Into the Next Millenium

[Captain Chaos]

Thumbs up.

[The Lord Marbury]

Here's a series of headlines covering some of the events of October and early November.

JEFFORDS TO REMAIN INDEPENDENT; CAUCUS WITH LABOR
October 10, 1988
After weeks of speculation it has become clear. Vermont MP Jim Jeffords will not join the Labor or Liberal parties, however he has decided to caucus with the Labor Party in the future after, according to sources, Labor leader Ted Kennedy made a "convincing argument".


BENTSEN IS THE ONE
October 14, 1988
The Liberal Executive Committee today announced that it will endorse Lloyd Bentsen for the leadership of the party. Bentsen has served as Minister of Energy and Minister of Defense under Prime Minister Muskie, and later Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Shadow Cabinet of Chuck Robb.


GORE HANDS OVER REINS TO BENTSEN
October 17, 1988
Earlier today interim Liberal leader Al Gore handed over the parliamentary leadership responsibilities to Lloyd Bentsen after the Executive Committee officially endorsed him for the leadership.


BANK OF AMERICA LOWERS ECONOMIC GROWTH PROJECTION FOR '89
October 26, 1988
Bank of America, the central bank of the American Commonwealth, has officially lowered it's economic growth projection for 1989. This caused increased concern on the market over the possibility of a recession being over the horizon.


KENNEDY ATTACKS REAGAN OVER "FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY"
October 29, 1988
Following the lowered economic growth projections for 1989 Opposition Leader Ted Kennedy attacked Ronald Reagan for what he sees as "financial irresponsibility by giving away drastic tax cuts to billionaires and multinational corporations while cutting spending on vital anti-poverty programs". The Prime Minister has not yet responded to the attacks.


MONDALE ALLEGEDLY "NOT HAPPY" WITH THE BENTSEN PICK
November 2, 1988
According to sources within the Liberal parliamentary group, the former Health Minister and Liberal leader is not happy with the Executive Committee's decision to endorse Lloyd Bentsen due to Bentsen's support of free trade, and that he would've liked to see them picking a more traditional Liberal closer to his ideological positions.

Next up, part one of the Liberal convention and leadership election....

It's probably going to be up either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

[The Lord Marbury]

Liberal Party National Convention, 1988 (Part 1)



The Liberal Convention held in Toronto, Ontario opened with a somber atmosphere in contrast to excitement felt two years prior in Dallas, when Chuck Robb was elected leader. In 1986 the Liberals were in high spirits, they had just won a string of by-elections, the government was being hit hard by the Iran-Contra Affair, and the party looked poised to get back into government in the next election with a young and strong leader at the helm. Alas, it was not to be, and in 1988 it was a battered and beaten Liberal Party which came to Toronto to elect its new leader Lloyd Bentsen. Not a fresh face, not a very charismatic figure, but calm and steady hand which they hoped could guide the party out of the wilderness.

Normally a convention dealing with an election of a new party leader would open with a speech from the outgoing leader, however as revealed years later, both Daniel Moynihan and Richard Daley felt that it was important to use the convention to take the focus off the Chuck Robb scandal, and a speech by Robb would most likely do the opposite of this. Robb was also eager to get out of the public spotlight as soon as possible, so he agreed not to hold a speech and just be at the convention as a regular attendee. Instead Deputy Leader Al Gore got the spot, and his speech, while well received by most, wasn't exactly awe inspiring in the end.

Following Gore former leader Walter Mondale got his chance to address the convention, and he caused quite a stir when towards the end of his speech he said that he hoped that "[Bentsen] will consider the interests of America first and foremost and not gamble America's wealth on risky free trade agreements with third world countries". The speech recieved great applause by left wing Liberals who commended Mondale for standing up for "traditional Liberal ideals that favor the average American", while he was derided by centrist Liberals and Bentsen supporters who called the speech a thinly veiled attack on [Bentsen's] viewpoints".

