Westman Timeline Pt. I

[Mechaman]

Oh, I kinda knew where you were going with that, I was just making a bit of a joke.

Yeah I knew.
I was just adding extra commentary.

[Dr. Cynic]

Oh, I kinda knew where you were going with that, I was just making a bit of a joke.

Yeah I knew.
I was just adding extra commentary.

Nothing wrong with that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Couple of questions:
1) How are the parties on trade? I'm guessing with the Democrats it's mainly the Progressive vs. Liberal divide with Progressives being fair/no-trade and Liberals being free trade. But what about the Republicans? Are they still following the traditional opposition to free trade, or, as they become more internationalist (Dewey, Percy, the Rockefellers), have they also moved to free trade?
2) How was Reagan on social issues? While he might take the more Populist/working man stance on economics, I'm wondering where he is socially. Does he stay as a pro-choicer? I'm guessing socially he would be somewhat like Nixon: War on Drugs, but liberal on issues like abortion, and possibly oppose gay marriage.

[Mechaman]

Presidential Race News 1984:

Meanwhile, in the national race it looked like Phil Crane was on his way to win a comfortable re-election on his Conservative ticket.  At first many people thought the strategy of forming a third party would back on him but after the self-destruction of the Constitution Party it looked more likely by the day that Crane would likely win at least 300 Electoral Votes come election day.  Throughout the South and the Rocky Mountain West he consistently held fifteen point leads over his opponents in the general election polling.  This was very different from the 1980 campaign, where until October pundits gave him zilch chance of winning.
What was most surprising though is that Crane was doing well in traditionally Democratic areas like South Boston, Cook County, and the far west counties of New York state.  He did best, however, in the libertarian Mountain West.  Polls in Utah and Idaho had Crane in the 60's while usually Democratic Montana showed Phil Crane polling at 45%, a little bit more than Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Scott Westman was polling (43% or so).
Due to his high approval ratings, conservative agenda and his lack of campaigning many would call Phil Crane "Coolidge's Second Term".  According to a September 12th, 1984 poll  Phil Crane was polling nation-wide at 47%, which due to the multi-party system currently in place in the nation meant he had a solid lead over his closest opponent Fred Harris who was polling at 31.2%.  The Republican ticket of Harrison/Callahan would be far behind, barely polling 20% on a good day.  Many would say that a lot of Republicans, mostly conservative and some libertarian, defected to the Conservative ticket for the general election because of an overall approval of Crane's job.  Some GOP members even publicly asked why the national party ran a ticket that year.  Today most people theorize that the GOP ran a national ticket in order to encourage turn-out at the polls to vote in Republicans and gain some more seats in the House and Senate.  Although, as one pointed out earlier, a lot of GOP candidates for office in 1984 were endorsing Crane/Hutchison over the GOP ticket so such an effort would seem pointless.  Likewise, Phil Crane would openly support a number of conservative and libertarian GOP candidates in the primaries in states that didn't have a Conservative Party.
The cause for Crane's popularity it seemed had nothing to do with how much people agreed with him, but that the American people felt better off in 1984 than they were in 1980.

Unlike the Republican Party, the Democratic Party was united behind the ticket of Fred Harris and Daniel Lynch.  It had seemed as if though an impossible election to win would do more to uniting the divisions within the greatly weakened party than any sort of favors.  It was in this election that Franklin Roosevelt and Robert Kennedy's party would put aside their differences and try to win an election against all odds.

[Mechaman]

Couple of questions:
1) How are the parties on trade? I'm guessing with the Democrats it's mainly the Progressive vs. Liberal divide with Progressives being fair/no-trade and Liberals being free trade. But what about the Republicans? Are they still following the traditional opposition to free trade, or, as they become more internationalist (Dewey, Percy, the Rockefellers), have they also moved to free trade?
2) How was Reagan on social issues? While he might take the more Populist/working man stance on economics, I'm wondering where he is socially. Does he stay as a pro-choicer? I'm guessing socially he would be somewhat like Nixon: War on Drugs, but liberal on issues like abortion, and possibly oppose gay marriage.

