Into the Next Millenium

[The Lord Marbury]

I'm doing a TL very loosely based on the collaborative American Commonwealth thread I sometimes contribute to over at AH.com. I'm not going to start the TL way back then, because my complex knowledge of signigicant political and historical events gets hazier the further back I go. So you can all join me on a trip to an alternate universe, in the oh-so-distant year of 1988.

---------------------------------------------

The 1988 Federal Election is generally looked back on as one of the real game changers in American politics, especially when you focus on the Liberal Party. The party, which had been looked upon as the natural governing party ever since the 1930s, had been in a period of slow but gradual decline since the 1970s. Many Liberals at the time felt that 1988 would be the election which determined the party's future, and if they lost they would have to face their longest period out of government since the 1920s. Therefore, following their landslide loss in 1984 under the leadership of Walter Mondale, the Liberals decided that it was time for a change by electing the former Premier of Virginia, Chuck Robb, as party leader in 1986. Robb, a centrist and self-described "New Liberal", was a veteran from a traditionally Progressive Conservative leaning state, and at the age of 47 when elected party leader, he was also unusually young for a leader of the Liberal Party. In short, he was everything the previous Liberal leadership wasn't. On the other side of the aisle, the Progressive Conservatives were quite happy with the way things were going. Ronald Reagan was the party's most successful Prime Minister since Harold Stassen, and arguably the most conservative Prime Minister since Calvin Coolidge. But things weren't exactly all sunshine and roses for the Tories. While Reagan was still relatively popular among the public, the Iran-Contra affair had hit his record hard, leading to the resignation of his Defense minister Caspar Weiberger earlier in the year. And of course, as always, the rapidly shrinking group of more centrist or liberal PCs were not happy with how far to the right he was taking the party. But despite all this, the Progressive Conservative Party went into the 1988 election with a fairly united front.
-Excerpt from "Changing Times, American Political History, 1960-2000", published 2002


"A few hours ago, I dropped by Columbia Palace to ask for Governor-General Carter's permission to dissolve Parliament. He graciously agreed to my proposal, and federal election has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 20th. I look forward to a clean and honest campaign about the issues, but in the end I have the highest faith that the American people will choose to reelect this government which has only held their best interests at heart for the past nine years."
-Prime Minister Ronald Reagan, speaking on the steps of 1 America Avenue, August 19th 1988


ROBB CONFIDENT OF LIBERAL GAINS IN UPCOMING ELECTION
-New York Times, August 20th 1988

"Liberal leader Chuck Robb has agreed to the debate format proposed by ABS News, meaning that he will join Prime Minister Ronald Reagan, along Labor Party leader Ted Kennedy, Libertarian leader Ron Paul, and American Heritage leader Pat Buchanan, in the two upcoming party leaders debates, to be aired on ABS One on September 6th and 19th, respectively."
-Dan Rather, ABS Newsnight, August 26th 1988

POLLS SHOWS PROG CONS AHEAD, LIBS STAGNANT
Progressive Conservative - 37,4% - 328 (-23)
Liberal - 32,1% - 262 (+33)
Labor - 9,6% - 42 (-6)
Libertarian - 8,9% - 41 (-7)
American Heritage - 8,2% - 37 (+8)
Other - 3,9%

According to the projected seat totals, the Conservatives would fall well short of a majority government, and the Liberals would gain several seats, but still be unable to come anywhere close to the Conservatives, who in this scenario would be unable to govern by themselves. However they could most likely remain in power by the way of a supply and confidence, or coalition deal with either the Libertarians or American Heritage.
America Today, August 26th 1988

[The Lord Marbury]

Leaders of the Major Political Parties, as of 1988

Ronald Reagan
-Member of the Liberal Party (-1967)
-Member of the Progressive Conservative Party (1967-present)
-Member of the House of Commons for Hollywood-Los Angeles (1970-present)
-Minister of Culture, Sports and Media, Cabinet of Richard Nixon (1970-1972)
-Minister of Infrastructure, Cabinet of Richard Nixon (1972-1973)
-Minister of Veterans Affairs, Cabinet of Nelson Rockefeller (1973-1974)
-Shadow Minister of Energy, Shadow Cabinet of Nelson Rockefeller (1974-1977)
-Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party (1977-present)
-Leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition (1977-1979)
-Prime Minister of the American Commonwealth (1979-present)

Chuck Robb
-Member of the Liberal Party
-Member of the Legislative Assembly of Virginia (1973-1986)
-Leader of the Virginia Liberal Party (1975-1986)
-Premier of Virginia (1977-1986)
-Leader of the Liberal Party (1986-present)
-Member of the House of Commons for Richmond (1986-present)
-Leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition (1986-present)

Ted Kennedy
-Member of the Labor Party
-Member of the Legislative Assembly of Massachusetts (1965-1984)
-Leader of the Massachusetts Labor Party (1969-1984)
-Premier of Massachusetts (1970-1984)
-Member of the House of Commons for Lynn-Suffolk (1984-present)
-Leader of the Labor Party (1985-present)

Ron Paul
-Member of the Progressive Conservative Party (1958-1969)
-Member of the Libertarian Party (1969-present)
-Member of the House of Commons for Galveston (1974-present)
-Deputy Leader of the Libertarian Party (1980-1987)
-Leader of the Libertarian Party (1987-present)

Pat Buchanan
-Member of the Progressive Conservative Party (1962-1973)
-Member of the American Heritage Party (1973-present)
-Member of the House of Commons for Roanoke (1970-present)
-Deputy Leader of the American Heritage Party (1975-1986)
-Leader of the American Heritage Party (1986-present)


2nd Cabinet of Ronald Reagan (1984-1988)

Prime Minister: The Rt. Hon. Ronald Reagan (Prog Con.)
Deputy Prime Minister: The Rt. Hon. George H. W. Bush (Prog Con.)

Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Rt. Hon. George H. W. Bush (Prog Con.)
Minister of Finance: The Rt. Hon. Jack Kemp (Prog Con.)
Minister of Defense: The Rt. Hon. Jeane Kirkpatrick (Prog Con.)
Minister of Justice: The Rt. Hon. Pierre S. du Pont IV (Prog Con.)
Minister of Interior Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Dick Cheney (Prog Con.)
Minister of Trade, Industry and Business: The Rt. Hon. Paul Laxalt (Prog Con.)
Minister of Labor and Employment: The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney (Prog Con.)
Minister of Health and Social Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Howard Baker (Prog Con.)
Minister of Education: The Rt. Hon. Mark Hatfield (Prog Con.)
Minister of Energy: The Rt. Hon. Jean Charest (Prog Con.)
Minister of Agriculture and Food: The Rt. Hon. Robert Dole (Prog Con.)
Minister of Transportation: The Rt. Hon. Phil Crane (Prog Con.)
Minister of Infrastructure and Housing: The Rt. Hon. John Chaffee (Prog Con.)
Minister of Veterans Affairs: The Rt. Hon. John McCain (Prog Con.)
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Alan Simpson (Prog Con.)
Minister of Culture, Sports and Media: The Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell (Prog Con.)

Minister without Portfolio: The Rt. Hon. Charles Percy (Prog Con.)