After Mondale's controversial speech it was time for the election of a new party President to replace the retiring Daniel P. Moynihan. As Senator Richard M. Daley or Illinois was the only candidate in the running he won the post with unanimous approval. Following this it was time for all the candidates running for the leadership position to officially hand in the required 5000 signatures from party members and make a brief address to the convention, due to an old party bylaw remaining from the early 1900s when it was actually common that several candidates would run at once.

Since Lloyd Bentsen was the only declared candidate in the running, everyone expected this to be a brief affair with Bentsen handing over the signatures to Moynihan and giving a brief and lofty speech to the attendees. And that was what it was, at least up until, according to tradition, Moynihan asked if there were any other candidates who wished to enter the race and hand in the required signatures. Normally, this question would go simply go unanswered, but not this time. A man walked up on stage, handed over 5000 signatures from registered party members to Moynihan, and then stepped up to the podium while the convention attendees looked on in what seemed to be stunned silence. All eyes, ears and cameras were focused on him as he began to speak….

To Be Continued

[Mehmentum]

The suspense!

Edit:  Keep up the good work! I really enjoy this.

[The Lord Marbury]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm suffering from a minor case of writer's block, so writing the next update is progressing quite slowly, however I'm hoping to have something up during the coming week.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm suffering from a minor case of writer's block, so writing the next update is progressing quite slowly, however I'm hoping to have something up during the coming week.

Take your time and keep on writing great stuff!

[The Lord Marbury]

Well it's been a while, but after a month of writer's block I'm making an attempt to get back at writing this. Though I can't promise that updates will come at a regular basis.

Liberal National Convention 1988 (Part 2)

"I, Edmund Gerry Brown, hereby declare my candidacy for leader of the Liberal Party of America. My reasons for making this decision is not one of personal greed, lust for fame or power, but a deep desire to make this country and this party better than it is today. I sincerely hope I'll have your support in this endeavor."

It was chaos. Pure unfiltered chaos. Mere seconds after Brown finished his brief statement, one third of the audience was screaming bloody murder, another one was happily cheering him on, and the rest were just staring at him, confused over what the hell just happened. It took nearly a full 15 minutes for Moynihan to successfully calm most of them down and call for the convention to take a recess until the next day.


It's Brown, Baby!
New York Times headine, the morning after the first day of the Liberal Convention

----


"There is only one man who is fit to lead this party back into government. That man is someone who has proudly served his province as its Premier for nearly 10 years and now continues to serve it as a member of the House of Commons. Ladies and gentlemen, that man is my good friend, the Right Honorable Jerry Brown of California!"
-Senator Pierre Trudeau, speaking to supporters outside of Maple Leaf Gardens, site of the Liberal National Convention

----

WM: "Hello?"

PT: "Walter, it's Pierre. I was hoping maybe you and I could sit down and talk about the future of our party. "

WM: [brief pause] "Alright then. I'm interested."

----

The Brown Coalition

The group of Liberals who ended up coalescing around Jerry Brown as their candidate, commonly referred to the Brown Coalition by the press, was indeed a most peculiar one. On paper there should be no way that a candidate like Brown, who was a known budget hawk with an independent streak would get the backing of left-liberal big shots like Walter Mondale and Pierre Trudeau, as well as the institutional backing of all who followed them, but somehow, someway, it all worked. Maybe it was a common belief in larger focus on social programs over defense spending, maybe a joint opposition to Bentsen's social conservatism and death penalty support, but together they certainly made up a formidable alliance which Bentsen had all the reason to fear.

[The Lord Marbury]

Moynihan: "California?"

Head of CA Delegation: "It is with great pride that the Province of California gives its 94 electoral votes to its native son, Jerry Brown!"

Moynihan: "94 votes from California to Brown. Current standing is 117 to 73 votes, in favor of Brown. Canada?"

[...]

