America's Funniest President: Mo Udall Presidency & Beyond
- Thread starter CountDVB
- Start date
I think Askew is likely to choose Al Gore as his running mate. Gore is young, good looking, relatively charismatic, and a first term Senator. I think the Republicans will nominate HW Bush and Dole on a compromise ticket since Bush would probably want Kemp as his running mate. Anderson is likely to choose Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker as his running mate. Weicker was a moderate Republican Senator from the New England state of Connecticut, a former Republican stronghold, and was the first Republican Senator to call for Nixon's impeachment or resignation in 1974. Weicker was also a friend of Ross Perot and was considered by Perot in our timeline as a possible running mate. However there are some downsides towards Weicker, I've heard that he was not very charismatic and was very unlikable. Kind of like the Hillary effect the more he kept talking the more voters turned themselves off towards him. I don't think he would do very well in the debates if Anderson polls well enough.
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Liberal republicans still sorta influential, but man, is the party now in a mess.
Spring 1988- War Pangs
Spring 1988- War Pangs
Eritrean People's Liberation Front / "Shabia" fighters during Battle of Afabet
While the cold civil war in the Republican Party grew more obvious and tense with the departure of John B. Anderson from the Republican Party and running as an independent, other wars continued to rage across the world. One of which was Eritrea's War of Independence against Ethiopia. Having started since the time of the monarchy, the war continued to rage on when the Derg overthrew the monarchy and installed a military junta. With the famine, reliance on foreign aid and so many issues, the Derg were losing popularity quite quickly. Even with the transition into the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the troubles remained with the autocratic government and the lockdown on personal freedoms along with the ethnic tensions. Unsurprisingly, it led to warfare, with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front continuing war against the Derg. Over in Spring 1988, the most decisive battle came over in the form in the Battle fo Afabet. Despite the numerical advantage and the assistance of the Soviets on the side of the Derg, it was an overwhelming victory over for the EPLF, having captured or killed thousands of numbers while having lost relatively few themselves. Considered one of the greatest victories for the freedom fighters as they captured the battle of Afabet, it showed the further weakness of the Derg and of the new government, especially with the Soviets becoming more reluctant to support the ordeal and the question over a new government or even a return of the monarchy. [1]
Eritrean People's Liberation Front / "Shabia" fighters during Battle of Afabet
Over hundreds of miles to the north, the Afghan-Pakistan War would continue raging on. The conflict continued to erode support and stability that the Zia-ul Haq regime still had over in Pakistan. Surrounded by enemies, the Zia-ul Haq's regime doubled down further on its "Islamization" program, prosecuting and targeting various minorities, especially with accusations of said minorities being spies or enemies of the state. Unsurprisingly, such tactics would provide further fodder for Aghanistan and India to use to justify their war more and even become more involved. One incident was the Battle of Gilgit. Over in the Gilgit district, the Shia civilians rose up against Zia-ul Haq's Sunni Islamist regime and in response, the regime sent soldiers to try and crush the revolt. It was preceded by earleir anti-Shia riots, which were caused by a dispute over the sighting of the moon for Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. Local Sunnis, who were still fasting for Ramadan, had attacked the local Shias who had announced their commencement of Eid celebrations in Gilgit City, leading to violent clashes between the two sects. In response to the riots and revolts, the regime sent in a small portion of the Pakistan Army leading an armed group of local Sunni tribals from Chilas to put down the revolt. [2] While it started as a massacre, things quickly turned when Indian forces, having heard of the revolt, had come in to investigate for an opportunity. The Indian forces would clash against the regime's forces while assisting the Shia Muslims, resulting in the battle of Gilgit. It would escalate quickly as more forces were tried to be set in by both sides though with the Pakistani army stretched in and the gowing rebellions, it would result in victory over for the Shia Muslims and India. India and Afghanistan both used the opportunity to slam on Pakistan for the attempted massacre though Pakistan responded against India's increasing failures in handling the anti-Sikh riots along with the repression caused by them, which in turn led to accusations of Khalistan agitation, which became especially prominent as Indian Punjab was becoming a greater spot of tension.
