Renegade: The Life and Times of Senator David MacKenzie (R-VT)

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Dave MacKenzie, with Alan Colmes on FOX News, 2012

MacKenzie: Look, I have no problem with giving homosexuals the same rights as heterosexual couples.  What I object to is government defining that as a marriage, when my religion and my upbringing says that it's not.
Colmes: But that's not equal, it's separate but equal, and no matter how equal it may be, it's still not entirely equal.  It's essentially the same as Jim Crow, Dave.
MacKenzie: Listen, Alan, I did not get on a segregated bus in the South with blacks and whites for gay marriage.  I did not sit in at a segregated restaurant in the South with a black classmate for gay marriage.  I did not march with blacks and whites and sing, "We Shall Overcome" for gay marriage.  I never even dreamed back then that we would be having this debate.  And now, I don't want some smug liberal lecturing me on civil rights. 
Colmes: Dave, you don't seem to understand...
MacKenzie: What don't I understand?  I lived it, Alan.  It never even crossed my mind back then that some left-wingers would hijack what I and millions of Americans of all races fought for 50 years ago to support gay marriage.  Your comparison is unfair, it's wrong, and I find it insulting, Alan.  It's not a civil rights issue to me, it's a language issue.  Give them the rights, but don't redefine marriage.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Interesting.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

In a conversation with cousin Bill MacKenzie, September 2008
Dave is visiting with his cousin Bill and discussing the upcoming presidential election.  Bill is a year older than Dave and is the son of his uncle, Francis MacKenzie (the brother of Dave's father Orville MacKenzie, for whom Dave gets his middle name.)  Bill was paralyzed after being struck with polio at the age of seven and has been wheelchair bound ever since.  As he talks with Dave, the conversation shifts toward disabilities. 

Bill: I don't get it, Dave.  Democrats have done such a good job of convincing people with disabilities that they care more, that they want to save them from those nasty Republicans who want them to starve.  But why, then, do they think it's OK for a woman to have an abortion if she knows her baby has a disability?
Dave: I know exactly how you feel, Bill.  I don't get it either.
Bill: And then, they want us to think that it's somehow better for people like me to just go to a doctor to kill ourselves than to stay alive.  Dave, I don't want to die now.  I've got too much life left to live.  I have a wife, I have kids, I have grandkids.  I wouldn't want to leave them grieving for me simply because I don't think my life is good enough and I might as well end it all.  That would just be selfish.  Disabled can be just as successful as anyone else, and they don't need anyone telling them otherwise.  Look at FDR, look at Helen Keller, people like that.  Look at Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska.  She just had a baby with Down's Syndrome.  To say that people like me should just have a "right to die" is insulting.  It may work for an animal, Dave, but I'm not an animal.
Dave: That's just the way the Democrats operate, Bill.  They win you over by promising you handouts, but when you need more help, they just tell you you're on your own.   It's why I never trusted those guys.  I've made friends with plenty of them in the Senate, but it really makes me sick to think that people like that could seriously believe some of the things they say.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

[Mechaman]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

He downplayed social issues and focused on economic issues.  And it was 1988, when there were still enough Republicans in Vermont to make a difference.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

What do you mean?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

What do you mean?

http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/alternate_history/butterfly_effect

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

What do you mean?

http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/alternate_history/butterfly_effect

Did you read the answer I gave Mechaman?  If that's not satisfactory, I can add some divergences.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

What do you mean?

http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/alternate_history/butterfly_effect

Did you read the answer I gave Mechaman?  If that's not satisfactory, I can add some divergences.

And I wrote it's actually plausible, though more background would be nice.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This thread could become somewhat interesting if it's purpose would be something more than presenting your own political views, for which, frankly, you don't need to pretend you're writing a story.

Just sayin'.

Also, how the flying fyke did this guy get elected Senator of Vermont?

Well, that's one fine, due to possible butterflies (though some background wouldn't hurt). If we take look at the original Americana, none of these people would have a place in their home states in RL.