----

Brown would quickly rack up quite a nice lead as the count started, with him grabbing most of the big provinces such as California, however Bentsen was certainly not out of the race as he would sweep the south and the plains provinces, as well as the big prize of Illinois which ended up in his fold largely due to Richard Daley's efforts. In the end it would be close, and Brown did indeed preform very well, even taking provinces like Pennsylvania, which would've most likely gone for Bentsen had it not been for the efforts of Walter Mondale and Pierre Trudeau. Alas for Brown, Bentsen would prevail in the end with 610 electoral votes to Brown's 587. It was close, very close, but when it was over everyone expected Brown to concede graciously and vow to work with together Bentsen to take the Liberals back into power. Boy were they wrong.


"I accept that it is the wish of a slim majority of the party to have Mr. Bentsen as leader and not me, and I respect their decision, just like I respect Mr. Bentsen. However I cannot in good conscience remain in a party which is following an ideological path I simply cannot I agree with. I first joined the Liberal Party because of its opposition to the backwards social agenda supported by the conservatives and its commitment to helping those in our society which cannot help themselves. To remain in the party when it now is starting to prioritize pork barrel spending over the needs of the poor and no longer emphasizes its opposition to school prayer and capital punishment is simply something I cannot do. Therefore, on this day I bid my goodbyes to the Liberal Party, and to all the friends I made during my time as a member, I want to say that I hope that my decision to depart from the party won't hinder our ability to work together in the future."

On that day Brown would leave the Liberal Party and never look back. And in his departure, he would be joined by an additional 15 Members of Parliament and 5 Senators, including his own father Pat Brown.


Meanwhile, far away in Philadelphia, Lee Atwater was watching the events of the Convention play out on live television…

Atwater: "I think we just won the next election."

[Jerseyrules]

Truly awesome stuff man!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Is Brown joining Labor or forming a new party?

[The Lord Marbury]

Is Brown joining Labor or forming a new party?

He's forming a new party.

[The Lord Marbury]

Still Standing



It was a battered, beaten and disunited Liberal Party which left Toronto following the end of the convention. A divisive leadership election had resulted in 15 MPs and 5 Senators, including highly prolific individuals like Walter Mondale, Pierre Trudeau, Geraldine Ferraro and Michael Dukakis, leaving the party to form the breakaway Progressive Liberal Party under the leadership of Jerry Brown. The December opinion poll which followed the convention was simply nothing short of disastrous for the Liberals.

API Opinion Polling - Which party would you vote for if the election was held today?
Progressive Conservative - 31,0%
Labor - 27,1%
Liberal - 14,0%
Libertarian - 9,9%
American Heritage - 8,8%
Progressive Liberal - 8,2%
Other - 1,0%

14 percent. 14 rotten percent of the population still supported the Liberal after their mess of a Convention, and now it was Bentsen's job to win back the confidence of the voters. And it would start, as it usually does; with a strong frontbench team.

Leader of the Liberal Party: The Rt. Hon. Lloyd Bentsen (Lib.)
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party: The Rt. Hon. Max Baucus (Lib.)

Foreign Affairs Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. John Glenn (Lib.)
Finance Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Max Baucus (Lib.)
Defense Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Sam Nunn (Lib.)
Justice Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Bruce Babbit (Lib.)
Trade, Industry and Business Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Tom Foley (Lib.)
Labor and Employment Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Al Gore (Lib.)
Health and Social Affairs Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Robert Byrd (Lib.)
Education Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Dale Bumpers (Lib.)
Energy Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. John Kerry (Lib.)
Agriculture and Food Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Dick Gephardt (Lib.)
Transportation Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. John Turner (Lib.)
Infrastructure and Housing Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Lawton Chiles (Lib.)
Veterans Affairs Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Joe Lieberman (Lib.)
Aboriginal Affairs Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Lib.)
Culture, Sports and Media Spokesman: The Rt. Hon. Charlie Wilson (Lib.)

Leader of the Liberals in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Ralph Goodale (Lib.)
Leader of the Liberals in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Terry Sanford (Lib.)
Liberal Whip in the House of Commons: The Rt. Hon. Tim Wirth (Lib.)
Liberal Whip in the Senate: The Rt. Hon. Jim Sasser (Lib.)

