TLIAPOT: Blinded by the Light
- Thread starter Gonzo
- Start date
To an extent yes, though Furman went the same was as OTL ITTL. I suppose Taptoes Murphy will campaign on it - not that he really has any way to do it, besides off one of the SCOTUS Justices and appoint his own Justice in place.
He was actually offered a SCOTUS seat OTL by Nixon, but he took so long to consider it that Nixon passed him over. ITTL I simply had him make his mind up quicker, and to the affirmative.
I do feel really bad for the Downey family, ITTL and IOTL, especially poor Ann West, Lesley's mother (and her siblings, too); man, the hell she had to go through (she actually had to listen to the tape of her daughter's last moments (1); no wonder she spent the rest of her life making sure her killers never got out). No wonder some of them supported the death penalty; Brady and Hindley completely deserved it...
(1) That tape caused hardened police officers and crime reporters to break down crying, IIRC...
(1) That tape caused hardened police officers and crime reporters to break down crying, IIRC...
At least his political opponents didn't make it worse:
http://ctmirror.org/2016/10/27/union-dumps-consultant-pac-treasurer-in-petit-ad-fiasco/
Glad this evil bastard isn't getting to Parliament.
Indeed; I made a minor correction in the Rochdale infobox... I think it will be satisfactory for everyone...
Byrd was one of the names that the White House considered OTL for either the seat of Black or Harlan; he was taken out of consideration after (IIRC) apparently taking too long to get back from consideration over the post.
It is a real shame that they didn't get the rope IRL; alas ITTL they won't either. The Downey case from the Moors Murders is especially disgusting; I can understand why many in her family became ardent supporters of the death penalty, after the hell they went through.
Disgusting, I remember reading about the case a while back; absolutely frightening. Did he win in the end?
Glad this evil bastard isn't getting to Parliament.
I also inadvertently had the first black Member of Parliament elected... around fifteen years prior to OTL.
RyanF
Banned
I also inadvertently had the first black Member of Parliament elected... around fifteen years prior to OTL.
Is Cyril Smith still in Labour in your TL or am I misremembering?
I had him leave the party as he did OTL in 1966; then he re-joined in 1970 (with the possibility of a parliamentary seat), he gets selected for Rochdale and is defeated due to an anti-Government swing. He may leave the party for the Liberals soon ITTL though.
Taptoe George stars in 'The Candidate'
The 1972 Presidential election has gone down in history as one of the most controversial and dramatic presidential races in American history. The 1971 McGovern-Fraser Commission cast a long shadow over the primaries the 1972 election; the findings effectively ensured that the Democratic primaries and convention in 1972 would be wrestled free from the control of the party bosses (such as Mayor Daley and George Meany) and into the hands of 'the people.' The commission, which was formed by then Democratic National Committee Chair Fred Harris, and was chaired by Senator George McGovern (who in doing so, would forfeit a run in 1972) and Congressman Donald M. Fraser; had major repercussions for the Republican primaries as well, though there was little chance of any noticeable changes, with President Murphy expected to sail to an easy re-nomination.
Since 1971 Murphy's '247365' approach to bombings in Vietnam (dubbed 'A Stone Age Tactic' by the New York Daily News) had seen the North Vietnamese weakened, but had yet to deliver the knockout blow on Hanoi. United States support for the war effort and the regime in Saigon remained high, with troop numbers equalling or surpassing those under President Johnson. Murphy's hardline anti-communist approach (along with a similar feeling of his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Richard Helms,) was reflected elsewhere around the globe, with the United States opposing communist inspired rebels in South Arabia and in southern Africa. This support for 'radical right-wing dictatorial regimes' led to criticism from many 'peacniks' and anti-war activists within both parties (Senators Mike Gravel (D-AK), George McGovern (D-SC) and Eugene Siler (R-KY) being the President's strongest critics) and applause from anti-communists (notably Senator Henry M. 'Scoop' Jackson, Democrat of Washington.) Any suggestion of a 'detente'' with 'Red China' was quickly thrown out the window with President Murphy appointing hardline anti-communist Asian-American Anna Chennault as Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of China; thus assuring the RoC a seat at the United Nations Security Council until the end of the Murphy Presidency.
Heading into 1972 the Democratic field for President was expected to be large, with many believing that they, and they alone, were the one who could defeat the President. Heading into the first primary in Iowa the list of announced candidates read like the Boston phone index. Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace, Robert F. Kennedy, Ed Muskie, Scoop Jackson, Terry Sanford, Walter Reuther, John Lindsay, Eugene McCarthy, Wilbur Mills, Vance Hartke, Shirley Chisholm, Patsy Mink, and Sam Yorty, had all announced that they would be running for the party's nomination. The race was seen to be in actuality a fight between Humphrey, Kennedy, Muskie, Wallace and Jackson; the other candidates not expected to make muck of a 'splash.' The Iowa primary appeared to catch most people off guard, with the Unpledged slate winning a slender victory over Kennedy, followed in quick succession by Reuther and then Muskie; none of the other candidates broke two percent, let alone double figures. New Hampshire was seen to be a test to see which of the New Englanders (ie Muskie or Massachusetts native Kennedy) would be that region's 'favourite son.' Muskie's defeat to Kennedy effectively signalled the end of the Maine Senator's Presidential hopes in 1972; Mayor Yorty scored a peculiar third place finish in the state.
