The History of the American Independent Party

[Maxwell]

1996 - Governor Mike Huckabee (AI-AR), announcing his candidacy for President



"We are living in unprecedented times. We see America, tarnished in stature and laughed at by the rest of the world, we see trade policies that give jobs to China and take away jobs from home, and we see every hard working man and woman in constant fear of their life because crime continues to rise. A country can not survive on the welfare of it's citizens, only on those citizen's ingenuity and strength. Under the American Independent's ticket, I plan to give American's a real voice again."

In March, just on the edge of the convention of the American Independent party, Mike Huckabee, the outspoken and charismatic Governor of Arkansas, announced his candidacy for President. Huckabee faces an uphill battle - No American Independent has been President since 1977, where the departure of the controversial and wildly unpopular Harland Sanders sullied the parties reputation. Huckabee polls poorly in the national race, falling far behind frontrunners Vice President Bill Clinton and Governor William Weld, but shows potential for growth in the current poor state of the country, which he is waging a strong campaign against. The American Independent nomination is assured however, his only opposition comes from the outright white power movement within the party, which is represented by multiple time candidate for the nomination David Duke.

1971 - George Wallace shot, Sanders to be President

After 3 controversial years as President, George Wallace is assassinated on his trip to Detroit, Michigan. Wallace had done very little to clean up his image, refusing to let up on force in Vietnam, calling the national guard to stop desegregated busing, and vetoing various spending bills, including the budget for 1970. Wallace enraged his critics and rallied his supporters, leaving him with a small 28% approval rating prior to his assassination.

Which makes Sanders succession to the White House all the more odd. Sanders, a notoriety figure from the KFC franchise, had accepted the role on a whim, and had since been iced out of any sort of decision making in the Wallace Administration. Sanders was noted for his out of the blue press conferences where he touted his folksy personality and often disagreed with the Wallace administration in public. Sanders, in his more serious press conference after the assassination, promised to push the last of the Wallace agenda before even considering a bid for re-election.

[rpryor03]

This is beautiful.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

I'll set up the deep fryer out back.

This is going to be interesting. I may hate Huckabee, but damn if I don't like a good third party in TLs.

[Maxwell]

1971 - Sanders begins withdraw plans for Vietnam

December 18th - In accordance with the will of Former President Wallace, President Sanders did not let up on his opposition to desegregated busing, nor did he let up on the taxation side of things, calling for tax cuts for regular Americans. However, seeing the stars in align, Sanders knew of the political toxicity of Vietnam and knew, if he continued the war effort in vein, his goose was fried. President Harland Sanders announced U.S. withdraw from Vietnam. When asked why he made the decision by a reporter, he said, in his colorful way, "because the war is a gosh darn boondoggle!". At 82, it was unknown if Sanders was planning to even go for the re-election fight, but Sanders responded to the age issue "You can never be too old for life, then you're dead".

Due to a strong economy and Sanders popular decision to end messing around in Vietnam, Sanders approvals jumped to... 50%, which, for a candidate who won on the segregationist ticket, is downright incredible. Republicans, noting Sanders strength with rural voters and country club types, backed out in a large part, and the nomination battle is between Former Governor Harold Stassen, a Republican perennial figure, and the establishment candidate Governor George Romney of Michigan, who was the original frontrunner in 68 before sullying himself with gaffes. Democrats, however, are divided on who to run to take on Sanders. Humphrey, the failed Democratic nominee of 68, declined a run, leaving the field wide open for the various challengers drooling for the chance to knock off the Fried Chicken magnate.

1996 - Quayle and Clinton in Iowa

March 4th - The Insurgent wing of the Republican Party won tonight with Dan Quayle taking the first primary of the season, devastating the original frontrunner, Republican Majority Leader Bob Dole. Quayle won the primary with 32% of the vote, followed by Pat Buchanan, the nominee last election, with 28% of the vote, and Dole way down at 22% (the rest of the candidates were in the single digits). Dole, originally a shoe-in, proved a dull candidate with an even duller campaign, and couldn't latch on to the movement conservatism that had begun to take hold of the Republican Party. This fall in numbers for Dole gave Governor William Weld a serious chance at New Hampshire. Weld, originally an afterthought in this race, has been campaigning hard in New Hampshire for the chance to challenge the Democratic ticket as a part of a Mainstreet Republican group, a group designed to move the GOP toward the center.

