By a Fluke of the Gods: Cox Defeats Harding

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-05-1971
Event Description: The new Congress convenes and elects the new party leaders. The Democrats, now in control of the House of Representatives, escalate Carl Albert (Democrat of Oklahoma) to Speaker of the House. After a brutal race for House Majority leader between John Ashbrook (Democrat of Ohio) and Hale Boggs (Democrat of Louisiana), Congressman Boggs emerges as the winner after securing support from many Western Democrats. Gerald Ford (Republican of Michigan) does not run for Minority Leader since he is planning on retiring in 1972. Fellow Michigan Republican Malcolm Little wins the spot after edging out John Anderson (Republican of Illinois). IN the Senate, incumbent Senate Majority Leader Hubert Humphrey is retained, despite being challenged by Jack Miller (Republican of Iowa), who claimed that he was better fit for the job since he had been, “A Republican since I was a boy.”       

Event Date: 1-12-1971
Event Description: The Committee to Investigate the CIA begins hearings on Capitol Hill. The committee will interview CIA higher-ups for the entire year. The committees first witness id former Director James Schlesinger, who takes responsibility for the assassinations, keeping the White House out of the mess. “I acted alone,” Schlesinger confesses, “My actions in the Middle East were brought about only by my love of this country and a want for a better future.” At the White House Pat Buchanan tells President Nixon, “Schlesinger is a good patsy. I think we may just get away with everything.” “No,” Nixon tells Buchanan, “We’re still in hot water. Pat, you better get the boys out on Goss.” Porter Goss, the CIA agent who confessed to Woodward and Bernstein about the CIA assassinations, is expected to be the “star witness” for the committee.

Event Date: 1-18-1971
Event Description: Socialist Party President Kazimierz Switala is defeated for reelection in the Polish presidential election by Solidarity Party candidate Lech Wałęsa. Lech Wałęsa’s party is not right-winged; in fact it represents the impoverished industrial workers of Poland. President-elect Wałęsa promises more workers’ rights, but also protection for small business from an overtaxing government.

Event Date: 1-30-1971
Event Description: Senator Miler announces that he and the Chinese government have made a deal to bring home all known American POW/MIAs by 1974. Harry Truman travels to Peking to oversee their return. Truman will find out that many agreements with China were secret, under the table deals. “If we didn’t have these secret deals then maybe these boys wouldn’t be coming home,” Truman confines to his diary that night, “But we’ve had to work with mobsters, terrorists and other lowlifes to get these boys back. I wonder if Jack did right. All I know is that I’m getting to old for this sh**t.”

Event Date: 2-01-1971
Event Description: The Toronto Pact begins withdrawal from China, despite the protests of President Nixon. The city of Shanghai has been claming down since the surge of US troops, but President Nixon refuses to go it alone in China’s reconstruction. Nixon is outvoted by the coalition members, forcing him it face reality. Once again he will not have a balanced budget due to Chinese reconstruction.

Event Date: 2-19-1971
Event Description: Congressman John Ashbrook introduces the Ashbrook Tax Act. This act expands the Kennedy Tax Cuts even further. “Our economy is in its worse shape since the 1930s,” Congressman Ashbrooke tells his colleagues on the House floor, “This tax relief is necessary to grow our economy.” House Minority Leader Malcolm Little cries foul. “This is just a publicity stunt for Mr. Ashbrooke!” booms Congressman Little on the House floor, “He wants the Oval Office, so he needs the rich people. He doesn’t care that these tax cuts will bankrupt our nation’s treasury and leave millions without basic human necessities! No! He only cares about making the money men happy.” The Republicans don’t know how to respond to this type of inflammatory language. Congressman Udall breaks the silence by giving the Minority Leader a standing ovation. “God people,” Udall says, “Someone had to say it. We were all thinking it.”

Event Date: 2-23-1971
Event Description: The House passes the Ashbrook Tax Act. The Buckeye Democrat declares that he has defeated, “The attempted class warfare of Mr. Little.” House Minority Leader Little declares that he has not yet begun to fight, but for now Ashbrook’s tax act looks likely to enter law.

Event Date: 3-09-1971
Event Description: The Plumbers break into CIA agent Port Goss’ Washington, D.C., office hoping to find something to discredit him. However, there is nothing. “No doctor visits, no mistresses, not even any traffic tickets!” G. Gordon Liddy complains, “This is like trying to smear June Cleaver.” With nothing to shut him up with in the scandal department, the Plumbers decide to take drastic action.

Event Date: 3-12-1971
Event Description: In one of the latest snow storms in Washington, D.C., history, CIA agent Porter Goss is driving to his home in the Alexandria suburbs when an out of control car slams into Goss’ vehicle at 90 MPH. Goss is rushed to George Washington Hospital in D.C., but the driver of the other vehicle, Eugenio Martínez, is killed upon impact. After several hours of intensive care, Goss dies the next morning from internal bleeding. This tragedy has left a widow, an orphan and the Committee to Investigate the CIA without its star witness. Woodward and Bernstein are sure that some dirty tricks from the president’s men lead to the death of Mr. Goss.

Event Date: 3-20-1971
Event Description: Howard Hughes’ personal assistant John H. Meier meets with Woodward and Bernstein at the Capitol Estate, the restaurant of the Willard’s Hotel. Meier volunteers to investigate the death of Porter Goss. “I hate Dick Nixon, boys,” Meier tells them bluntly, “I want him out of the White House and behind bars. I wouldn’t trust Nixon any further than I could throw him.” The two reporters agree to this deal, thus starting the investigation into the mysterious death of Mr. Goss.

Event Date: 4-01-1971
Event Description: Attorney General Alexander Butterfield testifies before the Committee to Investigate the CIA. “Mr. Attorney General,” Senator Sam Ervin (Democrat of North Carolina) asks, “Did you know if any presidential aids had anything to do with the CIA assassinations?” “Yes I do,” responds Butterfield, “Chief of Staff Haldeman and chief aid Pat Buchanan. They both had direct interaction with Director Schlesinger and realized what was going on.” The White House, for the first time, has been tied to the assassinations.   

Event Date: 4-13-1971
Event Description: The last remnants of the Revolutionary Guard are rounded up in Shanghai. The surge of troops and the general dislike of the chaos of revolution by the cities denizens have led to the once rebellious city becoming peaceful. Industry and commerce are slowly returning to the Yangtze River Delta, which was the primary reason for the surge. “We can now declare victory over the last remnants of resistance in China,” President Nixon tells the nation in a televised address, “The forces of the enemy have been defeated.” Nixon needs some good news since witnesses before the Committee to Investigate the CIA have begun to tie recent political assassinations and coups to the White House.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-20-1971
Event Description: Retired General Curtis LeMay announces his candidacy for the Constitution Party nomination for president in 1972. “The Nixon Administration has coddled socialist elements for too long,” “Old Ironpants” LeMay declares in his announcement, “Only the Constitution Party can save this nation and world from the left-winged radical movement.” Former Congressman John Schmitz has already announced his second bid for the presidency.

Event Date: 4-22-1971
Event Description: The last Japanese ground troops are brought home from China. The Japanese Diet had decided that their presence was no longer necessary as China had begun to normalize their economic and security situation.

Event Date: 4-30-1971
Event Description: NBC News White House correspondent and University of South Dakota graduate Tom Brokaw receives a Peabody award for his profiles of Presidents Nixon and Andropov during Christmas 1969. At just 31 years of age, Brokaw is the youngest journalist in television history to be accorded this honor. Ronald Reagan, who had won the award in 1965, tells his wife Nancy, “I better watch out for Brokaw. He might just end up replacing me!”

Event Date: 5-09-1971
Event Description: Vice-President Margaret Chase-Smith testifies before the Committee to Investigate the CIA, despite President Nixon telling her she should not under any circumstances. Vice-President Chase-Smith tells the committee that she knows that Attorney General Alexander Butterfield is telling the truth that Buchanan and Haldeman are behind the CIA assassinations. “It could go even deeper,” the Vice-President says, “But not as deep as President Nixon. I know Richard, and he’s a man of the law. He’s a former prosecutor and good man. No one cares more about the law than President Nixon.” With the backing of the popular and respected Vice-President, President Nixon appears to have gotten away with everything.

Event Date: 5-16-1971
Event Description: Bill Clinton, a Southern Republican, and Hillary Rodham, a conservative Illinois Democrat, meet at the library at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut. Bill says he'd like to teach law school someday, but is not sure he can ever be elected in his native Arkansas because of his ties to the Party of Lincoln. Hillary says she'd like to become a hard boiled prosecutor and become Governor of Illinois. “Although,” she tells Bill, “I wouldn’t mind being like Bobby Kennedy, busting heads for Richard Nixon.”

Event Date: 7-25-1971
Event Description: A full year earlier than expected, Germany lands the Mond V, with three astronauts, on the Moon. Chancellor Heck tells his people that night, “The Space Race has begun again, but we will not lose again. Germany will take its’ prestige to the stars and beyond.” That night, Bishop Joseph Alois Ratzinger prays a blessing over the astronauts and the entire nation of Germany.

Event Date: 8-01-1971
Event Description: New York real estate developer Fred C. Trump begins buying cheap real estate in China. “It’s the new Wild West!” he tells his family, “Except it’s in the far east.” Trump intends to build a Trump Hotel empire in China. Back in the U.S. Trump's son Donald, a recent graduate of Fordham University, begins contacting potential investors in a bid to win their support for the hotel project.

Event Date: 8-10-1971
Event Description: In another plan to stabilize the economy, Congressman Ashbrook introduces the Make Our Currency Valued Act. Despite the fancy name, all this act does is reestablish the gold standard. President Nixon tells the Congressman personally that, “I will veto that thing so fast that the paper starts on fire.” Ashbrook isn’t fazed by the president’s remarks. He introduces the act today, declaring, “Our currency will only be worth something when it’s as good as gold!” House Minority Leader Malcolm Little, upon hearing of the bill calls Ashbrook, “A great thinker of the 17th Century.”

Event Date: 8-22-1971
Event Description: The House of Representatives passes the Make Our Currency Valued Act, known simply as the Ashbrook Gold Act to the media. The Democratic dominated House of Representatives easily passed the act, with Speaker of the House Albert explaining that, “Only strong currency can make our economy strong again.” House Minority Leader Malcolm Little laughs at this statement, declaring that, “The Democrats wouldn’t care what their money was baked up with, just so long as they could take it from the average American.” Some Republicans are growing embarrassed by the over the top antics of Congressman Little.

Event Date: 9-01-1971
Event Description: The Senate does not pass Congressman Ashbrook’s gold standard act. Senator Barry Goldwater, who has sponsored the act in the Senate, has previously said he would resign from office if the act didn’t pass the Senate. “I can not serve a government that would willfully allow its currency to become worthless!” Senator Goldwater had boomed during Senate debate. However, he does not resign, knowing that Republican Governor Jack Williams of Arizona will appoint Phoenix Mayor Raul H. Castro to the seat. “This body doesn’t need another Castro,” Goldwater tells the press. Democratic complaining after the bill is shot down is so great; the aforementioned Senator Fidel Castro declares all the complaints, “The baying of pigs.”

