Summer TL: JFK Lives

[hcallega]

1963

[/b]

Crack…..Crack….Crack

   The sounds of the Carcano Rifle pierced the joyful Dallas morning sky. Suddenly shouts of joy and excitement turned to those of fear and panic. Someone had shot at the President. Secret Service Agents swarmed over the Presidential Motorcade, covering up the President and the First Lady. The cars swerved off the main road and raced to the Parkland Hospital Emergency Room. All the while the media and public were in a state of panic. Who had done this? Why? Where was he? Was this the start of something greater, something far worse? Even the Voice of Middle America, Walter Cronkite, was noticeably shaken as he announced the breaking news to the nation. For those few hours on November 22, 1963, the nation collectively held it’s breath in shock. It had been over sixty years since the last United States President had been assassinated, and most believed that modern security made it impossible to kill the leader of the Free World.

The President, Moments Before Being Shot

   
   Back in Dallas, the President was rushed into the Emergency Room. The doctors immediately began operating. The President had been struck once in his upper arm, and the concern was less his survival and more focused on keeping the arm. The President’s already weak physical health made this all the more difficult, and it would be a long and difficult operation. In the operating room next door was a far more pressing scenario. Governor John Connally had been shot in the chest by one of the would-be-assassin’s rounds. It had been the panic of his wife that had saved the day, as she had buried him into her lap, stopping the flow of air into the hole. It would be a miracle that both men would survive from their horrific wounds. The President’s arm was saved, though it would take many rounds of physical therapy for it to recover. Governor Connally was also safe, though he too would have a long and painful recovery.

The President is Rushed off to the Parkland Hospital

   As the nation was tuned in to the constant coverage of the President’s health crisis, the Dallas Police, Texas National Guard, and Secret Service initiated a city-wide manhunt to find the would-be assassin. It would be Police Officer J.D. Tippit who would find him. Lee Harvey Oswald had been reported missing by his supervisor at the Dallas Book Depository and the authorities instantly suspected him. He was found at a movie theater, having snuck in without buying a ticket. Oswald would be arrested and instantly America’s attention shifted to this strange man. However they would not get the chance to see him put on trial. As he was being transferred from one jail to the next, Oswald would be shot by Jack Ruby, the owner of a Dallas Night Club. No one would ever know the motive or truth about Oswald’s attempted assassination.

Lee Harvey Oswald, the would-be assasin

   On November 29th, President Kennedy was released from the Parkland Hospital and returned to Washington. His approval ratings were through the roof, as many Americans saw Kennedy as something close to a martyr. That same day, Attorney General Robert Kennedy announced that the Justice Department would begin investigating the attempted assassination. The Kennedy Commission would begin its investigation on December 3rd. One day later, the Second Vatican Council would close its doors. It had certainly been a momentous time for American Catholics. Little else would be accomplished in 1963 in America. The nation was in shock over the attempt on the President’s life, and many in Washington expected 1964 to be just as intense, if far less frightening. 

[hcallega]

1964

   President Kennedy began 1964 with a high approval rating and a political agenda that was anything but divisive. In his January 8th State of the Union Address, Kennedy (appearing wearing a cast on his right arm) stated that “the time for partisan bickering is over. It is time that we finally do right by the Negro in America. It is time that Congress passes the Civil Rights Act that I submitted to it almost a year ago. I am confident in the congressional leadership, and I am confident that the United States can once again take a major step forward.” President Kennedy also called for Congress to pass his proposed tax cut so that “Our economy can grow and so that free enterprise can be strengthened.” Kennedy only briefly mentioned Vietnam and foreign policy, stating that “The United States has a continued commitment to the people of Southeast Asia. We will not abandon them to the tyranny of Communism.”