A few words on trade:
Democratic: The traditionally pro-free trade party.  Liberals are overwhelmingly in favor of free trade with other nations, Progressives are in favor of "conditional free trade" (ie fair trade).  Most Progressive Democrats like Fred Harris, Morris Udall, and Larry Watson oppose free trade if said agreement doesn't have any worker protection and civil rights clauses.  The Liberal faction believes that having free trade with corrupt nations would encourage them to adopt American ideas like civil rights and other stuff.
Republican: Traditionally protectionist amongst Midwest conservative Republicans, but not excessively so.  The party is a bit more internationalist so free trade advocates (mostly in the libertarian branch) are growing in the GOP.

Ronald Reagan on the issues:
Reagan was an interesting character.  West Coast Democrats tend to be more sympathetic to the pro-choice position on abortion than their eastern counterparts.  Ronald Reagan personally believed that abortion wasn't wrong.  However, like most Democrats he supported keeping the abortion debate "on the state level".
Reagan was also strong on law and order issues, namely the War on Narcotics.  Ronald Reagan would sign legislation specifically granting the federal government powers to "invade suspected drug territories".  It was Reagan's embrace of strong law and order in regards to illegal drugs that made him unpopular amongst the younger liberal generation of Democratic voters and politicians.  In regards to gay marriage Reagan was personally opposed, but again took the position of "let the states decide".
So yeah, he's a lot like Nixon I guess.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Thanks for answering the questions. Also, who are the "Conservative icons" of this timelines? Reagan's obviously taken out, and Goldwater never got onto a national ticket. Given that, who do historians say that Crane maybe "built his movement" on, or whose supporters he inherited, as well as who he looked to in terms of a "pinnacle of Conservative principles" or something like that. Would he refer mainly to Coolidge and Robert Taft? Or are there modern Conservative heroes as well?

[Mechaman]

Thanks for answering the questions. Also, who are the "Conservative icons" of this timelines? Reagan's obviously taken out, and Goldwater never got onto a national ticket. Given that, who do historians say that Crane maybe "built his movement" on, or whose supporters he inherited, as well as who he looked to in terms of a "pinnacle of Conservative principles" or something like that. Would he refer mainly to Coolidge and Robert Taft? Or are there modern Conservative heroes as well?

Actually Goldwater is a conservative hero.  David Walters, the guy who beat Scott Westman, described himself as a "Goldwater Conservative".
Conservative movement influences:

Robert Taft
Robert Dornan
Russell Kirk
The Buckley Bros, Inc.
Joseph McCarthy
John F. Kennedy
Milton Friedman
Jason Spiegel

[Mechaman]

1948 Election map: County by County:



President Harry S. Truman (Missouri)/Senator Alben W. Barkley (Kentucky) Democratic
Governor Thomas E. Dewey (New York)/Governor Earl Warner (California)
Governor Storm Thurmond (South Carolina)/Governor Fielding L. Wright (Mississippi)

[Dr. Cynic]

How'd you get that? Kal make it?

[Mechaman]

How'd you get that? Kal make it?

Meh I did it myself.
For a majority of states I assumed Truman does worse.  However, to make things interesting I improved his performance in a few states (especially Montana and Minnesota)  If you look you will notice that from the end of North Dakota to the near the end of Washington along the Canadian border are Democratic counties.
It's proving pretty useful already, otherwise I would just be pulling sh*t out of my ass when it comes to making more maps.

[Mechaman]

1952 US Presidential Election County by County results:



Senator Estes Kefauver (Tennessee)/General James Roosevelt (California)
President Thomas Dewey (New York)/Vice President Earl Warren (California)

[Mechaman]

1956 Presidential Election County by County Results



President Estes Kefauver (Tennessee)/Vice President James Roosevelt (California) Democratic Party
Former Governor Harold Stassen (Minnesota)/Representative Hugh Scott (Pennsylvania) Republican Party
Former Governor Herman Talmadge (Georgia)/Representative Thomas Werdel (California) State's Rights

Other notes:

The election of 1956 was symbolic of the high popularity of the Democratic Party amongst the majority of American people.  Of note President Kefauver overperformed in the Rocky Mountain West, winning every county in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana.  He would also win every state west of the Continental Divide except Utah (which he lost by a slim margin).  Also of note Kefauver would have a very strong performance (for a Democrat) in the Northeast.  He would be the first Democratic nominee in history to win the formerly solid Republican New England state of Massachusetts with over 60% of the popular vote.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

What did JFK do to get on the list?

