True Utopia: The Life of James Alliyman

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

"He truly made the most out of the post-war period. That's what made him one of the greats."
-Joseph R. Biden Jr., 41st President of the United States

"I may disagree with him on policy, but the way he handled the office commands respect."
-William 'Bill' Weld, 42nd President of the United States

"He dedicated himself to the premise of liberty and justice for all- not just with empty words."
-John Lewis, 44th President of the United States

"He was an inspiration to democratic advocates everywhere. I'm blessed to have known him."
-Xi Jinping, 1st President of the United Republic of China

"In an era of political polarization, the left and the right agree on one thing: President Alliyman was a true great, one whose greatness has yet to have been matched."
-Barack Obama, former Governor and Senator from Illinois


From True Utopia: The Story of James Alliyman, published 2044

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

   Mordechai Aliyah was born some time in late 1852 in Bremen, Germany. His family were prosperous merchants, who were able to live a relatively comfortable life. Mordechai excelled in his schooling, and had an active social life. However, this all changed in 1869, when an anti-semetic riot broke out. The resulting violence destroyed Mordechai's home and killed both of his parents. Mordechai and his older brother Ephraim (25) escaped and decided to move to the United States, as their parents had talked about.

   The brothers salvaged what they could from the flaming wreck that was their house and used it to pay their way to America. The brothers traveled on the SS Silesia, arriving in New York in July of 1870.

   After being processed by immigration authorities, the brothers got jobs. Because they grew up in much better conditions than most immigrants (and because their father did business with Englishmen), they were well educated compared to their counterparts. This enabled Ephraim to get a job as a foreman at a textile plant, where he was paid double the normal wage ($600 per year!). Mordechai joined the Pennsylvania railroad, where he sold snacks, newspapers and drinks on the New York to Washington route. This is likely what enabled his fascination with politics.

While Ephraim climbed the slow, classist, and racist ladder of business, Mordechai decided to climb the slow, classist, and racist ladder of politics. In 1875, he struck up a conversation with Representative John Schumaker, who (impressed with his immense political knowledge) got him a job on the Agriculture Committee, where he remained for the next seven years. In 1882, he resigned his position to move to Massachusetts, where he became an owner of a grocery.

Ephraim eventually became a shareholder at West York Oil Company, which was bought by standard oil. He died of what is now thought to be cancer in 1886, at the age of 41. He bequeathed his estate of $100,000 to his brother, as he never married (he is now known to have been gay). Mordechai, now rich and an owner of three grocery stores, made a run for the State House of Representatives in 1890. Winning by a 59-41 margin, he took office in 1891. he spent the next decade there, a time that encompassed the birth of his son, Elijah.

Mordechai ran for a State Senate seat in 1901, in a special election to replace the previous member. Knowing his foreign birth would prevent him from reaching the heights he desired, he retired from politics in 1907 in his mid fifties. Mordechai lived to see his grandson's inauguration before dying in 1954, aged 101.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

James Ezra Alliyman was born on December 14, 1916 in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Alliyman family was now quite wealthy, and James grew up on a moderately sized estate. He began his schooling in 1922, and was instantly classified by his teachers as a genius. He reportedly never got anything below an A in his life, and he managed to graduate from high school in 1933 at the age of 15.

He began his studies in aeronautical engineering at MIT that fall, continuing the family tradition of academic excellence. During the summer of 1936 (following his graduation from MIT), James worked as a staffer for Senator Marcus Coolidge, which fostered his interest in politics. The Alliymans had always been Republicans, and James was no different. The market for jobs in aeronautical engineering-related fields was not large at the time, so James went back to school for a degree in political science, which he received from Georgetown in 1939. Like his grandfather long before, James was hired by the Senate as a committee staffer, where he fell in love with the institution he would later be a member of.

Perhaps he thought that he would eventually work his way up to a higher position before retiring and becoming a consultant or campaign advisor. But life had other plans. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. James had held Japanese culture in high regard throughout his life, ever since a 1932 visit. But he had a duty to his country, and (as a college graduate) enlisted as an officer in the Army. Due to his experience, he was assigned to pilot training.