While the wars raged on, life went on as well along with some more positive developments. Over in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the first McDonalds would open and it increased the likelihood of communist-aligned nations letting in some businesses from capitalist nations in regarding franchising and whatnot. Yet at the same time, the Candle demonstration in Bratislava, Slovakia would be a massive a demonstration against the socialist government of Czechoslovakia. The World Expo 88 opens in Brisbane, Australia and focused on leisure over in the age of technology. It was quite a fascinating dichotomy; while it focused on some of the new technological toys such as on video games and other new tech of leisure, there was also a focus on leisure activites focusing on the outdoors and simplicity, a trend started from the frugality of the late 1970s and eary 1980s during the recovering economy and creating a pattern among the younger adults. And the World's first Pendolino train to enter regular high-speed service, in Italy, [3] which is gathering the attention of some other nations, including the United States.
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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Afabet
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Gilgit_massacre
[3]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988
Hopefully, this Afghanistan turns out better, or at least more stable without the influence of a certain Saudi. If I had to guess, with no Soviet-Afghan war, this version of Osama becomes a businessman of some sort, perhaps.
Well, it's a complicated case. The Saur Revolution became the Saur Standoff, turning the nation from a one-party state into a semi-presidential one, sorta like Egypt and with the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan becoming the dominant party though the National Revolutionary Party still maintained some power. Of course, the PDPA wasn't stable, with the conflict between the Parcham/moderates and the Khalq/hardliners. OTL, the Khalq won over the Parcham and would proceed to dissolve into tribalism and chaos, resulting in their loss.
Here, the Khalq's tribalism would be exploited by the Parcham and the NRP cooperating and waiting them out, essentially resulting in the internal troubles and tribal resentments bleeding them out before the Parcham would finish them off and assimilate those who bent the knee. Now NRP and Parcham are in cordial terms, focusing on their same goals; modernization, not being too involved with the superpowers and bringing the religious reactionaries to heel. This also led to both of them viewing Pakistan as an enemy for multiple reasons: the quasi-theocratic government, having Pashtun land and so on.
Hence their war along with alliance with India.
As for Bin Laden, well he did have a pretty good fortune he was linked with. No war for him to get invovled in Afghanistan vs Soviets. He may try and have some influence over in other parts, but well, Afghanistan was because of Pakistan breaching borders while Jordan taking Palestine was complicated. Though despite his devotion, he could go also in the construction business and still be in Saudi Arabia.
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Summer 1988- Burning Up
Summer 1988 - Burning Up
Firefighting over in Norris, late summer 1988
Firefighting over in Norris, late summer 1988
Tensions continued to heat up in different ways. Over in the Estonian SSR, the music of patriotism rang through the air, over in defiance. Following up order from the troubles stewed from the Phosphate War, the Estonian people began voicing themselves with. Massive demonstrations of thousands of people would break out in song, leading to what would be called the "Singing Revolution", extending beyonf Estonia and going to the rest of the Balkans. The term would be coined by an Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week after 10–11 June 1988, spontaneous mass singing demonstrations going on over in the evening at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds and beyond. [1] This was serving further evidence of the political troubles that was facing the USSR and the need for some sort of political reform alongside the economic reforms that Gorbachev was putting through. In fact, it seemed that all across the Soviet sphere of influence, the people were tired of the autocratic means and the pressures over onto them. Many people were now wondering if the mighty Soviet Union would be able to maintain its unity or the Warsaw Pact for much longer. This was not the only incident though. In Malaysia, the constitutional crisis that had been building up since the last year would finally erupt; it would lead to the ousting of the Lord President of Malaysia, Salleh Abas. [2]
However, for the United States, troubles were heating in up in a much different; that of a raging blaze around Yellowstone. Due to the unusual dry period around the time, various fires began raging on over near Yellowstone, caused mostly by lightning strikes though some by human error. Eventually, they would begin merging and create a massive inferno around the area. The fires almost destroyed two major visitor destinations and by the time it would be put out, around ~35% of the park was affected by the raging fires. Part of this was due to the drought, but also because of the need for sustained blazes and how they combined due to the dry weather. [3] Beyond bringing up the need and the moderation of controlled blazes for this area, the drought associated with the fires would bring back the topic of manmade climate change. This was especially the case given what had begun arounds the same time the blazes were really starting; the testification of NASA scientist James Hansen over to the U.S. Senate over the danger of manmade climate change starting to become evident.