Vice President Bill Clinton, after months and months of anticipation, finally won the endorsement of his boss, President Mario Cuomo, who had notoriously stayed on the sidelines during 1995. Cuomo's apprehensiveness toward Clinton allowed Clinton's opponent, California Governor Jerry Brown, to gain serious ground on Clinton, and in the poll the night before the Iowa caucus, Brown polled at 30% - not great, but enough to get Clinton shaking in his boots, and tonight was no victory for Clinton on the expectations game - Clinton won with 54% of the vote, while Brown took 39%, closer still than polls expected. Brown hasn't gained much traction in New Hampshire, but the March 12th primaries in Arizona and the Dakotas are areas where Brown is expected to at least close the gap.

Huckabee's advisors saw the win of Quayle in Iowa a problem. Quayle, with his youthful energy, his conservative credentials, and his ability to add a populist edge to a non-populist agenda, caused Huckabee great strife because Quayle's nomination would make his chances go from extremely unlikely to downright impossible. Still, Huckabee studied the GOP field and made the decision to keep on moving forward with his race, and hoping for the best of a divided field in both parties.

[Indy Texas]

I would love President Harlan Sanders. He would no doubt use his position to shamelessly shill his chicken franchise - randomly plugging new KFC products in speeches, having state dinners and other events catered by KFC, etc. And if reporters ever asked him probing questions about serious foreign or domestic policy questions, he'd evade by saying something to the effect of, "Well I'm just a simple farm boy from down Kentucky way. I don't know nothin' 'bout none of that Containment Policy and Fair Housing. Aw shucks, gosh darn, gee whiz!" and then he'd do some sort of weird jig and abruptly leave the room.

[Maxwell]

1972 - George Romney implodes, drops out

March - Romney's immense lead in the polls crumbled incredibly when he revealed that he changed his mind on cutting taxation because "The IRS put a chip in my brain, and my doctor removed it". By the time he saw his own internal polling, it was already too late, barely polling above the other candidates, perennial loser Harold Stassen and arch-conservative medical doctor Ron Paul. On March 1st, the day before the first primary, Romney shocked observers by withdrawing from the race, and decided not to back either of the candidates because they were "incompetent and unable to lead". Big money Republicans are searching for a viable candidate to replace Romney, but it looks like it may already be too late for them.

Democrats, meanwhile, held a couple of primaries, and the viability of George McGovern as the nominee has gone up significantly. For the first time, Democrats are advocating a 50 state primary system insure Democracy, and McGovern, a leader on that front, is at a distinct advantage because of knowledge of the system. Fellow Democratic frontrunners, Edmund Muskie, Henry Jackson, Eugene McCarthy, and Ramsey Clark, had all won or gotten close somewhere or another, but support for their respective candidacies was split and often regionally based. McGovern's broad base support from Democratic grassroots made him a viable candidate. Still, more mainstream Democrats are looking for an alternative to the man, and are going through these other candidates to bring some light to the nominating contests.

President Sanders generated some controversy when, in a major speech to donors, he repeatedly shilled his restaurant, KFC, at the behest of the issues. When asked about it, Sanders responded "Now don't get your feathers all a rufflin', I'm gettin used to this job". Still, Sanders holds a narrow lead in the polls, leading McGovern 44-35, Jackson 42-40, and Muskie 41-40 (Stassen takes a general 10% of the vote most of the time, as does Paul).

1996 - Weld and Clinton beat back opposition in New Hampshire

March 10th - Playing the expectations game, Clinton won New Hampshire by a bigger than expected margin, pulling out of the primary with 70% of the vote. Brown, considered not a very good fit for the state, did not benefit from the late game playing to independents, and settled with 26% of the vote. After his primary loss, however, Brown gave a fiery speech, calling Clinton a crook and making it clear that the primary is far from over.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side of things, Bill Weld pulled of the miraculous and won the GOP NH primary. He won with 32% of the vote, edging out Bob Dole at 30%, with Pat Buchanan trailing in third at 18% (Only Quayle, at 10%, got more than single digits out of the rest of the field). Weld, a pro-choice moderate, actually lost the GOP vote in the primary to Dole, but Independents came rushing to Weld's side for his stance on social issues and his noted wariness of using military force. Dole, increasingly losing relevance in the race, decided to solidier on to the March 12th primaries, citing a general sense of momentum, even when he was lacking one. Buchanan, who polled even with Dole and Weld, came up dramatically short, and for that time, it seemed his candidacy became irrelevant to future contests. With Laxalt backing out for Quayle and Arlen Specter backing out for Weld, It looked more and more like a battle between Quayle and Weld.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Fascinating.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Go Jerry Brown go!

