Nazi Space Spy
Banned
This project was inspired by Lord Caedus's American Commonwealth world, as well as @EvilSpaceAlien's Into the New Millennium. This isn't meant to be the most in depth or realistic project, just a neat look at the politics of a more Canadian-ish America from 1968 through the millennium. Think of it as something of an ISOT without the ASB element. As I go on, I will give more information on the background of this ATL.
The Commonwealth of America as of 2022.
Born from the nexus of history and philosophy, the Commonwealth of America is the foremost economic and military powerhouse on the North American continent and one of the most critical member states of the British Empire. Extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic sea with a population of just over 350 million citizens, the Commonwealth is the predominant English speaking nation on the North American continent. The capital is located in the city of Philadelphia, though other prominent cities include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Calgary, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Halifax, Houston, Los Angeles, Liverpool, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Quebec, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Winnipeg.
A highly developed nation, the Dominion boasts an abundance of natural resources and a long tradition of industry. With the seventh highest GDP per capita and ranked first by the Human Development Index, the Commonwealth of America is both the foremost economic power of both North America. Its advanced economy, one of the largest in the world, relies on well-developed trade networks, agricultural and industrial export, finance, technology, and tourism. America is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the Council of Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7 (formerly G8), the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The Commonwealth of America is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III serving as head of state, though he is represented in this role by a Governor-General. Political power is wielded by the Prime Minister, who is drawn from the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament of the Commonwealth. The other being the less influential Senate, which consists of two members from each province elected by the legislature. The Commonwealth is officially bilingual, with a large Francophone minority in Quebec. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries.
Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now the American Commonwealth for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. What followed after was a period of unrest over taxation, colonial autonomy, and corruption led to the ultimate Confederation of Britain’s continental holdings. The unrest was quelled, but this began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by Confederation and the subsequent adoption of the Constitution's in 1860.
Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of America.
1860-1865: Abraham Lincoln (Liberal-Conservative) (1)**
1860 (Maj): Liberal-Conservative (Abraham Lincoln) def. Southern Anti-Confederation (Geoffrey Davis), Northern Anti-Confederation (Joseph Howe), Constitutional Union (Samuel Houston)
1864 (Maj): Liberal-Conservative (Abraham Lincoln) def. Constitutional Union (Edward Everett)
1865-1868: John MacDonald (Liberal-Conservative) (2)
1868-1876: Horatio Seymour (Liberal) (3)
1868 (Maj): Liberal (Horatio Seymour) def. Conservative (John MacDonald)
1872 (Maj): Liberal (Horatio Seymour) def. Conservative (Hannibal Hamlin)
1876-1880: James Blaine (Conservative) (4)
1876 (Maj): Conservative (James Blaine) def. Liberal (Horatio Seymour)
1880-1884: Edward Blake (Liberal) (5)
1880 (Maj): Liberal (Edward Blake) def. Conservative (James Blaine)
1884-1892: James Garfield (Conservative) (6)
1884 (Maj): Conservative (James Garfield) def. Liberal (Edward Blake)
1888 (Maj): Conservative (James Garfield) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I)
1892-1900: Adlai Stevenson I (Liberal) (7)
1892 (Min): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (James Garfield), Populist (James Weaver)
1893 (Maj): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (Benjamin Harrison), Populist (James Weaver)
1896 (Maj): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (William McKinley), Populist (William J. Bryan)
1900-1901: William McKinley (Conservative) (8)**
1900 (Maj): Conservative (William McKinley) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1901-1912: Joseph Cannon (Conservative) (9)
1905 (Maj): Conservative (Joseph Cannon) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1910 (Min): Conservative (Joseph Cannon) def. Liberal (Charles Clark), Populist (William J. Bryan), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1912-1919: Woodrow Wilson (Liberal) (10)*
1912 (Maj): Liberal (Woodrow Wilson) def. Conservative (Joseph Cannon), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1916 (Maj): Liberal (Woodrow Wilson) def. Conservative (Charles E. Hughes), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1919-1920: Thomas Marshall (Liberal) (11)
1920-1923: Warren Harding (Conservative) (12)*
1920 (Maj): Conservative (Warren Harding) def. Liberal (Thomas Marshall), Progressive (Robert LaFollette), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Populist (William J. Bryan)
1923-1930: Calvin Coolidge (Conservative) (13)
1924 (Maj): Conservative (Calvin Coolidge) def. Liberal (Thomas Walsh), Progressive (Robert LaFollette), Socialist (Norman Thomas)
1928 (Maj): Conservative (Calvin Coolidge) def. Liberal (Thomas Walsh), Progressive (Hiram Johnson), Socialist (Norman Thomas)
1930-1932: Richard Bennett (Conservative) (14)
1932-1945: Franklin Roosevelt (Liberal) (15)*
1932 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Richard Bennett), End Poverty in the Commonwealth (Upton Sinclair), Social Credit (William Aberhart), Progressive (Thomas Crerar), Commonwealth (Huey Long)
1936 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Charles Curtis), Commonwealth (Huey Long), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Social Credit (John Blackmore), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt Jr.)
