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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State

The idea of a Green Tory Party is one I have played with before, I did one where they are called the Preservative Party, because of something @Makemakean said about 'Conservative' sounding like a party concerned about jams, jellies and marmalade to Swedish ears.
I've thought of that one as well - I think it's an entirely plausible alternate name.
 
The idea of a Green Tory Party is one I have played with before, I did one where they are called the Preservative Party, because of something @Makemakean said about 'Conservative' sounding like a party concerned about jams, jellies and marmalade to Swedish ears.

I don’t know if it sounds like that to Swedish ears in general, I can just say that it sounds like that to my ears in particular. For all I know I could be the anomalous data point in any potential survey.
 
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Part Two​

1997-1999: Ron Harvey/David A. Luther (Independent)
def. 1996: Mitch O’Rourke/Louis Long (Democratic), Michael Landon/John Campbell (Republican)

Ron Harvey had no intention of winning the 1996 presidential election. Maybe at one point when the young and charismatic tech magnet of the Silicon Rockies chose to run, he wanted to sit where Curtis Johnson sat. But the man who brought computers into the American home felt a different purpose to running: to deadlock the electoral college and extract policy concessions and the promise to be made Secretary of State from the candidate of his choice. The "great gaping void", as Harvey put it, left by Johnson's administration in the wake of Canada's tailspin and collapse and the subsequent recession was one that left many desperate for change. Californian Senator, the 'family first' conservative Michael Landon, provided a safe pair of hands to grip the wheel. Harvey, the Boy from Boise, offered a leap in the dark. Preforming well in polling and at the debates, Harvey's campaign pledged "absolute economic security" for and tariffs to protect the farmers and labourers of the mid-west and rust belt, to "bring the money spent frivolously overseas and on trinkets back to the American's who needed it most", to "break the obscene concentration of wealth in this country", and to deliver a balanced budget, as well as promising to spend more on an education and healthcare system that "works for everyone" and to "drain the swamp" in D.C. Harvey was painfully aware that he couldn't win, but maintained a public image of a man confident he was bound for the White House.

And then he won.

The exact reason for Harvey's upset victory came from the collapse of Michael Landon's campaign. Vice President O'Rourke was never going to win; the malaise around him and the administration was too strong, and his performance at debates was too weak. Landon was the frontrunner; Landon was the man who was expected to win office, and who Harvey was preparing for his negotiations with, even if Landon was polling strong enough in enough states the win the whole thing by himself. However, the October Surprise hit: Michael Landon's wife, the future Governess of Oregon Katherine Baker, wanted a divorce, citing Landon's affair with an unnamed Congressman. Landon's campaign hit a knot in the track, and derailed in a spectacular fashion; the Republicans of the Senate, many of whom were aware of the affair, abandoned him, not wanting to "associate with a sodomite". This was despite many within the leadership having been aware of the affair. As the media circus enveloped Landon, noting his hypocrisy in taking a 'family first' position that derided same-sex relationships, Harvey saw several big-name endorsements swing his way, most notably former President Harrison MacDonnell, who declared Harvey "the living embodiment of the American dream".

Sweeping the pacific states, the mountains, mid-west, the rust belt, and Vermont and Maine, much to his own surprise, Harvey won a decisive victory. He'd be no Secretary of State; he would instead be President. It was not a position he wished to be in, and indeed when Landon's October Surprise hit, he had been rather hoping that O'Rourke would somehow be able to pull a victory out of the bag. Rather he found himself stood, reciting the oath of office before Supreme Justice Peterson on a cold day in January. Unlike his predecessor, Harvey didn't allow the unexpectedness of his successor to be visible. Dignified, confident, and speaking clearly to the nation, at first Harvey, the first man since Washington to not represent any party, and the first ever to not come from politics or the military, was a breath of fresh air. Filling his administration with technocrats, such as his Secretary of State Patricia Clarke, and military men such as Justice Secretary John Stein- the latter a suggestion by Vice President Luther, himself formally SMMC- Harvey referred to his government as one that was a "Cabinet of All-Talents", in which figures were chosen because of what Harvey viewed as their technical skill, rather than their political leanings. This was a mistake, and rifts were quick to form between the Military, the 'Technocrats', and the token political appointments that Harvey would be forced to make in order to satisfy the Democratic controlled congress. These rifts would ultimately tear the administration apart.

