American Dynasties: Camelot Rises 3.0

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Keep it coming!

[DKrol]

Keep it coming!

The last few days have had me wrapped up in the Fantasy Government Game but I promise there will be an update today!

[DKrol]

The Carter I Administration Part Deux

The Executive Branch
President: James E. Carter
Vice President: Morris K. Udall
Chief of Staff:  Jack H. Watson 1977-1980, Reubin O. Askew 1980-1981
Secretary of State: W. Michael Blumenthal 1977-1979, Edmund Muskie 1979-1981
Secretary of the Treasury: G. William Miller 1977-1979, W. Michael Blumenthal 1979-1981
Secretary of Defense: Zbigniew Brzezinski 1977-1981
Attorney General: Peter F. Flaherty 1977-1980, Benjamin R. Civiletti 1980-1981
Secretary of the Interior: Cecil D. Andrus 1977-1981
Secretary of Agriculture: Paul D. Wellstone 1977-1981
Secretary of Commerce: Juanita M. Kreps 1977-1979, Robert S. Strauss 1979-1981
Secretary of Labor: F. Ray Marshall 1977-1981
Commissioner of Transportation: Brockman Adams 1977-1981
Secretary of Urban Affairs: Mario M. Cuomo 1978-1981
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Joseph A. Califano, Jr. 1977-1981
Secretary of Education:  Ernest L. Boyer 1977-1979, John W. Gardner 1979-1981
Secretary of Energy: James R. Schlesinger 1977-1981

1979

• The United States and China formally establish diplomatic relations
• Vietnamese forces capture Phnom Pehn, remove Pol Pot from power, and establish the People's Republic of Kampuchea
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran and settles in Egypt after more than a year of turmoil. He is replaced Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and a fundamentalist Islamic state is established
• Brenda Ann Spencer, a depressed teenager, opens fire at a San Diego elementary school. She kills 2 and injures 7
• The American Ambassador to Afghanistan is kidnapped and later killed by Muslim extremists
• President Carter slashes humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in half
• China invades the northern portion of Vietnam after several years of minor border disputes. The Chinese launch the invasion in response to the Vietnamese overthrow of the Chinese-back Khmer Rouge. The war lasts for 3 weeks and ends in a mutual draw
• Following the fall of the Shah, Iran ceases oil production to all Western Nations. The United States turns of OPEC for assistance, but falls on deaf ears
• The Voyager 1 spacecraft launches, with the goal of taking close up pictures of Jupiter and its rings
• Egyptian President Anwar Sedat and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin formally sign the Camp David Accords at the White House
• The nuclear plant at Three Mile Island goes in to a partial meltdown. 37 employees are taken to the hospital, three will later die from exposure and burns. Clean up costs top $2 billion
• A malfunction at a lab in the U.S.S.R. accidentally releases anthrax through a vent, killing 68 and many hundreds of nearby livestock
• President Carter is attacked by a rabbit while fishing. A picture of Carter assaulting the rabbit with his fishing pole is snapped by the media and widely circulated, changing the public image of the President from a mild-mannered Southern gentleman to an angry man
• Greenland is granted mild autonomy from Denmark
• Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• A bomb explodes at Northwestern University, killing a graduate student. Police determine the bomber is the same person that attacked the Chicago City Hall a year before
• 271 people die when American Airlines Flight 191 crashes upon landing. It is the deadliest aviation incident in American history
• 428 million gallons of crude oil gush in the Gulf of Mexico as the Ixtoc I oil well explodes
• Pope John Paul II travels to his native Poland and urges solidarity against Communism
• President Carter and Premier Brezhnev sign the SALT II Treaty in Vienna
• Bill Stewart of ABC News is killed by a Nicaraguan National Guardsman It is captured on video and broadcast, live, during the ABC Evening News. President Carter expresses his "extreme anger£ at the attack
• NATO Supreme Commander Alexander Haig, a former Romney and Reagan Administration official, is assassinated by a landmine while in Belgium
• Los Angeles passes a Gay and Lesbian Bill of Rights
• Saddam Hussein comes to power in Iraq the same day that Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is ousted by protesters. He attempts to flee to Miami but he is captured at the airport by U.S. Marshals for the death of Bill Stewart
• Lord Mountbatten, uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh, is assassinated by the IRA
• ESPN launches in the United States
• Pope John Paul II travels to the United States and meets with President Carter. Like Pope Paul VI and then-Vice President Romney, John Paul II refuses to meet with Vice President Udall over his Mormon faith
• Ten thousand people march in Washington, D.C. in support of the gay rights movement
• 13 Marines die during Typhoon Tip while stationed in Japan
• 3,000 Iranian protesters storm the United States Embassy in Tehran and take 90 employees hostage - 53 of which are American citizens
• Morning Edition premiers on NPR
• President Carters orders a halt on all imports on Iranian Oil, as well as the freezing of all Iranian assets within the United States
• False reports of American anti-Islamic violence leads to the bombing of the American Embassy in Pakistan, killing 4
• Small pox is formally eradicated
• Chun Doo-hwan takes power in South Korea after leading a coup
• The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

