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AH Run-downs, summaries and general gubbins

What’s the economy of Judea based on to be turning over $300 billion in GDP? Closely related question, what happened to the missing millions of Palestinians? Because if they aren’t in Israel or Judea, then the rabbinate has done ethnic cleansing on a scale where I don’t see them finding enough people willing to do business with them to run even a semi-functional economy.
 
Yossarian said:
What’s the economy of Judea based on to be turning over $300 billion in GDP? Closely related question, what happened to the missing millions of Palestinians? Because if they aren’t in Israel or Judea, then the rabbinate has done ethnic cleansing on a scale where I don’t see them finding enough people willing to do business with them to run even a semi-functional economy.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Post has been deleted and will be reworked to take this into account.
 
The North American Community is separated into four divisions. The first three divisions are the Treaty Divisions, the three pre-existing international organizations that signed the Treaty of Chapultepec in 1937 to form the NAC; the fourth, the Non-Aligned Division, is made up of the many nations that were not members of any of the Treaty Divisions but joined the NAC itself after formation. The collective Presidency of the NAC is a nine-seat body:
  • One seat cycles annually between the three largest members of the Academia Sinica - the Bai Empire, Jingwan, and Jinshan. As of 1973, it is held by Jingwan.
  • One seat cycles annually between the other members of the Academia Sinica; as of 1973, it is held by Lower Niqi.
  • One seat is permanently held by the Emirate of Abama.
  • One seat cycles annually between the other members of the Islamic Cooperation and Development Council; as of 1973, it is held by Texas.
  • One seat is permanently nominated by the League of St. John; as of 1973, it is held by the Cistercian Order.
  • One seat is permanently nominated by the Stanislavian Republic; as of 1973, it is held by the Shawano Associated Republic.
  • One seat is permanently held by Watískattanan.
  • One seat cycles annually between the other members of the Non-Aligned Division; as of 1973, it is held by the Kaministiquia Confederacy.
  • One seat is held by the sitting Secretary-General of the NAC Parliament.
Though it is theoretically possible for one nation to hold two seats, as two nations are members of both the Academia Sinica and the Islamic Cooperation and Development Council, it has never actually happened; in 1966, Qingzhenguo (which would have been eligible for both Seat Two and Seat Four) instead delegated Seat Four to the Kingdom of Saraguay. (As Jinshan is an observer member of the ICDC, it is not eligible for Seat Four.)
 
Israel and Palestine M-BAM (2.8.16 Temp) (2).png
STATE OF ISRAEL:
Capital: Tel Aviv
Population: 7,000,000
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
Prime Minister: Meirav Cohen
President: Ron Huldai
HDI: 0.967
GDP: $1.05 Trillion
GDP/C: $149,871
Demographics:
Arabs - 30%
Secular Jews - 27%
Reform Jews - 23%
Conservative Jews - 15%
Orthodox Jews - 4%
Haredim - 1%

RABBINATE OF JUDEA:
Capital: Jerusalem
Population: 8,000,000
Government: Halachic Rabbinate
President: Aryeh Deri
HDI: 0.764
GDP: $44.3 Billion
GDP/C: $5,537
Demographics:
Haredim - 61%
Orthodox Jews - 27%
Conservative Jews - 2%

ARAB AUTONOMY:
Capital: Jenin
Population: 2,000,000
Government: Presidential Republic
President: Mohammed Dahlan
HDI: 0.702
GDP: $10.9 Billion
GDP/C: $5,450
Demographics:
Arabs - 99%
 
 Eurail is a high-speed train line evolving out of the Channel Tunnel, intended to link up most of the EU and EFTA nations by the main line or branch lines. It is one of the big symbols of Pan-Europanism and also a recurring political football & symbol of corruption:

* the Eastern European expansion was greatly celebrated, with passengers queueing for hours to be on the maiden trips, but government-shaking stories of dirty deals to get the land have been coming out for years

* the Balkan branch line has yet to be built due to continuing breakdowns betwern Bosnia and Serbia. One low-budget Serbian scifi film had the branch line still not built in 2099.

* Eurail expanded to Kyiv aftervthe Euromaiden revolt, and became a symbol of change - later, a symbol of defiance as irregulars held it against VDV.

* The British government fell apart in 2023 over the domestic HS2 rail programme, as a wave of cuts would not just shrink it but no longer include a long planned link to Eurail ("Crewe to Kyiv")
 
Burke and Fox is a 2008 musical about the lives of eighteenth-century British politicians Edmund Burke and Charles James Fox, their friendship, and their eventual enmity and downfall, and through it, it seeks to show the rise of modern British politics. It covers their lives before meeting, their first elections to Parliament, and the beginnings of their friendship over their support of the American cause; then Fox and Burke's ascension to office at the end of the American Revolution, Fox's East India Bill and its defeat at the hands of the Crown and them being thrown out of government, and then Burke's anger at Britain's treatment of India and his pushing impeachment at its Governor-General Warren Hastings for myriad crimes; and then the beginning of the French Revolution and Burke's hatred and Fox's love for it, the irrevocable break between Fox and Burke over the issue, the acquittal of Warren Hastings to the horror of Burke, and Burke turning away Fox on his death bed; and finally, Fox spending the last decade of his life fighting for his values in a hopeless political wilderness, without knowing his principles would ultimately be vindicated in the fires of revolution.

Since its premiere on the Strand, it has received critical acclaim for its music and its quality, and for inspiring a newfound interest in the eighteenth century. However, it has received criticism for its portrayal of figures of history - while Fox is respected today across the British political spectrum as the precursor of the Popular Revolution, the same cannot be said of Edmund Burke, a very polarizing figure in the modern British Isles and beyond. This play portrayed him in an ambiguous manner, which saw it being variously accused of being too pro-Burke or anti-Burke, or even of waffling too much on him. As a result, a tour of the play in Ireland received jeers, as to many Irish people he remains a traitor who abandoned his nation for Tory politics; on the other hand, a translated version of the play with a local cast performed quite well in Maharashtra, where Burke's hatred of both republicanism and the British Raj has made him a hero among its chattering classes. Despite this, the play had a largely positive reception, and at the Muses it won a Cleo.

Musical numbers

Act I

Grand Old Whiggery - Charles I, John Hampden, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, William III, Stuart Chorus, Parliamentary Chorus
The Young Scholar - Richard Burke, Edmund Burke, Irish Chorus, Stuart Chorus, Jane Nugent
The Young Noble - Henry Fox, Charles James Fox, Stuart Chorus, Gamblers Chorus
The Young Enemies - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Parliamentary Chorus, John Wilkes, Lord North, Gamblers Chorus
The Young Friends - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Lord Rockingham, Parliamentary Chorus
The American Crisis - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Lord Rockingham, Lord Chatham
Yorktown - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, George Washington, George III, Lord North, Parliamentary Chorus, Royal Chorus
Lord Shelburne - Lord Rockingham, Lord Shelburne, Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, George Washington

Act II

The Great Betrayal - Charles James Fox, Lord North, Edmund Burke, George III, Parliamentary and Royal Chorus (in tandem)
Burke's Bill - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Parliamentary Chorus, Indian Chorus
The Secret Veto - George III, Charles James Fox, Lord North, Parliamentary Chorus, Royal Chorus
The Great Dismissal - William Pitt, Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, George III
Carlo Khan - Charles James Fox, William Pitt, Edmund Burke, Parliamentary Chorus
The Despoiled Carnatic - Edmund Burke, Nawab of Arcot, Warren Hastings, Indian Chorus
I Impeach Him - Edmund Burke, Warren Hastings, Parliamentary and Indian Chorus (in tandem)
The Incapacitated - Charles James Fox, George III, William Pitt, Prince George, Parliamentary and Royal Chorus (in tandem)

Act III

The Bastille - The Revolutionaries, Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, William Pitt, French Chorus, Parliamentary Chorus
Reflections - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, William Pitt, Thomas Paine, French Chorus, Parliamentary Chorus
Swinish Multitudes - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Maximilien Robespierre, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, French Chorus, Parliamentary Chorus
Whether The White People Like It Or Not - Edmund Burke, Warren Hastings, Charles James Fox, Parliamentary Chorus, Indian Chorus
The Dissenters - Charles James Fox, Edmund Burke, Parliamentary Chorus, Royal Chorus
The Irrevocable Split - Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox
The Great Acquittal - Edmund Burke, Warren Hastings, Parliamentary Chorus, Indian Chorus
The Last Breath - Edmund Burke, Jane Burke, Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, Parliamentary Chorus
The Great Wilderness - Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Samuel Whitbread, Lord Holland, Parliamentary Chorus, Royal Chorus, The Revolutionaries
 
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Oregon is a state that’s very confusing to those both politically and in general for many Americans. In between two very financially successful, very liberal states (Washington and California), many wonder how Oregon, a naturally beautiful state, has managed to avoid both fates. Oregon is now a staunchly Republican state, with a dying out state Democratic party, something that was completely inconceivable even 25 years ago.