Harvey was ultimately reliant on Executive Orders. Although he was able to get bipartisan support for cuts in Government spending- just- and some more liberal social policy, he was forced to resort to the E.O. in order to implement tariffs and to pursue economically nationalist interventions. Although publicly a centrist, Harvey leaned more towards the Republicans in terms of economics, and with this he fought a blue Congress. The Democratic Speaker Aaron Udall of Utah's 2nd would not give the President an inch. In his mind the President didn't have a party; therefore, in this state of cohabitation, the President, unable to fall back on the Democrats or Republicans, would have to become a vessel for Congress. The Speaker had a revolution in mind; the President would fight this tooth and nail. Coming from the tech world, Harvey was used to getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was the obedience of congress to pass the legislation he felt he had the right to pass. And faced with men like Udall, his hostility was vitriolic; on one noted occasion, Harvey threw a personal computer into the walls of the oval office when Udall announced he planned to kill Harvey's immigration reform. The dent remains, and is called the "Harvey Hole'. Although Harvey would reluctantly accept many of the laws that would find themselves sat on the resolution desk, the President refused to accept the tail wagging him. This was where United We Stand entered the picture.

The 1998 midterms were shrouded in a great deal of uncertainty. Although generally speaking it was understood that the President's Party would take a hit during the midterms, especially if one was as unproductive with their first two years as Harvey had been, there was no President's Party to speak of. The Democrats struck hard as the primary opposition against Harvey, and did well in the polls, while the Republicans found themselves unwilling to tie to the President and offer themselves to his desire to "fight a midterm against Congress". Their indecision would be their downfall. Secretary Clarke wanted to ensure that if the Republicans wouldn't bite, then the President would. United We Stand was founded in December of 1997, Clarke nominally Chairwoman of the group, resigning from the administration to contest the open Oregon Senate seat (her successor as SoS would be SoJ Stein). Officially a centrist political party, in reality it was taking whoever would join, from the far-left ecologists who would storm the San Francisco Mayorship, to the hard-right Nationalists who found the Republicans too tame, and everyone in between. This desperate band would pick up defections in the House and Senate; many more Bipartisan members of the Republican Party would cross the aisle, knowing of their impending defeat, and figuring it was worth a chance. The results for UWS were impressive for a Party coming from a standing start, although many gains came from local compacts with Republicans, and where they competed, they only split the vote in favour of the Democrats. In the Senate, four seats were picked up with John Hein’s in Washington, Patricia Clarke in Oregon, Zach Woloch in North Dakota, and Ralph Brooks Idaho (although Senator Brooks would join the Libertarian Party upon his swearing in). In the House, the Democrats came two short of breaking their record. The Republicans fell third in the popular vote, edged out by a few points by UWS; however, UWS' vote was spread evenly out, and except for a few dozen pick-ups, made up less than half of the 'opposition' grouping in the HoR. Although this was still a major feat, as they became the largest third party since the Unionists in 1860.

Harvey didn't last long after the mid-terms. Initially, there was some speculation that the Democrats would impeach him at the first chance. Instead Harvey vomited blood while attending a private function with the Prime Minister Santoro of Italy. He had advanced stomach cancer; the chance to save him could be found with target chemotherapy, but it would be an expensive treatment, and one that might kill the President rather than save him. Harvey pushed on; he didn't have it in him to quit. He would fight this just as he fought regulations on his tech in Idaho, and how he had fought his way to the Presidency. But his Cabinet had other ideas and, following Harvey's collapse following a particularly stressful bought of chemotherapy in March, the Cabinet and other appropriate officials reluctantly enacted Section 4 of the Twenty Fifth Amendment. David Luther became Acting President. At the urging of his family, Harvey resigned. He wouldn't make it to Spring.