   Kennedy would once again be forced to deal with the issue of Vietnam, this time due to a military coup. On January 30 General Kanh, a staunch anti-communist, took power in South Vietnam. Kennedy approved of Kanh’s commitment to defeat the Viet Cong, though he was frustrated by the instability of the South Vietnamese government. Two days later, Kennedy would agree with French President Charles De Gaulle that “the only way to achieve long term peace in Southeast Asia is to have all parties engaged in a true discussion over the future of the region.” Despite this, Kennedy would not open up any negotiations in 1964. Rather, Kennedy would continue to support the South Vietnamese government economically and militarily. On June 20th, General Westmoreland would take command in South Vietnam. Westmoreland was a hardliner, and urged the President to deploy ground troops or at the very least send in more advisers. In both cases Kennedy would refuse, due to his distrust in the South Vietnamese government to effectively stabilize the country on their own: “General, we can’t just keep sending over more and more boys to train some corrupt dumb asses. They have no idea what they’re doing, and I can’t justify body bags to the (American) people. You’re just going to have to work harder with what you have.” President Kennedy was so worried about increasing the role of the United States in the region that he did not respond militarily to the alleged attack of the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. After talking to the Captain of the Maddox, Kennedy recognized that there had been no undisputable evidence of an attack. Therefore, 1964 would see a continued US commitment to South Vietnam, though no significant increase in support or ground forces.

   
On the issue of Civil Rights, President Kennedy would have to work long and hard to achieve passage of his Civil Rights Act. Despite the support of the House Judiciary Committee in 1963, the Rules Committee (chaired by staunch segregationist Howard Smith) refused to take up the measure. However Judiciary Chairman Emmanuel Celler was determined to pass the act, and attempted to use a discharge petition to move the act strait to the House floor. This looked as though it would fail, until the attempted assassination of President Kennedy. The momentum swung in favor of the petition, and one day after the President’s state of the Union Address, Smith agreed to allow the Bill to pass through the Rules Committee. Once it reached the House Floor, the bill narrowly passed 220-200. Many conservative Republicans who otherwise would have supported the bill voted against it due to what they saw as President Kennedy’s overt attempts to use his near-death experience to score pity points to pass the bill. Once the bill reached the Senate, Majority Leader Mike Mansfield used parliamentary procedure to bypass the Judiciary Committee (chaired by Jim Eastland, a Dixiecrat). This led to a conservative filibuster, which lasted for almost 60 days. A more moderate alternative bill was proposed which was deemed more popular than the initial action. Finally, Democratic Whip Hubert Humphrey was able to generate enough support for the bill to break the filibuster by a vote of 68-32, just two votes clear. The House would adopt the more moderate Senate language, and after a summer full of debate, President Kennedy would sign the bill into law on August 15.

   
   Despite the congressional action to ensure equal civil rights between blacks and whites, young African-Americans in several cities would take to the streets in anger over inequalities. The first of these major riots occurred in Harlem on July 18. The rioters would smash and destroy many shops and buildings in their own neighborhoods. President Kennedy immediately called Mayor Wagner of New York to order rapid action. When the rioters went unchecked, President Kennedy would call in the National Guard, which successfully broke the riots. Similar instances would occur in New Jersey and Philadelphia, as black Americans saw little tangible changes in their everyday lives and wanted more. Kennedy’s tough response to the rioters was a major political bonus, as many white working class Democrats saw him as tough on crime. At the same time, the Free Speech movement and anti-Vietnam War protestors also took the streets, but they were far less violent and extreme then the black rioters.

[Bo]

Nice TL. Keep it up.

[sentinel]

I like it so far, but remember, there are many primary sources from JFK regarding Vietnam and how he planned to remove all forces from there when he was elected for a second term. He even said we couldn't win.

[Bo]

I expect JFK to be reelected in a landslide due to the good economy and lack of unpopular foreign wars. How does JFK handle relations with Israel in this TL? As I recall, JFK was threatenining Israel with sanctions if they did not stop building nukes (this was right before he was assasinated). I don't think any Israeli govt. back then would have been willing to stop their nuclear program.

[hcallega]

1964 Primaries

For the Republican Party, 1964 presented a unique opportunity. 1960 had been a bitterly close election, and left many in the Grand Old Party with a bad taste in their mouths. After his first few years in office, Kennedy was seen as vulnerable, especially on domestic issues. The economy had not grown as promised, and until 1964 no action had been taken on civil rights. But then JFK had been shot, and the entire political scene changed. All of a sudden a shot of momentum was injected into the White House and Congress, and it became obvious to everyone that Kennedy would be significantly harder to beat than previously thought.

