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Unfortunate Son
The Story of Christian Mattingly (and friends)

Mattingly's Youth

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Christian Mattingly

Genealogy

Despite Mattingly having claimed in most public statesments that his father was of Irish descent, Mattingly is an English name. As far as historians and genealogists have been able to determine, the Irish Mattingly line that is known of today was the product of English soldiers fighting in Ireland in 1798. It is also suspected that Scottish is also mixed into the Mattingly line. Despite this, it has been estimated that by the time Sean Mattingly arrived in American in 1846 that the family had identified as mainly Irish, with Sean Mattingly settling in New York City and being identified as a foot soldier of Boss Tweed's Tammany Hall. Sean's son, Martin Mattingly, would serve as a New York City Alderman during the fall of Boss Tweed. However, that is the only known political activity by the Mattingly's until Christian Mattingly in the late Twentieth century.

Christian Mattingly's mother was Sicilian in origin. Her family, the DiCesare's, arrived in America near the end of the Nineteenth Century. They as well settled in New York City. Led by family patriarch Bonfiglio Dicesare, members of the family trickled over between the years 1885 and 1910. Taking low paying jobs in manufacturing, it was only with the dawn of the automobile and subsequent rising of Detroit as a center of industry that led the DiCesares and the Mattinglys to trickle down from New York to Detroit. During the era of Prohibition, Vito DiCesare, Bonfiglio's great-grandson, helped to lead many mob operations transporting alcohol from Canada across the river into Detroit. Despite the family's economic fortunes heading South following the Great Depression and then the end of Prohibiton, the DiCesare links to organized crime remained though they were mainly tied to racketeering. However, with the economic boom of the war era beginning in 1941, many DiCesare family members--among those who had gone into crime in the first place--abandoned their connection with large crime organizations in favor of returning to manufacturing jobs. By the time Bill Mattingly married Rose DiCesare in 1946, it is believed that Rose and her father Antonino had no connections to the mob that other members of her family retained.

"Chapter One
In which I am brought into this world and introduced to life in a Highland Park, Michigan working class Catholic family

As the story goes, oft repeated my my mother, I was born on a stormy night, November 4th, 1948 in Highland Park General Hospital. My dad would have preferred she have her second child at a Catholic hospital, but the general hospital had been the closest. From what I've heard, my older brother Nick, hearing of his new brother, threw a fit, apparently scared that the love he'd been receiving for the last year or so would be in jeopardy. Every time another kid arrived, Nick, I, and whatever new siblings had already come into our lives would have the same fear. As it turned out, there were four in total arriving behind me. William in 1951, Mary in 1953, Peter in 1956, and finally Jack in 1961 (named, of course, after America's newly inaugurated 35th President, Jack Kennedy). Growing up in a strictly Catholic household seems like a modern stereotype these days, with every Irish, Italian, Polish, or other type of Catholic-American growing up with numerous brothers and sisters, attending the parish school, and getting into mischief. For many of us attending St. Benedict's Catholic school, it was real life."

-"My Mother's Son", Christian Mattingly

"If you ever have to ask 'Is Mattingly a crook?', you can look no further than every chapter of his life. With a mother that had mob connections, Mattingly spent a large amount of time with the same men who would be gunning down cops later that day. In Vietnam he, along with other soldiers, committed countless atrocities. He was implicated in corruption charges aimed at the U.A.W. in the early 1970's. While heading Detroit as its Emergency Financial Manager in the 1980's, he voided public employee contracts as if it were his job, and it was. So when the question is asked today if Mattingly's a crook, I think the answer is obvious."

-Commentary on MSNBC, early 2000's

“Chapter Three: The Family
In which I encounter my Sicilian relatives on my mom’s side of the family

The air smelled of sauce and pasta and sausages and freshly baked bread. Good cooking was in the air. Meanwhile, tall strangers speaking an unknown language passed by me, barely noticing me. Those who did were the old women, hugging the bambino and showering him with familial love. Such was the way of an Italian family reunion. This, the funeral, or rather funeral reception of my great-grandfather, Santino DiCesare, was my first. I was four years old.

For reasons I was too young to understand at the time, my mother and her immediate family—her brothers, sisters, and my maternal grandparents—were alienated from the greater family structure of the DiCesares. Since prohibition, my mother’s extended family had a loose connection with organized crime. My grandfather, Antonino DiCesare, according to the research I’ve been able to do, both from interviewing family members as well as outside sources, rejected the family’s criminal inclinations on the outbreak of World War II, first serving on the frontlines in the Pacific, then returning to work in manufacturing, working at Willow Run. By 1946 when my parents were married, my dad’s father-in-law was an innocent factory worker, unconnected with any semblance of what the family had been a decade previous.

This led to great alienation from what I’ve heard, and many an Italian curse shouted at grandpa Tony at the wedding reception. Behind closed doors of course. The next time any of my mom’s immediate family would interact with the other DiCesares would be at that funeral in 1952. There, a reconciliation of sorts would take place. The mental image I’d like to associate with it is Michael Corleone’s apparent forgiveness of ‘Fredo in The Godfather, Part II. However, I’m sure it was much less dramatic than that. Following this, I found myself spending every part of summer at a DiCesare cottage on Lake Huron. With sausages grilling and the gentlemen of the family discussing some type of illicit business or another, my dad barely if ever attended these Independence Day reunions. When he did, he mainly spent his time talking about fixing cars with grandpa Tony and uncle Rocco. Never did he wander inside the cottage to join the discussions my great-uncles were embroiled in.

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Not the way my mom reconciled with her family in 1952.

With my dad barely there on these extended weekends and my mom discussing what I’d later sarcastically call “Italian housewife things”, I was left on my own to hang out with my brothers and cousins. Joe DiCesare, a second cousin, was the one who introduced me to what became childhood pastimes, underage drinking and smoking. These would later of course become legal drinking and legal smoking. But more on my recovery from addiction later. About a year older than me, at age thirteen I was offered my first full beer. “But, but I’m only a kid” “But you’re Irish, aren’t ya?” And so it began.

Now, and I say this from experience, these summer hangouts and Memorial Day Weekends would later be misconstrued in cheap attack ads. Claims that these experiences had “early on inculcated [me] into the world of organized crime” would at first shock and surprise me. However, I soon grew used to hearing about left-wing radio commentators bringing this up, and primary opponents adding my past experience in unions to the list of my supposed history of crime. I can tell you with all certainty the farthest into the DiCesare family’s “organized crime” was robbing a fireworks stand in Croswell, Michigan on the date of July 4th sometime in the mid-sixties.”

-“My Mother’s Son”, Christian Mattingly

May 11th, 2007
The Obituary of Robert O'Sullivan

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Just this Wednesday, political commentator and former presidential candidate Robert O'Sullivan died at the age of 75. While O'Sullivan's name bears little weight in the modern political world, in his day he served as an adviser in various positions to presidents of both parties. His career reached its climax in his 1992 run for the Democratic nomination.

Born in Boston on February 13th, 1932, O'Sullivan's political origins are the stuff of a miniature legend. His father had been an aide to then-Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in the late 1930's. Leaving his post to serve in World War II alongside Kennedy's two eldest sons, William O'Sullivan was killed in action serving under General Patton. With Bob O'Sullivan's mother dying in a car crash a year later, the eleven year old child would likely have been sent to an orphanage had it not been for his dad's old boss agreeing to take him in. Growing up next to Ted Kennedy who had been born in the same year, O'Sullivan became a surrogate son of the already populace Kennedy family. Attending Harvard along with the other Kennedy children, he would join the army in 1954, serving in the reserve for the next four years. During that time, O'Sullivan became an aide to then-Senate Majority Counsel Robert F. Kennedy. With Senator John F. Kennedy's campaign for President, O'Sullivan soon found himself working in the White House as the Political Appointments Secretary. During that time he served as one of the President's advisers during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He officially cut any and all ties with the White House in 1964 in response to President Johnson's secret elevations of the Vietnam War.

Over the next few years, O'Sullivan returned to Massachusetts until the year 1968 when he hopped on the presidential bandwagon of his old boss Robert F. Kennedy. On the night of the California primary in which Bobby Kennedy won a decisive victory over fellow contender Eugene McCarthy, O'Sullivan took a crucial part in foiling an assassination attempt on the Senator as Kennedy took a shortcut through the hotel kitchen to get to his room. Sirhan Sirhan, attempting to shoot the presidential candidate, ended up spraying bullets through the compact crowd, some hitting Kennedy, O'Sullivan, and body guards. Both the Senator and O'Sullivan survived the incident, much to the significance of future American politics.

…

O’Sullivan would go on to serve as National Security Adviser, White House Chief of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. His political involvement would be capped with his run for the 1992 run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

"Chapter Seven: 1968

For me, the 1968 Presidential election was the first one I really watched. Eight years previous had been the first time I and my siblings had taken even a slight interest in politics, as we saw John F. Kennedy run for President. The first ever Catholic to win the Presidency, there was much cause for celebration in my area. Catholic blue collar workers, the kind that surrounded me throughout my youth, felt like they'd achieved something through the election of Kennedy. However, as I grew up, I saw their opinions change. The push for civil rights in Kennedy's last year enraging them, these same men nonetheless turned out again to vote for Johnson in 1964. Nevertheless, I had never really watched what was going on until 1968. Coming back from the horrors of Vietnam, I was needless to say angry. While fighting in jungles filled with elephant grass and diseases not even given names yet by Western doctors, it seemed like absolutely nothing was being accomplished. If you spent an entire night taking one hill, killing every Vietcong member in your sights, watching the men you'd been trained to care for as brothers die and thank God you weren't one of them, and you finally reached the top of that hill by morning, you'd look around and realize you'd accomplished nothing. And then to come home and hear President Johnson talking about all America had done to help South Vietnam and how close we were to winning the war, it was unbelievably frustrating. It seemed like I heard the same sh#t from Richard Nixon who had somehow unbelievably resurfaced as a presidential contender.

Perhaps the most significant and searing image burned on my memory returning from the war is perhaps the most sickening. Setting foot on American soil for the first time since 1966, I was at first blinded by the light coming out of the plane. However, over the din of the dying engines I heard chants. Shouts of "Child killer" and "pigs". Looking around as my brothers and I passed single file, I saw a small group of "hippies" holding signs and one even burning a flag. Was this the country I'd seen Bob Krazinski and John Krieger die for? The country for which I'd left to head to what I now declared a Hellhole of nation that didn't even want us there? While I definitely wasn't for the war at that point, for what I saw as a bloody and pointless conflict--my own personal view was that we should let the communists have it, after all the jungle would more effectively kill them off than our carpet bombings--I definitely would not be attending a single anti-war protests. I was a man without a side.

Having recently arrived back in the states without a job, I found myself lounging on the couch and watching news quite a lot. What I saw was a long, played out American tragedy. The main news items of course were Vietnam, protests of various sorts, and of course the race for the Presidency. On one side, Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy had beaten out Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination. Both were somehow running against the Vietnam War, which confused me as to why they were the only two major candidates. As for Bobby Kennedy specifically, I had to wonder "wasn't this the guy who, only half a decade ago was backing Vietnam?" And as for McCarthy I'd never heard of him before. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon had emerged from the ashes, seemingly to fight another Kennedy, and with not significant opposition.

As Kennedy won the California primary, it looked like it would be yet another Nixon vs. Kennedy match. All that changed in a cloud of riot gas and smoke from burning Johnson effigies called the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Even on television, the images of rioters and police beating them superimposed on the thought of Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey winning the nomination on the second ballot created an epic and horrific ending to the drama of the primaries. With that, Kennedy and McCarthy delegates swarmed out of the convention to join the protesters following the victory of a man who hadn't entered a single primary. As if this nation's far left hadn't suffered enough losses that year, this was in the wake of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who despite his socialist rhetoric, I've come to admire as a pivotal figure in this nation's movement towards racial equality.

...

I'd always thought that, were 1968 to be a movie, it would've swept the Oscars."

-"My Mother's Son", Christian Mattingly

The 1968 United States Presidential Election
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Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon (R-CA)/Governor Spiro T. Agnew (R-MD) 314 electoral votes, 43.7% of the popular vote
Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN)/Senator Ralph Yarborough (D-TX) 178 electoral votes, 42.2% of the popular vote
Former Governor George Wallace (AI-AL)/General Curtis LeMay (AI-CA) 46 electoral votes, 13.7% of the popular vote

"Following 1968, the questions around the Kennedy camp were "what next?" We had come close to beating Hubert H. Humphrey, and his kind had proven that they were unable to win. The old way of doing things, faith in an unwinnable war and expensive yet ineffective social programs, was gone. Humphrey's loss showed that much. While some were immediately calling on Bobby to being groundwork for 1972, he was more willing to hold his cards close for the time being, as he'd done in 1968. While I was tempted to head back to Boston and begin a political career of my own, had I done the same following 1964, I would have missed out on the opportunity of my life. While I had no idea how far Bobby would go, one thing was clear. Come 1972, a new breed of politician was going to be heading the Democratic party, and quite probably the nation. The New Politics would finally come full circle. "

-"Walking out the White House", Robert O'Sullivan

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November 4th, 1970
Aspen, Colorado
"Yesterday, in a surprise to most political observers in Pitkin County, journalist Hunter S. Thompson, running on a "Freak Power" ticket and on a platform of breaking up the city streets to plant grass in them as well as support for psychedelic experiments, was elected Sheriff of Pitkin County. In a three way race, Thompson came in first place, mere fractions of percentage points in front of Democratic candidate Carroll Whitmire, and miles ahead of Republican candidate Glen Ricks."

Hunter S. Thompson (Independent, "Freak Power") - 40%
Carroll Whitmire (Democratic) - 39%
Glen Ricks (Republican) - 21%

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Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Christian Mattingly

Autoworker, UAW

Returning from Vietnam, Mattingly was soon forced to look for work. Obtaining employment at a Ford plant in Highland Park, Mattingly as well joined the United Auto Workers union. It was here Mattingly first became politically involved in politics. In 1970, only two years after joining the union, Mattingly was elected Vice President of his local branch, the UAW 400. During that time, Mattingly was an active and charismatic officer and helped head meetings and meet with the management of the plant. However, in his auto-biography, Mattingly claimed that his dealings with corrupt officials and higher-up union bosses caused him to grow disaffected with the UAW and after a year and a half at his position, he resigned. He continued to work at the plant until 1975, himself moving up into management.

Jefferson Dent

Jefferson Dent, the heir to an ancient Democratic political dynasty in Alabama, was an anomaly. While for years his family had fought for the cause of white supremacy, whether in the form of slavery or segregation, Dent spent his career as a lawyer fighting against the racist legal establishment. While his father and his father before him going back decades had been proud members of the Democratic party, Dent was a liberal Republican. At last seeming to settle into his role as scion of a political family, Dent accepted a job as Assistant District Attorney of Mobile, Alabama. However, within three years of his accepting the job, he was running for Senate on the Republican ticket. Dent was blessed by a splitting of the Democratic vote. Former Lieutenant Governor Jim Allen found what was supposed to be an easy victory turned into a hard fought campaign when the more moderate Ryan DeGraffenried decided to run for Senate as an independent following his loss in the primary to Allen. With that, Dent was given a chance to become the first Republican Senator from Alabama since Reconstruction. With the Democrats driven right open--in a strange parallel to the 1968 Presidential election--Dent went on to win the election.

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Mobile Assistant District Attorney Jefferson Breckenridge Dent (Republican)
Former Lieutenant Governor James Allen (Democrat)
Attorney Ryan DeGranffenried (Independent)

In the Senate, Dent proved to be far out of step with most of his caucus, supporting an immediate end to the Vietnam War and ranking as one of the chamber's most liberal members. Within his first year, he found himself kicked out of his own caucus. By the end of his second year, Dent was no longer registered as a Republican, serving as an independent. It was during this time that incumbent Democratic Governor Albert Brewer was running for re-election. With Alabama still being, essentially a one-party state, the real contest was the Democratic primary where Brewer was challenged by former Governor and presidential hopeful George Wallace. Inside the White House, the paranoid President Nixon was looking to take down one of his most dangerous political opponents. Meanwhile, Dent, officially an independent, gave covert support to Brewer, seeing him as the best hope for liberalism in Alabama. This involved donating money to the Brewer camp as well as urging blacks--Dent's most reliable support--to vote in the Democratic primary in support of Brewer. On primary day, Brewer found himself with a narrow majority, and a guaranteed extra four years. It was one of the first victories for Dent in bringing a New Democratic majority to Alabama, and helped to convince Dent to finally turn back to the Democratic party.

Christian Mattingly - 1968-1971

Coming back to the United States, Mattingly found himself returning to the Ford plant he'd worked at during the the second half of 1968. His dad having worked at that same plant, his status as an ex-employee earning good remarks, and him being known locally as a war hero of sorts, Mattingly was easily re-hired and re-entered the work force. During his first year there, from June 1968 to June 1969, Mattingly's work was average. As he entered his second year at the plant, Mattingly claimed in his 1999 auto-biography "The same spirit that had led me to join the army, and the same determination that had found me working two jobs while still in high school and had me originally join the workforce at the Highland Park plant seemed to return to me. I suddenly felt, and rightly so, as though my future depended on my putting forth quality work and me being the best I could be." In March 1970, as Mattingly was well into his second year at the plant, he and many of his co-workers were informed that UAW Local 400 Vice President Mark Brenner would not be running for re-election. It was a small office, and there were few at the plant with any sort of motivation. It was then that Christian Mattingly first ran for political office. He would credit that same motivation that had hit him in 1964 at his father's death, 1966 at his graduation, and just last year. A desire to improve his lot and life, to move up, and to produce as much as possible. Mattingly found himself running against one other candidate, John Krazinski, a worker with much more superiority. However, Krazinski was older and appeared more than a little disgruntled. In contrast, the younger veteran Mattingly gave a speech to many of his co-workers pledging that "the same rights I fought for in Vietnam, freedom, equality, and opportunity, I pledge to fight for when at the bargaining table for this union and these workers." Mattingly would end up winning a narrow majority in the May 5th election and be sworn in later that day.

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Christian Mattingly - 52.3%
John Krazinski - 47.7%

Only a day before the election, an important event in the nation occurred on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Five students, including Catalina Westman, wife to anti-war activist Scott Westman. Westman, later a friend, colleague, and rival of Mattingly, would take the loss hard. Meanwhile, across the nation, the ripple effects of Kent State were felt. For the nation's hippies, anti-war protesters, and civil rights activists, it was a tragedy and a signal that now the Establishment would be willing to kill them. However, for many members of President Nixon's "Silent Majority", the view would be that those "punks" and "Communists" deserved what they got. In fact, the day before the shooting, the same activists playing the victim had participated in various acts of vandalism at the school, including the burning down of the ROTC building.

On May 8th, 1970, the first Hard Hat Riot occurred in New York City where construction workers, later joined by Wall Street analysts, proceeded to beat and assault peace activists. Soon President Nixon, seeing the iconic picture of an unlikely pair--a construction worker and a Wall Street analyst, side by side--chasing a hippie down a sidestreet ready to pummel him with of all things an American flag, set out to capitalize on what he saw as an emerging vision: a nation where everyone, from the Wall Street trading floor to the AFL-CIO, would vote Republican.

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Christian Mattingly, a man who when running for office many years later, would be labeled as an outside and a reformer, soon found himself face-to-face with the President of the United States. On May 26th, Peter J. Brennan, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, led a delegation of labor leaders to meet with President Nixon, giving both he and General Creighton Abrams hard hats to show their solidarity with the nation's leader and his war policy.

At this point one must examine the changing and fluid political views Mattingly had. Raised in a Democratic, UAW household in the Detroit area, Mattingly grew up raised as part of a sect of economically populist and anti-communist America. Coming home from America, Mattingly was filled with two conflicting views: one, that the war in South-East Asia was hopeless, and two, that the hippies and protesters were useless pieces of upper class filth who abused their privilege and consistently went against their own interests. Mattingly's second view became more re-enforced even as his time away from Vietnam grew greater and the war was granted a new life under President Nixon. Just as he was sworn in as the Vice President of a local union, he saw union leaders united behind the President and against upper class peaceniks. Joining their ranks, Mattingly wrote a letter to the President expressing both his grief at the death of five students, but also his resolve that the President should not be beholden to a small minority and that protesters across the nation were committing to what amounted to acts of terrorism.

President Nixon, reading the letter, which had gone through several levels of White House mail, saw another opportunity to capitalize on his Silent Majority. On June 2nd, Mattingly attended a White House dinner, was greeted by the President, and shook his hand, an image captured forever in a photo Mattingly still keep in his office. The meeting was used by the President to continue his strategy to win over the support of labor, as well as to create a different figurehead for the youth in America. "You see, here is a young man who doesn't support the Vietcong, doesn't burn flags, has served in Vietnam, and holds a steady job." Over the years, political opponents, particularly those on the Left, would attempt to use the image of Mattingly and Nixon as a piece of what has been characterized by Mattingly supporters as the "Shady Mattingly File". Its components range from alleged involvement with the mob in his youth, rumors of war crimes committed in Vietnam, claims connecting him to various instances of union corruption, shady business deals, and of course, various Nixon conspiracy theories. None of these claims have been directly legitimized by Mattingly biographers however.

* * *

"As I entered the room where I would soon be meeting the President of the United States, I saw the reporters, politicians, White House aides, and advisers milling about. I began thinking to myself 'So this is what power is'. When I finally met Richard M. Nixon, I found his weak handshake and his awkward conversation surprising. It was clear that an insecure man held the reigns of power. However, as conversation wandered over dinner (it should be noted I was one guest among many), it was as well clear to me that despite his insecurities, this was also a very intelligent and very driven man. I was given a copy of the photo taken of myself and the President shaking hands. While over the years my view of the man and his Presidency have changed, I've always seen him as one of the smartest men to inhabit the White House, even if he is as well one of the most corrupt."

-"My Mother's Son", Christian Mattingly

* * *

With mid-terms happening in 1970, the young Vice President of the UAW Local 400 found himself with political responsibilities. While Mattingly cared quite little for the liberal Phillip Hart, he had certain responsibilities as an official in an organization that supported Hart in his bid for re-election to the United States Senate. Hart was campaigning against former Michigan First Lady Lenore Romney, the Republican nominee. During the election, Mattingly worked hard to get out the vote for Democratic candidates. A majority of the candidates that Mattingly campaigned for won their races. However, the campaign left a bitter taste in his mouth as he came to feel more and more alienated by the Democratic party. By March 1971, Mattingly had resolved that he wouldn't be running for re-election to the vice presidency in May.

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Christian Mattngly's ballot, November 3rd, 1970

United States Senate

[ ] Lenore Romney, Republican
[X] Philip Hart, Democratic (i)
[ ] Paul Ludien, Socialist Socialist Workers
[ ] James Sim, Socialist Labor

United States House of Representatives

[ ] John L. Owen, Republican
[X] Lucien N. Nedzi, Democratic (i)

Michigan Governor

[ ] William Miliken, Republican (i)
[X] Sander Levin, Democratic
[ ] James L. McCormick, American Independent
[ ] George Bouse, Socialist Workers
[ ] James Horvath, Socialist Labor

The 1970 Mid-Term Elections

The Senate elections were a failure for the President. While Nixon and Vice President Agnew had devoted immense amount of times to speeches slamming the Democrats and attempting to use their new term--The Silent Majority--in order to mobilize new-found supporters in favor of Republican Senate candidates. However, this had all been in vain. In multiple states including Illinois, California, and Minnesota--states the administration had devoted time to--Republicans failed. The only states where Nixon-supported Republicans won were Tennessee with Bill Brock, Texas with George Bush, and Connecticut with Lowell Weicker. Notable races outside those of the "Nixon sphere" that had nonetheless been won by Republicans included Ohio and Wyoming where two less than orthodox Republicans were welcomed into the Senate. Robert Taft, Jr., the son of the conservative icon, had won his election in Ohio six years after losing a race for the same seat. Taft was hard to place ideologically, despite his heritage having been described as a "pro-reform liberal". In Wyoming, meanwhile, a self-described "libertarian", Beauregard Disraeli, won an upset election for Senate against the Democratic incumbent. Disraeli's victory would be hailed by some as a victory for the growing conservative movement given his focus on taxes and opposition to statism, though it was noted that Disraeli's religious views, when discussed, were rather strange and that he opposed the Vietnam War and much of Nixon's "social legislation".

For the Kennedys, it was a good day. In Massachusetts, Senator Ted Kennedy was re-elected with well over 60% of the vote, and in New York, Bobby Kennedy won with 55.2% of the vote in a three-way race. In that race, Republican nominee Congressman Charles Goodell found himself in third place behind Conservative candidate James L. Buckley who received 27% of the vote. In Michigan, Senator Philip Hart was easily re-elected. As well, Mattingly's Congressman, Democrat Lucien Nedzi, was re-elected. However, the Democrats failed to take the Governorship, nominee Sander Levin losing to incumbent liberal Republican William Miliken.

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The post-mid-term address was given by Senator Edmund Muskie. His quiet demeanor left a much more favorable impression on the American public than the months of loud, aggressive speeches by Agnew. The President was sent into a rage, reportedly yelling "cocksucker!" a number of times. Muskie's address, seen by many in the nation, immediately put Muskie into the field of potential Democratic candidates against Nixon, and both he and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were beating Nixon in January, 1971 polls.

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Democrats: 52 (-6)
Republicans: 46 (+5)
Independents: 1 (+1)

In Alabama, Governor Albert Brewer was re-elected to the Governorship with 93% of the vote, with a number of Wallace's hardcore supporters deciding to write him in. Nevertheless, Brewer had won, a victory for New Democrats. Alabama's junior Senator, Jefferson Dent, counted this as a significant political victory. A similar New Democratic victory happened in the neighboring state of Georgia where former State Senator Jimmy Carter was elected. The incumbent segregationist Governor Lester Maddox however was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor.

In Aspen, Colorado, an important victory for the counter-culture took place. In an unexpected result, journalist and Freak Power nominee Hunter S. Thompson was able to win the race for Sheriff in a three-way race. His platform of breaking up the streets and replacing them with grass, and government-promoted psychedelic trips was surprisingly supported by over one-third of the Aspen electorate. While some in the "New Left" attempted to tout the disgruntled journalist as a potential presidential candidate, Thompson brushed it off, saying that politics would not get in the way of his writing. The story of Thompson's race for Sheriff would later be published in the 1972 book "Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail", which would later be followed up by his 1973 and 1977 books "Fear & Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" and "'76".

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Thaddeus O'Connor

Thad O'Connor was an oddball in many ways. By many standards a moderate Republican from the North-East in a party that was shifting Right and South, O'Connor was no fan of the man who three years previous he'd cast his vote for. A Vietnam veteran, O'Connor had come out against the war. A born Democrat, O'Connor had become a Republican.

As of 1971, O'Connor was employed at a local brewery in Maine owned by his friend Hank Gribble. Coming back from the Vietnam War, O'Connor had signed onto the Senate campaign of Republican candidate Jefferson Dent in Alabama. Following Dent's surprise victory, Dent was made his unofficial chief of staff. While personal friends, O'Connor and Dent however had several basic disagreements on fiscal policy. That, combined with Dent's final splitting from the Republican party in 1970, and Thad's wish to return to Maine, had culminated in the Mainer leaving Dent's employ. Nevertheless, Thad wasn't done in politics. Possessing a mild interest in politics since the mid-1960's when his political hero Barry Goldwater campaigned for President (That had volunteered for the campaign in Maine, a state that much to Thad's disappointment Goldwater lost by large margins), it seemed he was making politics a career of his. However, for the moment, Thad was out of the game, so to speak, working for the Gribble brewery.

Scott Westman

Westman, like Dent, was born into politics. However, while Dent had grown up surrounded by a family that possessed connections to Democratic greats going back to the days of Jackson, and had fought without regret, for the preservation of slavery and segregation, Westman's main political influence was his grandfather, former New York Senator and nephew to the late Al Smith,William Westman. And while Dent had staunchly rejected his heritage, Westman instead found his grandfather to be his political idol. William Westman, a staunch (though only after returning to the Lord following an earlier life of decadence) Irish Catholic Democrat from New York, had grown up under the wing of his uncle Al Smith. From that, Westman too became a product of the Tammany machine (though abandoned it as its ship fast began to sink in the early 30's), a crusader for Civil Rights, and opponent of much of the New Deal. During William Westman's political heyday, he'd served as a U.S. Senator from New York, U.S. Commerce Secretary, and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain.

Scott Westman had spent his life far removed from his grandfather however. Growing up in Montana, he knew William mainly through stories his father had told and the family's occasional visits to New York. Nevertheless, the older Scott grew, the more he found his beliefs mirroring that of his legendary grandfather's. Early in his life, (Scott) Westman had been a political agnostic, his maternal grandfather being a proud Republican, and his own dad being an apathetic Democrat. However, when Westman attended college he became a participant in the Young Democrats group as a maverick member who despised "fair trade" and early on was able to call the Vietnam War what it was, an un-winnable quagmire. By 1968, Westman was a regular at anti-war protests in his home state. He would rise to national prominence when, on September 28th, 1968, he was seen on national television wearing shirt that said "F#ck the Draft". Westman would be arrested for his deeds and given a thirty day sentence.

Westman's personal life has often been the subject of controversy. His first wife was Catalina Westman (ne'e Umberg), who was fourteen when he married her at the ripe old age of seventeen in 1963 following the discovery that Catalina was pregnant. Westman and Catalina would be married for nearly seven years when, at an anti-war protest at the campus of Kent State University in Ohio, she, along with four other protesters, was shot by the Ohio National Guard. They had one daughter, Brea Westman, born the year of their marriage. Following his first marriage, Westman would take on the role of frequent womanizer. During his days as a high school and college teacher (between 1968 and 1974), he would come under scrutiny more than once for alleged relations with his female students.

Humphrey Wilkinson

Humphrey Wilkinson, as of January 3rd 1971 the newly inaugurated Wyoming At-Large Representative, was, to many of his fellow Republicans "an odd character". His love for guns going beyond that of even your average Wyoming Republican and his drug use soon becoming common knowledge among a number of his closer House colleague, he was an idiosyncratic chap. Strangely enough, this arch-conservative hung out with an even stranger arch-liberal by the name of Hunter S. Thompson, at that point the new Pitkin County, CO Sheriff.

"I felt the mescaline kick in and looked over at Wilkinson. How I ever fell in with this reactionary bastard I'll never know. However, we did share two common values, love of guns and love of drugs. As we sat in his Wyoming ranch as the wind howled outside. With a glazed look and a smirk on his face, Wilkinson turned to me and asked "Wanna shoot some guns?" The next two hours were filled with us blindly shooting into the snow-filled air."

-"Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72", Hunter S. Thompson

Wilkinson had come home from Vietnam in 1967 after serving since 1960 as a green beret. Taking a job as an autopsist, Wilkinson spent the next few years opening up bodies to find out how they'd died. At that time he also got married and began building a family. In 1970, with Republicans looking to make gains in both houses of Congress, Wilkinson ran for and won the Wyoming At-Large seat, beating his Democratic opponent.

The Fate of James L. Buckley

While Richard Nixon had been dis-pleased by the mid-term election results, what he saw in New York gave him hope. Jim Buckley, brother of famous conservative publisher Bill Buckley and Conservative Party nominee for Senate in 1968 and 1970, had impressed him. Beating liberal Republican Charles Goodell for second place in the race, it seemed clear that the Conservatives had a chance of beating out their liberal Republican counter-parts, and hopefully the Democrats. While New York faced no Senate or Gubernatorial elections in 1972, Nixon still had an eye to the future. In 1974, both the Senate and the Governorship would be open again and the President's obsession with building his majority found him eager to see Buckley come to the Senate that year. With that in mind, he set out to give the potential future candidate some much-needed experience. Buckley was appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations in March of 1971. While Nixon preferred a more nuanced approach to foreign policy than his Conservative ambassador, he believed that a tough exterior would increase the United States' bargaining position, and were it to give some experience to a future Senator, Nixon was happy to oblige.

The Race for the Presidency, 1972

With Yarborough's defeat, a potential front-runner for the Democratic nomination was erased, though Yarborough was never really expected to run in '72 due to his age. Instead, Yarborough endorsed early on South Dakota Senator George McGovern, an anti-Vietnam War liberal from a rural state, much like Yarborough himself. McGovern had been one of the few candidates and aspiring candidates to take the administration to task, even on the issue of Vietnam, even going as far as to make at rip to Paris to meet with the North Vietnamese and dis-prove one of the many lines that Nixon had continually been using. Meanwhile, in Dixie, a former Southern Governor plotted his presidential campaign, and it wasn't George Wallace. Wallace had been disgraced by his narrow loss to Brewer in the 1970 Gubernatorial Primary and was instead working to re-build his popularity in Alabama. No, the Governor was Lester Maddox, then serving as Georgia's Lieutenant Governor. Maddox, who had a style similar to Wallace, saw Wallace's star fall in 1970 and intended to pick up the base Wallace had used. While it was still up in the air as to whether Maddox would run inside the Democratic primary or whether he would run as an American Independent, it was clear that Maddox had high aspirations.

The 1972 Democratic Primaries

While Nixon easily fended off two small-time challenges from both wings of his party, the nation's eyes instead focused on the Democrats. Bobby Kennedy had been preparing for the race for the nomination since he saw the result of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. With four more years of Senate experience under his belt--four years in which he'd worked tirelessly to put himself at the forefront of the debate in opposing the President, it looked like JFK's younger brother would have his turn. With potential challengers such as George McGovern and John Lindsay stepping aside in the wake of Kennedy's announcement of his candidacy, there would nonetheless be a group of candidates who themselves wanted a crack at the Presidency. The hawkish Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington, the segregationist Governor Lester Maddox of Alabama, D.C. Delegate Walter Fauntroy attempting to win minority votes, and of course a man who'd had his eye on the Presidency since 1952 Senator and former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota.

At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nixon had long feared a Kennedy candidacy. His "plumbers" had worked tirelessly to dig up dirt--real or fabricated--on the nation's most famous Senator. This involved the secret promotion of both Maddox's and Humphrey's candidacies in order to weaken unity within the party. At the same time the plumbers were working to cast Kennedy as the image he'd worked to build of himself, as a "groovy" candidate and a symbol of the youth. The "Silent Majority" the President had sought long to build he knew wouldn't take kindly to that type of candidate in the general election.

In the new first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus where Humphrey was heavily favored, Kennedy was able to use grass roots activists in order to gain the upper hand and eek out a win. In the heavily Catholic New Hampshire, Kennedy was able to put another win under his belt. However, in Florida, a stop was put to the Kennedy momentum with Maddox's narrow win in Florida. In Wisconsin, Humphrey, deploying Nixonian tactics, was ironically able to win over a number of Milwaukee, blue-collar Catholics and that along with his popularity among farmers, was able to deliver him victory. Kennedy and Humphrey exchanged victories across the course of the primaries. However, Kennedy with his support among Pacific Coasters, minorities, the youth, and among his brother's old base of East Coast Catholic blue collars, had a distinct advantage. Despite this, Humphrey had a number of victories in the rust belt. However, with a knock-out victory in California, Kennedy was assured the nomination. Maddox, disappointed with a poor performance in the primaries, nevertheless vowed to fight on as the American Party nominee.

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Green-Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York
Blue-Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota
Red-Former Governor Lester Maddox of Georgia
Yellow-Others

Despite games by Humphrey's supporters at the Democratic National Convention, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York was nominated easily on the first ballot and on the second it was made unanimous. Kennedy attempting to gain support in the South and also support the emerging New South coalition, selected Governor Albert Brewer of Alabama for Vice President.

Meanwhile, on September 5th, 1972 at a small convention, former Lester Maddox of Georgia was nominated for President, and Congressman John G. Schmitz of California for Vice President on the American Party ticket. Seeing it all play out, the President of the United States was thrown into a rage that would be recorded for posterity on a White House taping system that would only be revealed many years later. Thus, the stage was set for the 1972 United States Presidential Election.

The 1972 General Election

The general election was a brutal propaganda campaign. Nixon was caught in the middle between his sworn enemy, a Kennedy attacking him as an authoritarian conservative extremist, and on the other side in battle with a segregationist Southerner who had proclaimed that Nixon hadn't gone far enough. While Nixon and his inner circle had hoped from the beginning to try to cast the two as extremists and he as the wise centrist, the strategy failed as Maddox was what amounted to a valuable 3-10% in various polls from Nixon, leaving Kennedy ahead. Election night went well into the wee hours of the morning and the state of Illinois was still in question.
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Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY)/Governor Albert Brewer (D-AL) 253 electoral votes
President Richard M. Nixon (R-NY)/Vice President Spiro T. Agnew (R-MD) 259 electoral votes
Too Close To Call 26 electoral votes

While twelve years before Mayor Richard J. Daley had worked hard to make Illinois go Democratic for John F. Kennedy, no such favors were forthcoming for his brother. In fact, Daley had come to hate that "son of a bitch". Kennedy's new politics style, the opposition to the Vietnam War he'd adopted when preparing to run for President in the 1960's, and support for McGovern Commission reforms had alienated Kennedy from the man who'd helped his brother win the Presidency. Instead Daley had no intention of giving Kennedy any favors in Illinois, even working to hurt him in Cook County. While the ballots were still being counted in Illinois, the Kennedy and Nixon camps were hard at work filing motions and injunctions to ensure a favorable outcome. However, after weeks and weeks of counting, it was declared: Robert F. Kennedy would be elected the 38th President of the United States of America.
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Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY)/Governor Albert Brewer (D-AL) 278 electoral votes, 47.3% of the popular vote
President Richard M. Nixon (R-NY)/Vice President Spiro T. Agnew (R-MD) 248 electoral votes, 47.7% of the popular vote
Former Governor Lester Maddox (A-GA)/Congressman John G. Schmitz (A-CA) 3 electoral votes [Faithless Electors] 5.1% of the popular vote
Mr. John Hospers (L-CA)/Ms. Theodore Nathan (L-OR) 1 electoral votes [Faithless Elector] <1% of the popular vote

President Nixon found himself teetering between rage and depression for the past few months of his Presidency. When the election had been stolen from him twelve years ago had he dragged the country through division trying to overturn the fraud in Cook County!? Hell no! But that rat bastard Kennedy had been willing to pull the same crap! Nixon was furious. Meanwhile, Senator Kennedy prepared to take the reigns of the Presidency.

The Cabinet of Robert F. Kennedy Pt. 1

Even before Senator Kennedy had been declared winner, he had been preparing for the announcement and his inauguration. What would prove key in the creation of his administration would be the selection of his cabinet. Like his brother Jack, Bobby had run against one of the most experienced people in government, Richard Nixon, and had won in only a narrow election. In Bobby's case, he had failed to even win the popular vote. In the preceding election, both Bobby and Jack had been attacked as inexperienced, unready for the office of President. Knowing he lacked a mandate, Kennedy set out to ensure that he would be protected from attacks of both inexperience, and from creating a mandate where none existed. Therefore, he would set up a cabinet of experienced individuals, even breaking the partisan barrier at times. Having pledge to end Vietnam, Kennedy's foreign policy apparatus would be his main priority.

Secretary of State: Abraham Ribicoff (D-CT)

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An old Kennedy ally, and a supporter of Bobby in 1968, Ribicoff had an impressive resume before assuming the office of Secretary of State. A two-term U.S. Representative, six-year Governor, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and for the last ten years a U.S. Senator, Ribicoff, despite lacking a specifically detailed foreign policy resume, nevertheless was respected by his Senate colleagues and was easily confirmed.

Secretary of Defense: Charles Goodell (R-NY)

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Goodell, a liberal Republican and outspoken opponent of Vietnam, would prove more difficult than expected. Originally, Kennedy had considered Mark Hatfield. However, the Oregon Senator was a party loyalist, even if he was an ideological maverick. Instead, Kennedy removed a potential rival in state politics, and a sure candidate to fill his empty seat, by instead putting Goodell at the position of Defense. Goodell had as well been an outspoken opponent of the Nixon administration during the last four years, and Kennedy was being bi-partisan and at the same time spiteful through his appointment.

National Security Adviser: Robert O'Sullivan (D-MA)

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A surprise choice, O'Sullivan was a long-time Kennedy family confidant whose relationship extended back to the 1940's and his youth. Upon John F. Kennedy's ascent to the White House, O'Sullivan graduated into a President's inner circle. During Johnson's escalation of the Vietnam War, O'Sullivan, who by-and-large was a school of old Joe Kennedy's isolationism, resigned in protest. He would, a few months later, join Senator Bobby Kennedy's staff, and work on his first Presidential campaign. O'Sullivan bore the notability of having been one of the men to take the bullets that Sirhan Sirhan had fired at the Senator after the California primary. During the interim between 1968 and 1972, O'Sullivan had waited patiently for another Kennedy run and had been one of the chief figures in the campaign.

The Full Cabinet of Robert F. Kennedy
President Kennedy's cabinet was designed to both unite his party and to draw support from liberal and moderate Republicans, the way Nixon had intended during his term to foster support for the GOP in the South. Among those that were on Kennedy's list to join the cabinet that didn't make the cut was Leon Panetta, a former moderate Republican who'd worked in Robert Finch's HEW Department and tried to enforce Civil Rights laws before Panetta's eventual resignation. However, due to Panetta's youth, he was passed over. However, Kennedy did include two moderate to liberal Republicans. For Secretary of the Interior, Oregon Governor Tom McCall was chosen thanks to his implementation of land-use planning in his state. For Secretary of Commerce, former automobile company executive and Nixon's HUD Secretary George Romney was chosen, partly to spite the outgoing President.
Secretary of State: Abraham Ribicoff (D-CT)
Secretary of the Treasury: Russell B. Long (D-LA)
Secretary of Defense: Roger Goodell (R-NY)
Attorney General: Nicholas Katzenbach (D-NJ)
Secretary of the Interior: Tom McCall (R-OR)
Secretary of Agriculture: Ralph Yarborough (D-TX)
Secretary of Commerce: George Romney (R-MI)
Secretary of Labor: Cesar E. Chavez (D-CA)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Robert Sargent Shriver (D-MD)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Shirley Chischolm (D-NY)
Secretary of Transportation: Kevin White (D-MA)

National Security Adviser: Robert O'Sullivan (D-MA)

The 1972 Senate Elections

Kennedy, despite his "illegitimate" victory, was nonetheless granted a few coattails coming into office. The Democrats were already in control of both houses of Congress. However, they were able to strengthen their grip as the party picked up four Senate seats and a few House seats, padding the seat for the incoming Democratic President.
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Democrats: 56 (+4)
Republicans: 43 (-4)
Independents: 1

The Democrats, despite seeing Southern moderates and liberals such as Nick Galifianakis go down to defeat, had made gains in the North, Mid-West, and West while managing to hold off attempts by Republicans in states such as Virginia. Republicans, however, were hanging on and several prominent members of their Senate delegations: Charles Percy, Robert Griffin, Mark Hatfield, John Tower, and Howard Baker, had won re-election easily.

The First Term of Robert F. Kennedy, Part One

The First 100 Days
In what would mark one of the most dramatic foreign policy triumphs so early in a term, American involvement in the Vietnam War would officially end on March 1st, 1973. This was thanks in large part to Secretary of State Ribicoff, Adviser O'Sullivan, "Special Envoy" Senator George McGovern, and Kennedy's own personal presence at the Paris peace conferences. Despite this apparent dovishness, the President would nonetheless keep a strong correspondence with former National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger.

Upon entering office, the nation's economic situation became so much more clear to Kennedy and his team. While Nixon had managed to maintain an outward apperance of economic normalcy, it had been a series of smoke and mirrors. A liberal monetary policy combined with high spending and a raised debt ceiling had created the illusion of a strong and robust economic turnaround following troubles early in Nixon's term. This would be a difficult situation to deal with and involve many unpopular moves on the part of those in power. Kennedy, deciding to wait and attempt to battle more immediate domestic and economic problems including a temporary slump and social issues.

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And All the Rest
Kennedy would later begrudgingly refer to his first year as one where he was beset on all sides by opposition. In his attempt to show himself as a President with a dynamic and strong domestic policy in comparison with the four years of Nixon, he put forward a blatantly liberal set of proposals before Congress. Numbered among them were an economic "stimulus package" to battle the current slump, modest tax increases on the middle and upper classes, new environmental legislation, the pardoning of a number of illegal immigrants, a guest worker program, and greater national funding for education. These were meant to showcase a new direction in domestic policy and to give him good liberal credentials so as to hold off the left come the time he would have to tighten monetary policy. While his stimulus package and the tax increases would pass, other goals would not find themselves as lucky. Thanks to Republican campaign tactics and unrest from the labor portion of the Democratic wing, many of his socially liberal proposals would be left by the wayside of have to wait for more favorable years. He was, however, able to correct many of the schemes that had gone on during the Nixon administration concerning desegregation of schools and busing. However, these policies would face opposition even in Northern industrial cities like Boston, New York, and Detroit where white middle and working class parents were uncomfortable with these new social policies. Following an assassination attempt on Vice President Brewer in July, new gun control legislation--including a ban on handguns--was put forward only to be struck down by a good majority of the House and Senate. After these strategic and political mistakes in his first year, the President would have to hold off on such goals until he could gain greater favorability with Congress.

1973 Senate Changes and Elections
Thanks to vacancies made by various Kennedy nominations, a few seats would change parties. In New York, Nelson Rockefeller appointed Perry B. Duryea, a Republican, to fill Kennedy's seat. Connecticut held a special election to fill the vacant space left by Ribicoff and Republican Governor Thomas J. Meskill won it handily. Louisiana would be the only one of the three that would stay intact for the Democrats as John J. McKeithen was appointed to fill Russell Long's seat. This would leave the Senate still in Democratic hands 55-44-1. In the Virginia gubernatorial race, meanwhile, former Navy Secretary John Warner won a comfortable election. However, in New Jersey, conservative Republican Charles Sandman lost 64-34 to Brendan T. Byrne. The New York City Mayoral Race would also be interesting to watch as Congressman Barry M. Farber was able to win a plurality on a Republican/Conservative ticket.

President Kennedy ended the year with talks with both Democrats and Republicans concerning the possibility of a free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

The Loyal Opposition

With a clear lack of a mandate and without even having taken first place in the popular vote, Republicans were determined to see the "new popular liberal President" go down in flames. Even former moderates who had at points opposed Nixon vehemently seemed to harden. House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford, who despite a moderate, pro-civil rights record for years, had begun turning to the right in the late 60's and now was one of the bulwarks against Kennedy's agenda. Meanwhile, the GOP's conservatives were springing to the forefront of the party. Senators like Bob Dole, Jim Buckley, Paul Laxalt, and John Tower comprised a very vocal section of the party. As well, conservative Democrats were actively working to distance themselves from RFK. Senator Frank Church of Idaho, a liberal, joined several Republicans, Southerners, and his fellow rural Democrats in voting against the President's anti-gun legislation which in the end was supported only by urban Northerners. As 1973 ended and 1974 began, some eyes were already looking past the mid-terms and towards 1976. Folks such as Reagan, Dole, and even Ford, were being discussed as potential front-runners. Among the party's liberals meanwhile, Nelson Rockefeller planned on this term as New York's Governor being his last. While he was definitely considering a run in '76, it would be his last and chances of success were slim. Even his own state's GOP was turning against him as seen by recent election results.

As for the defeated ticket of Nixon and Agnew, as well as their contemporaries, things were interesting. With 1976 being wide open, former Vice President Agnew was obviously concentrated on separating himself from the loss of 1972 and instead burnishing his conservative credentials and his "Silent Majority" persona. However, the sixties were by then well over and with the Vietnam War over and corruption investigations going on, Agnew wasn't looking in good shape for the next election. Meanwhile, for the former President, Nixon had not taken the loss well. Sulking at his home in San Clemente, California, Nixon cursed the day he'd first met Jack Kennedy in 1947 and all that had come of it. Viewing all he'd done as a disgrace, he took solace in reading about John Adams. Like him, a former Vice President now come to the Presidency, he faced defeat at the hands of a former friend (or in this case the brother of a former friend) and was forced into early retirement. Even the Presidents they had served under, Washington and Eisenhower, had vague similarities: military pasts, being principles in successful American wars and adored by the public, moderation, and iconic farewell addresses. In attempting to field a man that could potentially unseat Bobby Kennedy in 1976, he turned not to Agnew, whom he had grown to despise, but instead to John Connally. A former Democrat who had served as Secretary of the Navy and Governor of Texas, Connally was Nixon's Treasury Secretary and had only recently become a Republican. Former National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger would later remark that Connally had been the only cabinet member that Nixon did not insult behind his back. With skills as an orator and a tough politician, the probability of having a large Texas war chest at his disposal, a large amount of executive experience, and the personal support of Nixon himself, it was obvious to the former President that Connally could be a very large presence in what was bound to be a crowded primary field. As well, Nixon knew that while Connally projected a very conservative image that would be good for getting through a primary, he had displayed moderation both as a Governor and as a Treasury Secretary, and Nixon valued such wisdom, seeing him as one who could both win and then govern.

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"What in all of Hell do you mean 'Democrats won't support free trade'? Lower tariffs has been a stable of this party for countless generations... No, don't give me that crap, and don't listen to the so-called Democrats like Humphrey either! ... Well find the votes, even if you have to cross the aisle to those damned WASP's!"

-National Security Adviser Robert O'Sullivan in a phone conversation with Chief of Staff Kenny O'Donnell, 1975

1974

The crowning achievement of the Kennedy administration in 1974 would be taking steps toward the securing of a free trade agreement with Canada, lowered tariffs on Japan, and even establishing a trade deal with China. The first faltering step of the year would however be having to count Mexico out of any attempts at creating a North American free trade agreement. With is current President, Mexico was in no mood to give American businesses any more of a foothold in their country. However, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, after some coaxing and certain concessions, was persuaded to sign on and in March talks began. Meanwhile, talks were opened up with Japan to lower the tariffs. The most controversial movement on trade were Kennedy's three visits to China over the course of the year to discuss opening up Chinese markets to American goods and vice-versa. While an unpopular move to many, it was intended mainly as an extension of Nixon's tri-lateral diplomacy and to strengthen ties with China and against Russia. Those of course would tie into continuing SALT negotiations.

On issues aside from trade, a guest worker program would be passed and implemented, a number of environmental and healthcare bills, all minor, would as well be signed into law by President Kennedy. Economically, millions of dollars would be appropriated to assist in the rebuilding of urban areas across the country, including the improvement of infrastructure and homes. However, little that directly grappled with the declining economy was brought forward, much less voted on and made real. Kennedy, already looking to the future, was worried about what type of president he would be.

By the end of the year, tariffs with Japan had been lowered, negotiations with Canada were going smoothly if not quickly. However, several in Congress were uneasy about greater economic involvement in Red China. All of this would have a significant effect on the mid-terms in which Democrats, especially those in industrial areas, would have a hard time winning re-election. In Indiana, Senator Birch Bayh would go down to defeat due to both economic and trade issues, and also controversial anti-gun legislation in 1973. This would prove a pivotal issue in other Senate races as George McGovern found himself losing his seat as well. In Iowa, Democratic candidate John Culver would as well meet in defeat. Nevertheless, there would be a few bright spots. In Colorado, former White House Counsel Gary Hart would win a 53% victory over incumbent Peter H. Dominick. Meanwhile, in Vermont Patrick Leahy would see triumph in an extremely close election. The most watched Senate election would happen in New York, however, and it would not be the one that Jacob Javits won handily. With a special election occurring to fill the last two years of the Senate term Kennedy had left, incumbent Republican Perry B. Duryea found himself without a leg to stand on as former Ambassador to the United Nations James L. Buckley of the Conservatives attacked his right flank while the Democratic nominee took his left. With the Liberal party endorsing the Democrat, in a surprise, Duryea had little base of support and ended up taking third while Buckley became the first Conservative party member to enter the Senate, albeit for a two year term.

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Democrats: 52 (-2)
Republicans: 46 (+1)
Independents: 1
Conservatives: 1 (+1)

1974 proved a good year for the Conservative Party of New York. Not only would they win a Senate seat, but something much closer to home as well. With Governor Nelson Rockefeller retiring, a power vacuum opened up in state politics. The seat for Governor would be completely open for the first time since 1954. Given this, a pluthera of candidates jumped into the fray. However, only one person could emerge the winner. Peter J. Brennan, a union president with ties to the Nixon administration and most well known for the hard hat riots in 1970, announced in early 1974 that he would be renouncing his membership in the Democratic party and running for Governor as an Independent. At his press conference, he cited lack of concern for labor issues among the Democrats and a continued straying from the center. While much confusion was caused in the media and in both parties, a speech by former President Nixon at a banquet in favor of Brennan welcomed him into the Republican ranks and thanks to New York's fusion laws put him on their primary ballot. With conservatives fearing a "Rockefeller Republican", Brennan was given a narrow majority in the primary. In the general election, former New York City Mayor John Lindsay, a former Republican who had run for both the Democratic and Republican nominations, was the Liberal Party candidate. Despite an abysmal record as Mayor, he still had a media-driven following and was able to use support among select urban groups to split the vote enough to give Brennan a close victory.

Quote from: 1974 New York State Gubernatorial Election Results

Peter J. Brennan (Independent/Republican/Conservative) 46%
Howard J. Samuels (Democrat) 44%
John V. Lindsay (Liberal) 9%
Others (Courage, Free Libertarian, Socialist Workers) <1%

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New York's 50th Governor

While Kennedy was discouraged by the results, he nonetheless vowed to continue. Maybe without the presence of some Democrats, the remainder might be coaxed--along with a few moderate Republicans--into coming together to support free trade with Canada. Negotiations were rapping up and he would need all the support he could get. Humphrey and his ilk had been nothing but roadblocks to success on the issue. Over the course of the lame duck period, he began a series of meetings with several Republicans including Connecticut's two Senators, Lowell Weicker and Thomas J. Meskill, and George H.W. Bush over the passage of the Canadian-American Free Trade Pact. Newly inaugurated Congressman William J. Clinton of Arkansas, meanwhile, became part of a coalition of moderate Democrats in the House that would support its passage.

Congressman Scott Westman

The tall, lanky, and strangely handsome red-haired freshman Congressman from Montana's first district placed his hand on the Holy Bible and took the Oath of Office, becoming the first of his family to saunter into the political ring since his grandfather, William Westman, who looked on admiring from the guest seats. Scott's red hair matched his fiery temper. A self-described "far left liberal", Westman had made his name earlier in the decade as an opinionated peace protester. By 1974 however, his occupation was that of high school history teacher. However, public service found him like it found William Westman and Al Smith before him. Encouraged by Robert F. Kennedy's 1972 election, Westman was determined to become part of a breed of "New Democrats". Ironically, his vision for this would involve hearkening back to older Democratic traditions.

In his memoirs, written in the early 2000's, Westman recalled that "The old New Deal Coalition was fading. Nixon's victory in 1968 had smashed it and 1972 began the forging of a New Democratic Coalition. This was not one based on blue collar populism and economic nationalism, but instead one based on the principles of peace, civil liberties, and freedom. Kennedy had changed everything, at least so we thought in 1972. Therefore, I made it my job to represent this new group in my own state of Montana. I received discouragement from my own teacher's union, the local Democratic party, and the national establishment. However, after beating Baucus, those same forces now pretended to rally for my cause. Thanks to my unique political positioning, I was able to win many moderate Republicans."

Quote from: One of Westman's tamer campaign speeches, prior to the 1974 Democratic primary

Now, I don't agree with President Kennedy on everything. And certainly not the gun ban! [laughter], but I think the man has some right ideas. When he was elected in 1972, he was elected on a platform of peace, liberty, and equality. I think those are values any American should be able to rally around. This country has been held hostage too long by those that would seek to spend your tax dollars on pet projects and world shattering weapons, and by those that would send your sons, brothers, and friends off to die in God forsaken wars overseas that we have no stake in. I'd like to think that two years ago, we changed that. However, we won't know for certain until we shake things up in the United States Congress!

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Scott Westman, ca. 1980's

Well known in his area for his radical anti-war past and his rather "free" personal life, his presence had nonetheless sent a few shock waves through the Establishment. During the campaign he voiced support for the Canadian-American Free Trade Pact (though he desired a much wider bill) and followed through in political support, making speeches against the so-called "economic nationalism" of many of the nation's legislators. Despite serving only one term, he would be coaxed by the President, who Westman developed an admiration of, to consider running for Senate in 1976. While it would later be revealed that Kennedy considered Westman a wild card, it was true that he also appreciated his vocal and open style, something that the President had long abandoned in favor of a political persona. During his first year in the House, Westman would also be-friend Arkansas' freshman Congressman Bill Clinton. The two agreed on a few economic and social issues and were even rumored to be partaking in lewd activities with female staffers and a number of drugs. Such rumors would plague both of their campaigns in 1976, but they'd have a damn good time doing them.

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Congressman Bill Clinton (D-AR-3) with his wife Hillary, campaigning in his home district

"In the buildup to the 1996 campaign, Dick Hudson, Mattingly's longtime adviser and campaign manager, began recommending the biographies of what he considered were the great Republican statesman that the Governor was the successor of. Not only Lincoln, but Grant, McKinley--Mattingly took a great interest in him--Roosevelt, and Eisenhower. These were men who had led the Republicans not just in policy, but in electoral victory, throughout the history of the party. Hudson had long held an interest in politics and elections, as evidence by his profession, and had a keen eye for history. Therefore, while Mattingly's conversion to conservative Republicanism had been one of circumstance--rising social and foreign policy liberalism, economic decline under RFK--it became his credo. As the early 2000's commenced, Mattingly came to see himself as one in a long tradition of midwestern Republicans that came from humble origins to defend and preserve the union. Though not a highly educated man in any formal definition, he nonetheless began to see things as an epic battle, waged between those that would protect the country and those that would have it torn apart. I would not go so far as to say he was a tool of Hudson. Hudson only sought a maintainable Republican majority. Instead, he was an intelligent man, shaped by circumstances and forced to respond in very harsh terms."

-Rick Perlstein in Star Spangled Eyes

May 6th, 1975
Mattingly, leaning back in a recliner in his small house that he shares with two other automotive workers, sips a cool one (or four) while smoking, watches the news.
News Lady: ...And with the final vote of the House, a close one, the Canadian-American Free Trade Pact has passed and President Kennedy is expected to sign it into law. Following lowered tariffs with Japan last year and talks with China, this is the latest victory for the President on the issue of free trade.
Mattingly: [muttering, in the midst of his swig] Well there goes the whole damn country, again.
News Lady: Among the bill's supporters was Congressman Scott Westman, who we had the chance to interview.
Second News Lady: Mr. Westman, you've been a strong proponent of this and other free trade legislation since you're election. Do you view this bill as an important step for the country?
Westman: Absolutely. Free trade has long been in the Democratic tradition, and the opposition that came from the labor branch of the party was startling. I'm glad the President has decided to work for this, and that the country has gotten behind it. I can only hope we continue this in the future. Seeya back at the apartment.
Second News Lady: Oh, haha-
News Lady: Thanks, Diane, for the interview.
[Mattingly, as he sees the interview take place, notices the shocking red hair of the freshman Congressman, his style of speaking, and so on.]
Mattingly: [Inside his head] Hmmm.... I remember this guy from somewhere... [flashback to September 28th, 1968] Oh snap! It's that bastard from the Montana peace riots!

The 1976 Republican Primaries

   At around the same time that Mattingly was preparing for another Christmas celebration at his parents’ residence and preparing once again to spend his time smoking and drinking beer in the garage—this time making sure their car was in order, candidates were preparing to barnstorm in Iowa. Shaking hands, speaking in barns, and canvassing across the state were Governor Daniel J. Evans of Washington, former Treasury Secretary John B. Connally of Texas, former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland, and others. The candidate gaining a surprising following was Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming. A firebrand libertarian with questionable religious affiliations, Disraeli’s anti-tax, anti-government rhetoric was connecting with a number of voters, surprisingly even blue collar ones. “The government has seen fit to establish itself as the ultimate power in this nation, a coercive and destructive force that has established a near-feudal empire based on the ideas of property taxes, monopolies on infrastructure, and a thuggish enforcement office known as the Internal Revenue Service.” He as well would call for an end on “The bi-partisan ‘War on Drugs’ that the fascists in Washington have seen fit to saddle us with.”

   With Ford out of the running—in fact retiring from elected politics that year—the moderates of the party had felt trapped between the Texan Connally, the rabble rousing Disraeli, the populist, allegedly corrupt, and floundering Agnew, and the—by any measure—liberal Evans, it seemed like they would in fact turn to the Washington Governor. However, the low key campaign of Senator Thomas J. Meskill of Connecticut was able to gain favor in New England.
   Come the Iowa Caucuses, while Connally worked to build a coalition of evangelicals and business, Agnew found himself losing ground as allegations of corruption while Governor of Maryland came forward, and Disraeli alienated several undecideds even while getting strong youth support, Governor Evans was able to escape with a narrow plurality and claim victory in Iowa. With that, Connally, Disraeli, and the rest of the gang moved onto New Hampshire where Meskill, who had been quietly laying groundwork, was able to come up with victory. However, it was closer than expected thanks to hard work by both Connally and Disraeli.

   Connally, again failing to claim victory, retreated to Florida where a large amount of financial support was coming from. Working hard to gain the votes of Cubans, Southerners, conservatives, and business, Connally won with just barely over 40% of the vote a week after Meskill and Evans had upped their delegate counts, stopping their momentum, at least in the South, cold. By the end of March, the race was still a tossup. However, it seemed that Meskill might soon have to drop out, winning nothing outside of New England. Connally, for his part, had managed to win big in the delegate rich Florida and had also claimed victory in Kansas, showing support outside the South. Evans was displaying the most versatility, gaining support from liberals and moderates in the Mid-West and in the past almost beating out Meskill in Vermont.

   After Meskill lost both the New York and Wisconsin primaries—one being large, richa in delegates, North-Eastern and his type of state to win in, and the other being crucial to showing he could achieve victory outside of New England—he dropped out, making a half-hearted endorsement to Evans. This had the opportunity to put all the moderate and liberal support behind Evans and deliver him wins even in relatively conservative states. That was when the White House stepped in. Kennedy, long paranoid of growing right-wing attacks and what he appraised as his slim grasp on power—both he and his brother had come into office on thin victories and in RFK’s case losing the popular vote—had bothered to compile massive opposition files on all his opponents. Only a week and a half before the Pennsylvania primary, evidence was released associating top Evans campaign aide Ted Bundy with the disappearances of a number of women he’d been in relationships with. National Security Adviser Robert O’Sullivan would later be attributed to being in charge of a number of “plumbers” operations such as these.

   In the media fallout and subsequent arrest of Bundy, Connally sprang ahead in the polls, narrowly winning Pennsylvania. Disraeli’s campaign was also revived, taking ten to twenty percent in Western primaries that Connally won by good margins. Meanwhile, Evans found his support disintegrating beneath his feet. With Connally re-focusing his campaign and bringing to light his pragmatic record combined with his extensive experience, he was moving rapidly. Evans’ last stand came on May 25th when he failed to win anything but Oregon. While he would go on to win Rhode Island in one of the final round of primaries, he officially dropped out after the 25th, leaving Disraeli the only opposition to Connally. Connally following that became the presumptive nominee.

   Mattingly, for his part, did participate in the Michigan Republican Primary due to its status as an open primary and, after a bit of nail biting, the reluctant Democrat decided to support a former Democrat and voted for John Connally. In an interview, he would state that “Sure, I wasn’t enthusiastic about Connally, but the only opposition to Kennedy were some write-ins and a few random names. And hey, Evans had made some very good foreign policy points and you can look at his record regarding Vietnamese refugees. However, Connally no doubt had those similar positions along with significant experience and a campaign that appealed to me.” It was true that, in the final days of his campaign, Evans had tried to run to the right of Connally on foreign policy, bringing up his support for refugees from the defeated South Vietnam as well as the Nixon administration’s defense cuts. It was surprising how quickly he’d attempted to turn Connally’s experience as well as his support among hawks against him, saying “The last time Connally worked under a President, that President supervised the betrayal of America’s foreign policy interests, including the SALT treaty and an agreement—approved by the current President—that sold out our ally South Vietnam.” However, it was not enough and all Evans could do was hope for a Vice Presidential pick.

(

)
Red - Former Secretary of the Treasury John B. Connally of Texas
Blue - Governor Daniel J. Evans of Washington
Green - Senator Thomas J. Meskill of Connecticut
Yellow - Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming

Among the top contenders for the Vice Presidency were Senator Bob Dole of Kansas—a favorite of the conservatives and Mid-Western delegates and a personal recommendation by Nixon, House Minority Leader Ford, Senator Thomas Meskill, Governor Ronald Reagan—a proud Connally supporter who had to put his presidential ambitions on hold due to an assassination attempt on him in 1975, and, unsurprisingly, Governor Peter J. Brennan. However, at the convention, all hints were put out that it would be Meskill due to his experience and of course the geographical and ideological factors. However, Connally, focusing on Nixon’s strategy of choosing an “attack dog” running mate and in an attempt to focus on working class voters and “cloth coat Republicanism”, chose Dole.

()
The Republican Ticket, 1976

General Election, 1976

   The Republicans believed they had the general election almost sewn up due to discontent over Kennedy’s presidency. However, Connally was nowhere near as clean a nominee as they’d hoped. While throughout the election cycle leading up to the debates Connally had been gaining and a Republican victory was predicted. Nevertheless, the President was confident. Despite Connally’s debating skills that Kennedy’s coaches were worried about, Kennedy left the debates with what looked like a solid win come election night.

   The way in which the landscape changed was surprising. It would be on the economy—the rockiest part of the last four years—that the GOP met their downfall. While Connally charged that “The current President has come into office and has failed utterly to sustain the economy that Nixon left us with”, the President responded that “It was thanks to the policies you pursued as Nixon’s Treasury Secretary—wage and price controls, a raised debt ceiling to stimulate the economy, reduced federal reserve loan rates—that the American economy is still struggling as it is today. The Republicans have come forward saying that they would fix the very situation they created and have provided no answers as to how to do so.” While lines like that alone would fail to sway the electorate, Kennedy’s continued hammering of Connally on his tenure under Nixon would change a significant amount of the electorate’s minds to “undecided” only weeks before the election. On foreign policy, meanwhile, Kennedy managed to successfully fend off Republican attacks and call Connally’s proposals “needless war-mongering to a nation that, only four years ago, ended one of its most bloody and disastrous conflicts on the books.”

   In the final stretch of the campaign, Kennedy began climbing up in the polls. With a media blitzkrieg in fiscally conservative parts of the country explaining Connally’s record as Treasury Secretary, his conservative base was in danger. Come election day, with a large amount of votes up in the air, the undecided eventually broke for their President. Historians and political commentators would largely attribute the victory to Kennedy’s status as an incumbent, doubt regarding Connally’s record, a foreign policy perceived as successful, and overtures to economic moderates. Behind the scenes, hard work by the Kennedy team to bring as many African-Americans to the polls and of course the sabotage of Evan's campaign played a part. The former would have a significant effect in Florida, Ohio, Alabama, Kentucky, California, and Missouri.

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President Robert F. Kennedy (Democrat-New York)/Vice President Albert P. Brewer (Democrat-Alabama) 341 electoral votes, 51.8% of the popular vote
Former Secretary of the Treasury John B. Connally (Republican-Texas)/Senator Robert S. Dole (Republican-Kansas) 197 electoral votes, 46.8% of the popular vote
Former Senator Eugene McCarthy (Independent-Minnesota)/[Various] 0 electoral votes, .87% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .53% of the popular vote

()()
While President Kennedy celebrated his successful re-election, Connally was left to grieve his defeat.

