By a Fluke of the Gods: Cox Defeats Harding

[PBrunsel]

I am hoping to get 1983 and 1984 up by Sunday. I'm hoping to have 1983 up tonight or tommorrow. I've had three papers due for my history and education courses, but there all under controll.

Also, I didn't want this thread to fall on page 2.

[Captain Chaos]

Ditto.

This TL is back.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-04-1983
Event Description: The 98th Congress begins its first session, with the fog of scandal over it. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden (Republican of Delaware) and Speaker of the House John Rhodes (Republican of Arizona) meet to discuss when to begin impeachment against President Kennedy, something the Oval Office eyeing Biden wants to start as soon as possible. On the Democratic side, Tip O’Neil is not given the position of House Minority Leader as his ties to President Kennedy are too close for comfort. Congressman Jim Wright (Democrat of Texas) is made House Minority Leader.

Event Date: 1-20-1983
Event Description: Representative Peter Rodino (Republican of New Jersey), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduces three articles of impeachment against President Robert Francis Kennedy. The charges are obstruction of justice, violation of federal code and high crimes. Rodino selects Representatives Patricia Schroeder (Republican of Colorado), Byron Dorgan (Republican of North Dakota) and Denny Smith (Republican of Oregon) to also be included in the introduction of the articles of impeachment. These four members of Congress will become the key “managers” during the Kennedy Impeachment. 

Event Date: 1-21-1983
Event Description: In a televised press conference, President Kennedy challenges Congress to, “Try to get me out of office. I can assure you that you’ll fail, just like everyone who’s tried to take me down.” After going over the allotted time for the press conference, and enraged Kennedy tells his audience, “I want everyone watching this to remember that there president is not a quitter, because people have got to know whether or not their president is a quitter.” After seeing this press conference, Democratic National Chairman Fred Harris (Democrat of Oklahoma) calls Senate Minority Leader Sam Nunn (Democrat of Georgia) and tells him that Kennedy has to go. “The president has lost control of his White House, and it appears he’s lost control of his own senses.”

Event Date: 1-22-1983
Event Description: Senate Minority Leader Nunn, Chairman Harris and House Minority Leader Wright meet with President Kennedy in the Oval Office, asking him to resign. “It’s for the good of the country and the party, Bobby,” Harris tells the president. “No it isn’t!” the enraged President Kennedy cries, “I was elected for four years, and come hell or high-water I will stay here for four years! It is my right as the President of the United States!” The three men can not get Kennedy to budge, so they leave the White House, still determined to find a way to get the president out of office.

Event Date: 2-10-1983
Event Description: Speaker of the House Rhodes announces that hearings before the House Judiciary Committee for the impeachment of President Robert Kennedy will begin on March 15th, 1983-the Ides of March.

Event Date: 2-12-1983
Event Description: Vice-President Jack Kemp, ignoring the Kennedy Impeachment crisis, meets with several congressmen to discuss the elimination of the gas tax, believing that it hurts the economy far more then it helps the environment. Kemp is seen as Congress as a fine alternative to President Kennedy, despite his very conservative economic positions.

Event Date: 3-15-1983
Event Description: The House Judiciary Committee begins hearings on the Kennedy Impeachment. Government employees testify about the spying and listening equipment spread around their departments. Whit Chambers, Jr., testifies that Kennedy ordered a break-in of the Washington, D.C., Police Headquarters. Others back up this claim through memos and personal notes. “It appears as if President Kennedy, like Julius Caesar, before him,” Ronald Reagan closes his radio program with that night, “Should have bewared the Ides of March.”

Event Date: 3-24-1983
Event Description: Former Russian Ambassador Thomas J. Watson, Jr., tells the House Judiciary Committee that he was aware that there were listening devices throughout the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. “Despite the laws against wiretapping,” Ambassador Watson tells the committee, “The administration demanded that constant surveillance on Russian actions in the United States and the Middle East be possible…at all costs.” Chairman Rodino asks Watson if he is aware if the president ordered these illegal wiretappings. “Yes, sir,” Watson responds.

Event Date: 3-29-1983
Event Description: Detective Matt Redding, the D.C. detective who questioned the Police Headquarters burglars, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. He explains that the burglars (led by Kennedy confidant Ray LaRosa) had broken into the police headquarters, “To destroy some incriminating evidence against them.” “What proof do you have of that?” Chairman Rodino asks. The detective produces the Biden Senate Office security tapes, and it is shown that in the missing 8 ½ minutes, the actual illegal activity of placing wiretaps has been destroyed. It now seems very probably that President Kennedy was attempting to destroy evidence.


Event Date: 3-30-1983
Event Description: The House Judiciary Committee passes all three Articles of Impeachment against President Kennedy. “The evidence is clear,” Representative Byron Dorgan tells the press, “President Kennedy has broken the law, he has obstructed justice and he should be relived of his duties as president.” In the White House, President Kennedy remains defiant. “Dorgan, with his stupid haircut, thinks he can throw me out the president’s chair?” President Kennedy scoffs to his wife, “Well he better get comfortable, since I’m not going anywhere.”

Event Date: 4-15-1983
Event Description: The House of Representatives passes all three Articles of Impeachment against President Kennedy. Many Democrats join the Republicans in supporting impeachment. “It has become apparent to me, as a student of American history,” Representative Newt Gingrich (Democrat of Georgia) tells his colleagues, “That President Kennedy is unfit for his office and unfit for this party. All law respecting people should support impeachment.” In the end all but 103 congressmen, all Democrats, will vote for impeachment.

Event Date: 4-16-1983
Event Description: Chairman Harris and former President Joseph Kennedy, Senior, meet with President Kennedy in the Oval Office, both imploring him to resign. “Bob,” Joe tells Bobby, “It’s hopeless for you. A majority of Senate Democrats will vote for impeachment. Its best for your family, my family and the country that you resign” “There’s no way of escaping impeachment Bobby,” Chairman Harris bluntly tells the president, “You have to resign.” After an hour of back and forth arguing, Kennedy finally bows to pressure. “All right Joe,” the president wearily says to his older brother, “I do not want to resign, but I don’t think I have a choice.”

Event Date: 4-17-1983
Event Description: President Robert Kennedy addresses the nation from the Oval Office. “Good evening my fellow Americans,” President Kennedy begins his speech, “Tonight will be my last night addressing you as President of the United States. I am tonight announcing my resignation as President of the United States. Tomorrow, Vice-President Kemp will be sworn in as president in this office. ” President Kennedy apologizes to the nation and to members of his administration for betraying the trust they had in him. “It is tragic,” Ronald Reagan tells his listeners that night, “That a man with such promise, intelligent and diligence as Robert Kennedy has destroyed himself with such petty and lowly tactics. Perhaps Aeschylus put it best, my friends, ‘A man’s weakness is his character.’”

Event Date: 4-18-1983
Event Description: President Robert Kennedy, First Lady Ethel Kennedy and all eight of their children (including war hero Robert F. Kennedy, Junior) walk out of the White House as the most powerful family in the world for the last time. As President Kennedy enters Marine 1 to take him and his family back to Hyannis Port, he turns around and salutes the new man in the White House, President Jack Kemp. “My fellow Americans” President Kemp declares in his address to the nation, “Our long national nightmare is over.”

[PBrunsel]

The Presidency of Jack F. Kemp

Event Date: 4-20-1983
Event Description: Just two days after being sworn-in as President of the United States, President Kemp declares that he will continue the Kennedy foreign and domestic policies. “The past administration had major ethical problems,” President Kemp tells reporters at his first White House press conference, “However, the small government and anti-intervention polices of President Kennedy are what have given this nation peace and prosperity for the last two years, and I intend to continue this trend.” “Like hell he will,” Senate Majority Leader Biden jokingly tells the press later that day, “I think President Kemp’s gonna find out that I’m even tougher than Willie Lanier.” Lanier was one of Kemp’s football rivals as a line-back for the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Event Date: 4-22-1983
Event Description: President Kemp nominates Representative John McCain (Democrat of Arizona) for Vice-President, filling the vacant office. “Representative McCain is a man of honor, integrity and bravery,” President Kemp says as his nominates McCain for the Vice-Presidency, “As a hero of the Russo-Chinese War, John showed how valiant an American flyboy can be. As a Congressman since 1975, John has shown leadership in the battle for limited government and veteran rights.” Senate Majority Leader Biden, himself a veteran, applauds the choice of Representative McCain as, “A step in the right direction for a country fatigued by dishonest leaders.” It will take just under a month for McCain to be confirmed as the next vice-president.