Nonetheless, the 1964 GOP field was an impressive lot. Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York was the early frontrunner. Rocky haled from the Republican Party's northeastern wing, and was ideologically quite similar to the New Deal Democrat's. In fact, some believed that he was to the left of Kennedy. This would turn out to be a major disadvantage, as the Republican Party was slowly but surely embracing conservatism. The candidate of the right was Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. A staunch war hawk, Goldwater saw Kennedy as an appeaser of communism and a big-government liberal at home. He was most critical of him. Other candidates included Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania, and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts.

The primary campaign was quite tumultuous.  In the New Hampshire Primary, Lodge would score an upset victory over Rockefeller and Goldwater. Lodge would also capture Massachusetts and New Jersey, but lacked the drive to push for the nomination. Goldwater would prove to be far more effective in the primaries, winning Indiana, Illinois, Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Texas. Rockefeller would only win Oregon and West Virginia, but his support among the GOP leadership made this less of a problem. However the showdown in California would be the deciding contest. Rockefeller led in most polls, but Goldwater would prevail in the end due to his support among social conservatives who resented Rockefeller for his divorce and remarriage. This victory would spur Goldwater on to the nomination. At the convention, Goldwater and Rockefeller would trade inflammatory speeches, but the crowd certainly favored Goldwater. He would win the nomination on the first ballot and select Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania as his running-mate.

On the Democratic side, Governor George Wallace of Alabama would challenge JFK's surrogate candidates in several states. Despite doing well among rural whites, Wallace would fail to make much of an impact due to JFK's sizable popularity among the white-working class. The bigger news of the Democratic primary season would be Kennedy's dropping of Vice-President Lyndon Johnson from the ticket. The two had sparred over several issues, especially Vietnam and the speed and size of his civil rights programs. Kennedy would pick Florida Senator George Smathers in his stead. In response LBJ would launch a convention challenge, but would gain little support outside of the Texas delegation.

[hcallega]

1964 Presidential Election

   The matchup of Kennedy vs. Goldwater was a rare showdown of left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative. While Kennedy had governed from the center, he was perceived by many as a New Deal Liberal, or at the very least a strong progressive voice. Goldwater on the other hand was the most conservative Republican nominee since at least Calvin Coolidge. He strongly supported the Cold War, and believed in giving field generals access to tactical nuclear weapons. Goldwater also believed in repealing many of the New Deal programs, and even opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Nonetheless, he was an articulate public speaker who did not appear as a reactionary to a public audience. He was eager to proliferate his conservative views throughout society, and therefore urged President Kennedy to engage him in a series of debate. Kennedy declined the initial offer of cross-country debates, but did accept a series of several debates in the 1960 mold. The first of these four debates would be held two weeks before Election Day, and were intended to be the last thing that the voters heard from the candidates before going into the polls.

   
   The Kennedy campaign focused most of it’s efforts on appearing as calm and presidential as possible. Attorney General Robert Kennedy once again ran the campaign effort, and believed that by portraying his brother as the only man who could handle the many difficult problems of today’s world. Therefore the President spent most of the campaign season in the White House. However the campaign did air many television and radio advertisements, mostly attacking Goldwater and emphasizing Kennedy’s role in keeping the nation safe. One ad showed shots of Kennedy looking quite serious and examining papers with his cabinet. The narrator read “No other President has been tested as many times as President Kennedy, and each time he has kept our nation out of harms way. From the Bay of Pigs, to Laos, to the Missile Crisis, President Kennedy has always held the safety of the American people closest to his heart.” Perhaps the most controversial ad was aired close to the end of the campaign directly after one of the debates. In the ad, the image of a girl picking flowers was shown while the narrator talked of the stark differences between President Kennedy and Senator Goldwater: “As a United States Senator and as President of the United States, John Kennedy has consistently supported reducing the worlds supply of nuclear weapons, has consistently sought to avoid war, and has always taken maters of our nations defense particularly seriously. Senator Goldwater has advocated for greater weapons production, an aggressive and dangerous foreign policy, and has joked about using nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union. When it comes to America’s families, nuclear war is not a joking matter.” The ad was quite controversial, but reinforced the image that many Americans had of Senator Goldwater as a dangerous extremist.