1999-1999: David A. Luther/vacant (Independent)
1999-2001: David A. Luther/John Stein (Independent/America First)


The Presidency of David A. Luther was a short one, and another shock to the system of the United States. With Harvey's resignation in January, Luther entered office to a nation that had, in the last two terms, experienced five Presidents, and quickly looked upon the office with despair. Luther had come from the military, and fancied himself something of a latter-day George Washington. Where Johnson looked upon the White House with despair, the first Nebraskan to hold the office looked at it with anticipation; after all, it may be a gilded cage, but it was one that had far more power that people were willing to admit. Upon his inauguration, many comparisons were made between Luther and George Washington, although Luther himself privately disliked these in good faith. More astute commentators compared him to Grant as a way of commenting on the rumour that Luther entered the Marine’s as a way of avoiding jail time for a DUI. It was quickly noted that the President Luther hung a portrait of in the Oval Office was of James K. Polk. This was no mere reference to Luther’s hometown, but rather a symbol of what was to come. Luther was an expansionist. Of the things accomplished in his two years in office, Luther would be principally remembered for overseeing the expansion of the Union to include the states of Puerto Rico and New Columbia, and for championing the formation of the Pacific Commonwealth ahead of their own entry into the Union in 2007.

This is not to say new states and stars were the only thing of note the come from Luther’s brief administration. US expansionism went further than their pre-existing territories. The rifts between the military and the technocrats that had formed under Harvey had become great gaping gashes in the Government; upon Harvey’s death, in what became known as the “Night of Front Knives”, Luther removed every single technocrat he could, barring Secretary of Energy Prof. Anthony Parker, replacing them with military men. His own Vice President was the former Secretary of State John Stein. With the dominance of the military in the executive branch, it was hard for many, both in the US and beyond it, to not look at what was happening as military coup, taking advantage of the chaos left by the last turbulent 8 years. Protestors in their hundreds of thousands found their way into Washington in the ‘March for Democracy’. Luther was defensive, and tried to calm the protests, noting that, just because his Cabinet was full of military men with deep ties to the energy and arms industry, and just because he was pursuing a large-scale neoliberal deregulatory programme with free-market Democrats in Congress, he was not running a Junta.

As the new millennium approached, this became a little harder to defend. The Canadian Government in Toronto was losing the struggle to control of Pays d'en-haut. French recognition of the largest of the Quebecoise fragment-states, Saint-Laurent, which itself was struggling to seize control northern New Brunswick, caused concern for Luther’s Administration, who viewed Harvey’s inaction towards the region as a blight on American policy towards their neighbours. In January of 2000, Luther met with Canadian Premier Andrew Dipper. Dipper urged the United States to intervene; to shift its military power into putting down Pays d’en-haut. Luther was hesitant; memories of Vietnam still burned bright in his mind, and although a fight in Nipissing could restore a semblance of normality to the continent, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to pass it through Congress. However, Luther was confident that a quick campaign, one of shock and awe, could kick the rotten structure in and bring the whole thing tumbling down. Appearing before the nation in a fireside discussion, Luther explained the situation in terse simple terms, announcing a short intervention that would “put an end to the issues facing our cousins to the north”. John Stein was more straightforward: “We’re going to rock the earth”.

Within twenty-five minutes, the USAAF scrambled bombers returned home. The fires burning in Nipissing could be seen from space. Canadian and American troops moved north and east into the region. Congress went ballistic; Democrats spoke of impeachment. The Republican Party officially came down hard against intervention, but the base itself was fragmented; United We Stand was more consistent. Luther avoided impeachment, despite fiery rhetoric. Many Americans approved of the intervention, and, thinking of what happened to Andrew Johnson, Udall quashed talk of removing a sitting President during an election year. In any case, Luther ensured the next election would be fought and won on the question of Foreign Policy.