1940 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Robert Manion), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Social Credit (John Blackmore), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt Jr.), Commonwealth (Charles Coughlin)
1945-1953: Harry S. Truman (Liberal) (16)
1945 (Maj): Liberal (Harry Truman) def. Progressive Conservative (John Bracken), Democratic (Henry Wallace), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1948 (Maj): Liberal (Harry Truman) def. Progressive Conservative (Thomas Dewey), Democratic (Henry Wallace), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1953-1962: Harold Stassen (Progressive Conservative) (17)
1953 (Maj): Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen) def. Liberal (Harry Truman), Democratic (Glenn Taylor), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1957 (Maj): Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson II), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1962-1963: John Kennedy (Liberal) (18)**
1962 (Maj): Liberal (John Kennedy) def. Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Robert Thompson)
1963-1968: Lyndon Johnson (Liberal) (19)
1965 (Maj): Liberal (Lyndon Johnson) def. Progressive Conservative (Robert Stanfield), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Robert Thompson)
Center Block hovered over Philadelphia like an albatross, with the neogothic Confederation Tower casting a long shadow over the Commonwealth's capital. One by one, a string of black Lincoln's pulled down the corner of High Street, entering through the gates that sealed off this small street from the rest of the city. Passing the various government buildings and ministerial residences, each vehicle came to a stop in front of 190 High Street, which for over a hundred years had housed the leader of Her Majesty's government in America. One by one, they were greeted by the uniformed equerry, and escorted into the building in anticipation of a cabinet meeting that was to take place. Outside, two motionless uniformed sentries from the Royal American Marines watched each arrival, standing guard outside of the residence in a tradition that dated back to the days of the republican revolt. First to show up was Hubert Humphrey, who was the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of the governing Liberal Party. He was followed by others, including Defense Minister Stuart Symington, Foreign Minister Henry Jackson, Justice Minister Peter Rodino, and Finance Minister John Connally, each arriving in rapid succession.
The entire cabinet had been assembled in the cabinet room around the large mahogany table that dominated their environs; they arose, in unison, as Johnson entered. All of the men (there were no women in Johnson's cabinet, even though the Liberals had a number of female MPs) stood in silence until Johnson hastily waved his hand, signaling for them to take their seats. They did so, with a few murmurs and quiet grumbled greetings to the Prime Minister and one another.
"I don't want to start this meeting by talking about policy. I want to start this meeting to discuss some business" Johnson snarled in his thick Texan drawl; "I 'wanna know who if anyone here has been approached by Bobby."
Paul Hellyer, the former Minister of Defense who had recently been demoted in the latest cabinet shuffle to the position of Minister of Housing and Urban Development, rolled his eyes slightly. This went unnoticed by Johnson, who was known to throw pens and other common desk items at anyone who dared to do so in his presence. His temper was well known in Philadelphia for decades, and his relations with his own parliamentary caucus were frequently strained throughout his tenure as leader of the party. Johnson's near obsession with Kennedy went back to his time as Deputy Prime Minister to Kennedy's late older brother John, when he frequently clashed with Bobby, then Chief of Staff and gatekeeper to his brother, the Prime Minister.
A desire to aggressively pursue civil rights legislation led Bobby Kennedy to stand for the House of Commons in the riding of Albany, with Johnson appointing him Justice Minister on his very first day as a member of parliament - an unprecedented move that helped fuel the narrative being formed around Robert Kennedy's meteoric rise. Though together they had managed to pass sweeping legislation that dramatically changed the fortunes of millions of Afro-Americans living under Jim Crow in the southern provinces, it was not enough to bridge the growing gap between the two, which was widened by their disagreements about the war in Malaya and America's involvement in the Imperial military campaigns being waged by the broader British Empire. It had been nine months since Kennedy left the government, and there was growing speculation that he would soon attempt to launch a leadership spill.
"He's approached me" said Connally with confidence, "offered me Hubert's job."
"Well?" asked Johnson.
"I declined, of course" replied Connally, "I wouldn't be here if I said yes. The people around him have loose lips. Even if I wanted to put a knife in your back, I couldn't. Not with his crew."
