By a Fluke of the Gods: Cox Defeats Harding

[Captain Chaos]

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

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Interesting update, as always . I wonder if the bombing of Russia will begin in 5 minutes?

If only Fidel could run for President in 1988 and take on Vice President McCain and win. Victory cigars for everybody!

[Хahar 🤔]

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.

YEAH!!!

[War on Want]

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.

YEAH!!!

eeeeeewwwww, the 49er's are jsut gross. As much as I dislike the Dolphins, I would root for them over the 49ers.

[Хahar 🤔]

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.

YEAH!!!

eeeeeewwwww, the 49er's are jsut gross. As much as I dislike the Dolphins, I would root for them over the 49ers.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-12-1986
Event Description: The United States Senate passes a resolution supporting the Kurdish Republic and its resistance to the invasion from the Russian and Turkish Armies. “It is important that the Kurdish Republic know that we see it not as a ‘terrorist nation’ for defending itself against an aggressor,” Senator Phil Gramm (Democrat of Texas) tells the press, “But as an ally which is opposing an invasion from aggressors.”

Event Date: 1-26-1986
Event Description: The United Kingdom and France issue a joint condemnation of Russia and Turkey, an act which begins a string of international denunciations of the Kurdish invasion. However, very few nations are willing to send troops to fight against the Russians and Turkish fearing a European war.

Event Date: 2-03-1986
Event Description: Construction begins in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas on the border fence, which is planned to be a massive, double walled structure. The lawmakers in charge of overseeing the construction are two California men: Senator Pete Wilson (Republican) and Representative Duncan Hunter (Democrat).

Event Date: 2-19-1986
Event Description: Kurdish militias begin planting roadside mines along roads in Northern Kurdistan. Although the method is effective in combating he Russian and Turkish soldiers, the bombs are responsible for numerous deaths and injuries for International Red Cross members and foreign peacekeepers.

Event Date: 2-22-1986
Event Description: Russian troops charge the city of Bamarni as the sun rises. The city defenses inflict major casualties on the advancing army due to superior American weaponry. After almost 20-hours of constant battle, the Russians are forced to retreat to the outskirts of the city.

Event Date: 3-02-1986
Event Description: Philadelphia Mayor Reginald Jackson defeats Lieutenant Governor William Scranton III in the Republican Primary for Governor of Pennsylvania. The progressive Mayor Jackson is one of the most popular public servants in the Keystone State. Another popular figure will oppose Jackson in the November election, former Democratic State Auditor Robert P. Casey, a fiery populist from Scranton.

Event Date: 3-09-1986
Event Description: The Corporatist Stare of Japan officially outlaws capital punishment for the first time in the history of the island nation. In response to this news, the U.S. Congress passes a resolution which calls for every nation on Earth to outlaw the death penalty.

Event Date: 3-11-1986
Event Description: Paramount Pictures releases “Red Dawn”, a film which is both patriotic and controversial. The film focuses on a Chinese victory in the Russo-Chinese War which leads to a Chinese invasion of the United States in the 1992. The main characters are high school students from a small California town who fight the Chinese in a guerilla war. They call themselves the Wolverines after their high school sports mascot, with their leaders being portrayed by Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze. Although he does not make a physical appearance in the film, Ronald Reagan portrays the voice of Phillip Alexander, the man who runs “Radio Free America” during the occupation and narrates the opening and closing sequences in the film. Some in China, Russia and on the left view this film as one which is supportive of the Kurdish rebels and portrays all who oppose American allies as rapists, murderers, invaders and thugs. Ronald Reagan himself tells the press, “The film is just a great movie which shows the world that Americans never back down, no matter how bleak a situation may seem.”

Event Date: 3-28-1986
Event Description: A car bomb is set off outside the police station in Kani Masi, now a town which has switched hands several times between the Kurds and Turkish several times. The bomb is set up by Kurdish rebels and it kills 89 Turkish infantrymen, but more importantly, it destroys their base of operations in the city.

Event Date: 4-09-1986
Event Description: Pope John Paul II visits the war torn city of Bamarni, under siege from Russian soldiers for more than six months, and calls for an end of hostilities in the region. “Muslims, Christians and Jews must come together for peace,” his Holiness declares from a field hospital, “The only way that we shall ever see the problems of the age answered is through peace.” At the Kremlin, President Yazov tells Defense Minister Putin, “’Peace’ isn’t going to bring down the cost of oil.”

Event Date: 4-15-1986
Event Description: Using one of America’s least favorite days as a backdrop, President Kemp announces from the Oval Office that he wants, “To gradually erase the presence of the Internal Revenue Service.” He outlines a plan which would, by 2005, hand over collection of taxes to state governments. “This simple act would unify the tax code, state and federal, and make paying our taxes easier and more efficient,” President Kemp tells the nation. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden scoffs at the plan, dismissing it as, “Midterm election political posturing.”

Event Date: 4-27-1986
Event Description: Former Congressman Malcolm Little is defeated in his bid to win the Republican nomination in his old congressional district, Michigan-15. Freshman Congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins, elected in 1984, defeats Little by a 59-41% margin. The firebrand politician vows that he will return to politics.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 5-01-1986
Event Description: The Russians make their second strike at Bamarni, getting rebuffed in only four hours. Suffering over 6,000 deaths from the attack, the Russian command decide that taking the city is now a futile strike. The remaining forces regroup and begin a march for the city of Duhok, a major financial center for the Kurdish Republic.

Event Date: 5-02-1986
Event Description: Illinois holds its state primary today, with one major upset. Chicago area law professor Hillary Rodham defeats State Representative Judy Koehler in the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate. Professor Rodham, only 39-years old, will face popular Republican Senator Alan Dixon in the fall.