1976, Continued

In the summer of 1976, Mattingly was forced to move into Detroit in order to attend Wayne State University, choosing to make the leap from community college early, having completed some credits faster than expected and hoping to have a better chance of getting in. Using savings of his, he was able to find a small apartment, one of the cheapest he’d been able to locate. In order to maintain an income, his makeshift operation as a “neighborhood mechanic” was closed down in a sense and he became an employee at a local garage, working early in the morning and late at night under a Greek man named Theofanis Constantine (originally “Constantinou”). “When I think back to Teddy Constantine, I remember thinking I’d known a thing or two about cars. He taught me more than I thought was even left to know on the subject. And I also know, I also know that if it hadn’t been for his kindness in hiring me—a guy who didn’t have the advantage of being free for normal work hours—I wouldn’t be where I am today. When I finally graduated in 1979, after several years and countless dollars spent for that degree, it wouldn’t by Ford that I turned to. Constantine’s garage needed some business sense. Even in the midst of what, at least in my lifetime, was the single lowest point for the American economy, Constantine was looking to expand, and in many ways it made sense. With fewer people buying new cars, they needed the ones they had repaired, and repaired well. We—the business as a whole—had a good record of quality and consistency and when in the middle of the recession ‘Constantine Repair’ opened a second shop, I was made manager. With the seventies coming to a close and ‘Morning in America’ approaching, things were bound to change.” His ascendancy in the small company is rather understated, given that by 1979 he’d already been managing the garage in the late afternoons and had begun to handle accounting. In terms of Mattingly’s personal life, the tall half-Sicilian with a permanent beard stubble and a cigarette clutched in his teeth seemed have developed a certain underlying confidence by the late 70’s that allowed him to “hit his stride” with the ladies in time to meet his wife in December of ’79.

While things might have been looking up for Christian Mattingly as 1979, for the Democratic party, the picture right before the 1980 election would not be so rosy. Three years earlier, they were riding high, having ensured a “New Democratic Majority” existed in the country. The only election in which the Democrats had gained a majority since FDR’s last run in 1944 was the 1964 landslide against what they all saw as an extremist. 1976, to many in the party, had ensure that the Democrats would retain national political dominance, regardless of what 1968 had done, and they proceeded to act on that belief, arrogantly.

Nevertheless, the 1976 Senate elections were essentially a draw. With Democrats maintaining their slim majority (though not one particularly threatened by the opposition), the balance of power would remain intact. While James Buckley had been defeated by Bella Abzug in an upset due to the unpopularity of Connally in the Northeast and the strength of RFK in the Empire State, Republicans would see luck in other races. In Texas, George Bush would be re-elected by a healthy margin against a no-name opponent. Meanwhile in California, a state the President had won, former Governor Ronald Reagan, physically not up to the rigor of a presidential campaign since ’75, was nevertheless able to pull off a Senate victory again John Tunney. Montana probably had one of the most significant results that night. Freshman Congressman Scott Westman, a self-styled radical liberal who was, in actuality, to the right of much of his party on economic issues, had been able to win an upset in the primary and then proceed to a victory in the general. Westman had been forced to battle the Democratic reputation in regards to gun rights and the like. However, his personal popularity and ability to appeal to the people of Montana would pave his way to a win. All around, a shift in Democratic strength in the North was quite evident, with gains in Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the GOP made gains in the West and Mid-West with the exception of Rhode Island where liberal Republican former Governor (and Nixon Navy Secretary) John Chafee was elected.

(

)
Democrats: 53 (+1)
Republicans: 46
Independents: 1

In Wyoming, both Congressman Humphrey Wilkinson and Senator Beauregard Disraeli were elected by hefty margins. The two, both known for their rather questionable personal lives, strange ideological and even religious views, and egos, had not sat well with each other since they were both elected in 1970. With Disraeli running for President earlier that year, Wilkinson had considered primarying him but had decided against it at the last second. The Representative would nevertheless be caught "joking" about having to find a way to "bump Disraeli off".

Dick Hudson

As of December 1976, Dick Hudson was a virginal high school sophomore, unhappy with the state of things in the country. A nondescript Protestant Christian in a rural township, thing in figure, pale in complexion, and thick in glasses, he as well hailed from a traditionally Republican family, of the mid-western conservative stock. Politics, however, didn't figure largely in the lives of the Hudson family aside from vaguely traditional beliefs and voting patterns. However, Richard, blessed with a mind adept at most things--but for science. In all honesty, reading about the body's biological cycles was intangible ad nonsensical to him--had for some reason or another chosen to turn his mind toward public policy, history, and political parties.

"What RFK is doing is typical of the current leaderless bench of the Democratic party. He's failed utterly in terms of the economy, environmental regulations--while well intentioned--will ultimately lead to a greater burden on private enterprise. Meanwhile, his energy policy is based on far fetched futuristic ideals that are lacking any grounding in the reality of our current situation. Foreign policy-wise, he's betrayed America's position in the Cold War as not even his brother would." Such statements were well filed in his brain and ready for repetition should someone ask him about Bobby Kennedy. While lacking a real dog in the 1976 primary fight (He, like more than a few residents of the Wolverine state, had been hoping for a Ford candidacy), the 16-year old volunteered for the Connally campaign and spent his afternoons and weekends trekking from house to house--and this was rural Michigan, so the houses weren't too close together--peddling Connally literature to folks who in all likelihood were going to vote for him anyway.

Social life-wise, Hudson found himself in a strange crowd. A small cabal of stoners and a few geeks--he being one of them--it was odd that they'd coalesced. Nevertheless, it had become a bit common to find a pair of guys in a car smoking while a third perused a copy of "The Inferno" by Dante Alighieri. And on occasion that third guy smoked as well. Meanwhile, he found himself nervously chatting with girls in far different social circles. Life was okay for Hudson. Not incredibly, okay, and somewhat hopeful. Not with Connally's loss though. That pissed him off to no end. With that, he was looking forward to 1980. "Hell, I'll be in freakin' college by then. What the Hell am I gonna be doing in there?" Among potential 1980 candidates, he was looking at Senator Bob Dole, newly elected Senator Ronald Reagan--"Who the Hell cares if he got shot in 1975? By 1980 he should be ready to get rid of Al Brewer or whoever the Democrats nominate."--and held a secret hope that Congressman Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan might try a run. "Damn, I better get a freakin' girlfriend too." he lamented.

July 4th, 2004
Mattingly was glad he'd chosen to spend the holiday in the country. Better than his office at least. Damn the assholes he'd have to face when he got back. "These are dark days for the Republic, my friend." he muttered as he grasped the bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand. Here he was, feet on desk in a darkened office as he watched the countryside explode with light. "A million bullet holes in the sky... and out of them rains fiery blood..." he thought in a rare moment of poetry not authored by his speech writers. He'd seen the sky fill with light, Armageddon make the stars bleed and men scream. "The Tet Offensive..." he whispered. Just to hear the sound of it. Nights of gore and death. It was there he'd rediscovered religion. It wouldn't be the last time it had taken trauma to turn him back to God. It figured that it was on nights he'd seen the sky fill with fire that he'd seen the face of God. "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done." Apocalypse had unfolded across the borders of his eyes. He'd seen creation burst asunder. All that was left was the work of the Lord. Mattingly, looking back on his nearly 56 years of existence, and the over 36 years since that first night of "Tet". Assuredly, he had done the Lord's will. God-- not history, as biased as that was--would judge him for that. It mattered not what the heathens and murderes and limp-wristed Washington sycophants said. As he leaned back and watched his panoramic view of the land behind his property--"Legally purchased off of profits of a morally administered business"--he felt content. He remembered the famous words of that one Southern band... "Kennedy does not bother me, but does your conscience bother you?"

October 9th, 1978
President Robert F. Kennedy sat down in the Oval Office, camera facing him from across the massive desk, he gulped. This was his last time doing this. "Ready Mr. President?" one of the camera crew asked him. After nearly six years of this, Kennedy had understandably grown accustomed to the majesty of the office. The massive Washington residence, the secret service escort, Hell, even the frustrations he would miss. What other man could have the frustration of having to finagle his way to passing an agenda for an entire nation? Were you to ask him one comment he had about the presidency at the moment, he would undoubtedly say "I f#cked up." He heard them count down. He gulped, sighed, and stared--ready for battle. The light came on.

"My fellow Americans. It is much to my regret that I am addressing you on this day of all days. Columbus Day has a special significance to all those of us in the Western Hemisphere. Were it not for the actions of those seeking a brave new world, we would not have been so blessed as to call this fruited plain ours, to lay claim to purple mountain majesties, and celebrate under sacred skies. It was in Plymouth Bay of the state where I was born, Massachusetts, that brave Pilgrims made their new home. To our South, in Virginia, others came to make the Jamestown settlement. As our colonial roots were formed, we developed a greater sense of independence until the final drama of our revolution played out.

"From New England to Georgia, this was a national revolution, and from the battlefield to Continental Congress, ours was not born only of blood and fire. It was a revolution of ideals and principles. A commitment to good government, the rule of law, the proper limits o government, and the consent of the governed. Since those days, we have endured national strife and division, secession, depression, and two world wars. It is with the full weight of history bearing down on me that I address you today. We have faced congressional grid-lock in the past. However, only once have articles of impeachment been brought against the President of the United States. In the 1860's, following the death of Abraham Lincoln, the nation was left with a much lesser man at the helm. While Andrew Johnson doubtlessly attempted to bring the country together, his troubles only deepened as his term continued. Historians today look on the Tennessean as a failure as president.

"I have never been a quitter. Americans of all stripes are not known for their retreats. Nevertheless, for the good of the nation, I feel I must resign of the office of President of the United States of America. It would not serve the American people well to insist on serving out the remainder of my term. With articles of impeachment currently being pushed for, the agenda the public voted in favor of two years ago stalled, and international progress at a standstill, it is clear that we must take a bold and unprecedented approach in order to allow this country to move forward. Any legal troubles that members of my administration or myself will happen outside the confines of any public or political office. Vice President Albert Brewer, a dedicated public servant with a commitment to equality, opportunity, and civil rights, is well equipped to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

"Having occupied this office for nearly six years, I confess, I am uneasy in parting with it. Nevertheless, it is an action that must be undertaken for the sake of our beloved Republic. And so, my fellow Americans, this is the last time I am addressing you as President. America has seen better days, and will so under President Brewer. Thank you."

The light from the camera faded. He sat back. It was over. It seemed fitting that 2 Timothy came to him at this moment. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have remained faithful." Had he remained faithful? In the light of what he had done, at what cost, and for what, he couldn't say with utter moral certitude that, in the end, he would be on the side of the angels. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and morosely faced the walk to Marine One.

()

The actions that had forced Robert F. Kennedy would face countless examinations over the course of the next few decades. The single sloppy break-in to Hubert H. Humphrey's Washington office, the secret network of extra-legal operatives working out of the White House basement, the wire-tapping of political opponents--real and perceived, and Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker's poignant question of "What did the President know, and when did he know it?", would all be subject to the judgement of history for years following.

Quote from: Assistant to the Regional Manager Cathcon on July 04, 2013, 10:23:48 PM

July 4th, 2004
Mattingly was glad he'd chosen to spend the holiday in the country. Better than his office at least. Damn the assholes he'd have to face when he got back. "These are dark days for the Republic, my friend." he muttered as he grasped the bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand. Here he was, feet on desk in a darkened office as he watched the countryside explode with light. "A million bullet holes in the sky... and out of them rains fiery blood..." he thought in a rare moment of poetry not authored by his speech writers. He'd seen the sky fill with light, Armageddon make the stars bleed and men scream. "The Tet Offensive..." he whispered. Just to hear the sound of it. Nights of gore and death. It was there he'd rediscovered religion. It wouldn't be the last time it had taken trauma to turn him back to God. It figured that it was on nights he'd seen the sky fill with fire that he'd seen the face of God. "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done." Apocalypse had unfolded across the borders of his eyes. He'd seen creation burst asunder. All that was left was the work of the Lord. Mattingly, looking back on his nearly 56 years of existence, and the over 36 years since that first night of "Tet". Assuredly, he had done the Lord's will. God-- not history, as biased as that was--would judge him for that. It mattered not what the heathens and murderes and limp-wristed Washington sycophants said. As he leaned back and watched his panoramic view of the land behind his property--"Legally purchased off of profits of a morally administered business"--he felt content. He remembered the famous words of that one Southern band... "Kennedy does not bother me, but does your conscience bother you?"

October 9th, 1978
President Robert F. Kennedy sat down in the Oval Office, camera facing him from across the massive desk, he gulped. This was his last time doing this. "Ready Mr. President?" one of the camera crew asked him. After nearly six years of this, Kennedy had understandably grown accustomed to the majesty of the office. The massive Washington residence, the secret service escort, Hell, even the frustrations he would miss. What other man could have the frustration of having to finagle his way to passing an agenda for an entire nation? Were you to ask him one comment he had about the presidency at the moment, he would undoubtedly say "I f#cked up." He heard them count down. He gulped, sighed, and stared--ready for battle. The light came on.

"My fellow Americans. It is much to my regret that I am addressing you on this day of all days. Columbus Day has a special significance to all those of us in the Western Hemisphere. Were it not for the actions of those seeking a brave new world, we would not have been so blessed as to call this fruited plain ours, to lay claim to purple mountain majesties, and celebrate under sacred skies. It was in Plymouth Bay of the state I call home, Massachusetts, that brave Pilgrims made their new home. To our South, in Virginia, others came to make the Jamestown settlement. As our colonial roots were formed, we developed a greater sense of independence until the final drama of our revolution played out.

"From New England to Georgia, this was a national revolution, and from the battlefield to Continental Congress, ours was not born only of blood and fire. It was a revolution of ideals and principles. A commitment to good government, the rule of law, the proper limits o government, and the consent of the governed. Since those days, we have endured national strife and division, secession, depression, and two world wars. It is with the full weight of history bearing down on me that I address you today. We have faced congressional grid-lock in the past. However, only once have articles of impeachment been brought against the President of the United States. In the 1860's, following the death of Abraham Lincoln, the nation was left with a much lesser man at the helm. While Andrew Johnson doubtlessly attempted to bring the country together, his troubles only deepened as his term continued. Historians today look on the Tennessean as a failure as president.

"I have never been a quitter. Americans of all stripes are not known for their retreats. Nevertheless, for the good of the nation, I feel I must resign of the office of President of the United States of America. It would not serve the American people well to insist on serving out the remainder of my term. With articles of impeachment currently being pushed for, the agenda the public voted in favor of two years ago stalled, and international progress at a standstill, it is clear that we must take a bold and unprecedented approach in order to allow this country to move forward. Any legal troubles that members of my administration or myself will happen outside the confines of any public or political office. Vice President Albert Brewer, a dedicated public servant with a commitment to equality, opportunity, and civil rights, is well equipped to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

"Having occupied this office for nearly six years, I confess, I am uneasy in parting with it. Nevertheless, it is an action that must be undertaken for the sake of our beloved Republic. And so, my fellow Americans, this is the last time I am addressing you as President. America has seen better days, and will so under President Brewer. Thank you."

The light from the camera faded. He sat back. It was over. It seemed fitting that Ecclesiastes came to him at this moment. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have remained faithful." Had he remained faithful? In the light of what he had done, at what cost, and for what, he couldn't say with utter moral certitude that, in the end, he would be on the side of the angels. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and morosely faced the walk to Marine One.

()

Don't you mean 2 Timothy? And New York was the state RFK represented in the Senate.

Robert F. Kennedy: The Final Days

By the time President Kennedy took the Oath of Office, the seeds that would lay waste to his hard-fought prize had already been planted. The secret "plumbers" operation run out of the White House; recorded conversations courtesy of the White House taping system; break-ins orchestrated at the offices and homes of such Kennedy enemies as Hubert H. Humphrey, George Meany, Peter J. Brennan--O'Sullivan went into a flurry of work following his election, and even George McGovern; and of course the operations of questionable legality and obvious jurisdictions violations that resulted in the outting of Ted Bundy as a serial killer. Legal investigations were underway as RFK was sworn in for a second time that he had little idea about. At the time of his resignation in 1978, 1950's-esque images of men in suits performing illegal activities in the middle of the night had filled the public's heads, and by 1979 more than one attempt of a TV movie had been made that focused on the events that brought down the second Kennedy.

Nevertheless, coming into his second term, Kennedy's eyes were hardly on the goings-on in his residence's basement. Instead, he was looking to turn his 51% into a mandate for vast change. He'd been re-elected on a coalition of liberals, economic moderates, minorities, and youths, and Kennedy intended to take these various strains and transform them into a political transformation. Already he'd scheduled negotiations for a SALT II and had policy-makers--led by Daniel Patrick Moynihan--looking into the feasibility of a guaranteed income program to replace the heavy bureaucracy of the current entitlement system. As well, the 1976 Mexican elections had yielded another national Mexican President--José López Portillo--though one that was open to promoting Mexican economic development. Kennedy was hoping that together with Trudeau, they might cajole Portillo into opening up Mexico to her neighbors to the North.

Of the few things Kennedy would manage to accomplish, he would create the Department of Environment and Energy. To head "E&E", Senator Floyd Haskell of Colorado, a former Republican who was in danger of losing re-election, was chosen. However, by October 1977, investigations into the "plumbing" network had clouded out hope of pushing forward any of the President's agenda including pending environmental legislation. Attempting to ignore Congress' investigation and appear "above the fray", Kennedy persisted in pushing a continually stalling and failing list of items he wanted to see passed. By the middle of '78, it was obvious that everything was all but lost for the administration. Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker's poignant comment of "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" was being replayed across radio waves and had even been turned into mid-term campaign ads in swing states. With some very conservative members of the House beginning to make noise about drawing up articles of impeachment and the subpoenaing of hundreds of hours of White House records, and Kennedy's bargaining position overseas shrinking, it was becoming apparent that a change of executive might be quite necessary.

Albert Brewer:
Ending the National Nightmare

For the last six years or so, Albert P. Brewer had served quietly as Vice President. Resentful of his side-lining during those many years--he'd been used largely as a political tool in order to gain support for gun control or from Southerners--Brewer came into office intending to take no prisoners in an attempt to give the country its faith in its leaders back.

"Our long national nightmare is over," he began in his first address after assuming the presidency, "and the storm clouds surrounding the White House have dispersed. However, the damage remains in the form of wrecked faith in this country's leadership, a feeling of fatality in regards to this nation's future, and a weakened community spirit. The wars of the last decade are over, the scandals that plunged our national ship of state into the gale have calmed. Now, we are left to eras their legacies and move forward. Let us begin. Let it be known that this new administration will pull no punches in righting the wrongs of the past."

While Brewer had been made little more than someone to fill the second half of the Democratic ticket, that would be the first of his "righted wrongs". The first acts of his new presidency would be to clean house. All the old Kennedy hands would be gone. Robert O'Sullivan--whose failed nomination as Secretary of State in May had only helped to open up more of the administration's scandals--had left with Kennedy. However, Brewer wasn't terribly trusting of several of the perceived "Kennedy loyalists" such as George McGovern--who by then was Secretary of State--and intended on bringing on cabinet members whom he felt wouldn't have divided loyalties. What this resulted in was the enlisting of a number of moderate Southern Democrats. By October 31st, with the Senate glad to confirm new cabinet secretaries in place of Kennedy's hands and Republicans being surprisingly helpful, the "Halloween Massacre" had occurred and the "Brewer Gang" was in place. Of those left from Kennedy's cabinet, only Moynihan, Haskell, and Long remained--Moynihan for his policy know-how and Long due to his perceived trustworthiness.

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Secretary of State: Jefferson C. Breckenridge Dent (D-AL)
Secretary of the Treasury: Russell B. Long (D-LA)
Secretary of Defense: Richard Stone (D-FL)
Attorney General: Robert Evander McNair (D-SC)
Secretary of the Interior: William A. Egan (D-AK)
Secretary of Agriculture: James Earl Carter (D-GA)
Secretary of Commerce: Timothy Wirth (D-CO)
Secretary of Labor: Joseph A. Califano, Jr. (D-NY)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Leon Panetta (D-CA)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY)
Secretary of Transportation: Terry Sanford (D-NC)
Secretary of Environment and Energy: Floyd K. Haskell (D-CO)

White House Chief of Staff: James B. Folsom, Jr. (D-AL)
National Security Adviser: Cyrus Vance (D-NY)

Brewer's cabinet was comprised largely of Southerners and moderates. Committed to the enforcement of civil rights, Brewer was nonetheless no "labor liberal". During his tenure as Governor of Alabama, he'd expanded state services such as education and infrastructure but had also worked to streamline government. This spirit of reform he would carry to the national level as President, ironically continuing a number of his predecessor's economic aims. His business and industry friendly attitudes were as well an unexpected continuation from Kennedy who, while committed to urban affairs, had also favored free trade and a more fiscally conservative government.

State was the most dramatic appointment. Jefferson Dent, the two-term liberal Democrat from Alabama had been one of Brewer's closest allies and had helped him win his narrow re-nomination in 1970. Without that, Brewer would likely have lost re-election and would have never come to national attention beyond 1971. During Brewer's days as Vice President, the quiet second-in-command would consult frequently with Dent, both frustrated for different reasons with the incumbent but both also crucial allies to him. With Brewer needing an experienced and familiar hand helping him to "right the ship of state", Dent was a natural choice for either State or Chief of Staff. Dent, wanting to remain in the Senate, nevertheless took the opportunity to become Secretary of State, an oft thought of goal. Chief of Staff went to the man who had worked on the Vice President's own staff for years, Jim Folsom, Jr. who had made a recent foray into Alabama politics but was called back home to Washington. While under Dent SALT II negotiations would continue, Brewer wanted to stress that America was nevertheless prepared militarily to face any threats and thus the hawkish neutron bomb-supporter Richard Stone of Florida became Defense Secretary. Robert Evander McNair--Brewer's Attorney General--had been a Southern Democratic Governor at an important time for the state. While not a robust liberal champion of civil rights, McNair had nonetheless worked tirelessly following the Orangeburg Massacre to ensure a peaceful integration in South Carolina. A Western Governor for Interior and a Southern "New South" Governor for Agriculture, Egan and Carter were obvious choices for their respective places. Leon Panetta was a surprising pick for HEW. A former HEW Department official in the Nixon administration as a Republican, Panetta had resigned in disgust due to his battling with the administration over integration. Following that, Panetta worked for John Lindsay before returning to his law firm and running for Congress in 1976 as a Democrat. When Kennedy had come into office in 1972, Panetta had been considered a possibility for the HEW slot and six years later he received it, foregoing re-election for a chance to work in the cabinet. Among other potential cabinet picks was Congressman Bill Clinton of Arkansas. However, with Clinton embroiled in a race for Governor, he turned down different offers for Agriculture, Commerce, and even Attorney General (offered at a whim) in order to pursue his goal.

While some were surprised at the entirely Democratic cabinet--Kennedy at different times had included a number of liberal Republicans in his cabinet--Brewer saw no reason to reach out prematurely. As well, there would be non-Democrats in positions outside the cabinet including former Nixon Posmaster General Winton M. Blount, a fellow Alabaman who served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom before his resignation in November, 1979. Following the Halloween Massacre, the mid-term elections were due. With a bad economy and a ruined Democratic brand thanks to Kennedy, predictions were not rosy for the President's party. Brewer, knowing this, decided to sit out the storm and be prepared to work with the victors, whoever, they might be.

"I, like millions of Americans, watched the Kennedy administration unravel throughout his second term. As the tragic assassination of his brother had been the defining political and cultural event of the 1960's, Bobby Kennedy's resignation was the most significant moment of the 1970's. Between 1960 and 1980, a Kennedy would occupy the White House for over a decade, would head three Democratic tickets, and would preside over the Cuban Missile Crisis, the end of the Vietnam War, and the passage of SALT, three of the most significant points in the Cold War. However, on October 9th, 1978, the name was ruined in presidential politics. Had Robert F. Kennedy managed to end his presidency as scheduled and even on a note of mediocrity, Ted Kennedy would have had a chance in the 80's or the 90's, possibly. However, when Bobby, Ethel, and their entire family boarded Marine One on that fateful day, their grasp on power was forfeited. Two years later, in an attempt to downplay the family, Ted Kennedy himself--the "liberal lion"--saw his speech nixed at the last minute. He himself would never run for President of the United States.

Perhaps even moreso than the 1980 Presidential Election, President Brewer's inauguration symbolized a dramatic shift in national politics and culture. Brewer quickly cut ties with nearly all of Kennedy's cabinet members and brought in an almost entirely new team--with only HUD Secretary Moynihan and Labor Secretary Califano to represent the Northeast. Whereas Kennedy had projected an image of a youthful president, working to ensure global peace and winning elections on the backs of the youth and minorities, Brewer attempted to bring the Democrats back to their roots. Nevertheless, his moderate political style rubbed both Kennedy's "New Left" friends and the party's labor liberals represented by the likes of Henry M. Jackson and Hubert H. Humphrey the wrong way. Coupled with the awful economic situation he was left with, it would be Brewer's lack of a political base outside the South and his distrust of Western progressives and Northeastern "Laborals" that would doom his presidency. While he might have been a good president in his own time, the narrow situation he was left in and the mis-steps that were a result of this set of circumstances destroyed any chance that Brewer would be beloved by his constituents.

While the year 1978 would be best known for the controversial Kennedy resignation, the disaster for the Democrats it caused in 1978 would be of equal importance to the path of the nation. While I was slaving away in preparation for mid-terms of my final year at Wayne, toiling at Ted Constantine's garage, and awkwardly talking to as many girls as I could, the last fourth of my time that should have been used for studying was instead used for volunteering for Robert P. Griffin's re-election campaign. While my voting history wasn't the most friendly to Republicans, the local campaign was glad to welcome in a young, blue collar, white ethnic with a reputation for hard work. I held no official paid position, though I became essentially responsible for the campaign in and around Wayne County.

Election night, 1978, would be a fateful one for my future career. Not in the automobile industry which I entered into scant years following that day, but in politics. Richard J. Hudson was a high school senior when I first met him. Skinny, bespectacled, and a fond wearer of t-shirts advertising several well known bands of the time, the boy was a "political nut"--my description. Not in terms of beliefs, I found him to be a fairly mainstream Republican, unlike myself, but in terms of commitment to the idea of electing Republicans and how to do it. Milling around Griffin headquarters on a rare night I spent away from my hovel, I met him smirking as he saw Tsongas had been elected in Massachusetts. "What's your deal? Isn't he a Democrat?" "Haha, yes, but he should be a Republican. At least in Massachusetts. He ran to the right of Brooke." "Huh. Sounds like my kinda guy." "Why? Don't tell me you're a Democrat." "I don't know what the Hell you'd call me these days. I typically vote Democrat locally, but I haven't voted for anyone named Kennedy in my life, except in a middle school mock election." "So what're you doing here?" the bemused high school teenager asked me. "Well let's say I'm drifting farther and farther away from the Democrats, though I gotta say I like Brewer better than the guy before him." "Well welcome to the ranks. Hopefully by this time two years from now we can count you as officially one of us." Our conversation drifted for about an hour. It was only when Michigan was called for Griffin that we broke our dialogue to cheer. After that, Hudson seemed to wipe his hands and said with a satisfied smirk that his job was done and that tomorrow he'd hopefully be resuming his social life. "I let politics get in the way of me doing crap for too long," he said getting up and donning his jacket. As he departed--he would go on that year to finally score with the girl that would become his wife--he bid me farewell and disappeared into the night, back to his home somewhere far to the north of both the campaign headquarters and my own home near Wayne State. I thought that'd be the last I saw of the kid. Twelve years later he'd be my campaign manager."

-My Mother's Son, Christian Mattingly

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The triumphant Senator Griffin

The 1978 Senate Elections

The 1978 mid-terms were the most devastating for the Democrats in decades. In the Senate, not only were they the biggest net loss they'd seen since 1968, but it was the first time the Republicans won the Senate since 1952. While they gained four seats they lost ten. Of the four Democratic gains, three were made by some of the more conservative members of their party--David Boren in Oklahoma, Jim Exon in Nebraska, and Paul Tsongas in the normally liberal Massachusetts--leaving figures in the Democratic establishment with little hope for the upcoming Senate session. Tsongas' defeat of liberal Edward Brooke was one of the Democratic gains that actively moved the body to the right.

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Republicans: 53 (+7)
Democrats: 46 (-7)
Independents: 1

Notable Republican pickups included the Virginia and West Virginia where Republican Governors successful won races for the Senate. Arch A. Moore was a traditional West Virginia moderate Republican who had supported expansion and modernization of the state's infrastructure. John Warner on the other hand was a former Navy Secretary and one-term Governor who was fiscally conservative, hawkish, but also pro-choice. Other new Senate Republicans--though ones that hadn't won pickups for their party--were Nancy Landon Kassebaum and Dick Cheney of Wyoming. Cheney, a former Nixon administration official, had won a tough primary against the more moderate Alan K. Simpson. As in 1972, a number of important mainstays of the Republican bench--Strom Thurmond, Charles Percy, Mark Hatfield, John Tower, and of course the new Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker--were all re-elected.

Maverick - Thad O'Connor and the '78 Election

The 1978 mid-terms welcomed in a host of new Republican officeholders across the nation, and in Maine's second Congressional district it was no exception. For Thaddeus Gillespie O'Connor (R-ME-2), the real campaign had been in the primary as opposed to the general which he won by several points. Since returning home from Vietnam, the "vagrant"--so he'd been called in his path for the nomination--had come a long way. Born to a Democratic family in Eastport and the son of a fisherman and proud Adlai Stevenson supporter, O'Connor had nonetheless gravitated towards the Republicans. Originally a member of the growing conservative movement--a rarity in the Northeast--Thad had proudly cast his first vote for Barry Goldwater in 1964. Nevertheless, after seeing the horrors of war in the jungles of Vietnam, he'd returned to the states a changed man.

The new Thad O'Connor, shortly after his return, volunteered on a long-shot Republican campaign for Senate in Alabama. Not knowing much of the candidate at the time, he identified with Jefferson Dent's anti-war stance. After Dent's surprise election, Thad had worked as an aide for the freshman Senator. As Dent burned all his bridges with the party and switched over to the Democrats, he and his loyal aide parted ways on good terms. Returning home to Maine and spurned by his widowed father, Thad lived with his uncle for two years in Bangor before setting off for Portland at the age of twenty-five, finally taking a job at Stevenson Brewing where he'd find a friend in the square-jawed brewing heir Hank Stevenson who would provide him housing in the coming years.

Around the same time that O'Connor took up residence in Hank's attic, he became involved in local Republican politics. A former Senate aide, Thad had more experience than most. While both Hank and Thad were proud members of the GOP, they were of quite different brands in the growing GOP. While Thad retained his "Goldwateresque" views on domestic policy and economics, Vietnam and the "hippie" movement had made their mark on the veteran and he chose to caucus for liberal Republican Pete McCloskey who was challenging Nixon in 1972. While Maine didn't have a primary that year, O'Connor did attend the Cumberland County Convention where he would be elected a precinct delegate for McCloskey, though he never made it to the convention. However, the experience had re-introduced him to some of the Republican names in Maine as opposed to his small collection of Washington and Alabama contacts and would be his first real step towards entering the halls of Congress seven years later. That November, Thad somberly wrote-in a ticket of Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield for President and Congressman Pete McCloskey for Vice President. "A far cry from what I voted for eight years ago", he thought as he smirked and printed on the "write-in" line. Hank would jokingly blame Nixon's loss on Thad, saying it was close enough to come down to one vote--even a vote in a state that had gone comfortably for Nixon.

Over the next few years, Thad's involvement in the Maine GOP would increase and both he and Hank would frequently attend Republican Committee meetings. In 1975, however, Thad's alienated father died unexpectedly and after attending the funeral and receiving the empty house in Eastport, Thad negotiated a transfer back to his hometown. With the 1976 election approaching, Hank and Thad stayed in touch. However, the two would come to a serious political rift. While Hank would easily find himself in Connally's corner, Thad eventually chose New England's favorite son, Senator Thomas J. Meskill of Connecticut to campaign for. Meskill easily took the state against rivals from the South and West, however, the two were coming to a political parting of the ways. However, Hank would bridge the gap when he generously contributed to and volunteered for O'Connor's 1978 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.

1978

Having moved back to Eastport in 1975, Thad was back in Maine's 2nd District, represented by Republican William E. Cohen. With Cohen leaving the House for the Senate in 1978, the seat was open. The establishment favorite was State Senator Olympia Snowe, hailing from Auburn. A political moderate, Snowe had the support of the district's wealthier donors--what there was to be had--and received early endorsements from important names in the district, though Cohen himself was too focused on his own race to formally give her his blessing. However, what appeared to be an easy race for Snowe would come to a dragging halt beginning with the entrance of "vagrant" Thad O'Connor into the race. Campaigning to Snowe's right on economics but to her left on social issues and foreign policy, as Thad gained support, battle lines would be drawn. While Snowe was in support of the SALT treaties, she nonetheless made clear her support for higher military funding, especially for the navy. As well, she had to work to escape earlier comments that she supported Kennedy's economic policies--aside from free trade. The political oddity that was Thad O'Connor meanwhile built a strange coalition of youths, libertarians, anti-war activists, veterans, and rural conservatives. Campaigning on the issues of resisting gun control, free trade, tax cuts, he took different strains of both the "hippies" and of the conservative movement, as well as much older straings of "paleo-conservatism", and turned them into a political fist that shattered Snowe's centrist path to victory. By the end, the Snowe campaign had resorted to attacking O'Connor's previous state of residence, his mode of dress, and association with hippies. On primary day, Snowe's support from hawks, blue collar workers, urban voters, and women would fail to prevent O'Connor's close victory, which had been aided in part by the endorsement of Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield.

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Mr. Thaddeus O'Connor of Eastport, 54%
State Senator Olympia Snowe of Auburn, 46%

One thing that would be important would be demographics. Not only did O'Connor capture traditional rural Maine Republicans in the northern part of the district, but growing cloisters of young voters--former hippies, baby boomers, and the like--that were springing up in the same area of the state voted heavily for him as well. While on the whole this type of voter would help Democrats across the country, for O'Connor, the anti-war, environmentalist, and fiscally conservative "Long hairs" were a loyal constituency.

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Above: Congressman Thad O'Connor (R-ME-2), an oddity in his party due to his good terms with the counter-culture, would face attacks due to his mode of dress, residence, and associations in the 1978 Republican primary.

On the night of his primary victory, Thad received a call from Montana's soon-to-be senior Senator, Scott Westman. A Democrat, but one that O'Connor liked--"Not the cradle-to-gravers we've become accustomed to"--Westman had stayed out of the race due to Thad's need to appeal to Republicans. The Montanan, of similar ethnic stock as O'Connor, it turned out, was pleased at O'Connor's victory over what was referred to as "the military-industrial-centrist-WASP complex that seeks to control far too much of this nation". Westman that night made a personal contribution of $3,000 and what began was an incredibly strong bi-partisan friendship between the two. Several months later, the Representative-elect received a call from another Democratic Senator, this one a voice from his past. "Jeff! I can't believe you remembered me after all this time. I was impressed by your appointment to Secretary of State. God, I can't believe it, remembering how far you've come from the long-shot in '68, just ten years ago." "Well congratulations, Thad. From what I've heard you had quite the race yourself, though that was in the primary. Jesus, it's been long." The conversation between Secretary of State Jefferson Dent and his former aide would have to be brief as Thad was called back to his victory celebration by Hank. However, on January 3rd, 1979, O'Connor and Dent would reconnect over bourbon in the Secretary of State's office before Dent re-acquainted him with Washington.

The voting record of Thad O'Connor
1964: Senator Barry M. Goldwater (Republican-Arizona)/Congressman William E. Miller (Republican-New York)
1968: Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)/Governor Spiro T. Agnew (Republican-Maryland)
1972: Write-in: Senator Mark Hatfield (Republican-Oregon)/Congressman Paul N. McCloskey (Republican-California)
1976 Primary: Senator Thomas J. Meskill (Republican-Connecticut)
1976: Eugene McCarthy (Independent-Minnesota)/vacant

The Gang from the Cowboy State

On the same day Thad O'Connor reconnected with his old friend Jefferson Dent, another man made his fateful return to Washington D.C. Richard B. "Dick" Cheney had just been officially initiated into the most eccentric state delegation in the United States Congress. The man he shared the state with in the Senate was an ardent anti-government "libertarian" with religious affiliations that, though often questioned, were never quite discussed openly. Beauregard Disraeli, aside from all this, wasn't the most personable of people. He'd made his political career with anger-filled anti-tax speeches and decrying "the modern Washington affinity for needless social and economic legislation", not through the "grip 'n' grin" that several politicians had become experts at. The Senior Wyoming Senator by 1976 had earned himself a reputation for being "the right-wing Huey Long of our day", and Cheney wasn't entering the chamber on good terms with the man.

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Since Nixon's defeat, Cheney and several other Republican government officials had been in exile from the national government. A former assistant to Donald Rumsfeld (1969-1970), White House Staff Assistant (1971), and Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council (1971-1973), Cheney'd retreated back to Wyoming temporarily following the 1972 election. Once there, his interests gravitated towards the private sector. Serving temporarily as an aide to Congressman Wilkinson, Cheney had abandoned the office due to dismissing Wilkinson as "a raving lunatic" and in mid-1973 used some contacts to land a high-paying job at a Fortune 500 company. It was only with the election of 1976 approaching that Cheney re-appeared in Wyoming, this time was the Western director of Connally's presidential campaign. With Disraeli having a well-organized set of activists in the Rocky Mountain states and especially inside Wyoming, Cheney entered into an alliance with Wilkinson--who hated Disraeli--to fight the "Disraelites" at the precinct and county conventions. Wilkinson endorsed Connally days after his announcement and used his own network of support and Connally's well-funded machine to get Connally second place in the state and deny the state's Senator a landslide.

Thus, it was easy to see why there was no love lost between Disraeli and his incoming colleague on January 3rd, 1979. Cheney, calculating and cerebral, made no attempt to approach the man that was just as frosty to him as Cheney was in return. After one met Disraeli, however, meeting Wilkinson was little surprise. Between the far-right delusional Representative and the near-anarchist and rumored Satanist, Cheney was the objectively "normal" one. However, with the amount of contacts Cheney built in his service on intelligence and military committees and the power which he brought to the office, in 1981 the three would be profiled as "The Most Dangerous Delegation in America" by a left-wing magazine.

Over the course of Cheney's tenure as the campaign's Western director, he oversaw easy victories for Connally in Kansas and Oklahoma caucuses. Continuing his role in the general, Cheney oversaw massive amounts of funds and was regarded as a competent executive, battling pushes by the Kennedy campaign in Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico. However, he failed to retain California for the Republicans, which was one of the several big states that helped push the President over the edge. Now a Republican leader of sorts in Wyoming and having worked in 1977 as part of an anti-detente political action committee, Cheney's star was rising and he entered the primary for Senate. Facing Alan K. Simpson who represented moderates in the state, Cheney beat out Simpson's fiscally conservative stances by focusing on foreign policy and social issues. Winning easily in November, he entered the halls of Congress, having last worked there as an intern for William A. Steiger in the late 60's. Seated next to Disraeli and with Wilkinson doing as he did in the lower chamber, Cheney thought "What a pickle I've gotten myself into now." However, he was there, and was determined not to let the populist mental patients get the best of him.

December 25th, 1978
Christian Mattingly awoke in time to shower and eat a small breakfast before he looked at the small clock in his apartment and prepared to head to mass with his family back in Highland Park.

Mattingly: (lighting a cigarette) Merry fockin' Christmas.

He shivered as he carefully put on his one suit and adjusted the dark blue tie around his neck. He feels his pockets to make sure everything's there...

Mattingly: Cigs, keys, wallet...

...and heads out the door, used overcoat slung over his shoulder. Though it's a drive of only a few miles, the darkness and snow make it more difficult. As he twists the knobs, he curses his car's heat--or lackthereof.

Mattingly: Fock!

He arrives at his parent's house early and heads in, sitting on the couch reading volume one of "A History of the English Speaking Peoples". As the house begins to awake, members of his family greet him with the look of "Wow, you're here early!" Finally, his youngest brother, Jack, comes down wearing blue jeans and a Pink Floyd t-shirt.

Chris: Strange choice of sleeping clothes.
Jack: Huh? What's that book?
Chris: Sir Winston Churchill's "History of English Speaking Peoples" you fruitcake. And whadday mean "huh"? Those better be your sleeping clothes.
Jack: Chris, I'm not gonna jump into a suit once a year for this. I'll just keeping my coat on in church.
Chris: (getting up) Oh, like Hell you are. (grabs Jack by scruff of the neck) --You're damn lucky I don't grab you by your long hair-- (and begins walking toward the stairs. As he ascends, he continues) You know who the Hell you get your name from? John F. Kennedy. The "F" stood for "focking". Jack Focking Kennedy! And no man named after the Focking President of the United States of America isn't gonna head to church dressed like the hobos his economic programs failed to help. Now get the Hell up there and find yourself a suit.

Later at St. Benedict's Catholic Church, Jack stands next to his second-eldest brother, adjusting the wrinkled tie that was wrapped around his neck. Christian snickers and looks at Nick, the eldest brother, who is on Jack's other side. Later, back at the house, filled with not only the Christian's immediate family, but with various other relatives, including his brother Bill's new wife.

Chris: (groggily, he's had a few) God, look at them. Focking three years younger than me and he runs off and gets some blonde wife he met at a grocery store checkout.
Jack: Well they seem happy.
Nick: Don't worry Chris. You'll get there. What happened to that one girl?
Chris: Which one? God, when I was a kid, it was all "Oh my God, what hot girl is interested in me?" I didn't give a damn if all they knew was Volleyball for God's sake. Now? I can talk to ten girls at some damned Christmas party thrown by a Wayne grad or some guy from the shop. They're all too dumb, too uninteresting, or too young. Slap some focking smile on your face, pretend to be enthusiastic about their sh#t, but at the end of the day, what the Hell are you looking for?
Joe: What the Hell, Matt, I live for that!

Mattingly surveys his cousin Joe DiCesare, the Sicilian from the other side of his family he'd once stolen fireworks with and who'd introduced him to cigarettes and drinking. Joe, about two years older than Chris and wearing a leather jacket and gold chain, with a mustache and a goatee adorning his face--along with sunglasses and greased hair. In his right hand is a rum 'n' coke. He'd forgotten the nickname Joe bestowed on anyone in his family--Matt, short for their last name.

Chris: Joe Focking Dicesare! When the Hell did you get here? And why?

He embraces his cousin, after which Joe shakes hands with Nick and Jack.

Joe: ...Well, I live for it in the sense that I sleep with them afterwards, but that's beside the point. My family's been facing some, eh, stuff that we tried to not let you folks get wind of. That, eh, thing with Jimmy Hoffa may be involved.

The Mattingly brothers give him quizzical looks, but knowing what their mother's side of the family is involved in, they choose not to pursue it, or at least two of them. Nick gently slaps the back of his hand into Jack's chest after Jack's mouth begins to open and some vowel sound escapes it.

Nick: Well... I'm not going to question, eh, try to get into that. I don't need to answer any questions. In any case, "Matt", I'm sure you'll meet some girl that fits your narrow definition of interesting and attractive.
Chris: We'll see.

Christian goes over to get another beer. As Jack reaches for one, Chris slaps him "upside the head", as it were.

Southern Man - Brewer and Baker

January 4th, 1979: Newly sworn-in Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker, Jr., tapped his fingers on the arm rest as he waited outside the Oval Office. It was his second day leading the Senate--the first Republican leader since 1955--and the nation's new President decided to meet with its new Senate Majority Leader. When Baker saw Secretary of State Jefferson Dent exit--"Ten years in the Senate and he becomes Secretary of State!"--and he got up to enter.

Despite how they would find themselves positioned over the next few years, the two had more in common than their party labels suggested. Both Brewer and Baker, despite being moderates, had succeeded in Southern states. Both were centrists and had records of supporting civil rights. While Brewer's relationship with House Speaker Tip O'Neill would be frosty over the course of his presidency, he found himself preferring the company of Baker and some of Brewer's own Southern moderates to that of a majority of his caucus, and with Baker's status as "The Great Conciliator", things would run more smoothly between Brewer and Republican leadership than with the Democrats.

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Among the things on the agenda for the first meeting between Brewer and Baker would be Brewer's selection of a Vice President, how to handle inflation, and SALT II negotiations. "I've been looking at a number of possibilities", began the President, "Coming in right before the mid-terms, when I was given the possibility of appointing my own Vice President, I wanted to respect the will of the people as expressed last November. Daniel Inouye--Hawaiin, war hero, and someone who's respected across the aisle. He's prepared to be appointed very soon." Baker shrugged and said "While I doubt all of my caucus will love the choice, he certainly is respected by nearly everyone in the chamber. This shouldn't be a partisan thing and I'd be happy to help his confirmation."

On the issue of the economy, the main focus was on inflation: "This is a step Kennedy put off for years and something Nixon expanded drastically. Interest rates have been far lower than they should have been and for several years." said the President in a 'Yankified' Southern drawl, "This won't be a popular decision--my predecessor knew this. Kennedy early on intended that he would tighten the monetary supply, but merely wait for the most politically opportune time. This, in theory, would have happened in 1977 or 1978. However, due to the scandals that arose early on in his second term, that obviously never happened. What I'm saying to you now is that there will be no better time. There is always an election around the corner. Better to nip this in the bud. In any case, what is projected to happen is a government-induced recession. It will not be easy, hardly the halcyon days imagined by the hippies that elected Bobby. Instead, that is the path we have to take if we want an easy end to this 'stagflation' business." Baker merely nodded. It seemed more than anything that Brewer wanted someone to confide in over the problems of his office, the bag full of crap that Kennedy'd handed him on the way out.

When it came to SALT II, which was still in the works and might be for a while, Baker offered little in terms of support, though he did promise to attempt to keep his caucus civilized, and agreed with Brewer's ideal of diplomacy backed up by strong conventional forces and remained mum in terms of opposition. When the meeting ended an hour and a half after Baker first walked in, the President felt a bit more reassured about having at least one friend in the Senate, and Baker felt a bit more powerful. Nevertheless, Baker's duties as Majority Leader would take up a good deal of his time, and his presidential ambitions would have to be curtailed for the time being. 1980 would not be his year.

Sweet Home Alabama - The Times and Trials of President Brewer

Daniel Inouye, a Senator since 1963, political leader in his state since 1953, and a World War II veteran with a near-unassailable record, was easily confirmed as the 41st Vice President of the United States of America on January 8th, 1979. Despite some questions about his eligibility due to having been born in Hawaii pre-statehood, they were easily quelled with his defenders pointing to the examples of the Founding Fathers, Hiram Fong--who'd received votes at two previous RNC's--and the constitution as reason for allowing Inouye's confirmation. With few able to question his patriotism after hearing his oft-repeated tale of serve in the second World War, he was quickly given a near-unanimous confirmation as Vice President.

However, Brewer would not find himself so lucky on other issues. While Treasury Secretary Russell Long would cleverly guide the new President away from cutting several water projects and damaging "pork" directed at the Gulf area, he would be unable to fully curb Brewer's anti-earmark and anti-inflationary instincts and relations between the White House and Congress would sour. As was expected, the Southerner Brewer and the Northern Catholic, Speaker Tip O'Neill, would butt heads. With O'Neill leading a still-powerful Democratic House despite the nation's Republican drift in the mid-terms, several of Brewer's cost-cutting initiatives when it came to pork-barrel spending would see failure, though the Presidential veto remained strong. Working, however, with Howard Baker, Republicans, and Southern and suburban Democrats, he managed to sign the Airline Deregulation Act of 1979. While other deregulatory initiatives would see failure, it would be one of the President's few legislative policy successes. The opposition to his measures would lead Brewer to seek out a centrist coalition comprised of moderates from both parties in order to haggle his way to narrow success on a number of other bills. Among them would be the federal government's first civil service reform in over 100 years. His other accomplishments would all be in the area of taking on waste and cronyism in Washington, akin to how he had done so in Alabama. These actions that were often violently opposed by even his own cabinet members, though would be later praised by even his harsher critics on the Republican side.

Foreign policy, meanwhile, would provide the most visible sign of the failure and collapse of the Brewer administration. While Brewer had continued to proudly continue SALT negotiations with Secretary of State Jefferson Dent leading the charge, and success seemed to be nearing, all of that would go to waste with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in April, 1979. With Republicans practically calling for Brezhnev's head, the President's progress seemed all for naught. In a speech on the floor of the Senate, Senator Bob Dole, Republican of Kansas, proclaimed "In a world where our greatest rival and our greatest partner in negotiations for the past decades decided to blatantly violate international peace, it seems absurd that the United States should even consider to surrender parts of its nuclear arsenal." Dole's words would be among the most civil uttered from the Republicans on the issue. Public approval for SALT sank, and to combat it publicly, President Brewer enacted a grain embargo on the Soviet Union, took away Soviet fishing rights in U.S. waters, and--in an act that nearly triggered Dent's resignation over what he called "idiotic Hell raising"--he announced that the United States would boycott the 1980 United States Moscow Olympics. Meanwhile, the SALT talks were scrapped completely by the fall of 1979. Inside the White House, National Security Adviser Cyrus Vance would resign to be replaced by the more anti-communist Zbigniew Brzezinski. While there were whisperings that Dent himself would be gone, Brewer still trusted his fellow Alabaman with the reigns of diplomacy and dispatched him to attempt to smooth things over with the Soviets and try to bring an air of normalcy back to diplomatic relations, to little avail. Covertly, the United States began funding the Mujahideen at the advice of Brzezinski, creating a proxy-war in Afghanistan.

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Above: Jefferson Dent, Brewer's Secretary of State and an ally since the beginning of the decade, picture in between heated discussions with Soviet representatives following the invasion of Afghanistan in April, 1979.

As another sign of the heating Cold War situation, Brewer nixed plans to draw down troops in South Korea and signed some of the first increases to military spending in a number of years for the 1980 budget. Nevertheless, the President, committed to nuclear disarmament, insisted in nevertheless decreasing the nation's missile supply, "to set an example of what this nation and this world expects from its leading powers."

On August 6th, 1979, a new Federal Reserve Chairman was inaugurated. Paul Volcker, a Democrat, nevertheless pledged to curb the money supply and raise federal interest rates, advice that, less than a decade ago, had been pushed by conservatives to President Nixon. The subsequent government-caused recession that would peak with unemployment over 10% angered several members of the Democratic rank-and-file that, as a force of habit, supported more Keynesian measures. With tensions with his fellow Democrats already at an all-time high, Brewer nevertheless pushed forward, privately unhappy to see his Presidency going down the tubes, but all the more resolved to solve the problems Kennedy had left him.

As the year drew to a close, Brewer found himself in far worse a position than the one he had started with. As a newly-inaugurated President, he had resumed the SALT II talks that had stalled with Kennedy's resignation, had pledged a new era of good government, and had looked to forge a path that bowed neither to the far right or radical left. What resulted, instead, was a United States that seemed both overly aggressive and willfully weak, a White House that was consistently juxtaposed to members of the same party in Congress, and an economy that seemed to have a bright side only to detached monetarist economists. Thus, it was small wonder when two big-name challengers emerged to give Brewer a run for his money.

Representing both labor and hawks, Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington was waging an aggressive and well-funded campaign criticizing Brewer's "economic defeatism and weakness in dealing with the Soviet Union". While Jackson was uncharismatic and wooden on the stump, this was supplemented with backing both from labor and his Senate colleagues. It was rumored that Ted Kennedy, who due to his brother's shenanigans was keeping a low public profile for the time being, privately supported Jackson and that O'Neill was lining up support from his House subjects. Meanwhile, representing the "New Left", "Kennedycrats", and the West, former Secretary of State George McGovern was using grassroots left-wing activists as well as Hollywood's most famous names to fight viciously for the soul of the Democratic party. With both the party's right and left in opposition to him, and with both his own country and the entire globe in rebellion to his will, Brewer announced that both he and Vice President Inouye would seek re-election.

Prom

April 27th, 1979. Dick Hudson couldn't help but grin ear to ear. He was sweating in the suit, nervous as all Hell, the tie just a bit too tight, his glasses slightly fogging, and his hair starting to shift out of place and into his eyes. And yet he grinned. Here he was, the Class of 1979's prom, arm-in-arm with the girl of his dreams. "One of the problems here," a friend had told him, "is that you two, you aren't even really in the same social groups. Sure, we're all friends here, but what you're gonna try to do, that'll be unexpected." Dick was finding himself very glad having ignored his friend's advice.

He stood atop the stairs, beaming in triumph, knees almost knocking with nervousness as he walked her down to the eating area. Sarah Madigan. He repeated it in his head "Sarah f#cking Madigan." By what he considered an objective measure (his eyes), the hottest girl in his class no doubt. And for all he could care, the entire world. Sarah f#cking Madigan. And he was going to prom with her. He escorted her over to the table they'd been assigned, pulled back her chair, and placed it so he could sit. Only then did he withdraw his own chair to take his place to her left. The food was unworthy of note, the conversation filled with frequent laughs, though nothing significant. The temperature, awful. None of that mattered tonight though. Sarah f#cking Madigan.

Coming into high school, Dick had the luxury of knowing roughly 90% of people there. She was a new student at the time. Nevertheless, she quickly made friends with everyone, including the quasi-introverted Hudson. Not particularly used to girls talking to him instead of the other way around, he easily fell for her. As the years passed, he'd watched her cycle through a few different boyfriends, all socially a bit higher-up than Dick or anyone he regularly spoke with. However, he was able to maintain a friendly relationship with her, and he'd had the good sense to join sports such as track & field that she also joined. All the while, the idea of this likely impossible end goal drove every single interaction with her, from something as benign as borrowing a pencil to practically writing her assignments for her. However, with the surprise ending of a relationship mere weeks before prom, Hudson had been given an opportunity fro on high. "It's not like she hasn't been dropping signals all week." he confided to a friend as they walked towards his car after a track meet. A natural observer, and someone who spent a lot of time thinking, young Richard Hudson would finally make the fateful decision to ask Sarah f#cking Madigan to the 1979 prom. "Hell, if it weren't for this, I'd probably be trying to see a movie that night," he told the same friend.

He was still incredibly surprised when she said "Yes." The succeeding rush to find a tuxedo--no such luck--and to make preparations to finally have a chance with what he considered the girl of his dreams was a blur. Finally he settled on his one suit, a blue and green tie of his, and was ready. Smirking looking back on it, he'd say "I looked completely f#cking ridiculous. This stupid kid, suit that doesn't fit. And that stupid tie! Meanwhile, those huge glasses and that late 70's hair." She, on the other hand, looked like the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He dress was simple, yet elegant, he hair the best example of looking good during the 70's. These were phrases Hudson would repeat in the years to come, recounting that night.

His own dancing was mediocre, he not being a person that saw much use in moving one's feet in any particular pattern, but he nevertheless enjoyed himself, watching her writhing body in front of him. "I was utterly captivated." Sarah f#cking Madigan. The after party was a bit of a shock to him. A nerd of sorts who, all his life, had largely put the girls he'd liked on a pedestal above him in his mind, he wasn't used to the idea that such a girl could drink. She could and she'd done it in the past. This was his first time getting drunk with her, however. Regardless of how people joked, however, no "thing" happened that night. Loud music--"Evil Woman" by ELO--drinks, dancing, yelling. Hudson was still grinning like an idiot as he smoked his 6th cigar of the "night" as he saw the sun creep over the horizon, she beside him on the curb, her blonde locks splayed across his left shoulder, almost asleep.

At around ten A.M. or so, he drove her home. There would be class next week, track meets in the future. He drove to his own house still smirking. "The best night of my life, by far." he told friends later that day. He would later modify the title for Prom, 1979. "The first day of the rest of my life", he'd say in the future. For a young Dick Hudson, things were looking up.

The 1980 Democratic Primaries, Part I

President Brewer, who had headed a largely moderate—though divisive—policy as president, would find himself facing challenges from both his right and his left. Senator Henry M. Jackson, a Cold War hawk who had been a firm opponent of President Kennedy on foreign policy matters and had raised Hell early on for Kennedy’s amnesty for draft dodgers, was making another go at the presidency. Eight years earlier he’d been an unsuccessful contender, garnering a mere 3% of the primary vote. Now, with a weak incumbent and his age starting to catch up with him, 1980 might be the Washington Senator’s last chance. While “Scoop’s”—as Jackson was affectionately called—foreign policy would hit Brewer’s right flank, he would also position himself to the President’s left on economic matters, currying favor with unions in industrial states. Jackson would go as far as to put forward a New Deal-esque “full employment” platform plank in the spirit of the late Hubert H. Humphrey.

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President Brewer would find himself facing intra-party foes on both his right and left as he sought election in his own right in 1980.

It would be former Secretary of State George McGovern that took up the cause of the “Kennedycrats”. Economically to the former President’s left, McGovern nonetheless was the obvious heir to Kennedy’s coalition of minorities and young voters that had propelled him through the primaries in 1972. McGovern, who had been a Kennedy supporter in both 1968 and 1972, had foregone a run of his own for several years. In a similar predicament as Jackson and with a full head of steam building up behind the idea of a left-wing grassroots campaign, the idea for McGovern to challenge Brewer seemed obvious. While Jackson racked up endorsements from “big labor”, it would be McGovern that sought out the support of fellow liberals. Senator Christopher Garrett of Vermont would be one of the first to fall in line behind the South Dakotan. Shortly after would be former Secretary of Labor Caesar Chavez. Jefferson Dent, whose political sympathies were more in line with McGovern, would nonetheless refuse to get involved in the three-way race due to his position as Secretary of State and loyalty to his fellow Alabaman Brewer. More economically moderate “Kennedycrats” such as Seantor Gary Hart of Colorado would as well choose to sit on the sidelines rather than back one of the President’s challengers. The only one to get involved would be Montana’s Scott Westman who gleefully endorsed McGovern over “the good ol’boy” from Alabama, despite what some would call Westman’s economic “conservatism”. Some had even pushed for the charismatic Montanan to run himself, but he backed off. “With the state the Democratic party’s in right now,” he would comment half-jokingly, “I’ll have plenty of chances to run in an open field soon enough.”

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George McGovern's campaign would benefit both from left-wing activists alienated by the moderate policies of the last eight years as well as "Kennedycrats"--social and foreign policy liberals opposed to Brewer's centrist policies.

The first contest of the race would be the Iowa Caucuses. The state where, eight years ago, Robert F. Kennedy had taken home victory, it could prove an important indicator of the way the race would shape. While Brewer in theory could appeal to the farm vote in the state, the caucus was dominated by doves and grassroots left-wing activists. With McGovern from neighboring South Dakota able to easily shovel in volunteers and command a ground campaign, he had the obvious advantage and it paid off with a first place victory over Brewer with Jackson coming in an unimpressive third. However, Brewer had hardly placed his hopes on Iowa. New Hampshire, which had been involved in the nominating process much longer, would prove much more crucial in the eyes of his campaign. Emphasizing his moderate record in a state known for its fiscal conservatism, it was hoped that the Southerner could nonetheless convinced New England to support him. Polls leading up to the primary showed a Brewer victory and it was believed the President would be back on track to an easy nomination. However, in a surprise, Jackson would walk away with the Granite State’s delegates. Having worked hard to shovel in Catholics and blue collar workers, hard campaigning by former Governor John W. King, and with McGovern siphoning off left-wing support for Brewer, Jackson was able to narrowly overcome his own President. Rumors circulating that Ted Kennedy preferred either Jackson or McGovern to Brewer didn’t hurt, and would hopefully--for the Jackson campaign--help in other New England. On the same day as New Hampshire, McGovern walked away with an easy win in Minnesota, and Jackson had, two weeks prior, won the Maine Caucus with little opposition from Brewer. Going into March, Brewer had no wins under his belt despite his status as an incumbent, and his opposition was gathering strength.

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Senator Henry M. Jackson, a foreign policy hawk and self-styled New Deal liberal, would attempt to build a coalition of conservatives, anti-communists, Catholics, unions, and moderates to unseat Brewer. He would benefit greatly from a surprise victory in the New Hampshire primary.

With Massachusetts and Vermont approaching, it'd be up to Brewer to attempt to maintain relevance and momentum until the March 11th Southern primaries.
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Green - Former Secretary of State George McGovern of South Dakota
Blue - Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington

The 1980 Republican Primaries Part I

Since Election Day, 1976, several Republicans had been warming up for what they hoped would be a victorious candidacy in 1980. The obvious choice for the Republican nomination was Senator Bob Dole. Rising from a one-armed World War II veteran to a Kansas representative, a Nixon "hatchet man" and finally the 1976 Republican nominee for Vice President, Dole's center-right voting record and appeal to poorer rural voters were seen as assets. Obviously not an associate of far right "Goldwaterites" but by no means a liberal Republican, it was believed Dole could forge a "Nixonian" path to the nomination, between whatever candidates the conservative and liberal wings respectively put forward. Over the last four years, Dole had worked to expand his political brand, keynoting dinners across the nation and especially in important early primary states. His speeches would range from a Disraeli-hosted conference on civil liberties where he lambasted the soon-to-be ex-President Kennedy on constitutional violations through wire-tapping of political opponents, to a meeting of rust belt labor unions where he opposed "the reckless Democratic movements towards free trade". Patrick J. Buchanan, who had made the far-sighted decision to sign onto the Dole campaign early, would head the "conservative Democrats" division. "Since the late 1960's, blue collar Democrats have felt more and more alienated by their own party. While Nixon attempted to bite into this bloc, he did so unsuccessfully. Connally was the wrong man to try this in 1976, with his connections to 'big oil'. What our man, Dole, has is a unique opportunity to permanently expand the Republican base. Blue collar workers hasve been turned off by the seeming obsession the Kennedycrats have developed with free trade. The obvious corruption Kennedy displayed in his last years in office didn't help, and Brewer has made few concessions to labor. Should McGovern or Brewer be nominated, and we put forward Dole, this could be a significant realignment and we'd be fools to waste the opportunity." Political scientists would credit Buchanan's division of the campaign as it came into play in the general election for important political changes that would come into effect over the next three decades.

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To many, Bob Dole was the "obvious choice" for the Republican nomination in 1980. With his status as 1976's Vice Presidential nominee, his unquestionable service in World War II, his own humble roots, and a campaign designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of the population, the race would be Dole's to lose.

However, Dole was hardly the only candidate in the race. Also from the wreckage of 1976 emerged the libertarian-leaning Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming. The last four years had made his message of limited government seem all the more poignant and rumors had it that Disraeli was laying important groundwork for an upset in New Hampshire. Despite frequent questions rising as to his religious affiliation and his radical political associations, the charismatic (opponents said "Hitleresque") Senator was able to dodge such accusations.

While some "movement conservatives" might have decided to fall in line with Disraeli, viewing him as the proper heir to Goldwater's legacy of limited government, they were hardly in the majority. Instead, another Sun Belt conservative, from a state not entirely unlike Goldwater's, would find himself inheriting significant conservative momentum. While it could be said that the base would be unwilling to nominate another Texas conservative, his man's supporters were mute to the idea. Two term Governor Hank Grover, a "dyed in the wool" conservative from the Lone Star State, was determined to take his career national. After an upset win against incumbent Governor Dolph Briscoe in 1974, he'd worked to build the Republican coalition in Texas alongside John Tower and George Bush. Like Disraeli, he too would attempt to gain momentum in New Hampshire thanks to his anti-tax and pro-gun platform. However, few expected him to succeed outside the South.

Bringing up the fourth wing of the party, outside the "centrists", libertarians, and conservatives, would be Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut. With his colleague Thomas J. Meskill tied up in a race for re-election, the ambitious Weicker saw an opportunity to jump into the primaries. To the left of a good member of his caucus, Weicker was nonetheless a loud voice in his party. Expecting a Republican victory in November, Weicker's next opportunity to run would likely be in 1988, when he would himself be pursuing re-election for his Senate seat. Rather than waste the opportunity, the Senator was hoping to build a coalition that combined Evans' and Meskill's supporters to defeat "the far right direction of this party".

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Lowell P. Weicker, the liberal senior Republican Senator from Connecticut, would find himself the ideological successor to candidates like Nelson Rockefeller, Pete McCloskey, and Daniel Evans in seeking the Republican nomination for President. While it would be said that he was a candidate out of his time--"the last time a liberal like Weicker could've won was twenty years ago!"--the candidate would run an aggressive and well-funded campaign, its wheels greased by rich New England and New York donors with connections to the banking and technology industries.

The first contest would be Iowa, where Dole scored an easy 35% victory over his opponents. Coming from the nearby Kansas and with his support for resuming grain sales to the Soviet Union, the choice for many Iowans was obvious. A day later in Hawaii, with significant support from retirees, veterans, and military voters, Dole won with over 40%. With February starting, a number of minor contests would take place in which the other candidates would hope to play catch-up. Weicker would take Maine, Grover Arkansas, and Disraeli would take his home state of Wyoming with 56%. Dole would make a strong showing there nonetheless, almost completely overshadowing the others for second place. The New Hampshire primary, taking place on February 26th, would easily seal the deal for Dole. To Dole's campaign, the rural state should be perfect for the Kansas Senator. However, he was hardly the only one contending there. Weicker's appeal to New England moderates was an obvious threat, as was Texan money flowing in for the Grover campaign. However, every observer would be stunned when Disraeli, in a surprise, took the Granite State with less than 30% of the vote. In his victory speech, the Wyoming Senator would compare his victory to Eugene McCarthy's near-victory twelve years earlier. "In this very state, the citizens attempted to stand up to a government of hatred, statism, and oppression. While Senator Eugene McCarthy would fail to gain victory, his surprise showing would open the door to the prospect of unseating Lyndon Johnson. This victory shall serve the same purpose as we take our message to the Republican National Convention and then finally to the United States of America. The blatant attempts at socialism and statism coming from Washington D.C. have long awaited their stopping, and now it is time." Dole, for his part, won the Minnesota Caucuses easily. While he'd won more states than any of his opponents, with Southern primaries approaching and a loss in New Hampshire, everything was up in the air.
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Blue - Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Green - Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Red - Governor Henry "Hank" Grover of Texas
Yellow - Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming

The 1980 Democratic Primaries, Part II

The first contest of March would be Massachusetts on the 4th. While both Jackson and McGovern were looking at a good chance to capitalize on recent victories, for Brewer that battle was that of merely staying alive. Both McGovern and Jackson had good bases of support to work from. For Jackson, it would be Catholics and blue collar workers, while McGovern had college students, anti-war liberals, and intellectuals. Jackson and McGovern waged a hard fought campaign in the Bay State. However, with a last minute push by Brewer for middle class and working class voters, McGovern was able to win a narrow plurality. While Ted Kennedy was vocally non-committed, he was nonetheless satisfied to see Brewer, a man who in his view had disgraced his brother's legacy as commander-in-chief, take a distant third.

Nevertheless, the race now moved South and the incumbent was at last able to score several easy victories, taking Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma by good margins. McGovern, fresh off his double victory in New England (having taken Vermont the same day as Massachusetts), won nothing that day. It would be the hawk, ironically, that walked away with three Pacific victories. Jackson's home state of Washington went for him by well over 70%, and his record of support for Alaskan and Hawaiian statehood was able to overcome even the liberal leanings of Democrats in those states. Hawaii, of note, went only barely for Jackson as Vice President Daniel Inouye was able to get Brewer heavy turnout from Native and Asian voters. Political observers, when looking at obscure exit polls, would note that Jackson had nonetheless been competitive among Asians due to his hawkishness.

Illinois would be the first state that Brewer took outside the South. Managing to build up solid margins down state and taking a good chunk of the suburban Democratic vote (what of it there was), the President's victory was nonetheless under 40% of the vote. However, Jackson regained the advantage when he took both Connecticut and New York on March 25th. Both states had significant Catholic populations that Jackson, despite his Protestantism, had been working hard to win over. As well, Jews would vote heavily for the Israel-supporting "Senator from Boeing".

April would bode better for Brewer, however. While McGovern continued to build up support in small, rural states in the West and Mid-West and Jackson was able to use organized labor and industry to his advantage, Brewer worked hard to win the party's "solid center" and combine it with heavy favor from the South. He found himself campaigning both to his right and left to strengthen his coalition. This would help deliver him a plurality in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, where Jackson had been expecting victory. By the end of the month, the President had a delegate lead and was looking with hope towards May, where he would hopefully finish off his opponents with crucial wins in rural and Southern states, in which several primaries would be held.

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Blue - Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington
Green - Former Secretary of State George McGovern of South Dakota
Red - President Albert P. Brewer of Alabama.