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Robert Michel (Prog Con.)
Leader of the Government in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Senator John Connally (Prog Con.)
Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Newt Gingrich (Prog Con.)
Government Chief Whip in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Senator Orrin Hatch (Prog Con.)


Chuck Robb Shadow Cabinet, as of August 1988

Leader of the Opposition: The Rt. Hon. Chuck Robb (Lib.)
Deputy Leader of the Opposition: The Rt. Hon. Al Gore (Lib.)

Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Lloyd Bentsen (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Finance: The Rt. Hon. Paul Simon (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Defense: The Rt. Hon. John Glenn (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Justice: The Rt. Hon. Jerry Brown (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Interior Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Gary Hart (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Trade, Industry and Business: The Rt. Hon. Tom Foley (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Labor and Employment: The Rt. Hon. Robert Byrd (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Health and Social Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Education: The Rt. Hon. John Kerry (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Energy: The Rt. Hon. Al Gore (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Food: The Rt. Hon. Max Baucus (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Transportation: The Rt. Hon. Dick Gephardt (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Infrastructure and Housing: The Rt. Hon. Geraldine Ferraro (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Veterans Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Alan Cranston (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Aboriginal Affairs: The Rt. Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Lib.)
Shadow Minister of Culture, Sports and Media: The Rt. Hon. John Turner (Lib.)

Shadow Minister without Portfolio: The Rt. Hon. Barbara B. Kennelly (Lib.)

Opposition Leader in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Jim Wright (Lib.)
Opposition Leader in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Senator Terry Sanford (Lib.)
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Ralph Goodale (Lib.)
Opposition Chief Whip in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Senator Jim Sasser (Lib.)

[The Lord Marbury]

Thanks a lot for all the encouragement guys! I'm working on the next update right now, which will cover the first debate, and I'm hoping to have it up either later tonight (it's almost 11:30 here), or some time tomorrow.

[The Lord Marbury]

I will be posting a list of Prime Ministers and important historical events later on, however it won't be extremely detailed, just a basic short summary of events, since I mostly want to focus on the events from 1988 and onwards.

[The Lord Marbury]

While I polish the next update (fix typos, etc.), here's this:

Prime Ministers of the American Commonwealth
1. Sir Benjamin Franklin (1785-1791), cross-bencher; died in office
2. Joseph Galloway (1791-1795), Tory
3. Edmund Randolph (1795-1799), Tory
4. Albert Gallatin (1799-1807), Whig
5. James Madison (1807-1816), Whig
6. William Crawford (1816-1821), Whig,
7. Sir Henry Clay (1821-1827), Whig, then Liberal minority government
8. John Calhoun (1827-1839), Tory
9. Sir Henry Clay (1839-1847), Liberal
10. Lewis Cass (1847-1853), Tory
11. William A. Graham (1853-1855), Liberal-Liberty coalition
12. James Buchanan (1855-1859), Tory
13. Schuyler Colfax (1859-1862), Liberal; assassinated
14. Sir Abraham Lincoln (1862-1876), Liberal
15. Sir John A. MacDonald (1862-1885), Tory-National coalition, then Conservative
16. James Garfield (1885-1891), Liberal
17. Adlai Stevenson (1891-1899), Liberal
18. William McKinley (1899-1902), Liberal; assassinated
19. Thomas B. Reed (1902-1904), Liberal; died in office
20. Wilfrid Laurier (1904-1905), Liberal
21. Robert Borden (1905-1911), Conservative
22. Sir Theodore Roosevelt (1911-1920), Liberal, then Liberal-Farmer Labor coalition
23. Charles Evans Hughes (1920-1921), Liberal-Farmer Labor coalition
24. Calvin Coolidge (1921-1933), Conservative
25. Sir William Lyon Mackenzie King (1933-1946), Liberal
26. Claude Pepper (1946-1951), Liberal, then Liberal-Labor coalition
27. Harold Stassen (1951-1960), Progressive Conservative
28. Lyndon B. Johnson (1960-1970), Liberal
29. Richard M. Nixon (1970-1973), Progressive Conservative minority, then Progressive Conservative majority
30. Nelson Rockefeller (1973-1974), Progressive Conservative
31. Edmund Muskie (1974-1979), Liberal-Labor coalition
32. Ronald Reagan (1979-present), Conservative, with supply and confidence from Libertarians


Governor-Generals of the America Commonwealth
1. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe (1785-1793)
2. Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey (1793-1806), died in office
3. George Prévost, 1st Baronet (1806-1814)
4. Isaac Brock (1814-1824)
5. George Ramsey, 9th Earl of Dalhousie (1824-1830)
6. Matthew Withforth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer (1830-1834)
7. Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Godford (1834-1836)
8. Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Syndenham (1836-1841)
9. Charles Bagot (1841-1843), died in office
10. James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin (1843-1855)
11. Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons (1855-1858)
12. Edmund Walker Head, 8th Baronet (1858-1865)
13. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (1865-1885)
14. Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (1885-1893)
15. George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon (1893-1901)
16. Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey (1901-1908)
17. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1908-1919)
18. Sir John J. Pershing (1919-1934)
19. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1934-1943)
20. Herbert Hoover (1943-1947)
21. Dwight Eisenhower, 1st Duke of Pointe du Hoc (1947-1963)
22. Joseph P. Kennedy, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (1963-1969), died in office
23. Henry M. Jackson (1969-1974)
24. Gerald Ford (1974-1979)
25. James E. Carter (1979-present)


A lot of credit for this goes to lord cadeus over at AH.com, who came up with most of the pre-1900 officeholders.

[The Lord Marbury]

ROBB STUMBLES, REAGAN SHINES IN FIRST DEBATE
The New York Times, September 7th 1988

Following the first party leaders debate held yesterday, most political commentators, backed up by overnight polling, agree that Reagan was the big winner of the night while Liberal leader Chuck Robb was largely a disappointment. The poor performance of Robb was a bit of a surprise, considering how the consistently strong performance he has delivered at PMQs, however Liberal Party spokespersons attribute this to Robb being new to the format of the televised debates, and that he was going up against Ronald Reagan, who's real strength lies in big public debates, and not PMQs like Robb. One big star of the night, aside from Reagan, was former Massachusetts Premier and current Labor Party leader Ted Kennedy who attacked both Robb and Reagan for "letting the working class and the poor down".

