By a Fluke of the Gods: Cox Defeats Harding

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 5-11-1980
Event Description: The first Progressive Reform Party Convention is held in Portland, Oregon. This new political party enjoys more than 100,000 members visiting the Oregonian convention site. The new party nominates Congressman John Anderson, a former Speaker of the House, for president with Governor Patrick Lucey as his running-mate. “Our new party stands against Democratic greed and Republican warmongering,” Anderson declares as he accepts the nomination, “We look not to lead the country left or right, but forward.”

Event Date: 5-30-1980
Event Description: Turkey and Russia finally recognize the Kurdish Republic, a move encouraged by the recent decline in violence in Northern Kurdistan and the all but complete surrender of PKK rebel. With this recognition, the Kurdish Republic can finally begin shipping oil through Turkey and into Europe and to the U.S.

Event Date: 6-03-1980
Event Description: Governor Kennedy wins the California Primary, clinching the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. As he makes his victory address from the Los Angeles Hilton, Kennedy is hit by… a pie! Left-winged prankster Jerry Rubin, running for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1981, is apprehended for the assault, but RFK asks the cops to let him go. “Hey with my reputation,” Kennedy tells the police, “I could have been hit with something much worse.”

Event Date: 6-11-1980
Event Description: To the great joy of the White House, the New York Times reports that since the “surge”, violence in Baghdad and the surrounding areas is down substantially from 1979. “Car bombings and militia recruitment is down more than 75%,” the article states. President Bush’s approval ratings shoot to 53% in the latest Gallup Polls. Governor Kennedy, in his typical analyzing fashion, declares at a rally in Kansas City, Missouri, “The president is only celebrating a return to Hussein level terrorism, which is not that low. It is obvious that his invasion and occupation of Iraq has led to growth in terrorism.”

Event Date: 7-17-1980
Event Description: The Democratic National Convention, held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, convenes and spends five days attacking President Bush and cheering for a return to the “glory days” of the Kennedy Administration. The party nominates Governor Robert Francis Kennedy of Massachusetts for President and Representative Jack Kemp of New York for Vice-President. A completely Northeastern ticket is odd for the Democratic Party, but Kennedy knows what he’s doing. “It’s this simple,” Bobby tells Kemp, “We’ve got the South no matter what. By aiming for the Northeast we take on Poppy Bush in his own backyard.” The convention sets forth a platform attacking the Iraq War as a “quagmire” and calling Bush, “A tax-and-spend Republican”, the first time this now regularly used phrase appeared.

Event Date: 7-22-1980
Event Description: While answering questions at a routine press conference, President Bush makes a statement which will come back to haunt him. Bill Moyers, a PBS reporter asks the president, “Mr. President, is our nation in an economic downturn?” “Well, Bill,” Bush responds, “I would say no.” “Mr. President,” a shocked Moyers responds, “How can you say that? Just last month 66,000 jobs were lost and the GDP is turning up negative numbers. How does this back up your answer?” “Where did you get those numbers from?” Bush asks, “I can’t see any economic problems, with the exception of high gas our economy is strong and getting stronger.” Moyers then asks, “Mr. President, you just said that you don’t see any economic problems, but you’re a millionaire and the president. Can you really say that what you observe everyday really is an accurate picture of the economy?” “I care, that’s all,” Bush quickly responds.     

Event Date: 7-30-1980
Event Description: President Bush signs the Clean Energy Act of 1980, introduced by Senator H.I. Hayakawa (Republican of California). Under this act, all fuel in the U.S. will be renewable and cause as little pollution as possible by the year 2001. “This is an ambitious goal,” President Bush tells the nation that night in a televised address, “But I believe our nation is strong enough and determined enough to complete this goal. Why shouldn’t we dream big? After all, my friends, we are the United States of America.” Governor Kennedy scoffs at Bush’s new energy bill. “It looks like we’re fighting a war for oil we won’t even be able to use,” Kennedy quips while being interviewed on NBC Nightly News.

Event Date: 8-11-1980
Event Description: The Republican National Convention, held in Detroit, Michigan, nominated President Bush and Vice-President Love for a second term by acclamation. The convention is upbeat, celebrating how U.S. troops are, as Vice-President Love declares in his acceptance address, “Spreading the message of freedom and democracy to parts of the world where they have never been heard before.” General Colin Powell addresses the convention, declaring that the Republican Party is, “The party of inclusion and reason.” President Bush’s own address is a heartfelt one, thanking U.S. troops for preserving freedom. “I can not tell you how often I have met a soldier at Walter Reed Hospital,” President Bush tells the convention, “Who has lost both of his legs, but tells me that he would return to Iraq to give those people the same freedoms that he gave his all for.”

Event Date: 8-12-1980
Event Description: Polling shows that President Bush has been given a substantial “post convention bump”. The Gallup shows Bush leading Kennedy 49-43%, with Congressman Anderson at 5%. The Kennedy Campaign, always very confident about victory, goes into complete panic mode. Governor Kennedy, who had previously planned to make only six campaign speeches, ramps up his campaign appearances and several negative television ads are scheduled to be released. The Kennedy Campaign blitz has begun.

Event Date: 8-20-1980
Event Description: The Kennedy campaign unleashes a blistering attack ad, using footage from President Bush’s July 22nd press conference. The ad has a man somberly reading off the unemployment and inflation rates, gas prices and home foreclosures, each followed by President Bush saying, “Our economy is strong and getting stronger.” In the end, the narrator asks, “What does the president think a strong economy is?” Almost for a laugh, the ad ends with Bush saying, “I care.” The ad is very effective, reminding people that the wartime commander-in-chief is stumbling badly when it comes to the economy.

Event Date: 8-27-1980
Event Description: Baa’thist terrorists detonate a bomb which badly damages the Al-Askari Mosque, the holiest mosque for the Shiites. The golden dome of the mosque I destroyed, further outraging the Shiite population in the city of Samarra, a town already embroiled in turmoil between Shiites and Sunnis. Even General Schwarzkopf’s troops can’t quell the riots which embroil the city for six days, resulting in over 5,000 deaths and millions of dollars in property damage.