The problem is, I don't see a "character", I don't see a "story", just a couple of talking points. I may disagree politicaly with the character, actually I prefer to for the diversity sake, but give him some life, man.

What do you mean?

http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/alternate_history/butterfly_effect

Did you read the answer I gave Mechaman?  If that's not satisfactory, I can add some divergences.

And I wrote it's actually plausible, though more background would be nice.

OK, then I can do that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

An example of the above would be Kal's Jefferson Dent who in real life would be unelectable in Alabama--Kal feel free to interject here if you have a different opinion--but nonetheless has made Alabama a Democratic-leaning state in his timelines through the electoral strength of Dent and a "machine" of sorts and greater Democratic appeal to the South (albeit a stronger turnout of its more liberal factions).

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Another example is Montana politics in Mecha's TL, which is so heavily Democratic due to being dominated by the Irish Americans and their political machine, urban population and even unions (correct me if I'm missing something, too lazy to find a particular post).

As of my TL, Alabama politics is dominated by a coalition of African Americans, blue collars from the North, educated urban whites and remaining hardcore New Deal populists, too loyal to either jump Republican or Wallace camp (in fact, lots of them did vote Humphrey in '68). Basically, Albert Brewer's attempt to built such a coalition succeeds, but without Brewer (a successfull example would be Edwin Edwards' base in Louisiana). Said coalition overtook the state party and while in RL the GOP started to make gains by 1964, they still were rather weak on machine level. The Republicans (a new type of Republicans) and Dixiecrat dissidents are basically boxed in the Southeastern part of the state.

I believe our point is that downplaying social issues and focusing on the economy is not enough. Vermont long remained a Republican, partisan-wise, state, but far more moderare than your character appears to be. In order to make it work, especially in the 2000s, you need to come up with some plausible political process. And I'd be the first to read with interests. 

[Mechaman]

Another example is Montana politics in Mecha's TL, which is so heavily Democratic due to being dominated by the Irish Americans and their political machine, urban population and even unions (correct me if I'm missing something, too lazy to find a particular post).

As of my TL, Alabama politics is dominated by a coalition of African Americans, blue collars from the North, educated urban whites and remaining hardcore New Deal populists, too loyal to either jump Republican or Wallace camp (in fact, lots of them did vote Humphrey in '68). Basically, Albert Brewer's attempt to built such a coalition succeeds, but without Brewer (a successfull example would be Edwin Edwards' base in Louisiana). Said coalition overtook the state party and while in RL the GOP started to make gains by 1964, they still were rather weak on machine level. The Republicans (a new type of Republicans) and Dixiecrat dissidents are basically boxed in the Southeastern part of the state.

I believe our point is that downplaying social issues and focusing on the economy is not enough. Vermont long remained a Republican, partisan-wise, state, but far more moderare than your character appears to be. In order to make it work, especially in the 2000s, you need to come up with some plausible political process. And I'd be the first to read with interests.  

On the Westman Timeline:

A variety of factors (the lack of Eisenhower, a technology boom subsidized by the Kefauver government along with a manufacturing boom that lures many East Coast Democrats to the west, the abandonment of machine reform by the Democratic Party of the 1950's, the incompetence of the Montana GOP, the establishment of a solid Democratic Machine in Butte, Helena, Great Falls, and Missoula by the McGuinness Administration) is really what caused it, though having about 150,000 (conservative estimate) more Irish Catholics in the state really helped (given the politics of the TL).  GOP only starts to make some serious gains after the party finally gets an effective "reform" ground game in many states in the 1970's.

