A Second Chance - CONCLUSION

[Jerseyrules]

I like Hatfield.  I hope he picks Robert Taft Jr. as his running mate in 1980!  Or Buckley

[Pingvin]

Hate do this, but... BUMP!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I like Hatfield.  I hope he picks Robert Taft Jr. as his running mate in 1980!  Or Buckley

You mean in 1984?

Anyway, sorry, I've had a case of writer's block lately. One of my main goals in dragging out a Presidential term is so that the reader feels like that President is leaving his (or her?) stamp on American and the Presidency. Otherwise, I'd just be rushing to the mid-terms then immediately beginning the 1984 campaign which, IMO, wouldn't be morally right as a writer. I really wanna update this so right now I'm thinking. Maybe I'll drift away from Hatfield to the other characters (yes, I call them characters) for a while. There are so many things for Hatfield to do, but I'm saving that for later years.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

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[FEMA Camp Administrator]

“Settling into my Manhattan apartment in February of 1981, I felt convinced my career as a “political lawyer” was over. Bobby Kennedy, my boss had been thrown from office in a massive outrage called the 1980 election. As well, working under him loyally as I felt I should, I had become tainted in the eyes of quite a few members of the Democratic party. Governor Daniel Patrick Moynihan himself had refused to hire me, based on the association of having worked for the scandalous Kennedy Presidency. Therefore, I prepared to settle into a private practice. I had made enough good connections to be paid reasonable well as an upper class lawyer when I received a call from Dominic Baranello in May of 1981. Baranello was the Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee. I was flustered to receive the call and asked why I was being contacted. Baranello began by talking about the state of the approaching Mayoral election. In 1977, Liberal Party candidate Mario Cuomo had just barely beaten out Democratic candidate Ed Koch. Cuomo was incredibly popular and with Koch bowing out of a second chance at the mayoralty, the Democratic field appeared incredibly weak. The only major candidate running was former Congresswoman Bella Abzug, the 1976 candidate for Senate and a woman who was more liberal than Cuomo himself.  Then, it hit me, he was asking me to run. With six months to the primary, it was looking utterly hopeless. “Rudy”, he said, “will you be our candidate?” I was nervous and flattered and while I said I couldn’t decide at that moment, I scheduled a meeting with him and two other leaders of the state and city Democratic party to discuss the logistics of such a run.

On April 3rd, Baranello and two other men entered my office and we began our discussion. They began by laying out the entire field of the primary. There were few, and many of them were would-be politicians who were merely looking for another office to run for and lose. And then there was Abzug, with her ridiculous hat that Vice-President Barry Goldwater loved so much to joke about and her politics which beat out Cuomo and nearly every other member of the Liberal party in utter radicalism. “If she wins the primary, we become a joke at least until 1989.” Said Baranello plainly, “and if anyone else wins, then we’re a joke now. If you run, you will likely lose. But you will make it a respectable fight. You have national and local experience”, he said, referring to my tenure as a lawyer for Southern New York form 1970 to 1976, U.S. Attorney for Southern New York from 1976 to 1977, and as White House Legal Counsel from 1977 to 1979, and from 1980 to 1981. “I’ve been denied several legal jobs with other Democrats because of the so-called taint around me thanks to my work with RFK. Are you sure you want that candidate running for NYC Mayor?”, I asked. “You were not involved as far as any voter in this city cares. You’ve become known in this city as a lawyer and you have the sanity that someone like Abzug doesn’t and the realism that these other jokers don’t. Also, you have a story. The story of a young son of Italian immigrants who made it big here and went all the way to Washington.” I said that I’d have to think about it, and discuss it with my family, including my wife Regina, with whom relations were strained at the time.

After discussing it with Regina, who was indifferent, and my mother who was enthusiastic about it, I made my decision. I called Baranello on April 14th and said yes. On April 15th, my campaign was officially launched on the steps of Federal Hall. Polling immediately showed me doing well in Brooklyn where I had grown up, and in other more ethnic boroughs. However, my nomination nor my election were sure things, and my main reason for running was to let the Democrats fail honorably and to raise my own local name recognition. There was to be one debate, on September 8th, two weeks before the primary, between all the candidates. While only observed by local political junkies and party bosses, it did allow me to help set the record straight on a number of accusations about me, whether it was on my experience in the Kennedy White House, defending Richard Bissell, or on my own experience locally. On September 22nd, watching and listening to the returns coming in from across the city, I was elated. I had won, beating Abzug with just over 50% of the vote, avoiding a run-off and quickly uniting the Democrats to face Cuomo in November. My team and I quickly began preparing to face the popular Liberal Mayor."