Oregon’s reign of Democratic dominance largely began in the late 1950s. Long considered one of the more Republican states in the nation, the party change of senator Wayne Morse after the selection of Richard Nixon in 1952, and later the election of Richard Nueberger in 1954, had allowed the state to move more towards The Democracy. However, when the Democratic party nominated a ticket of John F. Kennedy and Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, the state was largely expected to vote against it, despite a regional favorite son being on the ticket, largely due to the large protestant makeup of the state and Portland mayor Terry Schrunk’s personal beef with the Kennedys.

1960 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
John F. Kennedy / Henry M. Jackson (Democratic) - 50.2%
Richard Nixon / Henry Cabot Lodge II (Republican) - 49.6%

However, as the campaign wore on, Kennedy’s popularity in the state grew, and a home region effect from Scoop Jackson would pull the state towards Kennedy. However, Schrunk’s influence would be felt, as Multnomah county, home to Portland, would vote against a Democrat for the last time for 50 years.

In Oregon’s senate election that year, the race focused around former senator Richard Neuberger - who had died of testicular cancer. Although Neuberger’s widow, Maurine, herself a state senator, was the front-runner, her own cancer scare caused her to decide against running - which led to a surprising choice for the Democrats. Harry Bovin, a conservative Democrat and state senator from Medford, would shock the state by winning the Democratic primary. Bovin’s victory was seen as a success for the rural conservative areas of the state, and against Elmo Smith, a relatively unpopular ex-governor, he dominated the rural areas and won just enough of Portland to pull off a win.

Bovin would serve as Oregons senator until his death in 1999 at 92 years old, doing so as Senate Pro Tempore and being recognized as a master legislator who would serve as senate majority leader in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1962, Oregon’s “boy governor” Mark Hatfield, a popular moderate Republican, would run for senate against incumbent Wayne Morse, giving up the governor’s mansion. Hatfield’s campaign against the radical liberal senator carried a lot of weight, especially as many Democrats had grown tired of Morse’s antics in the senate. Indeed, it was said that even the Kennedy White House was “silently rooting” for Morse, a thorn in their side from the left, to be replaced with Hatfield, who really wasn’t that much different from any other Democrat on most issues. For most of the campaign, Hatfield led Morse, and many Democrats were considering “punting” the race away for 1968.

However, two events saved Morse. The first was the peaceful ending of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which boosted all Democrats in a Kennedy midterm. The second was the shocking assassination of president Kennedy, only 13 days before the midterm. Kennedy was killed by known anti-Catholic Richard Pavlick, an incident which began president Henry Jackson’s “War on Hate”. Morse, despite having run against Kennedy in 1960, gave a speech memorializing the former president and, after President Jackson did the same, called to support Kennedy’s civil rights bill. Morse would narrowly defeat Hatfield as Democrats swept the senate.

1962 United States senate election in Oregon
Wayne Morse (Democratic-inc.) - 51.4%
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 47.7%

Morse’s narrow victory would be the closest of his remaining career, holding onto the seat for decades until his loss in 1980 due to a statewide “Republican Revolution”. Gubernatorially, Haftfield’s hand-chosen successor, Howell Appling Jr., would be defeated in a much less close race by Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton.

Six years later, and the United States looked much different than it had in 1962. Henry M. Jackson used massive victories - both in 1962 and in 1964 - to pass civil rights bills, and formed the “Fair Society”. In 1964, against Senator Goldwater, Jackson easily won the state, winning over 65% of the vote. However, Jackson’s hawkishness led to the United States invading Vietnam, a decision that made him very unpopular as the war continued on and the United States struggled.

In 1968, Jackson would face an opponent in the Democratic primary, Frank Church of neighboring Idaho. The nation was shocked when Church, once a friend of Jackson’s, nearly upset the man in New Hampshire and won around 43% of the vote. Jackson, however, refused to stand down, and campaigned heavily against Church. The one-on-one primary would come down to Oregon, California, and South Dakota.

Jackson vs Church was really more of a battle between the two senators in the state - governor Thornton, fighting off a corruption scandal after beating now-perennial candidate Mark Hatfield -would largely stay out of the race. Senator Morse, an early opponent of the Vietnam War, stood behind Church, even as he faced a re-election campaign in 1968. Bovin enthusiastically backed Jackson.

The real kingmaker in the race, however, was Schrunk, which is why the history of Portland is key to the race. In 1967, members of the so-called New Left, assorted black panthers and radicals, rioted throughout Portland, leading Schrunk to call in the national guard and start cracking skills. Portland, which had for years struggled to gain much positive PR due to heavy mob activity in thd port town, now saw a wave of negative national press, and would begin losing population. In the context of the Democratic primary, Schrunk, still furious at the so called New Left, sent his base of working-class shipmen behind Jackson, and in doing so would help deliver the state to the president.

1968 Democratic Presidential Primary in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson (inc) - 46.9%
Frank Church - 39.8%
Write-Ins - 13.3%

In the end, a narrow Jackson win in California would reliever the nomination to the man from Washington, and despite attempts at a major left wing third party candidate - Church, Martin Luther King, even senator Morse himself, Democrats would fall behind Jackson, especially against Ronald Reagan and Jim Jackson, his two ultra-conservative opponents. In Oregon this was no problem, with neither candidate having as much appeal as Jackson. Indeed, Jackson swept almost the entire Pacific Coast - minus Reagan’s home state of California and ultraconservative Hawaii - en route to a shaky but fruitful re-election. Morse, despite many agreeing he was in a weakened spot, only faced ex-congressman Lowell Stockman, and dispatched of him easily.

1968 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson / Thomas Dodd (Democratic) - 51.8%
Ronald Reagan / Winthrop Rockefeller (Republican) - 44.0%
Jim Johnson / Dan Smoot (All-American Alliance) - 3.9%

Four years later, however, things were much different for the Democrats. Vice President Dodd, already controversial for his conservative views, was forced out of office in 1970 for corruption, and the Jackson administration’s continued violence in Vietnam had led to a massive anti-war movement. In 1969, the Arizona State massacre had led to a massive national strike movement, and a successful recall of Jack Williams, led by Cesar Chavez. Despite George Meany’s best efforts, Walter Reuther remained alive, and unions began to band against the Jackson administration. By 1971 it was abundantly clear that war was unpopular, and Jackson, himself increasingly unpopular, saw his influence slip in the Democratic party.

The result was a massive Democratic primary. Senator Robert Kennedy of Massachusetts, a close friend of Jackson’s (which had stopped him from entering the 1968 race), refused to enter, fearing a 1972 Republican landslide. Instead, the primary saw a multitude of has-beens and what’s-whats. Conservatives were led by the bombastic governor Sam Yorty, fresh off of defeating Reagan for re-election, with moderates split down the middle between “New South” governor William Dorn, Connecticut’s embattled John Dempsey, and the new Vice-President, young conservative Mike Gravel.

On the left side of the Democratic party, several candidates battled it out with Frank Church, exhausted and infuriated, deciding against a run. Fred Harris and Harold Hughes attempted to win the left-wing vote in the primary, but the man who would beat them both out was not a senator, or even an elected official at all. It was indeed, Cesar Chavez.

When Chavez, fresh off of sending Jack Williams to the dustbin of history, won the Arizona caucus, it was to be expected, after all, most Arizona Democrats owed their new shiny jobs to Chavez. When he won Michigan, it was a gift from Walter Reuther, an old ally, and the UAW. When he won New York it was the urban resistance rising up. Of course, Chavez lost to Gravel in Oregon, an unsurprising win as Gravel was a friend of Bovin’s, and because the heavily-Catholic, latino Chavez had little appeal in a state full of white protestants. But after Oregon came California.

