1964 Presidential Election

[Senator Spiral]

The 1964 election would mark a shift in American politics with the party rifts exploding in full force. The first domino fell over at the AU, with President Goldwater winning his party’s nomination again with about 70% of the delegates. Goldwater pushed through a very successful conservative domestic agenda during his term that came at the expense of the moderates and liberals who were opposed to nearly all of his proposals. The Bull-Moose wing, first folding into the Union Party during the Vandenberg administration, felt increasingly marginalized by leadership that had only become more conservative over the years. Wayne Morse refused to endorse Goldwater following his loss at the convention, stating that “this president does not represent my interests.” Next, the WP, whose last sitting president was a staunch defender of civil rights, did a complete turnaround. With the party soul-searching, there was never a clear frontrunner out of the field of candidates. Come the convention, support among the contestants was roughly even, though Alabama Governor George Wallace had a sturdy base that inched out the rest. Wallace, with his anti-establishment message, resonated with many in the WP frustrated with their party’s fortunes who could overlook his stance on civil rights. As the candidates whittled down to only few, conservative delegates transferred over to Wallace, and by the end, Wallace edged out former Vice President “Soapy” Williams in one of the most notorious upsets in history.

By this point, many in both parties were deeply upset over the outcomes of the primaries. Prominent politicians from the AU and WP collaborated in secret to discuss breaking off and creating a third party. Following the conventions, the formation of the Democratic Alliance was publicly announced. The DA was meant to be a “sensible, progressive alternative” to the ideas symbolized by Goldwater and Wallace and seemed to be here to stay. In their first impromptu convention, a small circle of party leaders nominated Williams for president and Morse for vice president, both accepting. A number of leaders from both of the main parties (especially in the WP) defected and endorsed the ticket.

In only a matter of weeks, the general election turned upside down with all of these developments. Heading into the final stretch, all of the tickets are vigorously campaigning with their own unique messages. President Goldwater’s new running mate is Texas Senator John Tower, a young rising star who is best known for toppling Lyndon Johnson four years earlier. The President is running on his wide array of domestic achievements, promising to go further if reelected. Goldwater also is promising to win the war in Vietnam, prepared to send more troops in when necessary. Governor Wallace and his running mate Senator George Smathers (who is more pro-civil rights than Wallace) are campaigning on rolling back the civil rights laws that have passed in recent years, but they are also focusing just as much on an economically populist message, hitting Goldwater for “being against the common man and endlessly gutting programs Americans need.” Wallace is a hawk on foreign policy but he has pledged to entirely remove the growing number of troops from Vietnam if the war does not seem winnable soon. The Williams/Morse ticket is attacking both Goldwater as Wallace as “reactionaries who are undeserving of the highest office in the land,” though the president is seen as the main opponent. Vice President Williams wishes to continue on his former boss’s legacy and ensure full equality for minorities, and he is also campaigning on a general “reversal of this president’s extremist agenda.” Unlike the other two, Williams is more hesitant to use military force abroad and would withdraw from Vietnam within the first year of his presidency.

[Lief 🗽]

Williams/Morse, because the alternative is probably nukes in Vietnam.

[Bigby]

Awwwww, that's cheap. Make the Workers own their ticket.

Anyway, Goldwater.

[Goldwater]

AuH2O!

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

AuH2O!

[Mr. Smith]

Surprisingly tempting as it is to support Wallace with the sane economics, Civil Rights is far too important.

Williams/Morse!

Anything to stop Goldwater!

[Senator Spiral]

Awwwww, that's cheap. Make the Workers own their ticket.

I would have done this if the AU candidate was anyone else than Barry Goldwater. I doubt the left would put up with that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Have issues of birth control & abortion begun to surface early, and if so, what are the stances of both party organizations and individual candidates?

[Senator Spiral]

Have issues of birth control & abortion begun to surface early, and if so, what are the stances of both party organizations and individual candidates?

The issues wouldn't really be brought up on the campaign trail this year as the focus is mainly on economic and foreign policy, but there has been some limited discussion starting from the beginning of the decade. The AU is formally against abortion and most forms of birth control, while the WP and DA are generally for legalizing both. As the DA is the most socially liberal party and emphasizes social issues more than the WP (who instead tend to focus on economics), they're of greater priority for the DA. As for the candidates: Goldwater doesn't wish to interfere with either and has a general states' rights position on dealing with them, Wallace is opposed to abortion and also isn't fond of contraception, and Williams is for expanding access and coverage.

[ElectionsGuy]

I think I'll sit this one out, would voe Goldwater if not for Vietnam.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Williams/Morse!

Awwwww, that's cheap. Make the Workers own their ticket.

Anyway, Goldwater.

The fact that Wallace currently has no votes leads me to suspect his votes in the primary poll were almost all from conservatives using strategic voting to make the WP nominate someone completely unelectable (although there were some obnoxious folks on the left who tried to mess with conservative party primaries the same way in Cath's first series, not that this excuses folks on the right doing it here).

[Senator Spiral]

Williams/Morse!

Awwwww, that's cheap. Make the Workers own their ticket.

Anyway, Goldwater.

The fact that Wallace currently has no votes leads me to suspect his votes in the primary poll were almost all from conservatives using strategic voting to make the WP nominate someone completely unelectable (although there were some obnoxious folks on the left who tried to mess with conservative party primaries the same way in Cath's first series, not that this excuses folks on the right doing it here).

Sabotages are to be expected, unfortunately. At least this time it led to a more interesting election and a new political party

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Will elections still continue if global thermonuclear war occurs?

[Senator Spiral]

Will elections still continue if global thermonuclear war occurs?

We'll have to find out together

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

AuH2O!

[TDAS04]

Williams/Morse

[MurrayBannerman]

Went Barry. If the DA had nominated Morse or Kennedy at the top of the ticket, I may have voted differently.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Bump

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wallacementum!

[Senator Spiral]

It looks like AuH2O narrowly pulls through.