Fear and Loathing in 72’ – The Election Game (GM Vacancy)

[Lumine]

The GOP Primary:

Having barely won 1968’ by mounting an unlikely comeback and riding the wave of his so called “Silent Majority”, Richard Milhouse Nixon was in for a rocky term, one in which the fundamental questions plaguing America were often answered with the politics of blame. Inflation? The Gold Standard to blame, and the Nixon shock to save the economy. Vietnam? Lack of patriotism and communist inhumanity, of course, and we have good Kissinger to secure peace with honor. Race issues? Breakdown of law and order, not to be tolerated. And the list goes on and on… Pragmatic to an extreme, Nixon was one of the few figures able to keep his party together, and the strain had begun to show by early 1972 as his policies had brought the anger of the GOP wings. Alas, a steady approval rating led the liberal and conservative heavyweights refusing to challenge the President of the United States, leaving Nixon to fend off supposedly minor challengers in and out of the party.

Bombastic Congressman John Schmitz bolted the party early on to lead his unlikely quest to galvanize conservatives, and the candidacies of businessman Howard Morgens and Congressman John Ashbrook fell early on. The task of bringing down the giant came then to the heir of another giant slayer: Barry Goldwater Jr. The young Congressman put his hat on the ring, and soon enough the Goldwaterites had mounted a grassroots operation that put them at almost at 40% on the early Arizona caucus, earning Morgens’s endorsement. Barrymentum led into February as New Hampshire approached, and Richard Nixon went into China. The insurgent campaign, leading with a strange mixture of liberal and conservative stands on policy, pushed Nixon into making a move he had avoided since 1960’: to debate Goldwater on national TV. To the shock of many, Nixon decisively routed Goldwater when the challenger infamously supported amnesty, and prevented a crisis. Nixon defeated Goldwater 66 to 33%.

Still, the result was enough to push the contest forward, and Goldwater moved ahead, portraying himself as a champion of integrity and character against the more pragmatic and cold incumbent, winning over the Buckley brothers and causing major conservatives like Ronald Reagan and Storm Thurmond to doubt Nixon. The President, realizing the time had come, went in full force on the trial, making a case strong enough to win a larger landslide in the decisive Florida contest. Being anointed as a true challenger on the media as Nixon shot himself in the foot with a surreal nuclear war ad, Goldwater went towards the March caucuses, believing them – especially South Carolina, where he led the polls – his breakaway stage. Yet for all the enthusiasm, Nixon was on top his game as he had ever been, and his almost unlimited resources yielded what they promised. Despite fighting his way through March and April and winning a sizable bloc of delegates, Goldwater Jr. got close, but lost the entire set of contests. On mid-April, his campaign was suspended.

The still sizable bloc of Goldwaterites aside, Nixon went onto winning every single caucus and primary, entering June with the wind sailing on his back as his delegate lead was absolute and the Democratic Party tore itself apart brutally. Alas, Nixon’s mistake back in 68’ came to haunt him for a final time: Vice-President Spiro Agnew. A divisive figure and conservative darling, Agnew had not been active on the trail against Goldwater Jr., and Nixon neither trusted him nor thought him capable of being President. Yet removing him, a man so popular with a base distrustful of its president, would make the RNC a confusing mess. Agnew, amusingly enough, removed himself from the stage. The likely 76’ nominee was found to have taken bribes as Governor of Maryland, and Haldeman and Nixon hardly waited seconds to pull the plug. "Goodnight, sweet prince", General Al Haig was heard to mock as Agnew left the White House via helicopter.

That left a complicated matter for Nixon. Perhaps knowing John Connally to be unable to make it through the Senate and unwilling to run for Vice-President, Nixon decided to take a two sides approach on one of the most shockingly cynical gambits in American political history. Nominating William Scranton as his placeholder VP he ensured a mostly smooth confirmation (as most democrats acknowledged him to be qualified and moderate enough), and then he completed his masterstroke right before the RNC. Because Nixon would attempt to ride the conservative wave of angry voters with the boldest of picks: Sam Yorty.