1980

• President Carter orders an embargo of grain on the Soviet Union for invading Afghanistan
• Ayatollah Khomeini orders the release of the 13 women and African Americans held in the U.S. Embassy
• A CIA-led plan to have American diplomats - posing as Canadians - escape the embassy in Tehran is uncovered and leads to the murder of three of the diplomats
• Abolhassan Banisadr, who's father is a close friend of the Ayatollah, is named President of Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini
• In the 1980 Winter Olympics, the United States defeats the Soviet Union in men's ice hockey
• Voyager 1 confirms the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn
• Due to continuing war in Afghanistan, President Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
• In the Silver Thursday Crash, the price of silver commodity markets falls nearly 50% - leading to a market panic
• President Carter signs in to law extensive sanctions on Iran
• In a repeat of the S.S. Madison disaster, Operation Eagle Claw - a plan to airlift the remaining hostages in Iran - fails when the helicopters get caught in a sandstorm, run out of fuel, and crash. 8 troops are killed
• Six Iranian-born terrorists lay siege to the Iranian Embassy in the United Kingdom, which they hold for the next week before being killed by SAS
• Mount St. Helens erupts, killing 52 and causing $3 billion in damages
• A referendum in Quebec rejects independence from Canada 60% no to 40% in favor
• CNN - the first 24 hour news station - launches
• The same man who bombed the Chicago City Hall and Northwestern University injures United Airlines President Percy Wood at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois
• President Carter signs Executive Order 4771, requiring all men 18-to-25 to register in a peach time draft over fears of the continued Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi while receiving medical care in Cairo
• Lech Walesa leads a strike that leads to the Gdansk Agreement and the founding of the Polish trade union Solidarity
• Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, begins a ground invasion of neighboring Iran in hopes of preventing the spread of Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution
• Unemployment jumps sharply to 7.4% in May, from 4.9% in March
• In the midst of a recession, British Prime Minister declares "The lady's not for turning" in reference to her economic policy
• President Carter signs the Staggers Rail Act, which massively deregulates American railroads
• Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, declares himself the rightful heir to the Peacock throne. He chooses to remain in the United States
• The 1980 Elections are held
• Former Beatle John Lennon is shot dead outside of his home in New York City by Mark David Chapman. Howard Cosell of ABC's Monday Night Football is the first person to report the news nationally
• Chief Justice Potter Stewart dies in his Washington, D.C. townhouse

Supreme Court, by Seniority
Acting Chief Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (Eisenhower)
Associate Justice Byron R. White (Kennedy)
Associate Justice Warren E. Burger (Bush)
Associate Justice Robert H. Bork (Bush)
Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (Bush)
Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist (Bush)
Associate Justice Shirley A.M. Hufstedler (Bush)
Associate Justice Dallin H. Oaks (Reagan)
Vacant

[DKrol]

The 1980 Republican Nomination

Former Vice President Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Former Governor John Connally of Texas
Senator Robert A. Taft, Jr. of Ohio

Early on, former President Ronald Reagan appeared to be planning a bid to return to the Oval Office in 1980. However, polling showed Reagan running a distant third - behind his Vice President Bob Dole and Texas Senator George H.W. Bush - and the former President threw his support behind Dole. Dole ran as a statesman from the Midwest, a veteran, someone who made himself from nothing, someone who the average voter could relate to. As for Senator Bush, he was planning on running for President but the death of his father in 1977 made him reconsider and spend another term in the Senate before running. That left two major challengers to Dole: former Texas Governor John Connally and Senator Robert Taft, Jr. Connally, who had been a Democratic Governor before switching parties and serving as President Romney's Treasury Secretary, served as the strongest challenge to Dole. Many voters saw Connally as the embodiment of the failed policies of the Romney Administration - which left the country in one of its worst recessions since the Great Depression. The other challenger, Senator Taft, was painted by the Dole campaign as the face of old money and spent a lot of money to keep Taft's successes limited. Looking to avoid the disastrous convention of four years prior, the party leadership coalesced around Dole by the end of April.