James flew his first mission on May 18, 1942. He would fly 60 throughout the war, shooting down 38 planes, which was tied for second among all American pilots. Being discharged honorably at the rank of Lt. Colonel on January 31, 1946, James would return home to Massachusetts. But politics soon called.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

As a war hero, the Republican Party of the state was almost immediately lobbying James to run for higher office. He had considered the idea before, but hadn't thought he would for a while. This changed in April of 1946, when former Senator Henry Cabot Lodge announced that he wouldn't run in the upcoming senate election. While the official reason was that he wanted to spend time with his family, he had been lobbying James to make a run. He eventually acquiesced, not expecting to get anywhere.

James turned out to be a natural at politics, especially campaigning. He handily defeated Lt. Governor Robert Bradford for the nomination to face incumbent Senator Walsh in November.

1946 Republican Senate Primary:
✓James Alliyman (R): 121,835 (57.82%)
Robert Bradford (R): 101,006 (57.50%)

Defeating an incumbent is usually hard, but Alliyman (with his name recognition and campaigning skills) was the frontrunner from the beginning. In the end, Senator Walsh went down in a humiliating defeat.

1946 United States Senate Election in Massachusetts:
✓James E. Alliyman (R): 1,010,532 (60.33%)
David I. Walsh* (D): 616,235 (36.79%)


Senator Alliyman's victory was astounding. But the more you look at his politics, the more you see that he was an excellent fit for the state. James was a socially liberal Republican of the new England type who also won over Democrats with his commitment to public welfare. Alliyman was sworn-in on December 22, 1946 for his first term as a United States Senator.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

1946 Senate Elections:

R: 54 (+15)
D: 42 (-14)

House:
R: 258 (+67)
D: 177 (-65)

Different from OTL Senators:
Sen. James Alliyman (R-MA)
Sen. Margaret Chase-Smith (R-ME)
Sen. Thomas Sweeney (R-WV)
Sen. Harry Sandager (R-RI)
Sen. Patrick Hurley (R-NM)

As soon as he was sworn in, Senator Alliyman made a name for himself as a fierce advocate against the incumbent administration, which had been annihilated in the mid-terms. Alliyman was sworn in early to give him preferential seniority, and he presented himself in the old senate chamber to be sworn in on December 22. His wife Rachel (who he married after the war) held the Tanakh along with his two children, James Jr. (3) and Leah (1).

He was assigned a desk at the back of the Senate chamber. But away from the calm emptiness of the Senate chamber, the new office was anything but. His incoming Chief of Staff, Edward Brooke, had to manage a dozen new staff members and deal with tons of constituent mail.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Senator Alliyman had one goal: to be President.

He figured the best way to achieve this was to increase his visibility through supporting legislation. While most Senators waited up to a year to do anything of note, James decided to break the mold. On May 18, 1947, Senator Alliyman introduced the Fair Taxation Act.

Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

Show

Fair Taxation Act of 1947
-5% cuts for all brackets, although due to percentages poor people can see up to 25% of their liability shaved off while the rich only see 6%
-Implementation of a special small business tax deduction.

"It is no longer wartime. So we should not tax people like it is."
-James Alliyman, May 21, 1947

He also introduced a bill that would grant tax breaks to companies investing in under-served areas. President Truman signed that bill, but he vetoed the other bill, citing fiscal issues. Alliyman would later admit that was a valid concern, but Truman's approval numbers dipped further. This was not enough to help the Republicans win the election, as several factors (notably personal popularity and poor campaigning by Dewey) lead to Truman's re-election.

1948 Election:

Popular Vote: Dewey +1.0%

Senate:

D: 48 (+6)
R: 48 (-6)

Senators different from OTL:
Sen. Henry Dworshak (R-ID)*
Sen. Clayton Douglas Buck (R-DE)*
Sen. John Sherman Cooper (R-KY)*
Sen. Sumner Sewall (R-ME)

House:
R: 230 (-28)
D: 205 (+28)

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Despite his propensity for political bomb throwing, Senator Alliyman had supported some of the President's legislation. To increase his bipartisan credentials, he had collaborated with President Truman on a deal that would cut social security benefits by 15-20% and cutting discretionary funding in exchange for providing free healthcare (Medicare but more comprehensive) for all citizens over 55.