Event Date: 5-09-1986
Event Description: President Chalabi sends 35,000 Iraqi soldiers to defend the Kurdish Republic, which causes great tension between Turkey and Iraq, who already have strained relations. Secretary of State Daniel Patrick Moynihan tells President Kemp that day in a meeting, “If we can’t stop this war in the Kurdistan it could spark the entire Middle East into the battleground for World War III.”

Event Date: 5-11-1986
Event Description: The New York Times releases an article written by political consultant Richard Morris about who is to follow President Kemp in office. Potential candidates include for the Republicans Senator Joseph Biden, Governor Lamar Alexander, New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Maine Senator William Cohen, Speaker of the House John Rhodes, Kansas Senator Robert Dole, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and former Vice-President John Love. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Morris writes, “If former President George Bush tries his hand at the Oval Office again. Maybe he can run on some type of ‘buyer’s remorse’ over Bobby Kennedy.” On the Democratic side, Morris names Vice-President John McCain as, “The obvious favorite.” However, he includes Secretary of State Daniel Moynihan, General Alexander Haige, the Reverend Pat Robertson, former Vice-President Jimmy Carter, former Alabama Governor George Wallace, Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, House Minority Leader James Wright and Congresswoman Jean Ashbrook, the former First Lady and wife of the late President John Ashbrook, as other Democrats who may seek the White House.

Event Date: 5-19-1986
Event Description: Secretary of State Moynihan is rebuffed in his attempts to end the war in the Kurdish Republic. President Yazov and Defense Minister Putin refuse to even grant an audience to Secretary Moynihan. President Barzani, trying to appeal the ever growing and powerful nationalist militias, refuses to negotiate for peace. 

Event Date: 6-07-1986
Event Description: Turkish President Kenan Evren is assonated while reviewing troops in the war torn city of Cizre. The president is shot three times, once in the left arm but twice, fatally, in the neck. Though the ruling military junta in Turkey blames the assassination of Kurdish militias, many suspect that the Turkish soldiers themselves plotted to have the hawkish removed from power to end the Kurdish War. If this is true, the soldiers plan backfired as the even more belligerent Army Chief of Staff Nurettin Ersin takes power as the new president three days later and declares, “Our martyred president will be avenged.”

Event Date: 6-12-1986
Event Description: 120,000 new Turkish soldiers overrun Kurdish defenders at Kani Masi, taking the city and annexing it into Turkish territory. This action leads to international outrage and action. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leads the nations of Europe in sending soldiers to defend the Kurdish Republic. “We can not stand by and allow this aggression against the sovereign nation Kurdish Republic,” Prime Minister Thatcher declares to the Parliament. France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain send soldiers to defend the Kurdish Republic. Russian President Yazov seems to support this intervention, much to the surprise of Secretary of State Moynihan.

Event Date: 6-19-1986
Event Date: Coalition Forces arrive from Iraq and land in Arbil, the capitol of the Kurdish Republic. Under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Fry, a British solider, the 350,000 soldiers begin a trek to Kani Masi, to retake the city and its oil deposits. In the United States, President Kemp declares that the U.S. will send weapons to the Kurds, but no soldiers. “I refuse to let more American boys die in the Middle East for oil,” President Kemp tells his wife Joan.

Event Date: 6-21-1986
Event Description: Turkish soldiers engage the Kurdish Army outside of Keadere, Kurdish Republic. The outnumbered Kurdish soldiers successfully rebuff the Turkish soldiers.

Event Date: 6-28-1986
Event Description: Russian troops overrun the city of Duhok, smashing through the Kurdish defenses of the city. Russian Commander, Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov, orders all who refuse to denounce their ties to the Kurdish government executed. While many of the city’s bankers follow suit, thousands refuse to do so. More than 21,000 Kurds are executed by firing squad.   

Event Date: 6-29-1986
Event Description: Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden declares in a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., that President Kemp, “Needs a backbone surgery,” due to his reluctance to join the international struggle in the Kurdish Republic. “The cruel, heartless and barbaric Russian actions at Duhok make it a moral imperative that the United States joins the fight!” an impassioned Biden cries, “And if President Kemp is too small a man to be Commander-in-Chief than I’ll be.” President Kemp hears the speech later that day, and tells Vice-President McCain, “That’s just a bunch of bullsh**t.”

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 7-01-1986
Event Description: Sweltering heat consumes the Battle of Kani Masi. 350,000 Coalition Forces attack the Turkish annexed city. The battle rages for 23-hours, covering the city from town square to the oil fields. French Dassault Mirage jet fighters give the Coalition an advantage in the air, helping to retake the city. At the end of the day both forces limp in and out of Kani Masi, with the Turkish losing 25,600 soldiers and Coalition Forces suffering the loss of 31,000. The city is taken back by the Kurds.

Event Date: 7-04-1986
Event Description: President Kemp attends the 100th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. “Tonight,” the president proudly declares, “We set our sites upon a refurbished and renovated symbol of American freedom and liberty. May it be said of us as Americans that we never lost sight of freedom and never took our view off of liberty.” President Kemp’s approval ratings hit an all time high after this star spangled event. The Gallup Poll has the president polling at 64% approval, with 60% of those polled declaring they would like President Kemp to seek another term in office. In response to this, President Kemp tells reporters, “Let’s just see how long that can last.”

Event Date: 7-10-1986
Event Description: Senator Jesse Helms (Democrat of North Carolina) introduces a new form of the Kurdish Defense Act. This calls for Americans to lend and use their powerful air force in the ongoing Kurdish War. “Our superiority in the skies must be used to further the fight for freedom in the Kurdish Republic.” The Senate will pass this act, as will the House of Representatives. Facing the Congress and the American people, President Kemp signs the bill five days later, effectively throwing the U.S. into the Kurdish War.