Event Date: 9-05-1971
Event Description: Inspired by the hope of the SALT treaty, Ronald Reagan declares on The Voice of the Nation, “The world should be free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Our children should not have to go to bed wondering if a stray bomb will find its’ way into the wrong hands and set of Armageddon. There should be NO weapons that can destroy all of civilization. As Americans, as lovers of life, we must have a worldwide freeze of all production of nuclear weapons.” Hans Albert Einstein, the son of the famed physicist Albert Einstein who came up with the theory which led to the creation of nuclear weapons, joins with Reagan to start the “Freeze Movement.” This movement will aim to stop the production of nuclear weapons around the globe.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-15-1971
Event Description: American ground troops begin coming home from China. Sergeant Bob Kerrey, as he steps from an airplane in San Diego, kisses the floor in joy. The shot of Kerrey kissing the United States is shown in TIME Magazine with the caption, “The taste of liberty is still sweet.”

Event Date: 9-22-1971
Event Description: Former civilian defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg testifies before the Committee to Investigate the CIA. Ellsberg’s work with the Pentagon made him a close aid of Robert Gates, a CIA and Pentagon official. “My work with Colonel Gates brought me into the very deepest of CIA secrets,” Ellsberg testifies, “One of these secrets is that CIA Director Robert Kennedy and President Nixon personally arranged the assassinations of several world leaders, amongst them the King of Iraq.” The Senate chamber explodes upon this allegation. “This is a grave accusation,” Senator Hugh Scott declares, “Do you have any evidence backing this up, Mr. Ellsberg.” “Of course I do!” Ellsberg declares. He reveals 18-minutes of a recording between Chief of Staff Haldeman and Pat Buchanan (Buchanan has had a habit of recording conversations in his office) in which the assassinations are discussed. Buchanan tells Haldeman he is under a lot of pressure, “From higher-ups” to get rid of several troublesome Middle Eastern leaders. “Who are these ‘higher ups’?” wonders Ellsberg, “They have to be the director and the president!” “Where did you get this recording from?” Senator Scott asks. “I may not be the CIA, but I have my resources,” Ellsberg responds. In Monroe, Maryland, private investigator John Meier (who unearthed the tape) waits for the backlash. “Looks like I’ve got Dick Nixon down,” he chuckles to himself. 

Event Date: 9-23-1971
Event Description: With the nations’ papers covering the 18-minute Buchanan-Haldeman recording and calling for the president to fess up, President Nixon responds to Ellsberg’s testimony in a televised address. “Let me make this crystal clear,” President Nixon declares, “Mr. Ellsberg is taking that recording out of context. I had nothing to do with any CIA assassinations. This is the truth, 1,000%.” After his speech, Nixon meets with Chief of Staff Haldeman and chief aide Pat Buchanan. “How could you two be such idiots?” shouts the president. “We didn’t think anyone would ever get their hands on any of our tapes,” Haldeman explains. “Looks like someone did,” Buchanan retorts, “Now we’ve got to find out who it was, and how they got them.” The Plumbers are given this assignment.

Event Date: 10-09-1971
Event Description: Governor Nelson Rockefeller announces his intentions to seek the Republican presidential nomination. “I will return honesty and integrity to the highest office in the land,” Governor Rockefeller declares from the Governor’s Mansion in Albany. President Nixon and Governor Rockefeller have really never gotten along, so a slight insinuation from Rocky that Nixon is involved in the recent CIA Assassination scandal is expected from most Beltway pundits. Governor Rockefeller is not the only Republican seeking the presidency in 1972. Ohio Governor John Rhodes, Michigan Governor George Romney and Representative Paul McCloskey of California have all previously announced their intentions to seek the presidency as well.

Event Date: 10-10-1971
Event Description: Senator George Bush (Republican of Connecticut) announces that he will not seek the presidency in 1972, but instead endorse Governor Rockefeller. “Nelson Rockefeller is what our party is all about,” Senator Bush tells a crowd in Hartford, Connecticut, “He stands for progressive reform, both in the economy and in civil rights. I trust Governor Rockefeller to protect the rights of all Americans and expand these rights even more.” Gallup Polling shows that Rockefeller is tied with Governor Romney for the status of front-runner.

Event Date: 10-22-1971
Event Description: The Committee to Investigate the CIA subpoenas Pat Buchanan and H.R. Haldeman. President Nixon tells them to plead the 5th Amendment, but Buchanan tells Nixon that he will go before the committee, which is set to call for him in January 1972. “I’ve got an ace up my sleeve that no one knows about,” Buchanan assures Nixon.

Event Date: 11-05-1971
Event Description: Congressman John Ashbrook of Ohio announces that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. “President Nixon and his cronies have misled our nation for too long!” he booms from City Hall in Akron, Ohio, “As President, I will restore the economy and honor in the presidency to this nation.” Congressman Ashbrook is considered a front-runner for the nomination. His tax cuts and battle for the gold standard have made him a very well known conservative. However, he faces opposition for the nomination from Governor George Wallace of Alabama, Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina and, the most liberal of them all, Senator Thomas J, Dodd of Connecticut. “Poor Tom,” Ronald Reagan says on his radio program, “He’s such an odd man out in the party. I hope he realizes that he’s stepping out of the Eats and into the Democratic Party.”

Event Date: 12-20-1971
Event Description: In what has been described as one of the most heart warming and family friendly classics for the holiday season, Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reid star in “Bedtime for Bonzo.” In the film, Professor Peter Boyd (Stewart) tries to teach a troubled chimpanzee right from wrong with the help of a beautiful nanny, Patricia Court (Reid). The film is a hit, with Ronald Reagan applauding it as, “The best Stewart-Reid film since It’s a Wonderful Life. This funny, yet philosophical, film is destined to be a film classic. Bonzo may well be King Kong one day!”

Event Date: 12-22-1971
Event Description: Preliminary blueprints are drawn up for the proposed Trump Hotel Peking. Donald Trump travels to China to oversee the building’s progression.

Event Date: 12-31-1971
Event Description: On New Years Eve, President Kryuchkov of Russia calls presidential aid Pat Buchanan. “You do know what you’re going to say?” President Kryuchkov asks Buchanan. “Of course I do,” Buchanan assures him, “I’ve cleared it with Nixon and everything. If those folks on the Hill want to know who the ‘higher ups’ are, they’ll find out all right.”     

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-12-1972
Event Description: Chief Presidential Aid Patrick Joseph Buchanan testifies before the Committee to Investigate the CIA, much to the chagrin of President Richard Milhous Nixon. “Mr. Buchanan,” Senator Hugh Scott (Republican of Pennsylvania) asks Buchanan, “Who were the ‘higher ups’ that you referred to on the 18-minuites of White House tapes?” “Mr. Chairman,” Buchanan answers in a nonchalant way, “I was referring to a ‘higher up’ from a foreign land, not Nixon or Kennedy.” “What!” Senator Scott cries, “You took orders from a foreign leader!” “It’s not illegal, Mr. Chairman,” Buchanan reminds Scott, “After all, the honorable President Thomas Dewey did away with loyalty oaths a long time ago.” “Don’t you try to hind behind President Dewey,” interrupts Senator Kenneth Keating (a close friend of the late president). “Mr. Keating,” Buchanan smugly responds, “I am just using the law to defend myself. As a Senator I know you do it all the time.” “Why you little punk,” Senator Keating begins, “I oughta ring-“. “Enough!” Senator Scott intervenes, “Mr. Buchanan, who was this foreign ‘higher up’?” “It was none other than President Vladimir Kryuchkov of Russia!” Buchanan says triumphantly, “He, not President Nixon, ordered the assassinations in the Middle East. Check his records; you’ll see its all true.” “Impossible,” Senator John Stennis (Democrat of Mississippi) declares, “CIA agents were involved in these acts. Are you telling me that a foreign government can control the CIA?” “In a word,” Buchanan concludes, “Yes.” The chamber explodes in confusion, with the press running as fast as they can to phones to send their stories to print. “I guess that got ‘em running,” Buchanan laughs as Senator Scott tries to regain order in the chamber.

Event Date: 1-13-1972
Event Description: With the Buchanan testimony yesterday, President Nixon calls on CIA Director Robert Kennedy to, “Either come clean or resign. We can’t have any whitewash in Washington.” Kennedy responds by telling his wife Ethel, “I’ll take orders from Nixon when hell freezes over. That’ll probably be when he goes down there as well.” Kennedy calls for a press conference to make a statement. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he begins at noon from CIA Headquarters, “It is true that I allowed the CIA to be controlled by a foreign power for a limited time. I felt that I was helping America by allowing more pro-American leaders in strategic nations. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it worked! Gas prices are on the decline and anti-American propaganda is on the steep decline in the Middle East. Mr. and Mrs. America, did I really do anything to awful?” The press is dumbfounded by this response, a straight up explanation. “No cover-up, no lies and no blackmail?” Ronald Reagan wonders on the Voice of the Nation, “Its guys like Robert Kennedy that make scandal mongering no fun.” With this explanation, the biggest scandal of the Nixon White House seems to have come to a conclusion. No one broke any laws, national or international, so there is no need to pursue the case any further. “Mr. President,” Buchanan tells Nixon that night as they enjoy a drink in the Oval Office, “You really dodged the bullet on that one.” “Pat,” Nixon responds, “I’ve been dodging bullets my whole life. This was just another one, perhaps of a higher caliber, but just another one.”

Event Date: 1-20-1972
Event Description: Representative Shirley Chisholm (Republican of New York) announces her candidacy for President of the United States. “This country has proven over the years that it will accept a black and a woman in elected office,” Chisholm declares from the Harlem neighborhood she was born in, “I feel it is time a woman leads this nation which has given women such opportunities for the future.” With the Iowa Caucus just four days away, Representative Chisholm realizes that she will have trouble in early primaries. Her plan is to sweep the south’s primaries and win at the convention.

Event Date: 1-24-1972
Event Description: Governor George Romney and Congressman John Ashbrook win their respective party contests in the Iowa Caucus. IN the GOP contest, Governor Romney appealed to farmers by promising to support the exploration of corn based alternative fuels. “I’ve run a car company before,” he was fond of telling farming communities, “I realize that made in America cars should run on made in America fuel.” Governor James Rhodes of Ohio takes second place, leading him to drop out of the race and endorse Governor Romney. Governor Nelson Rockefeller takes third, with Representative Paul McCloskey finishing a distant fourth. The Democrats see Congressman Ashbrook winning an upset election victory. He had opposed farm subsidies, but his support of low taxes for small farmers led many to caucus for him. Senator Dodd takes second, with his son Christopher actually living in Iowa for several months campaigning for him. Senator Ervin and Governor Wallace didn’t even contest the caucus.

Event Date: 1-30-1972
Event Description: Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland. The British Army kills 13 unarmed Roman Catholic/Nationalist civil rights marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland. Father Rudolph Hess declares that he will travel to Northern Ireland to care for those wounded in the terrorism by both the British Army and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He hopes that by showing some kindness and caring in Northern Ireland, cooler heads can prevail and a peaceful coexistence (or perhaps separation) can be made between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Event Date: 2-05-1972
Event Description: President Richard Nixon announces that he will visit China in March 1972 to work out a trade alliance between the two nations. “We have defeated the anti-American elements in the nation’s oldest empire,” President Nixon declares in a televised address, “It is now time that we open commercial relations with China so that our two nations may continue to prosper.” With the U.S. economy still reeling from the Stock Market slumps last year, many Americans laugh at Nixon’s talk of economic prosperity.