Event Date: 5-09-1983
Event Description: Senator Gary Hart (Republican of Colorado) declares his candidacy for president, attacking, “The legacy of corruption and aloofness of the Kennedy-Kemp Administration.” Senator Hart, a charismatic westerner, is seen by many Republicans as the best man to take on the handsome and charming President Kemp in 1984.

Event Date: 5-12-1983
Event Description: “The Hitler Diaries” are published by the German magazine “Stern”. The diaries are thought to be the actual manuscripts of the German dictator, but they are later discredited by investigators. At his home in Mexico City, Nobel peace prize winner Father Rudolph Braun, the son of Hitler, can only laugh at the interest people had in, “The made up ramblings of a mass murderer.”

Event Date: 6-09-1983
Event Description: Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wins an overwhelming victory in the Parliament elections, vindicating her right-wing politics on the British Isles. President Kemp calls Lady Thatcher after her victory, telling her, “I can only hope conservatives have a repeat performance in American next year.”

Event Date: 6-13-1983
Event Description: Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block meets with President Kemp, and gives him a grim picture of the nation’s heartland. “Debt and drought are crushing the American farmer,” Secretary Block tells President Kemp, “We need to do something to relieve our nation’s farmers.” “Forget about any more subsidies, John,” President Kemp tells the secretary, “Also, I am not a huge fan of bail outs.” “Mr. President,” Block pleads, “If we don’t wake up and do something, then we might just lose our ‘amber waves of grain.’” President Kemp, a good old fashioned patriot, is swayed by these patriotic words and invites farm leaders and a handful of Congressmen and Senators to a White House meeting on the Farm Crisis.

Event Date: 6-20-1983
Event Description: The Farm Crisis Summit is held in the Rose Garden, with President Kemp and Secretary Block in attendance. Farmer’s Union President Leland H. Swenson, Senators Charles Grassley (Democrat of Iowa) and Jim Exon (Republican of Nebraska), along with Congressmen Jim Slattery (Republican of Kansas) and Dan Coates (Democrat of Indiana) are also in attendance. These men bargain and barter for more than twelve hours, but finally meet a way to help curve the crisis. President Kemp agrees to issue a limited amount of government aid to those farmers’s suffering from the greatest debt. In return for this concession, the Republicans promise to lower restrictions and regulations on farmer in the grain markets and the livestock business.

Event Date: 7-10-1983
Event Description: The Grassley-Slattery Farm Aid Act is introduced to the House of Representatives, with huge support from farmers and Midwestern legislators. “This is the first step in a new farm policy,” Congressman Slattery tells his colleagues, “Is it enough to end the crisis? Not at all, but at least its more than the previous policy of doing nothing.” The House of Representatives agrees, and passes the act comfortably. The Senate will follow likewise two weeks later. Farmers celebrate the aid and less government restriction, while the Congress congratulates itself on overcoming the recent partisan divide to help farmers in need. President Kemp’s approval ratings shoot up to 55% amongst a nation happy to see something different then hatred in Washington, D.C.

Event Date: 7-21-1983
Event Description: Governor Lamar Alexander (Republican of Tennessee) announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Governor Alexander is an anomaly to American politics. As a pro-civil rights liberal, he was elected governor in 1978 with huge support from African-Americans and blue collar laborers. As governor, he has improved the education and highway systems in the Volunteer State. New York Times editorialist William Safire, a conservative, opines that Alexander may be, “The most impressive man to run for president since Herbert Hoover.”

Event Date: 8-09-1983
Event Description: President Kemp tells NBC’s David Brinkley in a television interview that he will not pardon former President Kennedy for any crimes he committed during his administration. “The proof is that President Kennedy tried to obstruct a criminal investigation and broke numerous laws,” President Kemp tells Brinkley, “I promised to uphold our constitution when I became president. We have a government of laws and not of men, after all. In this respect, I can not pardon Robert Kennedy for the crimes he committed.” Watching the interview at his home in Hyannis Port, Bobby Kennedy screams, “That damn traitor!”

Event Date: 8-28-1983
Event Description: Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden declares his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President in 1984. Despite his senate seat being up for reelection, Senator Biden believes 1984 will be a Republican year; after all, a corrupt Democrat has just had to resign from office. Senator Biden shoots to the top in the polls, as he is credited with brining down President Kennedy and opposing the Kennedy-Kemp fiscal and foreign policies.

Event Date: 9-01-1983
Event Description: A South Korean airliner is shot down over Russian airspace. Among the dead from the crash is arch-conservative Congressman Larry McDonald (Democrat of Georgia). President Gorbachev immediately sends apologies to South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, the families of the 240 passengers and immediately has General Andre Strogov and Lieutenant Vladimir Putin fired for ordering the attack. “I only ordered the assault to protect the Russian people,” General Strogov tells President Gorbachev. However, this defense is not only completely scoffed at by President Gorbachev, but it will end up leading to criminal conviction for the general. Lieutenant Putin, just 31-years old, vows revenge on Gorbachev for, “Imprisoning a patriot.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-15-1983
Event Description: The Kemp Budget for 1984-1985 is introduced to the House of Representatives, and the Republicans are not too happy. The budget includes another major tax cut and slashes social and military spending to new levels. “This budget is fiscally irresponsible and a relic of the failed Ashbrook and Kennedy policies,” Speaker of the House John Rhodes declares on the floor of the House, “All Republicans should oppose this new budget.” However, a majority of Americans welcome the new budget according to the Gallup Poll. More than 85% of those polled are enthusiastic about the tax cut and even 58% want the spending cuts. President Kemp urges the House of Representatives to pass, “The people’s budget.”

Event Date: 9-22-1983
Event Description: House Minority Leader James Wright and House Majority Leader Robert H. Michel (Republican of Illinois) meet in a conference hall to discuss the Kemp Budget. The two decide that farm relief and increased funding for education must be included to appease the Republicans. To make sure that Democrats support the budget, the Grassley-Slattery Farm Aid Act will be put into the federal budget and the tax cut will be included, but it will be targeted to the Middle Class. Though Minority Leader Wright is not happy with the new tax cut, he accepts the budget’s changes. President Kemp and House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Leach (Republican of Iowa) also agree on the new budget, seeing that it is the only one that has a chance of passing through the Republican dominated Congress.

Event Date: 10-09-1983
Event Description: The House of Representatives passes the Kemp Budget for the 1984-1985 Fiscal Year. President Kemp signs the budget in a Rose Garden ceremony, but in flanked by Republican leaders John Rhodes and Robert Michel instead of Democratic bigwigs. “A new feeling of peace has fallen over the nation’s capitol,” Ronald Reagan tells his listeners that night, “It appears as if President Kemp is quarterbacking our nation into a new era of good feelings.”

Event Date: 11-03-1983
Event Description: A film version of Victor Hugo’s classic “Les Miserables” hits theatres, with Sean Connery playing the role of the fugitive protagonist Jean Valjean and Ronald Reagan portraying Inspector Javert, Valjean’s never ceasing antagonist. The film is a success, with fans of the book praising Connery and Reagan for their superb portrayals of the classic Hugo characters.

Event Date: 11-23-1983
Event Description: Governor Pierre “Pete” DuPont (Republican of Delaware) declares his candidacy for president. A son of old money, DuPont is seen as the heir of the Rockefeller Republican legacy.   

Event Date: 11-30-1983
Event Description: The Kani Massi, a largest oil pipeline stretching from the Kurdish Republic through Turkey, mysteriously bursts, seriously damaging the pipeline. Kurdish President Massoud Barzani and Iraqi President Ahmed Chalabi both declare that the pipeline will be repaired as soon as possible, but until then oil prices will experience a sharp increase. President Kemp responds by offering U.S. assistance in any way to the Kurdish Republic.

