WI Edward Kennedy had run for President in 1984

Those are different, though. Watergate and Iran-Contra were derailing incidents showcasing corruption and illegalities. Chappaquiddick was an incident which, while major in its day, had been dealt with already and largely settled, and wasn't black and white as those.

But that grey area could be exploited by any opponent of Kennedy.

Image is the most important thing in politics.

They could imply that mary jo was havign an affair, Kennedy was a drink driver etc.
 
Do you remember the brithers or the clinton impeachment?

If the 60s had the Internet like 2009, the Kennnedy's politcal careers would have been finito.

You mean the GOP's revenge on the Democrats for making waves over Iran-Contra back in the 80's that crashed into the ground and generated public backlash and support for Clinton (largely because Clinton addressed the nation, and Teddy had similarly addressed the nation in 1969)? And Chappaquiddick wasn't a political doing either. And this wasn't 1969 that the scenario is set in; its 1984. It would be a minor issue that will try to be made bigger, but would be contained to being a more minor issue.
 
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You mean the GOP's revenge on the Democrats for making waves over Iran-Contra back in the 80's that crashed into the ground and generated public backlash and support for Clinton (largely because Clinton addressed the nation, and Teddy had similarly addressed the nation in 1969)? And Chappaquiddick wasn't a political doing either. And this wasn't 1969 that the scenario is set in; its 1984. It would be a minor issue that will try to be made bigger, but would be contained to being a more minor issue.

Unlike the clinton sex scandal, chappaquiddick actually involved the death of someone.

Just like the Clinton Body Count (Steve Kangas, Vince Foster etc.), chappaquiddick may have a Kennedy Body Count (Diem, Monroe, Kopechne, cuban exiles etc.) with serious ramifications
 
Unlike the clinton sex scandal, chappaquiddick actually involved the death of someone.

Just like the Clinton Body Count (Steve Kangas, Vince Foster etc.), chappaquiddick may have a Kennedy Body Count (Diem, Monroe, Kopechne, cuban exiles etc.) with serious ramifications

While involving someones death, it wasn't clear cut-ly Teddy's fault (I think it was later reported he had some brain trauma or something of that nature, and he reported it the next morning which, while not the best action, wasn't as heinous as him trying to brush it under the rug, in which case it becomes "Teddygate" and he'd be impeached, and deservedly so). Similarly, Teddy had addressed the issue when it happened in 1969, and thus began putting it to rest. By 1984, it would not be more than a minor issue used for mud slinging purposes.
 

Ibn Warraq

Banned
I think anyone who thinks Kennedy had a remote chance of beating Reagan is being horribly naive. There's a reason Ted declined to run and it wasn't to spend more time with his family.

Reagan was not only really popular, but America was strongly turning against liberalism and this was right at the time when "liberal" was turned into a dirty word and Kennedy was seen as the figurehead of liberalism.

Also, this was long, long before Kennedy had been rehabilitated in the minds of most Americans, as opposed to the people of Massachusetts. Just a few years earlier, when he decided to primary Carter, who at that time had only a 28% approval rating, Carter slaughtered him in primary after primary by invoking Chappaquidick, while hecklers kept chanting "Where's Mary Jo" at events. Kennedy's only victory was in New York, which to be blunt, was because many Jewish New Yorkers were pissed off at Carter for being percieved as being anti-Israel and the antics of his brother Billy. Kennedy even got smacked around in New England.

Now, if Kennedy got smacked around like a punch-drunk boxer in the Democratic primaries in the most liberal and Pro-Kennedy states in the country, what do people think would have happened in a general election in states other than Massachusetts?

Keep in mind that 1984 was just after Kennedy's divorce and if people think that wouldn't have become an issue, they're delusional.

So yes, Reagan still would have won in a huge landslide that, if anything, might have been even larger than OTL. If Mondale was too liberal for most Americans then they definitely weren't ready for Ted.
 
TK wins the nomination, but loses to Reagan

If Senator Ted Kennedy had run for President in 1984, there is a good chance that he would have won the Democratic Party's nomination. Despite being the establishment frontrunner, former VP Walter Mondale had a very rocky road to the 1984 Democratic nomination with outsiders Senator Gary Hart and Rev. Jesse Jackson winning numerous primaries and caucuses that Spring. Super-delegates helped put Mondale over the top.

A clear signal by Kennedy after his convincing 1982 re-election in Massachusetts to the U.S. Senate that he was running in 1984 would have reduced the starting field of Democratic candidates. Such Kennedy family friends as Senator John Glenn of Ohio and former Senator George McGovern—the party’s 1972 nominee who actually came in a close 3rd behind Gary Hart in the '84 Iowa caucuses—would probably not have run at all. The 40-something Kennedy-esque Senator Gary Hart, who ran in 1984 as an outsider with new ideas, may have been pre-empted by an actual Kennedy, then only 52 years-olds, running in the primaries against both the Reagan Republican record and Carter-Mondale record. Jesse Jackson would have made far less of a splash had he still decided to run.

Kennedy would have started out as the frontrunner, at least splitting the establishment support that went ultimately went to Mondale in his absence and winning much liberal support. The DLC wasn't formed yet, and no "Super Tuesday" set of southern state primaries was scheduled to help bolster centrist southern candidates like Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina or Governor Ruben Askew of Florida. So, the nomination battle would likely have come down to a choice between Kennedy and Mondale with the edge going to Kennedy after his 1980 campaign trial-run. The dismal Carter-Mondale administration record and the Chappaquiddick scandal would have been something close to a wash, at least in the Democratic nomination fight.

President Reagan would probably have defeated Senator Ted Kennedy decisively in the fall election, although Kennedy would probably have won more than just his home state plus the District of Columbia like Mondale actually did. The Chappaquiddick scandal would clearly have been much more damaging to Kennedy in the fall election than in the Democratic primaries and caucuses. The Republicans would have tried to define Reagan and some of his policies (esp. tax cuts and increased defense spending) as being closer to those of JFK than the policy proposals being advanced by Ted Kennedy in 1984.
 
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