TL Brainstorming: Democratic President Richard Nixon

I've got the necessary PODs worked out, but I'd like Board input. How do you see the United States evolving under a President Richard Nixon (D-CA)? Anytime from 1960 to 1972 as a first term.
 
First I want to know if LBJ is in this Democratic Party. If he is and he and Nixon can get along :eek: (especially if he stays Senate Majority Leader!)! The Republicans will never know what hit them!

More seriously--would China reconciliation still be in the cards? I mean, what kind of anti-Communist credentials will this *Nixon have?

What will happen in Vietnam? If he gets the early option (following a President Eisenhower, I assume?), do you see him as more or less likely to ramp up (in other words, would he behave like you think Kennedy would or like Johnson did)? Even if he does escalate, will he be more or less of a micromanager, or will he give the generals and admirals in theater relatively free reign?

Space program--OTL, Nixon was no friend to spaceflight. Assuming a 1960 election, I think he might push for something just because he HAS to respond to Khrushchev et al., but it might very well be rather modest and lukewarm--perhaps a space station or some such. Might turn out better in the long run. OTOH, I see him as less likely than Johnson to try to very quickly land on the Moon, fight a massive war in SE Asia, AND institute a bunch of expensive social programs all at once, so perhaps the space program gets a nicer budget? And you can't ignore what the Commies might think about it--if Nixon says they're going to the Moon, perhaps they'll believe him and actually put effort into funding and supporting their program? That would make a "race" dominated by the US after around '65 a lot hotter and more interesting.

With no need for the Southern Strategy, this might have a lot of BIG effects on the future positions of the Democratic and Republican Parties, as the former are A LOT more likely to pick up evangelicals and Christian Conservatives starting in the '60s, especially if they don't end up passing Civil Rights legislation, but instead the Republicans do. That would fracture the old Democratic base, and we could see a much smaller degree of continuity between the '30s era Democratic and modern Democratic bases--in particular, it seems quite possible to me that unions and the Christians make bedfellows with each other. Might the Christian Conservatives pick up a lot of economically liberal positions in this scenario?

Finally, one key thing--when is the POD? I mean, how early does Nixon become a Democrat? If it's before 1948, you might see a different outcome to the Alger Hiss case (if he doesn't end up on HUAC and behave similarly anyways), which could have some major repercussions, particularly reducing the scale of McCarthyism.

EDIT: I must say I am looking forwards greatly to this TL. I really enjoyed Cradling Camelot (just went back and finished reading it today), and am currently reading FoF. You, good sir, are an excellent writer, and very knowledgeable about mid-century American politics, which makes your TLs always a treat!
 
Let me hint: I've used the POD in the past. ;) Of course it will be a prewar POD, one that involves an OTL girlfriend of Nixon's. As regarding LBJ: Lyndon thought Tricky Dick was the ultimate opportunist and once called him a "chickenshit" to a reporter. But they had respect for each other as opponents. In the Congress IOTL, LBJ thought Nixon wasn't gregarious enough to become an insider. (yet another similarity to their mutual "friend") As for the Southern Strategy and economics, I might try to engineer a return to the OTL era pre-TR, when the GOP was liberal and the Dems were conservative, both economically and socioculturally.

Potential Spoiler: Karl Rove might even become a Democrat.
 
Let me hint: I've used the POD in the past. ;) Of course it will be a prewar POD, one that involves an OTL girlfriend of Nixon's. As regarding LBJ: Lyndon thought Tricky Dick was the ultimate opportunist and once called him a "chickenshit" to a reporter. But they had respect for each other as opponents. In the Congress IOTL, LBJ thought Nixon wasn't gregarious enough to become an insider. (yet another similarity to their mutual "friend") As for the Southern Strategy and economics, I might try to engineer a return to the OTL era pre-TR, when the GOP was liberal and the Dems were conservative, both economically and socioculturally.

Potential Spoiler: Karl Rove might even become a Democrat.

Note I didn't think Nixon and Johnson getting along was likely. I was just imagining the possibilities if two of the most "operator" US politicians from the last half-century teamed up to completely screw over annihilate their opponents.

I haven't read all your threads or something, I'm not a stalker :p Who would this GF be, by chance?

Frankly, I like the idea of keeping Democrats conservative and Republicans liberal, FDR and Nixon screwed it all up :mad: Also a historical irony bonus when we see Democrats filibustering Republican HCR efforts or some such :D

EDIT: Though I like a less... stereotyped position even more! You know, socially liberal while economically conservative and vice versa!
 
I thought FoF gave you that: an economic liberal who makes Dick Cheney look like a social liberal. ;) Re GF: Her name was Olga, and she was very much a Helen Douglas-type New Dealer and liberal internationalist. Of course, there will be a second, hidden POD...
 
I thought FoF gave you that: an economic liberal who makes Dick Cheney look like a social liberal. ;) Re GF: Her name was Olga, and she was very much a Helen Douglas-type New Dealer and liberal internationalist. Of course, there will be a second, hidden POD...

Haven't read it yet, I said :p Interesting news on the GF, no chance I'd find anything on the Internet would I?
 
No, the GF info is in Black's Invicible Quest, the Nixon bio that I use. Keep in mind that No Country for Young Men might come first. I already have the POTUS list on hand.
 
One thing would be Ike would need a new VP to replace Nixon, someone that both the McCarthyites and the Deweyites could trust. Maybe Prescott Bush?
 
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