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Lists of Heads of Government and Heads of State

Mumby and I had a discussion a while ago about a way to get those 74-county Ireland memes to happen. I think he posted his list a while back, but here's mine.

Shortly after taking office as President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera is assassinated by a radical pro-Treaty veteran of the Civil War who thinks that Dev is trying to turn Ireland into the Soviet Union. O'Kelly takes over, but the republicans quickly splinter without the uniting leadership of de Valera. With even a few TDs from Fianna Fáil voting for a new election, the new Fine Gael party takes a victory with a majority. Led by Eoin O'Duffy, the new government quickly turns into an authoritarian state, given O'Duffy's admiration for Hitler and Mussolini. O'Duffy quickly bans opposition parties and supports Italy against Ethiopia and the Falangists in the Spanish Civil War. During the abdication crisis of Edward VIII, O'Duffy has him remain as King of Ireland, given his rumored pro-Nazi sympathies.

Despite being a member of the Empire as a Dominion, the Irish Free State joins the Axis powers. Ireland quickly takes over remaining British ports and engages in an alternate Sea Lion with the help of the Axis navy. By 1947, all the major powers of the Allies have capitulated and the last pockets of British resistance have been crushed.

Celtic identity in Britain had been on the rise, with the SNP and Plaid gaining in the previous general elections, making a Celtic controlled British Isles seem an attractive prospect. In the peace treaty of 1947, England, Scotland, and Wales are handed over to Ireland as the other Axis members take over the majority of Britain's colonies. Brittany is also handed over from Vichy France, with the six Celtic nations united once more.

The state of Resurrectionist Éire has continued along with its Axis brethren. With the death of King Edward VIII and the refusal of Princess Elizabeth (who had been exiled to the puppet state in New Constitutional America) to take the Irish throne, the final piece of British ties is gone from Éire.

Presidents of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State

1932-1933: Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil)
1932 (Minority) def. W.T. Cosgrave (Cumann na nGaedheal), Thomas O'Connell (Labour)
Jan. 1933 (Majority) def. W.T. Cosgrave (Cumann na nGaedheal), Frank MacDermot (National Center), Thomas O'Connell (Labour)

1933-1933: Sean T. O'Kelly (Fianna Fáil minority)
1933-1947: Eoin O'Duffy (Fine Gael - Blueshirt Committee)
Aug. 1933 (Coupon of Patriotic Forces) def. Sean T. O'Kelly (Fianna Fáil), Thomas O'Connell (Labour)
1938 (Coupon of Patriotic Forces) def. Scattered republican opposition forces
1939 Enabling Acts, Yes, elections suspended


Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1931-1934: Ramsay MacDonald (National Labour)
1931 (National Government with Conservatives, Liberals & National Labour) def. Arthur Henderson (Labour), Oswald Mosley (New), Harry Pollitt (CPGB)
1934-1935: Stanley Baldwin (Conservative leading National Government)
1935-1939: David Lloyd George (Liberal)
1935 (Peace Government with 'Peace' Liberals, Labour & New) def. Stanley Baldwin (Conservative), Harry Pollitt (CPGB)
1939-1940: Winston Churchill (Conservative)
1939 (Mobilization Government with 'War' Conservatives, 'War' Labour & 'War Liberals) def. David Lloyd George (Peace Government), Harry Pollitt (CPGB), Alexander McEwan (SNP), Saunders Lewis (Plaid Cymru)
1940-1943: Anthony Eden (Conservative leading War Government)
1943-1947: Stafford Cripps (Labour leading War Government)
1947-1947: Jan Smuts (His Majesty's Continuing Government - Bermuda Exile)


Chief Generalissimos of Resurrectionist Éire

1947-1948: Eoin O'Duffy (Fine Gael - Blueshirt Committee)
1948-1991: Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin (Fine Gael - Blueshirt Committee)
1991-2008: Charles Haughey (Fine Gael - Blueshirt Committee)
2008-0000: Declan Ganley (Fine Gael - Blueshirt Committee)

Monarchs of the United Kingdom

1910-1936: George V (Windsor)
1936-1936: Edward VIII (Windsor)
1936-1947: George VI (Windsor)

Monarchs of Ireland

1910-1936: George V (Windsor)
1936-1972: Edward VIII (Windsor)
1972-1972: Elizabeth II (Windsor) [refused title]
 
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Kaiserreich: Three's A Crowd Edition

29/28: William Randolph Hearst/William Lemke (Democratic/Socialist) 1921-1929
1920: def. Leonard Wood/Chase Osborn (Republican) and William H. Murray/Richard Irving Manning III (Populist)
1924: def. Calvin Coolidge/Frank Lowden (Republican) and William Gibbs McAdoo/James K. Vardaman (Populist)

30/29: William Lemke/James M. Mead (Socialist/Democratic) 1929-1933
1928: def. Cordell Hull/D. C. Stephenson (Populist) and Al Smith/Charles Curtis (Republican)
31/30: Herbert Hoover/Franklin D. Roosevelt (Republican) 1933-1937
1932: def. Huey Long/D. W. Griffith (Populist), Floyd Olson/Bill Haywood (Farmer-Labor/Ind. Socialist) and William Lemke/James M. Mead (Socialist/Democratic)

1936
Herbert Hoover/Franklin D. Roosevelt (Republican)
= Market Liberal
D. C. Stephenson/William E. Borah (Populist) = National Populist

Jack London/Elmer Benson (Ind. Socialist/Farmer-Labor/NPL) = Revolutionary Syndicalism
Norman Thomas/Burton K. Wheeler (Democratic Socialist) = Social Democracy


The only way to avoid a civil war is to elect Norman Thomas and go through a complicated series of events including assassinating D. C. Stephenson, forming a "Popular Front" with the ISP to keep them in the tent while undermining their "independence" and getting Farmer-Labor and the NPL to switch sides and of course, dealing with a possible Business Plot by Republicans to stop Thomas' "socialism" from ruining America

Elect Hoover and both Stephenson and London will refuse to recognise the "rigged democracy" and declare CIVIL WAR
Elect Stephenson and the Dem Socs will radicalise and join the ISP in declaring CIVIL WAR
Elect London and the Republicans will panic and side with the military to topple you and force both you and Stephenson to declare CIVIL WAR
Elect Thomas and fail to go through the series, will lead to...
- Business Plot succeeds: The president being toppled and shot will lead VP Wheeler to join London and the CSA in declaring CIVIL WAR
- Fail to contain Stephenson: Stephenson, sensing that there's plotting against him, will declare Thomas illegitimate and declare CIVIL WAR
- Fail to undermine the ISP: London, after several months of negotiation, will declare Thomas "bourgeois" and declare CIVIL WAR

And of course, Stephenson will jump on the civil war bandwagon if London starts it, and vice versa, so you basically get the same civil war [unless you elect Stephenson, then there'll be a "Republican Opposition" rebellion instead]
 
I'm on a pause from researching and writing Enemy Within while I write a vignette/short story for the Horror Challenge.

so im going to do a list which is vaguely based on Enemy Within but is not the path I will take in the story.