Selected quotes from the leaders' closing statements:


"This Prime Minister is just all talk. Sure he can talk about how believes in preserving traditional American values, but does he act? No! When a young woman can just walk into a so-called 'Doctor's' office and murder an unborn child, does your Prime Minister do anything about it? No! When our children aren't being brought up with the traditional values which will help them function in adult life, is your Prime Minister doing anything about it? No! When sodomy and other deviant behavior is being committed in an affront to the Christian morals our nation is founded upon, does your Prime Minister do anything about it? Of course not! Instead, he encourages it! America needs a Government which isn't all talk. America needs a government which will never stop defending our nations great values of Queen, God, and Country, no matter what happens."
-American Heritage Party leader Pat Buchanan


"It's time for someone in this room to just come out and say it. There's way too much wasteful and plain useless spending in this country. The Government can sure talk about fiscal responsibility, but then they just go on and do the same as the Liberals who came before them, just spend away at bridges to nowhere, leading to the ballooning deficit we have to live with now. We have a strong military highly capable of defending our borders from foreign aggression, but yet the government insists on useless pork barrel spending, we have a robust business world which could be even better than they are today, but the government insists on holding them down with suffocating regulations. Well I say enough is enough, it is long overdue that we stop throwing away the hard earned money of American citizes, at pointless projects. It is time for us to give that money back to the only people who really know how to use it wisely: the American people.
-Libertarian Party leader Ron Paul


"For too long we've had a government which cares about nothing else but it's Wall Street buddies and big business cronies, and the American people are sick of it. It's time for real change here in Philadelphia, it's time for someone to stand up for auto worker who's been fired after working for 30 years, it's time for someone to stand up for the high school graduate who can't afford to get into college, it's time for someone to stand up for the single mother who is struggling to make ends meet. It's time for a government that works for the people, not against them."
-Labor Party leader Ted Kennedy


"It's been nine years since Ronald Reagan came into to office, and sure, in the beginning people were all very enthusiastic about him, but now look at him. He and the rest of his party are just standing still, talking about what has been done, not what can be done, all while the budget deficit is grower bigger and bigger, dragging our country into serious debt. We need a change here in Philadelphia, we need a government which will not only take responsibility for our nation's needs in this rapidly changing world, but also take responsibility for solving today's issues today, instead of placing the results of our recklessness on the shoulders of our children and our grandchildren."
-Leader of the Opposition Chuck Robb (Lib.)


"You know, I've been standing here tonight and faced attacks and complaints from all the other party leaders up on stage here with me, but I find it kind of funny how in the midst of all the attacks on my government, we haven't seen any kind of real tangible proposals coming from all the guys up here with me. Oh sure, there's big talk and lofty goals in there, but like my former opponents Mr. Mondale said to me four years ago, 'where's the beef?' Look people, I'm going to be honest with you. My government isn't the best, isn't the smartest, and sure isn't the prettiest in the world, and mistakes have of course been made along the road, because we are just only human. But I remember nine years ago when I debated Prime Minister Muskie during the 1979 campaign, and I asked the question: "Are you better off than you were five years ago?". Well America, on September 20th I would like you to ask yourselves if you are better off today than you were nine years ago? If you are, then I know in my heart that you will vote for us, because the Progressive Conservative Party is the only party which will ensure that you will be better off the five years after that, and the five years after that, and the five years after that. Because the Progressive Conservative Party is not only the right party to bring all of us into the next decade, it is also the right party to bring us into the next millennium."
-Prime Minister Ronald Reagan (Prog Con.)


API Opinion Polling - "Who would you say 'won' the first party leaders debate?"
Reagan - 46%
Kennedy - 25%
Robb - 15%
Buchanan - 7%
Paul - 7%

[The Lord Marbury]

This looks awesome.

Thanks!

[The Lord Marbury]

Leaders of the Liberal Party
1. Sir Henry Clay (1824-1852), died in office
2. William A. Graham (1852-1857)
3. William Seward (1857-1862), assassinated
4. Sir Abraham Lincoln (1862-1880)
5. James Garfield (1880-1891)
6. Adlai Stevenson (1891-1899)
7. William McKinley (1899-1902), assassinated
8. Thomas B. Reed (1902-1904), died in office
9. Wilfrid Laurier (1904-1908)
10. Theodore Roosevelt (1908-1920)
11. Charles Evans Hughes (1920-1926)
12. William Lyon Mackenzie King (1926-1946)
13. Claude Pepper (1946-1955)
14. Lyndon B. Johnson (1955-1971)
15. Edmund Muskie (1971-1980)
16. Walter Mondale (1980-1986)
17. Chuck Robb (1986-present)

Leaders of the Conservative Party
1. Sir John A. MacDonald (1869-1891), died in office
2. Grover Cleveland (1894-1904)
3. Robert Borden (1907-1918)
4. Calvin Coolidge (1918-1933), died in office
5. John Nance Garner (1933-1942) [1]

Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party
1. Thomas E. Dewey (1942-1950)
2. Harold Stassen (1950-1963)
3. Richard M. Nixon (1963-1973)
4. Gerald Ford (1973), interim
5. Nelson Rockefeller (1973-1977)
6. Ronald Reagan (1977-present)

Leaders of the Labor Party
1. Eugene V. Debs (1901-1924)
2. Norman Thomas (1924-1937)
3. Henry A. Wallace (1937-1954)
4. Glen H. Taylor (1954-1962)
5. Martin Luther King (1962-1968)
6. Birch Bayh (1968-1973)
7. Ron Dellums (1973-1985)
8. Ted Kennedy (1985-present)

Leaders of the Libertarian Party
1. Barry Goldwater (1969-1986)
2. Ron Paul (1986-present)

Leaders of the Southern People's Party
1. Strom Thurmond (1948-1966) [2]

Leaders of the American Heritage Party
1. Strom Thurmond (1966-1973)
2. Lester Maddox (1973-1986)
3. Pat Buchanan (1986-present)


[1] After the Conservatives lose seats despite being in opposition for the second time in a row, a group of reform minded members of the party rebel against the leadership of John Nance Garner and the rest of the high ranking members of the party. Garner tries to hang on, but is ousted in an extremely close leadership election which puts Thomas Dewey, leader of the reformist wing, in power. After he and his acolytes gain power of Conservative Party, they start to embrace the majority of the most popular reforms put into place by the Liberals, and change the party's name to the Progressive Conservative Party in order to present a new image to the voters.

[2] The leaders of the Southern People's Party make a joint decision to try and ensure the party's survival by expanding into other parts of the country, and in order to wash of the image of only being a Southern interests party, they change the party's name to the American Heritage Party and reinvent themselves as more of a mainstream socially conservative party which doesn't only focus on the issue of segregation.

[The Lord Marbury]

You got LBJ as Prog Con in the PM list.

Thanks for the heads up, I've got it fixed now.

[The Lord Marbury]

Great updates! I really enjoyed the debates. This is an amazing timeline! Keep up the amazing work

Well it's good that you liked it. The next update will be up tomorrow, and in the meanwhile I'm going to post a map to give you an impression of what the American Commonwealth looks like ITTL, and I'm also working on a list of senators.

[The Lord Marbury]

Here's the map, with a complete list of Provinces and Territories below.


1. Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
2. Province of Canada
3. Province of St. John's
4. Province of Nova Scotia
5. Province of Maine
6. Province of New Hampshire
7. Province of Vermont
8. Province of Massachusetts
9. Province of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
10. Province of Connecticut
11. Province of New York
12. Province of New Jersey
13. Province of Pennsylvania
14. Province of Delaware
15. Province of Maryland
16. Province of Virginia
17. Province of North Carolina
18. Province of South Carolina
19. Province of Georgia
20. Province of East Florida
21. Province of West Florida
22. Province of Alabama
23. Province of Mississippi
24. Province of Louisiana
25. Province of Arkansas
26. Province of Tennessee
27. Province of Kentucky
28. Province of Missouri
29. Province of Illinois
30. Province of Indiana
31. Province of Ohio
32. Province of Wisconsin
33. Province of Michigan
34. Province of Ontario
35. Province of Hudson
36. Province of Minnesota
37. Province of Iowa
38. Province of Texas
39. Province of Sequoyah
40. Province of Kansas
41. Province of Nebraska
42. Province of Dakota
43. Province of Manitoba
44. Province of Saskatchewan
45. Province of Montana
46. Province of Wyoming
47. Province of Colorado
48. Province of Arizuma
49. Province of Utah
50. Province of Nevada
51. Province of California
52. Province of Oregon
53. Province of British Columbia
54. Province of Alberta
55. Province of Alaska
56. Province of Hawaii
57. Province of the Bahamas
58. Province of Jamaica
59. Province of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
60. Ungava Territory
61. Nunavut Territory
62. Northwest Territories
63. Yukon Territory

[The Lord Marbury]

The next update will be up in a few hours, but in the meanwhile, here's the complete list of Senators for future reference.