Luther did not contest. After an unhappy year, he had no stomach for further electoral politics, letting his Vice President, John Stein, run on the America First platform. Instead Luther formed a Think Tank devoted to bringing new states in the Union; by 2018, it had accomplished this when five new stars joined the other 53.
 
@Avalanches
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The Strange Political Career of Michael Bloomberg
1981-2001: Democratic, CEO of Bloomberg L.P.
2001-2007: Republican, Mayor of New York City
2001 Michael Bloomberg (Republican-Independence) def. Mark J. Green (Democratic-WFP), Alan G. Hevesi (Liberal-Better Schools), Julie Willebrand (Green), Terrance M. Gray (Conservative), Thomas K. Leighton (Marijuana Reform), Kenny Kramer (Libertarian), Bernhard H. Goetz (Fusion), Kenneth B. Golding (American Dream)
2005 Michael Bloomberg (Republican-Independence-Liberal) def. Fernando Ferrer (Democratic), Thomas Ogenibene (Conservative), Anthony Gronowitz (Green), Jimmy McMillian (Rent Is Too Damn High), Audrey Silk (Libertarian), Martin Koppel (Socialist Workers), Seth Blum (Education)

2007-2010: Independent, Mayor of New York City
2009 Michael Bloomberg (Republican-Independence) def. Bill Thompson (Democratic-WFP), Stephen Christopher (Conservative), Billy Talen (Green), Jimmy McMillian (Rent Is Too High), Francisca Villar (Socialism & Liberation), Joseph Dobrian (Libertarian), Dan Fein (Socialist Workers)
2008: Republican, nominee for Vice President of the United States
2008 Barack Obama/Joe Biden def. John McCain/Michael Bloomberg (Republican), Bob Barr/Wayne Allen Root (Libertarian), Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez (Independent), Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle (Constitution), Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente (Green)

With polls showing John McCain falling well behind Barack Obama, the Republican team felt that a major shakeup in vice presidential selection was needed. McCain was determined on a moderate figure, but with his good friend Joe Lieberman not going to be accepted without a convention floor fight and Colin Powell showing no interest in politics, the Arizona Senator turned to Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg could take away support from the suburban Democratic voters that allied with Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries and had shown himself to be a strong mayor in post-9/11 NYC. Bloomberg, after much consideration, agreed to take up McCain's offer. While some Republican figures had reluctance about Bloomberg's role on the ticket, any opposition was reserved to minor figures such as Ron Paul and Alan Keyes. Bloomberg was much more popular than Lieberman and gave McCain a short polling bounce. Ultimately, his role on the ticket was not enough for McCain to distance himself from eight years of Republican rule and defeat the charismatic Barack Obama.

2011-2013: Independent, Governor of New York
2010 Michael Bloomberg/Gerald Rafshoon (Independence) def. David Paterson/Richard Ravitch (Democratic-WFP), Rus Thompson/Tom Ognibene (Republican-Conservative-Taxpayers), Howie Hawkins/Gloria Mattera (Green), Jimmy McMillian/James D. Schultz (Rent Is 2 Damm High), Sam Sloan/Alden Link (Libertarian), Charles Barron/Eva M. Doyle (Freedom), Kristin M. Davis/Tanya Gendleman (Anti-Prohibition)