As he said: "A sign of climate change, that of overall warming of the globe has reached a level such that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and observed warming...It is already happening now." [4] The testimony brought fresh concern over on climate change and what people can do. While some of the actions that have been done, such as the changes in ecofriendly infrastructure, city planning and other choices have made catching grown over time, it was clear more would be needed. The Udall Administration would note this testimony as the need to further invest in renewable energy and phase out fossil fuels. While nuclear energy was a big benefit, solar and wind were also getting caught up, especially with the acknowledgement that designs to account for renewability of materials and recycling needed to be considered. One promising and unexpected source for them was the usage of biotechnology, especially in uncovering utilizing the biological mechanisms of flora and other plantlife organisms in the technology. Another venue was in geothermal energy, especially in Canada as it had become a discussion point over the exploration of geothermal energy over in British Columbia and Alberta, especially with the renewed National Geothermal Program noting Canada havign favorable conditions for such.
Anotheer cause for alarm regarding the environment occurred during the infamous "Syringe Tide" incident. Back in 1987 and going over to 1988, an environmental disaster would occur over an Connecticut, New Jersey and New York where significant amounts of medical waste, including hypodermic syringes, and raw garbage washed up onto beaches. Unsurprisingly, the ordeal caused quite a panic and a shock. This would lead to closures of the beaches while parties would over and search through along with discovering the cause behind this, eventually the cause being Staten Island's Fresh Kills Landfill. [5] Prior to that though, the incident caused a freshwave of outrage over littering and pollution and even afterwards, the energy, especially combined with the climate change news and the discussion over in , would propel potential legislation on dealing with litter, management of trash and even further on the possibilities of mandatory recylcing programs on the federal and state levels. Despite this, people kept on going, especially with what was coming in the elections.
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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_Revolution
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988
[3]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988
[4]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen#US_Senate_committee_testimony
[5]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe_tide
Autumn 1988- Torch Passing
Autumn 1988- Torch Passing
1988 Summer Olympics icon (hosted in Seoul, South Korea)
1988 Summer Olympics icon (hosted in Seoul, South Korea)
The American electoral season had arrived and voters were coming in, buzzing with a mixture of excitement and contemplation, especially with the new legislation in place. With the drawing of electoral districts removed from politicians and now in the hands of non-partisan redistricting commissons in the federal level and soon in the state level, it would ensure a fairer voting process and representation. This was compounded with the implementation of the "Wynoming Rule", resulting in the increase of seats in the House of Representatives to account for population growth for fairer representation, which many will expect to see greater changes by 1990. However, what made the news more buzzing was the three-way election with John B Anderson running as an independent. While he possessed a fair number of support and was respectfully invited to various debates, many wondered if an independent could actually win or anyone of a third party in general. The presidential election was not the only thing going on in the minds of the Americans over in the fall of 1988. Canada would also be undergoing a federal election themselves. Mulroney's minority government have not been able to fare too well, as his voter coalition would be unable to last, especially due to some concerns of the Meech Lake Accord. This along with the growing progressive wave in politics would lead to Mulroney's loss. The Liberal Party would manage to succeed; while they did not get a majority of the votes, the Liberal Party under John Turner would create a coalition with the NDP under Ed Broadbent.