[Mechaman]

What did JFK do to get on the list?

JFK supported tax cuts and deregulation.  He was also a war hawk.
Like IRL, conservaties try to own him as much as liberals do

[Mechaman]

September 2nd, 1984
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic Park:

Augustus Donnelly, US Senator from New Jersey and an heir to the massive Donnelly fortune, is on stage in front of a crowd of several hundred campaigning for the Democratic ticket of Fred Harris and Daniel Lynch.
Donnelly: Good afternoon Atlantic City!  It's quite a beautiful day is it not?
Augustus John Donnelly, born August 4th, 1951, was at the age of 33 one of the youngest members of the United States Senate.  He was born into the extraordinary wealthy Donnelly family, an empire founded by his grandfather Michael "Mick" Eamon Donnelly in Hartford, Connecticut in April of 1929, right before the stock crash of that same year in October.
Donnelly: It is great to be here today in front of you wonderful people.  Today we have a most glorious mission to accomplish for the Democratic Party.  Namely to help in the election of a party ticket that does care about all of you and not the interests of the corporate lobby!
Donnelly Antique Goods, Inc. was founded in a dusty storehouse in inner city Hartford, Connecticut.  In it's early days it struggled just to make a profit (due to the Great Depression) but found itself profitting by 1936 thanks to a patent approach to making antiques and steel goods that Michael's father, Harrison "Harry" Sean Donnelly found out while working on his father's makeshift factory floor in 1935.  Michael would be very proud of his son, who was responsible for discovering an assembly line technique that was still rivaled by competitors to date.
Donnelly: For the past three and a half years Phil Crane and his conservative allies have taken this nation down a dark road.  A very dark road that has seen many of the social services that help the poor and struggling of this nation cut for the sake of saving a few dollars.
Donnelly Antique Goods, Inc. made it's name out of furnishing antique and steel goods and eventually decided to enter the retail world.  By selling it's own on-site constructed goods along with third party manufactured goods at slightly below market price (but still above the cost price) Donnelly, Inc. became a powerhouse among the retail business, having a net worth of $146 million and several hundred stores throughout the Northeast and Midwest by March 1949.
Donnelly: I know, we must keep costs down.  I was raised in the retail world I know that tax cuts and lower spending do help with saving costs.  However, one thing my old man taught me was never NEVER to short out the working man!  Otherwise it comes out to bite you in the ass!
In the decades since then Donnelly Antique Goods, Inc. became Donnelly International Shares Company, is now a publicly traded stock corporation, expanded it's business overseas into over 30 countries, expanded into the luxury business (namely a number of cruise liners and casinos) and has a close cooperation with British Petroleum in pursuing alternative energy capture methods.  The company's net worth as of September 1984 was estimated to be at a whopping $48 billion, making the Donnelly family the richest family in America (note, since the family owns 51% of the stock personal net worth would be around $24.3 billion).
Donnelly: The well being of those who have jobs shouldn't be sacrificed for the need of profit, something the Democratic ticket takes to heart!  Yet our opponents would have you believe that Fred Harris is a radical socialist and that Daniel Lynch wants the government in your bedroom!  These are utter falsehoods said by a desperate incumbent who has distanced himself so much from his two former parties that he is now running on his own party platform!  Phil Crane doesn't believe in unity, he believes in a True Scotsman view of conservatism.  A True Scotsman view so strong he runs away from any party that dare step outside of that view!
Note, Phil Crane really isn't a purist, this is just an attack line by the Democrats regarding disunity on the right.
