WI A Carter landslie 1976

As I understand it in the early stages it looked like Carter would have won by a huge margin.

WI he had managed that?

Would it have changed anything?

What would Carter have needed to do to achieve this.
 
Have the Hostage Rescue succeed. Nearly impossible, but...

And it would change a lot.

Less money spent on the military, although perhaps not much less. He had already come to realize that the US military needed rebuilt. Still, would be quite different from Reagan's military.

No support for the Contras so the Sandanistas survive. Less, if any support for El Salvador so they might go communist. Less support for Hondoras so they might have more trouble. Less support for Afganistan so the Soviets might win there. Less support for Solidarity so changes there.

With no loss in Afganistan and/or Poland the Soviets hang on longer. Without Reagan pushing the Saudi for lower oil prices they would be able to hang on longer.

Hell, with a couple of butterflies maybe they can manage a softer landing for their empire. Or maybe they go up in flames.
 
Have the Hostage Rescue succeed. Nearly impossible, but...

And it would change a lot.

Less money spent on the military, although perhaps not much less. He had already come to realize that the US military needed rebuilt. Still, would be quite different from Reagan's military.

No support for the Contras so the Sandanistas survive. Less, if any support for El Salvador so they might go communist. Less support for Hondoras so they might have more trouble. Less support for Afganistan so the Soviets might win there. Less support for Solidarity so changes there.

With no loss in Afganistan and/or Poland the Soviets hang on longer. Without Reagan pushing the Saudi for lower oil prices they would be able to hang on longer.

Hell, with a couple of butterflies maybe they can manage a softer landing for their empire. Or maybe they go up in flames.

That's 1980...:confused:
 
Land slide would have been tough. Watergate was the main reason Carter won in the first place. America was starting its slide into right wing domination. If Nixon had behaved in 72 I think Connally or Reagan would have been elected over any Democrat. Carter might not even have got the nomination. Better bets would have been Udall, or Church. Maybe Brown if he jumped in sooner. But if Carter would have got a land slide certain things needed to happen. 1. Stay out of Playboy magazine. 2. The Reagan Democrats were starting to vote GOP. So he needed to win the blue collar vote bigger. 3. Pick Frank Church for a running mate, that wins him some western states. The votes and states Mondale helped with would have voted for Carter any way.
 
Richard Nixon testified before the Senate committee drafting the 25th amendment. He suggested that a reconvened electoral college select the new vice president . If Nixon got his way, he could have named his first choice John Conally for vice president. I think Carter could have beaten Connally by a landslide.
 
I don't see the Carter landslide changing much. I still see him having trouble getting his energy program through. A Carter landslide is not going to improve the economy in 1980 or cancel the hostage crisis.
 
Is there any chance of the republican convention being unable to decide between Ford and Reagan? In that event, is it possible for the convention to nominate a "compromise candidate" who just so happens to be really unsuitable for the presidency, just so they can get it over and done with? Obviously this won't be clear when they're nominated, but a gaf-prone candidate who has the odd skeliton hidden away might have potential. If both camps see the nominee as a bad last-minute compromise, so much the better. Their's also the fact that noone would have voted for said candidate in the primaries-and if it looks like he has the nomination as a result of a rushed backroom deal (which it probably will), a Carter Landslide is probabal. I'd chuck in the odd rumour of a disagreement between the candidate, Ford and Reagan as well, thanks to a mildly dissbarriging comment from Ford or Reagan of the "if you give me 2 weeks, I might think of one." variety.

If either Ford or Reagan clinch the GOP nomination though, a Carter Landslide is dificult. I know Carter had a huge lead post convention, but Ford making up ground was pretty much inevitable, whether he was up against Carter, Yudal or RFK (though with the latter 2, it wouldn't be nearly as much as OTL).

Is there any chance of a strong third party bid happenning if either Ford or Reagan don't move quickly to patch things up? You could end up with Carter receiving more EVs as a result, 1912 style (though not to the same extent most probably).

Either Ford or Reagan selecting a running mate that looks good on paper, but has the potential for scandelless revelations as an October Surprise would be good, as would Carter picking someone other than Mondale, Scoop Jackson, Mo Yudal, Frank Church or John Glenn perhaps.

Combine a better running mate for Carter who's influencial enough to change his campaign for the better, with a broken GOP convention and a candidate that noone really wants-and you might have your recepie.

I don't think a Carter Landslide in itself changes anything after 1977, though the reasons that lead to his landslide might change enough during his 4 years to allow him a narrow victory in 1980, perhaps.
 
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