Presidents of the United States of America

1933-1933: Al Smith (Democratic), President-elect
1932 (with Huey P. Long) def. Herbert Hoover (Republican)
1933-1936: Huey P. Long (Democratic)
1936-1937: Huey P. Long ('Share Our Wealth' Democratic)
1937-1937: Smedley Butler (Independent 'Peoples Front'), President elect
1936 (with Upton Sinclair) def. John W. Davis (National Fusion), Huey P. Long (Union)
1937-1938: John W. Davis (National Fusion backed by Liberty League, Black Legion, Silvershirts and 'Reactionary' US Military)

Secretaries of General Affairs

1935-1936: Smedley Butler (Nonpartisan - Victory League)
1936-1937: William Lemke ('Share Our Wealth' Republican)
1937-1938: George Van Horn Moseley (Nonpartisan - Liberty League)


Chiefs of the American Nation-State

1938-0000: George Van Horn Moseley (Patriot Front)
 
The Ministry of Love
The unnecessary sequel!

Anton Jacks (Labour-Conservative-Liberal Democrat-Green "National Consensus") 2072-2078*
2076: def. Natille Monday (Conservative), Dany Langdon (Liberal Democrat), Sally Durant (Green)
"A Happy Society..."
Apart from the Chocolate Restoration [which changed little as people loved their vanilla], Jacks is remembered mainly for being the first Prime Minister to start the "Happiness Realisation" program which endeavoured to make as much Britons as happy as possible. The way Jacks did it looks innocuous compared to what came later, as he focused on improving rations, improving housing standards, agreeing with co-operatives to increase free time and more breaks, all pretty noble things. What a shame he died in 2078, mourned by all [even as they tearfully ate their vanilla bars]

Clare Kingsley (Labour-Conservative-Liberal Democrat-Green "National Consensus") 2078-2085
2082: def. Scott Gomolka (Conservative), Dany Langdon (Liberal Democrat), Sally Durant (Green)
"We Represent Our Parties..."
Clare Kingsley was a visionary who looked st the system used to elect MPs and questioned its purpose. It was entirely too inefficient! It relied on people turning out on a specific day and did not take in account party membership. With the National Consensus, party membership in all four parties has swelled as the four has increasingly offered benefits to joining, such as nice trips to the seaside, camping, etc. and it was more a matter of what offer you preferred the most. Did you like the Tories' "credit discount" for clothing or Labour's for tools more? That sort of stuff. Ideology? What's that?

Anyway, the Representation of the People Act 2081 passed overwhelmingly as Britain abandoned the last sign of electoral competition. The following election would be decided on party membership, with the most people in the party receiving the most seats [and hence lead Government]. And unsurprisingly, this was Kingsley's Labour which offered the best in people's eyes. Clearly the others had to catch up!

In Kingsley's second ministry, the issue of personagen [personal genetic manipulation] came up and it divided the party as Conservatives distrusted the idea while Labour liked it. In the end, the National Consensus chose to vote for legalising it and well. A split happened

Scott Gomolka (Opposition majority) 2085-2087
"The Last Gasp of Dissent"
Gomolka, formerly the Tory leader, was leading the Opposition Party and thus the new Government, a non-National Consensus one. He led a party formed out of many who got fed up with the Consensus and especially the pro-personagen stance it took. His ministry is well known for not being able to do anything due to the State Council blocking every single bill. In the end, the new system doomed the Opposition Party

Clare Kingsley (Labour-Green Liberal-Conservative "National Consensus") 2087-2091
2087: def. Jonie Toft (Green Liberal), Jemma Cropper (Conservative), Scott Gomolka (Opposition)
"Mother Government loves you..."
Clare Kingsley was back in due to Opposition failing to attract many party members and disbanding shortly after the election. The Prime Minister was mainly brought up by the State as an orphan in the expansive national childcare system and saw it as the ideal childhood. Instead of having a flawed mother that could let you down, you could have the government as your mother, one that wouldn't ever die or let you down. In her third ministry, her vision of "Mother Government" was finally implemented. The British people, accustomed to the State controlling a lot of their lives, handed over their children to be brought up by the State into "perfect people", whatever Kingsley even meant by that. The family was dead now, it was now that of "siblings" you were brought up alongside [which was highly likely not biological siblings], the people who looked after you as your carers, and your loving mother the Government who showered both love and disclipine on you in equal measure

Jonie Toft (Green Liberal-Labour-Conservative "National Consensus") 2091-2099
2091: def. Clare Kingsley (Labour), Jemma Cropper (Conservative)
2095: def. Linzi Monday (Conservative), Clare Kingsley (Labour)
"The Greenest Government Ever"
As much as the National Consensus was first started to fight global warming, it moved on beyond that into paternalistic socialism, but the Green Liberals, elected in 2091 due to a successful bonus that gave you marijuana [a rarity in "clean living" Britain], never forgot that. Especially Jonie Toft who was a Druidist and a State-Cultist at the same time [the two aren't contradictory, in fact British Druidism is very much State-Approved]. She believed that Britain needed to double down further on making itself clean and green

The ban on tobacco and alcohol as the country committed to "Making Britain Healthy", Rationing was now oriented towards the food pyramid, exercise was mandatory [fifty push-ups every day!] and chocolate was banned once more, ending a brief renaissance where Britons increasingly turned to it as a exotic delicacy. Britain had to Eat Healthy and Be Fit. Or Else. And to give Toft credit, Britons were more healthy by the end of her eight years in government, certainly one of the healthiest people on the world

What's most significant though, was the systematic "rewilding" of many places. Now Milton Keynes [renamed Maynard Keynes] was set to be forest and other places had human inhabitants relocated to approved habitat zones. And Toft expanded upon "Mother Government", adding in lessons about how the environment should be protected. By 2099, every young Briton was a fanatic greenie

Linzi Monday (Conservative-Green Liberal-Labour "National Consensus") 2099-2111
2099: def. Jonie Toft (Green Liberal), Stephen McGregor (Labour)
2106: def. Jonie Toft (Green Liberal), Stephen McGregor (Labour)
"Be Cruel To Be Kind"
Linzi Monday is often seen in foreign circles as the point where the National Consensus went overboard and became a hyper-maternalistic system. She was part of the "Iron Fist" bit of the Conservatives, as contrast to the "Velvet Fists", and believed that given all the Social Contract gave Britons, that there should be Rules for Good Behaviour. After all, if we go by Kingsley and Toft's argument for "Mother Government", then surely we have to be firm at times to discourage negative behaviour just like a mother would have before that was abolished?