Augustus Donnelly, the third son of Harry Donnelly and his Italian wife Constanza, didn't have the same drive for the business as his elder brothers had.  Instead he found himself drawn towards the field of public service.  Throughout the early 1970's he would hold various jobs as an assistant or page for Connecticut Democratic Representatives before be accepted a job as a law clerk in 1975 for Johnson, Page, Marx in Atlantic City.  While there he would establish residence near the ocean in the Flatwood Estate.  Eventually he would run for higher office, in 1980 for a US House seat representing Atlantic City and surroundings.
Donnelly: I mean really, have any of you wondered why it's so hard for Crane to keep a coalition together?  He barely stayed with the Constitution Party for two years before calling it quits you know?  Do you think somebody who changes party identification at the drop of the hat is stable enough to be President?  Is he trustworthy enough for you to put your faith in?
However, 1980 would be an infamously bad year for Democrats.  Donnelly, despite his best efforts, would lose to his Republican opponent Anthony Scantanelli.  In between that time he would find love in a 22 year old hairdresser named Rachel Dynette Amato.  The two met in April of 1981 and would get married in only three months time.  Despite being married into wealth and privilege his wife wouldn't leave her day job as a hairdresser.  Augustus, being totally in love with Rachel, would stand by her decision.  Ten months later in February 1982 they would welcome their first child, a daughter named Danielle Barbara Donnelly.  1982 would also be the year that Donnelly decided to run for the US Senate seat.
Donnelly: A Harris/Lynch Administration would bring the same prosperity as the Crane Administration minus the cost.  It is only the most logical and rational conclusion given the death of benefits to the working class the last three and a half years have wrought.
Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr., of the powerful Frelinghuysen political dynasty, was caught accepting bribes from infamous Newark mafioso Santino Castranovo in May of 1981.  Within weeks he would resign from office due to the controversy created.  Two years later in 1983 he would be found Guilty of "accepting monetary compensation aiding and abetting organized crime syndicates".  He would be given a prison sentence of 15 years and would be barred from running for political office for 150 years (or the rest of his life, which many doubt would last that long).  He would be replaced by Republican state senator William K. Everson for the remainder of the term.
Donnelly: The Democratic Party will never turn it's back on those struggling to get jobs and struggling to put food on the table during hard times.  Just because the economy is better doesn't mean we don't need social services, something many Republicans don't understand and neither does President Crane or the Constitution members.  We need responsible and effective leadership, something that I frankly haven't seen since I got into office.
Donnelly would overwhelmingly win the Democratic nod for the US Senate race.  Initially many were skeptical of him as the nominee, namely because of his excessive wealth (he would be by far the richest member of Congress).  However, it would be his promise to not spend more than his campaign contributions that he would win people over.  Although 1982 wasn't a good year for Democrats Donnelly connecting his opponent William Everson to the corrupt Frelinghuysen would go along way.  On election day in a state where the Republicans should've had an easy victory Donnelly would carry the victory by more than a ten point margin.  He would be the youngest of the Democratic Senators sworn in on January 3rd, 1983 at 31 years of age.
Donnelly: It is my hope and my wish that our ticket would overcome the odds shown in the polling and defeat Crane and the Republicans this year.  It may seem almost impossible but I believe that with great will anything is possible.