Seriously though, the lack of Eisenhower is probably the big one here.  Just look at the results between 1948 and 1952.  The New Deal was a winning issue in Montana and he managed to reverse the trend in the state.  Decisively I might add.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Campaign 1960: Settling the New Frontier

During the early months of the 1960 presidential campaign, Dave MacKenzie was in somewhat of a quandary.  The 18-year old was not yet old enough to vote (as the voting age at this time was 21),  but, due to the influence of his parents, was very interested in politics.  Mom and Dad raised me well, Dave would reflect in his later years.  But for now, his attention was primarily focused on the presidential election.  Orville and Nancy MacKenzie were active with the Republican party in southern Vermont, and during the GOP nomination contests, remained relatively neutral.  Like his parents, Dave was noncommittal on a candidate, just as long as it was a Republican.  However, the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination was incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.  Dave and his parents all expressed strong admiration for the dynamic Californian due to his support for civil rights and anti-communist stance.  On the other hand, each of them also liked Nelson Rockefeller, the first-term governor of New York.  Rocky, as he was affectionately called, was also a strong supporter of civil rights but took a more moderate stance toward the preservation of New Deal programs, something that made the governor attractive to the MacKenzies.  The other major contender, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, was seen as a rising star in the conservative wing of the GOP, supporting a number of libertarian policies and the scaling back of the New Deal.  While neither Dave nor his parents were particularly supportive of his positions, they nonetheless admired his courage and conviction.

The Republican nomination turned out to be a cakewalk for Nixon, who chose former Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his running mate.  In the general election, Nixon faced another Massachusetts senator, the young, charismatic John F. Kennedy, who had won the Democratic nomination after a hard-fought contest and had defeated Lodge for the Senate eight years earlier.  As soon as it became clear that Nixon would be the GOP nominee, Dave joined the Vice President's campaign while he prepared to begin his freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall.  During the campaign, Kennedy, a Catholic, faced much questioning about his religious beliefs and how it would affect his decisions as president.  The MacKenzies were Protestant but nonetheless had no qualms with Kennedy's religion.  Orville MacKenzie, though a Nixon supporter himself, expressed much admiration for Kennedy's youth, charisma, and charm.  However, he feared that the senator lacked the necessary experience for the presidency.  As the fall campaign heated up, Dave packed his bags and headed for MIT, while his parents were left to work on the Nixon campaign by themselves back in Vermont.  One of the more exciting twists was the first televised presidential debates.  As Dave's parents watched the debates at home, Dave, who lacked access to a television set in his dorm, was forced to listen on the radio.  Meanwhile, in Vermont's at-large congressional election, incumbent Democrat William Meyer was running for a second term against Republican governor Robert Stafford.  Two years earlier, Meyer had broken over a century of GOP control on every statewide office in Vermont, a fact that caused much chagrin for Orville MacKenzie.  With a presidential year suggesting a higher Republican turnout in Vermont, the elder MacKenzie was outspoken in his opposition to Meyer and his enthusiasm to see him defeated.  

On Election Day, November 8, 1960, Orville and Nancy MacKenzie enthusiastically cast their votes for Vice President Nixon, while Dave met with his coworkers on the Nixon campaign to watch the results on TV at one of the volunteers' homes.  The election turned out to be one of the closest in American history, but when all the votes were counted, Kennedy emerged victorious, taking 309 of 537 electoral votes and winning the popular vote by a scant 0.2 percent.  In the Vermont congressional election, Governor Stafford successfully knocked off Congressman Meyer.  After the election, Dave called his father.  Though the MacKenzie patriarch was disappointed by Nixon's loss, he stated that the new president-elect had his full support and was also overjoyed to see the GOP regain the state's lone House seat from Meyer.  

President

Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-MA)/Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX): 309
Vice Pres. Richard Nixon (R-CA)/Fmr. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA): 220
Unpledged Democratic Electors: 8

Senate

Democrats: 65 (-1)
Republicans: 35 (+1)

House

Democrats: 262 (-21)
Republicans: 175 (+22)

[#CriminalizeSobriety]

