An Effective Consensus

[KaiserDave]

Polling Map (Gallup)


Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge: 50.1%/357
George Wallace/Jack Campbell: 43.0%/181
Hubert Humphrey/Harold Hughes: 6.7%/0

[OSR stands with Israel]

I think Nixon would win TX, VA, MD , OK , MO , FL , KY and possibly even TN and WV

[KaiserDave]

I think Nixon would win TX, VA, MD , OK , MO , FL , KY and possibly even TN and WV

No comment hehehhe

[We Live in Black and White]

Quadruple H all the way.

[KaiserDave]

Quadruple H all the way.

Ha! I didn't notice that! Good one!

[KaiserDave]

Campaign 1964

Wikimedia Commons for all


George Wallace was more than furious when Hubert Humphrey launched his "People's Democratic" ticket. The hubris and the vanity of the man he thought. Not only was he defying the will of the party delegates, but he was defying George. George wouldn't have it, when he was in the White House, he'd purge Hubert and his pansy proto-communist ilk from the party. But first he'd have to win. The party had largely lined up behind him, he promised not to bring in the Klan and the Citizen's Councilors and the like into the campaign and he promised that he'd bring mainstream party insiders into a potential administration. But his populist message would still ring from every corner of the country. At every stop he made, from the podium or the back of a train he called for breaking up the cabal of money manipulating fiends concentrating immense wealth at the expense of the common man, he called for bringing the millions in foreign aide back home to hire police officers in Chicago and build roads in Tennessee, and he called for Washington D. C. to "stay home and respect the rights of states and individuals." On communism he was loud and proud, "we will never surrender our way of life and belief in God to a godless soul crushing system." When it came to Vietnam it was, "If the Viet Cong wants to mess with me, I'll send them packing all the way back to whatever wet jungle they creeped out of." And whenever asked about segregation, "I just believe the integration leads to worse schools for black and white kids, I want good schools for every American child just like anybody else." Wherever he went George got massive crowds. Not just WASPs though, but folks from immigrant backgrounds like Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, and Serbs. And not just traditional Democrats either, tons of Goldwater Republicans showed up. When Wallace said that "the Real issues that exist today in these United States? It is the trend of the pseudo-intellectual government, where a select, elite group have written guidelines in bureaus and court decisions, have spoken from some pulpits, some college campuses, some newspaper offices, looking down their noses at the average man on the street." They were ecstatic, maybe this Alabama populist could stop the government breathing down their shoulders and stop all that liberal nonsense coming from the courts?

The Nixon campaign was rolled out with all the firepower of the Republican Party establishment. Every Television and Radio in America was telling listeners that George Wallace was a "dangerous, hateful, radical" who would "jeopardize your pocketbooks" and "risk your retirements." Republican surrogates like Nelson Rockefeller went into black communities like Harlem to tell them that as Rocky said, "Wallace will plunge America into an age of such horrid hate and division we may lose every accomplishment on the path to justice over the past century." Bill Scranton told Philadelphia voters that, "George Wallace could single handedly return us to the 1929 with his insanity and lack of sense." But Barry Goldwater just said, "no candidate is a conservative and I cannot support any of them." Not only were they scaring voters from Wallace, but Nixon was using every trick in the book to bring over city bosses and get powerful folks on side and deployed every gun in the Republican arsenal to mobilize their voters and keep Wallace voters at home. If only they passed that Voting Rights Act to get more black voters in the south to the polls. Nixon pulled big crowds no doubt about it, but were they as big as George's? It could not be said for sure.