Event Date: 7-19-1986
Event Description: The U.S. air force in Arbil begins routine bombings of Russian and Turkish forces in Duhok and Zakho, occupied cities in the Kurdish Republic. The jets are supposedly Coalition Forces, but they are piloted and fueled by Americans.

Event Date: 7-22-1986
Event Description: Turkish soldiers are ambushed by British Special Forces outside of Rehila, Kurdish Republic. Though the battle is short, it has deadly consequences. The Turkish troops use chlorine and mustard gas as well as forms of chemical weapons. This reveals to the world community that, despite these types of weapons being frowned upon by the rules of war since after the Russo-Chinese War, the Turkish army still manufactures and trains soldiers to use such weapons.

Event Date: 8-09-1986
Event Description:  President Kemp signs the Hart-Nichols Act into law, making official the largest reorganization of the United States Department of Defense since the Dewey Administration. Introduced by Senator Gary Hart (Republican of Colorado) and Representative William Nichols (Democrat of Alabama), the act reorganizes the chain of command during a time of war. The President will still stand on top, but the Secretary of Defense will now have jurisdiction over generals in the field. The act is opposed by the most hardnosed generals, but as General Colin Powell told the Senate Armed Service Committee while the bill was being debated, “It sometimes is important for our commanders to have someone closer to the battle then the president overlooking what our commanders are ordering in the field.”

Event Date: 8-11-1986
Event Description: Coalition Forces engage Russian infantry outside of Faida, Kurdish Republic. This is the first time that Russia is targeted by the Coalition Forces, and the battle proves to be a decisive Coalition victory. Despite the numerical superiority of Russian forces, the army is obsolete when it comes to weaponry. “The Battle of Faida has shown the world that the Russian military is a 1960s creation in a modern world,” Ronald Reagan tells his listeners that night.

Event Date: 8-21-1986
Event Description: The Russian Duma passes a bill which declares that the Russian military will be modernized through a program which, in the United States, would amass to over $200 billion in military spending. The stinging defeat at Faida had shown the ruling Russian National Party that there army was not just obsolete, but dangerously weak when facing off against a new anti-Russian coalition.

Event Date: 8-28-1986
Event Description: Standing alongside Tennessee Governor and alternative energy advocate Lamar Alexander, San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein announces plans to have her city become the first in the world to be powered entirely by renewable sources, especially solar energy. “The last election showed that it’s up to cities and states to solve energy problems,” Mayor Feinstein tells the press. The San Francisco Bee declares the next day that, “The 1988 Republican Ticket was formed yesterday: Alexander and Feinstein.” Though both politicians laugh at the article, Congressman William Clinton calls both Alexander and Feinstein “Visionary leaders and the future of the Republican Party.” 

Event Date: 9-02-1986
Event Description: Senator Gary Hart (Republican of Colorado) announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Despite his underwhelming performance in 1984, Hart declares in his announcement address, “The time has come for the GOP to look beyond the Potomac and turn its eyes to new Western leaders.” This is seen as a subtle smack in the face to unsuccessful 1984 Republican nominee, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden.

Event Date: 9-10-1986
Event Description: Russian jet fighters engage with American jets in the largest dog fight since 1968 over the Quandil Mountains in Northern Kurdistan. The American jets easily defeat the Russian planes, but enough Russian jets escape the fight that there is still an enemy air presence in the Kurdish Republic. 

Event Date: 9-14-1986
Event Description: The Shah of Iran declares his nation’s neutrality in the Kurdish War. “It would not be wise for our nation to involve itself in the turmoil of nations currently involved in the Kurdish Region,” the Shah declares from his palace in Tehran. Many in the international community, loudest amongst them being Prime Minister Thatcher, believe that the Shah fears the radical Islamic elements within his nation and what they would do if he sent his army to fight Turkey, another Islamic power. “The Shah is a child who can be bullied by terrorists,” Prime Minister Thatcher tells President Kemp in a meeting in Bangor, Maine. “That may be true Madame Prime Minister,” President Kemp tells Thatcher, “But I’d rather he control Iran than those same terrorists.”

Event Date: 9-19-1986
Event Description: After 50-years on the job as the Voice of the Nation, Ronald Reagan announces that 1986 will be his last year on the radio. “I’ve been told by my doctors and my family that I can not continue my current lifestyle,” Reagan tells his audience as he signs off from that night’s show, “I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, diabetes, hearing loss and memory fatigue. Though the darn truth is I’ve never felt better in my life, my doctors have shown me the facts and the evidence claim that I do not. Therefore I will be stepping down on New Years Eve this year and appointing a new Voice of the Nation.” This new man will be Rush Limbaugh, a 35-year old radio host from Missouri, a man whom Reagan has called, “the new voice for conservatism in our Country.”

Event Date: 9-26-1986
Event Description: Coalition Forces attack the city of Duhok, liberating the city from Russian control.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 10-02-1986
Event Description: Considering yet another stinging defeat a few days ago, Russian President Dmitry Yazov agrees to meet with American and Kurdish diplomats to end Russia’s involvement in the Kurdish War. Secretary of State Moynihan and Kurdish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan agree to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Event Date: 10-22-1986
Event Description: The Reykjavik Accords bear fruit after only ten days of deliberation. With the Russian public turning solidly against the Kurdish War, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov is not just accommodating, Secretary of State Moynihan tells President Kemp, “The Russians are laying gifts at our feet.” Foreign Minister Ivanov made promises to recognizer Kurdish sovereignty and withdraw all forces from the Kurdish Republic by January. In return, the Kurds would sell more oil to the Russians and begin work on a free trade agreement between the two nations. The White House and the Kremlin support the Reykjavik Accords, and they are approved of overwhelmingly by the Kurdish and Russian legislatures.

