The Biggest Damned-Fool Mistake I Ever Made: by Dallasfan65 and hantheguitarman

[Scam of God]

WOW!!!! So then the people who produce the cars, build the houses, run the trains, operate the crates, are dengenerates who are not of worthy of you?

Precisely.

Now we've taken this too far; let's wait for a few more updates.

[cpeeks]

So just what do you do for a living that makes you so much better than people who actually work for a living?

[Dallasfan65]

Well, I'm glad the TL has generated so much interest!

An update on Wallace's second term should be in the pipe for tonight.

[Scam of God]

A question for you, Dallasfan: what happened to the New Left? In our TL, they threw in their lot with the Democrats, at least for awhile. But it's pretty clear that not only is the present Administration antipathetic towards them like Johnson's, but actively attacks them. Are we to assume they're going over to Republicanism?

[cpeeks]

Im looking forward to it, lol being a "white trash southerner". Oh but wait Scam of God I have a white collar job and am I still white trash because  I am a southerner? LOL

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

The Second Term of George Wallace
With his mandate to govern a second time, George Wallace could now focus on one thing that mattered deeply to him: the plight of the poor. He proposed sweeping legislation titled "The Great Society." "The Great Society" included Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure, Regulation, Labor, and Taxation. Wallace would reverse the Knowland tax cuts on the rich, and would raise them to levels reminiscent of the Roosevelt years, 83%. For the poor and middle class however, Wallace would greatly cut their taxes. As President Wallace said, "President Knowland cut taxes for the rich but raised them on the poor! That ain't right!" To help pay for "The Great Society" and to keep unemployment low, Wallace asked the Federal Reserve to loosen their monetary policies, printing more money than should have been printed.

President Wallace, with encouraging victories in the 1974 midterm elections, encouraged the Senate to make a push for a government-run healthcare system. Though modeled after the early stages of the late Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson's proposed "Medicare" and "Medicaid", (which figuratively passed away along with its' creator) it did not levy any FICA taxes on employees, instead relying on dividends from the tax increases (both of which going to effect in 1977 - after Wallace left office.) After a fierce parliamentary battle, the bill passed, increasing President Wallace's popularity with the poor. President Wallace would also try to repeal Taft-Hartley, though this attempt went down after two months and was generally regarded as a rout for the Administration.

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of the defendant in Roe V. Wade by a 5-4 decision. All of Wallace's Supreme Court appointees and Byron White voted on the majority side. It was declared that laws about abortion would decided by the states as the ninth and tenth amendments dictated. President Wallace lauded the Supreme Court for "respecting the doctrine of state's rights."
 
Nobody expected President George Wallace to be popular with hippies. During the 1968 Presidential Campaign, as part of his law and order platform, George Wallace had promised to run over any demonstrators who protested in front of his limousine. This was a stark contrast from Presidents Knowland and Lodge, who often had a hard time traveling places because hippies would constantly picket their limousines. On March 26, 1973, a group of hippies protested in front of Wallace's Presidential limousine as he was being driven to the Pentagon for defense briefings. Wallace commanded his chauffeur to run over the hippies, and promised that "if any of them white elitist university liberals gives you legal trouble for this, I'll pardon you. Now run over those goddamn f-----g hippies." As a result, three hippies died that day: Justin Starkman, Madeleine Allen, and Steven Burger. The rest of the hippies protesting would run away in utter disgust. As promised, Wallace pardoned his chauffeur for any legal wrongdoing. As expected, Wallace's outright vehicular homicide did not make him popular with the hippie movement and with leftists, but the "silent majority" of America approved. Nevertheless, this was one scandal that George Wallace did not need to deal with, and the "limousine incident" would go down as a permanent blot on Wallace's legacy. Due to the "limousine incident," leftists would frequently call George Wallace a "murderer."

