Vice, Virtue, and Independence (A Different Path, Chapter 2)

[Cold War Liberal]

August 26 - 29, 1968
Democratic National Convention

The Democratic party entered their quadrennial convention, in Chicago this time, without a nominee. As expected, Udall, Johnson, McGovern, and Wallace were all far short of the 1,304 delegates needed to secure the nomination on the first ballot. All four candidates jockeyed for the support of the remaining unpledged delegates, and all four had a chance to win the nomination (though some were more likely than others).

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the convention hall to protest against the very presence of Governor George Wallace at the convention. They shouted and chanted for McGovern or Udall or even Lyndon Johnson; as long as the nominee wasn’t Wallace, they’d be happy. The protests remained peaceful, though the police tasked with keeping an eye on them treated them like they were a violent, riotous mob.

The platform creation process was a little less of a mess than it usually was when there was no nominee; Wallace, while socially conservative, was rather fiscally liberal, as were the other three candidates. The party resolved to simply ignore the topic of segregation and civil rights entirely, letting the eventual nominee decide where they stood on the issues. This angered the protesters, but helped with party unity.

In the hours before the first ballot was cast, the four candidates scrambled to get the endorsements of the remaining delegates. And then, the vote was taken.

First Ballot, Democratic National Convention, 1968
(total = 2,607, majority = 1,304)

George C. Wallace: 891
Lyndon B. Johnson: 652
Morris K. Udall: 601
George S. McGovern: 392
Others: 71

Wallace, somewhat surprisingly, came out on top. However, it didn’t matter much, because now primary state delegates were unbound, and could be swayed by Lyndon B. Johnson, a masterful political maneuverer.

Second Ballot, Democratic National Convention, 1968
(total = 2,607, majority = 1,304)

Lyndon B. Johnson: 1,018
George C. Wallace: 621
George S. McGovern: 476
Morris K. Udall: 427
Others: 65

Still, Johnson’s tactics were not enough to secure the nomination on the second ballot. Nor, as it turns out, the third. Or the fourth. By the fifth ballot, Udall had been so diminished by McGovern and Johnson that he only had his home state’s delegation and that of Mormon-heavy Utah pledged to him. Wallace, in the meantime, had wrested Wisconsin and Kentucky back from Johnson, but could not get Florida back, as its delegation was controlled by George Smathers, a Johnson ally.

Fifth Ballot, Democratic National Convention, 1968
(total = 2,607, majority = 1,304)

Lyndon B. Johnson: 956
George S. McGovern: 772
George C. Wallace: 765
Morris K. Udall: 58
Others: 56

Following the fifth ballot, Vice President Udall gave a speech to the convention dropping out of contention. The sixth ballot was hardly different from the fifth, and the seventh wasn’t much different from the sixth, and on it went. Before the tenth ballot, Democrats tried to draft Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman as a compromise, but Secretary Freeman immediately shut that attempt down with a Shermanesque statement. Finally, just before the fourteenth ballot, George McGovern gave a speech. Many expected him to drop out of the running. They were wrong.

“...cannot let our party be overrun by the forces of Southern bigotry. George Wallace represents the worst of our party, but Lyndon B. Johnson is only better by comparison. He doesn’t care about the issues we progressives do, he only pretends to in order to win our votes! Never has a more conniving, crooked political operative stood for nomination by the Democratic party. That is why I will not be dropping out of contention on the next ballot.

Delegates, select me to be your nominee and we will forge a better America for blacks and immigrants. We will end the Cold War, build bridges with the USSR and not walls, and ensure democracy around the world through diplomacy and never through unprovoked war. We will pull our ‘military advisers’ out of Vietnam, where they have no business being. We will ensure free government-provided health insurance for most Americans. We will repair relations with Cuba. We will…”

It was intended to rally delegates to McGovern’s side. Instead, the South Dakota Senator came off as a “dime-store Communist,” in the words of one delegate from Missouri. "McGovern is probably unelectable, maybe even against Goldwater," President Kennedy was rumored to have said.

But then, just before balloting began, the whole game changed.

NOTE: State maps show who won the majority or plurality of a state's delegations, not necessarily the entirety of them

[You don't see any blue avatars now]

Lyndon B. Johnson: 956
George S. McGovern: 772
George C. Wallace: 765
Morris K. Udall: 58
Others: 56

Stop! Stop, he's already dead!

