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One of President Kennedy's concerns was the rise of the John Birch Right Wing, and the ferocious Right Wing outlook of a lot of the Joint Chiefs and many men in the military. They were people who saw Communism everywhere, believed in a massive Communist conspiracy, and would gladly use the bomb. This was an era of men like Curtis LeMay and Edwin Walker. Kennedy read the book Seven Days in May and believed it was possible. There was a genuine fear that if these men had the chance, they would sideline the president and subvert the executive branch.

What if something like that had happened? Not necessarily a note for note rendition of the story, but a scenario where the president is sidelined and subverted by a Joint Chiefs, whose influence and hegemony has grown out of control. It doesn't take a coup. It takes giving too much leeway, and not being able to reel them back in. It could be a matter of hegemony, strong vs weak personalities, and the tug of war of influence and authority in the executive branch, which were real issues. It was a concern during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was among the reasons vice president Johnson wasn't given the authority he wanted -- Kennedy was worried he would run amok and turn it into a co-presidency or worse.
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