to die in a foreign jungle! We shouldn't be over-"
Wallace: "Need I remind you 'Gene, that if the Reds win, we could very well see a domino effect across Asia!"
Lodge: "Gentlem-"
Wallace: "We need to defend South Vietnam at all costs!"
The debates would be a political maelstrom for those watching at home, with the first 3 having no clear winner when it came to any of the questions given, though Wallace did triumph when it came to Union Policies and the War in Vietnam, with the 'Domino Effect' becoming a major talking point of his campaign. Wallace would struggle when it came to Segregation however, as McCarthy would grill him on it any time he received the chance. Overall, despite Wallace and Connally's best efforts, it looked like the Republicans were going to get their 5th consecutive win.
On November 6th, 1968, sleep-deprived Americans would listen to a gobsmacked Walter Cronkite detail one of the most shocking victories in American political history. George Curley Wallace would be elevated to the office of the Presidency of the United States with a razor thin electoral majority of 271. Wallace, who would be in Ohio at the time (which he had won by only 5,000 votes) would be televised screaming to the heavens with a jubilant energy not seen since his nomination.
Lodge would announce his concession at around the same time, thanking his supporters for the chance to lead them and congratulating Wallace on his victory. McCarthy would use his concession speech to announce that this is not the end of the Progressive Movement and that he will continue to fight on.
Thanks mostly to Hoffa, Wallace would claim most of the Great Lakes vote, even getting the reluctant support of the AFL-CIO President, who saw him as a better alternative to Lodge or McCarthy. Wallace would also win Texas, which would have been less possible without Connally on the ticket. The Republicans would keep much of the west, mostly in part due to Goldwater and Reagan's constant campaigning for Lodge, save for the Dakotas due to McCarthy's victory there. California, who went blue (only by around 60 thousand votes) in the '64 election thanks to Pat Brown, returned to the Republicans once again by a large majority, solidifying their grip there.
Earlier that year in April, Lester B. Pearson would retire from the position of Prime Minister of Canada, calling a leadership election to go ahead just before the national one. The leadership election would be hotly contested by Pierre Trudeau, MP for Mount Royal and Justice Minister, Paul Hellyer, Transport Minister under Pearson and Robert Winters, a Canadian businessman and Minister of Trade. In an attempt to mediate all sides and keep the Liberal-CCF 'Orange Coalition' intact, a mediation candidate would be chosen, that being of John Turner. Turner, who was only 38 at the time, was Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and an MP for St. Lawrence-St. George since 1962, would be elevated to the highest position in Canada.
Turner would go on to triumph over the PGs, using his extreme popularity which coalesced into a fever pitch known as 'Turnermania', bringing the Liberals to a majority of 149 in Parliament. The Progressive-Conservatives, who rallied behind Robert Stanfield after a heated resignation by Diefenbaker, would struggle to make gains in Parliament with Stanfield coming off as out of touch compared to Turner. Ironically, the CCF/New Democratic Party would neither win nor lose any seats in the election, keeping their share of 22 in Parliament. Turner would remain as Prime Minister of Canada, becoming seen as a stark contrast to the President to be down south. This would be shown in a famous comic called the 'Duality of North America', which depicted Turner as a smiling charming and well groomed individual standing over a highly detailed map of Canada, which included mountains, forests and wildlife. While Wallace was depicted as a shambling ranting mess which was frothing at the mouth, standing over a map of the continental US covered in flames.
Just as the so-called 'Election Year of the Century' ended, Prime Minister Douglas-Home would call an election for 1969, citing his retirement as the reason. Home would lead the Tories until January 1969, to which there would then be a Party Election for the next leader. Several Tory members have thrown their hat in the ring for Prime Minister, chief among them being Edward Heath, Quintin Hogg, Enoch Powell and Reginald Maudling. Labor would throw their weight behind George Brown once again, despite him failing to win Labour a victory in the previous elections.
President-elect Wallace would make his plans known for the War in Vietnam following his close victory, announcing to a speech of his most diehard supporters in Alabama that "For too long we have let the scum in 'nam get the drop on us, now it's time for them to face the full might of the U-S of A!"