Event Date: 12-10-1983
Event Description: It has been eleven days since the Kani Massi Pipeline in the Kurdish Republic burst, and little work has begun on repairing it. What has been worked on is Kurdish anger towards Turkey, whom many in the Kurdish Parliament blame for the pipeline explosion. Members of the Kurdish National Party are calling for war with Turkey, but President Barzani refuses to believe that the Turkish Government would be behind such an act.

Event Date: 12-21-1983
Event Description: Already high tensions between the Kurdish Republic and Turkey hit the boiling point when Kurdish National Party leader Yonadem Kana travels to Kani Massi, on the Kurdish-Turkish border, and belligerently declares, “To all Turkish saboteurs, come now and try to harm this city!” Turkish President Kenan Evren demands an apology from, “The bold, boasting Kurdish trouble maker,” but none comes.

Event Date: 12-26-1983
Event Description: The day after Christmas is met with still no real progress on repairing the Kani Massi Pipeline. With gas prices hitting new highs in Turkey and Russia, both nations threaten to invade the Kurdish Republic to repair the pipeline themselves. Secretary of State Daniel Moynihan intervenes on the side of the Kurdish Republic, getting the two belligerent nations to give the Kurdish Republic another month. The quick diplomatic work of Moynihan seems to have staved off a war.     

[Хahar 🤔]

What's the situation in South Asia?

[HappyWarrior]

Biden better win!

[MasterJedi]

I get the feeling Kemp is going to win.

[HappyWarrior]

Excited for the next update.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-01-1984
Event Description: Congressman Malcolm Little (Republican of Michigan), the 59-year old firebrand civil rights leader, announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. “I see the Republican Party being taken over by those who just want to be Democrats!” booms Congressman Little in front of the Wayne County Courthouse, “Men like Biden and DuPonte are just rich white people claiming to ‘love the poor Negro’. Hart and Alexander are new faces, meaning guys who came late to fight for civil rights. Finally, we all know old George McGovern is one light bulb short of a lamp. I don’t expect any of these chumps to be able to take down the sneaky and dirty Democratic machine. I’m the only man with the guts and the fire to take down a football player. I’m coming for you Jack!” Realizing that his late entry handicaps him in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, Little’s campaign manager, former Congressman Andrew Young, puts the campaigns focus on the South and cites with large urban centers, places where large amount of African-American voters live.

Event Date: 1-22-1984
Event Description: President Kemp, seeking to shore up support from born again Christians, appears on the Reverend Pat Robertson’s evening religious television program, The 700 Club. The two men talk about faith, family and the upcoming presidential election. “What do you feel will be the most important issue in the 1984 election?” Robertson asks the president as the interview concludes. “Well reverend,” President Kemp says, “I think that important issue would be competence. This election is about who can get things done in Washington to help protect families from the government and foreign enemies.”

Event Date: 1-29-1984
Event Description: Senator Edward Brooke (Republican of Massachusetts) announcing he will retire from the Senate after his third term is completed. Having been reelected easily in very pro-Republican 1978 midterm elections, Senator Brooke now feels it is time to step aside. “I see others in the Bay State who should have the chance to serve in the United States Senate,” Senator Brooke announces, “Public servants who are younger and can be far more energetic towards this office.” Immediately, two top tier candidates emerge for both parties. Congressman John Kerry, a long-time Republican stalwart and war hero, will take on Massachusetts Attorney General, and presidential sibling, Edward Kennedy. Attorney General Kennedy should be the favorite in Massachusetts, where both of his brothers served as governor, but the recent scandals around former President Robert Kennedy threaten Teddy’s chances at the senate.

Event Date: 1-31-1984
Event Description: The Kani Massi Pipeline is still not repaired enough to return to its peak oil transportation. Turkey and Russia jointly declare that they will send there own representatives to, as Turkish President Kenan Evren says, “Oversee a more competent repair.” Secretary of State Moynihan and President Kemp see this statement as a blatant attempt by the two nations to wipe the Kurdish Republic off the map. That night, President Kemp warns the two nations over international television, “If your armies do stand down and retreat from the northern borders of the Kurdish Republic, then expect the awesome power of the United States to intervene on behalf of our allies in the Kurdish Republic.” Though a non-interventionist, President Kemp realizes that if Turkey and Russia take control of the Kurdish Republic’s petroleum reserves, it could mean an oil crisis. Whether the two nations will respond to the threat can not be known.

Event Date: 2-01-1984
Event Description: “We just looked eye to eye, and the other fellow blinked,” Lieutenant Colonel James Webb tells President Kemp over the phone at 12:01 a.m., Kurdish Republic time. The oncoming Russian and Turkish “inspectors” are ordered by their military and national leaders to turn around, fearing a war with the United States. “It is best not to poke a sleeping dog with a stick,” President Gorbachev explains the next day Pravda News. Many in Russia, suffering from high gas prices, are not happy with this turn of events. With the Russian presidential election in April, Gorbachev can only hope the Kani Massi Pipeline is repaired by then. In the United States, President Kemp is cheered by the media and the voters for his tough talk and cool head during the crisis.

Event Date: 2-09-1984
Event Description: Former Russian President Yuri Andropov passes away at the age of 70. The former National Party leader is remembered as the Russian leader who took on the Chinese in the bloody Russo-Chinese War. At his funeral two days later, Russian National Party leader and candidate for president Dmitry Yazov eulogizes Andropov as, “The greatest patriot to the Russian military since the days of Kerensky. Andropov would never have stood down when facing a fight for the betterment of the Russian people.” This is an obvious slap to the face of President Mikhail Gorbachev, the embattled Social-Democratic president who has recently ordered the Russian military to retreat from an invasion of the Kurdish Republic.   

Event Date: 2-20-1984
Event Description: The Iowa Caucus is held, with expected results. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden wins big, being backed by local farmer and labor unions as well as the Iowa Democratic machine. Governor Alexander comes in second, being backed by Representative Jim Leach. Senators Hart and McGovern take third and fourth with Governor DuPonte finishing a distant fifth in the pack. He realizes that his patrician ways will not be very popular in the Midwest, but his campaign is focusing far more on the Northeast and the West.

Event Date: 2-26-1984
Event Description: Governor Lamar Alexander, campaigning with Senator Warren Rudman (Republican of New Hampshire), announces in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that he will, “Fulfill the energy independence promise of President Nixon.” Alexander outlines a comprehensive program which includes sublimation for energy companies which begin building alternative power plants, a cash rebate for citizens that drive diesel and ethanol powered automobiles and, “A manifesto that all government building and cars be powered by new and cheaper types of fuel and energy by 2001.” This bold plan is applauded by many on both sides of the aisle. President Kemp himself tells the press, “I’m impressed by the governor’s idea, but it needs a lot of work to make in feasible.” “Come on Jack!” Ronald Reagan exclaims that night on his radio show, “This is a campaign promise, it doesn’t have to feasible. Heck, most government programs don’t have to be feasible!”

Event Date: 2-28-1984
Event Description: The New Hampshire Primary surprises the nation. Governor Lamar Alexander, a southerner, defeats Senators Biden and Hart in a state both were expected to finish first and second in. Many Republican primary voters expressed admiration for Alexander’s boldness. “He’s a dreamer,” one voter tells a CBS reporter, “His energy program shows that he has at least the guts to try to take on the problems facing our nation.” Alexander takes first place with 29% of the vote, with Biden taking 27% and Hart coming in third with 23%. Finishing with just 11% in a state he focused most of his funds on, Governor DuPonte drops out of the race and endorses Governor Alexander over his fellow Delawarean, Senator Biden.

Event Date: 2-29-1984
Event Description: Sensing a tide of conservatives due to the rising gas and food prices in Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announces that he will retire at the end of his term. He will be succeeded by John Turner, who faces overwhelming economic problems and a strong challenge from the Progressive Conservatives under Brian Mulroney.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 3-06-1984
Event Description: Senator Biden makes up for his upset defeat in New Hampshire by winning the Vermont Primary. Despite support for Senator Hart from the young liberal “yuppies” and Governor Alexander from rural voters, Senator Biden’s strength amongst party regulars and blue collar workers was enough to win him the Green Mountain State.