-The Boy from Brooklyn, Rudolph W. Giuliani, ©2003

[Jerseyrules]

Yes!  An update!

Rudy!  Rudy!  Rudy!  Rudy!  .  Koch for governor!

[Jerseyrules]

Don't mind me, I'm just your friendly bump man

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Don't mind me, I'm just your friendly bump man

It's all a matter of what I choose to focus on, and sadly, the choices have to include school.

[Jerseyrules]

Don't mind me, I'm just your friendly bump man

It's all a matter of what I choose to focus on, and sadly, the choices have to include school.

You are wrong, I say pumpkins.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

This is a really awesome timeline. Update soon, please.

[Pingvin]

This is a really awesome timeline. Update soon, please.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

"From the outset it had been made clear that running for Mayor against such a popular incumbent would not be easy. However, I never expected it to be dirty. Of course, Cuomo never publicly soiled his hands with the rumors that proxies of his campaign spread about me, but it was clear that his people were connected. Rumors of extra-marital affairs, corruption, Washington scandal, and so on soon began to filter through the media, making it into the public. However, at every turn I attempted to be the better candidate, staunchly denied the untrue rumors, and continued charging forward.

Throughout my campaign, I chose to focus on a few simple ideas. One, that providing for the poor adequately did not have to come at the expense of the Middle Class and that alternative solutions besides a recent Middle Class tax hike could be found. Two, that while abortions shouldn't be outlawed, the city should start focusing on encouraging adoption and other alternatives to abortion. Three, that Cuomo had been far too lax on crime during his time as Mayor. Enforcement of existing laws, prosecution of suspected criminals, and compliance with the ongoing War on Drugs would help lower what was an obviously rising crime rate. I put forward this agenda and was able to consolidate an anti-crime, and more moderate base, eating into some of Cuomo's Middle Class support. At the same time, this helped separate me from the candidate for the Conservative Party of New York, John Esposito, who was on the Far Right of the race.

One of the complications of the race was that all three highest scoring candidates were Italian Catholics. Therefore, it was hard for either of the three of us to consolidate a base among the White Ethnic burroughs, specifically the Catholic ones. However, my campaign poured the most amount of money into such an attempt and I ended up coming out on top in that respect. Cuomo, meanwhile, had other fish to fry, courting the Upper-Middle Class liberals that had funded his first Mayoral campaign. With them organizing "Feed the Poor" marches--politically charged, of course--it worked to distract from the city and it issues as a whole, instead making emotionally charged political pleas that seemed to be working. As well, it distracted from my stance on fighting with poverty which was just as in favor of helping them as Cuomo, if not more so, but with different methods such as job training and re-entry into the workforce by joining the staff of various city public works projects.

On November 3rd, my staff and I retired to the campaign headquarters to listen to and watch the results. I was nervous, tense. However, it soon became clear--within the first thirty minutes--that the facts remained the same as when I had started out on the campaign, almost seven months earlier. The facts were that Cuomo was popular, had three major newspapers endorsing him, and that New York was by and far a Left to Centre-Left city. The facts were that he would be the likely winner back in April, and that facts were now that he would almost certainly be the winner. I had found myself so caught up in the campaign that I had ignored polls and instead focused on barnstorming--something hard to do in the urban environment of N.Y.C.--and had to be jolted back to reality hearing the results. I, the Democratic candidate, came in second that night with 42% of the vote, losing to Cuomo who had won 52%. I gave my concession speech, talking of the seven months of work that had gone into the campaign, and not just by me, but my entire campaign staff and thanked them all. I was saddened, but accepting, and over all the 1981 Mayoral campaign proved a learning experience, and it would in no way be the last time I ran for political office. And, while the Democrats had lost the Mayoral race, they had won a different one that night. Down in Arizona, a young man who had been a veteran of both Vietnam and Palestine, was elected to the Senate to fill Barry Goldwater's seat. That man was John McCain."