The 1980 Republican Primaries, Part II

While Brewer had spent the last two months attempting to get onto equal footing with his primary opponents, the Republicans were seeming to be coming a lot closer to selecting a nominee. Dole had come out on top with a solid coalition of Mid-West voters that had delivered him states ranging from his home state of Kansas by an over 90% margin, to the much more liberal Illinois where he had triumphed despite not getting Charles Percy's endorsement and Congressman John Anderson campaigning heavily in favor of Weicker. Other victories, equally as narrow as that in Illinois, had occurred in New York and Florida, proving Dole's cross-regional success. In contrast, it seemed that Disraeli had virtually disappeared, that Weicker was isolated to the North-East and Pacific Coast, and that Grover was trapped in the South. Dole had even won Arizona, a state where Grover had been hoping dearly for victory. While Dole ended the month sourly, conceding Pennsylvania to Weicker thanks to the strength of liberal Republicans in the state, he nonetheless had a clear advantage over his opponents after his several victories. "This primary race has gone on too long," his campaign manager told him the night of his Pennsylvania loss. "If May doesn't end this, we may have to face a floor fight, and we are sure as Hell not doing that."
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Blue - Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Green - Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Red - Governor Henry "Hank" Grover of Texas
Yellow - Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming

Quote from: Cathcollegecon on September 25, 2013, 04:15:49 PM

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Blue - Senator Henry M. Jackson of Washington
Green - Former Secretary of State George McGovern of South Dakota
Red - President Albert P. Brewer of Alabama.

The 1980 Democratic Primaries, Part II

While Brewer had spent the last two months attempting to get onto equal footing with his primary opponents, the Republicans were seeming to be coming a lot closer to selecting a nominee. Dole had come out on top with a solid coalition of Mid-West voters that had delivered him states ranging from his home state of Kansas by an over 90% margin, to the much more liberal Illinois where he had triumphed despite not getting Charles Percy's endorsement and Congressman John Anderson campaigning heavily in favor of Weicker. Other victories, equally as narrow as that in Illinois, had occurred in New York and Florida, proving Dole's cross-regional success. In contrast, it seemed that Disraeli had virtually disappeared, that Weicker was isolated to the North-East and Pacific Coast, and that Grover was trapped in the South. Dole had even won Arizona, a state where Grover had been hoping dearly for victory. While Dole ended the month sourly, conceding Pennsylvania to Weicker thanks to the strength of liberal Republicans in the state, he nonetheless had a clear advantage over his opponents after his several victories. "This primary race has gone on too long," his campaign manager told him the night of his Pennsylvania loss. "If May doesn't end this, we may have to face a floor fight, and we are sure as Hell not doing that."
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Blue - Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Green - Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Red - Governor Henry "Hank" Grover of Texas
Yellow - Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming

You labeled both primaries as the Democratic primary.

"Have a Holly Jolly Motherfocking Christmas"

December 25th, 1979
This hadn't happened in a long time. Not since his teens, that was for damned sure. Coming home from 'Nam, and having dated around for a number of years, he'd become largely bored by the female gender. "Vietnamese prostitutes sort of take away your romantic side", he'd joke. Nevertheless, he was finding himself fascinated by a woman. "It's like I'm in focking middle school again," he whispered to Brandon McGlynn, a friend of his. "Well the focking go for her, man!" He gulped as another cliche Christmas carol began to play on the stereo and he slowly walked across the room.

"Have a holly jolly motherfocking Christmas", he whispered to himself as he trod, drink in hand, across the crowded room. Eye contact, smile, "Kate, right? .... Chris." This feeling, actually wanting to pursue a girl, feeling something, it hadn't happened in a while. "Largely an incompetent and un-trustworthy sex." he was want to repeat. But she, at that second, he felt like that should his life end he not have her there, he would die incomplete. Somehow--he was employing every rhetorical trick in the book--Mattingly sustained the conversation well into the night, through various song and crowd changes. As the 25th faded into the 26th, he found himself sipping beer with her on the sidewalk outside. She worked at General Motors in engineering and was largely in town for family. A relative of a friend of a friend. "I'm pretty sure they let me in on looks alone, based on my grades." "Well I wouldn't worry about that..." "Stop it!"

While Mattingly got to know this "Kate" better, Dick Hudson was back in his hometown for the holidays. Smelling of booze and cigarettes, and now sporting an almost impressive amount of facial hair--his face was already crowded enough with the glasses, now you could see his cheeks, his nose, his long teeth, and little else--he'd returned home from the college life, one semester down. "What're you majoring in again, Dick?" "Political Science, bitches!" His parents were none too happy with what now appeared to be a habit of smoking cigarettes, nor was the slight stench of alcohol terribly endearing. Nevertheless, after about two showers and a bottle of mouthwash, he was ready to see his girl. "Sarh f#cking Madigan" he whispered to himself, pushing a comb through his thick mane of brown hair that topped his head. Since homecoming, he'd been able to "weasel"--his words--his way into a relationship with her.

He was undoubtedly a happy man on Christmas Day, 1979. "Somehow, I dunno, I have a girlfriend, I'm on student government at an awesome college, and guess what! The Republicans are going to take it easily less than a year from now. So yeah, I'm pretty happy right now!" Appraising all the candidates only weeks before the Iowa Caucuses, he picked Dole, hands down. "Disraeli's a damned maniac, I'll tell you that right f#cking there. Lowell 'Democrat' Weicker? He's been voting consistently with Kennedy almost exclusively. And don't you bring up the random idiot from Texas. We already had a much more qualified guy go down four years ago. So yeah, screw Hank Grover. ... As for the Democrats? Scoop Jackson's the only guy that has any chance in Hell. McGovern, he's got the vote of out-of-work hippies and little else. Meanwhile, Brewer's shown he's far, far out of his depth in the presidency. America's best bet is going to be Dole or Jackson." Registered to vote, he'd be gladly casting his own first presidency-related ballot on May 20th of the upcoming year. "The race will probably be decided by then. We sure as Hell ain't realistically nominating someone besides Dole. But who gives a damn?" The kid that had entered college had been replaced by a confident, fast talking, cigarette smoking, facial hair having "bro". He'd arrived.

The 1980 Democratic Primaries, Part III

May would be the month of Brewer's vindication. Within the month's first week, he would take Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Indiana, with majorities in the first three. McGovern, winning the Colorado Caucuses, would nonetheless be denied victory in Oregon, where he'd been expecting one last primary win. Brewer finished out the month easily taking Nevada, Kentucky, and Arkansas. June 3rd, the final day of the primaries, would see his opponents failing in all but two states: McGovern's own South Dakota and Rhode Island where New Englanders, still unhappy with Brewer, gave Jackson a narrow victory. Brewer had at last seen victory. While he possessed only a plurality of the popular vote, he had enough delegates to be nominated without worry.
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Red - President Albert Brewer of Alabama
Blue - Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson of Washington
Green - Former Secretary of State George McGovern of South Dakota

The 1980 Republican Primaries, Part III

Dole would see similar closure in the month of the primaries. With Disraeli failing utterly to follow through on his initial post-New Hampshire momentum, Weicker a candidate only for hte North-East, and Grover facing a similar fate in the South, Dole was running strong in all corners of the country. Political scientists and historians would debate as to why Dole was able to push himself in front of the opposition. Any number of reasons would suffice: Dole running solidly in the center of the party, early victories in Iowa, flaws specific to his opponents, high visibility since 1976, and so on. Regardless of the reason, May and June proved near-sweeps for Dole and his campaign. A total of three states would yield to his opponents in that time: Maryland to Weicker, who had received the endorsement of veteran liberal Republican Senator Charles Matthias, and North Carolina and Texas to Grover. All the rest would to to Dole, and typically by majorities. June 3rd would see Dole take every state with strong majorities, sealing the deal for that son of Kansas to win the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(

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Blue - Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Red - Governor Henry "Hank" Grover of Texas
Green - Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
Yellow - Senator Beauregard Disraeli of Wyoming

()

Dole's resounding victories in May and June would be the nail in the coffin for his primary opponents. Building a coalition made up largely of Mid-Western and rural voters, Dole managed to beat candidates representing the South, North-East, and West.

Time, October 1983

"Christian Mattingly: A Sit-Down Interview With the Emerging Leader of Motown"
By Mark Hutchinson

They tell me that this is what businessmen dress like", says the disheveled, unshaven stranger as he somewhat confusedly begins trying to rub the newly formed coffee stain out of his blue-and-white striped shirt. Christian Mattingly, 34, is the most prominent rising star in a once declared dead American auto industry. The Vietnam veteran former mechanic, and son of a Ford assembly line worker, Mattingly was virtually unknown two years ago. However, a brief look back on his short career gives some sense to his unexpected rise. Working in Detroit as a mechanic while earning a business degree from Wayne State University in the late 70's, Mattingly ascended quickly in what proved to be a growing industry--car repairs--heading the new branch. However, in the last four years, 1979 through 1983, he would shift gears from fixing cars to making them.

Having no sons, Ted Constantine, the owner of Constantine Repairs, bequeathed the company to his most trusted and best educated employee. With the automotive industry in seeming collapse over the last decade, Mattingly, made the gamble of helping Constantine Repairs merge into a newly minted corporation, Huron Automotive. Using company funds to purchase three plants being sold at bargain prices by General Motors, cars were rolling off of lines and into lots by 1981.

Now, I'm sitting across from the man that has been hailed as saving a dying industry. He sure doesn't look the part. Smelling of cigarettes and mouthwash, he strides into his office, five minutes late, his hands almost black with God knows what, I have to ask if he's been drinking. "Nah, the beer stein is filled with coffee", he says as he lifts his head up from the mug, chin slightly brown. With a man such as this, it should come as no surprise that I'm not in some high rise or skyscraper, but in an office that overlooks a factory floor. Attempting to explain it, he mutters something about preferring to work in an office he can reach by stairs as opposed to an elevator. A simpler explanation would be that any profits Huron Automotive makes are directed largely towards expansion.

"So, you've had quite the interesting life story-" "Ha! If you say so." "-from assembly line worker in your teens, Vietnam veteran, and proud UAW worker, to majority shareholder in one of America's fastest growing businesses." "I guess you could call it interesting. I haven't really been paying attention. Better than nothing, I guess." As our conversation continues, several things become apparent. Ambition, naturally. One would expect no less from this man. A vast array of nervous habits: addiction to coffee, cigarettes--he lights his first of several mere minutes after we shake hands, almost constantly tapping on his desk, and so on. As well, his vague reference to 16 hour workdays, while married and raising a toddler, seem to be far from exaggerated.

. . .

Our interview briefly turned toward politics. "Dole, no doubt." he says. "It's of little wonder, given your current status in the business community. That said, what little documentation we have indicates that you're a Democrat." "Ex-Democrat. It wouldn't surprise you that someone of my background, UAW, Catholic, and all would have some very Democratic roots." My gaze briefly flickers to the picture of John F. Kennedy on his wall, next to his portrait of Henry Ford. "I'd still be open to, of course, supporting a Democrat, but of the emerging crop, it looks like there are none that'd get my vote. The Republicans have been kind to our industry, it seems, though I'm suspicious of their trade policies." When I suggest that it seems like he would have support Robert F. Kennedy, he smirks and shakes his head.

. . .

With the interview largely wrapped up and Mattingly's stomach growling, he asks if I'd like lunch. I politely turn him down. He shrugs: "Suit yourself, I guess". He then gets up from the chair behind his desk--likely thirty years old or more--and goes over to a small fridge on the other side of the office, on the wall perpendicular to the door that led down onto the factory floor. From there, he takes a half-gone loaf of bread and several different different packages of cold cuts. Going back to the desk, he brought a hot plate from under neath it. Plugging it in and putting a folded coat hanger on top of it, he soon has stacked a large sandwich--about four or five inches high--stuffed with meat of every kind, and no vegetables. Smiling as he works his molars to gnaw through its mass, we shake hands again. As I leave his office, I almost hear the sound of a beer can being cracked open. "He'll need it", I think. It was there that I and the titan of American industry parted ways.

The Vice Presidential Pick

For the Dole team, upon being assured the nomination, there were still numerous strings that needed tying up. While Brewer was far from looking good for re-election, if Dole was unable to bring the party, or at least a significant chunk of the party together, the GOP might botch it for the third time in a row. There remained the "Goldwater Conservatives"--the former conservative Democrats, liberal Republicans as represented by Percy and his ilk, and even this new, dangerous, radical wing of the party, farther out even than the Deep South Republicans, the Disraeli wing. Dole, while undoubtedly center-right, had little in common with Goldwater's ideological descendants, and not that much more to do with the Rockefeller Republicans. Nevertheless, he would have to bring at least one of these factions on board in order to ensure victory in November. That was why, on July 14th, 1980, with he and his campaign team sitting in their suite above the convention floor, the choice for a running mate would be so important.

There were many to look at, from all corners. His campaign agreed almost immediately and almost unanimously that it would not be the Disraeli wing that they reached out to first, if at all. "Even his cousin, Mendelik, that Representative from Montana, they're all completely f#cking crazy." Instead, from Kansas, they would have to look East: New England, the big industrial states, the Atlantic Coast, and the South. "John Tower, George Bush, Jim Thompson, Otis Bowen, Howard Baker, Charles Matthias..." a campaign aide ran off a list of names. "I can't believe we didn't decide this beforehand!" someone screamed out. "Look, this- this- magic candidate that somehow combines North and South just isn't going to pop up!" Pages of officeholders from each state were splayed out on a sofa.

It was Pat Buchanan, the old Nixon hand, that, leaning back in a chair, clicking a pen on his teeth with his left hand, a few typed pages in his right hand, that spoke up. "In 1968, in order to attempt to choose someone who could do just that--combine North and South--Nixon chose a little known Governor from a state in the upper South, known both for his support for civil rights and law and order, for Vice President." "Dammit Pat, we don't need another f#cking Agnew!" "No, no, we're not going to nominate some mindless prick like Agnew. A. Linwood Holton, former one-term Governor of Virginia. Hell, I probably hate his politics as much as any of the movement conservatives in this room," one of the campaign's more liberal higher-ups shot him an unpleasant look, "but who says a Vice President has to make policy? Holton won in 1969 on a coalition of African-Americans and blue collar workers, and even though he had a largely liberal administration, he stood with Republicans on law and order and the Vietnam war. Notable record on desegregation." No one in the room was exactly stunned, but he sounded like a competent pick. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, another member of the staff came over and took the papers out of Buchanan's hand. Adjusting his glasses, he asked "Anyone have this guy's phone number? By the sound of it, he probably sin't even attending the convention."

A. Linwood Holton, disregarding even Buchanan's comments, as well has the notability of being the first Republican Governor of Virginia in a century, helping to pave the way for a much more competitive two party system in the state. While by no means adored by the South, there was little Brewer had in that area that Holton didn't. As well, his record was about as much as anyone could ask for in regards to appealing to the New England liberals: civil rights, environmentalism, reform, and all the other buzzwords they liked to toss around. "A liberal who can win in the South. I guess that's about as good as we can get." With former Governor of New York Peter J. Brennan declining offers of the nomination--he'd been considered by many as ideal, given his Catholicism, status as a former Democrat, and records as NY Governor--several in the campaign came to a consensus around Holton.

Holton, who was the farthest thing from expecting the nomination for Vice President of the United States, didn't know what to say. Several hours later, the phone rang. Holton had consulted his wife, and the decision made: he would join Bob Dole on the Republican ticket for president in 1980.

()

Former Governor A. Linwood Holton of Virginia: Bob Dole's Running Mate in 1980. Though he had a mainly liberal record, he had stood with his party on the Vietnam War and had stood stern against anti-war protesters. His support for civil rights and environmental legislation appealed to North-Easterners in the party, and he had proven his ability to win with diverse coalitions. Though an unlikely pick, in an environment such as 1980, he seemed ideal.

Lowell Weicker was not a happy man when he heard the news. He had considered himself the "obvious choice" for Vice President. It was plain to see, he'd reasoned. With a Dole/Weicker ticket, the North would be easily united to win the election against the Southern Democrat, Brewer. Assistant Campaign Manager David MacKenzie, a former State Senator from Vermont, had been a big supporter of the theory. Nevertheless, it was MacKenzie himself who thought the choice of Holton was "brilliant", and it was only through the prodding of others alongside MacKenzie that Weicker was calmed down enough to tell the page "F#ck it, endorse the bastard. Hopefully we have 1984 or 1988 to look forward to." Grover, who had already dropped out and endorsed Dole, was apathetic about the choice, though sent his warm regard for the general, implying that he'd like a cabinet position. Disraeli would be the only contender not to attend the convention, let alone endorse Dole. "It looks like we'll have to find another way of advocating our message."

"Low-Tax Liberalism"

Roughly a month after Lin Holton was nominated for Vice President, the Democratic party convened in New York City from August 11th to August 14th. With Brewer having a comfortable majority of delegates, his nomination was hardly the main concern of the convention. It would be uniting the Democratic coalition for victory in November. "Scoop" Jackson was hardly a happy man. Brewer's half-break with detente was hardly enough for the Washington Senator. Nevertheless, while he refused to give a speech endorsing "that failure of a president", he did, after a meeting with HUD Secretary Daniel Patrick Moynihan, finally consent to releasing his delegates as an act of surrender to Brewer. McGovern went a bit easier, giving a stirring endorsement in favor of the nominee in what some said was far greater an address than Brewer's own acceptance speech. It would be McGovern's support that wouldn't be culled so easily.

* * *

Two Weeks Earlier; Missoula, Montana
To Scott Westman, Jefferson Dent's grim face appeared slightly off through the smoke, and the bong's bubbling sound wasn't helping him hear either.
Westman: *Cough* Sorry, could you say that again?
Dent: *Sigh*... Scott, I'm here to make sure you don't run off half-cocked. Brewer needs you, the Democratic party needs you.
Westman: Brewer? F#ck him!
Dent: F#ck him all you want. That's not what I'm here for. I'm not asking you to endorse him. I know that's far beyond what you're willing to do. I'm just asking that, until November 5th, you be willing to put your issues aside and let the Democratic campaign go uninterrupted.
Dent wasn't necessarily less liberal than Westman. Far from it, Westman was well to his right. Nevertheless, Dent was more pragmatic, and much less of a hothead.
Westman: I'm sorry, Jeff. I can't do it. I've spent nearly six years in Congress, and from what I've seen of Washington, just re-electing Brewer isn't gonna do a f#cking thing. I'd rather see Dole or whatever fascist the Republicans put up win so the party knows enough to get its f#cking act together. Allowing Brewer another term based on his awful performance wouldn't teach anyone a lesson.
Dent was far from shocked by the statement. Westman had said far more divisive statements when he was much more sober. But he was worried. Westman had, in the past few years, built himself up to a quasi-celebrity status, especially among Western donors. Many a night he'd spent in the houses of famous Hollywood Democrats, and these days he was occupying celebrity gossip magazine covers more than TIME or Newsweek. Nevertheless, Westman was beyond convincing.
Dent: [Getting up] Sorry to hear that, Scott. Please, though. Mull it over. Make the right choice for the country. [Outside] What a f#cking waste.

* * *

Come 1980, the Libertarian Party was in a rut. Despite promising party-building done since 1972, it was nevertheless not-so-easy to be a single party. One of their biggest donors, David Koch, had withdrawn his funding in early 1979 in order to instead hope to pay the way for Beauregard Disraeli to win the Republican nomination. Koch's investment had shown little yield. By August, 1980, despite much media hype, the Libertarian ticket of former elector Roger MacBride and California attorney Ed Clark was in vital need of a spike in polling numbers.

Quote

Libertarian Party Presidential Tickets
1972 - Prof. John Hospers of Iowa/Ms. Theodora "Tonie" Nathan of Oregon
1976 - Ms. Theodora "Tonie" Nathan of Oregon/Attorney David Bergland of California

By the time that Dole's nomination was secured, Roger MacBride, a former Republican, was considering going back into the GOP fold. "My real worry had been that Weicker or some other 'Me-Too' Republican might be nominated. While I had little taste for John Connally, his failure in 1976 had, I feared, opened the door for a Rockefeller type in 1980, which would have been of little improvement over the last 20 years of failed leadership. Aside from Disraeli, Dole was the one who least offended my sensibilities." MacBride would say in a 1992 interview. Fearing a split in the anti-Brewer vote, MacBride in a surprise would drop out in early August, causing chaos in the Libertarian ranks. Ironically, this would open the door to greater possibilities for the party.

It would be shortly following his conversation with Dent that Westman placed a call to the personal number of Libertarian Party Chairman David Bergland. An emergency meeting of the National Committee was scheduled in a few days to determine a new nominee and attempt to have all 50 states recognize the new nominee. Ed Clark was the obvious choice. With that in mind, Westman was all too happy to allow his name to be circulated as a Vice Presidential nominee. Bergland, despite being a member of the more absolutist faction of the party, was ecstatic. On August 19th, 1980, mere days after the DNC, the Libertarian National Committee formally voted to nominate Ed Clark of California for President and Scott Westman of Montana for Vice President. While there would be an amount of controversy regarding the committee determining the new nominee as opposed to a new convention, the vast majority of state parties agreed to comply, managing to replace MacBride on the ballot in over thirty states by 1980.

* * *

"It looks like we'll have to find another way of advocating our message." disgruntled Senator Beauregard Disraeli said as he heard the news of Dole's Vice Presidential selection. As far as the Senator was concerned, only the choosing of a man from his ranks--preferably himself--for the second spot on the ticket would have gotten Disraeli's endorsement. Instead, it seemed, the senior Senator from Wyoming would be parting paths with the G.O.P. in the upcoming election.

Disraeli himself liked the selection of MacBride by the Libertarian Party, the former state senator himself being a former Republican. When MacBride formally dropped out and gave an under-publicized endorsement of Dole, Disraeli, who had been planning on endorsing him, was furious. Nevertheless, after consultation with his former campaign manager and chief of staff Robert Bradley, he would attend a meeting on August 30th with Bergland, Clark, and Westman. After two hours of discussion and awkward glares bounced back and forth between the two Senate colleagues, Disraeli left unhappy. Nevertheless, hating Brewer and Dole more, a phone conversation with Bergland later that night secured Disraeli's nomination. "1980 is due to be the worst election on record in the last 20 years," the Wyoming Senator fumed, "but that seems to be every election." he lamented.

()

Above: On September 2nd, 1980, Senator Beauregard Disraeli (Republican-Wyoming) publicly endorsed the Libertarian ticket of Ed Clark and Scott Westman for President, bucking his own party and its nominee, Bob Dole.

* * *

Following the nomination of the Clark/Westman ticket, the party would work overtime to broaden its appeal. The nomination of Clark alone symbolized a significant shift to the left, though whether or not that would help was to be debated, as MacBride had credentials that could draw in disaffected Republicans. Nevertheless, it was hoped that Disraeli's endorsement would help in bringing over the right. In the meantime, the Clark/Westman ticket was focused primarily in drawing disaffected McGovern voters. Westman proved to be an asset to the campaign in giving it not only the legitimacy of a current federal officeholder and legislator, but also the platform that derived from such a quality. For the next few months, the Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee would not only be an active canvasser, but also a strong voice on the Senate floor. In the meantime, Clark worked to shift the debate and image of libertarianism. For the last few years, especially with the Democrats in power, the Libertarians had been perceived as merely yet another strain of the far-right located outside the Republican sphere of influence. The most vocal shift would be a fall, 1980 interview in which Clark stated that he viewed libertarianism as "low tax liberalism", evidence of an overall larger trend to try to appeal to young, left-leaning, and anti-incumbent voters. The tactic would appear to be working, as, even as Brewer sank in the polls, those listing "other" in surveys grew. Internal polling indicated an upward trend, even topping ten percent. That, however, was prior to the party's "October Surprise".

October 17th, 1980
Awaking in his hotel room, sunlight streaming in between the cracks in the blinds, Scott Westman groggily groped for the remote. The clock on the bedside table reads 12:35 PM.
Westman: *Yawn* Where the f#ck is that thing?
In reaching blindly, he accidentally hit his bed mate's thigh and hears a stirring.
Westman: (to self) F#ck. (To partner) Sorry, Calpernia.
Westman, reaching to his right, accidentally tumbled out of bed. Cracking his eyes open again, he found the remote.
Westman: Ah, you motherf#cker. There you.
Television: *Click* ...in a rare moment of politics and entertainment news intersecting, Montana Senator Scott Westman was seen entering a hotel late last night with model and actress Calpernia Weils. Weils, who since her debut on the Hollywood scene only last year has aroused controversy, is a pre-operational transvestite.
Westman: Shiiiiiit....
Calpernia: Scott? What is it?

List of United States Senators from New York, Class I
Royal S. Copeland (Democratic) March 4th, 1923-June 17th, 1938
William Westman (Democratic) December 3rd, 1938-January 3rd, 1947
Irving M. Ives (Republican) January 3rd, 1947-January 3rd, 1959
Kenneth Keating (Republican) January 3rd, 1959-January 3rd, 1965
Robert F. Kennedy (Democratic) January 3rd, 1965-December 14th, 1972
Perry B. Duryea (Republican) December 20th, 1972-January 3rd, 1975
James L. Buckley (Conservative) January 3rd, 1975-January 3rd, 1977
Bella Abzug (Democratic) January 3rd, 1977-Present

Before Robert F. Kennedy's election, New York's Class I Senate seat had earned a reputation for electing "conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans". The fact that William Westman had succeeded Royal S. Copeland in 1938 by triumphing a Republican opponent to his left was the first sign of a "trend" for the seat, as both Westmand and Copeland were known fiscal conservatives. When Westman was defeated by Irving Ives in 1946, and when the seat remained in the hands of liberal Republicans well into the 60's, the idea had become firmly entrenched. It was only with the election of liberal Democrat Bobby Kennedy that the seat showed signs of "normalization", and Abzug's election in 1976 over Conservative-Republican Buckley helped complete the process.

While Westman was out of the Senate come 1947, he was far from unpopular in his home state, and had a firmly established national profile. He would go on to work in the Truman, then in the Eisenhower administrations as Ambassador to the Court of St. James. By the time of his official return to the U.S. in 1959, the Westman family patriarch had moved significantly to the right since his days of support Robert La Follette in 1924. Were it not for the presence of the Kennedys and the Republican disaster of 1964, he might well have taken to endorsing Republicans--or at least voting for them, as he had faded from the public following the '50's--nationally. In "the Old Man"'s waning days, he did express dissatisfaction with the Brewer administration, and privately displayed disgust with Bobby Kennedy. His final presidential ballot would be cast for Ed Clark and Scott Westman--"Only to support the boy," he stated--and he was quite pleased with 1980's results.

It would be in the waning years of his life that Christian Mattingly met "Willy" Westman, as the wealthy New Yorker was among his first and greatest investors. While Mattingly's views of Scott Westman would fluctuate and ultimately be appraised as "a mixture of respect and utter disgust", Mattingly would always hold the former ambassador in the highest possible regard and admiration.

The Presidential Voting Record of William Westman
1920: Warren G. Harding (Republican-Ohio)
1924: Robert M. La Follette (Progressive-Wisconsin)
1928: Alfred E. Smith (Democrat-New York)
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat-New York)
1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat-New York)
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat-New York)
1948: Harry S. Truman (Democrat-Misssouri)
1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican-New York)
1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican-New York)
1960: John F. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts)
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat-Texas)
1968: Richard M. Nixon (Republican-New York)
1972: Robert F. Kennedy (Democrat-New York)
1976: Robert F. Kennedy (Democrat-New York)
1980: Edward Clark (Libertarian-California)

Towards the Finish Line

The drama of third parties aside, the 1980 race would be primarily between two candidates throughout; disregarding the various "Let Ed Debate" protests that Dole's and Brewer's guards would have to wade through. Though a two-way race it may have been, it was hardly even. Coming out of the conventions, the Dole/Holton ticket led heavily until the end, something that would be a frequent cause of angst for Democratic staffers. A young and furious Pat Cadell who'd been a leading pollster for the party 1972, would be known to furiously remark on occasion "No one has faced a campaign this futile since Goldwater in '64!" The 'wiz-kid' that had helped lead Kennedy to victory twice was losing it. In a more rational voice, he would explain "Industrial workers are at their lowest point of confidence in the Democratic party since, oh, before we even made these polls!? Meanwhile, the youth vote, which was absolutely crucial for us in our last two victories, where are they? They don't give a damn, that's what! We could only use the draft for so long, and any hope of regaining them after what Bobby did will have to wait until well after the election. The South is the only place where there's a ray of light, and that's just in comparison to the past couple of performances, for God's sake! Finally, we have the coast. The pissed off 'Reagan Democrats' in places like California aren't ready to return to the party just yet, and we only have tepid backing of higher-income liberals. When it comes time to face facts, we are f#cked!"

Post-Convention Polling for President
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Blue - Strong Republican
Light Blue - Lean Republican
Gray - Tossup
Light Red - Lean Democratic
Red - Democratic

While Democrats scrambled to gather together their formerly successful coalition, the Dole team was riding high. Pat Buchanan's behind-the-scenes successful organizing of a coalition of conservative and union Democrats (not always easy bed mates) had turned into a relevant "Democrats for Dole" group that opposed what it referred to as "the weak foreign policy and apathetic stance towards the working man that has prevailed in government these last eight years." Meanwhile, more liberal surrogates were hard at work to bring on board "Kennedy Republicans" and fiscally moderate liberals that had supported the Democratic presidential candidate in the last two elections. It would be Lowell Weicker, hoping to gain the favor of the nominee, who devoted a large amount of time to bringing those voters back. "I've head people comment, and this is from my own campaign as well, that the types of primary voters who supported Rockefeller, Evans, and Meskill don't have a home in the Republican party anymore. I'll tell you this: you have a friend in Bob Dole. While the Democrats are busy placating Southern and union interests, the Republicans have maintained their focus on good governance, national strength, and honest reform." It was very important, of course, that these two different outreach groups never totally intersect.

Among those few that did pay attention to "The Dole Scheme" as he called it, was reporter and former Pitkin County Sheriff Hunter S. Thompson. "All in all, it seems that the former Nixon hatchet man is fast at work assembling some strange fascist coalition of Republican dominance that will stand as a Fourth Reich of far-right government. ... From Wall Street traders in Connecticut, to the old Goldwater-Wallace bunch in the Deep South, and union men in the 'rust belt', this campaign has been utterly and sociopathically brilliant at electioneering. For any honest Democrat or liberal these days, it will be a truly scary time ahead." Thompson would later refer to Dole as "The President Nixon wished he'd been."

While Brewer had hoped that the debates would be his chance to make his case to the American people, such was not the case. While Dole himself had been seen as "green" and unready during the 1976 Vice Presidential debate with Brewer, he'd had an entire four years to ready himself for a rematch. One major issue would be over the inclusion of Ed Clark. While the Dole campaign had good reason to favor his inclusion--"Clark is the perfect guy to eat away at young, urban liberal voters that Kennedy relied on", said Buchanan--Brewer insisted that the Libertarian candidate not be allowed. Dole, at last, favoring a direct confrontation with Brewer than a move to humiliate him in a potential Dole-Clark debate, agreed to Brewer's terms. The League of Women Voters would sponsor two presidential debates, one on domestic and one on foreign policy, and one Vice Presidential debate. While Vice President Inouye would be seen as the superior debater against former Governor Holton, Dole managed to dominate the two presidential debates, securing an even larger lead than previously. Unrest in Iran, which had been an undercurrent of Middle East geopolitics since 1977, was once again flaring up against the Shah and Dole used that to his advantage. "The fact that our allies are again so threatened by agents of the Soviet Union is a clear sign of decreasing American stature across the globe thanks to the disaster of a foreign policy that the Democrats have led with these past eight years." Brewer, for his part, was caught in a bind. While not responsible for Kennedy's policies and while having to disown his predecessor's corrupt actions in other areas, in order to make the case for a full term, he would have to defend said policies to the death. Brewer would later write in his memoirs that for nights on end in the campaign he'd wished he'd come to power by any other way.

Election Results
Running on a platform of a renewed and revitalized arms race with the Soviet Union in the name of defending America's national interests, reduced tax rates, social conservatism, and a balanced budget, Robert Joseph Dole was elected to be the 40th President of the United States of America. The landslide Republican victory would sweep all parts of the nation, though Dole's highest totals would come from the "farm belt", where not only was he its favorite son, but it would profit the most from Dole's proposal to re-establish grain sales to the U.S.S.R. The ticket nevertheless, would suffer at certain points. While Republicans made significant inroads into the Democratic-leaning "rust belt", the national popular vote totals would be reflected at dis-proportionally low levels in New England, the South, and the West. New England was an area that Republicans had been losing ground in since the days of FDR. In this case, while Vermont and New Hampshire both gave Dole majorities, the other states he would either lose or gain only by plurarlity. This was seen largely as a result of socially moderate-to-liberal and more affluent voters favoring the Clark/Westman ticket despite the efforts of Dole surrogates in the region. The same could be said for the opposite end of the country, where Westerners of all stripes had given a significant amount of support to the Libertarian ticket relative to its national totals. Political scientists would credit this with the fact that "movement conservatives" and Disraeli supporters were disaffected by Dole's much more "middle America" oriented brand of conservatism, that moderates in states such as California had gone for the "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" ticket, and anti-war activists and former McGovern supporters had preferred Clark immensely over the other two. Dole's lackluster performance in the South relative to Connally's was largely the fact that Dole's campaign had worked mainly to build a coalition of the industrial North and had abandoned some more Nixonian race-baiting tactics, and, obviously the region was where from the incumbent Brewer hailed. Nevertheless, Dole had won not only an electoral majority, but a popular mandate to govern, and with the Senate remaining in Republican hands, it seemed there was little stopping him.
(

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Senator Robert J. Dole (Republican-Kansas)/Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. (Republican-Virginia) 475 electoral votes, 53.6% of the popular vote
President Albert Brewer (Democrat-Alabama)/Vice President Daniel Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) 63 electoral votes, 40.3% of the popular vote
Attorney Edward E. Clark (Libertarian-California)/Senator Scott Westman (Libertarian-Montana) 0 electoral votes, 5.7% of the popular vote
Former Congressman John Rarick (American Independent-Louisiana)/Ms. Eileen Knowland Shearer (American Independent-California) 0 electoral votes, .3% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .1% of the popular vote

()

Kansas Senator Bob Dole would win a resounding electoral victory in the 1980 presidential election, giving what many thought was the Republican Party a mandate to govern as they saw fit.

Quote from: Cathcon on January 28, 2014, 02:25:06 PM

Election Results
Running on a platform of a renewed and revitalized arms race with the Soviet Union in the name of defending America's national interests, reduced tax rates, social conservatism, and a balanced budget, Robert Joseph Dole was elected to be the 40th President of the United States of America. The landslide Republican victory would sweep all parts of the nation, though Dole's highest totals would come from the "farm belt", where not only was he its favorite son, but it would profit the most from Dole's proposal to re-establish grain sales to the U.S.S.R. The ticket nevertheless, would suffer at certain points. While Republicans made significant inroads into the Democratic-leaning "rust belt", the national popular vote totals would be reflected at dis-proportionally low levels in New England, the South, and the West. New England was an area that Republicans had been losing ground in since the days of FDR. In this case, while Vermont and New Hampshire both gave Dole majorities, the other states he would either lose or gain only by plurarlity. This was seen largely as a result of socially moderate-to-liberal and more affluent voters favoring the Clark/Westman ticket despite the efforts of Dole surrogates in the region. The same could be said for the opposite end of the country, where Westerners of all stripes had given a significant amount of support to the Libertarian ticket relative to its national totals. Political scientists would credit this with the fact that "movement conservatives" and Disraeli supporters were disaffected by Dole's much more "middle America" oriented brand of conservatism, that moderates in states such as California had gone for the "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" ticket, and anti-war activists and former McGovern supporters had preferred Clark immensely over the other two. Dole's lackluster performance in the South relative to Connally's was largely the fact that Dole's campaign had worked mainly to build a coalition of the industrial North and had abandoned some more Nixonian race-baiting tactics, and, obviously the region was where from the incumbent Brewer hailed. Nevertheless, Dole had won not only an electoral majority, but a popular mandate to govern, and with the Senate remaining in Republican hands, it seemed there was little stopping him.
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Senator Robert J. Dole (Republican-Kansas)/Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. (Republican-Virginia) 475 electoral votes, 53.6% of the popular vote
President Albert Brewer (Democrat-Alabama)/Vice President Daniel Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) 40.3% of the popular vote
Attorney Edward E. Clark (Libertarian-California)/Senator Scott Westman (Libertarian-Montana) 0 electoral votes, 5.7% of the popular vote
Former Congressman John Rarick (American Independent-Louisiana)/Ms. Eileen Knowland Shearer (American Independent-California) 0 electoral votes, .3% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .1% of the popular vote

Alternate history indeed. :) Nixon never used "race-baiting" in real life; he campaigned as a centrist opposed to the racism of George Wallace and the cultural liberalism of Hubert Humphrey.

Quote from: Oldiesfreak1854 on January 31, 2014, 08:51:05 AM

Quote from: Cathcon on January 28, 2014, 02:25:06 PM

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Senator Robert J. Dole (Republican-Kansas)/Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. (Republican-Virginia) 475 electoral votes, 53.6% of the popular vote
President Albert Brewer (Democrat-Alabama)/Vice President Daniel Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) 40.3% of the popular vote
Attorney Edward E. Clark (Libertarian-California)/Senator Scott Westman (Libertarian-Montana) 0 electoral votes, 5.7% of the popular vote
Former Congressman John Rarick (American Independent-Louisiana)/Ms. Eileen Knowland Shearer (American Independent-California) 0 electoral votes, .3% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .1% of the popular vote

Alternate history indeed. :) Nixon never used "race-baiting" in real life; he campaigned as a centrist opposed to the racism of George Wallace and the cultural liberalism of Hubert Humphrey.

This is patently false.

And good TL, Cath.

Quote from: Snowstalker on January 31, 2014, 09:39:29 AM

Quote from: Oldiesfreak1854 on January 31, 2014, 08:51:05 AM

Quote from: Cathcon on January 28, 2014, 02:25:06 PM

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Senator Robert J. Dole (Republican-Kansas)/Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. (Republican-Virginia) 475 electoral votes, 53.6% of the popular vote
President Albert Brewer (Democrat-Alabama)/Vice President Daniel Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) 40.3% of the popular vote
Attorney Edward E. Clark (Libertarian-California)/Senator Scott Westman (Libertarian-Montana) 0 electoral votes, 5.7% of the popular vote
Former Congressman John Rarick (American Independent-Louisiana)/Ms. Eileen Knowland Shearer (American Independent-California) 0 electoral votes, .3% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .1% of the popular vote

Alternate history indeed. :) Nixon never used "race-baiting" in real life; he campaigned as a centrist opposed to the racism of George Wallace and the cultural liberalism of Hubert Humphrey.

This is patently false.

And good TL, Cath.

No it's patently true. Nixon voiced such strong support for civil rights as president that i would have made no sense to pander to bigots.

The Dole Administration's First Days

Coming into office, the Dole team, while ecstatic with its victory and the increased Republican majority in the House, was careful. Several Republican strategists that would soon be operating within the White House gave advice of caution. "We can not our enthusiasm and possible resulting hubris destroy what we hope to be a new Republican majority," one said. As such, in assembling a cabinet and the first pieces of legislation to be put forward come January 20th, there was an emphasis on creating bi-partisan consensus and legislation that would withstand pressures from the liberal House.

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With that in mind, the Dole administration would reflect some of the bi-partisan tendencies of Robert F. Kennedy's. In a personal snub to the Brewer administration and signaling a much more resolute direction of foreign policy, Washing Senator and "Cold War Liberal" Henry M. Jackson, one of the outgoing president's primary opponents, would be chosen for Secretary of State. Years later, Buchanan, who had worked closely with the incoming administration, would regret his then-stated support for the Jackson appointment. “It was through him that all these, well I don’t want to say it, all these types like Wolfowitz and Abrams got their grip on the American foreign policy apparatus. I was far too short-sighted when backing that pick in 1980. Hell, at the time, I was more surprised that Jackson was willing to do it!”

Aside from Jackson, there would be a number of other bi-partisan picks. A fellow enemy of liberal Democrats out of Washington State, outgoing Governor Dixy Lee Ray, would be chosen for Secretary of Energy. “At a time when America faces soaring fuel prices that have affected every facet of life here, this country needs to be willing to tread down paths new and old to find solutions to the problems we face.” In this case, it would be Ray’s support for the pursuit of nuclear energy. That, combined with Dole’s foreign policy and the reversal of a few RFK-era energy regulations, was intended to properly do battle with OPEC and the oil shocks that America had received over the past eight years. The other Democrat of note appointed to the administration would be prosecutor Leon Jarwoski who, in 1977 and 1978, had been among the chief pursuers of the Kennedy administration’s various improprieties.

Secretary of State: Henry M. Jackson (D-WA)
Secretary of the Treasury: William E. Simon (R-NJ)
Secretary of Defense: John B. Connally (R-TX)
Attorney General: Leon Jarwoski (D-TX)
Secretary of the Interior: Stanley K. Hathaway (R-WY)
Secretary of Agriculture: Christopher S. “Kit” Bond (R-MO)
Secretary of Commerce: Donald T. Regan (R-NJ)
Secretary of Labor: Peter J. Brennan (I-NY)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Winfield Dunn (R-TN)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Jack F. Kemp (R-NY)
Secretary of Transportation: Norbert Tiemann (R-NE)
Secretary of Environment and Energy: Dixy Lee Ray (D-WA)

Ambassador to the United Nations: Jacob D. Beam
National Security Adviser: Donald Rumsfeld (R-IL)
Press Secretary: Robert F. Bennett (R-KS)

The appointment of Connally to the position of Defense was largely a decision based on appearances and appeasement. Connally was a former nominee who Dole owed a large amount to and had an impressive enough portfolio for the job. However, at that point in his career, Connally was uninterested in the specifics of managing the Pentagon. Instead, the tasks of Secretary would fall largely to Dole’s crafty National Security Adviser, Donald Rumsfeld. Despite a shallow level of previous involvement in foreign policy due to what he termed “the Nixon administration’s premature end”, since 1973 he had done his time in both the private sector and a number of conservative think tanks. Serving briefly as an adviser to his former protege Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld had signed onto the Dole campaign early, being familiar with the man from the Nixon days. Weaseling and maneuvering his way up the ladder, he was thoroughly satisfied when offered the low key position of National Security Adviser. “Kissinger could’ve gone far in this position if Bobby Kennedy hadn’t been able to nudge around a few votes in Illinois.” he was fond of commenting up through his first few months in the position.

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Above: Donald Rumsfeld, the Dole administration's cunning inaugural National Security Adviser. While Defense Secretary Connally would function as a hand's off manager, Rumsfeld would be all too willing to get his hands dirty in the Pentagon's specifics.

Jack Kemp was a different flavor of Republican than the typical Dole administration appointee, or in general. Representing Buffalo, the former football player displayed throughout his ten year Congressional career strong support for Laffer-esque tax cuts as well as urban issues. Referred to by a few as a “compassionate conservative”, Kemp--who had riled a number of feathers when he criticized the Dole tax plan--was nevertheless appointed to the position of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Intending to forge a path between arch-conservatives and “tax-and-spend liberals”, Kemp sought to use the office to lead the way in 1980’s urban policy.

Though legislation enacting much of the Dole agenda would have to wait on bargaining with Congress, within the first week of Dole’s inauguration--in which he promised comprehensive reform of the tax system, a stronger foreign policy, and a revitalized American economy--he lifted the embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union. This was important on both a diplomatic and economic level as it shored up support from his long time farm belt constituents as well as taking the “fight” in the Cold War away from the Soviet people and towards their government, an important rhetorical distinction for the administration.

October 19th, 1999

Mattingly coughed as he stepped in front of the crowded conference room. The men in it, what a century ago might have been called leaders of the American economy, looked sleepless, weak, and as if the life had been drained out of them. A decade of a Wall Street- and technology-driven economy, combined with free "trade" had decimated the industries he so loved. However, if someone wasn't willing to step up to the plate, who would?

"Since the, eh, so-called 'Atari Democrats' took over, what have we seen? Styling themselves as centrists and post-liberal Democrats, they proceeded to do what liberals have done best: force progress upon the American people. And what did we, America, do about it? We accepted these changes as for the better, necessary, and especially as lucrative. Why wouldn't we? With the technology explosion in '94 and the stock boom following, it seemed the only rational thing was to buy into it. However, the toryhood of change was not to last.

Let us start from the beginning. As opposed to traditional Democratic policies favoring unions or somesuch, in an attempt to prove just how progressive the administration was, it wished not only to push the typical things you'll find from any run-of-the-mill left-of-center administration, but as well to radically push the American economy itself forward. Ironically, we've seen some similar policies pushed by the Conservative party in Thatcherite Britain. In both cases, the government in power accelerated the push away from an industrial economy to one more centered around emerging technology and stock trading. While some might simply shrug this off as 'what had to happen' or something like that, I object. With federal funds funneled towards Silicon Valley and the nation caught up in the mania of easy money, little did any of us see the approaching crash. Meanwhile, the Democrats opened the gates to foreign investment. At the same time, we unleashed a tide of overseas manufacturing from both Asia and Europe into our country, which promoted outsourcing and lowered labor costs. Soon, we had full computer labs and empty factories. Now, I can tell you that each and every one of us in this room is a proud capitalist. However, we are industrial, American capitalists. While the old Democratic party would have sought to destroy our companies and divide the spoils among the workers and welfare recipients, the "New Democrats" since the days of Bobby Kennedy accomplished the same goal by merely lowering tariffs. Instead, of unions, the party in power sees fit to divide our companies among the Japanese and Germans.

In 1896, William McKinley was elected running on a platform of industry and sound currency. His opponent, William Jennings Bryan, sought to drag the country backwards into the world of agrarianism. Now, the Democrats have finally had the gall to leap forward and we have seen where that has left America. The Republican party must be an anchor. Industry has supported America for a century and recent attempts to abandon it in favor of futuristim and half-baked pipe dreams have paid off in economic catastrophe. The reason for my candidacy has been to save the America that I have seen thrive, that I have seen prosper. I grew up the son of a UAW worker and have, through hard work, persistence, good luck, and free market policies, managed to rise to the top. In the America of the Democratic party, a party torn between 'Artari', labor, and Luddites, such would be impossible. This isn't for political power or party numbers, this is for the country we love."

As Mattingly stepped aside he could already hear the cash register sounds as these weakened titans of industry pulled it together to give their country one last shot. While outsourcing had become prevalent over the last ten years, these people had held on. He would not betray them.

1980 Senate Results
The Senate results delivered Republicans a super-majority in the U.S. Senate, giving Howard Baker another two years as Senate Majority Leader. However, the party failed again to win a majority in the House of Representatives. Nevertheless, it was the closest they'd come to it in a long time. That wasn't saying much. Despite the power Baker wielded in the Senate come January 3rd, 1981, it was clear that compromise would still need to be made between the Republicans and their Democratic counterparts.
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Republicans: 62 (+9)
Democrats: 37 (-9)
Independents: 1

The Rigors of Recovery

The first meeting between Dole and Baker as President and Senate Majority Leader was congenial. The two had known each other as Senate colleagues since the 1960's. Had Baker not been tied up with his leadership duties, the two men might be meeting at opposite ends of the table after the 1980 election. While the Tennessee Senator had built his career on his ability to reach across the aisle, in this case, his greatest challenge would be in restraining the base.

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Above: Howard Baker and Bob Dole, 1979. Within two years, it would be Dole who was Baker's boss, not the other way around. Despite their power shifts, the two would remain close allies.

Dole was of a different breed than several of the "Republican young-bloods" that had begun to inhabit the party. Jack Kemp was perhaps the greatest representative of these up-and-comers. Vigorously in favor of tax-cuts, free trade, and adherents to economist Arthur Laffer, Kemp and his crew differed significantly from the old-fashioned monetarist Republicans that had dominated the party's fiscal views for years. Going back to the days of Eisenhower, even Goldwater himself had only favored tax cuts that didn't affect the deficit. The "supply-siders" cared little about the deficit and favored economic growth instead. Despite the urging of Jack Kemp and others, Dole and his monetarist Treasury Secretary William Simon were determined not to enact a wholly radical economic bill.

The Republicans' conservative wing drew up the Humphrey-Crane Economic Recovery Act, slashing taxes in all brackets brutally and nearly decimating the welfare state. Gordon J. Humphrey and Phil Crane, the two architects of the plan, saw little problem in doing so. Dole, however, in speaking with his administration, was wholly against it. "This will throw the economy into a damned tailspin!" he barked. The difference was much more of practicality than of principle. Such a grand deviation from the set way of things would, it was agreed, have far-reaching and unintended consequences. "Even if this was the administration's goal," Simon stated, "it would be well beyond foolish to attempt it all at once. We can look at Great Britain for an example of that." At that time in history, Margaret Thatcher-led Britain was mired in recession and the government was being pressured to take a "U-Turn".

It was obvious to the administration that such a bill would not pass muster and that an alternative would have to be crafted. Instead of something reflecting the liberals in either the Democratic or Republican camps, the resulting package of bills would be representative more of a shift in the Republican party toward northern industrial centers. Senator H. John Heinz, III of Pennsylvania, whose roots lay in Pittsburgh, and Representative Carl Pursell of Michigan, who previously had been Wayne County Commissioner, were the main sponsors of what was dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Reform Act (CERA, or Heinz-Pursell) of 1981. A shift away from "the politics of slashing" as employed by Crane and his allies, CERA would nonetheless cut both taxes and spending but by less than the conservative ERA. As well, the cuts in spending intentionally outweighed the tax decreases, allowing for saved money to be redirected towards urban investment. Unexpected from Republicans since the 1920's, tariffs would also be raised. These increases were reflective of the two sponsors' bases, as, while several industrial products were given new protection, automobiles and steel would see some of the largest duty raises.

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Above: John Heinz, co-sponsor of the Comprehensive Economic Reform Act of 1981, was able to draw Democratic support to his recovery bill. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, would be one of the first to come to its aid following the CERA's unveiling.

The bill took much longer to cobble together than Humphrey-Crane, as it consisted of input from legislators across the board. As critics railed against the administration for seeming inaction on the economy--though a number of smaller bills that would eventually act in accordance with the CERA were passed in the meantime--in April, Heinz and Pursell presented their plan. With the arch-conservative plan having failed in two different votes and a number of both Southern and industrial Democrats consenting to voting for the new bill, it passed easily. On April 17th, 1981, the Comprehensive Economic Reform Act was signed into law by President Dole.

Taxing and spending would hardly be the only focuses of the CERA, however. With entitlement programs receiving cuts, job training programs would replace a number of them. One part of the bill would mandate greater training for functioning in the free market: tax preparation, housing, accounting, and so on. While a small and largely unnoticed section, the requirements, to be phased in for the 1982-1983 school year, would have a subtle yet important effect on the nation's future.

In Coldest War

Dole Administration Foreign Policy: 1981-1983
With a cabinet comprised of a variety of both hawks and realists, the Dole administration was determined to reignite the arms race, whatever the cost. In taking a line from Jack Kennedy's 1960 campaign, the Dole foreign policy team's motto for the earliest years of his presidency was that there could be no price tag placed on national defense. Many in the President's Office of Budget and Management protested that this ran counter to their aims of reducing the federal deficit, but the administration nevertheless pressed forward.

The first major policy decision would be Dole agreeing to continue the Brewer-era policy of arming rebels in Afghanistan. Both Robert Kennedy and Brewer had managed to maintain an America-friendly government in Iran, and Dole was determined that the U.S. not cede Afghanistan under his watch. Other actions by the White House would be more public: the signing of a budget for 1982 that significantly increased defense spending, including the development of a number of "Pentagon boondoggles" that had been quietly moved to the back-burner over the past twelve years. While Brewer had consented to modest defense increases, America's construction of nuclear arms had been slowed, and few in the defense and foreign policy apparatuses saw any reason not to support an arms buildup.

The administration has its fair share of critics, to be sure. While Republicans would, by-and-large, fall in line to support Dole's new defense plans, Lowell Weicker and Mark Hatfield would be chief among the President's party in the Senate to oppose his foreign policy. Together with a band of liberal- and libertarian-leaning fellow Republican legislators, they would form a small caucus in both houses of congress known informally as "the Mavericks". Thaddeus O'Connor of Maine would be their leader in the House of Representatives. Outside of Dole's party, a good number of Democrats had little problem trying to stall the administration's foreign policy agenda. Scott Westman became Dole's most vocal critic from the left, along with Senators Christopher Garrett of Vermont and Frank Church of Idaho. However, many in the Democratic Senate Minority spurned Westman as well, who had run for Vice President on the Libertarian line in 1980 and seemed to hold views counter to that of the base on economic and taxation issues.

Within Washington's central intelligence apparatus, a number of significant moves would be taken. Under Director of Central Intelligence Elliot Abrams, "Team B" would be set up. Supported by a number of Jackson's State Department neoconservatives, the idea had come into vogue that, in recent years (especially the eight years of Kennedy-Brewer), the nation had become too optimistic in regards to its foreign policy position. As such, it was Team B's responsibility to re-examine intelligence issues. History would show that it functioned essentially to produce the most pessimistic results, spurring greater funding for covert intelligence operations as well as defense spending in general. Abrams would also preside over CIA activities in Latin America.

The CIA would not be the only point of renovation in intelligence policy. Within the Defense Intelligence Agency, Project Socrates was begun in 1983 to investigate not only American military, but economic competitiveness and prevent the flow of superior technology to military adversaries. Headed by physicist and intelligence officer Michael Sekora, the "bird's eye view" it took would investigate the decline of America's industry and economy on an international level and seek to develop solutions to it. Following the Dole administration, Socrates would be labeled an "industrial policy" and defunded. Similar concepts in in trade and military policy would be brought back in the 21st century, however.

1982 Mid-Term Elections
The mid-term elections showed mixed results. While the economy was failing to recover as fast as Republicans would have liked, and it was obvious that they would fail to maintain their filibuster-proof Senate majority, there were some positive signs for President Dole. In Connecticut, Senator Lowell Weicker, long an enemy of activist conservatives within his own party, would face probably the greatest hurdle of his career. While just two years before he had been one of the leading candidates for his party's nomination, and still possessed a loyal following of Republican liberals, the tide was turning. Prescott Bush, Jr., son of the late Connecticut legislator Prescott Bush and brother to Texas' junior senator, had decided to seek the nomination for Senate that year. In March, Bush resoundingly won a caucus in Fairfield, CT, stunning observers. While Prescott was himself far from a "movement conservative", he received both public and private support from the party's right wing, and was seen as more favorable to them than Weicker. Bush briefly considered, out of party unity, dropping out of the race. However, a call from Patrick Buchanan--then the White House Communications Director--as well as overt endorsements from Prescott's brother George H.W. Bush, the Buckley brothers, and former Governor Ronald Reagan, kept Bush in the race. In the August primary, Bush triumphed with a comfortable victory of 54% over his liberal opponent.

As well, in Wyoming, Senator Beauregard D'Israeli would face a similar fate. While he had been but another loser of the 1980 Republican primaries, following the November elections, revelations began pouring out as former members of his campaign staff reported that D'Israeli, who had always publicly shied away from questions of his personal religion, was an avowed Satanist. Among his small corps of support, many had believed him agnostic or, perhaps, like his brother Congressman Mendelik D'Israeli of Montana, a generic Christian. While D'Israeli scoffed at the accusations, more upper-level campaign members began speaking to the media. The Senator had expected to cruise to re-election due to his state's Republican leanings, however, the rumors paired with his already anti-establishment ideology and abrasive way of doing business prompted one-term Wyoming Governor Alan Simpson to challenge D'Israeli in the primaries. While Simpson was no doctrinaire conservative, he was preferred by liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike to the wiley D'Israeli, and garnered significant funding from national donors, unseating D'Israeli with over 60% of the vote. D'Israeli, angered by the defeat, announced his bid as an independent, "freeing myself and my votes from the confines of the oppressive, collectivist, and moralizing two party system that so seeks to hold us all at the mercy of unions and big religion."

Meanwhile, in Montana, Senator Scott Westman was one of the Democrats that found himself under attack from his own party. Having alienated not only economic progressives, but members of the rank-and-file with his choice to run on the Libertarian ticket two years prior, he was besieged on all sides. However, Westman benefited from a far less organized political opposition than his contemporaries in the Republicans. Garnering 47% of the primary vote, Westman gathered a strange coalition comprised of left-wing anti-war and social issues activists, economic moderates, and "reform"-minded centrists who were impressed with his "taking on of big government and big business alike". Meanwhile, labor, liberals, hawks, and social moderates were split between four different candidates.

While the Democrats would gain five seats, two Republican pickups would put the Senate at a fifty-nine to forty-one seat balance, retaining Howard Baker as the majority leader of a near-fiibuster-proof majority. The Republican caucus would also become more unified as a result of the purging of Weicker and D'Israeli. While Simpson and Bush developed reputations as moderates, their voting records would be far more in line with their party than either of their predecessors.

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Republicans: 60 (-3)
Democrats: 40 (+4)
Independents: 0 (-1)

Other initiatives that the Dole administration accomplished in its first two years would be the expansion of nuclear energy to combat rising oil prices and the signing of the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982. Despite President Dole signing legislation that cut federal spending, thus drawing opposition form anti-poverty advocates, the Republican president would nonetheless maintain good relations with urban and minority advocates due to bolstering of funds for minority-owned small businesses. Much of the reductions in Democratic anti-poverty programs would be re-directed towards this and similar efforts.

"It Ain't the Wedding of the Century, But It'll Do."

Christian Mattingly married Kate McNamara on January 16th, 1981, after they had been dating a little over a year. Shortly after Christmas 1979, their relationship began by attending a friend's New Year's party heading into 1980. It was the most intensely positive feeling the small businessman had felt in a while, and he was loath to see it get away. Kate's cheerful optimism provided a comfortable balance to Mattingly's habitual cynicism in a way that strangely worked, and they were both incredibly sarcastic. While their families were happy for them, few people thought of it as a good decision. The economy, especially the auto industry in which they both made their living, was still in turmoil. While Huron Automotive was getting off the ground with its radical (critics alternated between calling it "predatory" and "parasitic") business policy of buying up closed down "Big Three" factories, there was little guarantee that it would see success. "I like Chris, but Kate's tying herself to ruin. The man's crazy." some tended to say. Meanwhile, Kate's career was by no means secure. General Motors was only a few years off of asking the federal government for a massive loan, and layoffs and restructuring were still frequent. Rumors would start a year later that it was due to the fact that Kate birthed their first child seven months into the marriage. Bryan Patrick Mattingly was born on August 18th, 1981.

Despite the wedding taking place at Shrine of the Little Flower Church on 12 Mile and Woodward in Royal Oak, MI, the ceremony was a humble one due to the couple's lack of finances. The reception was largely BYOB for the same reasons, and there was no grand honeymoon for the newlyweds. An extended weekend in a cottage on Lake Michigan would have to do, given their busy work schedules.

Huron Automotive's business design was based in large part on the hard-working engineering team led by Mattingly's childhood friend Chuck Hurley. While questions were raised as to the wisdom of hiring a group of engineers who were available only through massive layoffs by Detroit's "Big Three", Mattingly would point out in his memoirs that his team had already made what he called "corporate sh#t lists" for designs that were viewed as "too experimental". "The reason America's main automotive corporations were failing was because of the ugly, awful, cheap-yet-expensive, and inefficient designs that they began pioneering in the last third of the 1970's. The team that Chuck put together of corporate rejects was the most competent group of automotive professionals I've ever had the pleasure of working with." Fuel-efficient designs benefited from the oil shocks that Kennedy and his contemporaries had been unable to forestall, and while oil prices began to decline in early 1983, the aesthetic appeal of Huron's designs was able to prevent revenue losses.

However, Mattingly's greatest benefit was the inspiration triggered by his devotion to the company. "Do you seriously think that the lethargic and pessimistic American workforce of the Kennedy recessions was going to act like they did without that bastard at the helm? Well into the late '80's, the company was still paying delayed overtime. Only a leader willing to foresake so much in favor of his company was going to get the type of work out of his employees that allowed the company to succeed." Accusations during his first presidential campaign that he was a neglectful father and husband would come to haunt him. The fact that Kate had to leave the auto industry to become a mother was another source of personal angst for Mattingly. While these would be regrets that he lived with for much of his life, he would continue to rationalize that any children he fathered would have had nowhere near the opportunity that he had afforded them without the sacrifices he made. The press would not be the only source of criticism over his frequent absence during his first-born's formative years. "You think I didn't want to be there, you little sh#t!? Did you want to be raised in a focking trailer park with a laid-off factory worker sh#t dad? Your mother already had to give up her career to raise you, how about we be on welfare like every other person that didn't have the drive to haul themselves up? I scratched to survive since you grandfather died, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be shamed for granting you chances I never had!"

Needless to say, the early 1980's were an incredibly stressful period for the newly formed Mattingly family. Nevertheless, by 1984, with a stabilizing economy and solid growth for Huron Automotive in the wake of reduced foreign competition and the Big Three struggling to catch up, the family was on firmer financial footing. It was with the interests of himself, his family, and his business that he proudly cast a vote to re-elect President Bob Dole.

The Blessings of Tippecanoe

The economic recovery of the 1980's was to occur during the second part of Dole's first term. While there were continual pressures from moderates in the party to enact more Keynesian policies to boost the economy, especially given Republican losses in the mid-terms (while Republicans were able maintain a strong majority in the Senate, their near-majority in the House of Representatives had been massively set back), Treasury Secretary William E. Simon led the resistance to such efforts. "The administration's policies have been enacted for long-term recovery. What liberals are pushing for would not only disrupt the recovery we have worked hard to orchestrate through reversing our policies, it would confuse the market, making us worse-off than when we started."

However, whatever push-back the Dole administration received from its opponents going into the 1984 Presidential Election would soon be put to rest. On June 20th, 1983, while leaving a Heritage Institute convocation held to discuss the course of "conservative internationalism" in the wake of the Tories' victory in UK's June 1983 parliamentary elections, President Dole was shot three times. El Salvadorian radicals, in protest to the administration's anti-communist policies in Latin America, had attempted to kill the President. The assailants were quickly apprehended, and Dole was rushed to the hospital. Released six days later, the President showed that "communist lead" wouldn't keep him from leading the nation.

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Above: President Dole emerged from the hospital with a renewed sense of confidence and vision that would fuel legislative and political success for both him and the Republican party.

The nation's confidence was rejuvenated with Dole's recovery, and it would affect the market. Despite a June 20th dive in stocks, they soared with Dole's release from the hospital. Scholars would debate for years after whether Dole might have fared nearly as well without the assassination attempt. However, that question mattered little to the Grand Old Party at the time. It was with these high spirits that the Republican party entered the year of 1984.

The last six months prior to the election year, the President and Congress saw as productive session. A personal goal of the President was the comprehensive Disabled and Elderly Americans Act, which received wide-ranging support. Not only would prohibitions based on disability be outlawed in a vein similar to 1960's civil rights act, but voting facilities for federal elections would be required to accommodate for handicapped and aging citizens. Bills regarding social security, cable deregulation, and nuclear energy would also be signed into law. In a nod to the administration's ally Barry Goldwater, the Goldwater Defense Reorganization Act would be pushed through Congress, stream-lining the military chain of command. In the wake of an attempted presidential assassination and heightened Cold War tensions, this was seen as particularly paramount to continued United States military success.

The 1984 Democratic Field
The landslide loss in 1980 had prompted serious conversation for change within the Democratic ranks. Senators Paul Tsongas and Gary Hart had become the most prominent crusaders for "New Democrats", promoting centrist, technocratic, and often quirky policies that were hoped to appeal to swing voters, but alienated the Democratic grassroots base. While President Robert F. Kennedy had managed to hold the Democrats together through his brother's popular legacy and straddling the gap between young left-wing voters and moderates, this new breed of centrist lacked the last name necessary for his degree of electoral success. With the monumental losses the party had suffered in 1978 and 1980 and the divisive primary battle President Brewer faced, the party was coming undone. With Senator Tsongas declining to run for re-election due to medical problems, Gary Hart was the obvious choice for the New Democrats.

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Above: Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) would be hailed by the media as the most promising contender in the fight between Democrats to unseat Bob Dole. However, his previous association with the Robert F. Kennedy administration would serve to hinder him among voters who wanted a clean break from the 1970's.

However, Hart was hardly a clean candidate. Despite nearly ten years in the Senate, his political ties traced back to his years in the Kennedy administration. While he had nothing to do with later scandals, he suffered from media speculation regarding their association. Meanwhile, the party's left-wing was hardly satisfied. While Robert F. Kennedy had built his political career on the Democrats' activist base, he had upheld few of their aims following his first one hundred days in office. As such, left-wingers were aching for a nominee of their own. The 1980 primary battle had been one last disappointment for their champion, George McGovern. His failed re-election to the Senate in 1974, dismissal as Secretary of State, and what he viewed as a betrayal of values by Democratic primary voters, and the former South Dakota Senator refused another attempt at the presidency.

This left the claim to the title of liberal stalwart in the hands of Senator Christopher Garrett of Vermont. A pioneer for the party in the once solidly Republican Vermont, Garrett had built his career on uphill political battles, rising from the leader of a small Democratic caucus in the Vermont State Senate, to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Vermont Governor's mansion, and finally the U.S. Senate. It was hoped by some that, in a manner similar to George McGovern, he might be positioned to peel off liberal Republicans and fight for voters in rural conservative states.

The third large "big" candidate in the 1984 Democratic primaries would be Reubin Askew, the former Governor of Florida. Dubbed a "candidate without a party", Askew's progressive record on civil rights was, to many liberals, outweighed by his opposition to abortion and to nuclear freeze proposals. An ally of President Brewer, Askew's association with Southern conservative Democrats to many spelled his doom. However, with his perceived ability to fight for votes in the South, Republican states, and Catholic constituencies was seen as a strength by some insiders, and his surprising second place finishes in the first few nationally-observed primary races put him in contention for the nomination.

The 1984 Democratic Primaries, Part I

The field the Democratic party assembled to go up against Dole was far from at par. While a number of high-profile Democratic Senators including Ernest Hollings and John Glenn considered runs, the assassination attempt against the President in June, 1983, quickly deterred several strong challengers from being willing to challenge the President. While progressives were clamoring him to run, former Vice Presdient Inouye, intent on avoiding the pitfalls of the Brewer administration, was looking instead to rejoin the Senate, and declined to even explore a candidacy.

It would be fitting that the three most high-profile candidates served as critics of recent Democratic administrations. Christopher Garrett had long stood to the left of Kennedy and Brewer, claiming they were "Republican-lite" and "Dixiecrat-lite", respectively, despite previous support for Kennedy; Reuben Askew, if nominated, would be the most hawkish Democratic nominee since at least Johnson; and Gary Hart was a clear turn from the old "New Deal Coalition" politics, even acting critical of organized labor in a number of cases, something few national Democrats would have dared in the past.

Aside from those three would be a litany of candidates that, at the end of the day, went largely unnoticed. While Reverend Jesse Jackson at first ignited support from black voters, attack ads citing controversial statements, and Garrett's lifelong support for civil rights dating back to the 1950's served to undercut that. The idiosyncratic campaign style of Bruce Babbit, the populist James Traficant, and the feminist former Senator Bella Abzug would fall by the wayside in favor of more appealing candidates.

In Iowa, where the Democratic party was defined by labor, anti-war activists, and rural interests, Christopher Garrett was a perfect fit. In a surprise, former Governor Reuben O'Donovan Askew was able to take second place due to the state's Catholic population, blue collar workers dissatisfied with cultural liberalism, and his appeal to rural voters due to his Southern roots. While Gary Hart was polling well nationally, he would take fourth place due to his choice to not focus on the caucus and the hard work that Congressman Dick Gephardt had put into the state. However, in New Hampshire, the reform-minded Hart bounced back with a large margin of victory despite Garrett coming from the neighboring state of Vermont. On the March 13th round of primaries, each candidate would showcase their regional strength, but it would ultimately prove a draw.