   The Goldwater campaign had a difficult task in defeating the popular sitting President. However the Senator understood that the only way to win was to go out on the road. He criss-crossed the nation on planes, trains, and automobiles. He was always energetic, speaking to packed audiences from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Wherever he went the crowds were passionate, though not always in his favor. Goldwater’s campaign was funded principally by big business. They strongly opposed Kennedy’s policies and saw them as restrictive, even though he had done little to increase regulation or taxation. However Goldwater represented the most pro-business candidate since before the New Deal, a significant factor. Goldwater also received support from traditionally conservative think tanks and other groups committed to defeating JFK. However, a significant problem for Goldwater throughout the campaign was a lack of support from moderate and liberal Republicans. Not only did they disagree with him ideologically, but they also saw him as symbolic of a takeover of the party by conservatives. Therefore, polls consistently showed Goldwater trailing among this key voting bloc.

   Entering the debates, Kennedy led in essentially every poll. It looked as though he would win a landslide reelection, and Goldwater knew it. The Arizona Senator came out swinging, attacking Kennedy as an appeaser, a dove, and an ineffective commander-in-chief. Kennedy attempted to remain above the fray, simply reiterating his belief that it was his effective actions and decision making skills that had repeatedly avoided nuclear war. The end score showed that Kennedy had won the debate, but only because most Americans already agreed with him. However, those that already supported Goldwater were encouraged by his debate performance and their support for the candidate was only strengthened. The second debate focused on domestic policy. In this debate, Goldwater reiterated his belief that spending needed to be cut and the New Deal programs phased back. This time it was Kennedy who went on the offensive, attacking Goldwater for wanting to cut down programs that many Americans relied on. Kennedy also attacked Goldwater for “standing with the old fashioned segregationists” on civil rights. The biggest moment of the debates was when Goldwater attempted to defend his nay vote by stating “it’s not a matter of civil rights, Mr. President. It’s a matter of state and individual rights to chose who they want to serve. The government shouldn’t be telling people what they can and cannot do.” Kennedy responded “But see Senator, there’s the problem. You just said that it’s about individual rights, and the government telling people what they can and cannot do. Well what the Civil Rights Act did was to give Negro Americans, individuals, the right to the same services as white Americans. The Civil Rights Act said that state and local governments could no longer tell individuals what they can and cannot do because of their race.” This exchange helped Kennedy across the board, and according to many dug Goldwater his grave. Despite this, the exchange likely helped Goldwater in the South, as he reiterated the talking points of the Dixiecrats. For the most part, the rest of the debates failed to be as exciting or important. The third debate was a “Meet the Press” style questioning by reporters. The fourth was a townhall meeting. Neither produced particularly exciting results, and instead simply reiterated the two candidates differences on the issues. Therefore, the results on Election Day were no surprise.

/center]
 

Kennedy/Smathers (D)   367 Evs      57% of the PV
Goldwater/Scranton ®   171 Evs      42% of the PV

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

I like how Goldwater/Scranton is a registered trademark.

Good job, keep it coming.

[hcallega]

I like how Goldwater/Scranton is a registered trademark.

Good job, keep it coming.

Goldwater/Scranton: tossing one into the Kremlin Men's Room since 1964!

[hcallega]

In regards to Israel, so far JFK has not imposed sanctions. This is partly political, as he does not want to risk loosing Jewish votes to a half-Jewish opponent. However he is still opposing Israel's nuclear development. It would be political suicide to openly oppose Israel, however.

[Bo]

Nice job so far. I except JFK will pass Medicare (or something similar) in his second term and also create a lot of affiramtive action programs for minorities and women. Foreign policy should be interesting.

[hcallega]

Sorry folks, I don't plan on continuing this TL. There is simply too much overlap with my RFK tl. I plan on continuing my Reagan TL though.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]