The violence in the Vietnam War continued to rise, as would casualty levels. Many wondered if the massive bombings of North Vietnam, the numerous draft cards, and the numerous deaths on both sides would at all help. However, the Vietnam War would finally be won. On July 9, 1973, American troops had finally achieved what they wanted, as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops stormed and occupied Hanoi. Now, the North Vietnamese were at the mercy of the Americans and the South Vietnamese. North Vietnamese President Tôn Đức Thắng was forced to step down and go into exile, and North Vietnam and South Vietnam would be reformed into a unified Democratic Republic, which would be monitored by the United States with a permanent garrison of 50,000. While North Vietnamese government officials did not like this settlement, they had no capital to object. Many of them, along with dissatisfied North Vietnamese citizens and former soldiers, fled West. It was official: the Vietnam War was over, the United States and South Vietnam had won, and the communist North Vietnamese regime was over. Amongst Vietnamese Americans, President Wallace's approval ratings surged, reaching an all time high of 89%. U.S. troops came home, even though a few volunteers stayed to supervise the reconstruction of the war ravaged Southeast Asian country. Eventually, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam thrived, and the United States would trade with and invest in the new democracy. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam would become one of the United States' greatest allies in Asia.

Due to a vast increase on military expenditures on the behalf of the United States, it preemptively initiated an "arms race", despite the policy of detente being in vogue at the time. The Soviet Union, slapped with multi-national embargos, squandering resources in Vietnam and on missile build up, had rapidly begun to decay from the inside out. Several nations openly began to depart from the "evil empire", and though not official, anyone with eyes could see that the Iron Curtain was being drawn far back.

President George Wallace, who had previously been seen as an unelectable bigot, walked out of the White House triumphantly with approval ratings of 69%. He would be remembered specifically for "winning the Vietnam War and the Cold War." The USSR would crumble shortly after Wallace left office. The Iron Curtain would come down, satellite nations would be allowed to go their own way, the Berlin Wall would be demolished, and the USSR would be left on the ash heap of history. The "unwinnable" war in Vietnam had been won, and Wallace had provided "The Great Society." Many saw Wallace as a Southern Franklin Delano Roosevelt. However, two blemishes that would exist on Wallace's record would be the "limousine incident" that resulted in the deaths of 3 hippies, and Wallace's weak record on civil rights. Nevertheless, it was clear that Wallace's legacy would overshadow his successor.
 
1972 Senate Elections

 
1974 Senate Elections
 

[justW353]

You should have had Bill Clinton be one of the hippies run over, lol.

Anyways, I love it.

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

Thanks dude!

[realisticidealist]

So thats why Wallace won the Wisconsin and Indiana primaries in 1964?

For the record, Wallace didn't actually win those primaries, but he did come in second to favorite sons in those races (along with Maryland). He managed those feats mostly because of law and order types in the Milwaukee and Indianapolis suburbs.

[cpeeks]

Are you sure about that? I am almost positive Wallace won those primaries in 1964 but you may be correct that he finished second to the native sons, so in essence they were "victories"; however I know for a fact he won Michigan and Maryland in 1972, one of the most famous photos was of him holding a paper up in his hospital bed thats read "WALLACE WINS"....

[realisticidealist]

Are you sure about that? I am almost positive Wallace won those primaries in 1964 but you may be correct that he finished second to the native sons, so in essence they were "victories"; however I know for a fact he won Michigan and Maryland in 1972, one of the most famous photos was of him holding a paper up in his hospital bed thats read "WALLACE WINS"....

For the narrative, they may have counted as victories, but he did finish second.

1964
Indiana: Matthew Welsh 64.94%, George Wallace 29.82% (Did best in Indy and Chicago suburbs)
Maryland: Daniel Brewster 53.14%, George Wallace 42.75% (Wallace lost the suburbs and won rural areas)
Wisconsin: John Reynolds 66.25%, George Wallace 33.75% (Lost every county but did well in Milwaukee suburbs)

In 1972, Wallace won Florida (every county especially rural Dixiecrat areas), Maryland (rural eastern shore and some suburbs), Michigan (pretty much everywhere), North Carolina (beat out favorite son in almost all areas), and Tennessee (won every county, especially TVA areas). He also did well in Indiana (similar areas to 1964), New Mexico (rural, non-Hispanic areas), and Wisconsin, but didn't win. Full county map here.

[cpeeks]

I didnt know he did so well in New Mexico, I wonder why he did so well in a western state?

[NE Assembyman electoraljew2]

Loving it, can't wait to see what happens to the USSR in this TL.