Alabama
-George C. Wallace (Liberal), since 1972
-Howell Heflin (Liberal), since 1979

Alaska
-Ted Stevens (Progressive Conservative, since 1974
-Jay Hammond (Progressive Conservative), since 1981

Alberta
-Bud Olson (Liberal), since 1978
-Peter Lougheed (Progressive Conservative), since 1985

Arizuma
-Mo Udall (Liberal), since 1978
-Manuel Lujan, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1983

Arkansas
-David Hampton Pryor (Liberal), since 1975
-John Paul Hammerschmidt (Progressive Conservative), since 1984

Bahamas
-Clifford Darling (Liberal), since 1974
-Lynden Pindling (Liberal), since 1987

British Columbia
-Dave Barrett (Labor), since 1979
-Daniel J. Evans (Progressive Conservative), since 1984

California
-Pat Brown (Liberal), since 1967
-Robert Finch (Progressive Conservative), since 1971

Canada
-Pierre Trudeau (Liberal), since 1976
-Paul David (Progressive Conservative), since 1985

Colorado
-John Arthur Love (Progressive Conservative), since 1973
-William L. Armstrong (Progressive Conservative), since 1986

Connecticut
-John N. Dempsey (Liberal), since 1968
-Ronald A. Sarasin (Progressive Conservative), 1982

Dakota
-John E. Davis (Progressive Conservative), since 1970
-George McGovern (Labor), since 1975

Delaware
-Russell W. Peterson (Progressive Conservative), since 1981
-William V. Roth, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1984

East Florida
-Jack Edwards (Progressive Conservative), since 1979
-Earl Dewitt Hutto (Liberal), since 1987

Georgia
-John James Flynt, Jr. (Liberal), since 1975
-Lester Maddox (American Heritage), since 1986

Hawaii
-William F. Quinn (Progressive Conservative), since 1959
-Spark Matsunaga (Labor), since 1969

Hudson
-Rhéal Bélisle (Progressive Conservative), since 1960
-Saul Laskin (Liberal), since 1974

Illinois
-Richard M. Daley (Liberal), since 1976
-John B. Anderson (Independent), since 1981*

*Anderson left the Progressive Conservative Party to sit as an Independent, in 1987

Indiana
-Edgar Whitcomb (Progressive Conservative), since 1974
-Birch Bayh (Labor), since 1979

Iowa
-Roger Jepsen (Progressive Conservative), since 1972
-Neal Edward Smith (Liberal), since 1974

Jamaica
-Hugh Shearer (Jamaica Labour/Progressive Conservative), since 1974*
-Michael Manley (People's National/Labor), since 1985*

*Shearer sits as a member of the Jamaica Labour Party, but caucuses with the Progressive Conservatives, while Manley sits as a member of the People's National Party, but caucuses with the Labor Party.

Kansas
-William H. Avery (Progressive Conservative), since 1971
-Garner E. Shriver (Progressive Conservative), since 1980

Kentucky
-Wendell H. Ford (Liberal), since 1975
-Gene Snyder (Progressive Conservative), since 1987

Louisiana
-John McKeithen (Liberal), since 1979
-Paul Hardy (Progressive Conservative), since 1988

Maine
-Kenneth M. Curtis (Liberal), since 1975
-David F. Emery (Progressive Conservative), since 1986

Manitoba
-Joseph-Philippe Guay (Liberal), since 1979
-Dean Whiteway (Progressive Conservative), since 1981

Maryland
-Marvin Mandel (Liberal), since 1978
-Marjorie Hold (Progressive Conservative), since 1982

Massachusetts
-Tip O'Neill (Liberal), since 1978
-Elliot Richardson (Progressive Conservative), since 1983

Michigan
-George W. Romney (Progressive Conservative), since 1970
-William D. Ford (Liberal), since 1978

Minnesota
-Alexander M. Keith (Liberal), since 1975
-Al Quie (Progressive Conservative), since 1984

Mississippi
-Thad Cochran (Progressive Conservative), since 1985
-Bill Waller (Liberal), since 1978

Missouri
-William C. Phelps (Progressive Conservative), since 1982
-Thomas Eagleton (Liberal), since 1977

Montana
-Mike Mansfield (Liberal), since 1961
-Tim M. Babcock (Progressive Conservative), since 1970

Nebraska
-Norbert Tieman (Progressive Conservative), since 1974
-Virginia Smith (Progressive Conservative), since 1986

Nevada
-Howard Cannon (Liberal), since 1975
-Bob Cashell (Progressive Conservative), since 1988

Newfoundland & Labrador
-Frederick William Rowe (Liberal), since 1969
-Jack Marshall (Progressive Conservative), since 1979

New Hampshire
-Thomas J. McIntyre (Liberal), since 1968
-Walter R. Peterson, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1980

New Jersey
-William T. Cahill (Progressive Conservative), since 1974
-William J. Hughes (Liberal), since 1978

New York
-Malcolm Wilson (Progressive Conservative), since 1972
-John Lindsay (Liberal), since 1979

North Carolina
-Terry Sanford (Liberal), since 1970
-Robert W. Scott (Liberal), since 1978

Nova Scotia
-Charles McElman (Liberal), since 1967
-Robert Stanfield (Progressive Conservative), since 1980

Ohio
-John William Brown (Progressive Conservative), since 1974
-Lud Ashley (Liberal), since 1977

Ontario
-Edgar Benson (Liberal), since 1977
-David Crombie (Progressive Conservative), since 1986

Oregon
-Howell Appling, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1972
-Robert B. Duncan (Liberal), since 1978

Pennsylvania
-Ernest Kline (Liberal), since 1978
-Richard Schweicker (Progressive Conservative), since 1981

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
-Roberto Sánchez Viella (Labor), since 1975
-Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (Progressive Conservative), since 1983

Rhode Island
-Claiborne Pell (Liberal), since 1969
-Fernand St. Germain (Liberal), since 1978

Saskatchewan
-David Steuart (Liberal), since 1976
-Lorne Nystrom (Labor), since 1979

Sequoyah
-David Hall (Liberal), since 1975
-Henry Bellmon (Progressive Conservative), since 1982

South Carolina
-Ernest Hollings (Liberal), since 1976
-Strom Thurmond (American Heritage), since 1985

St. John's
-Alex Campbell (Liberal), since 1979
-Heath MacQuarrie (Progressive Conservative), since 1983

Tennessee
-Jim Sasser (Liberal), since 1978
-Winfield Dunn (Progressive Conservative), since 1982

Texas
-John Connally (Progressive Conservative), since 1967*
-Ralph Yarborough (Liberal), since 1978

*Connally previously sat as a Liberal, but he switched party affiliations to Progressive Conservative in 1971.

