The New Republicans - Ended

[sentinel]

The New Republicans

“Today, after losing back-to-back primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, former CIA Director George H.W Bush has endorsed Senator Chuck Percy of Illinois. Percy easily carried Iowa and came in second in New Hampshire to Governor Reagan.” – CBS News

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March 4th 1980

“Senator Percy hits two home runs tonight picking up Massachusetts and Vermont…will Governor Reagan come back in South Carolina?” - ABC Anchor

Senator Percy after being endorsed by former President Ford



Senator Ted Kennedy at a campaign rally. He is challenging Democratic President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination.



Governor Ronald Reagan at a campaign event. The Governor leads Senator Percy in national polls but pundits are unsure if that will carry him all the way to the convention.


The man who’s job everyone is trying to get.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Nice. You've become a star TL writer.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Sweet, though I hate to imagine a liberal republican rise.  Maybe Carter will take the Dems back in a more Southern direction.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Nice. You've become a star TL writer.

Man, when do I get to become a star tl writer?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

You already are.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

You already are.

Thank you!

[sentinel]

March 8th 1980

“Governor Reagan today has defeated Senator Chuck Percy and Governor John Connally but the real winner tonight is Chuck Percy who received John Connally’s endorsement signaling the end of his own campaign for the Republican nomination.” – ABC News

“President Carter easily defeated Ted Kennedy in South Carolina. Kennedy’s prospects for the nomination have grown bleaker even since he announced his candidacy.” – Pundit on NBC News

“I’m an Eisenhower Republican.” – Senator Percy describing himself at a campaign rally.

March 11th 1980

“Once again President Carter defeats Senator Kennedy…this time in Alabama, Florida and the President’s home state of Georgia…Governor Reagan has also swept the southern primaries today winning a majority of delegates and votes in the same states…” – Associated Press

“Senator Percy’s campaign is positioning the Senator as a pragmatic centrist capable of defeating President Carter in November…while simultaneously saying that Governor Reagan would be the next Barry Goldwater, who lost to President Johnson in a landslide in 1964…” - Reuters

May 3rd 1980

“Tonight’s Texas primary could be the end for one of the two remaining Republican candidates…since March 11th, Governor Reagan has picked up Kansas and Louisiana while Senator Percy has taken Wisconsin, Connecticut, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Governor Reagan’s lead in national polls has decreased dramatically with Senator Percy now with a slight 46-44 edge.” – ABC

”President Jimmy Carter is also certain the presumptive nominee for the Democrats but Senator Ted Kennedy has vowed to fight until he reaches the Democratic National Convention” - CBS

[sentinel]

*Note: The main story, the meat of my timeline, comes into play after the 1980 election. Assume that all events dealing with the Carter Administration continue to happen as they did IRL until after the election…

May 4th 1980

”Tonight, I end my candidacy for President of the United States. Senator Percy will carry the Republican banner to victory this November…he has my full support…” – Governor Reagan after losing the Texas primary by only a few thousand votes.

Senator Charles Percy of Illinois will be the Republican nominee in 1980

“Senator, do you have any thoughts on who your running mate might be?”

“Actually, I want you to check out Governor Ray Shafer…do some research…look at Senator Hatfield too…I don’t want to have to pick someone and then kick him off the ticket.” – Senator Percy to a senior aide

“Senator Kennedy, I don’t think we’re going to win this. The Party may be better off if we pull out now…” – A senior aide to Senator Kennedy speaking privately

June 1980

”America, today I present to you my blueprint for America called “The American Plan” We must control government spending, we cannot live beyond our means but we must try our hardest to not hurt the most vulnerable amongst us including our seniors and poor. Our tax system is a nightmare, and I’ve proposed a simplification of the system…” – Presumptive Republican Nominee Senator Chuck Percy

”Senator Percy has been coy about his choices for Vice President as we eagerly await…some speculate he will unite the party by picking Governor Reagan or a more conservative individual…” – Associated Press

”It seems Senator Kennedy’s boat has run out of steam.” – Reuters

[I Am Feeblepizza.]

