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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State

And there's Michael Heseltine added after Benn. I presume that in this timeline, Heseltine is on the right of the party, and so seen as being on the same side as Thatcher, and her heir in a sense.
 
@Makemakean, Liza Kendall for 2007-2015? From a good Liberal family.

I think she's a little too close in age to Liz Truss to work. Obviously, if I did make it into a full TLIAW, she would likely be the one running against Liz Truss in the leadership election, just as Geoffrey Howe (campaigned for the Liberals and voted Liberal in 1945) would make an appearance.

I'd probably also include Jeremy Thorpe as leader of the Conservative Party.

Alan Duncan for sure, ran as a Liberal in a school election, lost, then joined the Tories.

Seems like an excellent final fit! Thank you!
 
Leaders of the Liberal Party of the United Kingdom:

1931-1937: Philip Snowden
1937-1946: Winston Churchill
1946-1952: Bertrand Russell
1952-1964: Harold Macmillan
1964-1972: Michael Foot
1972-1976: Harold Wilson
1976-1986: Margaret Thatcher
1986-1992: Tony Benn
1992-1999: Michael Heseltine
1999-2007: Peter Hain
2007-2015: Alan Duncan

2015-present: Liz Truss

The only idea for a classic British politics-TLIAW I have ever had that I felt sort of could fly was an idea I had about doing one about the alternate leaders of the Liberal Party of the United Kingdom, but every name on the list is someone who either at one point were a member of the Liberal Party (like Winston Churchill), or strongly flirted with the idea of joining the party (like Harold Macmillan), or came from a family that was strongly Liberal (like both Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot), but who fundamentally became remembered as being associated with one of the Big Two.

The idea was going to be that the Liberals still fall into their historical decline to only holding a handful of seats, and the parliamentary party can fit into a single car, but it's now these characters who are leading them. It felt cool, this idea of Marget Thatcher and Harold Wilson being engaged in a vicious, bitter factional fight over who would get to have the honour of the two of them to lead the other 9 Liberal MPs in Parliament, and Winston Churchill being this very junior minister in the War Cabinet.

Problem is, there were some gaps where I couldn't come up with sufficiently high-profile names, and then I sort of felt that, you know, this was more a thing I wanted someone else to write so I could read it than I wanted to write it myself.

Perhaps not to the same extent but would there be other OTL party leaders leading other parties? Especially OTL Liberal leaders leading either Labour or the Tories?
 
Perhaps not to the same extent but would there be other OTL party leaders leading other parties? Especially OTL Liberal leaders leading either Labour or the Tories?

Well as mentioned, I would have Nick Clegg being Tory leader at around the time he was Lib Dem leader, and Vince Cable being Labour leader at the same time, and the idea was that since Jeremy Thorpe came from a Tory family, he would be Tory leader during the 60s-70s. Still, I would want to have a similar evolution of who is in power as in OTL, so I suppose we would have Vince Cable=Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg=David Cameron, Jeremy Thorpe=Edward Heath, and, hrm... (of course, the dates are supposed to be subject to modification and not set in stone):

...
1964-1970: ??? (Labour)
1970-1974: Jeremy Thorpe (Conservative)
1974-1976: ??? (Labour)
1976-1979: ??? (Labour)
1979-1990: ??? (Conservative)
1990-1997: ??? (Conservative)
1997-2007: Paddy Ashdown (Labour)
2007-2010: Vince Cable (Labour)
2010-2016: Nick Clegg (Conservative)
 
Well as mentioned, I would have Nick Clegg being Tory leader at around the time he was Lib Dem leader, and Vince Cable being Labour leader at the same time, and the idea was that since Jeremy Thorpe came from a Tory family, he would be Tory leader during the 60s-70s. Still, I would want to have a similar evolution of who is in power as in OTL, so I suppose we would have Vince Cable=Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg=David Cameron, Jeremy Thorpe=Edward Heath, and, hrm... (of course, the dates are supposed to be subject to modification and not set in stone):

...
1964-1970: ??? (Labour)
1970-1974: Jeremy Thorpe (Conservative)
1974-1976: ??? (Labour)
1976-1979: ??? (Labour)
1979-1990: ??? (Conservative)
1990-1997: ??? (Conservative)
1997-2007: Paddy Ashdown (Labour)
2007-2010: Vince Cable (Labour)
2010-2016: Nick Clegg (Conservative)
If I'm not being impertinent:

1964-1970: Jo Grimond (Labour)
1970-1974: Jeremy Thorpe (Unionist)
1974-1976: Jo Grimond (Labour)
1976-1979: David Steel (Labour)
1979-1990: Stina Robson (Conservative)
1990-1997: Alan Beith (Conservative)
1997-2007: Paddy Ashdown (Labour)
2007-2010: Menzies Campbell (Labour)
2010-2016: Nick Clegg (Conservative)
2016-20??: Lynne Featherstone (Conservative)


idk cable is corbyn
 
Presidents of America in the 21st century (and a bit on either side)

(Subtitle: Yes, it’s a Star Trek list, have you got a problem with that?)

President of the United States of America
1989-1997: George H.W. Bush (Republican)
1988: VP J. Danforth Quayle (def. Michael S. Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen (Democrat))
1992: VP J. Danforth Quayle (def. William J. Clinton/Albert A. Gore, Jr. (Democrat))

1997-2005: John F. Kerry (Democrat)
1996: VP Thomas R. Harkin (def. Newton L. Gingrich/Robert J. Dole (Republican))
2000: VP Thomas R. Harkin (def. John S. McCain III/W. Mitt Romney (Republican))

2005-2009: Johnny R. Edwards (Democrat)
2004: VP Howard B. Dean III (def. John E. Bush/Freddie D. Thompson (Republican))
2009-2017: Michael D. Huckabee (Republican)
2008: VP Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. (def. Johnny R. Edwards/Howard B. Dean III (Democrat))
2012: VP Ronald E. Paul (def. Howard B. Dean III/Martin J. O’Malley (Democrat))

2017-2024: Cara C. Fiorina (Republican)
2016: VP Richard J. Santorum (def. Martin J. O’Malley/Barack H. Obama II (Democrat))
2020: VP Richard J. Santorum (def. Barack H. Obama II/Kirsten E. Gillibrand (Democrat))

2024-2025: Richard J. Santorum (Republican)
2024: Cara C. Fiorina convicted by the Senate. VP vacant.
2025-2028: Terence R. McAuliffe (Democrat)
2024: VP Michelle S. Hardison (def. Randal H. Paul/Marco A. Rubio (Republican))
2028-2033: Michelle S. Hardison (Democrat)
2028: Terence R. McAuliffe dies. VP Barack H. Obama II
2028: VP Barack H. Obama II (def. Marco A. Rubio/Harry P. Jackson (Republican); Erin Waverley/Jon Michael Cucinotta (Democratic Socialists of America))

2033-2036: Peter M. Flaherty (Republican, then Democratic Republican)
2032: VP Dana T. Kelley (def. Michelle S. Hardison/Barack H. Obama II (Democrat); Jon Michael Cucinotta/Spring F. Preston (New Socialist); Morgan J. Elliott/Richard B. Spencer (American Alternative))
2035: Becomes Democratic Republican.