"Ways To Don't Make A Fuss" was the name of the rules and every Briton was expected to understand them. The British people, already so apathetic towards their overbearing government, meekly accepted those new rules. And woe be to anyone who decided otherwise!

Enforcing those orders were the approved "Droid Bots" that were connected to the many, many surveillance cameras so could instantly arrest anyone who defied even the smallest of the Ways, those who Made A Fuss. Troublemakers. But Mother's Love is forgiving. As long as they learnt their lesson after a session or two with the Ministry of Peace, it was fine and dandy

Fingal Owens (Conservative-Green Liberal-Labour "National Consensus") 2111-2123
2112: def. Irena Brasher (Green Liberal), Ritika Madison (Labour)
2117: def. Irena Brasher (Green Liberal), Ritika Madison (Labour)
"Black Mirror"
Owens is remembered mainly as the founder of the British "Citizen Point" system that took what Monday created and elevated it to a whole new level, as well as actions someone could do to earn more points to avoid being put in the danger zone. Things like regularly attending exercise, eating healthily, praising the Consensus every day, praying to the Holy Monarch to lead Britain forwards to prosperity. Oh yeah, that's another thing Owens did, elevated the monarch from just "religious head" to "outright deity". Queen Elizabeth III was sceptical of this, but being brought up in the National Consensus, she reasoned to herself that "what the Consensus says must be right"

Another thing that the religious-focused Owens did was merge the State-Approved Druidism with State-Cultism to form... well, it's a long name but it's officially called The Church and Temple of the Crown and State in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Heavily Druidic in influence, it came up with something about a "holy bloodline" and how the Queen had a "mandate from Heaven" or something. It's all confusing to me but what's important is that it came up with something about the Government being "the soul of the soil made incarnate"

Irena Brasher (Green Liberal-Conservative-Labour "National Consensus") 2123-2138
2123: def. Fingal Owens (Conservative), Ritika Madison (Labour)
2128: def. Fingal Owens (Conservative), Eula Riley (Labour)
2133: def. Eula Riley (Labour), Keara Symonds (Conservative)
"We do not do this because it is easy..."
By Brasher's time, the world as is... was not healthy. The era of radical ecology was over, and the world was back to using carbon emissions as the lean years were far over. Sure, for a lot of them, they lived in glass domes, but they didn't care. Britain did, and Brasher was frustrated that while Britain was faithfully being carbon-negative, the rest of the world was seemingly set to turn back the clock and go back to the 2030s. So she came up with a plan so daring, so stupid, so ridiculous that even the Queen thought her Prime Minister lost the plot

But somehow she convinced the National Consensus her plan was ideal for Britain, and preparations started in 2125. Apart from Project Omega, her policies were mainly continuing past government's own with perhaps more harshness than past governments on the issue of climate change. But her ministry was generally a snoozefest, which the British People generally approved of given the rapid changes they had to deal with normally

But then in 2136, Project Omega was a-go. And... well. It worked. Much to everyone's surprise. Britain Brexited from Earth. It was now a floating sphere encased in firm glass with top-of-the-line technology delivering air to every citizen who just realised that's why the PM insisted on every citizen being in Britain for the last year and nobody being allowed to leave. She governed for two more years then triggered a new election, deciding to retire. After all, her Grand Project was finished and successful, what left to do?

Eula Riley (Labour-Conservative-Green Liberal "National Consensus") 2138-2161
2138: Keara Symonds (Conservative), Irena Brasher (Green Liberal)
2144: Keara Symonds (Conservative), Brit Waterman (Green Liberal)
"Snug as a bug on a drug"
There is a lot to say about the ministry of Eula Riley. But for this segment we'll focus on the early bit, the one most relevant to this segment, namely her 2138-2147 ministry which dealt with the culmination of the "Happiness Realisation" program. Unsurprisingly, suddenly finding that your home was not on Earth any longer and was now a spaceship led to a spree of panic attacks and a need to ensure that everyone felt safe. But how to do this when people was facing a drastic shift in perspectives. So Drastic Measures had to be taken

The National Consensus implemented subliminal messages calming everyone down on every permitted broadcast, so when people watched TV or used their computer or their eye-Phone, they felt calmed. But they at some level still was frazzled. So using the Social Contract, clearly the Government has to step in. A new prescription, called Joial, was prescribed to every Briton as "helping you adjust to our new situation" and people gladly took it. Joial, or just simply Joy, altered your body chemicals so that you would produce those that made you felt happy and safe. This was the final answer to "Happiness Realisation". No need to give more rationing or more free time. Just shove drugs in their mouths

Returned to a new ministry in 2144, she oversaw the restoration of law and order and ensured that Britain would once more be united in its new destination amongst the stars. As humanity expanded further and further in space, Britain would seek to follow them
 
History Is Written By The Victors, part 1

Presidents of the Third Republic of the United States of America, since the conclusion of Great Marxian Revolt

1922-1946: Myron W. Wade (Constitutional leading United Front)
1921 (with Abner B. Leadbetter) def. effectively unopposed
1946-1952: Abner B. Leadbetter (Constitutional leading United Front)
1952-1978: Caesar G. Wade (Constitutional leading United Front)
1951 (with Zachariah McMurphy) def. Abner B. Leadbetter ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1978-1982: Zachariah McMurphy (Constitutional leading United Front)
1981 (with Erastus D. Fread) def. Myron W. Wade II ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1982-1983: Zachariah McMurphy ('Crypto-Marxist' Constitutionalist leading League For Restoration Of The Second Republic)
1983-1988: Myron W. Wade II ('National Cornerstone' Constitutionalist leading Spirit of '76 Coalition)
1988-2000: Myron W. Wade II (Constitutional leading United Front)
1987 (with Marion V. Jenks) def. effectively unopposed
 
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History Is Written By The Victors

Presidents of the Third Republic of the United States of America, since the conclusion of Great Marxian Revolt