[Jerseyrules]

Interesting stuff.  Are any labor supporters leaving the party to support the Progressive Liberals?

[The Lord Marbury]

Interesting stuff.  Are any labor supporters leaving the party to support the Progressive Liberals?

A few, possibly, but there's not going to be any major shift in support from Labor to the Progressive Liberals.

[Jerseyrules]

Interesting stuff.  Are any labor supporters leaving the party to support the Progressive Liberals?

A few, possibly, but there's not going to be any major shift in support from Labor to the Progressive Liberals.

No MPs either?

[The Lord Marbury]

Interesting stuff.  Are any labor supporters leaving the party to support the Progressive Liberals?

A few, possibly, but there's not going to be any major shift in support from Labor to the Progressive Liberals.

No MPs either?

Nope, this is pretty much an entirely Liberal affair.

[Jerseyrules]

Interesting stuff.  Are any labor supporters leaving the party to support the Progressive Liberals?

A few, possibly, but there's not going to be any major shift in support from Labor to the Progressive Liberals.

No MPs either?

Nope, this is pretty much an entirely Liberal affair.

Wow.  Cool stuff, I'm looking forward to the next update

[Peter the Lefty]

Wow.  The vote splitting will really cut them to a rump in 92.  I take it Teddy's own...indiscretions will mean that he won't be Labor leader anymore by then, so here's to Broadbent for PM!

[Del Tachi]

I'm guessing that now, due to the establishment of the Progressive Liberals, that the Liberal Party's membership is now a good bit more "conservative" than it was before. 

Any chance that it may come to align itself with the Progressive Conservatives?  AmHeritage could be kicked-out of the coalition of that happened...

[Peter the Lefty]

Hey, just a question: what did you use to make your graphs of parliament during election night? 

[The Lord Marbury]

I'm guessing that now, due to the establishment of the Progressive Liberals, that the Liberal Party's membership is now a good bit more "conservative" than it was before. 

Any chance that it may come to align itself with the Progressive Conservatives?  AmHeritage could be kicked-out of the coalition of that happened...

The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives have pretty much been sworn enemies for a century or so, and because of that there is not going to be any real cooperation between the parties when the Liberals have only been in third place for a few months or so. They wouldn't be inclined to work with the Conservatives until they've at least made an attempt taking down Labor, and even if that's unsuccessful there'd be a lot of handwringing among the Liberals.

Hey, just a question: what did you use to make your graphs of parliament during election night? 

I just made them in Excel.

[The Lord Marbury]

Desperation: The Rise of the Progressive Liberal Party


Official logo of the Progressive Liberal Party

The formation of the Progressive Liberals certainly came out of the blue to everyone, even if they were aware or unaware of ongoing political events. But after the shock of their formation had subsided they would have to avoid not quickly dropping out of the public consciousness and end up nothing but a brief flash in the pan. The Progressive Liberals, unlike other minor parties formed throughout the years, had the benefit of several prominent individuals like Jerry Brown, Walter Mondale, Pierre Trudeau, Ralph Nader, Paul Tsongas and Michael Dukakis already being in the party from the start. Early on Jerry Brown's mini-superstardom certainly helped the party as he made several media appearances during the months following the party's formation.

But the party of course couldn't keep going on Brownmania alone, and Brown himself obviously realized this, and therefore a "Platform Development Commission", with goal of developing the official platform of the new party, was put together as soon as Brown had officially been elected as the leader of the new party. The commission was chaired by Paul Tsongas, and included a few fellow MPs, as well as policy buffs from outside of elected office.

But one major problem for them was that while the party was founded largely on opposition to the direction that Bentsen was taking the Liberals in, the people who formed the Progressive Liberals did not see eye to eye that well either. On one side you had social liberals and fiscal hawks like Jerry Brown or Paul Tsongas, while on the other you had left liberals like Pierre Trudeau, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis who with their strong focus on social programs probably would've been a better fit for the Labor Party. In fact, it was largely thanks to these strong individuals that the party was able to survive its first few months in existense with relatively high polling numbers, however as they all would soon experience, a party held together by little other than several powerful personalities is not a good recipe for long term stability.