1972 Democratic Presidential Primary in California:
Cesar Chavez - 33.2%
Sam Yorty - 31.5%
Mike Gravel - 26.4%
William Dorn - 6.7%

California was a major state because, despite the state’s Democratic electorate being divided into thirds, it sent one unified delegation to the DNC. A delegation now controlled by Chavez. Democrats, terrified of Chavez’s numbers against any perspective Republicans, had backed Yorty, hoping for a Yorty-Gravel unity ticket or some kind of alliance. However, a masterful campaign behind Chavez delivered Yorty’s own state to the union leader.

At the convention, Chavez, thanks in large part due to a deal with William Dorn, along with the UAW and close friend Robert Kennedy, was given the nomination, too much controversy. While the ticket was surprisingly ideologically united, it was unbelievably unpopular, and the campaign was a complete clusterfuck.

Meanwhile, Republicans, shut out of the White House by a string of controversial candidates and idiots for years, had basically been given an open election, and with the opportunity they nominated a moderate, respectable candidate, senator Charles Percy of Illinois, and a complete and total maniac senator from Ohio John Ashbrook at Vice President. In Oregon Chavez was completely blown out of the water, only winning Multnomah County by half a percent of the vote, and losing every other county in the state. Nationally, Chavez would only win Washington, D.C. (which he did by almost 80%) and Rhode Island.

1972 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Charles Percy / John Ashbrook (Republican) - 63.5%
Cesar Chavez / William Dorn (Democratic) - 33.4%
Dan Smoot / Clay Smothers (All-American Alliance) - 2.4%

The Kennedy family had produced a president, John, and a long term senator to replace him, Robert, but they had also produced a “dud” of sorts. Edward Kennedy, long iced out of the family, had done a lot of campaigning out west during 1960, and his campaign in Oregon, the natural beauty of the state, and his desire to leave Massachusetts had led to him living in Gresham, Oregon, after his brothers assassination in 1962. For years Kennedy was seen as a potential Democratic candidate for anything, governor, senator, even president by those who saw Robert as too ruthless. In 1974, he ran for governor, a campaign where he claimed to “have found the common man”. While Kennedy dollars flooded the state in droves, the assassination of Charles Percy in December and the popularity of governor Wendell Wyatt, who had defeated Mark Hatfield in the Republican primary in 1970 before narrowly winning the general weighed down Kennedy and he narrowly lost.

1974 Oregon Gubernatorial Election
Wendell Wyatt (Republican) - 53.8%
Ed Kennedy (Democratic) - 45.9%

However, in 1978, Kennedy would return with a vengeance, and did so in a much more favorable environment. Not only was Wyatt unpopular for a variety of corruption allegations and charges, but Ashbrook was too. Kennedy mopped the floor with… Mark Hatfield… winning over 66% of the vote and entering the governorship. Kennedy would enter the senate in 1986, a seat he would hold for 30 consecutive years.

The 1980s were a rough time for Portland, as the city, constantly under bad press due to corruption went through a severe decline, as did most of the state. The newly created Mt. Hood freeway was unbelievably unpopular, and in the business world, the city saw one of the biggest flops in financial history under the company Nike, which had spent millions investing in Michael Jordan, the superstar of the University of North Carolina. Unfortunately, Jordan would suffer an injury-prone career, playing for the Indiana Pacers and San Diego Clippers, before eventually being kicked out of the league for gambling on games. Jordan’s failure led to Nike’s failure, and the company collapsed.

In 1990, Glenn Olds was a long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Oregon, with the ex-president of Kent State University narrowly winning the Democratic primary full of high ranking Democrats. Olds would be a relatively popular governor after sending Wendell Wyatt home in 1990, but his frequent conflicts with labor unions, support for heavy logging, and decision to raise taxes was controversial for many within the Democratic party. As such he faced a major primary opponent, liberal state senator John Kitzhaber, who garnered a large amount of union support in the primary, and nearly unseated the governor. The bad blood between Olds and Kitzhaber was so bad that Kitzhaber refused to endorse Olds in the general election and ran a write-in campaign, where he saw significantly less support.

1994 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Glen Olds (Democratic-inc.) - 55.4%
Gary Ridgeway (Republican) - 34.4%
John Kitzhaber (Write-In) - 9.2%

While Olds would serve out his term as governor of Oregon and later go on to head the College Board, the saga of John Kitzhaber would define the Oregon Democratic party for decades. In 1998 he ran yet another campaign for governor, supported by union and environmental interests. His opponent in the Democratic primary was conservative logging-backed Marc Racicot, who had been born in Montana but attended the University of Oregon for basketball before blowing out his knee and pursuing a career in Democratic party politics.

The primary battle between Racicot and Kitzhaber was a bloody one, with Racicot attacking Kitzhaber as “anti-gun” and “off the wall”. While Kitzhaber would narrowly win the Democratic nomination (and the endorsement of President Koch), it was not a long lasting victory. The logging industry, which had been facing several protests from progressives, many of which turned to violence, saw Kitzhaber as against their interests, and backed his opponent, Mark Hatfield (back for one last ride). A “Democrats for Hatfield” front group was set up, and the RNC poured thousands into a campaign that accused Kitzhaber of everything, from pedophilia to communism, riling up a growing conservative base.

1998 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 51.4%
John Kitzhaber (Democratic) - 47.5%

For many a Democrat, Kitzhaber’s loss was a turning point in Oregon political history. Kitzhaber’s hopes of addressing the homelessness crisis, transitioning the economy out of logging and lumber into a brighter, more environmentally friendly economy, and supporting a progressive future were dashed. It’s easy to see this as the moment where everything turned in Oregon politics. Indeed, two years later, Oregon voted Republican on the national level for the first time since 1972, as environmentalist candidate Dick Lamm lost the state to Kay Bailey Hutchinson. It hasn’t voted for a Democrat since.

Kitzhaber’s loss was not just the only thing that shifted Oregon to the right, however. Gun control becoming very politically polarized after the Columbine shooting also hurt the state, known for its pro-gun views, and the Oregon Citizens Alliance, a far right group, had led to a spread of conservative Christianity and politics into the state. However, the state would continue to elect Democrats for decades. Racicot would replace Boivin in 1999, serving as the states senator until the present day, although many expect him to lose re-election in 2020.

Racicot would not be the last Democrat elected statewide, however. In 2014, lumber millionaire and ex-conservative Republican turned conservative Democrat Ted Wheeler ran for governor of Oregon. Even as Oregon Democrats saw massive defeats across the board, particularly after the election of America’s first black president, Cleo Fields - even losing Ed Kennedy’s senate seat to Wendell Wyatt’s daughter Amy -the governorship had been the one bright spot for the party, having not lost it since Hatfield’s one term from 1999 to 2003. Wheeler, a multi millionaire and also close personal friend/classmate of legendary USC basketball head coach Antoine Stoudamire, ran a campaign heavily backed financially by logging interests, with his own money blanketing the state. Wheeler faced Knute Buehler, a largely uncontroversial and boring Republican, whose campaign heavily underperformed. However, he also faced Kitzhaber, who, in one last ride, was running on the state’s Green Party affiliate, the Beaver Party.

2014 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Ted Wheeler (Democratic) - 49.8%
Knute Buehler (Republican) - 44.8%
John Kitzhaber (Beaver) - 5.4%

Even in a heavily Republican state, Wheeler was quite popular, largely due to his conservative views and populist flair making him stand out. However, when Republican candidate Morry Taylor won every county in the state, Wheeler would shock the world and many of his advisors by switching to the Republican party after a rally with Taylor. In his re-election campaign he too swept every county in Oregon, and is now looking like a perfect Republican opponent for Racicot, beating him in almost every poll.
 
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Loriori said:
Oregon is a state that’s very confusing to those both politically and in general for many Americans. In between two very financially successful, very liberal states (Washington and California), many wonder how Oregon, a naturally beautiful state, has managed to avoid both fates. Oregon is now a staunchly Republican state, with a dying out state Democratic party, something that was completely inconceivable even 25 years ago.

Oregon’s reign of Democratic dominance largely began in the late 1950s. Long considered one of the more Republican states in the nation, the party change of senator Wayne Morse after the selection of Richard Nixon in 1952, and later the election of Richard Nueberger in 1954, had allowed the state to move more towards The Democracy. However, when the Democratic party nominated a ticket of John F. Kennedy and Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, the state was largely expected to vote against it, despite a regional favorite son being on the ticket, largely due to the large protestant makeup of the state and Portland mayor Terry Schrunk’s personal beef with the Kennedys.