1922-1946: Myron W. Wade (Constitutional leading United Front)
1921 (with Julian W. Childs) def. effectively unopposed
1927 (with Hubert R. Nesbitt) def. suspended
1933 (with Hubert R. Nesbitt) def. suspended
1939 (with Abner B. Leadbetter) def. suspended
1945 (with Abner B. Leadbetter) def. suspended

1946-1952: Abner B. Leadbetter (Constitutional leading United Front)
1952-1978: Caesar G. Wade (Constitutional leading United Front)
1951 (with Wilburn U. Lomis) def. Abner B. Leadbetter ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1957 (with Wilburn U. Lomis) def. suspended
1963 (with Virgil J. Thill) def. suspended
1969 (with Zachariah McMurphy) def. suspended
1975 (with Zachariah McMurphy) def. suspended

1978-1982: Zachariah McMurphy (Constitutional leading United Front)
1981 (with Erastus D. Fread) def. Myron W. Wade II ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1982-1983: Zachariah McMurphy ('Crypto-Marxist' Constitutionalist leading League For Restoration Of The Second Republic)
1983-1988: Myron W. Wade II ('National Cornerstone' Constitutionalist leading Spirit of '76 Coalition)
1988-2000: Myron W. Wade II (Constitutional leading United Front)
1987 (with Marion V. Jenks) def. effectively unopposed
1993 (with Marion V. Jenks) def. suspended

Tried to google these folks, couldn't find them.
 
History Is Written By The Victors, part 2

Presidents of the Second Republic of the Confederate States of America, since the annexation of the United States

1922-1946: Myron W. Wade (Constitutional-United Front leading Military Government)
1921 (with Julian W. Childs) def. effectively unopposed
1927 (with Hubert R. Nesbitt) def. suspended
1933 (with Hubert R. Nesbitt) def. suspended
1939 (with Abner B. Leadbetter) def. Hubert R. Nesbitt ('Confederate Identity' Constitutionalist)
1945 (with Abner B. Leadbetter) def. suspended

1946-1952: Abner B. Leadbetter (Constitutional-United Front leading Military Government)
1952-1978: Caesar G. Wade (Constitutional-United Front leading Military Government)
1951 (with Wilburn U. Lomis) def. Abner B. Leadbetter ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1957 (with Wilburn U. Lomis) def. suspended
1963 (with Virgil J. Thill) def. suspended
1969 (with Zachariah McMurphy) def. suspended
1975 (with Zachariah McMurphy) def. suspended

1978-1982: Zachariah McMurphy (Constitutional-United Front leading Military Government)
1981 (with Erastus D. Fread) def. Myron W. Wade II ('Independent' Constitutionalist)
1982-1983: Zachariah McMurphy ('Reform Group' Constitutionalist leading Civilian Electoral Commission)
1983-2000: Myron W. Wade II (Constitutional-United Front leading Military Government)
1987 (with Marion V. Jenks) def. effectively unopposed
1993 (with Marion V. Jenks) def. suspended
 
'Look At The Other Guy'

2017-2019: Donald Trump (Republican)
2016 (with Mike Pence) def. Hillary Clinton (Democratic)
2019-2019: Donald Trump (National Alternative)
2019-2021: Mike Pence (Republican)
2021-2029: Kamala Harris (Democratic)
2020 (with Terry McAuliffe) def. Mike Pence (Republican), Steve Bannon (National Alternative)
2024 (with Terry McAuliffe) def. Tom Cotton (Republican-Alternative), Rashida Tlaib (Democratic Socialists of America)

2029-2033: Elizabeth Fiedler (Democratic Socialists of America)
2028 (with Lee Carter) def. Richard B. Spencer (National Alternative), Mark Cuban (Democratic), Allan Fung (Republican)

Simple enough idea here. Essentially the Democrats win on a not especially radical agenda in 2020 against a divided right, and over the next eight years America's radicalised youth get sick of the Dem's mealy-mouthed solutions. In fact, 2024 results in a hung electoral college which sees the Republicans prop up the Democrats out of mutual disdain for the DSA.

It doesn't help much though as the Republican-Alternative split formalises by 2028 and the Democrats anoint another corpocrat. Thanks to vote splitting and so on, the Nat-Alts actually win the second highest number of votes in the electoral college but the DSA wins an outright majority.
 
For All Time: Three's A Crowd Edition

Huey Long (Populist) 1933-1941*
1940: def. Franklin D. Roosevelt (Republican) and Henry A. Wallace (Democratic)
Joseph P. Kennedy (Populist) 1941-1945
Alf Landon (National Union) 1945-1949
1944: def. Joseph P. Kennedy (Populist) and Harry F. Byrd (American)
George Patton (Populist) 1949-1954*
1948: def. Alf Landon (National Union), Robert A. Taft ("True" Republican) and Upton Sinclair (Independent Socialist)
1952: def. Paul J. Kvale (Farmer-Labor/Democratic) and Robert A. Taft (Republican)
Joseph McCarthy (Populist) 1954-1957
Dewey Short (Republican) 1957-1965
1956: def. Joseph McCarthy (Populist) and George Meany (Democratic)
1960: def. John F. Kennedy (Populist) and Orval Faubus (Democratic)
Sam Ervin (Populist) 1965-1969
1964: def. Frank Sinatra (Democratic) and Gerald Ford (Republican)
James Devereux (Republican) 1969-1973

1968: def. Sam Ervin (Populist) and Ed Muskie (Democratic)
Henry Fonda (Democratic-NPL) 1973-1978*
1972: def. Spiro Agnew (Populist) and George Bush (Republican)
1976: def. Robert Grant (Populist) and William Scranton (Republican)
Howard Zinn (Democratic) 1978-1981
Billy McCormack (Populist) 1981-????
1980: def. Howard Zinn (Democratic), David Bergland ("Free" Republican) and Lowell P. Weicker ("Old" Republican)

It is the dawn of 1981.

As the reverend Billy McCormack is inaugurated as the new President and vows to "eradicate social degeneracy from our Christian nation", the Democratic controlled House, led by new Speaker Abbie Huffman, vows to prevent him from doing so, declaring that "the whole world is watching" and that they won't tolerate "the growth of bigotry". As Democrats increasingly became hardline countercultural socialists and Populists fanatic theocrats, what about the third party - the Republicans? Surely they can rise above and become the party of the "silent majority"?

Well, that entirely depends on if the "Frees" and the "Olds" can agree with each other. Libertarianism, championed by Governor Bergland and paternalistic liberalism, challenged by Senator Weicker, seems to clash with each other and in 1980 they couldn't even agree to an united ticket!