[DKrol]

The '80 Conventions


President Carter holdw a press conference

President Carter and Vice President Udall are renominated by voice votes. The major news out of the New York City Convention was the large protests outside of Madison Square Garden because of the ongoing hostage crisis in Iran. Infamously, President Carter did not mention the hostages directly in his acceptance speech.

Former Vice President Bob Dole speaks to NBC News

The Republicans, who felt good about their odds during the primaries, watched the Democratic Conventions unfold and felt even better. The protests outside confirmed one major point - the people were not happy with President Carter, especially his handling of foreign policy. This played in to their hand well with their nominee: A veteran from World War II, who had spent time in the White House already. For a running mate, Dole tapped his former opponent, Senator Bob Taft of Ohio. Taft, grandson of a President/Chief Justice/Secretary of War and son of a Senator/Three Time Presidential Candidate, brought a Midwestern appeal to the ticket, as well as a certain gravitas from his name. In his acceptance speech, Dole promised to have "All Americans currently held in Iran" back home before Christmas 1981.

Polling, Post Convention
Former Vice President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Senator Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 49%
President Jimmy Carter (D-GA)/Vice President Mo Udall (D-AZ) - 44%
Unsure - 7%

[DKrol]

The General Election

President Carter ran for a second term on the promise that it would get better soon. He rallied his supporters around the idea that switching leaders in the middle of the Iranian Hostage Crisis would hurt "our chances of getting our men and women home". He also ran against the media perception that he was a weak president, instead arguing that "America is strong in ways other than our military."

Former Vice President Dole ran on a platform of moderate policies. He pledged to use his political weight as a former Vice President to end the Iranian Hostage Crisis "swiftly". He also touted his extensive service in World War II, citing is as "a strategic advantage" he had over President Carter - whose Naval service lacked any distinction - and also talked about his reservations with Executive Order 4771. On economics, Dole asked the question "Are you better now than you were four years ago" which, for many Americans, was not true.

The Debates

Only one debate was held, as the campaigns had issues agreeing to terms. Held in the auditorium of the University of Ohio, CBS hosted the debate - with former White House Correspondent Bob Schieffer moderating. Compared to his performance four years earlier, President Carter appeared sluggish and tired. Dole hit Carter repeatedly for having nearly 400 days to end the Iranian Hostage Crisis and failing to do so. He also used his line - "Are you better off now than you were four years ago" - several times during the debate. A major portion of the coverage afterwards was devoted to President Carter's anecdote about asking his daughter - 13 year old Amy - for advice on the biggest issue facing the nation. This lead to a series of Late Night Comedy Routines with Carter including Amy in cabinet meetings and calling her in to the Situation Room for her opinion on breaking crises.

No Vice Presidential debate was held.

Polling, October 31
Former Vice President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Senator Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 51%
President Jimmy Carter (D-GA)/Vice President Mo Udall (D-AZ) - 45%
Unsure - 4%

[DKrol]

Election Day 1980

√ Former Vice President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Senator Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 340
President Jimmy Carter (D-GA)/Vice President Mo Udall (D-AZ) - 198

President Carter - plagued by a tepid economy and a poor foreign policy - failed to secure the first second term for a Democrat since FDR's 4 terms. When compared to the veteran - both in the military aspect and the political aspect - Dole, Carter appeared weak and unable to lead. The closest states in the race were Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas, where Carter carried 50.4%, 49.3%, and Dole 50.5%, respectively. Vice President Udall failed to carry his home state of Arizona, while Carter' Georgia gave the ticket nearly 60% of the vote. Both Dole and Taft carried their home states.

[DKrol]

1980 Congressional Elections

Senate
Republicans - 55 Seats (+12), Led by Sen. Howard Baker
Democrats - 44 Seats (-12), Led by Sen. Ted Kennedy
Independent - 1 Seat (+/-0), Led by Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Jr.

House

Democrats, Led by Speaker Tip O'Neill - 221 (-38)


Republicans, Led by Minority Leader Trent Lott - 213 (+38)

Analysis

President-elect Dole's coattails proved large enough to give him a working majority in both House of Congress. In the Senate, a thorough Republican majority was elected thanks to heavy campaigning from Dole and Senator Taft, who felt that their election was secure enough that they could afford to spent some days with Senate candidates. On the House side, Republicans made major gains less than a decade after being nearly erased from membership. They had an effective majority in the House due to the few Southern, conservative Democrats who had held on to their seats over the last few cycles.