Event Date: 3-10-1984
Event Description: While speaking before the Heritage Foundation, President Kemp declares a, “War on Drugs.” “Everyday more than 500,000-pounds of illegal drugs are run through our unprotected Southern border,” President Kemp tells his listeners, “It is time for a real drug policy. We must not allow drug runners to take advantage of our unprotected border any longer.” President Kemp unveils a new “National Strategy” towards border patrol and drug law enforcement. His plan includes tripling the number of Border Patrol Agents, building a, “physical and technological fence,” on the Southern border and beefing up customs officers. He does not mention outlawing marijuana or other low key drugs, however. “Sometimes I feel we in the government spend so much time going after the smallest offenders, we overlook the real criminals,” is all President Kemp says when asked about criminalizing cannabis and the drugs made from it.

Event Date: 3-11-1984
Event Description: Senate Majority Leader Biden, Governor Alexander, Senator Hart, Congressman Little and former Senator McGovern meet at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The debate focuses mainly on President Kemps’ War on Drugs speech the day before. Congressman Little has the most inflammatory rhetoric of the night, calling Kemp’s support of more border enforcement, “Hispanic hate.” “I’ve noticed that President Kemp only spoke about defending the Southern border,” Congressman Little tells the audience, “That’s not a policy decision, this is pure hatred for people who are different from him!” “Are you accusing the President of the United States of being a racist?” states debate moderator Sam Donaldson in a slightly confused voice. “You bet I am, Sammy!” cries Little.

Event Date: 3-13-1984
Event Description: Several primaries and caucuses are held today, giving out a grab bag of results. Front-runner Senator Biden wins the Florida Primary, which Governor Alexander had campaigned hard in, as well as the Oklahoma Caucus. Senator Hart takes the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Primaries, eking out Biden in both states. These two wins keep his long shot candidacy alive. Governor Alexander wins the Nevada and Washington Caucuses by wide margins, showing his strength in the West. Congressman Little, however, steals the show tonight by winning the Alabama and Georgia Primaries by more than 10-points each. By getting out the vote of African-Americans and poor white and Latino laborers, the Little Campaign was able to win these states in major upsets.

Event Date: 3-14-1984
Event Description: Having been wiped out in yesterdays primaries, former Senator George McGovern announces his withdrawal from the presidential race. “I guess I was just never cut out for national politics,” Senator McGovern declares in his withdrawal statement, “I was just too honest and too blunt about what our nation needs to do to get on the right track again. I was unable to succeed through truth telling, but I know someone running who will be successful in telling the blunt and naked truth. His name is Malcolm Little, and he has my support.” Congressman Little, who’s support is mainly comprised of minorities, is delighted by the support of the respect progressive Senator McGovern. “I know our campaign of truth will succeed with a man like George McGovern aboard,” Congressman Little tells the crowd at a Chicago rally.

      
Event Date: 3-18-1984
Event Description: Senator Biden wins the Puerto Rico Primary by a wide margin over his nearest rival, Senator Hart. This primary was largely ignored by all the candidates.

Event Date: 3-20-1984
Event Description: In a four way contest, Governor Alexander wins the Illinois Primary with just 29% of the vote, nearly sweeping Southern Illinois. Senator Biden finishes second with 28% of the vote, in a serious setback for his campaign. Congressman Little takes 25% of the vote after running a fiery populist campaign throughout Northern Illinois and in the major urban centers. Senator Hart finishes fourth with an underwhelming 18% of the vote. There is no clear front-runner in the Republican primary.

Event Date: 3-24-1984
Event Description: The Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, announces that, for the first time in Iranian history, there will be fair and free elections for the Iranian Parliament. Though Iran has technically been a parliamentary monarchy since the late 1970s, the Shahs have easily manipulated the parliament elections to get conservative monarchists in office.  “It is time for Iran to enter the modern era and embrace democracy,” the Shah tells his people in a nationally televised address. The most reactionary of monarchists oppose this decision, but the masses of Iranian voters overwhelmingly support fair elections. The new elections are scheduled for August 1984.

Event Date: 3-27-1984
Event Description: Senator Biden narrowly defeats Senator Hart in the Connecticut Primary. Biden’s support from the poorer industrial areas of the state overpowered Hart’s support from the young liberal base in the state. Senator George W. Bush (Republican of Connecticut) had endorsed Governor Alexander, but even the backing of the popular senator was unable to give Alexander more than a third place showing.  

Event Date: 4-01-1984
Event Description: With 78% of the vote, Congressman Little wins the Washington, D.C., Primary. As an African-American candidate campaigning for the votes of African-Americans, it was expected that this 88% African-American city would vote for the Michigan congressman. Senator Hart finishes in second with 11% of the vote.


Event Description: 4-02-1984
Event Description: President Kemp announces that he is declaring an executive order outlawing the production of chemical weapons in the United States. “We should not allow companies in the United States to produce weapons that do nothing but maim, scar and destroy human beings,” President Kemp declares from the Oval Office, “As a nation which prides ourselves as champions of human rights, we must lead the world in ridding the Earth of destructive chemical weapons.” An overwhelming majority of Americans and members of Congress agree with the president’s sentiments. Senator Sparks Spark Matsunaga (Republican of Hawaii) and Congressman Robert Dornan (Democrat of California), who was injured by chemical weapons in China back in 1968, introduce a resolution calling for the banning of all chemical weapons from the United States military. It will pass easily and other nations will follow the United States’ lead.

Event Date: 4-03-1984
Event Description: The New York and Wisconsin Primaries are held today after a bitter battle for both states by the remaining Republican candidates. Senator Biden wins the Empire State with just 31% of the vote, defeating Governor Alexander and his 28% of the vote. In Wisconsin, Senator Hart wins a close race against Alexander. Young liberal students in Madison, Milwaukee, Watertown and Appleton come out for the Colorado Senator, giving him a close victory in the Dairy State.

Event Date: 4-08-1984
Event Description: National Party leader Dmitry Yazov defeats incumbent Social-Democratic President Mikhail Gorbachev in the Russian presidential election. Yazov’s hawkish position towards the Kurdish Republic and his vow to, “Secure Russia’s right to cheap crude oil,” frighten the western world.

Event Date: 4-10-1984
Event Description: Senator Biden wins the crucial Pennsylvania Primary, defeating Governor Alexander and Congressman Little, his two nearest opponents. The media bests remembers this primary due to the very public feud between Congressman Little and Philadelphia Mayor Reginald Jackson. Mayor Jackson had openly called Little, “A race-baiter and dealer of hate.” Although Michael Nutter, Mayor Jackson’s Urban Renewal Advisor, tells the press that this was just an off the cuff comment, the Little Campaign demanded a public apology from the mayor. Mayor Jackson never gave an apology, nor did he not mean what he said.  

Event Date: 4-22-1984
Event Description: The Dow Jones Industrial goes over the 20,000-point margin today, an all time high for the Dow. “It is obvious, my fellow Americans,” Ronald Reagan declares on “The Voice of the Nation” that night, “That President Kemp is exactly who this country needs. After all, our nation is in the midst of a great economic expansion and we are at peace.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-23-1984
Event Description: While being interviewed by a civil rights newsletter in Chicago, Jesse Jackson, the Spiritual Advisor for the Little for President Campaign, is caught using the anti-Semitic term Hymie. Jackson states that the only reason that Reprehensive Little lost the New York Primary is because of Jews in New York City, which he calls, "Hymietown." Congressman Little, campaigning in Memphis, Tennessee, tells the national press that he disagrees with the statements made by Reverend Jackson, but will not ask him to resign from his campaign. “Jesse marched with myself and Dr. King against poverty,” Congressman Little declares, “He knows about poverty, he knows about inequality and he knows about how to run campaigns. He’s staying on the campaign no matter what.”            