[Lumine]

The Democratic Primary:

With a brand new primary system in place - courtesy of George McGovern - after the 1968 madness, people expected the nomination process to be more orderly and more democratic. Their second wish was granted, but the first... turned out to be the most gloriously chaotic field in living memory. As 1972, that was not supposed to be. Having spent 1971 rising as the establishment champion and the man to defeat Richard Nixon, Senator Ed Muskie benefited from the refusal to run from HHH and Ted Kennedy, and shot to the top of the polls. Following him was ambitious and young Mayor Lindsay of New York, the second act of Gene McCarthy, challengers McGovern, Gravel, Carter, Chisholm and of course, a bombastic Mayor from California... To the primary season's merit, the first caucuses (Iowa and Arizona), having gained some public notoriety before New Hampshire, confirmed Muskie and Lindsay's place as the frontunners, and opened the ground to the rise of other candidates.

February turned into insanity, of course, as riots and terrorist plots brought forward issues like law and order, anger, disappointment, and a massive source of energy nobody was very much interested in. No one except Sam Yorty, of course. Striking an alliance with William Loeb and taking full advantage of George Wallace's initial refusal to run for the primary, Yorty ably navigated the waters of the field as Muskie was steadily undermined, crafting the most unlikely upset as the Mayor sent the Senator into second, with the rising McGovern shocking with a third. As Florida and Illinois kicked in the the field had changed, leading to the end of the Carter and Chisholm campaigns as fiery populist Fred Harris had entered the race to arrive to the top tier. Weakened and bleeding support, Muskie saw his numbers drop as John Lindsay won both primaries to become the new savior, the man that was now the challenger to Nixon in November. Before he could be challenged from his spot, John Lindsay's meteoric rise ended on a tragic plane crash.

Devoid of a frontrunner, and with Muskie unable to retake a firm grasp of the issue... much strife ensued. Mike Gravel and Gene McCarthy were forced out of the race, and McGovern, Harris and Yorty all found themselves with a shot at the nomination themselves. It was so that a frantic schedule of caucuses and primaries followed through the grueling slog of April and May, as the state of the field forced George Wallace and Mo Udall to make surprise entrances of their own. Alas, none of them managed to knock out their consolidated rivals, with only Udall making him out to the DNC. All candidates, it seemed, had flaws that they failed to overcome. Fred Harris was blasted repeatedly on busing and never took command, McGovern could not counter "Acid, Abortion and Amnesty" and could not sail away. It was against them that Sam Yorty's rise with working class voters grew steadier and steadier, his political organization turning into a grassroots machine that outsmarted left wing volunteers into seizing a party that was supposed to turn leftwards in 72'.

More than once people thought Ed Muskie was finally dead and put down, and more than once it was said that the Senator had no choice but to withdraw. Alas, a narrative of redemption was on the making. Confessing his mistakes and hardened by a long primary, from the ashes of the old Muskie a better candidate was on the making, steadily winning momentum, debates, and delegates to be a choice to save the party. Center and left divided, Yorty took away California, the unions and the crucial Wallace support, and stormed at the gates of the DNC with over a thousand delegates. Not trusting their primary candidates any longer, the big beasts like Bayh, Jackson and Smathers stepped in as the ballots repeated, a brokered convention and a divided party in full display.

What ensued there could easily be the subject of a book, and indeed, one will struggle to find a better account than that of journalist Hunter Thompson, who emerged out of that battle with a blackened eye and a sharper prose. It was finally evident that most of the party would not or could not stomach Saigon Sam as their nominee, and the unlikely and unholy alliance of those who had previously been at each other's throats ended as anti-Yorty forces coalesced behind Ed Muskie, the man who had returned from political death. As a disgusted Yorty and the conservatives walked out of the DNC, Muskie picked Senator Bayh in a successful gamble to restore unity, and emerged with a candidacy that, while weakened and far behind Richard Nixon still had a shot at victory following the Agnew scandal.

While fearing Yorty to endorse Nixon, Muskie, Bayh and the Democratic establishment were still unprepared for what was to come.

[Lumine]

July-August 1972

Gerald Ford: Nixon did what?
Ronald Reagan: Exactly.

To say that the Grand Old Party was surprised would be to make an understatement. Oh, sure, people were sure Sam Yorty would make an appearance and endorse the GOP ticket, and they would gleefully watch the Muskie/Bayh ticket spiral into colapse as they won the well-deserved landslide. They all expected that. They also thought Nixon capable of nominating a conservative Democrat for Vice-President and were more or less resigned to seeing Connally joining their side. But what they never considered as a possibility was for Nixon to take the supreme gamble, and nominate the other conservative democrat. And as William Scranton packed and went to the Senate to go through his Confirmation hearing, the nation learned that Saigon Sam was going to be Nixon's running mate.