Event Date: 9-02-1980
Event Description: Samarra settles for the first time in six days. The Golden Mosque Riots are the worst since the Iraq War began, even worst than the looting which occurred during the Siege of Baghdad. President Bush, who has been trumpeting the new peace in Iraq, calls for the American people to, “Not use one riot as the measuring stick of success in Iraq.” This comment backfires on the president, with Governor Kennedy laughingly telling a crowd in Hartford, Connecticut, “Guys, its just one mass riot which killed over 5,000 people, no big deal. The war is a success, mission accomplished.”

Event Date: 9-05-1980
Event Description: The Kennedy Campaign releases another controversial attack ad, using footage of terrorist attacks in Iraq. President Bush’s statement to the troops in 1973, “You will be greeted as liberators”, plays in the back as pictures of explosions and other such attacks flash on the screen. “After the deaths of over 10,000 troops,” the announcer ends, “Are we still being greeted with flowers?” Vice-President Love attacks the ad as, “Callous and distasteful.” It will only be aired once, but it is very effective nonetheless.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-12-1980
Event Description: Hans Scholl and the German Labor Party win the Reichstag elections over Chancellor Heck’s Conservative Party. The gas crisis is affecting Germany as much as the United States, but Germany isn’t receiving Kurdish oil. The reason for this is because Germany didn’t aid the Kurds in their battle for impendence as the American had. Scholl used this blunder by heck to his advantage, and will soon become the new German Chancellor.

Event Date: 9-30-1980
Event Description: The first televised presidential debate of the 1980 election is held at the University of Missouri campus in Independence, a state university which Senator Harry Truman had fought very hard to get. The moderator, CBS’s Dan Rather, runs an orderly debate, which excludes Congressman Anderson. The debate focuses on domestic polices, especially the economy. Governor Kennedy makes much out of the rising unemployment and inflation rates, whereas President Bush boasts about new energy policies. The big issue is the high gas prices. “The gas prices of today must never be seen again,” President Bush tells the crowd, “That is why I signed the Clean Energy Act, which Governor Kennedy strongly opposes.” “I just don’t believe in securing oil in the Middle East, and then not using it,” Kennedy responds. The two begin to argue over Kennedy’s “blood for oil” statement last July until Rather stops them with a loud, “Enough!” The debate is widely watched, and the charismatic Kennedy is seen as the winner. The Gallup Poll will show Kennedy with a 47-45% lead over President Bush.

Event Date: 10-03-1980
Event Description: The National Star releases another story, one far important than the Charlie Wilson scoop. “Tortured Logic!” blares the front-page of the gossip rag. Carl Bernstein outlines for the whole nation how Colonel Oliver North, Lieutenant Bo Gritz and several other marines used “enhanced” persuasion methods to get information from Baa’thist leader Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. This story checks out with Gritz, who tells Bernstein, “I did it, and I’d do it again. I’m not ashamed to say I tortured to save my fellow marines. That’s called loving your country, something newsmen don’t know one thing about.” The national news picks up the story and blare it that night on the three news stations.

Event Date: 10-04-1980
Event Description: President Bush responds to the news that he allowed U.S. marines to torture a terrorist suspect. “I didn’t know that was going on,” Bush tells reporters at a televised press conference, “Had I known I would have stopped it immediately. This administration does not condone torture!” “Unless it’s the torture of a quagmire in Iraq, rising unemployment, five dollar gas and double digit inflation,” Governor Kennedy declares at a rally in Houston, Texas. In the coming days his campaign will release an ad attacking the president for running an administration, “Which he has no control over.”

Event Date: 10-21-1980
Event Description: President Bush and Governor Kennedy meet in Cleveland, Ohio, for the second debate of the election. The debate focuses mostly on the Iraq War, with Governor Kennedy consistently pledging to, “Withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by 1982.” Bush, in response, uses the term, “Defeatist Democrats”, twelve times. Kennedy defeats the president in this debate, which is something Bush didn’t need.

Event Date: 11-04-1980
Event Description: Governor Robert Francis Kennedy is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent President George Herbert Walker Bush, the second one term president in a row.

Robert Kennedy/Jack Kemp (D): 334 EV; 48.3% of the PV
George H.W. Bush/John Love (R): 204 EV; 44.5% of the PV
John Anderson/Patrick Lucey (PR): 0 EV; 6.7% of the PV
Others (Constitution, Libertarian, etc.): 0 EV; 0.5% of the PV

The Democratic Party fails to win control of Congress, however. The House of Representatives turns to the Democrats, but the Senate remains strongly in GOP hands. President Kennedy will have to be a uniting figure if he is to get anything done, and knowing Bobby Kennedy, that is not a likelihood.     

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Great update; looking forward to President Kennedy

[MasterJedi]

Nice update, I see President Kennedy screwing something up with Iraq and Kurdistan though.

[Captain Chaos]

The RFK/JFK ticket wins in 1980.

[HappyWarrior]

I'm thinking Kennedy will be assasinated during his first term and Kemp will win a full term for himself but will lose in '88 to Joe Biden(I hope so hint hint;)

[Robespierre's Jaw]

I didn't realise that you updated it past 1979 Paul and I must say, as always Great Update . Looking forward to the Presidency of Robert Francis Kennedy. With Jack Kemp as Vice President, will we see any sort of tax cuts coming from the Kennedy Presidency such as the RL Kemp-Roth ones?

[Хahar 🤔]

Event Date: 7-30-1980
Senator H.I. Hayakawa (Republican of California)

It's S.I.
Great update. How's Bill Clinton? Bakersfield isn't exactly a liberal heartland.

