WI: A Later Vietnam War

What if Johnson had decided not to send more troops to Vietnam in the wake of the Gulf of Tonkin incident? What if it had been Nixon who escalated the conflict in the early 1970s? (I'm assuming Johnson loses for other reasons, such as race riots and the failed promises of his Great Society, and Nixon still wins in '68). What would the second half of the Seventies be like with a later Vietnam involvement (assuming Nixon starts escalating in 1970 or so, and the war lasts at least ten years as it did in OT (from when the first U.S. combat troops are sent in until the fall of Saigon)? Assuming Nixon resigns from Watergate, Ford would be left with the war to contend with and would probably be under pressure from hawkish Republicans to keep America troops in. This would probably have cost him the 1976 election (assuming the war is as controversial at this point as it was in 1968) and Carter might have faced the collapse of South Vietnam and the fall of Saigon five years later than in OT. But would he have lost in 1980? Would the American public be so willing to support a Republican presidential candidate so soon after two Republican administrations that supported the war?

There's also the cultural impact to consider-punk as part of the antiwar movement, maybe no disco, etc (well that might be a good thing). (The Democratic Convention in 1968 would have been a lot quieter, as well-but 1976 would have been another matter!)
 
Why would the US invade? Most likely South Vietnam would be conquered by 1970 without US intervention. Do we also assume the recession of the 70s doesn't occur due to lack of earlier Vietnam intervention? Do we assume there wouldn't be any other proxy war in the absence of Vietnam?
 
If a Communist government actually took over Vietnam then there would be a sharp reaction from the right.

Anything less than that well Johnson is running a rather successful policy domestically (more so than in OTL with out the drain or resources of that war) he wins quite easily in 1968- and Nixon is NOT the sacrificial candidate the Republicans offer in 68.
 

Xen

Banned
If a Communist government actually took over Vietnam then there would be a sharp reaction from the right.

Anything less than that well Johnson is running a rather successful policy domestically (more so than in OTL with out the drain or resources of that war) he wins quite easily in 1968- and Nixon is NOT the sacrificial candidate the Republicans offer in 68.

You think they would go with Goldwater again? Maybe Romney or Rockefeller?
 
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