Event Date: 5-01-1984
Event Description: Governor Alexander wins 63% of the vote in the Tennessee Primary, his home state’s contest. Congressman Little, racking up close to 70% of the African-American vote in the state, comes in second with 34% of the vote. Congressman Albert Gore, Junior, wins the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate today, vowing to be a close ally of the Kemp Administration.

Event Date: 5-05-1984
Event Description: Two southern states hold their primaries today, Teas and Louisiana. Congressman Little wins the Louisiana Primary by a wide margin, taking 44% of the vote. Little easily won the heavily populated African-American cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge, while Governor Alexander wins the small towns in the Cajun State, coming in second with 31% of the vote. In Texas, Senator Biden and Governor Alexander shoot it out for the Lone Star State. Governor Alexander wins Texas by a 38-34% margin over Senator Biden. Congressman Little wins 22% of the vote, but is disappointed by the low minority turnout in the primary. Senator Hart is annihilated in both states, but looks to the West to try to revive his faltering campaign effort.

Event Date: 5-06-1984
Event Description: Senator Hart holds a press conference in Cleveland, Ohio, declaring that he will drop out of the race for president. “I feel that it is in the best interests of my party and my nation to end my campaign for the presidency and endorse the only man who can reverse the disastrous course our nation is being taken by President Kemp,” Senator Hart tells the press, “That man is Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden.” The Hart endorsement is expected to help Senator Biden amongst young liberal voters in the Republican Party.

Event Date: 5-08-1984
Event Description: The Maryland, North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio Primaries are held today. The states of Maryland, Indiana and Ohio come in for Senator Biden, backed by the support of organized labor. Congressman Little wins North Carolina, but he media spins this as, “A black state voting for a black man.” Governor Alexander finishes second in every primary except Maryland, which isn’t good enough since every state primary held today was winner-take-all.

Event Date: 5-10-1984
Event Description: The 56th Academy Awards, hosted by the famed Jack Lemmon, are held in Los Angeles. “Les Miserables” wins many awards, including Best Actor (Sean Connery), Best Motion Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Ronald Reagan). When accepting his award, Reagan jokes with the audience, saying, “The next times someone tells me to go jump off a bridge, I’ll tell them I won award for doing that.” Reagan is of course mocking the way his character, Inspector Javert, commits suicide at the end of the film by jumping off a bridge into the Seine River.

Event Date: 5-11-1984
Event Description: The Kurdish Defense Act is signed by President Kemp, despite his own Democratic Party opposing the bill. Introduced by Senator Pete Wilson (Republican of California), this act gives the Congress the permission to send guns and other such military aid to the Kurdish Republic. “I view this act as a way to keep the United States out of an unneeded and deadly war with Russia and Turkey,” President Kemp explains to the press (and his party) after singing the act, “This bill makes sure that the Kurdish Republic can defend itself against invasion. I can assure that I will never lead the United States into war, especially against two allies like Russia and Turkey.”

Event Date: 5-13-1984
Event Description: Secretary of State Daniel Patrick Moynihan begins a long serious of talks between Indian and Pakistani leaders over the region of Kashmir. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had ordered the Indian Military to try to take the region in Operation Meghdoot. The Kemp Administration, determined to use diplomacy over war, sends the brilliant Moynihan to try to find a way to stop the crisis in Kashmir. Held in Bangkok, Thailand, which is considered “neutral” territory, the summits will be stormy and a serious test of Moynihan’s diplomatic skills.


Event Date: 5-15-1984
Event Description: Three western primaries are held today, with Senator Biden and Governor Alexander fighting to a standstill. Governor Alexander wins the Nebraska and Idaho Primaries easily, but Senator Biden takes just as big of a win in Oregon, where former Hart supporters come out for Biden. Congressman Little is left in third in all three states. He’s focusing on winning the California Primary, against all odds.

Event Date: 5-21-1984
Event Description: The Bangkok Summit is made almost fatal as a radial anti-Indian terrorist attempts to run a car bomb into the vehicle transporting Manmohan Singh, the diplomat leading the Indians at the summit.

Event Date: 5-28-1984
Event Description: In an attempt to woo Hispanic voters in California, Congressman Malcolm Little announces at a rally in San Jose that as president he will pardon all Illegal Immigrants in the country and strive for open borders. “No human being is illegal!” the bombastic congressman booms at the rally, “All who live in this country need to be treated with basic human dignity!”

Event Date: 6-05-1984
Event Description:  The California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia Primaries are held today. Senate Majority Leader Biden wins New Jersey and West Virginia easily, as these are old union worker’s states. He falters out west; however, as Governor Alexander wins California, Montana and New Mexico. Congressman Little had been counting on his amnesty program to help him in the heavily Hispanic states, but he fell short in both. Senator Biden’s defeat in California is seen as a major setback for his campaign, as he had pumped over $3 million into the Golden State alone. Governor Alexander, who was outspent in California 5-to-1, won it with 46% of the vote to Biden’s 40% and Little’s disappointing 14%. State Assemblyman William Clinton wins the Republican Primary for Congress in his Bakersfield congressional district.

Event Date:  6-09-1984
Event Description: Almost seven months after the burst, the Kani Massi Pipeline is finally repaired in the northern Kurdish Republic. Despite this turn of events, there is till incredible tension between the Kurdish Republic and the nation of Turkey and Russia.

Event Description: 6-12-1984
Event Description: The last primary of the Republican primary season, Governor Alexander comfortably defeats Senator Biden by a 58-41% margin, with Congressman Little scrapping together 1% of the vote in a state almost completely white. Though Senator Biden leads in delegates, Governor Alexander has enough to stop him from clinching the nomination at the convention. A deal will have to be made between the two men, and something will have to be done about a bitter Malcolm Little, who is threatening and independent campaign should he not be given the Republican nomination.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 7-04-1984
Event Description: A joint press conference is held by Governor Alexander and Senator Biden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Today we have decided to declare the Republican Party’s independence from the bitter primary battle it has been locked in for so many months,” Senator Biden declares with Governor Alexander by his side, “Which is why Governor Alexander and I have decided to run as a ticket.” With the most delegates and primary votes, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden is declared the presidential candidate with Governor Lamar Alexander as his running-mate. “Now let’s take the fight to Jack Kemp!” the scrappy Biden says into the camera.

Event Date: 7-15-1984
Event Description: The Republican National Convention in San Diego, California, nominates Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden for President and Governor Lamar Alexander for Vice-President. By nominating the Governor of the Volunteer State, this is the first time that a Southerner has been on the Republican ticket since Andrew Johnson in 1864. Congressman Malcolm Little leads his delegates out of the convention while singing, “We Shall Overcome.” The bombastic congressman declares that he will run an independent campaign for president focusing on, “The working poor.”  The keynote speaker of the convention is Philadelphia Mayor Reginald Jackson, who mocks Congressman Little as, “That ‘little’ guy in the corner.” Mayor Jackson declares that Biden and Alexander will, “Whip Kemp and Little so bad that there own mamas won’t be able to recognize them.”  San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein also keynotes the convention, asking the question, “Where was Jack?”, seemingly asking the audience what was President Kemp doing when the Kennedy Administration was spying on American citizens. Senator Biden’s acceptance address is just as fiery. “I’m sick of this unfair economic system that the corrupt Kennedy and Kemp Administrations are forcing down the throats of the American people!” Senator Biden bellows, “Kennedy and Kemps’ ‘trickle down economics’ is just another tax cut for the wealthiest one percent. It’s just a way of concentrating our great nation’s wealth with the big business fat cats and Democratic donors.” Biden best line of the speech is agreed to be, “Poor Jack, he can’t help it that he doesn’t understand the American people. He’s just played too much football without a helmet.”

Event Date: 7-24-1984
Event Description: The Olympics open in Los Angeles with Ronald Reagan leading the opening ceremonies along with President Kemp. The two men live for patriotic moments like this, and Reagan plays it to the fullest. The star spangled ceremonies end with Johnny Cash performing, “That Old Ragged Flag,” as he did at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. The events are so focused on President Kemp that Senate Majority Leader Biden accuses the Olympic Committee of  “Being in the tank for the Kemp Campaign.” The irony of this stamen is that one of the members of the Olympic Committee is Mitt Romney, the son of the late Republican Governor of Michigan and 1972 presidential candidate George Romney.