[PBrunsel]

The Presidency of Robert F. Kennedy  

Event Date: 1-05-1981
Event Description: The 97th Congress meets to elect its new leaders. The Democrats have the House, but the Republicans control the Senate by 10-seats. In the open race for Senate Majority Leader (as current Majority Leader Gordon Humphrey (Republican of New Hampshire) declines to seek the office again) is a wild race. Republican Senators John Glenn (Ohio), Joseph Biden (Delaware), S.I. Hayakawa (California) and Mark Hatfield (Oregon) all seek the office. At the end of the day, Senator Biden wins the seat, with Senator Hatfield as Senate Majority Whip. In the House of Representatives, Democratic Representatives Phillip Crane (Illinois) and Jim Wright (Texas) fight it out for the role of Majority Leader, as former Minority Leader Thomas “Tip” O’Neil (a Kennedy ally and fairly liberal Democrat) takes the reins as Speaker of the House. Crane, with the backing of Vice-President-elect Kemp, will win the Majority Leader job. John Jacob Rhodes (Republican of Arizona) is demoted to House Minority Leader.

Event Date: 1-20-1981
Event Description: Robert Francis Kennedy is inaugurated as President of the United States, becoming the first brother of a president to become president. Watching the proceedings from the gallery is former President Joseph P. Kennedy and his family, all looking on proudly as Robert Kennedy gives his inaugural address. “Our determination to peace must be the guiding light for our nation’s role in the world,” President Kennedy proclaims, “We can claim that our army must be used to spread democracy, and that we are the best missionaries for democracy. However, we must remember the words of Voltaire, ‘People rarely welcome missionaries with bayonets.’” One Kennedy who is not in the stands watching the proceedings is John F. Kennedy, Bobby’s estranged brother. The 63-year old JFK is seriously ill, worrying his wife, Marilyn Monroe-Kennedy, to the point of alcohol abuse. Despite the cheer of the RFK inauguration, there is very little joy at the JFK homestead.

Event Date: 1-21-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy introduces to the Senate his choices for the cabinet. His new cabinet is filled with widely educated men, such as Secretary of State Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Secretary of the Navy James “Jimmy” Carter, Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon and Secretary of Commerce Henry Ford IV. One nominee, however, is not as welcomed by the Congress. This is Joseph Patrick Kennedy III, the 40-year old son of President Joseph P. Kennedy, Junior, and President Robert Kennedy’s nephew. President Kennedy demands that his nephew be confirmed for the position, declaring that JPK III was, after all, the commander of the American air force during the Iraq War and a Russo-Chinese War hero. The Senate will agree and confirm Joseph Patrick Kennedy III as the new Secretary of Defense by the end of the month.

Event Date: 2-10-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy announces that he will begin bringing home troops from Iraq, “To end that pointless, needless war.” Former President Bush, in an interview on CNN, a new 24-hour news station, calls this action, “Reckless and disastrous.” The House of Representatives sends its approvals, but the Senate stands firmly against this decision. “While the situation in Iraq seems grim now,” Senate Majority Leader Biden tells his colleagues, “We can not just pull out of the region and pretend a war was never fought. Such a move would establish chaos and mass murder across the Middle East and destabilize that vital region.” Senate Minority Leader Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) claims that, “There is already chaos in Iraq, and our army has just as much to do with it as anything else.”

Event Date: 2-11-1981
Event Description: There is quite a media fallout about Senator Byrd’s statement yesterday, declaring that when it comes to chaos in Iraq, “Our army has just as much to do with it as anything else.” Senate Majority leader Biden demands that Byrd apologize for, “These callous, heartless remarks.” Byrd refuses, and President Kennedy stands by him. “Our presence in Iraq is causing chaos,” President Kennedy tells the Associated Press, “Our troops have done an excellent job in an impossible situation. We need to pull out of Iraq and bring our troops home so that the best and bravest in America can be given a chance to keep living and helping.” President Kennedy’s masterful handling of what could have been a major gaffe for the Democrats cements Americans around him and the “pull out of Iraq” message. A Gallup Poll taken one day later will show that 64% of Americans approve of President Kennedy and that 75% of Americans want, “An immediate withdrawal of all combat forces from Iraq and Syria.”

Event Date: 2-22-1981
Event Description: The House of Representatives votes by a 287-251 margin to immediately withdraw all combat forces from Iraq and Syria by January 1982. Speaker of the House O’Neil tells the press after the resolution is passed, “Sometimes it takes just as much courage to want peace.” Congressman Trent Lott (Democrat of Mississippi), who authored the resolution, agrees with Speaker O’Neil, challenging the Senate to, “Have the heart to want peace.”

Event Date: 3-09-1981
Event Description: Senator Lloyd Bentsen (Democrat of Texas) introduces the Iraq Withdrawal Resolution, which would actually pull all combat forces out of both Iraq and Syria by January 1982. Senate Majority Leader Biden declares that he will never allow the resolution to come up for debate. “Legislating surrender is not a war time strategy!” Senator Biden blasts at a VFW convention in Washington, D.C., “We need a new direction in Iraq, not a white flag.”

Event Date: 3-30-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy is scheduled to speak before the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Convention at the Washington Hilton, but he can not attend. In his place he sends radio commentator and host Ronald Reagan, a strong Kennedy supporter. Reagan blasts the Republicans as, “The party of war, taxes and waste.” He applauds Kennedy for, “Wanting to be a peace time president, something that takes guts when some in Congress always want a wartime president.” He also jokes about his own wartime experience as a radio commentator during the American-Japanese War. “I was dodging bullets during the American-Japanese War,” Reagan tells the crowd, “Of course, those were bullets fired by absent minded farmers in Iowa during the rabbit hunting season.” Reagan’s classic charm and wit comes off well, and he is applauded for more than 10-minutes before he can leave the building. As he leaves, he is shot at by bystander, one John Hinckley, Junior. Reagan is not harmed, but he is shocked. “I never thought I was important enough to be shot at!” Reagan tells Johnny Carson that night, as he was scheduled to be on his show tonight. Later on Reagan will learn that the delusional Hinckley had expected the president to walk out of the Hilton, and fired at the first man he saw who looked “presidential.” Reagan will also learn that Hinckley was obsessed with the film “Taxi Driver”. “He should have seen ‘Rocky’,” Reagan comments, “It was better.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-02-1981
Event Description: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the older brother President Robert Kennedy and the former Chief of Staff of his older brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Junior, dies at the age of 63, due to complications from Addison’s disease. His funeral will be held at the Kennedy Compound and he will be buried there as well in the family plot. Kennedy leaves behind two children from his first marriage and one from his second marriage. His current wife, Marilyn Monroe-Kennedy, will fall apart without Kennedy, leading her son, Patrick, to be sent to a relative’s home.