-The Boy from Brooklyn, Rudolph W. Giuliani, ©2003

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[FEMA Camp Administrator]

"Following retirement from the Navy, I moved to Arizona. While there, I served to advise Senators Barry Goldwater and Paul Fannin on Naval and defense issues, having become known as a "war hero" to some. In 1980, my political career began. From Washington D.C. I received an invitation from President Kennedy to attend a dinner commemorating the upcoming end to the Palestinian War. Attending the dinner in May as I recall; with the Republican and Democratic primaries beginning to wind up, and President Kennedy sure to be re-nominated at the convention; I had the usual meet-n-greet with the President, sat down with my fellow officers for the banquet, and prepared to leave. However, I found myself going into discussion with President Kennedy, beginning with my wish of luck for him in the primaries and in the general election. the President engaged my burgeoning interest and we fell into discussing the current situation. "Frankly, Mr. President, you're probably the only qualified man out there right now. McCarthy's a radical, outdate by twelve years. Reagan? He'll lead us to war at worst and at best leave us in an economic depression. And as for Hatfield, he's nothing more than an amalglamation of what we should be opposing in government." The President smiled, joked that of course he agreed with my assessment of him as the most qualified candidate, and then spilled his own thoughts on the matter which I found to be close to my own. As I at last turned to leave maybe fifteen minutes later, President Kennedy asked me one last thing. "You ever thought about running for office, John?" "No, not at all. I'm moving into the private sector at the moment. Why?" "Well, we could use a man with your kind of thinking down there in the South-West. How Gene even won the Arizona primary is beyond me. I think you'd be a good representative of the people down there and regardless of what they might say, you're saner than Goldwater." "Well Mr. President, I'll think about it."

Two months later in July I contacted Kennedy's campaign in Arizona and contributed $2000 to it. I soon began taking more of an interest in politics, both of the state I found myself living in, and of the nation. I found myself going to town hall meetings by local politicians, attending Washington D.C. discourses on foreign policy both in the waning months of the Kennedy Administration and in the first few months of the Reagan and Hatfield Administrations, and campaigning for Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, Bill Schulz, who would eventually be defeated by Republican candidate Evan Mecham (Fannin was retiring that year). In the after-math of the 1980 land-slide against President Kennedy and where the Republicans led by Reagan took Arizona by over 60%, I suddenly felt the urge to run for office myself. With political ambitions stirring inside me, I went about the business of making contacts, mostly through my forays into the private sector, discussions with members of Arizona's delegation while in Washington, and talks with local politicians on local issues.

The death of Reagan on May 1st, 1981 came as a shock to the entire nation, myself included. With his death came Mark Hatfield as our new President. I had no real liking for Hatfield, he being an opponent of both Vietnam and Palestine, and over all far too "radical" for my tastes. He was not my kind of politician and that would go on record with my vote against him in 1984. However, all this did result in a unique and opportunity filled turn of events. Hatfield, in order to unite his party and choose an experienced Vice-President for his first term, picked Senator Barry Goldwater for Vice-President. Goldwater complied and took the office of the Vice-Presidency on July 19th, resigning his Senate seat. With that, a special election for the seat, to take place in November along with the New Jersey and Virginia Governors' races, and the N.Y.C. Mayoral election, was scheduled. The parties quickly began recruiting fields for their primaries, which were both to be held on October 6th. Poorly planned, with less than a month for the general election, but nevertheless they took place. At last seeing my opportunity, one that I though I'd have to wait another year for, my candidacy began on August 13th. Ringed by my family with Cindy on my right, I announced on the steps of city hall in Phoenix that I would be running for the Democratic nomination for Senate.