Campaign 1960: Settling the New Frontier

During the early months of the 1960 presidential campaign, Dave MacKenzie was in somewhat of a quandary.  The 18-year old was not yet old enough to vote (as the voting age at this time was 21),  but, due to the influence of his parents, was very interested in politics.  Mom and Dad raised me well, Dave would reflect in his later years.  But for now, his attention was primarily focused on the presidential election.  Orville and Nancy MacKenzie were active with the Republican party in southern Vermont, and during the GOP nomination contests, remained relatively neutral.  Like his parents, Dave was noncommittal on a candidate, just as long as it was a Republican.  However, the clear frontrunner for the Reupublican nomination was incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.  Dave and his parents all expressed strong admiration for the dynamic Californian due to his support for civil rights and anti-communist stance.  On the other hand, each of them also liked Nelson Rockefeller, the first-term governor of New York.  Rocky, as he was affectionately called, was also a strong supporter of civil rights but took a more moderate stance toward the preservation of New Deal programs, something that made the governor attractive to the MacKenzies.  The other major contender, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, was seen as a rising star in the conservative wing of the GOP, supporting a number of libertarian policies and the scaling back of the New Deal.  While neither Dave nor his parents were particularly supportive of his positions, they nonetheless admired his courage and conviction.

The Republican nomination turned out to be a cakewalk for Nixon, who chose former Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his running mate.  In the general election, Nixon faced another Massachusetts senator, the young, charismatic John F. Kennedy, who had won the Democratic nomination after a hard-fought contest and had defeated Lodge for the Senate eight years earlier.  As soon as it became clear that Nixon would be the GOP nominee, Dave joined the Vice President's campaign while he prepared to begin his freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall.  During the campaign, Kennedy, a Catholic, faced much questioning about his religious beliefs and how it would affect his decisions as president.  The MacKenzies were Protestant but nonetheless had no qualms with Kennedy's religion.  Orville MacKenzie, though a Nixon supporter himself, expressed much admiration for Kennedy's youth, charisma, and charm.  However, he feared that the senator lacked the necessary experience for the presidency.  As the fall campaign heated up, Dave packed his bags and headed for MIT, while his parents were left to work on the Nixon campaign by themselves back in Vermont.  One of the more exciting twists was the first televised presidential debates.  As Dave's parents watched the debates at home, Dave, who lacked access to a television set in his dorm, was forced to listen on the radio.  Meanwhile, in Vermont's at-large congressional election, incumbent Democrat William Meyer was running for a second term against Republican governor Robert Stafford.  Two years earlier, Meyer had broken over a century of GOP control on every statewide office in Vermont, a fact that caused much chagrin for Orville MacKenzie.  With a presidential year suggesting a higher Republican turnout in Vermont, the elder MacKenzie was outspoken in his opposition to Meyer and his enthusiasm to see him defeated. 

On Election Day, November 8, 1960, Orville and Nancy MacKenzie enthusiastically cast their votes for Vice President Nixon, while Dave met with his coworkers on the Nixon campaign to watch the results on TV at one of the volunteers' homes.  The election turned out to be one of the closest in American history, but when all the votes were counted, Kennedy emerged victorious, taking 309 of 537 electoral votes and winning the popular vote by a scant 0.2 percent.  In the Vermont congressional election, Governor Stafford successfully knocked off Congressman Meyer.  After the election, Dave called his father.  Though the MacKenzie patriarch was disappointed by Nixon's loss, he stated that the new president-elect had his full support and was also overjoyed to see the GOP regain the state's lone House seat from Meyer. 

President

[/b]

Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-MA)/Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX): 309
Vice Pres. Richard Nixon (R-CA)/Fmr. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA): 220
Unpledged Democratic Electors: 8

Senate

[/b]

Democrats: 65 (-1)
Republicans: 35 (+1)

House

Democrats: 262 (-21)
Republicans: 175 (+22)

You didn't bold right.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Campaign 1960: Settling the New Frontier