Event Date: 4-12-1981
Event Description: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passes the Iraq Withdrawal Resolution, with Senators Bill Bradley (Republican of New Jersey), Jim Exon (Republican of Nebraska) and Pete Domenici (Republican of New Mexico) breaking ranks to vote for the Democratic supported resolution. “Its time we tell America that its time to come home,” Senator Bradley tells the press. Senate Majority Leader Biden declares that the act, “Will be voted down by a massive margin,” but it appears as if many Republicans, wary of their constituents, will vote for the resolution.

Event Date: 4-25-1981
Event Description: President Gorbachev meets with President Kennedy at the White House, and the meeting isn’t exactly pleasant. “What are you doing!” booms Gorbachev in his almost humorous Russian accent while speaking English, “This withdrawal of troops will throw the entire Middle East into turmoil!” “It was fine before we went in, Gorby,” President Kennedy responds, he himself having no respect for the reforming Russian leader. “You little gadfly!” President Gorbachev cries at Kennedy, “Your cocksure attitude is wearing thin. The Kurds will be decimated if we evacuate the Middle East, as well as the Chalabi Government.” “If they can’t exist on their own,” Kennedy says, “Then they shouldn’t exist at all.” With this, Kennedy ends the meeting and Gorbachev storms out in a Russian huff. “Now there is an unhappy little man,” Kennedy tells Chief of Staff Sargent Shriver. After rubbing his chin, the President asks Shriver to “Do me a favor, Sarge.” “What is it, Mr. President,” Shriver asks. “Get some guys to tap the phones at the Russian Embassy,” President Kennedy instructs Shriver, “I need to hear what the Russians are planning on doing in Iraq.” Shriver agrees to get some guys on it, knowing that the odds of being caught are very slim.

Event Date: 5-06-1981
Event Description: The Senate votes 53-47 to pass Senator Bentsen’s Iraq Withdrawal Resolution. The unpopularity of the war, along with the want of the Senate to move onto other matters, led enough Republican Senators to cross party lines and vote with the Democratic resolution. The withdrawal of troops will begin as soon as June 1981.

Event Description: 5-12-1981
Event Description: General Norman Schwarzkopf holds a press conference in Kuwait City, in which he blasts the Kennedy Administration for their support of withdrawal from Iraq. “Bobby Kennedy has never seen a day of battle and knows about as much about foreign policy as a pig knows about Sunday,” the enraged general tells the press, “He is not his brother. I know Joe Kennedy, Joe Kennedy is a friend of mine. Bobby Kennedy is no Joe Kennedy.” General Schwarzkopf outlines how the Iraqi government will collapse by 1983 and the void will be filled, “With either old Baa’thist sects or religious fanatics.” White House Press Secretary Mike Wallace, a Kennedy family friend, responds to General Schwarzkopf’s statements that night. He decries the general for, “School yard name-calling,” and claims he is further ashamed that Schwarzkopf decided to attack the president on foreign soil. President Kennedy deals with Schwarzkopf in another way, he simply decides to use wiretaps and other spying measures to discredit the troublesome commander.

Event Date: 5-21-1981
Event Description: President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, nominee of the right-winged Union for French Democracy, defeats Socialist Party nominee François Mitterrand, former Minister of Justice. President d'Estaing ran strongly as the candidate who kept France out of the quagmire in Iraq. President Kennedy also used his worldwide popularity to influence the election by visiting France the week before the election on a “diplomatic mission”, which was really a massive public relations rally for the conservative French president.

Event Date: 6-10-1981
Event Description: The first U.S. troops, more than 10,000 men and women, come home from Iraq, beginning the withdrawal from the Middle East. President Kennedy’s approval ratings are at 75%, with nearly all Americans happy that the Iraq War is finally ending.

Event Date: 7-11-1981
Event Description: Vice-President Jack Kemp meets with Senator William Roth (Democrat of Delaware) and Congressman Hal Daub (Republican of Nebraska) at the Washington Naval Observatory. They discuss expanding the Ashbrook Tax Cuts, something that all three had voted for. The Roth-Daub Tax Reform Act will be written and introduced into the House of Representatives by September 1981.

Event Description: 7-29-1981
Event Description: Diana Spencer, a London fashion designer and sometimes model, marries her best friend from college, banker Morgan Howard. It is a private ceremony, attended by few. More importantly, today Senate Majority Leader Biden, hearing about the administrations new tax cut proposals, declares that, “Republican in both houses will oppose reckless and needless cuts on the national income.”

Event Date: 8-05-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy sings the Airline Deregulation Act, which reverses the Bush policy of suspending all the rights of labor to airline workers. “The era of government interference is over,” President Kennedy proudly announces as he signs the act.

Event Date: 8-08-1981
Event Description: United Airlines, American Airlines and Transnational Airlines begin to reap the rewards of deregulation. They outlaw unions, but also expend greater health care benefits to airline workers. While some airline workers go on strike, President Kennedy promptly has them fired. There will be no mass strike from airline workers in 1981.

Event Date: 8-19-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy nominates conservative Judge Antonin Scalia for the Supreme Court. He will be confirmed and make that conservative body even more right-winged.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-01-1981
Event Description: Albert Speer, who helped lead the Rebellion of 1951 against the Third Reich, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 76. As a former German Chancellor, Speer is entitled to a state funeral held in the Reichstag. However, Chancellor Hans Scholl is reluctant to give a former Nazi such an honor. Speer will be given his state funeral, but the liberal Scholl will not attend it. He, conveniently, has a summit to attend with President Gorbachev and Prime Minister Thatcher.

