The President Lay Dying: A TLIAW
- Thread starter Vidal
- Start date
He’s one of the godfathers of modern Neoconservatism.
IMO having conservative foreign policy positions might have helped implement a more left-wing agenda domestically. Nobody would call Scoop Jackson a communist, and the late 70s were the best time to get lasting healthcare reform.
The only stupid shit I could see him doing is responding much more... aggressively to the Iran hostage situation. Which while blindingly unethical might just win him the election.
dcharles
Banned
Also, "President Scoop."
If you've just been reading this timeline in your head, like a normal person would do, say those words aloud, five or six times.
You feel ok?
Oh, what is it? A rising sense of tightness acroos your neck and shoulders, like you're on the verge of a cringe? Me too. That feeling--that's called dread.
If you've just been reading this timeline in your head, like a normal person would do, say those words aloud, five or six times.
You feel ok?
Oh, what is it? A rising sense of tightness acroos your neck and shoulders, like you're on the verge of a cringe? Me too. That feeling--that's called dread.
dcharles
Banned
If for no other reason than the jokes Rodney Dangerfield is making at his expense after this extremely public backstabbing.
"You know who else gets no respect?"
What’s a few million more dead brown/yellow people worth if you could have free healthcare?
A question from a parallel TL: Could Jackson have won in ‘76 if he was the nominee? I wonder if his support for Vietnam and outspoken opposition to busing might dampen turn out or bleed off votes to Eugene McCarthy’s campaign.
I suspect that without locking up the South he might struggle against Ford. Then again, there would likely be no Playboy interview. Overall, I think he could beat Reagan.
I suspect that without locking up the South he might struggle against Ford. Then again, there would likely be no Playboy interview. Overall, I think he could beat Reagan.
chestanewmitz
Banned
Ableism? My great grandpa had a trail of urine behind him more than once on his last days, when he had to use a bag. It IS incredibly humiliating, and you just need the bag to bump on something.
And this is when one is around nobody but one's family, Imagine that happening in national television, at the inauguration of a public building or something. the vultures would come down on the poor bastard.
Not to mention when frail bodies go thru that lots of clots come down with the urine and might clog the bag's pipes, requiring constant cleaning...oh boy.
Btw i'm still beginning to read the tl and it's amazing so far.
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If one of the best arguments against Reagan was that you couldn't trust him on foreign policy -- and it was -- doesn't that argument get undercut by Jackson? Sure he's more "respected" but ideologically they're similar...
Wasn’t that argument mostly used because of his lack of experience? You can say a lot about Jackson’s views on foreign policy, but he does have experience.
Jackson was an incredibly wooden campaigner and speaker as demonstrated by this video of him in 1971 speaking to a Texas AFL-CIO meeting. Whilst he had improved slightly by the mid 70s, he’s a fairly monotonous speaker and wasn’t particularly enthusiastic. Given the 70s still relied a fair bit on soap box politics in several respects, I think the seemingly awkward affable nature of Ford or the Hollywood Charisma of Reagan would likely run rings around Jackson in my personal opinion.
Amusingly the video above showcases the strength of Hubert Humphrey as a campaigner if he had gained the nomination, his old school New Deal speechifying and natural charm is something to behold.
A fair point, but wasn’t Reagan still seen as an economic extremist at this time?
First of all, kudos to @Vidal for another amazing scenario and execution. Poor Jimmy... the Hube could definitely be a dick sometimes in his pursuit of legacy.
Second, oh fuck it's Scoop Jackson and neoconland coming to the White House, the Third World is fucked. Iran will be such a clusterfuck, Central America will be set afire, things will suck.
As an outsider choice for VP I'd say always AH darling Reubin Askew, honest, affable, and from the Deep South, early defender of civil rights, pro-ERA, but anti-abortion. He also endorsed Scoop in '76: https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/18/archives/askew-endorses-jackson.html
Second, oh fuck it's Scoop Jackson and neoconland coming to the White House, the Third World is fucked. Iran will be such a clusterfuck, Central America will be set afire, things will suck.
As an outsider choice for VP I'd say always AH darling Reubin Askew, honest, affable, and from the Deep South, early defender of civil rights, pro-ERA, but anti-abortion. He also endorsed Scoop in '76: https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/18/archives/askew-endorses-jackson.html
I'd say any Democrat has a good shot in 76', Jackson included.
Jackson actually did try and soften a bit on Foreign Policy and Defense issues during the 1976 campaign, he refused to back the Ford Administration's request for additional aid to South Vietnam in early 1975, supported delaying the construction of the B1 Bomber, and recommended a 5-7 Billion cut in Defense spending in January of 1976. While he definitely to the right of your median Democrat, Jackson has in both the primary and general room to shift left while Reagan is running to Ford's right.
Run rings around Jackson, yes, but enough to win? I'm not sure. Ford's rose garden strategy and his relative moderation might be enough, maybe, but against Reagan after Watergate, Nixon, and eight years of Republican rule in the White House? I have my doubts, while a Ford/Jackson contest might lead to enough disaffected liberal Democrats staying home for Ford to eke it out, a Reagan/Jackson contest cuts a pretty clear contrast, and unlike in 1980, I don't think it's one to Reagan's benefit.
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