[MillennialModerate]

It’s hard to imagine the greatest country in the world going from leaders like FDR! (Truman), IKE! and JF effing K! .... to George Wallace?! How could the Dems let him lead after the first ballot? That would make 3/4ths of the country vote GOP.

I would imagine that JFK’s preference in this situation would be hugely pivotal considering how great of a President he was in OTL but even more so in this TL... a successful president with rock star like popularity would surely have sway with delegates in his own party, right?

[Neo-Malthusian Misanthrope]

Surely Johnson would appeal more to the McGovern-ites than Wallace, but again, you have promised to send us down a different path. Excited to see what happens to the Democrats.

[NewYorkExpress]

Could McGovern actually win the nomination?

In any event, no matter who emerges for the Democrats, I predict a Goldwater victory in November...with Teddy/RFK winning in 1972.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Draft Bobby!

[Cold War Liberal]

August 28, 1968
Lyndon

Governor Lyndon B. Johnson had the national Democratic Party just where he wanted them.

Lyndon was a proud, lifelong Democrat. He was also a fighter, and not one to go down easily.

When the tax evasion scandal broke back in ‘64, the Democrats hadn’t just left him for dead, they’d forced him out of office and replaced him with some boy from Arizona. Even Jack didn’t like Funny Guy enough to endorse him in the primaries. Anyway, Lyndon had bounced back in a dramatic fashion. He’d beaten Connally, twice, and used his political machine to win the governorship. And now, he was out for blood.

Those pointy-headed New England party insiders had begged him to stay out of the ‘68 election. That was stupid of them, because without Lyndon, that racist from Alabama would be in a much better position than he was now, especially since McGovern now had that great big “dime-store Communist” label stamped on his forehead for all of America to see. Lyndon was about to prove that hypothesis, right after he finished his scotch and cigar.

The DNC didn’t want to nominate Lyndon after thirteen ballots? Fine. I’ll make them sorry they didn’t, he thought. He’d always had a contingency plan.

I can’t f--- the DNC in the a--, but I’m sure as hell not gonna let them get away with what they did to me in ‘64. I’m gonna at least p----rslap them.

[Cold War Liberal]

August 26 - 29, 1968
Democratic National Convention

It was intended to rally delegates to McGovern’s side. Instead, the South Dakota Senator came off as a “dime-store Communist,” in the words of one delegate from Missouri.

Fun fact: this was Missouri Lt. Governor and Democratic nominee for US Senate Thomas Eagleton who made this comment. The same guy who wounded McGovern with the "acid, amnesty, and abortion" comment (and destroyed him with the "Eagleton Affair") IRL.

August 28, 1968
Lyndon

I can’t f--- the DNC in the a--, but I’m sure as hell not gonna let them get away with what they did to me in ‘64. I’m gonna at least p----rslap them.

Paraphrasing my favorite LBJ quote here.

[NewYorkExpress]

It’s hard to imagine the greatest country in the world going from leaders like FDR! (Truman), IKE! and JF effing K! .... to George Wallace?! How could the Dems let him lead after the first ballot? That would make 3/4ths of the country vote GOP.

I would imagine that JFK’s preference in this situation would be hugely pivotal considering how great of a President he was in OTL but even more so in this TL... a successful president with rock star like popularity would surely have sway with delegates in his own party, right?

Or it would make Wallace win the election, as he rides JFK's popularity, and white resentment, to a commanding win in almost every state (with the exception of Goldwater's Western base).

[Cold War Liberal]

August 28, 1968
Jack

F---!

Lyndon Johnson had just either completely f---ed the entire Democratic party, or the entire United States of America. Or, possibly, both simultaneously.

Jack watched from his Chicago hotel room as Lyndon Johnson announced his withdraw from the race for the nomination. The fourteenth ballot was cast. Jack had hoped they’d pick McGovern. Suffice to say that, after that speech McGovern gave seemingly embracing elements of Communism and supporting Communist regimes, they didn’t.