Supreme Court, by Seniority
Acting Chief Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (Eisenhower)
Associate Justice Byron R. White (Kennedy)
Associate Justice Warren E. Burger (Bush)
Associate Justice Robert H. Bork (Bush)
Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (Bush)
Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist (Bush)
Associate Justice Shirley A.M. Hufstedler (Bush)
Associate Justice Dallin H. Oaks (Reagan)
Vacant

[DKrol]

The update I'm working on at the moment is a real good one. Stay tuned, folks.

[DKrol]

The Dole I Administration

The Executive Branch
President: Robert J. Dole
Vice President: Robert A. Taft, Jr.
Chief of Staff:  Dick Cheney 1981-1984, James A. Baker, III 1984-1985
Secretary of State: George P. Schultz 1981-1984, George H.W. Bush 1984-1985
Secretary of the Treasury:  Donald T. Regan 1981-1985
Secretary of Defense: George H.W. Bush 1981-1984, Dick Cheney 1984-1985
Attorney General: Edwin E. Meese, III 1981-1985
Secretary of the Interior: Milward L. Simpson 1981-1985
Secretary of Agriculture: Earl Butz 1981-1985
Secretary of Commerce: Raymond J. Donovan 1981-1982, Nicholas F. Brady 1982-1985
Secretary of Labor: William E. Brock, III 1981-1983, Ann McLaughlin Korologos 1983-1985
Commissioner of Transportation: Drew Lewis 1981-1985
Secretary of Urban Affairs: Samuel R. Pierce, Jr. 1981-1985
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Richard S. Schwiker 1981-1983, Leory E. Burney 1983-1985
Secretary of Education:  Nancy Reagan 1981-1984, Lauro F. Cavazos, Jr. 1984-1985
Secretary of Energy: James B. Edwards 1981-1985
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: John G. Tower 1982-1985


1981

• Greece joins the European Community
• Minutes after President Dole is sworn in, the remaining 50 American hostages held in Iran are released and land in New York City
• Walter Cronkite retires from CBS Evening News
• President Dole appoints elevates Warren Burger to Chief Justice, and appoints former Vice President Richard Nixon to Burger's seat
• John Hinkley, Jr. fir six shots at President Dole in an attempt to win the love of actress Jodi Foster. All six shots miss and Hinkley is arrested
• The first launch of the Space Shuttle program - Columbia - launches successfully
• Singer Bob Marley dies from cancer
• Pope John Paul II is assassinated by Mehmet Ali Agca while in St. Peter's Square for a general audience. Agca is arrested by Vatican police, who learn that Agca was motivated by the Pontiff's anti-Communist stance
• The MLB goes on strike, cancelling 38% of their regularly scheduled games
• Senate Minority Leader Ted Kennedy once more serves as the leader of the U.S. delegation to the funeral of a pontiff. Three days later, Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Siri is elected as the 265th Pope under the name Pope Gregory XVII
• Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is assassinated during the Trooping of the Colour Ceremony by Marcus Sarjeant. She is the first British Monarch to be killed, not through legal execution, since James I of Scotland in 1437. Her son, Charles, Prince of Wales, is crowned as George VII (at age 33) in a ceremony attended by President Dole and Vice President Taft
• Warren Burger's nomination for Chief Justice is approved by the Senate unanimously
• Donkey Kong is released
• Israel bombs various structures in Beirut, causing the death of 300 civilians, leading President Dole to order an embargo on air craft sales to the Jewish state
• King George VII marries Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul's Cathedral. To date, it is the most viewed global television program
• The MLB Strike ends
• MTV launches
• Two American fighter jets, heading to Saudi Arabia, are intercepted by Libyan fighter planes. The Americans shoot down both the Libyans but abort the mission and return to their carrier
• Soviet Troops invade Angola, the first Soviet move in to Africa
• The United States formally enters a recession for the second time in the decade
• A bomb explodes at Ramstein Air Bade in West Germany, killing 20 Americans
• Richard Nixon is confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a 53-45-2 vote
• The Boeing 767 makes its first flight
• President Dole cancels high level talks with the Soviets regarding intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe over the Soviet Invasion of Angola
• Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, a U.S. ally in the region, is assassinated by Islamic extremists. He is eventually succeeded by Hosni Mumbarak
• President Dole signs the Economic Recovery Act, a series of massive tax cuts to spur businesses to hire
• A Soviet nuclear submarine runs aground near a Swedish naval base
• Under the leadership of King George VII, the Church of England approves the ordination of women
• NATO Supreme Commander James L. Dozier is kidnapped by Italian Communists. He is freed by Italian Special Forces after 49 days in captivity
• Spain joins NATO
• Martial law is declare din Poland after Solidarity-led protesters nearly force the dismantling of the Communist government. Protests began with a new fire after the assassination of beloved Pope John Paul II.
• America's first test tube baby is born in Virginia
• The Iran-Iraq War continues with few successes either way