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Green - Senator Christopher Garrett of Vermont
Blue - Senator Gary Hart of Colorado
Red - Former Governor Reuben O. Askew of Florida

What would be the biggest source of division within the Democratic party in 1984 was who exactly to blame for their electoral exodus. The popular narrative was that the Democrats had drifted too far to the left and that, by adopting an anti-war hero as their figurehead and President, they had become too far out-of-touch with the ordinary voter. Senator Hart and Governor Askew proposed two different ways to remedy this: Hart, by abandoning the union base of a de-industrializing country in favor of middle class voters who were seeking real solutions to America's problems, and Askew by getting "back to basics" and appealing to blue collar workers in the North and South who had been turned off by Kennedy's social liberalism and the perception that the Democrats were both "soft on crime" and "soft on communism".

It would be Vermont's Christopher Garrett who proposed the antithesis to both of these "defeatist" philosophies. "My opponents are claiming that only by retreating from what makes us a party that we can win. Even if such ideas were true and we could see a President Hart or a President Askew, such would be a pointless victory, as they can offer this party nothing more than any Republican. Hart would see the New Deal and Great Society dismantled in favor of corporatism, and Askew would bring us another Vietnam with his anti-Soviet brinksmanship.

While historians would, in fact, agree with his assessment that Kennedy and Brewer had both governed to the right of the liberal Democratic base, few would, looking back, say that Garrett offered the party anything better. Rather, his campaign centered around re-affirming that a Democrat, if only they were left-wing enough, could win. What would be later joking called the "Garrett Formula" would be the idea that an economic liberal would appeal to blue collar, union workers, and that a social liberal would bring in left-wing activists as well as "Rockefeller Republicans" fed up with the GOP's turn to the right. The logic was that while Hart could bring in suburban voters and former Republicans, he would lose the union vote, and that Askew would, at best, completely alienate urbane, college-educated, and upper-class voters. Only Garrett or a similar candidate could revive Democratic strength.

It would be because of this, because of a party in defeat that wanted to re-affirm that a true progressive stalwart could beat back against the Republican popularity and the Presidency of Bob Dole, that Garrett would win the Democratic nomination, many would argue.

Garrett would also profit from various institutional advantages. Unlike George McGovern, or Kennedy's 1968 campaign, he would not be challenging an incumbent. As well, he was able to win the financial support of organized labor early on in the nominating process. As well, Hart and Askew were easily traced to the Presidents they had been connected with--Kennedy and Brewer, respectively. Garrett, by comparison, portrayed himself as independent of the entire last 24 years of Democratic politics, even claiming that "real, true liberalism hasn't been honestly tried by the Democratic party since the days of the New Deal."

The Askew campaign would easily peter out. The Democrats outside of Dixie had little reason to support a Southerner, and Garrett successfully siphoned black votes in the South, undercutting Askew in his home region. Hart, on the other hand, would prove a different sort of animal. While Garrett maintained an advantage in large states due to the influence of organized labor and African-American urban voters, and also ate into the rural Mid-West, Hart would win every state West of the Dakotas but for Garrett's narrow victory in the Washington caucus early on. As well, Hart ironically would perform well in New England, taking New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Nevertheless, with Garrett still appealing to more "traditional" Democratic voters and picking up the majority of Southern support after Askew dropped out, the Vermont Senator would prove victorious.

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Green - Senator Christopher Garrett of Vermont
Blue - Senator Gary Hart of Colorado
Red - Former Governor Reuben O'Donovan Askew of Florida

Despite a large polling deficit, Garrett's team would remain optimistic. Guaranteed a first-ballot victory at the Democratic National Convention, the Vermonter felt no need to bargain with Hart or Askew in regards to the Vice Presidency. Instead, he chose to make an historic pick, deciding on Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder of Colorado. To the Garrett campaign, the choice made sense on multiple levels. As a Coloradoan, she was in a position to fight in traditionally Republican territory and the very state that Hart himself represented. Her appeal to women was obvious, but it was also hoped that her advocacy on issues such as child-rearing and paid leave for pregnant women could appeal to working families. The only white male of note would be one-term Governor Lawrence Watson of Pennsylvania. While some on Garrett's campaign advocated for him as a solid liberal who had shown appeal to working-class voters in the state, his "demographic status" was unfavorable.

The 1984 United States Presidential Election

Christopher Garrett came into the general election with no advantages. The economy had strongly rebounded from the first half of Dole's term, the choice to place Senator George Bush at State following Henry Jackson's death had calmed those worried about unnecessary brinksmanship, Dole's survival of the assassination attempt had given him some of the strongest approvals in history, and Garrett had made few friends after the divisive Democratic primaries. While the choice of Schroeder had at first proven popular, her strongly liberal record did nothing to balance the ticket, women were unenthused by her, and a lot of voters were easily scared by an avowedly pro-choice woman.

Moreover, opposition research would time the September release of Garrett's college writings and early academic career, littered with references not only to Marxism but Democratic Socialism and the like. The Senator's rather impressive repertoire of work included several early involvements in left-wing campus political movements, including op-eds denouncing Presidents Truman and Eisenhower for their anti-communist foreign policies. This served to significantly distract from attempts by Garrett to make points regarding Dole's foreign and domestic policies, as he was busy clarifying the difference between his previously stated views and Soviet-style communism. With obstacle upon obstacle piling up for Garrett, the Democratic National Committee gave up all hope and began rerouting funding to statewide races.

Garrett actually debated rather well according to many in the media. However, his style, tailored by years in academia, was not geared towards reaching out to the electorate. Dole, on the other hand, who had grown up in rural Kansas, was no massive source of charisma, but was far more suited to stating things in terms appealing to voters. While Brewer had a similar style four years earlier, Dole had little trouble deposing his 1984 opponent on both content and style. By election day, Garrett was cast as an out-of-touch, socialist university professor who lacked any identification with the average voter. With an economy in the midst of recovery and a stabilized foreign policy situation framed by the Dole administration's anti-communist rhetoric, Garrett cruised to an easy fifty-state loss.
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President Robert J. Dole (Republican-Kansas)/Vice President Alexander Linwood Holton (Republican-Virginia) 535 electoral votes, 61.3% of the popular vote
Senator Christopher Garret (Democrat-Vermont)/Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (Democrat-Colorado) 3 electoral votes, 36.5% of the popular vote

With that, President Bob Dole won the greatest popular vote victory since the establishment of universal suffrage. His rivals in re-election record breaking would be George Washington and James Monroe, both of whom ran veritably unopposed. Among interesting results would be Dole's taking of South Boston, a heavily Irish Catholic area, and the fact that Dole failed to win over sixty percent of the vote in Alabama. The first was attributed to "Dole Democrats", working class, largely Catholic former Democrats who felt that the Republican party was better at looking after their interests. The latter would be credited to the work of former Senator Jefferson Dent, who had worked tirelessly to bring urban and African-American voters out to the polls on election day.

1985

Richard Alexander Hudson married Sarah Jane Madigan on July 7th, 1985. It had been far from a cakewalk. While Hudson had, at the beginning of their relationship, felt like the luckiest man in the world to be dating “the girl every guy in my high school had dreamed about”, things deteriorated after entry into college. Consumed by school, work, alcohol, cigarettes, (some) drugs, and a new social life bursting at the seams, the need for and attachment to her waned over the next two years. In Hudson’s junior year, Sarah had come from Michigan to visit him in New Hampshire and found him still drunk at 2 PM from the night before. Disgusted with his antics, she ended what had been Hudson’s first relationship. The lonely student had many distractions to ensconce himself in, however. Elected the president of both the student government and his fraternity while taking full class loads and assisting with scholarly research projects, it was only after graduation that Hudson found himself drawn back to Michigan. Working for the Heritage Foundation while serving a stint in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, he had nevertheless wandered home for Independence Day in 1983. Running into her at one of the two liquor stores in the township on July 3rd, he was awestruck. The same half-golden/half-brown hair stretched down to and past her shoulders. The same piercing eyes still glinted at him from under a wayward bang. The same eternally tan skin stretched across her frame. After exchanging a few comments, they parted ways. After a series of phone calls and a few visits back to Michigan, their relationship resumed in November of that year. Hard to maintain across several states and/or Canada, Hudson nevertheless returned to Michigan in autumn of 1984, the last official session of the NH House having wrapped up (despite his term of office ending in 1985), and he rented a small house with two brothers from Phi Gamma’s Wayne State Chapter, where he enrolled in their graduate program in political science. Proposing to her on Christmas, they both decided, tired of waiting, that they ought to be married within six months. Budgetary and planning issues pushed the ceremony into July. With Hudson working as a research assistant and Sarah, who had served under the township’s only lawyer as a secretary for the last three years, taking a clerical job in Huron Automotive’s miniscule legal department, they were able to afford the rent on a small home in what would become known as Mid-Town.

1985 would be a landmark year for Christian Mattingly as well. The year before, the establishment of Prola Transportation, a subsidiary that worked with municipalities in the production of specific vehicles for their public works and safety departments, had seen success. Nevertheless, the negotiation with third-parties such as construction companies had proved tiresome, and in March of 1985, Prola Construction was formed, completing a years-long period of vertical integration. “We supply the men, we supply the trucks, we supply the architects. We transfer third-party and governmental authority into our hands and minimize skimming by other firms.” Taking advantage of “austere” policies by state and municipal governments, the Prola branches were already seeing good projections for the fiscal year of 1987. As well, on October 2nd of that year, the twins Matthew Ford and Michael James Mattingly were born. Dizygotic, Matt (older by a few minutes) would later grow black hair while Mike had blonde.

Well to the South of Michigan, two statesmen whose roots lay in the Old Confederacy looked ahead optimistically. For Jefferson Dent, a liberal Democrat from Alabama of all places, the landslide defeat of his political ally Albert Brewer was far from a black spot on his career. While friends of his were consoling him on what appeared the demise of a promising political career, Dent was already scheming his return to elected office. His stint as Secretary of State, despite a lack of large scale accomplishments, had improved his national image. Previously, Dent had mid-level name recognition for a Senator, and his reputation was that of a far-left liberal and a political anomaly. The move to Secretary of State had not only spared him from the possibility of defeat in 1980, but had also cemented a national image as an apolitical statesman. While there had been pressure on Dent to pursue the Alabama Governor's Mansion in 1982, he had resisted, being far from overly fond of having to step into the nitty-gritty of local machine politics and take public stances on state sales tax rates. Avoiding the temptation to try to primary Howell Heflin, Dent had spent 1984 working hard for Garrett in the South. Familiarizing himself with progressive grassroots networks and racial political divides throughout the region, Dent's work had essentially constructed a list of contacts forming the skeleton of a national organization. Combined with allies from his days in DC, Dent was prepared to launch a Presidential bid. "Since Kennedy's resignation, liberalism--true liberalism--has been on the run. While many might think that Garrett's defeat set us back, it proved that there was still enough support within the party to nominate an avowed quasi-Marxist for God's sake! After another four years of Dole, hopefully this country will have come to its senses. Hopefully." Nevertheless, Dent realized that a campaign by a former Secretary of State would be unorthodox, and with eight blank years on his resume. As such, in October of 1985, he announced the campaign to retake his Senate seat.

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Above: Former Secretary of State Jefferson Dent during a smoke break on the 1984 campaign trail for Christopher Garrett. Many would compare Dent's actions during the 1981-1988 interim in many ways reminiscent of Nixon's during the 1960's--a rising star struck down by electoral defeat, looking for a comeback. While Dent himself hadn't been on the ballot in 1980, for the man who was without office, he might have well been.

For the other Southern statesman, Vice President A. Linwood Holton also had his eyes on the White House. While he had little considered a run for the Presidency prior to 1980, especially given his growing alienation from his own state party. Nevertheless, the successful 1980 campaign had given him ambitions, and the apparent Republican majority as validated in 1984 made him think that the infrastructure might be there to secure a third Republican victory in a row. While Holton was known for his principled stances, and was associated by-and-large with the liberal wing of his party on political issues, his ambitions would force him to square the circle between principle and politics. As such, Holton began emphasizing those issues on which he'd sided with the establishment. These would largely be in the realm of foreign policy and law-and-order issues. On the stump for Republican candidates in 1984 and for the upcoming 1986 mid-terms, Holton latched onto these issues, which mattered more and more in the face of what was apparently a successful Republican-led foreign policy and the rising tide of crime that characterized the 1980's. Having little attachment to median Republican voter prior to his Vice Presidency, Holton was working overtime to build conservative credentials.

1985, continued

By spring of 1985, Dole's cabinet had undergone a number of changes, though not in any particularly drastic way. Most significant was the gradual retiring of Democratic members originally brought on to ensure a veneer of bipartisanship. As well, some departments, specifically the Pentagon, would see a transition from "a disinterested, past-his-retirement old war horse with few relevant concerns in regards to his own department to a new, professional class". Such words were spoken by Connally's successor at Defense, Donald Rumsfeld himself. With Connally having previously left a large number of duties to his lieutenants in order to focus on the political and public relations aspect of his job, Rumsfeld--then only a lowly National Security Adviser--had begun to involve himself in an unofficial way in a number of the Pentagon's administrative and policy issues. With Connally's retirement in late 1983, Rumsfeld was the obvious choice for the job. Following Dole's re-election, Rumsfeld emerged with an agenda for a revamped army. Ceding that the Cold War was likely not long to last, and had nevertheless failed to erupt into a "hot war" utilizing both nuclear and conventional forces, Rumsfeld proposed that the army, already a volunteer force since the early 1970's, become more professionalized and more efficient. "If our boys do see combat again, I'll wager it'll be a lot more like Vietnam than the Second World War", he remarked. "As such, it's only natural that we prepare to win conflicts like Vietnam as opposed to defeating Hitler a million times over."

Secretary of State: George H.W. Bush (R-TX)
Secretary of the Treasury: Caspar Weinberger (R-CA)
Secretary of Defense: Donald Rumsfeld (R-IL)
Attorney General: Malcolm Wilson (R-NY)
Secretary of the Interior: Stanley K. Hathaway (R-WY)
Secretary of Agriculture: Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (R-MO)
Secretary of Commerce: Malcolm S. Baldridge, Jr. (R-CT)
Secretary of Labor: Jackie Presser (R-OH)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Winfield Dunn (R-TN)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Jack F. Kemp (R-NY)
Secretary of Transportation: Francis Rizzo (R-PA)
Secretary of Environment and Energy: Dixy Lee Ray (D-WA)

American politics would be relatively quiet throughout 1985. Despite a still large majority in the Senate and good numbers in the House of Representatives, the Republican Party pushed few large pieces of legislation. Aside from deficit reduction packages and less-visible social and spending issues, the major focus of both the Senate and the Presidency would be towards the world stage. With the emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev as the new leader of the Soviet Union, a dramatic change in tone came to the Cold War. The ordinarily gruff Dole, with the guidance of seasoned Secretary of State George Bush, came to actually see the Soviet leader as an ally in ending the Cold War. In what would prove a rather unorthodox move resembling something much more in line with the experimental foreign policy of the 1970's, the enactment of sanctions against South Africa due to its apartheid policies would serve to alienate Great Britain while at the same time appearing almost as an act of good faith in the eyes of the new Soviet leader. In a partnership that few interested in geopolitics would have predicted, Dole and Gorbachev came to bond over their shared rural backgrounds, and the President voiced fervent support for Gorbachev's reform agenda.

Nevertheless, as the narrative grew that the Soviet Union was to broaden its citizens' freedom, the story was reversed on the other side of the globe. The 1980's would be marked by particularly high crime, and, having shifted focus away from economic policy, the President and his administration, in taking into account public opinion, sought to address it. While the Omnibus Anti-Crime Bill that passed in 1986 was, by-and-large, marked by "tough on crime" measures including federal funding for police "gang squads" as well as the development and deployment of new surveillance technologies, earmarks would, ironically, turn it into a more comprehensive proposal. Mid-Western farmers, seeking relief, had been lobbying for more markets for grain. While the Soviet Union had proven a boon to agribusiness, the lowering of eligibility requirements for food stamps, which was included in the OACB, would help them as well. Efforts by Jack Kemp, meanwhile, would round-out the anti-poverty component that few expected to be signed into law, including funding for housing, more extensive job-training programs, and the first federal legislation concerning "free enterprise zones". In speaking to reporters regarding HUD's contribution to the OACB, Kemp remarked "Crime is far from a legal problem; it's a societal problem. Some might say I'm sounding like a liberal Democrat here, but I've had to hear those accusations my entire time in politics. The fact is, we need to be both tough on crime and tough on its causes, otherwise we could see an entire generation of poor and minority children in jail." Some years later, Kemp would look back on those remarks with ire.

With gears turning on both foreign and domestic policy, the three issues that defined 1985 and, to some extent, 1986, would be crime, the deficit, and rapprochement with the Soviet Union. While President Dole seemed to be getting good marks from even liberals regarding new strides in foreign affairs as well as anti-poverty measures, the issue of deficit spending, combined with the economy's slowing growth, would be used to paint the Grand Old Party in a bad light as an election year approached. The inability by the Republican majority in the Senate and the Democratic majority in the House to agree on a meaningful deficit reduction plan would help to stir the previously dormant Democratic base, and Speaker Tip O'Neill was incredibly tired of "watching the Republicans run roughshod over the working class".

December 20th, 1985

The Huron Automotive Detroit office Christmas party appeared to finally be wrapping up. Mattingly was sure as Hell glad for that. With Kate stuck taking care of all three of the kids at home, he had been loath to stay at the office during the run-up to Christmas of all times, but she had insisted. "The company needs you! These are good morale boosters!" He disdainfully mouthed her words as he sat, feet on one of the folding tables in the rec room, leaning back in the metal folding chair. Finding his Budweiser empty, he removed his feet from the table and slouched over to the fridge, only to find it empty. Shrugging, he reached towards his shirt pocket only to remember that he no longer kept a pack of cigarettes there. With three kids in the house, Kate had made him swear off smoking. Disappointed, he straightened himself up, cracked his back, noted that the cleaning lady was Mexican ("or some other South-of-the-border variety; good grief, what's happened to this country?"), and prepared to head home. Moving into the hallway towards his office to grab the heavy overcoat he kept there, he groaned to see employees were still in the building. "Sarah... What's her last name? Christ. As if we needed another f#cking secretary... Who's that on her arm? Her pathetic boyfriend or something?"

Sarah Hudson: Oh, sorry Mr. Mattingly! I was grabbing something from my office before going home! Have you met my husband?
Mattingly: [smacking his palm against his forehead] I, uh... I don't think I have. Hello, Christian Mattingly, businessman.
Dick Hudson: Uh, hi Mr. Mattingly. I'm Dick.
Mattingly: [smirks] Of course you are! Wonderful to meet you and all that!
Hudson: Sir, I hope you don't mind my saying, but you look familiar.
Mattingly: Well apparently I'm kinda famous now. Who would'a thought?
Sarah: Richard! Leave him alone!
Hudson: Were you ever involved in the Robert Griffin campaign in 1978?
Mattingly: If... memory serves correctly, then yes.
Hudson: I think I met you there, sir.
Mattingly: I'm sure you did- [un-squints his eyes, blinks] Wait, were you that scrawny kid in the ratty Pink Floyd t-shirt?
Hudson: I believe so, yes!
Mattingly: Did you ever grow up! Jesus F#ck. Do you have any cigarettes?
Hudson: I'm glad to say I quit after I graduated.
Mattingly: Well that's a damned shame, since my wife's forcing me to quit. Do you have any beer? Rec room fridge's all out?
Hudson: I was actually surprised to see a company serving beer-
Mattingly: We're all alcoholics here, Dick. You don't go from nothing to... whatever this is without acquiring some God-awful habits, I'll tell ya that.
Hudson: But no, I don't carry any on me.
Mattingly: Ah, well then it's a pleasure to meet you. I've gotta get back to the wife.
Hudson: [seeing Sarah wait impatiently next to him] It looks like I've got to as well! Listen, would you like to catch up at any point? It's been over seven years since Griffin won that nail-biter!
Mattingly: [removing flask from back pocket] Sure, why not? Bug... Sarah to bring you in on a Friday after 7 PM- after New Year's; I have a family after all.

At that point, Mattingly proceeded to move forward to find his overcoat in his office overlooking the floor of the first factory he'd bought. The Hudsons, meanwhile, made their way towards the exit.

Sarah: You know him? I've only met him a few times, he honestly scares me. Insane or whatever.
Hudson: Not really. I was a volunteer on a Senate campaign in '78 when I ran into him. He didn't strike me as a volunteer, so I've never been sure as to why he was there. Seemed like an interesting guy. Case study in the "Dole Democrat". Naturally, I'd like to pick his brain.
Sarah: I always thought he was terrifying. You should see the intensity in his eyes when he's sober.
Hudson: Speaking of, is he driving home!?
Sarah: Don't worry about it. His tolerance is higher than any of those frat boys you were so fond of back in college. From what I've heard, it's a serious problem. When he said "alcoholics", he wasn't kidding.
Hudson: Strange...

Quote from: Wikipedia Article on Christian Mattingly

Early Political Involvement

Following service in the United States Army, Mattingly returned to America in 1968. While his 1990's autobiography referred to timid support for George Wallace's presidential candidacy, Mattingly has continually clarified that he wasn't old enough to vote at the time and had little exposure to politics. In attempting to set the record straight, in a 1999 interview, Mattingly stated "What is continually lost in history is just how angry the entire nation was in 1968. Yes, we hear about the chaos and the riots and the war, but there was a large sense of alienation in nearly every demographic. The only people you could call enthusiastic about the batch of candidates that '68 gave us were hardcore Nixon and Humphrey supporters, both of whom were out of date by nearly a decade, and deluded Dixiecrats. The fact that I stated candidly that I, someone who hadn't a clue what was going on back in the States prior to setting foot on American turf again, chose to support one of three candidates I was unfamiliar with based on the tone of his voice I don't think says much. If it says anything, it says something about this country and what a state Lyndon Johnson'd left us in."

Elected Vice President of a UAW Chapter in 1970, Mattingly worked on Democratic Senator Phil Hart's successful re-election campaign against former Michigan First Lady Lenore Romney. Nevertheless, Mattingly states that while he invested his time and energy into the campaign, it was part of a job, and that he had little personal desire to see either candidate win. Later on during his term, he was part of a small group of labor representatives to meet President Nixon. President Nixon, at the time, was engaged in an effort to bring to the Republican side culturally conservative blue collar voters. Mattingly would go on to vote for Nixon in 1972.

In 1978, Mattingly served as a fundraising intern on Republican Senator Robert Griffin's successful re-election campaign. It was there that he first met his future adviser Richard Hudson, who was a teenage volunteer. Identifying as a Republican by 1980, he would support Bob Dole in the primaries and general election.

In the infancy of Huron Automotive, Mattingly succeeded in a massive PR coup that would help to create a loyal worker and customer base in Detroit. During 1980-1981 when the City of Detroit was going forward with plans to use eminent domain to build a General Motors plant in Poletown, a Detroit neighborhood, Mattingly volunteered time with Poletown's defense, which was in time led by Ralph Nader. He made headlines in local newspapers by drawing up, with an engineer and an architect, plans to minimize the Poletown Plant's footprint on the city while at the same time under-bidding GM through the barely existent Huron Automotive, which at that point existed largely in the form of paper. While he did not succeed, his efforts earned the praise of a number of community activists and allowed him to forge friendly relationships with Detroit's remaining white ethnic population. After Huron Automotive took off, Mattingly donated mainly to Republican campaigns, though during his 1990 candidacy for Michigan Governor, he was accused in the primaries of supporting Blanchard in 1986. He resisted attempts to field him as a candidate for Mayor of Detroit in 1985, Governor in 1986, and to face Don Riegle in 1988. While there had been speculation following his stint as Detroit's Emergency Manager that he might try to run for Mayor of Detroit in 1989, he had since moved his family to Bloomfield Hills and was, regardless, ineligible to run.

Emergency Management

The City of Detroit had, in many ways, acted as though it were immune to the limits of government. While a protectionist trade policy as well as a reduced tax burden for business had kept the automotive industry in Michigan and continued to provide the city with a firm tax base, Mayor Young’s vision far exceeded the horizon. After over a decade of expensive infrastructure projects combined with the alienation of white ethnics within the city limits, the city was in a worse place than it should have been. Clear racial divisions had formed across 8 Mile, with working-class whites employed by the automotive industry retrenching just north of the major road that constituted Detroit’s northern border. With Young having for years been suspected of attempting to “stamp out” white ethnic groups through gimmicks such as the Poletown Plant, a number of blue collar workers of various ethnicities had kept their jobs while moving their residences out of the city. As such, despite having thriving industry within the city limits, a substantial part of the tax base had been removed. Combined with Young’s policies of large tax giveaways to sports stadiums, the drama reached its height when Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 1987. Michigan’s Governor Blanchard, having developed a record as a successful, pragmatic, moderate Democrat, wasn’t looking forward to tarnishing his reputation by “bailing out” a city that, because of its outspoken and abrasive mayor, had made itself the enemy of surrounding municipalities. Instead, Governor Blanchard made the controversial decision to take the middle ground between a “bail out” and merely letting the city sink: he appointed an emergency financial manager.

Christian Mattingly was surprised when he was first called regarding the position. Presiding over an expanding business and a growing family, he had resisted the urge to become directly involved in politics as a candidate. Nevertheless, his philanthropic and business records had been favorable to Detroit, and a few polls showed him as being much more popular with residents than a number of their elected politicians. The fact that he had created a family of successful businesses, in many people’s eyes, spoke to his financial and entrepreneurial prowess. After speaking with his family and his board of directors, he chose to for the first time enter the public sector. Huron Automotive and its subsidiaries would be handed over to Sid Vicar, who had served as Chief Financial Officer the last two years and had begun his career with Mattingly as an engineer in the late 1970’s.

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Above: Christian Mattingly, pictured here in 1988, first entered public office as Detroit's Emergency Financial Manager--the first office of its kind. While at first met with protests, his commitment and a strong public relations campaign would serve to give the appointed office an unofficial legitimacy.

Despite high pre-appointment favorability ratings from those few firms who chose to poll the popularity of a businessman, the decision of Lansing to directly insert itself into Detroit affairs was met with loud protests from community activists and public sector unions, both being liberal groups who had every reason to fear what a Lansing-appointed, white, unelected, “reformist” bureaucrat would do to government salaries and programs. Taking office on March 19th, 1987, Mattingly shouted over protesters as he pledged to bring Detroit back to financial stability. Aware that he had very likely just lied to the residents of the city he’d grown up in and had long been associated with, Mattingly saw his new role as that of a lifetime’s worth of experience, knowledge, and effort.

Ignoring the fact that, due to the nature of Huron Automotive’s rise to power, he was far less wealthy than he led on, Mattingly accepted Blanchard’s appointment with the salary of $1 per year, in a public display that was meant to emphasize his commitment to fiscal responsibility and begin instilling an air of legitimacy in his actions. Shortly following his appointment, the Mattingly Administration sought to do two things: formulate policy proposals that would realistically rein in city-spending without sacrificing economic growth and the loyalty of the citizenry, and establish a largely intangible presence that would allow the city to see Mattingly as a leader of the “people” despite his undemocratic appointment. The first was begun by the hiring of newly graduated Dr. Richard James Hudson, who possessed a Ph.D in Public Policy as well as a plethora of degrees in social science-related fields. Hudson immediately got to work establishing a multi-faceted approach to the city’s problems. The second early objective of the administration was undertaken by Mattingly himself. He immediately began living in Detroit, eating at Detroit restaurants, wearing suits from Detroit stores, and being seen directing philanthropic efforts to help Detroiters. He as well embarked upon a serious and low-cost campaign to bring business, residence, and charity into the city, speaking before business and activist groups alike. His decision to focus on initiatives beyond just policy was seen by some as innovative and by others as a patchwork attempt at fixing things without a permanent solution. This all served as a buffer to protect from what would inevitably be the ugly side of his reign: the shredding of public employee contracts to save the city money. Left-wing and localist protests became an everyday occurrence while children were instead re-shuffled to money-saving “charter schools”. What didn’t receive media attention was the fact that low-level employees were far from the only people who would face reduced salaries and wages. Administrators and elected officials would as well fall victim to the fiscal scythe. The rooting-out of corruption was also a large source of reduced spending.

Emergency Management (Pt. 2)

One of Mattingly’s greatest coups in both public relations and policy was the appointment of Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon to Police Chief. A Detroit-born African-American who had been with the department from 1964 to 1984 and had, thereafter, gone into teaching and private security, Mattingly liked him for a number of reasons. For one, McKinnon was in many ways the American Dream, given his humble roots; coupled with this was the fact that, while his parents hadn’t gone beyond grade school in education, McKinnon held a doctorate. Furthermore, McKinnon was straight-laced and religious, had a record of reporting and combating corruption, and his father had been a deacon for a number of years. As well, McKinnon was both experienced and an outside; his twenty years as a cop had provided two decades with which to work in an administrative capacity in a number of different sub-departments, while his time in private security left him free of the pall of corruption that hung over city government and had given him a good record of firing insubordinate and unprofessional officers below him. Somewhere, in the animalistic portion of his brain at the back of his head, there was another, relevant reason: while Mattingly had always maintained, at least beyond his group of friends, the belief in equality among peoples, as compelled by his philosophy and religion, he had a contempt for what it seemed black culture had become. McKinnon, with his education, personal conservatism, and professionalism, served as a foil to what Mattingly was afraid was the dominant cultural theme in many urban youth cultures. Lastly, McKinnon and Mattingly had worked together since 1985 due to the need by Huron and its subsidiaries of security work; he preferred hiring people he was already familiar with. In short, McKinnon could relate to the city’s largely minority inhabitants and to the DCPD in particular while being above their negative influences.

Given Mattingly’s lack of background in criminal justice matters, as well as his sadistic side, he insisted on sitting in on meetings between McKinnon and precinct commanders under review. This as well served to send the message that the man holding Detroit’s purse strings was wholly behind the police chief’s actions. While many had questioned the legal ability of an emergency financial manager to control appointments such as that of police chief, Coleman Young had been politically castrated and wasn’t in a position to work the gears of bureaucracy against the McKinnon appointment. Within the first few meetings, the relevancy of police work to Mattingly’s office was made apparent: with a vast number of precinct commanders and other police administrators failing to perform even the basic expectations of their jobs, un- and under-qualified officers seeking political appointment to positions of authority through the mayor’s office and other back channels, and embezzlement by higher-ups including McKinnon’s predecessor, chief Hart, it was clear that the city was effectively flushing money down the toilet in the department.

While his tenure would only last one year, Mattingly would be judged, by-and-large, successfully. Two narratives developed around his short time in power. One, told by the national media as well as Mattingly’s supporters, was that of a spirited reformer who threw out the “crooks”—ranging from corrupt administrators who later faced indictment to the average public sector employee—while also displaying a strong sense of commitment to his city, as exemplified in his activist person, and captured in pictures of him digging into plates of ribs at local restaurants. The other narrative was that of a cruel businessman who adopted a populist façade in order to mitigate public blowback against his decision to eviscerate the government and the community of Detroit. In this story, Detroit-born, black public servants saw themselves replaced by white, suburban substitutes and local culture was steamrolled. What both of these versions failed to capture was the fact of who was in charge. Policy, it turned out, had a limited effect on the city’s fate. While money was saved and redirected, potentially harmful effects of cut spending were combated by something that went beyond what laws and contracts the Mattingly administration changed. Mattingly’s characteristics, ranging from his background in business to his populist persona to his skin color, created a new attitude among residents and business-owners. Those of any skin color who found themselves patronized by Mattingly on one of his regular forays into various parts of the city for a new place to eat dinner found themselves emboldened by what amounted to an endorsement; they chose more aggressive business policies. Firms located outside of Detroit had greater confidence in the government because it was run by one of them, and thus they were more willing to invest in ventures that were within the city limits. The churches that Mattingly visited in order to speak to the congregations and defend his policy helped reach many facets of sub-communities in the city, and to provide a volunteeristic spirit to what activist groups did. Policy accomplished much less than persona in this particular instance, and it was something that Mattingly and Hudson both privately acknowledge and failed to forgive themselves for.

The greatest effect on city politics would be the absolute professionalization of the city bureaucracy. Under Young’s stewardship, city politics—something deemed, by default, corrupt according to popular narrative—had seen a new era of patronage appointments. McKinnon himself recounted how, as early as the Young’s first year in office, he was involved in an investigation targeting the mayor’s brother-in-law. As such, the brunt of Mattingly’s work lay in the largely non-ideological task of taking the city from what Weber might call a mix of traditionalistic and bureaucratic rule to what he hoped would be purely bureaucratic/rational legitimacy. Nevertheless, Mattingly’s presence served to give such a program a charismatic flavor as well.

In June of 1988, with members of the Dole administration resigning over minor scandals, the President sought appointments of people who would provide a façade of competence and integrity to their offices. The headline-making reformer in Detroit had captured the Dole’s attention. Mattingly was reluctant to leave the city, but the public mood by that point was greatly improved, and many numbers were on positive trajectories. With Governor Whatshis providing for a competent replacement, and rumors of a transition back to local rule by 1990 abounding, Mattingly felt comfortable leaving the city in others’ hands for national office. Many would criticize him for “office-hopping”, and it was indeed something Mattingly himself felt guilty for, but he rationalized that the very people criticizing his departure from Detroit were those that had opposed his appointment in the first place, and so such action made up for itself.

Easily confirmed despite a few death stares from some Democrats, Mattingly would be forced to rent a room in Virginia and make a commute of over an hour each way during the week while flying back to Michigan for the weekend. While in the DC area, he also accepted an offer from a community college to teach an Introduction to Business Administration course. Going beyond what he referred to as an easy and unfulfilling curriculum, Mattingly’s one three-credit semester in academia called upon his experience as a worker, labor negotiator, manager, small business owner, large business owner, and public administrator.

Tanned, Rested, and Ready: The 1988 Field

The Democratic bench for '88 would be divided largely by "traditional" and "reform" Democrats. While both so-called camps would hardly hold coherent ideologies, it could be broadly stated that the former (made up of working-class whites, African-Americans, urban machines, liberal intellectuals, and establishment types) represented the fading New Deal Coalition, while the latter (surburbanites, Westerners, "post-liberals", moderates, and "Kennedycrats") was comprised of those that sought to push the party towards a new coalition that contained both progressive and conservative strains to appeal to a transformed nation. Heading up the traditionalists would be Senator Jefferson Dent, who was well situated given his connections to grassroots left-wingers, blacks, Southerners, and Washington DC. Meanwhile, Gary Hart of the reformer faction seemed practically entitled to the nomination following his seeming vindication in the wake of Garrett's massive defeat in 1984. Straddling the line between these two camps was former Senator Eugene McCarthy. Once a well-respected liberal legislator who had spearheaded the original campaign against Lyndon Johnson in '68, the Minnesotan was well outside of the mainstream twenty years later. Out of office for nearly two decades, McCarthy's platform was, as one critic put it, "both well to the left of the Democrats and far to the right of the Republicans". The Democrat praised Dole for his limited foreign engagements, tough stance against the Soviets, and "wisdom in moving against the current trend of economic globalization". Among his campaign planks was the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service as well as funding for a broad range of missile defense projects humorously derided as a "Star Wars system" for its ambition and seeming impossibility.

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Among those traditionalists in the race, Dent was perhaps the most well aware of the nation's rightward drift. For him, that made the concept of victory much more important. Despite the Democrats' encouraging results in the Senate and House, Dent would privately acknowledge that it was possible for the Republicans to secure a third term in 1988. As such, this was a victory he felt both himself and the country needed. "In the minds of many, what Dole has demonstrated is that conservatism has 'worked'. In this horrifying new world, we should not be surprised that, twenty years from now, we find ourselves with a fascist at the helm."

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Bruce Babbitt, former Arizona Governor
Joseph Biden, Delaware Senator
Jefferson Dent, Alabama Senator
Gary Hart, former Colorado Senator
Richard Gephardt, Missouri Representative
Albert Gore Jr., Tennessee Governor
Eugene McCarthy, former Minnesota Senator
Patricia Schroeder, former Colorado Representative

The Republican gallery was much less easy to sort out. As opposed to definable camps and factions, there was a diverse mix of candidates seeking to claim and expand on--according to their own terms, naturally--the incumbent President's legacy. The "main event" was Vice President Linwood Holton. Having become well-acquainted with the party's internal structure, fundraisers, and politics, the nation's #2 was assumed by many to be well-prepared to fend off any challenges to his claim as Dole's natural successor. "If there is one thing I would like to emphasize here, in this campaign, it is freedom. Freedom is something that the Republican Party has stood for since its very founding, and it is a value that be embodies the spirit of our nation. In the 1950's and 1960's, I was on the forefront in Virginia fighting for the freedom of African-Americans. In this last decade, I have played a significant role in working internationally to expand freedom to oppressed peoples, from Poland to South Africa." Despite having done significant work since 1984 to get the lay of the land, Holton's rhetoric was nevertheless always slightly out of sync with that of the primary voter. As such, his greatest asset in the upcoming campaign would be his fundraising ability.

There were a number willing to contest Holton's campaign. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey of New Hampshire, pushing for a balanced budget and a repeal to Roe v. Wade, portrayed himself as the Dole administration's natural manifestation. "Over the past eight years, we've seen significant progress on a number of issues. The Soviet Union is on the ropes, the economy has greatly improved, and law enforcement has new tools to battle crime. It is time now that we, the conservatives in the Republican Party, push for the capstone of our agenda. This is not the hour for meekness." Meanwhile, his colleague Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania, billed himself as the architect of much of Dole's domestic and economic policy in the Senate. "My hometown of Pittsburgh is as good an example of the recovery as any", he was wont to say. Reverend Pat Robertson, with many an evangelical in his wake, alienated many an establishment Republican with his calls to place (his version of) God at the center of American public life. Running the two more dovish campaigns of the primary were the right- and left-wings of the party, as represented by two House members. Former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas decried the Dole military budgets as a betrayal of the basic Republican principles of fiscal restraint. Meanwhile, sitting Representative Silvio O. Conte of Massachusetts was running a quixotic campaign in his late sixties for the Presidency on the premise of "winning the peace": "In this day and age, we are appearing to be nearing closer and closer to real co-existence with the Soviet Union. With that in mind, we must be looking much less to winning the war, but, as one fellow Catholic Massachusetts pol once said, winning the peace. Scientific research, environmental protections, and human rights are the new frontiers of this country and the world."

Among those to opt out of a candidacy were HUD Secretary Jack Kemp and former White House Communications Director Patrick J. Buchanan, both of whom enjoyed popularity among different sections of self-proclaimed "movement conservatives".

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Silvio O. Conte, Massachusetts Representative
John Heinz, Pennsylvania Senator
Edward King, former Massachusetts Governor
Abner Linwood Holton, Vice President
Gordon J. Humphrey, New Hampshire Senator
Ronald Paul, former Texas Representative
Larry Pressler, South Dakota Senator
Marion "Pat" Robertson, Televangelist

The 1988 Presidential Primaries

Early States
The Michigan Republican primary, which was the culmination of a process begun in 1986, was little surprise when it came down heavily in favor of the incumbent Vice President, Linwood Holton. He would be similarly benefited in Kansas, his boss’ home state, and the liberal Hawaii.

Iowa
The Republican result would be a surprise for many, as South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler, running on a vague “reform” platform, walked away with a narrow plurality, trailed by Holton and Humphrey. Many had expected that, thanks to the Dole administration’s competent response to the farm crisis, his Vice President would be practically unassailable in the rural Mid-West. Nevertheless, Pressler’s stump speech, which focused on emerging technology, deregulation, a “national defense for the next century”, and Holton’s lack of a legislative record as opposed to Pressler’s largely conservative one helped him carry the middle in a crowded field. Meanwhile, the Democrats would see little surprise as liberal Senator Jefferson Dent, with his prominent anti-war record and few notable votes on immigration or trade to upset the base, took a comfortable lead in the caucus. While Dent’s victory was expected, Pressler’s was not. Soon, “think pieces” began appearing attempting to explain the phenomenon, including some attempts to relabel him as “a conservative rising star”, “the Right’s Eugene McCarthy”, “repackaged Rockefeller Republicanism”, “a new way forward for the GOP”, and so on. Exit polling, nevertheless, would show that veterans were Pressler’s most significant constituency in the state, and that, combined with his (necessary) appeal in rural Midwestern states, he had emerged a narrow victor. The Pressler organization, with little expectation of victory, was unprepared for anything afterwards and would soon peter out.

New Hampshire
Shortly after Senator Humphrey narrowly lost the Wyoming Caucuses to Pressler, the Granite State Senator would come home to an overwhelming victory that few had bothered to contest. Across the aisle, a similar unsurprising victory occurred as Senator Gary Hart won with a coalition strikingly similar to, though slightly larger than, the one he’d won with four years earlier. Of genuine concern to the Dent campaign was Al Gore coming in second place.

The Valley
Before Super Tuesday lay a slew of smaller primaries and caucuses in states that, had they not been early in the schedule, would have largely gone unnoticed. For the GOP, the arch-conservative New Hampshire Senator would take the Nevada, Maine, and Alaska caucuses, beating out less conservative opponents. The nation’s Vice President, meanwhile, would edge out his opponents in the "beauty contest" primary of Vermont, and, as the only prominent Southern candidate in the race, take South Carolina—surprising for someone of Holton’s views, and the win was attributed to heavy establishment support from fellow Southerners. In another upset, Senator John Heinz would pull off a victory in Minnesota due to a combination of suburban moderates and blue collar steelworkers. The underdog Pressler would walk away only with his home state of South Dakota. Nevertheless, many minor candidates vowed to stay in until Super Tuesday. The Democratic side would see much of the same polarization between candidates with early victories. While Dent was able to win South Dakota and Minnesota on the backs of significant endorsements from both of those states, he would fail to win outside the Mid-West, with Hart taking Garrett ’84 states Vermont and Maine, and emphasizing his Western credentials with an over 70% victory in Wyoming.

Super Tuesday
After their immense, landslide defeat in 1984, the Democratic National Committee had devised the creation of a wave of nationwide primaries on one day, including a number of Southern states, so as to allow for a greater moderate voice within the party. This was intended for candidates such as Gore and Askew. What was not predicted was the emergence of one of the few “liberal South” champions as a candidate. With Dent’s significant name recognition and fundraising advantages early on, as well as his familiarity with the regional landscape, his campaign’s agents overwhelmed the Gore organization, mobilizing welfare recipients, minorities, union members, and the like in favor of the Alabama Senator. Outside of Oklahoma, Gore was prevented from winning a single state aside from his home state. Taking a massive lead in the delegate count that night, Dent was nevertheless isolated outside the South. With Dent’s focus being on solidifying his regional position, Hart crafted his campaign into that of a “nationwide” candidate not confined to any particular area of the country. the Colorado Senator won Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Texas (narrowly), Virginia, and Washington. With every other candidate having failed to secure a single victory, they proceeded to quickly drop out. The only major name circulating still in the race after Super Tuesday would be McCarthy, who himself had next to no organization and was at that point focusing more on securing the support of various left-wing third parties.

The GOP’s Super Tuesday, had its battleground square in the South. While Vice President Holton was able to capture both the Upper South and the “big states” of Florida and Texas, Humphrey had unexpected success in the more conservative Deep South. Above the Mason-Dixon line, the New Englander was able to win a surprise victory in Massachusetts thanks to the dropout of and endorsement from former Governor Ed King, but Holton won all other non-Southern states aside from Heinz' plurality in Rhode Island.

March’s End
Heading out from Super Tuesday, the March contests were few and far between. For the Republicans, the difference was split as Holton took Illinois and Humphrey took Connecticut. The story was very much the same for the Democrats as Hart took Alaska, Kansas, North Dakota, and Connecticut while Dent South Carolina, Illinois, and Michigan.

“Connecticut for Weicker”

Jefferson Dent, despite his party affiliation at the time, wasn’t against endorsing Republicans or former Republicans when he felt it was needed. Nevertheless, the national Democratic establishment was in an uproar when former Senator Lowell P. Weicker and his “A Connecticut Party” received the support of the Democratic nominee for President.

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Above: Alienated from his own party, former Senator Lowell Weicker jumped into the 1988 Senate race as the nominee of "A Connecticut Party". Despite his common portrayal as a moderate, Weicker would receive the unexpected support of left-wing activists and grassroots progressive, including Democratic Presidential nominee Jefferson Dent.

After Weicker’s loss to Prescott Bush Jr. in the 1982 Connecticut Senate primary, it seemed he’d disappeared from politics entirely. In 1980, Weicker had been a leading contender for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Even after his primary loss to Dole, many said that, if he ran in 1984 or even 1988, the nomination would be his. Nevertheless, the GOP had shown him its true colors, and Weicker, after 1985, had given up on it. The inclusion of a plank in the 1984 Republican Party platform calling for a “Right to Life” Amendment and the sacking of his former campaign staffer David MacKenzie from the position of Ambassador to South Africa were clear signs that the GOP Weicker had been a part of was no more.

That was why Weicker had made the “brave” decision to launch a third party campaign for Senate. With Republicans nominating the low profile Roger W. Eddy to succeed the retiring Bush, the seat seemed like an easy pickup for Connecticut Attorney General Joseph Lieberman (D). The Democrats might even themselves get Weicker’s endorsement, some thought! Nevertheless, Lieberman seemed a new Scoop Jackson, and many grassroots progressives remembered how “The Senator from Boeing’s” career ended as Secretary of State for a conservative Republican administration. Weicker’s decision to jump into the race on a makeshift third party was expected to be the choice of “Rockefeller Republicans” and “sensible moderates”. Nevertheless, the former Senator’s anti-war, environmentalist, anti-apartheid, and socially liberal stances earned the support of the progressive left, and Jefferson Dent was not immune.

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Above: "Right-Wing Democrat" Joe Lieberman, Connecticut State Attorney General and 1988 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. Lieberman, despite an early and heavy polling lead, felt his base disintegrate beneath him due to his anti-communist and tough-on-crime stances.

“If this party is to be held hostage by calls to appeal to the lowest common denominator, to moderate to the far-right of the Republican Party, it will fail!” Dent shouted at his Connecticut campaign manager, who protested the Senator’s surprise visit to the state to endorse Weicker in September. Dent hadn’t been the only one. Former Vermont Senator Christopher Garrett, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and Republican Congressman John Anderson had visited the state to support the “maverick” third party campaign.

The Last Knight of Ripon: The Presidency of A. Linwood Holton

Attempting to decipher what exactly Holton's victory and Dent's loss meant for American politics would prove a riddle wrapped inside of an enigma. While Dent had been a progressive candidate, no doubt, he had hardly led a progressive coalition. A fair number of moderate Democrats who had abandoned the party in 1984 had returned to the fold for 1988--especially in the South--largely not because of policy, but because of Dent's persona. Having won thrice in Alabama of all places as a liberal Democrat, Dent knew how to portray himself to a Southern electorate. Did this mean that progressive Democrats were done for, or that the South was itself a spent force for the Democrats? After all, Dent had lost a number of Northern states that Bobby Kennedy had himself won twelve years prior. Nevertheless, the reasons for Dent's northern losses were another issue entirely: Holton had cruised to victory in large, Northern, industrial states largely due to crime issues. There was little doubt that the reason Dent had lost otherwise Democratic-leaning states was because he had been too liberal, not too Southern. Crime was not the only issue, either. While Dent had managed to hold down his home region through high black turnout, a Southern accent, and emphasis on farm subsidies, that wouldn't cut it above the Mason-Dixon line. Votes liberals previously hadn't had to work for were disappearing; white ethnics, blue collar workers, even union members hadn't put forward enough Democratic ballots to push Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Illinois over the edge. A Senator who had made his name as a Vietnam War opponent and proud social liberal, who had little to say in regards to trade or immigration issues that were mattering more and more to these voters, and had little cultural affinity or connection for them was not the right man to win back the North. Meanwhile, suburban and rural areas of the state were doing little to make up the necessary difference for Democrats. Holton might have been right when he referred to Dent as "the candidate by, and for, the liberal intellectual vote."

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Nevertheless, as political scientists, demographers, and the like sought to unravel the mystery of 1988's significance, there was an administration to craft. Coming into office, Holton was determined to produce a cabinet and a White House that would lead in terms of unquestionable expertise and credentials. Moreover, the new President was determined to chart a course for the nation was definitively modern. While he had avoided specifics on the campaign trail, after the election, his advisers unveiled a sweeping reform to America's trade, environmental, crime, and defense policies.

Secretary of State: George H.W. Bush (R-TX)
Secretary of the Treasury: Nicholas F. Brady (R-NJ)
Secretary of Defense: John Chafee (R-RI)
Attorney General: Rudolph W. Giuliani (R-NY)
Secretary of the Interior: Theodore Roosevelt IV (R-NY)
Secretary of Agriculture: John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV (D-WV)
Secretary of Commerce: Jack F. Kemp (R-NY)
Secretary of Labor: Malcolm Wilson (R-NY)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Elizabeth Dole (R-KS)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Robert Martinez (R-FL)
Secretary of Transportation: Charles Mathias (R-MD)
Secretary of Environment and Energy: Silvio Conte (R-MA)

Chief of Staff: Marshall Coleman (R-VA)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell (I-VA)

"A Rockefeller and a Roosevelt!" fumed Vice President Humphrey as he read through the President's cabinet list. There was little doubt in the conservative second-in-command's mind that Holton fully intended to reshape the Republican Party in his own image. "...And what that image is, is ghastly." While a few of Holton's cabinet picks were in deference to the previous administration, including retaining Bush at State and appointing the outgoing First Lady, beyond Kemp and Brady, the entire cabinet could be designated as moderate-to-liberal. There was certainly little evidence of any members of the conservative "movement" having power in the new administration.

George Bush's retention at State was probably the easiest choice Holton'd had to make. Bush had served as a friend and ally during their days in the Dole administration, and they were both moderate remnants of the late '60's Republican rise in the South. Chafee, a veteran, former Navy Secretary, and seasoned legislator, was as well a solid and easy pick for Defense. Replacing each in the Senate would be their sons, as Representative George W. Bush became Senator George W. Bush, and Warwack City Councilman Lincoln Chafee took up his father's office. Attorney General Rudy Giuliani would probably be the biggest concession to the "tough on crime" crowd that anyone could have made. An ex-Democrat, Giuliani had nevertheless made his name as a U.S. Attorney in New York City loyal to the administration's anti-crime goals and prosecuting record numbers of cases with immense publicity. In the late 80's, Giuliani had come to Washington, serving as Associate Attorney General, the third highest position in the Justice Department. As such, Giuliani was not only a popular choice, but a well-vetted one. As for Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady, his background as a banker would show during his tenure.

Holton's agenda would alienate a number of Dole administration hands. Two men specifically that had declined the offer for retention would be Commerce Secretary Christian Mattingly, who was opposed to the new President's "modernization" policies vis-a-vis tariff reduction and ending industrial subsidies, and Navy Secretary Jim Webb, who found his fellow Virginian's plans for a reduced military distasteful. The two had found themselves with similar dispositions regarding the Soviets, social liberalism, and plans by the administration to "push the economy forward".

Unveiling the 1989 Federal Economic Convergence Act before Congress would be young presidential advisor Jon Huntsman Jr. "I remember seeing the announcement. This crisp, young White House prodigy had taken what was standard boilerplate--we would call it 'Third Way' today--bullsh#t that had been advanced by various administrations since the 1960's and repackaged it as a total theory of life. He'd cloaked it in all this futurist slang terminology, pronouncing that this was a plan for a 21st Century America and all that jazz. How complicit members of both parties were to it was, I must say, disturbing.", stated Christian Mattingly in a 2007 interview for the History Channel. What the FECA (or "fecal" as opponents called it) stipulated was a combination of diplomatic, economic, and technology policies that was both liberal and "pro-market". What it contained was funding for new and emerging computer technology including an "information marketplace accessible to every American", plans for tariff reduction if not outright abolition with a number of countries, including a North American Free Trade Pact as had been proposed in the mid-70's, a proposed "International Human Rights Agreement" that all involved countries would need to sign, banking and technology industry deregulation, increased pressure on coal as well as industrial manufacturers regarding pollution controls, and cuts to conventional weaponry to be redistributed towards weapons technology research.

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Above: White House Adviser Jon Huntsman Jr. would first become known the public for his presentation of the Federal Economic Convergence Act of 1989, a comprehensive policy proposal designed to tie economic and foreign policy into one, global diplomatic vision for economic modernization and rapprochement with various powers.

The package, not all of which was subject only to Congressional approval, was the brainchild of a number of young up-and-comers in the party's moderate wing. Not only Jon Huntsman, Jr., but also Massachusetts businessman Mitt Romney, whose father had been a cabinet member and Governor of Michigan, were involved. While Holton himself was no policy genius, he had seen his party take a turn in what he considered an ugly direction and was willing to back the policy initiatives of these knew "mavericks" who were willing to push party policy in a more sophisticated and "long-term-oriented" direction. Secretary of State George Bush, who had been a proponent of freer trade, agreed to stay on due to the policy package and shortly thereafter began entering into negotiations with the governments of Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and Germany. The President's policy team won the support of "Atari Democrats" including Senators Hart, Tsongas, and Westman and Congressmen Wirth and Clinton for his technology initiatives. While there were very few who supported every aspect of the policy package, an amorphous coalition comprised of representatives from every part of the ideological spectrum would begin to piece together support for the package of bills by mid-1989. Coming into office without a mandate, Holton was determined to make his own.

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November, 1999
The wind will knock the life out of you, I realize as I step off the plane and onto the barren air strip. "So this is Montana..." I say to myself. Scanning the horizon, I remember I'm not an air port, I'm on a private air field. In the middle of nowhere. Towering a few hundred yards off the strip right next to be beat up old Cad he apparently drove here in is the subject of my interview: former U.S. Senator Scott Westman, candidate for President of the United States of America. He tosses the cigarette away, provides some non-descript sarcastic comment whilst shaking my hand, and opens the passenger door.

Westman: I, uh, well, I'd decided I should run a while ago. It was a matter of seeing whether or not I felt I could do it. I was shushed out of a candidate four years ago because Hart looked like the man to save the party from previous electoral exodus, and no one was willing to f#ck with that. I honestly do regret not having pursued the nomination then, but instead I, like many others, was encouraged to do the "politic" thing, and I think that mindset is an important adversary in this race. We've sided with realism and where has it gotten us? If someone from the wing of the party that doesn't care about class struggle, that doesn't care about the worker is nominated, where will we end up?

The candidate's demeanor is a sobering reminder of the country's place right now. Had this interview been held twenty, ten, even five years ago, this reporter no doubt would have been confronted by what could only be described as an hornery, cocky asshole who felt he could take on the world. Scott Westman has, like the rest of the nation, aged far beyond his years.

Westman: Why have my views changed? We all know the story, the pissed off young anti-war protester who was so far away from the party's union wing that he ran on the God-damned Libertarian ticket in 1980. I'll acknowledge that I've changed, that I'v evolved, that so has much of the country. In 1980, I was the rebel, and if I'd kept my stances, Hell, I might be establishment today. I changed and I'm still a rebel, and it's because this country shifted too. Now as to why that happened, I attribute the beginning of this to Linwood Holton. The second the greased up, smarmy White House intern--what was his name, Huntsman?--went before the nation to explain this sweeping new plan for global alignment or whatever in God's name he was discussing, I knew there was something suspicious. In theory, this was something I might have supported, but it was, it was too f#cking disturbing, seeing that. What I began to realize is that the coming globalization, what it would do was incredibly simple. Instead of culture, religion, ideology, even race dividing up the world, the bulldozer of capital would mow everything down. From tribal cults in the, uh, the Western Pacific to the Vatican itself. From conservatism to socialism. Everything would be gone in the wake of global finance. Unrestricted flow of the dollar would crush everything its path. And I realized I'd been wrong. If you want a society that can work together, it needs cohesion. In the world the Holton administration began introducing us to, the individual would be both the center of existence and yet a mere data point. Instead of communities, we would have companies.

But what about social issues? Employee ownership?

Westman: I've come to the realization that, while we can have a relatively hands-off economic policy, what we can not afford is the accumulation of capital at the top, which is what is happening. Employee ownership would still contain the basis of our American system: property and profit, while cutting out the parasitic entity we know as "management". The financiers and bureaucrats of the world have stolen enough from the citizenry, and I don't see why we should allow it to go on. ... In regards to the Drug War, I think it's fairly simple; I had previously opposed legislation against drug usage for personal reasons: I wanted to do drugs, I liked to do drugs, and I wasn't going to deprive anyone of that. Now, it's much more centered on the basic fact that this country can't afford to have its youths in prison, especially for urban and immigrant communities. ... On Roe v. Wade, that's honestly probably my most controversial "flip-flop", shall we say. The fact is, in around about 1985, I found God, a God I'd denied existed for several years and it was with the birth of my first son. I'd opposed war not only because of a hatred of the military-industrial complex, but because I thought that we shouldn't deal out death so whimsically, and the natural conclusion of that line of thought is to oppose the killing here at home. It's the same reason why I oppose the death penalty.

But what about the candidate's family life? His divorce? His strange ties to the, as he now calls it, "Kennedy Crime Family"?

Westman: Caroline? I wish her the best. I really do. And if the American people don't want to elect a President who's divorced, let them say that. But the fact that I've made mistakes in my life will not stop me from working with every fiber of my being to try to save this nation and put it on the right path. ... Hahahaha! No, I don't consider myself a part of the Kennedy Crime Family despite my former ties. I only use that term facetiously, you know. It would always piss my inlaws off, and boy did I like to see that.

1988 Senate Elections

The 1988 U.S. Senate Elections showed little change in balance and by-and-large reflected the status quo. Notable new and returning members would include former National Security Adviser William P. Clark (R-CA) who beat out incumbent Jerry Brown in a race that centered around national security and crime issues, Lowell Weicker (I-CT) who won in a three-way race thanks to support from moderate and liberal voters, and Chuck Robb (D-VA) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE), who were pivotal members in the formation of the Democratic Leadership Council in 1985. Despite Democratic performance at the presidential level in the South, they only won one Senate race of four in the Old Confederacy. Meanwhile, even James Buckley refused to be unseated, winning by a narrow plurality against a two-pronged attack from Liberals and Democrats. It would take that defeat for the Liberal and Democratic parties to begin forging a formal alliance in the Empire State, akin to that between Republicans and Conservatives. In Tennessee, former Governor Lamar Alexander ascended to the Senate, having the honor of serving alongside statesman Howard Baker. In Texas, George W. Bush, son of the Secretary of State, won re-election to his father's old seat. David MacKenzie, former Ambassador to South Africa who had gotten his start in national politics working on the Weicker 1980 primary campaign, would win election to the U.S. Senate from Vermont.

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Democrats: 52 (-2)
Republicans: 47 (+1)
Third Party: 1 (+1)

Weicker would, following courting from Jefferson Dent and a gaggle of assorted progressives, begin caucusing with the Democrats in order to secure committee appointments. Weicker's victory would begin the discussion among DNC higher-ups that resulted formally in the "La Follette Initiative": an effort to track down, convert, and recruit moderate and liberal Republicans, especially in the Northeast and the suburbs, to join with the Party of Jackson against "right-wing extremists based out of the South and West". While Holton's presidency reassured many "Rockefeller Republicans", it was clear to long-term-minded political strategists that Holton's kind were not long for the Grand Old Party. In a brief circulated among DNC members and congressional higher-ups, "The existence of men like Weicker, Pete McCloskey, John Anderson*, and the like demonstrates the real danger conservative extremists have put their party in. This is something that this party has not fully taken advantage of and, in doing so, risks losing votes to third party campaigns like that in Connecticut." The memo proposed co-opting such voices instead of risking elections on them and hoping that, as in Weicker's case, it might pay off. Among the list of potential targets were Senators William Cohen, Arlen Specter, and even Larry Pressler.

*Anderson, who has moved to the left since his days as a Bible-toting conservative in the 1960's, had endorsed not only Weicker in his bid for Senate, but Jefferson Dent. It so happened that Anderson had also not run for re-election in 1988.

"Renegade!"

"Coming into the Senate--my first involvement with any legislature since my term in the Vermont House of Representatives--I immediately set up shop as a voice of reason, in many cases stepping between the President, Senate conservatives, and the Democratic majority. As such, I landed on the 'bad' lists of both the far-right and the far-left in Congress, cementing myself as a maverick, unafraid to buck ideological labels for the sake of common sense solutions."

-The Voice of Reasonable Resistance, David MacKenzie, 2005

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Above: Future Senator David MacKenzie (R-VT) pictured in 1972; That year, MacKenzie was a volunteer on President Nixon's re-election campaign.

Contrary to his attempts to portray himself as some folk hero for the middle-of-the-road, middle class voter, a modern day combination combination of Theodore Roosevelt's rhetoric and Dwight Eisenhower's politics, MacKenzie remained largely unknown in the Senate until 1993. Moreover, he often sided with the White House in Senate votes and, despite not being a stereotypical conservative, could be--when needed--easily identified as an establishment backbencher. One of many who harbored a certain unspoken nostalgia for the 1950's, MacKenzie viewed President Holton as a new Eisenhower--someone who could unite the country, both ideologically and geographically, behind a middle-of-the-road agenda. When the administration unveiled FECA, MacKenzie jumped at the chance to support it.

Nevertheless, the "maverick" would run into problems with his electorate within his first year. Despite Vermont's cosmopolitan leanings on social issues, there were many, including the following of former Burlington Mayor Bernie Sanders--a self-identified democratic socialist--who were opposed to what was obviously a vehicle for mass globalization. Meanwhile, what few conservatives remained in Vermont balked at some of the arms reduction and environmental regulation-related language of the policy package. As FECA came under more scrutiny throughout the "long summer" of 1989, many of its more idiosyncratic features fell by the wayside. What might have shifted the global economy and world balance of power instead became a rather bland set of free trade and environmental proposals. Eventually passed in 1990 with the aid of Republican moderates and Democratic "reformers", it nevertheless came at a political loss to the Holton administration and to MacKenzie domestically. Despite national obscurity, MacKenzie's name was raised in Vermont as the subject of a recall effort led by both Old Right conservatives including former Libertarian candidate Roger MacBride, as well as by Vermont's growing New Left constituency.

"I just don't get it," MacKenzie moaned to his wife, Donna in their Battleboro, VT home. Sipping his club soda, the Senator bemoaned the state of his local popularity. "Ten, twenty years ago, my approvals would be in the sixties! I don't know what happened to this state..." Don't worry, David, we'll overcome--we always do!" "I swear, sometimes it seems the cultural Marxists have got their hands on this state! This- this Bernie Sanders character, how'd he get elected anywhere in the United States!? Socialism's been on the run in this country since 1980! Meanwhile, it's like Republican base voter has gone crazy!" "Dave, the world's always got room for common sense! You know that!" "I guess I do, honey. Sorry, I just get so friggin' worked up some time!" Donna's prediction would seem to be correct, as MacKenzie's opponents failed to get the required signatures, turning their attention instead to other ventures, including 1990 Congressional and Gubernatorial races.

MacKenzie would also provide pro-Holton votes on other issues including the administration's successful drive to raise the drinking age to 21 and mandating "explicit" warning labels on music recordings int he 1989-1993 period.

"The Old Man"

While after his defeat in 1972, many a liberal commentator was glad to proclaim the final death knell for Richard Nixon's career, such was not to be. Between 1973 and 1989, Nixon would be the only living Republican ex-President, and with that came certain gravitas. The fact that he had won the popular vote in '72 would be an eternal source of legitimacy within Republican ranks. Even today, Nixon's actions as President are debated, as few can properly pin-down whether or not he acted in a liberal or a conservative fashion, if he was a good President or one of the worst. Regardless, despite officially leaving the Oval Office on January 20th, 1973, Nixon would find himself returning again and again. The first time would be to bitterly counsel his "upstart" successor, Bobby Kennedy, who in many ways mirrored Nixon's policies of triangulation and detente. The situation was an ironic one, as Kennedy was even more loathe to call on Lyndon Johnson for advice, and preferred the company of the scheming, curmudgeonly Nixon; both viewed themselves as people who could stand above the fray, manipulate it when needed, and, most importantly, look past it towards a greater goal.

However, Nixon's real influence would be in Republican White Houses. By his own account "Between 1952 and 1992, there was only one Republican ticket that I was neither on, nor had I made." Goldwater was the exception. Aside from that, Nixon had himself been on five Republican tickets and Connally, Dole, and Holton were all proteges of his. As such, when both Presidents Dole and Holton needed an older, more seasoned, and more objective voice on important matters, particularly in foreign policy, Nixon was the man to call on. Certainly not Brewer and definitely not Kennedy. As well, the Dole and Holton administrations were both shaped by Nixon, but in their own ways. Throughout the 1981 to 1989 period, Dole in many ways succeeded at Nixon's original attempt to bind populist and blue collar workers to the GOP through casting the Democrats as the party of international weakness and social liberalism. During the Holton Presidency, it was Nixon who urged that Holton craft a "revolutionary" international agenda that led to the crafting of FECA. Nevertheless, Nixon immediately saw that Holton, in many ways not a national politician by training, lost the dialogue.

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Above: Past and Present - President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon campaigning with 1969 Virginia gubernatorial candidate A. Linwood Holton and his wife. Holton won the race, and Nixon lost re-election. Nevertheless, Nixon's influence remained strong in the White House well after he left it, and Holton would be one of many Presidents "the Old Man" advised during the latter's post-Presidency.

"Lin, I've been telling you this, your administration's got the right ideas--these guys you've got writing legislation, they're God-damned geniuses. That's not the point. You've got to win the f#cking dialogue. These cocksucking troglodytes in either party aren't gonna f#cking get that. You've got to make this about American power projection, not about American surrender! The blue collar union f#ck, he sees free trade and he thinks his job's gone; combine that with environmentalism and you're done! If you try to debate this in economic jargon, you've already lost!" The former President was displeased. Surely he wouldn't have lost this fight. While Holton had more vision--something the Old Man appreciated--Dole certainly had more balls. "I guess this is what we get for electing a God-damned liberal", Nixon ceded. "If something big doesn't happen by '92, this party's done with power."

The right in a number of former Nixon hands would be representative of the divergent paths of the party's two different wings. While administration higher-ups like Bush and Chafee had served in the Nixon administration, key hands in the Nixon White House were more and more alienated from the Republican establishment. The decision by Pat Buchanan to leave the White House rather than work with and for "A man who we can count on every time to deliver us liberal legislation and liberal judges" was exemplary of the issue. Buchanan, who had gone on to help craft the political message of both Dole campaigns and to give it "legs" in the South and among industrial and blue collar voters, would have no involvement with Holton--despite having been a proponent of his selection as Vice President. Senator James Buckley, who had served under the Old Man as Ambassador to the U.N. from 1971 to 1973, was proving to be the ring-leader against Holton in the Senate.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989 would provide a convenient foreign distraction to allow parts of the amended FECA through Congress. Among other legislation passed before 1990 mid-terms would be the Handgun Violence Prevention Act, the Clean Air Act, and Immigration Act of 1990, and the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990. Despite the fact that past presidents like Nixon were able in many cases to sign into law bills that contradicted campaign promises and broke with the positions of their political bases, the Holton administration's failure at proper message control would prove deadly. Internationally, however, under the guiding hands of President Holton, Secretary of State Bush, and Secretary of Defense John Chafee, the administration was able to make public relations gains with actions in Latin American and Eastern Europe.

1990 United States Senate Elections

With the Republican Party divided between the White House and conservatives in the House and Senate, the GOP entered the 1990 election season without a unified message. While consensus-minded candidates attempted to foster communion under the message that Republicans had maintained a steady ship, the fact was that some in the White House wanted to ditch the "troglodytic, ultra-nationalist" wing of the party entirely, while populists on the party's fringe campaigned against globalization and social liberalism. As such, there was division and rancor even among the RNC and the legislators in charge of heading the party's 1990 election efforts.