2036-2037: Dana T. Kelley (Democratic Republican)
2036: Peter M. Flaherty assassinated. VP Michelle S. Hardison
2037-2041: Michelle S. Hardison (Democratic Republican)
2036: VP Dana T. Kelley (def. Jon Michael Cucinotta/Spring F. Preston (New Socialist); Morgan J. Elliott/Harrison Rogers (Optimum of America))
2041-2047: Tyrone K. Jackson (Democratic Republican)
2040: VP Barbara Bush (def. Spring F. Preston/Bethany Pearson-White (New Socialist); Morgan J. Elliott/Harrison Rogers (Optimum of America))
2044: VP Barbara Bush (def. Spring F. Preston/Bethany Pearson-White (New Socialist); Morgan J. Elliott/Harrison Rogers (Optimum of America))

beginning of World War III

President of the United States of America (Continuing)
2047-2053: Barbara P. Bush (Democratic Republican)
2047: Tyrone K. Jackson assassinated. VP John Santos
2048: reinstated by 130th Congress pending restoration of Electoral College. VP John Santos

2053-2057: Kyle Lucas (Democratic Republican)
2052: selected by 130th Congress pending restoration of Electoral College. VP Christine Tsang
2057-2061: Christine Tsang (Democratic Republican)
2056: selected by 130th Congress pending restoration of Electoral College. VP Scott Powell
2061-2069: Sarah Susan Eckert (Democratic Republican, then Independent)
2060: selected by 130th Congress pending restoration of the Electoral College. VP Scott Powell
2062: Becomes Independent. Dissolves 130th Congress.
2063: VP Scott Powell convicted by the Senate. VP Howard Santos
2064: VP Howard Santos (Democratic Republican) (def. Sarah Susan Eckert/Letonya Lockley (Independent/National Union Socialist))

2069-2073: Howard Santos (Democratic Republican Bipartisan Ticket)
2068: VP Letonya Lockley (National Union Socialist Bipartisan Ticket)) (def. Letonya Lockley/Howard Santos (National Union Socialist Bipartisan Ticket/Democratic Republican Bipartisan Ticket))
reunification of the United States of America

President of the Optimal American Republic
2047-2049: Morgan J. Elliott (Optimum of America)
2047: Declaration of the Optimal American Republic. VP Frank T. Lowe
2049-2050: Frank T. Lowe (Optimum of America)
2049: Morgan Elliott killed in OAS (Brazilian/Canadian) drone bombing. VP vacant.
2050-2053: Charles R. Hansen (Optimum of America)
2050: Frank T. Lowe assassinated in coup d’etat. VP Harrison Rogers
2053-2056: Harrison Rogers (Optimum of America)
2053: Charles R. Hansen killed in 2053 Nuclear Exchange. VP John L. Rickey
2056-2057: Jefferson D. Johnston (Optimum of America)
2056: Harrison Rogers and John L. Rickey arrested, tried and executed for crimes against humanity by UNANSR. VP Jordan A. Douglas
2057-2057: Jordan A. Douglas (Optimum of America)
2057: Jefferson D. Johnston arrested, tried and executed for crimes against humanity by USA (Continuing). VP vacant.
2057: Jordan A. Douglas arrested, tried and imprisoned for life for crimes against humanity by Cuba.

dissolved

President of the Union of North American New Socialist Republics
2048-2051: Michael Snyder (New Socialist)
2048: Formation of the Union of North American New Socialist Republics. VP Spring F. Preston
2049: VP Spring F. Preston dies. VP Morrigan E. Ramsey

2051-2056: Morrigan E. Ramsey (New Socialist)
2051: Michael Snyder assassinated.
2051: Elected as by the Supreme Legislative Council unopposed. VP Jacqueline L. Buckner

2056-2073: Bethany Pearson-White (New Socialist)
2056: Elected by the Supreme Legislative Council unopposed. VP Richie P. Mayfield
2061: Reelected by the Supreme Legislative Council unopposed. VP Alexis Wilson
2066: Reelected by the Supreme Legislative Council unopposed.
VP M. Consuelo Díaz
2071: Selected as Transitional Acting President by the Supreme Legislative Council unopposed. VP M. Consuelo Díaz
reunification of the United States of America

President of the United States of America
2073-2077: Mark Espinoza (Democratic Republican, then Republican)
2072: VP Monica M. Salcido (def. M. Consuelo Díaz/Christopher Carrera Madrigal (New Socialist); Letonya Lockley/Alison Nieves (National Union Socialist))
2077-2085: Letonya Lockley (Socialist)
2076: VP Christopher Carrera Madrigal (def. Mark Espinoza/Jamie L. Peralta (Republican); Monica M. Salcido/Debra Baldwin (Democrat))
2080: VP Christopher Carrera Madrigal (def. I. Chuck Browne/Richard T. Grater (Republican); Layne S.R. Jones/Josefina Cardona-Santos (Democrat))
2081:
PM Harriet Greene (Socialist minority with Democratic support)
2083: PM Richard T. Grater (Republican majority)
2085-2089: Kaylee T. Mitchell (Socialist)
2084: VP Alfonso J. Reyes (def. Leticia Baker Calvillo/Ralph S. Masters (Republican); Malika P. Hawkins/Samuel Tran (Democrat))
2081:
PM Anna Crawford (Socialist majority)
2089-2097: Noelani Kelekolio (Republican)

