Alben Barkley
KYWildman
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Posts: 19,301
Political Matrix
E: -2.97, S: -5.74
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« on: November 17, 2020, 12:44:22 AM » |
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Assume for the purposes of this scenario that Ronald Reagan remained a liberal Democrat, that he campaigned fiercely for LBJ rather than Goldwater in 1964, that he won the 1968 CA-SEN race instead of the 1966 CA-GOV race, and that everything else with Nixon, Watergate, Ford, etc. played out the same. Until Reagan wins the 1976 Democratic nomination; as a relative newcomer to Congress, he can play the “outsider” card to an extent like Carter did, but he’s also got a lot more charisma and presumably better relations with Congress due to eight years of experience. He likely also was a prominent voice denouncing Nixon for Watergate and Ford for the pardon, and gained increased national attention for that.
As in real life, he would be challenging an incumbent President Ford, but under very different circumstances, to his left rather than his right.
Discuss with maps. Bonus: Discuss how you think his term would have gone compared to Carter’s if he won, and what his re-election chances would have looked like in 1980.
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