Bloomberg was determined to do more with politics after the loss of 2008 and decided that with the scandals surrounding Elliot Spitzer and the New York Democratic Party, that he would be the optimal candidate to come forward for governor of New York. With Rudy Guliani declining to return to New York politics, Tea Party activist Rus Thompson was the Republican opposition to David Paterson (who had barely emerged victorius from a grueling battle with Andrew Cuomo). Bloomberg's entry into the race changed the narrative, as he pulled well ahead of the two major party candidates. Bloomberg's time in office was overall very popular at first, with his budget receiving accolades from Republicans and moderate Democrats and his rebuttal of Occupy Wall Street protestors being shared over the media. After the 2012 elections, the narrative ended up being in an opposing direction, with radicals in the Democratic and Republican parties taking more nominations and more of an anti-Bloomberg stance. The breaking point for his tenure would be when allegations of campaign finance violations in his 2012 campaign started up. While the story was not as major as one may think, the public was in an anti-Bloomberg move in 2013, with Bloomberg resigning before meeting the same fate as William Sulzer. Bloomberg's elderly Lieutenant, Gerald Rafshoon would take over, eventually finishing a dismal third place against 2012 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and the victorious Tomas Suozzi.

2012: Americans Elect, candidate for President of the United States
2012 Michael Bloomberg def. Ron Paul [draft], Bernie Sanders [draft], Buddy Romer, Rocky Anderson, Jon Huntsman [draft], Barack Obama [draft], Michealene Risley
2012: Americans Elect, nominee for President of the United States
2012 Barack Obama/Joe Biden (Democratic) def. Donald Trump/Chris Christie (Republican), Michael Bloomberg/Joe Lieberman (Americans Elect), Gary Johnson/Barry Goldwater Jr. (Libertarian), Roseanne Barr/Cindy Sheehan (Green), Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer (Constitution), Rocky Anderson/Luis Rodriguez (Justice)

Bloomberg's presidential ambitions were on the rise, with his belief that Obama's leadership was not doing enough to help America recover from the financial crisis. The efforts of a bizarre organization called Americans Elect that wished to have an online primary to nominate a centrist figure. With major funding, it was able to get on the ballot on all 50 states. Bloomberg would decide to run under the label, defeating a number of noncandidates and unknown figures in the online primary. Bloomberg believed that he could take supporters of Pawlenty and Romney in the primaries along with DLC figures in the party. Bloomberg's polls were as high as 23%, allowing him to be put into the presidential debates with Obama and Trump. Being the first third party in the debates since Perot, it was thought that he would be able to benefit with such a platform, but his lack of charisma proved to be a drag as the quick-witted Obama fended off Trump's constant attacks. Following a pattern that faced candidates such as John Anderson and Perot himself, as the campaign went on, he dragged behind. Trump believed that Bloomberg was "a Democrat puppet to spoil the result", a message repeated by many Republicans. The end result of 2012 was the same electorally as 2008, however, Bloomberg's strong finish with 14% and Trump's role in the campaign was enough to make 2012 one of the most memorable elections in recent memory.

2016: Independent, candidate for President of the United States
2016 Jeb! Bush/Nikki Haley (Republican) def. Michael Render/Robert Reich (Democratic), Michael Bloomberg/Peter Daou (Independent), Austin Peterson/Larry Sharpe (Libertarian), Jesse Ventura/John McAfee (Americans Elect), William Kremel/Kent Mesplay (Green), Donald Trump [draft]/Darrell Castle (Constitution)

Obama would be term-limited in 2016, and despite his scandals that plagued him in the latter days of 2013, Bloomberg would begin gearing up public interest for a second presidential campaign. The expected battle between two of America's most disliked dynasties was an ideal opportunity for Bloomberg to run, despite his similar views to Clinton. Clinton herself would face a nasty primary battle with Vice President Joe Biden, governors Jerry Brown and Martin O'Malley, and the eventual nominee, rapper and political activist Killer Mike. Michael Render was able to tap into the energy that started with Bernie Sanders' ill-fated challenge to President Obama and take victory over a divided opposition. Render was also able to reach support with minority voters and working-class communities that would be needed for a Democratic victory. Bloomberg, though, was able to use Render's more radical economic views against him, gaining the support of the pro-Clinton blogger Peter Daou (who launched the "Verrit" website to support Bloomberg). Seemingly to prevent a more social democratic president, Bloomberg put in even more effort, but that turned out to little as he was only able to replicate his 2012 showing. Jeb Bush, presenting himself as the stable force against the "chaos candidate" of Killer Mike was able to retake the White House for the Republicans.