2088: VP C. Rodney Garrett (def. Kaylee T. Mitchell/Alfonso J. Reyes (Socialist); Meagan E. Pope/Haseya Todachine (Democrat))
2089:
PM Charles L. Davies (Republican majority)
2091: PM Charles L. Davies (Republican minority with Democratic support)
2092: VP C. Rodney Garrett (def. Franklin D.R. Nguyen/Emily A. Sullivan (Socialist); Haseya Todachine/Sean A. Jenkins (Democrat); Meagan E. Pope/Ricky Demirovic (Labor))
2095:
PM Charles L. Davies (Republican majority)
2097-2099: David R. Edelstein (Socialist/
Labor)
2096: VP Franklin D.R. Nguyen (def. C. Rodney Garrett/Philip A. Hansen (Republican); Sarah Gonzalez/Elizabeth R. Clarke (Democrat))
2097:
PM Melissa A. Provost (Socialist majority)
2099: PM Charles L. Davies (Republican minority with Democratic support)
2099-2101: Franklin D.R. Nguyen (Socialist)

2099: David R. Edelstein dies. VP Elaine Hu
2101-2105: Charles L. Davies (Republican)
2100: VP Jackson S. Moore (def. Franklin D.R. Nguyen/Elaine Hu(Socialist); Alexander O. Williams/Frederick J. Carpenter (Democrat/Labor))
2101: PM Melanie R. Harrison-Cohen (Socialist minority with Labor support)
2103: PM Melanie R. Harrison-Cohen (Socialist majority)


So, I sort of want the list to tell the story, though I may do a bit of a writeup later. I’ll leave it here for now, because I think as it stands it does a good job expressing what I intend it to.
 
Perhaps not to the same extent but would there be other OTL party leaders leading other parties? Especially OTL Liberal leaders leading either Labour or the Tories?
Charles Kennedy was briefly a Labour member before he joined the SDP, so he's another option.

You could also have Attlee and Stafford Cripps as Tory PMs. I do seem to recall hearing that Tony Blair's father was a Tory, so I guess he could have ended up in the Conservatives. Michael Portillo used to be a Labour member before his university years too. You could have a situation where Portillo is a modernising Labour PM, with Blair making a good Cameron analogue as Tory leader.
 
i nickname this @Japhy-bait

New Deal, what New Deal?

1929-1937: Herbert Hoover (Republican)
1928 (with Charles Curtis) def. Al Smith (Democratic)
1932 (with Charles Curtis) def. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)

1937-1945: Henry Ford (Republican)
1936 (with Hamilton Fish III) def. Huey Long (Union), John Nance Garner (Democratic)
1940 (with Hamilton Fish III) def. Huey Long (Democratic)

1945-1953: Charles Lindbergh (Republican)
1944 (with Arthur Vandenburg) def. Wendell Willkie (Second National Union), Henry A. Wallace (Union)
1948 (with Gerald P. Nye) def. James F. Byrnes (Democratic), John L. Lewis (Independent Labor)

1953-1957: Joe McCarthy (Republican)
1952 (with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.) def. Harry F. Byrd (Democratic)
1956 (with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.) def. Richard B. Russell Jr. (Democratic)

1957-1961: Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (Republican)
1960 (with Richard Nixon) def. Strom Thurmond (Democratic)
1961-1963: Richard Nixon (Republican)
1964 (with Ted Walker) def. Russell B. Long (Democratic), Margaret Chase Smith (Third National Union)
1963-1968: Ted Walker (Republican)
1968-1969: Ted Walker (Republican leading Emergency Government, backed by NSDAP/AO)

Japan endures a brutal military coup in 1932, which involves the assassination of Charlie Chaplin and the dragging of the United States into war. War production helps lift the Great Depression a little and the ongoing war leads to a patriotic outburst in favour of the sitting government. After defeating Japan by 1935, the US withdraws back into isolation. Thanks to Huey Long's shenanigans, the still unpopular Republicans drag themselves over the line in 1936 and 1940. Ford kept America out of war, and his successor was rewarded for this by the electorate while the Republican's opponents remained divided.

The 1948 election was fought in a reshaped world, as the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy and China built their empires. The US came under increasing pressure to hunt down the Bolshevists within their borders and for the next ten and more years, the party system settled into an ossified and prescriptive system with any sign of socialism cut down before it could emerge. This ground down in the 1960s, as technology outpaced America's bootleg fascism, and attempts to transplant Fuhrerprinzip went poorly as McCarthy was killed by his substance abuse, Kennedy was rendered an invalid and Nixon was cut down by an assassin's bullet.

With Ted Walker's ascension to the Presidency however, the norms of the Old World marched stridently into the new. Walker's position had been controversial since the beginning, leading to Smith's breakaway and attempt to reach out to 'constitutionalist' Democrats being thwarted by the ambitions of the Longs. The death of Nixon, the mystery surrounding the assassin, their reasons and professionalism, and the string of seemingly unconnected murders in the weeks following Nixon's death in Dallas led to a brutal crackdown by the incoming President. Walker expanded the scope of the many anti-socialist conflicts the US was involved with in the Americas and Australasia and even volunteered US troops to the conflict in Axis Afrika. Protests on state campuses grew, the civil rights movement was reignited for the first time in a generation, and a nationalised National Guard turned their weapons upon citizens in a manner all too familiar to the peoples of Europe.

1968 was a year of blood, and long before the Democratic Convention began, Walker had declared a National Emergency using extraordinary powers to impose a tyranny unknown in the country's history. In this effort, he was offered clandestine support by German intelligence. This proved a poor decision as his hardline policies may have been acceptable to a wider population who had consumed a stodgy diet of anti-Bolshevik propaganda for decades, but they had done so because Communism threatened democracy which now seemed to be under threat by the sitting government.
 
i have had an idea for a challenge

In the new HOI4 expansion, part of the Communist path for the US is making it mandatory for members of Congress to be members of a trade union. I think thats such an interesting concept, I'd like to see a list - doesn't have to be the US - from a TL where members of the legislature have to be members of a union to be elected, preferably explaining how that got passed.
 
