Hope and Strife

[Jimmy_Carter_76]

Hope and Strife;​

A Cold War political timeline;​

By Jimmy_Carter_76

Kind credit for this image goes to PBS; an excellent and trusted institution

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From; “A history of American politics, Volume Four; 1952-1992, by Newt Gingrich

The election of 1960 was a chaotic one, one could say. And while they would be right, the statement would almost certainly be an understatement. The Presidency of Dwight David Eisenhower, the first Republican since Hoover and a generally popular Chief executive, was coming to a close. While Eisenhower had paved America over and overseen the growth of the American Middle Class while keeping many of the more popular aspects of the Democratic Party’s New Deal intact, the American people began to divide themselves on whether years more of Republican administration was really what America needed.
Of course, Vice President Richard Nixon, the practically coronated successor of Eisenhower had his supporters, but it seemed that he would be facing off against a growing Democratic Party with the benefits of party fatigue and the underlying desire for something new pushing them along, along with the fact of Cold War fears and conflicts in Indochina, Cuba, and South America and the so-called “missile gap” certainly helping the Party of Jefferson and Jackson as well.

The first real notable aspect of the campaign was the overall lack of any real challenge to Nixon in the Republican primaries. No one, not even powerful men like Henry Cabot Lodge. Only a few favorite suns ran in South Dakota, West Virginia, and Ohio; things were smooth. Only one real challenge would present itself to Nixon; in the form of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, yet even that was paltry and largely aimed at un-elected Delegates at the Convention. It appeared more-or-less that Rockefeller was simply testing the waters for a possible future run. Nixon would face a massive issue however, that of picking a Vice President.
Nixon would ultimately come down to three main choices: Henry Cabot Lodge. Jr, Ambassador to the United Nations, and former Senator from Massachusetts. Lodge was a natural choice, being from a northeastern state and a Liberal, compared to Nixon, who was seen by many as Conservative. However, Lodge was disliked by the Conservative wing of the Party, who’s ideal candidate was Walter Judd of Minnesota, another man Nixon would consider. While many other candidates were debated over, Nixon would find himself leaning on choosing Lodge. Yet, an impassioned plea for a more Conservative pick by Senator Barry Goldwater and a few other prominent Conservatives led Nixon to instead choose Senator Thurston Morten of Kentucky; A more moderate option that pleased some Conservatives while keeping the Liberals in line. (1)

Meanwhile, the Democrats would be divided between two candidates: Senator Hubert Horatio Humphrey of Minnesota and Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts. Kennedy and Humphrey represented two worlds. Humphrey, the New Deal Democrat, the Union man, the Buffalo Democrat which seemed to dominate since Franklin Delano Roosevelt first set off the tide and created the New Deal Coalition. He was a man who had deeply held ideals, among them his commitment to Negro Civil Rights, yet he was also the ultimate Party hack, a man who would vote with his Party almost every time.
The Democrat's primary was, to say it politely, a mudslinging war that would cast the party in a battle for its future between two new groups, of course aided with old prejudices and ideas. The first battle between the two ways in Wisconsin; Kennedy thought he could take the state while Humphrey thought of it as the Wall in which Kennedy's momentum would crash. Kennedy’s family practically invaded the state, combing for voters and finding many receptive ones, while Humphrey did his classic Depression style folksy Democrat Schtick. Kennedy would visit communities in Wisconsin along with his campaign manager brother, most notably Milwaukee, where he would stay for a week, away from his wife and children. Ultimately, Kennedy, almost entirely off the backs of the Roman Catholic population of the state, would triumph. Humphrey was reduced to square one, yet, Humphrey would find something, something…excellent.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Sexual proclivities were infamous. It was said by some close family friends and staff that if he did not have sex with a woman every day, he appeared ailed and depressed the next, thus, when Hubert Humphrey’s campaign staff happened upon a Milwaukee Prostitutes drunken bar tail of a long night with that handsome man from Massachusetts as the results came in for Wisconsin; the Humphrey team knew that they had struck gold. Humphrey Theorized that the Protestant people of West Virginia would hate to vote for a womanizing Catholic; but Humphrey did not want to cloud his image, so he merely allowed certain pro-Humphrey West Virginia Newspapers to discover the story, and then report it helpfully. (2).
The scandal would do much to hurt Kennedy, who four weeks out now trailed Humphrey by 28 points on average. And yet Kennedy would persevere, and would enter into a campaign to beat Humphrey, primarily asking voters if they really would deny him the presidency for his religion and questioning his opponent's tolerance. Coupled with a little bit of charm and in person campaigning, Kennedy would begin to find fertile ground for his message in West Virginia. All in all, Kennedy would narrowly triumph, gaining 51.4% of the vote. Yet in the process, he had shown himself as vulnerable, and the old financial backers of the New Deal rallied behind Humphrey. The battle appeared to be going to the convention.