1960 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
John F. Kennedy / Henry M. Jackson (Democratic) - 50.2%
Richard Nixon / Henry Cabot Lodge II (Republican) - 49.6%

However, as the campaign wore on, Kennedy’s popularity in the state grew, and a home region effect from Scoop Jackson would pull the state towards Kennedy. However, Schrunk’s influence would be felt, as Multnomah county, home to Portland, would vote against a Democrat for the last time for 50 years.

In Oregon’s senate election that year, the race focused around former senator Richard Neuberger - who had died of testicular cancer. Although Neuberger’s widow, Maurine, herself a state senator, was the front-runner, her own cancer scare caused her to decide against running - which led to a surprising choice for the Democrats. Harry Bovin, a conservative Democrat and state senator from Medford, would shock the state by winning the Democratic primary. Bovin’s victory was seen as a success for the rural conservative areas of the state, and against Elmo Smith, a relatively unpopular ex-governor, he dominated the rural areas and won just enough of Portland to pull off a win.

Bovin would serve as Oregons senator until his death in 1999 at 92 years old, doing so as Senate Pro Tempore and being recognized as a master legislator who would serve as senate majority leader in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1962, Oregon’s “boy governor” Mark Hatfield, a popular moderate Republican, would run for senate against incumbent Wayne Morse, giving up the governor’s mansion. Hatfield’s campaign against the radical liberal senator carried a lot of weight, especially as many Democrats had grown tired of Morse’s antics in the senate. Indeed, it was said that even the Kennedy White House was “silently rooting” for Morse, a thorn in their side from the left, to be replaced with Hatfield, who really wasn’t that much different from any other Democrat on most issues. For most of the campaign, Hatfield led Morse, and many Democrats were considering “punting” the race away for 1968.

However, two events saved Morse. The first was the peaceful ending of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which boosted all Democrats in a Kennedy midterm. The second was the shocking assassination of president Kennedy, only 13 days before the midterm. Kennedy was killed by known anti-Catholic Richard Pavlick, an incident which began president Henry Jackson’s “War on Hate”. Morse, despite having run against Kennedy in 1960, gave a speech memorializing the former president and, after President Jackson did the same, called to support Kennedy’s civil rights bill. Morse would narrowly defeat Hatfield as Democrats swept the senate.

1962 United States senate election in Oregon
Wayne Morse (Democratic-inc.) - 51.4%
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 47.7%

Morse’s narrow victory would be the closest of his remaining career, holding onto the seat for decades until his loss in 1980 due to a statewide “Republican Revolution”. Gubernatorially, Haftfield’s hand-chosen successor, Howell Appling Jr., would be defeated in a much less close race by Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton.

Six years later, and the United States looked much different than it had in 1962. Henry M. Jackson used massive victories - both in 1962 and in 1964 - to pass civil rights bills, and formed the “Fair Society”. In 1964, against Senator Goldwater, Jackson easily won the state, winning over 65% of the vote. However, Jackson’s hawkishness led to the United States invading Vietnam, a decision that made him very unpopular as the war continued on and the United States struggled.

In 1968, Jackson would face an opponent in the Democratic primary, Frank Church of neighboring Idaho. The nation was shocked when Church, once a friend of Jackson’s, nearly upset the man in New Hampshire and won around 43% of the vote. Jackson, however, refused to stand down, and campaigned heavily against Church. The one-on-one primary would come down to Oregon, California, and South Dakota.

Jackson vs Church was really more of a battle between the two senators in the state - governor Thornton, fighting off a corruption scandal after beating now-perennial candidate Mark Hatfield -would largely stay out of the race. Senator Morse, an early opponent of the Vietnam War, stood behind Church, even as he faced a re-election campaign in 1968. Bovin enthusiastically backed Jackson.

The real kingmaker in the race, however, was Schrunk, which is why the history of Portland is key to the race. In 1967, members of the so-called New Left, assorted black panthers and radicals, rioted throughout Portland, leading Schrunk to call in the national guard and start cracking skills. Portland, which had for years struggled to gain much positive PR due to heavy mob activity in thd port town, now saw a wave of negative national press, and would begin losing population. In the context of the Democratic primary, Schrunk, still furious at the so called New Left, sent his base of working-class shipmen behind Jackson, and in doing so would help deliver the state to the president.

1968 Democratic Presidential Primary in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson (inc) - 46.9%
Frank Church - 39.8%
Write-Ins - 13.3%

In the end, a narrow Jackson win in California would reliever the nomination to the man from Washington, and despite attempts at a major left wing third party candidate - Church, Martin Luther King, even senator Morse himself, Democrats would fall behind Jackson, especially against Ronald Reagan and Jim Jackson, his two ultra-conservative opponents. In Oregon this was no problem, with neither candidate having as much appeal as Jackson. Indeed, Jackson swept almost the entire Pacific Coast - minus Reagan’s home state of California and ultraconservative Hawaii - en route to a shaky but fruitful re-election. Morse, despite many agreeing he was in a weakened spot, only faced ex-congressman Lowell Stockman, and dispatched of him easily.

1968 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson / Thomas Dodd (Democratic) - 51.8%
Ronald Reagan / Winthrop Rockefeller (Republican) - 44.0%
Jim Johnson / Dan Smoot (All-American Alliance) - 3.9%

Four years later, however, things were much different for the Democrats. Vice President Dodd, already controversial for his conservative views, was forced out of office in 1970 for corruption, and the Jackson administration’s continued violence in Vietnam had led to a massive anti-war movement. In 1969, the Arizona State massacre had led to a massive national strike movement, and a successful recall of Jack Williams, led by Cesar Chavez. Despite George Meany’s best efforts, Walter Reuther remained alive, and unions began to band against the Jackson administration. By 1971 it was abundantly clear that war was unpopular, and Jackson, himself increasingly unpopular, saw his influence slip in the Democratic party.

The result was a massive Democratic primary. Senator Robert Kennedy of Massachusetts, a close friend of Jackson’s (which had stopped him from entering the 1968 race), refused to enter, fearing a 1972 Republican landslide. Instead, the primary saw a multitude of has-beens and what’s-whats. Conservatives were led by the bombastic governor Sam Yorty, fresh off of defeating Reagan for re-election, with moderates split down the middle between “New South” governor William Dorn, Connecticut’s embattled John Dempsey, and the new Vice-President, young conservative Mike Gravel.

On the left side of the Democratic party, several candidates battled it out with Frank Church, exhausted and infuriated, deciding against a run. Fred Harris and Harold Hughes attempted to win the left-wing vote in the primary, but the man who would beat them both out was not a senator, or even an elected official at all. It was indeed, Cesar Chavez.

When Chavez, fresh off of sending Jack Williams to the dustbin of history, won the Arizona caucus, it was to be expected, after all, most Arizona Democrats owed their new shiny jobs to Chavez. When he won Michigan, it was a gift from Walter Reuther, an old ally, and the UAW. When he won New York it was the urban resistance rising up. Of course, Chavez lost to Gravel in Oregon, an unsurprising win as Gravel was a friend of Bovin’s, and because the heavily-Catholic, latino Chavez had little appeal in a state full of white protestants. But after Oregon came California.

1972 Democratic Presidential Primary in California:
Cesar Chavez - 33.2%
Sam Yorty - 31.5%
Mike Gravel - 26.4%
William Dorn - 6.7%

California was a major state because, despite the state’s Democratic electorate being divided into thirds, it sent one unified delegation to the DNC. A delegation now controlled by Chavez. Democrats, terrified of Chavez’s numbers against any perspective Republicans, had backed Yorty, hoping for a Yorty-Gravel unity ticket or some kind of alliance. However, a masterful campaign behind Chavez delivered Yorty’s own state to the union leader.

At the convention, Chavez, thanks in large part due to a deal with William Dorn, along with the UAW and close friend Robert Kennedy, was given the nomination, too much controversy. While the ticket was surprisingly ideologically united, it was unbelievably unpopular, and the campaign was a complete clusterfuck.

Meanwhile, Republicans, shut out of the White House by a string of controversial candidates and idiots for years, had basically been given an open election, and with the opportunity they nominated a moderate, respectable candidate, senator Charles Percy of Illinois, and a complete and total maniac senator from Ohio John Ashbrook at Vice President. In Oregon Chavez was completely blown out of the water, only winning Multnomah County by half a percent of the vote, and losing every other county in the state. Nationally, Chavez would only win Washington, D.C. (which he did by almost 80%) and Rhode Island.