That Sam Yorty got through the RNC was a testament to both Nixon and Yorty's skills, and the pragmatic nature Republicans had learned to adapt from their President. Immediately as the pick was announced no effort was spared to sell the Mayor to a stunned public, arguing that Yorty was a principled conservative, abandoned by an extremist party and their best chance of winning enough votes to make Muskie nonviable from the start. Those supporters went further still, pointing out Yorty's endorsement of Nixon in 60' and 68', and the rumour that Nixon himself had asked the Mayor to turn Republican back in 65'. The President's men, conservatives and loyalists alike were on side. On the other hand, many pointed out Yorty had started his own campaign describing Nixon as a failure...

Disunited in shock were Agnew loyalists, the Goldwaterites, the Rockefeller Republicans who shuddered at the thought of Yorty in the White House, who believe they had better men for the job. It wasn't a surprise, therefore, that delegates put names like Reagan, Rockefeller, Connally, Percy, Ford or Goldwater Jr on the ballot for VP, even as the men themselves denied any interest in a coup. Time was not on their side, and neither was the horde of Nixon loyalist delegates, both eager to please the President and scared the hell out of Haldeman and company. Sure enough, Nixon was renominated with almost 96% of the delegate vote, and Yorty, while seeing defections to the would-be challengers, still got about 70% of the delegate enough, surviving his first test. With no time, no interest, no chance to rebel, the party saw Yorty give another of his fiery speeches, a tirade against all negative associated with Muskie, a call for that rising tide of angry voters to go for the GOP as the right choice.

If polling taken before the RNC showed Nixon with a lead ahead of Muskie due to disunity countering the Agnew scandal, the whole scenario went insane afterwards. In the end, polling consensus indicated that the Yorty defections had all but destroyed the Muskie/Bayh ticket across the South, turning the whole region close to safe GOP and significantly hurting Democrats in Yorty bastions in parts of California, Michigan and some western states. On the other hand, Yorty was beyond toxic to the liberal wing of the GOP and the Northeastern voters, allowing Muskie to comeback in New England and make several states closer still. With a highly volatile scenario in place, the time had come for a third candidate to make an impact...

The thought of John G. Schmitz as a legitimate Presidential candidate made those who had heard of him laugh back in 71'. Schmitz? The man that the Birthers think a bit too extreme? Get out of here! And sure enough, he started an independent campaign with little chance at all of making an impact. Not only his rhetoric forced most of the GOP to disown him, George Wallace was eating up any support a conservative challenger would win over. And then, event after event, Schmitz's candidacy began to take form... as the national climate quickly changed to a more conservative mood, as law and order took precedence, as Goldwater Jr and Yorty showed the extent of the anger, of the disappointment of the Silent Majority... so rose a man Americans knew little of, save that he was angry too, and not shy about it. Little by little the pieces fell into place, Birthers, sheriffs, activists, even John Wayne jumping on the wagon as Nixon vanquished Goldwater and Wallace fell apart.

Drawing his strength from the rising conservative wave of the year, Schmitz got on the ballots, led fundraising efforts, and was even successful at gaining support from those ignored and undermined on their own parties. A Senator in Buckley, Congressmen like Steiger, Ashbrook and Rarick, and a Convention that nominated a Schmitz/Rarick ticket and made it clear there could be a right-wing alternative to both parties. Ironically, the Yorty maneuver only fueled their chances, as disgusted GOP conservatives and Yorty voters distrustful of Nixon found another place to go. Polling around 4-5%, the Schmitz/Rarick ticket is virtually nonexistent through the North and the Pacific, but keeps large amounts of influence through South and West (and it's rumored it has moved above Muskie for second is those places where the Democratic ticket was hurt worse). But of course, with that performance media scrutiny has become fierce, and Schmitz does have an interesting record to defend...

But the stage was set. Republicans had gambled on the double down of their Silent Majority and the conservative wave, Democrats had gone for an uneasy alliance of those sectors opposed to Muskie in the hopes of victory, and the Independent ticket remained hopeful that dissatisfaction with both main tickets could bring them to a repeat of the Wallace success in 68'.

And then, with two months before the General Election, September rolled in.

[Lumine]

Turn Seventeen: Nixonland:

September 1st to September 7th, 1972

In the News!

Munich Massacre!

