1960 Presidential Election

[Senator Spiral]

As expected, President Kefauver trounced whatever opposition he had, with most in the WP quite pleased with the current leadership. Over at the AU convention, it was clear that one candidate had the enthusiasm going for their campaign: Barry Goldwater, the hero of movement conservatives. Goldwater easily won over his opponents, and his running mate would be George Humphrey, a former Treasury Secretary who was an influential and well respected member of the Cabinet under Taft and Eisenhower. The general election already looked to be a spirited contest, and the race only became more interesting with the independent candidacy of Orval Faubus, not deterred by his loss to Kefauver. President Kefauver and Vice President Williams are running on their accomplishments over the last four years on a variety of issues, stressing that their work is not yet done. In particular, expanding civil rights, introducing new public safety measures, and promoting economic fairness are among the top priorities. Goldwater and Humphrey are running on a staunchly conservative platform of scaling back government and being tough against communism. On civil rights, Goldwater has voted for all of the bills passed so far in the Senate, though he is cautious on the federal government grabbing too much power over the states. Faubus and his running mate Senator Richard Russell are mainly running an anti-civil rights campaign, fiercely opposed to the reforms under Kefauver, though they have also been projecting an economically populist message in speeches that might resonate with the working class.

[Senator Spiral]

It would appear that Goldwater has won in an utter landslide. The left isn't going to like the next few years.

[Senator Spiral]

It would appear that Goldwater has won in an utter landslide. The left isn't going to like the next few years.

Only if the AU has control of both Houses of Congress, otherwise Goldwater probably won't get anything done, no?

Right. As Goldwater almost reached 60% by himself, his coattails have also solidified majorities for the AU in both houses, so he'll have a much easier time getting his agenda through. Now comes the hard part of actually figuring out what the next four years will be like.

[Senator Spiral]

Damn, remember when we elected Donnelly? The left hasn't seen a two-term President since - not even Oscar ing Underwood, the second-greatest President of all time, could get reelected!

Indeed, this is like a bizarro version of the first series.

I welcome it. The last series had us elect only Democrats for 50+ years straight from the Cold War and beyond. How much good material can you really write up from that?