Johnson was skeptical of Connally, who spoke with typical bravado. Connally was in for John Connally, surmised Johnson. He may not be loyal, but he wasn't stupid. He knew who buttered his bread.
"Anyone else?"
"I haven't been approached by Bobby" said Paul Martin, a veteran MP from the province of Canada who was a relatively reliable ally of Johnson going back some three decades, when they were both elected to the House of Commons in 1936.
"But you've been approached by someone else?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Teddy."
There were some lighthearted chuckles amongst those present. But to the Prime Minister, it was no laughing matter.
"Let it be known" he said sternly, his gaze turned to Pierre Trudeau, the Attorney General who effectively was Kennedy's Deputy during his time in the government, "that I will personally see to it that any and every one of his supporters in this caucus will be deselected before the 1970 election. Got it?" Trudeau couldn't help but think that Johnson's words were mostly directed towards him. Mainly because they were. Johnson had passed him over for the aging Peter Rodino after Bobby had quit after all.
"Now" continued Johnson, "I believe Henry is going to brief us all on the impending negotiations with the....."
Ever since his election a months earlier in August 1967 as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Richard Nixon had treated every day as a day on the campaign trail. Though the nation was two years away from the next federal election, Nixon had spent virtually all of his spare time outside of the parliament's sittings to campaign for the Tories across the country. His efforts were paying off; the political infrastructure he was building across the country was a well oiled machine, his caucus was by and large united around his leadership, his message about law and order was taking hold, and most importantly, the donation money was rolling in to the Progressive Conservative Party's coffers.
As the leader of the opposition, Nixon's job was to effectively prosecute Johnson at the dispatch box during question time; he was a relatively awkward orator in parliament and on the stump, and in the House, he frequently was made to stutter slightly or lose his place due to the incessant heckling and mocking jeers from the Liberal Party MPs on the government benches. Ever an ambitious man, he knew that the day would come when they couldn't kick Nixon around anymore. As Johnson and his cabinet met for their weekly meeting, Nixon was having his own summit of sorts in the skies, where he and a loyal traveling aide named Pat Buchanan were passengers on a flight bound for Saint Louis.
"Pat," he said quietly, his gaze fixed on the view out the window, "I don't know what will happen. I've never felt so...in the wilderness. If Bobby runs, he'll create a fissure amongst the Grits. The problem, I think, is that if a leadership spill is held, and it goes to a convention, than Bobby wins. And if I have go up against Bobby, we'll lose."
"The Daley machine is key" answered Buchanan, "he'll be the kingmaker."
"How can we move the needle?" asked Nixon in exasperation, "there has got to be a way for us to exploit a schism."
"The problem with the Liberals is that they fall in love and fall in line at the same time, no matter who there leader is."
"FDR taught them to play tough back in the '40s, and they've mastered it like an art. They are ruthless. We need to be ruthless, Pat!" He pounded his fist against his knee to add emphasis.
"Just give it some time" said Buchanan, who was wiser beyond his 29 years, "this country is a powder keg waiting for a spark to hit it."
And we're off. More to come tomorrow.
The Commonwealth of America as of 2022.
A highly developed nation, the Dominion boasts an abundance of natural resources and a long tradition of industry. With the seventh highest GDP per capita and ranked first by the Human Development Index, the Commonwealth of America is both the foremost economic power of both North America. Its advanced economy, one of the largest in the world, relies on well-developed trade networks, agricultural and industrial export, finance, technology, and tourism. America is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the Council of Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7 (formerly G8), the Group of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The Commonwealth of America is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III serving as head of state, though he is represented in this role by a Governor-General. Political power is wielded by the Prime Minister, who is drawn from the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament of the Commonwealth. The other being the less influential Senate, which consists of two members from each province elected by the legislature. The Commonwealth is officially bilingual, with a large Francophone minority in Quebec. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries.
Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now the American Commonwealth for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. What followed after was a period of unrest over taxation, colonial autonomy, and corruption led to the ultimate Confederation of Britain’s continental holdings. The unrest was quelled, but this began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by Confederation and the subsequent adoption of the Constitution's in 1860.
Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of America.