The Seoul Olympics were occurring, with the excitement and patriotic fervor associated with it, along with granting some positive attention that was needed over for the people over of South Korea and the next Olympics to be held over in none other than Barcelona. Spain. [1] Another moment of unity that caught the world's attention regarding international politics was British Prime Minister Geoffrey Howe's speech over at the College of Europe over in Bruges, Belgium. Following up over on European Commission president Jacques Delors's speech on the growing unity within the European Economic Community and how the economies were growing closer. [2] Howe decided to make a speech on the matter. Namely because of some of the growing disputes over in his own party on "Euroskepticism". Howe's "Bruges" speech was one of pro-European unity, wanting the British to integrate closer to the great European project, but also with the hints of doing so for the sake of prominence. The speech would expose some of the cracks within the Tories over on how to become closer to Europe while providing the opportunity for the Euroskpetic leftists to make a comeback, albeit having to recognize a rapidly changing status quo and the need to address the modern state of macroeconomics. Meanwhile, TAT-8, the 8th translatlantic telephone cable connecting Europe and America is completed, this one being special for being the first to use optic fibers while the first computer worm is born, further showing the pros and cons of the developing computer worm. Additionally, the creation of the first Fairtrade Label by the Dutch has brought discussions of the treatment of farmers and workers who create the many products people buy and consume and the discovery of the horrific conditions that some of them endure, with the Fairtrade Label done as a seal ensuring the product was made by workers who are granted a living wage and fair conditions. [3]
Unsurprisingly however, the tensions from the past seasons continue onward. The Afghan-Pakistani War rages on and the rumored assassination attempt on Zia-ul-Haq has made the government on high alert, especially since it's unknown if it was from an enemy attempt or within the state itself. This has been made even worse with the resigning of Pakistan's General Rahimuddin Khan resigns from his post as the governor of Sindh due to disagreements and the state of powers, leading to an opportunity for the Afghani forces to try and turn the Sindhi onto their side. The 8888 Uprising over in Burma would occur, where thousands of protesters are killed during anti-government demonstrations. Meanwhile, thousands of people riot in Algiers, Algeria against the National Liberation Front government with the army going in to try and crush it and the Indian military takes a detour from the war to crush a coup attempt by Tamil mercenaries over in the Maldives. Most of all, the Singing Revoluton continued, reaching a crescendo when the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in which the laws of the Estonian SSR are declared supreme over those of the Soviet Union. While the USSR declares it unconstitutional near the end of November, it served as the first declaration of sovereignty from Moscow of any Soviet or Eastern Bloc entity and would go to show the need for the Soviet Union to reform or risk losing more of itself. [1]
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[1]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988
[2]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges_speech
[3]- Information and phrasing from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairtrade_certification
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Here's to hoping that the next update will be focused on the 1988 US Democratic and Republican presidential primaries
1988 US Elections
1988 US Elections
Election season in the United States. Unsurprisingly, it was quite an electrifying time. President Mo Udall's second and final term would be finished within a few short months. From him being swearing in over to now, much has changed in the United States, especially thanks to the dominance of the Democrat Party, led by their progressive elements. The introduction of the NBH, the financial assistance that was done in the early years, the expansion of education for the blue collar sectors, the SATMIN and third wave femnist movements... Mo Udall has defined the 1980s as his decade and as a period of recovery and prosperity for the United States along with helping to repair the Amercians' reputation across the world. As such, this election would be a good reflection on who would be the next leader of the Untied States and the direction of the nation.
The Democrats' primary ended with the expected result of Reubin Askew becoming the Democrats' candidate. He did not run unopposed, as other hopefuls like Jesse Jackson and Al Gore would run, at least to try ansd get their name out to test the waters. Jesse Jackson was to try and see how a candidate of color would do, though he was haunted by his own individual past comments, including on Udall, due to his former connections to the Mormon Church (which Udall left when he entered college). Al Gore meanwhile was more of a moderate form of Democrat, and even part of a group that garnered the nickname "Atari Democrats", after the company. This was mainly for the goal of stimulating the economy through investment of high technological industries. While some were concerned and saw this as veering away from the traditional labor roots, others saw it as an opportunity to grow more. Unions have managed to regian their footing after the troublesome years in Reagan and the economic recession and have to realize they would need to keep changing and adapting to remain relevant and prominent. As such, the possibility then was also to prepare for the eventual unionizing of these new breed of technological workers and programmers, especially as educational courses would likely find their way in vocational schools as the technology advanced, stabilized and standardized. Of course, when Askew won, it was matter of who would be chosen over for his vice president choice. Appaently, rumors had it that would've been Al Gore while others suspected perhaps Walter Mondale. Askew had considered them both, but he noted that the candidate would be someone who would reflect the future and spur it on. Despite initial hesitation, the person agreed to become Reubin Askew's running mate.