As the Democrats, fuelled by radicalized labor unions, youth and minorities, clash swords with the Populists, fuelled by a growing tide of Christian conservatism taking over many households as people seek truth in their preachings, America is more divided than ever

Can the union even hold?
 
The Pre-War Period

1979-1985: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)

1984: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) [322] Michael Foot (Labour) [289] David Steel (Liberal) [16] James Molyneaux (UUP) [11] Gordon Wilson (SNP) [5] Ian Paisley (DUP) [3] Dafydd Wigley (Plaid Cymru) [2] John Hume (SDLP) [1] Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (Sinn Fein) [1]
Thatcher's economic reforms proved unpopular with the British public, though not to anything like the extent needed to put an increasingly left wing Labour Party back in control. Thatcher was weskened with her own party and forced to rely on Liberal and UUP support, a situation which fell apart in the face of a miner's strike.

1985-1990: Michael Foot (Labour)
1985: Michael Foot (Labour) [327] Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) [291] James Molyneaux (UUP) [12] David Steel (Liberal) [11] Gordon Wilson (SNP) [2] Ian Paisley (DUP) [2] Dafydd Wigley (Plaid Cymru) [1] John Hume (SDLP) [1] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [1] Bill Rogers (Speaker) [1]
Elected with a tiny majority Labour were not able to achieve all of their goals. Trident was cancelled, at the cost of keeping Polaris running, the House of Lords received only minor reforms, and Scotland recieved it's devolved Assembly late in the life of the Parliament.
1990-1999: Kenneth Clarke (Conservative)

1990: Kenneth Clarke (Conservative) [353] Michael Foot (Labour) [261] Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) [13] Alex Salmond (SNP) [4] Ian Paisley (DUP) [11] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [5] Dafydd Wigley (Plaid Cymru) [2] Bill Rogers (Speaker) [1]
1994: Kenneth Clarke (Conservative) [325] Gordon Brown (Labour) [277] Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) [19] Ian Paisley (DUP) [10] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [8] Alex Salmond (SNP) [7] Dafydd Wigley (Plaid Cymru) [3] Bill Rogers (Speaker) [1]

The nineties were a difficult time for Europe. Economic reforms in the East, while painful, were turning the Soviet Bloc into a leaner, wealthier, rival. Economic recession and trading difficulties impacted the West. Britain, particularly, was struggling with debt and industrial action. Clarke spent most of his time in office pursuing austerity measures to try and control the deficit, while sending resources and soldiers to America's doomed war against Iran. A small majority in his second term prevented Clarke from signing up to the EU army or the Euro. In general, around Europe these ideas were falling out of favour.

The 90s are remembered as a dreary time for Britain, with high poverty, dreary music, drab fashion and a general sense of pessimism best summed up by Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book "The Future has Been Cancelled". As the millennium approached, people were on the look out for some kind of optimism,

1999-2010: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

1999: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) [343] Kenneth Clarke (Conservative) [229] Paddy Ashdown (Liberal) [32] Alex Salmond (SNP) [19] Ian Paisley (DUP) [10] Dafydd Wigley (Plaid Cymru) [5] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [8] Independent [2] David Attenborough (Green) [1] Bill Rogers (Speaker) [1]
2004: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) [348] Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative) [216] Annette Brooke (Liberal) [39] Alex Salmond (SNP) [23] Ian Paisley (DUP) [10] Ieuan Wynn Jones (Plaid Cymru) [3] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [8] Independent [1] David Attenborough (Green) [1] Tony Blair (Speaker) [1]
2009: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) [299] Liam Fox (Conservative) [258] Annette Brooke (Liberal) [41] Alex Salmond (SNP) [25] Nigel Dodds (DUP) [10] Ieuan Wynn Jones (Plaid Cymru) [3] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [8] Independent [3] David Attenborough (Green) [1] Afshin Rattansi (Communist Party of Great Britain) [1] Tony Blair (Speaker) [1]

With the Conservatives divided and the Labour party firmly under the control of the hard right faction, which the press considered divisive and regressive, the commentariat went into the 1999 election bemoaning the lack of strong leadership with a vision for change. The next decade showed that they needn't have worried.

Corbyn undertook sweeping reforms of everyday life, utilities were renationalised plans were made to extend the British Rail service back to the branch lines closed down by Dr Beeching. A new National Education Service forced private schools to financially and practically support comprehensives and new universities were established, often seeking to cater for vocational courses and adult learning. Politically, Wales and Northern Ireland got their devolved assemblies and the House of Lords was replaced with an elected Senate.

Corbyn finally scrapped Polaris and the Vulcan bombers, ending Britain's nuclear programme. Russia, which was at the time a rapidly developing trading partner, was seen as safe to do business with, and the threat of war was being removed. Corbyn was accused of not fighting hard enough to keep NATO, but it was noted that the real problem was declining reltionships between Europe and America.

2010-2014: Chukka Umunna (Labour) coalition with Tim Farron (Liberal)

Umunna was generally seen as a product of Corbynism and just another hard leftist. However, he was notably less willing to spend, particularly on army welfare, and was noted for his internationalism politics. This was ironic, because his time in office is most remembered for the collapse of the EU. This started with the French voting to leave the EU in 2011, and continued into a North-South split. Britain attempted to find a neutral position, supporting the remaining EU in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark while also trading with the more radical left wing governments of southern Europe. Perhaps most important was to maintain trade relationships with Ireland, which would otherwise be left out in the cold in the new order.

The rapid deepening of relationships within the rump EU was received with hostility from Russia, who still feared the rise of Germany. Much of Chukka's time was given over to attempting to restore order to the continent.

2014-2018: Liam Fox (Conservative)

2014: Liam Fox (Conservative) [340] Chukka Umunna (Labour) [206] Tim Farron (Liberal) [18] Alex Salmond (SNP) [55] Nigel Dodds (DUP) [8] Adam Price (Plaid Cymru) [7] Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) [10] Independent [2] David Attenborough (Green) [2] William Venbergen (Communist Party of Great Britain) [1] Mo Mowlem (Speaker) [1]

Returned with a large majority, Liam Fox spent most of his time fighting fires in Europe: the Yugoslavian Crisis, the Albanian accession to the Warsaw Pact, the Kurdish Uprising, and many other smaller ones. He also made a priority of reorganising the military. For thirty years no significant development money had been put into the armed forces and what had been had mostly gone into soldier welfare. Fox turned this around, pumping money into materiel and making big cuts to soldier's pay and benefits while attempting to recruit more people. The result was low morale but worse, large numbers of British ships were put in for refitting. Army commanders attempted to warn the government that they were taking too many ships off front line service, but the government rapidly became used to ignoring advice from the army and pressed on.