Event Date: 2-20-1972
Event Description: CIA Director Robert F. Kennedy announces that he will resign from office in January 1973. “My family is growing too large for this job,” he confines in a letter of resignation sent to the Washington Star, “I need to return to Boston to sort out my life and begin to make money for my expanding household.” President Nixon will appoint veteran CIA official William Colby to the position of CIA Director, and he will be easily confirmed.

Event Date: 3-07-1972
Event Description: In the New Hampshire Primary, Governor Nelson Rockefeller wins the Republican contest in a tough fight with Governor Romney. Rockefeller, running with the endorsement of Vice-President Chase-Smith, is able to appeal to the mass bloc of Republican women. This wins the day over his tax slashing opponent Governor Romney. On the Democratic side, Senator Dodd uses a home turf advantage to win this New England State. However, he wins it by a little more than 5,000 votes over the far more conservative Congressman Ashbrook. Governor Wallace, campaigning in small towns throughout the Granite State, takes a surprising 18% of the vote. With Florida approaching, Governor Wallace expects an easy win in a Southern state he’s been to repeatedly.

Event Date: 3-14-1972
Event Description: Governor George Wallace, running a populist platform, wins the Florida Primary in a rout. Wallace takes 55% of the vote and all 45 delegates, putting him the lead in the Democratic Primary. Senator Sam Ervin, who receives less than 10% of the vote, drops out of the race and endorses Wallace. Governor Romney wins Florida, appealing to the growing service industry in the state by citing his business skills. “I’ll be the first MBA president,” he told a group of Florida workers at a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, “Let me assure you, I’ll have the business knowledge to stop this sinking economy.” Governor Rockefeller finishes second place, appealing greatly to Cuban-Americans due to his endorsement by Senator Fidel Castro. Representative Chisholm comes in third due to huge support from the African-American community. Representative Paul McCloskey ends his campaign and endorses Governor Rockefeller, hoping for the Vice-Presidential nod from Rocky.

Event Date: 3-20-1972
Event Description: President Richard Nixon lands in Peking and is greeted by President Deng Yingchao. The two will meet for several days and work out a free trade agreement. As Nixon walks on the Great Wall of China he begins to huff and puff. “What’s the matter, Mr. President?” asks President Yingchao. “Well Madame President,” he responds, “This Great Wall certainly gives you a great walk. The problem is that I haven’t been on a walk since I was a kid in California.”

Event Date: 3-21-1972
Event Description: With the endorsement of Senator Charles Percy (Republican of Illinois), Governor Rockefeller wins the Illinois Primary on the GOP side. This is a blow to the Romney Campaign, as Illinois is seen as a state similar to Michigan. Congressman Ashbrook tops Governor Wallace in Illinois, though Wallace tried to appeal to Chicago suburban and their fear of African-American led crime. “A campaign like that,” Ashbrook had told Ronald Reagan, “Is sickening. No one should ever use racial tensions to win an election. That is hatemongering, plain and simple.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 3-30-1972
Event Description: With defeat in the Illinois Primary, Senator Dodd declares that Wisconsin is his “firewall” state for staying in the race. “I’ll talk money with the people,” Dodd says to the price, “I’ll tell the people of Wisconsin that my economic polices will save their jobs and save their money.” Dodd, who’s been running a campaign based on protectionism and financial security for the Middle Class, expects to do well in Wisconsin, a very Middle Class state. 

Event Date: 4-04-1972
Event Description: In a hard fought battle, Governor Romney defeats Governor Rockefeller in the Wisconsin Primary. Romney had been able to utilize his home turf advantage. Senator Thomas Dodd and Congressman John Ashbrook fought hard for victory in the Dairy State, with Congressman Ashbrook winning the state by fewer than 20,000 votes. With this defeat, Senator Dodd calls his election quits. His son Christopher J. Dodd, who many expect to run for Congress in two years, cries while his father gives his concession address. “I understand why he’s crying,” Ronald Reagan sympathizes on NBC Nightly News, “He’s traveled more miles and lived in more places than anyone I ever know for his dad’s campaign. I think he should be named ‘Son of the Year’.”

Event Date: 4-12-1972
Event Description: Representative Paul McCloskey introduces the Nuclear Freeze Act into the House of Representatives. This act will prohibit the United States from building any further Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and putting a moratorium on all other nuclear arms. Representative Thomas J. Turnipseed (Democrat of South Carolina), the Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, laughs at this act as, “A crazy California dreamer bill.” McCloskey’s Freeze Act will be stalled in Congress with no hope of it seeing debate.

Event Date: 4-20-1972
Event Description: With Reichstag elections approaching in May, Chancellor Heck is forced to sign the SALT Treaty, something he had wanted to avoid. Popular support for the treaty amongst the German people threatened to harm the Conservative Party and give many seats to the Labor Party. Heck refuses to empower his bitter rival, Labor Party leader Hans Scholl and will signs the treaty to simply keep his party from winning any more seats in the Reichstag.

Event Date: 4-22-1972
Event Description: Massachusetts and Pennsylvania cast their ballots in their respective primaries. For the GOP, Governors Rockefeller and Romney continue their game of hit-and-run. Rocky takes Massachusetts while Romney wins Pennsylvania. Governor Romney’s win in the Keystone State is seen as a setback for Rockefeller since he had won Pennsylvania in his 1960 and 1964 runs for president. On the Democratic side, former President Joseph Kennedy had campaigned with Congressman Ashbrook, winning the Buckeye Congressman the Massachusetts Primary. In Pennsylvania, Congressman Ashbrook outpaces Governor Wallace, who had major support from the Unions in the state.

Event Date: 4-30-1972
Event Description: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, feeling defeated after failing to take down President Nixon, resign from the Washington Post. The two feel that any type of integrity in public service or in journalism is over.

Event Date: 5-02-1972
Event Description: Congressman Ashbrook wins big victories in the Ohio, Indiana and Washington, D.C., Primaries. Governor Wallace had tried to appeal to suburbanites in Indianapolis and Cleveland suburbs with his call for law and order, but he fell short in both Ohio and Indiana. The Republican side gives Governor Romney a lead in delegates by winning Ohio and Indiana. Representative Chisholm wins the D.C. Primary by a wide margin with Governor Rockefeller in second.

Event Date: 5-04-1972
Event Description: Governors Wallace and Romney win the Tennessee Primary. Representative Chisholm finishes third behind Romney and Rockefeller, ending her campaign. Romney’s win is crucial as it shows a Mormon can win in the very conservative south. Governor Wallace and Congressman Ashbrook run a close race, with Wallace winning by a 52-48% margin. Wallace’s narrow win is seen as very underwhelming for a candidate running a completely pro-southern campaign. “Governor Wallace is trying to appear as Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson all rolled into one,” Ronald Reagan comments, “He should do a bit better in the heart of Dixie.”

Event Date: 5-05-1972
Event Description: An Alitalia DC-8 crashes west of Palermo, Sicily. Italian police investigate the crash site and the 113 dead passengers. One of them is Frances Liddy, the wife of G. Gordon Liddy, a close associate of President Richard Nixon. On her person is $200,000. The Italian police report the death, and the money. At the White House, President Nixon is told by Chief of Staff Haldeman about the crash and the money. “What was Liddy’s woman doing with all that cash?” Nixon asks Haldeman. Haldeman confines to President Nixon that this was payment to the Plumbers to keep them quiet on everything they have been ordered to do. Liddy’s wife was picking up the first $200,000 installment from a bank in Berlin, Germany. “We put the cash there so it couldn’t be tracked,” Haldeman says. “So,” Nixon says, “What should we do?” “Nothing,” Haldeman responds, “No one needs to know we had anything to do with the money.” With this, Haldeman leaves the Oval Office.       

Event Date: 5-06-1972
Event Description: The North Carolina Primary is held, with surprising results. Heavy black turnout gives Governor Rockefeller a victory in the state, surprising the Romney campaign. On the Democratic side, Governor Wallace finishes behind Congressman Ashbrook, and in a big way. Ashbrook’s conservative campaign catches on in the growing cities of Charlotte and Raleigh where young professionals are beginning to set up business. Ashbrook also appealed to the tobacco industry by promising to repeal the Dewey-Nixon Sin Taxes. These combined factors led to surprising results: Ashbrook wins 58% of the vote to Wallace’s 40%. This overwhelming defeat in a Southern state seems to all but end Governor Wallace’s campaign. However, stubborn Governor Wallace refuses to withdraw from the race.

Event Date: 5-07-1972
Event Description: Governors Romney and Rockefeller meet for a debate in Omaha, Nebraska. With the Nebraska and West Virginia Primaries just two days away, Governor Rockefeller knows he needs to appeal to rural voters, however, this seems to be impossible for Rockefeller. The entire debate he outlines plans of social spending increases and expanding the Civil Rights Act (which will need to be voted on again in 1973) to homosexuals and other sexual orientations. In response to most of these ideas, Governor Romney laughs and says, “There’s a traditional limousine liberal response.” Romney’s plan to slash taxes and spending to stabilize the shaky economy seems to make more sense to rural voters than Rockefeller’s stimulus plans. It looks likely that May 9th will be a Romney sweep.   

Event Date: 5-09-1972
Event Description: Despite a massive Rockefeller GOTV effort in the few urban areas in Nebraska and West Virginia, both vote for Governor Romney by large margins. In Nebraska, Romney takes 66% of the vote to Rockefeller’s 30%. West Virginia shows Romney with over 70% of the vote. Governor Rockefeller declares that night from his headquarters in New York City, “The states of Nebraska and West Virginia are not representative of this campaign or this nation. The battle will continue.” On the Democratic side, Congressman Ashbrook wins Nebraska by a large margin while Governor Wallace takes the West Virginia Primary by a comfortable margin. The race for the nomination in both parties is too close to call.

Event Date: 5-13-1972
Event Description: President Nixon signs the Mine Protection and Inspection Act. Introduced by Congressman Orrin Hatch (Democrat of Utah), this act makes it mandatory that all mines in the United States be inspected for safety every year. A recent silver mine collapse in Idaho led Congressman Hatch to introduce the bill. Congressman Ashbrook calls the act, “Unneeded government intrusion on business and the free market.” House Minority Leader Malcolm Little laughs at this statement, declaring. “Ashbrook probably thinks requiring steel workers to wear gloves is also too much of an intrusion of private industry.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 5-15-1972
Event Description: While campaigning at a Laurel, Maryland, shopping center, Governor George Romney is shot by Walter Martin, a crazed evangelical preacher who had convinced himself that Romney was trying to force all Americans to become Mormons. While being questioned by police, Martin tells them that he had a dream where, “Jesus Christ himself told me to stop Governor Romney from forcing the will of Joseph Smith on the world.” Meanwhile at Laurel Regional Hospital, Governor Romney fights for his life.

Event Date: 5-16-1972
Event Description: Primary day in Maryland and Michigan is overshadowed by tragic news. Governor George Wilcken Romney dies from his gunshot wound at 3:45 a.m. at Laurel Regional Hospital. Governor Romney was 65-years old. Posthumously he wins the primary in his home state of Michigan and comes within 5-points of beating Governor Rockefeller in Maryland. Governor Rockefeller calls Lenore Romney and offers his condolences. “America has lost a great leader, a great father and a great man,” Governor Rockefeller declares in an address from the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, “We have also lost a man who would have been a great president.” The somber day concludes with Congressman Ashbrook winning Michigan and Maryland, all but ensuring him as the Democratic presidential candidate.

