If Stevenson won in 1952

[darklordoftech]

- Would this prevent the Iran coup?
- Would this prevent the addition of "god" to the Pledge and to money?
- Would this limit how far Nixon can rise?

[NewYorkExpress]

- Would this prevent the Iran coup?
- Would this prevent the addition of "god" to the Pledge and to money?
- Would this limit how far Nixon can rise?

No, because Nixon probably runs, and is the nominee in 1956, and beats Stevenson then.

[Mechavada]

- Would this prevent the Iran coup?
- Would this prevent the addition of "god" to the Pledge and to money?
- Would this limit how far Nixon can rise?

-No, they would just do it later.
-No, it was 19freaking53 and every politician and their grandmother who had enough of a profile to run for president would be smart enough at the time not to oppose it.
-No, if anything he could become president much sooner than in real life.  Stevenson was an incredibly boring, highly overrated nerd who was only really popular among DEMOCRATIC VOTERS.  Who did he beat in 1952?  Taft?  By 1956 you would have the world's most boring incumbent president running against the GOP after 24 years of Democratic rule in the White House.  Nixon was one of the most well known Republicans and would've likely had a shot at the nomination.  Do the math.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Nixon was broadly unpopular with the Republican establishment in 1956; I highly doubt he would have received the nomination in 1956.

[Mechavada]

Nixon was broadly unpopular with the Republican establishment in 1956; I highly doubt he would have received the nomination in 1956.

Since when did being unpopular with the establishment hurt someone's chances?  I realize this was the "old days" where party leaders had much more influence but a man like Nixon with a certain weasley disposition and a strong war hawk policy positioning could have easily made inroads with the "establishment".  It's like Stevenson himself once said of the man "Richard Nixon is the kind of guy who would cut down a tree and then come out in favor of conservation".

I mean yeah he probably wouldn't win that early but my overall point is there was a reason why Stevenson lost the election in a big landslide other than Ike being the GOP nominee.  And also, that there are some certain truths about the military industrial establishment and the culture of the times that make liberal waxings about a possible "alternative past" just unrealistic.  People seem to believe that a lot of our political development as a country is down to a few great men ending up lucky and getting elected.  Truth is those men only get into power because of the circumstances of the times.  Nixon not getting elected is probably the most realistic outcome from a Stevenson scenario, however, that doesn't mean that somebody like Nixon wouldn't get elected.  Given the ineffectiveness of the moderate/liberal GOP establishment during the New Deal era-1970s I would actually argue it would be inevitable that a conservative strongman would eventually come to power.