Progressive Liberal MPs
Jerry Brown, California
Jean Chretien, Canada
Don Johnston, Canada
David Berger, Canada
Ralph Nader, Connecticut
Michael Dukakis, Massachusetts
Paul Tsongas, Massachusetts
Walter Mondale, Minnesota
Bruce Vento, Minnesota
Jim Oberstar, Minnesota
Martin Olav Sabo, Minnesota
Geraldine Ferraro, New York
Charles Schumer, New York
Dennis E. Eckart, Ohio
Sheila Copps, Ontario
Les AuCoin, Oregon

Senators
Pierre Trudeau, Canada
Mo Udall, Arizuma
Pat Brown, California
Tip O'Neill, Massachusetts
Ralph Yarborough, Texas

[The Lord Marbury]

Coalition leaders announce tax credits for new cars; private education and health services
The American Post, January 22nd 1989

Following a tour of a General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Prime Minister Reagan, flanked on both sides by Deputy PM Pat Buchanan and Trade Minister Ron Paul, announced a new government initiative which would give cars owners the ability to deduct any car bought after August 1989 and onwards for a period of three years after purchase. The government hopes that this will help boost consumption in an economy which appears to become more and more sluggish. They also discussed, in less details, plans for tax credits for education and health services not provided by the federal government, which could hint that there may be something to the rumors about a school voucher program being in the early stages of development by the Ministry of Education.

Reactions to the new initiatives were generally negative on the opposition benches. While Ted Kennedy was positive to idea of making it cheaper in order to boost consumption, he was doubtful if a tax credit was the right was the right way to go about it, and he was also highly critical of the government making the tax credit available for any car, which he called "Nothing but a give to foreign conglomorates at the cost of American companies and auto workers". And when it came to the  tax credit for private education and health care, Kennedy clearly did not hold back when he said "The government is clearly not concerned with the needs of the poor or the average American worker since [the] tax credits would only benefit those who can afford those highly expensive services already, and the money wasted could just as easily have been spent on the public health and education systems instead." The leaders of the other opposition parties largely shared Kennedy's sentiments about the health and education deductions, while Lloyd Bentsen was somewhat positive to the tax credit for new cars and Jerry Brown opposed both on the grounds that it would add to the growing federal deficit.

[The Lord Marbury]

Gingrich under fire for "sweetheart" remark
New York Times, January 28th 1989

During a debate in the House of Commons yesterday between Education Minister Newt Gingrich (Prog Con.) and his shadow Barbara Mikulski (Lab.), Gingrich delivered a comment perceived as sexist which caused outrage among the Opposition benches.

Transcript:

The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, Speaker of the House of Commons: "The Right Honourable 2nd list member from the Province of Maryland has the word."

The Rt. Hon. Barbara Mikulski, Shadow Minister of Education: "Mr. Speaker, these latest news regarding proposed tax credits for private education coupled with the planned cuts to federal public education funding as a whole, are indeed most disconcerting. Can the minister give the American people an answer as to why the current government is prioritizing expensive private schools only affordable to the very rich while at the same time they are cutting back on the public education which is so desperately needed by the working people of our nation?"

The Rt. Hon. Newt Gingrich, Minister of Education: "Mr. Speaker, to the Right Honourable member from Maryland I can only say the she does not need to worry her little head with this particular issue. Sweetheart, in a few years it will become absolutely clear that…"

[Gingrich's voice is drowned out by heckles and cries of "shame" from the Opposition benches]

Gingrich's comments were quickly condemned by the leaders of the three opposition parties, with Jerry Brown calling Gingrich's behavior "demeaning and disrespectful towards the Shadow Minister of Education for no other reason than her gender", while Bentsen's office released a statement saying that Gingrich's words were "disrespectful and unworthy of a government Minister", and Ted Kennedy said that "[Gingrich] showed a clear lack of respect towards a fellow Member of Parliament and should be thoroughly reprimanded by the leader of his party for portraying such a clear lack of common decency." Neither Mr. Gingrich nor Prime Minister Reagan have been willing comment on the matter.