Florida meanwhile was the first test of the 'conservative' candidates in the race, with Wallace, Humphrey, Jackson and Reuther (who's union background put him ironically on the right of the party on the social questions of the day.) Wallace won a handy victory, falling just short of 40% of the vote. Jackson came in second place, followed by a tossup between Reuther and Humphrey. Kennedy was meanwhile in fifth place.
The whole race changed dynamics in early April, during the Wisconsin primary. After a speech to a somewhat hostile Milwaukee audience, Senator Kennedy began a meet and greet session with the local voters, two days before the primary. As he shook hands he made his way along the crowd... towards former busboy/janitor and all around bum, Arthur Bremer. Bremer, a 21 year old drifter, had been waiting to get the chance to give Kennedy something. That something was five rounds from a .38 revolver. Kennedy was hit in the chest twice, and three times in the abdomen, while a secret service agent was hit in the palm of his hand. As the New York Senator collapsed backwards into a vastly expanding sea of blood, Bremer shouted "A Penny For Your Thoughts," as Kennedy confidant and surrogate, Senator Pierre Salinger slugged him the face, breaking Bremer's nose. A famous photo caught Kennedy staring blankly forward as Pierre Salinger was caught midway exclaiming "why does this always happen!?" (Kennedy's brothers Jack and Edward had both died during the previous decade; Jack from an assassin's bullet in Dallas; Bobby after driving his car off a pier on Chappaquiddick Island, killing himself and his young companion, Mary Jo Kopechne.)
Kennedy suffered a burst lung and a severed spinal cord (causing him to use a wheelchair and Alka-Seltzer for the pain), Kennedy would live, but was forced out of the race and the Senate. He would ultimately spend the rest of his days in writing and occasional television appearances.
Wisconsin, which was won by Reuther, changed the whole dynamics of the race. Many of the voters who would have voted for Kennedy had no obvious place to turn with Muskie and Kennedy out of the race, began to turn to alternative candidates for the nomination. Idaho and Vermont were won by Reuther, while Jackson stormed home in Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania was won narrowly by Humphrey over Reuther. Indiana went for Wallace as it nearly had done so in 1964, while Ohio went for Reuther by less than a tenth of a percent of the vote (that night FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died, making many Democrats celebrate the occasion with an even greater intensity.) Tennessee and North Carolina unsurprisingly were delivered to Wallace, while Nebraska and West Virginia went for Reuther and Humphrey respectively. Maryland and Michigan were delivered for Wallace by large margins, while Oregon and Rhode Island voted for Mr 'Chicken Tax.'
California, operating under a winner takes all system was to be the decider of the primaries. If Humphrey lost he had no chance of taking the nomination, if Reuther lost, he had no chance of taking the nomination on the first round, and thus at all. After a brutal and bloody campaign, with Humphrey making allusions to Reuther's civil right's record, equating it to support for bussing (which Reuther had not come out in support of, or opposition to); the end result was a Reuther victory by a 41-40 margin. New Jersey voted for Shirley Chisholm, in a race where the only other name on the ballot was the North Carolina Governor, Terry Sanford. New Mexico and Texas cast their votes for Wallace, while South Dakota and New York voted for Reuther. With several uncommitted and floating delegates up for grabs, nobody was sure if Reuther had been able to meet the number of delegates to win outright.
The convention, held at the Miami Beach Convention Centre in July 1972 was meant to be a show of unity after a divisive primary season. The occasion was anything but. A challenge from liberal delegates on the Illinois delegation, effectively under the thumb of Mayor Daley was quashed by Chair Larry O'Brien who vetoed an attempt by credentials committee Chairwoman Patricia Roberts Harris to seat the liberal delegation. This led to delegates such as Jesse Jackson, to stage a walk out. The party platform was a scene of much conflict, especially over social issues. The Feminist Movement attempted to (in the words of O'Brien) "commit an entryist putsch within the party." Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem clashed at the lectern over how best to champion women's issues. Ultimately a push by Steinem to have 'women delegates' cast their votes for Chisholm, led to several delegates crossing over to the Chisholm camp.