1982

• The son of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher goes missing during a car race in Algeria. A massive multi-national military search ensues, with British, French, American, and Algerian Air Force united being employed. He is found after 12 days in the Sahara Desert
• AT&T, in compliance with a Supreme Court order, divests into 22 separate entities
• A cold snap creates the lowest ever recorded temperatures in many Midwestern cities - leading to 11 deaths
• Part of the global recession, the United Kingdom reaches a record post-War unemployment - 11.1%. U.S. unemployment reaches 8.9%, a 7-year high
• Mehmet Ali Agca admits that he was paid by the Soviet government to assassinate Pope John Paul II. Protests break out across the globe against the Soviet Union in response
• In response to the continued recession, President Dole signs the Job Training Partnership Act - a series of economic benefits to companies that train and employee under-advantaged youth
• President Dole breaks ground on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• The European Court of Human Rights rules that teachers who cane their students are breaking the Human Rights Convention
• President Dole places an embargo on Libyan oil, leading to minor increase in fuel costs
• All 8 planets align on the same side of the Sun
• Argentina invades and occupies the British-held Falkland Islands
• A freak blizzard drops 2 feet of snow across the Northeast, leading President Dole to declare a state of emergency in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
• A referendum on a new constitution for Canada - an independent Canada - is rejected by voters 55%-45%. Many cite support for King George VII as their reason for voting against independence
• Prime Minister Thatcher orders a ground invasion of the Falkland Islands, with the blessing of President Dole. It is later discovered that Dole had approved a plan to loan the British the use of several amphibious landers if they should have needed them. After 3 weeks of intense fighting, the islands are ceded back to the British
• Israel completely withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula
• The Department of Veterans Affairs is established by President Dole. Congressman John McCain is offered the position of Secretary but he declines. After a few weeks, Dole appoints Senator John Tower
• A bomb, from the bomber of Chicago City Hall, Northwestern University, and the home of Percy Woods, explodes in the computer lab for Vanderbilt University
• A rally in New York City draws a quarter of a million people in opposition to nuclear weapons
• In the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranians retake Khorramshahr after a year and a half
• Former KGB head and recently elected Communist Party General Secretary Yuri Andropov is assassinated by a CIA-funded Soviet defector. Later files show that the assassination was "pay back" for the assassination of Pope John Paul II. He is replaced by regional leader Mikhail Gorbachev
• Israel launches an invasion of Lebanon
• Prince William, son of King George VII and Queen Diana, is born. He is the first child born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria's daughter Beatrice
• Thanks to the leadership of Phyllis Schlafly, the Equal Rights Amendment fails to gain the requisite 38 states for ratification
• President Dole sends U.S. Marines in to Lebanon to fight back the PLO and their invasion of the country
• Several people die in Chicago after taking Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide
• President Dole and Speaker O'Neill agree to a massive debt deal - spending is cut by large margins but off set by tax increases. Dole calls the deal "not the best" but argues that it was needed due to the recession
• Sony releases the first CD
• Homosexuality is decriminalized in Northern Ireland
• Unemployment peaks at 10.2%
• The Dow Jones surges nearly 50 points in one trading session to close at an all time high of 1,065.49
• The 1982 elections are held
• Due to extreme pollution, Times Beach, Missouri is evacuated
• Mikhail Gorbachev releases Polish resistance leader Lech Walesa from prison after nearly a year

Supreme Court, by Seniority
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Bush as A.J., Dole as C.J.)
Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (Eisenhower)
Associate Justice Byron R. White (Kennedy)
Associate Justice Robert H. Bork (Bush)
Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (Bush)
Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist (Bush)
Associate Justice Shirley A.M. Hufstedler (Bush)
Associate Justice Dallin H. Oaks (Reagan)
Associate Justice Richard M. Nixon (Dole)