Eleven Israeli athetes murdered by Black September at the Olympic Village in Munich

Bobby Fisher new world chess champion:

After defeating Boris Spassky, Fisher crowns himself as the first American champion

Gallup: President Nixon's Approval Rating:

Approve: 53%
Disapprove: 38%
Undecided: 9%

Gallup: 1972 Presidential Election:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47% (407 EV)
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 39% (103 EV)
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 6% (0 EV)
Undecided: 8% (28 EV)

Here it is, the first turn of the GE. Remember that every campaign can request polls for four states, and that polls have a margin of error up to 3%. You have until Monday night, this can be extended to Tuesday night if absolutely necessary.

Best of luck!

[Lumine]

That took a lot of time... anyway, there you go, I hope you enjoy the GE!

Also, I need to inform all of you of a small retcon. I have decided against having the Watergate scandal on the Game after all, so we can dismiss the earlier news piece on that. Nixon already has a corruption scandal regarding Agnew, and Watergate only happened on a very specific set of circumstances that are not likely to repeat themselves on this TL.

Don't forget to request your polling, and inform me if you are going to use surrogates (via player, I mean)!

[Lumine]

First four polls by request in:

Gallup Polls:

New York:

Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 49%
Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 1%
Undecided: 9%

New Jersey:

Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 45%
Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 7%
Undecided: 7%

Pennsylvania:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 49%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 43%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 2%
Undecided: 6%

Illinois:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 48%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 42%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 3%
Undecided: 7%

[Lumine]

Second batch, I still need Schmitz's requests:

Gallup Polls:

Michigan:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 40%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 6%
Undecided: 7%

Indiana:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 50%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 2%
Undecided: 7%

Oregon:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 40%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 5%
Undecided: 8%

Washington:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 46%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 5%
Undecided: 7%

[Lumine]

Second batch, I still need Schmitz's requests:

Gallup Polls:

Michigan:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 40%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 6%
Undecided: 7%

Indiana:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 50%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 2%
Undecided: 7%

Oregon:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 40%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 5%
Undecided: 8%

Washington:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 46%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 5%
Undecided: 7%

[Lumine]

Could we get an extension to tomorrow?

Granted.

[Lumine]

Gallup Polls:

California:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 52%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 35%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 8%
Undecided: 5%

Utah:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 50%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 22%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 21%
Undecided: 7%

Alabama:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 29%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 20%
Undecided: 10%

Mississippi:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 42%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 28%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 21%
Undecided: 9%

[Lumine]

I could give another extension to tomorrow, but nothing more than that.

[Lumine]

Turn closed, currently grading performances and such.

[Lumine]

Turn Eighteen: To the Debate Stage:

September 8th to September 15th, 1972

In the News!

First Presidential Debate on Friday!

To large expectation, President Nixon, Senator Muskie and Congressman Schmitz have been invited to debate, will they attend?

Gallup: 1972 Presidential Election:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 48% (306 EV)
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41% (+2) (103 EV)
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 5% (-1) (0 EV)
Undecided: 7% (-1) (129 EV)

Many would describe the firing shot of the General Election as "All About Sam", as the first issue to be fully exploited was not one of policy per se, but Nixon's gamble on Sam Yorty as his Vice-Presidential pick. Senators Muskie and Bayh led the charge on the campaign trail and the press, assaulting Yorty's character and his strong criticism of Richard Nixon across primary season, playing up the concerns of Midwest and New England voters on his stances and Nixon's own decision. Asked on a press conference, pundits agreed that Yorty seemed to dodge the issue too casually, even allowing the challenged John Schmitz to take a shot back at "Flip Flopping Sam", the issue turning into a win for the Democrats.

Having enjoyed their first of their political victories, the Muskie/Bayh team allowed the Yorty question to dominate the headlines and aggressively pursued the line of principled, tested leadership against the views of the GOP ticket (the oft cited "(“Crooks, Crime, and Cambodia” becoming a household line for Liberals disdainful of Nixon). It was a surge that could have been taken further with a stronger campaign and a more specific vision (the Democratic ticket will certainly need to put attention to their plans for America soon enough), but it stabilized their polling numbers and made them competitive across the battlegrounds.