Event Date: 5-20-1972
Event Description: At a massive funeral at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, the late Governor George W. Romney is laid to rest. President Nixon, Vice-President Chase-Smith, former Presidents Kennedy and McFarland, President of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints Joseph Fielding Smith along with other dignitaries attend the funeral. His fifth child, Willard Mitt Romney, a 25-year old businessman, gives his father’s eulogy. “To those of us in his household who were raised by him to respect duty, honor and country,” Mitt Romney says, “He was father, friend and mentor. To those who he touched in the private and public sector, he was the same. He was the biggest man I know and the greatest person I have ever met.”

Event Date: 5-23-1972
Event Description: Governor Rockefeller wins the Oregon and Rhode Island Primaries as he is now the only candidate seeking the nomination. Only three days after the Romney funeral, there is already arguments over where Governor Romney’s 1,003 delegates are going to go to. Governor Rockefeller hopes they will all be allocated to him since he is the only candidate. However, many Romney delegates are hoping to be independent and find other candidates to support. One such candidate is former Utah Governor and current Salt Lake City Mayor J. Bracken Lee, a Romney campaign senior adviser, who many Romney delegates are turning to as an alternative to Governor Rockefeller. The GOP Convention in Miami, Florida, will determine where the delegates go to it seems.

Event Date: 6-17-1972
Event Description: Five men are caught breaking into the First National Bank and Trust in Washington, D.C. One of them is Howard Hunt, a former CIA agent and member of the Plumbers. Another is G. Gordon Liddy, whose wife has recently died in a plane crash and was carrying $200,000 on her person. D.C. police ask them some questions, and it comes to light that they work out of the White House. “Why would someone in the White House want you at the bank?” a police officer asks. “It was our own decision,” Liddy quickly says, “No one at the White House has anything to do with this.” In reality, Chief of Staff Haldeman had sent the Plumbers to the First National Bank and Trust to destroy all records of business transactions between the White House and members of the Plumbers. The break-in is reported in the news the next day, but it is dismissed as a “campaign caper” and something that the president would have nothing to do with. After all, the last Nixon “scandal” came up it never materialized into anything.

Event Date: 6-29-1972
Event Description: In the ruling of Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that the death penalty is unconstitutional. President Nixon applauds the decision as, “One which respects the value of all human lives.” Governor Rockefeller echoes the president’s sentiment, going as far to call the death penalty, “Cruel punishment from the barbarous stone age.” Congressman John Ashbrook attacks the Supreme Court as, “Tools of criminal instincts. With such rulings, the people of our nation won’t feel safe to walk the streets.”

Event Date: 7-04-1972
Event Description: The Constitution Party nominates General Curtis LeMay for President of the United States at their convention in Lexington, Massachusetts. General LeMay is paired with Rear Admiral John G. Crommelin of Alabama. The ticket promises to restore, “Judeo-Christian values to the United States and once again respect the principles of the Constitution.”

Event Date: 7-14-1972
Event Description: The Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, nominated Congressman John Ashbrook of Ohio for President. As his running-mate, Ashbrook selects Governor James Earl Carter of Georgia. “President Nixon and the Republican Party have led this country into economic and moral bankruptcy,” Congressman Ashbrook declares in his acceptance address, “As President of the United States I will restore our economy to prosperity and honesty to the highest office in the land.”

Event Date: 8-04-1972
Event Description: Walter Martin is sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing George W. Romney. Ronald Reagan, while reporting on the verdict on NBC Nightly News, tells his audience, “We should use the tragedy of the Romney assassination as a reminder of the great agony bigotry can cause people, even innocent people like the Romney Family. It is at times like these when we must remember that in America we are entitled to the rights of free speech, press, assembly and, sometimes most difficult for many to follow, religion. We should fervently pray that one day all of these freedoms will be followed and that men need not die because some in society refuse to accept these freedoms. Good night and God bless America.”

Event Date: 8-21-1972
Event Description: The Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, opens with Governor Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller as the expected presidential nominee. Rockefeller is nominated on the first ballot, but Governor Lee takes the second most votes. Rockefeller, realizing that he needs to appease the Romney delegates, selects Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon as his running-mate. Hatfield had been a strong Romney backer. With the economy still in recession and President Nixon losing the trust of the American people with recent scandals, Rockefeller-Hatfield has its work cut our for it in the general election.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-05-1972
Event Description: In a campaign speech from Lynchburg, Virginia, Congressman John Ashbrook declares that the GOP “Is the party of moral bankruptcy.” After attacking President Nixon for the CIA cover-ups, Ashbrook levels a powerful attack on Governor Rockefeller. “Let’s talk about Nelson Rockefeller now,” he tells his crowd, “Yes, it’s hard to talk about him in a church going town, but we have to. Governor Rockefeller is as out of touch with America as any random college professor in Berkley, California. As Governor of New York he legalized birth control, liberalized homosexual rights and supported President Nixon’s subsidies of dirty art, many of which hangs in the galleries of the New York State Capitol building. My friends, do you want such an indecent person, a limousine liberal, ruling our nation?” The cries of “no” are deafening. Later that day Governor Rockefeller will respond to these attacks with a simple retort. “Mr. Ashbrook needs to remember that progress isn’t a bad thing,” Governor Rockefeller tells a crowd in Reno, Nevada.

Event Date: 10-04-1972
Event Description: In a daring political move, Governor Rockefeller declares at a rally in Detroit, Michigan, “I realize that the American auto industry is struggling. Competition from foreign companies is leading this great state into economic collapse, and some are calling Michigan and surrounding states the ‘Rust Belt’ because of the economic slowdown. These people are right; many of the jobs we have lost are not coming back.” Although Rockefeller goes on to explain that by supporting President Nixon’s alternative fuel plan new automotive jobs can be created, many in the press attack “Rockefeller’s pessimism.” “Governor Rockefeller has shown he has a ‘can’t do’ attitude,” Ronald Reagan declares on the Voice of the Nation, “I do not fear the future, and I believe the American people do not either. We are a ‘can do’ people, because in America anything is possible. I believe Congressman Ashbrook believes this as well, which is why he will win this election and restore America’s greatness.”   

Event Date: 10-05-1972
Event Description: The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 60-points today. A resurgence of unemployment and inflation which the Department of Commerce reported on yesterday led to the fall. At a rally in Los Angeles, California, Congressman Ashbrook refers to the economic woes of the nation as, “the Nixon-Rockefeller Recession.” Ronald Reagan, who introduced Ashbrook at the rally, declares in his speech, “The Republicans refuse to call a spade a spade. They hide behind a dictionary when asked what are country is going through. If it’s a definition they want then I have one for them. a ‘recession’ is when your neighbor loses their job. A ‘depression’ is when you lose your job. ‘Recovery’ is when John Ashbrook gets his new job!” The clever line plays well with a nation racked by economic problems since 1970.

Event Date: 10-25-1972
Event Description: In the first televised presidential debates since 1960, Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Congressman John Ashbrook face off at University of Miami. Debate moderator Dan Rather of CBS allows the candidates to, “Go as wild a bobcats if you’d like,” and this proves to be a poor decision. The two men rake into each other and at times say some pretty cruel things. “You act like it’s the 1800s, John,” Rockefeller lectures Ashbrook, “I mean if you had your way there would be no civil rights laws, no minimum wage, hell, there wouldn’t even be free housing for the poor.” “If you had it your way Rocky,” Ashbrook retorts, “We’d be taxed so much that we’d have to live in free housing!” The debate gets so out of hand that Rather has to intervene to remind the two candidates to make closing statements. The debate helps neither candidate, which is of no help to Rockefeller. He’s been trailing for several weeks and needed a strong showing to give him any hope of taking the Oval Office.

Event Date: 11-07-1972
Event Description: Congressman John Ashbrook is elected President of the United States, the first Democrat to win the office in eight years. The faltering economy, as well as public mistrust of President Nixon, led to the upset election of a relatively little known Congressman to the highest office in the land.

John Ashbrook/James Carter (D): 387 EV; 57.3% of the PV
Nelson Rockefeller/Mark Hatfield (R): 151 EV; 40.7% of the PV
Curtis LeMay/John Crommelin (C): 0 EV; 1.7% of the PV
Others (Libertarian, Workers, etc.): 0 EV; 0.3% of the PV

The Democratic Party completes the landslide by winning control of the Senate and expanding its lead in the House of Representatives.

Event Date: 12-31-1972
Event Description: NBC Nightly News Anchor Ronald Reagan announces that he is resigning as anchor for the nightly national broadcast. “I have campaigned hard for President-elect John Ashbrook,” he signs off that night, “I can not, in good conscience, give a nightly news broadcast which is fair and free of bias while a man whom I agree with so much is President of the United States. To continue and give bias news is against everything which I have been taught and believe in. Therefore, I shall be stepping down as anchor of the NBC Nightly News. It’s been a heck of a ride; we’ve covered many great stories together and have lived through a lot of tragedies, but also comedies as well. All in all, not bad, not bad at all, my friends. On behalf of Nancy, my children, my staff and all of my fellow reporters here at NBC News, God bless you and God bless America.”       

[PBrunsel]

HappyWarrior,

Joe Biden and Jesse Helms were both elected to the Senate in 1972, as it was in real life. Biden is a Republican and Helms is a Democrat. I, like you, could not see Biden join the Democrats of my timeline.

[PBrunsel]

Here are some answers to what happened to some politicians.

Gene McCarthy (R-MN) Eugene McCarthy served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949-1959. He served as a Republican in the Senate from 1959-1971. He was known as a solid progressive on social issues and as a watchdog on government pork spending. He also opposed U.S. entry into the Russo-Chinese War. This opposition led to him being defeated in the 1970 MN Republican Primary by Representative Walter Mondale.

Walter Mondale (R-MN): Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960, Mondale was renowned for his efficency and honesty. He defeated Senator McCarthy in the 1970 Republican Primary and was narrowly elected against Democratic Congressman Clark MacGregor. Senator Mondale was consitently voted on of the top 5 most efficient senators by the Washington Post and was easily reelected until he retired in 1995.

Spiro T. Agnew (R-MD): Governor Agnew was a moderate Republican who, quite out of the blue, was elected Governor of Maryland in 1966. He presided over a scandal ridden administraion, where, while running for reelection in 1970, was indicted for money laundering and perjury. His successor was Marvin Mandel, a Democrat who would also be thrown into jail for money laundering and mail fraud. A strong supporter of Governor Nelson Rockefeller's three bids for the White House, Agnew was Rockefeller camapign chair in 1960 and 1964.   

[PBrunsel]

Xahar,

Albert Gore, Senior, was a Senator from Tennessee (1953-1963). He was appointed to the Vice-Presidency by President Joseph P. Kennedy, Junior, in May 1963 upon the assassination of Stuart Symington. Vice-President Gore ran for the 1964 Democratic presidential nomination, but lost it to Senator Barry Goldwater.

Al Gore, Clinton's veep in real life, worked as an infantryman and field reporter during the Russo-Chinese War. He was wounded twice by enemy fire and received the Purple Heart twice. In 1973, he is working as a report for the Nashville Star and preparing to run for Congress in 1974 as a conservative Democrat. The 26-year old reporter is expected to easily win his father's old congressional seat, TN-4.

