WI President Scoop Jackson

Scoop Jackson was a Warhawk Democrat in the mid to late 20th century. He ran for President a few times - both in '72 and '76. He didn't do much work in the '76 primary and ended up not getting the nomination, allowing Jimmy Carter to win.

Carter is a frustrating figure because I feel he is a good guy, but he also ruined the best chance the Dems had at shaping the country. The Republicans should have been deeply damaged by Watergate yet somehow they were able to come back less than a decade later and hold onto the Oval Office for the longest time this side of FDR.

So I propose Scoop as an alternative. He was strong on civil rights but he also wanted to defeat the Soviets (which was Reagan's big thing).

He did die in '83, but that would still be the majority of a '76-'84 presidency. Maybe we could even have Carter then - he was at least friendly enough to Jackson to put his name in at the convention as part of the Stop McGovern movement. He could be a good analogue as a Democratic HW Bush.
 
This should go in the After 1900 section.

I would love to see how a Scoop Jackson presidency could come about but I think whoever won in 1976 was going to be unlucky with stagflation and the Iranian Revolution.

It was a really close election so maybe if Carter lost and the Republicans were thoroughly discredited throughout the 70s, Scoop or Ted Kennedy would be able to swoop in with a more liberal Reagan Revolution type political situation.
 
This should go in the After 1900 section.

I would love to see how a Scoop Jackson presidency could come about but I think whoever won in 1976 was going to be unlucky with stagflation and the Iranian Revolution.

It was a really close election so maybe if Carter lost and the Republicans were thoroughly discredited throughout the 70s, Scoop or Ted Kennedy would be able to swoop in with a more liberal Reagan Revolution type political situation.
Like I said, I feel like a Dem has to have a truly abysmal administration to lose only one term after Watergate. Would it perhaps also be a wise POD to move Watergate as close to the election as possible? To reduce the amount of goodwill Gerald Ford was able to rebuild.

Regarding the actual issues at hand, Scoop is a little different from Carter. We might be looking at something closer to our on Jesus Walks TL (US vs Iran in '79) but more competently run of course. An ongoing war could be enough to get Scoop re-elected. Plus like I said it defuses the Warhawks in the Republican Party - or it might anyways, I could also see Reagan running on the idea that he could run the war better.

Hopefully Scoop would point out that acting like a big strong hero in movies doesn't make you one in real life.
 
The problem with Scoop Jackson in 1976 is that the Democrats were looking for an "outsider" that year. I actually think his best chance for the presidency would be as JFK's running mate in 1960; true, the Democrats would very likely lose TX in that event, but they didn't need it; and they may have gained WA. Of course, this doesn't guarantee Jackson the presidency unless the assassination of JFK happens on schedule...
 
The problem with Scoop Jackson in 1976 is that the Democrats were looking for an "outsider" that year. I actually think his best chance for the presidency would be as JFK's running mate in 1960; true, the Democrats would very likely lose TX in that event, but they didn't need it; and they may have gained WA. Of course, this doesn't guarantee Jackson the presidency unless the assassination of JFK happens on schedule...
That would be an immensely interesting development.
 
The problem with Scoop Jackson in 1976 is that the Democrats were looking for an "outsider" that year. I actually think his best chance for the presidency would be as JFK's running mate in 1960; true, the Democrats would very likely lose TX in that event, but they didn't need it; and they may have gained WA. Of course, this doesn't guarantee Jackson the presidency unless the assassination of JFK happens on schedule...
Either this, or have Ford beat Carter in '76 and have Jackson be the Democratic nominee in 1980 against would be Vice President Dole or Reagan.
 
The problem with Scoop Jackson in 1976 is that the Democrats were looking for an "outsider" that year. I actually think his best chance for the presidency would be as JFK's running mate in 1960; true, the Democrats would very likely lose TX in that event, but they didn't need it; and they may have gained WA. Of course, this doesn't guarantee Jackson the presidency unless the assassination of JFK happens on schedule...

How might he be different from LBJ? Also might he have a chance in 1980 if Ford won 1976?
 
How might he be different from LBJ? Also might he have a chance in 1980 if Ford won 1976?

Perhaps more decisive in Vietnam, leading to an outright invasion of N. Vietnam.

This would result in:
a.) The communists losing their safe haven in NV
b.) The NVA getting mauled and rescued by the PLA, with some sort of a stalemate occuring.
 
Top