Utah
-Calvin L. Rampton (Liberal), since 1976
-Orrin Hatch (Progressive Conservative), since 1981

Vermont
-F. Ray Keyser, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1970
-Robert Stafford (Progressive Conservative), since 1980

Virginia
-Hulett C. Smith (Liberal), since 1976
-Miles E. Godwin, Jr. (Progressive Conservative), since 1982

West Florida
-Jim Williams (Liberal), since 1977
-Louis A. Bafalis (Progressive Conservative), since 1985

Wisconsin
-Patrick Lucey (Liberal), since 1978
-Bob Kasten (Progressive Conservative), since 1987

Wyoming
-Teno Roncalio (Liberal), since 1976
-Gale W. McGee (Liberal), since 1978

-----

Northwest Territories
-Gordon Wray (Independent), since 1984

Nunavut Territory
-Jack Anawak (Liberal), since 1987

Ungava Territory
-Armand Caouette (Independent-Progressive Conservative), since 1984

Yukon Territory
-Erik Nielsen (Progressive Conservative), since 1986

-------

The American Senate ITTL is very much like the Canadian one IOTL when it comes to the amount of power it is capable of excercising, with the biggest differences being that very province has two senators each, like the US Senate IOTL, with each territory having one. Also, unlike the Canadian Senate, there's no obligatory retirement age of 75 for Senators in the American one.

[The Lord Marbury]

PROG CON. LEAD HOLDING STEADY, LAB GOES UP AT EXPENSE OF LIBS, IN LATEST POLLS
-The American Post, September 9th 1988

API Opinion Polling - Which party would you vote for if the election was held today?
Progressive Conservatives - 37,7% (+0,3%)
Liberals - 29,7% (-2,4%)
Labor - 12,0% (+2,4%)
Libertarians - 8,4% (-0,5%)
American Heritage - 8,4% (+0,3%)
Others/Undecided - 3,8% (-0,1%)

DEMOCRATS REELECTED IN UK ELECTIONS, LABOUR REACHES RECORD LOW
While we Americans have been following our very own election campaign for the past few weeks, it can be easy to forget that the Brits had their very own election season going on as well. In yesterdays general election, the Democrats, formerly known as the SDP-Liberal Alliance prior to the merger of the two parties, were reelected easily under the leadership of Prime Minister Shirley Williams. The Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher, came in second, while the Labour Party under the leadership of Tony Benn, came in a distant third. The Democrats attained just over 40% of the popular vote, however due to the implementation of Mixed-Member Proportional Representation, the same voting system used here in America, the Dems fell just short of an outright majority. However it is expected that the party will achieve a workable majority in the House of Commons by aligning itself with minor parties such as the Green Party, or nationalist parties like the SNP or Plaid Cymru.
The New York Times, September 9th 1988

United Kingdom General Election, 1988
Democrat (Shirley Williams) - 40,3% - 331 seats
Conservative (Margaret Thatcher) - 30,7% -197 seats
Labour (Tony Benn) -  17,4% - 102 seats
Green (Sara Parkin) - 6% - 24 seats
Other/Nationalist - 4,6% - 16 seats

[The Lord Marbury]

^ Yeah I noticed that too, so I've fixed it now.

[The Lord Marbury]

FMR. MISS VIRGINIA ADMITS SHE HAD AN AFFAIR WITH CHUCK ROBB

"In an exclusive interview with The Dominion, former Miss Virginia, Tai Collins, tells all about the secret affair she had with Liberal leader Chuck Robb during his time as Premier of Virginia. Read it all about it on pages 2, 3 and 4."
-Frontpage blurb, The Dominion, September 12th 1988


"We had always been happy with Robb as Liberal leader at Prog Con HQ, despite how "centrist" he was, and despite the fact that on several times he had taken more conservative positions than our own MPs, which could've drawn in a lot of swing voters and Reagan Liberals. But the very public turmoil his leadership created within the Liberal Party was just complete gold to us. Every other month, like clockwork, Liberal MPs, MLAs, or Premiers would hit Robb for "betraying Liberal values", and sometimes even real high profile Liberals, like former Labor Minister-[then] Senator Pierre Trudeau, who once said that Robb's leadership was "a slap in the face of every single person who had ever voted for the Liberal Party", would pitch in. Of course Trudeau didn't know the microphone was on at the time, but that didn't matter, and the resulting media frenzy was like Christmas for us Tories. And then of course the whole Miss Virginia thing hit, and that once and for all proved that Chuck Robb was just the gift that kept on giving."
-Lee Atwater, fmr. President of the Progressive Conservative Party (1986-1990), being interviewed by The American Post in January, 1990

[The Lord Marbury]

A CLOSER LOOK AT….

The Progressive Conservative Party leadership election of 1977

The 1977 Progressive Conservative leadership election, nicknamed the "geezer election" by media due to the main contenders being older than the age of 60, took place during August of 1977, during the annual Progressive Conservative National Convention.

Incumbent party leader Nelson Rockefeller ran for reelection, and despite the controversy surrounding his leadership due complaints over his liberals policies by more conservative MPs, many among the media thought that he would be reelected unopposed. However that all changed two weeks out after the de facto leader of the party's conservative wing, Ronald Reagan, who came in second to Rockefeller in the 1974 leadership election, announced his intention to challenge Rockefeller for the leadership of the party. Shortly after Reagan entered the race, backbench MP George Bush, considered to ideologically be in the party's middle, threw his hat into the ring as well, but most of the attention was still directed at Rockefeller and Reagan.

The first ballot resulted in no candidate holding a clear lead among votes cast, with Rockefeller holding a narrow lead over Reagan, however following his failure to attain a clear majority in the first round of votes, Rockefeller surprised everyone by announcing that he would be withdrawing his name from the ballot. Instead he introduced another candidate who he would throw his full support behind. Robert Stanfield was considered to be slightly to the right of Rockefeller, but still in the liberal wing of the party, and still respected enough by conservative, moderate and liberal alike due to his service as Foreign Minister between 1970 and 74. Victory looked like it was in the bag for Stanfield, but then another candidate entered the fray, out of the blue. Shadow Education Minister, and strong liberal, John Anderson joined the race, and this resulted in the second ballot also being tied, followed by the third and the fourth. By the fifth ballot the candidates were getting desperate and started to bargain with each other. Firstly Stanfield attempted to convince Anderson to quit the race, but they were unable to reach a deal acceptable to both camps, while Reagan went to Bush and offered him, in exchange for dropping out, the Deputy leadership as well as the position of Shadow Foreign Minister. Bush thought long and hard about this, and since he no longer saw a chance of getting elected leader, he decided to accept the offer. Bush withdrew his candidacy, and with a majority of just two votes, Reagan was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.

This was one of the most tumultuous leadership elections in the history of the Progressive Conservatives at the time, and it was the catalyst in the decision to change the system of electing party leaders to a one where the candidate which placed last in each ballot would be eliminated, thus ensuring that the elections would go more smoothly.



