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What a fantastic post to read on Christmas. It's truly a miracle that it managed to stay the same, although I'm hoping that Jim and/or Frank Oz gets a cameo at the end of the film. You know...just to make an already great film even better.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to @Geekhis Khan and everyone reading the thread!
 
Interview with Michael Caine
Des O’Connor Tonight, December 15th, 1992

Interior – Des O’Connor Tonight Set

The Theme Music plays as the show returns. Michael Caine sits across from the host, Des O’Connor.

Des
With us now is the brilliant Michael Caine, who truly needs no introduction. His distinguished acting career has spanned three decades with numerous BAFTA and Academy Award nominations, and with one each under his belt. And yet for today, he is speaking to us about his latest film, where he teams up with Jim Henson’s Muppets, playing Ebenezer Scrooge in A Muppets Christmas Carol. What can you tell us about the film? Can we expect a sillier Scrooge?​

Muppet_christmas_carol.jpg


Michael
Why, quite the contrary, actually. Yes, the Muppets themselves are up to their usual level of silliness, but I endeavored to play Scrooge completely straight. I told Brian, “I'm going to play this movie like I'm working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me[1].” And Brian, to his great credit, wholeheartedly supported me on this. In fact, he was determined to play the story straight. Sure, Gonzo would be playing Dickens, but they would not scrimp on the drama or tragedy. Tiny Tim would remain a sick and pitiable creature, despite the cuteness of Robin the Frog. And I feel that is what makes this adaption work so well.

Des
And was it a fun production for you?

Michael
Well, Des, I must say that it was a very fun experience, despite the harrowing nature of the open pits.

Des
For the Muppet performers, you mean?

Michael
Yes, you had to walk on planks while the puppeteers stood in the pit below you so that the Muppets would be at the right level. And yet even though you had to watch your step, it was as I said, a wonderful experience, and one that I almost didn’t get to experience. At first, they had approached George Carlin to play Scrooge since he’d worked with them on Thomas the Tank Engine, but something came up and he had to drop out. David Hemmings was approached, but declined. There was a strange serendipity that brought me to the role, really, like forces pulling us together, so to speak. Brian too felt rather serendipitously pulled in to direct.

Des
Brian Henson, the director and son of Jim Henson, the Muppets creator.

Michael
Yes. He’d actually branched off into special effects and away from Muppets and was a Vice President for Special Effects at Imagineering, as it were. But when Ken Kwapis and Frank Oz proved unavailable, Jim specifically asked Brian if he’d direct the film. Brian was hesitant because there was so much to do on his main job, including managing effects on the next Spider-Man film, where they were having issues with Doctor Octopus’s mechanical tentacles, but as Brian explained it, Jim told him that he had an obligation as a leader to make sure that the job could be done without him. “Brian, if the ship can’t sail on without you, then you haven’t done your job properly,” he supposedly told him. So Brian took some time away to direct the film.

Des
And how involved was Jim Henson in the production?

Michael
Well, he was the Executive Producer, of course, but he’d delegated a lot down to others on his signature creations already by this point, so he had a very hands-off approach. “A nod or a grunt,” as they’d say to let us know when we were on the right or wrong track.”

Des
A lot of the classic Muppets were performed by new performers, from what I hear.

Michael
Yes, Jim and Frank Oz had largely retired from active Muppetry, and Richard Hunt, of course, had recently passed away. Others had largely taken over, primarily Steve Whitmire for Jim’s roles, such as Kermit, and Eric Jacobsen for the Frank roles, such as Miss Piggy.

Des
The film is dedicated to Hunt[2], if I recall.

Michael
Yes, and even though I hadn’t had the honor of working with him myself, I could feel his ghost there in the production, as it were.

Des
And we hear that they made a Muppet version of you as a gift. We have an image here.​

View attachment 705803
(Image source “muppet.fandom.com”)

Michael
(laughs) Yes, quite the honor to see yourself in felt.