Why Democrat? Today, I consider myself a staunch ally and member of my party. But then, I'm still not sure. I had very little opinions aside from leanings on economic issues and deeply rooted foreign policy beliefs. However, I had grown up a child of the New Deal era, born the year of F.D.R.'s stunning re-election. I had liked Eisenhower and had voted for him in 1956, the first election I was able to vote in. I had even voted for Nixon in 1960. However, from there, seeing some of Nixon's foreign policy blunders, I had begun to trend towards the Democrats. I voted for a person named Kennedy three times. Even between the second and third time, I had voted for both Agnew and Bush. However, by the tiem 1981 rolled around I had become convinced that Democrats were best suited to face the Soviet Union. The Republicans seemed embroiled in a fight between the Reaganites who wanted the entire world nuked back to the Stone Age, and the Hatfieldites who wanted to compromise with them at every turn. Yes, the Democrats had their George McGoverns and Gene McCarthys, but by-and-large they were ruled by realistic hawks. The Kennedy brothers had shown that and by 1981 I identified with their world views.

The 1981 Democratic primary for Senate had only one prominent contender, and that was Bill Schulz. However, my campaign was based on a strong future for the party, Arizona, and the country. Schulz on the other hand was merely last year's loser looking for another go. With my supporters dubbing me a "war hero", my experience in foreign policy both as a troop and as an adviser, and my time spent learning local issues to relate to my constituency, I soon found myself the winner of the nomination. The winner of the Republican primary was former Senator Jack R. Williams, who had served from 1973 to 1977 in the same class, and as Governor for six years before that. Williams was a staunch Conservative Republican who had proudly supported Reagan in 1980, and the state of Arizona was likely to vote for the type of man they had supported one year before. However, William was also another thing, a relic of the past. He brought back images of the Agnew-Bush era, and of a career politician running for yet another political office. On November 3rd, my victory was with less than fifty percent of the vote, but it was victory nonetheless, and Arizona had elected, as my campaign slogan said, "A man, not a politician, for Arizona". Flying to Washington the next day, I was sworn in by, ironically, Vice-President Goldwater late in that day's session. And so, I had entered the United States Senate. With all of November 4th, 5th, and 6th spent moving, packing, unpacking, and being educated on the formal processes of the Senate, I felt overwhelmed. It was all happening so fast, and only a few days ago I had been another washed up veteran looking for a job."

-Faith of my Fathers, John S. McCain III, ©1999

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[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Rudy and McCain as Democrats. I can easilly see that . So what has Newt been up to in this timeline?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Rudy and McCain as Democrats. I can easilly see that . So what has Newt been up to in this timeline?

Elected to the House in 1974 as a Republican. Also, if you want to look into the careers of a few aspiring politicians, look at the 1980 Senate results (and the results in the "other notable races" section).

[morgieb]

McCain and Giluani as Democrats? ITSTL.

[Niemeyerite]

Rudy and McCain as Democrats. I can easilly see that . So what has Newt been up to in this timeline?

Elected to the House in 1974 as a Republican. Also, if you want to look into the careers of a few aspiring politicians, look at the 1980 Senate results (and the results in the "other notable races" section).

I'm glad McCain is a democrat. He's always been one of my favourite republicans until 2010...

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

McCain and Giluani as Democrats? ITSTL.

What's "ITSTL" mean?

[Person Man]

I think the reason why they are Democrats is because neocons and moderate nationalists still found a place in the Democratic party because the Kennedys weren't shot....and under their leadership, the Democratic Party the McGoverns and Mondales didn't scare of those center to center-left hawks. ..and because they never were scared off, they never adopt the sectarian nationalism or neoliberalism of the OTL Go'P.

[Jerseyrules]

McCain and Giluani as Democrats? ITSTL.

What's "ITSTL" mean?

Its the sh^t TL?

[Jerseyrules]

I think the reason why they are Democrats is because neocons and moderate nationalists still found a place in the Democratic party because the Kennedys weren't shot....and under their leadership, the Democratic Party the McGoverns and Mondales didn't scare of those center to center-left hawks. ..and because they never were scared off, they never adopt the sectarian nationalism or neoliberalism of the OTL Go'P.

Not to derail this, but is neoliberalism the same as capitalism, or is it corporatism?

[morgieb]

McCain and Giluani as Democrats? ITSTL.

What's "ITSTL" mean?

Interesting to Say the Least.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

McCain and Giluani as Democrats? ITSTL.

What's "ITSTL" mean?

Interesting to Say the Least.