-----------------

I was thinking of doing a few of these between updates now and then. You know, factual, but brief, looks into things which aren't that closely connected to the stuff happening at the point in time where the main timeline takes place. Thoughts?

EDIT:
Also, the pictured I posted appears smaller than its actual size. Here's a link if it's too small for any of you.
http://i.imgur.com/dWvFT.png

[The Lord Marbury]

ROBB: "I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN"


Following the allegations that he had an affair with a former Miss Virginia, ABS Newsnight caught Mr. Robb just after exiting the Liberal Party headquarters. There he firmly denied all allegations and dismissed them as slander, while saying that he was "excited to get out there and tell the country about the Liberal vision for America".
-The New York Times, September 13th 1988

KENNEDY BARNSTORMS IN RUST BELT; SLAMS REAGAN


Today Labor Party leader Ted Kennedy barnstormed in the two rust belt provinces of Michigan and Ohio, spending the first half of the day visiting a manufacturing plant in Ohio, where half the workforce is being laid off with their jobs being shipped overseas, and the second half of the day he spent in Flint, Michigan, a city which has been hit harshly by unemployment and economic malaise after General Motors chose to close down several of its plants in the city. It was also in Flint where Kennedy chose to hold his big speech of the day.

"This is the Tories' vision of America, people!", Kennedy exclaimed, standing outside of a closed down GM plant. "An America where it's completely fine for a conglomerate making billions in profit, to just cut off the livelihood of an entire city, and ship those jobs overseas. Does that seem fair to you? Of course not! It's time for a change in this country. It's time for a government which doesn't look the other way while big corporations move jobs overseas. It's time for a government which will fight poverty instead of sweeping it under the carpet. It's time for a government which cares about the people it's supposed to serve. It is time for a Labor government!"
-The Globe, September 13th 1988

RON PAUL BOOED AT EVENT IN FLORIDA


At a party event in Florida today, Libertarian leader Ron Paul was booed after he advocated for the gradual dismantlement of the Federal Health Insurance in favor of free market oriented alternatives. The FHI has long been considered the third rail of American politics ever since it was was implemented by Prime Minister Claude Pepper in 1949, and even former Libertarian leader Barry Goldwater didn't argue for the complete dismantlement of the system, he only argued that the operations of the health care system should be devolved to a provincial level, so that the individual provinces could decide if they wanted to keep the FHI in place or not. Mr. Paul on the other hand, has shown that he has very little fear of going against popular opinion on the big issues.
-The American Post, September 15th 1988

[The Lord Marbury]

TAI COLLINS SAYS ROBB IS LYING


With Chuck Robb having denied all accusations that he had an affair with Miss Collins, The Globe asked for her comments on Mr. Robbs denials. This is what she had to say: "While I certainly understand why Chuck is denying it all, I don't think it's fair to his wife, the voters, or himself if he keeps up with it. I think it's time for him to own up for his mistakes just like I'm trying to."
-The Globe, September 15th 1988

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO, CHUCK?

Infidelity scandals in politics is something none of us are unfamiliar with, and therefore, despite all the big headlines about Chuck Robb and his alleged mistress Tai Collins, very few people were surprised that a politician had been cheating on his wife. But now The New York Times can exclusively report that according to sources within his former staff as Premier of Virginia, then-Premier Robb had on several instances been on parties in Virginia Beach, where cocaine was used, however it is currently unknown if Robb actually used the illegal substances while present at the parties. The staff of Chuck Robb has refused to comment on the information.
-The New York Times, September 15th 1988

PAUL ACCUSES THE GOVERNMENT OF ECONOMIC IRRESPONSIBILITY


Following the bad welcome he got while speaking in Florida yesterday, today Ron Paul got right back up on the horse by attacking the Reagan government on their economic record.

"The Tories like to say how they are the only ones you can trust with this country's economy, that they are the only ones able to craft a fair and responsible budget. There is only one problem with that argument: it's all lies. Oh sure, Ronald Reagan and his friends like to say how their being economically responsible, even though the country's deficit is growing bigger by the minute. They like to say how they support the free market, even though they're holding it down with useless legislation. Well I think it's time to make a change in this country. It's time to say no to high taxes, it's time to say no reckless spending, it's time to say no to cumbersome regulations, and it's time to say yes to a Libertarian government!"
-Segment from Ron Paul's speech in Dallas, Texas, September 16th 1988

[The Lord Marbury]

MASSIVE DROP IN LIBERAL SUPPORT IN FRESH POLLS, LAB AND PC MAKING GAINS
With all the drama surrounding Chuck Robb during the past, things are just going from bad to worse for the Liberals, with these fresh polls showing that the Liberals have lost over 8 points during the past week, with most of their support going to the Labor and Progressive Conservative parties. The question is if Robb will be able to turn this slump around in tomorrows debate, or if the party will keep sinking in the polls all the way up to election day.
-The Dominion, September 18th 1988

API Opinion Polling - Who would you vote for if the election was held today?
Progressive Conservative - 40,9% (+3,2%)
Liberal - 20,1% (-9,7%)
Labor - 18,5% (+6,5%)
Libertarian - 9,0% (+0,6%)
American Heritage - 8,8% (+0,4%)
Other/Undecided - 2,7% (-1,1%)

--------

I realize my updates have been a bit erratic lately, but unfortunately I'm sick at the moment so I haven't exactly felt up to writing. I'm attempting to get some work done on the final debate (which is going to be the next update), but you shouldn't expect to see it for a few days at least.

Any comments on the TL so far?

[The Lord Marbury]

I'm back.

-------

REAGAN APPEARS DISORIENTATED IN SECOND DEBATE

With the Tories preforming strongly in recent polls, expectations were high for Ronald Reagan in last nights debate, with people wondering if he would be able to continue the governments policies over the past nine years. Well, unfortunately for his supporters, Reagan failed to reach up to all expectations, and his performance during the debate sparked new life into the debate about wether the Prime Minister is getting to old and afflicted by memory problems to continue leading the government.

Transcript:

Moderator: Mr. Reagan, you have come under criticism from both sides of the aisle for not being able to balance the budget. My question is how is how your party will rein in the deficit if you are given a third term in government?

Reagan: Umm… well you see um.. the budget is important and… err.. if you elect me leader of the Progressive Conservative Party -no, wait, um… I vow that the budget deficit will me maintained in my second term, because a strong budget deficit is key…. -no, um… It would be good if the budget deficit… it should be eliminated. Yes. We're getting rid of the budget -no, the budget deficit.

Meanwhile Liberal leader Chuck Robb came under fire following the allegations that he had cheated on his wife with former Miss Virginia, Tai Collins, as well as having been present at several parties where cocaine was used, during the early 80s. Most of the criticism came from American Heritage leader Pat Buchanan.

Transcript:

Buchanan: Personally, I wouldn't trust Mr. Robb to be faithful to this country and the needs of its people, since he couldn't even be faithful to his wife. And now there's that rumor going around that Mr. Robb might have been taking the illegal drug cocaine at parties, or at least stood idly by while others were taking it. And this is rumor which Mr. Robb hasn't even bothered to refute, considering the seriousness of the allegation. I think that the American people deserve to know if an elected official has broken the law, so I'm asking you here and now, Mr. Robb, have you ever used cocaine?

