Mr. Stewart Goes to Washington

Arrowfan237

(My first ever timeline, so please be kind)



January 10th, 1958: Hollywood actor James Stewart announces that he plans to seek the Republican nomination for Governor of California in the upcoming 1958 election.

January 11th, 1958: General Electric Theater host Ronald Reagan is overheard expressing discontent over Stewart's announcement. He is overheard stating: "Actors turning into politicians. What's next? A businessman becoming President?" (Few would be able to tell how prophetic Reagan's words would be)
 
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Driftless

Driftless

Donor
I dunno... He touched several of the same conservative bases as door openers that Reagan did, and then some. Like many of that generation, both Stewart & Reagan served in the WW2 military; except Stewart was a bonafide combat pilot with a sterling record. He was arguably a more likeable and better communicator than "The Great Communicator" Reagan (IMO). His low-key affability and sincerity may have worked very well in politics.
 
Yes

Yes

First-class idea. Stewart may, to some degree, be both too nice a man (best friends with Henry Fonda who was as left as Stewart was right) and a little too private by nature for the particular limelights of politics. But he's Reagan-plus: a more intelligent (I'll just come right out and say it), more emotionally and intellectually grounded variation on the Reagan theme, and the ringing sincerity of Stewart trumps even Reagan who even then was really selling people the "what if John Wayne went into politics" schtick (the answer to which was he backed Wallace and the AIP ... sheesh) into which he grew over time as people accepted what they could get. Stewart would have started the game already operating on another level from Reagan in terms of public stature and he would, for longer, have more moderate-to-liberal folks saying "well he's such a genuinely nice guy how bad could it get" while overlooking just how rock-ribbed conservative his politics were. Plus, as someone raised above, he's a bona-fide war hero like few governors and senators of the era, and more so than any president since Teddy Roosevelt. Despite the appeal of "John Carter"ing Charlton Heston, I think if you put Stewart to the allohistorical test you get bigger and more interesting results. Well played.
 

Sorairo

Arrowfan237 said:
(My first ever timeline, so please be kind)



January 10th, 1958: Hollywood actor James Stewart announces that he plans to seek the Republican nomination for Governor of California in the upcoming 1958 election.

January 11th, 1958: General Electric Theater host Ronald Reagan is overheard expressing discontent over Stewart's announcement. He is overheard stating: "Actors turning into politicians. What's next? A businessman becoming President?" (Few would be able to tell how prophetic Reagan's words would be)
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I honestly feel pretty bad for Stewart in this scenario; no matter what he does, there's going to be a huge group of people who will utterly hate his guts for his politics, when he is probably the most huggable person on Earth.
 

Arrowfan237

January 12th, 1958: It is announced that accused mass-murderer Charles Starkweather and his accomplice Caril Ann Fugate will be tried in Wyoming for their multiple killings.

January 12th, 1958: Vice-President Richard Nixon endorses Republican candidate James Stewart for the 1958 Gubernatorial election.

January 20th, 1958: Following the lead of his Vice-President, President Dwight D. Eisenhower throws his support behind James Stewart in his campaign for Governor. President Eisenhower is remembered as saying: "Jimmy Stewart has given us some of the greatest film characters of our time. This man, who has done so much for Hollywood and his country, has even more to give to the people of California."

February 1st, 1958: Hollywood star Henry Fonda surprises everyone by endorsing Republican Gubernatorial candidate James Stewart instead of his likely Democratic challenger, State Attorney General Edmund "Pat" Brown. Despite being a liberal Democrat, Fonda states that he has chosen to support Stewart because of his good-natured spirit and his ability to cross partisan lines.

February, 1958: Following Fonda's announcement numerous Hollywood stars including John Wayne, Walt Disney, Frank Capra (who called Stewart "the finest actor I ever had the pleasure of working with"), James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Gary Cooper, Cecil B. DeMille, Ginger Rogers, and George Murphy (Murphy is reported to have said: "Stewart may just pave the way for actors everywhere who may just develop an itch for politics") endorse James Stewart in his bid for Governor. Other figures like Orson Welles either endorse Stewart's likely opponent Edmund "Pat" Brown or refuse to endorse anyone altogether.

February-May, 1958: James Stewart repeatedly refuses calls from campaign officials to highlight his war hero record as a Colonel in the Army during World War II. Stewart also refuses to use any of his Army colleagues in his campaign, not wanting them to unwillingly be pulled into the world of politics. He des not ban them from campaigning on their own for him, but he would not force them to come into the limelight. He is quoted as saying: "I signed up for this. My men did not."
 
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zert

Great tie in with Fonda endorsing Stewart. The two were good friends and I think it is believable. Will John Wayne try to get into the fray or just endorse Stewart? What other Stars might get involved, on either side?
 

