The second biggest piece of political news in 1981, eclipsed only by the Manson attack and MacBride's subsequent resignation, was the formation of the National Conservative Caucus in both the House and Senate. While the House had many non-Democrat and non-Republican members who merged into one, the Senate drew mostly from the most conservative Democratic and Republican candidates and the few non-Democratic/Republican members.
Almost immediately after their announcement, they were mocked and tarred as the "
New Confederate Party" for their membership. The 1981 defectors were:
1. Pat Robertson (C-VA)
2. Jeremiah Denton (R-AL)
3. John Stennis (D-MS)
4. John B. Williams (I-MS)
5. George P. Mahoney (D-MD)
6. Harry Boivin (D-OR)
7. Jesse Helms (D-NC)
8. George Smathers (D-FL)
9. John Tower (R-TX)
10. Odell McBrayer (D-TX)
11. John Porter East (D-NC)
12. Herman Talmadge (D-GA)
13. Larry McDonald (D-GA)
14. Lucien DiFazio (C-CT)
Out of the initial 14 members, 2 were from outside the South (Connecticut Conservative Lucien DiFazio and Oregon Democrat Harry Boivin) and 5 were
at the time not Democrats (Pat Robertson [who's father was a Democratic Senator], John B. Williams [who was a Democratic Governor in preceding decades], John Tower, Jeremiah Denton, and again Lucien DiFazio). Before they were considered minor threats who would nip away at the knees of less conservative politicians. While some rumors swirled about a unified caucus in the House, no one expected over a dozen Senators to switch and suddenly hold the balance of power in upper chamber.
The National Conservatives planned to hold up confirmation for a possible VP for most of 1981, wanting to draw out the process as much as possible. Cohn's pick was a very unique one. His choice for Vice-President was a Californian, a two Representative, a woman, but most famously she was once a child star. Cohn nominated Shirley Temple Black as his Vice-President on August 23, 1981. His pick was based off of her "
strong conservative stands, bravery in the face of personal tragedy [referencing her battle with breast cancer],
her work on the 27th [Equal Rights]
Amendment", and her wide knowledge on topics ranging from world affairs to business and health issues. Elected in 1976 to the House of Representatives after primarying Pete McCloskey, she drew national media attention and quickly proved to many she was a serious public servant, not a media-hounding celebrity in the short time she was in the House.
Insiders noted how Cohn, the first Jewish President, wanted to fulfill several agenda's at once. He wanted to pick a capable VP, naturally considering how four out of the six previous ones jumped up to the Presidents seat via a death, election, or resignation; but he wanted someone more "
traditionally American" and media-popular then him (he had no problems admitting he wasn't trusted by some on account of his Jewishness, and the fact he wasn't the best looking man on camera), as well as someone who could draw bipartisan acclaim during the confirmation. She was substantially more liberal then him, despite his claims, which made her appointment surprising to some who were pushing for more conventional appointees. But his tactic paid off in the end.
The Senate, still technically run by Majority Leader Frank Church, who actually held a plurality of seats, managed to subvert any plans by the Conservatives that they would try and turn the confirmation into a media show. It was quick, on topic, and rather pleasant for the liberals in the two bigger parties. The House, still under the rule of Speaker McFall, voted 367-56 to confirm her, and the Senate voted 89-10 to confirm her.
She was sworn in by Chief Justice Frank Johnson on October 2nd, 1981 as the 43rd Vice-President of the United States.
---
The fact that their name was the "National" Conservative Party made it the butt of many jokes. One late night comedian mocked it saying, "
only a bunch of yokels who couldn't count would think a mostly Dixie caucus constituted a national party." All of sudden regionalism in politics had surged back into the forefront. Ever since the 1948 election, where the Solid South had been bent but not broken, and the 1960's, where it's iron grip had slowly eroded away, the South had been fertile ground for new Republican politicians. Sure growth had been slow and erratic, with Presidential elections and Congressional elections swinging back and forth, but it was there.
Now all of a sudden a new party had emerged with the South as it's center of being. Many of them, such as their Party Dean John Stennis, gave the age old excuse "
I didn't leave the party, the party left me." A drafted letter, entitled
A Conservatives Plea, was published with the names of the Senate Caucus at the end of it, and explaining their reasons: They opposed the growing centralism of governmental power that the Democrats and many Republicans went for. They opposed the high taxation needed to finance government welfare of people, corporations, and foreign governments that had been happening since Roosevelt. They wanted a "
moral government" after "
decades of adulterers, abortionists, and sodimizers" in high offices. That last one, a tacit callback to the infamous "
PERJURER AND PIXIE" headline, meant they had no intentions of just allowing Cohn to have an easy time as POTUS.