Robb: Look, all the talk about me having taken cocaine is nothing but lies. I don't even know what the stuff looks like, and-

Buchanan: Wait, wait, wait, I just have to stop you there. Are you seriously saying that you don't even know what the substance looks like? So either you're just very bad at lying, or you genuinely have no idea what the drug looks like. A drug which, along with other illegal substances, is a plague upon American youths and the American way of life.

Robb: I resent that those accusations.

Labor leader Ted Kennedy also took centre stage in last nights debate, with his harsh attacks on both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition

Transcript:

Kennedy: It's time for a real change to come to this country, instead of the empty words coming from the other side of the aisle. I know what you at home are thinking when I say that. "Every politician talks about 'change', so what makes him so different?" remember nine years ago when Ronald Reagan debated Ed Muskie and said "it's time for a change here in Philadelphia". Likewise I remember the five years before that when Muskie debated Nelson Rockefeller and said "it's time for a change". Ronnie Reagan and Ed Muskie have two things in common. They both came into office promising sweeping reform, and a great new tomorrow for all Americans, and in the end they didn't change anything at all. And we've all heard what Mr. Reagan and Mr. Robb have said during this election campaign. They've said your only choice is between two old and grey parties which have been running things the same way for the past 50 years, with no true difference between them. I'm here tonight to tell you all that there is an alternative. Tomorrow all of you across this great nation can make the choice to do things differently for once. The choice to say no to the old corrupt back room policies of the Liberals and the Conservatives, and say yes to true change. Together we can make the decision to do things differently in order to create a more fair and open society built upon decent no nonsense politics, which benefit the everyday working American. We need a government which will serve the people that elected it, instead of just itself alone, and I promise you all that a Labor government is that government.
-The New York Times, September 20th

REAGAN'S ABILITY TO SERVE AS PM CALLED INTO QUESTION

Following Prime Minister Ronald Reagan's, to say the least, erratic performance during last nights debate, a great deal of people, pundits and regular voters alike, are starting to wonder whether Mr. Reagan is getting to old to continue to serve as this nation's Prime Minister. During the debate the Prime Minister displayed signs of confusion and memory issues, and at one point it appeared as if he was unaware of where he was. The Prime Minister's Office were quick to issue a press release which explained how the events of the night were a result of the Prime Minister accidentally taking the wrong medication before the debate. However overnight polling by Gallup shows that it may be too little, too late. Fourth months ago Gallup polled voters, asking them the question: "do you think Ronald Reagan is fit to continue serving as Prime Minister?". Then 50% answered yes, while 35% answered no, with 15% being undecided. This latest poll shows that the tide has surely turned.

Gallup - Do you think Ronald Reagan is fit to continue serving as Prime Minister?
No - 51% (+16%)
Yes - 38% (-12%)
Undecided - 11%

And the polling on last nights debate is just more bad news for the PC campaign, with the Prime Minister coming in second to last, just above Libertarian leader Ron Paul, who was largely sidelined during the final debate. American Heritage leader Pat Buchanan on the other hand, makes a surprisingly strong second place finish, with voters especially citing his position on law and order as the reason for their support. This is a major success for Buchanan, as in the past few years he has been trying to wash away the old image of the American Heritage Party as a party only for pro-segregation southerners. But the big winner of the night was Ted Kennedy of the Labor Party who rallied against both the Liberal and Progressive Conservative, and referred to them as two sides of the same coin. The question is, with the polls opening today, just how will the election turn out, because one thing is certain, and that's the fact that Reagan's poor preformance and Robb's scandals means that all bets are off.

API Opinion Polling - Who do you think won the second debate?
Ted Kennedy (Labor) - 37%
Pat Buchanan (American Heritage) - 22%
Chuck Robb (Liberal) - 16%
Ronald Reagan (Progressive Conservative) - 15%
Ron Paul (Libertarian) - 10%

-America Today, September 20th 1988

-----

Questions? Comments? Critiques?

[The Lord Marbury]

Great to see that you're all enjoying this, guys!

This is great! I love the fake Wikipedia updates, since that's how I learned a lot of what I know about foreign politics. It's a little strange that this super America+Canada country would still be ruled, even indirectly, by the British monarchy, but I can suspend my disbelief there.

Yeah well, the intention is for the reader to suspend his disbeliefs on some issues. The main one being that with a POD way back in the 1700s, our current day politicians probably wouldn't even exist, and if by some chance one or two of them did, they probably wouldn't even be in the same line of work. But a timeline filled with nothing but completely fictional people probably wouldn't be as interesting.


----------------------------------

POLLS OPEN AS PARTY LEADERS ENTER FINAL STRETCH OF CAMPAIGNING

Today the American people will decide which party will govern this country for the next few years, and the leaders  of the main five political parties are kicking their campaigns into overdrive during the day in order to convince you that their party is the right one to govern this nation.

Liberal leader Chuck Robb will be starting the day with voting in his home district of Richmond, followed by a meet and greet with voters. After that he will fly to New York City where he is going to hold his last major campaign speech of this election cycle. He will be joined by former Prime Minister Ed Muskie and Liberal Party chairman, Senator Richard Daley. Following that he will do another brief meet with voters at a small polling station in Queens, before going flying down to Liberal Party HQ in Philadelphia to await the result.  

Pat Buchanan, leader of the American Heritage Party, will be spending most of his day in the midwest, where he will hold two separate campaign rallies. A smaller one will be held at 10PM in Des Moines, Iowa, while the bigger one, where he will be joined by prominent party figures like Jesse Helms, will be held in Kansas City later during the day. Following that he will return to his home district Roanoke where he will vote and campaign for the remainder of the evening until polling stations close, and he returns to American Heritage HQ in Philadelphia.

Libertarian Ron Paul will be voting in his district Galveston this morning, and go on to campaign in his home province Texas during the day, with a major campaign rally being held in Houston during the afternoon. After polling stations close he will await the election results during a party event in Galveston.

Ted Kennedy is kicking off the day by voting in his district Lynn-Suffolk, which will be followed by several last minute campaign stops in the states of Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, and finally Pennsylvania, where he, along with former party leaders Ron Dellums and Birch Bayh, will speak before supporters in Pittsburgh before returning to Labor HQ in Philadelphia.