Crashing the Party
1969 - 1977:
Nelson Rockefeller / Howard Baker (Republican)
defeated, 1968: Hubert Humphrey / Ed Muskie (Democratic), George Wallace / Curtis LeMay (American Independent)
defeated, 1972: Scoop Jackson / Gaylord Nelson (Democratic)

1977 - 1985: Bob Casey / Alan Cranston (Democratic)
defeated, 1976: Howard Baker / David Stanley (Republican)
defeated, 1980: Bob Dole / J. Marshall Coleman (Republican)

1985 - 1989: William C. Westmoreland / Pete Domenici (Republican)
defeated, 1984: John Glenn / Reubin Askew (Democratic)
1989 - 1991: Shelley Silver / Martha Layne Collins (Democratic)
defeated, 1988: William C. Westmoreland / Pete Domenici (Republican)
1991 - 1993: Martha Layne Collins / Paul Sarbanes (Democratic)
1993 - ???: Ralph Nader / Richard Hatcher (People's)

defeated, 1992: Phil Gramm / Helen Chenoweth (Republican), Bill Clinton / Steve Pajcic (Democratic)

Ralph Nader didn't begin his run for President because he wanted to win - he ran because he had to. He stood up to General Motors and brought seatbelts to every car in America, he had revealed how President Rockefeller made the White House another branch of Chase Bank, and he had fought the nationwide expansion of nuclear energy tooth and nail. But what did it amount to? Casey's push to illegalize abortion had been ratified by the necessary 38 states, President Silver's "alternative mortgages" had been exposed as a plan to line his pockets, and Damascus was now little more than a glowing crater. President Collins seemed like a breath of fresh air, but the federal probe investigating First Man Bill's alleged kickback scheme killed her career soon enough. The animal spirits of unregulated capital, the dark forces animating American politics for the better part of fifty years had been allowed to run amok. He had to do something, something more powerful than simple activism.

Nader wasn't talked about 'seriously,' at first. President Collins' "will she or won't she" routine demanded all the attention, but he had his methods - Larry King talks with Ralph Nader about the nuclear bubble, Ralph Nader scores early endorsement from former Mayor Harvey Milk, Nader visits striking meatpackers at Hormel Foods plant. He was in every household, every night, spreading his message and winning new converts. Collins backed out of the race against her will, as House Republicans brought forward Articles of Impeachment against the President. Even the most critical Democrats toed the party line and said Speaker Mack was going too far - Nader disagreed. It is impossible to believe the President was unaware of her husbands financial dealings, he said, and her unwillingness to cooperate with Congress signaled that she must be guilty in some manner. Many raged at his comments, calling it the slander of an egotistical blowhard desperate for attention. Despite the chagrin of many Democrats, Nader was vindicated as his numbers rocketed to the low 30's. While it was early polling, Nader now was a 'serious' candidate, and after co-opting what was left of the anti-war People's Party, the campaign really got started. While the photo-ops with Cesar Chavez and éminence grise of the American left Gary Hart grabbed headlines, Nader's pledges for a Syrian withdrawal, a robust and stringent screening process for corporate welfare and his support for public campaign financing made him the 'change candidate,' as supporters affectionately called him.

As the weeks went along and the shape of the race became clearer, Nader's rise weakened. Bill Clinton, the young, handsome Governor of Arkansas had stormed to the nomination with his down-home charisma and outsider appeal, and Nader supporters began to take a careful look at what the Democrats had to offer. Nader seethed, calling Clinton "a narcissistic man with no interest in abuses of corporate or political power." He was a threat to Nader, someone who could win over those disillusioned with both parties yet preserve the two-party system. Phil Gramm, who had coasted to the Republican nomination off the back of the GOP's blood-hungry base, was an easy foil to Nader; Clinton was his kryptonite. Nader carried on and went through the usual motions, talking up twelve-year term limits for both Representatives and Senators, a binding "none-of-the-above" option for all state and federal elections and streamlined national referendums, but Clinton's organized charm offensive throughout the Democratic strongholds in the Northeast and Midwest put a serious damper on the Nader campaign. Even the unveiling of Richard Hatcher as Nader's veep (a symbolic gesture towards the late Jesse Jackson) was overshadowed by Clinton's platform rollout.

Despite Clinton's growing stature, Gramm was still the favorite. Clinton was too young and Nader was too far-out, and both men would split the left vote; Nader and his team knew this, but even despite everybody pushing him to meet with Clinton and secure policy concessions, Nader was hesitant. He had made it this far, he had shifted the discourse, he was a serious candidate - Nader had started to believe his own hype. The September meetings between Clinton and Nader were sloppy and unrehearsed; Clinton agreed to finance campaigns with public money through voluntary payoffs on tax returns, he wouldn't support plans to replace and eventually shut down nuclear plants across the country, and he certainly wouldn't support any protectionist trade policy. Nader, who had expected as much, shut the whole thing down.

As the campaign entered its final weeks, Nader remained hopeful. While his best numbers only placed him in the high 20's, a strong performance down the stretch could buoy him and at least push Clinton to third. His team didn't share his optimism; the common view among staffers at the time was that if he didn't pull out all the stops during the final stretch, it all would have been for naught. Nader campaigned hard touring the Southwest and West Coast in a last-ditch effort to boost his chances, visiting the universities and big cities while Hatcher went through the churches and union halls. However, the polls were still down on the People's ticket - Gramm led the pack decisively while Clinton held a three-point lead over Nader.

When reports surfaced in the Post that Clinton had been leading multiple extramarital affairs during his time as Governor and while on the campaign trail, Clinton vociferously denied any misconduct on his part and claimed that they he had been a faithful husband to Hillary. But the women kept coming. And coming. Nader jumped at the opportunity to knock Clinton with the allegations being "a clear example that Mr. Clinton is just another shady politician," while Gramm made a few passing jabs about Clinton's "family values." Hillary stood behind Bill the entire way, but the flood wouldn't stop. By November 2nd, the number of women accusing Clinton of sexual misconduct was at 6, and many D.C. insiders expected the number to grow. A famous Friday's sketch from the period had every female cast-member walk out on stage and join in song, each claiming that they had their way with Bill Clinton. The damage had been done - the Democratic ticket was sunk. As the circus around Clinton grew, it became a consensus that Nader would benefit tremendously; indeed, voters that viewed Clinton as someone who would shake-up Washington now had nowhere else to turn to. It wouldn't be enough to win Nader the election, but a victory in the popular vote wasn't out of the question.

As the results came in from New England, it was widely agreed by observers that Nader had overperformed his expectations. Suburban and college-educated voters went hard for the People's ticket, allowing it to survive the 'spoiler effect' of the Democratic line, but it wouldn't add up to much, hell, Nader even lost his home base of Connecticut. Despite this, his momentum carried into the Midwest, as Ohio and other electorally-rich states went into the Nader column. But, Gramm's domination of the South and his crucial victory in must-win Illinois ended their Cinderella story - Nader was done for. Sure, victories in Montana and Kansas were unexpected, but there is no way Nader can win this. Right?

While California foreshadowed the final results, it was down to the wire. Gramm and Nader stayed up until the early hours of the morning, waiting on the results from Hawaii and that fateful AP call. It was expected that the same vote-splitting that had won Illinois and Maine for Gramm would mean that Hawaii would vote Republican for the first time in state history. However, Nader built an early lead in Honolulu which never let up. At 1:13 AM, AP made its announcement - Ralph Nader would be the 42nd President of the United States. Nader hadn't run to win, he ran because he had to. Yet he had won - now, there was work to be done.