This meant that the grandfather of the party, the New York Conservatives, were split. Ideologically speaking there was not much separating the New York Conservative Party and most of the National Conservatives. Culturally there was a lot. The biggest issue was that of President Cohn. The NYConservatives got their first statewide elected politician in the form of Senator Roy Cohn, back in 1970. For many of them, it was a choice between backing Cohn (who brought the party much respectability and influence in the national scene) and backing the new national affiliate (which wanted to make themselves known as a hard right vehicle, more concerned with making a name for opposing things like 'moderation' or 'compromising').
The New York Republican Party had not doubted which horse it was going to ride, they was backing their President. But the Conservatives were split down the middle. Cohnists seized control of the primary and nominated maverick Republican Herbert London as their nominee. Incensed, anti-Cohn Conservatives set up their own ticket, with academic John Esposito on the National Conservative ticket as well as the Freedom Party ticket.
Technically speaking, both the National Conservative Party and the Conservative Party of New York State were different parties, albeit with similar names and a lot of overlap. The National Conservative Party had to run by that name in the state otherwise it would be disqualified for being too similar to the original Conservative Party. Many simply refer to the pro-Cohn Conservatives as the Cohn Faction, and the anti-Cohn Conservatives as the Loyalist Faction (as in loyal to the tenets of
Conservatism, rather then any one person), for simplicity.
The Democratic Party and Liberal Party both nominated Elizabeth Holtzman, then famous for being the youngest woman elected to the House of Representatives (at the age of 31) and for beating fifty year incumbent Emanuel Celler in a primary. She also worked on extending the deadline for state legislatures to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Given the bitter split between the two Conservative Parties, she expected to easily coast to victory, especially after Esposito was heard bragging he'd win because his opponents "
will cut the Jew vote in half." (Both Holtzman and London were Jewish, and Esposito was an Italian Roman Catholic.)
Instead Esposito got third place, and Holtzman became the first woman mayor of NYC. For now it seems like the Cohn Faction had the upper hand, but at the cost of hastening their fusion with the New York Republican Party. Cohn himself made the choice to not intervene in the election, taking a calculated gambit that appearing would make it look like he was running the party from the shadows, rather then being supported from the grassroots.
---
While still Governor for all of 1981, Governor Howell had been drafted to help out his country one more time. With MacBride hospitalized, Howell offered his services to the new acting President. Originally Howell and Cohn disliked each other, Howell thinking the man crooked and having spread some of the homosexuality rumors, Cohn thinking the ex-President a little SOB bumpkin, and while they never grew to be as friendly as Howell and MacBride, they were able to put aside their differences in the early days of Cohn's Presidency. Howell acted as a stabilizing agent for the new administration and for the country.
However, despite believing his earlier claims he'd finish his term as Governor, many back home felt Virginia had a distracted Governor. Not technically running for President, Howell spent most of his last year in office assisting Cohn, consoling his friend MacBride, and overseeing the Manson trials, which continued into the term of his successor.
Three men emerged as possible contestants for Howell's successor. Lieutenant Governor Chuck Robb, the son-in-law of former President Lyndon Johnson, emerged as the sole Democratic candidate, black businessman (and former Democratic Party member) Maurice Dawkins was chosen as the Republican nominee after a tough primary, and finally George Lincoln Rockwell had emerged as the Conservative candidate once more. Despite his previous career as the most infamous white supremacist in America, Rockwell had turned away from neo-Nazism more then a decade ago. Many still found him to be dangerous and harboring loyalties to his old friends despite his claims to the contrary.
Despite starting as low as 10% of the general election vote, Rockwell punched upward and punched hard. He attacked Howell for abandoning Virginia, he attacked Robb for nepotism and conspiring with Howell to make himself the Governor in all but name (Robb served as acting Governor for most of the time Howell was out of state that year), and he attacked Dawkins for being a shameless party turncoat. The election turned into a dung match, with all three men campaigning negatively at one another for months at a time.
Eventually Rockwell, with slightly more then 38% of the vote, and a likely a lot of vote-splitting between Robb and Dawkins, became Governor. The newspapers across the state proclaimed the end of a peaceful and lawful Virginia, the Legislature started considering a Lousiana-style runoff to prevent anymore plurality wins, and petitions for Rockwell's recall started the day after he was declared the winner. Rockwell took it in stride, promising to govern in the interests of "
all Virginians. Without reference to race, color, or creed." Despite his lofty, and seemingly earnest proclamations, many predicted dark days ahead.
---
After two terms of Governor Dick Celeste, Ohio was looking rather good. It had avoided the race riots and violence of the other states. However the economy of the state was rather weak. Several major businesses went under near the end of the 1970's, and Celeste, while personally popular, had low ratings for his administration. The main Democratic candidate who ran to succeed him was former interm Cincinnati Mayor, Jerry Springer. He was backed by Robert Kennedy, who appeared in the state to promote his friend and former political advisory. While Kennedy was no longer politically active himself, having lost the Presidential primary and an NYC race, he worked actively to elect liberals across the US and maintained a large network of people.