Event Date: 10-27-1986
Event Description: The Stock Market booms today with gas prices falling due to peace between Russia and the Kurdish Republic. The Dow Jones Industrial shoots up 500-points, the largest single day stock growth in more than ten years. President Kemp is generally given the credit for the current economic growth.

Event Date: 11-04-1986
Event Description: In an odd turn of historical events, the incumbent president’s party gains seats in Congress. The Democratic Party wins 21-seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and takes control of the U.S. Senate by picking up nine seats. One of the closest races is Illinois, where little known Law Professor Hillary Rodham came within 22,000-votes of defeating incumbent Senator Alan Dixon. The popularity of President Kemp, the growing economy and the Reykjavik Accords are seen as the factors which led to such a strange twist in electoral history. Two African-American Republicans are immune to the Kemp effect, as Mayor Reggie Jackson is elected Pennsylvania governor over now four-time losing candidate Robert Casey. Casey declares that this will be his last run for governor, but very few can trust that statement. In Arkansas, Governor Jeffferson Thomas is reelected by a 55-45% margin over Democratic Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt. This race is the first in Arkansas hisotry which elects the governor to a four year term and not a mere two year tenure. Governor Thomas is seen as a possible candidate for president in 1988. 

Event Date: 11-05-1986
Event Description: Stunned by the overwhelming Democratic victory in the Senate yesterday, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Joseph Biden (Republican of Delaware) announces that he will not be a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1988. “It appears as if I need to focus on my own affairs in the Senate before I look to the White House,” Senator Biden tells the press in his statement.

Event Date: 11-21-1986
Event Description: Turkish President Nurettin Ersin announces that the draft will be reintroduced in Turkey to find more soldiers to fight in the Kurdish Republic due to the Russian withdrawal. This statement is met with riots in the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, Ephesus, Konya and Van, actions against the military regime’s orders.

Event Date: 11-23-1986
Event Description: After two days of nonstop rioting in Turkey’s major cities, President Ersin reverses his decision to reinstate the national draft. However, this seems too little too late for the war weary people of Turkey. In the streets of Ankara, the national capitol, anti-Kurdish War protesters take to the streets and battle presidential palace guards to demonstrate in front of the home. President Ersin is rushed from the city for his protection.

Event Date: 11-24-1986
Event Description: With President Ersin removed from Ankara and fleeing for the coastal city of Samsun, pro-democracy forces take power in the national capitol. The leader of the illegal Turkish People’s Republic Party, a secular liberal entity, Deniz Baykal, a 47-year old attorney, declares himself the interim leader of the Republic of Turkey. To the horror of President Ersin and his generals, the military itself rises up against the old military regime. By the end of the day, Ankara is in the hands of the pro-democracy opposition.

Event Date: 11-28-1986
Event Description: All has been quiet in Turkey for four days, and President Ersin refuses to allow that to remain. The Turkish National Guard attacks the rebels in Ankara at dawn, putting down this attempt at democracy in a bloody massacre. President Kemp catches flack from Republicans in Congress for not sending air support to the pro-democracy rebels, but Senator Biden surprisingly defends his old rival. “The president was handed a balloon that was pretty full already,” Senator Biden tells his colleagues on the Senate floor, “Had he sent some planes to prod it, it would have exploded in his hands.”

Event Date: 12-31-1986
Event Description: Ronald Reagan’s final broadcast as the Voice of the Nation airs. The broadcast stars such well known actors and statesmen as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Stewart, former New York City William F. Buckley, Congresswoman Jean Ashbrook and even former Presidents Joseph P. Kennedy, Junior, and George H.W. Bush, whom has warmed to Reagan since his presidency ended in 1981. After three hours of reminiscing about the past and talking about the present, Reagan must sign off for the last time. “It’s been a heck of a ride, my friends,” Reagan tells his millions of listeners across the fruited plain, “I took this position when bombs were falling across Japan and now leave with America at peace and looking forward to prosperity. As a boy growing up in Tampico and Dixon, I never imagined I would come as far as I did, and be called the voice of the entire American nation. I never imagined I would host NBC News for 20-years, or meet presidents and prime ministers. I now enter the twilight of my career, my friends, but I always know that for America there is a bright dawn ahead. God truly bless you all, and God Bless America.”       

[Хahar 🤔]

Limbaugh. Blech.

I liked Reagan in the '50s.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

This really is the best TL, keep it up

[MasterJedi]

Best active TL on this site (sorry, I like Harry's better but he hasn't done anything with it ).

Keep it going, I love to read this.

[HappyWarrior]

Alexander/Feinstein '88!  I wish Biden could have been president but there'll be many other great ones in this TL I think.

[PBrunsel]

By a fluke of the writer I forgot to include the important gubernatorial bouts in 1986. I have modified them in the 11-04-1986 entry.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 1-03-1987
Event Description: The 100th Congress convenes, celebrating a century of representative democracy in the history’s oldest republic. The Congress is split, with the House of Representatives in the Republican corner and the Senate siding with the Democrats. Speaker of the House John Rhodes did not seek reelection in 1986, leaving the race for Speaker of the House open to a free-for-all. Representatives Thomas Foley (Republican of Washington), Judd Gregg (Republican of New Hampshire), Bill Paxon (Republican of New York) and Jim Leach (Republican of Iowa) all seek the position, each representing a different part of the country and Republican values. In the end, Representative Gregg, coming from the Republican strong hold of New Hampshire and being the most popular of the candidates with outgoing Speaker Rhodes, wins the position. Representative Foley is made House Minority Leader to appease Western Republicans. House Minority Leader Jim Wright (Democrat of Texas) is defeated for his post by arch-conservative Representative Phillip Crane (Democrat of Illinois). In the Senate, Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat of West Virginia) becomes the new Senate Majority Leader, while Senator John Chaffee (Republican of Rhode Island) is elected the new Senate Minority leader, replacing Senator Joseph Biden, who refused to seek the position.       