[Dallasfan65]

The 1976 Presidential Election

The Democratic Nomination
 
The Primaries
 
The Vice President had his eyes on the Presidency, and did little to hide his aspirations, setting up a ground-work as early as 1974. There were growing concerns about the party's viability as to repetitively nominate southerners, causing several members of the more liberal Northern establishment to field bids for office. After a suspenseful challenge from his fellow cabinet members, Secretary of State Ronald Reagan and Secretary of HEW William Cohen, Connally managed to wrap up the nomination.
 
 
Blue - Reagan
Red - Connally
Green - Cohen
 
The Convention

The Vice President met the quota of delegates on the first round, and was peacefully nominated with little dissent from any side. To appease growing concerns of being a "one region party", Connally selected Senator Ed Muskie of Maine as his runningmate.

The Republican Nomination
 

The Primaries
 
With Democratic dominanation in congressional and gubernatorial offices, the Republican bench was rather short; the only serious contenders were former Vice President Paul Fannin and Governor Nelson Rockefeller, two familiar faces from previous contests. Hatfield, though initially seen as a frontrunner after Romney's humiliating defeat, was seen as 'discredited' with an American victory in Vietnam, and publicly announced he would not vie for the Presidency this year. With Fannin seen as 'damaged goods' by association to the Lodge presidency, Rockefeller wrapped up the nomination in a cake-walk.

The Convention

With the Convention balloting becoming much more of a formality, the Governor was nominated on the first ballot. To balance out the ticket between the Northeast and the West, the heir to the oil empire selected little-known Leonard Jordan for Vice President, a former member of the Knowland administration.
 
The General Election

Despite a successful Wallace Presidency, after the convention bump Governor Nelson Rockefeller was leading the incumbent Vice President by 11%, and campaigned on maintaining Wallace's social policies whilst federally enforcing the long-forgotten pieces of Civil Rights legislation passed over a decade ago. Connally countered that the Governor was merely trying to be divisive, his campaign slogan simply being "four more years!" By November, Connally had nearly reversed the lead, and most Republicans found themselves going to bed early.
 




John Connally/Ed Muskie: 290 EV, 53.4% PV
Nelson Rockefeller/Leonard Jordan: 248 EV, 45.9% PV

[Senator Barnes]

Yuck.

Continue!

[NE Assembyman electoraljew2]

great job!

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Probably one of the better timelines currently on this board, although I wish a lot more would change worldwide. Reminds me of my project of mine a while ago, where I, unlike yourself, failed to conjure a reasonable point of divergence; allowing a highly unlikely scenario (at least the election of George Wallace as President) to occur.

[Dallasfan65]

Probably one of the better timelines currently on this board, although I wish a lot more would change worldwide. Reminds me of my project of mine a while ago, where I, unlike yourself, failed to conjure a reasonable point of divergence; allowing a highly unlikely scenario (at least the election of George Wallace as President) to occur.

Interesting you mention that, as I've got something in the works for a major change worldwide in Connally's term (I'm waiting for the green light from Han, who's been away the past few days.)

[Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey]

The First Term of John Connally



The Cabinet of John Connally
President: John Connally
Vice President: Edmund Muskie
Chief of Staff: Dick Cheney
State: Zbigniew Brzezinski
Treasury: Lester Maddox
Defense: Robert McNamara
National Security Advisor: Donald Rumsfeld
Attorney General: Russell B. Long
Interior: Tom Bevill
Labor: Morgan Murphy
Agriculture: James J. Exon
Commerce: William R. Poage
HHS: Walter Flowers
HUD: Morris K. Udall
Transportation: Dale Bumpers
Energy: James Schlesinger
Education: Terry Sanford

John Connally had the privilege of being President as the Cold War ended. The Berlin Wall came crumbling down, and numerous citizens within the Warsaw Pact saw freedom at last. Germany reunited under one Democratic Republic. Poland at last, saw freedom from occupation. Communism, at last, had been reduced to the ash heap in history. On December 2-3 1977, President Connally and Leonid Brezhnev met at the Malta Convention, and the two of them agreed to declare the Cold War over. The Soviet Union dismantled, and the USSR was no more. While Brezhnev tried to maintain control of Russia through a dictatorship, an internal Democratic revolt occured, and Brezhnev was arrested. The new Democratic regime would rename themselves as The Democratic Republic of Russia. The new Russians in power created a constitution very similar to the United States Constitution, and would hold free elections on July 5, 1978. The Democratic Republic of Russia and its new President had an uneasy relationship with the US, though much more amicable in comparison to the previous one. President Connally's approval ratings received a sizable bump, but in the wake of the tumult to come it would not be enough.