[PBrunsel]

Vice-President Gore retired after he lost the 1964 nomination. I would guess he returned to being a lawyer.

As for the Gore's being conservatives, the Gore's aren't Thurmonds or anything, but the two Gore's are for state's rights and are hawks on the deficit and spending.

[PBrunsel]

HappyWarrior,

In a post in 1970 I had Bill Clinton, a Republican from Arkansas, meet Hillary Rodham, a Democrat of Illinois, at the Yale Law School Library. The two had a nice converation but were far too different from one another to consider dating.

Bill Clinton is quite sick of Arkansas and its conservative politics. He hopes to move to New York or California to practice law. Hillary Rodham likes Illinois very much and intends on being its first woman governor.

[PBrunsel]

I will try to answer all questions in due time in the timeline. As for George Phillies, saddly I know little of that Libertarian presidential hopeful. The fates of Dr. Paul and John Warner will be shown in time.

[PBrunsel]

Rocky,

George McGovern is a Republican Senator from South Dakota. He is a favorite of Majority Leader Humphrey and a champion of renewable and alternative energy research.

As for 1976 Presidentiao candidates, I don't really know. I'll have to see what shapes up. I could wager on Congressman John Anderson, Senator Charles Percy, former Governor Rockefeller, Governor Robert Ray, and Congressman Mo Udall being potential GOP candidates.

[PBrunsel]

Xahar,

That's a tough question for me to answer. I have my biases (Herbert Hoover most of all), but I'll try to rank them as fairly as I could. Then maybe someone else could rank them too to get some ballance.

1. Herbert Hoover
2. Joseph Kennedy, Jr.
3. Thomas Dewey
4. Cordell Hull
5. Richard Nixon
6. Douglas MacArthur
7. Ernest MacFarland
8. James M. Cox

I guess that's how I would rank them. None have really been "failures".

[PBrunsel]

The Presidency of John Ashbrook

Event Date: 1-05-1973
Event Description: A new conservative Congress convenes in Washington, D.C. In the Senate, newly sworn in Senator Joseph Biden (Republican of Delaware) is greeted enthusiastically by the newly elected Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) who immediately gives him a pocket copy of the United States Constitution, something he’s been giving all Senate newcomers since he entered the body in the 1950s. Senator Hubert Humphrey (Republican of Minnesota) chooses not to seek the seat of Minority Leader. Senator Norris Cotton (Republican of New Hampshire) wins the position after a close race against Senator Hugh Scott (Republican of Pennsylvania), whom some Republicans blame for their heavy losses last year. After all, he chaired a committee which investigated President Nixon. In the House of Representatives, House Minority Leader Malcolm Little (Republican of Michigan) is booted from the job after only two years. His loud outbursts and over the top behavior last session embarrassed many Republicans. Representative Little runs for the position again, but comes in third behind Charles Sandman (Republican of New Jersey) and the new House Minority Leader John Bayard Anderson (Republican of Illinois). Upon his defeat, Congressman Little cries out on the floor of the House of Representatives, “Stumbling is not falling! I’ll be back in power once my ‘fellow Republicans’ grow a spine.”

Event Date: 1-10-1973
Event Description: It is announced that John Swayze, an NBC reporter who used to fill in for Ronald Reagan while he was on assignment, will take over as NBC Nightly News anchor on February 1st, 1973.

Event Date: 1-20-1973
Event Description: John Milan Ashbrook is sworn in as President of the United States. “Government is not the solution to the problem,” Ashbrook declares in his Inaugural Address, “Government is the problem.” President Ashbrook outlines a conservative plan of governance. “I see a future of economic prosperity,” he declares, “With low taxes, less regulation and more free enterprise. I see a White House free from scandal and from the influence of political action committees or petty organizations.” Outgoing President Richard Nixon grins and bears it at the Inaugural Ceremonies, but he knows that Ashbrook was slamming him in his speech. On the helicopter ride back to his home in Los Angeles, Nixon angrily tells his wife Pat, “That asshole Ashbrook humiliated me in front of the whole nation, and he enjoyed it!” President Ashbrook could care less what former President Nixon has to say, he has a new administration before him. It will be conservative in both domestic and foreign policy. Secretary of State James L. Buckley is the brother of conservative iconic author William F. Buckley. Secretary of Defense John Tower, a conservative Republican who recently lost his second senate race in 1972, is confirmed, despite some talk of him having a drinking problem. To help carry out his very conservative economic policies, President Ashbrook appoints John Connally, the 1968 Democratic Presidential candidate and former Governor of Texas, to be secretary of the Treasury. This new conservative administration looks forward to the future with gret hope.

Event Date: 1-21-1973
Event Description: Apollo 12, the first manned Skylab mission, is launched from Cape Canaveral. Aboard the space craft are three American, two Russian and two Polish astronauts, the first real “multinational” space mission. In Berlin, Chancellor Heck plans on Germany exploring space without the help of the Americans.

Event Date: 1-22-1973
Event Description: In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decides in a 5-4 vote that women have the right to an abortion. President Ashbrook condemns this decision as, “Barbaric.” Ronald Reagan declares the day, “A date which will live in infamy for all Americans who care about preserving innocent life.” The conservative Democratic Congress will soon begin debating on a Right to Life Amendment (introduced by newly elected Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina) outlawing abortion. The issue of abortion will divide both the Republican and Democratic Parties for decades.

Event Date: 1-30-1973
Event Description: Reverend Reginald Jackson, a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, opens a church in North Philadelphia, nearly an all-black neighborhood now. George W. Bush, whom Jackson had ministered to during the Russo-Chinese War, attends the opening of the Jackson’s new United Church of Christ. “Reverend Reggie” becomes quite popular with the African-American community in Philadelphia and will become a community leader fighting against gang violence and illiteracy amongst the African-American youth of Philadelphia.

Event Date: 2-05-1973
Event Description: President Ashbrook signs the Vietnamese Relations Act of 1973. Introduced by Senator John Eastland (Democrat of Mississippi) this act severs diplomatic relations with the Socialist nation of Vietnam, starts an embargo on all their goods and gives amnesty to all illegal Vietnamese citizens. Though the latter part is hard for President Ashbrook to swallow, he signs the act as a way to encourage anti-socialist rancor in one of the last leftist nations on Earth.

Event Date: 2-08-1973
Event Description: The European Astronautics Agency (EAA) is established in Brussels. The nations of France, Belgium, Finland, Poland, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom join this new organization to help Europe keep up with the USA and Germany in the race for the Final Frontier.

Event Date: 4-20-1973
Event Description: Representative John Breaux (Democrat of Louisiana) introduces the Oil Windfall Profits Tax Abolition Act. This act ends President Nixon’s taxation of “excess profits” because of the profits they earned as a result of the sharp increase in oil prices brought about by the ongoing oil crisis. House Minority Leader John Anderson attacks the act as, “An unfair pay off by the government to oil companies that are preying on the consumer.” The act passes the House of Representatives easily, as will the Senate. The first prong of a conservative taxation policy has begun.

Event Date: 4-28-1973
Event Description: IRA rebel leader Joe Cahill meets Father Rudolph Braun, the 23-year old son of Eva Braun who is seeking peace between the UK and Northern Ireland. The two discuss what they’re both fighting for, and walk away friends. Father Braun’s meeting with Cahill will become very important in his quest for peace in Northern Ireland.

Event Date: 5-08-1973
Event Description: In a move which greatly shakes Europe, German Chancellor Alfons Heck adds the words “Deutchshland Uber Alles” back into the German national anthem. He tells the world that this does not mean he seeks another world war for German supremacy. “I wish to tell my citizens,” Chancellor Heck tells the Associated Press, “That we Germans are united by a common language and history, and not divided by political squabbles of the capitol.” President Ashbrook is not so sure about this explanation, but lets it slip. After all, he doesn’t concern himself with the affairs of Europe.

Event Date: 5-10-1973
Event Description: Conrad Hilton announces that a new Hilton Luxury Hotel and Suites is to be built in one time hub of rebellion Shanghai, China. In response to this, Frank Trump announces that the Trump Hotel-Peking will begin construction in July 1973.

Event Description: 6-01-1973
Event Description: CBS airs the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, a dramatic series chronicling the lives and work of surgeons at a front-line Army hospital. Although the series is set during the Korean War, some Russo-Chinese War veterans feel it hits pretty close to home. Dr. Ron Paul, now back home in Bay City, Texas, visibly recoils while watching the pilot episode. He had worked as an army surgeon during the Russo-Chinese War.

Event Date: 6-12-1973
Event Description: Captain George W. Bush marries Laura Welch in a small ceremony held in Kennebunkport, Maine. In attendance are Senator George H.W. Bush and the rest of Bush’s family. Also in attendance is Commodore John Forbes Kerry, whom George W. Bush has nicknamed, “Skipper.” Kerry refers to Bush as, “Dubya.” George W. and Laura Bush will move to Greenwich, Connecticut, where Bush will buy Smith Hardware Company and put his business smarts to the test. Like in war, Bush will be successful. Many Republicans see the younger Bush as a possible candidate for Congress in Connecticut in 1974.

Event Date 7-15-1973
Event Description: On Bastille Day, French President Georges Pompidou announces that three French astronauts have been selected to travel on the next spacecraft to the World Space Station.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 7-30-1973
Event Description: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein begins a secret extermination of his political rivals. The cities of Faluja, Tikrit and the entire Anvar Province will become major extermination centers, which will include death camps and mass furnaces akin to those used by Adolph Hitler during the Holocaust.

Event Date: 8-01-1973
Event Description: President John Ashbrook meets with Mexican President Luis Echeverría and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in Boston, Massachusetts to work out the details of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “The American tradition of protectionism must be ended,” President Ashbrook declares, “Free trade is the only way to restore our economy and give the USA and the rest of North America a head start in the emerging global economy.” The three leaders and their staffs work out a treaty which lifts all tariffs on any goods being traded by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Event Date: 8-06-1973
Event Description: Longtime Cuban President Fulgencio Batista dies after 21-years as the iron fisted leader of the island nation. Senator Fidel Castro, though no fan of Batista, will attend his funeral along with Vice-President Jimmy Carter.

Event Date: 8-10-1973
Event Description: President Ashbrook submits the North American Free Trade Agreement to the Senate for consideration. The debate on the treaty is intense. Senator Hubert Humphrey (Republican of Minnesota) calls NAFTA, “The death sentence for American industry.” Most organized labor (which is generally split in party loyalty) sides with Humphrey and the Republicans. “NAFTA will create a sucking sound which will steal jobs from America and only give profits to big business,” labor leader Jimmy Hoffa cries at a labor rally in front of the Capitol Building. Despite the outcry from these labor leaders, the Senate easily passes NAFTA with many Republicans even voting for the act.

Event Date: 9-11-1973
Event Description: At his home in Ashland, Ohio, President Ashbrook signs the budget bill for fiscal year 1974, which includes the largest tax cut in American history. It is an unusually foggy day for Ohio in September, leading 24-year old White House aid John Boehner to ask Secretary of State Buckley, “Maybe we’re rushing into a fog with the President’s new budget. “Of course we aren’t John,” Buckley responds, “These tax cuts are the only way to save our economy, our livelihood and our nation.” This new budget is also the first balanced budget since 1965. President Ashbrook had to dramatically cut social and military funding to achieve this goal. One of the social welfare projects he cut as Medicare, enraging the nation’s elderly and their supporters in Congress. The military is not happy with the steep cuts in Pentagon spending. President Ashbrook tells the Washington Star that, “This budget was a compromise deal.” “A good compromise leaves everyone offended,” jokes Ronald Reagan on the Voice of the Nation.   