War came in March 2018, when a section of West Berlin mostly inhabited by economic migrants declared that it wanted to join East Germany. The hand of the Soviet Union was suspected, but in the end it didn't matter. Southern Europe relied on trade from the Soviets, the National Front government in France weren't willing to get involved, America was isolationist (and under a president many believed was in the pay of Putin), and the European Union found itself alone. Britain, however, misread the situation. By the time they realised that Germany would be without allies in this conflict, they were already committed.

By August, Bonn had been occupied by Soviet forces. By September, the British fleet and airforce were routed. October saw a constant campaign of shock and awe in Britain. Meanwhile, France quietly occupied the Netherlands "for their protection" and a new Austrian government aligned itself with the South European bloc. One ray of hope was the arrest of President Trump on espionage charges and America slowly beginning to rouse itself for war. Thus far nuclear weapons had not been used, though MOABs had been deployed against civilian targets. It was widely believed that the war was about to go nuclear.

On 5 November, this all changed. Coordinated landings took place around England, but particularly in London. While government was now taking place in bunkers out of the city, the sight of Russian soldiers occupying Downing Street and Westminster and Buckingham Palace had a major effect on the British psyche. But perhaps more important was that anti-war protesters were now getting armed. The US issued an ultimatum on 7 November that the Russians should withdraw from Britain or die.

In reality, the Russian forces never would have been able to stay, they were under-supplied and surrounded. But many feared that if the war didn't end immediately there would be a nuclear exchange. The British government was not prepared for rebellion on the home front.

On 15 November a rough coalition of forces calling itself a provisional government reached a cease fire with the Russians and the Russian forces withdrew (leaving only "advisors" and weapons). The former British government was allowed to withdraw. The world was on the brink of nuclear war, but the spark to re-ignite it had gone out. World War 3 would continue for a few months in the form of opportunistic fights between third world countries. But in the main, peace was restored.
 
On the Borders of the Sinai

David Ben Gurion (Mapai) 1948-1949

Moshe Sharett (Mapai) 1949-1956

Elizer Kaplan (Mapai) 1956

Yitzhak Gruenbaum (Independent) 1956

Pinhas Lavon (Mapai) 1956-1959

Moshe Dayan (Mapai) 1959

Shimon Peres (Mapai) 1959-1960

Levi Eshkol (Mapai) 1960-

The assassination of David Ben-Gurion at a Mapal rally in 1949, to many in the new nation of Israel and the outside world seemed like something of a deathblow. Alongside Theodor Herzl, he was the father of the nation, a man who had created a nation state for the long oppressed in their prophesised homeland. How would such a young and unstable nation be able to handle such a blow?

Surprisingly easily it turned out. Moshe Sharett took the reins of power, and charted a moderate course of reforms, mainly trying to avoid the further antagonism of Israel's numerous hostile neighbours. Reparations between West Germany and Israel for victims of the Holocaust were agreed by the Adenauer and Sharett governments at the Munich Conference of 1952, which later paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two.

Further reforms were enacted by Defence Minister Pinhas Lavon, as the draft was extended to Arab citizens, though the move while enthusiastically supported by Sharett was less popular amongst the wider Mapal cabinet. Sharett, would be forced to resign over cabinet pressure in regards to hs foreign policy, which was seen by many (notably Golda Meir and other "Ben-Gurionites") as too dovish in its approach to relations with the country's Arab neighbours.

Following a tense few months with two interim governments collapsing, Defence Minister Pinas Lavon formed a government. Lavon's policies toawrds the country's Arab citizens, saw a gradual reduction in the martial law which had governed the lives of the country's Arab minority. Lavon's govenrment would establish diplomatic ties with both West Germany and the Soviet Union (kickstarting the process of Soviet Jewish emigration to Israel which began in the early 60s), and signed commercial treaties with the European Coal and Steal Community in 1957.

While Israel had not been directly involved in the Anglo-French operation in the Suez it had secured recognition at the UN that the Straits of Tiran would remain open to Isaeli shipping, following a long lasting Egyptian blockade from 1950 to 1957. Tensions between Israel and Egypt would continue to fester, and the country maintained a strong military presence on it's borders with both Syria and Egypt, fearing the dreaded encirclement.

Lavon would be forced to resign in 1959 following a corruption scandal involving the policy of state ownership of land. He would be succeeded by two shortlived govenments of Moshe Dayan and Shimon Peres which both lasted less than a year.

Levi Eshkol would succeed to the premiership in 1960, and continued the previously stalled reforms of Sharett, fully abolishing the martial law that governed the Israeli Arab population and ordering that the formerly practiced discriminatory laws that governed the martial occupation be dismantled. Economic difficulties, and continued tensions with the country's Arab neighbours would dog his premiership, but his decision to pursue strong relations with the US, while simultaneously remaining neutral towards the Soviet bloc made him a respected figure internationally. The trial and execution of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 would further capture the world's attention.

Nevertheless, continued tensions would soon see the country finding itself gearing up for war as the 1960s drew to a close.
 
Reds!: Three's A Crowd Edition

William McKinley (Republican) 1897-1905

Philander Chase Knox (Republican) 1905-1913
1904: def. Thomas E. Watson (Populist), William F. Vilas (Democratic) and William Randolph Hearst (Independence)
1908: def. John A. Johnson (Populist), Oscar Underwood (Democratic) and William Randolph Hearst (Independence)

Joseph W. Bailey (Democratic Populist, then National Union) 1913-1918*
1912: def. William Randolph Hearst (Independence), Eugene V. Debs (Independent Populist) and Nicholas Murray Butler (Republican)
1916: def. William Randolph Hearst (Independence) and Eugene V. Debs (Socialist Labor)

Warren G. Harding (National Union, then Republican) 1918-1923*
1920: def. William Randolph Hearst (Common Platform) and Samuel Ralston (Populist)

William P. Jackson (Republican) 1923-1929
1924: def. Jack Reed (Common Platform) and Joseph Taylor Robinson (Populist)

Herbert Hoover (Populist-Republican, then National Union) 1929-1933
1928: def. Norman Thomas (Common Platform)

William Randolph Hearst (Common Platform) 1933*
1932: def. Huey Long (Share Our Wealth) and Herbert Hoover (National Union)

Douglas MacArthur (Military coup, then Government of Preservation) 1933-1935*
William Z. Foster (Common Platform, then Popular Front) 1933-1935