1972 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Charles Percy / John Ashbrook (Republican) - 63.5%
Cesar Chavez / William Dorn (Democratic) - 33.4%
Dan Smoot / Clay Smothers (All-American Alliance) - 2.4%

The Kennedy family had produced a president, John, and a long term senator to replace him, Robert, but they had also produced a “dud” of sorts. Edward Kennedy, long iced out of the family, had done a lot of campaigning out west during 1960, and his campaign in Oregon, the natural beauty of the state, and his desire to leave Massachusetts had led to him living in Gresham, Oregon, after his brothers assassination in 1962. For years Kennedy was seen as a potential Democratic candidate for anything, governor, senator, even president by those who saw Robert as too ruthless. In 1974, he ran for governor, a campaign where he claimed to “have found the common man”. While Kennedy dollars flooded the state in droves, the assassination of Charles Percy in December and the popularity of governor Wendell Wyatt, who had defeated Mark Hatfield in the Republican primary in 1970 before narrowly winning the general weighed down Kennedy and he narrowly lost.

1974 Oregon Gubernatorial Election
Wendell Wyatt (Republican) - 53.8%
Ed Kennedy (Democratic) - 45.9%

However, in 1978, Kennedy would return with a vengeance, and did so in a much more favorable environment. Not only was Wyatt unpopular for a variety of corruption allegations and charges, but Ashbrook was too. Kennedy mopped the floor with… Mark Hatfield… winning over 66% of the vote and entering the governorship. Kennedy would enter the senate in 1986, a seat he would hold for 30 consecutive years.

The 1980s were a rough time for Portland, as the city, constantly under bad press due to corruption went through a severe decline, as did most of the state. The newly created Mt. Hood freeway was unbelievably unpopular, and in the business world, the city saw one of the biggest flops in financial history under the company Nike, which had spent millions investing in Michael Jordan, the superstar of the University of North Carolina. Unfortunately, Jordan would suffer an injury-prone career, playing for the Indiana Pacers and San Diego Clippers, before eventually being kicked out of the league for gambling on games. Jordan’s failure led to Nike’s failure, and the company collapsed.

In 1990, Glenn Olds was a long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Oregon, with the ex-president of Kent State University narrowly winning the Democratic primary full of high ranking Democrats. Olds would be a relatively popular governor after sending Wendell Wyatt home in 1990, but his frequent conflicts with labor unions, support for heavy logging, and decision to raise taxes was controversial for many within the Democratic party. As such he faced a major primary opponent, liberal state senator John Kitzhaber, who garnered a large amount of union support in the primary, and nearly unseated the governor. The bad blood between Olds and Kitzhaber was so bad that Kitzhaber refused to endorse Olds in the general election and ran a write-in campaign, where he saw significantly less support.

1994 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Glen Olds (Democratic-inc.) - 55.4%
Gary Ridgeway (Republican) - 34.4%
John Kitzhaber (Write-In) - 9.2%

While Olds would serve out his term as governor of Oregon and later go on to head the College Board, the saga of John Kitzhaber would define the Oregon Democratic party for decades. In 1998 he ran yet another campaign for governor, supported by union and environmental interests. His opponent in the Democratic primary was conservative logging-backed Marc Racicot, who had been born in Montana but attended the University of Oregon for basketball before blowing out his knee and pursuing a career in Democratic party politics.

The primary battle between Racicot and Kitzhaber was a bloody one, with Racicot attacking Kitzhaber as “anti-gun” and “off the wall”. While Kitzhaber would narrowly win the Democratic nomination (and the endorsement of President Koch), it was not a long lasting victory. The logging industry, which had been facing several protests from progressives, many of which turned to violence, saw Kitzhaber as against their interests, and backed his opponent, Mark Hatfield (back for one last ride). A “Democrats for Hatfield” front group was set up, and the RNC poured thousands into a campaign that accused Kitzhaber of everything, from pedophilia to communism, riling up a growing conservative base.

1998 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 51.4%
John Kitzhaber (Democratic) - 47.5%

For many a Democrat, Kitzhaber’s loss was a turning point in Oregon political history. Kitzhaber’s hopes of addressing the homelessness crisis, transitioning the economy out of logging and lumber into a brighter, more environmentally friendly economy, and supporting a progressive future were dashed. It’s easy to see this as the moment where everything turned in Oregon politics. Indeed, two years later, Oregon voted Republican on the national level for the first time since 1972, as environmentalist candidate Dick Lamm lost the state to Kay Bailey Hutchinson. It hasn’t voted for a Democrat since.

Kitzhaber’s loss was not just the only thing that shifted Oregon to the right, however. Gun control becoming very politically polarized after the Columbine shooting also hurt the state, known for its pro-gun views, and the Oregon Citizens Alliance, a far right group, had led to a spread of conservative Christianity and politics into the state. However, the state would continue to elect Democrats for decades. Racicot would replace Boivin in 1999, serving as the states senator until the present day, although many expect him to lose re-election in 2020.

Racicot would not be the last Democrat elected statewide, however. In 2014, lumber millionaire and ex-conservative Republican turned conservative Democrat Ted Wheeler ran for governor of Oregon. Even as Oregon Democrats saw massive defeats across the board, particularly after the election of America’s first black president, Cleo Fields - even losing Ed Kennedy’s senate seat to Wendell Wyatt’s daughter Amy -the governorship had been the one bright spot for the party, having not lost it since Hatfield’s one term from 1999 to 2003. Wheeler, a multi millionaire and also close personal friend/classmate of legendary USC basketball head coach Antoine Stoudamire, ran a campaign heavily backed financially by logging interests, with his own money blanketing the state. Wheeler faced Knute Buehler, a largely uncontroversial and boring Republican, whose campaign heavily underperformed. However, he also faced Kitzhaber, who, in one last ride, was running on the state’s Green Party affiliate, the Beaver Party.

2014 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Ted Wheeler (Democratic) - 49.8%
Knute Buehler (Republican) - 44.8%
John Kitzhaber (Beaver) - 5.4%

Even in a heavily Republican state, Wheeler was quite popular, largely due to his conservative views and populist flair making him stand out. However, when Republican candidate Morry Taylor won every county in the state, Wheeler would shock the world and many of his advisors by switching to the Republican party after a rally with Taylor. In his re-election campaign he too swept every county in Oregon, and is now looking like a perfect Republican opponent for Racicot, beating him in almost every poll.
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I might write a timeline where César Chávez survived and became President of Mexico in 2000, defeating Vicente Fox and Francisco Labastida.

Edit: He'd be over 70, so this would not make much sense.
 
Loriori said:
Oregon is a state that’s very confusing to those both politically and in general for many Americans. In between two very financially successful, very liberal states (Washington and California), many wonder how Oregon, a naturally beautiful state, has managed to avoid both fates. Oregon is now a staunchly Republican state, with a dying out state Democratic party, something that was completely inconceivable even 25 years ago.

Oregon’s reign of Democratic dominance largely began in the late 1950s. Long considered one of the more Republican states in the nation, the party change of senator Wayne Morse after the selection of Richard Nixon in 1952, and later the election of Richard Nueberger in 1954, had allowed the state to move more towards The Democracy. However, when the Democratic party nominated a ticket of John F. Kennedy and Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, the state was largely expected to vote against it, despite a regional favorite son being on the ticket, largely due to the large protestant makeup of the state and Portland mayor Terry Schrunk’s personal beef with the Kennedys.

1960 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
John F. Kennedy / Henry M. Jackson (Democratic) - 50.2%
Richard Nixon / Henry Cabot Lodge II (Republican) - 49.6%

However, as the campaign wore on, Kennedy’s popularity in the state grew, and a home region effect from Scoop Jackson would pull the state towards Kennedy. However, Schrunk’s influence would be felt, as Multnomah county, home to Portland, would vote against a Democrat for the last time for 50 years.

In Oregon’s senate election that year, the race focused around former senator Richard Neuberger - who had died of testicular cancer. Although Neuberger’s widow, Maurine, herself a state senator, was the front-runner, her own cancer scare caused her to decide against running - which led to a surprising choice for the Democrats. Harry Bovin, a conservative Democrat and state senator from Medford, would shock the state by winning the Democratic primary. Bovin’s victory was seen as a success for the rural conservative areas of the state, and against Elmo Smith, a relatively unpopular ex-governor, he dominated the rural areas and won just enough of Portland to pull off a win.