Event Date: 1-04-1987
Event Description: Governor Bruce Babbitt (Republican of Arizona) announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. A Western dark horse, Governor Babbitt jokes in his announcement address, “No one knows who I am right now, but boy will they soon.” Governor Babbitt introduces such ideas a national sales tax, a progressive flat tax and increasing gas taxes to pay for alternative energy power plants throughout the nation’s largest cities.

Event Date: 1-12-1987
Event Description: New York City District Attorney Rudolph Giuliani (Republican) wins his case against the Salerno Crime Family. New York Mafiosi Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering. District Attorney Giuliani has been successful in putting away many mob figures, making him a hero to New York residents who used to live if fear of such thugs. The Republican Party of New York City is eager to nominate the crime busting DA for mayor in 1989.

Event Date: 1-20-1987
Event Description: House Minority Leader Phillip Crane (Democrat of Illinois) and Representative Charles Rangel (Republican of New York) introduce the Welfare Reform Act of 1987, mandating time limits for welfare recipients, but also providing tax breaks to companies that hire welfare recipients. “We should help people go from welfare to work,” House Minority Leader Crane tells his colleagues on the House floor, “But the American taxpayer should not fund payments to people who don't work.” Although many Republicans who represent the poorest regions of the country oppose the bill, the act is very popular with members of both parties. It will pass easily and be signed into law by President Kemp.

Event Date: 1-28-1987
Event Description: Former Vice-President John Love (Republican of Colorado) tells the Denver Times that he is considering making a run for president in 1988. “I believe history has shown that the path that the Bush Administration took was not just the correct one for the nation,” Love tells the paper, “It is the reason for our current prosperity.” Rush Limbaugh, the new Voice of the Nation, laughs at this statement, calling it, “A ‘Love’-ly Republican revision of what actually is happening.”

Event Date: 2-09-1987
Event Description: Following the Ankara Crisis last November, Turkish President Nurettin Ersin announces that he is willing to end the Kurdish War if President Barzani of the Kurdish Republic is willing to talk. The Kurds have wanted peace for many months, so the talks are scheduled to begin as soon as diplomats can agree on a neutral zone to hold the peace conference. Although Secretary of State Moynihan applauds this important breakthrough in Turkish-Kurdish relations, strident nationals in both nations oppose any peace agreements.

Event Date: 2-11-1987
Event Date: In a move which enrages the right but delights most of the nation, President Kemp signs the Heinz-Regula Amtrak Act, which increases funding for the national Amtrak rail program. Introduced by two Republicans, Senator John Heinz (Pennsylvania) and Representative Ralph Regula (Ohio), the act pouts aside $56 million a year for the renovation of railroad cars, tracks and stations. “I firmly believe that public transportation needs to be encouraged if we are to ever successfully grow energy independent,” President Kemp tells the press as he signs the bill.

Event Date: 2-19-1987
Event Description: Kurdish and Turkish officials arrive in Kuwait City, Kuwait, to begin talks to end the Kurdish War. This news is not met with celebration in the Northern Kurdish Republic, where anti-Turkish militias run many cities as a police force. “We will never surrender to the Turkish aggressors,” a militia in Mosul warns President Barzani and the Kurdish government, “Our battle against Turkey will not end through signing a piece of paper.”

Event Date: 2-21-1987
Event Description: Eva Braun, age 75, dies of a stroke at her home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Father Rudolph Braun, her 37-year old Nobel Peace Prize winning son, was at her side when she passed on. News of death of the wife of Adolph Hitler is met with little attention from the media, but the Argentinean government honors the late Ms. Braun for the work she did at local hospitals as a nurse for more than twenty years.

Event Date: 3-02-1987
Event Description: Former Governor Lamar Alexander (Republican of Tennessee), the 1984 Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, declares his candidacy for president, promising that as president, “The little guy will once again have a seat at the president’s table.” Wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans, the folksy Alexander declares that when he becomes president, “The White House chefs are going to have to remember how to make ham and beans. After all, currently their making filet mignon with champagne, something I’ll never eat.” Governor Alexander’s populist rhetoric puts him in a tie with Senator Hart for first place amongst Republican voters.

Event Date: 3-09-1987
Event Description: Secretary of the Navy James Webb announces from the naval city of Huntsville, Alabama, that the United States navy will begin the construction of six "Excelsior"-class battleships. These ships are fuel efficient and cheap to maintain, but use modern technology to prove more effective in war than more conventional naval crafts.

Event Date: 3-18-1987
Event Description: The Coalition Forces begin withdrawal from the Kurdish Republic, against the better judgment of many of the commanders in the region. “I fear that a complete withdrawal from the Kurdish Republic is a very dangerous and unneeded risk,” Coalition Commander John Fry confines to British Defense Minister John Nott, “Everything which I have observed in Northern Kurdistan shows that the anti-Turkish militias will undoubtedly revolt when peace is made between the warring nations.” In response to this warning, Prime Minister Thatcher orders for three active regiments to stay in camp around the city of Mosul, where the militias have their strongest support.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 4-01-1987
Event Description: The Kuwait Accords are signed by representatives from Turkey and the Kurdish Republic, officially ending the Kurdish War. The agreement is similar to the treaty with Russia: Turkey agrees to let the Kurdish Republic live in peace while the Kurds agree to sign a free trade agreement with the Turks. “The Middle East is at peace once again tonight,” President Kemp tells the nation, but this is not so. Kurdish National militias take to streets in protest against the “pro-Turkish” President Barzani.

