Flower Power

Alternatehistoryguy47

The Governor and the Senator​

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Paul Tsongas could not believe that Jerry Brown was doing this well. The Senator had taken a beating in the past few days as Brown defeated him in a major primary state like New York, and other minor ones in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Before, the road ahead was smooth and straightforward, but one stubborn opponent was determined to make that road bumpy.

After a close call in Virginia, Tsongas was determined to knock Brown out of the race, and intended to re-establish his dominance with a win in the next state on the list. Pennsylvania had initially favored Tsongas by an overwhelming margin, but began to reconsider Brown as the candidate continued to campaign. After Brown’s hat trick, he managed to close a nearly twenty point gap with the Senator in the Independence State, and the two were running neck and neck.

Tsongas outspent Brown by at least four times as much money, wanting to crush the last remaining threat to his nomination. However, Brown’s campaign instead experienced a renewed momentum when he defeated Tsongas in Pennsylvania by a shocking ten points. Results showed that Brown was strongest in the Philadelphia area, where there was a larger concentration of more liberal democrats, as well as along the Delaware River. He also did well around Pittsburgh and in the northwest around Erie. Tsongas received most of his support from a broad stretch of counties in central PA, and in the northeast.

With a win that nobody had expected, Brown was decorated with a new title by the press. Appearing on the cover of Time Magazine’s May issue, the caption named him “The Phoenix.”

What had originally been a one-man race dominated by Paul Tsongas now appeared to look as if it would turn into a Cold War with Jerry Brown. The Governor’s win in Pennsylvania had solidified him as a real threat to Tsongas, but the Senator still had plenty of time to win. Brown’s own path to the nomination would be long and hard but, for the first time since he declared his candidacy, there actually was a path to it.
 
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Alternatehistoryguy47

The Road to the Big Apple​

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Paul Tsongas’ answer to Jerry Brown was to throw money at him and bury him in campaign ads. Tsongas still had a larger war chest than Brown, and a lot more wealthy donors backing his campaign. Brown, on the other hand, had less money than the well-funded Tsongas campaign. It played a role in his defeats in some states later on down the road as Tsongas’ advertising worked.

Ironically, Tsongas’ money turned out to be a double edged sword. While having all that cash gave him an advantage in spending, it also allowed Brown to use it as a line of attack against him. Brown, whose campaign had already been centered around the idea of campaign finance reform and fair elections, pointed to Tsongas as a prime example of what he was talking about. In his speeches, Brown labeled Tsongas as “more of the same” and referred to him as an establishment candidate who only had his own interests at heart rather than the interests of the American People.

In this sense, the remainder of the 1992 Democratic Primary turned into a war of Tsongas’ money versus Brown’s populism. While Brown’s message was gaining popularity, Tsongas already had a massive lead in delegates and was still polling very well in the remaining primary states. That lead was widened still as Tsongas won Washington D.C. and North Carolina on May 5th, with Indiana going to Jerry Brown.

It became obvious that Brown could not win the nomination outright through a majority of delegates, but there did exist another way in which he could possibly win. While Tsongas held the most delegates in the race, he did not have enough to secure the nomination outright. If Brown could gather up enough delegates from the remaining states, so that neither he nor Tsongas had the majority needed to win, the race could carry on to the Democratic National Convention in New York City.

As of that moment, Brown’s hopes for victory rested on a contested convention. However, Tsongas was not going to go down without a fight.
 

Alternatehistoryguy47

Down to the Wire​

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Neither Paul Tsongas or Jerry Brown were able to secure enough delegates to win the nomination outright. Tsongas held a plurality of the delegates. The fight between the two camps had been dragged out, much to the detriment of Democratic voters, who believed a drawn-out primary gave George Bush a better chance at winning in November.

With the fate of the nomination to be decided at the Democratic National Convention in New York City, Tsongas and Brown each began to reach out to party officials that would decide the winner. Supporters from both campaigns headed to the city to express support for their candidate.

The primary was nearly over, and the fight between the two bitter rivals would finally come to an end with only one crowned the winner. Nobody knew what to expect from the brokered convention, seeing as one had not happened in a while. There was, however, one thing that everyone did know; it was going to be one hell of a show.
 

NickCT

"it was going to be one hell of a show"

leads me to believe that someone else is getting that nomination. Perhaps Clinton stages a comeback? Ann Richards (please God, yes!) I don't know but i just don't think Tsongas or Brown will win
 

BlairWitch749

Banned
The Conservative Fellah said:
I thought all of those came after the '92 election? Guess not.
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The actual accusations were later

The rumors of his and tipper's falling out and his after hours activities start in the early 90's

Given that ITTL Hart and Clinton have now been destroyed in back to back primaries by affairs Gore may be precluded from running for anything period... it may also increase the scrutiny on Bush senior and Jennifer Fitzgerald to the point of conclusively proving it
 

NickCT

BlairWitch749 said:
it may also increase the scrutiny on Bush senior and Jennifer Fitzgerald to the point of conclusively proving it
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I never believed those allegations myself, I've met Bush Senior multiple times and he seems like too nice a guy - but who knows, right?
 

Alternatehistoryguy47

The Battle of Madison Square Garden​

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The 1992 Democratic National Convention was held in Madison Square Garden, and was home to one of the biggest battles in the history of the Democratic Party. What had come to be traditionally seen as a large party and official stamp of approval for the Democratic ticket that year had turned into something no one had seen since the early 20th century. The party arrived at their convention without a nominee, and the two strongest candidates in the race were still battling it out for supremacy.

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Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas had spent the weeks before the convention lobbying delegates to their side, as well as going after their former rivals for support. Bob Kerrey and Tom Harkin were sought after by Tsongas, and there were rumors that those who endorsed his campaign could find themselves with spots in a Tsongas Administration.

