WI: JFK Assassination 12/11/1960

11 December 1960: While vacationing in Palm Beach, Florida, President-elect John F. Kennedy's life was threatened by Richard Paul Pavlick, a 73-year-old former postal worker. Pavlick's plan was to serve as a suicide bomber by crashing his dynamite-laden 1950 Buick into Kennedy's vehicle, but the plan was disrupted when Pavlick saw Kennedy's wife and daughter bidding him goodbye.That attack of conscience foiled the opportunity, with Pavlick's arrest by the Secret Service coming three days later after he was stopped for a driving violation, with the dynamite still in his car. Pavlick spent the next six years in both federal prison and mental institutions before being released in December 1966.

So What If Pavlick was not struck by that of attack of conscience and went through with his suicide bombing attack, killing President-elect John F. Kennedy, and his family in the process? How does the nation and Vice-President-elect LBJ react to this tragedy? What would an earlier Johnson administration look like? Who does Johnson pick as his VP? How might the Texan handle the bay of pigs, Cuban Missle Crisis, Civil Rights and Vietnam? Might Goldwater or Rockefeller actually be able to pull off a victory against LBJ in '64? What other ripples may be caused by an earlier JFK assassination attempt.
 
As the members of the Electoral College had not yet voted (they voted on 12-19-1960), worry and fear would weigh heavly upon the psyche of the grief stricken nation.

Would all 303 pledged Democratic electors vote Johnson for President? Would the 14 unpledged Democratic electors who voted for Byrd OTL vote for him? I imagine that the DNC & Johnson would choose Symington or Humphrey for VP. Would the 303 and the 14 vote for elther man or whomever else was selected (in OTL the 14 voted for Strom Thurmond)? My idea (which I've suggested for similar scenarios) is to have the pledged Democratic electors cast their presidential votes for the deceased JFK and their vice presidential votes for LBJ. Thus, in January 1961 Congress would certify that Kennedy & Johnson won and Johnson would immediatly become President-elect due to Kennedy's death. He would serve the full 4 years w/o a VP.

It would be an interesting but disconcerting few weeks! But, given that the Democratic ticket won a solid electoral majority, plus the fact that Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the federal courts means that a Johnson victory is sure.
 
I think that after LBJ is sworn in as President, he will ask Congress to send to the states a constitutional amendment to allow the President to nominate a Vice President if there is a vacancy in that office (earlier than ITTL).
 

JohnJacques

Banned
As the members of the Electoral College had not yet voted (they voted on 12-19-1960), worry and fear would weigh heavly upon the psyche of the grief stricken nation.

Would all 303 pledged Democratic electors vote Johnson for President? Would the 14 unpledged Democratic electors who voted for Byrd OTL vote for him? I imagine that the DNC & Johnson would choose Symington or Humphrey for VP. Would the 303 and the 14 vote for elther man or whomever else was selected (in OTL the 14 voted for Strom Thurmond)? My idea (which I've suggested for similar scenarios) is to have the pledged Democratic electors cast their presidential votes for the deceased JFK and their vice presidential votes for LBJ. Thus, in January 1961 Congress would certify that Kennedy & Johnson won and Johnson would immediatly become President-elect due to Kennedy's death. He would serve the full 4 years w/o a VP.

It would be an interesting but disconcerting few weeks! But, given that the Democratic ticket won a solid electoral majority, plus the fact that Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the federal courts means that a Johnson victory is sure.

Just posted about this in a Harding thread. Any votes for a dead candidate would be stripped from the candidate. See Horace Greeley in 1872.
 

Thande

Donor
One thing I think is that it would raise awareness of suicide bombing in the American (and general world) popular consciousness, with the result that perhaps it won't be seen as something that only 'the Other' (Japanese, Muslims, Tamil although few people know about that one) do.
 
Just posted about this in a Harding thread. Any votes for a dead candidate would be stripped from the candidate. See Horace Greeley in 1872.
Just replied in that thread
According to the Wiki entry on him (yes, I know, wikipedia), there were 3 Georgia votes left blank (and then they state that some sources claim that they were specifically for Greeley and denied by Congress). So, firstly, I'm not sure it's entirely established that Congress threw out those votes, and second, there's a heck of a difference between 3 votes and 400.
 
I would think that a vote for a dead candidate is a vote for a vacancy. That is what happened in the US Senate race in Missouri in 2000. Votes for a dead man left a vacancy to be filled by the governor by appointment.
 
Interesting theories on what could possibly happen in the Electoral College...I just figured that the electors would go ahead an award the votes to Johnson. But since he is serving a full term, I can definatley see him appointing a vice-president. Might he be pressured by the party to make RFK his vp? who are some other possible candidates? Also, does Johnson survive the stressfull relations between the US and the Soviet Union in his first term?
 
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