Bovin would serve as Oregons senator until his death in 1999 at 92 years old, doing so as Senate Pro Tempore and being recognized as a master legislator who would serve as senate majority leader in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1962, Oregon’s “boy governor” Mark Hatfield, a popular moderate Republican, would run for senate against incumbent Wayne Morse, giving up the governor’s mansion. Hatfield’s campaign against the radical liberal senator carried a lot of weight, especially as many Democrats had grown tired of Morse’s antics in the senate. Indeed, it was said that even the Kennedy White House was “silently rooting” for Morse, a thorn in their side from the left, to be replaced with Hatfield, who really wasn’t that much different from any other Democrat on most issues. For most of the campaign, Hatfield led Morse, and many Democrats were considering “punting” the race away for 1968.

However, two events saved Morse. The first was the peaceful ending of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which boosted all Democrats in a Kennedy midterm. The second was the shocking assassination of president Kennedy, only 13 days before the midterm. Kennedy was killed by known anti-Catholic Richard Pavlick, an incident which began president Henry Jackson’s “War on Hate”. Morse, despite having run against Kennedy in 1960, gave a speech memorializing the former president and, after President Jackson did the same, called to support Kennedy’s civil rights bill. Morse would narrowly defeat Hatfield as Democrats swept the senate.

1962 United States senate election in Oregon
Wayne Morse (Democratic-inc.) - 51.4%
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 47.7%

Morse’s narrow victory would be the closest of his remaining career, holding onto the seat for decades until his loss in 1980 due to a statewide “Republican Revolution”. Gubernatorially, Haftfield’s hand-chosen successor, Howell Appling Jr., would be defeated in a much less close race by Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton.

Six years later, and the United States looked much different than it had in 1962. Henry M. Jackson used massive victories - both in 1962 and in 1964 - to pass civil rights bills, and formed the “Fair Society”. In 1964, against Senator Goldwater, Jackson easily won the state, winning over 65% of the vote. However, Jackson’s hawkishness led to the United States invading Vietnam, a decision that made him very unpopular as the war continued on and the United States struggled.

In 1968, Jackson would face an opponent in the Democratic primary, Frank Church of neighboring Idaho. The nation was shocked when Church, once a friend of Jackson’s, nearly upset the man in New Hampshire and won around 43% of the vote. Jackson, however, refused to stand down, and campaigned heavily against Church. The one-on-one primary would come down to Oregon, California, and South Dakota.

Jackson vs Church was really more of a battle between the two senators in the state - governor Thornton, fighting off a corruption scandal after beating now-perennial candidate Mark Hatfield -would largely stay out of the race. Senator Morse, an early opponent of the Vietnam War, stood behind Church, even as he faced a re-election campaign in 1968. Bovin enthusiastically backed Jackson.

The real kingmaker in the race, however, was Schrunk, which is why the history of Portland is key to the race. In 1967, members of the so-called New Left, assorted black panthers and radicals, rioted throughout Portland, leading Schrunk to call in the national guard and start cracking skills. Portland, which had for years struggled to gain much positive PR due to heavy mob activity in thd port town, now saw a wave of negative national press, and would begin losing population. In the context of the Democratic primary, Schrunk, still furious at the so called New Left, sent his base of working-class shipmen behind Jackson, and in doing so would help deliver the state to the president.

1968 Democratic Presidential Primary in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson (inc) - 46.9%
Frank Church - 39.8%
Write-Ins - 13.3%

In the end, a narrow Jackson win in California would reliever the nomination to the man from Washington, and despite attempts at a major left wing third party candidate - Church, Martin Luther King, even senator Morse himself, Democrats would fall behind Jackson, especially against Ronald Reagan and Jim Jackson, his two ultra-conservative opponents. In Oregon this was no problem, with neither candidate having as much appeal as Jackson. Indeed, Jackson swept almost the entire Pacific Coast - minus Reagan’s home state of California and ultraconservative Hawaii - en route to a shaky but fruitful re-election. Morse, despite many agreeing he was in a weakened spot, only faced ex-congressman Lowell Stockman, and dispatched of him easily.

1968 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Henry M. Jackson / Thomas Dodd (Democratic) - 51.8%
Ronald Reagan / Winthrop Rockefeller (Republican) - 44.0%
Jim Johnson / Dan Smoot (All-American Alliance) - 3.9%

Four years later, however, things were much different for the Democrats. Vice President Dodd, already controversial for his conservative views, was forced out of office in 1970 for corruption, and the Jackson administration’s continued violence in Vietnam had led to a massive anti-war movement. In 1969, the Arizona State massacre had led to a massive national strike movement, and a successful recall of Jack Williams, led by Cesar Chavez. Despite George Meany’s best efforts, Walter Reuther remained alive, and unions began to band against the Jackson administration. By 1971 it was abundantly clear that war was unpopular, and Jackson, himself increasingly unpopular, saw his influence slip in the Democratic party.

The result was a massive Democratic primary. Senator Robert Kennedy of Massachusetts, a close friend of Jackson’s (which had stopped him from entering the 1968 race), refused to enter, fearing a 1972 Republican landslide. Instead, the primary saw a multitude of has-beens and what’s-whats. Conservatives were led by the bombastic governor Sam Yorty, fresh off of defeating Reagan for re-election, with moderates split down the middle between “New South” governor William Dorn, Connecticut’s embattled John Dempsey, and the new Vice-President, young conservative Mike Gravel.

On the left side of the Democratic party, several candidates battled it out with Frank Church, exhausted and infuriated, deciding against a run. Fred Harris and Harold Hughes attempted to win the left-wing vote in the primary, but the man who would beat them both out was not a senator, or even an elected official at all. It was indeed, Cesar Chavez.

When Chavez, fresh off of sending Jack Williams to the dustbin of history, won the Arizona caucus, it was to be expected, after all, most Arizona Democrats owed their new shiny jobs to Chavez. When he won Michigan, it was a gift from Walter Reuther, an old ally, and the UAW. When he won New York it was the urban resistance rising up. Of course, Chavez lost to Gravel in Oregon, an unsurprising win as Gravel was a friend of Bovin’s, and because the heavily-Catholic, latino Chavez had little appeal in a state full of white protestants. But after Oregon came California.

1972 Democratic Presidential Primary in California:
Cesar Chavez - 33.2%
Sam Yorty - 31.5%
Mike Gravel - 26.4%
William Dorn - 6.7%

California was a major state because, despite the state’s Democratic electorate being divided into thirds, it sent one unified delegation to the DNC. A delegation now controlled by Chavez. Democrats, terrified of Chavez’s numbers against any perspective Republicans, had backed Yorty, hoping for a Yorty-Gravel unity ticket or some kind of alliance. However, a masterful campaign behind Chavez delivered Yorty’s own state to the union leader.

At the convention, Chavez, thanks in large part due to a deal with William Dorn, along with the UAW and close friend Robert Kennedy, was given the nomination, too much controversy. While the ticket was surprisingly ideologically united, it was unbelievably unpopular, and the campaign was a complete clusterfuck.

Meanwhile, Republicans, shut out of the White House by a string of controversial candidates and idiots for years, had basically been given an open election, and with the opportunity they nominated a moderate, respectable candidate, senator Charles Percy of Illinois, and a complete and total maniac senator from Ohio John Ashbrook at Vice President. In Oregon Chavez was completely blown out of the water, only winning Multnomah County by half a percent of the vote, and losing every other county in the state. Nationally, Chavez would only win Washington, D.C. (which he did by almost 80%) and Rhode Island.

1972 United States Presidential Election in Oregon:
Charles Percy / John Ashbrook (Republican) - 63.5%
Cesar Chavez / William Dorn (Democratic) - 33.4%
Dan Smoot / Clay Smothers (All-American Alliance) - 2.4%

The Kennedy family had produced a president, John, and a long term senator to replace him, Robert, but they had also produced a “dud” of sorts. Edward Kennedy, long iced out of the family, had done a lot of campaigning out west during 1960, and his campaign in Oregon, the natural beauty of the state, and his desire to leave Massachusetts had led to him living in Gresham, Oregon, after his brothers assassination in 1962. For years Kennedy was seen as a potential Democratic candidate for anything, governor, senator, even president by those who saw Robert as too ruthless. In 1974, he ran for governor, a campaign where he claimed to “have found the common man”. While Kennedy dollars flooded the state in droves, the assassination of Charles Percy in December and the popularity of governor Wendell Wyatt, who had defeated Mark Hatfield in the Republican primary in 1970 before narrowly winning the general weighed down Kennedy and he narrowly lost.