Event Date: 4-22-1987
Event Description: The DOW Jones Industrial ends the day above 20,000-points, spurred by the peace in the Middle East resulting in expanding the markets in Russia and Turkey through trade agreements. 

Event Date: 5-03-1987
Event Description: Carl Bernstein, editor-in-chief of the National Star, reports that Senator Gary Hart, a front-runner for the Republican nomination, has been involved in an extramarital affair with model and actress Donna Rice for more than eight years. Bernstein’s article reveals a photo of Rice and Hart aboard a yacht entitled “Monkey Business.” A media circus begins around the senator and his attractive mistress.

Event Date: 5-04-1987
Event Description: “I will not drop out the race for president!” a defiant Senator Gary Hart tells the press, “My personal life has nothing to do with running for president and changing this nation.” Senator Hart’s polling has fallen by more than 15% nationally, but he and his supporters refuse to give up the fight for the White House. “Jack Kemp worked for a real immoral law breaker, and he’s in the White House,” Hart campaign manager James Carville tells the New York Times. These type of excuses fail to throw media attention off Hart’s “monkey business.”       

Event Date: 5-09-1987
Event Description: Jalal Talabani, head of the extremely nationalist Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Patriot’s Militia, declares that the war against Turkey will continue despite the Kuwait Accords. “We can not coexist with a state which opposes our nation’s very existence,” Talabani declares in a public message to President Barzani. In response to this statement, President Barzani sends marines to break up Talabani’s militia in the war torn city of Kani Masi. The Patriot Militia refuses to stand down.

Event Date: 5-10-1987
Event Description: The Patriot’s Militia engages Kurdish marines outside of Kani Masi. The conflict proves to be a surprising one for the Kurdish Government, as the people of Kani Masi support the militia over the army. The overwhelmed marines flee the city, leaving the Kurdish Government embarrassed and facing the probability of a civil war

Event Date: 5-12-1987
Event Description: President Barzani meets with President Jack Kemp at the White House. The meeting focuses around the possibility of a civil war raging in the Kurdish Republic between hard-line anti-Turkish militias and the government. “Mr. President,” President Kemp tells Barzani, “We in the United States will do what we can for you, but this is a regional dispute.” “You say that now, my friend,” President Barzani tells Kemp, “But when this civil war makes gas so expensive the great American people begin to go broke to fill up their cars, then you will see that stability in my nation is very important.” President Kemp gets the point, and the shrewd Barzani is given additional weapons under the Kurdish Defense Act.

Event Date: 6-01-1987
Event Description: The Broadway musical Les Miserables hits 42nd Street. Starring Colm Wilkinson, a talented Irish singer, as Jean Valjean, Terence Mann as Inspector Javert and Gary Beach as the con artist innkeeper Thernardier, the musical is a smash hit. Both Sean Connery and Ronald Reagan, who starred in the acclaimed film version of Hugo’s novel, attend opening night. New York City District Attorney Rudolph Giuliani sits next to Reagan at the production, leading many to view him as courting the Democratic vote for the 1989 New York City Mayoral election.

Event Date: 6-08-1987
Event Description: Nationalist militias in Duhok attack the Turkish owned Bank of Kurdistan with an illegally acquired government grenade launcher. Bank President Ali Yasser, a prominent supporter of President Barzani, is killed during the attack. Although President Barzani gives police the right to arrest on site and to deny bail to militia members, this begins a camping of terror against Turkish owned businesses in the Kurdish Republic.

Event Date: 6-11-1987
Event Description: Congressman Richard Cheney (Republican of Wyoming), the former Chief of Staff for President George Bush, tells ABC political reporter Brit Hume in an interview that President Bush was wrong to intervene in Iraq. “As you can see from the current situation in the Kurdish Republic,” Cheney tells Hume, “President Bush’s Middle East policy was not complete. It really just enraged the Turkish and spurred nationalist feelings amongst the Kurds.” “Mr., Cheney, do you take responsibility for any of these failures?” Hume asks. “I do, Brit,” Cheney tells the journalist, “I was the architect of them after all.”

Event Date: 6-20-1987
Event Description: A commercial HS 748 (Turkish Airlines 206) is hijacked by three Kurdish Nationals. Aboard the airplane are four Turkish business executives who operate a large petroleum company in the Kurdish Republic. The businessmen are severely beaten and then shot in front of the passengers by the Kurds. The plane crash lands outside of Adana, Turkey, killing 51 passengers and all three nationals in what is seen as the deadliest terrorist attack in history.

Event Date: 6-21-1987
Event Description: President Jack Kemp addresses the world from the Oval Office. “The United States will never condone terrorism,” President Kemp firmly declares, “Whether they are supported by our enemies or our allies, they will be bunted down and brought to justice.”

Event Date: 7-01-1987
Event Description: President Jack Kemp nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork, a conservative judge and legal scholar, to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Nixon appointee Justice Lewis Powell. Senator John Kerry (Republican of Massachusetts) declares that the Bork nomination will be disastrous for civil rights in the nation. “Robert Bork's America,” Senator Kerry tells his colleagues, “Is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids and children could not be taught about evolution.” Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd calls Senator Kerry’s statement, “Ridiculous and near treasonous against a trusted jurist.”

Event Date: 7-03-1987
Event Description: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) comes out against the nomination of Robert Bork for the Supreme Court. “President Kemp has shown his true colors in the nomination of Judge Bork,” ACLU Media Chair Nadine Strossen tells the press, “Bork is on record for opposing the Equal Rights Amendment, Roe v. Wade, our national ban on the death penalty, equality in the work place and secularism in our schools. He is close to theocratic on almost all social decisions, and an advocate for big business on affairs ranging from oil drilling to workmen’s compensation.” This is the first time in U.S. history that the ACLU has opposed a Supreme Court nomination.