Event Date: 9-30-1973
Event Description: In a ceremony held at the City Venter in Vilnius, Lithuania, the nations of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, and Moldova form the Baltic Union. These nations have been fighting record inflation and unemployment since the end of the Russo-Chinese War. To make matters worse, the Russian have been trying to exploit this economic crisis by running pro-Russian candidates in national legislative elections. The new Baltic Union will have the same currency, complete free trade amongst member states and a united army. Response to this union is not overwhelmingly in favor or against the new nation. The United Kingdom, France, China, Canada, Italy and Ukraine recognized the new nation before the day is out. Russia opposes the union completely. “This union of nations will threaten to rob the entire world of its sovereignty!” President Vladimir Kryuchkov booms before the Nationalist controlled Duma, “We can not recognize such an unnatural government.” Social Democrat leader Mikhail Gorbachev calls the president’s speech, “A smoke and mirrors job.” Most world leaders realize that President Kryuchkov really wants to keep the Baltic States under the thumb of Russia. Seeing a way to weaken Russia, the German Reichstag votes to recognize the Baltic Union. In the United States, President Ashbrook and Secretary of State Buckley are undecided on what to do about this new nation. “I can see Vladimir’s point,” Secretary Buckley tells the president, “Moves like this might threaten a nation’s individuality.” “However James,” President Ashbrook responds, “By not recognizing this new country we may be giving the Russians a trump card to play in Eastern Europe.” Vice-President Carter tells the president that his 6-year old daughter Amy has told him that she wants the USA to recognize the Baltic Union. “Thanks Jimmy,” is all President Ashbrook says in response. In the end, President Ashbrook recognizes the Baltic Union. What Russia will do about this is not clear.

Event Date: 10-05-1973
Event Description: Apollo 8, commanded by US Air Force general Thomas Stafford, launches from Cape Canaveral. Aboard this Apollo mission are three French astronauts, the first Frenchmen to go to the World Space Station. 

Event Date: 10-10-1973
Event Description: Missouri State Auditor John Ashcroft addresses the Christian Coalition in Lynchburg, Virginia. This coalition of recently created group of “moral voters” is led by the Reverend Jerry Falwell. Ashcroft, a Democrat like most of the Christian Coalition, tells the group that the recent Roe v. Wade decision “Is a decision that will lead to the downfall of this great nation. We as this nation’s moral compass need to oppose this decision to murder unborn babies as we would oppose an invasion of our nation. We are in a war, a culture war, with the progressive left!” Ashcroft’s term “culture war” will catch on amongst traditional conservatives around the nation. Ashcroft ends his speech by singing a rousing rendition of “Let the Eagle Soar” a song he wrote himself. Reverend Falwell will tell Ashcroft that night at a dinner, “John, you are a heck of a speaker, but next time check the singing at the door.”

Event Date: 10-21-1973
Event Description: The Civil Rights Act, which was first passed under President Herbert Hoover, comes up for to be commissioned by the Congress once again. Congressman Andrew Young (Republican of Georgia) tries to include protection for those who are gay, lesbian or bisexual from discrimination. “The legacy of this great act can not be fully realized until ALL Americans are protected from any type of unfair treatment!” booms the impassioned Congressman Young from the House floor. “Congressman Young is pervertin’ this act,” Congressman Thad Cochran (Democrat of Mississippi) declares, “Who someone wants to kiss has nothin’ to do with civil rights. Honestly Andy!” Congressmen Young and Little will not back down on this amendment to the Civil Rights Act. President Ashbrook, who opposes any civil rights act as an infringement on state’s rights, is hoping the two keep up their fight to liberalize this already very liberal law. “They can just make the act so unappealing that the House refuses to give the law another ten years,” Ashbrook tells First Lady Jean Ashbrook, “I’d be fine with that.”

Event Date: 10-22-1973
Event Description: The Young Amendment is voted down by the House of Representatives by a 415-23 vote. Event he most liberal Republicans can not vote for an act recognizing homosexuals as their own, in a manner of speaking, race. The Civil Rights Act narrowly passes the House of Representatives, enraging President Ashbrook. The Senate will go on to pass the current Civil Rights Act, despite Senator George McGovern (Republican of South Dakota) introducing his own Young Amendment.

Event Date: 11-04-1973
Event Description: United Artists releases Network, a film written by veteran screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky which satirizes television's trend towards sensationalism in covering news story like the failed Nixon scandal attempts. Ronald Reagan, longtime radio host and anchorman, plays the leading role in the film, anchor Howard Beale. In his first acting role, Reagan excels and will win the 1974 Academy Award for Best Actor.

Event Date: 11-15-1973
Event Description: President Ashbrook signs the Currency Stabilization Act into law. This act restores the Gold Standard to all American currency. “This act will end the runaway inflation of the past years,” President Ashbrook assures the nation. Some economists, like Milton Friedman, aren’t so sure. “President Ashbrook’s golden idol might turn out to be as cursed as Tut’s gold,” he writes in a New York Times editorial.   

Event Date: 12-15-1973
Event Description: Secretary of Commerce Howard Baldridge breaks some bad news to President Ashbrooke: the economic indicators show that 1973 showed no change from 1972 in terms of expanding the GDP of the nation or cutting unemployment. President Ashbrook ensures Secretary Baldridge that once his tax cuts take effect the economy will be reinvigorated. With the most recent Gallup Polls showing President Ashbrook at a 44% approval rating, he should hope that his economic stimulus plan can work a miracle on a still shaky economy.     

[PBrunsel]

Rocky,

Saddam was placed into power in 1969 after the King of Iraq was overthrown in a CIA backec coup. Be on the lookout for what happens in Iraq and Iran durring the 1970s.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-01-1974
Event Description: The Dalai Lama returns to Tibet after more than 15-years in exile. He returns to the Labrang Monastery and leads his Buddhist people in a ceremony of thanksgiving.

Event Date: 1-10-1974
Event Description: Mond 3 lands on the Moon, the second German spacecraft to land on the Moon in two years. In a provocative move, Commander Heinrich Heck, Chancellor Heck’s son, plants a German flag next to the American flag in the Sea of Tranquility.

Event Date: 1-15-1974
Event Description: In the German Reichstag elections, Chancellor Heck’s Conservative Party wins a massive victory over Hans Scholl’s Labor Party. German pride hasn’t been so high since…1933.

Event Date: 2-01-1974
Event Description: John H. Meier, the private investigator who had deeply probed into the Nixon Administration, publishes “The Arrogance of Power: The Presidency of Richard Nixon.” In it he levels charges that Nixon had a secret group (the Plumbers) which had obstructed trials, broken into homes and even, in the case of the Porter Goss, committed murder. Meier concludes his book with a simple statement, “Nixon is a man of many masks, who can say that they have seen his true face?” At his home in Los Angeles, former President Nixon calls the book, “A bunch of damn bullsh**t.” However, the president realizes that the Plumbers did overstep the laws a few times. He gets on the phone with G. Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, Pat Buchanan and H.R. Haldeman over the course of the night, begging and bribing them into not fessing up to anything they did for the Nixon White House. “It’s best that the toothpaste stay inside the tube,” Nixon tells Liddy, “Because when it’s out it’s not easy to get back in.” Meier’s book will become a best seller leading many to question the legacy of President Richard Nixon.

Event Date: 2-07-1974
Event Description: Spanish dictator Francisco Franco passes away in Madrid; in his last will and testament, he calls for a constitutional monarchy to replace his Falangist regime. "Fascism is a relic of another age,” his will reads, “Spain no longer needs a one man led state.” The last remnant of the fascism has been, as Ronald Reagan eloquently states, “Dispelled to the ash heap of history.”    

Event Date: 2-11-1974
Event Description: The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia, is attacked by pro-Russian demonstrators. A mass demonstration of 2,500 people opposing the recognition of the Baltic Union set fire to parts of the embassy, break windows, graffiti the walls and injure three American diplomats, including Patrick Kennedy, the youngest son of President Joseph Kennedy, Junior. President Ashbrook decries the attack as, “An act of terrorism.” He calls on Russian President Vladimir Kryuchkov to condemn the attack or, “Be tried as a coconspirator by the governments of the world.” President Kryuchkov immediately condemns the demonstrators, but the relations between America and Russia have become strained.

Event Date: 2-20-1974
Event Description: President Ashbrook signs the McSpadden Act. Introduced by Congressman Clement McSpadden (Democrat of Oklahoma), this act ends all government housing programs. “Such programs,” President Ashbrook explains as he signs the act, “Are in direct confrontation with free enterprise.” Representative Little typically responds by calling President Ashbrook, “A no brain-er free marketer.” These types of comments are great red meat for the young progressives, but are continuously becoming embarrassing for the people of Michigan 15th Congressional District. Columnist George Will predicts, “The colorful antics of Representative Little will end in 1975.”

Event Date: 3-09-1974
Event Description: Recent Yale Law School graduate William Jefferson Clinton moves from Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Bakersfield, California, to begin work for a large law firm. He had no real reason to stay in Arkansas, a state he considers far behind the progressive states of the North and West. Clinton’s mother travels with him, and besides a step brother, she is his only real family or relations. Clinton hopes to establish himself as a lawyer and run for Congress in a few years.

Event Date: 3-15-1974
Event Description: OPEC leaders hike the price of a barrel of oil to $78, the highest in history. President Ashbrook sends them an ultimatum: they can voluntarily reverse this decision or be forced to by the world community. The Ashbrook Ultimatum is greeted with mixed reaction by the world. Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka leads those who support the decision. “OPEC is gouging the world for a needed resource,” Prime Minster Tanaka tells the Japanese Diet in an address, “All nations should follow the American president in opposing OPEC’s greed.” Senator George H.W. Bush (Republican of Connecticut) attacks President Ashbrook’s, “Cowboy mentality.” The Ashbrook Doctrine does succeed in a limited way. OPEC nations will lower the price of a barrel of oil to $65 by April 1974, which is still far too expensive for most voters.

Event Date: 3-20-1974
Event Description: The United States and Germany begin drafting blueprints for the first permanent human outpost on the Moon. The U.S. space center (which will be named LunarDome) will include astronauts from Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, China, France and the Balkan Union. Germany’s Moon base is to be named Das Einsamerwolf, the Lone Wolf. Chancellor Heck himself came up with the name, feeling it best described the German space program.

Event Date: 3-21-1974
Event Description: Congressman Mark Andrews (Republican of North Dakota) and Senator William Brock (Democrat of Tennessee) introduce the Russo-Chinese War Memorial Act. To be built southwest of the Mall, the act easily passes both houses of Congress. In a gesture that reaches out to the Chinese greatly, I.M. Pei is chosen to be the architect to design the memorial.

Event Date: 4-01-1974
Event Description: Vice-President Jimmy Carter is a guest on the Old Time Gospel Hour, a conservative Christian show hosted by televangelist Jerry Falwell. Vice-President Carter discusses the decline of the American family. “I think most of our nation’s problems can be traced to the breaking apart of the American family,” Carter tells Reverend Falwell, “Every problem from greed to crime and even international unrest can be blamed on the decline of Judeo-Christian values and the American family.”