William Z. Foster (Common Platform) 1935-
1936: unopposed

In 1932, William Randolph Hearst finally won on his sixth attempt. Taking advantage of people's anger with the National Unionists for the Great Depression, he pushed forward a "Common Man's Platform" and with Huey Long being seen as an opportunist for breaking off the Populists when they got unpopular, he cleaned house, sweeping in a landslide. The only thing between him and a successful presidency was the Military

For you see, while the establishment closed ranks in the 20s, Hearst, out of sheer ambition or perhaps a feeling of solidarity with the similarly-despised Socialists, invited the Socialists into his house and convinced them that working together would be good for the country

Hence the Common Platform. And it got the establishment to despise Hearst all the way, seeing him as no better than the Reds. With his announced cabinet including such people as Norman Thomas, C. E. Ruthenberg and even Jack Reed, the military decided that this was a Socialist Administration, one that needed to be Dealt With. And so the wealthy man who funded his way to the Presidency died at the Oval Office desk when soldiers barged in and fired at the man sitting. As he bled out over the desk, ramifications started to be felt all over the country

For while William Randolph Hearst was no socialist, he, after a fashion, was seen as a reliable ally. And as new President William Foster was sworn in, he pledged to "uphold Comrade Hearst's vision" and deal with MacArthur's coup for good

MacArthur fought long and bitterly hard, but finally in 1935 he was captured and executed. As the USA died in the flames, President Foster and Common Platform announced the formation of the Union of Independent Socialist Republics, or UISR. And while it reforged itself as a socialist republic, it decided to maintain the USA's form of elections for one more cycle

While Common Platform, already by this time fracturing, won most seats, the top spot was unopposed. Comrade Foster would carry on Comrade Hearst's vision for the final years of the old bourgeois republic and the birth of the new

Long live Marxism-Hearstism! Long live the Union of Independent Socialist Republics!
 
Prime Ministers of the Republic of Examplia
01: John Villar Mooreshead (One majority) 1951-1957
1951: def. Tom Brookes (Two)
1954: def. Tom Brookes (Two)
02: Tom Brookes (Two majority, then
Two - The Liberals minority) 1957-1959
1957: def. John Villar Mooreshead (One)
03: John Villar Mooreshead (One majority) 1959-1968
1959: def. Tom Brookes (Two - The Liberals) and Hamilton Reyes (Two (Original))
1962: def. George Dern (Two - The Liberals), Manuel Alvarez (Social Labour) and Hamilton Reyes (Two (Original)
1965: def. Richard Ardern ("Reunified" Two) and Manuel Alvarez (Social Labour)
04: Richard Ardern ("Reunified" Two majority, then Two minority) 1968-1973
1968: def. John Villar Mooreshead (One) and Manuel Alvarez (Social Labour)
1971: def. Franklin Smalls (One) and Manuel Alvarez (Social Labour)
05: Duncan Tune (One-National Two coalition) 1973-1982
1973: def. Richard Ardern (Two), William Lamm (Social Labour) and Jabez Silva (National Two)
1976: def. Richard Ardern (Two), William Lamm (Social Labour) and Jabez Silva (National Two)
1979: def. Samuel Catts (TWO.The Liberals), Joseph Proud-Bellamy (Social Labour) and Jabez Silva (National Two)
06: Samuel Catts (TWO.The Liberals-Social Labour coalition, then majority) 1982-1995
1982: def. Duncan Tune (One), Joseph Proud-Bellamy (Social Labour) and Jabez Silva (National Two)
1985: def. Stanley Howlin (One) and Joseph Proud-Bellamy (Social Labour)
1988: def. Stanley Howlin (One), Joseph Proud-Bellamy (Social Labour) and Annabeth Random (Three - The Real Alternative)
1992: def. Jay Mixson (One), Joseph Proud-Bellamy (Social Labour) and Annabeth Random (Three - The Real Alternative)
07: Madison O'Malley (One-Two Unionist-Three - The Real Alternative "Progressive Coupon") 1995-1997
1995: def. Samuel Catts (TWO.The Liberals), William Pitt (Two Unionist), Annabeth Random (Three - The Real Alternative) and Liz Fry (Social Labour)
08: Joseph Proud-Bellamy, 3rd Earl of Proudhon (Social Labour-led "Wartime Government") 1997-2005

09: Madison O'Malley (One-Two Unionist coalition, then majority) 2005-2011
2005: def. Liz Fry (Social Labour), William Pitt (Two Unionist), Quentin Lyle (TWO.The Liberals) and Zephyr Raincoat (Three - The Real Alternative)
2009: def. Skylar White (Two), Liz Fry (Social Labour), William Pitt (Two Unionist) and Zephyr Raincoat (Three - The Real Alternative)
10: Frankie Edison (One majority) 2011-2014
11: William Pitt (Two-Two Unionist coalition, then Two majority) 2014-2015*
2014: def. Skylar White (Two), Frankie Edison (One), Zephyr Raincoat (3ARTH) and Bobbie Black (Social Labour)
12: Skylar White (Two majority) 2015-2022
2017: def. Simon Bright Eyes (One), Miranda Nixon (3ARTH), Frankie Edison (One (Secular)) and Bobbie Black (Social Labour)
13: Frankie Edison (One (Secular)-Social Labour-3ARTH coalition, then One (Secular)-Social Labour coalition) 2022-2027
2022: def. Skylar White (Two), Bobbie Black (Social Labour), Simon Bright Eyes (One) and Miranda Nixon (3ARTH)
2026: def. Danny Bloom (Two), Alex Thorsson (One), Bobbie Black (Social Labour), Jack Proud-Bellamy (Socialist Four) and Miranda Nixon (3ARTH)
14: Cameron Davies (One (Secular)-Social Labour coalition, then One (Secular)-led "Remain United" coalition) 2027-2032
2031: def. Tammy Tyler (Two), Alex Thorsson (One), Jack Proud-Bellamy (Socialist Four) and Bobbie Black (Social Labour)
15: Fergus MacDonald (Two majority) 2032-
2032: def. Alex Thorsson (One), Cameron Davies (One (Secular)), Jack Proud-Bellamy (Socialist Four) and Harry Bleak (Threecology)

As the Secular Ones reel from falling down to third, the impact of the Exexit referendum continue to be felt as Social Labour, the once great left-wing party of unions, has shrank down to merely a coalition partner of the Seculars and was finally wiped out this election, replaced totally by Jack Proud-Bellamy's Socialist Four League. Meanwhile, the greenie Threes has returned to Parliament under a new name, that of, erm, "Threecology"

As the radical liberal Fergus MacDonald announce his cabinet, Examplia quakes at the thought of the radical Twoism they can expect
 
A quick idea I had after reading today that Andrew Cuomo and Beau Biden formed a friendship partly over being the sons of prominent politicians.


