Eisenhower as a Democrat!

[TommyC1776]

In 1952 Truman decides not to run that year and Eisenhower decides to accept the Democratic nomination.  Does he win?  and do we end up having 36 years of Democratic rule? (From FDR to Johnson.).

[MaC]

chances are we have Eisenhower win either way.  The reason he chose to be Republican was because he agreed with NATO and the Democrats did also-so even if he lost the election, he'd get the foriegn policy he wanted.

[PBrunsel]

Eisenhower's nomination was orchestrated by the left-wing in an attempt to overrun both parties. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as well as American for Progressive Action and the Anti-Defamation League railroaded Eisenhower to the nomination.

The only way Eisenhower runs as a Democrat in 1952 is for Robert Taft to win the nomination. Eisenhower told New Hampshire Governor Sherman Adams in 1951 that he would only run if a "reactionary like Bob Taft" got the GOP nod.

The 1952 race would have been probably the last between an internationalist and an isolationist. Eisenhower selects Senator Lyndon Johnson of Texas to be his running-mate while Senator Taft decides to make Senator William Knowland of California his Veep nominee.

The campaign focuses around the War in Korea and Senator Joseph McCarthy's Communist hunt. Eisenhower attacks McCarthy relentlessly, especially for his attacks on his good friend General Marshall. Taft calls for the complete reworking of the government and ending several New Deal policies.

The final results are a victory for Taft and his "had enough?" campaign:

Robert Taft/William Knowland (R): 274 Electoral Votes

Dwight Eisenhower/Lyndon Johnson (D): 257 Electoral Votes

Eisenhower would enver understand how he was talked into trying to be a politician.

Taft never goes on to spread his message of Conservative isolationism, for he dies almost after taking the oath of office. President William Knowland governs much like Eisenhower and is reelected easily in 1956 over Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, but Vice-Preisdent Sherman Adams never becomes President due to his resignation in 1958 over financial scandals while Governor of the Granite State.

The 1960 Election between Senator Barry Goldwater and Senator Albert Gore, Sr., is a big win for the Democrats, as many view Taft's conservatism as out of date.

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If Taft couldn't beat Ike in the Republican primary, why would he beat him in the general election?

[PBrunsel]

If Taft couldn't beat Ike in the Republican primary, why would he beat him in the general election?

jfern we must understand that Eisenhower as a Democrat is much different than Eisenhower as a Republican. The Democrats were a worn our party by 1952, and Eisenhower was no politician. A great deal of his supporters were Republican veterans who would not have been happy with the General running as a Democrat.

Also Taft was seen as the Republican "heavy-weight" candidate in 1952. Upon the selection of Eisenhower in the New Hampshire primary Walter Winchell complained that, "The bases are loaded for the GOP and they chose the batboy over Babe Ruth." Taft was known for brilliant oratory (though he was quite boring) and was quite respected by the nation. He is one of the five greatest Senators of all time.

Combine these above factors with a dead economy and a stalemate in Korea, the GOP was going to win in 1952 no matter what. Eisenhower would have been too easily tied to far-left wing groups that would have won him the nomination for the Democrats. It is true that these same groups helped him with the GOP nomination, but no one would have thought Communist groups could infiltrate a primary in the party that Joseph McCarthy was in. However the party of Claude "Red" Pepper and Henry Wallace would have been easier to red bait.

Taft could have won in 1952 as a Republican against Ike as a Democrat because of Ike's baggage, his lack of experience as a candidate, and a general (no pun intended) fatigue of the New Deal era.