The GOP ticket had a mixed performance in terms of message, which led to losses in some areas and gains in others. Despite broadly losing the first round on Yorty, Richard Nixon staked out the issue of Civil Rights and the progress made by his administration along with other key issues (although he came under fire by supposedly going too political on the moon landings), which led him to actually make gains in states like Ohio, New Jersey and New York, the last one seeing significant success on a five-day tour. The controversy aside, Yorty has proved quite effective with rural voters (and particularly with farmers), but comments like Muskie having no spine or blaming the Democrats for having been in power most of the time in the past years have had little impact or alienated Democratic desserts that came with him. With Schmitz melting away in the North and rising in the South, the GOP balanced out the South and battleground losses by winning over Schmitz voters and some moderates.

The case of the Schmitz's candidacy, however, is the strangest one. On one side, the Schmitz campaign is good at finding issues to exploit (especially to damage Richard Nixon), but on the other, the approach has been sloppy at best. On one side, Schmitz has made significant gains across the South with his appeals on the Confederate Flag, Nixon's visit to China (even if his denomination of Nixon and Muskie as communists brings much ridicule and scorn) and social issues. On the other, Schmitz has come under very heavy fire for his use of coarse language, his discriminatory comments against some groups of immigrants and his overall rhetoric, which have seen his numbers on the Midwest virtually collapse.

As the debate approaches, this might be a crucial opportunity for Nixon to push the Democrats back, for Muskie to close the gap and for Schmitz to regain much needed credibility.

[Lumine]

Gallup Polls:

Texas:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 47%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 39%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 6%
Undecided: 8%

Louisiana:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 39%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 29%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 27%
Undecided: 5%

Wyoming:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 52%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 25%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 16%
Undecided: 7%

Idaho:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 51%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 22%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 21%
Undecided: 6%

[Lumine]

First Presidential Debate:

Philadelphia, PA, September 15th

1. Rules:

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2.- Questions:

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Now, a question for each candidate:

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[Lumine]

To clear up any and all confusion do we have an endorsement policy for the general?

Well, all endorsers who endorsed one of the three main candidates on the race during the primaries are obviously still there, and it's assumed most remaining GOP and Dem endorsers have supporter their own party. If there are doubts on certain people, or endorsers who weren't requested and players would like to have, or newspapers, just let me know and I'll grant them if its plausible.

[Lumine]

May we get an extension on this?

The turn does end tomorrow, but I can extend it until Sunday afternoon.

[Lumine]

Just letting you know, ClassicConservative, four states in a single day is too much, I tend to consider just one per day (two tops, depending on the proximity).

[Lumine]

Just letting you know, ClassicConservative, four states in a single day is too much, I tend to consider just one per day (two tops, depending on the proximity).

May we get an extension until tomorrow afternoon. I have had a schoolwork filled weekend. I apologize for the delay, I hope I can focus on this more as school slows.

That will be fine, no worries.

[Lumine]

Gallup Polls:

California:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 52%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 38%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 4%
Undecided: 6%

Indiana:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 50%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 42%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 2%
Undecided: 6%

Ohio:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 51%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 41%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 2%
Undecided: 6%

Pennsylvania:

Richard Nixon/Sam Yorty: 49%
Ed Muskie/Birch Bayh: 46%
John Schmitz/John Rarick: 1%
Undecided: 4%

[Lumine]

This is extended a final day, turn results tomorrow night.

[Lumine]

This is getting suspended for the time being (not for long, I hope).

Darththebearnc (Nixon) has informed me that he will have to drop out, and after consulting with him and Spiral they've decided to ask ClassicConservative to see if he wishes to play Nixon instead of Schmitz. If he does, then we will see whether we carry on as normal or whether some changes can be made, if he doesn't, then we'll try a different road.

[Lumine]

This is getting suspended for the time being (not for long, I hope).

Darththebearnc (Nixon) has informed me that he will have to drop out, and after consulting with him and Spiral they've decided to ask ClassicConservative to see if he wishes to play Nixon instead of Schmitz. If he does, then we will see whether we carry on as normal or whether some changes can be made, if he doesn't, then we'll try a different road.

I might drop a class next week, which would give me oodles of free time to take on Nixon. If CC doesn't want to drop Schmitz, I'd be happy to step back into the role. I'm not sure if I'll be able to immediately, though.

It would be great to have you back, certainly!

Spiral, CC, NeverAgain and YPestis: It's up to you whether we wait a week or have Spiral take over Nixon's schedule to end this particular turn and then have ChairmanSanchez join at the next one. Do let me know of what you think as soon as possible.

[Lumine]

I am putting an end date of Thursday night, by the way, seeing that we have a Nixon. It's been a week already.

[Lumine]

This ends in an hour or so.