Des
I can imagine! Now, the Michael Caine Muppet wasn’t the only original. There were new ones for the three Christmas Ghosts.

Michael
Yes, generally they were these worn-things where one performer wore the outfit with the giant Muppet head and another sat just off camera with the mechanical mitten and controlled the facial features. It’s a trick that Brian and someone named Faz designed, and they used it on everything from Waggles [SIC] to The Lizard in the Spider-Man film. But here, they took the technology back to the Muppets and made three Ghosts of Christmas with them. Well, one of them, at least. The Ghost of Christmas Past was a standard Muppet and they used a lot of camera tricks to make her ghostly, and I guess Yet-to-Come was mostly a hood and gloves. In the end, the puppetry effects were quite charming and surprisingly relatable. In fact, it’s amazing how easy it is to believe that even the basic hand puppets are living beings and talking to you. I found myself conversing freely with Kermit the Frog and paying no attention whatsoever to Steve in the pit below me. That’s the real magic of the Muppets, not the technology of the animatronics, but the ability of the performers, the “man behind the Muppet,” to make you forget that they’re lifeless felt and truly believe, like a child on Christmas, that they are living, breathing beings with their own lives and personalities.

Des
Why believe in Father Christmas when you can believe in a talking frog?

Michael
(laughs) Exactly.​

450full.jpg

(Image source “chud.com”)

Des
And the sets were quite spectacular, considering the low budget.

Michael
Why, yes. They built them at Shepperton [Studios] near where they were filming Thomas [the Tank Engine]. They used a lot of forced perspective to make the tiny little set look like the sprawling streets of Victorian England and did remarkably well with it. Quite elegant, really.

Des
And yet in what may be one of the most magical parts of the film, you sing your own parts.

Michael
(laughs) Yes. Nobody has ever accused me of being a virtuoso singer, but Brian insisted that I sing my own parts. The biggest challenge was a duet that I had with Meredith Braun. It’s a romantic and melancholy song about how Scrooge Past ruined a chance at happiness with the beautiful Belle because of his greed, and it was a serious bit of work for me since Meredith is a celebrated West End performer while I am simply me. A lot of folks at the studio wanted to cut the song when the kids in the test audience were growing bored, but Jim intervened and it stayed in, thankfully. I would have felt put right out had it been cut, given the effort that I put into it[3].

Des
As alluded to earlier, this is, despite the Muppet whimsey, still a very sincere adaption of the Dickens tale.

Michael
Yes, down to the original Dickensian language in many cases, the darker stuff included. Sickness, poverty, sadness, and even death, with Gonzo as Dickens and [Rizzo] the Rat commenting upon it all, of course. “Dark stuff for the kids at home,” and all. But Brian and Jerry Juhl, the writer, were very clear that they wanted to play the story straight both in spirit and in dialog, so Kermit-as-Bob Cratchit is still objectively Bob Cratchit without a bunch of winks to the audience…OK a few winks, but still very grounded in that original Dickensian Cratchit with his hopeful romantic nature[4].

Des
Not too far a cry for Kermit, really.

Michael
I guess not! Good “casting” as it were! (laughs)​

MUPPETCHRISTMASCAROL_.jpg

(Image source British GQ)

Des
So far, A Muppet Christmas Carol has done fairly well, having a decent opening weekend[5]. However, Disney’s own The Bamboo Princess, made in partnership with Studio Ghibli in Japan, has stolen a lot of its thunder. It also has plenty of competition from other studios. Do you think that it will perform well?

Michael
That always remains to be seen. Though I recommend seeing it, and not simply because I happen to be in it. It’s a loving and affectionate remake of the Dickens classic that just happens to have Muppets. I felt very happy to take my daughter to see it. Admittedly she is a teenager now, but she still enjoyed it. She says Robin was “adorable”, or I believe that was the word that she used.