Nader-1992.png

(All credit to @True Grit on the Other Site for this beautiful wikibox.)​
 
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NORÐYMBRE RIKE

1947-1977: Reeðbret Wilemsson Eden (Ðedelie)
1977-1986: Reeðbret Wilem Rikehardsson Aðeleget (Ðedelie)
1986-1994: Redelei Franksson Scot (Ðedelie)
1994-1999: Rictwald Rictwaldsson Cambel (Menelie)
1999-2009: Redelei Franksson Scot (Ðedelie)
2009-2014: Churl Churlsson Blair (Ðedelie)
2014-2019: Rictwald Rictwaldsson Cambel (Menelie)

This was really more of an experiment with Scots, a Northumbrian language (with inspiration from this), and names, so no footnotes at the moment. I'm considering working on this a bit more, though all I've got at the moment is that Dere (or "Yorvig") is in some form of union with Denmark-Norway.

Reeðbret Wilemsson Eden = Anthony Eden
Reeðbret Wilem Rikehardsson Aðeleget = William Elliott, Baron Elliott of Morpeth
Redelei Franksson Scot = Ridley Scott
Rictwald Rictwaldsson Cambel = Ronnie Campbell
Churl Churlsson Blair = Tony Blair
 
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1975-1975: Walter Walker (Nonpartisan leading Military Government)
1975-1975: Michael Foot (Labour majority)
1975-1976: Tony Benn (Labour majority)
1975 'Republic' Referendum Yes 53.2%
1976-1986: Tony Benn (Democratic Union of Workers)
1976 (Majority) def. Edward Heath (Conservative [anti-coup]), Roy Jenkins (Social Democratic), Margaret Thatcher (Conservative [pro-coup]), Emlyn Hooson (Liberal)
1980 (Majority) def. Roy Jenkins (Social Democratic), Edward Heath (Moderate), Keith Joseph (Conservative)
1984 (Majority) def. Shirley Williams (New Britain Alliance - Social Democratic and Moderate), Keith Joseph (Conservative)

1986-1989: Arthur Scargill (Democratic Union of Workers)
1987 Constitutional Reform Referendum Yes 54.7%
1988 (Workers' Role) (Majority) def. Shirley Williams (Social Democratic), Edward Heath (Conservative)
1988 (Employers' Role) (Social Democratic and Conservative coalition) def. Arthur Scargill (Democratic Union of Workers)

1989-1990: Tony Benn (Democratic Union of Workers cohabitation with Social Democratic and Conservative)
1990-1994: Derek Hatton (Democratic Union of Workers)
1990 Constitutional Reform Referendum (workers) Yes 71.4% (employers) No 73.2%
1990 (Coalition with TUC) def. Bob Mitchell (Combined Social Democratic Workers' Union), John Major (National Workers League)

1994-1998: John McDonnell (Democratic Union of Workers)
1994 (Coalition with TUC) def. Bob Mitchell (Union of Moderate Workers), John Major (National Workers League)
1998-2002: John Prescott (Union of Moderate Workers)
1998 (Coalition with NWL) def. John McDonnell (DUW-TUC)
2002-2008: John McDonnell (Democratic Union of Workers)
2002 (Majority) def. John Prescott (Amalgamated Democratic Workers)
2006 (Majority) def. John Major (Union of Patriotic Workers), Vince Cable (Democratic Labour), John Prescott (Amalgamated Democratic Workers), Tim Yeo (Employers' Federation)

2008-2014: Bob Crow (Democratic Union of Workers)
2010 (Coalition with ADW) def. Eric Pickles (British Workers' Alliance), Charles Kennedy (Labourers for Democracy)
2014-2017: Robert Haflon (British Workers' Alliance)
2014 (Majority) def. Bob Crow (Democratic Union of Workers), Ted Miliband (Union of Industrial Workers), Kate Hoey (Unite For Democracy)

President of the Trade Unions Congress of Great Britain

2017-0000: Robert Haflon ['Patriotic' Faction]
2017 def. Hilary Benn ['Socialist' Faction], Ted Miliband ['Neo-Communist' Faction], Frank Field ['Social Democratic' Faction]

This was basically for a challenge @Mumby suggested, where the writer would try to create a system in which a legislature legally required members to be part of a Trade Union to take their seats. This didn't quite turn out like that, but it's a world where after a failed coup against Foot (who succeeds Wilson in 1975 after a 1966-1975 Wilson government) the right are broadly discredited by association, but Foot is assassinated by a Civil Assistance volunteer, and the country drifts slowly to the left under a vengeful Benn. The monarchy, which supported the coup as well, is abolished under Benn, and the country slowly evolves into a semi-syndicalist "workers democracy" after various trial new forms of government (including a terrifically failed corporatist system with worker and employer electorates) culminating first in a system of competing Trade Unions, and then transforming under Haflon into a system in which the TUC is resurrected as "One Big Union" with all the factions in the country in order to mitigate the partisan tensions between the major unions which, by the early 21st century, continue to simply bring down governments by going on strike whenever they lose, including a General Strike by the "United Front" of the DUW and UIW in 2016-2017, but also 2010-2011 under Pickles' direction. Only the future will tell what this new "Trade Union Democracy" holds for a Britain cut adrift from a world split between Communism and Capitalism, whose model is increasingly admired by naive radicals on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but whose economy has become closed, insular, and sluggish, undermined by a basically corrupted model in which genuine unionism has been replaced with a bizarre mass-membership partisanship...
 