Event Date: 9-11-1981
Event Description: President Kennedy introduces the 1982-1983 budget, and it is a conservative one to say the least. There are massive cuts in military, education and welfare spending. The job training program is all but eliminated and government housing funding is gutted. In its place is the most massive tax cut in U.S. history, which will lower the taxes of 95% of Americans. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil doesn’t like the budget very much, but realizes that it is his duty to push it through Congress. The House of Representatives is expected to easily pass the budget, and it will become the official budget by October 1981.

Event Description: 9-20-1981
Event Description: California Assemblyman William Clinton announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator. The ambitious 39-year old politician has served in the California State Assembly since 1974 and made an unsuccessful bid for Assembly Speaker in 1979. The retiring Senator S.I. Hayakawa will not endorse a candidate in the Republican Primary, but many feel he prefers Clinton over San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, the other announced candidate.

Event Date: 10-06-1981
Event Description: Rudolph Braun travels to Egypt to meet with President Anwar El-Sadat. The two men will lead a forum on religious understanding between Christians and Muslims. As Braun and Sadat shake hands, a gun fires. After the commotion, Father Braun is on the ground, but not dead. He was shot twice, once through the right hand and once in the shoulder. Khalid Islambouli, a radical Islamic jihadist, is arrested for the attempted murder. 

Event Date: 10-10-1981
Event Description: Congressman George W. Bush (Republican of Connecticut) introduces a bill which will revamp America’s protection during natural disasters. The bill will require that FEMA commissions undertake a series of studies and surprise inspections of hurricane preparedness measures in southern US cities, especially in Louisiana and Florida. “It’s very important that we make sure that our FEMA employees can do a heck of a job when storms come,” Congressman Bush tells his colleagues.

Event Date: 10-15-1981
Event Description: President Chalabi announces that Iraq will strive for a million man army by 1983. With the Americans withdrawing from Iraq, very few foreign powers will be able to protect the new republic from invasion or terrorist attacks.

Event Date: 10-30-1981
Event Description: In a televised address, President Kennedy announces that he will support widening free trade agreements, especially amongst nations in Far East. “It is time that our nation stop playing the protectionist games of the 1920s,” President Kennedy concludes his speech by saying, “We are entering the era of the global economy and we must embrace it.” Labor leaders are appalled by the speech, but as Kennedy tells Chief of Staff Shriver, “I didn’t make this speech to make the AFL-CIO send me a candy gram.”

Event Date: 11-05-1981
Event Description: The elections for Governors of New Jersey and Virginia, as well as for Mayor of New York City all go Democratic today. Democratic Congressman Jim Florio defeats Republican State Assemblyman Thomas Kean in the New Jersey governor’s race. In the Virginia gubernatorial contest, Lieutenant Governor Chuck Robb easily defeats Republican Congressman Frank Wolf. In the biggest upset of the night, Democratic author and owner of the conservative National Review magazine, William F. Buckley, defeats incumbent Republican Mayor Edward Koch. The popularity of President Robert Kennedy seems to be working like a charm for Democrats seeking office. The party is looking forward to the 1982 midterms.

Event Date: 11-11-1981
Event Description: On Veterans Day, General Norman Schwarzkopf resigns as Commander of Coalition forces in Iraq. “The mission is over,” General Schwarzkopf tells his soldiers in his farewell address, “Soon we will all be home, and In guess your old commander needs to be apart of it.” As much of the nation could tell since Schwarzkopf’s Kuwait City press conference, he does not like the president and refuses to serve him as a general. To oversee the withdrawal of troops, President Kennedy appoints Lieutenant Colonel James Webb.

Event Date: 11-29-1981
Event Description: Three men break into Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden’s and put taps on his phone and insert listening devices in the closet and under bookshelves. The Capitol has a sub par security system, so the men get in and out of the office uncaught. The next morning, Senator Biden goes to work, not knowing that he’s being spied on.

Event Date: 12-09-1981
Event Description: Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner pulls over William Cook, an African-American motorist, for speeding. Cook and his brother, Mumia Abu-Jamal, accept the ticket and drive home. Officer Faulkner shakes hands with Cook and tells him to have, “An otherwise pleasant night.”     

Event Date: 12-10-1981
Event Description: The film “Ragtime” is released for the Holiday season to good reviews. Based on the classic novel by Edgar Lawrence Doctorow, the film blends three fictional American families and various actual historical figures into a framework that revolves around events, characters and ideas important in the History of the United States. Stars of note in the film are Debbie Allen, a Native American actress, playing the lead as Sarah, an immigrant girl from Russia. Ronald Reagan portrays the role of business tycoon J. P. Morgan, a role which lands him a nomination for Best Actor.

Event Date: 12-29-1981
Event Description: The Philadelphia Police Force awards Mayor Reggie Jackson with a Lifelong Achievement Award. Mayor Jackson’s crack down on illegal hand guns, increased support of the neighborhood watch associations and modernization of the police force has led to a 90% decrease Philadelphia’s crime rate since he took office in 1975. “The future is looking bright for the Mayor of the City of Brotherly Love,” Ronald Reagan tells the nation that night on the Voice of the Nation, “Perhaps we will one day see Jackson, and the music accompanying him will be, ‘Hail to the Chief.’”

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Fantastic update

[HappyWarrior]

I'm hoping Bobby gets impeached soon and that Joe Biden will be elected as President in '84 or '88 because of it.  :-D

[Хahar 🤔]

Clinton for Senate!

I'm sure HappyWarrior's loving this.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Continue the great work Paul .

Any potential candidates for the Presidency in 1984? BTW: What's Gary Hart and George McGovern doing in this TL?

[HappyWarrior]

Clinton for Senate!

I'm sure HappyWarrior's loving this.

Of course, considering Joe Biden's importance.

[MasterJedi]

Kennedy will be the Nixon in this timeline if things go the way I think they will. And he'll probably get hit harder than Nixon.

[PBrunsel]

Any potential candidates for the Presidency in 1984? BTW: What's Gary Hart and George McGovern doing in this TL?