Event Date: 7-04-1987
Event Description: Teacher and Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe uses the nation’s 211th birthday to announce her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives against Speaker of the House Judd Gregg. McAuliffe, a Democrat, is running for office on the issue of privatizing NASA and expanding charter schools, two issues very popular with conservatives in the Granite State.

Event Date: 7-17-1987
Event Description: In another clear message of the positive effects of President Kemp’s economic and foreign policies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time, at 2,510.04. “It is clear,” Secretary of the Treasury William Simon tells the press, “That the tax and spending slasher in the White House has made our economy reach new heights of prosperity.” The American people seem to agree, as the Gallup Poll shows President Kemp with a 64% approval rating.

Event Date: 7-19-1987
Event Description: The National Star and Carl Bernstein publish the videos which Senator Gary Hart had rented during the summer of 1986, which is recorded as one of the times when Hart spent a great deal of time with Donna Rice. The tabloid records that Hart rented many pornographic films and most likely watched them with Ms. Rice. Bernstein took great joy in not just recording the names of the pornographic films, but also including censored screen shots of the movies in the paper. “This is just disgusting,” George Carville tells the press, “Mr. Bernstein and his publication are beneath contempt. These type of disgusting stories are destroying the American political system.” Senator Hart still refuses to drop out of the presidential race, despite falling below Governor Babbitt in the latest Gallup Poll. 

Event Date: 7-28-1987
Event Description: President Barzani of the Kurdish Republic addresses the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., telling an international audience that he condemns all terrorism and violence against Turkey. “Our brothers to the north are now our allies in trade and defense,” Barzani tells the assembly, “My government will do all in our power to eradicate the terrorist militias which are killing hundreds of innocent Turks every month.” Later that day, President Kemp uses the Kurdish Defense Act to loan the Barzani government 15 jet planes to help battle the militias.

[PBrunsel]

Event Date: 8-01-1987
Event Description: Former Vice-President John Love (Republican of Colorado) announces his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination for President of the United States. “Finally,” Rush Limbaugh comments on the Voice of the Nation, “A Colorado Republican who isn’t browsing the porno shelves.”   

Event Date: 8-04-1987
Event Description: The Patriot’s Militia is routed by Kurdish soldiers in the hamlet of Barzan, President Barzani’s home town. This defeat is especially sweet for Barzani, since the citizens of the town rose up against the militia. It appears as if the domestic troubles in Kurdistan are becoming a controllable crisis.

Event Date: 9-02-1987
Event Description: Russian Duma elections are a nightmare for President Yazov. His foolhardy police action in the Kurdish Republic costs the Russian Nationalist Party its majority in the legislative body. The Social Democratic Party takes control of the government, and former President Mikhail Gorbachev once again becomes head of his party.     

Event Date: 9-15-1987
Event Description: President Jack Kemp announces that he will seek another term as President of the United States. “Despite the accomplishments of the last two years,” President Kemp declares from his home in Buffalo, New York, “I believe that my administration’s goal of limited government and personal freedom has not been completed. As I learned when I was playing football, you don’t stop playing the game at halftime.” Response to this announcement is generally positive. “President Kemp is a great friend and a great American,” Vice-President John McCain tells the press, “I feel that he’s made the right decision and I would be honored to serve another term as his Vice-President.” Senate Minority Leader John Chafee (Republican of Rhode Island) is one dissenting voice, commenting to the Associated Press, “I guess the president feels that he deserves more time in office than Washington or Lincoln. Why not, after all he gets all the credit for everything great that happens.”

Event Date: 9-21-1987
Event Description: Speaker of the House Judd Gregg (Republican of New Hampshire) and Congressman Bob Dornan (Democrat of California) introduce an amendment to the 1966 Freedom of Information Act: The Video Privacy Protection Act. This act is obviously in response to the information found by the National Star pertaining to the video rentals of Senator Gary Hart.

Event Date: 10-17-1987
Event Description: Kurdish nationals take terrorism against Turkey to the high seas. A Turkish freighter on the Black Sea is rammed into by a speedboat filled with explosives, causing the deaths of 120 sailors. This is the first time in history that terrorism has occurred on international waters.   

Event Date: 10-19-1987
Event Description: The Stock Market experiences a rougher day than usual under the Kemp Administration, caused mainly by fear over the terrorist attacks of October 17th. Dow Jones Industrial tumbles 215-points, but will recover the next day. There will be no “Black Tuesday”, although the Republican presidential candidates were probably hoping for one.

Event Date: 10-23-1987
Event Description: By a 56-44 vote, Judge Robert Bork is confirmed by the U.S. Senate to sit on the Supreme Court. “Judge Bork represents the traditional values which have built our nation,” Senator John Stennis (Democrat of Mississippi) tells the press. Progressive activist are sickened by this turn of events, with ACLU attorney John Warren, the son of progressive icon Earl Warren, telling the Los Angeles Times, “The Supreme Court is now wholly owned by puritans.”

Event Date: 11-03-1987
Event Description: Democrats sweep the 1987 gubernatorial contests, running on the Kemp record. Former Democratic National Chairman and tobacco lobbyist Haley Barbour is elected Governor of Mississippi over businessman Jack Reed, the hapless Republican candidate who attempted to “out conservative” the very right winged Barbour. In Kentucky, Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear, the Democratic nominee, defeats Republican businessman Wallace G. Wilkinson in a state contest where Lamar Alexander of neighboring Tennessee came in to campaign for Wallace.