During the early months of the 1960 presidential campaign, Dave MacKenzie was in somewhat of a quandary.  The 18-year old was not yet old enough to vote (as the voting age at this time was 21),  but, due to the influence of his parents, was very interested in politics.  Mom and Dad raised me well, Dave would reflect in his later years.  But for now, his attention was primarily focused on the presidential election.  Orville and Nancy MacKenzie were active with the Republican party in southern Vermont, and during the GOP nomination contests, remained relatively neutral.  Like his parents, Dave was noncommittal on a candidate, just as long as it was a Republican.  However, the clear frontrunner for the Reupublican nomination was incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.  Dave and his parents all expressed strong admiration for the dynamic Californian due to his support for civil rights and anti-communist stance.  On the other hand, each of them also liked Nelson Rockefeller, the first-term governor of New York.  Rocky, as he was affectionately called, was also a strong supporter of civil rights but took a more moderate stance toward the preservation of New Deal programs, something that made the governor attractive to the MacKenzies.  The other major contender, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, was seen as a rising star in the conservative wing of the GOP, supporting a number of libertarian policies and the scaling back of the New Deal.  While neither Dave nor his parents were particularly supportive of his positions, they nonetheless admired his courage and conviction.

The Republican nomination turned out to be a cakewalk for Nixon, who chose former Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his running mate.  In the general election, Nixon faced another Massachusetts senator, the young, charismatic John F. Kennedy, who had won the Democratic nomination after a hard-fought contest and had defeated Lodge for the Senate eight years earlier.  As soon as it became clear that Nixon would be the GOP nominee, Dave joined the Vice President's campaign while he prepared to begin his freshman year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall.  During the campaign, Kennedy, a Catholic, faced much questioning about his religious beliefs and how it would affect his decisions as president.  The MacKenzies were Protestant but nonetheless had no qualms with Kennedy's religion.  Orville MacKenzie, though a Nixon supporter himself, expressed much admiration for Kennedy's youth, charisma, and charm.  However, he feared that the senator lacked the necessary experience for the presidency.  As the fall campaign heated up, Dave packed his bags and headed for MIT, while his parents were left to work on the Nixon campaign by themselves back in Vermont.  One of the more exciting twists was the first televised presidential debates.  As Dave's parents watched the debates at home, Dave, who lacked access to a television set in his dorm, was forced to listen on the radio.  Meanwhile, in Vermont's at-large congressional election, incumbent Democrat William Meyer was running for a second term against Republican governor Robert Stafford.  Two years earlier, Meyer had broken over a century of GOP control on every statewide office in Vermont, a fact that caused much chagrin for Orville MacKenzie.  With a presidential year suggesting a higher Republican turnout in Vermont, the elder MacKenzie was outspoken in his opposition to Meyer and his enthusiasm to see him defeated. 

On Election Day, November 8, 1960, Orville and Nancy MacKenzie enthusiastically cast their votes for Vice President Nixon, while Dave met with his coworkers on the Nixon campaign to watch the results on TV at one of the volunteers' homes.  The election turned out to be one of the closest in American history, but when all the votes were counted, Kennedy emerged victorious, taking 309 of 537 electoral votes and winning the popular vote by a scant 0.2 percent.  In the Vermont congressional election, Governor Stafford successfully knocked off Congressman Meyer.  After the election, Dave called his father.  Though the MacKenzie patriarch was disappointed by Nixon's loss, he stated that the new president-elect had his full support and was also overjoyed to see the GOP regain the state's lone House seat from Meyer. 

President

[/b]

Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-MA)/Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX): 309
Vice Pres. Richard Nixon (R-CA)/Fmr. Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MA): 220
Unpledged Democratic Electors: 8

Senate

[/b]

Democrats: 65 (-1)
Republicans: 35 (+1)

House

Democrats: 262 (-21)
Republicans: 175 (+22)

You didn't bold right.

Thanks!  I just fixed it.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

NOTE: This is simply a "filler" until I can get another update in MacKenzie's life.  So please don't lambast me for not making this "interesting" enough.