Potential candiodates for 1984? I have a few people in mind, such as McGovern and Hart. Both are Senators, though McGovern lost reelection in 1980. I will have both of them run for president in 1984, but I havn't decided who will win the GOP nomination yet.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Any potential candidates for the Presidency in 1984? BTW: What's Gary Hart and George McGovern doing in this TL?

Potential candiodates for 1984? I have a few people in mind, such as McGovern and Hart. Both are Senators, though McGovern lost reelection in 1980. I will have both of them run for president in 1984

Sounds Great .

[HappyWarrior]

What ever happened to the Dodds in this TL?  Also what is Dick Lugar(One of my political heroes) doing?

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-03-1982
Event Description: More than 100,000 U.S. troops land in San Diego, California, and are welcomed by their joyful families. Less than 150,000 troops remain in Baghdad, and violence seems to be calming down. President Chalabi’s new; more lenient position on Baa’thists in government has quitted many of the Baa’thist militias. There are no signs of an impending civil war, but as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger tells the National Review, “In foreign affairs, there is always calm before a storm.”

Event Date: 1-11-1982
Event Description: The Shah of Iran dies from a massive stroke at the age of 63. He is mourned by his nation as the leader who had helped them defeat Saddam Hussein and restore Iran to a position of power in the Middle East. The new Shah of Iran will be Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah. 

Event Date: 1-20-1982
Event Description: After a prolonged trial, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad are sentenced by a jury of their peers to be hanged for crimes against humanity. When asked by the judge for a final comment, all President Hussein can spurt out is, “Damn you all.”

Event Date: 2-12-1982
Event Description: Congressman George Walker Bush declares his candidacy for Senate, opposing incumbent Senator William O'Neill (Democrat of Connecticut). With Senator Christopher Dodd filling the other seat, it appears that by 1983 both of Connecticut’s biggest political families could have a family member in office.

Event Date: 3-15-1982
Event Description: President Kennedy meets with Turkish President Kenan Evren, managing a promise from the leader of Turkey that they will stay out of the Kurdish Republic once the U.S. has withdrawn. While flying home from the summit, President Kennedy tells First Lady Eunice Kennedy, “I doubt General Evren is as peaceful as he seems. I’ve never met a general who turned down a good war.”

Event Date: 3-30-1982
Event Description: Surprising the political world, Senator Warren Hearns (Democrat of Missouri) will not face former Missouri Attorney General John Danforth in a rematch of the close 1976 Senate election. Danforth turns down another crack at the senate seat, but the person selected by the GOP to oppose Hearns has just as big a name: Margaret Truman. Truman, 58-year old writer and singer, has the most famous name in Missouri politics. Ronald Reagan, a conservative Democrat who was is a Truman family friend, jokes with his listeners, “If she’s as good a campaigner as a singer, than Senator Hearns has nothing to worry about.” 

Event Date: 4-01-1982
Event Description: The Falkland Islands War begins as Argentinean military dictator Leopoldo Galtieri declares that Argentina officially owns the Falkland Islands, sparking conflict with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Robert Kennedy. President Kennedy declares that night in a televised address, “The thugs in Argentina will be dealt with as all thugs are: with swift justice.” After the speech, Secretary of State Moynihan warns Kennedy that a war in the Falkland Islands could be bloody and prolonged, much like the Iraq War. “Who said anything about a war, Daniel?” Kennedy slyly asks the secretary.   

Event Date: 4-22-1982
Event Description: As British troops land on the Falkland Islands, President Kennedy meets with CIA Director Robert Gates. The two men decide that General Galtieri needs to be taken out before the British are stuck in a land war in Argentina. Despite it being against national law, Kennedy and Gates shake hands on the assassination plot.

Event Date: 4-26-1982
Event Description: While addressing a crowd at a pro-war rally outside of the presidential palace in Argentina, General Leopoldo Galtieri is shot in the back of the head by an assassin. CIA agent David Castillo, the man selected for the job, escapes unnoticed by Argentinean authorities. The person who is arrested instead is Raúl Alfonsín, the leader of the Radical Party, a socialist organization. With Galtieri dead, Alfonsín on his way to the gas chamber and the new Argentine leader, Colonel Alfredo Oscar Saint Jean angling for peace with the United Kingdom, President Kennedy has been able to kill three birds with one simple stone.

Event Date: 5-01-1982
Event Description: First Blood premiers in theatres. Starring Sylvester Stallone, the star of “Rocky”, as Lieutenant John Rambo, the film tells the story of a Russo-Chinese War veteran who can’t deal with peace time. Despite being a Medal of Honor recipient, Rambo finds that peace time employment isn’t as easy as war time leadership. After years without work, Rambo turns to petty crimes and a hatred of authority figures. The film, starring Ronald Reagan as Sheriff Will Teasle, has mixed reviews, with many ion the press attacking it for, “Portraying a ‘cop killer’ in a positive light.” However, the movie speaks to many veterans, especially the final lines of the film, when Rambo is telling a nearby Chinese immigrant about how desperate the life of a veteran can be and how deep battle scars can go: "I can't get it out of my head. Seven years. Every day I have this. Sometimes I wake up and don't know where I am. I don't talk to anybody. Sometimes a day. Sometimes a week. I can't put it out of my mind."

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 5-03-1982
Event Description: The Argentinean government surrenders to the United Kingdom, ending the Falkland Island War. In more important affairs than a short, nearly bloodless war, President Kennedy is informed by presidential aide in the Russian Embassy that he overheard over the phone tap that President Gorbachev is planning to offer a multi-billion dollar relief plan for the Kurdish Republic in exchange for more oil, thus cutting into the oil America gets from the Kurds. President Massoud Barzani of the Kurdish Republic, feeling betrayed by the Kennedy Administration’s withdrawal from Iraq, is ready to accept the agreement. President Kennedy decides to preempt the deal with his own relief package.

Event Date: 5-05-1982
Event Description: The Congress pushes through the Nunn Plan, named after Senator Sam Nun (Democrat of Georgia), which will give the Kurdish Republic $300 million in military and economic aid. Presidents Kennedy and Barzani meet in the Rose Garden for the signing of the bill. Kennedy’s game of Russian roulette has paid off. President Barzani swears to not cut oil production for the U.S. because of the, “Great gift our American benefactor has given the Kurdish Republic.”