Event Date: 8-09-1984
Event Description: At a meeting of civil rights leaders in Washington, D.C., Congressman Malcolm Little is selected to run an independent campaign for president. After selecting former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm as his running-mate, Little declares that his is the only campaign, “Which sees America for what it truly is: a great nation, but like all great nations, one that has people who are ignored.” Little’s speech concerning universal health care, amnesty for illegal immigrants and creating a living wage for all American workers is overlooked by a bombastic address from a 45-year old Chicago preacher: Jeremiah Wright. Wright, a keynote speaker at the makeshift convention, makes a speech calling for, “Greater understanding between the races in this country,” but also accuses the government of murdering millions of Iraqis, Chinese and Japanese in, “Wars of imperial attrition.”

Event Date: 8-11-1984
Event Description: While making his nightly broadcast for the “Voice of the Nation”, Ronald Reagan has a confused moment. While speaking in length about how outraged he is over the Jeremiah Wright comments, Reagan pauses for a minute. “My fellow Americans,” he stammers, “I…can’t remember where I am…bear with me.” His producer reminds him over his earphone and Reagan is back to his old self. “I guess those dopy comments made me forget I was in America,” Reagan later quips.

Event Date: 8-23-1984
Event Description: President Jack Kemp and Vice-President John McCain are nominated for a full term in office at the Democratic National Convention in Dallas, Texas. The convention includes speeches by Ronald Reagan, former First Lady Jean Ashbrook, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Tim Robertson, the son of televangelist Pat Robertson and candidate for Congress in Virginia. President Kemp sounds the central theme of the Kemp-McCain Campaign in his acceptance address, “Our nation is growing with a strong economy and a renewed sense of American pride, all this and we are at peace.”

Event Date: 9-03-1984
Event Description: While addressing the American Legion in Cleveland Ohio, Vice-President John McCain is confronted with a question from Russian army veteran. “Mr. Vice-President,” the veteran asks, “With the new threat coming from President Dmitry Yazov towards the Kurdish Republic, how will the Kemp Administration deal with a Russian invasion of the Middle East?” Knowing that he must hike the Democratic line of nonintervention, Vice-President McCain tells the veteran that the Kurds have the weapons they need to defend themselves and, “President Kemp and Secretary Moynihan have full faith that the world community as a whole will stop Russia from adapting too aggressive a foreign policy.” Not very happy with the answer, the veteran interjects, “What if it’s only the U.S.A. that stands up against Russia?” “Then my friend,” McCain defiantly states, “We’ll chase the Russian Army to the gates of Hell if need be.” The response makes the room erupt, and also Senator Biden, whom calls this type of talk, “Unneeded inflammatory remarks towards a nation that has been a close ally.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 9-04-1984
Event Description: In the Canadian General Elections, the Liberal Party is dealt a crushing blow. Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Conservative Party take control of the government, winning a wide majority in both houses of the Canadian Assembly.

Event Date: 9-11-1984
Event Description: The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office declares that they will prosecute Former President Robert Kennedy for the crimes he committed while he was President of the United States. “Despite the high office Mr. Kennedy held, it is my duty to the law to prosecute the former president,” District Attorney Ralph Martin tells the press. The Kennedy Family decries this decision as politically motivated, especially since Attorney General Edward Kennedy is locked in a tight battle for U.S. Senate with Congressman John Kerry.

Event Date: 9-29-1984
Event Description: The Bangkok Summit produces an agreement over the Kashmir Region of India. Indian and Pakistan agree to withdraw all forces from arranged “Areas of Control.” India takes “control” of the south and Pakistan takes control of the north in the Kashmir Territory. They agree to respect this line and sign a cease fire. Secretary of State Daniel Moynihan, upon hearing that neither side is pleased with the agreement, quips, “It’s an agreement, no one’s supposed to actually like it!”

Event Date: 10-07-1984
Event Description: Despite the protests from Congressman Little outside of the event, the first televised presidential debate of the 1984 Election between President Jack kemp and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden is held at the Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky. Moderated by CBS’s Dan Rather, a veteran of such events, the debate focuses mainly on the scandals of the Robert Kennedy Administration and the Kemp Budget. A heated moment in the debate arises when Senator Biden asks the audience, “When President Kennedy was spying on American citizens, Mr. Kemp was no where to be seen. He may have had nothing to do with the scandals, but he also turned a blind eye to them.” When Rather asks President Kemp if he would like to respond, the president tells the audience, “I have nothing to say to a man who would accuse me of being a dimwitted accessory in a scheme to spy on America.” On the issue of taxation, President Kemp hails the 1981 and 1983 tax cuts as, “The two gears that got our economy working again.” Senator Biden shakes his head and responds, “Yeah Jack, the economy is working just fine if you’re a billionaire. It kind of stinks for the Middle Class and working Americans, but the Democrats have never wanted their votes anyway.” “That right Mr. Biden,” President Kemp responds, “The Middle Class doesn’t want my tax cut, they want the Biden tax hike! I can see that now!” The colorful debate is viewed by over 60 million Americans, many of whom feel Senator Biden showed little respect for the incumbent president. “It amazed me,” Washington Post columnist Fred Barnes writes the next day, “That Senator Biden would call the sitting President of the United States by his first name. That shows that this man is too off the wall to be president.”     

Event Date: 10-10-1984
Event Description: With the last Gallup Poll showing President Kemp leading Senator Biden by a 53-46% margin, the Biden Campaign unleashes a brutal attack ad, accusing President Kemp of both ignoring the Kennedy Spying scandals and leading the nation to massive deficits through, “Reckless and unneeded tax cuts for the wealthy.” The ad ends with the announcer asking the audience, “Can we afford four more years of Kennedy-Kemp?” Vice-President McCain attacks the ad as, “Unfair and malicious. It appeals to the very worst in Americans, whereas we are appealing to their hopes.”

Event Date: 10-11-1984
Event Description: The Vice-Presidential debate from the Pennsylvania Hall Civic Center is not just a civil event, it is enlightening. Vice-President McCain and Governor Alexander have an earnest discussion of the issues and of their presidential counterparts. The debate is seen as such a good one that towards the end moderator Sander Vancour of ABC news sarcastically asks the audience, “Do you want these two gentlemen to be the presidential candidates?”   

Event Date: 10-19-1984
Event Description: “We can have universal health care and we can pay for it too!” Senator Biden tells a cheering crowd in Portland, Oregon. Taking one of Congressman Little’s big issues, Senator Biden outlines how reversing the Kemp tax cuts could produce the revenue to insure that the 30 million Americans without health insurance can attain it. Across the nation in Wheeling, West Virginia, President Kemp calls Biden’s health care plan, “Something out of Xiaoping’s handbook.” His reference to the former socialist leader of China outrages some of the Russo-Chinese War veterans in the crowd, but it delights the very conservative audience. “The 1984 election seems to have collapsed into a name calling contest,” veteran anchor Walter Cronkite comments that night while signing off from CBS Evening News.

Event Date: 10-21-1984
Event Description: The second televised presidential debate is held at the Music Hall, Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. Moderated by Marvin Kalb of NBC News, it opens with Senator Margaret Truman (Republican of Missouri) singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” After the performance, a far more civil debate over foreign policy begins between President Kemp and Senator Biden. The two show mutual respect for one another, but the feisty Biden still manages a few jabs. When answering a question about dealing with a potential threat from Russia, Biden tells the moderator, “You know Marvin, I was sitting at the gates of Hell thinking about this and I came to the conclusion that Russia is not as great a threat as the Kemp Administration wants to make us believe, then again it may have just been the heat.” The debate is seen as a Biden victory, helping him narrow the gap with President Kemp. With only one week until the election, President Kemp is in a dead heat with Senator Biden according to a recent Gallup Poll- Kemp has 48% and Biden has 47%.

Event Date: 10-31-1984
Event Description: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, at a meeting in Washington, D.C. with President Kemp and Secretary Moynihan over the recent Kashmir agreement, is informed by the Secret Service that two of her personal guards were planning to assassinate her, in part over the Kashmir agreement. Prime Minister Gandhi will survive the day and return to New Delhi. 