"I can't believe it.  That stingy, good-for-nothing Scotch b*stard MacKenzie got reelected?  I thought for sure that a far-right, reactionary Republican like him would get pounded.  I guess the anti-Dent wave was too strong.  But, h*ll, if this keeps up, that d*mn MacKenzie will be running for President before we know it."
-Gov. Howard Dean (D-VT), in a private conversation with aides, late on Election Night, November 8, 1994

"Dave MacKenzie is one of the biggest threats to the Democratic party today, and he should be taken as such."
-Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, shortly before the Iowa caucuses, January 1996

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Stay tuned; I'll be posting an update soon.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

"Not a day goes by that I don't think of my parents.  As I look back over the years, I'm so glad I hade the parents I did.  My Dad was a farm boy; my grandparents were primarily dairy farmers, but they raised a number of crops and livestock.  My Dad learned a lot about machinery during his teens working on the farm with them, and he later turned that into a career working as a Western Auto dealer in Brattleboro and the surrounding area.  I spent a lot of my spare time working there, usually stocking shelves or tending the register when nobody else was available.  Bobby and my sister Susan often helped out, too.  Mom and him were both very active in the Republican party where we lived; my Mom was one of the leaders in the GOP women's organization in our county, and my Dad held a number of leadership positions as well.  They got to meet a lot of high-profile Republicans during that time.  My entire family was Republican, and they still are.  My parents, my grandparents and great-grandparents on both sides, they were all Republicans.  My aunts and uncles, were all Republicans, my siblings and cousins are all Republicans and have served as county chairs, treasurers, you name it.  We never changed, and I don't even think the Republican party changed.  The only thing that changed was the times.  In the 60s, we would have been considered moderates, maybe even liberals.  Nowadays we'd probably be labeled as pretty conservative."
-Senator Dave MacKenzie (R-VT), in an interview on MSNBC's Headliners & Legends, 2007

"I got to know Dave pretty well during his first few years in the Senate.  When he ran for president in '96, I was one of the first Senators to endorse him, although I was retiring.  A lot of people have compared him to me over the years.  I can see the comparison, and I'm flattered by it, but I don't have much else to say on that matter."
-Former Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR; 1922-2011)

[Oldiesfreak1854]

The Long and Winding Road

Spring 1961

   Nineteen-year old Dave MacKenzie was just finishing his first year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Now, as he got ready to unwind for the fast-approaching summer, he was unsure of how he would spend his spare time.  He thought back to his old grade-school compositions: "what I did on my summer vacation."  The only thing he knew is that it would be nothing like what he wrote about back then.  He walked out to his shiny, well-polished Oldsmobile Starfire 88 and looked at the Nixon/Lodge bumper sticker on the back bumper.  I wish I could have done more, Dave thought, thinking back to the Republican ticket's razor-thin loss in the presidential election the previous year.  Mom and Dad always told me that every vote counts, and I always took it for granted before then.  If only I'd been eligible...  He knew he could go on and on about what would have, could have, or should have been, but now was not the time to wallow in the past.  As President John F. Kennedy was beginning his term, Dave had high hopes.  Dave's father, Orville MacKenzie, was an ardent opponent of Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union, and the new president had pledged to take a firm stand against communism.  Though not directly related to his policy, Dave and his father both admired Kennedy's speaking skills and ability to work with both parties.  He remembered a speech Kennedy had given while still a Senator: "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer," and his inaugural address just a few months earlier: "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."  Finally, Dave thought.  A Democrat I could actually like.
   The air outside smelled fresh and clean, with flowers in bloom.  The only polluting scent Dave could sense was that of cigarettes being smoked by students, both on campus and inside.  He didn't smoke, but the smell reminded him of his uncle Frank, his dad's brother, for whom Dave got his middle name.  Francis MacKenzie was a World War II veteran and a heavy smoker, and whenever Dave and his family would go to his house, it always smelled smoky.  His uncle would always be sitting in the living room, smoking another cigarette or struggling through a coughing jag while watching Gunsmoke or The Danny Thomas Show on his black-and-white TV.  Dave had come to hate the smell, and every time he sensed it, his stomach would churn a little.  He thought back to once, when he was still a child; his sister Susan, one year younger, was irritated by the smell, which made her so sick she ran outside and threw up behind a tree in the backyard.  But like his reminiscing on the Nixon campaign, the cigarette smoke was the least of Dave's concerns. 
   Shortly after starting at MIT, Dave had become a card-carrying member in two of America's largest civil rights organizations, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).  Civil rights activists were planning a series of bus rides beginning in Washington DC to fight racial segregation on public transportation in the South.  Dave wanted to volunteer, but wasn't sure he wanted to take the risks he knew would be involved.  As he drove to his parents' house in Brattleboro, Vermont, he tossed the idea over in his head.  After nearly an hour of mulling, he remembered the words of wisdom his father had shared with him so long ago: "Believing in something means nothing if you don't have the courage to stand up for it."  Dave had made his decision.  When he arrived home, he told his parents that he had an important announcement, and after supper that night, he went into the living room with them, sat down, and cleared his throat.  "Mom, Dad," he began.  "I'm going down South."