Connally endorsing Percy...unlikely, but it's still a good TL so far. Press on, please!

[sentinel]

July 1980

”Senator Percy has announced that he will ask the Republican National Convention to pick Governor Ray Schafer of Pennsylvania as his running mate. There is no question that the Convention will abside by their nominees request.” – New York Times

Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania will be the Republican’s nominee for Vice President in 1980

”Today at the Republican National Convention, Republican Nominee Chuck Percy announced his plan for America declaring that the age of unrestrained liberalism is over and that pragmatic and compassionate conservatism, the likes of President Eisenhower, is needed to steer the country into the future. The Convention approved of Governor Ray Schafer of Pennsylvania as the Vice Presidential nominee by a unanimous voice vote.” – Washington Post

”I would have liked to see a more conservative Vice Presidential candidate on the ticket, but I will wholeheartedly support the Percy/Shafer ticket and I plan to campaign for them in California and wherever the campaign might need me.” – Governor Ronald Reagan

August 1980

*Note I edited the name Ronald Reagan in this article and replaced it with Chuck Percy, otherwise, like the last article I posted, its real and accurate.

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[sentinel]

Connally endorsing Percy...unlikely, but it's still a good TL so far. Press on, please!

My reasoning was that, IRL, Reagan's adviser Lee Atwater brought down the Connally campaign in South Carolina by saying that Connally was trying to buy the black vote. Connally was feeling especially spiteful in this TL

[I Am Feeblepizza.]

Connally endorsing Percy...unlikely, but it's still a good TL so far. Press on, please!

My reasoning was that, IRL, Reagan's adviser Lee Atwater brought down the Connally campaign in South Carolina by saying that Connally was trying to buy the black vote. Connally was feeling especially spiteful in this TL

Well, that does seem like something Connally would do when you think about it

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Hmmm... looks like we're about to become an industrial mid-western technocrat type party. While I view places like Pennsylvania as more open to a Populist style candidate than a Rockefeller Republican, it looks, to my dismay, the opposite and therefore I can see places like PA drifting Republican in the future. Meanwhile, we make inroads in NJ (another place I though should've been more populist), and Connecticut.

[sentinel]

”I will not be a candidate. I fully support Senator Percy in his bid to be President. Had Governor Reagan been the nominee, I would have ran against him...his vision is not the direction America needs to go in...”- John B. Anderson

As the campaign of 1980 progressed on throughout the summer, both candidates managed to agree to one debate due to “scheduling problems with President Carter’s schedule.” The Percy campaign said it was “open to more debates at the date and time of the President’s choosing due to his job” but no more debates were planned. Senator Percy went to far as to comment that “I’m not sure if the President has much to say, we’ve come out with a plan for America and he doesn’t have one. The American people have seen that for the past four years and it hasn’t worked out for us.”

On October 18th 1980, President Carter and Senator Percy participated in the first and only debate of the 1980 Presidential Election…Senator Percy hit President Carter hard for his handling of the Iran hostage crisis with its anniversary upcoming and pointed out that “being a liberal is useless if you’re not going to be pragmatic about it.” During the debate, Senator Percy endorsed women’s rights but added that the “ERA is not necessary but an updating of all federal codes is to ensure that no women are discriminated against.”

   The remainder of the debate was President Carter on the defense regarding inflation, high interest rates and unemployment.

   Post debate polls showed that Senator Percy had won the debate, and even Carter’s polling showed his numbers shrinking before Election Day.