1975-1975: Walter Walker (Nonpartisan leading Military Government)
1975-1975: Michael Foot (Labour majority)
1975-1976: Tony Benn (Labour majority)
1975 'Republic' Referendum Yes 53.2%
1976-1986: Tony Benn (Democratic Union of Workers)
1976 (Majority) def. Edward Heath (Conservative [anti-coup]), Roy Jenkins (Social Democratic), Margaret Thatcher (Conservative [pro-coup]), Emlyn Hooson (Liberal)
1980 (Majority) def. Roy Jenkins (Social Democratic), Edward Heath (Moderate), Keith Joseph (Conservative)
1984 (Majority) def. Shirley Williams (New Britain Alliance - Social Democratic and Moderate), Keith Joseph (Conservative)

1986-1989: Arthur Scargill (Democratic Union of Workers)
1987 Constitutional Reform Referendum Yes 54.7%
1988 (Workers' Role) (Majority) def. Shirley Williams (Social Democratic), Edward Heath (Conservative)
1988 (Employers' Role) (Social Democratic and Conservative coalition) def. Arthur Scargill (Democratic Union of Workers)

1989-1990: Tony Benn (Democratic Union of Workers cohabitation with Social Democratic and Conservative)
1990-1994: Derek Hatton (Democratic Union of Workers)
1990 Constitutional Reform Referendum (workers) Yes 71.4% (employers) No 73.2%
1990 (Coalition with TUC) def. Bob Mitchell (Combined Social Democratic Workers' Union), John Major (National Workers League)

1994-1998: John McDonnell (Democratic Union of Workers)
1994 (Coalition with TUC) def. Bob Mitchell (Union of Moderate Workers), John Major (National Workers League)
1998-2002: John Prescott (Union of Moderate Workers)
1998 (Coalition with NWL) def. John McDonnell (DUW-TUC)
2002-2008: John McDonnell (Democratic Union of Workers)
2002 (Majority) def. John Prescott (Amalgamated Democratic Workers)
2006 (Majority) def. John Major (Union of Patriotic Workers), Vince Cable (Democratic Labour), John Prescott (Amalgamated Democratic Workers), Tim Yeo (Employers' Federation)

2008-2014: Bob Crow (Democratic Union of Workers)
2010 (Coalition with ADW) def. Eric Pickles (British Workers' Alliance), Charles Kennedy (Labourers for Democracy)
2014-2017: Robert Haflon (British Workers' Alliance)
2014 (Majority) def. Bob Crow (Democratic Union of Workers), Ted Miliband (Union of Industrial Workers), Kate Hoey (Unite For Democracy)

President of the Trade Unions Congress of Great Britain

2017-0000: Robert Haflon ['Patriotic' Faction]
2017 def. Hilary Benn ['Socialist' Faction], Ted Miliband ['Neo-Communist' Faction], Frank Field ['Social Democratic' Faction]

This was basically for a challenge @Mumby suggested, where the writer would try to create a system in which a legislature legally required members to be part of a Trade Union to take their seats. This didn't quite turn out like that, but it's a world where after a failed coup against Foot (who succeeds Wilson in 1975 after a 1966-1975 Wilson government) the right are broadly discredited by association, but Foot is assassinated by a Civil Assistance volunteer, and the country drifts slowly to the left under a vengeful Benn. The monarchy, which supported the coup as well, is abolished under Benn, and the country slowly evolves into a semi-syndicalist "workers democracy" after various trial new forms of government (including a terrifically failed corporatist system with worker and employer electorates) culminating first in a system of competing Trade Unions, and then transforming under Haflon into a system in which the TUC is resurrected as "One Big Union" with all the factions in the country in order to mitigate the partisan tensions between the major unions which, by the early 21st century, continue to simply bring down governments by going on strike whenever they lose, including a General Strike by the "United Front" of the DUW and UIW in 2016-2017, but also 2010-2011 under Pickles' direction. Only the future will tell what this new "Trade Union Democracy" holds for a Britain cut adrift from a world split between Communism and Capitalism, whose model is increasingly admired by naive radicals on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but whose economy has become closed, insular, and sluggish, undermined by a basically corrupted model in which genuine unionism has been replaced with a bizarre mass-membership partisanship...

ooooooooooooo

I like the sort of Cromwellian Commonwealth vibe, in the sense of the different phases of experimentation with different forms of government.
 
List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
1997-2003: Tony Blair (Labour)

1997 def: John Major (Conservative), Paddy Ashdown (Liberal Democrat), Alex Salmond (Scottish National)
2001 def: William Hague (Conservative), Charlie Kennedy (Liberal Democrat), John Swinney (Scottish National), Richard Taylor (Health Concern)
2003 Euro Referendum: 52% Yes, 48% No

2003-2008: Gordon Brown (Labour)
2004 def: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative), Charlie Kennedy (Liberal Democrat), John Swinney (Scottish National), Richard Taylor (Health Concern)
2008-2009: Gordon Brown (Government of All the Talents: Labour, Liberal Democrat, Independent Conservative)
2009-2014: Michael Howard (Conservative)

2009 def: Gordon Brown (Labour), Charlie Kennedy (Liberal Democrat), Ken Clarke (National), Alex Salmond (Scottish National), Nick Griffin (British National)
2010 Pound Referendum: 73% Yes, 27% No

2014-2015: Charlie Kennedy (Liberal Democrat)
2014 def: Michael Howard (Conservative), Tommy Sheridan (Scottish Freedom), Andy Burnham (Labour), Nick Griffin (British National), Alex Salmond (Scottish National)
2014 Bailout Referendum: 42% Yes,
58% No
2015-2019: Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat)


In 2001, Tony Blair was re-elected with another large majority, albeit on a low turnout. Emboldened by this literal vote of confidence, he followed through on his plans to remove his combative rival, Gordon Brown, from the Treasury. Robin Cook was appointed Chancellor while Brown went, with bad grace, to the foreign office.

This was a swap with fateful consequences for Britain. For starters, Brown's determination to frustrate Blair in his every endeavour led him to disregard the so-called 'Dodgy Dossier' Blair had commissioned: when the UK did eventually involve itself in the Iraq War, it was in the form of medical detachments and training resources for the new, post-Saddam, Iraqi armed forces.

More importantly, Cook was more relaxed than Brown had been about the rigorousness of the Five Tests for Euro entry, and when the report came out, it was inconclusive - exactly the result that Blair had wanted. He therefore called a referendum to let the people decide. And with Labour and Blair still popular among the electorate (or more popular than IDS and some leftist backbencher called Jeremy Corbyn, at any rate), a surprise victory for the Euro capped off Blair's career. He resigned as Prime Minister and arranged for Brown to succeed him, as arranged years before. Although IDS had made up considerable ground during the Euro Referendum and the Lib Dems had benefited from looking as if they'd saved Britain from the War in Iraq, the Brown Bounce carried Labour over the line in a snap election the next year.

This was the last ever evidence of popularity for Brown. Almost immediately, the economy overheated as a result of Euro membership, which mainly took the form of the third, and largest, housing bubble in as many decades. In some parts of London, house prices were rising by 5% a month, comparable to figures in Ireland or Spain. GDP growth was incredible, but it wasn't sustainable... and, inevitably, the bubble was popped by the mortgage crisis coming out of America.