Humphrey was trailing badly yes, but he refused to count himself out. From city to city, from barn to barn he spoke to voters. His personal effort had not been seen since the great oration of William Jennings Bryan. He had Frank Sinatra too! While union voters were firmly on the side of Wallace, he did his best to bring them to him. "George says he's for the workingman, but in Minnesota we look at what you've done. In Wisconsin, (the speech was in Madison) workers do the same thing, and George's record is bad. Real bad. Right to Work? Lower wages? That's not a man fighting for workers, that's a phony." He spoke to farmers too in the rural midwest, in a packed North Dakota diner he told voters that "There's no doubt that Nixon, Wallace too will go after the farm supports. We can't trust them, they don't have the chops to prove it." He went for the black vote too. In St. Louis he was more than clear, "there is only one candidate who has fought for civil and human rights his entire career. That's not Nixon or Wallace. Back in 1948 I told Democrats that Negro folks matter, they deserve all the opportunities and rights of any American. They deserve the American dream. Nixon just hasn't worked, he hasn't come through. And George Wallace...there's a reason I couldn't support his nomination. His affiliated with the most odious and violent elements of southern radicalism and bigotry." Humphrey was trailing yes and he was excluded from the ballot by party bosses in many states outside the midwest, but perhaps his purpose here was for history. That not every Democrat supported Wallace, and that there were decent compassionate folks in the party and in the nation.

The campaign was not free of news and changes to the campaign's narrative. The People's Republic of China tested a nuclear weapon, putting Red China back on the map. Wallace and Humphrey promised not to capitulate to Chinese aggression and President Nixon emphasized his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize, Nixon and Humphrey applauded him while Wallace questioned "the motives and methods of Dr. King, who is affiliated with outright anarchists." Nikita Khrushchev was deposed in a political coup in Moscow, and Leonid Brezhnev became the leading communist in the USSR. Again this brought foreign policy to the forefront, perhaps helping Richard Nixon.  Philadelphia race riots however, turned the focus back to the domestic agenda, and white fear was believed to give Wallace a boost. Going into November 3rd, it was believed the President Nixon held the edge. But in some quarters a Wallace victory was not dismissed.

[KaiserDave]

Polling Map (Gallup)


Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge: 48.7%/329
George Wallace/Jack Campbell: 44.4%/209
Hubert Humphrey/Harold Hughes: 6.9%/0

Gallup Poll: President Nixon Job Approval October 1964



Wikimedia Commons

Approve: 51%
Disapprove: 44%

[KaiserDave]

Before results (should be tomorrow)

Who do ya'll cast your ballot for?

[OSR stands with Israel]

Nixon even though he is more liberal than I think he would be in OTL

[You don't see any blue avatars now]

Humphrey, any day.

[We Live in Black and White]

Humphrey/Hughes without compunction or hesitation.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Humphrey in Minnesota, Nixon elsewhere. No quarters to white supremacism, no risk of letting them win.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I think DC would go to Humphrey

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Hold my nose and vote Nixon with Humphrey down so much.

[KaiserDave]

I think DC would go to Humphrey

Unfortunately party bosses kept HH/HH off the ballot in many states, including DC

[KaiserDave]

Campaign 1964: Election Night

Nixon/Lodge: 46.6%/190
Wallace/Campbell: 46.0%/202
Humphrey/Hudges: 7.3%/0

Vice President Lodge stood anxiously watching the returns come in on the television and waiting for early updates from the phones. Nixon sat nearby, slowly descending into the chair further and further as more and more states flipped from toss up to Wallace. Wallace had consolidated the south and border states much much easier than expected. Nelson Rockefeller and Bill Scranton had swore that Kentucky and Missouri could be won with a strong campaign. Michigan? Michigan was expected to be for them for a long time. Governor Romney had said that Wallace's support was "overrated" in the state. Yet, the continued race riots only fed his campaign. Wallace took Maryland with relative ease, winning it with what looked like around 54% of the vote. Nixon ran up the numbers in the northeast yes, New England and New York rejected George Wallace populism by large margins, but they were not contested states. The states now in the spotlight were Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The midwest, the perennial tossup region. Ohio looked tough, but Illinois looked better. Minnesota looked more likely than not to go to Humphrey's independent bid, but it was still close. Humphrey....well it had turned out that Humphrey may have taken more votes from Nixon than Wallace, but it was unclear. As for the Senate and the House, so far it looked like the Southern Republican was dead, the gains made in Dixieland in the 50s were wiped out. But in the North and Midwest, promising Democratic challengers floundered. It lead to an overall gain for the GOP, but nothing near a majority.