The narrow winner for the Republican nomination was Seth Chase Taft, aided by his first cousin Robert Taft Jr. who was also running that year, albeit for re-election as Senator. Both Taft's running statewide in 1982 were the grandsons of former President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft. Seth Taft's only major political experiences had been running for mayor of Cincinnati, which he lost to Carl B. Stokes, and serving as a Cuyahoga County Commissioner for eight years afterwards.
The election turned into a proxy war, both sides accusing the other of illicit dealings and being legacy candidates. Taft was accused of only running because of his name and not because of any actual ideas, while Springer was tarred as a "Kennedy Liberal" who served as a puppet for the old New York Senator. Springer attacked Seth Taft as a brainless puppet of his cousin. "
If we keep letting the Taft's take all the offices," Springer joked, "
there won't be any left over for the rest of us!" The Seth Taft campaign accused Springer of hypocrisy, as the Kennedy family was expanding out into other states instead of staying inside Massachusetts. The campaign got very dirty near the end, both of them neck and neck, and an ad was released accusing Springer of taking city money while interm mayor, which backfired as the ad was accused of antisemitic stereotypes during it's very short run near the end of the campaign.
Springer narrowly beat Taft, winning by a plurality, with both having their votes siphoned off by minor left and right-wing candidates. The biggest being the National Conservative candidate who took nearly 3% of the vote, most of which probably came from Seth Taft. Despite a stronger National Conservative candidate for Senator, and receiving less votes then his cousin, Robert Taft Jr. narrowly prevailed for a third term in the Senate.
---
After a narrow loss for state treasurer, Robert Budd Dwyer made a comeback by winning the Republican nomination for Governor two years later. Dwyer, a state rep for five years and a state senator for a decade, ran a tight and vigorous campaign. Incumbent Pennsylvania Governor Peter Flaherty, elected by a large margin in 1978, struggled with middling polls throughout the year. The economy was doing well, but many felt that was in spite of the Governor rather then because of him. The two were neck and neck for most of the year until the last few weeks. Then, Dwyer's candidacy was given a nice shot in the arm near the end of the campaign as Vice-President Black came to campaign for him and drew huge crowds for the two of them.
Dwyer and Scranton were nicknamed the Comeback Kids by Pennsylvania press, as Scranton was the failed 1978 Lieutenant Governor nominee, and Dwyer the failed 1980 Treasurer nominee. Originally dismissed as a pair of failures, combined they managed to score a win together.
---
Being that the National Conservatives, in the Senate at least, were mostly Democrats who defected from the party, their former party worked long and hard to beat them. Frank Church, sometimes mocked as the Senate Plurality Leader by his enemies, said the Democratic Party's number one goal was to "
crush them" in the new few years. However a big problem arose in the immediate elections. Many Democrats were upset at how their party was cozing up to Cohn and handing him rather important pieces of legislation: some of which included the ability for police to detain suspected mentally ill people more easily (to prevent people like Manson to pop back up in the future), an expansion of the federal death penalty, and an expansion on drug-related crimes.
Unlike the libertarian MacBride, Cohn saw drugs and abortion as not personal matters, but things that affected many people and should be prohibited by the law. Cohn also revealed a bit of a softer side when it came to arrests, pushing for criminal rehabilitation and higher medical health standards, although some critics accused him of showing false compassion and lurching leftward to pursue Democratic votes.
While holding the House of Representatives, the Democrats lost four Senate seats that year to the Republicans, while the Republicans lost one (California) to the National Conservatives. The primary targets for the Democrats that year were John Stennis and Odell McBrayer, both National Conservatives, and of Mississippi and Texas each. Stennis received the backing of the state Republicans Party, who fielded a token candidate. McBrayer meanwhile won a close match between a well funded Republican and a well funded Democrat. Both of whom outspent McBrayer, who was forced to run a much harder ground game then his opponents.
The fifteenth member of the Senate NC caucus was Bob Dornan, the sole new member elected that year. Dornan had been isolated from the California Republicans after his failed primary of President MacBride in 1980, and was blamed for the President's weak showing in the state. Eventually, after much prying, the California Conservative Party managed to convince him to run as Murphy's successor. Dornan won with a coalition of religious conservatives, pro-Dornan Republicans, and a few Democrats who felt their nominee (left wing Democrat Ron Dellums) was too outside California's center and couldn't beat Pete Wilson.
The NCP, now held the balance of power to an evenly split Senate. They offered, in Jesse Helms' words, a form of "
American supply and confidence" to the Republicans if they would a.) allow the NC a vote for the Senate Republican Leader, and b.) give them a quarter of the Chairmanships. For months the Republicans argued over whether or not to listen. President Cohn made little mention of the National Conservatives, or the inner workings of the Senate, saying "
Congress's business isn't for the President to meddle in." That's not to say Cohn wasn't planning to 'get' his enemies, just not yet at least.
