Talk Elections

On March 31st 1981, the 40th POTUS Ronald Reagan was asssassinated by mentally unstable Jodie Foster superfan John F Hinckley, and VP George H W Bush became the 42nd President of the United States.
 His tenure would be an arduous one from the get-go, with Russian submarines unusually close to the Atlantic coast, an incapacitated press secretary inheriting a more conservative party and administration overall, a divided cabinet and a Secretary of State believing to be in control of the White House just to start with.
 A day of morning occurs on April 1st, and a state funeral six days later with eulogies from President Bush, Nancy, Barry Goldwater Sr and Jimmy Stewart.
 The new President selects former President Gerald R Ford to be his Vice President, and he passes the House and Senate easily.
 Freshmen Representative Charles E Schumer (NY 16) will introduce the Reagan-Brady Bill in the House where it will pass swiftly with the support of the Democratic majority and many House Republicans. In the Senate, President Bush will put pressure on Howard Baker to make it pass.
 The bill is signed into law by President Bush, alienating him from conservative libertarians and losing him the NRA support his predecessor rode in on. And the rift between him and Secretary of State Alexander Haig continues to grow...

Coming up next: the PATCO strike of August 1981 and more

Keep going. :)

On August 5th of that year, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike seeking better conditions, higher wages and a 32-hour working week.
 President Bush called it a "delicate situation" in his television address and promised to have a sit down with PATCO President Robert E Poli before invoking Taft-Hartley. The right was flabbergasted. The man who had helped Reagan carry Texas all the way to the White House, who stood by their hero's side while he slayed Carter and the liberal Democrat machine was talking negotiations with strikers!? Pundits pointed to PATCO's endorsement of the Reagan-Bush ticket as reason for the President's hesitance to use Taft-Hartley.
 The strike wears on for more than a month and the President's approval ratings begin to slide into the forties. On September 10th they come to a compromise agreement of a 40-hour work week, a 7% bump in pay and a mandate that the airline must pay for all uniforms, equipment and a better compensation package for their families.
 Secretary of Labour Ray Donovan resigns, citing Bush's weakness as a leader.

Bush will execute an executive order ending the price controls that led to the 73 and 79 oil crises. As a result, gas lines will be shorter and his approval ratings will steadily rise. Later in the year, he will meet with Speaker Tip O'Neill to lessen the deficit with moderate tax hikes  and again in 1982 to negotiate the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which will close tax loopholes in order to shore up the budget and reduce the deficit.
 Conservative and First Friend of President Reagan Paul Laxalt complains of the "growing deficit of character", a betrayal of the policies Reagan championed in his campaign rallies.
 Bush fears the certain primary challenge he will face in 84 and does a little poo in the Oval Office for whoever succeeds him.

Senator Jesse Helms implies a conspiracy when he hears of Bush family connections with the Hinckley's. He will call for a special commission investigating the assassination of President Reagan and President Bush appoints one headed up by Senator Helms hoping to quickly extinguish the implication of conspiracy and land Helms in the sh**t.
 In June 1982, Israel will invade PLO-backed Lebanon. Secretary of State Alexander Haig will call for restraint and cite israel's diplomatic ties to the US as reason not to strike. The UN resolution demanding Israel withdraw from Lebanon is backed strongly by the President and it is performed without incident. On the first anniversary of President Reagan's assassination, a car bomb explodes at the US embassy in Beirut, killing many. Bush rescinds the UN resolution and bombs Lebanon with the aid of Israel. The American people grow weary of the conflict and President Bush's approval rating rapidly decline into the thrities and Secretary Haig resigns.
 

Coming up next: 1982 midterms

The Helms Commission results in the resignation and firings of dozens of Secet Service officials, including Agent Timothy McCarthy, for aloowing the security breach but embarrassingly, no dirt is turned up on the Bush family.
 War in Lebanon continues to rage.

This was an interesting timeline. I hope it continues.

Sorry it's been a while, folks. There's not enough accurate information (dates, locations, names) from this era on the internet as there is for my 2012-2020 tl. So I apologise for the sometimes dull language in comparison to my more modern tls. I'll try my best but forgive me if I neglect to include the date upon which Alexander Haig announced his campaign for President.

"My fellow Americans, you voted for the Gipper but now you have a Flipper in the White House. It's time for the real leadership and real courage you want in the highest office in -of the land. Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be... in control... there!"

The GOP is perilously divided come the primary season. Conservatives like Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, Barry Goldwater, Paul Laxalt back Haig along with many ConservaDems who wanted to work with Ronnie.

Bush realises Haig is more than a Kennedy to his Carter and heads to Iowa in Air Force One.

Looking forward to more updates.  Keep it coming!

()

Al Haig wins Iowa; George Bush, Puerto Rico

Could Bush be out of the party's favour?

Conservative Reaganite Republocrats have majority control of Congress from the midterms btb.

FYI, I doubt Barry Holdwater would back Haig. By then his more moderate side had come out. Also, he didn't even back RR in '76, so I doubt he'd step up to tge plate in this situation.

Goldwater backed Ford in '76 for two reasons:

A). Gerald Ford was the incumbent president and Goldy reasoned (probably correctly) that the GOP would likely lose with Reagan; and
B). He and Ford were very close personal friends.

Ideology had little to nothing to do with his decision to endorse in '76. In '84, though, he probably would back H.W. (if he were to back anyone at all) again because he was the incumbent.

()

Haig wins New Hampshire; Bush, Massachusetts. It's oooon!

Democrats lick their lips at the thought of another term. Ted Kennedy, Dale Bumpers, Gary Hart, Bruce Babbitt and Zeus Crawford of Indianaaaa! announce their intentions to run.