Northern Rock went bust. So did RBS. So did HBOS, Lloyd's and Barclays. As a Eurozone member, Brown had little option but to offer a full deposit guarantee which turned out to be larger than the country's entire GDP. His instinctive response was to use Quantitative Easing, but this was contrary to the Eurozone rules. The only alternative was several rounds of Austerity, carried out by a Government of All the Talents involving the Lib Dems and some civic-minded Tories.

Needless to say, there was little hope of re-election for Brown, and the Conservatives came back under the Eurosceptic Michael Howard at the next election. By this point, the UK was in dire need of a bailout, but the Eurozone and IMF demanded 'structural reforms' that even the Tories balked at - including the privatisation of the NHS. Howard was presented with a stark choice: make the cuts, or risk crashing out of the Eurozone. He chose to take the latter option, and his brinkmanship was rewarded with a bailout on his own terms, but which barely touched the sides. A referendum was held to leave the Euro and Britain (understandably, in view of the recent tribulations) voted overwhelmingly to leave. There was to be a two-year period in which the New Pound was loosely pegged to the Euro by the Exchange Rate Mechanism, after which it would be cut loose to float on its own - or sink, as the case might be.

As British currency couldn't be devalued during the GFC, the shock of the crash made itself felt directly in the form of unemployment. Youth unemployment hit 45% in 2011, during the ERM period when things should have been getting better, and Britain's disaffected youth joined a wave of protest in that year which spread from Spain to Ukraine and from Tunisia to Tottenham. The riots were put down brutally by police, but they were only the start of the crisis. The Northern Irish Troubles turned hot again, and a wave of Scottish Republican terrorist attacks marked the spread of nationalist fervour to Great Britain. In the May, the SNP government at Holyrood was defeated by the Liberal Democrats thanks to the growth of the Scottish Freedom Party, which was widely assumed to have links with the terrorists.

Finally, in 2012, the New Pound was able to find its own equilibrium. This turned out to be at approximately the level at which a small bar of Dairy Milk would cost sixty-three pounds, but at least, with the rise in employment, most people were earning now.

Unfortunately, the devaluation of the Pound meant that what money the Government (and other savers) did have was now pretty much worthless - Britain needed another bailout, and this would involve further demands of Austerity. Austerity which would set back the already-limited growth that Britain had been experiencing lately. Chancellor Osborne negotiated toughly to save the core of the welfare state, but he was outmanouevred at every step by bankers who were annoyed at Britain for collapsing their Euro dream (several other peripheral countries left in Britain's wake), and the offer on the table at the time of the 2014 general election involved the privatisation of the health service.

For the first time in a century, the Liberals won. With Brown's Labour discredited (and Brown himself replaced as leader by a dull robot who promised a lurch to the left and delivered nothing of the sort) and Kennedy the closest thing Britain had to an elder statesman, the Liberal Democrats attracted support from a huge swathe of the political spectrum - notably the increasingly radicalised young people on the Left. Kennedy, a centrist by inclination, didn't really know what to do with this support, and promised to satisfy these voters by renegotiating the terms of the second bailout. To hold the IMF and EU over the fire, Kennedy called a referendum on the deal. This didn't work: by the time the deal had been rejected in the (low-turnout) referendum, it had already expired. Kennedy was forced to go back and accept even harsher terms - some say it was this disappointment which sent him to a tragically early grave.

Since Nick Clegg succeeded Kennedy, there has been little fire in the bellies of the Liberal Democrats. They have kowtowed to the Troika at every stage. Our health system is owned by McDonalds and our schools by Elon Musk. Worst of all, Royal Mail is now operated by Facebook, meaning that you can now reply to a physical letter by putting a blue thumbs-up sign in a post box if the mood takes you. At least the pillar boxes are still red - they're sponsored by Coca Cola.

The last decade or so has seen every major party discredited in Government. At the election this year, will exhausted voters try the Tories again, in the hope that their perceived prudence will reduce Government Bond rates below 20% again? Or will they plump for a more dangerous alternative?
 
I did the @Mumby challenge

The United States Labor Council (USLC) is the upper house of the United States Congress. Originally created as one of several "constituency chambers" under the corporatist Constitution of 1925, alongside the Enterprise Council (representing business interests) and the National Senate (representing state governments), it was the only one retained after the toppling of Henry Justin Allen. The USLC performs an important role in reviewing legislation, although it lacks the special advice and consent powers of the old US Senate and can be bypassed by a two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives.

The USLC's 250 delegates are elected every four years by members of registered labor unions and typically sit under the label of their union federation. The chamber has historically been dominated by the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). While these federations once represented opposing craft and industrial wings of the American labor movement, this distinction has blurred over time, and they are now primarily known as the allies of the Democratic and Socialist Labor parties respectively.

Because the Constitution of 1940 protects collective bargaining as a right, the United States has one of the highest rates of union membership in the non-Communist world. Still, only about 50% of the adult population is eligible to vote in USLC elections. Liberals and conservatives have argued that the disproportionate political representation the USLC affords union members is unfair and contrary to the New Bill of Rights; the Republican Party has demanded the upper house’s abolition since the 1950s. The Democratic, Socialist Labor, and Communist parties officially support retaining the chamber, although some conservative Democrats have broken with the party line. The Industrial Workers of the World, who have been represented on the USLC on and off since 1939, have criticized the institution from the left as “exclusive” and a “palace of the labor aristocracy.”


Convenors of the US Labor Council

Under the Constitution of 1925:

1925-1938: Brig. Gen. Brice P. Disque (Loyal Legion of Labor)
1938-1939: William Hutcheson (American Federation of Labor) (acting)
1939-1940: Mike Quill (Congress of Industrial Organizations) (acting)

Under the Constitution of 1940:

1940-1954: John L. Lewis (CIO)
1954-1955: Daniel J. Tobin (AFL)
1955-1958: Jay Lovestone (AFL)

1958-1960: John L. Lewis (CIO)

1960: Thomas Kennedy (CIO) (acting)
1960-1974: Victor Reuther (CIO)
1974-1978: Peter Brennan (AFL)
1988-1982: Peter Brennan (AFL,
with support from the United Farm Workers)
1982-1990: Tony Mazzocchi (CIO)
1990-1994: Peter Brennan (AFL)
1994-2000: Tony Mazzocchi (CIO)
2000-2010: Andy Stern (CIO)

2010-2018: Terry O’Sullivan (AFL)

2018-0000: Randi Weingarten (CIO)

Under the corporate regime, American labor was officially represented by the Loyal Legion of Labor (3L), a national company union closely tied to the military and helmed by the Vice President, General Hugh S. Johnson. Despite its overwhelming majority in the chamber, the 3L never actually dominated American workplaces; the AFL, with its record of loyal “Americanism,” was not disbanded and its national executive cooperated to a degree with Allen’s government. However, many of the federation’s larger and more radical industrial unions were purged, and men like John L. Lewis and the Reuther brothers were forced into the political underground. Ironically, these outlawed labor leaders provided the opposition with a coherent leadership structure for the first time; before the purge of the industrial unionists the underground had been fractured between partisans of the Communist Party and the IWW.