I like how you're showing multiple elections at the same time. The Republicans are toast in 1972 no matter if they go for Paul or Stassen. A 1972 Paul nomination would be fascinating though. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone have him run that early.

[Maxwell]

Go Jerry Brown go!

I like how you're showing multiple elections at the same time. The Republicans are toast in 1972 no matter if they go for Paul or Stassen. A 1972 Paul nomination would be fascinating though. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone have him run that early.

Thank you. Paul wanted to get into politics in 1971, I decided to make his entry more dramatic than it actually was. He enters the race in 1971 as a nobody, but gains support quickly due to his strong beliefs and his ability to sway heavily conservative groups over the liberal Stassen. I'm not sure if I want to go with Paul as the Republican nominee or Stassen.

[Maxwell]

1996 - That's Mr. Potatoehead to you



Aggregate Presidential Polling (By April 31st)
43% Dan Quayle
41% William Weld

April 31st - After an assortment of primaries, Dan Quayle has pulled up to a 200 delegate lead and a palpable lead in the popular vote. This is credited to his superior organization and broader appeal, as well as his ability to rally movement conservatives, who have been somewhat swayed by the insurgent Huckabee campaign. Weld, pulling significant wins in more liberal states, has failed to show his appeal beyond Democratic states, while Quayle has pulled upsets in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Ohio. Nevertheless, the battle is still on, and the most notable character, Majority Leader Bob Dole, has not endorsed either candidate, citing some frustration with the race as a whole.

But on this day things started to turn around for Weld. A week ago, at an elementary school, Quayle noticed a student spelling a word incorrectly, and he sought to correct. The word? Potato. Quayle had known the spelling otherwise. This mental lapse caused Quayle a great deal of strife, and reporters began prodding him harder on questioning, and Quayle, under pressure, collapsed. Weld, in his wisdom, navigated the issue by attacking Quayle subtley without downing his own negatives, and pulled an upset in the Michigan primary. After weeks of +10 Quayle leads, Weld and the press closed the race.

Meanwhile, Vice President Bill Clinton still had a comfortable but not too comfortable lead over Jerry Brown. Brown pulled off a narrow victory in his home state of California, and beat Clinton decisively in Vermont and Wisconsin, states where Clinton faced difficulty over his strong support of the NAFTA agreement drawn up by President Cuomo. The rest were won by Clinton, and whether those wins were easy or not, Clinton had already coddled enough delegates to win the nomination due to his third world-esqe margins in the South. Still, Jerry Brown fought on, harping Clinton on his marital indiscretions, to which Clinton notably said to a reporter about Brown, "someone needs to shut that yapping dog up". Brown supporters, who were energized by that in the last batch of states, wore pins with Dogs on them, which said "Yapping for Change".

National Polls
33% Mike Huckabee (AI-AR)
30% Bill Clinton (D-AR)
24% Whoever the Republican Is

The aggressive divide in both parties gave up to the shifting American Independent Party. Huckabee, originally considered a no shot, pulled ahead of potential Republicans and Democrats in the polls, as no short result of his strong support from Billionaire Ross Perot. Perot, a social moderate, signed on to Huckabee for the sole reason of NAFTA opposition. Huckabee's ads made both an emotional plea and showing off of raw data. It was refreshing, after 8 years of bland promises from Cuomo that were blocked consistently. Establishment Republicans, pulling their hair out after that result, demanded for Huckabee's head on a platter. Well, most of them at least. One term Republican Congressman Rick Santorum, citing frustration with his caucus, bailed on the party and joined the American Independent Party in support of Huckabee, citing it as the new party of working families. No doubt, both of the major parties had run up their negatives.

[Maxwell]

The Update for 1972 is coming later today.

[Maxwell]

1972 - Harland Sanders, master of Diplomacy



Gallup Presidential Polling (May 15th)
50% Harland Sanders (AI-KY)
29% George McGovern (D-SD)
13% Harold Stassen (R-MN)

May - In a round the world foreign policy trip, he stumbles upon the best diplomatic action of a President in decades. Meeting with Russia, he negotiates, over KFC of course, the limitation of strategic arms. This is just a month after going to China and famously shaking hands with Mao Zedong. Extremes of all three parties reject Sanders mission, but the majority of the American people approve of Sanders movement toward peace. The President's approval rating jumps to 60%, the highest he's been at since inauguration.