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The Convention began to mixed results. Advocates of various left-wing causes had come out to support what they believed in, and a number of Democratic candidates for office had arrived to promote their own candidacies and perhaps see if they couldn’t play a role in naming their party’s candidate.

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When the time came, a roll call of the delegates was held, and Paul Tsongas came out in first place with a plurality, but not a majority, of the vote at his back. Brown came in second place with former challenger Bob Kerrey in a distant third. With no one in a clear majority, another roll call was to be held the next day. In the meantime, Brown and Tsongas each got to speak at the convention, and state why they believed they were better qualified to take on George Bush in November.

The second roll call showed that Brown had closed the gap with Tsongas , and the two were polling close together, but neither had enough delegates to win outright. A third roll call would need to be held. At this point, the Democrats were getting annoyed, and pressure was building for the Party to name a candidate already. With Brown and Tsongas both dragging things out, people began to ask whether their rivalry would blow the party’s chances in the General Election. On the night before the third roll call, a rumor began to spread that the Party might nominate someone else altogether.

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The identity of this third candidate was a mystery. Most of the Party establishment was in New York at the time, and speculation centered on who could possibly snatch up the nomination. Proposed compromise candidates included Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Texas Governor Ann Richards, New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, former 1984 Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro, Former President Jimmy Carter, Tennessee Senator Al Gore, and Senator Bob Kerrey (who had consistently placed third in both roll calls). No matter who the winner was, the overwhelming sense from the Convention was that things had dragged on long enough, and the Party wanted a nominee on that third roll call.

Finally, after months of campaigning and heated attacks, the third roll call did indeed produce a nominee. The Democrats had their candidate at long last as one of them had gained a majority of the delegates, enough to win the nomination. And that candidate was about to make a long-anticipated acceptance speech…
 

NickCT

:D YES! CALLED IT! haha

anyways I would LOVVEEE Ferraro, but unfortunately I don't think she would get the nomination. So the Ted Kennedy picture? Is that a plant? And Feinstein was vetted for VP in '84, perhaps her?

Anyways, I absolutely love this. I'm going to guess Cuomo, but I'm not sure about that. I would say Cuomo or Kennedy at this point - either way I might be inclined to support them over HW.
 

Alternatehistoryguy47

At Long Last​

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Jerry Brown was the 1992 Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. He won with a majority of the delegates on the third ballot thanks to a well-received convention speech, and the support of many in the old liberal wing of the party. Paul Tsongas, crowed the leader of the “New Democrats” movement, had gone from the presumed winner to being left out in the cold as the Convention moved on without him.

It was a win that very few people had seen coming, including Brown. The Governor privately had a little difficulty believing he had actually won, especially since Tsongas had such a large head start. Years later, two revelations about what happened behind the scenes would come to light.

First was that Tsongas was aware that his own delegates were wavering. They saw how Brown was able to work up the crowds at the convention, and Tsongas just couldn’t match his charisma. They figured that a more charismatic candidate would be able to sway more voters to his side. In a last ditch effort to secure the top spot on the ticket, Tsongas approached Brown with a compromise. In exchange for an endorsement, just to show that he felt no spite, Brown could be his running mate and Tsongas would integrate some of the Governor’s positions into the party platform. Brown rejected the deal out of distrust of Tsongas, and the belief that he was a better candidate against Bush.

The second revelation was that the Convention had very nearly come close to nominating a third candidate. A secret meeting of party bigwigs had created a shortlist of possible replacements. All but two candidates were either not interested in running or pursuing other elected office that year. The two finalists for the secret primary were Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey and Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey. Once he had heard that the Convention was considering a compromise candidate, Kerrey’s suspended campaign found new life, and he lobbied to get in. Casey and Kerrey both found adequate support from the party, but they engaged in their own mini-war against each other, which some say created a lot of bad blood between the two. In the end, the time of the roll call was growing near, and the idea for a party establishment supported third candidate was scrapped.

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Shortly after receiving the nomination, Brown named his running mate. The Convention was shocked when Brown introduced the Reverend Jesse Jackson for the number two spot on the ticket. This choice caused a loud protest from Jewish members of the New York delegation, who voted against Jackson in the confirmation vote. Instead, they placed their support behind various other candidates for Vice President. Ultimately, Jackson was confirmed at the convention and became the first African-American Vice Presidential candidate of either major party. It was a choice that would later come back to haunt Jerry Brown.

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With the convention wrapped up and the nominee decided, the Democrats finally shifted their attention to the General Election, where President Bush had already gained a massive lead in the polls. It was Bush/Quayle versus Brown/Jackson in 1992, along with an independent candidate named Ross Perot, who was poised to make it a competitive three-man race.
 

NickCT

Damn... I guess I was wrong. Oh well. Good to see Jesse Jackson will backfire on Brown - wouldn't want either them.
 

MrHuman

Jackson is an idiotic pick by Brown. He'll add a negligible number of voters, and alienate a huge number. Plus the establishment would never let it happen. It's totally ASB.
 

Alternatehistoryguy47

MrHuman said:
Jackson is an idiotic pick by Brown. He'll add a negligible number of voters, and alienate a huge number. Plus the establishment would never let it happen. It's totally ASB.
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Except Brown essentially said he'd nominate Jackson OTL. And the Convention wanted to put a candidate through already.
 

NickCT

kevvy2010 said:
Except Brown essentially said he'd nominate Jackson OTL. And the Convention wanted to put a candidate through already.
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and, as kevvy pointed out in the actual update the party split on other candidates instead of all rallying behind someone. I don't even see it as "unlikely" let alone ASB
 
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