[Mechaman]

Mental image of Scott Westman:


Gubernatorial candidate Scott Westman with a fan.  Westman is on the right.  Jesse Helms is on the left.

[Mechaman]

It Stops With Us
Scott Westman/Mendelik D'Israeli Campaign Ad
September 16th, 1984:

Video Clip of Montana Police arresting men in suits, men in ranch outfits, and men in blue miner suits.
In these video clips you see the Montana Police apprehending everybody from people how look like office big wigs, to men who own family ranches, to men who look like they just got off work from the nearby coal mine.  What you may be wondering is.......what exactly is it that these men were arrested for?  Well.......
Dark Synthesizer music starts playing as a camera shot is heard.  After each camera click it shows a picture of various types of guns from full on assault rifles to lever action rifles to handguns to old style musket rifles.
.....these men were arrested for owning guns.  Governor Peters is assuring Montana citizens that he only intends to keep "dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous criminals".  Let me ask you: how many of these men (shows pictures of men with family members) look like criminals? (shows a picture of a man holding a five year old girl) According to Governor Peters every one of these men are criminals who don't deserve Second Amendment rights.  Sure, you think this might not be a big deal but let us ask you: Where does it stop?
Handguns?
Musket Rifles?
Chinese Handcannons?
BB guns?
Where does it stop?
Shoots to video clip of Mendelik D'Israeli and Scott Westman.
D'Israeli: I'll tell you where it stops.  It stops with us.  It stops with a Westman/D'Israeli Administration, a truly independent bipartisan ticket dedicated to defending your inalienable civil liberties.
Westman: This issue is above ideology, this issue is about principles.  The people of this great state love the Second Amendment more than any other state.
D'Israeli: Yet we have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.  Why?  Because since 1981 Governor Peters has been listening more to his friends from Greenwich than he has from the citizens of his own state!
Westman: So vote for us.  If anything at all, regardless of your other views, we will put a stop to the persecution of gun owners by the Peters Government in Helena.  This is Scott Westman
D'Israeli: And this is Mendelik D'Israeli.
Together: And we approve of this message.

[Mechaman]

Later that night
Governor Richard Peters Office:

Peters is watching the "It Stops With Us" ad by the Westman/D'Israeli ticket.
Peters: Damn it!  This guy is painting me as a brutal gun grabbing fascist!  How the hell do I expect to win if super hero gun defender Scott Westman is portraying himself as more economically and fiscally right wing, but also a way better candidate on civil liberties?
Peters top advisor speaks.
Advisor: Well, you may not have a chance at victory.  But what abou the Conservative ticket?
Peters laughs.
Peters: What?  Back those moralistic anti-women nutcases get my support?  No way!
The advisor steps out of the dark and enter the light.  The advisor is Winston Claymore, a top hit job artist for the national GOP.
Claymore: I don't say we support them.  However, we still have a chance at denying Westman his shot at glory.  I mean hell we all know he's a radical social libertarian who scored way lower than the average social democrat on social issues.  I mean let's be honest here......you really would prefer a Conservative Governor wouldn't you?
Peters: Maybe you're right.........

[Mechaman]

The Right Choice
Oglesby Campaign Ad
Original Airdate: September 20th, 1984:

TV ad shows Conservative candidate Michael Oglesby standing outside his house in Flathead County.
In this election Scott Westman and his friend Mendelik D'Israeli have gone out of their way to assure the people of Montana that they are the best ticket for Montana because they oppose the abuse of civil liberties done by the Republican Governor.  However, what isn't being made clear is exactly what the man stands for in regards to your pocket book.
The ex-Senator is mistaken if he believes he can pull the wool over the eyes of the 1.5 million residents of this state, half of whom are of voting age, about what he really stands for.
First off, Scott Westman doesn't reside in Missoula County.  In fact (camera pans out) he lives right here in Flathead County!  He lives in the northern part of Flathead Lake, just a few miles south of Kalispell.  Not only that but he owns a five story split level mansion that looks like an architect threw up all over the sketching paper.
All joking aside, Westman doesn't understand that his ideas to reformat the way taxes are done in this state are hazardous.  A sales tax is a lot easier to collect and manage and isn't unfair on those who earn more income, unlike his support of a progressive state income tax.  Which is ridiculous.  Not even those radical liberal states like Massachusetts has a progressive state income tax.  There is a reason why only the Fed does progressive taxation, Scott.  Sure, mega millionaires like Scott Westman don't have to worry about paying taxes, but what about the rest of us?  Under Scott Westman's tax plan you will be able to go to the gas station and get a glazed bear claw without having to pay any taxes, but you would have to pay unbelievably high taxes on property like houses and ranch equipment.
For all his fancy talk about wanting to limit government, Westman's party identification doesn't lie.  Like most Democrats Scott Westman is only for limited government when it comes to issues of morality, but he loves big government when it comes to gaining revenues.  His support of abolishing the sales tax is merely an attempt at class warfare while also gaining conservative bonafides for opposing a form of taxation.  This may seem like a grand idea at first, but consider that he merely supports replacing one evil with two.  That is like saying you are going to kill the deer but spare the bear.  The difference is that one will come back to bite back......HARD.
The Conservative ticket is against further increases in taxation, something that Westman clearly isn't.  In fact a Conservative governorship would only seek to decrease both spending and taxation in more honest ways than that being suggested by Scott Westman and Mendelik D'Israeli.
So please when it comes time for election day, don't vote the wrong way....or the West way.  Vote the right way.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

1952 US Presidential Election County by County results:



Senator Estes Kefauver (Tennessee)/General James Roosevelt (California)
President Thomas Dewey (New York)/Vice President Earl Warren (California)

Winston County abandoned the GOP?