The door opened, and an aide rushed in.

"We've won California!" The room cheered and although President Nixon continued to sink into his chair with doubt, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr knew they had the edge!

[KaiserDave]

Election Results

George C. Wallace/Jack M. Campbell: 283-46.51% ✓
Richard M. Nixon/Henry C. Lodge: 245-46.34%
Hubert H. Humphrey/Harold E. Hughes: 10-7.11%

Good evening I'm Walter Cronkite and it's November 4th and the 1964 Presidential election is over. It a nationwide shock, Governor George Corley Wallace of Alabama has won. The Democrats are back in the saddle after President Nixon was shocked with defeat last night when the segregationist southern Democrat won the national election by the slimmest of popular vote pluralities and by a small electoral vote margin. The President isn't the only one who is surprised, across the country experts and politicians are shocked by the victory of this populist firebrand, and the stock market plunged today as investors are both surprised and worried. President-elect Wallace won with a combination of strong white working class turnout for his populist platform across many ethnic groups, and with a strong showing with Republicans, conservative Republicans who voted for Barry Goldwater. Nixon did well with his 1960 voters, but enthusiasm was down, especially from conservatives. But also from black voters, who voted for him over George Wallace, but many stayed home or voted for the independent bid of Hubert Humphrey, where it was possible to do so. Wallace declared victory excitedly from Montgomery, where he declared "the victory of the common man and woman!" President Nixon spoke from the White House this morning and conceded the race, offering his "services to the next President and for a peaceful transition of power." He was clearly sullen, with his aides still stunned. Vice President Lodge spoke on election night saying the race was not yet lost, but as more results came in it became apparent that Wallace had won the night, after taking close states like Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio. In the Congress there was no decisive results, southern Republicans were iced but northern Republicans did well. In the Senate there was a hodgepodge of gains, with Democrats taking a net of one. Robert Francis Kennedy will join his brother in the Senate, as he has taken the New York seat. As for the national scene, many are shocked. Senator Humphrey called for the nation to "stay strong and resilient in the midst of the darkest night" and to "preserve the American spirit of decency and justice." But already we are seeing reports of rioting in many cities such as Chicago and New York......



Senate
Democrats: 68 (+1)
Republicans: 32 (-1)

Flips: California (D to R), Nevada (D to R), New Mexico (R to D), New York (R to D), Maryland (R to D),

House of Representatives
Democrats: 263 (-4)
Republicans: 174 (+4)

[OSR stands with Israel]

My prediction is the Democratic party will break up over the next 8 years by a party called a Liberal Party of America which at first will get all the non southern Democrats into their party then , the Rockfeller Republicans too

[KaiserDave]

My prediction is the Democratic party will break up over the next 8 years by a party called a Liberal Party of America which at first will get all the non southern Democrats into their party then , the Rockfeller Republicans too

What if the Republicans turn left and the Southern Dems stay in control of the party?

[OSR stands with Israel]

My prediction is the Democratic party will break up over the next 8 years by a party called a Liberal Party of America which at first will get all the non southern Democrats into their party then , the Rockfeller Republicans too

What if the Republicans turn left and the Southern Dems stay in control of the party?

Economic Conservatism would die out then

[You don't see any blue avatars now]

Here we go, buddy.

[KaiserDave]

My prediction is the Democratic party will break up over the next 8 years by a party called a Liberal Party of America which at first will get all the non southern Democrats into their party then , the Rockfeller Republicans too

What if the Republicans turn left and the Southern Dems stay in control of the party?

Economic Conservatism would die out then

Hmmm
Well we will find out

Where will supply side economics go? We will find out

[We Live in Black and White]

Oh, f**k.

[KaiserDave]

If anyone has any questions on how Wallace won, feel free to ask

[Elcaspar]

Oh, f**k.

My thoughts exactly.