1980 Presidential Election

Senator Charles Percy of Illinois / Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania  - 448 Electoral Votes, 53.6% Popular Vote

President James E. Carter of Georgia / Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota – 90 Electoral Votes, 46.3% Popular Vote

Pundits: A scathing rebuke to the Jimmy Carter Presidency. President Carter managed to hold onto a good bulk of the evangelical vote but virtually lost every other group…narrowly holding onto whites in the south.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'd love to see Percy's cabinet. Maybe George Bush for Secretary of State? Would other moderate to liberal Republicans like John Anderson, Lowell Weicker, etc. get in? Also, in case Bush isn't SoS, it'd be cool to see a re-hashing of the Ford plan with Kissinger as SoS and Alan Greenspan in the cabinet, though the latter might be pushing it.

[sentinel]

I'm gonna hold off on the next update until I develop it a little more, just feels a little rushed so I want it to be good. I'll post it tomorrow most likely. Also, if you want me to address any 1980 era issues feel free to suggest a few. Doesn't mean I'll take the bait though

[sentinel]

Senate Election Remarks:

Democratic Senator Donald W. Stewart defeats Jim Folsom Jr in Alabama
Democratic Senator Herman Talmadge defeats Mack Mattingly in Georgia
Democrat Bill Gunter defeats Republican Paula Hawkins
Republican Dave O’Neal defeats Alan J. Dixon in Illinois

Senate Composition:

Republicans: 52 (+11)
Democrats: 48 (-11)

House of Representatives Composition:

Democrats: 230 (-47)
Republicans:  205 (+47)


January 20th 1981

Senator Charles Harting “Chuck” Percy is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States and Governor

The Percy Cabinet

President Charles Harting Percy

Vice President Raymond P. Shafer

Secretary of State Robert S. Ingersoll

Secretary of the Treasury Russell B. Long

Secretary of Defense Andrew Jackson Goodpaster

Attorney General Edward G. Biester Jr

Secretary of the Interior Donald P. Hodel

Secretary of Agriculture John Culver

Secretary of Commerce Robert William Packwood

Secretary of Labor John B. Connally Jr.

Secretary of Health & Human Services Margaret Heckler

Secretary of Education Elizabeth Duncan Koontz

Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Kevin H. White

Secretary of Transportation Richard B. Ogilvie

Secretary of Energy Frank Borman

Chief of Staff William E. Brock

President Percy is quickly able to get his cabinet passed the new Republican Senate who elect Senator Howard Baker as their majority leader. Southern Democrats attempt to filibuster Elizabeth Duncan Koontz but are quickly defeated by a bipartisan 60+ vote majority.
 
   On President Percy’s first full day in office the Iran hostages are fully released into custody, the President calling it a “victory for Americans and supporters of freedom.”
The first Gallup poll of the year finds the President’s approval rating at 78%.  Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill has pledged to work with Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker to see what priorities of the President they can work together on.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This is great so far

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Would Percy really have Russell Long in his cabinet? Also, are anything being done with the likes of Kissinger, Bush, Elizabeth Dole, and everyone's favorite Liberal Republican, Edward Brooke?

[sentinel]

Would Percy really have Russell Long in his cabinet? Also, are anything being done with the likes of Kissinger, Bush, Elizabeth Dole, and everyone's favorite Liberal Republican, Edward Brooke?

He had a man crush.

Kissinger, Bush, Dole, Brooke may come into play later --but not right now.

[sentinel]

1981
In January 1981 President Percy creates a Presidential Task Force on Motivating Businesses in which the participations are tasked with the job of looking for regulations by the federal government that inhibit job creation and growth.

The President also asks Congress to form a special oversight committee for government programs saying that “Congress has dropped the ball when it comes to oversight. If a problem is good and its working, I want to know. If a program is bad and not working, I want to know. Right now no one knows if anything is working but we’re funding it anyway.” The President also, discreetly, agrees to look over a committee report on Defense spending once it is completed.