Des
And that brings us to the end. Thank you, Mr. Michael Caine, for your time.

Michael
And thank you as well, Des.

Des
A Muppet Christmas Carol, starring tonight’s guest Michael Caine, is in theaters now. Coming up next, we discuss another puppet-based production when Gerry Anderson comes to talk to us about his upcoming Space Police spin-off series Galaxy University. I’ll see you then.​

Theme music to Des O’Conner Tonight plays. Fade to Commercial.



[1] Quote also from our timeline.

[2] In our timeline it was dedicated to both Jim Henson and Richard Hunt.

[3] In our timeline it was cut from the theatrical release and only later restored on home video. It tends to bore younger kids but connect strongly with their parents and older siblings.

[4] I strongly considered making this notably different than the version from our timeline, with Carlin as Scrooge and a much more whimsical and satirical take on Dickens. But then three ghosts came to visit me in the night and convinced me to leave it pretty much as it. Merry Christmas, all!

[5] Very similar to our timeline’s film. Will do better without having to compete with Home Alone 2 and Aladdin, making about $42 million against a modest $12 million budget.
I read that all in Caine’s voice
 
A Muppet Christmas Carol- sounds as brilliant ITTL as it is OTL. That Caine puppet is cool.

“they were filming Thomas [the Tank Engine].” - Humm live action Thomas? I wonder which preservation lines will be used?

“Disney’s own The Bamboo Princess, made in partnership with Studio Ghibli in Japan, has stolen a lot of its thunder” - looking forward to finding out about this movie.

“upcoming Space Police spin-off series Galaxy University” - oh this sounds like fun.

Happy holidays @Geekhis Khan
 
Thanks all, for the good wishes. Happy Holidays, to you and yours! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Slightly Belated Solstice, Happy Belated Hanukkah, Happy Belated Diwali, Happy Extremely Belated Eid-e-Shuja', Joyous Festivus, and Happy Hogswatch, or whatever else you should choose to celebrate at this time. May it be merry and bright, whatever it is.

 
Believe it or not, somehow I had managed to miss seeing A Muppet Christmas Carol until today, and one of the first thoughts I had when I had opened this thread was to wonder if it had been made ITTL, or if there had been any significant changes in it. Definitely agree that Michael Caine's performance was excellent, and would have been diminished had he chosen to play it for laughs.
 
Thanks all, for the good wishes. Happy Holidays, to you and yours! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Slightly Belated Solstice, Happy Belated Hanukkah, Happy Belated Diwali, Happy Extremely Belated Eid-e-Shuja', Joyous Festivus, and Happy Hogswatch, or whatever else you should choose to celebrate at this time. May it be merry and bright, whatever it is.

What about just having a pleasant day, for us atheists on the board?
 
still celebrate Christmas as an atheist, it can be a secular holiday.
Ditto, I was raised atheist and was honestly really surprised to learn that people actually believe in the more supernatural elements of the bible when I was young.

Wonder if a modern version of these ads could be created by Henson at some point in the future.
Jim Henson stopped doing ads after Sesame Street because he didn't want kids to be influenced by seeing his creations selling products so probably not.

Maybe in the odd Disney ad, but only for the shows or the parks.
 
Election '92 Live Coverage!
Gore-Tsongas Declared Winners of 1992 Election

Democrats Make Marginal Gains in Senate, Lose Ground in House

From New York Times, November 4th, 1992


220px-Al_Gore%2C_Vice_President_of_the_United_States%2C_official_portrait_1994.jpg
Senator_Paul_Tsongas.jpg


“It’s the economy, stupid!” said Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, whose canvasing for Gore brought in critical urban and blue-collar voters in several swing states. It was hardly the first time that he’d said the now famous phrase, allegedly first crafted by campaign manager James Carville, which became a kind of mantra for the campaign. And while it may seem reductive to place it all on a single issue – after all, Bush was mired down not only by economic recession, but by a broken promise not to raise taxes, allegations of groping by several women[1], an allegedly tone-deaf response to Hurricane Bonnie’s devastation[2], and by a growing public perception of being effeminate, elitist, and out of touch – economic stability and jobs remained exceedingly high on the list of voter concerns, subsequently seeing Bush’s poll numbers plummet from a lofty peak of 89% after the Gulf War to around 40% in the leadup to the election. Altogether, this allowed Gore to ride a wave of “rust belt” angst to victory.