Event Date: 4-05-1974
Event Description: In a crowded 5-way Republican Primary for the 15th Congressional District in Michigan, Representative Malcolm Little defeats his nearest rival, Detroit City Councilman William David Ford, to remain in Congress for another two years. Little won only 38% of the vote to Ford’s 37%, showing that he is not very popular with the voters of MI-15, but with no Democrat opposing him, Little is safe for reelection.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-12-1974
Event Description: Congressman George William Whitehurst (Republican of Virginia) introduces the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, repealing the Sixteenth Amendment, which established an income tax. President Ashbrook had long wanted to introduce this amendment, but wanted a Republican to do it. Congressman Whitehurst, although liberal on social policies, is as conservative as they come on economic affairs, especially taxes. In the Senate, Ashbrook ally Barry Goldwater (Democrat of Arizona) signs on to the amendment. Senator Bush of Connecticut openly laughs at the amendment, calling it, “A fine piece of early 1800s literature.” Bush will lead the fight against this very reactionary Ashbrook amendment.

Event Date: 4-20-1974
Event Description: The House of Representatives begins debate on the Whitehurst Amendment. “This act is nothing more than a gold giveaway to the pockets of the privileged plutocracy!” Representative Little raves on the House floor, “Ashbrook and his cronies should be ashamed for wasting this much time on an amendment straight from the Arthur Administration!” Representative Little grows so impassioned during his speech that he flings his black plastic glasses off of his face, breaking them in two. He will tape them together, looking even more like a wild revolutionary college professor to conservatives. House Minority Leader John Anderson (Republican of Illinois) will be a little gentler when speaking against the amendment. “Mr. Whitehurst’s amendment is opposed by the people of the United States,” Representative Anderson tells his colleagues, “It overturns decades of progressive taxation policies supported by every administration.” Speaker of the House Carl Albert (Democrat of Oklahoma) defends the amendment by calling the income tax, “A theft from every American.” Albert himself views the amendment as ludicrous, but is bound to support his Democratic president.

Event Date: 5-06-1974
Event Description: After days of debate and speeches, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, also known as the Whitehurst Amendment, goes up for a vote, and comes crashing down. Even the most conservative Democratic congressmen don’t want to end the income tax, fearing it will be replaced by a sales tax. “That’s just a backdoor tax hike,” Representative James Symington (Democrat of Missouri), the son of the late vice-president, tells the press, “I can not vote for something like that.” With defeat in the House of Representatives, the amendment dies. President Ashbrook tells First Lady Jean Ashbrook that night at dinner, “If those boys on the Hill think I’m licked then they certainly have another thing coming.”

Event Date: 5-10-1974
Event Description: The Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Junior, Presidential Library opens in Boston, Massachusetts. Presidents Ashbrook, Nixon and MacFarland attend the opening ceremonies. Also in attendance is former CIA Director Robert F. Kennedy, who has recently announced his candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts. Former Chief of Staff John F. Kennedy attends, but his wife Marilyn Monroe-Kennedy is not invited as President Kennedy is embarrassed by her. The event catapults the Kennedy name back into the headlines, which will benefit Robert in the June 6th Democratic Primary for Governor.

Event Date: 6-06-1974
Event Description: Robert Kennedy easily wins the Democratic Primary for Governor of Massachusetts. He will face incumbent Governor John Volpe in November. In the Republican Primary for Congress in the 3rd District, Commodore John Kerry uses his war hero status to upset incumbent Congressman Harold Donohue. Kerry faces only nominal opposition from Democratic physician Walter Hartsuch.

Event Date: 7-09-1974
Event Description: Long time civil rights attorney and the disgraced Dewey Administration Attorney General, Earl Warren dies at the age of 83 from heart complications. He had desired to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, but Senate Democrats and President Ashbrook block the liberal Warren from being laid to rest there. He will be buried in a small cemetery in a suburb of Los Angles. At his funeral in the First Methodist Church of Los Angeles, socialist leader and former prisoner David McReynolds calls Warren, “A man who made lost causes realities.”

Event Date: 7-12-1974
Event Description: The Shah of Iran calls publicly for the overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The wealthy despot attacks Hussein’s, “Napoleonic land ambitions and a never ending lust for wealth and power.” President Hussein laughs at the statement of the Shah, calling him, “The father of all fools.” It is true that Hussein is building up the Iraqi Army, but as Secretary of State Buckley assures the world community, “President Hussein has no interest in invasion or war against his neighbors.”

Event Date: 8-01-1974
Event Description: Senator Jesse Helms (Democrat of North Carolina) and Congressman Orrin Hatch (Democrat of Utah) stand proudly by as President Ashbrook signs the Helms-Hatch Tobacco Advertisement Act. This act repeals a Nixon era bill which banned all tobacco advertisements from the television and radio. “This act is restoring the freedom of speech of all Americans,” President Ashbrook declares as he signs the act, “Sometimes, as certain parties have shown, we want to ban the free speech of certain, less popular groups.” Senator George Bush declares that he will, “Fight against this act tooth and nail. It is unaccountable that the President of the United States believes marketing tobacco products to kids is free speech. That is below the presidency, and if Ashbrook doesn’t want to act like a president, than maybe someone else should try it.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 8-09-1974
Event Description: Former President Richard Nixon suffers a mild heart attack while writing his memoirs at his home in Los Angeles. Nixon is rushed to a nearby hospital and survives to write another day.

Event Date: 8-19-1974
Event Description: The Chinese Stock Exchange opens in Peking, Shanghai, Tsingdao, Harbin, Urumqi, and Wuhan, opening the nation completely to capitalism. Just five years after defeat in a bloody and destructive war, the Chinese economy is back on its feet and the nation is prospering.

Event Date: 8-31-1974
Event Description: President Ashbrook and secretary of State Buckley stop Turkey from invading the island of Cyprus by invoking the Ashbrook Ultimatum. Turkish leaders, well aware of the awesomeness of the American military and the truth of the word of President Ashbrook, send diplomats rather than marines to work out a fishing dispute with Cyprus.

Event Date: 9-10-1974
Event Description: Governor Nelson Rockefeller announces that he will not be a candidate for president in 1976. “My time has come and gone,” Governor Rockefeller announces from the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, “It is time for a new generation of progressive thinkers to take the reins of government.” Rocky has already told the New York Times that he thinks that Senator George Bush or Congressman John Anderson are the best candidates to oppose President Ashbrook in 1976.

Event Date: 9-22-1974
Event Description: In a peaceful ceremony in Jerusalem, the people of Palestine are granted their own independent state by the nation of Israel. Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat share a hug and blow a Jewish horn, representing the end of war. Vice-President Carter attends the ceremony, declaring, “To you two great leaders, I give you the words of Jesus, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shale see God.”

Event Date: 10-20-1974
Event Description: On the tenth anniversary of his death, the Congress passes the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Citizen Award Act. Introduced by Representative Paul Douglas (Republican of Illinois) this yearly award will honor American citizens who do extraordinary things. The first recipient of the award is Reverend Reginald Jackson of Philadelphia. Reverend Reggie’s tireless work for poor and forgotten inner city Philadelphia children has made him a household word in the Christian community. Some Republican leaders in Philadelphia are eying him to take on incumbent Democratic Mayor Frank Rizzo in 1975.

Event Date: 11-05-1974
Event Description: With the economy still dragging and President Ashbrook’s laissez-faire economic plan not seeming to do any good, the voters pass judgment on John Ashbrook. As he prepares to go to a state dinner in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Colin Powell, Ashbrook watches as 26 Democratic representatives are tossed from the House, giving control of the chamber to John Anderson and the Republicans. In the senate the Democrats maintain a sizable lead since there were few competitive senate races. In Connecticut, CIA agent and conservative commentator William F. Buckley, the brother of Secretary of State James Buckley, is defeated by incumbent Senator George Bush by 20-points. Bush’s big win is seen as a clear statement that he can be a top tier presidential candidate in two years. In Massachusetts, Robert Kennedy is elected by a wide margin over Governor Volpe. The Kennedy name took him to the top, despite Bobby’s image as a “ruthless” person. His brother, Edward Moore Kennedy, is elected Attorney General; the first time two brothers will be heading top posts in Massachusetts state government. This is also the first election where Russo-Chinese War veterans begin to get elected to congress. The new Russo-Chinese War congressmen are John Kerry (Republican) in Massachusetts, George W. Bush (Republican) in Texas, Dan Quayle (Democrat) in Indiana, John McCain (Democrat) in Arizona and Bob Kerrey (Republican) in Nebraska. Though not a veteran of the Russo-Chinese War, Bakersfield, California, attorney William J. Clinton is elected to the California State House, hoping to build his political career up as time goes on. However, for President Ashbrook, there is little time for him to turn the economy around. The 1976 race is approaching.     

[PBrunsel]

Why is Clinton in California?

He moved to CA after getting his law degree. He left Arkansas because he felt that it was not keeping up with the nation in terms of social progress. Also, Clinton is a Republican and could nto get elected to office in Democratic Arkansas.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-05-1975
Event Description: The 94th Congress convenes, and it’s an odd one at that. The Republicans solidly control the House of Representatives while the Democrats solidly control the Senate. In the Senate, the very Conservative Majority Leader Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) keeps his job. Senate Minority Leader Norris Cotton (Republican of New Hampshire) did not run for reelection and is replaced by Senator Robert J. Dole (Republican of Kansas). Dole and Byrd have been friends for years insuring civility in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, things could be different. John Anderson (Republican of Illinois) accepts the position of Speaker of the House and John J. Rhodes (Republican of Arizona) takes the the position of House Majority Leader. Carl Albert (Democrat of Oklahoma) takes the demotion of becoming House Minority Leader. House Majority Leader Anderson declares that he will halt, “The 19th Century policies of President Ashbrook.”

Event Date: 1-20-1975
Event Description: The Stock Market makes a major rally today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shoots up more than 120-points. President Ashbrook declares that his economic policies “Are beginning to reshape the economic future of our nation.” Speaker of the House John Anderson calls this assertion, “Ridiculous.” He claims that Ashbrook’s economic plan has led the nation, “Into debt while also forcing our public welfare to take millions of dollars in cuts.”

Event Date: 2-09-1975
Event Description: While speaking at the 2nd Annual College Republican Convention at the Washington, D.C., Hilton, President Ashbrook is assaulted by a coconut cream pie! The “attacker” is left-winged activist Jerry Rubin, well known for his over-the-top antics. President Ashbrook is a good sport about it, declaring after the pie hit him, “Poor guy went to all that trouble to bring me a pie and didn’t even make it my favorite kind. Well, it’s the thought that counts.”

Event Date: 2-15-1975
Event Description: In its first elections as an independent nation, the Palestinian Arab Republic chooses the moderate Fatah Party over the fundamentalist Hamas Party. Fattah leader Mahmoud Abbas becomes the first Prime Minister of Palestine, with Yasser Arafat being demoted to the Opposition Leader of the Legislature. Secretary of State Buckley applauds the election as, “A mandate for reason.”

Event Date: 3-01-1975
Event Description: In a grim report by the Department of Commerce, it is revealed that German automobiles are now preferred over American made cars. The affects of this are beginning to show in Detroit, Michigan, in an area of the country now being referred to as the “Rust Belt.” Representative Malcolm Little calls for President Ashbrook to, “Free our nations’ auto industry from unneeded foreign competition.” President Ashbrook scoffs at this idea. “Competition is healthy for all industries,” he tells a meeting of automobile CEOs in Omaha, Nebraska, “If you want your companies to thrive then you must rise to the challenge of the competition.” Representative Little responds to this by telling the Detroit Free Press, “Ashbrook to city: Screw you.”