1; Unlike OTL Conservatives decide to push a little harder for a more acceptable nominee.
2; Didn't happen IOTL, but I'd imagine that Kennedy felt a little less secure in Wisconsin, mandating solitary campaigning and... "de-stress time'".

 

[Jimmy_Carter_76]

Chapter 2;

From Convention politics; A study of Political Conventions in the United States; by Elizabeth Hirono
Humphrey, despite an infusion of campaign cash, was still strapped, and by the time of July 13th and the Democratic convention, Humphrey found new rivals despite hoping for an establishment rallying. Adlai Stevenson had long-suffering backers who believed that Stevenson was perfect to face off against Nixon’s foreign policy, experience focused campaign. Senate Majority leader Lyndon Baines Johnson also had numerous backers; primarily some moderate leaning outer-southern state leaders and fellow Texans. Kennedy found himself in a similar predicament; he would have to convince many delegates to back him in an environment which had multiple other more established and connected candidates. Yet, much like he had in Wisconsin and West Virginia, Kennedy would launch a blitz, gaining support from Democrats across America to form a core while his allies blitzed the backers of his rivals with offers and promises.

As the delegates met in Los Angeles Memorial Sports center on July tenth, after speeches from various important Democrats over the course of three days, including one by Senator Patsy Mink on the issue of Civil Rights, the third day, the voting day, would finally arrive. The first ballot was intense, with much of the establishment rallying around Humphrey. Johnson had yet to appear as his supporters sat silently. The convention hung with the stench of sweat and cigarettes. Kennedy however was jubilant. Humphrey wasn’t getting enough support outside of a few strongholds, while Kennedy ate up New England, the Plains states, Washington, the Southwest and most crucially California\ in a relative sweep. Yet, Johnson’s silence worried him deeply.
Earlier in the day, Humphrey team members had approached Johnson with an offer; The Vice Presidency, in exchange for him and his Allies support. Johnson was initially quite reluctant. “You know what Garner said, I want no part in that”. He initially dismissed Humphrey’s aides out of hand, yet Johnson would be far more receptive their second time in negotiations. Perhaps it was his marital problems, or perhaps his simple boredom with the Senate, yet Johnson would agree on the condition that he help write Humphrey policy, and that his home state would be the beneficiary of numerous federal programs in a Humphrey administration. Humphrey was jubilant at the news of Johnson’s acceptance. The men knew each other vaguely and worked well together, and Humphrey figured Johnson would smooth over his Civil Rights platform in the South while not watering it down too much.

Johnson’s men stood up. Raising their hands for Humphrey. John and Robert Kennedy’s faces fell as he watched the proceedings from his hotel room, Kennedy was aghast. His normally religious and kind worded brother was said to have weaved a tapestry of slurs fit for only the brashest sailor. He had been denied his clear majority, gaining an agonizing 49.7% of the floor vote. Thus, Kennedy was forced back into negotiations once more.

Robert Kennedy did not seek out Johnson. Having spoken too and negotiated with Johnson prior, he grew very quickly to dislike Johnson, and Johnson shared that feeling. Thus, Kennedy primarily targeted those men who had voted for Humphrey from New England and the Steel belt, convincing them that Humphrey’s New Deal siliques and aphorisms would no longer cut it with voters. He was able to sell many of them the ‘New face’ idea. Thus, the next floor vote would favor Kennedy more, yet it was barely the case. 50.5% of the vote; enough to be elected, but barely. Kennedy immediately jumped into Vice Presidential negotiations. Kennedy would ultimately realize that appealing to the North was necessary. Humphrey’s battle had proven that; yet he also needed a man able to appeal to the moderates.

Thus, Kennedy would ultimately decide to choose Stuart Symington as the Vice-Presidential choice. A Moderate whom Kennedy felt would definitively give him the position of being a new face who would not go to extremes. Thus, the stage was set, and beginning on July fifteenth, 1960, the battle for the Presidency had begun.