Bush also suffered from poor turnout from Evangelical Christian voters, many of whom saw the replacement of the gaffe-prone Vice President Dan Quayle on the ticket with Jack Kemp as a betrayal. While Kemp managed to help Bush in the suburbs, likely helping him to secure Ohio and Georgia and bringing both New Jersey and Maryland within striking distance, it appears to have hurt him in the rural South, West, and Midwest, allowing Gore to claim North Carolina, Michigan, Montana, and Kentucky. Whether Bush could have overcome his disadvantages and won had he stuck with Quayle is, of course, a matter of speculation[3].

Following a sweep of the Northeastern, Midwestern (save Indiana and Ohio), and Pacific Coast states, Senator Al Gore of Tennessee is projected to claim victory in the 1992 Presidential Election by a margin of between 341 and 366 electoral votes to President George Bush’s 172 to 197, with votes still coming in from some districts and Florida still too close to call[4]. Florida is so far within 0.005% and will face a mandatory recount, but even assuming that Bush claims it, it will not be enough to overcome Gore’s already certain 341 electoral votes. Gore also came startlingly close to Bush in Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, and Wyoming, which has given Republican strategists pause.

In addition to the economy, many credit the work of Carville for helping to guide Gore on his public persona. Gore, whose dry wit and technocratic approach to politics can come across as “dull” or “boring”, reportedly worked hard under Carville’s tutelage to project a down-home, fatherly image; a “friendly Tennessee working man” to contrast with Bush’s alleged “Yale Elitism” in Carville’s words. Gore worked to project this hard-working image as a man of the people despite, like Bush, being a highly educated Harvard man from a political dynasty. Rumors persist that Walt Disney’s public persona was used as a model, though this may reflect public awareness of the support of Disney Chairman Frank Wells, even as Disney CEO Ron Miller supported Bush. And while this image makeover didn’t always succeed as planned, many voters, particularly younger voters, saw Gore as a bit of an awkward but endearing dad “trying to be cool for his kids’ friends.”

“He reminded me of the dad from Full House,” said one University of Tennessee student, “You’re kind of embarrassed for him, but you still kind of like him anyway.”

Others cite the endorsement of former independent populist candidate H. Ross Perot, who dropped out of the race in order to support Gore. Perot supporters tended to come roughly equally from both sides of the political aisle or represent demographics who don’t normally vote, according to NYT political analysists, making the endorsement possibly a factor in pushing wavering swing voters over to the Gore side. Other factors indicate that Perot, even in absentia, acted as a spoiler for Bush, having dampened enthusiasm on the populist right and among “Reagan Democrats” by severing Reagan’s coattails, adding to the damage done by Pat Buchanan, who refused to endorse Bush and continued to attack him over the dropping of Quayle.

Gore’s presumed victory sent blue chip stocks lower in anticipation of higher corporate taxes and possible limitations on fossil fuels and emissions while sending the tech-heavy NASDAQ slightly higher on promises of investment into “Green Technology” and computer technology as part of a long-term plan to transition to sustainable power and transportation infrastructure. Economists remain divided on whether investments in green tech can really bring back northern industrial jobs lost to sun belt states in the 1970s and ‘80s, but “Atari Democrat” Gore remains confident that “the Green Economy” is the future of American jobs along with high tech, computers, and cutting-edge research. Continued on pg. A2.


genusmap.php

Gore/Tsongas: 341 - 49,515,712 - 51.37%
Bush/Kemp - 197 - 44,372,538 - 46.04%
Bush/Quayle
[5] - 1,498,821 - 1.56%
Ross Perot (write-ins) - 287,062 - .35%
Others - .68% - 660,085 [6]

Colors represent the depth of each party's control (red = republican, blue = democrat). The lighter the shade, the closer to 50%, the darker the shade the closer to 100%.