[DKrol]

1982 Congressional Elections

Senate
Republicans - 56 Seats (+1), Led by Sen. Howard Baker
Democrats - 44 Seats (-1), Led by Sen. Ted Kennedy

House

Democrats, Led by Speaker Tip O'Neill - 231 (+10)


Republicans, Led by Minority Leader Trent Lott - 203 (-10)

Analysis

Republicans made gains in the Senate, flipping several seats that had been won by Democrats in the pro-Carter 1976 elections. They lost ground, however, in the South. President Dole's appointment of George H.W. Bush to his cabinet cost the party his Texas seat. The House results were inconclusive, with only a handful of seats switching hands.

Supreme Court, by Seniority
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Bush as A.J., Dole as C.J.)
Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (Eisenhower)
Associate Justice Byron R. White (Kennedy)
Associate Justice Robert H. Bork (Bush)
Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (Bush)
Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist (Bush)
Associate Justice Shirley A.M. Hufstedler (Bush)
Associate Justice Dallin H. Oaks (Reagan)
Associate Justice Richard M. Nixon (Dole)

[tmthforu94]

I love the setup of this timeline - great job!

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Nixon on the Supreme Court?! Eeek

It will be interesting to see what happens with (Prince Charles) and Diana with (Charles) on the throne.

[DKrol]

I love the setup of this timeline - great job!

Thank you!

Nixon on the Supreme Court?! Eeek

It will be interesting to see what happens with (Prince Charles) and Diana with (Charles) on the throne.

[DKrol]

The Dole I Administration Part Deux

The Executive Branch
President: Robert J. Dole
Vice President: Robert A. Taft, Jr.
Chief of Staff:  Dick Cheney 1981-1984, James A. Baker, III 1984-1985
Secretary of State: George P. Schultz 1981-1984, George H.W. Bush 1984-1985
Secretary of the Treasury:  Donald T. Regan 1981-1985
Secretary of Defense: George H.W. Bush 1981-1984, Dick Cheney 1984-1985
Attorney General: Edwin E. Meese, III 1981-1985
Secretary of the Interior: Milward L. Simpson 1981-1985
Secretary of Agriculture: Earl Butz 1981-1985
Secretary of Commerce: Raymond J. Donovan 1981-1982, Nicholas F. Brady 1982-1985
Secretary of Labor: William E. Brock, III 1981-1983, Ann McLaughlin Korologos 1983-1985
Commissioner of Transportation: Drew Lewis 1981-1985
Secretary of Urban Affairs: Samuel R. Pierce, Jr. 1981-1985
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Richard S. Schwiker 1981-1983, Leory E. Burney 1983-1985
Secretary of Education:  Nancy Reagan 1981-1984, Lauro F. Cavazos, Jr. 1984-1985
Secretary of Energy: James B. Edwards 1981-1985
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: John G. Tower 1982-1985


1983

• Klause Barbie, a high ranking Nazi, is captured in Bolivia
• 13 people are killed during a failed armed robbery in Seattle
• The final episode of M*A*S*H airs
• Labor leader Bob Hawke becomes Prime Minister of Australia
• President Dole announces the Strategic Defense Initiative - which includes the development of orbital deployment stations for the interception of ballistic missiles. The media refers to the plan as Star Wars
• The Space Shuttle Challenger completes its first successful launch
• A car bomb detonates outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 67 (13 Americans). In response, President Dole orders the bombing of several locations held by the Islamic Jihad Organization
• Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government is re-elected
• Lebanese Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan and Secretary Bush agree to the terms of a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon
• Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, Sally Ride becomes the first female in space and Guion Bluford becomes the first African American
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is established
• Korean Air Lines 007 is shot down by the Soviet Union. All passengers on board - including Congressman Larry McDonald
• The Soviet Union aborts a plan to launch 15 intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear payloads at the United States in response to a computer warning of an impending attack from the United States after a young Captain recognizes the computer's error
• After 240 U.s. Marines are killed in a truck bombing attack on barracks in Beirut, President Dole orders U.S. bombings of Syria - which was discovered to have been funding the Islamic Jihad Organization
• Two American pilots are shot down and captured by Syrians. President Dole, in an address to the nation, asks Congress for a Declaration of War against Syria for "countless acts of unprovoked, unwarranted, and cold blooded aggression" against the United States
• Congress declares War on Syria and American troops are deployed to active combat for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War. They are joined by French, British, Italian, and West German troops. The Soviets send arms and supplies to the Soviets.
• The McDonald's McNugget is released
• The Jules Remit Trophy is stolen in Brazil