Event Date: 11-06-1984
Event Description: President Jack Kemp is reelected President of the United States in a close race over Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden. The growing economy and recent success in foreign affairs were seen as the two issues which put the accidental president over the top.

Jack Kemp/John McCain (D): 271 EV; 49.1% of the PV
Joseph Biden/Lamar Alexander (R): 264 EV; 48.2% of the PV
Malcolm Little/Shirley Chisholm (I): 3 EV; 2.3% of the PV
Others (Progressive Reform, Libertarian, etc.): 0 EV; 0.4% of the PV

On the bright side for Senator Biden, he is reelected to the U.S. Senate in a walk. Other victors for the senate include Albert Gore, Junior (Democrat), Bill Bradley (Republican) and in a major upset, John Kerry (Republican) over Edward Kennedy (Democrat) in the Massachusetts Senate Election. In California, William Clinton is elected to congress. The Arkansas Gubernatorial race sees the first African-American governor since reconstruction get elected as Attorney General Jefferson Thomas defeats incumbent Governor Jim Guy Tucker by a narrow margin.   
   

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Great Update. I'm sure HappyWarrior would be very, very happy with Biden getting the nomination.

Hopefully Biden/Alexander will win over Kemp/McCain in 1984, however I have this feeling that they won't .

[MasterJedi]

Great update!

That election sure went the way I thought it would.

[Хahar 🤔]

Only 2%? I'd expect Little to get at least 5. I was rooting for him.

[HappyWarrior]

Damn you Malcolm Little!  Biden could have been president!  I just hope he returns in 1988 to beat McCain(I know I'm a Biden hack but I don't care )

[PBrunsel]

The Presidency of Jack F. Kemp (Elected)

Event Date: 1-20-1985
Event Description: President Jack Kemp is sworn in for his first full term as President of the United States. “Democracy without morality is impossible.” President Kemp declares in his Inaugural Address, one which promises continued prosperity and protection of civil rights. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden shakes hands with President Kemp as he leaves the Capitol steps and walks to the limousine. “Congratulations, Mr. President,” Senator Biden tells President Kemp, “But, I’ll take you on again in a coupe of years.” The two men laugh as President Kemp tells him, “I’ll take you up on that challenge.”

Event Date: 1-21-1985
Event Description: The San Francisco 49ers wins their 2nd NFL Championship in 4 years by defeating the Miami Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. Watching from the stands is President Kemp, a former football player. This is the first Super Bowl he has attended since becoming President of the United States in 1983.

Event Date: 2-09-1985
Event Description: President Kemp meets with Senate Minority Leader Sam Nunn (Democrat of Georgia) and House Minority Leader Jim Wright (Democrat of Texas) to discuss the future of Social Security. With analysts predicting that Social Security could be bankrupt by 2001, President Kemp introduces the idea offering Social Security recipients private savings options in exchange for a corresponding reduction in government benefits. “This way we save both money and the program,” President Kemp explains. “That’ll be a tough sell, Mr.  President,” Senator Nunn tells the president, “But Jim and I will do whatever we can to pass the plan.”

Event Date: 2-13-1985
Event Description: Representative Newt Gingrich (Democrat of Georgia) introduces the Social Security Reform Act of 1985 to the House Finance Committee. Representative Jim Leach (Republican of Iowa) tells the press, “The act will not be seriously considered.” With the Republicans dominating the House of Representatives, it is unlikely that Gingrich’s act will pass the chamber, even if it leaves the Finance Committee.

Event Date: 2-15-1985
Event Description: To the surprise of Chairman Leach and the national media, the House Finance Committee passes the Social Security Reform Act of 1985 into contention on the House docket. Every Democrat on the committee along with six Republicans vote to allow the act into debate. “We can’t just ignore the oncoming Social Security crisis,” Representative Silvio Conte (Republican of Massachusetts) explains to the committee, “That’s the reason that this bill needs to be debated. We need to hear new ideas on how to keep Social Security funded for the future.”

Event Date: 2-19-1985
Event Description: Debate begins in the House of Representatives over the Social Security Reform Act of 1985. “This act will not only save the Social Security system,” Representative Gingrich tells his colleagues, “It will also relieve the government of millions of dollars of spending for the program.” Leading the charge against the act is Representative Charlie Rangel (Republican of New York). “Mr. Gingrich seems to think every American has stock options,” Representative Rangel sarcastically quips, “Not every American can build up one of these independent saving accounts for Social Security. The reason we have Social Security is to help the people whom the Gingrich and Kemp plan would harm.”

Event Date: 3-04-1985
Event Description: The House of Representatives votes down the Social Security Reform Act of 1985. The vote is not close, with 255-148 being the final vote. Some Democrats refused to vote for the act, fearing the backlash from the elderly in their districts. This is a major setback for President Kemp’s conservative fiscal policy.

Event Date: 3-12-1985
Event Description: Undaunted by his defeat only two weeks ago, President Kemp signs the Immigration and Law Enforcement Act, a bipartisan act introduced by Representative Bill Richardson (Republican of New Mexico) and Senator Ted Stevens (Democrat of Alaska). The bill increases the quota for Central American immigration and offers near amnesty for the 16 million illegal immigrants in the United States, but also beefs up border security and begins building a border fence between Mexico and the U.S. “I’ve learned from my days in football that success is a game of inches,” President Kemp tells the press after he signs the bill, “This is just another inch in finally securing our nation’s borders.”

Event Date: 3-18-1985
Event Description: Columbia Pictures releases the action movie Commando in US theaters; the film, set during the Iraq War, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as an ex-Marine and Russo-Chinese War veteran who reenlists to train a group of trainees in a secret mission to assassinate the Iraqi Defense Minister. Besides the star power of Schwarzenegger, Brian Denehey portrays General Norman Schwarzkopf and Fred Thompson, an attorney turned actor, portrays Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The film is a box office success.

Event Date: 3-25-1985
Event Description: The U.S. Senate disbands its Russo-Chinese War POW/MIA Committee after more than a decade in operation. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (Republican of Kansas), a veteran himself, saw that most of the committee's functions have long since been passed on to the Defense Department or various private organizations, such as Green Beret Bo Gritz’s “Gone, But Not Forgotten” Organization.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-09-1985
Event Description: Senator Fidel Castro (Republican of Florida) announces that he will retire in 1987, and not seek a fourth-term in office. “I feel I have done all I can do for the people of Florida, the United States and my native Cuba,” Senator Castro announces today. On the isle of Cuba, many of the people and leaders on the island throw celebrations in honor of their islands’ most favorite son.

Event Date: 4-13-1985
Event Description:  Russian Defense Minister Nikolai Damorov, a hero of the Russo-Chinese War, is admitted into a Moscow hospital after suffering cardiac arrest. He will die on May 4th, 1985, which causes great fear for both the United States and the Kurdish Republic as Damorov had opposed President Dmitry Yazov’s belligerent stances towards the Kurdish Republic.

Event Date: 5-08-1985
Event Description: President Jack Kemp and Secretary of State Daniel Moynihan travel to Moscow to attend the funeral of Nikolai Damorov and come face-to-face with President Yazov and his new Defense Minister, Vladimir Putin. After the service, the four men meet at the Kremlin, where Minister Putin tells the American leaders that he and the Russian president “Want nothing but peace with Kurds and the people of the Middle East.” As President Kemp and Secretary Moynihan fly home in Airforce One, Moynihan confines to the president, “I looked into Putin’s eyes and I didn’t see a soul. He’s a dangerous man.”

Event Date: 5-13-1985
Event Description: Philadelphia Mayor Reggie Jackson gets the MOVE activists to stand down from their standoff with police in West Philadelphia. The mayor promises the MOVE activists that they will escape prosecution if they put down weapons and surrender to the Philadelphia Police Department. There is no firebombing of the MOVE activists and Mayor Jackson is hailed for his cool headed dealing with the crisis.