(all Election Maps from “uselectionatlas.org”)


Closest States:

Florida - R+0.0048%
Ohio - R+0.42%
New Jersey - D+0.68%
Georgia - R+1.63%
Maryland - D+1.88%
Michigan - D+1.92%
Wyoming - R+2.44%
North Carolina - D+2.69%
South Dakota - R+2.79%
Louisiana - R +2.82%
Missouri - D+3.14%
Kentucky - D +3.38%
Colorado - D+3.67%
Alaska - R+3.94
New Hampshire - D +3.95%
Indiana - R +4.7%
Kansas - R +4.96%



Gore’s Cabinet-to-Be:

Secretary of State: Zbigniew Brzezinski

Secretary of the Treasury: Lloyd Bentsen

Secretary of Defense: Sam Nunn

Attorney General: Sonia Sotomayor

Secretary of the Interior: Bruce Babbitt

Secretary of Agriculture: Dan Glickman

Secretary of Commerce: Ron Brown

Secretary of Labor: James Blanchard

Health and Human Services: Pat Schroeder

Housing and Urban Development: Henry Cisneros

Secretary of Transportation: Frederico Pena

Secretary of Energy: Hazel O'Leary

Secretary of Education: Richard Riley

Veteran Affairs: Jesse Brown



1992 House Election:

genusmap.php

Colors represent the depth of each party's control (red = republican, blue = democrat). The lighter the shade, the closer to 50%, the darker the shade the closer to 100%. Gray states are split. Green is Bernie Sanders.

Democrats: 270 (-11) -50.9%
Republicans: 164 (+11) -47.8%
Independents: 1 (+/-) - 1.3%

Differences from Our Timeline:

Alabama 2nd District - Faye Baggiano (D) defeats Terry Everett (R) - 59.1 - 38.3
Alaska At Large - John Devens (D) - re-elected 56.5-33 in a rematch with Don Young
California[7] 4th - Patricia Malberg (D) defeats Patrick Doolittle (R) in a rematch, 58.6-36.9
California 10th - Wendell Williams (D) defeats William Baker (R) 54.4-45.6 in this new district
California 11th - Patti Garamendi (D) defeats Richard Pombo (R) 52 - 41.2 in this new district
California 22nd -Gary Hart (D) defeats Michael Huffington (R) 46.3 - 41.4
California 43rd - Mark Takano (D) defeats Ken Calvert (R) -52.8- 40.3
Connecticut 5th - Toby Moffett (D) defeats Gary Franks (R) in a rematch 41.5 - 33.2
Georgia[8] 4th - Cynthia McKinney wins with little challenge in this newly drawn heavily Democratic district
Georgia 6th - David Worley (D) defeats Newt Gingrich (R) in a rematch 52.8-47.2.
Georgia 11th - Cathy Steinberg (D) defeats John Linder (R) in this new swing district 52.7-47.3
Iowa 2nd - Eric Tabor (D) defeats Jim Nussle (R) in a rematch 61-39
Iowa 3rd -Elaine Baxter (D) defeats Jim Lightfoot (R) - 49-47
Illinois[9] 18th - Glenn Poshard (D) wins without major challenge
Maryland 5th - Larry Hogan (R) defeats Steny Hoyer (D) - 49.8-46.9
Massachusetts 1st - Patrick Larkin (R) defeats John Olver (R) - 48.7-46.2
Michigan[10] 7th - John Conyers (D) defeats Nick Smith (R) - 53.5 - 38.4
Michigan 11th - Milton Carr (D) defeats Joe Knoellenberg (R) - 65.8-30
Minnesota 2nd - Cal Ludeman (R) defeats David Minge (D) - 48-47.3
Missouri 9th - Rick Hardy (R) defeats Harold Volkmer (D) - 48.9-44.2
New York 2nd - Thomas Downey (D) defeats Rick Lazio (R) - 51-49
New York 4th - Phil Schiliro (D) defeats David Levy (R) - 51.4-48.6
North Carolina 11th - James Clarke (D) wins 57-43 in a rematch with Charles Taylor (R)
Ohio 6th - Bob McEwen (R) defeats Ted Strickland (D) - 50.4-49.6
Pennsylvania 13th - Jon Fox (R) defeats Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D) 51.4-48.6
Pennsylvania 18th - Jon Delano (D) defeats Rick Santorum (R) 53-47
Pennsylvania 20th - Bill Townsend (R) defeats Austin Murphy (D) 51-49
Washington 4th - Doc Hasting (R) defeats Jay Inslee (D) 52.2-47.8