Prime Minister Ronald Reagan was originally supposed to speak in Detroit at noon, however the Prime Minister's Office has released a statement to the press which says that all of Prime Minister Reagan's engagements during the first part of the day have been cancelled to allow the Prime Minister to rest and regain his energy after weeks of harsh campaigning. His planned trip home to Los Angeles has also been cancelled, which means that he will only campaign in Philadelphia during the day. According to his new schedule, he will first vote at a local polling station and then go on to speak at a campaign rally alongside Defense Minister Jeane Kirkpatrick and Lee Atwater, President of the Progressive Conservative Party, followed by returning to 1 America Avenue to finish some work and have dinner with his wife, before going to the PCHQ later during the evening. Foreign Minister and PC Deputy Leader George H.W. Bush will replace Reagan at the event in Detroit.
-The American Post, September 20th 1988

FORMER PM THATCHER STEPS DOWN AS LEADER OF CONSERVATIVE PARTY


In some political news from across the pond, Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1978 and 1980, has announced her intent to step down as leader of the Conservative Party, following three election losses in a row. Thatcher became the first female UK Prime Minister after leading the Conservatives to a narrow victory over James Callaghan's Labour Party in the 1978 General Election. However her short time in office proved to be a controversial one, with Thatcher often backing many unpopular reforms which drew ire from the other side of the aisle, as well as members of her own party. In January of 1980 she lost her already small majority in a by-election, and a few months later her government would be narrowly defeated in a confidence vote. In the subsequent election the Conservatives finished second after the SDP-Liberal Alliance which won in a major upset, gaining nearly 300 seats compared to their seat total prior to the election. Thatcher was succeeded as Prime Minister by current PM Shirley Williams, but she held on to the leadership of the Conservative Party through the next two elections, despite a leadership challenge by Michael Heseltine in 1983, which Thatcher barely managed to win. Now however, she has decided to step down without a fight.
-The Globe, September 20th 1988

_______

Next up is the first part of the election night coverage, which will most likely be up some time tomorrow.

[The Lord Marbury]

I really look forward to seeing the election night coverage Can't wait.

Me too; I really have no idea how parliamentary style systems call elections and how news networks project them; will be an interesting learning experience

Well if you're interested in knowing more, you could always watch this for educational purposes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiF1D7Uh1QA

Hmmm.... Is it weird that I actually enjoy watching old election nights from other countries just for entertainment purposes?

I wonder if we would call our races the British way, where all the candidates get on stage and the returning officer announces who got the most votes once all the ballots have been counted, in this timeline.

Well that would most likely be the case for the constituencies, however it's important that I've made the choice to have ATL America use a voting system used by Germany ITTL, where roughly half of the Members of Parliament are elected as representatives from individual constituencies or districts, just like the UK or Canadian House of Commons or the US House of Representatives IOTL, while the other half are elected by a party list system where a number of seats are divided proportionally amongst the parties getting more than 5% of the vote nationally, based on their national popular vote totals.

[The Lord Marbury]

Unfortunately real life prevented me from getting much work done on this today, so I'm only able to post the preface (along with exit polls) to the actual election night. But the real thing with some actual results should be up some time tomorrow.

-----------------

ABS ELECTION NIGHT 1988



"Good evening and welcome to ABS' coverage of the 1988 Federal Election. It's been one of most unpredictable and exciting elections in years, and tonight, we here at ABS will tell you what happens, as it happens. It's been a long and arduous campaign for both politicians and voters alike, and during this evening we will all see the culmination of the past four weeks of campaigning. And we will find out if Ronald Reagan will be the first Tory Prime Minister since the 1920s to win a third term in office, or if Chuck Robb will be able to lead the Liberal Party back into government after 10 years out in the cold, or if one of the underdogs, like Ted Kennedy, Pat Buchanan, or Ron Paul, will be able to lead his respective party to success? Those questions will all be answered here tonight.

In 353 districts across the nation, voters will elect their individual members of parliament to represent their interests at Parliament House in Philadelphia, and together with the 354 list seats which will be divided proportionally between all the parties based on their national popular vote totals, they make up the House of Commons. The polls have just closed on the eastern seaboard at this time, however no results are in yet. But despite this, we here at ABS are able to give you the results of our exit poll. Thousands of voters across the nation have been asked about their voting preferences, and remember, this is not an opinion poll where we have asked how people intend to vote, this is a poll where we have asked how people have actually voted. However it's important to remember that, as with any poll, there is a small margin of error.

But now let's take a look at the results of the exit poll, starting with the popular vote."


"As we can see here, the Progressive Conservatives would end up at around 37 percent of the vote, which is four points down from their result in 1984, and also down from the result predicted in opinion polls. However we do need to keep in mind that the last opinion poll was released prior to the final debate. On second place, in a perhaps the biggest political shake-up of the century, we find the Labor Party at 22 percent, nearly doubling their vote total from 1984, and achieving their best result in party history, beating the record set in 1916 during the leadership of Eugene Debs, when the party got 19 percent. Moving on to the Liberals, our exit poll places them at 20,5 percent, meaning that should this poll be correct, the Liberals will have fallen to their lowest result in all the 160 years for which the party has existed. And looking at the minor parties, the American Heritage Party appears to be performing better than in the last election, with gains of 3 to 4 percent being projected, while a 2 percent drop in support has been projected for the Libertarians under new leader Ron Paul.

Now we'll have a look at what the House of Commons would look like based on these figures."


"As expected, the Tories lose a significant number of seats, and while they are currently in a supply and confidence deal with the Libertarians in order to achieve a workable majority in the Commons, even the Tories and Libertarians together would fall one seat short of a majority at this time. Meaning that in order to continue governing, the Tories would need to reach an agreement with one additional party, such as American Heritage. However it is possible that they would be able to convince Wally Hickel, a former Tory turned Alaska Independence Party member, who is projected to become the next MP from Alaska in a landslide victory, to throw his support behind them. But perhaps the most interesting part is that we can see that despite that the Labor Party is projected to win almost two percent more of the popular vote than the Liberals, they will still fall more than 20 seats short of surpassing the Liberal Party as the main opposition party. What do you make of this, Bruce?"



"Well for starters I would say that if the commons end up looking roughly like this with those popular vote numbers, tomorrow there's going to be a lot of angry Labor voters out there who will feel that they've been cheated of the Official Opposition status by the Liberals, and I think we'll start seeing strong pushes for further voting reform coming from those droves of disappointed Labor supporters around the country. And while all that is happening, the Liberals will be in almost complete disarray, because all their work to get back the image of the Liberals as being the natural governing party of the nation, has been completely shattered. And the big question is if this 'Labormania', that seems to be happening right now, is just a one time flash in the pan, or if it's signifying the next big political shift in this country?"

[The Lord Marbury]

I'm guessing a Tory-Liberal coalition is out of the question?

Pretty much. The Tories and the Liberals have been bitter rivals for more than a century, so short of something like wartime coalition, it'd be very hard to get them to band together without significant problems.

BTW, the reason why I didn't post the next part of election night when I said I would, is because I'm suffering from a minor case of writer's block. But I'll attempt to have the next update up by the end of the week.

[The Lord Marbury]

I'm guessing a Tory-Liberal coalition is out of the question?

Pretty much. The Tories and the Liberals have been bitter rivals for more than a century, so short of something like wartime coalition, it'd be very hard to get them to band together without significant problems.

BTW, the reason why I didn't post the next part of election night when I said I would, is because I'm suffering from a minor case of writer's block. But I'll attempt to have the next update up by the end of the week.

Interesting, because it seems like they're closer to each other than Tory is to American Heritage or Labor is to Liberal.  Just my opinion though.

Anyway looking forward to an update!

Well both parties are actually fairly big tent, and while there are centrist factions in both parties which are very close together ideologically, any possibility of a Liberal-Tory coalition is made impossible due to the precense of strong left and right wings in each party, which would make any closer cooperation between the two parties too hard, since those wings would much rather work with either Labor or the Libertarians/American Heritage. And the Liberal's identity used to be far more leftwing (considering that LBJ was once leader) than under the leadership of Chuck Robb, who is the most rightwing leader that the party has had for a long time.