To increase voter enthusiasm, the RNC had decided to adopt a universal primary system for all states. Regardless, Senator Alliyman declared his candidacy for President on November 2, 1951. Several key members of his Senate staff made the leap over, including Chief of Staff Edward Brooke. The primary schedule was considered favorable to Alliyman, as New England voted early.

Republican Primary Polling, November 7, 1951:
Dwight Eisenhower: 31%
Thomas Dewey: 24%
Robert Taft: 19%
James Alliyman: 10%
Harold Stassen: 6%
Other: 10%

The game changed on November 15, when Eisenhower announced that he would not be running. Dewey, however, did announce and the candidates set off for Iowa (the first state). Stassen had a natural advantage, as he was from a neighboring state, but Alliyman was determined to contest it. Unfortunately, Stassen narrowly won the state:

1952 Iowa Republican Primary (1/2/52):
✓Stassen: 30.5%
Alliyman: 29.4%
Dewey: 20.1%
Taft: 18.7%
Other: 1.3%

Republican Primary Polling, January 3, 1952:
Dewey: 30%
Taft: 27%
Alliyman: 19%
Stassen: 14%
Other: 10%

With that, the primary moved to New Hampshire. This was considered Alliyman territory, and the Senator easily won the state.

1952 New Hampshire Primary (1/13/52):
✓Alliyman: 50.8%
Dewey: 21.5%
Taft: 13.4%
Stassen: 9.8%
Other: 4.5%

Next up came Vermont. Despite it's small size, it was considered crucial by the Dewey campaign, which had just recently lost their polling lead. But what happened next shocked everyone.

1952 Vermont Primary (1/18/52):
✓Alliyman: 42.9%
Dewey: 32.4%
Taft: 20.2%
Stassen: 3.5%
Other: 1.0%

After that, Stassen dropped out and endorsed Alliyman.

Republican Primary Polling, January 20, 1952:
Taft: 30%
Alliyman: 29%
Dewey:25%
Other: 16%

On January 28, the campaigns faced their first big obstacle. That day, the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania were up for election. Pennsylvania was seen as critical for Dewey's chances.

Ohio Primary:
✓Taft: 49.2%
Alliyman: 24.7%
Dewey: 22.3%
Other: 3.8%

Mississippi Primary:
✓Taft: 43.1%
Alliyman: 30.0%
Dewey: 26.2%
Other: 0.7%

Alabama Primary:
✓Taft: 38.5%
Dewey: 30.7%
Alliyman: 28.8%
Other: 2.0%

Pennsylvania Primary:
✓Alliyman: 40.5%
Taft: 33.9%
Dewey: 25.6%

Following this, Dewey dropped out of the election, shifting the battle to Alliyman v.s. Taft.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

As January turned to February, the campaigns began to focus on New York, which was a swing state, while leaving alone the Arkansas and Massachusetts primaries, which went to the obvious candidates.

On February 2, Senator Alliyman (to everyone's surprise) completely annihilated Taft in the state.

New York Republican Primary:
✓Alliyman: 56.9%
Taft: 32.0%
Other: 11.1%

Following this, the candidates traded primary wins until May 16, 1952.

----


Senator Alliyman looked at the primary map. The race won't be over anytime soon, he thought. Taft had been hitting back with everything he had, and it was possible that the race wouldn't end until July. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. The dark circles that surrounded his blue eyes and the mess that was his dark blond hair made it clear who had been campaigning 14 hours a day. With a look of resignation, he decided to lie down on the couch to try to get some rest before the next campaign event. Just then, his campaign manager and longtime confidant Edward Brooke burst into the room.

"What's wrong Ed?"

"Senator Taft just died!"

"WHAT?"

"Senator Taft died. He would have had a year left but his illness caught up to him with the new primary schedule."