1984

• Pope Gregory XVII condemns the War in Syria, calling it "a destruction of God's Earth"
• The 1984 Winter Olympics, scheduled to be held in Soviet Yugoslavia, are boycotted by so many Western nations that the IOC decides to cancel the event all together
• American forces begin heavy airstrikes against Damascus in preparation for a ground invasion of the city
• Iran accuses Iraq of using chemical weapons during their war. Iraq is condemned by the United Nations two weeks later
• U.S.-led forces capture the city of Damascus, only 5 months after declaring war on the nation. Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his son, Bassel, are executed after a speedy trial
• American scientists announce the discovery of AIDs, formerly known as Robert's Disease
• President Dole begins a month-long tour of Europe
• The 1984 Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles, the Soviets boycott
• The Islamic terror group Hezbollah bombs the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, leading President Dole to formally close the embassy and end diplomatic ties with Lebanon - calling the country "too dangerous"
• British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is killed when the IRA bombs the Brighton Hotel, where the Conservative Party Conference was being held. King George VII tasks Sir John Fieldhouse with forming a coalition government until elections can be called. President Dole is injured in the attack, as he was meeting with Thatcher, but recovers
• Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, is assassinated over religious tensions by her body guards
• The 1984 elections are held
• Hezbollah hijacks a Kuwait Air Lines flight and crash it into the desert. Their target is widely believed to have been in Saudi Arabia

Supreme Court, by Seniority
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Bush as A.J., Dole as C.J.)
Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (Eisenhower)
Associate Justice Byron R. White (Kennedy)
Associate Justice Robert H. Bork (Bush)
Associate Justice Harry Blackmun (Bush)
Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist (Bush)
Associate Justice Shirley A.M. Hufstedler (Bush)
Associate Justice Dallin H. Oaks (Reagan)
Associate Justice Richard M. Nixon (Dole)

[Peeperkorn]

So many maps I'm loving this!

[DKrol]

So many maps I'm loving this!

Thank you!

Just a tidbit - I spent 4 hours writing this update. I originally had the Soviets failing to catch the computer error and order a full nuclear attack on the West cost. After thinking it over I decided to scrap that bit and have the Brighton Hotel plot be successful instead.

[DKrol]

That was the last update for a few days - I'm going on a trip and won't have a computer until Thursday.

[CapoteMonster]

Why wasn't 1982 a democratic wave like in OTL? Unemployment was still in double digits.

[DKrol]

Why wasn't 1982 a democratic wave like in OTL? Unemployment was still in double digits.

'82 wasn't a wave year - Dems in OTL only made a net gain of 1 seat in the Senate and 26 in the House. In this TL the Dems were on the defensive with the slate of seats up in 1982.

[DKrol]

The 1984 Democratic Nomination

Senate Minority Leader Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts
Senator Gary Hart of Colorado
Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina
Former Vice President Mo Udall of Arizona

The Democratic Party, sole-searching after their 1980 loss after a landslide, decided it was time to go back to someone tried and true - a Kennedy. When DNC Chairman Ron Brown, informally, approach the Kennedy Family in Hyannis Port about one of their growing numbers running the family set to squabbling. The family split between Bobby (Former Attorney General, 1972 Democratic Nominee) and Ted (Senate Minority Leader), with a few voices pushing for in-law Sargent Shriver (1968 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee) or Jean Kennedy Smith (Businesswoman and Activists). Matriarch Rose Kennedy, now 94 years old, ended the fighting quick. It will be Ted's turn, she decided. And the national Democratic party agreed, with no other candidate gaining widespread support in the primaries. Former President Jimmy Carter's name was tossed around early on - as the ABK (Anyone But Kennedy) candidate - but Rosalynn didn't have it in her to go through the process again and refused to let her husband run. Facing only token opposition, Ted Kennedy sailed through the primaries.

The 1984 Republican Nomination

President Bob Dole of Kansas
Mr. Pat Buchanan of Virginia

President Dole had about a 50% approval rating and looked certain to win his renomination without  a fight. Former policy adviser to President's Romney and Reagan Pat Buchanan, currently an adjunct professor of politics at Christopher Newport University, tossed his hat in to the race and attacked Dole for not being conservative enough. Buchanan upset the nation when he won in Iowa by 2%, throwing the West Wing in to disarray. They immediately launched a full court press and drove Buchanan in to the ground. Iowa was the only loss for Dole.

