In American history there have been many instances in what we call turning points. This is one such. The year is 1980 and America is about to make one of the most important desicions ever, who to pick to be the next President of the United States. With an economic meltdown seemingly inevitable and with the Soviets closing in on the nation it is imperative they pick the right man. In our timeline we know that Jimmy Carter won the primaries contending his presidency only to be overwhelmingly defeated later in the general. But what if his challenger the young Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts were able to successfully draw him out of the White House into a debate where he was able to defend himself over Chappaquidick and exploit the President's weaknesses enough that he was able to convince enough party traditionalists to nominate him over Carter? Kennedy on a mission to restore the Democratic Party to its greatness after the disastrous mishandlings of Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert Humphrey and Jimmy Carter now has to face a truly formidable opponent none other than the actor gone politician himself Ronald Reagan. Reagan, the leader of the conservative movement in the United States after taking the torch from his political mentor Barry Goldwater after his disastrous run in 1964 against President Johnson has tried to twice before to claim the mantle of the Presidency. First in 1968 where he came in third to Nelson Rockefellar and Richard Nixon and then again in 1976 where he was narrowly beaten by Nixon's successor Gerald Ford. Now Reagan has the goal of restoring the legacy of the Post-Watergate Republican Party by instilling it with his conservative values. Now the two titans of opposite poles of the American politicisphere most go at it in the most epic showdown in American political history in: The Gipper vs. The Lion of the Senate.
Reagan vs. Kennedy
- Thread starter Jericho15
- Start date
no point, with how liberal these boards are it'll be kennedy in a 50-state landslide (even I would probably vote for Kennedy and my name has "Conservative" in it
)I've run polls on electiosn or succession of kings or marriages from long ago, but I think the difference here is that people can generally subjectively determine who might win an election in 1812 in some other TL, whereas 1980 is too close for quite a few yet.
I think you can do it pretty easily yourself, though. It all depends on how you want to handle it. Also, with Ted Kennedy more known as a liberal, you might need another VP which woudl swing thigns differently, anyway; someone a little more moderate. So, that will be soemthing else to take into account.
It seems like a daunting task, I'm sure; but that's why I shy away from recent TLs, except for baseball. It's a lot easier to figure out a couple dozen states than it is to figure out 50.
I think you can do it pretty easily yourself, though. It all depends on how you want to handle it. Also, with Ted Kennedy more known as a liberal, you might need another VP which woudl swing thigns differently, anyway; someone a little more moderate. So, that will be soemthing else to take into account.
It seems like a daunting task, I'm sure; but that's why I shy away from recent TLs, except for baseball.
It's a lot easier to figure out a couple dozen states than it is to figure out 50.
Given the political leanings of this board and the low opinion many around here have of Reagan, if you don't pick a winner yourself as you write the story, having the race decided by a poll will result in an election result like . . .
PROJECTION
1980 ELECTORAL VOTE
Edward M. Kennedy (D) Massachusetts - 444
John B. Anderson (I) Illinois - 60
Ronald W. Reagan (R) California - 34
1980 ELECTORAL VOTE
Edward M. Kennedy (D) Massachusetts - 444
John B. Anderson (I) Illinois - 60
Ronald W. Reagan (R) California - 34
I assume there's some sort of scandal? Otherwise, it strikes me as virtually impossible for any incumbent in '80 to lose in '84.
In addition to scandal, there are any number of international missteps, domestic economic miscalculations and policy landmines that could scuttle a presidency between Inauguration Day 1981 and General Election Day 1984.
If Kennedy has primaried Carter, then Reagan wins.
That would be quite surprising, with inflation finally subsiding thanks to Carter appointing Volcker. But the other two could sink Kennedy for sure.
That would be quite surprising, with inflation finally subsiding thanks to Carter appointing Volcker. But the other two could sink Kennedy for sure.
no point, with how liberal these boards are it'll be kennedy in a 50-state landslide (even I would probably vote for Kennedy and my name has "Conservative" in it
The correct term is Left-Winged not liberal
no point, with how liberal these boards are it'll be kennedy in a 50-state landslide (even I would probably vote for Kennedy and my name has "Conservative" in it
Meanwhile, in the real world: the charsimatic Reagan wins. I imagine the media would probably like Edward, or Teddy or whatever his name is (see how Kennedy flip-flops on his own name?), but if they wanted to throw their weight behind him, they'd have a much harder time smearing Reagan than my man Nixon. I don't why, but they really didn't like Nixon.
MacCaulay
Banned
Yeah, dude. Seriously, according to the majority of this board, when Reagan wasn't out there killing poor people, he was taking a break so he could reload and kill more poor people.
Now, of course they arrived at that opinion after completely unbiased perusal of the historical facts at their disposal, so don't worry. If it's a 50 state landslide it'll be a completely realistic landslide that would happen in real life.
usertron2020
Donor
Does this mean your thread is closing? Too bad. I would have LOVED to hear more about what the opinions of the American Electorate would be in 1980 from people who weren't even alive then. And this is not stuff you get from wiki. Statistics can be very misleading. The people just wanted a change. Unemployment and inflation skyrocketed between the elections of 1976 and 1980. Throw in Iran and Desert One, and ANY incumbent would have been looking at a 1980 defeat. ANY such victor would be looking at re-election in 1984. It was only Reagan's charm, the economic turnaround, and Mondale's political fecklessness that made it a landslide.
And don't get me started on the "C" word!
usertron2020
Donor
How about people trying to defend that with a state by state analysis? At least on the "Red states"?