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Alternate History Debris

Hosted by Cyrus P. Underwood

Season 1: Voodoo (Economics) Won't Work Here



Ronald Reagan. He evokes many different emotions in many different people. To some, he is the very embodiment of American Masculinity in the face of Soviet Aggression, especially during his time in office. He has entered the popular mythology, in their minds at least, as the man who won the Cold War. To others, Reagan did more harm than good with his economic policies and that his attempts at foreign relations were well intentioned to good at best, like the talks with the Soviets about lowering the amount of nuclear weapons, or blunders at worst, like Iran-Contra. But the thing that, I think, we can all agree on was that he has had an effect on the history of the world , for good or ill, since his election in 1980.

But during that election in 1980, things were not so clear cut. Though Reagan was the early front runner, George H. W. Bush beat him in the Iowa Caucus (though only barely 32% to Reagan's 30%) and the Puerto Rico Primary (which Reagan skipped all together to concentrate on New Hampshire). Reagan campaign staffers, and Reagan himself, were desperate for a win to keep them in the race and maybe get ahead of Bush. It all came down to Reagan's then campaign manager, one John Sears (I haven't been able to find a picture of Sears. Sorry.), who had earlier told Reagan that he needed to be above the fray.

Now with that strategy backfiring on him, Sears had to come up with a plan. Fortunately for him, Bush handed him an opportunity. Bush wanted to debate Reagan one-on-one in Hew Hampshire before the primary. Reagan accepted and, on hearing that the Nashua Telegraph was sponsoring the debate, offered to pay for it himself. However, when the other candidates heard about this they demanded that they be included in the debate. Sears got an idea: at the last possible moment Reagan would relent and include the other candidates (except Former Texas Governor John Connally who was too far away to attend). Bush would either have to include the other candidates and dilute the anti-Reagan message or refuse to participate.

Bush chose the later. This, combined with the moderator cutting Reagan's microphone (leading to the line "I'm paying for this microphone Mr. Green[sic]"), allowed Reagan to win the primary and then the nomination. Bush became Reagan's Vice President and together they beat President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election. Though, by the time the election was held, anyone could have beaten Carter.

As for Sears, well that's the thing: Sears was fired the night that Reagan won the New Hampshire Primary. Then again he had been on the ropes with the campaign for a while, as he was firing old Reagan hands left and right. There are some in the Reagan camp that say that Sears was forced out not by Ronald Reagan but by his wife, Nancy. Those same people also contend that Sears knew what was coming and, rather than fight it, helped the Reagan team win New Hampshire.

But what if Sears was fired before he had a chance to? What if, a few days before the debate, the axe came down? What then? This is my interpretation.
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