[Mechaman]

Later that night
Holiday Inn Suites in Helena, Montana:

Carl Herschelwitz is walking down the hallway after seeing the commercial.  He had to tell Scott about it.  The Conservatives seemed to be more specific on Westman's policy platform than he expected.  He reaches the elevator and pushes the button until the elevator chime goes off.  The door opens to reveal a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair.  He noticed something about the man, felt like he knew him from somewhere.
Man: Going up?
Carl looks back on him and sees the man face.  God, he looks so familiar yet the name isn't coming to my head.  Aw f*** it, I'm probably never going to see his face again after tonight anyway.
The elevator goes up as silence consumes the elevator.  There is something off about this guy, I can feel it.
He notices the man is eyeballing him.
Oh right.  Should've figured he was one of them fags.
Elevator chimes to signal that it is time for Carl to get off.  He gets out of the elevator as the man in the elevator looks after him.
Better not think about schwupping me, ya damn beard.
Herschelwitz hurries down the hallway until he reaches Westman's room.  He can hear what sounds like talking inside the room.  He knocks.
Westman: Uhhhhhhhh!!!  Give us a second!
Should've figured.
He hears Westman make a loud gasp (or was it a moan) and then a few seconds later the door opens as Caroline greets him at the door.  She is wiping her face with one of the bathroom hand towels.
Caroline: Oh hello Carl!  I was just cleaning my face before I went to bed.  You know cosmetics and all?  Such a pain to sleep with y'know?
Herschelwitz: Oh that's quite alright, I'm just here to talk to Scott.
Caroline: Mm okay.
Carl walks into the hotel room where he sees Scott Westman wiped out on the bed half clothed.
Herschelwitz: I take it you might've taken it too hard on the vodkie?
Westman looks over at Carl groggily before speaking up:
Westman: This had better be pretty damn important that you disturb us like this Carl.
Man Scott, you certainly do care about private time don't you?
Herschelwitz: I'm sorry but it's just the new Oglesby Ad.
Westman: Let me guess "Westman is too radical, blah blah blah" and just for good measure he even throws in a lame insult about my cabin style mansion near Flathead Lake.
Herschelwitz: Actually yeah he did make fun of your mansion....interesting.  So when did you find out you could read minds?
Westman: Ever since I knew ya?  Now please unless you got something truly life altering to tell me please leave me be.
Should've guessed he would've been dismissive.  Everybody and their grandmother are dismissive about the Conservative ticket's chance of winning.  Have they forgot that this is the same party that somehow unseated Scott almost two years ago?
Caroline comes back over to where Scott is and starts massaging him.
Herschelwitz: Well, you two look very busy.  I guess I should be going.  By the way Caroline, you forgot a spot.

[Mechaman]

1952 US Presidential Election County by County results:



Senator Estes Kefauver (Tennessee)/General James Roosevelt (California)
President Thomas Dewey (New York)/Vice President Earl Warren (California)

Winston County abandoned the GOP?

Admittedly I'm not the most perfect expert on how counties vote from year to year.
Most of these are guesses, especially with Georgia.

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Just a note, no way does Dewey lose Franklin County, MA - which, has a nearly identical voting pattern to Vermont (save for 1988, that I can recall.)

It, along with Barnstable, was amongst the most loyally Republican counties in Massachusetts for quite some time.

[Mechaman]

Y'know when I was starting to feel good about myself putting this much effort into maps...............

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Y'know when I was starting to feel good about myself putting this much effort into maps...............

It's all right, man. I'm doing a similar project (but with shades) and I'm sure I'll flub up a few counties.

He who does not make mistakes makes nothing at all.

That reminds me, the other day, Jbrase pointed out that I created a county out of what was actually a water boundary.