Event Date: 5-29-1985
Event Description: Representative William Clinton (Republican of California) introduces legislation that would officially legalize the usage, cultivation and sale of marijuana. “I realize that this idea won’t make me too popular in the South,” Representative Clinton jokes, “However, this act is needed nation wide. We do not need our prisons filled with non-violent offenders who smoked a fairly harmless drug.” Representative Tim Robertson (Democrat of Virginia) attacks Clinton’s bill as, “Just another liberal Republican bill reflecting San Francisco values.” Just to clarify, Clinton reminds the chamber that he is from Bakersfield.

Event Date: 6-06-1985
Event Description: President Kemp signs the Clinton Act into law, officially legalizing the usage, cultivation and sale of marijuana. Though the president is attacked by his own party for signing the bill, Kemp reasons with the press by explaining, “It will be easier to fight the war on drugs when we fight the really dangerous drugs, not these basically harmless ones. I hate big government, and cracking down on every marijuana user in the country is the biggest government I can think of.” Many Democrats come to agree with this statement.

Event Date: 6-19-1985
Event Description: Vice-President John McCain announces from Cape Canaveral that he hopes by 2010, “Our great nation will have a lunar colony  in which scientists from all over the world can study the planets and the galaxies of this universe from a piece of the ‘last frontier.’”

Event Date: 7-09-1985
Event Description: The corrupt Liberal Democratic government of Japan is overthrown in a bloodless coup by corporate leaders. The Japanese Government was so mismanaging the national budget and state industry that even the poorest Japanese citizens embrace the new corporate state. President Kemp is wary of recognizing the Corporatist State of Japan so he holds back from official recognition of the new nation.

Event Date: 7-12-1985
Event Description: The newly established Corporate Council of Japan elects economist Fukui Toshihiko as its first Prime Minister. A former protégé of arch-conservative Japanese politician Masaru Hayami, Prime Minister Toshihiko promises the people of Japan an honest and efficient government which embraces classical liberalism and civil rights. Secretary of State Moynihan sends a congratulatory letter to the new prime minister, wishing him, “The best of luck inn trying to straighten out a very crooked situation.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 8-08-1985
Event Description: An anti-Turkish sect in the Kurdish Army attacks a small Turkish military convoy outside of the town of Cizre, Turkey. These small groups of Kurdish soldiers are members of the Kurdish National Party and blame the Turkish for the damage to the Kani Masi Pipeline. In the ensuing battle, no one is killed and only five Turkish soldiers and eight Kurdish troops are wounded. President Barzani quickly fires all soldiers and officers involved, but this does not quell their anger towards Turkey.     

Event Date: 8-10-1985
Event Description: Russian President Dmitry Yazov and Turkish President Kenan Evren declare from a military summit in Istanbul that there is a, “Considerable terrorist threat coming from the Kurdish Republic. This is a threat that the government of President Barzani can not control and so we take it upon ourselves to restore order in the Kurdish Republic.” President Kemp can not stop the advancing armies from invading the Kurdish Republic since under international code a nation can intervene in another to stop terrorism, no matter how minor that threat may be.

Event Date: 8-15-1985
Event Description: 125,000 Russian soldiers arrive in Cizre, the town where the “terrorist attack” against Turkish troops occurred just seven days ago. President Barzani and the Kurdish Legislature demand that the troops stay out of the Kurdish Republic, but President Yazov and Defense Minister Putin are not frightened by what they see as the minimal Kurdish threat.

Event Date: 8-22-1985
Event Description: The Russian forces (along with 166,000 Turkish soldiers) attack the “terrorist held” city of Zakho, Kurdish Republic. The city, which does not even have a Nationalist representing it in the legislature, fights back with local militia and American supplied weapons. The day ends with the Russians conquering the city, but sustaining over 15,000 casualties. “It appears as if the Russians were not counting on a thorn like resistance,” Ronald Reagan tells his listeners that night, “As we all know, nothing annoys  Russian bear like a thorn in it’s paw.”

Event Date: 8-23-1985
Event Description: On the 700 Club, the Reverend Pat Robertson predicts that Jesus Christ will, “Return any day now, for the signs of his return are in place.” The reverend outlines that the mysterious Book of Revelation states that Russia will invade the Middle East and from there Christ will return and the anti-Christ will rise. “I suspect that the anti-Christ is none other than Vladimir Putin, the new Defense Minister who ordered this assault into Kurdistan,” Robertson declares. When Putin is told that he has been called the ultimate evil by the Russian press, he quips, “How flattering.”     

Event Date: 8-25-1985
Event Description: The U.S. Senate passes a resolution condemning Russia and Turkey for invading the sovereign Kurdish Republic. “Such vicious and barbaric behavior should be condemned and stopped, at all peril!” a enraged Senator John Warner (Republican of Virginia) declares.

Event Date: 8-30-1985
Event Description: The advancing Russian and Turkish coalition reaches the outskirts of the oil rich city of Bamarni. The city digs in for a siege, but is not without its defenses. The city’s arsenal is filled with U.S. made stinger missiles and AK-47 submachine guns. Despite being outnumbered by a 6-to-1 margin, this siege will prove to be a tough one for the invaders to stick out.

Event Date: 10-03-1985
Event Description: Philadelphia Mayor Reginald Jackson declares his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1986. The announcement is met with great excitement by the Republican Party who have long seen Mayor Jackson as a rising star. The popular mayor will face former State Auditor and perennial candidate for governor Robert “Bob” Casey, the expected Democratic nominee.

Event Date: 10-09-1985
Event Description: A Kurdish national militia group ambushes a Russian-Turkish convoy as it travels to reinforce the army outside of Bamarni. The militia attacks with American made grenade launchers and submachine guns, inflicting serious damage on the convoy and killing six Russian officers. Addressing his nation from the Kremlin, President Yazov promises, “The great of all battles to be brought to the terrorists who threaten our very existence.”

Event Date: 10-13-1985
Event Description: In a Rose Garden ceremony, President Kemp recognizes the Corporatist State of Japan and welcomes Ambassador Ryozo Kato as the new Japanese Ambassador to the United States. Kato, a 44-year old intellectual, is seen as strong classical liberal, but his respect for civil rights is not too high. He is known for opposing all resolutions in the former Japanese Diet that called for the government to apologize for the employment of geishas, or “comfort women”, which was simply a gloried prostitution job. President Kemp is attacked by the left, especially by Representative Barbra Boxer (Republican of California), for recognizing the new government and its chauvinistic ambassador, but President Kemp saw it differently. “Ever since the new Japanese government took power in July,” President Kemp tells the press, “Government corruption and waste in Japan is in major decline. The nation is being run like a business. Maybe the reason that Ms. Boxer is upset is because her own constituents might want the government here to be more like the one over there: efficient.”

Event Date: 10-15-1985
Event Description: President Barzani declares that the whole of the Kurdish Army will be used to, “Subdue and defeat the invaders from the North.” The president also declares that he will allow individual militias to operate, due to the fact that, “Ever from of help is needed for our nation to maintain its independence from the aggressors.”

Event Date: 10-28-1985
Event Description: The public water building in the Russian occupied city of Zakho is destroyed by rocket fire from Kurdish rebels. Both the Kurdish Army and the various militias are relying more on hit and run tactics then engaging the gigantic invading forces head-to-head.

Event Date: 11-30-1985
Event Description: After months of a media circus and free-for-all, Former President Robert Kennedy is found guilty of breaking federal code and illegally overseeing and ordering warrant less spying of government officials and offices. The jury sentences him to five years in a minimum security prison. “One day everyone will see I was right, you’ll all see,” former President Kennedy tells the court.

Event Date: 12-26-1985
Event Description: On the one year anniversary since the burst of the Kani Masi Pipeline, the Kurdish Army attacks the city, which has been under Turkish control since October. There surprise attack on the day after Christmas is a total victory with the Turkish losing 26,190 troops to the Kurds 5,000. It appears as if Turkey and Russia may have bitten off more then they could chew in the Kurdish Republic.     

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Another great update; keep it up

[King of the Bench]

This is good sh**t man

[MasterJedi]

Can we nuke Moscow?

[Captain Chaos]

I hope Reggie is elected Governor of PA in 1986 and President in 1992.