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Democrats: 54 (+2)
Republicans: 45 (-2)
Third Party: 1

The notable Republican victories came from anti- (or at least non-) Holton Republicans; while most of these were at the gubernatorial level, Bob Smith's victory in New Hampshire for Gordon Humphrey's old seat was notable. In Massachusetts, Boston College President, Dole administration diplomat, and cantankerous social conservative John Silber won the Governorship as a Republican. In Michigan, former U.S. Commerce Secretary Christian Mattingly beat his Democratic opponent to succeed Governor Blanchard (who had moved onto the Senate); this was without White House support. Those seats that Democrats did pick up were populated largely by members of their "reform" faction of various stripes; the quasi-conservative Al Gore in Tennessee, the "libertarian" Ben Nighthorse Campbell in Colorado, and the technocratic James Blanchard in Michigan. J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., the Louisiana Senator who lost to Republican challenger Ben Bagert, while by no means a standard-issue progressive, was liberal relative to his electorate. Jefferson Dent, who had held the post of Senate Majority Whip since 1989, shuddered as he thought of his caucus lurching again to the right.

In reacting to the increased Democratic majority, the Holton administration attempted to turn this obstacle into an opportunity. Marshall Coleman was replaced as White House Chief of Staff with outgoing Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker Jr. Baker, who was looking forward to retirement after 24 years in the Senate, nevertheless agreed to spend another year in D.C. in order to reconcile an increasingly distant White House with Congress. In a meeting facilitated by Baker, the President attempted to begin to organize what could be viewed as his caucus of support within Congress. Members of his own party included Senators George W. Bush of Texas, David MacKenzie of Vermont, John Warner of Virginia, and Richard Lugar of Indiana. From the opposite bench came Paul Simon of Illinois, Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Chuck Robb of Virginia, and the three freshmen from the 1990 elections. The Democratic group's relative newness to Washington was exemplified in the fact that Simon, elected in 1984, was their most senior Senate member. Holton's agenda, for the remainder of the term, included expanding trade to what had previously been the second and third worlds, financial deregulation, crime control, environmental and public safety protections, and many other initiatives that had been slashed from the initial version of the Federal Economic Convergence Act.

Holton's first major success following this meeting would be the ratification and signing of the North American Free Trade Pact in February, 1991.

Lin Holton's War

Even before the Republicans took yet more losses in the Senate, the President was preparing a counter-offensive to what was looking to be a not-so-great mid-term season for the GOP. Seeing his domestic situation deteriorate, the President looked overseas for an answer to his dilemma. He found it in the tread tracks of Iraqi tanks as they rolled across the Kuwait border.

"F#ck diplomacy!" The President was tired. Tired of over a year and a half of back-and-forth feuding; his administration seemed trapped between traditional labor Democrats and a motley crew of Old Right, Bible Belt, anti-communist, and libertarian Republicans. As the world waited for a reaction from its sole superpower, the President was not prepared to engage in a game of multi-lateral negotiation in order to facilitate troop movement and placement throughout the Middle East. Despite cautious and liberal tendencies, Holton had played the cat-and-mouse negotiation team with Congress long enough; he wasn't going to go through the same Hell on the world stage. The neolithic Republican base voters wanted someone with no brain and seventeen-pound gonads? Fine, he'd give it to them--in spades.

The few months after Iraq's July invasion of Kuwait would see an odd cabinet reshuffle in D.C. The invasion would coincide with Defense Secretary John Chafee's death of congestive heart failure in September, opening up the position of Secretary of Defense. The President, needing conservative support both for a cabinet nomination, and in general, made the unconventional decision of nominating a man with no prior military experience. Dick Cheney, U.S. Senator from Wyoming since 1979 and Senate Minority Whip since 1989, would be the President's unlikely pick for Defense. Not only did it appease congressional conservatives, but Cheney had significant beltway experience going back to the early 1970's, and was good friends with his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld. Easily confirmed, the "Wyoming Workhorse" immediately familiarized himself with the inner-workings of the Pentagon. And, while it appeared President Holton wanted war, Cheney cautioned that the administration needed the organization, the political capital, and the de jure justification for such a move. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was appointed a special representative to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but talks yielded nothing. After intelligence filtered through that Hussein had utilized chemical weapons against Kuwaiti citizens as well as the Kurds within his own borders, the Holton administration began organizing for war.

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Left: In attempting to exhaust other options prior to initiating unilateral military actions against Iraq, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was sent as a special envoy to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Hussein's demands, including further arms sales as well as a boycott of all OPEC countries violating production quotas, fell on deaf ears, as the Holton administration was uninterested in a long-term chess game with various Middle Eastern powers. Right: Even as abortive negotiations were underway, Secretary of State George Bush and newly sworn-in Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney began crafting a White House message in preparation for a Senate resolution authorizing force against Iraq. While Bush had pushed Holton to assemble a transnational coalition, the President consented only to allow the U.N. to approve the United States' actions.

Assembling a long list of justifications for military action against Iraq--sanctions, which had been imposed almost immediately after the invasion, had yet to work--the Pentagon worked behind the scenes to have troops ready to move within hours of the passage of any Senate resolution. With the United States standing as the only identifiable superpower in the wake of the Warsaw Pact's collapse in 1989 and ongoing dissolution process of the Soviet Union, it was easy to gain U.N. approval for use of force against Iraq. In back-door negotiations with Congress, Defense Secretary Cheney made it abundantly clear that Iraq had long been a Soviet-backed satellite in the Middle East and, if representatives wanted to show where they stood, they would back the White House's attempts to show up former Soviet allies. The fact that the Dole administration had gladly aided Iraq against Iran in 1980's was easily overlooked.

As Iraq stood firm, Saddam Hussein appeared to a seemingly-hegemonic America as an insolent upstart. Who was a tin-pot dictator to ignore the President of the United States when he demanded that Iraq withdraw from its invaded neighbor? On December 24th, 1990, as Governor-elect Christian Mattingly exited Christmas Eve mass in Detroit, planes departed from a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the Persian Gulf, raining bombs down on Iraqi troops in what the Join Chiefs of Staff humorously titled OPERATION WHITE ELEPHANT. Tanks would follow the next day.

On January 3rd, 1991, as Democrats convened Congress with an increased majority in both houses, there were whispers that, with the President's current approval ratings, the balance of Congress wouldn't matter; if Holton could pull this off, he'd be re-elected by a landslide, ensuring sixteen years of Republican dominion. The war was not without its opponents, however. Prominent Democrats from all ends of the party cried out against U.S. intervention. Former Senator Paul Tsongas, then considered a likely candidate for President in 1992, had "botched his chances", many claimed, when he called on legislators to vote "no" on the resolution authorizing force. Senator Jefferson Dent put himself in front of the "nay" voters in the Senate. "Ladies and gentlemen, as a man who entered public service as a marine in Vietnam, as a man who saw the sons of Mobile, Alabama come home in coffins, as someone who entered this very body a strident opponent of our involvement there, I urge you not to so readily step into what is bound to be another bloody quagmire. Vietnam paved the way not only for the deaths of tens of thousands of our boys, but also unprecedented civil rights violations here at home. The President is someone who, as Governor of Virginia, had little qualms about using police force to dispel protesters and battle free speech. I have no doubt he will use the National Guard to do the same now."

The defining moment of what became known as the Gulf War would not be the expulsion of Iraw from Kuwait. By the end of January, Iraqi troops were fleeing across the border. The crucial juncture would come when President Holton took the advice of Cheney instead of the advice of Bush, and announced that America would follow Iraqi troops "straight back to Baghdad!" to depose the Hussein regime. In an interview in March, 1991, Defense Secretary Cheney put forward the administration's ideological justification for such actions. "What we've seen, worldwide, since about 1974, is the growth of democratic movements. These ranged from the ousting of military juntas in South America to the end of Soviet satellite regimes in Eastern Europe. The United States, left as the most powerful country in the world, has chosen to take a moral stand, and under this President's watch, the world will experience a new growth of freedom like that never seen before. The Middle East has, in many ways, been bereft of Western democracy. In a reverse domino effect, if we can take down one tin-pot warlord, we can see the flowering of the fruit of representative democracy throughout the region." Ignoring the dubious implications--that the United States might be tethered to a doctrine of intervention the world over in the name of democracy--it sounded sane enough.

The takeover of Baghdad and accosting of Saddam Hussein would prove easy. By Independence Day, 1991, the Ba'ath regime was no more. Finding a suitable replacement for it, on the other hand, was no simple task. In a symbolic move, the Pentagon sub-department in charge of Iraqi reconstruction had chosen to sack not only the entire Iraqi governing apparatus, but also the Iraqi military it has just defeated. As well, the utter lack of infrastructure in Iraq made ill trappings for a "burgeoning democracy" and was an affront to Western sensibilities as to how a country should be run. The period between July 1991 and January 1992 would be an unpleasant one for members of the White House Press Secretary's staff as they attempted to make good news out of continual setbacks against an ever-growing Iraqi insurgency. "When we cut and run from Vietnam, it didn't take an International Relations major to figure out the next step would be the fall of Saigon. I'm not going to see that disgrace happen while I'm in charge!" boasted a haggard President Holton. By February 18th, 1992--the date of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary--the "War President Linwood Holton" was not only old news, he was unpopular news.

"Governor Mattingly!?"

"Honestly, when I first heard those words, I was stunned. But only for a second. As someone who, by that point, had money, I'd become too involved in politics to not have imagined the scenario. As well, the Michigan GOP had asked me in the past to run. Blanchard, by all accounts, was a good Governor. Regardless of anything else, I saw no reason--especially four years ago, before I'd held any office--to oppose him. I'd thought I was too damaged, politically, in Michigan to try anything in 1988 when they came calling again, this time to push me towards the Senate. Not that I would've been in any position to beat Riegle anyway. But, yeah, when I came back to Michigan from D.C., I was, well, sort of lost. Dick Hudson, he would have called it anomie, whatever the Hell that word means. I was no longer involved in the auto industry to the extent I had been in the past. Also, by the time the 90's were approaching, the 'management fad' had started. Executive strategies were more and more slogan-based, and I kept hearing words like 'six sigma' and 'results-oriented management' and things like that. As- ha! -as surprising as it may be, I wasn't really interested in having to work in a private sector that was in the throes of battles between different buzzword-based business plans. For me, business had always been pretty simple: be better. Especially at that point in my career, where my reputation was established, I didn't see the need to go back to a changing industry. You have to remember, too, that with Dole tariffs expiring and a more international approach by Holton, even by late 1989 you could see the foreign invasion of the industry. So yeah, so I ran for Governor."

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Since 1983, Mattingly had shaped a--largely honest--public persona of a driven, results-oriented, and patriotic businessman leading an industry in its comeback. As Commerce Secretary, he'd established an against-the-grain reputation in the Beltway of being a tireless advocate for American business. As such, the campaign for Governor was based around this personality. "Campaigning, once I started it, immediately made sense: sell yourself, sell your image, sell your brand, sell your plan. I think the reason career politicians end up in so much trouble against candidates with backgrounds as celebrities, businessmen, etc. is because these upstarts are explicitly trained in appeal to the consumer. The politician might have made winning elections his job, but that's against other politicians. They've never dealt with real, hard, fast marketing campaigns. They feel entitled to the job." The Mattingly pitch was simple: experienced, not an insider; I've fought for American jobs and I'll fight for you; I've turned around Detroit and I'll keep Michigan strong; I've been a leader in the auto industry and I understand Michigan's economy like no other.

Mattingly faced two principle primary opponents. G. Scott Romney, son of former Michigan Governor George W. Romney, was the early front-runner and the "obvious candidate". Since 1962, the only winning Republican candidates for Governor--conveniently, only two people, George Romney and William Milliken--had been moderates who brought both sides together and governed as principled moderates. With the popular Blanchard instead running for Senate, it was the opportune time to reinstate Republican dominance in the Wolverine State and Romney made the most sense. Romney not only had his last name, he was active in both his church and a multitude of philanthropic endeavors. In the 1980's, he had served one four-year term in the Michigan Senate, which, combined with his private sector work--which had been Detroit-based since 1976--gave him more than the requisite experience for the job. The other was Clark Durant, a Michigan-based lawyer and businessman who had been an extensive career to make any religious or movement conservative sing his praises: Vice President of Hillsdale College, two appointments by Dole or by Dole administration officials, creation of independent, non-public schools for low income children in Detroit.

As such, Mattingly's opponents had solid roots in Michigan and Republican politics--he had actually served alongside both of them as delegates to the 1988 Republican National Convention--and, by Mattingly's own account "I mean, if I hadn't been in the race, either probably could've been an okay Governor, but hey..." While at first the campaign was congenial, as Romney began funneling in money from out-of-state donors, Mattingly and Durant crafted a gentleman's agreement that the "candidate of New York and D.C." ought to be attacked first and foremost. Each candidate had natural advantages among different demographics, as Durant had enough experience with movement conservatism to take what evangelical vote there was in Michigan, Romney relied on suburban, wealthy, and moderate voters, and Mattingly utilized his persona to attract a crew of blue collar and exurban voters. Nevertheless, no candidate had a preternatural advantage among rural voters and both Durant and Mattingly went to great lengths to appeal to this demographic.

It was Mattingly who would come out on top, both in the battle against Romney and in the battle for rural votes. While Durant produced more detailed policy proposals and made greater overtures to the voters, it was Mattingly's charisma and persona that won the day, as Republicans were looking for a "tough leader" that could take the fight to the Democrats. In the one gubernatorial primary debate, Mattingly was congenial with Durant, but savaged Romney, as Mattingly believed the Romney campaign had authorized ads attacking his business and family background.

Mattingly: Scott Romney seems to think my membership in a labor union disqualifies me for office in this great state. I'd like to see one shred of evidence that Scott had any background in a profession that doesn't involve a JD, any background that would allow him to understand the daily struggle of Michigan voters, any personal history that would inform him as to how to run Michigan for the people. We can't all have JD's, or dads that were Governor, or a family to fund a state senate campaign, Scott. You want to complain about unions? As much as we on this stage might like to bash corrupt union bosses-
Moderator: Mr. Mattingly, time.
Mattingly: -they're still chock full of hardworking people. I'm guessing you've never met the men and women who made your car. You probably keep your maids out of site! I wish you had your dad's courage, who hopped a fence at a UAW barbecue to talk to voters. Instead, you arrive at this debate in what I assume is a foreign car and want to call me disqualified for office!?"
Romney: Mr. Mattingly--or Christian, if I can call you that-
Mattingly: No, Scott, you may not.
Audience: [Laughter]
Romney: -you seem to be taking a page out of the Democratic playbook. The Republican party is one of free enterprise, as I'm sure you know, and I was merely attempting to get you to explain your UAW membership!
Mattingly: Ya know, Scottie, it's uh, it's tough for me to stand up here and have you call me a Democrat. The only man on this stage right now, polling above five percent, who supports Roe v. Wade and who won't do a thing to challenge Michigan's abortion laws is the one I was just speaking to. Voters, I hope you know that. Romney, as well, you're the one whose supported the growth of the state tax code. You think I can't read your voting record from the Michigan Senate? You think everyone else in Michigan is that dumb?

With Durant failing to produce debate "zingers", Mattingly's unstructured rants against the establishment candidate would have to do, and, as such, the Highland Park native won the Michigan primary rather handily. Having created a reputation for "savaging" his opponents, the brush up against his Democratic opponent in the general was easy. "When you're in business, memorizing the most necessary intell about your rivals almost becomes a trick of the trade. I'd have engineers bring me all the facts of how someone else's car is produced, I'd have accountants and lawyers tell me what their business practices were, I'd commit to memory the most damning facts, and go into trade shows and board rooms and things like that prepared tow in the day. Same goes when you're making an ad, negotiating for more floor space, prepping for an interview, or talking to people at all levels of production inside and outside your company when ou need something. I've never understood why 'be prepared' is so beyond anyone's grasp!"

"In retrospect", Mattingly would muse, "being sleep-deprived might have been one of my greatest gifts on the campaign trail. I was often over-worked, angry, and exhausted. My campaign hated me for it, as I'd go into press conferences and even debates feeling like sh#t and, as a result, end up being far too honest in front of the cameras." When former Fiist Lady of Michigan Helen Milliken endorsed Democratic nominee Debbie Stabenow for the office, Mattingly welcomed it. "I gotta say, I'm loving her denunciation of me. I mean, I already beat the son of one former Republican Governor of this state, now I get to go up against the wife of another. I'm gonna be honest, I never voted for either. I actually regret that in George Romney's case, he was a good guy, I just happened to be a Democrat at the time. Never voted for Milliken though. Even when I worked on Bob Griffin's campaign in '78, I still split my vote. So, obviously, them attacking me makes sense. But you know what? I'm not the Republican party establishment. I've heard several complaints on the campaign trail, about how some of my contemporaries are acting in D.C. I gotta tell ya, I love 'em, but there's a reason I've chosen to come back here to Michigan to work. And the establishment hates me for it. And if Mrs. Milliken--it's okay if I call her Helen, right?--wants to bash me for the fact that I support private enterprise, or that I oppose ridiculous population control social engineering by the Supreme Court or anything like that, let her! I'm glad someone with those opinions chose to endorse Debs." Mattingly would only admit long after he'd left public office, but he viscerally enjoyed running against a woman. Something about a deeply-engrained sexism made him revel going up against Stabenow in the one general election gubernatorial debate. The media noticed it, but, aside from a measurable gender gap in exit polling, the electorate seemed barely phased by it.

Coming into office, the first Mattingly term would be, in his own words, "sort of an unruly orgy of Heritage Institute quasi-experimentation". As well, having done enough publicly to alienate Michigan's GOP establishment, Mattingly forged an alliance with movement conservatives in the state legislature to have at least a vocal minority faction on his side. The alternative would be rapprochement with the "Romney wing" or congressional deadlock. Clark Durant, for one, would go on to lead the Michigan Board of Education. Among legislation the Mattingly administration in Lansing signed off on in the 1991 to 1994 period would be school vouchers, allowing for funding of charter schools, prison privatization, decentralization of Michigan state services, and lowering of the Michigan sales tax. Dick Hudson, who by then was a part-time professor of public policy at Michigan State, served the de facto Mattingly administration policy author, himself writing key pieces of legislation. "Chris, I'm gonna be honest here. A lot of what we're writing up, it hasn't been done before. Some of it could fail--I'll be honest. But the fact is that it hasn't been tried before and the voters of both Michigan and the entire country deserve to know whether or not we can craft successful alternatives to the Great Society/New Deal consensus monstrosity we've been stuck with for decades." As such, a number of bills authored by Hudson and then submitted to the legislature through administration friends would include certain "fail safes" such as four year-reauthorization requirements. "But what if I lose re-election and some Democratic ass-hat does away with all of this anyway?" "Chris, trust me, we're not letting you lose re-election."

There was also a radical element to the Mattingly administration. With little experience in partisan politics, the Governor was likely to go after policies few might expect a Republican to pursue. Despite being instinctively opposed to a litany of policing reforms, he was willing to indulge a small amount of funding in "community-oriented policing" experiments rather than continue to drastically expand the prison budget. "Ike" McKinnon, whom Mattingly had worked with in Detroit, was selected to lead a statewide reform of policing agencies. While both the Governor and the Chief weren't particularly keen on wrenching the very culture of police hierarchy, a number of more straightforward reforms--degree requirements for higher-ups, female officers assigned to work with female rape victims, community outreach programs ("Selling the police", as Mattingly called it), were implemented.

"One thing it's probably good that my advisers didn't let me get away with, was lowering the required age to work. I would've been comfortable with no age, but as it happened, I wanted to push for twelve. I figured, 'hey, I worked at least two jobs very early in my teens', but that type'a sh#t wouldn't fly in today's culture. As it was, though, we went to great lengths to incorporate school kids into the workforce earlier. The two main arguments against this were that it diluted the labor pool, and that it was, in essence, child slavery. The latter was just sentimental hogwash. I'm guessing liberals haven't heard about how kids used to be put to work on farms as soon as they could walk. In any case, with Washington D.C. expanding work visas, I figured that we could both do no harm to an already broken system by allowing American kids to have American jobs, and that, later on, at the very least, those same kids would have more work experience when going up against foreign labor." Biographers would later agree on one thing: the Governor was an odd bird.

With Mattingly's status as Governor of a swing state, his name was put forward by the national media as a potential replacement for Vice President Gordon Humphrey, who, due to disagreements with the Holton administration, was choosing not to run for re-election. Mattingly publicly scoffed at the idea. He'd refused to work for Holton in 1989, and in 1990 had made implicit references in his gubernatorial campaign that he hated the f#cker. As well, with American embroiled overseas, he had little wish to insert himself into a debate that he didn't care to learn the specifics of. "Listen, Dick, even if they're considering me, they'd be foolish to ask. Do they think I have the time both to run the greatest state in the country--nay, the world--while having to bone-up not only on the specifics of our Iraqi entanglement but as well find out how the to back the policies of the worst Republican administration since Herbert God-damn Hoover? I'm not going to be part of that man's administration, or his idiotic attempt to seek for re-election. I'm not attaching myself to failure."

The 1992 Republican Primaries

Tsongas' victory in the New Hampshire Democratic primary wouldn't be what grabbed the headlines the next morning. Instead, Patrick J. Buchanan's surprise victory on the Republican side would be slated as a "game changer" the following day. The President had been bleeding conservative support since his inauguration, and, while White House insiders were surprised, few else were that a right-wing challenge to his administration rose up. Buchanan was in many ways an ideal foil to the incumbent Holton. The President had worked to pioneer free trade, had launched the U.S. into its first undeclared "land war" since Vietnam, and supported Roe v Wade. Buchanan, on the other hand, was protectionist, isolationist, and devoutly Catholic. While the far-right was far from the only faction that had issues with the Holton administration--Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) took serious issue with the Defense Secretary who'd succeeded his father at the job--it was with them that grievances converged. While the Old Right had, at points, tolerated Eisenhower, Nixon, and Dole, Holton was a step too far for them. With the President reneging on campaign promises, including the traditional one on taxation, the perfect storm was brewed in the "Life Free or Die" State, resulting in a majority for the anti-NAFTP conservative firebrand from Chevy Chase.

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Above: Running on a platform of repealing the North-American Free Trade Pact, opposing the Gulf War, supporting school prayer, a national Right to Life Amendment, and, most importantly, repealing the tax-hiking Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, former White House Communications Director Patrick J. Buchanan scored an upset victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary, beating incumbent President Linwood Holton.

Buchanan followed up the win in the Granite State with victories in Maine, Alaska, Georgia, and Wyoming. Nevertheless, on Super Tuesday, "Pitchfork Pat" only took home majorities in Oklahoma and Louisiana. Holton's massive fundraising advantage could not be outmatched by Buchanan's shoestring operation, even with funding from the enigmatic Texas business H. Ross Perot. Nevertheless, Buchanan stayed in the primary fight until the end, scoring victories in nearly every region in the country, showing widespread dissatisfaction with the President.

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Red - President Alexander Linwood Holton, Jr. of Virginia
Blue - Former White House Communications Director Patrick J. Buchanan of Virginia

Despite the horrors of the primary season, the long story short for Holton was that he survived, and was renominated on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention. This was not without incident, though. Holton campaign manager Karl Rove worked the floor and the convention schedule to deny Buchanan a speaking slot. Demanding to be heard, Buchanan, with many of his delegates in tow, walked out of the convention. Buchanan could rest easy in the knowledge that the Republicans were far from the only party in an anti-establishment uproar.

In December 1991, Vice President Gordon Humphrey had made public that he would not be pursuing re-election. Dissatisfied with his boss since January 1989, Humphrey felt in many ways like his late predecessor John Nance Garner; that the Vice Presidency was "not worth a bucket of warm piss". While the marginalized Humphrey was not up to launching a challenge himself, he had no problem sitting back and watching Buchanan try to take his boss' job. As such, having secured his renomination, Holton's team was left with the job of selecting a Vice President. Sinking in the polls, Holton faced the dual issue of seeking a conservative that was willing to put aside his differences with the administration, and one willing to tie himself to the President's flailing campaign. While his primary choice had been Texas Senator George W. Bush, eventually, the President settled on a history-making pick. Why should he have to tolerate a gender gap, why should Democrats be the only party who nominated women? In an attempt to court Democrats, national security voters, and women, National Security Adviser Jeane Kirkpatrick was nominated for Vice President.

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Above: National Security Adviser Jeane Kirkpatrick, a former "AFL-CIO Democrat", was President Holton's choice for Vice President in 1992. It was hoped by the Holton campaign staff and the RNC that Kirkpatrick would appeal to hawkish Democrats, reinforce the President's "tough" image on national security, appeal to women, keep conservatives in line, and remind voters of the success of the Dole administration.

Jeane Kirkpatrick (nee Jordan) was far from an obvious choice for a Republican ticket. A creature of academia, her origins lay in the oft-pilloried halls of university Marxism. Nevertheless, her initial involvement in politics in the 1970's was on the Democratic right, supporting the Presidential candidacies of Hubert Humphrey and "Scoop" Jackson during the 1968-1980 period. She had become known in some neoconservative and Republican circles towards the end of the 1970's with her publication of "Dictatorships and Double Standards" in Commentary. Serving in high-power foreign policy positions in the Dole administration, she spent 1981 to 1983 as Assistant Secretary of State and 1983 to 1987 as Ambassador to the United Nations. Despite background as "an AFL-CIO Democrat", Kirkpatrick had changed her registration to Republican in 1985. Following the resignation of National Security Adviser Colin Powell in 1991, the President had selected Kirkpatrick, who by then was praised as one of the architects of the Soviet downfall, as a choice to appease conservatives. Overlooked was her long and seeming incessant list of feuds with fellow foreign policy advisers, not least of which was Secretary of State Bush, and which included even the reputably hawkish Dick Cheney.

The dialectical irony could not have been greater. While Buchanan's campaign championed the economic populism of newer Republicans with the foreign and trade policy of the Old Right, the Holton White House shared the economic elitism of past Republicans and had, by 1992, taken as creed the neoconservative agenda of a new GOP. Moreover, Buchanan, who had spent the last two decades working with other national Republicans to absorb Democrats dissatisfied with their party on trade, foreign policy, and social liberalism, saw his rival nominate one of those recent Democratic converts. Kirkpatrick delivered a harsh acceptance speech, railing the far right and the far left for their "blame America first" attitude to thunderous applause from those delegates that remained.

1992 Democratic Primaries

Despite a brief increase in Holton's approvals in early 1991, the President had been viewed as vulnerable early on in his term, and, as such, a large group of Democrats had been preparing since Dent's loss in 1988 to take up the Democratic mantle in '92.

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Former Senator Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. of California
Member, Los Angeles County Community College Board of Trustees, 1969-1970
Secretary of State of California, 1971-1975
Governor of California, 1975-1983
United States Senator from California, 1983-1989

Despite having been ousted from the Senate four years prior, recent defeat didn't seem to be stopping Jerry Brown. Possibly one of the most unorthodox and ideologically volatile candidates in the race, Brown was running on a slate of economic policies that seemed to be birthed from both the far left and the far right, including a living wage, opposition to free trade agreements, and a tax proposal authored by Arthur Laffer. Despite having appeal to alienated and "outsider" voters, Brown was one of many candidates running against the political establishment.

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Senate Majority Whip Jefferson C. Breckenridge Dent, IV of Alabama
Assistant Attorney for Mobile, Alabama 1966-1969
United States Senator from Alabama, 1969-1978
United States Secretary of State, 1978-1981
United States Senator from Alabama, 1987-Present
Senate Majority Whip, 1989-Present

Despite his narrow loss four years earlier, Dent was seriously concerned with what he considered the rightward drift of his party. In examining the Democratic field, he saw few candidates who shared his principles, instead seeing a combination of populists, neoliberals, and hawks. As such, Dent felt it was his moral duty to step into the race and do battle with what he considered a gang of conservative Democrats. Dent's platform rested largely on foreign policy, emphasizing his past service as a United States marine and his long record of working to prevent war. "As a U.S. Senator, I was on the front lines lobbying to bring our boys back from Vietnam. As Secretary of State, I worked tirelessly around the clock to prevent the outbreak of conflict in a volatile world. As President, I will ensure that this country maintain its status as a protector of peace, not the igniter of countless bloody wars."

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Senator Albert "Al" Gore, Jr. of Tennessee
Member, U.S. House of Representatives from TN-4, 1979-1983
Member, U.S. House of Representatives from TN-6, 1983-1987
Governor of Tennessee, 1987-1991
United States Senator from Tennessee, 1991-Present

Despite being a newcomer to the Senate and a retread from 1988, Al Gore was willing to give the Presidency another shot. Gore's main appeal, as he saw it, was the ability not only to strengthen victories in the South, but to break into northern suburbs. His economic moderation, social conservatism--except on abortion, opposition to which he had dropped--and anti-crime stances, he believed, could create a coalition to bring the Democrats back to power. Nevertheless, some dismissed him as a Southern Lowell Weicker, too close to the center for his party's national base. While Gore benefited from the coming into the Senate only after the vote on authorization of force in Kuwait, he at times refused to take a concrete stance on the issue, alienating voters on both sides.

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Senator Joseph R. "Bob" Kerrey of Nebraska
Governor of Nebraska, 1983-1987
United States Senator from Nebraska, 1989-Present

While in some ways a "Midwestern Gore", Kerrey was running less on his ideological or geographical positioning than he was on his war experience. The only major "Aye" vote on the Gulf War in the race, Kerrey nevertheless owned up to it, vigorously re-asserting the need for American force and strength in a 1990's rife with national security threats. "Do I agree with how the administration has conducted the war? Far from it. There has been little record of such incompetence and administrative impotence in Washington since the Vietnam War." As a Midwestern, relatively conservative, Senator with a prosthetic leg, many compared him to a Democratic Dole, hoping that reclaiming the heartland would return Democrats to the White House.

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Former National Security Adviser Robert O'Sullivan of Massachusetts
National Security Adviser 1973-1977
White House Chief of Staff 1977-1978
U.S. Ambassador to Ireland 1978-1979

Since his stay in the Kennedy administration, O'Sullivan had largely drifted out of the political limelight. Re-emerging as a commentator in 1985, it appeared O'Sullivan, like other former liberals including Eugene McCarthy, had drifted far to the right. Blaming the Democrats' 1984 landslide loss on the party's association with "abortion, communism, crime, and the failure to protect the American worker!" Despite, during his time in the White House, having worked toward detente and reduced trade barriers, O'Sullivan emerged a full-on protectionist and anti-communist. Criticized as the "Pat Buchanan of the American left".

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Former Senator Paul E. Tsongas of Massachusetts
Peace Corps Country Director of the West Indies, 1967-1968
Deputy Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts, 1969-1971
Lowell City Councillor, 1969-1972
Middlesex County, MA Commissioner, 1973-1974
Member, U.S. House of Representatives from MA-5, 1975-1979
United States Senator from Massachusetts, 1979-1991

While traditionally categorized as a fiscally conservative, socially liberal Democrat, Tsongas had rebranded himself for 1992 as an economic populist, combining opposition to tax increases and prioritization of economic growth with opposition to free trade and economic nationalism. Combined with his status as a two-term legislator and Vice Presidential nominee, Tsongas was well-positioned to receive support from a wide range of Democrats. Having stood immediately after Brewer's 1980 loss as, along with Gary Hart, one of the Democrats working to build a "new and improved" platform ranging from economics to crime to foreign policy, it seemed the Bay State Senator had been vindicated by twelve years of Democratic loss.

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Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia
Member of the Virginia State Senate, 1970-1986
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 1986-1990
Governor of Virginia, 1990-Present

With progressives having championed, largely, white and experienced candidates for the Presidency throughout the 1980's, quixotic campaigns like those of Jesse Jackson had failed to properly channel both black voters as a whole and to reach out to other electoral groups. As such, Douglas Wilder, the first major African-American candidate for the presidency would, surprisingly, be running as a conservative. Despite liberal positions on abortion, infrastructure, and even apartheid, Wilder's emphasis in combining white conservative with black liberal votes was on crime and "retaking America's cities". His strong outreach to rural and mountain voters in the 1989 election seemed to bode well for his ability to appeal across racial lines and create a colorblind, populist message.

1992 Democratic Primaries, Pt. 2

With Dent standing as the most prominent and well-funded vocally anti-war candidate, he once again experience the first-in-the-nation victory in Iowa that had propelled him to the nomination in 1988. Nevertheless, his success would end there. Al Gore, having been overlooked by voters in the incredibly crowded field, dropped out the day after his fifth-place loss in New Hampshire (to Paul Tsongas), endorsing Wilder who was soaring in Southern state primary polls. This undercut Dent, who went on to win every other race, having the rug swept from under him in the South as conservatives and blacks teamed up to support Wilder. North of the Mason-Dixon line, Kerrey failed to carry any states beyond his base region, winning only South Dakota and Idaho, as Tsongas' positioning in New Hampshire and Brown's Western appeal beat him out in caucus after caucus. With few candidates having any specific claim to northern industrial states, it would each candidates' failings that paved the way for Tsongas' primary victory.

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Blue - Former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts
Orange - Governor Douglas Wilder of Virginia
Green - Former Senator Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. of California
Red - Senate Majority Whip Jefferson C.B. Dent, IV of Alabama
Yellow - Senator Joseph R. "Bob" Kerrey of Nebraska
Purple - Former National Security Adviser Robert O'Sullivan of Massachusetts

At the Democratic National Convention, the DNC, determined to present a united front for the party, refused any speaking time to the "radical" O'Sullivan who, like Buchanan across the aisle, stormed out of the convention. "This party has been out to get Christians and those committed to a strong national defense since the damned counter-culture took over the henhouse in '68!" shouted the former Presidential adviser at a news camera outside the convention hall. Nevertheless, the Convention's focus was not on "anti-party McCarthyites" but instead on the Democratic ticket.

In paying respect to his political friend and ally, and in sending the message that the Democratic party's focus would be change, the Tsongas campaign selected former Colorado Senator Gary Hart for Vice President. Combined, the ticket had nearly three decades' national legislative experience pushing for reform to the New Deal/Great Society apparatus. Two "Kennedycrats", the ticket represented a significant shift from Democratic tickets of the recent past. In a mid-2000's interview for a Public Broadcasting Service documentary, a key campaign official would re-iterate the Tsongas/Hart campaign's intention in creating a ticket populated only by "New Democrats". "What we wanted to do was represent a significant break from the past. The only winning Democratic ticket since 1968 was Bobby Kennedy's moderate 1970's campaigns. Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey represented the failures of the Great Society and the Vietnam War. Albert Brewer's conservative campaign lost us the White House. Left-wing anti-war activists led us to two other astounding losses. It was time for the Democratic party to change, and the voters knew it as well."

Furthermore, that was the obvious overt intention of drawing the West into the Democratic fold. The Tsongas campaign managers believed that the South had worn out its usefulness to the Democrats. California alone represented a a far greater bounty to the Democrats than most of the South combined. While some had suggested Brown as a good choice, as opposed to the six-years-retired and twice-losing-the-nomination Hart, but the California Democratic Party was deeply resentful of their former Governor, and many in the DNC and the Democratic field alike believed Brown to be a "flake" and an unreliable asset. As well--and this had come up in the primary campaign--Brown had lost his most recent race, for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 1988. Hart, who by then had positioned himself as a party "statesman" and "policy wonk" (working for think tanks and giving speeches on international arms control), and who had been nothing but a boon to the by-then powerful Colorado Democratic Party, seemed an appropriate second-in-command.

The 1992 Presidential Election

"The fact is, what the Holton administration has demonstrated is simple: he knows how to start wars, not to end them. He knows how to lose jobs, not to bring them back. He knows how to raise taxes, not to lower them. He's done little to fight crime, our enemies, or the loss of manufacturing jobs overseas. He has betrayed America's interests while making each of us a little more afraid", was how Tsongas wrapped up his closing argument of the final Presidential debate. It had been the farthest thing from a few good months for the President.

With the nomination of two moderate tickets, both being--to a limited extent--"fiscally conservative and socially liberal", and both taking stances on the Gulf War that were short of immediate withdrawal, contributed to significant runoff going to independent and third party bids. As such, polls produced a very hazy picture of how the electoral map would shape up, with both parties' bases significantly undercut by "fringe candidates" nipping at their heels. Nevertheless, it was becoming more and more clear as November drew nigh that the Republicans were not sitting easy. The Tsongas/Hart ticket, despite lacking some of the activist fire of previous Democratic nominees, waged war on Holton from all sides, pillorying him as a tax-raising Washington insider who had committed America to a needless war while failing to make the country safer, allowing infrastructure to collapse and crime to grow while he shed American blood for oil in a conflict he lacked the leadership skills to be able to win.

Nevertheless, left-wing activists were hardly enthused by Tsongas' campaign. One Beltway Democratic campaign consultant, in a confidential interview, remarked "If you'd told me four years ago that we, the voters, would be forced to choose between two Republicans, I'd call you crazy. Yet, here we are, and Tsongas is finishing the job Pat Buchanan set out to do, reclaiming the GOP for the right by crushing Linwood Holton as an essentially conservative candidate." Some on the far right lobbied a similar complaint, pointing out that both major party candidates had records supporting gun control, abortion, and environmental protections. As such, it should have come as little surprise when the two major party candidates, combined, took only a little over eighty percent of the total GE vote.
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Former Senator Paul Efthemios Tsongas (Democrat-Massachusetts)/Former Senator Gary Hart (Democrat-Colorado) 327 electoral votes, 45.8% of the popular vote
President Alexander Linwood Holton, Jr. (Republican-Virginia)/National Security Adviser Jeanne Kirkpatrick (Republican-New York) 211 electoral votes, 37.9% of the popular vote
Former White House Communications Director Patrick J. Buchanan (Independent-Virginia)/Former Ambassador Robert O'Sullivan (Independent-Massachusetts) 0 electoral votes, 8.3% of the popular vote
Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader (Green-Connecticut)/Activist Winona LaDuke (Green-Minnesota) 0 electoral votes, 3.7% of the popular vote
Former State Senator Andre Marrou (Libertarian-Alaska)/Dr. Nancy Lord (Libertarian-Nevada) 0 electoral votes, 2.2% of the popular vote
Former Senator Eugene McCarthy (Progressive-Minnesota)/various 0 electoral votes, 1.2% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, 1.0% of the popular vote

Liberalism & Realities in the 1990's (Pt. 1)

The first Democrat to win the Presidency since Robert F. Kennedy's narrow re-election victory in 1976, and the first of his party to win anything close to a commanding electoral college victory since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, Tsongas was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Paul Tsongas had entered Congress in 1974, a time when liberalism itself was changing. With he and many of his colleagues citing the non-doctrinaire John F. Kennedy as their initial inspiration for political involvement, and having first been inaugurated into politics under the Presidency of his younger brother, Tsongas had been at the forefront of a new generation of Democrats.

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"After 1980, it was clear where liberalism had failed. The Great Society of the 1960's was symbolic of a post-New Deal mindset, wherein Washington insiders thought you could simply throw money at a problem and make it disappear. Bobby Kennedy was probably the first President to try to really change that. Nevertheless, he had many obstacles to overcoming that goal, including himself. Despite shifting away from New Deal style "spending solutions", he failed to properly sell the new economy to the public, and was always associated with the student activist base that had supported his first presidential bid. As such, come 1981, the Democrats had gone through two different series of policy failures, and both had worked more and more to alienate the average American. Whether you were a blue collar industrial worker, a suburbanite, or a Wall Street financier, the party was, at that point, 'not for you'. What further exacerbated this was the failed political campaigns of the 1980's. The Democrats twice ran candidates that hailed from their liberal-progressive base. While the economic platforms they stood on were labor-friendly and meant to bring the Democrats' traditional industrial base states back into the fold, they were part of a policy package crafted by men with no working-class background, and easily pilloried as liberal social engineering. The policies my administration pushed were meant to square the circle, to bring useful policy in line with effective politics, to use the market's worst instincts for good, and to make America great again."

Secretary of State: Jefferson C. Breckenridge Dent, IV (D-AL)
Secretary of the Treasury: Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY)
Secretary of Defense: Larry Pressler (R-SD)
Attorney General: Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY)
Secretary of the Interior: Floyd Haskell (D-CO)
Secretary of Agriculture: Harvey Gantt (D-NC)
Secretary of Commerce: Willard M. "Mitt" Romney (I-MA)
Secretary of Labor: Lido A. "Lee" Iacocca (D-MI)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Mark Roosevelt (D-MA)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Barbara Jordan (D-TX)
Secretary of Transportation: Ed Koch (D-NY)
Secretary of Environment & Energy: Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (D-CA)

Director of the Office of Management & Budget: Leon Panetta (D-CA)
Ambassador to the United Nations: Colin Powell (I-NY)
National Security Adviser: Michael C. Sekora (I-DC)

For those to the President's left who hoped that, once elected, Tsongas would immediately fold to standard-issue liberal Democratic policy demands, they were sure to be sorely mistaken. This could be evidenced with Tsongas' choices for three of the four most powerful and long-standing cabinet departments. For Treasury, the heterodox Daniel Patrick Moynihan would be called in. Despite having worked for four different Democratic administrations, liberals were still leery of the New Yorker who had developed a penchant for proposing unorthodox and experimental policy designs that ran counter to traditional New Deal thinking. His work crafting early 1980's economic recovery legislation had alienated him from a good deal of Democratic Senate veterans. The choice for Defense would be a Republican. The President, aware of voters' lingering suspicions when it came to Democrats and defense issues, chose to not only score a public relations coup by selecting an anti-war Republican Senator for the office, but remove a politically powerful incumbent and potential challenger in the process. Pressler, himself a one-time candidate for the GOP nomination in 1988, had distanced himself from the Holton administration following its pursuit of long-term foreign commitments and expensive interventions. Meanwhile, in appointing the first female Attorney General, Tsongas "stayed the course" with a tough-on-crime national prosecutor in the form of Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.

Jefferson Dent, returning to State, would be Tsongas' one key concession to Senate liberals. As a leader of Senate Democrats, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, former State Secretary, and international realist, Dent was a solid choice both politically and practically. His selection also sent the message, internationally, that America was intent on correcting its international course.

Other cabinet choices would reflect the Tsongas administration's non-doctrinaire approach to policy. North Carolina Senate candidate Harvey Gantt was selected for Agriculture as a visible offense against the tobacco lobby, which was particularly strong in North Carolina and other South-Atlantic states. Former businessman and Holton administration White House adviser Mitt Romney, who had worked on and donated to the Tsongas campaign, was brought aboard as Secretary of Commerce. Acclaimed automotive executive Lee Iacocca, who Tsongas had worked with in the late 1970's on the Chrysler bailout, was made Labor Secretary. Mark Roosevelt, who throughout the 1980's had advocated on behalf of a Massachusetts Gay Bill of Rights would lead the HEW Department and the Tsongas administration would become known as the second, after Robert F. Kennedy, to work towards the expansion of gay rights--Tsongas would be much more vocal on the issue than his predecessor. And Jerry Brown, one of Tsongas' chief rivals for the Democratic nomination the year before, would lead the Environment and Energy Department. Far from the broad scope of policy power Brown desired, it would nevertheless suit him as he took it upon himself to begin establishing American energy independence.

At the sub-cabinet level, former Chair of the House Budget Committee Leon Panetta would be made to Direct the White House's Office of Budget and Management. The combination of Panetta and Moynihan sent a clear message to the legislature and the public that, not only did Tsongas intend to move beyond traditional New Deal anti-poverty programming, but that he intended to do it while balancing the budget as well. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, who had resigned from the previous administration over its Iraq policy, was brought back into politics as Ambassador to the United Nations, sending a clear message to every country that the administration was supporting those who had opposed Holton's "foolish, unwarranted foreign aggression." Meanwhile, Michael C. Sekora, a former chief analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency and head of the de funct (per President Holton's opposition to "industrial policy" proposals) Project Socrates, would serve as the new National Security Adviser. This was exemplary of the Tsongas administration's claimed belief in a "comprehensive" national security approach that involved not only weaponry, but technology and economics.

With a diverse set of policy advisers and cabinet heads surrounding him, President Tsongas, despite the health troubles he'd worked hard to keep from the public, was determined to use his four years to revolutionize Washington, reinstate Democratic dominance, and secure America from enemies both political and economic while revitalizing America's anti-poverty apparatus to "solve the problems past generations merely took for granted."

Late November, 1992

Commentator: ...And now, tonight's main feature, two of the newer voices in the Republican party, discuss their disparate opinions. Senator David MacKenzie, who is known for his moderate opinions, was elected in Vermont four years ago in 1988. Governor Chris Mattingly, on the other hand, has been in charge of Michigan since his election in 1990. Now, both of you have served in the Dole administration, both of you are from states that voted for Tsongas. What went wrong, from your perspective, this year?
MacKenzie: If it's not too forward, I'd be glad to go first.
Mattingly: Sure.
MacKenzie: First off, thanks for the invitation to be here tonight. It's always a pleasure to be able to represent the great state of Vermont and the Republican Party. I think, and this is obvious to most observers, the plain fact is the vote was split. Pat Buchanan and Andrew Marrou took a decent chunk from President Holton. Buchanan's hateful rhetoric on the campaign trail alienated many to the Republican message, liberals in the Senate undermined the war effort, and the President, a great public servant in his own right, was cast in a bad light.
Commentator: So, whose votes were taken?
MacKenzie: Well, uh, Buchanan took precious votes out West and in a few Southern states, I'd have to say. Meanwhile, with the Republican primary filled with all his bile and hateful rhetoric, a good number of voters that would normally be in the GOP's corner, I think, went over to Tsongas, who ran a pretty moderate campaign.
Commentator: Thank you. And Governor Mattingly?
Mattingly: Well, heh, I hate to echo Dave here, but the 'why?' is pretty obvious, but he's not pinpointing the right causes. Fact is, you can blame vote-splitting all you want, but you add up Tsongas, Nader, and any of the other left-wing candidates, and they get a majority! I mean, Barry freaking Goldwater got a higher percent of the popular vote than Holton! Last time we got such a low share of the vote was 1936. Also, there's a lot of uh... "analysis" being put into what's a pretty easy to answer question. We, the Republicans, had three terms under our belt. When was the last time a fourth term was won by any party? 1944. We're hardly in World War II circumstances and few people could replicate FDR's efficacy in office.
Commentator: So, you think there was little that could be done about the loss, and that it was simply cyclical?
Mattingly: Fact is, no incumbent's entitled to an election. Tsongas ran an effective campaign and, aside form only narrowly beating the hard-left Jefferson Dent in 1988, Holton hadn't won anything by himself since nineteen-sixty-freakin'-nine. He wasn't an elections guy. But beyond that, who did Holton lose? He'd already lost a good amount of President Dole's voters in 1988. By 1992, there was little reason to re-election him-
MacKenzie: Hold on, I have to strongly interject here. Linwood Holton was an outstanding, if not visionary President who pursued national security, peace abroad, free and fair trade, environmental protections-
Mattingly: Do you know what the Republican Party's gained in the last four years? Not a damned thing. I've spoken to guys on the Dole campaign; they put countless man hours into building a strong electoral coalition that Holton and his administration cronies--a few of whom now inhabit the Tsongas White House, I might add--trashed. I can't speak as to the President's actions in the Gulf--none of us on this show get the intell he did. But in terms of fighting for the average American, Holton at points refused to do a damned thing. He raised taxes in a recession. He oversaw the ratification of the North-American Free Trade Pact. Relations with Congress completely broke down. The fact is, you did not have that average American voter, the guy who just got off work and is sitting at a bar with his co-workers, putting down his drink and saying to the guy next to him, 'You know what, President Holton is looking out for me'!
MacKenzie: Are you saying that President Holton didn't fight for the average American?
Mattingly: I'm saying look at the election results! Where were we scaled back? States like Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania. Auto-workers, steel workers, people that make this country run didn't cast their ballot for the President. In the West, our nation's farmers apparently had the same opinion.
MacKenzie: This is ridiculous! The far-right rhetoric that the President was forced to respond to to secure his primary win decimated us in suburbs, full of moderate and ordinarily Republican voters.
Mattingly: Tell me, how. How? How did a Senator from Taxachusetts who endorsed his state's "gay bill of rights" of all freaking things, who lost a significant amount of his left-wing base to third party candidates, manage to secure a sweeping victory in the electoral college, winning states in nearly every region in the country? It's because the establishment Republicans in D.C. spent four years telling the average American, the blue collar worker, the house wife who picks her kids up from school and looks at the family budget and worries, the small businessman who's seeing his profits being eaten away. They spent four years telling those people, who'd put their faith in America, to shove it. They said "Don't worry, jobs are going to Mexico, to China, to Japan, they ain't coming back, and you're gonna like it!" And they kept going, "Cars will increase in price thanks to new environmental legislation. It'll be harder to get a firearm. Your taxes are going up even as your income shrinks."
Commentator: Listen, uh, sirs, I'm gonna have to cut in here, as we're about to go to commercial. Thanks to both of you for patching in from your different home states. Boy, what a lively discussion!

Liberalism & Realities in the 1990's (Pt. 2)

In following in the tradition of Presidents Dole and Holton of introducing major economic legislation in the form of omnibus policy packages, the Tsongas team, assisted by legislators, think tanks, and the President-elect himself, would burn the midnight oil preparing for the introduction of the National Industrial Recovery & Policy Act within the first few days of the new administration. With co-sponsors occupying the right (Don Young, Republican Alaska), center (Collin Peterson, Democrat Minnesota) and left (Bernard Sanders, Independent Vermont) the legislation drew attacks from those three same corners.

The NIRPA in many ways mirrored a set of Tsongas’ policy proposals that had been circulated in the early 1980’s following Brewer’s resounding defeat at the polls and the rise of conservative Republicanism nationwide. In keeping with the theme of an “all-encompassing” policy approach, the act was designed to merge concepts that to others might appear as distinct--economics, international trade, industrial policy, education, military, and so on. In setting basic human rights standards for United States trading partners, more pressure than ever was placed on nations such as China, which had been playing its role in the American market since 1978. In what would later appear as an anachronism of policy developed with the 1980’s in mind, the legislation included stipulations for industrial and infrastructure investment meant as a reaction to the “Japan, Inc.” model utilized across the Pacific, as well as other rising Oriental quasi-mercantilist states.

In regards to foreign policy, the legislation left the door open for the President’s stalwart intention to reduce foreign aid to American allies. “The Soviet Union is at this point a figment of our memory. The hard work of the American taxpayer has gone to benefit military contractors and the defense budgets of other nations since the end of the Second World War.” While “establishment legislators” were horrified by this rhetoric, the President received praise from self-styled mavericks ranging from Pat Buchanan to Thad O’Connor to Ralph Nader. The money saved would be earmarked for greater investment in “information technology-driven weaponry, military education, and research grants for defense and environmental purposes.” The President also resolved that he would re-examine both the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation and, in a reference to his time as a Peace Corps volunteer, to take a second look at the United States’ relationship with the Third World.

As well, environmental cleanup “superfund” projects would receive their first dose of funding since the second Kennedy administration, some of the new money for industrial subsidies would go specifically to “workplace democracies”, and the reduction of corporate, capital gains, and income taxes. In making what amounted to a conservative argument for the immense set of policy proposals, the President declared on the floor of the Senate, that “In a world lacking the predictable balance of world power that the Cold War gave us, the United States, by necessity, must present to the globe a sense of order, compassion, and strength. A United States that is bereft of the necessary industrial capacity to marshal its own defense, a United States that lacks the best and the brightest minds and the training to go with it, a United States that can’t validate its own market, human rights, or environmental principles will be ill-equipped to lead the new world order.” Noticeably absent would be an increase in the minimum wage.

Magazines ran cover stories with pictures of Tsongas and article titles such as “The New Nationalism”, “Rise of the Neo-Liberal”, and “New Left or Old Right?” The White House media managers, meanwhile, made sure to saturate the press with anecdotes of decayed industrial towns, including the President’s hometown of Lowell, of veterans being denied work, and of rotting bridges that small communities relied on. The President waged a vigorous public relations campaign, defying his own illness in ways that would later astound historians.

In foreign relations, the President’s team of mavericks would proceed to sideline Secretary of State Dent, who found himself almost isolated inside Foggy Bottom. Instead, President Tsongas made the friendship of Republican Congressman Thaddeus O’Connor--himself a friend of Dent’s--who had been part of the moderate, quasi-libertarian, and bi-partisan “Mavericks” faction of the early 1980’s. O’Connor, whose Vietnam War service had acted as a way onto foreign policy-related committees in the House, would become a fast friend of the White House in breaking away from a Cold War-dominated foreign policy framework. “While the reunification of Germany and assistance to post-Soviet states in the East will find no better friend than this White House, the time has come to seriously re-assess the blank check this country has written to its allies, ranging from Japan to NATO”, an anonymous white paper remarked. This rhetoric was surprisingly strong to both Dent and to UN Ambassador Colin Powell.

Before 1993 had begun, the Tsongas administration was negotiating an end to the ABM Treaty with a politically weak President Yeltsin while, to the chagrin of old alliances, a retreat was signalled in Western Europe. This was a move that alarmed members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the White House held strong. “As we approach the 21st Century, we have access to faster and more efficient defense technology across the board--whether it is in the form of troop carriers, planes, or intercontinental projectile weaponry. Our friends in Western Europe do not need a barrage of civilizing forces to go in and prevent genocide in France or Norway. America’s status as a defender of human rights is best preserved by being prepared to act to support friendly regimes in the Third World, where, yes, we have kept our troops stationed. The President would back up his emphasis that America would “still be here” with photo-ops with the new governments of Russia and several other post-Soviet states as well as pro-American countries in the Southern hemisphere. Meanwhile, the screws were tightened on several non-democratic regimes and former American allies in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America to begin democratic and market reforms.

In Through the Out Door

Twenty years earlier, Republicans found themselves in a similar position. Their most recent President had been beaten for re-election and his replacement proved both popular and dynamic. Republican establishment figures were nevertheless terrified he'd burn the place to the ground. With this framing the RNC's thinking, preparation for a "mother of all battles" had begun as early as the election night 1992. Now, a year in to Tsongas' Presidency, and with the President having struck his own course in international relations--a course decried by the foreign policy establishment on both sides of the aisle--senior GOP figures were rushing to field figures to defeat the "dangerous" new President.

One target of moderate--or at least establishment--Republican strategists and insiders was former Secretary of State George H.W. Bush. A former oilman, County GOP Chair, member of the House of Representatives, United States Senator, and Secretary of State for nearly a decade, Bush had an attractive resume. His voting record included support for open housing, anti-crime laws, and a moderate approach to abortion, and as Secretary of State he had participated in probably the most important foreign policy since the 1940's. Nevertheless, as some remarked "the right would eat him alive." There were skeptics that noted his combination of support--or at least a lack of requisite opposition to--free trade, abortion, and foreign intervention might unite populists, social conservatives, isolationists, and even moderate doves against the "distinguished elder statesman". Bush himself didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about a run, stating "I've been in the public service since 1964. By the next election, that will have been over three decades, and I would need to be prepared to hold the toughest job in the land for four years."

Other figures who were being courted by donors and the establishment would include Bush's own son, the senior Senator from Texas, George W. Bush, who had taken up his father's seat in 1983. Nevertheless, most eyes were on Senator John Heinz, III of Pennsylvania. Despite only winning two states in the 1988 primaries, Heinz was, by January 1993, a leader of the Senate Republicans, perhaps best known for having practically authored the Dole administration's industrial policy program. Heinz' record on social issues was sufficiently ambiguous to theoretically attract a wide swath of voters, though the GOP donor class was worried about Heinz' willingness to support protectionist policies. Other suggestions that popped up included the liberal Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, despite his youth, and even David MacKenzie of Vermont.

What Republican National Committee members wanted, however, was not necessarily what the GOP base wanted. Despite his independent run, Patrick J. Buchanan, 1992 runner-up, was still popular with those that had supported him. There were those among his former campaign staff who theorized that a large segment of voters in 1992 had opted to stick with Holton due to his incumbency and that, with an the GOP lacking an incumbent to run against, 1996 would be his for the taking. Others were pushing businessman H. Ross Perot, who had been one of Buchanan's key donors in the 1992 primary. Notably more liberal on domestic issues, Perot was nevertheless known largely for his opposition to free trade and his support for a balanced budget--key planks of a right-wing, blue collar, grass roots run--and Perot had more than the money needed to finance such a bid. There was a segment of the Republican Party that hypothesized that the GOP should act more like President Tsongas--a combination of populists, liberals, and libertarians--and Perot was their man. Mentions were made of Michigan's Governor Christian Mattingly, who had avoided presidential politics like the plague in 1992. This was due in part to the suspicion of many that he had voted against Holton in the primaries and the absolute lack of support the incumbent had received from the Governor prior to the Michigan primary. When Mattingly did speak o nnational issues, he took a tone that was realist, mercantilist, and protectionist, something those on the right were longing for after Holton's "postnationalist" policies.

Seeking Salvation: Scott Westman & Religion
By Carl Herschewitz, 1994

It is 1968 and a young, red-haired, senior history major from the University of Montana was repairing his wounds somewhere in Chicago--the exact location escapes me. Around him, in what I recall was some proto-industrial park, lay fellow anti-war activists. Hanging out of the young blood's mouth was a Marlboro Red, which he was in the process of slurping down as a girl dabbed his bleeding forehead with a rag. As night came, it seemed the violence around the Democratic National Convention subsided, and over the radio we heard the Corrupt Bargain: Robert F. Kennedy, after a long stalemate, had handed his delegates over to Hubert H. Humphrey, to be nominated on a resolutely anti-war platform. Some Texan--another Johnson!?--was named for Vice President. Westman, with a temper and a face as red as his shock of orange hair, hurled the only half-empty bottle of Jack at the opposite wall; the structure we inhabited was too large for his reach, and Jack Daniels crashed asunder on the concrete floor thirty feet away. He jerked away from the girl--"Does bleeding matter, woman!?"--and proceeded to go on a devil-inspired rant, damning both parties, damning the Washington establishment, damning Kennedy for selling out, damning the middle class, blue collar workers, professionals, suburbanites, law enforcement, and every other accompaniment of American liberal capitalism. And, in that tirade, he too damned religion and what he perceived as the sulking, terrified, superstitious, quasi-peasant believers who clung to it, the "moralfags".

Twelve years later, by then a United States Senator, a still-angry Westman had long since been forced to tone down his rhetoric, even as he faced character assassinations from all sides for intercourse with a pre-op transsexual model, and as he was endorsed by Beauregard Disraeli, who was later outed as a Satanist. At that point, Westman had signed onto the 1980 Libertarian Party presidential ticket out of frustration with a general election matchup between two conservatives--President Albert Brewer and then-Senator Bob Dole. Helping to grant the Libertarian Party its best showing yet, the third party would nevertheless fade into the background as the battles of the 80's raged. But Westman didn't. In that, his first national campaign, the pain in his face was visible as he towed the line: "What we, among those in favor of limited government seek, is far from the eradication of religion or its marginalization in society. We are, instead, hoping to organize government along rational and liberal lines, to allow for the inclusion of perspectives from all faiths, and to avoid the totalitarian bloodbaths of the past." Had he been allowed the privilege of honesty, he would have said something to the effect of "F#ck the evangelicals, f#ck the Catholics, f#ck every moralizing force in America that has sought to crush human freedom of thought and action. You are killing the very essence of American liberty."

Nevertheless, mid-way through possibly the most conservative decade of the second half of the 20th Century, Westman had changed considerably. The birth of his first son. His eldest daughter, Brea, born of a Native American mother in the 1960's, had been brought into the world in a flurry of scandal, worry, and anger over an unwed teen pregnancy. With his second child, Westman had the chance to watch life come forth and grow, in a way that didn't involve the preoccupation with externalities, the damning of nature, that had accompanied the birth of Brea. Westman was never public about this the way one would expect. There was no conversion announcement, no press conference. Nevertheless, my old friend could be seen coming out of a Washington, D.C. Catholic Church on the occasional Sunday. His office's collection of liquor began to wear thin. I don't know if I saw him touch a cigarette at all throughout 1986. And his voting record saw an almost seismic shift on abortion.

In 1991, Scott resigned from the United States Senate following authorization of force against Iraq. His rhetoric, however, was markedly different from that of the anti-war protester twenty years prior. Aside form his choice to exempt curses and swear words form his denunciation of the Senate, he stuck a moral tone that was surprising to the national media, though not to his close friends. "In the 1988 campaign, Holton--the current President, waged a slanderous campaign against the Democratic nominee, Jefferson Dent, himself a model public servant and patriot, for not only his opposition to the failed Vietnam War, but also what Holton claimed was a lack of Christian values. Well I ask you, President Holton--who, I should remark, never once touched the topic of public Christianity until he felt the political necessity to--how can we a nation that, as you claim, is rooted in Judeo-Christian principle, ever sanction the machinations of war and death against another country, especially on such questionable ground? For all your talk of degeneracy--especially in relation to the Drug War--your administration has been possibly the most comfortable with death since that of Lyndon Johnson. You have made bloodshed your bedfellow, at home and abroad, and this body, the United States Senate, has not only watched idly by, it has made a house of three."

The quasi-sexual pun aside, rhetoric of that nature was hardly what Westman had become known for. If you had asked him to denounce United States military action abroad in 1981, he would have proceeded to confront the very existence of the military, to denounce generals, to even toss a verbal grenade at American ground troops, to portray soldiers as death dealers and cops as fascist pigs, and American foreign policy goals as inherently evil. While there was still some of that in 1991, the main focus of his argument was moral, not ideological.

. . .

Westman shifted on more than just God and abortion, as I'm sure other journalists, biographers, and scholars would like to point out. He eventually betrayed the laissez-faire rhetoric of his 1970's incarnation as he came face-to-face with the Dole and Holton administrations. Today, if you visit Scott Westman on his mysterious estate on the plains, it is a far different place than when I saw him first move in. Gone are the litany of empty bags and liquor bottles, strewn about the living room from yesterday's dinner. While one does not hang there, it would not be hard to imagine instead a crucifix adorning the wall. His study, once filled with books from both the right and the left glorifying liberty and, to a large extent, libertinism, now contains the writings of Karl Marx and C.S. Lewis. The house is austere, darker than it once was, Westman now preferring fires and candlelight to the bright flourescent of what was essentially a house for drug users even a decade prior. Caroline and his children are gone, as is much of the furniture--Kennedy lawyers are vicious in divorce proceedings, as it turns out--and the center table where I saw cocaine more than I saw food in the 1970's and early 1980's is now instead used to hold a typewriter, a glass of club soda, incense, and a stack of Westman's policy papers. After the Senator emerges form his meditation, he'll crack a smile and fondly remember "the old days", then turn bitterly to his 1992 primary loss for the Montana Governorship. "They rejected a 'Green Montana'!", he'll say in exasperation. He's almost vegetarian now. He's just too American to give up some sort of meat however--I expect that within the next ten years. The fact of his Montana residence doesn't aid in this quest.

His most recent publication, to be printed by the University of Montana Press and to hit one or two bookstores before the end of the year is "Class, Conflict, & Tammany Hall". It is nearly 800 pages. He's also teaching history against at the University of Montana. "Tenure? Nah, the board'll no doubt reject any attempt at that!" Had you told me that the libertine radical of the 1960's would become the conservative socialist of the 1990's, I would have called you insane. He seems to have taken up a monastic lifestyle and to be in utter contempt of both the market liberal and the socially libertine trends of the country around him--two things he once celebrated. As I exit his house at the end of the evening this particular time, I mention I was contacted to write an article about him. In classic interview format, I'm forced to inquire where he sees the country by the year 2000. He sips his club soda--a replacement for the "burn" of both carbonated beer and 190 proof liquor--and says that Tsongas is doing a good job, but if his advisers get control of him "by 2000, we'll see a nation in violence. The tough-on-crime people he brought on to assuage the majority of American voters? If he loses control of them, we'll be seeing race riots. I'm glad we've finally a President whose stood up for American employment, but, again, if the neoliberals in his cabinet have their way, we'll be cleaned out within a decade. With that in mind, I hope the best for him." After we continue to reminisce, we shake hands and I head out. I've got to get back to MIT and he, after he handles his ranch duties, has Church in the morning.

Liberalism & Realities in the 1990's Pt. III, or Tsongas the King: A Greek Tragedy

President Paul Tsongas was hospitalized in May of 1994 due to the strong and virile remission of his non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The battle that put him there was, ironically, the arduous and ultimately failed battle over the November 1993 "Tsongascare" plan. Proposed as a "free market alternative" to various, more costly single-payer plans that liberal Democrats had been agitating over, it had been been produced not from Health & Human Services, but from the Commerce Department, by Secretary Mitt Romney. It involved, among other things, the expansion of Medicaid and Medicare, but was noted mostly for its individual mandate that every citizen purchase healthcare or otherwise have it provided for them. It was a step-too-centrist for both sides of Congress, and members of Congress that Tsongas had previously been able to count on backed out and the bill became political poison. Nevertheless, the President was determined to deliver, and suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Among these was the resignation of Commerce Secretary Mitt Romney. Romney, whose political affiliation had been fluid for over a decade, had previously refused to publicly identify with any party upon his entry into public life. Nevertheless, the Republican incumbent John Silber was anathema to Massachusetts' progressives as well as its business community; the former university president's term had gone with about the same amount of smoothness as his time as a higher education administrator. With Democrats seeking someone to push past the dark days of Dukakis, in-state Democrats were begging the centrist to run. Assessing his options: affiliation with a nationally unpopular healthcare plan and an easy shot at a state's governorship, Romney made the "best choice for my family", moving back to the Boston area and registering with the Democrats.

Paul Tsongas would be able to smile on one political success in 1994, however, as Secretary of Sate Jefferson Dent--in many ways isolated to handling Middle Eastern affairs--negotiated the United States' withdrawal from Iraq. For the past year-and-a-half, Dent had put his every skill in the realm of statecraft to use to almost directly oversee Iraqi reconstruction. Given Dent's by-and-large lack of family ties, he had been free to commit his time to this task, and his friendships in the international community, built up since his days as a young freshman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee served him well in bringing other nations to trust the United States as they hadn't under Holton. (Make no mistake, George Bush was as well also trusted, and Tsongas' NATO policies were hardly welcomed internationally, but Holton's uni-lateral incursion had poisoned his administration with allies and adversaries alike in a way that even Tsongas hadn't) Organizing a significant private and public international pool to fund reconstruction in exchange for petroleum-based reimbursement, Iraqi infrastructure was in the process of being rebuilt and a large crew of Arab immigrants from Europe and the States had been employed in translator positions in order to help with training of the new Iraqi government and communication with the citizenry. Dent had been careful to focus specific attention on de-radicalization, vying for World Bank funding for investment in Iraq in ways that would yield employment and not be anathema to the Islamic citizenry. By June 1994, American withdrawal had been negotiated and replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force.

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While President Tsongas could smile on this as one of his administration's crowning achievements, there was little else he could find solace in, as his cancer was advancing at an accelerated rate. Physicians attributed this to his high-activity presidency, particularly following his first year in office and coinciding with his worsening relationship with Congress. Following consultation with First Lady Nikki Tsongas, several doctors, and his priest, the President would have an important choice to make. On July 1st, 1994, Paul Efthemios Tsongas, 42nd President of the United States of America, would become the second President to resign the office, citing rapid advancement of his non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

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Gary Hart, who had served in the Kennedy White House, as a United States Senator, and as Vice President, would take the Oath of Office that same day and become 43rd President of the United States of America. He promised a dynamic continuation of the Tsongas policies. "A year and a half ago, I stood next to Paul as he took the Oath of Office. I don't know how many can feel the debt of honor as it hits them, placing their hand upon the Bible. What America has had the chance for these past months is an administration that spent every waking moment working for the sake of Americans of every stripe and shade, an administration that ran cleanly, and an administration that was effective. Paul Tsongas has aspired to and lived up to that Oath of Office every second of his Presidency. Our thoughts and prayers lie with Paul and his family. In his name, we move forward."

Putting the Hart Back in America

While many of the former President's admirers were saddened by his departure, there was none more happy on July 1st than Gary Hart. Lead White House Counsel, the United States Senate, the Vice Presidency, none of them had been enough. He had taken the "bucket of warm piss" post only following two failed attempts to win the nomination. "The Democrats don't nominate losers", he had grimaced in the run-up to the 1992 primaries. And he was right, with a very wide and much fresher moderate Democratic bench appearing in 1991, there was little opening for Hart, who had twice pursued the nomination. He had little idea who to thank for his good fortune, for Tsongas' bout of seemingly terminal illness. He had struggled to contain a smile at his first cabinet meeting.