1992 Senate Election:

genusmap.php

Dark Blue: Democratic Pickup; Light Blue: Democratic Hold; Dark Red: Republican Pickup; Light Red: Republican Hold

Democrats - 61(+1)
Republicans - 39 (-1)

Differences from Our Timeline[11]:

California Senator Class I - Dianne Feinstein was elected Governor, so there's no special election. Pete Wilson (R) is still Senator.

Illinois - Alan Dixon (D) voted against Clarence Thomas ITTL and so isn't primaried by Carol Moseley Braun. He is re-elected 51-49 over Richard Williamson (R). Same party, different Senator

New York - Former Vice Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro (D) defeats incumbent Senator Al D'Amato (R) 49.6 - 47.2

Oregon - Congressman Les AuCoin (D) defeats Superintendent Norma Paulis (R) 52.3-46.3 after Senator Packwood's abrupt withdrawal from the race after his scandals were revealed.

Closest Races:

New Hampshire - R+.09%
North Carolina - R+.55% (Flip)
New York - D+2.4% (Flip)
South Carolina - D+2.5%
Pennsylvania - R+3.2%
Georgia - R+3.25% (Flip)
Washington - D+4.94%
California - D+4.97%



Governor Race Changes:

genusmap.php

Dark Blue: Democratic Pickup; Light Blue: Democratic Hold; Dark Red: Republican Pickup; Light Red: Republican Hold

Differences from Our Timeline:

Montana - Dorothy Bradley (D) defeats Marc Racicot (R) 53.4-46.6
Washington - Ken Eikenberry (R) defeats Don Bonker (D) 50.8-49.2



Governors after Election:

genusmap.php

Democrats: 36(+2)
Republicans: 12 (-2)
Independents: 2 (+/-)



Year of the Woman Becomes Reality[12]
Washington Post, November 4th, 1992


It was at last month’s debate in Richmond where President Bush infamously declared, “This is supposed to be the year of the women in the Senate. Let's see how they do. I hope a lot of them lose.” This blunt statement came from the reality that while a record number of women were running for elected office, most were Democrats inspired to run by Clarence Thomas’ failed confirmation after Anita Hill’s dramatic testimony. Three female freshmen were elected to the Senate, joining Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski, who was re-elected easily despite Maryland being close at the Presidential level, and Republican Senator Nancy Kassebaum. Nearly fifty women are set to be elected to the House. And in Montana it looks like Democrat Dorothy Bradley will be narrowly elected Governor, the first woman elected to that office.

Between both parties there were 10 female nominees for the Senate and just over 100 nominees for the House. Fortune favored female Democratic candidates; as Senator Al Gore was elected President, many women down ballot were elected as well. Unfortunately for the Republican Party, many of their female candidates went on to lose.