1860-1865: Abraham Lincoln (Liberal-Conservative) (1)**
1860 (Maj): Liberal-Conservative (Abraham Lincoln) def. Southern Anti-Confederation (Geoffrey Davis), Northern Anti-Confederation (Joseph Howe), Constitutional Union (Samuel Houston)
1864 (Maj): Liberal-Conservative (Abraham Lincoln) def. Constitutional Union (Edward Everett)
1865-1868: John MacDonald (Liberal-Conservative) (2)
1868-1876: Horatio Seymour (Liberal) (3)
1868 (Maj): Liberal (Horatio Seymour) def. Conservative (John MacDonald)
1872 (Maj): Liberal (Horatio Seymour) def. Conservative (Hannibal Hamlin)
1876-1880: James Blaine (Conservative) (4)
1876 (Maj): Conservative (James Blaine) def. Liberal (Horatio Seymour)
1880-1884: Edward Blake (Liberal) (5)
1880 (Maj): Liberal (Edward Blake) def. Conservative (James Blaine)
1884-1892: James Garfield (Conservative) (6)
1884 (Maj): Conservative (James Garfield) def. Liberal (Edward Blake)
1888 (Maj): Conservative (James Garfield) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I)
1892-1900: Adlai Stevenson I (Liberal) (7)
1892 (Min): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (James Garfield), Populist (James Weaver)
1893 (Maj): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (Benjamin Harrison), Populist (James Weaver)
1896 (Maj): Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I) def. Conservative (William McKinley), Populist (William J. Bryan)
1900-1901: William McKinley (Conservative) (8)**
1900 (Maj): Conservative (William McKinley) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1901-1912: Joseph Cannon (Conservative) (9)
1905 (Maj): Conservative (Joseph Cannon) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson I), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1910 (Min): Conservative (Joseph Cannon) def. Liberal (Charles Clark), Populist (William J. Bryan), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1912-1919: Woodrow Wilson (Liberal) (10)*
1912 (Maj): Liberal (Woodrow Wilson) def. Conservative (Joseph Cannon), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1916 (Maj): Liberal (Woodrow Wilson) def. Conservative (Charles E. Hughes), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt), Populist (William J. Bryan), Socialist (Eugene Debs)
1919-1920: Thomas Marshall (Liberal) (11)
1920-1923: Warren Harding (Conservative) (12)*
1920 (Maj): Conservative (Warren Harding) def. Liberal (Thomas Marshall), Progressive (Robert LaFollette), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Populist (William J. Bryan)
1923-1930: Calvin Coolidge (Conservative) (13)
1924 (Maj): Conservative (Calvin Coolidge) def. Liberal (Thomas Walsh), Progressive (Robert LaFollette), Socialist (Norman Thomas)
1928 (Maj): Conservative (Calvin Coolidge) def. Liberal (Thomas Walsh), Progressive (Hiram Johnson), Socialist (Norman Thomas)
1930-1932: Richard Bennett (Conservative) (14)
1932-1945: Franklin Roosevelt (Liberal) (15)*
1932 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Richard Bennett), End Poverty in the Commonwealth (Upton Sinclair), Social Credit (William Aberhart), Progressive (Thomas Crerar), Commonwealth (Huey Long)
1936 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Charles Curtis), Commonwealth (Huey Long), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Social Credit (John Blackmore), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt Jr.)
1940 (Maj): Liberal (Franklin Roosevelt) def. Conservative (Robert Manion), Socialist (Norman Thomas), Social Credit (John Blackmore), Progressive (Theodore Roosevelt Jr.), Commonwealth (Charles Coughlin)
1945-1953: Harry S. Truman (Liberal) (16)
1945 (Maj): Liberal (Harry Truman) def. Progressive Conservative (John Bracken), Democratic (Henry Wallace), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1948 (Maj): Liberal (Harry Truman) def. Progressive Conservative (Thomas Dewey), Democratic (Henry Wallace), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1953-1962: Harold Stassen (Progressive Conservative) (17)
1953 (Maj): Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen) def. Liberal (Harry Truman), Democratic (Glenn Taylor), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1957 (Maj): Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen) def. Liberal (Adlai Stevenson II), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Solon Earl Low)
1962-1963: John Kennedy (Liberal) (18)**
1962 (Maj): Liberal (John Kennedy) def. Progressive Conservative (Harold Stassen), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Robert Thompson)
1963-1968: Lyndon Johnson (Liberal) (19)
1965 (Maj): Liberal (Lyndon Johnson) def. Progressive Conservative (Robert Stanfield), Provincial Rights Alliance (Strom Thurmond), Democratic (Tommy Douglas), Social Credit (Robert Thompson)
11:30 AM, Wednesday, April 3rd, 1968:
190 High Street, Philadelphia, PA.
190 High Street, Philadelphia, PA.
The entire cabinet had been assembled in the cabinet room around the large mahogany table that dominated their environs; they arose, in unison, as Johnson entered. All of the men (there were no women in Johnson's cabinet, even though the Liberals had a number of female MPs) stood in silence until Johnson hastily waved his hand, signaling for them to take their seats. They did so, with a few murmurs and quiet grumbled greetings to the Prime Minister and one another.