2020: Democratic, candidate for President of the United States
2020 Jason Kander def. Keith Ellison, Michael Bloomberg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Charlie Crist
2021-2023: Democratic, Secretary of the Treasury

Jeb Bush's time in office was not one of success, rather like his brother. Unlike his brother, he would not have catastrophic failures, but merely depressing inaction over the course of his term. The Republican Congress was not cooperative with Bush with a strong Tea Party influence, and the Democratic Senate was even less receptive. By the end of his term, Bush was much more of a weaker leader than in his days as governor of Florida. In this time, Bloomberg rejoined his old Democratic Party and spent a significant effort in campaigning and fundraising for candidates in the 2018 midterms. Of course, this was mainly foddering for a 2020 presidential run. Bloomberg was not liked by Democratic voters, but his fundraising meant that he remained in a consistent position. The primaries would end up being a battle between Governor Ellison and Senator Kander that would end up in a brokered convention. At the convention, Bloomberg would use his kingmaking position to gain significant concessions out of Kander, resulting in Kander agreeing to appoint Bloomberg as Treasury Secretary. In his position at the Treasury, Bloomberg's real legacy would be his inconvenient timing in having a foreign visit to China during the State of the Union. Viewers of the address were met with a loud boom and a sudden loss of the feed. Minutes later, it was revealed that President Kander, Vice President Israel, Speaker Chaffetz, President Pro Tempore Grassley, and Secretary Rice were killed in the attacks. Quickly, Secret Service agents went to Bloomberg and had him sworn in as president of the United States.

2023-0000: Democratic, President of the United States

Now, the question is what will Bloomberg do now that he has finally ended up in the position that he tried and failed to achieve many times before?
 
Bad Habits

1901-1901: George Dewey (Democratic)
1900 (with William F. Cody) def. William McKinley (Republican)
1901-1909: William F. Cody (Democratic)
1904 (with Alton B. Parker) def. Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)
1909-1913: William Randolph Hearst (Democratic)
1908 (with John A. Johnson) def. Charles E. Hughes (Republican)
1913-1917: William F. Cody (Peoples')
1912 (with Theodore Roosevelt) def. James S. Sherman (Republican), William Randolph Hearst (Democratic)
1916 (with Theodore Roosevelt) def. Champ Clark (Democratic), Elihu Root (Republican)

1917-1922: Theodore Roosevelt (Peoples')
1920 (with Leonard Wood) def. William Gibbs McAdoo (Democratic), Eugene V. Debs (Socialist)
1922-1928: Leonard Wood (Peoples')
1924 (with Herbert Hoover) def. William G. McAdoo (Democratic), Jacob Coxey (Socialist)
1928-1933: Herbert Hoover (Peoples')
1928 (with Louis Brandeis) def. Norman Thomas (Socialist), Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic)
1933-1934: Norman Thomas (Socialist)
1932 (with Jim Ford) def. Herbert Hoover (Peoples'), Bill Murray (Democratic)
1934-1935: George Van Horn Moseley (Nonpartisan leading Military Government with Populists and Democrats)
1935-1937: Smedley Butler (Nonpartisan leading Provisional Government with Socialists and Progressive Factions)
1937-1940: Smedley Butler (Socialist)
1936 (with Earl Browder) def. William Borah (Lincolnite), Ellison D. Smith (Old Republic)
1940-1945: Earl Browder (Socialist)
1940 (with Maynard C. Krueger) def. Huey Long (New Country), Wendell Willkie (Lincolnite)
1945-1949: Douglas MacArthur (Unionist)
1944 (with Harry F. Byrd) def. Earl Browder (Socialist)
1949-1961: David Eisenhower (Independent-Socialist)
1948 (with Henry A. Wallace) def. Douglas MacArthur (Unionist)
1952 (with Darlington Hoopes) def. Douglas MacArthur (Unionist)
1956 (with Darlington Hoopes) def. Christian Herter (Unionist)