On May 15th 1981 Pope John Paul II was assassinated in Saint Peter’s Square by a Turkish man named Mehment Ali Agca.  The United States immediately condemns the attacks and calls for Ali Agca to be brought to justice by Vatican and Italian police forces. Turkey condemns the attack as well and pledges to cooperate in the investigation. Cardinal Giovanni Benelli of Genoa is elected Pope in the days following the assassination.  Benelli takes the name Pope John Paul III in honor of the late Pope John Paul II and vows to continue his work. President Percy attends the funeral of Pope John Paul II and also has a chance to meet with European leaders.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart announces midway through the year that he will retire at the end of this session of the Supreme Court. President Percy nominates Judge for the US Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit Albert J. Engel, Jr.  He is approved on June 23rd 1981.

   In August 1981, President Percy signs the Baker-O’Neill Economic Recovery Act which was passed with bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. The act increased incentives for small businesses, a small decrease in most income tax rates, and additional money –although less than the amount cut –for some industries such as alternative energy.  President Percy said of the act “this will simplify the tax code for all Americans as well as create new jobs.” Treasury Secretary Russell B. Long comments that he “never thought we’d get an act as comprehensive as this passed.”

   Also in 1981, Greece ascends into the European Community.

   In September 1981 President Percy fulfills his campaign promise and issues an executive order prohibiting discrimination against women in the Federal government and calls on Congress to pass legislation ordering them to do the same. Congress complies with the President’s request within the same month.

   In October 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated by a fatwa squad led by Lt. Khalid Islambouli. Upon hearing that former Presidents Ford, Carter and Nixon are going to attend the funeral, President Percy asks them personally not to saying that Secretary of State Robert S. Ingersoll will be attending instead and that three former Presidents attending is basically an endorsement of the old and new regime. Ford and Nixon comply with the President’s request while former President Carter attends anyway.

   In late 1981 the President calls for a taskforce to look at civil liberties, led by Vice President Shafer. Former Governor Ronald Reagan is on the taskforce. A few days later The “Fair Housing Act of 1981” passes the House of Representatives which outlawed private and public discrimination in housing. The Republican controlled Senate narrowly rejects the bill with conservative Republicans and Southern Democrats blocking the bill.
 

President Percy joking around with the crowd after Governor Reagan’s remarks following the announcement of the taskforce.

Entering December 1981, President Percy’s approval rating is at 70%.

On Christmas Eve a White House aide leaks that President Percy is considering “millions in cuts to the Department of Defense.”

[sentinel]

1982

The leak that President Percy would approve or consider “millions in cuts to the Department of Defense” is not quickly handled by the Administration. Percy’s Press Secretary says that “when the President looks at pork to cut, he doesn’t exclude any Federal Department. Potential cuts are always discussed with Department Secretary’s to ensure that vital programs are not being slashed.” Percy’s approval drops into the 60’s with until January 23rd 1982.

President Percy’s second year in office begins with a bang. On January 23rd 1982 during a trip to the University of Iowa to discuss agriculture subsidies and reform, Blake Peyton –a depressed university student with a criminal record of stalking, shoots a gun at the President’s entourage as they exited a building. Two Secret Service agents are wounded with nonlethal injuries and Secretary of Agriculture John Culver is killed by a bullet. President Percy is not hurt in shooting but Blake Peyton is killed by a Secret Service agent.

President Percy calls Secretary Culver a “great civil servant with insurmountable promise.” Percy goes onto condemn random violence –and investigators find out that Peyton’s gun was received legally. Percy orders a more complete investigation by the FBI.

The assassination attempt takes over the national headlines for the next few weeks and the Defense cuts story falls to the backburner even though the President the day after the assassination gave a speech echoing Eisenhower warning Americans of the military-industrial complex.

 After a few weeks, Percy quietly nominates Allen Ingvar Olson, former Governor of North Dakota, as his Secretary of Agriculture. The Senate gives its consent in early March 1982. At this time, President Percy’s approval rating is still in the 70’s and it is also about the same time that Chief of Staff Bill Brock replaces their Press Secretary.

In May 1982 Secretary of the Treasury Russell Long is arrested for using his political office for campaign purposes and patronage having made several political appointments. President Percy’s Press Secretary maintains the President’s lack of involvement in the scandal as newspapers show photos of the Treasury Secretary being put into the back of a FBI car in handcuffs. President Percy says that he has fired former Senator and current Secretary Long in the aftermath of the scandal and pledges to cooperate fully with the FBI.