The debates of gay rights and abortion led to near fist fights among some delegates. Several female delegates called for the party to adopt a fully pro-abortion platform; they were mostly shut down by cat calls and boos from the more conservative blue-collar delegates. Actress and activist, Shirley MacLaine called on the delegates to vote against the plank, seeing the potential to tear the party apart. The various major campaigns (Humphrey, Wallace, Jackson, Muskie and Reuther were all anti-abortion) worked to have the proposal defeated in a landslide. Further planks calling for repealing of sodomy laws, acceptance of homosexual marriage and gay rights were also voted down. Meanwhile planks calling for a 'right to be different,' support for welfare, desegregation and the abolition of the draft were all approved by delegates.
On the first ballot an attempt of a 'Stop Reuther' or ABR (Anyone But Reuther) campaign was seen, with moves to have anti-Reuther delegates fall into line behind Jackson. Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, spearheading the movement, gave a nomination speech in favour of Jackson (despite previously supporting Wallace.) The ABR attempt ultimately failed, with Reuther winning 55% of the vote on the first ballot, with Jackson on 20%, Wallace on 13% and Chisholm hitting six percent.
The Reuther campaign publically said that they 'wished to keep people guessing' as to whom Reuther's running mate would be. Internally they were panicking as most major candidates turned the offer down; Humphrey, Abraham Ribicoff, Walter Mondale, and Wilbur Mills were all offered the number two spot, but they turned the offer down. Growing desperate offers were made to Senator Thomas Eagleton and Senator Mike Gravel; both of whom turned the offer down (Eagleton had publically endorsed Humphrey during the primaries.) Other names considered were Governor Endicott Peabody of Massachusetts, Walter Cronkite and Frances Farenthold and Adlai Stevenson III. In the end the candidate was revealed to be Virginia Senator William B. Spong (not pronounced Sponge), a moderate-liberal southerner, yet sufficiently conservative socially for blue collar voters, Spong appeared to tick most boxes for the Reuther campaign. By the time Spong's nomination was entered most delegates were feeling in a prankish mood, leading to votes for 'candidates' such as Archie Bunker, First Lady Juliette Murphy, Mao Zedong, Benjamin Spock, 'Joe Bloggs', Cesar Chavez, Jerry Rubin, George Lincoln Rockwell, Harry Truman, and Alf Landon. In the end Spong received just under 60% of the delegates.
The Republican primaries were meanwhile a mere formality. The President was challenged by anti-war liberal California Congressman, Pete McCloskey, who ran unsurprisingly as candidate who would end the war. Polls showed that Murphy was the favourite and was assured re-nomination. McCloskey made a pledge whereby he would drop out if he failed to achieve 20% in the New Hampshire primary. He achieved 24% and thus remained in the race. While his campaign routinely hit double figures, they were usually nearer to 10%, than 20%. Indeed when the convention, held in late August at the same venue as the Democratic Convention a month prior; McCloskey received the votes of three delegates... to the President's 1,345. Throughout the precisely scripted convention, delegates chanted 'Four more years! Four more years!'
Vice President Gurney was re-nominated with 1,345, against one for television journalist David Brinkley and two abstentions. The NBC network, for which Brinkley worked, had some 'Brinkley for Vice President' buttons made, which the news team wore as a joke.
The acceptance speech for the President presented an conundrum for the President's team. Earlier that year the President was diagnosed with throat cancer, forcing him to have part of his larynx removed; rendering him unable to speak above a 'loud' whisper. This presented an issue for the Presidential team, led by Chief of Staff William F. Knowland, advisors/speechwriters Pat Buchanan, Bill Safire & Joseph Sobran and Campaign Manager Robert Finch. The intention of giving a rousing, patriotic speech appealing to 'The Great Silent Majority of Americans' would be rather hard with the President unable to speak loudly. A solution was found, whereby an 'impersonator' would read the President's lines in 'his voice;' this in turn would be projected to the convention floor, while the President himself spoke normally, but would not be picked up on by the cameras. In a move that was later described by Safire as being "so mad it could actually work," 'President Murphy' addressed the convention floor, giving a rousing speech talking about "the long road ahead [...] which we have only just begun to climb."
The American Independent Party, which had nearly forced a hung electoral college in 1968, nominated the abrasive, yet popular Joe Pyne; a chain smoking, radio & television talk show host, who pioneered a confrontational style of interviewing and who is described as being the father of 'trash television.' Pyne, will being a right-winger who supported the Vietnam War and ridiculed, hippies, homosexuals and feminists; he was also known as an opponent of racial discrimination and a supporter of labo[ u ]r unions; indeed he described himself as a "common sense Democrat." Pyne took the fledgling party by storm and selected negro Democratic Congressman Clay Smothers of Texas as his Running Mate; making it the first 'major party' to nominate a negro for a national office. This led to a small walkout at the AIP convention by supporters of Thomas J. Anderson of Tennessee; thought this was far smaller than had been expected by some in the media who covered the convention.