[Kingpoleon]

An Oaks-Nixon-Reagan-Goldwater(?) Supreme Court would make for a hilarious set.

Perhaps Nancy Reagan gets political enough, say Attorney General of California or District Attorney, that she is appointed to the SCOTUS instead of her husband. It's just an idea, of course.

[DKrol]

The '84 Conventions


Senate Minority Leader Kennedy rallies his party

Senate Minority Leader Ted Kennedy was nominated by voice vote on the second day of the San Francisco Convention. New York Governor Mario Cuomo, a rival of former Attorney General Bobby Kennedy's, was snubbed by the Convention and denied the keynote address. That honor instead went to Delaware Senate Joe Biden - a consideration for a Kennedy Administration official. For the Vice Presidency, Kennedy tapped his former rival Senator Garry Hart of Colorado. He felt that Hart would bring the Plains and West into play electorally, both places where the Democrats had failed in recent years.

President and First Lady Dole are greeted with warmth by the Convention

President Dole and Vice President Taft were renominated by acclamation after Pat Buchanan released his few delegates. There were minor protests outside of the Reunion Center in Dallas, specifically over the War in Syria which was becoming a contentious point as U.S. troops remained in the nation even after al-Assad had been executed. The keynote address went to U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick.

Polling, Post Convention
President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Vice President Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 45%
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)/Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) - 45%
Unsure - 10%

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The General Election

Senator Kennedy ran his campaign like his brother had 20 years earlier. He spoke of hope, opportunity, and promises of success for all Americans. He spoke about unifying, rather than dividing, growing, rather than shrinking, and thriving, rather than struggling. He promised sweeping healthcare reform if elected, as well as "a new era" in American foreign policy. With respect to the War in Syria Senator Kennedy asked "Why are we still there?" Shortly after winning the nomination, Senator Kennedy resigned as Minority Leader - saying that it would be "inappropriate" to run for President while trying to continue to serve his duties as Leader.

President Dole ran a Rose Garden Campaign. He rarely left the White House for campaigning, instead "completing the duty the American people elected me to do". He held many press conferences over the 3 month general election, making himself available to the press at least every week. He also did a series of exclusive interviews in the Oval Office with NBC's Roger Mudd which aired during the Nightly News. The most notable quote from the interviews came after being asked why he deserved four more years as President, which led President Dole to say "I've earned it" before launching in to a laundry list of his accomplishments: Overthrowing al-Assad, ending the Iranian Hostage Crisis, bringing down unemployment.

The Debates

Two debates were held.

The first, at the University of Tampa, focused on domestic policy.  As a Kennedy, the Senator has a record of passionate speaking and the debate was no different. His defense of the Equal Rights Amendment, and a proposal to bring it back up for consideration, became a defining moment of the campaign. President Dole, who opposed the ERA, stammered in his response to Senator Kennedy's charge that Dole didn't care about women - he ended up saying "We can't pass Amendments for every little thing that pops up". Women's groups ran ads with that clip.

The second, held in the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in an attempt to appeal to a larger audience, focused on foreign policy. Senator Kennedy made Cuban relations an issue of the campaign, saying that "It is time to reassess our relationship with [Fidel Castro] and the people of Cuba" which led President Dole to hit Kennedy as "soft on Communism". President Dole defended the War in Syria as "an anti-Vietnam", a war that was quick and to the point. He also justified the keeping of troops there as the equivalent of the Allied Occupation of Germany following World War II. Senator Kennedy promised to return Syria to the Syrians as well as a freeze in nuclear armament, citing the near MAD caused by a Soviet computer error in 1983.

The Vice Presidential debate, held at American University, created few soundbites and a small viewing audience.

Polling, November 3
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)/Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) - 44%
President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Vice President Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 43%
Unsure - 13%

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Election Day 1984

√ Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)/Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) - 291
President Bob Dole (R-KS)/Vice President Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH) - 247


Senator Kennedy pulled through, in the same margin his brother did in 1960 - narrowly. He was able to draw away enough support from President Dole over his stance regarding the ERA and his "I earned it" comment from Roger Mudd. President Dole's decision to not actively campaign hurt him in swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, ad Ohio. Vice President Taft wasn't able to convince any of his fellow Midwesterners of the administrations commitment to them and their industrial nature. Senator Kennedy's debate performance was deemed a "major factor" in the decision of many last minute voters.