Well thanks and I hope it becomes more than just interesting.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

"My first chance to singificantly change the cabinet I had been presented with came on December, 10th, 1981, in the form of a letter of resignation. The press had been wondering since the November elections in which Democrat John McCain was elected to the Senate, Republican Thomas Kean elected Governor of New Jersey, and Democrat Chuck Robb elected Governor of Virginia, what I would be doing in the next year to truly make my mark on the Presidency and no longer be seen by many in my party as just "the man who was President because Reagan was dead". The letter of resignation read like this:
          "Dear Mr. President, or should I call you Mark? I wouldn't know how to address you, chiefly because I feel the last six months have been marked by, chiefly, confusion. Especially in the area I was called upon by President Reagan to oversee, foreign policy. Following Reagan's death, many of us were unsure what to expect from you and I must say we are still unsure to this very day. Whether you intend to confront the Soviets by escalating the arms race, slyly out-maneuver them through a series of covert wars, capitulate to their demands, or simply ignore the problem of Soviet expansionism altogether, many in my staff including I, do not know. I was brought on by Ronald Reagan to be a hawk and help him in his efforts to confront the Soviet Union. I feel that in this capacity, I have failed you and given your disagreements with Reagan on nearly all things in foreign policy, I feel I can not continue to serve effectively as a member of your cabinet. Sincerely, William F. Buckley Jr."

Chief of Staff Tom McCall and my staff immediately began assembling a list of potential replacements for Buckley who would be resigning on January 20th, 1982--the one year anniversary of his taking office. The list was filled with a number of names, including but in no way limited to, adviser Patrick J. Buchanan (who had been in line to be appointed Ambassador to South Africa in 1974 but had been de-railed by Agnew's resignation), Senator Charles Percy of Illinois (the new Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations), former Secretary of State Nelson Rockefeller (immediately out due to his age and having just survived a life threatening heart attack), former National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, former Treasury Secretary John Tower, and current National Security Adviser John Eisenhower. Among that list were quite a few good names, and a couple I would find myself using later on. However, I wanted a real crusader who agreed with me ideologically and would upset the current Washington status quo. I eventually found who I was looking for.

Frank F. Church III was elected to the Senate in 1956 as a Democrat. Despite early on rubbing Senate leadership--Senate Majority Leader Lyndon John especially--the wrong way, he soon was taken under Johnson's wing and before the end of the decade he was sitting on the prestigious Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. During the sixties he had made his name as an opponent of the Vietnam War and despite what's been called American victory there, many of the assertions he made surrounding public approval, troop death, and the inefficiency of the military operating there proved true. During the seventies even as doves continued to be denied places of power in either party, Church became their foremost leader and went head to head with the leaders of both parties, eventually running for President in 1976. In 1977 he drafted the original withdrawal proposal that would later be amended and adopted by the Robert F. Kennedy Administration. In 1980 he had supported Eugene McCarthy's efforts at unseating President Kennedy, both in the primaries and in the general election. In 1981, he, like me, left the Senate, but not because of election to higher office. He had been defeated in the Republican wave year of 1980. A maverick, a crusader, and someone committed to his beliefs, Church was one of the Democrats I wanted on my team.

I met with him three times in December and January and it was obvious the former Senator wanted back into politics and we agreed that not only warmer relations with the Soviets, but a nuclear freeze were definitely goals to work for. Finally, in the third meeting, held on January 2nd, he consented to be appointed. Announcing his appointment on January 4th, 1982, my first act of the New Year, I immediately ran into opposition from hawks in both parties. However, the confirmation hearings were kept civil by none other than one of Church's rivals for the job, Charles Percy. Heading the Foreign Relations Committee, he was able to keep Republicans in line, making the only problem be hawkish Democrats. Subsisting of about a quarter of the Committee, they were barely a problem on their own and Church was at last confirmed on January 22nd, 1982, becoming the nation's 59th Secretary of State."

-Against the Grain, Mark Hatfield, ©2000

Frank F. Church III (D-ID) - the 59th Secretary of State

[Jerseyrules]

What about Harry F. Byrd, Jr.?  What's he doing?  (I'm a hipster when it comes to politicians, sorry )