The first black woman elected to US Congress,the first black candidate to run for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. None other than Shirley Anita Chisholm.
Despite her retirement back in 1984 from the House, she remained an active party in politics, especially with third wave feminism entering into full swing. Before she retired though, she was given the Presidental Medal of Freedom by Udall. She noted that she was quite surprised with being offered it and accepted it, seeing as an opportunity to further advance the needs of Americans, especially women of color, something which she had begun working with some of the other old guard members of the progressives, who despite feeling their age, felt the excitement of the young still and an obligation to finish guiding them to take the reigns, with work left to be done.
Meanwhile, the Republican primary was an unsurprising mess. Anderson's departure have left the Liberal Republicans without a candidate, but worse still, exposed a large divide between the leadership, the various voters and even with the times. As such, many of the candidates were pressured into dropping off though the behind-the-scenes drama like with Jack Kemp and so on would sneak into the papers. Before long, Bob Dole would remain as the last serious candidate in the running representing a damaged Republican Party, one that seem to be lost in what direction they could represent. Additionally, the public lambasting they got from Anderson along with some of the Democrats over their repeated attempts to use the "Southern Strategy" would hurt them even more. On the national level, the signs of the GOP's weakness were seen with the rise of state parties; in the same way the Conservative Party of New York was founded due to dissatisfication with the GOP, these new state parties were born to create a center-right alternative for people to vote for in the hopes of influencing the GOP. Ironically, the Conservative Party of New York itself would lose steam as they would be blamed partially for some of the GOP's poor decision. Despite this, Bob Dole trudged on in trying to unify the party by moderating some of his stances along with his running mate, George HW Bush. However, it did little except highlight the danger of the party without direction. Worse still, the louder more reactionary voices continued to lambast their complaints, unaware of the growing contempt and frustration they were getting from their own party and their voter base.
Then there was the third choice in John B. Anderson himself. Despite his best efforts, he would unsurprisingly lag behind the other candidates, though for reasons more associated with the American political system. However, he was well-respected enough to keep being invited to the debates of the general elections and given chances to go and promote his own stances, a form of middle ground. Not as radical as what the progressives of Udall and Askew, yet more stable and open to change than Dole and most of the GOP. However, at the end, he also began championing the need for electoral reform. He along with his running mate Patrick Joseph Lucey would discuss the need to change the voting system and to make it fairer and more open. Anderson recieved a healthy support from Liberal Republicans along with some of the Democrats and other indepenents.
Election Day would come and the results would be shown.
The surprise came in with John B. Anderson winning a healthy percentage of the vote, even getting double digits, despite the disadvantages, along with a couple of states. Perhaps more the news came in how brutally bad the Republicans were defeated. Anderson clearly showed the sharp divide as it took support from them, even more than a bit from the Democrats along with the general feeling toard the GOP. Dole lacked the charisma Reagan possessed and he was not a moderate with a good reputation like Baker was, so he could not replicate them.
As such, it would be pretty plain to see the winner.
Election Day 1988 would see Reubin Askew and his running mate in Shirley Chisholm win the popular and electoral vote.
Reubin Askew would become the 41st President of the United States.
41st President Reubin Askew & 43rd Vice President Shirley Chisholm
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👏👏 Awesome choice having Shirley Chisholm being the first black vice president in this TL. Great election update!
Amazing update @Count DVB! Never even expected Vice President Shirley Chisholm so kudos to you.
Awesome update. His VP, I've heard of her before. Anderson and Lucy, if I recall, both were part of an independent ticket attempt in our 1980 election, right?
