President Stassen

Peelitebkearns

Interesting idea, though it may be tricky to secure the nomination for Stassen in the first place.

From what I know of him, he was more liberal than most in both parties, so the new deal continues under him in full flow.
 
Ariosto

Ariosto

Relatively simple to get Stassen the nomination:

  1. Don't mount the challenge in Ohio. While he made an impressive showing in Taft's home turf, it didn't amount to any real gain; all it got him was the ire of the Party's Conservatives and a truly pissed off Senator.
  2. Win Oregon. This primary, the last primary, is what put the wind back in Tom Dewey's sails after Stassen's string of victories. Either the debate goes differently or Stassen makes a few additional trips to the state; the vote was rather close so it wouldn't take much to flip.
From there, while he might not make it on the first ballot, he will be the favorite and eventually become the nominee, most likely on the second; if not the third. As for who he would run with, well, Robert Taft seems good only because it would shore up the Conservatives, who while no longer angry with Stassen, would not exactly be enthusiastic about him either. Then of course there is Vandenburg and Warren, but for the sake of discussion I'll keep it with Taft.

Harold Stassen (R-MN) / Robert Taft (R-OH)
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Paul V McNutt

Banned
In. 1952 Republican president Stassen is blamed for the quagmire in Korea. t That means President Stevenson 1953 - 1961.
 

Silver Priest

If Stassen gets elected and serves only one term, does he keep running in every election until he dies? He'd be a far more serious opponent, but it's only a matter of time until he's thought of as a joke if he never gives up, president or no.
 

Sicarius

Without Truman pressuring Stevenson to run while also bashing Kefauver, we may see President Kefauver in 1952 (there was also sizable opposition against him from the corrupt political machines, but he did still manage to get a majority on otl's first 1952 convention ballot).
 

Paul V McNutt

Banned
Silver Priest said:
If Stassen gets elected and serves only one term, does he keep running in every election until he dies? He'd be a far more serious opponent, but it's only a matter of time until he's thought of as a joke if he never gives up, president or no.
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He obviously enjoyed running for president. By 1964, it going to look awful pathetic for a former president to keep running over and over.
 

Paul V McNutt

Banned
Sicarius said:
Without Truman pressuring Stevenson to run while also bashing Kefauver, we may see President Kefauver in 1952 (there was also sizable opposition against him from the corrupt political machines, but he did still manage to get a majority on otl's first 1952 convention ballot).
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We would have an elected Southern president, a quarter century before OTL.
 
Jape

Jape

CPUSA is made illegal - McCarthyism might get more White House support. Be interesting to see how far this could go.

US arms over US armies, Stassen pumps funds and munitions into friendly states - this might butterfly Korea if he gives Syngman Rhee a handful of tanks, planes and anti-tank weapons. However he might be less interested in an American dominated *NATO and back the Brussels Pact in a similar fashion, with US guns going to Belgian/French/German soldiers in huge numbers with relatively small Army deployments. He might also push for a nuclear first strategy along similar lines.

He was very anti-colonial so he might have less time for Indochina

(tries) to introduce early civil rights legislation?

instead of the Federal Highways his big project might be mass nuclear power plants to reduce dependence on foriegn oil - a bug of his from early on apparently.

So basically a law and order liberal
 

Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy

Banned
Jape said:
CPUSA is made illegal
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A ban would have to first pass Congress. And it would be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, who I think would rule against it.

McCarthyism might get more White House support.
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McCarthyism is of much less use to the Republicans if they can't use it against a currently serving Democratic POTUS. If anything, it might become an instrument of Stassen's opponents in his own party. Assuming it gets started in the first place.

However he might be less interested in an American dominated *NATO and back the Brussels Pact in a similar fashion, with US guns going to Belgian/French/German soldiers in huge numbers with relatively small Army deployments.
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This could get interesting if the Brussels Pact is fused with the European Coal and Steel Community.
 

Æsir

Paul V McNutt said:
In. 1952 Republican president Stassen is blamed for the quagmire in Korea. t That means President Stevenson 1953 - 1961.
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I'm not sure it's implausible we still get President Eisenhower 1953-1961... but as a Democrat. IIRC both parties courted him and he wasn't very political prior to the 1952 race, right?
 

Sicarius

Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy said:
Wasn't he just a crypto-Republican?
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I'm not sure it was especially secret, it just hadn't come up. He made no bones about it when Truman tried to encourage him to run as a Democrat, but he may well have purposefully kept it under the radar during the WWII years. Regardless, yeah, Ike was a lifelong Republican.
 
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