Fourteenth Ballot, Democratic National Convention, 1968
(2,607 = total, 1,304 = majority)

George C. Wallace: 1,478
George S. McGovern: 990
Others: 139

George Corley Wallace would be the Democratic nominee in 1968. Holy f---, Jack thought.

Aides and Democratic higher-ups were abuzz in the President’s hotel room.

“Wallace versus Goldwater? That’s a terrible match-up!”

“Who’ll be Wallace’s running mate?”

“Mr. President, what does this mean for your legacy?”

"Can we undo this ballot and choose someone else?"

"No," said the President, "the ballot has been cast. While I don't agree with Wallace at all, a quarter of primary voters voted for him, and a majority of the delegates did as well. As for the running mate, I have an idea..."

Jack was quiet for a minute as he thought it through a little more. "Yes, he'll do. Give him Mahoney to run with."

“Who?”

“The Governor of Maryland. The somewhat racist former businessman. The DNC just made a mistake, but I think we should make the most of it.” Jack didn’t want to say it out loud, because some southern Democrats were in the room, but what he meant was that progressive Democrats had the chance to kill off everything Wallace stood for in the Democratic party: social conservatism and racist demagoguery. Wallace would crash and burn, if Jack had his way, and out of the ashes would rise a new, more progressive Democratic party in ‘72. And he knew just who he’d support as leader of that movement.

An aide spread the word. A few minutes later, George P. Mahoney was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States. Wallace hadn’t had a say in the matter. God help us all, Jack prayed.


Half an hour later, Jack looked at the TV again, and to his surprise, there was Lyndon Johnson.

“...have made the grave mistake of nominating someone who is at odds with a large number of those in our party, and in our country. So, I stand up here to announce that not only am I leading a number of our delegations in a walk-out, but I am going to be a candidate for President of the United States as an ‘Independent Democrat’ this November. I have just spoken to the man who will be my running-mate, Florida Senator George Smathers, and we believe that we are the best team to lead the country into the 1970’s. We are committed to the progressive government programs of the Kennedy Administration. We are committed to containing communism. And we are committed to making sure that every American has equal treatment under the-”

The feed from the convention floor cut out. Jack’s jaw was still agape. No one had thought to inform the President of the United States that his own former Vice President was about to stage a political coup?

Perhaps because no one had known.

Damn you, Lyndon, you crafty SOB.

[OBD]

Oh. God. No.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

WOO! I’m surprised Johnson would choose a conservative Southerner as his running-mate. Doesn’t give a large swath of disaffected northern liberals and moderates much of a choice.

[Neo-Malthusian Misanthrope]

So Goldwater and Wallace split the conservative vote, Wallace and LBJ split the southern vote, and LBJ and Goldwater split the anti-segregation vote? Crazy stuff, all that's missing is for Nixon to somehow sneak up the middle and win.

[NewYorkExpress]

So Goldwater and Wallace split the conservative vote, Wallace and LBJ split the southern vote, and LBJ and Goldwater split the anti-segregation vote? Crazy stuff, all that's missing is for Nixon to somehow sneak up the middle and win.

Maybe not Nixon...but Rockefeller instead?

[Cold War Liberal]

WOO! I’m surprised Johnson would choose a conservative Southerner as his running-mate. Doesn’t give a large swath of disaffected northern liberals and moderates much of a choice.

Smathers has nothing to lose by "betraying" the Democratic party, as he's retiring in '68.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Wow, Lyndon. Nontheless, Goldwater will win- but this is fascinating.

[MillennialModerate]

Whoah! Great writing .. a twist I didn’t see coming

I actually thought Lyndon would get the nomination and Wallce would run third party as he did in RL and Wallace taking the South and splitting the Dem vote would throw the election to Goldwater.

This whole thing from Chapter 1 and onto now is brilliant!

[MillennialModerate]

Smathers was a great friend of JFK, in my perfect dream scenario he was the one to succeed JFK in ‘68.

https://youtu.be/ezGDLOcZVjw

[Cold War Liberal]

September 3, 1968
Gallup Poll
President Kennedy Approval Rating
Approve: 72%
Disapprove: 27%
Not sure: 1%
Didn’t answer: 0%
Who are you more inclined to vote for in the general election?