Coinciding with this is a gridlocked primary in both of the major parties. On the Republican side, Harold Stassen leads Ron Paul very narrowly. Stassen has strength in the Mideast and Northeast, and Paul leads in the South and the Midwest (with the major exception of New Hampshire, which Paul won in a major upset). Controversial areas are the West and Appalachia, which seem to have an extreme disdain for both of them. In an announcement in late June, the latest serious potential Republican backed out of the nomination contest. Paul Laxalt, Senator of Nevada, rejected calls to join the race, citing Sanders' popularity and charisma, and the difficulty to get on the ballot this late in the race. Time is running out for Repubicans, and the last Republican thinking about entering, John Connally, has a base problem.

McGovern continues to narrowly lead in the delegate contest, with no other Democrat sticking out. After a short rise, Edmund Muskie falls again due to a milquetoast campaigning style and lacking support from non-insiders. Lloyd Bentsen's late entry makes ripples instead of waves, failing to win a couple of the expected Southern primaries, and failed to expand his outward appeal. McGovern's continued success arises from the split in his opposition, but that may close soon, with Walter Mondale announcing his candidacy on May 15th with the backing of Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon Johnson, and many pundits think that Muskie may drop out and back Mondale.

[Türkisblau]

I'm loving this TL, Maxwell. Very interesting. I have a feeling that Sanders is going to die in office.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

"Third world esque margins." Nice one. I'm glad to see Brown still putting up a fight. This could get nasty at the convention.

I'm not sure if the Republicans will win any states in 1972, unless you go for the irony of Stassen (the Republican) only winning Minnesota in 1972.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Great stuff, although I was hoping we'd see the harrowing adventures of Gordon Daniel (R-IA) or something.

How did Wallace get elected?

[Maxwell]

Great stuff, although I was hoping we'd see the harrowing adventures of Gordon Daniel (R-IA) or something.

How did Wallace get elected?

Richard Nixon, in a shocking decision, decides not to enter the race, and the Republican primary is a negative and meanspirited battle between Ronald Reagan and Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller ends up winning, but a major chunk of the conservative caucus outright walks out of the convention and pledges not to vote. Similarly, Democrats nominate the pro-Vietnam Humphrey, who alienates war critics, who also pledge not to vote. Wallace gains significantly from both factions exiting in droves, and with a very charismatic VP in Harland Sanders. As his chances become more serious, he bends his appeal from racist to populist, and wins strong support in applachia and even in Ohio. Not enough to get a majority, but enough to get a plurality, and Wallace manages to strike a deal with Republicans and Democrats not to go as strong on the civil rights issue if they go, as the vote has gone, and elect him President and Sanders Vice PResident. The vote becomes close on the Presidential side, but generally the Senate and the House follow orders of the people.

[Maxwell]

1972 - McGovern v. Mondale

June - With the irrelevant Republican primary in a deadlock, all eyes fell on a contentious Democratic primary. Establishment Democrats, weary and giving up, fall in line behind a young Senator Walter Mondale, a protege of Hubert Humphrey, who, despite his similar left leanings to McGovern, is considered far more electable. McGovern is closing in a majority, but Mondale won a large victory in California, putting him in the game for the nomination. Mondale has no chance of receiving the majority of delegates on the first around, but hopes for a brokered convention. He received the endorsement of Edmund Muskie in recent days, and the fate of the Democratic primary falls on New York. Mondale has been closing the gap fast in recent days, but McGovern benefits from stronger organization, and McGovern has to win just 42% of the vote to win the nomination (also still on the ballot: Lloyd Bentsen and Scoop Jackson).

1996 - Huckabee begins to fall

June - As both major parties settle on nominees (Bill Clinton for the Democrats and (!!!) William Weld for the Republicans), the sense grows that Governor Michael Huckabee could actually win the Presidency. That's when Huckabee is dogged on his record from all sides. The American Independent Parties base, deeply anti-immigrant, is offended by Huckabee's moderate record on immigration. In a speech, Huckabee made the shocking comment that he would "change the constitution to fit the bible", offending working voters who agree with his economic policies. And finally, Huckabee's multiple tax increases were attacked in Republican National Committee ads, breaking his strong support among social conservatives. Over the course of four weeks, Huckabee has dipped from 34% to 26%, a swift 8 point drop, while Weld rose from the sureness of his nomination. Clinton, gaining little from his nomination win, has moved chess pieces to assure there is no shock in his nomination at the Democratic Convention. With Jerry Brown refusing to speak, Clinton is swiftly attempting to remove Brown supporters from The National Committee. This is swiftly criticized as a power grab by the nominee-elect, angering the people Clinton means to unite.