"I don't want to start this meeting by talking about policy. I want to start this meeting to discuss some business" Johnson snarled in his thick Texan drawl; "I 'wanna know who if anyone here has been approached by Bobby."
Paul Hellyer, the former Minister of Defense who had recently been demoted in the latest cabinet shuffle to the position of Minister of Housing and Urban Development, rolled his eyes slightly. This went unnoticed by Johnson, who was known to throw pens and other common desk items at anyone who dared to do so in his presence. His temper was well known in Philadelphia for decades, and his relations with his own parliamentary caucus were frequently strained throughout his tenure as leader of the party. Johnson's near obsession with Kennedy went back to his time as Deputy Prime Minister to Kennedy's late older brother John, when he frequently clashed with Bobby, then Chief of Staff and gatekeeper to his brother, the Prime Minister.
A desire to aggressively pursue civil rights legislation led Bobby Kennedy to stand for the House of Commons in the riding of Albany, with Johnson appointing him Justice Minister on his very first day as a member of parliament - an unprecedented move that helped fuel the narrative being formed around Robert Kennedy's meteoric rise. Though together they had managed to pass sweeping legislation that dramatically changed the fortunes of millions of Afro-Americans living under Jim Crow in the southern provinces, it was not enough to bridge the growing gap between the two, which was widened by their disagreements about the war in Malaya and America's involvement in the Imperial military campaigns being waged by the broader British Empire. It had been nine months since Kennedy left the government, and there was growing speculation that he would soon attempt to launch a leadership spill.
"He's approached me" said Connally with confidence, "offered me Hubert's job."
"Well?" asked Johnson.
"I declined, of course" replied Connally, "I wouldn't be here if I said yes. The people around him have loose lips. Even if I wanted to put a knife in your back, I couldn't. Not with his crew."
Johnson was skeptical of Connally, who spoke with typical bravado. Connally was in for John Connally, surmised Johnson. He may not be loyal, but he wasn't stupid. He knew who buttered his bread.
"Anyone else?"
"I haven't been approached by Bobby" said Paul Martin, a veteran MP from the province of Canada who was a relatively reliable ally of Johnson going back some three decades, when they were both elected to the House of Commons in 1936.
"But you've been approached by someone else?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Teddy."
There were some lighthearted chuckles amongst those present. But to the Prime Minister, it was no laughing matter.
"Let it be known" he said sternly, his gaze turned to Pierre Trudeau, the Attorney General who effectively was Kennedy's Deputy during his time in the government, "that I will personally see to it that any and every one of his supporters in this caucus will be deselected before the 1970 election. Got it?" Trudeau couldn't help but think that Johnson's words were mostly directed towards him. Mainly because they were. Johnson had passed him over for the aging Peter Rodino after Bobby had quit after all.
"Now" continued Johnson, "I believe Henry is going to brief us all on the impending negotiations with the....."
2:15 PM, Wednesday, April 3rd, 1968:
Somewhere over Indiana.
Somewhere over Indiana.
As the leader of the opposition, Nixon's job was to effectively prosecute Johnson at the dispatch box during question time; he was a relatively awkward orator in parliament and on the stump, and in the House, he frequently was made to stutter slightly or lose his place due to the incessant heckling and mocking jeers from the Liberal Party MPs on the government benches. Ever an ambitious man, he knew that the day would come when they couldn't kick Nixon around anymore. As Johnson and his cabinet met for their weekly meeting, Nixon was having his own summit of sorts in the skies, where he and a loyal traveling aide named Pat Buchanan were passengers on a flight bound for Saint Louis.
"Pat," he said quietly, his gaze fixed on the view out the window, "I don't know what will happen. I've never felt so...in the wilderness. If Bobby runs, he'll create a fissure amongst the Grits. The problem, I think, is that if a leadership spill is held, and it goes to a convention, than Bobby wins. And if I have go up against Bobby, we'll lose."
"The Daley machine is key" answered Buchanan, "he'll be the kingmaker."
"How can we move the needle?" asked Nixon in exasperation, "there has got to be a way for us to exploit a schism."
"The problem with the Liberals is that they fall in love and fall in line at the same time, no matter who there leader is."
"FDR taught them to play tough back in the '40s, and they've mastered it like an art. They are ruthless. We need to be ruthless, Pat!" He pounded his fist against his knee to add emphasis.
"Just give it some time" said Buchanan, who was wiser beyond his 29 years, "this country is a powder keg waiting for a spark to hit it."
And we're off. More to come tomorrow.
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