Event Date: 6-08-1982
Event Description: While President Kennedy addresses a joint session of Parliament in the United Kingdom, his own Camelot seems to be under assault. The Washington Post, one of Kennedy’s least favorite “liberal rags”, publishes a story about three men breaking into Senate Majority leader Joseph Biden’s office. The three men were seen on a security tape which was only recently overviewed by the undermanned Capitol security force. “Now we don’t know who these men are,” head of Capitol security Doug Tweed tells the paper, “But we are going to make sure we find out and that it does not happen again.”

Event Date: 6-09-1982
Event Description: Chief of Staff Shriver greets President Kennedy as he arrives at the White House. After some small talk about England and the president’s speech, Shriver breaks the bad news to Kennedy. “What do you mean they got caught?” President Kennedy demands of his Chief of Staff. “They got caught on film, Mr. President,” Shriver explains to RFK, “No one knows who they are.” “We have to make sure it stays that way,” Kennedy tells Shriver. President Kennedy orders Shriver to have the tapes destroyed, or at least the part of them which has the three men on it. “I’ll do what I can, Mr. President,” a reluctant Shriver tells President Kennedy.

Event Date: 6-11-1982
Event Description: Three men are apprehended by police breaking into, of all things, Washington, D.C. Police Headquarters. Before the police apprehended them, they destroyed some evidence, but all three refuse to tell the police what it was. One of the burglars, Ray LaRosa, is identified as a Kennedy family friend by the two other burglars. When Detective Matt Redding asks LaRosa why he was trying to get into the evidence room, LaRosa refuses to speak, citing his 5th Amendment rights. The three men are placed under custody and incarcerated. Chief of Staff Shriver is awakened by a phone call from LaRosa, telling him where he is and what has happened. “Are you insane Ray?” snaps Shriver, “Can they trace this call?” After Ray tells him that the cops can’t, Shriver tells LaRosa what to do, “Lay low, lie if you have to. He’s going to here about this.” “He?” a puzzled LaRosa asks, “Who’s ‘he’?” “You know,” Shriver darkly says, “HIM.” The two are subtly talking about President Kennedy.

Event Date: 6-12-1982
Event Description: “What happened!” shouts President Kennedy to his frightened Chief of Staff. Shriver explains that the three burglars were apprehended while trying to destroy evidence in the Biden Break-In Case. “Well,” the president asks, “Did they succeed?” “They destroyed a part of the tapes before they were captured,” Shriver begins, “We don’t know what part, however.” Excellent,” Kennedy says. He orders Shriver to keep quiet and not talk to any prosecutors. He also orders Shriver to shut up the burglars, “Any way possible.”

Event Date: 6-22-1982
Event Description: The White House is rocked by, of all things, a tabloid story. Carl Bernstein and the National Star release a scathing story about the recent D.C. Police Headquarters break-in. Bernstein claims that President Kennedy had ordered the break-in, which is why Ray LaRosa was apart of the break-in. “Kennedy knew how LaRosa worked,” Bernstein writes, “Which is why he had him lead the break-in.” Bernstein has no evidence but some circumstantial conversations, but Senate Majority Leader Biden declares that he will lead a committee to investigate the June 11th break-in. “We must be sure that the president is not engaging in criminal activity,” Senator Biden tells the press, “The reputation of the U.S. government demands such an investigation.” Ronald Reagan jokes that night on the Voice of the Nation, “No amount of investigations will ever make Americans like the government.”

Event Date: 7-01-1982
Event Description: Former Iraqi and Syrian Presidents Hussein and Assad are hung outside of the Iraqi city of Basra. Assad had no final words, but Hussein did tell his executioners, “I will see you again.” The two men die after three minutes of struggle.

Event Date: 7-20-1982
Event Description: Senator Arlen Specter (Republican of Pennsylvania), a former district attorney, is appointed chairman of the new Committee to Investigate the Administration. The Republican dominated Senate will easily allow this committee to exist, but the Democratic controlled House of Representatives refuses to allow such a committee to exist in its chamber. Speaker of the House O’Neil will help pass a resolution condemning the senate for, “Investigating tabloid rumors,” but the committee will not be shut down. Senator Specter declares that he will investigate, “Every witness and suspect, even if it goes all the way to President Kennedy.” As Johnny Carson declares on his late night comedy show, “It looks like the ‘Summer of Scandal” has begun.”

Event Description: 7-22-1982
Event Description: San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson defeats State Assemblyman William Clinton in the GOP Primary for U.S. Senate. Wilson wins 54% of the vote to Clinton’s 46%, a much closer race then was expected. The California Republican Party is very impressed with Clinton’s campaigning skills and mastery of the issues. Despite his electoral defeat for the Senate, Clinton is once again nominated by the GOP to run as their nominee in his Assembly District. Things are actually looking bright for the defeated Senate candidate. 

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 8-03-1982
Event Description: Senator Specter names attorney Ramsey Clark to lead the investigation of the Kennedy Administration as the Special Prosecutor. Clark, who served as CIA Director from 1971-1973, is seen by many in the Democratic Party as nothing more then a partisan Republican, but that is what Specter wanted. Clark begins his investigation immediately, calling Chief of Staff Shriver to testify in a week. President Kennedy orders Shriver to not speak to the special prosecutor. “Isn’t that illegal, Mr. President?” Shriver asks Kennedy. “That just depends on how much Clark wants you to testify,” the president explains.

Event Date: 8-05-1982
Event Description: By orders of the special prosecutor, the office of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden (Republican of Delaware) is searched by government security agents. They find several listening devises in the closet and phone taps on the telephones. Clark decides to question one of the June 11th burglars to, “Find about what President Kennedy expects his thugs to do.”   