"You know, you can only seek one more term after this, don't you?" his Chief of Staff had asked. "That's more than I was ever given in the past, and more than enough time to pass my agenda." He knew his presidency would be limited to, at maximum, six-and-a-half years. Nevertheless, it was a longer run than Tsongas, than Holton, than Brewer, than Nixon, than Johnson. He had time, more than he needed, in all likelihood. The selection of Vice President would be very important for Hart. He was seeking to make history and to secure a portion of the electorate that he knew he would have a hard time appealing to. With some strategists making note of the post-Dent Democratic demise in the South, as well as declining appreciation of the Democrats among African-Americans, it seemed the politically appropriate choice was clear--especially given that Colin Powell had declined multiple offers for the office. Lawrence Douglas Wilder, the second African-American Governor of Virginia and the first African-American Governor of any state since Reconstruction, a tough-on-crime moderate with appeal to rural whites and a strong stance on civil rights, and a man who left the office of Governor in 1994 and thus had a free schedule, was at first reluctant to accept. Nevertheless, with the chance to make history, to prolong his political career, and to secure a decent salary for the next few years, Wilder at last signed on. He was confirmed on September 16th, 1994.

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Above: Former Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder (Democrat-Virginia) was confirmed as the 45th Vice President of the United States of America on September 16th, 1994. His race, home state, political stances, and experience made him an ideal candidate for the job, shoring up many of President Hart's weaknesses. During his tenure, his major areas of focus would be urban engagement as well as forming a strong relationship with the ANC governments in South Africa.

With economic issues being pushed to the backburner after 1993, Hart's primary push would be in social and environmental issues. Before the beginning of the 1996 primary season, the new President had signed into law, with Democratic majorities, the Prenatal Health Act,--which included paid leave for pregnancy, grater federal funding for birth control and abortion, and sex education in public schools; the Federal Emissions Contract Act of 1995--affecting vehicles, manufacturing, and resource exploitation; and implementing greater federal civil service guidelines regarding same-sex discrimination. The President also tossed a bone to labor unions and activists concerned about wealth inequality by signing off on an increase in the corporate tax rate.

Nevertheless, Hart, like his predecessor was no boiler-plate progressive. While he used the power of the White House to endorse liberal cultural and social goals, he was determined not to lose his moderate base, nor to alienate himself too much from the electorate. After all, re-election had to be considered. Countering the claims that the President was a left-wing nutjob born solely of the counter-cultural instincts that had birth the second Kennedy Presidency, Hart committed the White House to a balanced budget by FY 2000. The architects of the White House Deficit Reduction Blueprint would be drawn up by OMB Director Leon Panetta and Special Chair of the White House Council on Fiscal Responsibility Erskine Bowles. Among the first legislation pushed by the new President was the legalization of E-Commerce and of the electronic signature, to take advantage of the burgeoning Internet. As well, he signed off on what would be titled the Personal Responsibility and Financial Conservation Act of 1996--Welfare Reform. Meanwhile, Ambassador to the People's Republic of China Jon Huntsman, Jr. was looking to reverse the vague protectionism of the Dole and Tsongas administrations in favor of "a Trans-Pacific zone of economic cooperation". Tariffs were already being quietly lowered behind closed doors.

As the 1996 primary season began to take shape, commentators were prone to remark "You could either call Hart the most liberal President in history, or the most conservative one." Hart preferred this inability to be labeled; an incoherent image of the White House--progressive, idealistic, bold, pragmatic, liberal, moderate, even conservative--only boosted Hart's chances in his mind. With his Republican opponents unsure of what to attack him on, the strategy seemed to be working.

The 1996 Democratic Primaries

Despite President Hart's general popularity, there were a number of discontents in the Democratic camp. Those less-than-enthusiastic over "leftism-gone-Hollywood" or "Democrats as the business party" ran a litany of candidates at the state-level. This largely consisted of write-in campaigns or the recruitment of down-and-out or non-politicians. The name of consumer activist Ralph Nader--who eventually officially announced in mid-February after months of being pestered--was put on a number of state caucus and primary ballots. In Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy was the anti-establishment standard bearer, and in more conservative states, non-partisan businessman Ross Perot experienced a groundswell of support, and in the South, some attempted to nominate Jefferson Dent.

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President Gary Warren Hart of Colorado
Others: Ross Perot (ID, MT, ND, OH, OK); Jefferson Dent (AL); Ralph Nader (ME); Eugene McCarthy (MN); Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (VT)

Despite activist victories in low-turnout primaries and caucuses, President Hart and Vice President Wilder were renominated without incident. Jefferson Dent rolled his eyes as he was forced to hand over delegates to the incumbent for a candidacy he had far from consented to.

Tricky Dicky Screwdriver - The 1996 Republican Primaries

The Republican primaries were a far less unifying. The Republican party's right wing would long attribute the following events to a drawn-out conspiracy by business and establishment party members. With Republicans looking to bump-off President Hart and render him another failed Democratic President--the rejections of Lyndon Johnson and Bobby Kennedy in recent decades had tasted far too sweet--a number of candidates chose to enter the fray. From the left-wing of the Republican Senate caucus and a 1988 contender hailed H. John Heinz III. Despite a pro-choice and liberal voting record, Heinz struck a moderate tone, highlighting his role in drafting economic legislation of the 1980's and casting himself as the sensible, middle-of-the-road candidate, attempting to draw parallels between himself and Eisenhower, Nixon, and Dole. He also claimed a populist mantle, emphasizing President Hart's "sheer abandonment of a national industrial policy." He was endorsed by business magnate H. Ross Perot. Nevertheless, Heinz was not alone in the "rebranded moderates" field. California Governor Pete Wilson, a pro-choice business Republican, would emphasize not only his fiscal reforms of the Golden State, but his strident opposition to illegal immigration.

With Patrick J. Buchanan having quit the Republican party to launch a second third-party campaign, the populist right still within the party would need a new champion. Former Democrat Tim Penny, a fiscal conservative, anti-globalist, and tough-on-crime pro-lifer, would be that champion. Having opted to change parties in response to his party's embrace of social liberalism and free trade, Penny had shortly thereafter decided to seek a promotion: The Presidency. Lamar Alexander, who had served as Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1983, and as Linwood Holton's HHS Secretary following Liddy Dole's resignation, would also launch a populist campaign based on "getting money out of politics" and opposition to "D.C. liberalism". Other candidates included publisher Steve Forbes and his flat tax plan and Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana.

Candidates who opted to sit out the election included Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, former Secretary of Defense Cheney, and former National Security Adviser Kirkpatrick--in general, those associated with Holton were choosing to step aside for the duration of the election; Governor Christian Mattingly, Senator David MacKenzie, Businessman Ross Perot, and former Congressman Ron Paul.

Where the "conspiracy" claims emerged as in the run-up to New Hampshire. With Wilson scoring relatively highly in West Coast and New England polls, East Coast and DC funding quickly changed streams, being united behind the California Governor. Easily winning Hawaii against Heinz and Alaska against Forbes and Penny, Wilson had the moderate momentum, writing off Iowa to score an easy victory in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the Iowa Caucuses had become a far different animal, saturated with conservative activists and the "Jesus crowd". In such an environment, Penny used his next-door advantage and voting record to narrowly eek out victory against Alexander and Quayle. Despite taking fifth in New Hampshire, he placed second in South Carolina, solidifying his presence in the race. Meanwhile, Alexander, the candidate of Dixie, would take the Palmetto State, effectively creating a three-way race between Wilson, Penny, and Alexander. Quayle, who had attempted to paint himself as the conservative candidate, and Forbes, who had failed to cobble together an effective anti-tax coalition, were pushed out. They endorsed Alexander and Wilson, respectively. Meanwhile, Heinz' second-place finish in New Hampshire came to very little, and he dropped out without endorsement.

To many, it was "beyond absurd" that Wilson was among the three finalists for the nomination. This was effectively ignoring the fact of Lin Holton's primary victories in 1988 and 1992. Wilson's significant fundraising advantage pushed him well beyond New Hampshire, as he overpowered his rivals in the North-East and the West Coast. As well, his campaign executed competent victories in Florida and Illinois, giving him the national coalition that Alexander and Penny--splitting the conservative vote--lacked. What was most notable was Wilson's surge to the right, as he showcased an "impressive" anti-illegal immigration record. Critics mocked the moderate's choice of a "strongman" image. He also was more than proud to tote out California's economic record, and cited the approval of conservative institutions including the Heritage Foundation. Despite Wilson's lead in primary delegates and the popular vote, both Penny and Alexander opted to stay in throughout the primaries, denying Wilson a majority prior tot he convention.

Demographically, things broke along fairly regional lines, with the tightest races held in the Upper South and industrial Mid-West. Wilson was denied crucial majorities in New England and North-Eastern States thanks to Penny's support from blue collar and "South Boston" voters. In states that were once solidly liberal votes in Republican primary contests such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Penny took second place thanks to Democratic converts--the "Ed King/John Silber" voter. Regional boundaries were often drastic, with different candidates in a three-way race taking majorities in neighboring states. Penny took the Interior West and Mid-West, Wilson the North-East, South-West, and Pacific, and Alexander in the South.

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Blue - Governor Peter B. "Pete" Wilson of California
Green - Former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
Red - Congressman Timothy "Tim" Penny of Minnesota

Going into the convention, the Wilson team was working overtime. Their candidate had captured nearly every large state, minus Texas. With that state's delegation, Wilson would have been the nominee. Identifying Alexander as the more pliable of the candidates--Penny was "A Mid-West nutjob, addled by subsidized corn and evangelical Christianity"; Alexander had governed a state and worked in the three most recent Republican administrations--Team Wilson was prepared to offer him anything. Alexander, seeking not to abandon his conservative base, insisted that a right-to-life plank be re-introduced to the Republican platform (it had quietly disappeared in 1988 and 1992) and, naturally, that he be named Vice President. Seeing it as preferable to a Penny-Alexander alliance--"a party taken over by unelectable holy-rollers and coal miners"--Wilson's advisers urged him to take the offer.

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Above: The nomination of Governor Pete Wilson by the Republicans would be met with more than mere opposition. While, in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, at least one Presidential nominee, Linwood Holton, had been nominated, he had the legitimacy of being an incumbent Vice President nad had been more than willing to "play ball", at least in 1988. Wilson's first "rapprochement" with the Republicans' right was in the run-up to the convention. The fact that his gubernatorial record and multiple statewide campaigns had helped him acquire more than enough of a public record on abortion and other issues proved more than some could handle. His choice of Lamar Alexander for Vice President gave him the nomination, but not the spiritual support of the party. While primary opponent Tim Penny opted not to walk out of the convention, he had little incentive not to help Wilson's adversaries in the general election

Mere days before the convention, Wilson and Alexander announced their decision. Seeing Wilson nominated on the first ballot, Tim Penny opted to make the "politic" choice of not walking out of the convention. Nevertheless, there was nothing to be gained by seeing a pro-choice rival win. Patrick J. Buchanan received an important call.

Interview with Governor Christian Mattingly, MPR, March 16th, 1996

Reporter Slob: We're here with Governor Christian Mattingly, the day before St. Patrick's and with less than half a week to go before Michigan's March 19th Republican primary. Governor?
Mattingly: First off, thanks, I'm glad to be here. In case I don't run into you tomorrow, happy St. Patrick's Day.
RS: Thanks, and the same to you. Do you have any plans for the day?
Mattingly: Probably a run, 9:00 AM mass, then it's off to Corktown.
RS: You haven't developed a reputation as being particularly athletic or health-obsessed.
Mattingly: Well, I don't do marathons, but after I quit smoking, I found it useful to acquire a second vice.
RS: When, exactly, did you quit?
Mattingly: I would've quit sooner, but I put a lot of pressure on myself for much of the past decade. Probably when I got back from Washington DC. They don't talk about it a lot, but that town is lousy with alcoholism and all other forms of... abuse. Coming back from that city was quite the breath of fresh air.
RS: Talking about DC brings us 'round to what a lot of people are wondering-
Mattingly: Oh, really?
RS: Yes, with three days to go before the primary, this is the second contested Republican primary in a row with you as Governor where you've refused to publicly endorse. In fact, during your, admittedly short, political life, there's very little close to a record of your presidential votes.
Mattingly: *Smirk, Scoff* Well, I have to admit, it's partly out of self-interest. I'm very hesitant about voting in elections where I'm not on the ballot.
RS: *Smirk*
Mattingly: In all seriousness, though, I don't feel the urge to interject myself into contentious debates. The voters that do their research, or that have seen how I've campaigned in 1990 and '94, they know my values. That said, I still like to keep my votes private. We've all had votes we've regretted, and I just have distaste for saying to others "Vote my way!" when it's probably very likely that something awful comes out about any of these candidates at any time. I'll vote the way I decide to vote, but that isn't a command to the state's Republicans--I don't own their votes and I'm not asking for them.
RS: You said that the voters know your values... What are they?
Mattingly: It's, uh, it's pretty simple. I oppose the legalization of abortion that happened nationwide in the 1970's; I stand against the free trade deals brokered by both parties over the past twenty years; I favor a strong military and benefits for our veterans; I'm nevertheless cautious about using our military in situations that might be less-than-winnable; I stand by cops and firefighters and workers and business owners.
RS: By the sound of it, it seems like you'd favor a populist campaign. Did you vote for Buchanan four years ago?
Mattingly: *Smirk* No comment.
RS: Well, if you won't answer that, would you be willing to talk about what you think the best option is for the Republican party's future?
Mattingly: Of course! I think the years since the New Deal have been demonstrative of the direction that wins us elections. Eisenhower and Dole ran national campaigns and championed a Republicanism--a conservatism, even--that was for the common man. I mean, there were labor endorsements in both their re-election campaigns. They were also smart enough to reject nonsense that involved the diffusion of our national industrial base to other countries. Republicans, ranging from the liberal Prescott Bush to the conservative Barry Goldwater were smart enough to oppose Democratic free trade proposals in the 1960's. Where we have lost, especially most recently, is where we betrayed our commitment to the nation-state, and to our nation's middle class, in favor of wonky, new age ideas that eroded our national interest. Lin Holton, he's a great American, sure, but beyond MBA interns and Georgetown theorists, he didn't have a natural constituency.
RS: So, you want to focus on blue collar workers?
Mattingly: Absolutely. And it's nowhere near an original strategy.
RS: Do you think your policies as Governor reflect this?
Mattingly: I've had to buck both conservative and liberal orthodoxy to get things done in Lansing. But the reason I can actually talk to you, right now, about going to Corktown for St. Patrick's, is because of steps my administration has taken. They called us barbaric for defending lives and property through "vicious" gang squad tactics. And they called us bleeding hearts for investing in our inner city education and employment systems. There are a lot of pundits that like to talk about focusing on the "white working class"; I've tried to shift focus to the working class in general.
RS: But what about outside of just Detroit?
Mattingly: My administration has promoted programs to support Michigan's farmers, Michigan's infrastructure, and Michigan's businesses. Blanchard began putting us in the right direction, and since my election, we as a state have been leading the nation in a number of categories.
RS: How does this relate to your social policies?
Mattingly: From a philosophical standpoint, if we want a government that defends the rights of all, and not just a few, this applies to the unborn as much as the poor and the marginalized. If we're talking about it as a political direction, well, some things you take a stance on regardless of whether they win you votes. Nevertheless, I do believe the party needs to reintroduce a right-to-life plank to stand not only with those unborn that die every year, but also the millions of faithful. To vocally distance the party, as some would hope to do, from the anti-abortion movement would be political suicide. The types who are adamant about abortion rights have already found their party, and the nomination of a pro-choice Republican isn't going to provide any long-term, stable advantage. I apply the same logic when it comes to the drug-obsessees and people seeking to redefine marriage.
RS: Well, thank you for your time, Governor Mattingly. It looks like this segment has its limits.
Mattingly: *Smiles* Anytime. Remember to vote on Tuesday and don't forget to celebrate this weekend!

The Neoliberal Consensus - The 1996 United States Presidential Election

Pete Wilson might, in another world, have been well-situated to win back the White House for the GOP. The moderate Governor of one of the most populous states in the union--and a swing state--that could brag fiscal responsibility and a commitment to tough-on-crime policies. Nevertheless, he had failed to secure a majority of the primary vote and had won the nomination only with significant concessions to those to his right. Meanwhile, the very people he would need as his base were in the process of rebellion.

Patrick J. Buchanan might have been the "heir apparent" to the Republican nomination in 1996. He nevertheless had grown tired of working within the Republican party. Following a wide fundraising and polling lead by the entrance of Pete Wilson, Buchanan had formally withdrawn from any Republican nominating contest and chosen to pursue instead the U.S. Taxpayer's Party nomination. With Wilson's nomination, the former speechwriter was beginning to attract a following equivalent to his 1992 run. In standing as a significant third choice between two neoliberal candidates, the Old Right conservative had begun to attract some support from the left, as well, including activists Lenora Fulani and Brian Moore. For voters looking for a candidate opposed to free trade and foreign intervention who would defend homeschooling and religious groups, Buchanan's brand was gaining significant ground.

The death knell, however, for the Wilson campaign was the attempt to "shore up" the party's deficit hawks while appealing to moderates by proposing "agrireform". In a campaign plank authored by former Nevada State Senator and veteran of the D'Israeli campaigns Areus Ho'kee, the candidate denounced the "billions pumped towards agribusiness, creating market distortions and comprising some of the real corporate welfare that our government is guilty of." The move backfired in the West, where Wilson should have been strong, with Democrats running ads featuring images of devastated family farms, while pundits discussed the "severe price surges" that would happen under the Wilson plan.

While the Republican vote appeared to be splitting and surrogates were savaging the Republican ticket, President Hart worked to appear above-the-fray. It would be the work of Vice President Wilder to rally record African-American turnout against "the candidate of entitlement-slashing and three-strikes laws" in states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Florida. Meanwhile, ads would be run across the fruited plain portraying Wilson as "wishy-washy" on abortion and a host of other social issues from "independent" political action committees. Of great effect were Lamar Alexander's own quotes about Wilson's record made during the primary campaign.

With Vice President Wilder focused on the South and the inner-cities, Hart concentrated on an area he was far more familiar with. Hoping to achieve sweeping victory, special emphasis was placed on the traditionally Republican Interior West as well as the electoral vote-rich West Coast. Appearing in campaign commercials and speaking engagements framed by mountains, fields, and the Pacific Ocean, the Democratic incumbent made a serious play for the area.

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Above: Despite the President's cosmopolitan political orientation, Gary Hart adopted a rugged persona to help seize his home region in his ambitious bid for a landslide re-election.

With Hart having crafted in image as a centrist progressive in contrast to the "heartless" Wilson and the "small" Buchanan, the President and the Democrats made easy work of their opponents.

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President Gary Warren Hart (Democrat-Colorado)/Vice President Lawrence Douglas Wilder (Democrat-Virginia) 384 electoral votes, 49.1% of the popular vote
Governor Peter Barton Wilson (Republican-California)/Former Secretary of Health & Human Services Andrew Lamar Alexander, Jr. (Republican-Tennessee) 154 electoral votes, 43.5% of the popular vote
Former White House Communications Director Patrick Joseph Buchanan (Taxpayer's-Virginia)/Economic Pat Choate (Taxpayer's-Oklahoma) 0 electoral votes, 7.3% of the popular vote
Others: 1.0% of the popular vote

An Ode to Richard Nixon
Joan Hoff, May 1994

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On April 22nd, 1994, Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States of America, passed away from cerebral edema caused by a blood clot. While former President Dole, one of his proteges and perhaps his most popular successor, declared that the latter half of the 20th Century will be remembered as the "Age of Nixon", the late President has received little examination since leaving office. Despite his activity in Republican presidential politics and as a diplomat, actual discussion of the Nixon legacy and what his presidency was has been remained buried. This is in all likelihood due to having been sandwiched between John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson on one side, and Robert F. Kennedy and Bob Dole on the other. While he serves as a transitional president between the last liberal triumphs of the New Deal Era and the final liberal failures and conservative resurgence, many have accepted that he was merely a failed executive who got his comeuppance and retreated into the shadows.

However, an examination of the four years Nixon spent at the head of the world's most powerful country say a lot about both him and the nation. The pedestrian assumptions about the Nixon presidency were that he was a conservative out of his time, booted from office for failure to end the Vietnam War. What remains far from discussion is the litany of liberal legislation pushed for and signed by Nixon, as well as the numerous steps taken by his administration toward de-escalating both Vietnam and the Cold War. Moreover, had Nixon responded to conservative pressures on school desegregation, he might have won the day, as conservative vote-splitting in the South arguably cost him Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. With Bobby Kennedy having taken the credit for a number of liberal initiatives pushed for by the Nixon administration, the Republican President's liberal legacy has been overshadowed.

Nevertheless, it was the second Kennedy administration that began the deregulatory spiral we are now in. In a world where Democratic politicians compete to unveil new plans for "entitlement reform" and for the money of Wall Street donors, one wonders what might the state of American liberalism be had Robert F. Kennedy not tainted its name in the 1970's. While the 38th President held a solid environmental record, he had little concern for regulation of the finance industry and records show that, had 1976 not been an election year, he would have been inclined to attach a hefty price tag onto the federal government's decision to bail out New York City. He replaced a "conservative" that had supported not only the EPA and detente, but the legalization of abortion, the ERA, the expansion of food stamps, the end of the draft, affirmative action, and a guaranteed minimum income.

After Nixon came a parade of the right; not only the first "New Democrat" Kennedy, but the conservative Southerner Brewer, herald of the right Dole, and so on. Holton, ironically, seems to be the last of the type of Republicans of the Nixon era--progressive, pragmatic, and principled. The current crew of apparent neo-confederates and business interests obsessed with gutting the welfare state that make up the current Republican Party looks no better. Had Richard Nixon been re-elected, it is interesting to speculate as to how the parties might have changed. A second-term Nixon, bereft of as intense pressure from his right-flank, might have come out in full support for the Equal Rights Amendment, have ended Vietnam just on time, and have successfully passed universal healthcare, twenty years before the current battle being waged. There is little doubt that the power of Goldwater's faction would have been greatly reduced, and the reactionary surge of 1980 staved off. Liberal projects supported by the second Kennedy administration would likely still have been pursued, and perhaps with more vigor--a man such as Nixon not afraid of appearing "too far left". The moderation of Nixon's Republicans in the nineteen-seventies might have been followed by a full-blooded liberal resurgence under a more fitting champion than Bobby Kennedy in the 1980's. Now, in 1994, a moderate Republican party, likely led by Lowell Weicker, John Anderson, or H. John Heinz--all of whom came to prominence around the acme of Nixon's type of Republicanism--might be in charge.

Friends to Power
Adding Republicans to the Big Tent

Anti-war? Pro-choice? A supporter of universal healthcare and an increased minimum wage? A Republican? Not for long. "I don't think I've moved, I think the party has moved. I feel like a man without a party..." Larry Pressler, who himself had lost the Republican nomination for President in 1988 to then-Vice President Linwood Holton, had since been feeling more and more alienated from his caucus. The decision of the pro-choice and largely liberal Holton to tack to the right in the general election, hammering Dent on not only crime, but on abortion and taxes, had alienated Pressler who, though at the time maintaining a center-right voting record, was uncomfortable with the conservative resurgence in his party. The Republican-backed authorization of force in Iraq in 1991 had created a permanent rift between Pressler and his party's establishment. "I voted for Tsongas in 1992 for fiscally conservative reasons," Pressler, having already left the Senate, stated in a 1993 interview. "I am also adamantly opposed to military adventurism, something that the Holton administration had appeared quite intrigued by."

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Above: Secretary of Defense Larry Pressler, explaining in a 1993 interview, as to why he had opted to work for a Democratic President. He cited a wide range of reasons including a host of social issues, but with primary emphasis on the "military adventurism" entertained by Republican President Holton. Pressler would alter permanently abandon the Party and became associated with the Democrats. Towards the end of the 20th Century, he counted among his friends a number of anti-war left-wing activists and politicians and was considered by the liberal media a "moderate statesman".

Pressler, though uncomfortable with the Hart administration's first-term foreign policy, agreed to stay on as Defense Secretary until after the 1996 election. Nevertheless, he opted to step down in December, 1996, forcing Hart to choose a new Department head. By then, however, Pressler, had formally left the Republican Party. "The rhetoric Pete Wilson, as much as I respect him in his governing ability, chose to employ in the election has shown that the party is firmly entrenched in the interests of a far-right minority. I am not interested in playing politics with that sort of people." Pressler was replaced by a fellow political independent, General Colin Powell.

There were a number of other former Republicans who had slowly begun gravitating toward the Democrats since the Robert F. Kennedy administration. George Romney, Tom McCall, and Roger Goodell had all taken cabinet spots for the 38th President. Lowell Weicker, who had served as a Republican legislator as far back as the 1960's, was perhaps the most prominent example, being booted by his own party in 1982 in a Buckley Brothers-backed coup with George Bush's brother at its helm. In 1988, he had sought re-entry to the Senate as a progressive-backed independent, caucusing with the Democrats. By 1995, he had officially joined the Party of Jackson.

Among a generation of younger aspiring politicians were a few rare birds. Mitt Romney, himself the son of Republican George Romney, had, by 1994, become a Democrat. Intending it to only be brief, he wandered away from business and forayed into federal politics as a staffer and adviser to President Holton. He stepped down in 1991 to support fellow Bay Stater Paul Tsongas, aligning as an independent. He would not only go on to serve as Tsongas' Commerce Secretary, but was formally drafted by the Massachusetts Democrats to defeat Republican Governor John Silber in 1994. Jon Huntsman, Jr., though far younger, was a political classmate of Romney's, serving as well in the Holton administration as chief architect of the President's ambitious Federal Economic Convergence Act. In 1989, he had been identified as one of Time's "30 under 30", and profiled as "the chief architect of globalization". With his extensive business experience in the Orient, the Republican was appointed first as Ambassador to Singapore in 1992, and then Ambassador to China in 1995. It was under him that exploration of a wide-spanning trade pact between the United States and the East began, something he would work for years on. Being far removed from domestic politics, Huntsman was still identified as a Republican, even as he moved into being a chief foreign policy player in the Democratic Hart administration.

Nevertheless, the Democrats were not the only party gaining members. In 1986, former Democrat Robert P. Casey had defeated liberal Democratic Governor Larry Watson in Pennsylvania as a Republican. Former Attorney General Rudolph W. Giuliani, hard at work in running for New York City's Mayoralty in 1997, was himself an ex-Democrat. And Connecticut Governor Joe Lieberman, alienated from a state party that had instead embraced his former opponent Lowell Weicker, was being intensely courted by the CT GOP. "Blue dog" conservative mid-western representatives such as Tim Penny, Colin Peterson, and Glenn Poshard had either already switched parties or were being forced to heavily consider it as the Democrats under Hart had branded themselves in a way that was significantly alienated from their views and their constituents.

Atari Democracy Pt. I

Having secured re-election, the President was determined not to let “an infantile, unpracticed” Republican majority get in the way of his agenda. Republicans had not held the upper hand in either house since 1987, and, aside from their leadership, since then a number of their seats had changed hands. Meanwhile, they still had yet to take the House--not since the 1950’s--and that would, in Hart’s eyes, hopefully, prevent them from being of any particular danger. Nevertheless, he would work hard to pass remaining healthcare legislation, including the Kennedy-Hatch State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

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Following that, his biggest task would be to assemble a second-term cabinet. Secretary of State Jefferson Dent had decided to retire back to Mobile. He viewed his job as by-and-large complete, he was dissatisfied working for Hart, and recent Democratic losses in Alabama had prompted him to believe he was needed back home. As well, Pressler, opposed to Hart’s liberal use of force overseas, left two large openings in his cabinet.

Secretary of State: Geraldine Ferraro (Democrat-New York)
Secretary of the Treasury: Leon Panetta (Democrat-California)
Secretary of Defense: Colin L. Powell (Independent-New York)
Attorney General: Albert Gore, Jr. (Democrat-Tennessee)
Secretary of the Interior: Floyd K. Haskell (Democrat-Colorado
Secretary of Agriculture: Harvey Gantt (Democrat-North Carolina)
Secretary of Commerce: Michael Bloomberg (Democrat-New York)
Secretary of Labor: Lawrence Watson (Democrat-Pennsylvania)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Patricia Schroeder (Democrat-Colorado)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Andrew Cuomo (Democrat-New York)
Secretary of Transportation: Henry Cisneros (Democrat-Texas)
Secretary of Environment & Energy: William “Bill” Richardson, III (Democrat-New Mexico)

National Security Adviser: Zbigniew Brzezinski (Democrat-New York)
Director of the Office of Management & Budget: Erskine Bowles (Democrat-North Carolina

Cabinet shifts reflected, to an extent, changes in priorities. Notable was the decision to replace Mark Roosevelt, who had worked diligently in the name of gay rights to initiate changes in labor, health, and civil service regulations and services with Patricia Schroeder. This indicated a prioritization of gender disparities in wages and participation over “fringier” civil rights issues. However, the most controversial decision would be the promotion of Attorney General Geraldine Ferraro to State. While she had served on the Foreign Relations Committee during her last three terms in the House, critics largely derided the appointment as tokenism and the appointment of a loyal administration member to a coveted spot. While Hart was indeed proud to appoint the first female Secretary of State, and Ferraro was a reliably loyal cabinet participant, Hart also wanted a Secretary who wasn’t afraid to be “tough”. In a rather candid cabinet conversation, the President admitted “The post-Cold War world is far more dangerous than we’ve let ourselves believe.” This was also the reason for his appointment of the ancient paleoliberal Zbigniew Brzezinski to his old post of National Security Adviser. Ferraro had honed a reputation as Attorney General for her toughness against domestic radicals, terrorists, and organized crime. Hart intended for her to turn this attitude towards America’s enemies.

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Above: The choice of Geraldine Ferraro for Secretary of State would reflect not only the political motivations of President Hart--the goal of appointing the first female Secretary of State--but also the President's bleak vision for the globe as the 21st Century came 'round. The President desired someone who could project toughness and knew how to back it up, and his Attorney General, who had been known as "tough-on-crime" since her days as a District Attorney in New York City in the 1970's, seemed just the type.

Chief among Hart’s domestic push coming in 1997 would be legislation to restrict the sale and purchase of tobacco, and implementing an energy and environmental agenda reflective of growing concerns about climate change. To do this, the departments of Justice, Interior, Commerce, H.E.W., and Environment & Energy would be utilized to draft and then enforce a bevy of new regulations aimed at automobile manufacturers, coal companies, tobacco producers, and petroleum firms. Nevertheless, with a Republican Senate, things suddenly became much harder for Hart than they had been in the last four-and-a-half years. All of the firms that the Hart administration’s legislation targeted pitted their funding and their lobbyists against the President and the Democrats in Congress. This opposition, which defined 1997 for the President, would be but a taste of what was to come.

Manufactured Aristocracy
New Republic, 1997

As the Grand Old Party goes soul-searching for yet another champion to--potentially disastrously fail to--lead the party in the first Presidential election of the 21st Century, one name has repeatedly cropped up among wannabe Beltway pundits. Christian Mattingly appears an ideal candidate to rally the masses in favor of some blue collar populist conservatism. Despite the Governor's decision to adopt a populist persona whenever election time comes 'round in the Wolverine State, this could hardly be by choice. While he hails from middle class origins in postwar industrial suburbia, and seems to proudly hearken back to this time, his has always been a journey to escape that very Hellscape of mediocrity and anonymity. Moreover, his short memoirs, released in 1989, reveal a seemingly preternatural urge to rise above his surroundings. 1950's proletararianism is never to be his destiny, if he had any say.

()

While Mattingly's political style is dependent upon his romanticization of the mediocre and the humble, if he had any real inclination toward this way of life, he would have taken to it long ago. A young man with a manufacturing job backed up by the power of the U.A.W. would not have volunteered so readily to head into battle and possible death. Whether thanatos or a longshot at the glory that would have otherwise eluded him, Mattingly turned down personal comfort and security. Instead of opting to re-enter the U.A.W. workforce, the future Governor turned away from organized labor within a few years of his return to Ford. What he chose was instead, again, lower-paying, but with a much easier to reach ceiling. He would not have to become Ford's CEO in order to own Constantine Auto Repair, and it was an industry that, in general, possessed far fewer barriers to entry. He soon abandoned that venture, however. For someone born into the family of an automotive laborer, it should be small surprise that he aimed to dominate that industry which employed his father. At a time when it seemed American dominance in that field was in grave jeopardy, Mattingly waxed Hegelian--Now, however, he destroys this alien negative moment, posts himself as a negative in the permanent order of things, and thereby becomes for himself, someone existing on his own account.

As if, on necessary impulse, Mattingly transitioned into the public sector. His making the rounds of Republican fundraisers paved the way for his appointment to Commerce Secretary, establishing the necessary political momentum to seek Governorship of the very state he was born. It will likely not be enough. If his profile serves well, he will seek the Presidency.

Any observer of how the Governor dresses at the Washington galas he may be occasionally glimpsed at--or, more often the banquets at the Renaissance Center and in Lansing he is wont to attend--will say just as much. He is a man forever on the run from his past. Was it a dead father, passed far too early, that left him with the message that he must never die as his ancestors did? Was it the knowledge that his family might have had easy wealth if they had chosen to stay within the realm of organized crime? Or was it lifelong inculcation of the American Dream? The reason is of little import. The pinstriped, be-vested, pocketwatch-wearing young money patrician is a distinctly American phenomenon. The son of grease and of bolts and a U.A.W. membership--symbolic of the types that would have been rejected in D.C. and even in the business and country club community--has taken up the leadership of both. He even became a Republican!

Nevertheless, he will never be one of them. Arch-conservative he may be, he will never fit the mold of what Republican leadership must look like. Whether an old money Connecticut liberal or a Heritage Foundation far-rightist, he hardly resembles the nominee of the Grand Old Party. They may support him as a candidate, but he will never be one of them. And, perhaps like Nixon, they know that, and they will never let him hold onto power the way a man of his competence might deserve. This is, of course, assuming that there even is an opening for him. For all anyone here might know, Gary Hart may prove the greatest President of the last half-century, and a Democratic nominee will be easily whisked into office. Or, the GOP's evangelicals, or moderates, or libertarians might at last regain the edge by 2000. Nevertheless, should all this prove wrong and the Republicans find themselves nominating a man forever on the run from a past mired in humility, they may be saddled with a leader out-of-control. There are only so many reflective watches or pomades a man can buy before he acknowledges that he is still the drunk Irish son of a drunk Irish son, and that he is no moneyed Eastern elite with the world handed to him.

The Crass & The Corrupt

Ohio.

December, 1996.

"It's been too long, John!" The Michigan Governor smiled, as he picked up Boehner's pack of Marlboro Reds from the pack the nicotine dependent had left on the table. "Yes it has. Not since, what was it, 1988?" "Not since, yeah, Commerce Secretary. Haven't really needed to talk to you f#cks in Congress in a f#cking while." "I'm gonna be honest, Mattingly, I really haven't missed your presence. Congress has got along just fine without you pissing all over every sub-committee meeting." "Can't help that I notice you're all corrupt f#cks." It was Congressman John Boehner's Ohio Christmas Party mere weeks after the 1996 election.

Mattingly liked Boehner. Yeah, he was a pussy, and his presence for Merlot over a good, cold beer was un-nerving at best. Nevertheless, he was more than comfortable with addicts; he'd been one for years. Plus, more than enough legislators in both parties had bored him half to death. Boehner at least loved a good drink or fifteen after work and an all-American smoke. Mostly, however, Mattingly liked that Boehner was predictable. Corrupt, malleable, reliable. There were, in general, two types of politicians who made the news: the wingnuts that derailed whatever they touched by whining about its purity, and "moderate" "mavericks" that whored themselves for attention by complaining about compromise and understanding. Boehner was neither of these, and neither were the majority members of either party, Mattingly believed. Legislators that liked money and liquor were the types that the Governor had used to pass significant legislation in Michigan, and this was the "silent majority" he wanted on his side as he looked towards Washington, DC.

"John, please tell me something. We--as in, the party--always knew Wilson would lose, didn't we?" "F#ck if I know, Mattingly. I hear enough donor chit-chat though. God knows how many they poured into his primary campaign before the year'd even begun." "My theory, and I know you don't care about this, as long as the money keeps coming in-" "Hey!" "-is that almost anyone could've lost. The guys that cut your paychecks instead needed to maintain control of the party. Surprised they didn't send up Lamar as a sacrificial lamb though. Save their Golden Boy for 2000." "Makes enough sense. What the f#ck of it?" "First off, hand me another cigarette." "Jesus, Mattingly, I thought you quit." "I did, but your cheap booze got me drunk, and the drive for that buzz never goes away. As I'm sure you know." "Oh, I know. Here, you cocksucking bum." Mattingly lit his second cigarette. "Boehner, what I'm wondering is who they have next. Who do the Beltway f#cks want to put up four years from now to ruin the party? I'm curious as to whether they want someone dynamic enough to win or stupid enough to control." "Chris, I honestly don't know if you have any idea how the nomination process works. Do you know how many guys in the Upper Chamber are looking at the presidency?" "Oh yeah, I can imagine every newbie cockf#ck sees themselves approaching the Presidency. But, and you know this, there's a donor primary."

Boehner shrugged off his fellow Mid-Westerner's speculation. "I don't really know what you're talking about... None of this really answers my question. Why the heck're you here?" "Hell of an election, John... We've got the Senate. Almost the House! Hopefully the President is someone who knows how to work with you guys." "With your disdain for the legislature, I'm surprised you care about this." "My advice for dealing with Hart? Stick your majority in him and squeeze..." "Again, why the f#ck you care!?" "I was being jocular. You wanna know why I'm here? I want to see how the House--how your caucus--would deal with someone like me in charge. Gary Hart's got limited staying power and the Democrats are too inept to put up a worthy successor. The Republicans? F#ck, the field needs me." "Chris, we're four years out..." "Listen, if the f#cks in the Senate, or some other Governor, or even one of you guys, manages to put together the type of campaign that can unite Middle America and can produce a competent administration on January 20th, 2001, I'll have no interest in running. Since 1988, we haven't had competent party leadership." "F#ck you. Grab another drink. My secretary will call yours--I wanna see you on the golf course in Florida after New Year's."

Mayors of New York City

103. John V. Lindsay (Republican/Democrat-Liberal) January 1st, 1966-December 31st, 1973
104. Barry Farber (Republican-Conservative) January 1st, 1974-December 31st, 1977
105. Mario Cuomo (Democrat-Liberal) January 1st, 1978-December 31st, 1981
106. John LeBoutillier (Republican-Conservative) January 1st, 1982-December 31st, 1989
107. Richard Ravitch (Democrat-Liberal) January 1st, 1990-December 31st, 1997

Mayor John Lindsay would be considered a disaster. Such was his administration disgraced and, in consequence, his coalition shattered, that a joint Republican-Conservative ticket would manage to weasel its way into a plurality in the incredibly hectic 1973 mayoral election. Farber, however, was a poor fit for the city, taking drastic measures to curb the city's oncoming "debt timebomb". The need for the federal government to bail NYC out--despite the Mayor's protests--would doom an administration that never seemed to get started. Nevertheless, the city would not treat his successor lightly, either. The ramifications of the last eight years were being felt as Mario Cuomo united the Democrats and the Liberals for the first time, winning a majority in the two-way 1977 election. Dealing with skyrocketing crime rates, citizen flight, white and middle class outrage over public housing projects, and seeming failure to readjust the city's finances, Cuomo would be the second "Democratic Liberal" to be felled by a Republican/Conservative coalition. John LeBoutillier, a son of privilege, was hardly an experienced NYC politico. He had instead risen to political prominence as a chief fundraiser for George McGovern's 1974 ouster. Elected to Congress in 1978 and re-elected in 1980 in a Queens district, LeBoutillier honed a (rather ironic) populist, anti-crime message, choosing to emphasize cultural over economic issues. While the Mayor would have a rocky relationship with the City's immigrant communities, his introduction of new police powers and tactics would prove popular even as the the crime rate continued its rise.

New York City Democrats would be forced to learn the lessons of their national-level counterparts three years early. Opting against nominating "squishy liberals", Richard Ravitch, a Democrat who had worked for officeholders from both parties at the national, statewide, and city levels, would be nominated. Liberals begrudgingly towed the Democratic line for Ravitch, but most of the grumbling came from the "activist left". Ravitch's record was appraised as that of a "union buster", among other things. Nevertheless, the outsider was what the city wanted as the right again ate itself seeking a successor to LeBoutillier. Ravitch continued the escalation of police powers while also supplementing it with anti-poverty policies. Liberal Party officials, however, were seeking a change. Since the demise of the Lindsay regime, the Liberals had undergone a demographic change, as anti-Democrat ex-Republicans were paired with left-wing activists who had tired of a perceived rightward shift in the Democratic Party. Thus, community organizers and environmentalists were seated alongside "Rockefeller Republicans", and a chaotic nominating process in 1997 resulted in a by-and-large three-way race to succeed Ravitch.

()

Above: Rudy Giuliani, a former Democrat who had served in the Dole Justice Department and as Linwood Holton's Attorney General, was the Republican and Conservative nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997. In the midst of left-wing vote splitting, Giuliani crafted a tough-on-crime and moderate message, seemingly in the spirit of "Rockefeller Republicans" of old to win New York's center and right. Nevertheless, his image was not that of a WASPy son of privilege and scion of "good government", but instead that of a Brooklyn "tough guy" who made the Republican Party that of white men from the "streets".

Rudolph W. Giuliani, former United States Attorney General, was well-poised to seek the Mayoralty. A former Democrat, his time as Attorney General had made his tough-on-crime reputation, while his return to New York City was marked by the forging of ties with moderates in all camps. Combining anti-crime and pro-police rhetoric with moderate stances on social and fiscal issues--and a large campaign budget--Giuliani cruised to victory over opponents to his right in the Republican primary while benefiting from vote-splitting in the Conservative primary. Right-to-Life, nevertheless, refused their endorsement. The Liberal primary was emblematic of the party's identity crisis, as older party members supported Giuliani, there was a small "Draft Ravitch" attempt, and the newer "activist" crowd and Jewish voters nominated Carol Bellamy. The Democrats, meanwhile, facing a minority revolt, nominated the Reverend Al Sharpton. With the center lacking a home among both Democrats and Liberals, Giuliani forged a coalition to achieve a near-majority, and victory.

What was unique to the Giuliani campaign, compared to previous moderate campaigns in the Northeast, was the populist "tough guy" Brooklyn image Giuliani used to moderate effect. Previously, the campaigns of the likes of Linwood Holton, Prescott Bush, Jr., Nelson Rockefeller, Charles Goodell, Arlen Specter, and so on had relied on an amount of middle class "sensibility" and "good government". Giuliani instead combined the rhetoric of successful conservative campaigns and the politics of moderate and liberal administrators. He had relied significantly on New York City's white ethnic community in ways that, while not unique, were relatively new to moderate Republican campaigns.

Atari Democracy Pt. II

Historians would describe a President Hart who, having shored up his domestic support between 1994 and 1996, looked outward on a world rife with danger. The collapse of the Middle East Peace Process after 1993 and the stirrings of a Second Intifada, chaos ex-Communist states, and the destabilization of the “American” regime in Iraq were combining to create what the President described as “A sub-continental, Eurasian terrorism hotspot spanning from Eastern Europe to the Near East and North Africa that will be the crux of America’s national security problems into the next century.”

In Iraq, the democratic, pro-American regime that the Holton administration had installed and attempted to defend had been weak and poorly accepted by the Iraqi people. Nevertheless, with the help of NATO and United Nations forces, it had successfully fended off attacks from fundamentalist and Marxist insurgents. Nevertheless, the rise of Al-Qaida in the Middle East as well as its proximity to Islamist regimes such as Iran had made “America’s newest ally in that region” a hotbed of terrorist activity.

The first steps the administration took in 1997 to “secure our citizenry and territory into the 2010’s” included petitioning NATO and even the European Union to begin admitting post-Soviet states. Hart’s intention was to produce standards for new governments to abide by while also producing incentives for them to Westernize. Most importantly, these countries would now have the legitimacy and backing of international organizations with strong militaries and powerful economies to prop them up. Nevertheless, bringing less well-established governments with poor records of human rights along and turning them into true “liberal democracies” would not be easy.

The second part of what the President styled the “Hart Doctrine” would be coraling the federal law enforcement, national security, intelligence, and foreign policy apparatus into aiding in the fight against terrorism. From State and the DoD to the CIA, the FBI and the ATF, white papers were circulated through several departments and independent agencies about the importance of focusing increasingly on terrorism. Nevertheless, issues of a far more prurient nature would take center stage, derailing what President Hart had come to view as his major focus and legacy.

The publication, in June of 1997, of a series of expose articles on the President’s personal life would draw major attention from the Republican opposition. After the fall of Robert F. Kennedy two decades earlier, many liberals in the press were surprised at what power the media had demonstrated in contributing to the resignation of a President. Some media institutions had been so intimidated by their felling of a liberal icon that a “hands off” approach was taken. It would be noted that, had the tough investigative attitude of the 1970’s media been taken in the 1980’s, Hart’s affairs would have been caught far sooner. A string of affairs and semi-affairs, largely over-sensationalized, stemming from the mid-to-late 1980’s and beginning with his since-understated reputation as a womanizer and a fling with model Donna Rice, would come to dominate the airwaves. This, in a term that the President had hoped to devote to foreign policy and domestic progress. The Senate sessions in which social conservative Dan Quayle led the investigation to see if Hart’s affairs had violated the Constitution would go down as particularly dark and unproductive in Advanced Placement US History books. Nevertheless, they had the desired effect of placing the President’s moral legitimacy under intense scrutiny.

()()

Left: Future President Gary Hart with then-model Donna Rice in 1987. Evidence of Hart and his mistresses being unearthed and re-publicized in the late 1990's would mar the Chief Executive's second term. Right: Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana would raise his national profile in attempting to aggressively pursue President Hart legally using the platform of the United States Senate.

On August 7th, 1998, explosives were detonated at American embassies across the Middle East and North Africa--Iraq, Nairobi, Kenya and Tanzania. However, the most significant attack was the explosion of an unmarked van in Times Square in New York City. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was quick to respond, with his actions in the days to follow winning their own headlines. However, unsatisfactory responses at embassies during and immediately after the explosions would spur investigations against Secretary of State Ferraro’s department. In the aftermath of what would become known as "the August 7th, 1998 attacks" or, more simply, "8/7", America would come before the United Nations and NATO requesting cooperation in battling Al Qaida through freezing its international assets, arresting identifiable members, securing their own countries, and pressuring, if not toppling, regimes that supported or otherwise tolerated the terrorist group.

Domestic action would include the creation of the August 7th Commission, chaired by Senator Joseph R. "Bob" Kerrey and former Secretary of Defense Larry Pressler. The Commission's objective was to evaluate the security failures that had occurred prior to August. This included not only the physical security failures of that day, but investigative an analytical problems, as well as the overall policies that had spurred the motivations of Al-Qaida and other Islamist groups. The Commission's summary findings would show that the President's decision to refocus America on terrorism had been either too late, or ineffectual as organizational culture of governmental agencies such as the CIA were still primed to Cold War frequencies and had chosen to, in the interim, target organized crime, among other things.

In a mid-term season, the attacks, despite their tragic nature, would have ordinarily benefited the President's party. Nevertheless, by October, attention had shifted from the rallying around the administration and Hart's valiant post-8/7 counter-terrorism efforts to evaluating how such security breaches had occurred in the first place. The publication of the Commission's findings became fodder for Republican insurgents in Democratic states. The post-attack stock market crash, aided in many ways by the collapse of Internet-based futures would only be fuel to the fire of what pundits were starting to call the "Democratic freefall" as October 1998 came to a close.

February 1999

Bryan Mattingly was a strange choice to be the eldest child in his home. Lacking his father's large build and beset with a lack of self confidence, he made easy prey in a private, Catholic high school like University of Detroit Jesuit, as he had made easy prey in other schools before. Despite Bryan's hatred for his schooling, his parents absolutely refused to transfer him. "I'd hope that you'd be aware of the opportunities that you will have that neither myself, nor your mother, ever had!" The importance and expense of his education mattered little to Bryan as he gritted his teeth to survive lacrosse hazing his freshman year--a sport he would never touch after 1995.

A recluse, introverted loner who had eschewed organized sports and despised the school's social hierarchy, it was unsurprising that Bryan became a smoker, a drug user, and, by senior year, was guilty of routine absenteeism. The school, feeling blessed to have the Governor send his offspring there, was willing to occasionally give Bryan, who had shown himself to be a more than capable student and a high scorer--when he opted to attend--a free pass. Nevertheless, Mattingly wanted nothing of the sort, and the two had routinely sparred--both verbally and sometimes physically. "Do you know how hard both your mother and I worked to be at the point where we can afford to send not only you, but your brothers and your sister to private schools!?"

Christian Mattingly, for the record, was more than disappointed to receive calls from the school over Bryan's nonattendance, the discovery of cigarettes in his locker, and so on. Bryan's decision to associate with the degenerate elements of the school's social structure, and the accompanying augmentation of his appearance, dress, and school uniform were unwelcome in the Mattingly household. Their eldest son's determination to major in philosophy and literature upon graduation in the spring of 1999 was also a bit disconcerting. Retiring from the Governorship on January 1st, 1999--Mattingly had foregone a third term for a litany of reasons, Bryan being one of them--Christian began to live full time away from Lansing and decided to settle accounts with a son he'd never really gotten along with.

PA: Bryan Mattingly, please come to the principal's office.
Bryan: F#cking great...
Nameless Sh#thead Friend: Good luck. *smirk*

Bryan wiped his nose and snorted as he trudged down the hall to the administrator's office. "I want a smoke" ran through his mind. As he passed his locker, he opened it and shoved his pack into his back pocket.

Secretary: Bryan, your father is here to pick you up. Please grab whatever you need from your locker.
Bryan: F#cking great...
Secretary: Hey!

Within fifteen minutes, Bryan had climbed into the passenger seat of his father's Huron Automotive Chippewa Pickup. The former Governor would never apologize to anyone for having shamelessly stolen the names of Native American tribes for automobile series.

Bryan: So what the f#ck is this about?
Mattingly: Jesus, do you ever not hate everything around you?
Bryan: [glare]
Mattingly: Listen, Bryan, you're a senior this year. By September, you won't be living in this house.
Bryan: *Sigh* Thank God...
Mattingly: What is this about you? The reason I'm picking you up today, early, is so I can drive you home without your siblings. You're my oldest son, the first kid I ended up raising. Your mother will pick up the others. Before you leave, before you're gone forever at some God-forsaken liberal arts college in New England, I'd like to try to understand you, just for a second.
Bryan: A bit late for that...

Mattingly pulls over outside a liquor store.

Mattingly: Budweiser okay?
Bryan: Uh, what?
Mattingly: Shut the f#ck up, I know you're a drunk.
Bryan: Uh, Budweiser's fine.

Seeing his dad re-enter the truck a few minutes later, Bryan scoffs.

Bryan: Only a six pack!?
Mattingly: Jesus...

A few minutes later, the truck pulls over in a parking lot on the Detroit River. Through the snow, one can make out Belle Isle. The lot is run down and borders some of the city's canals. The pair disembark, and Mattingly sits atop a picnic table and cracks open the first bottle of the six pack.

Mattingly: Smokes, let's go.
Bryan: Huh?
Mattingly: You think you're not my son? Let's have 'em.

Bryan takes out the crumpled pack of Marlboro Reds. Mattingly lights one and tosses the pack back to his son.

Mattingly: Go ahead, you pussy, light one. Have a beer.

Bryan follows his orders.

Mattingly: Y'know, Brye, I used to wonder if you were ever my son. Your mother and I didn’t know where’d you gotten this. You used to be such a happy child. But, you remind me of your Uncle Pete too much. He was a lot like you. I guess there’s a certain melancholy that runs in our veins. I’d buried mine long ago, but he couldn’t. He excelled at school, on paper one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.
Bryan: Uh… Where’s this going?
Mattingly: Quiet. Drink. He ended up at Berkley in the 1970’s. Got a degree in, what, Asian studies? And a masters in, I wanna say, sociology. He was working for the State Department when he took his life in, uh, San Francisco in 1980. Year before you were born. Some thought he was a gay.
Bryan: What!?
Mattingly: The point is that I don’t want you to end up like him. You go off, to some f#cking obscure school and you’ll study what you want. I mean, philosophy was interesting, but it’s not a career. You’ll find yourself in a rabbit’s hole. What are you supposed to be doing in four years?
Bryan: F#ck if I know!
Mattingly: Listen… You’ve been angry all your life. You’re not unique in that. I spent most of my young adulthood fighting; and if I wasn’t going up against competitors, it was against myself. I wrenched myself through several harrowing years of battling my own physical limits in order to get our family to the point it is now. But you… You’ve turned it into something else entirely. Rebellion, drugs, in some cases property defacement? And you’ve quit half the sh#t we’ve put before you. Remember lacrosse? Hell, remember chess club, for God’s sake!
Bryan: F#ck you, old man! You left me to die in that school! Don’t think that this little pep talk is going to change a damned thing. Do you remember how many times I asked you to let me not go there? Just because you trained yourself to be a domineering bully to battle your own bullies doesn’t mean you needed to make me do that!

Mattingly’s fist shakes as he resists sending 215 pounds of force across his first-born’s insolent face.

Mattingly: You sent that kid to the hospital! Do you know how much I had to battle school administration to let you stay in UDJ after that!?
Bryan: F#ck that, you think they would expel “the Governor’s son”!? And of course, you keep saying it was about me and my future! Keep telling yourself that you, the successful businessman, the rugged individualist, the f#cking head of the state of Michigan would ever tolerate a son in a public school. The reason you forced me into sports was so you didn’t have “that loser” as your offspring. Well guess what, it happened! I wasn’t made for this- this- this life you built for me. If you stopped trying to live vicariously through your kids, then maybe you’d understand that the lifestyle you wanted to lay claim to isn’t for everyone!
Mattingly: Jesus, you are Peter all over again… You know the words he was spouting as he prepared to off himself? That he wasn’t supposed to be on this Earth! And if you don’t get yourself together, you’ll end up another angry young man who decided he belonged underneath the Golden Gate Bridge instead of above-ground! And do you know how much that wrenched everyone around him the first time it happened!? God, if anyone ever hears about your little “attempt” from last year…
Bryan: There it is again! Oh no, not the Governor’s son, not the son of the future President, even having been suicidal! Oh, we wouldn’t want to have news get out about the “failed father”, nooooo, we could never let that happen! The biggest blackmark on your precious legacy!

Mattingly sighed. Taking on a 150-lb. runt, let alone one that was his son, would prove nothing. After several more similar exchanges, both were too angry and too tired to consider hitting each other. And the beer and cigarettes had both run out.

Mattingly: Listen, Bryan… [picks up empty cigarette pack] Listen f#cking good. You know you’re dead outside our house without some precious trust fund to put you through any of those God-forsaken schools you want out East. We’re hardly low-income enough either to get you some FASFA. Quit this sh#t [tosses him the crumpled packet] pass your classes for the last semester, and we can get you some time out of here. Deal
Bryan: Whatever you say, old man.
Mattingly: Now get in the car. Your mother’s waiting for us; dinner’s probably cold by now.

* * *

"I... I didn't think I would ever understand my father. Throughout my youth, all he represented to me was whatever adolescent conception of fascism I had at the time. He was authority; demanding, oppressive, and somehow omnipresent. It- it wasn't until I had the chance to really evaluate his upbringing on my own, and from speaking to some of his siblings, that I gained an appreciation of the forces that shaped him and made him... No, of course not. I would never vote for him. That said, I think a fairer assessment ought to be made of his time in office."

-Interview with writer and artist Bryan Mattingly, 2020's

October 29th, 1998
Television

Media Whore: Hello, and welcome to our counterpoint segment. Now, in the last few days, the Hart administration has been working overtime to formulate an effective response to the August 7th attacks. We've brought on Jefferson Dent, who served twice as Secretary of State under three Presidents, as well as being a Senator from Alabama. For the Republicans in Senator Dave MacKenzie of Vermont, who is notable most recently for his authorship of the Secure Surveillance Act.
MacKenzie: First off, thanks for having us both on. While I did not have the privilege of serving alongside the former Secretary of State very long, I have little doubt as to his talents as a legislator or his knowledge on foreign policy.
Dent: Uh, the same. *Smirk*
MacKenzie: Secondly, I'd like to say that the prayers of all here and of my family back in Vermont are with the victims of those horrible attacks. That said, now is the time for resolve. It is incumbent on the United States government to secure the lives and safety of our citizens.
Dent: If, uh, we've slid right into discussing the Secure Surveillance Act, I can guarantee you that a surrender to fear is not going to strengthen the resolve of the United States.
MacKenzie: Um, if the former Secretary of State will allow me to expound upon my point for a moment-
Dent: Excuse me, Senator MacKenzie, but the point that you and every loud-mouthed legislator has been trying to make since early August has been more than made and more than expounded upon! The fact that the President has been so willing to radically expand the surveillance state in this reflexive fashion is the absolute abdication of civil liberty in this country. I'm glad that President Hart has selected myself and a few other key diplomats to begin making overtures to the Arab States in order to bring this battle non-disruptively directly to our enemies, but the administration actions at home are incredibly, incredibly concerning.
MacKenzie: Hold on for a second, Dent! If there's any lesson we can learn from the 8/7 attacks, it is that our enemies could be anywhere, and we may be powerless to help them! But- we shouldn't be surprised that the man who engineered our surrender in Iraq is trying to do the same at home!
Dent: Are you attempting to discuss, in-depth, our withdrawal from the needless conflict in Iraq that wasted billions of American dollars and hundreds of American lives?
MacKenzie: I want to take this moment to express solidarity with former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. He's been absolutely correct that our decision to appease Middle Eastern extremists and tin-pot dictators prompted the perception in that region that we are weak and vulnerable.
Dent: This is exactly the short-sighted, single-faceted thinking that the Republicans have been promoting since the end of the Cold War as a fix-all solution to dilemmas of national security. If this is the type of dialogue that the current Chair of the Senate Republican Caucus is willing to engage in, I see no more reason to be here.

Dent rips off his microphone and walks away from the camera.

December 4th, 1998

Pundit Moron: Now, we're about to connect with Professor, uh, Rick Hudson from Wayne State University.

The television screen splits to reveal Dick Hudson, legs crossed, puffing a pipe in his office.

Hudson: Oh, um, uh, hello, glad to be here.
PM: For those of you unfamiliar, Dr. Hudson has served in the administration of the retiring Governor Christian Mattingly and has, eh, written extensively on issues of public policy from crime prevention, to anti-poverty programs to, well, uh, fittingly, counter-terrorism.
Hudson: Yeah, uh, that about sums it up.
PM: Specifically, you did extensive research and strategy work for the 1990 Mattingly gubernatorial campaign, and then drafted several of his initial policy initiatives. At least, per your curricula vitae...
Hudson: Uh, yes, that seems probably correct, yes.
PM: Well, Professor, we're glad that you agreed to this interview. You former boss, Governor Mattingly, has been discussed by some as a potential presidential contender.
Hudson: I, yeah, I'd heard about that, yes.
PM: Well, naturally, we who are in the business of political speculation are, of course, looking for any potential information out there on this, er, issue.
Hudson: [puffs pipe; the office's smoke thickens as Hudson allows the Pundit Moron to continue]
PM: Er... Governor Mattingly's snap decision about a year ago to not run for a third term has been curious. Can you offer any explanation on that?
Hudson: Honestly, Pundit Moron, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed that you hadn't asked me about my academic work. Especially given the context of the August 7th terrorist attacks.
PM: I mean, I'm sure we could have you on on another day, this, however... eh, is a segment specifically dedicated to electoral, as opposed to policy, discussion.
Hudson: *Smirk* *Pipe puff* In, uh, any case, all I can tell you is what Chris has told his close friends and family. Why did he opt for retirement? Why does anyone? I have no doubt he could have easily cruised to re-election had he opted for a third term. Nevertheless, his family is at an important turning point. His eldest son is graduating this June, he's been working sixteen hours a day since, from what I can tell, the mid-70's.
PM: Interesting... Can you tell us anything about rumors that he may set his sights on the presidency?
Hudson: Heh. Uh, well, as you know, Chris is a very ambitious person. He rose to the top ranks of his industry within a few years. Michigan was one of the fastest-improving states up through the mid-1990's. Nevertheless, I feel the reasons that Christian chose to retire from the Governorship are the reasons why he has yet to announce. If I hear any more, I can assure you that I will not betray the Governor's confidence.
PM: Uh, well, I'm sure Governor Mattingly is glad to have such a great friend-
Hudson: Trust me, he is. *Smirk* *Pipe puff*
PM: Well, uh, since we have a few minutes left and we are still discussing 2000 speculation, and you are in academia... In the academic community, how familiar are you with Dr. Scott Westman, a professor at Montana?
Hudson: *Smirk* Yes, I'm familiar with the former Senator and 1980 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee.
PM: While Westman's political credentials are oft-discussed, can you offer us any insight as to his academic reputation? His most recent publication was a few years ago, Class, Conflict, & Tammany Hall. Have you gotten around to reading it?
Hudson: *Smirk* Yes, I read it in, I wanna say, a week. Fantastic work. But, for those of us familiar with his CV, there's a reason he chooses to publish in book form rather than article. He has a tremendous tendency to introduce language that would never be accepted in journals.
PM: And, uh, as someone who, per our information, was responsible for the much, well, rather unjustly ignored 1992 Republican Postmortem, do you have any opinions as to what a Westman candidacy might yield?
Hudson: From everything I've read by and about the man, he's an incredibly intelligent man, and I can tell you that we in the community of observers would be more than welcome to the prospect of his entry into the race. In all honesty, possibly one of the most entertaining figures in modern politics. In terms of possible electoral strength? Doomed. As a character, he's great, but unless the GOP put up someone incredibly useless, he'd be crucified. The Democrats will need someone far more... disingenuous if they hope to retain the White House, or even to secure their historical legacy.
PM: Oh, uh, thank you. Well, whaddayaknow? That's all the time we have. Thanks, Dr. Hudson!
Hudson: Thank y-

Willard Milton

Moderate. Progressive. Pragmatic. Conservative. Liberal.

Mitt Romney, since his political career had begun, had been, as one might describe President Hart, "politically hard to label". In the 1980's, as he would later clarify, the son of George W. Romney had been an "independent", and, during President Holton's single term in office, a member of a Republican administration. Nevertheless, he had contributed to the Tsongas campaign and served in his cabinet. Following the Siren's song of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, he agreed to re-register, in order to be the champion to take down conservative Boogey Man Governor John Silber in 1994.

List of Governors of Massachusetts
64. Francis W. Sargent (Republican) January 22nd, 1969-January 2nd, 1975
65. Michael Dukakis (Democrat) January 2nd, 1975-January 4th, 1979
66. Edward J. King (Republican) January 4th, 1979-January 4th, 1983
67. Michael Dukakis (Democrat) January 4th, 1983-January 3rd, 1991
68. John Silber (Republican) January 3rd, 1991-January 5th, 1995
69. Willard "Mitt" Romney (Democrat) January 5th, 1995-Present

Having officially become a Democrat in October 1993, and being ruled as having maintained sufficient ties to the state, Romney began to launch a dynamic campaign against Silber. The former President of Boston College harbored an unorthodox and idiosyncratic ideology and, due to this and other things, had presided over a rocky term. Romney, with experience in Washington under two parties' administrations and an extensive business background portrayed himself as prepared to address the Bay State's fiscal issues. Meanwhile, despite a socially liberal platform that the majority of the state seemed to support, Romney's stable family life and heavy involvement with his church--combined with his status as a businessman and a "jobs creator"--uniquely positioned him to appeal to Republicans and even conservatives in the state. 1994 would be a landslide.

Romney's record as Governor, while overly successful and popular, was hard to pigeonhole as "liberal" or "conservative". In terms of homosexual rights, transportation, hate crime laws, and the environment, Romney's term had been notably progressive. Moreover, he had made significant pushes for an increase in the presence of technology in education, including his successful initiative to provide every Massachusetts schoolchild a laptop. Perhaps the greatest success of Romney's first term would be the passage of "Romneycare", a plan that mirrored that which he had pushed at the federal level in 1993 including new regulations on the healthcare industry and a "universal mandate" to purchase insurance. He had also positioned himself in a populist light in closing corporate tax loopholes as a "tax-free" means of closing Mass' large deficit. On abortion, while the Governor supported "safe and legal" abortion, he was notably silent on the issue outside of necessary campaign statements, and left-wing activists would decry his preference for fee-raising as opposed to taxation as a form of "regressive class warfare".

()

Above: Democratic Governor Mitt Romney (left), pictured with Massachusetts First Lady Ann Romney (right), would easily win re-election in 1998 despite a nationwide backlash against his party. His status as a popular governor with an inoffensive and moderate record would position him well in the light of 2000 presidential speculation despite hailing from a reliably Democratic state.

Soaring to a comfortable and easy re-election in 1998 (though hardly as sweeping as his race against Silber), some were already beginning to look at the former Republican as a potential 2000 contender. With Hart's emerging image problems and the need for the party to appear "family friendly" again, the squeaky-clean Governor from the same state John F. Kennedy and Paul Tsongas--perhaps the only two well-regarded Democratic ex-Presidents since FDR--looked more and more like the hero they needed. A Romney candidacy would also re-affirm many of the party's accomplishments since 1992, as well as its failed efforts. There was very little concern that "Mitt" would push back against any of President Hart's agenda. There was concern among the party's left, however, that Romney lacked any real connection to labor or class issues, and that he would fail to champion many of the social justice issues that Hart administration had so explicitly valued.

Golden Girls
Nation Review, 1999

The growth of the much-made-of "gender gap" since the 1970's prompted, among liberal Democrats, the perceived need to elevate a woman to the Presidency. This goal often took place and priority over the search for a President with the necessary qualifications for the post. Perhaps the first, and most blatant, attempt at this was the nomination by Marx disciple Christopher Garrett of Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder in 1984 for the Vice Presidency. Schroeder, despite by then having amassed twelve years in the United States House of Representatives, showed herself to not only be unprepared for the national spotlight, but also far, far, far to the left of what America needed or wanted. Much like Garrett himself.

Schroeder would return to the House, and even twice examine her chances at the nomination; first in 1988, then in 1992. She would find herself crowded out by more experienced (and, through pure happenstance, male) statesmen who had the added benefit of a lack of association with a failed and far left Democratic ticket. The former time, she would quickly crumple under the weight of fellow Coloradon Hart and enthusiastically join his campaign. Nevertheless, she has retained significant and disproportionate respect among Beltway feminists. He political career was saved two years ago with her emergency appointment to the position of Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare. It is the consensus theory that the Hart administration, having tired of shilling for gay rights, intended to instead focus on pandering to ~50% of the population--perhaps politically more wise.

Now, with Democrats inevitably searching for a nominee to lead them into the new millennium, and with the prospect of an African-American President in the form of current second-in-command Doug Wilder, some in the party would prefer instead that a woman take the lead. To quote the ever-abrasive Gloria Steinem, "Black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark a ballot". Shades of the abortive Schroeder runs, and the media disasters that they were, abound.

Nevertheless, dear Pat may not be the Democrats' preferred champion. While she, undoubtedly with an eye, once more, at higher office, will likely run, and she will, undoubtedly, garner significant support from her own shadowy corners of the far left, Patricia Schroeder likely lacks the substance to sustain a months-long national campaign. Her controversial comments regarding abortion and women's rights stemming back to her initial entry into fame, combined with a lack of real stature, will serve as a perpetual hamper. Nevertheless, the Democrats have a far better-polished pink paper tiger ready for 2000.