"Will his campaign put a new candidate in the race?"

"No. Mary got the RNC Chair on line one."

"Thanks"

Senator Alliyman picked up the phone.

"Senator James Alliyman, who am I speaking to?"

---

Senator Taft died on May 16, 1952. While Senator Alliyman suspended his campaign for a week, his team had already secured the appropriate delegates and state bosses (who still held a lot of control over the primaries) by the time he came back. Despite some minor frustration from Taft supporters, Senator Alliyman roared into the convention as the presumptive nominee.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

"We had thought the Taft supporters would attempt a coup at the convention, but the fear of Truman getting another term scared them all into submission."
-Edward Brooke in a 1996 TV interview


"We left the convention with a 20 point lead. James didn't rest though, and he pointed out that Dewey had the same situation in '48 and blew it."
-Rachel Alliyman, former First Lady of the United States in a 1980 book.

"So we should go with Chase-Smith or Warren?" James asked.

"Yes Senator." A campaign advisor replied.

"We need geographic diversity, so we can take Maggie out of the picture." Edward Brooke chimed in.

"Yeah. Warren is also similar to me ideologically, and we need at least some contrast in that area to energize the Knowland wing."

"Don't you think the prospect of Truman winning a third term will do that?" Rachel asked.

"Sure, but I'd rather not take any chances. Plus they might hold a grudge against me once I take office and prevent work from getting done."

The room was silent for a moment. Then an aide came up with an idea.

"What about Nixon?"

"The Senator from California who called his opponent a Communist?"

"Hmm. That's actually a good idea. Is he at the convention?" Brooke replied

"Yes sir. Do you want me to get him?"

"Sure."

ALLIYMAN/NIXON 1952

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Election Results, 1952:

✓Alliyman/Nixon (R): 452 EV/ 59.8% PV
Truman/Barkley* (D): 79 EV/ 37.0% PV

SENATE:

R: 53 (-)
D: 43 (-)

HOUSE:
R: 249 (+6)
D: 186 (-6)

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

The Alliyman family was no stranger to nice things, since the family was quite wealthy (roughly $73,500,000 in today's money), but the entire family was excited about moving in to the White House. In the meantime, they stayed at the Hay-Adams hotel.

But it was not all fun. While Rachel got the children settled in to their new schools (Leah would be entering third grade and James Jr. second), the President-elect had to pick his cabinet.

Ultimately, he picked the following:

State: Christian Herter of Massachusetts
Treasury: Douglas McKay of Oregon
Defense: Dwight Eisenhower of New York
Justice: Earl Warren of California
Post Office: Arthur Summerfield of Michigan
Interior: Fred Seaton of Nebraska
Agriculture: Leo Hoegh of Iowa
Commerce: Sinclair Weeks of Massachusetts
Labor: Lawrence Oxley of Massachusetts
H.E.&W.: Oveta Culp Hobby of Texas
----
Inauguration of President James Alliyman and Vice President Richard Nixon
January 20, 1953 at 11:58 AM
Capitol building, Washington D.C.

Chief Justice Vinson: "Do you James Ezra Alliyman solemnly swear"

President-elect Alliyman: "I James Ezra Alliyman do solemnly swear"

Chief Justice Vinson: "That I will faithfully execute"

President-elect Alliyman: "That I will faithfully execute"

Chief Justice Vinson: "The office of President of the United States"

President-elect Alliyman: "The office of President of the United States"

Chief Justice Vinson: "And will to the best of my ability"

President-elect Alliyman: "And will to the best of my ability"

Chief Justice Vinson: "Preserve, protect, and defend"

President-elect Alliyman: "Preserve, protect, and defend"

Chief Justice Vinson: "The Constitution of the United States"

President-elect Alliyman: "The Constitution of the United States"

Chief Justice Vinson: "So help you God?"

President Alliyman: "So help me God."

(CHEERS)

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

President Alliyman, following the mandatory participation in various ceremonial sh**t, arrived at the White House. It was 4:00 PM, and the President went directly to the Oval Office, newly renovated with white paint, a blue rug with the presidential seal emblazoned, and two white couches with red pillows along with the famous White House flowers.