Arrowfan237

March 1st, 1958: Acclaimed actor and director Orson Welles announces that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Wisconsin. His only real competition for the Democratic nomination is the current Senator William Proxmire, who had been appointed to the seat after Senator Joseph McCarthy died. Welles is heard remarking to his advisors: "James has opened the floodgates. We all know that Stewart is headed to the White House. We can't allow that brand of conservatism to be in charge. I'm one of the few people who can stop it."

March 10th, 1958: After meeting with Orson Welles, Senator William Proxmire announces that he will not run in the upcoming election, stating that he wanted to give Democrats the best chance to win.

March 11th, 1958: Given Stewart's domination of the public opinion polls and dismal fundraising numbers, U.S. Senator William F. Knowland, drops out of the race for the Republican nomination. This leaves Stewart with no competition for the nomination. Many were surprised when Knowland dropped out. Not that he actually dropped out, but how long it took him to do so. Many felt that Knowland would suffer the same fate as Governor Goodwin Knight, who dropped out of the race a mere few days after Stewart decided to enter the race.

March 20th, 1958: In order to promote party unity, presumptive Republican Gubernatorial nominee James Stewart announces that he will bring current Governor and former competitor for the nomination, Goodwin Knight, on as his nominee for the role of Lieutenant Governor (a role that he had held under former Governor and current U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren). It would be revealed decades later that Knight only accepted the position because Stewart promised to support him in a 1962 Senate run or appoint him to the first vacancy.
 
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glenn67

Arrowfan237 said:
March 1st, 1958: Acclaimed actor and director Orson Welles announces that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Wisconsin. His only real competition for the Democratic nomination is the current Senator William Proxmire, who had been appointed to the seat after Senator Joseph McCarthy died. Welles is heard remarking to his advisors: "James has opened the floodgates. We all know that Stewart is headed to the White House. We can't allow that brand of conservatism to be in charge. I'm one of the few people who can stop it."
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Proxmire was elected to the Senate in a 1957 special election. And I doubt that Welles would challenge an incumbent Democrat for that seat.

Orson Welles running for governor seems more plausible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Proxmire
 
Catsmate

Catsmate

Arrowfan237 said:
March 1st, 1958: Acclaimed actor and director Orson Welles announces that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Wisconsin. His only real competition for the Democratic nomination is the current Senator William Proxmire, who had been appointed to the seat after Senator Joseph McCarthy died. Welles is heard remarking to his advisors: "James has opened the floodgates. We all know that Stewart is headed to the White House. We can't allow that brand of conservatism to be in charge. I'm one of the few people who can stop it."

March 10th, 1958: After meeting with Orson Welles, Senator William Proxmire announces that he will not run in the upcoming election, stating that he wanted to give Democrats the best chance to win.
Click to expand...
Potentially good news for NASA and space exploration.

Arrowfan237 said:
Which makes his ability to not endorse James Stewart even more surprising.
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Yeah, it's a bit early for the dead to be endorsing products and candidates.
 

David T

Was this inspired by Jack Warner's (alleged) remark on hearing of Reagan's 1966 gubernatorial candidacy? ("No, Jimmy Stewart for Governor. Reagan for best friend.")

But 1958 is probably a bad year for anyone seeking the governorship of California as a Republican.
 

Arrowfan237

(sorry it was so long without an update. Trying to fight the flu)

April-November, 1958: Attorney General Edmund "Pat" Brown and actor James "Jimmy" Stewart fight a heated battle for Governor of California. All throughout the race Stewart led the race, though over time Brown has gained some ground. Few expect that to make a difference, though.

November 4th, 1958: James "Jimmy" Stewart wins big in his race for Governor of California against State Attorney General Edmund "Pat" Brown by a 55-45% margin. Stewart makes a short victory speech to his supporters from the ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel: "Well....um...thank you to everyone who got out there and voted today. My opponent ran a great race and I hope we can work together to better California for everyone. Without cooperation between everyone, we cannot succeed. Thank you and good-night."
In his own suite at an unreported California hotel, Pat Brown is overheard stating at Stewart's televised speech: "Goddammit. I just got beat by this guy. I should be furious, and yet all I want to do is have a drink with him. I hope you all just realize that I just lost to the next President."

November 4th, 1958: While news outlets all around the country focus on James Stewart's big win in California, many less report the victory of Orson Welles in the Wisconsin Senate race. When asked how he felt about not getting immense media coverage on his victory, Welles was reported to have said: "You ain't seen nothing yet."

January 5th, 1959: James Stewart takes the oath of office to become the 32nd Governor of California while Governor Goodwin Knight takes a perceived step-down by being sworn in as Lieutenant Governor.

January 10th, 1959: D.C. Comics announces the creation of a new superhero team: The Avengers. The team is to be a modern incarnation of their Justice Society and will be made up originally of Batman, Superman, the Greek demi-god Hercules, new superhero Ray Palmer as "The Atom", the Black Canary (the original WWII one), and Plastic Man.
 
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