Geraldine Ferraro has oft-been discussed as a potential nominee. Her rise to fame would be precipitated by the selection of Schroeder, as many national Democrats scrambled for a competent-seeming alternative. Ferraro's record is a shade to the right of Schroeder, having run early on as a tough-on-crime, pro-capital punishment, "small-c 'conservative'". Despite her liberal boiler-plate stances on abortion and other issues, Ferraro has maintained an eternally tough outward demeanor, owing to her keen political instincts and the typical concerns that obstruct female candidates. She has carried this veneer to the cabinet, both as Attorney General and now as Secretary of State.

()()

Left: Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder. Right: Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro. Both women are pictured in their halcyon 1970's/1980's careers. Now, as they serve alongside each other in President Hart's cabinet, both will no doubt be tapped for the Presidency. The possibility of either presents problems for voters interested in a balanced budget, traditional values, a strong national defense, and anti-corruption measures.

Make no mistake, however. Ferraro, despite having cobbled together an appreciable narrative as a "fighting female DA from 1970's New York City!" has never been a candidate for middle America. As her tenure in the House progressed, she shifted noticeably to the left, becoming more the generic liberal Democrat her original career had been dependent on her not being. And, while as the nation's Attorney General and Secretary of State, she has maintained very muscular rhetoric in the face of criminal and terrorist foes alike, her on-paper record lies a bit to the left. What goes unexamined are her attempts to strengthen America's ties to allies of questionable loyalty, to weaken the nation's relationship with Israel, and to go dangerously soft on the very "super predators" she has denounced in public. Her time as the nation's most powerful prosecutor was spent targeting American companies, especially in the fuel and tobacco industries. When it came to drug dealers and urban violent crime, she told state and city legal arms to "take care of yourselves. There are tremendous resources available to you beyond the federal government." The Federal Bureau of Investigation is only one division of the nation's extensive law enforcement apparatus that saw dangerous cuts during the first part of Ferraro's tenure in the cabinet. And as for what anti-corruption measures she did pursue, there were a number of Democratic campaign contributors with cases brought against them that seemed to see their cases simply disappear...

When it comes to personal corruption, meanwhile, her husband--potentially the first "First Gentleman" in our once-proud history--John Anthony Zacarro, has been named in a litany of New York City real estate investigations, including bribery, illegal financing, and tax evasion. Ferraro's position as Attorney General has allowed these allegations to as well face a seeming existential crisis and flee from court dockets. For a woman who has seemingly been primed to seek the nomination through heading the nation's law enforcement and diplomacy, she has an absurd amount of skeletons in her closet. A Ferraro presidency would be a dangerous continuance of the legacy of incompetence, weakness, and corruption that President Hart will be leaving the nation on January 20th, 2001.

Instead, if the nation truly does want a female President, the Republican Party does have an alternative. Elizabeth "Liddy" Dole has not only already spent eight years as close to the Presidency as one can imagine, but has served in Washington D.C. since the 1960's and as a cabinet Secretary under President Holton. While it may trouble some to see a last name return to the White House--the most recent example resulted in the resignation of a President and the spoiling of what might have been a dynasty--trust that Liddy is no Robert Kennedy. She has not only the experience, but the demeanor and the class necessary to lead the nation. Since entering the Senate, she has compiled a solidly conservative record and has opposed President Hart's disastrous direction for the country. Her philanthropic endeavors, including leading the Red Cross, alone make her a standout possibility for the Presidency, and the nation would be lucky to have her, as opposed to the sorry crew of tokens the Democrats seem to be dredging up.

Atari Democracy Pt. III

Gary Hart would be the first Democratic President to be left to deal with both a Republican Senate Majority and a Republican Speaker of the House since Harry S. Truman. The Republicans, having the advantage for the first time in a half-century, were prepared to “flay” the Coloradan “as need be”. Ted Stevens, retiring from the position of Senate Majority Whip, left open an important leadership position. In an ideological clash, two relatively new Senators squared off, with Bob Smith of New Hampshire narrowly beating out the more moderate David MacKenzie of Vermont, despite the latter’s longer Senate tenure and stature as a former Chair of the Senate Republican Caucus.

Despite Republican intentions to “stick the knife in and twiiiiiiiist”, there was also the important business of government to take care of, especially in the wake of possibly the most significant terrorist attack on US soil in the nation’s history. During the lame duck session of Congress, the recommendations of the 8/7 Commission had shed light on the apparent inability of the nation’s foreign policy, law enforcement, and national security apparatus to coordinate. The National Security Agency, the Justice Department and the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, and so on had failed to connect the dots between a thousand different data points. As such, the Homeland Security Act, passed in the first days of the new Congress, passed with seemingly unanimous support.

While former Defense Secretary Larry Pressler was a popular choice to be the first Secretary of Homeland Security, he turned down the opportunity, not wishing to lead the department. Instead, former New York City Mayor Richard Ravitch was selected, owing to his administrative experience in both the public and the private sector, his experience with urban issues, and the apparent success of his law enforcement policies in NYC. His successor, the near-celebrity post-8/7 Rudy Giuliani gave his very public support to the choice of Ravitch, and he was easily confirmed.

In terms of actual policy responses, Al Qaida’s overseas assets would be frozen with the cooperation of a number of countries. Former Secretary of State George H.W. Bush, with his connections to the Arab world and his extensive diplomatic experience, would be selected as a special envoy to the Gulf States in order to attain their cooperation. Ground troops would be sent into Iraq to “stabilize” the region, with significant US money being put towards the retraining and strengthening of Iraqi security forces. Nevertheless, the President would resist the urge to invade Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda had operated with a free hand, instead wrangling the permission to place troops in Pakistan, attempting to “surround and restrict the Taliban regime”. This exposed the President to accusations of foreign policy weakness.

Outside of national security, meanwhile, President Hart’s domestic agenda stalled in Congress, with only one piece of major legislation passing in the second half of his term: the repeal of Glass-Steagall. The President’s plans to allow gays to openly serve in the military fell flat, leaving in place the Tsongas-era “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The 1999 Firearms & Explosives Surveillance & Control Act, pushed by a coalition of moderate Republicans and liberal Democrats, would as well meet with stiff resistance, despite the President’s attempts to frame the issue in a homeland security light.

While the President would seek to bolster the “celebrity” persona he had cultivated in his first term by throwing the weight of his office behind liberal causes celebre and philanthropic endeavors to offset his political unpopularity, such efforts would not yield much success. Despite his ability to occasionally rally the center in support of his foreign and economic policies, the right had little interest in working with him and the left, which he had managed to cajole in years past due to support for similar social causes, was tired of tolerating the “neoliberal war President”. Massive protests at the 2000 meeting of the World Trade Organization would showcase that the nation’s “progressives” had long worn out their tolerance of the free trading “post-industrial” globalist. They wanted real change. “By 1999, it seemed my administration was politically over, and I had nearly two years left in office.” As such, much of President Hart’s last year in office would be reliant on executive orders. His decision to pardon millions of illegal immigrants, notably hispanics, would make him known by some on the far-right as the “second amnesty president” after Linwood Holton, who had done the same in 1989. The President would be happy to see the 2000 Presidential election steal the spotlight from him while he prepared to cap his legacy. Much to his chagrin, however, the majority of candidate rhetoric, and the results, would be cast as a direct referendum on his administration.

March 1999

Television Slob: ...Thank you! And now, we are on the air with Chris Mattingly. He is the former Governor of Michigan, served in President Bob Dole’s cabinet, and founded Huron Automotive. Governor, how are you today?
Mattingly: Fine, Chet. Uh, just uh glad to be here, y’know?
TS: Yes we do! Now, Governor, while you tried to keep a low profile while in office despite much media attention, since you stepped stepped down, you’ve made yourself known as an outspoken critic of President Hart.
Mattingly: Yes. I found it inappropriate to offer my undesired commentary on national issues while tasked with running the greatest state in the country, but I now have the freedom to speak my mind.
TS: Notably, however, you don’t seem to discuss President Hart’s foreign policy much, is that correct?
Mattingly: Absolutely. While, based on what I know, I would be running things differently with respect to the Arab world, I do not have the privilege of seeing or hearing classified CIA briefings. What the Hart domestic legacy has left is more than enough to fill several volumes’ worth of criticism. I have little desire to, at the same time, undermine our commander-in-chief’s credibility s a military and diplomatic executive abroad.
TS: Uh-huh. And, that said, you have claimed that the Hart administration has “sold out” American hegemony, yes?
Mattingly: It is hardly isolated to the President, or even to this President, but yes.
TS: When taken out of partisan context, many Republicans have supported the President’s reforms! Before the 8/7 attacks, the nation was on-track to a balanced budget, and Hart had received high marks from many world leaders.
Mattingly: All of that is practically irrelevant. From what I’ve seen, as a state executive, a cabinet member, and as someone who has been heavily involved in American industry for nearly a quarter century, I can tell you this: After the Cold War, the main mindset in Washington--and I observed this--was that we had, yes, won. Now, blessed with prosperity and--so it seemed--obviously, wisdom, we sought to spread the many blessings of our great country to the world abroad. The way we chose to do it was through the global diffusion of American industry. Factories were shut down and shipped to the Third World, with Republicans lauding how “pro-business” this was while Democrats told us we were strengthening our international ties and helping bring many a nation into modernity. Meanwhile, a Republican administration bolstered foreign aid, sending more and more federal money out of the country. I don’t think this was malicious, I think that was an act of incredible arrogance on the part of US policy-makers in both parties. The Hart administration has exemplified this trend and I think that this type of leadership needs to be brought to heel by the American people.
TS: *Heh* Governor Mattingly, are you running for President?
Mattingly: If I was, I’d have like to’ve been told!
TS: You’ve, well, you’ve also criticized the President’s social policies.
Mattingly: Uh… Is that a question?
TS: Well, eh, what is it you have to say about them?
Mattingly: In terms of having any commitment to maintenance of the American way of life, the last ten or so years have represented almost a complete abandonment by Presidents from both parties. Pro-abortion justices appointed left and right, and that’s just the start! Gary Hart has acted like the office of President ought to be used to put a significant amount of weight behind fringe social causes, making his presence at gay pride parades something of a novelty. His HEW Secretary, the radically anti-family Pat Schroeder, has shown a near-religious fervor in trying to use the power of the federal government to ram a left-wing social agenda down the throats of the American people.
TS: You’ve repeatedly attempted to lay the blame for what you refer to as America’s social and economic decay at the feet of both parties, and you often do say having isolated it to specific time periods. Within that time, the only Republican President has been Linwood Holton. Are you willing to call out your fellow Republican, does this pertain as well to Bob Dole, and do you see either of them as blameworthy as the current President?
Mattingly: Bob Dole is an American hero, and I was proud to serve in his cabinet. During his eight years, we laid the groundwork for demolishing the Soviet Union while bringing back a flagging American economy. I’m afraid that, since then, we’ve seen a crisis of leadership in America. Holton and Hart have had policies largely the same- socially liberal, economically globalist. Holton at least had a commitment to dealing with America’s urban and crime issues; the current occupier of the Oval Office seems to think that appearing with Jesse Jackson and handing out needles fills that space. Yet, Holton bears a considerable amount of blame for having chosen to have America “punt” in the first down after the Cold War.
TS: What about Paul Tsongas? You don’t seem to have any criticism for him here.
Mattingly: Paul Tsongas was perhaps one of the best the Democrats could have put forward, and I won’t shy away from saying that. It should be no surprise that someone from as liberal as Massachusetts had a commitment to some ridiculous “gay bill of rights”. Yet, he represented a class of statesman I don’t know if we’ll ever see again. During his short time he tried to undo the anti-American economic trend-lines while consolidating American strength at home. It’s honestly a shame he was rendered unfit to serve. Had he not been cursed with cancer, America, I think, would be a much safer and more prosperous place today.
TS: ...And it looks like we’re about to hit a commercial break, thank you Chris!
Mattingly: No problem, Chet!

Michigan's First
Vanity Fair, 1997

While it is unsurprising that, out of Michigan’s first family, the Governor, Christian Mattingly, would be in the spotlight the most. What is surprising, however, is the seeming utter absence of a Michigan First Lady. Catherine Diane “Kate” Mattingly (nee McNamara) has had very little written about her and, as far as we can tell, seems to prefer to keep it that way. She stands most directly in contrast to Helen Wallbank Milliken, the wife of Michigan’s last Republican Governor. Helen, now perhaps identified as one of the most outspoken critics of the male Mattingly’s administration, was nevertheless in her time a well-known and recognized presence in Michigan, notable for her involvement in a number of social causes. Most publicized was her decision to protest her own party’s convention, held in Detroit, in favor of pro-ERA language, which had been nixed by the platform committee, in 1980. Kate, as she prefers to be called, would likely not be recognized beyond family, friends, a few key political operatives, and Michigan legislators.

Nevertheless, the following is what is publicly available about her. Born February 2nd, 1955 in Royal Oak, Michigan to Michael and Brianna McNamara, the second and only girl of four children. It is assumed by those around her that her having been surrounded by boys gave her a demeanor that made it easy for her to form strong relationships in male-dominated businesses while also making her more intimidating when need be. It was probably also this unique charm that caused the Governor to fall for her many years later. She was enrolled at Shrine of the Little Flower High School, where her parents were also regular mass attendees. While her and Christian were both the children of Detroit’s postwar economic expansion, living in white suburbs, her parents were from a distinctly more well-off background, with Michael McNamara being an engineer for Chrysler. She graduated in 1973 near the top of her class. Opting not to marry her high school sweetheart, she chose to attend Wayne State University, graduating in 3 ½ years magna cum laude with a bachelors of science in engineering. With encouragement from her parents who were more than surprised to have their daugher be one of the a growing group of women engineers, she went to work for General Motors in January of 1977--before her 22nd birthday. She married Christian Mattingly, then a below-water executive of a small and growing automotive company, on January 16th, 1981. They had met at a 1979 Christmas party and began dating shortly thereafter.

What often goes undiscussed among the Governor’s socially conservative supporters is that their first child, Bryan Patrick Mattingly, was born on August 18th, 1981--noticeably less than nine months into their marriage. After that, Kate’s engineering career would be put on hold, as she became a homemaker and the hard-working wife of a workaholic--and possibly alcoholic--cigarette-chugging owner of one of the fastest-growing companies in the Mid-West. The only work she did would be for her husband's company, at many points unpaid, both as an engineer and as an informal manager and consultant. This, however, did not stop the Mattingly clan from growing, as Catherine “Cat” Elizabeth Mattingly was birthed on June 3rd, 1983, and the twins--the black-haired, older Matthew Ford Mattingly and the blonde, younger Michael James Mattingly--on October 2nd, 1985. The Mattingly children have, like their parents, consistently attended private Catholic high schools. Given changing residence, this has included De Lasalle and University of Detroit Jesuit for the boys and Regine for Cat.

It would only be after Christian Mattingly’s inauguration as Governor that Kate seemed to catch a break. Despite what can be ascertained as only unwavering support of and love for her husband, both personally and politically, she opted to dodge the spotlight of being a prominent First Lady for the state of Michigan. In one of her few interviews in 1991, she stated bluntly that “Michigan needs only one Governor at a time, and there are a million philanthropists more equipped to deal with the state’s pressing social problems at this time. In the meantime, I have a family to look after and I wish my husband the best of luck.” Nevertheless, it would be in 1991 that she began attending Michigan State University part-time, pursuing a masters of science in electrical engineering. Shortly after graduating in 1994, she received her MBA in 1995 and now works as an upper-level research project manager at one of the Detroit area’s largest engineering firms.

Despite the Governor’s conservatism--which, one might assume, at least, could be ascribed to Kate Mattingly as well--the First Lady offers an alternative view of what a wife, or even a First Lady, should be. Despite dodging the traditional role of cheerleader-to-the-Governor and endorser of grand social causes, Kate has remained deeply committed not only to her family, but to her career. She shows that, even with the national media attempting to peer in at every moment, a woman can thrive and foster in a way that her husband perhaps never imagined. What significant insights can be yielded from this remain to be seen, but, should the Governor attempt to make the leap to the national stage, her manner of conducting herself will certainly be a notable shift from political wives of the past.

The Race for the White House 2000

Despite several calls for him to enter the race, on January 8th, 1999, Vice President Douglas Wilder of Virginia would officially recuse himself of running for his boss’ position.

Promising to “beat out the big money in politics” and “restore a much-needed sense of dignity and commonsense to the White House”, Senator David MacKenzie of Vermont became the first prominent Republican to seek the Presidency in the upcoming 2000 election on February 18th, 1999. The day after, arch-conservative and regional rival Senate Majority Whip Robert Smith rose up to oppose the moderate Senator.

Congressman John Kasich, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, announced his candidacy for President on March 2nd, 1999.

Resigning from the cabinet a week before, former Health, Education, & Welfare Secretary Patricia Schroeder became one of the first major Democrats to run for President, announcing on International Women’s Day, March 5th, 1999. Schroeder was the first female nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1984 and had twice before attempted to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination.

On March 9th, 1999, Lamar Alexander, the 1996 GOP Vice Presidential nominee, former Tennessee Governor, and member of multiple Presidential administrations, launched his second campaign for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Despite a background as an insider, Alexander would again frame himself as an outsider. Having been the runner-up four years previous, and having helped bring in the South for Pete Wilson, many saw him as making a strong case for the nomination.

Becoming the first former First Lady to herself seek the White House, North Carolina Senator Elizabeth “Liddy” Dole launched her bid for the Presidency on March 10th, 1999. Outside of her husband’s White House and the Senate, Dole had served as a cabinet secretary for Linwood Holton and as President of the American Red Cross. Pundits warned that “Democrats had better watch out, Liddy Dole has prepared to ignite a Republican powerhouse!” Nevertheless, many on the left began to perceive her as “one of the most dangerous women in the country.”

On March 30th, 1999, a day after his birthday, former Defense Secretary Larry Pressler officially declined to pursue the nomination of either party, having been hounded by a combination of moderate Republicans, centrists, “Third Way” Democrats, and progressive seeking an inoffensive alternative to the Hart administration and the race’s frontrunnners. He stated that he hoped whoever either party nominated would be “dedicated to peace abroad and sane progress at home.”

On April 14th, 1999, Senator James Danforth “Dan” Quayle, Indiana’s junior Senator, decided to enter Presidential politics. The favorite of social conservatives, Quayle had pushed himself towards national prominence with his attempt to impeach President Hart over his extra-marital affairs. Quayle had previously curried the favor of the Religious Right by giving (sometimes unsolicited) speeches about single motherhood and the state of public education.

Speaking in a field in front of a long-abandoned anthracite mine in Iowa, former Senator Scott Westman of Montana entered the Presidential field on international socialist holiday May 1st, 1999. This choice of date would not go unnoticed by pundits. Promising to “radically restructure the economy in favor of the American worker”, Westman would draw fire from those to his right or, as he called it, “all the right places”. “Since 1969, every single American President has taken it upon themselves to scale back the gains of the New Deal and the Great Society. As we prepare to enter a new millennium, the people of this nation have a tremendous opportunity to ensure that what millions of men and women died for in strikes and on battlefields is not lost forever to the whims of plutocrats and neoliberal managerialists.”

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Governor Willard “Mitt” Romney announced his campaign for President on May 14th, 1999. Promising a “new American century” “based on the principles of tolerance and perseverance that have brought us this far”, Romney was hailed as a “post-political” candidate who could unite the country behind his agenda of “pragmatic progressivism”.

Deciding to cast his campaign in an anti-war light, Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut would seek the Presidency for the second time, joining the field right after Memorial Day on June 1st, 1999. Weicker had previously sought the 1980 Republican nomination. Nevertheless, rejoining the Senate in 1989 as an independent, Weicker had officially stepped into the Democratic fold in 1995.

The Race for the White House 2000

On June 16th, 1999, Secretary of State Geraldine Ferraro announced her campaign for President of the United States. In her announcement speech, she declared that “The United States had made vast and immeasurable progress over the past seven years. Nevertheless, the type of leadership we now require is that which can defend this progress, both from obstructionists at home and adversaries abroad.” Ferraro’s campaign would be reliant on projecting the image of a tough-on-crime, tough-on-terror liberal who would defend both the welfare state and civil rights while beating back criminals, terrorists, and “reactionary Republicans”. The first, and most obvious, criticism of the Secretary’s campaign would be that she could not possibly campaign for President while serving ably at her job.

Promising to “bring America’s enemies to heel”, former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney of Wyoming stepped into the fray to seek the Presidency on July 1st, 1999. His entry was applauded by other former Holton cabinet members and those described as being in the “neoconservative” movement. Former National Security Adviser and 1992 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Jeanne Kirkpatrick would appear on television later that day to endorse the Secretary. In a battle of contrasts, Congressman Thaddeus O’Connor[/color], known for his libertarian stances and opposition to overseas intervention, would announce one day after Independence Day, July 5th. O’Connor would receive lauds from Reason, as well as a number of Internet publications.

July 14th, 1999 would mark the end of the Kasich campaign as the Congressman opted to drop out. While some attributed this to his polling numbers, other also noted that sharing the responsibilities of chairing the House Budget Committee and running for President might have proven too much for the time being. He would endorse Elizabeth Dole for the nomination. On that same day, former Governor Dick Lamm became the second Coloradon to jump into the race on the Democratic side. A self-identified “progressive conservative”, Lamm’s heterodox political style would make him one among many unconventional candidates in the race.

In the August 14th, 1999 Ames, Iowa Straw Poll, Senator Dan Quayle underperformed, taking second place to Elizabeth Dole with Lamar Alexander taking a very distant third. Quayle had been spending the last four months practically living in Iowa, and many had expected his supposed grassroots evangelical support to deliver him a strong first place finish.

Former Senator William J. “Bill” Bradley announced his campaign for President on September 8th, 1999. The former basketball star’s Senate record, while nominally progressive, nevertheless showed signs of fiscal conservatism and support for low taxes. Despite this, he attempted to cast himself as a left-wing alternative to the race’s frontrunners.

Choosing to survey the emerging field before officially announcing, former Governor Christian Mattingly of Michigan would launch his own campaign for President on September 27th, 1999. “Surrender. That is perhaps the word that has most marked President Hart’s disastrous administration. As much as the strange and ungangly crew of Democrats that have stepped forward to continue his legacy will claim otherwise, the United States has failed on key metrics more than ever under him.”

Dismayed at the lack of support for the President during a foreign policy crisis and personally deriding Geraldine Ferraro’s candidacy as “a scandal-ridden tinderbox”, Senator Joseph “Bob” Kerrey would heed the calling of donors to enter the Democratic field. This would mark his second run for the nomination and his second time standing as a candidate against the grain in supporting--to an extent--incumbent administration foreign policy. “It seems that today’s political discourse is split mainly into two camps, comprised of those who would seek to withdraw us from the world entirely and to lay down our arms in the Middle East, and those that would have us flatten entire regions of the globe in bomb shrapnel. As someone who has not only served in war, but has served as Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and led the commission to investigate the terrorist attacks last year, this is more than appalling. That is why we need strong, seasoned leadership that can combine both the first-hand experience of war and extensive knowledge of defense policy.” Kerrey, like eight years prior, would be hailed by some Beltway DLC-ers as a potential “Democratic Bob Dole”--a wounded veteran to reach out to America’s heartland and reclaim it for the party.

On October 25th, 1999, former White House Communications Director Patrick J. Buchanan declined a third run for the Presidency. “At this point in our nation’s history, either our leaders will come to terms with the disastrous effects of Third World-meddling, rampant illegal immigration, trade liberalization, and abortion on-demand, or they won’t.” Buchanan also indicated some support for the candidacies of Scott Westman and Christian Mattingly, though declined to endorse. He had previously pursued the Republican nomination and twice run as a third party candidate. On October 28th, 1999, Senator Bob Smith dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination due to low polling, even in his home state of New Hampshire, endorsing Governor Mattingly.

“Pat Buchanan can take his approval and go straight to Hell”, stated former Senator Scott Westman on October 30th, 1999.

On November 8th, 1999 amid much speculation, Defense Secretary Colin L. Powell was forced to put down speculation as he steadfastly maintained that he did not plan on running for President. Powell in the past worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations and had not been identified with a party.

In another dropout, former Senator Bill Bradley would leave the Democratic campaign after admitting himself to a hospital for a previously undisclosed irregular heart on December 10th, 1999. David MacKenzie, who had planned a bi-partisan anti-”soft monday” event with him scheduled for a week later, would comment that Bradley was a “true public servant”.

Sorry if the last two posts gave anyone seizures. :P More detail as to the particulars of the candidates will be forthcoming; I desired not to have to post too much detail for every announcement date while also letting people know which candidates would be present so they didn't emerge out of the blue. In the past, I may have summarized elections a bit too much--outside of, perhaps, 1980--and I want to give this the requisite detail.

Quote from: Apocrypha on June 17, 2016, 11:08:35 PM

Sounds like Hart has been diminished to being the titular leader of his party, outside of non-partisan issues like national defense. This doesn't bode well for a dovish party trying to retain the White House in the wake of a national tragedy.

More humorously, there are some interesting similarities in here and our own contemporary politics. In real life, Donald Trump captured the Republican nomination after fear-mongering about free trade and immigration, while Romney (last election's Republican nominee) is #NeverTrump. ITTL, Mattingly has gone on the record condemning globalism, and Romney is an actual Democrat!

Last note, and devoid of substance: I'm imagining that Kate Mattingly would take on the role of First Lady similar to the way Laura Bush did.

Democrats in the general election will be saddled with the uncomfortable fact of having to square the circle of defending Hart's policies while also addressing public dissatisfaction--from both hawks and doves--with both Hart's foreign policy and how terrorist attacks were allowed to happen in the first place. Some candidates on both sides are seeking to actively de-politicize it--Mattingly, Romney, Kerrey (the first two due to lack of foreign policy depth, the third due to his sense of patriotism)--while others are using the possibility of war in the Middle East as a wedge issue (the majority of candidates on both sides; Dole & Cheney, Westman & Weicker). Ferraro's strategy is to tout the last eight years as a rousing success and see where it gets her. By a number of metrics, Hart has been a "successful President", it just so happens that one security breach threw his entire legacy into a tailspin and unearthed a lot of resentment from factions previously kept quiet.

I'm sure there are 2016 parallels, but there were currents of this sort of stuff as early as real life 2000--those upset on both the right and the left over globalization, Bush's decision to campaign against a world policing policy, Fukuyamaist arrogance, etc. That said, 2016 has served as a fantastic inspiration! :)

Lastly, right now the First Lady is Oletha "Lee" Ludwig, not Mrs. Mattingly, nor the wives of any other candidates.

The Race for the White House 2000

As it so happened, the Republican and Democratic fields would feature rough parity in the amount of candidates by the time the Iowa Caucuses drew nigh. While several other prominent Republicans had been itching to enter the field, a corps of major candidates bearing the banner of "movement conservatism"--the immediate frontrunner Liddy Dole, social conservative darling Dan Quayle, and "national security candidate" Dick Cheney--soaked up donor funding even before they announced their campaigns. Meanwhile, what little there was of a moderate to liberal establishment in the East rallied early around rising star David MacKenzie. Those that had pushed Wilson toward the finish line four years earlier discouraged the entry of other potential moderate standard bearers--Ridge, Specter, and Heinz of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire's Judd Gregg, former Governor Benson Rockefeller of New York, and Congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia--in order to push the nominally middle-of-the-road MacKenzie forward. What few counted on were three candidates dubbed rather whimsically as "the outsiders". Christian Matttingly, Lamar Alexander, and Thaddeus O'Connor were hardly new to politics, and all had flirted if not outright sought the Oval Office before--O'Connor himself having been on Holton's shortlist in 1988--but they had never been the choices of the people at the mythologized "top" for the position of President. And, while the media enjoyed crafting "establishment" vs. "anti-establishment" narratives, the latter lacked some of the uncritical positive portrayal of the former.

The Democratic field, by contrast, was surprisingly large, given that an incumbent Secretary of State with much establishment backing appeared to be leading it. The decision, however, of Vice President Wilder--a man popular with people at all ends of the party--had inspired the ambitions of a motley crew to challenge Ferraro for the Presidency. Jefferson Dent, the twice Senator, twice Secretary of State now seemingly resigned to disgruntled retirement in Mobile, Alabama, cynically noted that, but for perhaps one candidate, all the potential nominees were strikingly "post-New Deal", having chosen to champion the urbane, centrist neoliberalism of Bobby Kennedy and Gary Hart as opposed to the populism and grandiose visions of Franklin Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson. Instead, the principle opposition to Ferraro and, by proxy, to the incumbent President Hart, was made on two grounds: competence and foreign policy. The majority of the candidates at best opted for a "measured" approach to terrorism; aside from Ferraro, only Bob Kerrey opted to stand adamantly behind the White House. Meanwhile, the market crashes that had succeeded the 8/7 attacks, as well as the perception of US economic losses abroad, was met by most candidates with a pledge to double-down on issues such as education reform, deficit reduction, and "competence over ideology". While these candidates varied between the calm--some said "robotic"--Romney and the wiley Lamm, theirs was a difference of demeanor and style, not substance. Scott Westman was different. Having surged violently to the left on economics since his brief time spent with the Libertarian Party, and at the same time having reversed his previously libertine stance on abortion, the former Montana Senator was running a campaign that bore many labels--communitarian, Marxist, Christian Democratic, socialist, populist, etc. What was clear was that he represented a definite break from "business as usual" in Washington D.C., vowing to "not only reverse the trends of the past thirty years, but to set us on an entirely new path, grounded in the principles of equality and security."

The Race for the White House 2000

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Andrew Lamar Alexander, Jr. (Republican-Tennessee)
Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare 1992-1993
United States Ambassador to Japan 1985-1988
44th Governor of Tennessee 1975-1983

The 1996 nominee for Vice President, a veteran of the last three Republican Presidencies and a former two-term Governor of Tennessee--the youngest in the state's history--Andrew Lamar Alexander, who opted to go by his middle name, instead chose once again to cast himself as a populist campaigner. Despite his extensive political background, Alexander had been largely ignored by the media and the establishment, as money and attention pooled around "chosen" candidates like Liddy Dole and Dave MacKenzie. Despite a moderate record as Governor, Alexander was intent on building on his coalition from four years earlier, where his bedrock had been Southerners and evangelicals. Looking to extend into the Mid-West, Alexander railed against "big money" in politics, media bias, and the Hart administration's "abject incompetence". He was noted for traversing Iowa in a Ford Explorer, wearing his signature plaid shirt.

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Joseph Robert Kerrey (Democrat-Nebraska)
Co-Chair, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 1998-Present
United States Senator from Nebraska 1989-Present
35th Governor of Nebraska 1983-1987

Kerrey had no desired to seek the Presidency a second time. In 1992, many had hailed him as a potential savior of the party, yet he had left the field with a scant two victories in his home region and not even an offer to serve as Secretary of Defense! Nevertheless, the Vietnam vet had opted to take another look at the post of Commander-in-Chief. Remarking to an aid in mid-1999, the Senator had quipped that "Ferraro is a walking, scandal-ridden disaster waiting to implode, and the rest of the field will signal our surrender overseas!" Ferraro and Romney, as it stood, had been the only candidates prior to Kerrey's entry not waging a campaign based on some sort of withdrawal from the Middle East in the wake of the 8/7 attacks. For what it was worth, Romney had proposed an ill-hashed together foreign policy vision--choosing to focus instead on the economy and social issues. With that said, Bob Kerrey felt the party and the nation needed a strong candidate. Outside of foreign policy, Kerrey was promising a quiet continuation of administration policies and a balanced budget.

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Richard Bruce Cheney (Republican-Wyoming)
United States Secretary of Defense 1990-1993
Senate Minority Whip 1989-1990
United States Senator from Wyoming 1979-1990
Assistant Director of the Cost of Living Council 1971-1973
White House Staff Assistant 1971

Cheney was the Republicans' national security candidate. Despite having received several student deferrals during the Vietnam era, Cheney had spent years cultivating ties with neoconservative think-tanks, foreign policy hawks, and defense contractors while accumulating an acceptably conservative legislative record and consummate insider experience. Vowing to "bring America's enemies to heel", Cheney promised a United Sttaes that "can again be the principle player in world security", claiming that the "desperate retreat" of the last eight years were responsible for not only recent terrorist attacks, but also for "a nation in decline on the global stage, threatened by the rise of Asian mercantilists and a corp of dedicated, anti-Western extremists." He stood vigorously against campaign finance reform--"a draconian restraint on the right of every individual and firm to contribute to political conversation"; tough on crime; and in favor of an expanded surveillance system for law enforcement and national security reasons.

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Richard Douglas Lamm (Democrat-Colorado)
38th Governor of Colorado 1975-1989
Member of the Colorado State Senate 1972-1975
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives 1964-1972

If not for Scott Westman, Dick Lamm might've been able to avoid sharing the label of "the most idiosyncratic candidate in the field". Campaigning on an ideologically heterodox platform opposing "the radical right...the trial lawyers and the NEA", unrestricted immigration, pollution, special interests, and a whole host of other political institutions, the former Governor styled himself a "progressive conservative" who would lead the United States into what critics derided as "carbon-neutral, free trading, anti-immigration people's republic".

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David F. MacKenzie (Republican-Vermont)
United States Senator from Vermont 1989-Present
Chair, Senate Republican Caucus 1993-1999
United States Ambassador to South Africa 1983-1985
Member of the Vermont State Senate 1977-1979

Jumping into the contest for the presidency in February of 1999, MacKenzie had been the first major candidate to seek the 2000 Republican nomination. This gave the largely-unknown Senator time to craft a public image in his favor. Pitching himself as the product of a "quintessentially American" upbringing in Battleboro, Vermont, MacKenzie appealed to what he referred in his memoirs as "a sense of progressive nostalgia- That we, as a country, had once boldly pursued progress in both the broader society and in the sciences, and that we had stumbled. Given that, I adopted as a campaign slogan 'For a New American Century'". In that sense, the MacKenzie campaign attempted to portray the candidate as that of "conservative compromise": reliable on abortion, on national defense, on crime, and intent on pursuing a balanced budget; yet at the same time in favor of civil unions, infrastructure spending, environmental protections, international cooperation, sensible gun control, and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The tea-totaling MacKenzie's political past, however, was not something that he would have preferred to discuss openly in front of a conservative crowd. While campaign commercials highlighted his 1960's associations with civil rights groups, they failed to mention his long-standing affiliation with liberal Republicans, including the Nelson Rockefeller, Thomas Meskill, and Lowell Weicker campaigns. What opposition researchers unearthed was that, aside from a number of vague preferences--uncomfortability with abortion, belief in capitalism, and distaste for the counter-culture--MacKenzie had expressed very few conservative sentiments, being willing to publicly affiliate with otherwise liberal, environmentalist, and feminist causes. Quotes reaped from his extensive involvement with the Weicker campaign revealed someone willing to support very progressive politicians so long as their name was followed by the label "Republican". The fact that Weicker at the time was running as a Republican and that MacKenzie had made public and favorable remarks about him was, decidedly, "dead weight" for the Senator.

In his first four years in the Senate, MacKenzie had clearly affiliated with the Holton administration, vocally backing all of its main initiatives and championing the President's Supreme Court nominations. Following 1992, MacKenzie had hopped into Senate leadership as one of the Republicans' younger and more enthusiastic members. In his re-election campaign, he had prevailed with a narrow plurality--48%--beating out independent Bernie Sanders and a third-placing Democrat. In some cases, Sanders had attacked MacKenzie from the right, including on immigration and gun control. Coming into his second term, he developed a mixed reputation among colleagues, being known both for his willingness to compromise on a number of issues, coupled with a strident opposition to the Democrats on "moral grounds".

Coming into the twentieth century, MacKenzie had pitched himself as both a return to the "normalcy" of the 1980's and the 1950's, but also the only candidate willing to forge ahead and establish the 2000's as one where American hegemony and moral righteousness would go unchallenged. Among his key points of emphasis would be the "innovation economy", expanding the role that the Internet and other information technologies played in both industry and the government, examining ways to democratize other parts of the former-Third World, and breaking down America's free trade barriers.

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Christian Rocco Mattingly (Republican-Michigan)
46th Governor of Michigan, January 1st, 1991-January 1st, 1999
United States Secretary of Commerce, June 14th, 1988-January 20th, 1989
Emergency Manager of Detroit, MI, March 19th, 1987-June 7th, 1988
Vice President of the UAW Local 400, 1970-1971

The casual observer might make superficial comparisons between the MacKenzie and Mattingly campaigns. Indeed, both were grounded in a nostalgia for previous, Republican decades; both believed America had faltered in her quest to actualize the "American Dream"; both, at some level, associated the country's alleged decline with the rise of the counter-culture and the Democrats. Nevertheless, there were immense differences not only in tone, but in personality and policy between the two. While MacKenzie, who despite his Scottish and Presbyterian roots, hailed from a perfectly respectable, almost-WASP background, Mattingly had matriculated in blue-collar, white-ethnic suburbs in and around Detroit. MacKenzie had enjoyed a childhood surrounded by both parents while Mattingly's father had passed at an early age--what many attributed to both the candidate's hardscrabble persona and his private melancholy. While both were family men, they were of distinctly different character, Mattingly having preferred to raise "tough" young men, in contrast to MacKenzie's loving doting. Perhaps most significant to their personality differences was Mattingly's love for both obscenity--never profanity--as well as vices, having been a heavy smoker throughout the 1970's and 1980's and being known among friends and colleagues for his love of drink. MacKenzie, on the other hand, was not only a teetotaler, but never, ever swore.

Policy-wise, there was also a wide berth. While his Green Mountain State rival preferred to "make America great again" by bolstering the innovation aspects of capitalism and supporting "free movement of capital", Mattingly instead emphasized the numerical power of capitalism, and the need to direct it toward national aims- the use of infrastructure, both metaphorical and literal, in his campaign rhetoric and public biography, was significant in this. The Governor as well seemed to prefer national loyalty to a priori market principles, and occasionally spoke in softer tones on the need to "square the circle" between "capitalism's strength" and "the need to consider the fate of America's laborers and inner-cities." While some from the "Heritage crowd" would attempt to take Mattingly to task for "closet communism", he was quick to retort that he'd prefer to see the streets teeming with "employees, not criminals", and pointed to some claims that crime correlated with de-industrialization.

Ideology aside, Mattingly's record pointed toward two things: toughness and efficacy, and these were key points that he would attempt to drive home to undecided and moderate voters. "Some of our Congressmen--you may know them, they're running for President!--they're fantastic at this mantra of 'getting things done'. But- if you really look at what they've accomplished, their actions have been key contributions to the wholesale sellout of the American economy and the American way of life. Some of the worst policies in the past decade have been some of the greatest PR coups for legislators. However, if you look at my record, what I have poured my efforts into--both in business and in government--has been toward efforts that actually both improved people's lives and advanced this country, even at the smallest scale." While the Governor had high marks from conservative groups on a few key points including abortion, on a number of other issues, he had been willing to break form the "Washington-'Conservative' Orthodoxy", including not even publicly backing the last two nominees!--"They weren't going to win Michigan anyway." When it came to privatization of utilities, free trade, Wall Street deregulation, and even foreign policy, the Governor hid distanced himself from his ideological compatriots in Washington. "I support experimentation--but at the local level. I was able to participate in bringing Detroit back without handing the keys to the firehouse or the police precinct over to some sort of, y'know, 'law enforcement, inc.' Education, with that we still have a ways to go and I'm willing to partner with private enterprise, but I don't think things like roads, which have been a public god for millennia, ought to be sold out to the lowest bidder. That's bad government."

While Mattingly's tone was definitively to the right, it concealed a more nuanced vision of how he hoped to shape the nation. Privately, he would reflect that, "yes, a lot of us in this party, we have this nostalgia for the 1950's. What did it rely on? Chiefly: stability, not radical economic experiments run by the same libertarian asshats who criticize every other aspect of our governing style." From the perspective of a businessman that left the Democrats during the height of the collapse of the New Deal Coalition, this uneasiness with the Republican Party's laissez faire elements might seem strange, but Mattingly had perused enough science fiction to be wary of any campaign run with some hyper-efficient or super-innovative "future" in mind--he viewed the worlds of his opponents as dystopic. They did not want stability and security, they were the types who would place their sense of patriotism at the whims of the market--the market being something he had great familiarity with. With that in mind, Mattingly instead centered his campaign around "vague patriotism" and "fuzzy nostalgia", as his opponents called it. Nevertheless, the Governor, backed by his policy team, had a very specific idea of American in mind, one which he was rarely tempted to speak at length on.

The chief policy proposals that the Mattingly campaign would center on, thusly, would be the re-examination of America's trade agreements, with the assumption that revisions would come down in favor of protectionism; lowering of the corporate tax rate; efforts to, if not overturn Roe v. Wade, then disrupt as much as possible through the powerful machinations of the federal government; lowering of income taxes combined with the potential to "progressivize" inheritance taxes as a trade-off; a new wave of infrastructure spending to function both as an economic stimulus and a "national security measure"--hiring would target urban and rural areas alike struck by poverty; opposition to gun control legislation; restriction of trade to China and other regimes incurring (un-Christian) human rights violations; legislation to secure Social Security from "selfish bureaucrats"; efforts to restrict future illegal immigration whilst making sure to "Americanize" existing immigrants--special language instruction for high-immigrant areas of the country, as mandated by the federal government, would be implemented. While this would amount to what one might interpret as a moderate agenda, Mattingly cloaked his proposed policies in patriotic nationalism and an appeal to the past, realizing that there were many who voted based on attitudes, not legislation, and also realizing the need to appeal to "pocketbook" voters.

Tonally, he would markedly differ from MacKenzie, though appear in the same league as several other candidates in his anger at the Washington establishment. Nevertheless, he was perhaps best-positioned to appear to not be "of" that same establishment, being in a field populated by several current and past Senators. Notable too would be efforts by campaign divisions at mobilizing minority voters for Mattingly based on "jobs, safety, and religion". While such attempts would, facially, be a failure, it would be noted that far more had been done than by most other Republican campaigns and that, it could be argued, it did bring some minority voters into the Republican primaries.

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Scott Ulysses Westman (Democrat-Montana)
United States Senator from Montana 1977-1991
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from MT-1 1975-1977

"Unreliable", "unstable", "dangerous", "libido-driven", "a political chameleon", they called him. As Iowa approached, Scott Westman had nevertheless pushed himself to the front of the "anti-establishment" pack in the Democratic primaries. While in his youth, the Montanan had been at the forefront of a line of libertarian- or libertarian-leaning anti-war Democrats that had emerged in opposition to the Johnson-Nixon years and in support of candidacies like Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and Robert F. Kennedy. Westman had been, by far, among the most radical of his contemporaries. His willingness to align with some Republican economic ideas had permitted him to win support in the traditionally Republican Montana. Westman's laissez-faire streak had been able to freely manifest in the wave of 1970's deregulation legislation passed by both Robert F. Kennedy and Albert Brewer and had reached its apex in his decision to break with both major parties in favor of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 election. During this time, he had formed alliances ranging from left-wing Democrats like Jefferson Dent, to "libertarian" Republicans including Senator Mark Hatfield and Congressman Thaddeus O'Connor.

It was in the 1980's, however, that Westman observed the results of that legislation which had previously championed. This, combined with the rediscovery of his latent ("non-existent", some said) Catholicism, would precipitate a notable shift in the Senator's ideology. "As the nation marched steadily toward liberalism as it did the end of the 20th Century, Westman retreated from both", remarked friend and later biographer Dr. Carl Herschelwitz of MIT. By 1990, Westman's stances on deregulation, private enterprise, trade, and abortion had all reversed, and some styled him a "Christian socialist", or, more tongue-in-cheek, a "conservative Marxist". He resigned the United States Senate in 1991 in reaction to the Gulf War Resolution. While many had predicted a Westman run for the Presidency as early as 1980 (1988 and 1992 seeming ideal years), after 1991, Westman had all but disappeared, but for his loss in the 1992 Montana Democratic Gubernatorial Primary. Still resolutely anti-war and in favor of drug decriminalization, Westman's 2000 candidacy sought to reverse the tide of recent decades, reigning in globalism and reversing "the march of capitalist rationalization".

To this extent, Westman's platform was built around the ending of "capital-favoring free trade deals"; withdrawal of American armed forces overseas and gutting of the Pentagon's budget; the implementation of community-oriented policing programs nationwide; the end of the War on Drugs, opposition to Roe v. Wade; opposition to gun control measures; abolition of the FCC and related "organizations dedicated to the stifling of free expression"; the bolstering of public media such as NPR and PBS; a nationwide version of his original "Green Montana" platform from his abortive 1992 run for the Governorship; public financing of campaigns; government compensation for the victims of green energy (miners, primarily) and mechanization; an end to affirmative action to be coupled with the replacement of a purely "class-based" system that would coincide with a vaguely-referred to "decimation of the Ivy League"; and, perhaps most importantly, workplace democracy.

Touting "the most radical platform of a major candidate for either party's nomination" earned the former Senator enemies in both camps. Ironically, Westman had received some approving remarks from what he derided as the "authoritarian right", including not only Pat Buchanan, but also Christian Mattingly. When asked in a November 1999 debate who he would most prefer to run against in the general election, Mattingly was among many who answered Westman, but for different reasons than his opponents: "I think it would result in the most honest exchange of ideas we've had in many years in a presidential election. Westman is not only honest about his agenda, but he has been most willing to publicly recognize the monstrosity that has been the Hart administration." Westman rejected this and other "far-right" approval, but nevertheless found himself at many times being conflated with populists on the right by the media.

While many among the Washington consensus in both parties had outright denounced Westman's campaign as one based on "hatred, envy, and a desire to disrupt the serious, tough business of government", the Senator was building steam. Some pessimistic strategists in the Ferraro, Romney, and Kerrey campaigns were beginning to see numbers stating that it was realistic the crazed Westman might take not only Iowa, but New Hampshire. "Lily-white states, primarily rural, but also those particularly affected by deindustrialization and economic contraction, have shown a vulnerability to the Westman message. We in the establishment he so despises may count the suburbs and the Black Belt as among the last strongholds that withstand a wave of racial and economic animus."

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Thaddeus Gillespie O’Connor (Republican-Maine)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from ME-2 1973-Present

Dubbed “the candidate of ‘Reason’ magazine”, O’Connor stood as the most high-profile “libertarian”-identified candidate to run for the Republican nomination since 1988, perhaps Beauregard D’Israeli himself in 1980. Things had not been kind for the “liberty Republican” movement since the collapse of D’Israeli’s career twenty years earlier. The Wyomingite, for all his flaws, possessed the charisma, drive, and self-efficacy that had carried him to victory in New Hampshire. Nevertheless, D’Israeli’s public outing as a Satanist had decimated attempts by Republican quasi-libertarians to gain a permanent foothold in the Republican primary. In the 1980’s, in a strategy pioneered by the then-out of office Areus Ho’kee of Nevada, a number had opted to cast their lot with their former adversaries, “Rockefeller Republicans” on the party’s left in order to levy weight against the Dole administration’s military buildup, but to little avail. In 1988, the eccentric Representative Ron Paul of Texas had been pushed forward as a candidate to unite various strains of “liberty-leaning” Republican primary voters and to draw an ideological line between the motley crew of Randians, anti-government pan-ideological populists, and outright paleoconservatives. This too, had failed. Despite running a strong third in Iowa, the race quickly narrowed down to a showdown between Holton’s establishment legions and Gordon Humphrey’s conservative insurgents.

As the twentieth century drew to a close, there were a number of self-styled libertarian Republican thinkers and intellectuals who opined that the libertarian movement’s apparent decision to throw in its lot with conservatism had been an abject failure. “Did Roger MacBride’s 1980 endorsement of Bob Dole yield anything? A de-escalated Drug War, a reduction in the bloated military establishment, the breakdown of restrictive trade barriers?” Some even posited that there was a future for “libertarianism-lite” within Democratic ranks, noting the recent triumphs of “fiscally conservative, socially liberal” Democrats, including Paul Tsongas. The subsequent years seemed to confirm this as Presidnets Tsongas and Hart both pushed for deregulation and a balanced budget alongside traditionally liberal social goals. Areus Ho’kee, a “republitarian” strategist and former Nevada legislator who had once been profiled as “a Machiavellian who reads Hayek” chose to stay the course, helping to engineer a number of primary victories for the pro-choice Republican Pete Wilson in 1996. Nevertheless, Ho’kee’s more radical ideas would be met with failure when voted on by the general electorate. It would only be 1998 terror attacks and the ensuing, Democrat-led domestic “crackdown” on terror that restored some hopes that a libertarian foil might be found among Republican ranks. But by that year, one of the few men left to champion this was the ordinarily soft-spoken Thad O’Connor.

O’Connor had come from a very poor and traditionally Democratic Irish-Catholic household anchored on the coast of Maine. Nevertheless, he had early on been attracted to the anti-government rhetoric of the time’s conservatives; chiefly, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. Conservatism, for O’Connor, thus was libertarianism, and probably the greatest explanation as to why he had remained a Republican in succeeding decades. O’Connor’s experience in the Vietnam War had combined his laissez-faire worldview with the fervent belief in non-intervention on foreign matters and his first campaign would be for then-liberal, anti-war Republican Jefferson Dent in Alabama. While he had only been vaguely associated with D’Israeli’s run for office, he had come into office on his own in 1978 and had associated with the “mavericks” faction of his legislative colleagues, opposed to President Dole’s foreign policy vision. Meanwhile, he had made his name known for opposing “pork-barrel” spending, intervention in the Middle East and--to the chagrin of his constituents--protectionism.

Facing a populist atmosphere, O’Connor had nevertheless soldiered on, establishing constituencies in early primary and caucus states--particularly rural, northern, and white areas that had been in some ways receptive to republitarianism in the past. Among O’Connor’s major campaign issues would be the decriminalization of marijuana and all-around de-escalation of the war on drugs, sentence reform and the implementation of other community policing initiatives, ratification of a balanced budget amendment, the further breaking down of trade barriers, reduced payroll taxes, and, above all, withdrawal from the Middle East and repeal of the President's national security initiatives. Given the environment in which he found himself, O'Connor chose to most emphasize his domestic economic policies as well as his anti-war stance, while allowing The Economist, Reason, and certain strains of the liberal press to sell him to undecided moderates.

January 24th: the Iowa Caucuses

Despite a good number of arguably qualified and energetic candidates on both sides, a combination of factors--the tumultuous last few years, the candidates' own personalities, the media, demographics, and of course the campaigns themselves--would manage to whittle the fields down to only a few particularly viable choices in each party. For the Democrats, Secretary Ferraro had managed, despite accusations of corruption and a bevy of skeletons in her closet, to maintain good polling numbers in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire due to the loyalty of Catholic voters and women, and to build up a solid lead in the South due to the machine support of black voters. The exception to this would be in Alabama, where Jefferson Dent's machine was working 'round the block to build up a solid base of support for Westman. To his credit, the Montanan, though not easily sold to minorities, was cobbling together a coalition made up of voters from America's breadbasket, working-class whites, and college students. This was proving to serve him well in polling of both Iowa and New Hampshire. Nevertheless, it was believed that even if he beat the establishment in "bumf#ck nowhere", he would be doomed in urban and affluent areas, as well as the South. Mitt Romney would find himself the rather unlikely "third wheel" in the pre-Iowa polling race. Romney, despite his recent past as an independent and Republican heritage, had managed to levy his credentials as Governor, his association with the late President Tsongas, and his status as a technocratic pragmatist acceptable to self-identified suburban moderates who otherwise might have voted for Ferraro. While lacking in foreign policy experience, he had greater grounding in domestic policies when it came to the environment and healthcare, and played very well with the media. Perhaps the biggest failing disappointment would be Bob Kerrey, whose extensive credentials and personal favorability ratings would prove meaningless when put up against a radical, a woman, and the picture of nominally liberal sensibility. This was especially true in the midst of a party that was attempting to convulse the pro-war members among its ranks.

For the GOP, meanwhile, Dick Cheney's lack of charisma and the abject rejection of the Holton years among those demographics he needed for victory would manage to render his immense fundraising lead irrelevant. The Republican party as a whole seemed to be in a state of exorcism regarding not only Holton's "milquetoast" persona, but also the principles that predicated his foreign policy. The self-described conservatives that might have supported a man like Cheney in the past had either become part of the human mass of 1980s nostalgia that was Liddy Dole's campaign, or signed on as members of Christian Mattingly's enraged horde. Meanwhile, for those that viewed themselves as "sensible moderates", David MacKenzie had, despite what many insiders derided as a shallow resume, risen to the top. Perhaps MacKenzie's greatest advantage was not his beltway support or his moderate image, so much as that he appeared as a genuinely nice, though perhaps strident, person. Outside of social conservatives and Dole-obsessees, Liddy appeared harsh, where as MacKenzie looked, to some weak, to others merely deferential and respectful. Meanwhile, as Pat Buchanan phrased it, Christian Mattingly was building a "peasant army" prepared to "burn Washington to the ground." Mattingly himself never phrased it like this, but the dissatisfaction felt by a large number of Republicans from various economic strata towards the current system--whatever that might be--was appearing to resonate. This was particularly evident in small towns throughout Appalachia, the Ohio River Valley, and the industrial Mid-West that had seen factories flee in the past thirty or so years, where, as rates of unemployment rose, so did heroin addiction.

This battle raging within both parties--between experts, activists, populists, and pragmatists--would see its first real battle in the Iowa Caucuses on January 24th, 2000.

In historical hindsight, Iowa would appear the picture of irony. For the Democrats, in a state with a party noted for its anti-war inclinations, marked by both a significant rural population and a relatively large amount of shut-down mines scattered across the state, and noted for its hunting culture, it should have come--demographically--as little surprise that Scott Westman would take a narrow first place. Coming up behind him would not be regional favorites, such as Dick Lamm, but instead the affable Governor Mitt Romney. Suburban and urban liberals, those in the middle to upper income stratas, had preferred him to Ferraro, due to a combination of his demeanor and his apparently scandal-free past. The incumbent Secretary of State and purported frontrunner was relegated to a third place finish, buoyed largely by an uneven gender distribution in voting patterns in Iowa's urban and suburban strongholds.

The Iowa Republican Party, in contrast, threw its lot with the "nice guy", David MacKenzie. To some, this appeared beyond strange. Iowa had voted for populist Tim Penny in 1996 and any polling statistician would have been able to detail the Iowa GOP's socially conservative leanings. Nevertheless, what many did not account for was the state's overall attitude. Penny had been a rural Mid-Westerner, and spoke their language to the extent that he was able to gain their support. Elizabeth Dole, who, by January 2000 had permanently eclipsed "rising star" Dan Quayle as the darling of the Religious Right, was nevertheless decidedly not a Mid-Westerner. Despite her marriage to a Kansan, she had spent several decades in Washington and, with her presumption that power was owed to her, she had a way of coming off as not merely preachy, but also particularly vengeful, to Iowans, who, attitudinally, preferred civility. While she had shown she could brawl in Washington, in America's heartland, she could not. Mattingly, meanwhile, was even more poorly suited to the area. While, despite his background in industry, he had developed an affinity for speaking to rural voters, he was at an absolute demographic disadvantage. Michigan's rural, arch-conservative west side had been one of his primary weak spots in the 1990 primary, and he had lost that region to Clark Durant. His impatience for questions regarding prayer in school, sexual education, and any "bumpkin" preoccupation with "ending gridlock" had been starting to show. His campaign had been predicated on his ability to portray himself as effective and reliable, not as nice. And this cost him.

Therefore, it would come to pass that the party in power--in Iowa--voted for an anti-incumbent, anti-Washington, anti-Hart populist firebrand while the party that had worked itself into conniptions for years over the Hart administration had voted in favor of a man whose primary advantage was civility. New Hampshire, however, would be a different story. Flying below the radar would be the Alaska beauty contest where Mattingly garnered over 40% of the vote.

February 1st: The Granite State

New Hampshire offered the come-from-behind winner of Iowa, David MacKenzie, a chance to cement his lead and restore "sanity" to the Grand Old Party. The two-term Senator from the neighboring Vermont, MacKenzie was deemed by every pundit under the sun to be the perfect fit for New Hampshire--bar one. A late January publication--from The Economist, of all places--titled "Mattingly's Granite Ace in the Hole" described the intimate relationship that campaign higher-up Dr. Richard James Hudson, had with New Hampshire going back to his undergraduate days and short tenure in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Hudson's work with the New Hampshire Republican Party--including on victorious Gubernatorial and Senate campaigns--combined with his remaining Beltway clout for his years with Republican thinktanks was a definite advantage to the Mattingly campaign. Perhaps most significantly--and something the national media paid little attention to--Mattingly received the much sought-after endorsement for former Vice President Gordon Humphrey, as well as the endorsement of Senator Bob Smith. The conservative, protectionist mood of the Granite State--a feature going back to the days of the founding, supplemented with a populist air, was front and center on the night of February 1st. Despite this, pundits across the spectrum were surprised when the "candidate of rage" came roaring into first place with nearly 40% of the vote and MacKenzie trailing with less than a third of the total electorate's support. Thaddeus O'Connor managed to eek into third place following his second place finish in Alaska.

For Westman, New Hampshire presented a golden opportunity. A white, rural state with a heavy hunting presence and a protectionist streak, for Westman, a New Hampshire victory would outset the doubtlessly huge losses he was bound to take in the South and risked taking in larger, more diverse states. Nevertheless, facing two North-Eastern candidates with far more extensive roots in the region and far greater funding, he had significant disadvantages. Having barely expected to win Iowa, his New Hampshire organization was functioning at a sub-optimal level. Nevertheless, the Democrats in the state's northern, rural frontier were just his type of people. For Ferraro and Romney, they were both counting on a win. While Ferraro had built up a significant garrison below Mason-Dixon that would buoy her beyond any immediate loss--"Romney, Westman, and all the rest have never had to so much as talk to a minority voter, or to a Southern voter"--New Hampshire meant everything to the Romney campaign. Situated as the Governor of a geographically small, New England state with little experience dealing with national Democratic voters, he needed to secure his home region if he had any hope of competing against Ferraro in the suburbs of New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, or California. "Outside of here and the Mormon states, we have no natural base of support," one campaign member commented. Well-acquainted with the Boston media market and with the local Democratic establishment, Romney had built a solid organization early on despite Ferraro's fierce fight in the suburbs. While Republican turns came in early, it would take until well after midnight to call the state for Romney in a tight three-way race over Ferraro and Westman. Many would point out the irony that, while the Republicans had voted for the "consensus" candidate in Iowa and the populist candidate in New Hampshire, the exact opposite had happened on the Democratic side. Four days later, Ferraro would finally claim victory in the Democratic "beauty contest" primary in Delaware--thanks largely to the support of Senator Joe Biden.

Prior to Super Tuesday, there were few other Democratic contests, focusing public attention on the Republican nomination race until March. On February 8th, shortly after Ferraro's own victory in the Blue Hen State, MacKenzie would claim a narrow plurality with the support of Mike Castle and the local credit card industry. The run-up to the February 19th South Carolina Primary saw Dan Quayle's withdrawal from the race. Having already failed to catch fire in Iowa, South Carolina was intended to be his last hope. Nevertheless, with two Southerners on the ballot--Liddy Dole, who had been endowed with a significant war chest, and Lamar Alexander, whose 1996 campaign had given him an extensive ground game in the state--it was clear that the Indiana Senator faced better career prospects refocusing on his legislative work. The state's military vote was offering Quayle no favors either when offered a veteran and a former Secretary of Defense. The Senator's endorsement went to his colleague and the former First Lady, Elizabeth Dole, a significant coup considering her tight numbers against Alexander. On February 19th, 2000, Dole claimed victory in the Palmetto State. Pundits were already discussing a "Dole/Quayle" ticket to reclaim the heartland for the GOP.

Nevertheless, three days later, Dole's momentum would be stopped cold. On February 22nd, MacKenzie's attempts to peel away moderate voters in Michigan would be met with defeat as Mattingly walked away with 63% of the vote and a plurality or greater in every county in the state. In Arizona, the Michigan Governor had secured the support of fellow Vietnam veteran Senator John McCain and former Governor Evan Mecham. And, while former Senator Barry Goldwater's power had faded in the past decade and a half, his vocal support for O'Connor was a notable snub to those who had lobbied for his endorsement, including MacKenzie. Mattingly's Arizona and Michigan victories were supplemented by a win in the North Dakota Caucus. Dole could console herself with victory in Virginia, meanwhile. After South Carolina, both Alexander and Cheney dropped out, endorsing Dole.

On the Democratic side, the idea of "Westmentum" was building, as the former Senator walked away with easy victory in Washington State, the "capitol of granola liberalism" as Westman himself called it. Despite the state's status as a beauty contest, it contributed to a narrative that the Montanan was leading a youth-and-peasant horde against the political and economic elites. This was especially important as Super Tuesday approached and Westman's opponents possessed significant advantages in upcoming states.

Republican Primaries, February 23rd-March 7th, 2000

February 23rd, 2000
Nevada Republican Caucus
Elizabeth Dole: 32%
Christian Mattingly: 30%
David MacKenzie: 19%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 17%
Others: 2%

In an upset, thanks in part to Dole's well-funded ground game, connections with the business community, and a timely campaign appearance by the aging former President Dole, the former First Lady was able to maintain relevance with her victory in Nevada. The O'Connor campaign, having almost resigned itself to complete irrelevance, felt nevertheless boosted by the Congressman's good showing in Arizona and pressed on, with the introverted politician beginning to focus more on rural areas as well as affluent voters.

February 29th, 2000
Virginia Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 43%
Christian Mattingly: 27%
David MacKenzie: 23%
Others: 7%

Washington Primary
David MacKenzie: 38%
Christian Mattingly: 30%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 22%
Elizabeth Dole: 22%

In the runup to Super Tuesday, a final Republican Primary Debate was held, with only MacKenzie, Mattingly, and Dole invited--perceived to be the three relevant candidates left. With each hoping to score points with the audience, the debate ran increasingly negative. In his closing argument, MacKenzie, thinking himself sly, asserted "Of those candidates on this stage today, I am the only lifelong Republican-" before being cut-off by Mattingly's interjection "Yeah, and you act the most like a lifelong Democrat!" The Governor capitalized on that observation in his own closing statement by harking back to his own background, proclaiming "Some of my opponents on this stage are from an era where the word 'Republican' was synonymous with wealthy. He, or they, are uncomfortable with, and around, this nation's working class, the men and women that built this country. They are focused not on getting this country back to work, or making sure that our economy is one where every person has an opportunity to succeed, but instead on making sure it keeps working for those for whom it has always worked. These are the politicians bankrolled by Wall Street and Washington D.C. Instead of supporting them, help me ensure that this is a new Republican Party, one that is here for all of you watching this at home tonight. Thank you."

March 7th, 2000
California Republican Primary
David MacKenzie: 36%
Elizabeth Dole: 30%
Christian Mattingly: 24%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 9%
Others: 1%

Connecticut Republican Primary
David MacKenzie: 38%
Christian Mattingly: 35%
Elizabeth Dole: 18%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 9%
Others: <1%

Georgia Republican Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 45%
Christian Mattingly: 28%
David MacKenzie: 24%
Others: 3%

Maine Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 35%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 32%
David MacKenzie: 19%
Elizabeth Dole: 12%
Others: 2%

In O'Connor's last ditch effort to throw a wrench in the race and perhaps even pick up a state, he came three points shy of his home state Maine which, while a disappointment, was a marked improvement over his numbers anywhere else in the nation and proved that, to an extent, O'Connor's long history in the state had meant something. Nevertheless, while his Aroostook constituents had shown up for him, logging, ship-building, and the military had gone for Mattingly.

Maryland Republican Primary
David MacKenzie: 41%
Christian Mattingly: 32%
Elizabeth Dole: 26%
Others: 2%

Massachusetts Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 42%
David MacKenzie: 39%
Elizabeth Dole: 15%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 4%
Others: <1%

Minnesota Republican Caucuses
David MacKenzie: 37%
Christian Mattingly: 32%
Elizabeth Dole: 30%
Others: 1%

Missouri Republican Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 38%
Christian Mattingly: 33%
David MacKenzie: 29%
Others: <1%

New York Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 38%
David MacKenzie: 37%
Elizabeth Dole: 23%
Others: 2%

New York had been probably the biggest battleground of the campaign, even moreso than California. With New York City Mayor and "hero of the August 7th attacks" Rudy Giuliani opting to stay out of the endorsement game, most of the "Battle of Manhattan" would be fought by surrogates who were former officeholders. Among MacKenzie's supporters were former Secretary of the Navy Benson Rockefeller, former Governor Malcolm Wilson, and former Secretary . Mattingly's campaign in New York was run largely by former NYC Mayor Chalres LeBoutillier, and Buffalo Mayor James D. Griffin upstate. The endorsement of former three-term Senator James L. Buckley was a huge boon to the Governor and a snub to Liddy Dole's campaign. Mattingly's narrow win, called around 3 AM, was icing on the cake, as the Governor also took other North-Eastern states that had been favored for MacKenzie--Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Ohio Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 47%
David MacKenzie: 28%
Elizabeth Dole: 24%
Others: 1%

Rhode Island Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 43%
David MacKenzie: 35%
Elizabeth Dole: 19%
Others: 3%

A surprise to local Republican establishment, Mattingly's strong victory did not bode well for Lincoln Chafee, the two-term Republican Senator who was facing a primary challenge from the right on September 12th. His Senate seat had been in his family's hands since 1977.

Vermont Republican Primary
David MacKenzie: 49%
Christian Mattingly: 24%
Thaddeus O'Connor: 18%
Elizabeth Dole: 7%
Others: 2%

"Uh... Well, as you might have guessed, Super Tuesday did not go for us as planned. The initial scheme that the campaign had been riding on was one where David would take what we thought would be a loss in Iowa, bounce back in New Hampshire. After that, we would rely, number one, on Northeastern states, number two on coastal states, and then on a sort of hodge-podge of Mid-Western and metropolitan states, like Florida and Illinois. Essentially, we were intending to replicate completely Pete Wilson's 1996 primary campaign. It turned out that the North-East had undergone a seismic shift in that time--combined with vote splitting--and this took us by surprise."

-Ari Fleischer, former MacKenzie communications manager, 2007 interview

The primary message of Super Tuesday was that Dole had lost. With a slew of Southern primaries coming up, many wondered whether she would drop out. She had won one of nineteen non-Southern races and, while she would likely do fairly well on the 14th should she stay in, there was serious question if she could win outside the South again. The interior West was up for grabs, assuredly, but was it available to Liddy Dole? The North Carolina Senator delayed any announcement. Meanwhile, both MacKenzie and Mattingly were proclaiming some degree of victory, as the former had won the most populous state in the nation while also taking states in the Mid-West and North-East, and the latter had not only encroached on MacKenzie's own New England with victories in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, but had also won New York and Ohio. Behind the scenes, however, both the Vermont Senator and the former Governor were unhappy with the results; Mattingly had been hoping for a knockout punch on Super Tuesday, and MacKenzie's persistence frightened him. MacKenzie, to his credit, was beyond upset at what he saw as his home region's betrayal.

The primary calendar in the days to come lay conspicuously bare: After Southern Tuesday on March 14th, the only other contest that month was Illinois. April had only two contests total. May and June, meanwhile, featured a string of smaller contests that seemed reminiscent of America's "island-hopping" campaign in the Pacific. While the two frontrunners could afford losses in the coming weeks, march 10th and 14th would make or break the Dole campaign, if she chose to continue that far.