He stopped for a moment to let that sink in, but he had work to do. The American people expected him to fix all the socialist screw-ups, so he was going to do that. He sat on the couch in the office, which felt kinda small if you were six feet tall. He put his hand on his star of david necklace for a moment before sitting in the chair behind the Resolute desk.

Just then he heard a knock on the door. Newly-minted Chief of Staff Ed Brooke entered with a smile on his face. They talked, mostly about how cool this was, before getting down to business.

"I talked with Steelman. He says that J. Edgar Hoover will almost certainly threaten you when you first meet with him tomorrow."

"I know. Harry told me the other day. The man apparently has the largest pornography stash in the world that he uses to blackmail people and God knows what else. He's threatened every single President since Coolidge."

"We need to get rid of him. I don't think you have been in Washington long enough for him to have anything."

"Yeah, and I doubt he had anything on half the people he says he has stuff on. I think he'd just make up things."

"Well, best of luck Mr. Preside- James."

"I'll need it."
---

Oval Office Recording
January 20, 1953
6:34 PM

"Director Hoover, you asked to see me."

"Yes. I was going to say that I had a system working with every other President where I am allowed to do whatever I want to protect America and in exchange I don't release compromising information about you."

"You know as well as I do that you have nothing on me."

"That may be so. But just because Americans elected a Jewish President doesn't mean they won't fall for anti-Semitic dog-whistles. The fact that you look like a regular American rather than a stereotypical Jew means people don't think of it but that star around your neck could be your downfall."

"How about no."

"Then I will releas-"

"No Mr. Hoover, then I will release images of you cross-dressing."

"How the hell did you- I mean you wouldn't dare..."

"I am the President of the United States of America. I am the most powerful person on planet earth. I will not be cowed by the former Director of the FBI."

"Former?"

"Yes. Carl, Davis, Martin [President Alliyman's USSS detail], please escort Mr. Hoover off the premises."

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

January 21, 1953
White House

President Alliyman was eating in the new dining room. The breakfast was similar to how he usually started his day- yogurt, berries, fruit salad, eggs, and toast- but it tasted way better. The prestige and grandeur of the White House still shocked the President.

At just after eight, James went to say goodbye to the children, who were even more excited to be living in the house they had learned about at school. After this, the President made his way to the Oval Office, stopping to greet the various West Wing staff on the way.
---

January 21, 1953
8:54 AM
Roosevelt Room

"Alright Ed, what meetings do I have today?"

"The first one is with the DoD at 10 and then you have another one with Majority Leader Knowland at noon."

"Great."
---

January 21, 1953
10:02 AM
Oval Office

"General Eisenhower"

"Mr. President"

"I have invited you here to discuss the Korean situation. Did Truman's guys give you a good briefing?"

"Yes sir."

"Dear God Dwight. You don't have to call me sir. We all know you deserve to be sitting in this chair. But regardless, I am approving a 100,000 troop increase along with any other military forces you need. Christian [Herter, Secretary of State] will kill me but no person that doesn't have to live under Communist rule will live under Communist rule while I am President."

"Thank you s- Mr. President. Has Congress approved this?"

"I'm meeting with leadership later today, and we should be good. I told the Democrats that if they go through with this I won't veto one socialist law of their choice."

"Do you have a particular time in mind for the offensive?"

"As soon as reasonably possible, I want to defeat the commies but I don't want our guys to starve."

"Of course."
---

January 21, 1953
12:09 PM
Oval Office

"Senator Knowland."

"Mr. President."

"I was just wondering if we could eliminate the filibuster-"

"Absolutely not"

"-For civil rights legislation. Or at least reduce it to 3/5ths majority."

"That actually might work"

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

January 21, 1953
First Floor Dining Room
5:58 PM

"Thank you Carter." James thanked the butler. He had a near-photographic memory, so he was trying to remember the names of the staff as fast as possible.

