WI: Richard Nixon Beats Pat Brown In 1962
- Thread starter Han
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and what about Jerry Brown?!?!?!?!
and, what about California's university system? how does that turn out under Nixon?
and, what about California's university system? how does that turn out under Nixon?
Nixon wins in '62 and immediately becomes the "Leader of the Opposition" to the Kennedy administration, later LBJ. This also butterflies away any hopes of facing LBJ in '64, since one of the main reasons Nixon ran was to avoid a hopeless rematch against JFK due to a "draft". In '68 he will be in a strong position: 5 years as governor of the biggest state, which redresses his lack of executive experience. Depends on what happens with the riots. I can see him focusing on aid to education, tax cuts, welfare reform and law-and-order. His most dangerous opponent on these issues, as usual, is Bobby, the only Dem who can say "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime." If Nixon screws up the latter, then it becomes very dicey.
After seeing his father lose to Nixon, Jerry Brown decides to eschew politics and go into music, becoming a rock star.
Or he can choose to take the same path that he did OTL, eventually winning election to the Governorship either in 1970, 1974, or 1978. I can see Ronald Reagan pursuing a career in the Senate in 1968. With Nixon's campaigning for him, Reagan could probably win, and become a lion of the Senate.
Likely a version of the Master Plan will pass, if in fits and starts. Nixon, after all, campaigned from the Right and governed from the Center, so it's possible the reforms would come, but be even more obscure. Given how Nixon wasn't as averse to taxation as Reagan or Brown IIRC, the system might be able to sustain itself, so you're likely going to butterfly the recent UC protests.
What's Nixon going to do about the Watts riots? They're going to happen and while he would be much more effective than Brown it would still be a problem. Yorty is a rabid Nixon partisan (both in '60 and '68- he had a bad case of Kennedyphobia) but not the most effective mayor.
After seeing his father lose to Nixon, Jerry Brown decides to eschew politics and go into music, becoming a rock star.
I can see Ronald Reagan pursuing a career in the Senate in 1968. With Nixon's campaigning for him, Reagan could probably win, and become a lion of the Senate.
Brown could be elected 1970, 1974, AND 1978