1968Four years ago, in the most surprising election result since 1948, Senator Augustus Goldwater (R-WA) was elected President of the United States, beating out the Democratic ticket of President L.B.J. Revivalist (D-NY) and Senator Winston Jameson (D-MN). Despite L.B.J. Revivalist's popularity following the assassination of President Matthew DeViti (D-MA), the Goldwater campaign was able to build a coalition of the South and West, combined with traditional Republican states. This, coupled with the risky strategy of appealing to Northern blue collar workers (Catholics especially) through Republican Vice Presidential nominee Cassius "Cat" Kahn--who had built his political career in Michigan off of appealing, sometimes corruptly, to typically Democratic unions and union workers--would deliver Goldwater victory. The uprising in urban America following L.B.J. Revivalist's civil rights legislation would not help the Democrats.
Over the last four years, the most radical president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been in power. Quickly escalating the Vietnam War and antagonizing the Soviet Union, the anti-communist President has made enemies of doves and realists alike. Nevertheless, he is claiming that the war is close to its end, and that such a victory would have the Reds running scared. On the domestic field, he has instituted "law and order" policies against radicals and has passed some legislation beginning the end of the New Deal. On a quieter note, the Drug Enforcement Administration's power has been weakened and its budget cut, and the President was caught controversially quipping "The federal government is engaged in no war on drugs." When asked to comment on attempts in New York State to legalize abortion, he made a rare statement siding with his party rival, Governor Rockefeller Gop, supporting such action. This has offended Catholics, and it wass hoped that Senator Jameson, a favorite of religious voters in his party, can successfully oust "that strange mix of radical and reactionary".
However, all was not to be, as he was hit at his left flank by a punch right out of Dixie. Former Senator Theodore Nugent Fitzpatrick, a one-termer who had lost re-election despite support from mining unions due to his "quasi-socialistic" stances, would galvanize the anti-war liberal base against Jameson, who was associated with sodomy and pornography laws as well as previous support for the war in Vietnam. Winning crucial primaries across the country, he and an army of thousands of anti-war and civil rights protesters would march on the convention in Chicago, demanding that their voices be heard. While Fitzpatrick rallied his supporters, inside, his campaign team was hard at work. Gabriel "The Babe" Stackler, a seasoned urban pol and frequenter of socialist circles who hailed from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, used his vast ties to organize labor and the South to build for Fitzpatrick a coalition ranging from out-and-out communists to Dixiecrats. With the support of delegates from the South, Rust Belt, and West, Theodore Nugent Fitzpatrick won the Democratic nomination for President. In order to attract moderate-to-conservative Democrats but to keep with his campaign's anti-war theme, Oklahoma Senator Maxwell House was selected for Vice President.
The campaign was a brutal one, as it came down largely to a battle of far-right vs. far-left. However, Goldwater had money on his side, and was able to make the case that, at the end of the day, T.N.F. was far more of a radical left-winger than he or his party were right-wing. Goldwater would be re-elected by a similar electoral margin, having lost some popular support. The election was marked by high turnout only for voters that identified in exit polls as being "very conservative" and "very liberal". Goldwater would go on to become "the most controversial two-term President since Wilson" and today enjoys a mixed legacy.
President Augustus Goldwater (R-WA)/Vice President Cassius "Cat" Kahn (R-MI) 296 electoral votes, 49.2% of the popular voteFormer Senator Theodore Nugent Fitzpatrick (D-KY)/Senator Maxwell House (D-OK) 225 electoral votes, 48.3% of the popular voteUnpledged Electors: 17 electoral votes, 1.9% of the popular vote