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Green - Senator David MacKenzie of Vermont
Blue - Former Governor Christian R. Mattingly of Michigan
Red - Senator Elizabeth "Liddy" Dole of North Carolina

Democratic Primaries, March 7th, 2000

The Democratic primaries were far more spaced-out than those on the Republican side, with only three races--Iowa, New Hampshire, and Washington--preceding Super Tuesday. As such, much of the narrative preceding the fateful day would be based on public statements, campaign appearances, national events, and mud-slinging between candidates. Ferraro, without a victory to her name at that point, took the opportunity to retreat to areas she knew she could count on, hoping that a silent coalition would deliver a strong blow to the "Lenin wannabe" Westman and the candidate of "yuppie suburbanites" Romney. By contrast, Ferraro was finding strong support not only among women, but among minorities, especially in the South, and was fighting hard for white ethnic, working-class communities across the Rust Belt. Such wasn't as easy as it had first appeared, as Westmans was gaining, and gaining fast, with families in the communities surrounding shutdown steel mills and empty coal mines in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The strong time lapse between New Hampshire and Super Tuesday also gave many smaller candidates an opportunity to drop out, an opportunity taken only by Lowell Weicker, who saw the writing on the wall. Weicker endorsed no one, but vowed that he would provide a "progressive, committed voice" in the party in their upcoming selection. Bob Kerrey, hoping for victories in the heartland, opted to stay in, as did the two Coloradans, Dick Lamm and Pat Schroeder, who were both hoping to deliver some sort of wound to the establishment in the coming days. Of the "oddball" candidates, one columnist wrote that "Lamm does not seem to grasp that some sort of 'fiscally conservative, socially liberal' candidate already exists in Mitt Romney, and that a populist candidate already exists in Scott Westman. His market is saturated. Meanwhile, Schroeder seems under the impression that she will score big for women by tearing down the first female Attorney General, and the first female Secretary of State, in American history." Indeed, it seems the former Governor was resigned to speaking engagements with fringe conspiracy theory-motivated groups, while Schroeder's key audience was environmental activists.

California Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 37%
Scott Westman: 32%
Geraldine Ferraro: 27%
Richard Lamm: 7%
Patricia Schroeder: 5%
Others: 2%

Connecticut Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 42%
Gerald Ferraro: 29%
Scott Westman: 19%
Lowell Weicker: 7%
Others: 3%

Georgia Democratic Primary
Gerladine Ferraro: 43%
Scott Westman: 27%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 14%
J. "Bob" Kerrey: 10%
Others: 6%

Hawaii Democratic Caucuses
W. "Mitt" Romney: 35%
Scott Westman: 34%
Geraldine Ferraro: 21%
Patricia Schroeder: 5%
Richard Lamm: 4%
Others: 1%

Idaho Democratic Caucuses
Scott Westman: 47%
J. "Bob" Kerrey: 22%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 19%
Richard Lamm: 8%
Others: 4%

Maine Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 34%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 32%
Geraldine Ferraro: 26%
Richard Lamm: 3%
Patricia Schroeder: 2%
Others: 1%

Maryland Democratic Primary
Geraldine Ferraro: 41%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 32%
Scott Westman: 24%
Others: 3%

Massachusetts Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 43%
Scott Westman: 28%
Geraldine Ferraro: 27%
Others: 2%

Missouri Democratic Primary
Geraldine Ferraro: 37%
Scott Westman: 35%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 25%
Others: 3%

New York Democratic Primary
Geraldine Ferraro: 37%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 31%
Scott Westman: 28%
Others: 2%

North Dakota Democratic Caucuses
Scott Westman: 42%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 26%
J. "Bob" Kerrey: 19%
Geraldine Ferraro: 12%
Others: 1%

Ohio Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 35%
Geraldine Ferraro: 34%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 27%
Others: 4%

Rhode Island Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 35%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 32%
Gerladine Ferraro: 27%
Others: 6%

Vermont Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 47%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 35%
Geraldine Ferraro: 12%
Patricia Schroeder: 4%
Others: 2%

The primary takeaway from Super Tuesday was that "establishment" Democrats were by no means safe. New England, Ohio, and the Interior West had all fallen at the hands of Scott Westman's "revolution". The Ferraro and Romney campaigns were in close contact shortly after the results came in. The campaigns had collaborated, to some extent, both expecting that Ferraro might take Ohio while Romney solidified New England. Both soon came to the conclusion that attempting to ensure Westman's defeat while battling each other had been a waste of time and resources. Bob Kerrey, to his credit, dropped out Wednesday morning. Schroeder was soon to follow, and Lamm formally quit the party. None of them offered an endorsement.

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Green - Former Senator Scott Westman of Montana
Blue - Governor Willard M. "Mitt" Romney of Massachusetts
Red - Former Secretary of State Geraldine Ferraro of New York

In the days after Super Tuesday, pundits quickly came to drawn parallels between the Republican and Democratic campaigns. Ferraro and Dole were the two female fighters, representing the administrations of past president and some level of political "tradition" within their parties. Romney and MacKenzie were "establishment pragmatists who like to brand themselves as mavericks". Mattingly and Westman were, of course, "populist firebrands".

Democratic Primaries: March 9th-March 12th, 2000

In the days between March 7th, and the 14th, with neither Romney nor Ferraro willing to drop out, both agreed to scale back their operations and regionalize the campaign. The Massachusetts Governor, ironically, was best suited for the West Coast and the Interior West, with his ties to moderate Governors, Silicon Valley, and members of the limited Mormon establishment in some states. Meanwhile, despite Romney's roots in Michigan, Secretary Ferraro was agreed best suited to compete in the Rust Belt. Her popularity among African-Americans and her ties to "traditional Democrats" had, after all, been part of her initial campaign strategy. This tentative agreement between the two establishment candidates was intended to last at least up to the 14th. Romney, for his part, did not intend to honor it at that time- if Ferraro did well in the coming days, she would have momentum Romney needed to battle. If not, well, she would be in retreat.

March 9th, 2000

South Carolina Democratic Caucuses
Geraldine Ferraro: 57%
Scott Westman: 27%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 16%
Others: <1%

March 10th, 2000

Colorado Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 41%
Scott Westman: 39%
Geraldine Ferraro: 11%
Others: 9%

Westman would blame the heavy Coloradan presence--Lamm and Schroeder had both garnered non-negligible percentages of the vote--on his close loss in Colorado. This had, in his mind, been combined with "collusion" both between Ferraro and Romney, and at the state level. Romney had benefited from the support of Tim Wirth, Mark Udall, and what Westman believed to be the President's residual support in his home state.

Utah Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 62%
Scott Westman: 31%
Others: 9%

March 11th, 2000

Arizona Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 39%
Scott Westman: 38%
Geraldine Ferraro: 19%
Others: 4%

Michigan Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 42%
Geraldine Ferraro: 40%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 17%
Others: 1%

Minnesota Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 45%
Geraldine Ferraro: 37%
Mitt Romney: 15%
Others: 3%

March 12th, 2000

Nevada Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 41%
Scott Westman: 38%
Geraldine Ferraro: 20%
Others: 1%

Leading up to the 14th, by far the biggest surprise had been Michigan, where it had been expected that black and UAW voters would carry the day for Ferraro. Yet, outside of Wayne and Macomb, her support was weak. People voting based on guns and NAFTA fell heavily in the Westman camp. Meanwhile, the strong African-American support that Ferraro was exhibiting in the South appeared weaker in the North.

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Green - Former Senator Scott Westman of Montana
Blue - Governor Willard Millard "Mitt" Romney of Massachusetts
Red - Former Secretary of State Geraldine Ann Ferraro of New York

Primaries: March 14th, 2000

The Ferraro and Romney camps were up well past midnight and going into the thirteenth. The candidates--or at least Romney--themselves didn't allow this to interrupt their campaign schedules, but by 8:00 AM March 13th, 2000, former Secretary of State Geraldine Ferraro was preparing to publicly drop out of the race for the nomination, endorsing and pledging her delegates to Massachusetts Governor "Mitt" Romney of Massachusetts. Westman was more than happy at the announcement, boldly proclaiming that the Democratic, "capitalist" establishment had coalesced into a single man, and what a man! Romney, a former Republican, scion of "vulture capitalism", independent until 1993, practically a WASP-via-osmosis, and the perfect symbol of Rockefeller Republican-turned-Democrat gentility, seemed the perfect opponent to the former Montana Senator. With that, it was predicted Romney would sweep "Southern Tuesday".

Florida Republican Primary
David MacKenzie: 33%
Elizabeth Dole: 32%
Christian Mattingly: 32%
Others: 1%

Florida came as one of the big surprises of the night, as MacKenzie claimed his first victory in Dixie. Winning the endorsement of former Florida Governor John Ellis Bush and already in possession of a heavy amount of Dade County-area funding, the Senator had earned a hard-fought win. He was advantaged by the fact that both Dole and Mattingly were fighting in several states at once that night, while he had confined himself largely to Florida, with token appearances in Tennessee and Texas.

Florida Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 52%
Scott Westman: 37%
Geraldine Ferraro: 8%
Others: 3%

Louisiana Republican Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 47%
Christian Mattingly: 28%
David MacKenzie: 25%
Others: 2%

Louisiana Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 48%
Scott Westman: 37%
Geraldine Ferraro: 13%
Others: 2%

Mississippi Republican Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 55%
Christian Mattingly: 35%
David MacKenzie: 19%
Others: 1%

Mississippi Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 44%
Scott Westman: 29%
Geraldine Ferraro: 25%
Others: 2%

Oklahoma Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 46%
Elizabeth Dole: 41%
David MacKenzie: 23%
Others: <1%

Oklahoma Democratic Primary
Scott Westman: 52%
W. "Mitt" Romney: 26%
Geraldine Ferraro: 23%
Others: 1%

Oklahoma proved a surprise for both parties. For Elizabeth Dole, the loss hit close to home, as the wheat-heavy state was expected to go for the wife of Bob Dole. Nevertheless, her campaign had neglected it, and meanwhile the economy had moved more towards resource extraction--a variable found to be a high correlate with Mattingly support in all regions of the country. On the Democratic side, the general assumption was that Westman couldn't win anywhere near Dixie and, while Oklahoma was his only win that night, it played into a growing narrative of conservative, white Democrats voting for the hard-left Westman. Some attributed this to the desire to spite the system, some to class politics, some to racism, and some to the fact that Westman was culturally closer to them than the wealthy Bay Stater.

Tennessee Republican Primary
Elizabeth Dole: 36%
Christian Mattingly: 32%
David MacKenzie: 30%
Lamar Alexander: 2%
Others: <1%

Tennessee Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 56%
Scott Westman: 40%
Geraldine Ferraro: 4%
Others: <1%

Texas Republican Primary
Christian Mattingly: 38%
Elizabeth Dole: 33%
David MacKenzie: 29%
Others: <1%

Texas Democratic Primary
W. "Mitt" Romney: 57%
Scott Westman: 32%
Geraldine Ferraro: 11%
Others: <1%

Mattingly's victory in Texas was the other big surprise of the night. While Dole had not hoped to walk away with everything on Southern Tuesday, she had formally been denied a "big state" win, losing three states total--Florida, Oklahoma, Texas--and coming surprisingly close to loss in Tennessee despite the support of Lamar Alexander, her former opponent, along with a slew of other elected Republicans in the state. The former First Lady saw the writing on the wall, dropping out the next morning, but refusing to offer up any endorsement--yet. Mattingly and MacKenzie had both weathered the storm, coming out looking stronger. They now fixed their sights solely on each other. On the Democratic side, the night was an astounding success for Romney, firmly positioning him as the frontrunner and giving him multitude of delegates. Critics were by that point calling on Westman to drop out "for the sake of party unity", but the fire-haired radical vowed to fight on. Regardless, for both parties, it was now a two-man race.

Republican Primary Map
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Green - Senator David F. MacKenzie of Vermont
Blue - Former Governor Christian R. Mattingly of Michigan
~~Red - Senator Elizabeth "Liddy" Dole of North Carolina~~

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Green - Former Senator Scott Westman of Montana
Blue - Governor Willard M. "Mitt" Romney of Massachusetts
~~Red - Former Secretary of State Geraldine Ann Ferraro of New York~~

The 2000 Democratic Primaries: Resolution

Despite the fact that states were contested up until the end of the primaries, it became clear shortly after Ferraro's exit that Romney would soon have the delegates to claim the nomination. Taking Illinois on March 21st, Westman nevertheless put up a tough fight in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on April 4th. Had he won both, he might have put up a serious fight at the convention for the nomination. Nevertheless, Romney's narrow victory in Pennsylvania essentially sealed the deal for the Massachusetts Governor. Romney actually won a minority of contests after that point, owing to the high amount of rural and "backwater" states on the slate--Westman scored victories on the backs of "hicks, white trash, college students, and the unemployed," in Wyoming, Alaska, Indiana, Oregon, Arkansas, Kentucky, Montana, and South Dakota. In Alabama, the careful maneuvering of Jefferson Dent, the Westman campaign's Southern director, produced narrow victory. It was also the state where Westman received the highest percentage of the black vote.

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Blue - Governor Willard Milton "Mitt" Romney of Massachusetts
Green - Former Senator Scott Augustus Westman of Montana
Red - Former Secretary of State Geraldine Ann Ferraro of New York

Despite the decision by Westman to contest the nomination on the convention floor, the Romney team had been working on a Vice Presidential selection for the Governor. His team noted that he had suffered from a number of weak points. Some Democrats questioned his loyalty, others his stances on fiscal issues, and others his lack of foreign policy experience. With this in mind, it was decided that his team search out a list of potentials that covered at least a few of these bases. Some even suggested former Secretary of State Jefferson Dent, who had won the nomination twelve years prior and could conceivably secure Romney from all directions. This was out of the question, however. Geraldine Ferraro had removed herself from selection early on, having agreed to hand over her support to Romney instead with the hope of being reappointed Secretary of State. "I don't want to feel compelled to ever seek the nomination again," she'd commented. "If Mitt loses this year, my only hope for any sort of comeback would be in 2004, with all the commitments it implies. And if he wins, I would be a useless appendage for four or eight years." That wasn't the role Geraldine had signed up for.

Quote

John Edwards - one-term Senator from North Carolina
Russell Feingold - two-term Senator from Wisconsin, former U.S. Representative
James Folsom, Jr. - two-term Senator from Alabama, former Governor, former Chief of Staff
Joseph R. "Bob" Kerrey - two-term Senator from Nebraska, former Governor
Samuel Nunn - former Georgia Senator, former Senate Armed Services Committee Chair
Ann Richards - former two-term Governor of Texas

The team was aware that it was taking a gamble; Romney, while lacking significant foreign policy experience, was nevertheless still seen by many as an "insider"--though one far less blemished than Ferraro. As such, were he to choose a real "heavy" such as Kerrey, it might reassure policy-minded voters, but at the same time carry certain implications among less-informed and more affect-based voters. These were the type that Romney had lost in large numbers in the primary.

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Above: Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney (left) was introduced to the 2000 Democratic National Convention by his state's senior senator and "liberal lion" Ted Kennedy (right). Since 1978, the Kennedy family had undergone some rehabilitation and Ted, with little association with Robert's administration, was at that point a hero to many Democrats.

While all, in the mind of the candidate, were qualified, the Governor was looking for a good foil; a candidate that could excite and stir the base, appear down to earth, and reach beyond Romney's largely middle-of-the-road, affluent, and Mormon constituency. While some on the list could be cited as experts or even policy wonks, many in the Governor's team had started to come to the realization that he didn't need to be paired with someone seen as calculating or removed. To match Romney's perceived coolness, the Bay Stater would need a fighter. As such, against other advice, John Edwards, having only begun serving in the Senate the previous January, was selected for Vice President. Young, charismatic, Southern, attached to anti-poverty issues, and sitting on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Edwards seemed to possess the list of traits that would make for an ideal balance to Romney.

In the buildup to the convention, Westman, well aware that he had little to no chance of success, persisted in also acting as a general election candidate. While Jefferson Dent, who had run his campaign in the South, had in no way assented to the Montana Senator's claim, Westman persisted in stating that he intended running on a ticket with his former colleague. In an interview the weekend preceding the DNC, Westman had stated, "Yes, I think Dent is perhaps the most qualified choice for the job. He has served twice as Secretary of State- the first time at a crucial juncture in the Middle East Peace Process, and the second time to withdraw us from our stupid misadventure in Iraq. Jeff also has been fighting for important, working-class issues for decades. It's more than telling that Romney, a former Republican, decided to select as his Vice President a supporter of our disastrous policy in the Middle East." In the floor vote, Westman's delegates insisted on themselves naming Dent as Westman's Vice President, but to little avail. Both Romney and Edwards were nominated without incident. Edwards delivered a rousing and unifying acceptance speech that in many ways overshadowed Romney's, and laid out a color-blind, egalitarian agenda.

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Above: John Edwards, who was selected by Mitt Romney as the 2000 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, delivered a rousing acceptance speech that served as an impressive entry onto the national stage. His presence on the ticket was intended to serve as a good counterweight to the detached Romney.

Westman, for his part, walked out of the convention. "Doubling the size and sheen of hair on the Democratic ticket won't do a damn thing to battle income inequality or the tireless advance of capital." He vowed to fight on and, days afterwards, announced his endorsement of third party candidate Lenora Fulani. He did not join the Peace & Freedom ticket, as he had done with the Libertarians twenty years earlier, but he became firmly associated with the Fulani's candidacy. A consistent gimmick of Westman's speaking style would be his insistence on referring to both major party candidates as "the Republican nominee".

The 2000 Republican Primaries: Resolution

Elizabeth Dole made the fateful decision to exit the race shortly after "Southern Tuesday". Beaten back in Florida and Texas, and upstaged in the provincial skirmish of Oklahoma, the former First Lady appeared ot not even have the whole of Dixie on her side. Her last place finish in Illinois was the final straw. Only a few days later, Mattingly and MacKenzie split victories, as Mattingly took Pennsylvania while his rival claimed Wisconsin. Despite punditry predicting that the Governor should have won both there and Minnesota several weeks earlier, Mattingly's team had noted early on that he struggled, in some ways, to communicate to rural voters, and his demeanor was not exactly the type to win him the suburbs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or in Illinois. Mattingly instead scored big victories among "white trash" demographics and in the same types of post-industrial "Hellscapes" that had driven Westman's Rust Belt victories in the Democratic primaries. Washington D.C. and Hawaii would be MacKenzie's last victories, as Dole's exit provided Mattingly with the necessary support on the right to overpower the Vermont Senator in every other confrontation.
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Blue - Former Governor Christian Rocco Mattingly of Michigan
Green - Senator David MacKenzie of Vermont
Red - Senator Elizabeth Hanford Dole of North Carolina

MacKenzie was naturally upset at his loss, but there was never any plan to contest the convention; nay, now it was time to bargain for his endorsement. Surely, Mattingly would highly prize an enthusiastic display of support from his primary rival. Nevertheless, while Mattingly welcomed MacKenzie's exit from the race and was more than happy to hear his support, it won the Vermont Senator no favors. While many spouted the conventional wisdom that the two-term Senator served as an ideal Vice Presidential pick for the Governor--many imagined a Republican ticket that would peel vast sections of the North away from the embattled Democrats, as they had done with the West the two elections previous--such was the farthest thing from Mattingly's mind.

Quote from: Mattingly Campaign Conversation Transcript, May 24th, 2000

Mattingly: MacKenzie? Honestly, I hadn't even thought of him.
Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania Governor: Well, he and his surrogates have brought it up numerous times since the announcement.
Mattingly: I'll have to be honest, he's not gonna be happy then. The kid's not even worth consideration.
Ridge: Are you sure? He garnered a lot of support in the primaries, and the South isn't what any of us are worried about.
Mattingly: The little prick is not only someone I despise talking to, but he'd be a net negative. If- if we win, what would his main priority be?
Ridge: Wel-
Mattingly: Boosting his own profile, looking out for his own career. He stands foursquare against what I have campaigned on and if there's a single thing he disagrees with, or views as unpopular, he won't have any problem trying to distance himself from, or trying to shame, the administration. F#ck that.
Ridge: Fair enough, I suppose. What has the team been putting together?
Mattingly: Why not you, Tom?
Ridge: Me!? The base would never accept me; you saw how they treated Pete Wilson in '96. I know the right embraces your anti-abortion credentials, but I don't think they'd want a thing to do with me on the ticket.
Mattingly: Hmmm... Fair enough. But you see my point. What this ticket needs is first of all someone I don't despise, and second off a team player.

Mattingly and his campaign had already been in the process of looking for such a person. Mattingly's greatest pushback in the primary had not necessarily been liberal Republicans, but instead many of the strident conservatives in the House and Senate that insisted that the Governor, whose own views went against conservative economic orthodoxy on a number of issues, tone down his rhetoric. Mattingly wanted a Vice President who, regardless of their stance, would be willing to stand with him, and who, secondly, would realign the party hierarchy behind his ticket and, hopefully, his administration. That was why he had offered the spot to Tom Ridge who was a personal friend of his, a former House member, and, regardless of that, someone to his left on social issues.

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Above: Former Governor Christian Mattingly, rarely recognized as coming off particularly 'well put-together', was the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party by the end of May, 2000.

Given the Governor's priorities in regards to the Vice Presidential selection, a number of potentially "big" picks--former politicians, generals, etc.--from the motley crowd of support he'd gathered in the primary were ignored. Instead, the search was for the "unbearably conventional". It would be Ohio Congressman John Boehner who chaired the search committee.

Quote from: Christian Mattingly, 2000 Campaign, Vice Presidential Short-List

Terry Branstad - Iowa Governor
Judd Gregg - New Hampshire Senator, former Governor
John Kasich - U.S. Representative from Ohio, House Budget Committee Chair
John McCain - Arizona Senator, former U.S. Representative, former U.S. Navy Liaison to the Senate
Olympia Snowe - Maine Senator, former Maine First Lady

Mattingly personally liked McCain, who had endorsed him during the primaries, and deeply wanted him "on [his] team". Nevertheless, McCain's quirks, including his intense desire to tackle "pork barrel spending", as well as his previous history of extramarital affairs, made him a questionable choice. Mattingly, personally, saw little problem with "pork" and intended to use it whenever necessary to get what he wanted done. The Senator's temper was known to lose him friends, and Mattingly needed a relationship with Congress. Several were surprised to see a woman, much less one of the Senate liberals, on Mattingly's list. Mattingly nevertheless liked Snowe's protectionism and viewed her as a way to "fool" the liberal ranks into accepting him. Branstad was seen by many as Mattingly's personal favorite for the job. A convert to Catholicism who, while in the military, had experienced a run-in with Jane Fonda, Branstad was, like Mattingly, the Governor of a Mid-Western state and actually an early supporter of his campaign.

Nevertheless, Mattingly eventually settled on John Kasich. Chair of the House Budget Committee, he displayed the proper commitment to "bland, orthodox Washington 'principles'" that would herd the conventional GOP establishment back into his ranks. Kasich was nevertheless from a Rust Belt state and could--at least somewhat--understand the voters of those states. And, despite his boring appearance, Kasich had a cutthroat mentality when needed. Mattingly fondly remembered an anecdote he had heard from Kasich's colleague, Boehner, that the Croatian-American had stubbornly once announced to a group of reporters and Representatives that "you're either on the bus, or under it." In him, Mattingly saw someone who knew how to do his job, but had a mean streak that the Governor identified with. Moreover, Kasich had displayed presidential ambitions. To Mattingly, he was bulldog and conciliator in one.

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Above: John Kasich (right), Congressman from Ohio and Chair of the House Budget Committee, was selected by Christian Mattingly as the 2000 Republican nominee for Vice President. The team shared the distinction of having both met the nation's 37th President (left) in 1970.

Demographically, Mattingly liked having "a Czech and a Croat" on the ticket. Having been driven to the right during the 1970's and 1980's over staunch opposition to international communism, Kasich's family's story was one that the Governor took heart in. While he did find distaste in the Ohioan's divorce and in his abandonment of Catholicism, such were minor workplace details. In any case, Kasich belonged to a conservative "high church", which was more than acceptable.

Mattingly and the 2000 General Election

Years later, only after he had exited the public spotlight, did Mattingly allow for the whole of his past to be unveiled. In various campaign biographies, his description of his time overseas in Vietnam was vague, with the purposeful impression of painting Mattingly's as a bland, wholesome, all-American tale. Likewise, his description of his childhood after his father's passing remained similarly draped in shadow. A 2015 biography would posit that "Christian Mattingly was a man forever fleeing from himself. Exceptionally intelligent, his instinct was almost to reject it out of hand, or to embrace it only as a dirty habit. He portrayed himself as a friendly, down-to-earth, American folk hero. A kind businessman who fought for the interests of those he identified with, and nothing but. Political allies and opponents alike, however, remarked at his extensive vocabulary, his analytic ability, and, perhaps most, how sarcastically he took his own role in the public sphere; almost as if he were playing a character. He remains a man deeply divided by intense passion and intense despondence, masked by a person constructed to hide both.

"Few public references to Mattingly's background would refer to the lanky high schooler who carted around history and philosophy books, or regularly sparred, knuckles bare, with schoolmates in Warren. The quaint, romantic tale of the boy who worked nights to make ends meet and substitute for his late father overshadows the struggles of a youth who almost dropped out of school multiple times. The decision to serve his country in Vietnam serves as a convenience to explain away the fact that he had been routinely recommended to attend college and that he despised that fact. The same would also serve to alleviate the intense survivor's guilt he possessed and the ever-growing sense of nihilism he had adopted. It would only take his own brushes with death to confer on him a sense of order and duty, and it would only be well after Vietnam that he came to embrace this, not only spiritually through a return to the Church, but publicly and politically. The Christian Mattingly that left for Vietnam likely would have never decided to found his own business or to seek public office. He would have been perfectly happy slaving away in the place of his father at the Ford plant, shirking any sense of destiny for the alleviation of an intense sense of alienation.

"If there was ever a time in his life where he was, in some sense, at peace, it would have been the nineteen eighties. Despite distaste for the changing social attitudes and "unnecessary" fashions, that was when Mattingly had a chance to live out both of his ideals. In one world, he was a raging crusader, convincing what seemed the very laws of physics, economics, and organizational psychology in his favor, forging a path in an industry once marked by monopolistic competition. It was a decade of dedication and expansion. In another world, he was the patriarch of a young and growing family that, despite financial struggles, continued to push ahead. He entertained both his ambitions and his desire for insularity and belonging. Nevertheless, as private service turned public, he felt his family separate. His eldest son, Bryan, persisted in turning against him. In many ways, the introverted, reclusive Bryan was a representation of Mattingly's own id, a creature he would never dare confront. Bryan despised his father's respectability politics and opted for a life of the mind. In the midst of the 2000 campaign, Mattingly would be forced to answer to inquiring minds in the national media why his son had received a drinking citation within his first two months of college.

"In any case, for him politics had been 'the next challenge'. What he was instead confronted with was a life of unbearable security, and the comfort associated with such a lifestyle he would later credit with allowing the dissolution of his precious family unit. It would be a wonder as to why he opted to continue to pursue political ambitions at all, but for an unquenchable need to 'win'. He had finally let himself entertain his ambitions and he would be damned if he'd let himself be stopped. As well, the nineteen nineties had seen the dissolution of his 'way of life' on the macro scale. The types of communities he hailed from, and those he romanticized, had become endangered by what he would sarcastically call 'a cabal of policy eggheads in both parties'. All across the rust belt, communities that had either been revived, or had barely hung on, during the 1980's at last breathed their last gasp. Jobs shifted away from the country, owing both to globalization and to mechanization. Suddenly, an engineering degree was almost necessary to work at many levels of manufacturing. Agriculture had not gotten easier either, as the family farm--itself the reflection of the Republican ideal since the 1850's--continued to whither. And, while Democrats were bragging about innovations in technology and record-breaking economic numbers, danger loomed abroad, at last personified in deadly terrorist attacks on August 7th, 1998. Mattingly's eventual bid for the presidency was a bid to restore the America he called home.

...

"Mattingly, perhaps more than any other campaign, loved 2000. It represented his bid for the support of the men and women he identified with, the people in the professions and the neighborhoods he'd seen as brothers and sisters in class and nationality, that had given him a sense of nationhood well before his first march in Army boots. That this had been threatened by elites in either party who took pictures with computer terminals and discussed the future's limitless ability to alleviate social problems was unconscionable. Liddy Dole, a woman who Mattingly believed felt entitled to the presidency owing to her husband, and David MacKenzie, a man who felt entitled to the presidency owing to his class and background, represented to Mattingly ideal primary opponents. This was nothing compared to the general election, however." Mitt Romney was an effete, teetotalling elite from New England whose personal fortune had been made through 'business consulting'. His campaign had been run on progressive triumphs in Massachusetts, including gun control, environmental regulations, gay marriage, and universal healthcare. His campaign did not cater to class antagonisms or grievances, but instead to those Democrats that wanted an inoffensive champion who would manage the country well. He had triumphed owing to significant support among high turnout groups in the suburbs, a geographic calendar that had favored him early on, and the Democratic establishment's decision to coalesce around him in order to stop the left-wing vanguard represented by Scott Westman. In a year that seemed marked by change and discontent, the Democrats were nevertheless still in the throes of Hartism and opted for the technocrat who would safeguard the gains of the last eight years over the incendiary who might gamble it all. In that same vein, he represented exactly the type of Democrat that Mattingly had set out to defeat.

2000: On The Issues

The free-wheeling nineties, which had, four years ago, permitted a national campaign centered on, among other issues farm subsidies, were over. Instead, the seemingly minute disappeared in the rear view mirror. Instead, the 2000 Presidential election centered primarily on issues of basic material security: employment, defense, and the like. Outside of that, some otherwise minor recurrent social issues did come up. It was remarked that, all around, both candidates positioned themselves as "moderates", but of very different stripes and radically different demeanor. While Romney was a "pragmatic progressive", the Mattingly campaign was self-consciously retrograde.

Trade & Employment

Both candidates ran on relatively moderate economic platforms that would nevertheless draw very sharp battle lines.
Romney: “All around, free trade has helped more than it has hurt. Consumer goods once restricted to only the wealthy have been made available at the mass level. That said, we would be remiss if we presumed that every trade agreement is, by default, good.” Romney, essentially, ran as the candidate of The Economist, to the opinion of many. In order to offset unemployment, the Massachusetts Governor campaigned on extending unemployment benefits, reduced interest rates, and a tax reimbursement for every American family. By contrast, Romney tried to paint Mattingly as “out of touch”--”he hasn’t been involved in job creation since the 1980’s!”--and a “big government Republican,”; “Mattingly’s plan will constitute a tax giveaway to contractors and billionaires while endangering the safety net this country has cherished since FDR. He still hasn’t explained how to pay for the Mattingly deficits!”
Mattingly: The Republican asserted that Romney’s plans for growth were insincere and “half-hearted at best.” The agenda of Mitt Romney is, and this isn’t an insult, not one for you and me. I have no doubt he could accomplish his picture of America doing well- an improved stock market, record profits, and so on. That does not mean he will accomplish anything for you or your families.” In an ironic twist for a Republican nominee, Mattingly asserted that he was the man for labor to trust. “The Democrats are not at all interested in getting you ‘off your feet’. Their programs have shown a remarkable amount of complacency towards growing welfare rolls and a decreased quality of life. Meanwhile, it has gotten harder and harder to earn a living wage in this country!” Mattingly’s essential take was that, with him at the helm, you wouldn’t be able to count on an expansion in welfare- instead, finding, keeping, and living off a job would be made easier. This would be done through the repatriation of capital and labor, attacking multi-national corporations and “economic traitors”. Any inflation resulting from wage increased--”a sure deal,” he asserted--would be offset through monetary policy. Beyond that, he also promised a stimulus package "to rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure."

Foreign Policy, Counter-Terrorism, & Defense

With both candidates being “domestic policy candidates”, it would be up to the campaign apparatuses to craft coherent platforms for them to recite lines from.
Romney: “The President, since the 8/7 attacks, has pursued a smart and aggressive strategy in the Middle East that will pay off in the end.” Romney proposed keeping the Middle East effort a multi-national process and to ensure that “the whole civilized world has a stake in terrorism’s pacification.”
Mattingly: “The disarming that America went through starting in 1991 was utterly unconscionable.” Mattingly believed that the invasion of Iraq had been a mistake; an attempt by a President weak at home to secure himself abroad through red meat that would reinforce an image of “strength”. In Mattingly’s view, he could accomplish as much by sporting beard stubble and pointing to his own political record. “Of course,” he said in private conversation, “Iraq was going to be a clusterf#ck. And of course that would give us two f#cked up options: surrender or keep getting shot at. Option three, gun down the bastards at every opportunity, was tried in ‘Nam. It resulted in option one anyway.” Despite styling himself a hawk, Mattingly had a cynical view of war, owing to his own experience in Vietnam. In choosing not to confront the “war question” head on, Mattingly offered that “the fight against terrorism has to begin at home,” proposing the granting of new powers to the U.S. intelligence apparatus while “cultivating our friends in the region.” Among friends, Mattingly also remarked “If we’re being entirely honest, broadcasting the image of the West as this progressive place that would offend any good Muslim’s sensibilities probably has not paid off in the region. Our figurehead the last six years was best known for standing next to pride flags and swimsuit models. Well, ya can’t please everybody.” Mattingly, promising in public “better and more thorough defense policies,” intended fully on leaving this up to the Central Intelligence Agency to make a “secret, and unauthorized foreign policy.” “We did this in the 80’s, and by God we can do it again!”

Education

Romney: Promising “a twenty-first century educational system for a twenty-first century economy,” Romney vowed to double-down on math and science education. In order to add populist appeal to his “Wall Street Journal-endorsed” (Westman’s words) economic platform, the Governor was proposing a college education program that promised to severely mitigate costs of a college education, especially in STEM fields.
Mattingly: “I believe American students can do anything if given the proper conditions; the first among these is going to be ensuring that there is a stable home life, the foundations of which are employment and a whole family.” That said, “what this nation has to do is to educate good citizens, and this extends beyond the family. This civic duty can be realized through our educational system.” The Republican wanted greater focus on civics and ethics classes in primary and secondary education. Beyond that, he attacked Romney’s college plan: “In the last thirty years, the government has committed more and more money to seeing citizens enter college. In response, we’ve seen absurd increases in costs! Not only are colleges simply responding to government-created demand, they are forced to bloat their administrative departments to handle the increased paperwork and red tape. This has resulted, more than anything, in increased college debt and the increased meaninglessness of a college education. I hear routinely that it has become simply a more expensive high school.” As an alternative, Mattingly endorsed a plan, then pending in the U.S. Senate, to provide quality assurance in education through standardized testing. “Our children deserve the best teachers.”

Abortion

Romney: Stated simply, he thought “abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,” and had few qualms with Roe v. Wade. “I am personally against it, but this is a country founded on freedom of conscience and freedom of faith.”
Mattingly: “Mr. Romney likes to tote out his Mormon faith whenever it serves to demonstrate some civic merit of his; he has little problem, however, when sidelining it in favor of the Democratic platform.” Mattingly stated firmly that he sought to return abortion to the states, and that he would seek to do so through the appointment of judges. “That said, we in the right-to-life movement have seen significant setbacks since the early 1970’s. In order to further mitigate abortion, we need to be willing to reduce its likelihood of seeming like the best option to many frightened mothers-to-be.”

Gay Rights

Romney: The Democratic nominee vowed to uphold the Tsongas administration’s policies on gay service in the military and endorsed the idea of civil unions.
Mattingly: The Republican nominee admitted he had not considered gay rights as a whole as a political issue. “I know what history says, and believe me, it’s something that concerns me.” Personally, Mattingly was torn between his faith and sense of straightlaced sexual morality and his own life experiences; he had served alongside a host of demographics, including men that, by 2000 were openly homosexual. As far as the candidate was concerned, status quo would be maintained. “We have enough divorces in this country, I wouldn’t want to expose the gay community to that,” he joked.

The Environment

Romney: One of his most prominent liberal bona fides, Romney had received good marks from environmental groups for his tenure as Governor. In taking this to the nation as a whole, he proposed a series of reforms, including compliance with the Kyoto protocols and other international environmental agreements. “We can never afford to forget the inalienable rights to clean water, clean soil, and clean air.” He also proposed an increase in “superfund” cleanup capital.
Mattingly: “Our national parks are perhaps our greatest treasure.” Beyond that, Mattingly was wholly opposed to “the policies that have destroyed the ability to do business in this country.”

Crime

Nationwide crime numbers had been trending downward since the early 1990’s. Nevertheless, the media narrative prompted both candidates to respond.
Romney: Unwilling to fully come out against the death penalty, the Democratic nominee stated it should be used “sparingly,” and “in cases of overwhelming evidence and utter necessity.”
Mattingly: “Obviously, we’ve got to be tough on crime, and I have. Mitty, uh, well he hasn’t been tasked with handling much crime; I have.” The Governor supported the death penalty, and enjoyed touting his record of tackling drug networks across his state. Regarding any further action, Mattingly was blunt, “The massive increase in crime over the last half of the century, was, in my mind, no doubt, due to two reasons: deindustrialization, and the lack of faith in government. Things flow from the top, and when our civic leaders stopped being trustworthy, so did others. Secondly, we’re going to see employment and factories return to these cities. No citizen is going to be asked to choose between the duties of citizenship and the duties of survival. They will be one and the same. We’re going to restore moral government and we’re going to restore a moral economy. Any crime that’s left after that is going to be struck down by police agencies equipped with what they need to do our jobs. Our policies should not be based on court cases decided by activist judges, but instead on what works.”

”Republicans for Romney”

The existence of a “rivalry”, to some limited (and often exaggerated) extent, had existed between Mattingly and the Romney family for a period of time lasting over ten years by the time both Christian and Mitt had secured their parties’ nominations for President. In the 1990 Michigan Republican Gubernatorial primary, Scott Romney, the son of the late Michigan Governor George Romney and the brother of future Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, had been Mattingly’s chief opponent for the nomination. Heading a coalition of suburbanites and business interests, Romney had hoped to establish a moderate-to-liberal coalition very similar to the one that had granted both his father and William Miliken power in the 1960’s and 1970’s. For decades, the party had nominated liberals to govern at the state level, though Senator Griffin, whose time had passed in 1990, had been nominally conservative.

Nevertheless, Mattingly’s majority victory over Scott Romney, who had secured only 39%, symbolized a “new era” in the state party. Mattingly’s coalition was an ostensibly populist-conservative one, encroaching on Romney in the suburbs and among moderates with his tough-on-crime stance. Meanwhile, Michigan’s open primary had allowed the former Commerce Secretary to import blue collar Democrats in communities like Macomb and Monroe counties. “Fusion conservatism” had been co-opted, and liberal “yankee” republicanism had been defeated. To some extent, Mattingly would repeat that feat a decade later with victory of Elizabeth Dole and David MacKenzie. In any case, the elements needed to craft a “Mattingly v. Romney” narrative ten years later had been put in place.

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Above: George Scott Romney, who had lost the 1990 Michigan Republican Primary, would take the lead in trying to recruit other Republicans to support his younger brother's presidential campaign against Christian Mattingly in 2000.

It had been owing not only to the changing nature of the parties--Republicans in Massachusetts had elected Ed King and John Silber, for God’s sake--but to the defeat of his brother that had prompted ‘Mitt’ to cross the aisle in the early 1990’s, despite his work for the Holton White House. The political power that would support choice, gun control, environmental regulation, healthcare reform, and a slew of other liberal projects, was in the hands of the Democrats. And they had shown they weren’t entirely hostile to business interests anymore.

In the year 2000, Scott Romney would do the dirty work of his brother in hoping to undermine his old rival Mattingly. Out of power since 1990, he had felt more and more ill at ease in a Republican Party that seemed to be rejecting its pro-business establishment. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here speaking with you today not because Mitt is my brother, but perhaps moreso because I am not only a lifelong Republican, but because I know both candidates. The type of republicanism that Christian Mattingly has championed, and that he rode to the Republican nomination on, is not conservative. It is anti-business, it is anti-capitalist. Not only that, it is populist demagoguery of the lowest sort.”

Failing to secure even the minimal verbal support of David MacKenzie, who lined up behind his party’s nominee, Romney had nevertheless scraped together some opposition to Mattingly. Nevertheless, they largely amounted to past officeholders. Former Congressman John Anderson was an easy and early recruit. From Mattingly’s own home state, former Governor William G. Milliken was unwilling to comment on the race. However, his very outspoken wife, the activist Helen Wallbank Milliken, was very vocal in her opposition to her husband’s successor. Former Defense Secretary Larry Pressler, who had counted himself a Republican a decade ago, likewise denounced the Governor’s campaign. Lincoln Chafee, who had been primaried from the right on September 12th, had few remaining loyalties and was the only current officeholder to break ranks and outright endorse Mitt Romney.

The 2000 Presidential Election

The race between governors Romney and Mattingly for the White House took place amidst turmoil in both major parties, as old school stalwarts bemoaned the "corporatist" and "populist" directions of the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. Scott Westman's fiery campaign trail tirades for third party candidate Lenora Fulani were aimed primarily at the Democratic nominee. With help from other non-doctrinaire leftists--including consumer advocate Ralph Nader and former Tsongas administration official Jerry Brown--Westman worked hard to raise concerns about "the country's decline into soulless neoliberalism." Similar discontent was met on the Republican bench as a number of former officeholders from the GOP's liberal ranks denounced their nominee. While there were a select few who overtly endorsed the Democratic nominee to protest Mattingly's "big government 'conservatism'", only one current officeholder--the primaried Lincoln Chafee--outright endorsed Romney, though others flirted with supporting Libertarian nominee and former Republican Areus Ho'kee. Nevertheless, for many on the right, the Mattingly nomination represented a homecoming, as he received the enthusiastic endorsement of former third party candidate and Republican primary contender Pat Buchanan.

While many pundits had expected the technocratic, educated, and well-bred Romney to dominate in the two presidential debates, the Massachusetts Governor managed to defy his lowest expectations. Mattingly's debate style, honed from years of verbally humiliating his peers in displays of masculinist dominance, was particularly harsh. Meanwhile, the Michiganian's more down-to-earth speaking style was able to win over viewers. In the second debate, both candidates were offered the opportunity to outline what they thought their potential cabinets might be. For Romney, "while he may be young, this is a man I have had the pleasure of working with before. Jon Huntsman, our current Ambassador to China, I think could perhaps work wonders as Secretary of State. For Secretary of Defense, I would be more than happy to see Secretary Powell stay on." Mattingly seemed to focus on domestic priorities; "Senator John Heinz has been a voice in the Senate on the protection of American industry that I have admired since the 1980's. Terry Branstad, a good friend of mine from our days as Governors, worked wonders in Iowa and I would love to see him head up agricultural policy." Mattingly mentioned John McCain and Tom Ridge as possible picks for Secretary of Defense, but preferred to stay mum on articulating an international vision.

Perhaps the greatest contrast between the two candidates was their background, as both had grown up in Michigan along Woodward Avenue, but in distinctly different neighborhoods miles away from each other. Mattingly used his blue collar upbringing to his advantage, casting the Grand Old Party as the party of labor. It was Romney's own allegedly clean business background that helped to hurt him in the battle for hearts and minds, as Mattingly's team had managed to obtain under-appreciated opposition research from Romney's primary rivals. Heart-breaking campaign advertisements detailing Romney's dealings with Bain--in particular, the shutting down of Rust Belt and Mid-Western factory towns for the sake of "efficiency" and "corporate turnaround"--helped to stunt the Bay Stater's attempts to shore up crucial "heartland" voters.

Despite a public narrative of major unrest, for the most part, both campaigns succeeded in keeping their bases together. Very few peace activists were in the streets to demonstrate in favor of Mattingly, and Romney's attempts to appeal to the evangelical community--pointing to his own clean lifestyle--fell flat owing to his liberal record. In the single Vice Presidential debate, Kasich's low voice and disjointed speaking style failed to hamper his efforts to verbally bludgeon the freshman Senator John Edwards. Some pointed to the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debates, as Edwards came off very well on television, while transcripts revealed a less-than-substantive argument by the North Carolinian.

While both campaigns waged a spirited battle for the United States Presidency, pre-election polling consistently pointed in one direction. Owing to Hart's apparent aptitude for scandal, recent terrorist attacks, and the appearance that eight years of Democratic policies had undermined the working class and that their current nominee was no panacea in this regard, Romney lagged behind in the polls consistently. In October, when audio recordings of Romney, during the primaries, insulting the destitute position of Westman voters leaked, it appeared the Democrat's fate was sealed.

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Former Governor Christian Rocco Mattingly (Republican-Michigan)/Representative John Richard Kasich (Republican-Ohio) 337 electoral votes, 52.1% of the popular vote
Governor Willard Milton "Mitt" Romney (Democrat-Massachusetts)/Senator Johnny Reid "John" Edwards (Democrat-North Carolina) 201 electoral votes, 45.9% of the popular vote
Ms. Lenora Fulani (Peace & Freedom-New York)/various 0 electoral votes, 1.1% of the popular vote
Former State Senator Areus Ho'kee (Libertarian-Nevada)/Former Mayor Arthur C. "Art"
Olivier (Libertarian-California) 0 electoral votes, .6% of the popular vote
Others: 0 electoral votes, .3% of the popular vote

The election results, which had fully crystallized the morning after the election, were a reckoning for the Democrats. The formerly solid South and much of the Upper Midwest had fallen to the Republicans. West Virginia was perhaps the most surprising loss of the night, a state the Democrats had lost only once since the 1930's. The Mattingly victory had, with two exceptions, banished the Democrats to the Pacific Coast and the Northeast. Even in Romney's own home region, only Connecticut and Massachusetts voted majority Democratic. Nevertheless, there were some strange positive takeaways. Perhaps the greatest region of (relative) Democratic resilience had not been the Northeast, but rather in the West. 2000 marked the first time the Democrats had won a majority in California since 1976, and Mattingly had been denied majorities in the traditionally Republican states of Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. The deep blue Utah voted for the Michigan Governor with only 57% of the vote, with Idaho acting in a similar fashion. This could be attributed to not only Romney's Mormon heritage and deep ties to the region, but as well his generally "friendlier" campaign. Meanwhile, along the Mexican border, the growing power of (largely Democratic) Hispanic voters was being felt.

Party Like it's 1959 Pt. I

Entering office with a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, Mattingly was in the strongest position of any Republican President since Eisenhower, and in the politically friendliest climate of any Republican President since Hoover before the Crash. With a firm grasp of history, Mattingly was determined not to waste this opportunity, nor to let circumstances get the better of him. Before the electors had even convened to certify his election, Mattingly’s team was working to secure the President-elect’s power in the halls of Congress.

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The first shot fired came in a vote for Speaker in January, 2001, before the inauguration. Newt Gingrich, who had served as Speaker since Republicans took the House in 1998, had made his name and his popularity on bombastic and public battles with President Hart, using as his base a self-proclaimed conservative coalition that would accept only particularly humiliating compromise. This had harmed both Hart and Gingrich politically at various points, but had been overshadowed by the presidential election. Mattingly had no taste for Gingrich, and revelations as to personal misconduct and adultery provided a key opportunity. On January 3rd, 2001, House Majority Leader John Boehner led an uprising that unseated Gingrich from the speakership and put the Ohioan in charge. Boehner, who had walked the line between conservative reformer and dealmaker, was a quick riser and personal friend of Mattingly’s who valued accomplishment and results over the histrionic style of leadership his predecessor had adopted.

Secretary of State: James Lane Buckley (Republican-New York)
Secretary of the Treasury: Henry John Heinz, III (Republican-Pennsylvania)
Secretary of Defense: Thomas Joseph Ridge (Republican-Pennsylvania)
Attorney General: William Floyd Weld (Republican-Massachusetts)
Secretary of the Interior: Walter Joseph Hickel (Republican-Alaska)
Secretary of Agriculture: Sheila Frahm (Republican-Kansas)
Secretary of Commerce: Henry Ross Perot, Jr. (Republican-Texas)
Secretary of Labor: Timothy Penny (Republican-Minnesota)
Secretary of Health, Education, & Welfare: Nancy Putnam Hollister (Republican-Ohio)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Isaiah McKinnon (Democrat-Michigan)
Secretary of Transportation: Richard Ravitch (Democrat-New York)
Secretary of Environment & Energy: Theodore Roosevelt IV (Republican-New York)
Secretary of Homeland Security: Peter Barton Wilson (Republican-California)

White House Chief of Staff: Richard Hudson (Republican-Michigan)
United States Trade Representative: Peter Hoekstra (Republican-Michigan)
Special Adviser to the President: John Robert Silber (Republican-Massachusetts)

While there was some speculation that Mattingly might appoint either Liddy Dole or David MacKenzie to an important spot in the cabinet, the President-Elect had no intention of doing so. In fact, observers in general were surprised at the heterodox cabinet Mattingly assembled. Having generally survived in Michigan on a personal coalition rather than on a strict set of political alliances, few Michigan Republicans found their way into the administration, and the most prominent appointment from his homestate was a Democrat.

James Buckley, the Cold War relic and former Conservative Senator from New York, was chosen for Secretary of State. In many ways, it was meant as a purposeful nod to old-hand conservatives from the 1970’s and 1980’s, providing a sense of continuity with previous Republican administrations. Alternatively, in a nod to liberal Republicans, former Senator John Heinz was called upon to run the Treasury Department. While some cried that the heir to a ketchup fortune would of course be a high-ranking Republican cabinet secretary, it was Heinz’ credentials as a legislator, and in particular his attention to industrial issues, that earned him the position. The Pentagon went to Mattingly’s fellow Rust Belt Governor, Vietnam veteran Tom Ridge. William Weld, another moderate, was selected as Attorney General. Weld had made his name prosecuting white collar crime in the 1980’s, and it was owing to this, and not Weld’s failed career as a Massachusetts politico, that he was chosen. All in all, three out of four of the top cabinet spots were given to recognized “moderates”, but, as Mattingly wryly noted, they weren’t being chosen for their legislative records on abortion.

Pete Wilson, the 1996 Republican nominee, was offered an olive branch in the form of running the Department of Homeland Security. While it had seemed likely that Secretary Ravitch would maintain the position, he was granted the position of Transportation Secretary. While Mattingly had not much cared for Wilson’s campaign four years earlier, the former California Governor was tough on immigration—an area the Hart administration had been lax on.

On environmental issues, Mattingly revealed his general indecision, appointing Walter Hickel—a proponent of opening up federal lands for oil—as Interior Secretary, while appointing liberal Republican and environmentalist Theodore Roosevelt IV as Secretary for Environment and Energy. Contemporaries would attempt to explain this as the President-elect’s desire to balance short-term and long-term needs, but it betrayed a fundamental conflict of values; Mattingly deeply desired to establish an indigenous source for fuel rather than rely on Middle-Eastern dictators, while at the same time deploring environmental destruction and hoping to use concerns over the global climate as a way to restrain America’s competitors. It was also possible that the scion of the Roosevelt family had been selected owing to Mattingly’s admiration of his namesake.

Beyond merely securing a Speaker of the House that was far easier to work with and less personally ambitious, Mattingly took little personal issue with manufacturing unlikely majorities as he had as Governor of Michigan. A major impediment to this was dealing with a far more disciplined Democratic leadership than had existed in Lansing. Nevertheless, the Congressional losses the Democrats had endured consistently since 1994 left many members of the caucus willing to make deals where they hadn’t ten years before. The partisanship that had hampered Holton would not prove as great a problem for Mattingly, nor would distrust by movement conservatives.

Party Like it's 1959, Pt. II

In an early attempt to appease the base and fulfill campaign promises, the American Reinvestment Act was passed on a nearly party-line vote. Cuts to income taxes for nearly all brackets and corporate taxes were to be balanced by increases in tariffs and a “progressivizing” of the inheritance tax, with particular penalties for entities that held high amounts of liquidity. Increased spending was, in turn, focused primarily on infrastructure and industrial subsidies. In a primarily executive decision, the Justice Department was ordered to mobilize against the offshoring of capital. These were the first shots fired in the administration’s project to repatriate the economy. “The world’s sole superpower will not be held hostage by multinational corporations or foreign governments.”

Economic nationalism, which many governments in Western Europe were aghast at, would not serve to alienate all of the United States’ international partners. In reassessing the situation in the Middle East, Mattingly made an unexpected move and opened the door to multilateralism. In September of 2001, after months spent in preparation, he visited Moscow to meet with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Publicly asserting that “The Cold War is over,” Mattingly wanted to look at the opportunity for “Great Power cooperation” in the Middle East. “If you look at every country in Europe and North America right now,” he had stated in a 1999 interview, “the only country that has had to deal with Islamic terrorism to the extent that we have, and in fact had faced it far worse than us, is the Russian Federation. They are well situated from an offensive standpoint to assist in any operations in the Middle East, but are simultaneously vulnerable; Islamic separatists have struck at their underbelly multiple times in recent years. As such, they represent both a very valuable partner and someone who realizes what we are up against.” The intelligence dossiers Mattingly had been given on Putin indicated he was a man of at least a professional’s level of foresight; as head of the Federal Security Service, Putin had anticipated the growing fields of non-state terrorism and computer crime in a way few of his colleagues in Russia had.

Nevertheless, Mattingly was not entirely sold on the former KGB agent in Moscow. He deeply suspected that Russia would always be Russia, in some form or another. Moreover, his first time holding a position truly relevant to international relations, and the flood of information he now received, nearly overwhelmed him with the widespread cooperation with dictators and despots, the world over. While he had always enjoyed the film Lawrence of Arabia, he was more than a bit confused as to why the House of Saud constituted an ally, while some random clerics in Tehran were, by default, the enemy. In order to try to curb recent involvement with dictatorships, the administration’s refrain of “patriation” would have to do—whether it was rerouting oil purchases to Alaska, or rerouting production from China to the Rust Belt. In the meantime, the central goal was to win in Iraq, and to get out. A major concession to Russia was the granting of ten percent of oil revenues as compensation for property that had been lost after the invasion of 1991, including many Russian stakes in Iraqi oil fields. In return, Russia was called upon to donate not only whatever available translators there were that understood both Arabic and English, but as well to provide whatever available assistance there was for language instruction. Meanwhile, a major area of non-military focus in Iraq was the expensive maintenance of national infrastructure, primarily utilities, hospitals, and schools.

Mattingly, in all, despised the dilemma of Iraq; he had been opposed to the invasion in 1991 and saw it as an unsolvable quandary: the options were primarily surrender and withdrawal, which projected weakness and cleared the way for any new would-be strongmen in the region; or facing the possibility of staying there until every last adversary had been shot. “I’ve been in Vietnam. Fighting a war of insurgency is futile in nine out of ten circumstances.” Drawing from the history of Western engagements with insurgencies, some moderates in the Mattingly administration produced a plan to increase foreign aid to Iraq for social welfare programs while slowly clearing city blocks in major urban areas. “It is a long-term, and expensive, plan, but we came into this situation having already been tasked with nation-building. We can either do it right, or we can leave.” Over time, it was proposed, access to social services combined with relatively safe cities could stabilize the major population centers and draw the disaffected away from the battlefield and towards membership in society. The idea was based on the historical importance of social and material ties to mainstream society in prior anti-insurgency campaigns. Examples included the British fight for Malaya in the 1940's and more recent guerrilla wars in Latin America. Uneasy over the plan, but feeling little other choice, Mattingly came out in support of it, and it was backed in the Senate by John McCain, who would become one of the President’s cheerleaders on foreign policy.

On environmental policy, Mattingly began to use the term “international concomitance”. A phrase coined by his aloof, academic chief of staff, it referred to the need for an transnational solution to environmental issues. “We cannot in good conscience surrender our economic independence for the sake of lofty environmental goals while at the same time incentivizing China and other developing economies to produce even more pollution.” More simply stated, “If we in Europe and North America are the only ones to act on environmental issues, this will encourage more dirty manufacturing elsewhere.” It soon became clear to those watching the administration that economic nationalism would not be betrayed to the altar of environmentalism. What was surprising was that the administration admitted the dilemma at all—it was to be a major wedge in the administration’s plan to bring back manufacturing to the States. In the interests of this, the Mattingly administration repealed a number of “smaller” environmental regulations put in place by the Hart administration while at the same time sending delegates to China, Japan, Europe, India, and Russia to consult on an international environmental treaty. The first real fruits of this would be borne in 2003. The first major impact of this, domestically, was the opening of federal lands to “limited” use by fuel extraction companies. While the administration did concede to some Democrats the funding of research for alternative energy, Mattingly drew a hard line on subsidies for biofuel, believing that it would inflate the cost of food.

Campaign finance issues had become a prominent issue by the 2000’s, as attempts to introduce public financing of campaigns entirely withered and more public figures voiced concern over the influence of money in campaigning and legislating. Mattingly, a self-financer of his early campaigns, despised lobbyists and “bribery”. In early 2002, Senator John McCain introduced campaign finance reform, with the prompting of the White House. The bill, however, was in many ways designed to fail. For one, it curtailed the power of unions, especially public-sector unions, in either funding candidates or running independent ad campaigns. Similar restrictions pertained to not only “special interest groups”, but to advocacy organizations, limiting contribution sizes. After months of debate and attempted amendments, the bill failed right before Congress’ summer recess, giving Republicans ample time to claim that the Democrats had torpedoed “comprehensive campaign finance reform.”

Immigration was another area the administration was keen to tackle. Collaborating again with McCain, other border state Republicans, and a small caucus of security-conscious Democrats, the Immigration and National Security Act was introduced in 2002. A clear nod to the administration’s belief in integration, it provided grants to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and any state meeting a certain quota of recent immigrants or non-English speakers to fund English education. “If there is anything that the turmoil in former Yugoslavia, and other areas where ethnic tensions are coming to a head, has taught us, it is that we must be one people, with one tongue, and with a general set of values.” At the same time, security was to be increased along the United States’ southern border and funding was to be withdrawn form sanctuary cities.

The body of the legislation, however, was to be devoted to the conditional pardoning of millions of illegal immigrants providing that they met certain conditions: a clean legal record, ability to pass a citizenship test and an English test, and the enrollment of their children—should they have any—in English education. As opposed to simply sending criminal non-citizens back across the border, sans any intervention from the Mexican government, criminal non-citizens were to be prosecuted.

The bill was controversial, to say the least, but the President wasn’t averse to controversy, so long as it got the job done. Immediately, legislators of all colors were up in arms, whether it was to complain about pardoning illegal immigrants, the defunding of sanctuary cities, or greater border security. Reacting to criticism, the President defended the bill, which, though not of his authoring, had received a lot of input from Pennsylvania Avenue. “We have no desire to break up families, disrupt businesses, and stand in the way of integration into the American way of life. But we are faced by a crisis of little precedence in this country, as we face a growing population of non-citizens. We are attempting to stop the problem now, so that it will not require further, more drastic action in the future.” Two foiled terrorist incidents in spring of 2002 gave the bill the momentum it needed. Following revisions—including the slashing of the sanctuary cities section—and many long nights spent in meetings between Republicans, Democrats, and “Mattingly’s team”, the bill passed on narrow majorities in both houses and the President signed it.

With the mid-term elections approaching, Mattingly believed that his administration had set things on the right track. A new plan had been laid out for Iraq. The Taliban government in Afghanistan was surrounded and weakening. Relations with Russia were improving as the two hoped to collaborate on the future of the Middle East. At home, major legislation had passed. This included an attempt at comprehensive immigration reform and the administration’s major push on the economic front. Price increases caused by the return of some manufacturing to America seemed to be offset by decreases in fuel and food prices. Nevertheless, the deficit was growing and campaign finance reform had failed. The latter, albeit, was partially planned by the administration as a move to weaken and blame the Democrats. Hopefully, the public took this well as they once again went to the polls.

Party Like it's 1989

As 2002 drew to a close, things were not entirely rosy for the administration. Attempts to build an "American Autarky" were complicated by the newly globalizing economy. Nevertheless, the President would reflect that it was better such trends be nipped in the bud now than had such attempts to "rescue" American manufacturing waited another ten or twenty years. The American Reinvestment Act had spurred concern the world over as Europe and China looked at their options for retaliatory tariffs. Nevertheless, American economic reliance on trade with China was not at that point so acute that it arrested economic growth. Nevertheless, the restrictions placed on steel important were of grave concern for domestic manufacturers. Concurrent iron extraction and steel production subsidies--targeting such states as Pennsylvania and Minnesota--while not perfect, and definitely worrisome for deficit hawks, nevertheless helped the market maintain general stability as buyers of all sorts turned inward. Meanwhile, Europe found they had little to fear thanks to particular "allies exemptions" that were passed following international hysteria over the ARA. The subsiding of trade war fears occurred as the mid-terms approached. Nevertheless, America's relationship with Latin America, which collectively formed a large agricultural producer and growing industrial power, was perhaps at its post-Cold War low.

2002 United States Senate Elections

The results of the mid-terms were generally an affirmation of the status quo. Despite vicious attack ads used by both major parties, the winners of 1996 remained strong incumbents. Some of the most notable races were those where incumbent survived challengers, or where replacements were elected for outgoing Senators of the same party. With only three party-changes, it was noted that "all in all, despite a meager Republican gain, the caucus has moved on the average slightly to the left, given the addition of two new moderates. Meanwhile, the Democrats appear in a state of schizophrenia as they add a moderate to their South while a seat in the plains has lurched violently to the radical fringe."

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Notable Races
Arkansas: Attorney General Mark Pryor beat one-term Republican Tim Hutchinson.
Georgia: Incumbent Democrat Saxby Chambliss won re-election with 55% of the vote.
Illinois: One-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives Barack Obama was elected to replace the retiring Senator Paul Simon following a vicious primary battle.
Louisiana: Moderate Senator Mary Landrieu won comfortable re-election.
Maine: Susan Collins, the nominee from six years ago, staged a comeback as she was elected against her 1996 opponent Joseph Brennan.
Michigan: A heartbreaker for the President, incumbent Democrat Jim Blanchard won re-election with nearly sixty percent of the vote against insurgent candidate Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski.
Minnesota: In an upset, ex-Democrat Norm Coleman beat Paul Wellstone in a race that involved millions of dollars flooding in from out-of-state donors.
Missouri: In a special election, Jean Carnahan was elected to replace her late husband against Republican Roy Blunt.
Montana: Former Senator Scott Westman successfully primaried incumbent Senator Max Bauccus and went on to win a very close general election. It was the most watched race in the country.
New Hampshire: Senator Bob Smith, an ally of the President, survived a primary challenge from the state party's moderates and went on to win narrow re-election.
North Carolina: Senator and former First Lady Elizabeth "Liddy" Dole cruised to re-election. Despite losing the presidential primaries four years earlier, she remained popular in her home state.
Oregon: Senator Ron Wyden, first elected in 1996 to succeed Mark Hatfield (after losing a special election to succeed the disgraced Bob Packwood earlier that year), won an easy re-election.

The last statewide race Scott Westman had run in was ten years ago, losing the 1992 Montana Democratic Primary for Governor. Nevertheless, times had assuredly changed. Since then, the Democratic Party appeared to have pivoted westward. In doing so, they had not only brought in some former Republicans, but had also paradoxically enlarged the region's small liberal and progressive population. The 2000 primaries had shown that, at least among those Democrats willing to show up to the polls, the more progressive candidate succeeded. This was a far cry from even the 1980's where the neoliberal campaigns of Gary Hart had swept the West. The Democrats were finding their plebeian roots in the American West, it seemed. This set the stage for the state's historic rivals: the establishmentarian Max Baucus, and the the idiosyncratic, heterodox, and anti-establishment Scott Westman. the two had first locked horns in 1974, when Westman beat Baucus in a House primary. Since then, they had served alongside each other in the Senate for over a decade. Baucus' tenure had been conservative, by Democratic standards, going so far as to favor an amendment to ban the burning of the United States flag. He had supported the foreign policies of most Presidents. Westman, despite having changed ideologies like one changes hats over the years, retained a loyal following among the state's "fringe" elements. Since returning to politics in 2000, he had been building a new coalition, one which he employed to full effect in running against Baucus in what should have been a non-event primary in 2002. During the race, it was well known that Westman would likely run as an independent should he fail to secure support of the party. Nevertheless, he needn't have worried about that. Despite millions of dollars pouring in from the state's major centers of capital, and from out-of-state Democratic and corporate donors, the "Montana Marxist" triumphed, winning with just over 51% of voters. The Republicans, expecting a non-race, had put up no worthy candidate; it was owing to this, many analysts speculated, that Westman proceeded to trounce his opponent in the general--despite disavowals from several major party figures. Scott Westman, who had lost a primary in 1992 running on a "Green Montana", had brought revolution to the state.

Overseas during the coming years, a different kind of revolution was occurring. Despite a one-man, one-state victory for socialism in America, the globe's former bastion of communism was shrugging off its chains. The "Rose Revolution" of 2003 saw the election of Mikhail Saakashvili in the nation of Georgia. An American-educated lawyer in his thirties, he promised modernization and a reorientation of the country toward the West. Mattingly delighted in the event, congratulating Saakashvili and prompting his administration's turn toward Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet periphery. "Let it be known that, if the twentieth century was marked by a regrettable accumulation of Marxist revolutions, the the twenty-first will be seen as an era of democratic revolution." Events in the East inspired a wide range of policy augmentations designed to produce "a million Rose Revolutions". The bulwark of this program was to be found in America's reserves of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Even as environmentalists pushed to phase out the use of such dirty fuels as coal, the administration found a workaround for its supporters in Appalachia: selling the fuel overseas where it still constituted an acceptable form of heat and power. Already hoping to turn American into an extraction powerhouse for its own purposes, the Mattingly administration now saw the chances of turning its natural resources into a strategic tool. Reflecting later, Mattingly would say "When we declared that the Cold War was over, we meant just that- that parts of Eastern Europe and Asia formerly closed to democracy, commerce, and self-determination now had a chance to embrace the West--in many ways, to re-embrace their destiny as Western countries, a destiny stunted by Soviet communism. When people complained later that we were restarting the Cold War, I thought that was ridiculous. If hostilities were supposed to have ceased between American and Russia, how could could Russia be threatened by democracy?" Nevertheless, this strategic shift from one of careful alliance with Russia to--intentionally or not--undermining pro-Russian dictatorships in former Soviet Republics irked the Federation, and a series of officially benign, but collectively threatening maneuvers were traded between the two countries in the months to come.

Subsequent retellings of international involvement in Georgia would point to a pattern of Western involvement, though primarily routed through NGO's. The record would also show that the first changes in American "fuel policy" had taken place prior to the Revolution as well. Even though Georgia was primarily supplied by Azerbaijan, the Mattingly Administration had become friendly with the Aliyevs by 2003, and many conspiracy theorists painted a tale of Central Intelligence Agency involvement with Georgian opposition going back to at least the beginning of 2003. Washington DC never confirmed this, though the President did on more than one occasion "affirm America's commitment to democracy abroad". Protests over a breakaway region in Georgia in early 2004 led to the dispatch of both NATO and Russian "peacekeeping" soldiers in the country in an encounter that was shaped far more by international press coverage than by troop movements. Nevertheless, the narrative had been shaped in many countries, Western and Russophile alike, of a near-miss military showdown between the old rivals that was seen by many analysts as merely one maneuver in a growing "second Cold War". The situation had domestic political ramifications in the United States and other Western countries. The nominally Russophillic leaders of France and Germany strengthened their own hand even as "pro-Georgia" governments in the UK and elsewhere attempted to strengthen theirs.

Foreign policy aside, domestically, things turned sour for the administration in 2003. In what was to be a minor agricultural bill, and an attempt to offset worries about a growing deficit, a heterodox group of legislators with administration backing introduced a bill to slash farm subsidies. The primary targets were supposed to be ethanol manufacturing and "agribusiness" firms. As attention to the bill increased, McCain and his backers framed the legislation as (1) an attempt to save federal money; (2) a means of slashing food prices in the face of a continued undercurrent of speculation over rising manufacturing prices; (3) a leg-up for family farms that were disadvantaged by competition with large firms; (4) an assault on a growing epidemic of obesity; and (5) an assault on corporate welfare. Nevertheless, administration opponents took the chance at victory and ran. The bill was instead framed as an assault on farmers, "the backbone of America". A mid-90's plan advanced by the Pete Wilson campaign had received a similar reception. The fact that attempts to battle obesity and attempts to lower food prices appeared to be two contradictory possible effects of the legislation did not go unnoticed either. This was in part a response to the divergent nature of some agriculture subsidies: in one case, a firm might be incentivized to restrict production to buoy prices, in another, a firm might be paid to produce in order to lower consumer costs. A push by the Hart administration to fund ethanol production to battle fossil fuels had further complicated federal disbursement. While Mattingly and Republicans had done very well in the rural Mid-West in 2000 and 2002, and his extraction policies were popular there, GOP approval began to sink as protests mounted in state capitals and DC. The bill eventually failed in yet another setback for the President's agenda, and not at the loss of insignificant political capital.

Talk Elections

Presidential Elections - Analysis and Discussion => Election What-ifs? => Topic started by: FEMA Camp Administrator on October 08, 2012, 01:08:59 AM