1974 Oregon Gubernatorial Election
Wendell Wyatt (Republican) - 53.8%
Ed Kennedy (Democratic) - 45.9%

However, in 1978, Kennedy would return with a vengeance, and did so in a much more favorable environment. Not only was Wyatt unpopular for a variety of corruption allegations and charges, but Ashbrook was too. Kennedy mopped the floor with… Mark Hatfield… winning over 66% of the vote and entering the governorship. Kennedy would enter the senate in 1986, a seat he would hold for 30 consecutive years.

The 1980s were a rough time for Portland, as the city, constantly under bad press due to corruption went through a severe decline, as did most of the state. The newly created Mt. Hood freeway was unbelievably unpopular, and in the business world, the city saw one of the biggest flops in financial history under the company Nike, which had spent millions investing in Michael Jordan, the superstar of the University of North Carolina. Unfortunately, Jordan would suffer an injury-prone career, playing for the Indiana Pacers and San Diego Clippers, before eventually being kicked out of the league for gambling on games. Jordan’s failure led to Nike’s failure, and the company collapsed.

In 1990, Glenn Olds was a long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Oregon, with the ex-president of Kent State University narrowly winning the Democratic primary full of high ranking Democrats. Olds would be a relatively popular governor after sending Wendell Wyatt home in 1990, but his frequent conflicts with labor unions, support for heavy logging, and decision to raise taxes was controversial for many within the Democratic party. As such he faced a major primary opponent, liberal state senator John Kitzhaber, who garnered a large amount of union support in the primary, and nearly unseated the governor. The bad blood between Olds and Kitzhaber was so bad that Kitzhaber refused to endorse Olds in the general election and ran a write-in campaign, where he saw significantly less support.

1994 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Glen Olds (Democratic-inc.) - 55.4%
Gary Ridgeway (Republican) - 34.4%
John Kitzhaber (Write-In) - 9.2%

While Olds would serve out his term as governor of Oregon and later go on to head the College Board, the saga of John Kitzhaber would define the Oregon Democratic party for decades. In 1998 he ran yet another campaign for governor, supported by union and environmental interests. His opponent in the Democratic primary was conservative logging-backed Marc Racicot, who had been born in Montana but attended the University of Oregon for basketball before blowing out his knee and pursuing a career in Democratic party politics.

The primary battle between Racicot and Kitzhaber was a bloody one, with Racicot attacking Kitzhaber as “anti-gun” and “off the wall”. While Kitzhaber would narrowly win the Democratic nomination (and the endorsement of President Koch), it was not a long lasting victory. The logging industry, which had been facing several protests from progressives, many of which turned to violence, saw Kitzhaber as against their interests, and backed his opponent, Mark Hatfield (back for one last ride). A “Democrats for Hatfield” front group was set up, and the RNC poured thousands into a campaign that accused Kitzhaber of everything, from pedophilia to communism, riling up a growing conservative base.

1998 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Mark Hatfield (Republican) - 51.4%
John Kitzhaber (Democratic) - 47.5%

For many a Democrat, Kitzhaber’s loss was a turning point in Oregon political history. Kitzhaber’s hopes of addressing the homelessness crisis, transitioning the economy out of logging and lumber into a brighter, more environmentally friendly economy, and supporting a progressive future were dashed. It’s easy to see this as the moment where everything turned in Oregon politics. Indeed, two years later, Oregon voted Republican on the national level for the first time since 1972, as environmentalist candidate Dick Lamm lost the state to Kay Bailey Hutchinson. It hasn’t voted for a Democrat since.

Kitzhaber’s loss was not just the only thing that shifted Oregon to the right, however. Gun control becoming very politically polarized after the Columbine shooting also hurt the state, known for its pro-gun views, and the Oregon Citizens Alliance, a far right group, had led to a spread of conservative Christianity and politics into the state. However, the state would continue to elect Democrats for decades. Racicot would replace Boivin in 1999, serving as the states senator until the present day, although many expect him to lose re-election in 2020.

Racicot would not be the last Democrat elected statewide, however. In 2014, lumber millionaire and ex-conservative Republican turned conservative Democrat Ted Wheeler ran for governor of Oregon. Even as Oregon Democrats saw massive defeats across the board, particularly after the election of America’s first black president, Cleo Fields - even losing Ed Kennedy’s senate seat to Wendell Wyatt’s daughter Amy -the governorship had been the one bright spot for the party, having not lost it since Hatfield’s one term from 1999 to 2003. Wheeler, a multi millionaire and also close personal friend/classmate of legendary USC basketball head coach Antoine Stoudamire, ran a campaign heavily backed financially by logging interests, with his own money blanketing the state. Wheeler faced Knute Buehler, a largely uncontroversial and boring Republican, whose campaign heavily underperformed. However, he also faced Kitzhaber, who, in one last ride, was running on the state’s Green Party affiliate, the Beaver Party.

2014 Oregon Gubernatorial Election:
Ted Wheeler (Democratic) - 49.8%
Knute Buehler (Republican) - 44.8%
John Kitzhaber (Beaver) - 5.4%

Even in a heavily Republican state, Wheeler was quite popular, largely due to his conservative views and populist flair making him stand out. However, when Republican candidate Morry Taylor won every county in the state, Wheeler would shock the world and many of his advisors by switching to the Republican party after a rally with Taylor. In his re-election campaign he too swept every county in Oregon, and is now looking like a perfect Republican opponent for Racicot, beating him in almost every poll.
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So in this TL, is it Charleston or Wheeling that has a semi-deserved reputation as a Hipster Utopia?
 
Uhura's Mazda said:
Novels (Completed) of Luther Mackenzie

Luther Mackenzie was New Zealand's first notable science fiction writer. Apart from a few short stories in Astounding Science Fiction and comparable international publications, Mackenzie's work only saw light in his own monthly magazine, which he published for over forty years from 1933 until his death with the help of the ailing second-hand printing press in his garage. Scholars generally agree that the failure of this journal to achieve any degree of success or profitability was partly down to the poor quality of the output, but mostly because the inveterately Kiwi Mackenzie modestly entitled the mag 'Bemusing Science Fiction'.

Mackenzie would pen the bulk of the magazine's content himself, publishing half a dozen short stories along with installments of at least two serialised novels per issue. Unfortunately, the editor's hectic schedule and his demanding day job as a self-employed haulier, not to mention his sensitivity to negative reviews, meant that these serials usually cut off abruptly just as the plot was beginning to develop. However, the renaissance of New Zealand letters in the 1980s led to a reappraisal of Mackenzie's work and the publication of all his completed serials in novel format - subsequently, new editions were put out to tie in with Peter Jackson's critically panned 2014 adaptation of Vampires of Venus.

This Happy Breed of Men (1934-5)
A supposed history book purporting to recount the events of the 20th and 21st centuries. Although many works along these lines can claim to be prescient, at least by accident, Mackenzie's insistence that the future would be "broadly fine and pleasantly settled" was outpaced by events even as he was writing his predictions, resulting in an uneven serial that retcons itself in every chapter as Mackenzie became aware of, for instance, the rise of Hitler and the invasion of Abyssinia. He tied himself in so many knots that he attempted a rewrite the next year in which he retained his initial thesis but attempted to present the real-life events of the 1930s in a positive light. This self-inflicted mental violence coloured some of his later politics.

Vampires of Venus (1934-5)
A derivative work, in which an ex-soldier from the New Zealand Wars is teleported to the planet Venus, which he finds is inhabited by a race of attractive and scantily clad women who have created a subterranean Eden after breaking off relations with their industrially-minded menfolk (hence the dense smog on the surface of the planet) and are now in dire need of the seed of a virile man such as, for instance, Corporal Calvin Mackessack. The drama comes when Mackessack discovers that the Venusian version of sexual intercourse involves the mingling of blood, and escapes to the nightmarish surface world. Jackson's film drops as much as possible of the horrendous sexual politics, instead expanding on the train-based chase scene to turn the tale into an inconsequential CGI-fest.

A Shameful Conquest (1936)
In a dystopian near-future, the United Comradedom is trying to wipe out all aspects of British culture and turn its citizens into oppressed automatons. Only Captain Wesley MacLaurin can stop them, choosing to do so by deserting from the People's Army to join up with an underground secret society called the Black Fist, bent on restoring the King, Edward VIII, to the throne. Some have argued that this novel inspired George Orwell, but it is doubtful that the latter was aware of its existence. Many more have argued that it should not have been part of the 2014 reissue due to its outright Fascist themes and the fact that it was patently obvious that Mackenzie had never actually been to Britain.