In New York, Geraldine Ferraro, who was the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President 8 years ago, parlayed her ties with the national party and the upswell of support for women to overcome a swirl of scandals around her family to narrowly win the Democratic primary in September and narrowly unseat Republican Al D’Amato.

In Washington State, Patty Murray (D), a self-styled “mom in tennis shoes”....Cont’d on A4.



* * *​

Dave Letterman: The election results are in and the winner is… (pretends to doze off and snore) …Oh, what, hey! I must have nodded off.

Paul: Who needs valium when you have a VHS tape of the Bush-Gore debates?



[1] Bush has been accused of groping women (some as young as 16 at the time) in a manner he considers “playful”. With such “zinger” lines as calling himself “David Cop-a-feel”. In this timeline with an earlier reckoning on such things, the allegations have surfaced earlier, and at the worst possible moment politically speaking.

[2] Random weather butterflies mean that a weaker Hurricane Andrew missed the US but a stronger, deadlier Bonnie hit the gulf coast as a Class 4.

[3] Note that @jpj1421 ran the numbers both ways. The electoral map changes slightly with a Bush/Quayle ticket (e.g. Ohio and Georgia flip blue and Kentucky flips red), as do several down-ballot races, but Gore still won by a similar Popular and Electoral College vote margin.

[4] In a strange allo-ironic parallel to our timeline’s 2000 election (and one that came as a surprise to us), Bush will win Florida by a relative handful of votes, representing 0.0048% of the electorate. Unlike with his son in our timeline, it won’t matter since Gore still claimed 341 Electoral Votes even without Ohio and Florida.

[5] The New York Conservative Party Ticket nominated Bush with Quayle as the VP over New Yorker Jack Kemp.

[6] Convention boater hat tip to @jpj1421 for the calculations for election returns and help on picking the Gore Cabinet.

[7] Governor Feinstein and the Democratic Legislature of California agreed to a districting plan where districts are 5-15 points more Democratic than in our timeline. Ah the power of flagrant Gerrymandering.

[8] Georgia has lines more like what they have in our timeline later in the nineties as Dick Thornburgh is still AG under Bush and isn't as aggressive with the VRA districts as AG Burr was, plus Gingrich isn't in Congress so the Georgia Speaker, who was his constituent, doesn't need to spitefully draw his house out of a Republican district...that he just moves to and wins in anyway.

[9] Illinois Democrats get to gerrymander the state in this timeline, whereas Republicans won that right in a coin toss in ours, and 7 out of 20 districts are completely different than their allohistorical counterpart. Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, and 18 are supposed to be heavily Democratic, 6 is given a slightly more Republican tilt, and 15 becomes a Republican vote sink as Minority Leader Michl and Thomas Ewing are drawn into the same district.

[10] Much like Illinois, Michigan in this timeline is drawn with districts heavily favorable to Democrats.

[11] New York: Geraldine Ferraro wins the primary and defeats Al D'Amato. D'Amato was the primary instigator of the White Water and Ken Star investigations. Hillary Clinton particularly savored campaigning for Chuck Schumer in 1998 to beat him.

Oregon: Bob Packwood's problems come to light and Les AuCoin (D) is elected

[12] Guest Post by @jpj1421; Note that The Year of the Woman is actually slightly down compared to our timeline for a number of reasons. Dianne Feinstein is Governor of California so there is no special election to replace Pete Wilson in the Senate. Alan Dixon voted against Thomas in this timeline, and so didn’t face a primary challenge from Carol Mosely Braun. In this timeline Geraldine Ferraro gets a slight boost from increased support for women enough to win the primary narrowly and enough to win the general election narrowly. Yeakel in Pennsylvania does better than in our timeline, but Kemp’s support in the suburbs boosts Specter’s support while also sinking Marjorie Margolies, who was narrowly elected to represent Montgomery County in our timeline. The drop in base support from the Quayle switch secures Montana for the Democrats.
 
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