Governor Lyndon Johnson/Senator George Smathers: 37%, 275 Electoral Votes
Senator Barry Goldwater/Governor Ronald Reagan: 29%, 77 Electoral Votes
Former Governor George Wallace/Governor George Mahoney: 25%, 98 Electoral Votes
Undecided/Tossup: 9%, 88 Electoral Votes

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I find it hard to imagine that Goldwater has even less support than in real life 1964.

[Cold War Liberal]

September 1, 1968
Democrats Have Buyers’ Remorse with Wallace;
Pres. Kennedy: “Too Late to Turn Back Now”

Following the nomination of the Democratic ticket of George Wallace and George Mahoney several days ago, many Democrats have expressed regret at the fact that the two conservatives were nominated, and that the progressives split off and either rallied behind the independent candidacy of Governor Lyndon Johnson or have "boycotted" the election. There has even been talk of reconvening the delegates and casting a fifteenth ballot nominating a ticket of Senators George McGovern and Edward Kennedy for President and Vice President, but that would be logistically implausible at this point.

On the topic, President Kennedy made a speech to major Democratic politicians last night, in which he mentioned the ticket. “It was not the ticket I would have preferred,” the President said, “but it had the support of a significant number of the primary voters, and of the majority of the delegates at the convention. At this point, it would be too late to go back and rectify this perceived mistake.”

The President has not endorsed any candidate at this time.

September 6, 1968
Debate Talks Collapse

Networks ABC, CBS, and NBC were all in talks with the three presidential candidates. The topic: holding debates like those held in the past two election years. The 1964 debates were widely viewed by the American public, and brought ABC large amounts of money from advertisers. However, sources in the networks say that the talks to hold debates in the 1968 cycle have collapsed after Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee, has refused to debate, and Lyndon Johnson, Independent Democrat and odds-on favorite to win the Presidency, refused to participate in a debate that did not include Goldwater, his fiercest competitor.

What this means for the future of televised Presidential debates is uncertain, but one thing is clear: there will not be Presidential debates in 1968.

September 15, 1968
Endorsements from Democrats, Republicans Split

With the unusual ideological bents of the candidates in this year’s Presidential election, endorsements are panning out in odd ways.

President Kennedy has not endorsed any candidate, especially not the candidate of his own party, Governor George Wallace. Wallace, in fact, has received endorsements only from Southern Democrats. Not a single Democratic officeholder from outside of the former Confederacy has endorsed Wallace.

Barry Goldwater has won the endorsement of most Republicans, especially notable conservatives such as William F. Buckley, Jr., who has campaigned with the Senator in recent months. One notable Republican defector: 1964 Presidential nominee and Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller. Surprisingly, Rockefeller has thrown his support behind Lyndon B. Johnson, independent Democrat candidate and Governor of Texas.

The former Vice President has won the endorsement of Senator George McGovern, current Vice President Morris Udall, Senator Ted Kennedy, and most Democrats from outside the South (President Kennedy aside).

Among the general electorate, most progressives are supporting Johnson, while Wallace and Goldwater are splitting the conservative vote. Goldwater is doing remarkably well in the South, for a Republican, though Wallace (and to an extent Johnson) have the home field advantage there. Wallace has little appeal outside the South; Johnson and Goldwater are the main competitors outside that region.

September 26, 1968

BREAKING: Goldwater: Can’t Take Nukes “Off the Table”Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater made what pundits are calling “a potentially major gaffe” this morning. While giving a speech at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, Senator Goldwater said that in the fight against “global communism,” no option can be “taken off the table, including nuclear weapons.” He cited several military experts who have stated that, should war break out, tactical, low-yield nuclear weapons could give the US the upper hand.

This, of course, would break the long-held “nuclear taboo:” after Hiroshima, nuclear weapons are not used in conflict unless absolutely necessary. Many have expressed concern at hearing this kind of cavalier statement from a major Presidential candidate.

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

i wonder where I've heard "not off the table" before...

[Mr. Smith]

Kinda bummed Humphrey stayed out. That man was just as ruthless if a bit toothless about strategy and tactics compared to LBJ.

[Cold War Liberal]

October 1, 1968
Gallup Poll
President Kennedy Approval Rating
Approve: 71%
Disapprove: 28%
Not sure: 1%
Didn’t answer: 0%
Who are you more inclined to vote for in the general election?