Event Date: 3-10-1975
Event Description: The human rights group Amnesty International publishes The Reign of Mad King Hussein, a 35-page report on atrocities committed by President Saddam Hussein. It unveils that there are three concentration camps throughout the nation, with the Kurds of Northern Iraq being the most abused and destroyed. The article also includes pictures of incinerators located outside the city of Tikrit. This report shakes the world community.

Event Date: 3-11-1975 
Event Description: President Ashbrook makes a televised address responding to the human rights abuses of President Hussein of Iraq. “My fellow Americans,” he begins, “We in the United States can not condone torture, murder or any violations of human rights.” President Ashbrook calls for an investigation into these matters by special investigators representing, “The most powerful and industrialized nations on Earth.” This is the closest thing to a “united nations” since the failed League of Nations. President Ashbrook assures the world that, “The United States will not invade the nation of Iraq under any circumstances. A ‘go it alone’ incursion into Iraq would only set off a firestorm of regional conflicts. If this happens, then there is no chance that Hussein will ever be deposed of.” Senator George Bush attacks President Ashbrook for, “Selling out the people of Iraq” for refusing to send troops to topple Hussein. However, the world community applauds President Ashbrook and begins to put together a team of investigators to see what is really happening in Hussein’s Iraq.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 3-20-1975
Event Description: President Hussein calls the Amnesty International report, “A pack of lies and nothing but Western propaganda.” He declares that he will never allow inspectors into Baghdad.

Event Date: 3-29-1975
Event Description: Father Rudolph Braun meets with British Home Secretary Roy Jenkins and IRA leader Joe Cahill in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Father Braun’s goal is to forge a peace between the two states and perhaps reunite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. The Belfast Accords start out with little promise, as Cahill refuses to even sit down at the same table with Secretary Jenkins. Father Braun has to trek from one room to another to get the talks started.

Event Date: 4-03-1975
Event Description: Bobby Fischer defeats Anatoly Karpov for the world chess champion title. President Ashbrook congratulates Fischer over the phone and later mumbles about how no one cares about a silly chess game. After all, there is no real animosity between America and Russia.   

Event Date: 4-05-1975
Event Description: The Belfast Agreement is agreed on by the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Harold Wilson of the United Kingdom attends the formal signing of the agreement. His government was quite happy to end the constant tensions in Northern Ireland. The agreement gives Northern Ireland its own parliament and generally independence from the UK without actually returning them to Ireland. In addition, all British troops will be withdrawn from Northern Ireland by January 1977. Despite some anger from both sides, Father Braun sees this as the best agreement that either side could come to, and it ends the violence, which was his goal.

Event Date: 4-12-1975
Event Description: Representative Shirley Chisholm (Republican of New York) introduces the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the House of Representatives. This act will protect the rights of women and people of different sexual orientations. President Ashbrook mocks the amendment, calling it, “ERROR.” Representative Andrew Young also signs onto the amendment since he has been fighting for this type of action for years. Speaker of the House Anderson assures Chisholm and Young that he will do all he can to aid the amendment in passing.

Event Date: 5-02-1975
Event Description: Margaret Truman, the daughter of celebrated public servant Harry Truman, sings at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Her fanfare is attended by President Ashbrook, First Lady Jean Ashbrook, Vice-President Carter, the Supreme Court, Bess Truman as well as many other dignitaries. Margaret’s performance amazes the crowd, especially Washington Post entertainment editor Paul Hume. “Ms. Truman’s voice is strong, mature and a pleasure to listen to,” Hume writes the next day, “Here good father would be proud.”

Event Date: 5-20-1975
Event Description: The Equal Rights Amendment passes in the House of Representatives by a wide margin, which is strictly party line. Speaker Anderson had tried to woo more moderate Democrats from the West into supporting the amendment, but to no avail. ERA dies.

Event Date: 5-25-1975
Event Description: Senator George Herbert Walker Bush (Republican of Connecticut) announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. “I refuse to believe that the best America is John Ashbrook’s America,” Senator Bush declares, “He has sold out our economy to big business and our foreign policy to dictators.” Bush has been an advocate of unilateral invasion of Iraq to rid Saddam Hussein of power. Bush’s campaign manger is Halliburton junior executive Richard Cheney, who promises a campaign based on, “The facts about Ashbrook’s misleading administration and Senator Bush’s vision of an America filled with 1,000-points of light.”

Event Date: 6-01-1975
Event Description: The Stock Market has a major rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shooting up 256-points. The economy is slowly working its way out of recession, and President Ashbrook’s poll numbers are showing an upward trend as well. The latest Gallup Poll shows Ashbrook at a 53% approval rating and leading Senator Bush by a 48-44% margin in a mock election.

Event Date: 6-05-1975
Event Description: A team of international Human rights inspectors are selected in London. There job is to make it into Baghdad and collect evidence on whether or not President Hussein is running death camps and violating human rights. The head of the investigation is Lieutenant Colonel Colin Powell, selected by President Ashbrook himself. President Hussein still refuses to let any investigators into Iraq. In the coming weeks the USA as well as most of the nations of Europe will begin an embargo on Iraqi products, including oil. 

Event Date: 6-30-1975
Event Description: Senator Charles Percy (Republican of Illinois) declares his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

Event Date: 7-04-1975
Event Description: Governor Hugh Carey (Democrat of New York) and Governor John A. Love (Republican of Colorado) stand next to President John Ashbrook as he signs the Nuclear Power Act of 1975. The cities of Boulder, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, are selected to be the first two American cities fully powered by nuclear power. “The dream of President Nixon to escape our nation’s reliance on oil is now seeing its beginning,” Governor Love declares. John Love is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in a few weeks. President Ashbrook seems to have just given him free publicity.

Event Date: 7-11-1975
Event Description: In a rare public interview, former President Ernest McFarland goes on the Voice of the Nation, hosted by Ronald Reagan. The two men make jabs at each other careers and help raise money for the Russo-Chinese War Memorial Foundation. One of the best lines of the interview has Reagan asking McFarland, “So who do you like for president in 1976?” “Well,” the shocked McFarland responds, “President Ashbrook of f course.” “I see!” Reagan responds, “You like how he’s making your presidency look good.”

Event Date:  8-05-1975
Event Description: Reverend Reginald Jackson wins the Republican nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia. The 29-year old community organizer and preacher will face off against incumbent Mayor Frank Rizzo, a nominal Democrat who has been accused of encouraging police brutality against minorities. The 1975 Philadelphia Mayoral Election will be one of the most closely contested races in Pennsylvania history.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-12-1975
Event Description: Colin Powell and the international investigators in Iraq are finally allowed into the nation by President Hussein. International sanctions against the nation have forced Hussein to allow inspections of his repressive regime.

Event Date: 9-23-1975
Event Description: The growth in business continues as a report by U.S. World and News Report reveals that more Americans are starting small businesses. Spurred by low taxes and a growing stock market, entrepreneurs are seeing success in the market as of late. President Ashbrook’s economic policies seem to be working as he planned. However, the economy is nowhere near a boom as inflation and unemployment is still above 5.5%.

Event Date: 10-09-1975
Event Description: The Trump Hotel and Casino-Peking opens amongst great fanfare. Fred and Donald Trump cut the red ribbon as the first guests enter the new grand hotel, the first to ever be built in Asia. The first guest is Frank Sinatra, famed crooner and favorite of the Trump Family.

Event Date: 10-15-1975
Event Description: Governor John Love (Republican of Colorado) declares his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. The tax slashing progressive governor is considered a major dark horse, despite his fame from the Boulder Nuclear Power Plant. He is endorsed by Governor Robert Ray (Republican of Iowa) a few days later, which will help him in the Iowa Caucus. 

Event Date: 10-20-1975
Event Description: In a wedding held at the United Methodist Church in Chicago, Hillary Rodham marries attorney Don Wasley. The two new attorneys join prominent Chicago law firms and both hope to one day run for office, though Don has made it known he would rather be rich than be a senator.’

Event Date: 11-06-1975
Event Description: By a margin of 51-49%, the Reverend Reginald Jackson is elected Mayor of Philadelphia over Mayor Frank Rizzo. “My friends,” the charismatic Reverend Reggie declares at his victory celebration, “We have changed the minds of pundits; they all said we’d lose tonight. Now, let’s change this city and the world!”   

Event Date: 11-15-1975
Event Description: President Ashbrook signs the Veteran Care Act. Introduced by Senator Sam Nunn (Democrat of Georgia) and Representative John Kerry (Republican of Massachusetts), this act increases funding for the GI Bill, Walter Reed Medical Hospital and begins a hospital to care for mentally wounded veterans as well. “An epidemic of homeless Russo-Chinese War veterans is something that this country can not allow!” Reprehensive Kerry had bellowed on the floor of the House of Representatives, “We must care for all soldiers who are experiencing mental relapses into battle, shell shock and any other mental disorder hindering them from becoming productive American citizens once again.”

Event Date: 11-20-1975
Event Description: Speaker of the House John Anderson declares his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. “It’s high time that common Americans get a voice in this country,” Anderson declares from his home in Rockford, Illinois, “The people deserve a president who has lived with them, not in the Ivory Tower or the Hamptons.” These are not very thinly veiled attacks on the very educate Senator Percy and the very wealthy Senator Bush. The 1976 Republican Nomination race is expected to be a closely fought battle.

Event Date: 12-01-1975
Event Description: Senator Lloyd Bentsen (Democrat of Texas) introduces the Consumer Bill of Rights. This bill has several instructions on how to assure Americans that what they buy is safe and of lasting quality. “The customer should not always be right,” Senator Bentsen tells the press, “But also safe.” The bill has wide support from both sides of the aisle, though President Ashbrook is not too happy about the bill. He views it as an unneeded infringement on the business of private enterprise.   

Event Date: 12-05-1975
Event Description: Consumer advocate Ralph Nader testifies before the House of Representatives while urging the passage of the Consumer Bill of Rights. “It is the first priorities of any government to make sure its citizens are safe,” Nader tells the House Commerce Committee, “If we have unsafe products, ranging from toys to cooking utensils, then no citizen is truly safe.” The House of Representatives will easily pass the Consumer Bill of Rights, as will the Senate.

Event Date: 12-06-1975
Event Description: President John Ashbrook vetoes the Consumer Bill of Rights. “Though I believe that American consumers are entitled to the best products,” he tells the press as he vetoes the bill, “I feel strongly that private enterprise should be able to regulate itself, free from government mandates.” The Congress will fail to override the veto, landing the bill in the ash heap of legislative history.

Event Date: 12-10-1975
Event Description: Enraged over the death of the Consumer Bill of Rights, Ralph Nader declares his candidacy for President of the United States under the newly formed U.S. Consumers Party. “Our corporate dominated government refuses to let the voice of the little guy be heard,” Nader declares as he enters the race, “It is time that someone stands up to the corporate government and media, and tells them that their stranglehold on our nation should be ended!” Running with the energy of a revolutionary, Nader will select fellow environmental scientist Barry Commoner as his running-mate. The Nader-Commoner slogan is, “Enough!”