"Of course sir. Ring the bell if you need anything." Carter then left the family to eat dinner. Just after he left the room, Leah reached for the bell. James immediately sprung into action.

"Leah, do not ring the bell. Those people work very hard and were screwed over by President Truman-"

"Leah, your father is probably stressed from his first day running the country." Rachel spoke up. Both children nodded. They were young but could understand in simple terms 'everywhere you've gone in your life is now dad's responsibility'.

"Daddy is it true you can nuke the Russians?" James Jr. (Jimmy) piped up.

"Nukes are very dangerous honey."

"You didn't answer the question!" Leah exclaimed. Man, the kids were smart. Then again both of their parents skipped multiple grades.

"Don't worry, your father will be the best President ever. Now the chefs prepared this delicious food for us, so eat up."

They ate the grilled salmon with fruit salad and fresh-baked cakes for dessert before the kids went to bed in their new rooms, of which they spent 10-15 minutes jumping on the fancy queen-sized beds.

After that chaos got out of the way, the President went to talk about the day with his closest advisor, his wife.

"How was your day today?" He asked.

"Ugh. Apparently I am supposed to pick out flower arrangements and similar things. Thank goodness I was allowed to hire a staff of five, because I got them to do that. Then I went to Adas Israel to check with the rabbi to see if they were fine with the very much not Jewish detail coming along. He said he would prefer not in a general circumstance but that it would be necessary. The community does not want to lose the first Jewish president."

"Yeah, I'm still shocked about that."

"Indeed. The rabbi's wife was there too. She, like over 99% of Jewish people, voted for you, and she says her son likes politics."

"Well I'll try and talk with him at the Kiddish lunch on Saturday. More people politically aligned with me- sorry, more Jews in politics is a good thing."

"Yep. Anyway, I ate lunch in rose garden. How was your day?"

"Well I put off announcing the Hoover firing until tomorrow. I met with Knowland, who I think I'm coming to an agreement with regarding the filibuster, and then Eisenhower, who brought in an aide to show me how to use the the new NAAS-"

"The what?"

"-Nuclear Attack Authorization System. We talked about Korea but that was it. I do have a press conference tomorrow."

"Good luck."

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

January 22, 1953
Rose Garden
10:58 AM

"Thank you all for being here this morning. I am here to announce that J. Edgar Hoover has been terminated from his position as Director of the FBI, effective at noon yesterday. I will now open the floor for questions. Jack [Bell], why don't you go first?"

"Thank you Mr. President. Why was Director Hoover fired?"

"Mr. Hoover was fired for a variety of failures. I would first like to thank the Truman team for giving my staff records of Mr. Hoover's abuses of power over the years. I didn't believe it at first, since Hoover was cordial on the three occasions I'd met him before, but that changed during my first meeting with him. He said he had an 'arrangement' with previous Presidents, which was that they allowed him to do whatever he wanted and in exchange he would not release compromising information. I am not going to have my ability to preform my office compromised by anyone. Mr. Pierpoint, you're up next."

"What were some of Mr. Hoover's abuses of power?"

"Mr. Hoover has committed many such abuses, like when he sent FBI agents to place bets for him on horse races. He also was given permission to assemble a list of subversives- communists, nazis and the associated ilk- who would have their habeas corpus rights suspended during the duration of the war. He has abused this authorization even after it was revoked, and has a list of up to 3,000 names, most of whom are innocent.

As for how he was fired, we found some photo evidence of Mr. Hoover participating in multiple homosexual acts, and to make all of our lives easier we terminated his employment under the sexual perversion clause of Executive Order 9835. Yes Mr. Smith"

"Mr. President, didn't you sign EO-10432 yesterday to repeal that order?"

"Yes. But these were committed when the act was in force and Hoover was using government funds for covering up these activities. Ms. Dunnigan, go ahead."

"Mr. President, what are your plans for civil rights?"

"Sigh. I support full civil rights for all disadvantaged groups. This goes beyond a moral standpoint, as preventing over 10% of our population from contributing to our economy hurts all of us in the long run. Not to mention, it's morally wrong. I will be pushing for serious civil rights legislation."