1961-1965: George Patton (Unionist)
1960 (with Richard Nixon) def. Darlington Hoopes (Socialist)
1965-1969: Martin Luther King Jr. (Socialist)
1964 (with Walter Reuther) def. George Patton (Unionist)
1969-0000: Curtis LeMay (Unionist)
1968 (with George Smathers) def. Martin Luther King Jr. (Socialist)

The theme here is quite simple, its basically about America getting into a 'bad habit' of electing Generals as Presidents.
 
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"It Defies Common Sense to send such a man to the White House": The Election of Robert A. Taft

1953-1958: Robert A. Taft / Richard M. Nixon (Republican)
1952: Adlai E. Stevenson II / Sarah T. Hughes (Democratic)
1956: C. Estes Kefauver / James Roosevelt II (Democratic), Mark W. Clark / John M. Patterson (Independent)

1958-1961: Richard M. Nixon / vacant (Republican)
1961-1965: Richard M. Nixon / Everett M. Dirksen (Republican)

1960: Lyndon B. Johnson / Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (Democratic)
1965-1973: Thomas J. Dodd / Robert C. Byrd (Democratic)
1964: Hugh D. Scott, Jr. / Earl Warren (Republican)
1968: Edwin A. Walker / Walter J. Hickel (Republican)

1973-1977: George W. Romney / John G. Tower (Republican)
1972: Robert C. Byrd / Kevin H. White (Democratic)
1977-1981: Adlai E. Stevenson III / Edwin W. Edwards (Democratic)
1976: George W. Romney / S. Theodore Agnew (Republican), Samuel W. Yorty / James D. Martin (Law and Order)
1981-1985: William C. Westmoreland / Joseph L. Bruno (Republican)
1980: Adlai E. Stevenson III / Edwin W. Edwards (Democratic)
1985-1993: Charlton Heston / Jeane D. Kirkpatrick (Democratic)
1984: William C. Westmoreland / Joseph L. Bruno (Republican)
1988: Robert A. Taft, Jr. / John L. Swigert, Jr. (Republican)


Robert A. Taft was a political contradiction in his own time and after. Viewed by many in America as the unquestioned leader of the Republican Right he was distrusted and disdained by the traditional and paranoiac conservatives. The fiercest critic of The New Deal he long supported Federal Housing programs, interventions in the education system and occasionally the idea of single-payer healthcare. His national electoral efforts were centered on wooing Southern Whites, and yet supported every Civil Rights cause he ever met, and did so actively. An opponent who questioned the legality of US Aid for Britain and China in 1940, of the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, Of the Creation of NATO in 1949, and of the Korean War in 1950, he none the less entered the 1952 Republican convention with a near-majority of delegates.

General Eisenhower was finally convinced to run in 1952 because of the threat of a Taft Presidency, but an untimely heart attack put paid to that, leaving opposition in the hand of a mess of smaller men: Harold Stassen and Earl Warren the leading options, with Nelson Rockefeller climbing in and a Draft Dewey movement burning out only on the convention floor. Taft secured it and Taft won.

In the 6 years in office before his sudden and shocking death from Pancreatic Cancer Taft did see America transformed, US troops came home from Europe following the reunification, disarmament and neutralizing of Germany. The Korean War came to an end in 1953. Joseph McCarthy rambled about for some time but eventually made a fool of himself and would shortly die in disgrace ending a drawn out reign of terror, shortly after the abortive McCarthy-Navy hearings Taft would dare to do what Truman wouldn't and replaced J. Edgar Hoover as director of the FBI after a Justice Department audit revealed disturbing news of domestic spying. The TVA would be privatized, and many New Deal programs would be wound down or rapidly disbanded, but in 1954 the Social Security Administration became the Department of Social Aid and given control over the new National Insurance Program providing Medical Care to millions of Americans. A department of education would follow, to set standards, promote the foundation of new universities and to help ensure millions of Americans got the training they needed for life.