Velociraptors of Venus (1941-6)
The fifth attempt at a sequel to the Venus series, this short novel was stretched out for several years due to wartime paper shortages. Interestingly, it treats three of the partially completed sequels as canon while redacting the events of the other - a position which was reversed in the next book. In this volume, Corporal Mackessack tangles with another, equally lascivious, Venusian civilisation, who have replaced their own males with dinosaur-like animals that evolved from their pets. Mackessack teaches Princess Virgilabia the pleasures of humanoid sex, while learning a little of the exciting BDSM techniques of the Venusians' toothy gigolos. Controversial at the time, Velociraptors almost got Bemusing banned - until Parliament learned of the magazine's single-digit circulation numbers.

This Seat of Mars (1946-8)
Influenced by Mackenzie's conversion to Theosophy, this lengthy story consists of a series of discrete adventures, in which a put-upon househusband, Wing Commander Zwingli Macintosh (Ret'd.), goes about his daily errands and then, when sitting down with a well-deserved cuppa, sees psychic visions of a series of Kings of Mars. The Kings, all of the same dynasty, engage in escapist pieces of derring-do - sword fights and bold rescues of alien damsels and so on. Ultimately, in the course of defeating a villain, the last King uses nuclear bombs to blast the planet into a red-hued desert, and Macintosh decides that he ought to be thankful to lead his own dull life. Luther Mackenzie appears to have wished to develop the Martian world into something quite complex, but merely succeeded in writing a lot of internally inconsistent worldbuilding by virtue of changing his mind and making simple errors during the serialising process. The 1986 publication was popular among the anti-nuclear crowd in New Zealand.

Valkyries of Venus (1951-2)
Mackessack comes across a tribe of winged women who can breathe the toxic fog gushed forth by the Venusian lead foundries, and seduces Queen Vaginarsia into giving him the antidote. This installment treats Velociraptors as a fever dream experienced by Mackessack while he lies wounded as a result of events in the unwritten final third of Vats of Venus (1939), hitherto itself treated as non-canonical. Another unusual point is that the sex scenes are all tastefully glossed over for fear of legal retribution, forcing Mackenzie to write much more dialogue and set-dressing than the other entries in the series.

Stubborn Jewry (1959-60)
Rear-Admiral Hus MacGillivray opens the doors of perception to see snapshots of the future, right down to the end of the last humanoid civilisation in the 69th Millennium, and learns that there is a malign, eldritch force governing our affairs. Best not discussed.

The Triumphant Sea (1967-8)
Generalissimo Miller Macfayden discovers the existence of beautiful mermaids, with results that can perhaps be imagined.

Vultures of Venus (1974-6)
This story concluded in the final issue of Bemused, and deals with Mackessack tangling with a race of ugly bird-women whose breath is in fact the real cause of the planet's atmospheric unpleasantness. The vulture-women are in the process of splitting from their masculine counterparts, and the narrative is interrupted by frequent diatribes on the iniquities of alimony law. Not entirely coincidentally, Luther Mackenzie's wife was awarded his printing press in their own divorce settlement, and blood-spattered copies of the farewell issue can reach tens of thousands of dollars on TradeMe.

For more information, please read Professor Janice Brady's Venus Perceived: A Contemplation of Luther Mackenzie's Attitudes on Gender and Life (2015), available from Auckland University Press for $69.99.
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So, in 2021 I wrote this in about half an hour and showed it to a mate, who thought it was excellent.

The other day, he sent me the first fanfic anyone's ever made of my stuff: a review of the author's attempt at a sci-fi based cookbook.

Food From Out of this World

Vittles from Venus
By Luther Mackenzie.
Bemused Publishing.
430pp. $69.99.


This Happy Bread of Man
By Luther Mackenzie.
Bemused Publishing.
299pp. $43.57


Luther Mackenzie is best known as New Zealand's first notable science fiction author, his works enjoying a 40-year run in Bemused Science Fiction (for which he is Editor in Chief), and enough pieces in Astounding Science Fiction for them to learn their lesson. He is less well known for his accompanying cookbooks, written in tandem with his science fiction stories. In an interview with Bemused Science Fiction (interviewer not named) he said the writing of cookbooks “helps to place him in the mind of a foreign species in an entirely alien land.” Upon reading his culinary works, this is easily believed.

Vittles of Venus was written between 1934-1976 and was intended for posthumous publication, but mounting alimony payments made bringing the date forward a necessity. His approximations of the difficulties cooking in a climate like Venus (464ºC surface temperature, 86.6% Earth gravity, and 92 atmospheres, at which point is atmosphere of carbon dioxide and nitrogen have become supercritial thus behaving as liquids and gas simultaneously) translate into some unorthodox culinary techniques, but nothing that Mackenzie suggests should be beyond the average New Zealand housewife.

The theme varies with which installment of Venus novels he was writing at the time. The first fifth of the book is devoted to blood based recipes, a homage to Vampires of Venus, and not once does Mackenzie fail to emphasise the aphrodisiac properties of this ingredient saying “it shall be evident to all men of good sense that gorging upon the agent of engorging can only result in greater lustyness.” Notably Mackenzie lists Crissy van Hump as the copy editor of these volumes; readers familiar with Mackenzies body of work will recognize this as a character of his own design, being the High Concubine of the Royal Venusian Harem from Vampires of Venus. The middle three thirds were written concurrently with Velociraptors of Venus. Mackenzie took the primal nature of his subject to heart, with a good portion of this section being devoted to prehistoric weaponless hunting techniques. Dr Ralph Piddington, otherwise a noted fan of Mackenzie’s speculative works, wrote an impassioned letter to Bemused Science Fiction decrying Mackenzies blatant misrepresentation of prehistoric peoples and their methods (it was Bemused’s first and final letter, featuring in the July 1974 issue merely days before Dr Piddingtons death). Mackenzie brushes over Valkyries of Venus, citing “a lack of primary sauces.” The final chapters credit Funyun Pete as a co-author and use Vultures of Venus as inspiration. The ubiquity of roadkill possums on the roads of New Zealand enabled Funyun and Mackenzie to develop a commendably inventive menu self-described as “avante garde.” As these final chapters were being penned Mackenzie’s marriage was falling apart. His impassioned speeches about the Zionist agenda underpinning New Zealand alimony law on the steps of the Beehive saw him arrested. After which his dearly beloved printing press was lost to the flames of divorce, and he was cuckolded by none other than Funyun Pete.

As a work of speculative fiction Vittles of Venus is an interesting approach to the genre. If indeed it is intended to be interpreted as a cookbook Mackenzie had better familiarize himself with liability law better than he did divorce law.

This Happy Bread of Man is a surprisingly straightforward and well presented guide to baking bread.
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The Volkmacht ("People's Force") is the term for German military since the Sparticist Revolution. The name was specifically chosen to project strength, which the new Germany initially  lacked and needed to portray internally (so people felt the new government was strong and stable) and externally (for fear of its neighbours 'intervening'). Lots of showy marches and imposing names were the order of the day, such as the light cavalry unit Wikingkommando ("Viking Kommando") with their Norse rune stylings and group flag, who only numbered in the hundreds and used horses more than their iconic motorbikes. Once Germany had a proper force, this naming convention and stylings caused a few diplomatic tensions.

The Volkmacht is divided into:

* Erdemacht ("Earth Force")
* Meermacht ("Sea Force")
* Luftmacht ("Air Force")
* Raketemacht ("Rocket Force")
 
Time Enough said:
Why do I imagine these soldiers looking Eastern German Police in the Early 50s, who looked aggressively like SS officers with Soviet Symbols.

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The funniest thing about this was that they kept using old WW2 uniforms because they had no money/time for new ones and the Soviets didn’t care since they viewed the DDR with nothing but contempt,a failed abortion at best that they were stuck with indefinitely.
 
Yokai Man said:
The funniest thing about this was that they kept using old WW2 uniforms because they had no money/time for new ones and the Soviets didn’t care since they viewed the DDR with nothing but contempt,a failed abortion at best that they were stuck with indefinitely.
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It does explain the DDR's like weird infuriately complex and it's like creepy Stalinist structure
 
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