The race itself was rather low key, with Reuther constantly lagging behind the President in the polls; all the while attacking the President for failing to end the Vietnam War and arguing for the creation of a guaranteed minimum income for the nation's poor. Murphy (in what was called a 'front porch campaign' (employing the use of the imitation voice throughout the media based campaign) had large advantages in fundraising and endorsements, including silent non-endorsement endorsements from George Meany and Mayor Daley (both of whom, while they agreed with Reuther on most issues, were still opposed to Reuther personally. President Murphy left most of the campaigning to most of his subordinates, such as Vice President Edward Gurney; instead focussing on 'appearing Presidential' and helping to increase his coattails on Congress.
In an 'October Surprise,' Secretary of State Richard Helms announced that after a near nonstop two year carpet bombing campaign over North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese government had finally caved into demands of the United States and the South at talks in Paris.
The ensuing boost helped the President sail towards election day with much confidence and virtually no possibility of defeat to the 'radical leftist' Reuther or the 'vulgar novelty' Pyne.
President Murphy was re-elected taking 52.2% of the vote, to Walter Reuther's 43.1% and Joe Pyne's 3.3%. Murphy won 39 states and 380 electoral votes (a major increase on his tally in 1968), to Reuther's 9 states (plus the District of Columbia) and 142 electoral votes, and Pyne's two states and 16 electoral votes. Reuther performed considerably well in the South, owing to Pyne splitting the 'right-wing' vote in the region; almost enabling Reuther to take the states of Missouri, Louisiana and Tennessee. Murphy performed well among negro voters, taking nearly 30% of the vote (despite Reuther's history with the Civil Rights movement); meanwhile Spanish-Americans, Catholic, and Blue Collar voters continued to trend to the Democratic Party.
In Congress, Murphy's fabled coattails did not extend far. The Democrats ended up retaining both house of Congress. In the Senate the Democrats won 54 seats, to the Republicans' 45 and Harry F. Byrd, Jr.'s holding in Virginia. Democrats gained seats in Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, and South Dakota; while Republicans gained a seat in New Mexico, as well as maintaining the notional gain in New York, where Lt. Governor Malcolm Wilson retained the seat which he had been appointed to by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. In two notably close races in North Carolina and Delaware, the Democrats and Republicans each held their respective seats with candidates Jesse Helms (D-NC) and Joe Biden (R-DE) (who's family survived a brush with death not long after the election.)
President Murphy would be inaugurated in January 1973 for his second and final term. Most eyes were now turned away from Vietnam, back home towards the internal problems within the USA. Some eyes however darted east to the Middle East where two crises began to raise their ugly heads; one in Israel, the other in Southern Arabia.
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Glad to have helped you out with this, Gonzo. Shouldn't it be "stars in the Candidate"?
Uhh...
Yes thanks for suggesting the Democratic VP and the AIP VP; your help was very... helpful.
Yay! Four more years!
So sad about Bobby. At least he lived; decent trade between him and Teddy, cause I think he's the better Kennedy. At least we now have an extra Republican in the Senate in New York. My bet's on Malcolm Wilson
Democratic VP ballot. You had to put Fred Bloggs didn't you? The British version of Joe Blow.
Murphy ad-libbing the speech! Crazy like a fox!
Closest we will get to Rush Limbaugh for President. Hilarious, yet interesting that Wallace's party nominated a black VP.
Republican Biden!!!!!
Sad the GOP didn't gain congress, but President Murphy will show them what's what!
So sad about Bobby. At least he lived; decent trade between him and Teddy, cause I think he's the better Kennedy. At least we now have an extra Republican in the Senate in New York. My bet's on Malcolm Wilson
Democratic VP ballot. You had to put Fred Bloggs didn't you? The British version of Joe Blow. Murphy ad-libbing the speech! Crazy like a fox!
Closest we will get to Rush Limbaugh for President. Hilarious, yet interesting that Wallace's party nominated a black VP.
Republican Biden!!!!!
Sad the GOP didn't gain congress, but President Murphy will show them what's what!
I'm proud to have reccomended Smothers. Totally real guy.Yay! Four more years!
So sad about Bobby. At least he lived; decent trade between him and Teddy, cause I think he's the better Kennedy. At least we now have an extra Republican in the Senate in New York. My bet's on Malcolm Wilson
Murphy ad-libbing the speech! Crazy like a fox!
Closest we will get to Rush Limbaugh for President. Hilarious, yet interesting that Wallace's party nominated a black VP.
Republican Biden!!!!!
Sad the GOP didn't gain congress, but President Murphy will show them what's what!
I'm sure you know that the Democratic VP ballot is basically OTL.
IOTL, it had Mao Zedong and Archie Bunkers, which are a lot more crazy than Bloggs, in any case.