In the fall of 1938, as the revolutionaries began to seize control of entire states, President Allen received a tip-off that his vice-president was preparing a coup. Acting quickly, he had General Johnson arrested and launched a purge of the officer corps. The 3L was dissolved on December 1, and the conservative leader of the International Brotherhood of Carpenters, William Hutcheson, was appointed acting Convenor. Allen surrendered only a few months later, and Hutcheson was forced to resign along with the rest of the government. Mike Quill, the Irish Communist who had covertly organized New York’s subway workers into a revolutionary force during the depths of the Allen regime, was named ad interim to lead the USLC. He remains technically the highest-ranking Communist in American history, although Congress had become inactive by this point as the Constitutional Convention took on most daily leadership.

The Constitution of 1940 represented a compromise between the “revolutionary opposition” (which included the nascent CIO and its political wing the SLP, the Communists, the Wobblies, and the Negro Army of Liberation) and the “loyal opposition” (which included the Democratic Party, the AFL, and significant elements of the regular army, who had mutinied against Allen after Johnson’s Purge in 1938). The revolutionaries wanted an explicitly socialist government, while many loyalists advocated the restoration of the old Constitution of 1789; the debate nearly led to a second round of war and was only averted by the Communists, who were under instructions from Joseph Stalin not to let the situation deteriorate again. The so-called Foster Compromise saw the old bourgeois-democratic federal structure restored but with a constitutional role for organized labor and a New Bill of Rights that included a statement of racial equality, the enshrining of collective bargaining, and positive rights to food, housing, and employment.

United Mine Workers leader John L. Lewis was elected first Convenor under the new constitution. The miner would dominate the chamber for the next 20 years, leading the “All-American” faction of the SLP along with House Speaker Vito Marcantonio. The All-Americans opposed overseas intervention and promoted cooperation with the Soviet Union. They were opposed by the “Atlantics,” the Reuther brothers’ faction, who were more liberal and skeptical of the Soviets. These foreign policy divisions developed after the total Soviet victory in Europe in 1948 and cut across traditional factions within the SLP. Before his wartime radicalization, Lewis had expelled communists from the Mine Workers, but he now joined them in opposing American aid to Britain and Japan.

Unlike Lewis and the Reuthers, the AFL’s principal leaders stayed outside the USLC. The federation’s chief George Meany never took a seat in the chamber; instead, Meany became a backroom kingmaker in Democratic politics and officially affiliated with the party in 1950. Through close cooperation with the Democrats, the AFL edged the CIO out in the 1954 election, capturing the USLC for the first time. At the time, their caucus was being nominally led by the elderly Daniel J. Tobin, a former leader of the Teamsters who had been exiled to the chamber when his union was taken over by Dave Beck. Tobin was never more than a figurehead and died less than a year after taking over as Convenor. He was succeeded by the Russian-born Jay Lovestone, who had been a powerful factional leader in the Communist Party until his expulsion in the early 1920s, whereupon he’d wound up on the side of the Allen regime. He was now one of Meany’s chief advisers and the nation’s most prominent anti-Communist agitator. Through his personal friendship with President Dick Nixon, Lovestone gained influence even on issues outside the USLC’s remit. He was instrumental in the Treaty of Vancouver, which returned some American possessions in the Pacific seized by Japan during the revolutionary years in exchange for military alliance and financial support.

The AFL’s slim majority dissipated in 1958 and Lewis returned to power, although the miner was by this point in ill health and his faction was being eclipsed. Lewis died in 1960, months before Walter Reuther’s election to the Presidency; the Atlantics’ ascension was cemented when Victor Reuther was maneuvered into the convenorship. The brothers dominated American politics for the next twelve years, maintaining “watchful peace” with the Soviets, aggressively rooting out white supremacy at home, and promoting internal democracy in the CIO’s constituent unions. However, an eventual cultural backlash against the Reuthers’ social liberalism led to Walter losing his bid for a fourth term in 1972 and Democratic-AFL victory on all levels of government.

Inflation had been a chronic problem since the Allen years and had reached crippling levels by the late 1970s. The AFL almost lost control of the USLC in 1978. They survived only by relying on César Chávez of the United Farm Workers, who had once been a key supporter of the Reuthers but had recently withdrawn from the CIO in a fit of paranoia. The UFW supported AFL and Democratic policy in exchange for strict anti-immigration measures, but Chávez’s increasingly abusive, authoritarian leadership was an embarrassment for Meany and his lieutenant Peter Brennan. The mess in the upper house gave President Yorty the political capital to ram through supply-side economic reforms opposed by the AFL. Meany threatened to disaffiliate from the Democrats, Yorty called his bluff, and the boss folded. It was a hideous blow to the craft federation, which shed member unions for a decade afterwards and would consistently run behind Democratic candidates in future elections.

Tony Mazzocchi of the Chemical Workers returned the CIO to its natural majority in 1982. An avowed feminist and environmentalist, he was typical of the generation that had grown up under the Reuthers, although his anti-militarism frequently led him to clash with Atlantic SLP leaders in the White House. His combined fourteen years as Convenor saw the full integration of the American labor movement and extensive organizing in the emerging service sectors, as well as the growth of public employee unions to make up a near majority of the CIO’s locals. Mazzocchi was criticized by conservatives for making the USLC a venue of the “culture war,” but he consistently maintained that causes such as affirmative action and clean energy were good for all working people in the long run.

While the SLP and CIO’s preeminent places in American politics remain largely unchallenged today, there is cultural churn afoot. Leaders in both major parties have made tentative noises about reducing America’s towering trade barriers. Traditional voting patterns based on regional and industrial identity are in decline. Many longtime Democrats are embracing the Republican Party, which has reemerged from rural New England to claim that the CIO’s public employee unions now constitute a self-perpetuating ruling class. Convenor Weingarten – the first woman to hold the position, and the first public employee since Mike Quill’s brief tenure – is the bugbear of this “New Right,” and since her ascension last fall, Republican leader Paul LePage has made headlines with dark allegations about the teachers’ influence over the President…
 
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