To be continued

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Should be fun times ahead.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Auburn, Massachusetts
Spring 1961

   Nineteen-year old Donna Malone (soon to be twenty) had just returned home after finishing her first year at Amherst College.  The headstrong teenager was in a mental quandary.  She was sick of being cast into the mold of what society expected from her as a woman; she longed for something more, but she couldn't figure out what it was.  I don't want to spend the rest of my life drudging in the kitchen and cleaning up after other people, she thought.  There's got to be something more.  This independent streak was clearly evident as she made her way upstairs to her old room in her white blouse and tight, hip-hugging Levi's jeans.  When she got there, the room was the same as when she had vacated it after Christmas break a few months earlier.  She sat down and looked out the window, deep in thought.  
   Donna's parents, William and Dorothy Malone, were almost as independent-minded as her, a reflection of their flinty Yankee stock.  The Malones came from an orange Irish background, their earliest ancestors coming to Massachusetts from County Westmeath in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  Because of this, and the fact that they were mostly Presbyterian (with a few Unitarians thrown in), they were considered WASPs by most and were able to mostly avoid the anti-Irish and nativist sentiment of 19th and early 20th century America.  And it reflected in their politics: the Malones were strong Republicans, drawing a stark contrast to the fiercely Democratic Irish Catholics in Boston and other areas of Massachusetts.  Donna herself had worked for the Republican party during the 1960 campaign, alternating between her classes at Amherst and volunteering for Richard Nixon, Leverett Saltonstall, and John A. Volpe.  Massachusetts had played a large role in the presidential election, being the home state of Henry Cabot Lodge, Nixon's running mate, as well as the new president, John F. Kennedy.  Bill and Dorothy Malone, despite their disappointment at Nixon's defeat, genuinely admired Kennedy and were proud to have a Bay Stater in the White House, and Donna felt largely the same.  
   But outside of politics, Donna felt empty inside.  Her first boyfriend was forced to break up with her after high school as she headed off to Amherst and he headed off to the Navy.  There's got to be another guy I can love, she mused, and one who will love me back.  As she got up, she spotted a 45 she had bought while she was at Amherst.  She read the label: "Where the Boys Are-Connie Francis."  Perfect for how I feel right now, she thought.  She walked over to the turntable in the corner, pulled the record out of the sleeve, and played it.  Seconds later, the room was filled with Connie Francis' sweet, smooth, sultry voice:

"Where the boys are, someone waits for me,
A smiling face, a warm embrace, two arms to hold me tenderly..."

As Donna listened to Connie's crooning, she thought to herself, I know I'll find that guy some time. But when?

"Where the boys are, my true love will be,
He's walking down some street in town, and I know he's lookin' there for me."

I know I don't need it.  I can work as hard as any of them and get ahead without a man at my side.  But I want it.  I want it more than anything.  Donna sighed.  She sat on her bed as she continued to listen to the song:

"In the crowd of a million people, I'll find my Valentine,
And then I'll climb to the highest steeple and tell the world he's mine;
Till he holds me, I'll wait impatiently,
Where the boys, are, where the boys are,
Where the boys are, someone waits for me."

As the last few lines repeated and the song ended, Donna got up.  She knew that she would find love, but she wasn't sure she wanted to wait.  But instead of worrying about it, she walked downstairs.  She knew that there were bigger issues to face right now, and those needed to be taken care of first.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I hope to have an update coming up in the near future, so stay tuned.  I'm gonna have to get some things in order first, though.