1956 would be defined by the last great fight of the great lawmaker's career, He had hoped to pass his proposed Civil Rights Act that year, instead it would become the hot button issue of the campaign as Democrats tore into it behind their segregationist candidate for President, and only the draw of Mark Clark's National Security obsessed campaign, seeing Communists ready to destroy all of America's allies thanks to Taft stepping back from forward alliances saved him. The Civil Rights Fight would drag on almost until the midterms, but when it passed it was exceptional, dramatic and revolutionary. While 1952 saw Texas, Tennessee and Virginia go Republican, the Civil Rights act saw they, and Taft's hard won gains in state governments and congressional districts across the South ripped apart. While the President was keen to fight back, his Pancreas had other ideas sending him off this mortal coil and leaving things in the hand of a less idealistic Republican.

Issues of Segregation, of Paranoia, and of the role of government would keep the American right from solidifying in the coming decades. Some men continued to look for Generals atop White Horses and would occasionally have one party or the other nominate them. Edwin Walker nearly won the Presidency, Maxwell Taylor and Jim Gavin would both serve as Governors. Bombings were common across the South as Federal Law was put into effect, Presidents Nixon and Dodd having to call out the National Guard more often then not. But in the end, little black children and little white children went to school together, ate at the same restaurants together, and eventually voted together too. President Nixon dabbled with wars in South East Asia. President Dodd sent troops into Burma in 1966 where they would stay for five long years. By the time it was over the world economy was finally back on its feet, the era of endless prosperity for Americans was at an end and in 1973 the Stock Market crashed. A series of one term presidents would follow, with a mess of different solutions from both parties seeking to patch things up over the next 12 years until finally, at last, the one time-actor-turned Governor of Illinois, managed to weld the Democrats into something coherent once more: Big Programs at home, Economic reforms, and a Muscular Defence abroad. It was Charlton Heston that brought Germany into NATO and US troops back to Europe. It was he who sent aid and eventually Troops into Iraq as the Soviets client state there failed, and it was he who passed a universal healthcare system. His 1988 defeat of the Governor of Ohio being one of the most decisive of All time and bringing at last a clear end to the legacy of the elder Bob Taft on US politics.
 
The Scientific State

Presidents of the United States of America (1969-1984)

1969-1973: Richard Nixon (Republican)
1968:
Def. Hubert Humphrey (Democratic), George Wallace (American Independent)
1972: Def. George McGovern (Democratic)
1973-1977: Gerald Ford (Republican)
1977-1981: William Proxmire (Democratic)
1976:
Def. Ronald Reagan (Republican)
1981-1983: Ronald Reagan (Republican) † [1]
1980:
Def. William Proxmire (Democratic)
1983-1984: Dixy Lee Ray (Democratic) [2]
1984:
Elections suspended

Presidents of the Scientific State Of America (1984-2017)

1984-1994: Dixy Lee Ray (Technocratic)
1994-2004: C. Everett Koop (Technocratic)
2004-2016: Sam Harris (Pure Reason) [3]
2016-2017: Bill Nye (Reformist) [4]


Presidents of the Free States of America (2017-present)

2017-2017: Bernie Sanders (Nonpartisan leading Revolutionary Government)
2017-0000: Richard Ojeda (Populist)
2017:
Def. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Christian Workers), Kyrsten Sinema (Reason)

[1] Died in World War III, which was started by Able Archer being misconstrued by the Soviets.
[2] Ascended to the Presidency from being Secretary of the Interior.
[3] Was executed by revolutionary forces in 2017.
[4] Surrendered to the American Peoples' Army in 2017.
 
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