TLIAW: Shuffling the Deck After a Bad Hand
- Thread starter jpj1421
- Start date
Hey, the Democrats will get President George McGovern to counter-balance him!President Goldwater? Yes, please!
And beyond that, will The Minnesota Menace, the Ceylonese Crusher, please stand up?Hey, the Democrats will get President George McGovern to counter-balance him!
"About damned time! Now, where's the beef?"
Oh man, imagine if Mondale pulls off a nigh-clean sweep minus his opponent's home state. That would be radical.
Heh, I was originally going to include one term Presidents on this list, but realized that if you count those who are only Also Rans that adds up to the same number of Presidents we had OTL. So...the President I originally had in mind has been bumped from the list to be replaced by another.
Excellent, two terms of Dewey and then Stevenson two of the best Presidents that never where
Gerald R. Ford*†
(Republican)
Ford cast himself as the candidate of change, seeking to pull the nation away from the stagnation under Stevenson that clearly came from the lack of fiscal restraint. He promised to stand up to the Soviets, and demand greater liberty for the peoples of Eastern Europe. Despite Humphrey locking in the union vote, the middle class was shaky in their support and Stevenson’s inaction towards Civil Rights undercut Humphrey’s own credentials with the African American community. Historically, it is remembered that it was the single television debate that ended the election, with Ford coming off cool and authoritative which won out over Humphrey’s excitability and bluster. The election would come down to the wire, with Ford securing a plurality and an electoral college win.
Ford/Goldwater - 299
Humphrey/Long - 238
According to his closest advisors, Ford intended to bring a new era of optimism to the White House. He was going to call on all Americans to come together to solve the issues their nation faced. And, he was going to use the United Nations as a forum by which to push for a more democratic world. Of course, no one will ever know for sure. On December 15th, Richard Pavlik drove a car loaded with dynamite into President-Elect Ford’s vehicle as it departed his Washington Office, killing Ford instantly. The nation was stunned and horrified, devastated at the loss of their President to be. Hasty meetings were called behind closed doors to determine if a new candidate could be put forward before Congress confirmed the electoral results. After being given a firm, if worried, no by the Chief Justice, Congress confirmed the election of Gerald Ford and Barry Goldwater, which then triggered the Twentieth Amendment.
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If he had secured the nomination in 64 or 68, I would have been more than happy to do so. But, alas.
Thank you!
I like them as well. I hope I provided enough positives and negatives to show them as good, but somewhat flawed Presidents.
Yeah, it sucks for good ole Jerry. He was slotted to die midway through this term when I intended to include sitting Presidents that went on to lose. When that idea was dropped, I couldn't decide what to do with him since he never did win a Presidential election. So, he gets to be elected President without serving so as to pave the way for...well...
I agree, it's not fair. I do suspect that ITTL he'll at least be better remembered by the country.
Originally I was going to have Nixon act as an LBJ analogue, but opted against it as that becomes a very crowded White House. Goldwater was going to be an elected PPT in the 90's a la Down the Road to Defeat, but that went away along with Nixon, Carter, and Bush. I thought about putting up Goldwater for 68, but felt it was more...real?...to have the Republicans take back the Presidency in 60, with Goldwater being the only one around that's age appropriate. And this does have the benefit of a more chaotic early 60's, so that's fun.
Barry M. Goldwater
(Republican)
1961 - 1965
Goldwater boldly stepped onto the world stage by declaring the end of the Detente with the Soviets, and put out his vision of rolling back the “Communist Menace”. He called on the Senate to rescind the nuclear test ban treaty, signed two year previously, and demanded the Soviets liberate Eastern Europe. The Senate would ignore this demand, with Senate Majority Leader Cooper calling these demand unnecessarily antagonistic. Goldwater would ramp up covert support promoting revolutions on the other side of the Iron Curtain. His rollback policy would culminate in the Czech Missile Crisis, where it was revealed that Goldwater, convinced that the Soviets were secretly mass producing their own missiles, had ordered nuclear missiles into the Czechoslovakia to solidify their first strike capability. The tension between the two powers had never been greater, and Goldwater was shocked that the UN demanded that the missiles be removed for the peace of the world after Khrushchev put his case directly before the body . Goldwater demanded the defunding of the UN, which was also ignored, but did relent in removing the missiles; but not before setting up an arms trafficking network within the nation.
Goldwater would have some initial success with the Republican Congress he had inherited. Arguing that the current recession was from the government spending that wasn’t being paid for, as well as the tax policy that hadn’t changed in over a decade. Goldwater’s more ambitious efforts to make Social Security and the Federal Health Service never got off the ground, but his policy of fiscal restraint stemming from lower taxes with greater cuts to domestic programs were reformed. The economy would begin to pick up, slowly, with the Recession officially ending in late 1962, but the effects would continue to be felt through Goldwater’s term.
Civil Rights would come to dominate the last two years of Goldwater’s term. Goldwater wanted to keep above the fray, feeling that gradual and peaceful integration would lead to greater tolerance. When protests of college integration turned violent in 1962, Goldwater called the situation horrendous, but refused to send in federal troops. The President called on Southern Governors to hold their citizens accountable and to restore order. Those Governors did crack down, but primarily on minorities. The new Congress put forward a Civil Rights Act to counter the aggression down South, which Goldwater vetoed, leading to more protests and riots. After the events of the Czech Missile Crisis, white college students joined in nationwide, leaving most Americans with the sense that law and order had broken down.
Goldwater refused to back down, and actively campaigned in the Republican Primaries to ensure his own nomination. When more moderate candidates were defeated by Republican voters, the path to the nomination was cleared. Selecting party favorite Richard Nixon as his Vice President traveled the country defending his recording. Unfortunately for the President, the lack of stability nationwide, a lack of major foreign policy successes, and an only recently improving economy led to sure defeat against his Democratic challenger.
Hmmm...does the twentieth amendment allow the Senate to confirm a Vice President in the event of the death of the President or Vice President-elect? I just assumed the Vice President Elect becomes President and that's the end of that.
Gah -my mistake - the 25th hasn't happened yet.
Perhaps it happens earlier due to the issues of Goldwater serving four years without one?Gah -my mistake - the 25th hasn't happened yet.
That makes sense. It would probably finally be ratified just as Goldwater is getting ready to leave office. I suppose Congress and the country would really only need this one insistence to move on such an amendment, even if ITTL the last VP vacancy was about 40 years ago.