Event Date: 11-08-1987
Event Description: President Kemp vetoes the Video Privacy Protection Act, declaring that it is unconstitutional and against the Freedom of Information Act. “People have the right to know all they can about their public servants” President Kemp tells the press as he vetoes the act, “This bill strips citizens of the right to complete information.” “That’s fine Mr. President,” comedian Johnny Carson jokes that night on his show, “All I know is that when I was in school the football players were always involved in watching the stuff that would get you put on restriction.”

Event Date: 11-20-1987
Event Description: The controversial film “Lions of Lambs” debuts in theatres for the holiday season. The movie tells the story of the dark side of the Nixon Administration, but also the sensationalism of the established press. Starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the film goes into the work the two men did to try to discredit the Nixon Administration, often portraying the two men as opportunists looking for fame far more than honesty in government. President Richard Nixon, portrayed by John Lithgow, is also not shown in a positive light. Nixon is shown as a heartless man and power broker who will do anything to achieve his goals. The film also portrays First Lady Patricia Nixon, portrayed by Glen Close, as an alcoholic who had the constant want of divorcing her presidential spouse. The most controversial part of the film is when Nixon discuses murdering FBI agent Porter Goss with chief aid Patrick Buchanan, portrayed by Alan Alda. There is no proof backing up that the 1971 death of Goss had anything to do with Nixon, but director Oliver Stone explains to the press, “This is a film based on men whom wore many masks. Who can say that such men do not have secrets?”

Event Date: 11-21-1987
Event Description: Former President Richard Nixon appears on the Johnny Carson Show. “Have you seen this trash film ‘Lions of Lambs’?,” Nixon asks Carson. “No,” the host responds, “But I thought you’d bring it up.” The former president angrily outlines what he sees as lies in the film, and by the end of the spiel appears as if he is out of control. “Mr. President,” a surprised Carson nervously chuckles, “I’m taking a stab in the dark here, but you don’t really like this movie, do you?” Even the enraged Nixon bursts into laughter upon hearing that line.

Event Date: 12-09-1987
Event Description: A raid in the city of Zakho by the Kurdish Army captures three men responsible for the October 17th terrorist attack on a Turkish freighter in the Black Sea. Abdullah Ocalan, a prominent anti-Turkish political leader, is arrested for spearheading the plot. He will be tried before a jury of his peers in February 1988.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

An interesting update as always .

I have a suspicion that Governor Babbitt will win the Republican Nomination in 1988 and will take on Vice President McCain in the General. My gut also tells me that Babbitt will win the Presidency too. I also have a suspicion that Christa McAuliffe will one day seek the Presidency in the near future after she defeats Speaker of the House Judd Gregg.

Also, may I ask why is Dick Cheney a Republican in this timeline? He seems to be more of a Democrat than a Republican in this timeline.

[MasterJedi]

I feel that we'll get another 4 years of Kemp. For some reason I also just thought that there might be a successful assasination attempt against Kemp, unlike the failed one IRL against Reagan.

[HappyWarrior]

Um one qualm, though I hate saying this did'nt Dick Gephardt die in the Russo-Chinese War?

[MasterJedi]

One thing I need to say, we need a President Tommy Thompson!

[Robespierre's Jaw]

You mentioned in one of your previous updates that Jefferson Thomas was re-elected Governor of Arkansas, what happened to Jim Guy Tucker. If it wasn't for Clinton in 1978, Tucker would have likely ran for the Governorship and consequently won the Governorship. Just thought I'd point that out .

BTW: What is Jim Guy Tucker doing in this Timeline and secondly, we need a President John Chafee

[PBrunsel]

Um one qualm, though I hate saying this didn't Dick Gephardt die in the Russo-Chinese War?

Thank you for mentioning this, HappyWarrior. That was quite an embarrassing slip up on my part. I know that Missouri elected a dead man in 2000, but electing a man gone for more than twenty years in a bit ludicrous!

Also, may I ask why is Dick Cheney a Republican in this timeline? He seems to be more of a Democrat than a Republican in this timeline.

Rockefeller Republican,

I made Cheney the Chief of Staff for President George H.W. Bush. I felt it wouldn't be prudent to make him a Democrat after he served as the chief advisor to a Republican president. Cheney is a conseravtive Republican, an oddity in this timeline.

You mentioned in one of your previous updates that Jefferson Thomas was re-elected Governor of Arkansas, what happened to Jim Guy Tucker. If it wasn't for Clinton in 1978, Tucker would have likely ran for the Governorship and consequently won the Governorship. Just thought I'd point that out .

BTW: What is Jim Guy Tucker doing in this Timeline and secondly, we need a President John Chafee

Jim Guy Tucker was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978 and reelected in 1980 and 1982. In 1984, Little Rock Distirct Attorney Jefferson Thomas, a Republican, upset the heavily favored Governor Tucker in that year's gubernatorial contest. Many people expected Governor Thomas to run for president in 1988, but he refused to leave Little Rock to take to the campaign trail. However, Thomas may seek the presidency in this timeline.

As for Tommy Thompson and John Chafee, they are two of the men I have in contention for the White House in this timeline.

[Eleanor Martins]

One little quibble, Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the Challenger crew have already been dead for over a year now. I've read the entirety of this TL in one shot.

[PBrunsel]

One little quibble, Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the Challenger crew have already been dead for over a year now. I've read the entirety of this TL in one shot.

RedefiningForm,

Thank you for your interest in my timeline, it is appreciated. I hope you've enjoyed what I've written so far.

To answer your quibble, I put in the Challenger disaster in my timeline, but I actually intended for it not to happen. I actually thought I had included that the Challenger successfully launched into space, but I guess actual history was clouding my mind. This was my mistake and I have edited that fluke out of the timeline. Thank you for correcting this grievous oversight.

If ever any of the readers of this timeline find such a problem please post it, I won't take offense to it. Sometimes when I change life and death I make some pretty embarrassing errors.