Congresses Second Sessions opens, at the behest of President Kennedy, Congress passes the historical Voting Rights Act of 1966, President Kennedy is praised for this decisive action after the Selma March. But, on top of passing the Voting Rights Act, Congress would also pass Social Security Amendments of 1966 which would create Medicaid and Medicare, later in the year, President Kennedy would reach out to Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin, the proposal by Kennedy would be a gutting of the Taft Hartley Act. Known later as the Proxmire Workers Act of 1966, the bill would get rid of the prohibition on almost all forms of striking and picketing. It would keep it's guidelines on investigating unions (due to the likes of Hoffa and other huge Union-Mob Leaders).
The Proxmire Workers Act of 1966 would be passed and signed into law by the President. Workers across the United States praise the President for helping the blue collar class. Republicans call the Proxmire Workers Act and the Voting Rights Act as 'political pandering' as the nation goes into the 1966 Midterm Elections. Although those bills will definitely help the Democrats, a looming issues begins to grow... Vietnam.
1964 Senatorial Elections
Democratic Party - 60 (0)
Republican Party - 40 (0)
1964 House Elections
Democratic Party - 250 (+22)
Republican Party - 185 (-22)
The Democrats retain their filibuster proof majority in the Senate, and even expand upon their majority in the House. Many credit the growth within the House to the Voting Rights Act and the Proxmire Workers Act, two bills that had major consequences on the Kennedy Coalition, solidifying the black community and the blue collar workers into the Kennedy Coalition.
President Kennedy has now seen a half decade of prosperity. The Administration beat a recession and ushered in record economic growth, supported massive Civil Rights reform, and (minus Bay of Pigs) have 'beaten' back the Soviets out of the Americas. President Kennedy had a popularity of almost 68%. But, a major issue arises, Vietnam. President Kennedy had devised a plan for the US involvement in Vietnam. He came to the conclusion that the US should help the Vietnamese through sending over an Officer Corp, but reaffirmed his position that it was "their (South Vietnam) war to win." This was much to the scrutiny from Military Officials and even Secretary McNamara, but Kennedy did not budge. He would not authorize a full ground force to be sent to Vietnam.
Throughout the later half of the 60's Kennedy would slowly withdraw US Officers and US Advisors, this happens due to the North slowly taking Southern cities (notably the Soviets also do not interfere in Vietnam). In 1967 the President of Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu would flee from South Vietnam and go to Australia. The South Vietnamese Military Junta would then surrender to the Northern government. President Kennedy would offer protection within the US to some South Vietnamese officials, but by the end of 1967, the Vietnamese Civil War was over. Kennedy gave a speech to Congress on a special invite, he would be quoted as saying the following...
The President was met with harsh criticisms from Republicans and some even from within the Democratic party. He justified these criticisms by pointing the the fact that the North Vietnamese government was staunchly independent from China and even the Soviet Union. President Kennedy would also make it a point, that the situation in Vietnam had been deteriorating for a couple years now, and if the US had launched a true military operation the casualties were in the tens of thousands. The President would also make it clear that the North Vietnamese had a massive advantage after Diem's assassination and collapse was a "sad inevitable." Although there was originally a lot of anger and criticisms for Kennedy's position, it soon became a popular sentiment among Democrats.
(I don't really know how to make it known, but without the draft and Vietnam as a whole, the 'flower power' movement doesn't really happen to the extent it did IRL, which in and of itself would make the political climate going into 1968 much safer and less polarized.)