Event Date: 8-09-1982
Event Description: Special Prosecutor Clark questions one of the June 11th burglars, a former CIA agent named Whit Chambers, Jr. Chambers explains to Clark that he, LaRossa and the third burglar were ordered to destroy the Biden Senate Office security tapes. “Did you destroy the tapes?” Clark asks Chambers. “Well, one of them at least,” Chambers tells Clark. When the tapes are played, one part is missing: the 8 ½ minutes when the intruders were placing phone taps and listening devices around the Biden’s office. “Did you destroy this tape on purpose?” Clark asks. “Yes, we did,” is Chambers very pithy answer. “Who ordered you to destroy this tape?” Clark further probes. “Sarge Shriver did it,” Chambers declares, “You can ask him yourself.” “Oh,” Clark tells the court, “I will.”

Event Date: 8-12-1982
Event Description: Chief of Staff Sargent Shriver is subpoenaed by Special Prosecutor Ramsey Clark to testify before the Senate Committee to Investigate the Administration. “Under no circumstances will you go to the Senate,” President Kennedy tells Shriver, “Its best we leave well enough alone.” Shriver agrees to ignore the subpoena, but for how long he can keep it up is the real question.

Event Date: 8-22-1982
Event Description: Chief of Staff Shriver is once again subpoenaed, and once again he ignores the subpoena. Clark tells President Kennedy is a meeting outside of the Capitol to, “Get that man to testify, or risk an article of impeachment.” “You leftists will never get enough votes to take me down,” President Kennedy tells Clark, “So take your empty threats somewhere else.” Later that day an employee at the Russian Embassy contacts Clark, and tells him about the phone taps he’s discovered at his office. Clark now has the trump card he needs to bring Shriver to the stand.

Event Date: 8-23-1982
Event Description: “The president has blatantly broken the law!” Clark tells the Senate, “And I have proof that will outline to every member of this body how Bobby Kennedy is ignoring the law and laughing at our system of justice.” Over the course of five hours, Clark questions various Russian Embassy employees, as well as staff members for General Norman Schwarzkopf, who Kennedy also spied on. By the end of the day every Senator is adequately convinced that the Kennedy Administration has broken federal law, and demand Chief of Staff Shriver takes the stand. “All though I view these proceedings as nothing more than a partisan with hunt,” Senate Minority Leader Strom Thurmond (Democrat of South Carolina) tells his colleagues, “It is still important that the Chief of Staff gets a chance to speak. If anything, he’ll be able to show how wrong other witnesses have been.”

Event Date: 9-10-1982
Event Description: Chief of Staff Robert Sargent Shriver takes the stand before the Senate Committee to Investigate the Administration. Special Prosecutor Ramsey Clark grills Shriver for more than three hours, but never gets him to admit that President Kennedy ordered any break-in or cover-up. “I take responsibility for everything that has been committed,” Shriver tells Clark, “The president is innocent.” Shriver is put in custody, but allowed to be held at his home. That night, President Kennedy calls up Shriver and tells him, “I never intended for any of this to happen.” “Yes you did, Bob,” Shriver tells the president, “Every time you demanded a break-in or wanted to spy on someone, that’s how you intended for this to happen.”

Event Date: 10-29-1982
Event Description: There has been little traction in the June 11th Scandal, as the break-in investigation is now known as. Clark has been able to tie any testimony to the president. However, everything will change today. Chief Presidential Council R. Sargent Shriver III, the chief of staff’s eldest son, declares that he will testify before the committee. “I know everything that’s gone down in this administration,” Shriver tells the press, “Even more than my dad.” Shriver promises Clark that he has evidence that will, “Take down Bobby Kennedy, and clear my dad’s name.”

Event Date: 10-31-1982
Event Description: The Halloween Massacre occurs. Chief Presidential Council Shriver testifies that President Kennedy, not his father, Chief of Staff Sargent Shriver, is responsible for all the illegal activities which the committee has been investigating. To prove his charges, Shriver produces a slew of memos, notes and sworn statements which had been sent to his father, but the elder Shriver refused to use against the president. “Mr. Shriver,” Clark asks Shriver in his concluding question, “Why are you doing all this?” “Mr. Prosecutor,” Shriver tells Clark, “"Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty? I refuse to believe that the latter statement is true, especially in America.”

Event Date: 11-02-1982
Event Description: With charges flying against President Kennedy and the “Summer of Scandal” still fresh in the minds of voters, the Republican Party wins a massive election victory in the Midterm Elections. The GOP wins 56-seats in the House of Representatives (giving them a near 2/3rd majority) and the party picks up 12-seats in the Senate. New Republican Senators will include Pete Wilson (California), George W. Bush (Connecticut), David Emery (Maine) Mark Dayton (Minnesota), Pete Dunn (Arizona) Chic Hecht (Nevada) and Margaret Truman (Missouri). The elections were a perfect storm against the Kennedy Administration. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden tells Senator Specter and incoming Speaker of the House John Rhodes that they should begin impeachment charges against President Kennedy as soon as the new Congress is sworn-in.

Event Date: 11-09-1982
Event Description: Former Senator George McGovern (Republican of South Dakota) announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1984. “Its time that our nation leaves the old politics of the Eats behind,” McGovern declares in his announcement address, “And look to the West for honest and efficient leadership.” Some voters are losing faith in the old Eastern political families, but very few want McGovern to be the new face of the nation. Another Western Senator, Gary Hart (Republican of Colorado), is seen as a far better Western prospect for president.

Event Date: 11-21-1982
Event Description: President Kennedy declares in a nationally televised address that he will, “Never resign the presidency, no matter what trumped up charges are brought against me. I am telling you, the American people, today that I have broken no laws and have no reason to fear impeachment. The Republicans can talk about break-ins all they want, but I will go about with the business of the people.” Ronald Reagan, a Kennedy supporter, tells his listeners after the speech, “I fear that President Kennedy is stretching his Irish luck a little too thin.”

[MasterJedi]

Just as I suspected, Kennedy will go down hard and because of it a Republican will get the White House in 1984.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Just as I suspected, Kennedy will go down hard and because of it a Republican will get the White House in 1984.

President Gary Hart maybe?