Governor Lyndon Johnson/Senator George Smathers: 41%, 302 Electoral Votes
Senator Barry Goldwater/Governor Ronald Reagan: 27%, 41 Electoral Votes
Former Governor George Wallace/Governor George Mahoney: 27%, 123 Electoral Votes
Undecided/Tossup: 5%, 72 Electoral Votes

[Cold War Liberal]

October 4, 1968
Goldwater Slips, Wallace Surges, Johnson Leads in Plains

Recent Gallup polls should cause worry for the Goldwater campaign. After his comments on nuclear weapons, the Arizona Senator took a beating across the country, including in the Plains, which had the knock-on effect of causing the Democratic nominee, George Wallace, to surge in those states. Goldwater and Wallace splitting the conservative vote in the Plains means that Lyndon Johnson has been able to stay ahead of both of them in those states with less than 40% of the vote in each of them (much like how he’s leading nationwide with barely 40% of the national popular vote).

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a Johnson victory. The Texas governor’s lead only continues to increase as Wallace makes statements most Americans view as racist, and Goldwater makes gaffes that many perceive as threatening to peace.

October 10, 1968
Can Heston Win?

Actor and Senatorial Candidate Charlton Heston in 1963

Hollywood actor Charlton Heston, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in California, is in a statistical dead heat with his opponent, California Controller Alan Cranston. Heston, a former Democrat who recently defected to Goldwater conservatism, beat out incumbent Senator Thomas Kuchel in the Republican primary and is using his star power to attempt to become the third actor-turned-California elected official in the past few years.

Heston’s conversion from a liberal Democrat to a conservative Republican has been swift and dramatic. The Ben-Hur actor, who previously endorsed Democrats for the presidency, claims to have been stirred by Goldwater’s 1964 campaign for the nomination, and, after meeting and discussing politics with Goldwater in 1967, decided to endorse him before the California primary, which Goldwater won.

Some conservative Republicans, including Goldwater, reached out to Heston last year to try to get him to run for Senate against incumbent Senator Kuchel, who was a Rockefeller-aligned liberal Republican. Heston “took some time to think,” and decided to run, narrowly beating Kuchel in the primary.

Heston also cites George Wallace’s “racist fear mongering” and George McGovern’s “radical socialism” as reasons for his decision to endorse Goldwater.

Heston is running as a fiscal conservative and social moderate. He has emphasized that his newfound conservatism does not mean he does not support federal action on civil rights, which is an area where he dissents from Goldwater and his fellow conservatives on Capitol Hill.

October 18, 1968
After Black Power Salute, Smathers Comments

Two days ago, at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in solidarity with the black community in the United States. The gesture, a condemnation of racism and racial segregation in America and around the world, is controversial, but that did not stop Lyndon B. Johnson’s running mate, Senator George Smathers, from weighing in on the subject.

“They should just be happy with what the Kennedy Administration has done for them,” said Smathers at a campaign stop in his home state of Florida, where segregation was in full force only three years ago. “I mean, Lyndon and I will fight for more rights for the blacks, but at a certain point it gets to be too much too fast, and these impatient ingrates need to realize that their stupid gestures aren’t going to help anything, and that they’re better off just shutting up and voting for Johnson next month.”

Some have decried Smathers’s comments as rude and in poor taste. Others have pointed out that one of the reasons for the protests was the failure of the Voting Rights Act, which means that blacks’ Constitutional right to the vote is not being adequately protected, especially in Southern states like Florida. Regardless, it is unlikely that this comment will significantly affect the race in any way.

October 26, 1968
Reagan a Major Asset to Goldwater Campaign

California Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Ronald Reagan is turning out to be a major asset for the campaign of Barry Goldwater. A talented orator, staunch conservative, and ardent Goldwater defender, Governor Reagan has been touring the country and giving speeches on behalf of the Goldwater campaign for the past two weeks. After tumbling in the polls, Goldwater’s campaign has seen an increase in support nationwide since his gaffe on nuclear weapons, though he still trails “Independent Democrat” candidate Lyndon Johnson significantly. “Vice President Ronald Reagan” probably will not happen, but perhaps Reagan can give the Democrats a run for their money in 1972.