All around the nation, patriotic fervor emerged. Americans felt a sense of completion, that they had finally succeeded in bringing Democracy all over the world. Republicans called for a massive reduction in defense spending now that the Cold War was over, and many Americans were expecting that the United States would, after so much tension with the USSR, experience true and meaningful peace. However, that was not to be. 

The political situation in Iran was tense. The pro-western rule of the Shah was despised by many Iranian, and protests were emerging. It seemed that now that the USSR had dismantled, and Soviets were now experiencing freedom, that Iranians wanted freedom from the autocratic Shah as well. President John Connally did not want the Shah to fall, as the Shah had been pro-American, and was very generous to the US in regards to oil. To add to that, the Shah had been installed by the CIA during the Earl Warren Presidency. As a result, President John Connally vetoed any cut in defense spending, and supplied Iran arms, troops, and advisors. He convinced the Shah Reza Pahlavi to stay in power, promising him that the United States would back him up.

On February 6, 1979, a group of rebel militants activated a bomb secretly placed in the American Embassy in Iran, killing everybody in the embassy. With the violence against US personnel, and the Shah losing more control over the situation with each passing day, President Connally got involved, though only as a "police action." At President Connally's orders, on February 18th, 1979, the United States Military landed 15,000 troops to take control of the capitol, Tehran. Dubbed "Operation: Alexander", it was a matter of three weeks before the military could claim hold of Tehran. While the Shah welcomed the soldiers with open arms, it did nothing but bring more Iranians over to the Ayatollah's cause, and US casualties began to mount quickly.

The United States military involvement in the Iranian Revolution would be very unpopular with the American public. While hippies were a thing of the past, anti-war protesters of all ages would protest against the War in Iran daily. This time, the anti-war crowd was the majority of America, only 37% of Americans supported American intervention in Iran.

With Wallace's healthcare legislation going into effect shortly after Connally's entrance to the Presidency, the deficit began to soar as the economy soured and revenues from the sky-high tax rate on the top began to deplete. Whether the wealthy had merely eluded the ludicrous taxes, or if they had put the brakes on productivity, the deficit began to soar between the war with Iran and lessening tax revenues. By 1979, with rising gas prices and a straggling economy, unemployment rose to 11.3%, having only been 6% in November when Connally had trounced Rockefeller. Additionally, inflation was at a sky high level of 13.5%.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Have you been watching the later episodes of Happy Days lately, because you shouldn't have.

I like this timeline and all but I doubt the Cold War would come to an abrupt conclusion, likewise that Connally, as President would send troops into Iran. If anything, I'd expect yet another Operation Ajax; because we know how well that worked out the first time!

[cpeeks]

Lester "Ax Handle" Maddox as Secretary of the Treasury? Really? What is his qualifications other than owning a chicken resteraunt?

[hawkeye59]

Well, Governor of Georgia isn't too bad. (Well, he was a racist Governor.)

[cpeeks]

Yea, but I mean he was one term Governor of Georgia, I hardly think that qualifies someone to head the treasury. These guys are good writers, but  I just don't see such divisive figures reaching, these levels of goverment. A figure like Strom Thurmond would have never been confirmed by the senate to sit on the Supreme Court. LOL could you imagine what the confirmation hearings for Lester Maddox would have been like?

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Lester "Ax Handle" Maddox as Secretary of the Treasury? Really? What is his qualifications other than owning a chicken resteraunt?

Waving with a revolver?

[cpeeks]

And the Soviet Union breaking up over nothing? No economic crisis? Really? At that time if Germany or Poland had tried to break away as Soviet satelites. Russian tanks would have rolled through and crushed them, much like the uprisings in Checkoslovakia, and Hungary.