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Disappointing numbers for the Tories
The American Post, January 30th 1989

API Opinion Polling has in the past month or so done extensive polling on several key issues, and news are far from good for the Progressive Conservatives, with 41% saying that the country is currently going in the wrong direction, and the public trusting the Labor Party more on important issues such as job creation, education and healthcare. But all is not bad for the Tories, as they are still the most trusted on defense and handling the economy, and Ronald Reagan still holds a comfortable lead over Kennedy and Bentsen when it comes to who would be the best Prime Minister.

Do you believe the country is going in the right direction?
No - 41,2%
Yes - 36,4%
Not sure - 22,4%

Which government do you think would have the best policies for….

A strong economy?
A PC government - 39,0%
A Labor government - 31,6%
Neither/other/unsure - 29,4%

A strong military?
A PC government - 48,5%
Neither/other/unsure - 25,9%
A Labor government - 25,6%

Creating jobs and lowering unemployment?
A Labor government - 40,3%
A PC government - 30,8%
Neither/other/unsure - 28,9%

A good healthcare system?
A Labor government - 39,5%
A PC government - 31,4%
Neither/other/unsure - 29,1%

A good education system?
A Labor government - 35,0%
A PC government - 33,6%
Neither/other/unsure - 31,3%

Which party leader do you believe is/would be the most capable Prime Minister?
Ronald Reagan - 38,2%
Ted Kennedy - 20,3%
Lloyd Bentsen - 19,4%
Ron Paul - 7,4%
Jerry Brown - 6,5%
Pat Buchanan - 5,9%
Neither/other/unsure - 2,3%

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PM reported to be in good health
The Globe, February 7th 1989

The Office of the Prime Minister today released a full report of the Prime Minister's yearly physical, wherein, aside from some slightly elevated blood pressure, the PM was declared to in excellent physical condition for his age. Reagan's poor debate performance in the last election caused some fears that he was starting to develop memory issues, however the medical report should most likely lay most of those rumors to rest.

[The Lord Marbury]

Carter in 1979, shortly after being sworn in to his first term as Governor General.

Carter says no to third term
New York Times, February 10th 1989

Governor General Jimmy Carter was present yesterday at the opening of a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York City, when he was asked by reporters if he was open to serving for another five year term as Governor General. Carter's term expires on April 23rd, and while he has previously been unwilling to say whether he is willing to commit to another five years as G-G, it has now become clear that he is not. "I am tremendously proud of the last ten years in which I have served my country, but now it is time for me to retire and get back into private life.", Carter said to reporters. Carter started first his career as in the Royal American Navy, however he would later resign his commission following the death of his father in order to to run the family owned peanut farm. Under his leadership the business bloomed and expanded until by the end of the 1960s the Carter Peanut Company was the largest provider of peanuts in the entire American Commonwealth.

A bit of a political activist and known supporter of the Liberal Party, Carter was approached by Prime Minister Lyndon B. Johnson to run for federal parliament in 1965 election, however he declined, instead opting to continue with his business. At least until 1973, when he was approached by then-Governor General Henry Jackson, in consultation with Prime Minister Nelson Rockefeller and Georgia Premier Zell Miller, to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of his home state of Georgia. After much consideration, he accepted and would hold the office until 1979 when Prime Minister Muskie nominated him as the next Governor General to replace Gerald Ford. Despite his known affiliations with the Liberals, Carter never got involved in any of ongoing political conflicts in the country, unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. This served only to endear him with the public, and as a result it came as no surprise when Prime Minister Reagan nominated him for another 5 year term in 1984. But now, when Carter is definitely out of the running for another five years, the Prime Minister will have to nominate a new Governor General to the Queen for consideration by April 2nd at the latest.


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Comments? Questions? Critiques?