Democrats in Congress are unsure how to respond. They want to investigate the President, but they’ll also be hurting one of their own at the same time. Republicans in Congress call for an investigation of the “Democratically controlled Treasury Department” and one senior Republican Congressman goes as far to say “The Democrats would be giving handouts while they had their hands in the coffers.”

Percy’s approval rating drops to 48%, the lowest of his Presidency so far, as the scandal stays in the headlines for weeks. Percy nominates former Secretary of Commerce former Attorney General, former Secretary of Defense, former Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare, former Undersecretary of State, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom Elliot Lee Richardson to be Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate gives its consent 81-19 with all 19 dissenters being of the Democratic Party.

Secretary of the Treasury Elliot Lee Richardson

In summer 1982 President Percy visits the United Kingdom as well as West Berlin calling on the Soviet Union to reduce its nuclear arsenal saying “for every nuclear bomb you dismantle, we will dismantle one of ours. Together, we have enough weapons to destroy the world many times over…surely isn’t once enough?”

The midterm elections prove to be not as bad as the pundits thought for President Percy, who on the day of election still had an approval rating in the low 50’s.

Senate Composition:

Republicans: 52 (No Change)
Democrats: 48 (No Change)

*Senator Howard Cannon defeats Republican nominee Chic Hecht in Nevada

House of Representatives Composition:

Democrats: 240 (+10)
Republicans:  195 (-10)

   Following the midterm elections in November 1982, the Missing Children Act and the Victim & Witness Protection Act is signed providing rights to parents with missing children and protection for crime victims and witnesses. The following day the US House and Senate pass the Valerie Percy Act and John Culver Act, respectively. The former remembered the President’s late daughter and gave more funding to the FBI and the investigative branches of local police forces. The latter created more extensive background checks before someone could purchase a gun or firearm.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Nice touch with the Valerie Percy Act.

[sentinel]

Next update coming tonight (1983).

[sentinel]

Yeah, so, I found the Political Machine 2008 game which has been why the next update has been delayed, but here it is.
----

1983

Following the death of President Percy’s Secretary of Agriculture and a major political scandal involving the Secretary of the Treasury and losing ten seats in the House of Representatives the Administration is on the defense.

New Treasury Secretary Elliot Lee Richardson is busy dealing with his predecessor’s corrupt Department and releases tons of documents to Congress, as well as fires all of his predecessor’s senior staff.

The President’s Approval rating jumps up to around 55% following his annual State of the Union Address in which he tells Congress that corruption will play no part in his administration and that he invites all state and local governments to look inwards and exorcise all elements of corruption. He says “The American people have little faith in us, they think we are all crooked. We must show them otherwise through openness and transparency.” The President then proposes an act to Congress

The President proposes his annual budget to Congress which the Congressional Budget Office says will reduce the deficit but Democrats and some Republicans say the cuts to the military are too extensive and will endanger national security. The Associated Press reports that the President has added more money for “strategic missile defense” and development of a “space-oriented missile defense system.”

   After concessions to House Democrats the budget passes the Senate and House by a slim margin in March 1983. The President’s approval is at 50%.
   In spring 1983 former Vice President Walter Mondale announces that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.  Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas and Senator Gary Hart of Colorado and Reverend Jesse Jackson of Illinois announce their candidacies throughout the rest of the spring and summer.

   In October of 1983 a suicide truck bomber crashes into the US Marine barracks in Beiruit killing 241 members of the peacekeeping force. The President calls the bombing an “act of terrorism and desperation” and that “the United States will not be cowed by terrorists.” There is no major retaliation from the US for the strikes, but President Percy privately orders the Secretary of Defense to move all marines stationed in the region offshore and to plan to withdraw them from the region in the coming months. Percy also appoints a fact-finding committee to investigate the attack.