[Maxwell]

1972 - The Party of Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion



New York Democratic Primary
45.4% George McGovern
33.2% Walter Mondale
12.8% Scoop Jackson
7.3% Ramsey Clark

After a prolonged primary process, George McGovern surpasses the amount needed to win the Democratic nomination. McGovern took a hit when New York decided to break up delegates by proportion, but only needed 42% of the vote to win the nomination. McGovern passed that rather easily. Mondale simply entered the race too late, and when he accused McGovern of being the candidate of "Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion" it wasn't effective enough in the New York City area, where McGovern drove up huge margins. Jackson and Clark, both irrelevant candidates at this point, scooped up enough of the Anti-McGovern vote to pull Mondale down.

However, Mondale's attack is effective on a general election basis - McGovern's favorables are pretty negative. Facing a 24 point deficit with Harland Sanders, the McGovern is hoping to search for a concensus VP. Unfortunately, the field is decimated when the major candidates - Governor Jimmy Carter, Governor Dale Bumpers, L.A. Mayor Sam Yorty, Senator Ted Kennedy, and Senator Gaylord Nelson - all reject the possibility of being picked. The most prominent second tier candidate is Thomas Eagleton, who many think can bridge some of the issues that McGovern has with the Democratic base.

After a prolonged primary process, Harold Stassen pulls off the Republican nomination. Paul's insurgent campaign made serious waves, but Stassen wins New York by a 65-35 margin despite the endorsement of William Buckley. Paul vows to sit out the election and encourages small government conservatives to do the same. Stassen, a leader of a reluctant party, runs to the left of Sanders but attacks McGovern as a "nut" who "shouldn't be shoveling snow!". A small committee forms within the underbelly of the Republican party called Republicans for Sanders. The group is small but growing, mostly filled with Southern and Applachian Republicans.

[Maxwell]

1996 - Conventions, and the Dick Morris debacle



1996 Presidential Poll (As of August)
40% Weld/Armstrong (R)
36% Clinton/Rockefeller (D)
15% Huckabee/Santorum (AI)

August - Fast forwarding the Presidential race, All three conventions proved rather uneventful. Mike Huckabee won the nomination substantially, and though he gave a rousing speech, the rest of the nominating process seemed to do him further damage. His Vice Presidential nominee was Congressman Rick Santorum, a one termer who beat an incumbent and balances out Huckabee's weakness on immigrant issues. Still, Huckabee continued to descend in the polls. William Weld faced a contentious nominating process, with Republicans, if not openly advocating for Dan Quayle, telling their own story rather than backing Weld wholeheartedly. The keynote speeches, however, brought Weld back up, and Weld gave a hopeful speech for the future, denouncing the policies of Cuomo as "self-defeating" and the Huckabee campaign as a "a trip to the 60s, the 1860s that is". Weld, along with some nice hit lines, picked a conservative VP, Former Senator William Armstrong (R-CO), who pleased a lot of Quayle delegates without offending too much the strong Weld supporters. It proved enough for Weld to continue his narrow gain in the polls.

The Democratic nomination process was a bit more dramatic. Supporters of Jerry Brown actively protested the nomination of Clinton. Clinton supporters, including the strong arming Rahm Emanuel, threw out those supporters and replaced them with Clinton people. Clinton won the delegates with a 2/3rds margin, and the speakers, unlike in the Republican nomination, assured their support of Clinton. Clinton, himself, probably gave the best performance of any of the parties nominees, and his VP candidate, Jay Rockefeller, helped neutralize the Huckabee threat and bring on liberals.

However, Clinton's campaign manager, Dick Morris, was caught up in a prostitution scandal, and in the wake of it, Huckabee and Weld went after Clinton on family values. Weld personally regretted the decision immediately, but on advice of his campaign, sent to the airwaves ads pounding Clinton on his marital indiscretions and lowering Clinton's favorables. By the end of August, Weld pulled to the first lead of the campaign. Still, with the debates closing in, the race getting more unpredictable by the day, all the campaigns await a chance to prove themselves.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

quite enjoying this, I hope you continue it.