The Palindrome of History:

George H. W. Bush (TX)/Dan Quayle (IN): Republican, 1989-1993
Mario Cuomo (NY)/Joe Biden (DE): Democratic, 1993-2001
Mary Landrieu (LA)/Mel Carnahan (MO): Democratic, 2001-2005

Fred Thompson (TN)/Tommy Thompson (WI): Republican, 2005-2009
Robin Carnahan (MO)/Mitch Landrieu (LA): Democratic, 2009-2017
Beau Biden (DE)/Andrew Cuomo (NY): Democratic, 2017-2025

Ben Quayle (AZ)/George P. Bush (TX): Republican, 2025-2029
 
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Part One​


1989-1993: Andrew Harris/Richard DuPont (Democratic)
def. 1988: William Taft/Graham Bilk (Republican)
def. 1992: Rufus H. Law/Patricia Clark (Republican)

1993-1993: Richard DuPont/vacant (Democratic)
1993-1993: Richard DuPont/Curtis Johnson (Democratic)


Richard DuPont always wanted to be a somebody. Born in America’s first state on the banks of the namesake, he found little dignity growing up in the crushing poverty of the Great Depression. Despite his name, his family had no money to speak of; his father was a day labourer paving highways and building parks. His mother worked mixing chemicals at the company that bore his family name, but from which they didn't bear the fortunes. By the time DuPont was fifteen, both were dead. By the time he was twenty, he was an engineer, fighting Chinese troops while on the backfoot in Korea. Returning home in 1953, he entered the mechanics trade, taking a job for Chrysler in Newark. He was quick to affiliate with the United Auto Workers, and by 1958 had become a Union Rep. His ambition was not limited to these mere flirtations with the trade unions, however. At the age of 30, he found himself the Democratic Mayor of Newark. At the end of his term, he entered the Delaware General Assembly.

This was not the House he had his ambitions limited to. Finding feet as a fiery orator and an effective campaigner, DuPont quickly took sight of Delaware’s At-Large seat. Harris McDowell’s defeat in the 1966 federal election put an opening into the Democrats three-man congressional delegation, one that DuPont sought to fill; at the age of 37, he fought the primaries, and beat William V Roth in the general election, taking Delaware for the Democrats. Among the more liberal members of the House, DuPont was narrowly re-elected thrice, before finally being taken out by Republican Pete du Pont (no relation). Defeat was but a minor set back. His time in the House left him hungry to rise higher. During the lull of his political life, DuPont accepted an executive position at Chrysler. For the first time in his life, money was no problem. Expensive suits, sharp shoes, and slicked hair; his transformation from a scruffy trade unionist fire-spitter to a slick CDM’er was in itself a reflection of the transformation in Democratic Party, away from McGovernites and towards the Jimmy Carter's. Winning the Democratic nod in 1976, DuPont stormed the state and took the Senate seat on the coattails of Carter’s landslide. He remained there for the next 12 years.

DuPont’s time in the senate can broadly be summarised with his transformation from a CDM’er to an Atari Democrat, and from a peacenik to a hawk. In 1988, he decided to forego reelection. Instead he would run for President. The field was predictably crowded; Vice President Taft was largely seen as weak and ineffectual, despite running a bastard of a campaign for nomination. DuPont’s own campaign was aggressive, well-funded, but incoherent. His liberal fire traded little currency after his 12 years as a moderate. Sharp shoes and well-cut cloth did little to impress the people of Iowa or New Hampshire. Coming a weak third, DuPont suddenly regretted his promise to surrender his Senate seat. At 57, his career wasn’t over, but it was certain that it couldn't continue in Delaware. He quit the campaign shortly after crushingly disappointing returns in South Carolina. The charismatic and young Andrew Harris, a mere decade younger but with the energy of a man twice that, romped his way across the country, leaving the middle-aged DuPont wondering why he didn’t run in ’84.

And then a call came. Harris offered DuPont position as running mate. With little to lose, DuPont accepted, and with it, he was brought into office with Harris on the back of a landslide. His time as Vice President was unhappy; the reelection itself was drag. Neither him nor Harris got on well, although did their best to hide this behind closed doors. Chafing under the notion that he was just in the backseat, DuPont began making his overtures to becoming the driver. Indeed, it is understood that he was prepping his own campaign for ’96 before ’92 ended. Harris’ sudden death of an embolism in 1993, shortly following his second inauguration, took the nation by shock. DuPont wanted to be President, but not like this. Sworn in and given the keys to the kingdom, once his own Vice President was in place, he set out on his plan. It was one that would fight the poverty DuPont knew all too well, to break up the monopolies he started his career rallying against, to bring in new labor laws, Medicare for all, and a million other nice things that, even with a Democratic Congress, he’d have never accomplished. His dream was to be the next FDR. His destiny was to be another Harry Truman But instead he is remembered for these nice things.

And for making the decision to select a black man as his Vice President.

Richard DuPont was shot only once. The bullet split his heart in Reno; he was dead before he hit the ground. The crowd shrieked in horror as the gunman turned the pistol on himself. He had been angry that the President has picked a black man as Vice President; he was angry because his daddy taught him to be when they desegregated the schools. He had voted for Harris and DuPont, he even shook his hands with the Vice President when he came into town to promise that the Democrats would bring the jobs back. And now both men lay dead on slabs, and Curtis Johnson was President.


1993-1994: Curtis Johnson/vacant (Democratic)
1994-1997: Curtis Johnson/Mitch O’Rourke (Democratic)


Curtis Johnson never wanted to be President. Even as a young boy, the idea repulsed him. As a young man, he derided fellow activists who dreamed of assuming the office. For him, the power of the Presidency was White Power; the White House was built by slaves for their Master; the brick and mortar that made Washington was soaked in black blood. As he grew older, taking part in the Civil Rights movement on the front lines, taking beatings by police while marching arm in arm with his community, Johnson's stance didn't soften, but he increasingly viewed the power of Washington as one that could be used against the white structure, and for the benefit of those who suffered beneath it. Elected to the 7th District of Maryland in 1976, for the next thirteen years Johnson became a strong voice in the black congressional caucus, although never stood out among his peers. He would in his later half of his career serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, although never Chaired.

Johnson was considered to be largely unremarkable. Next to others in the BCC, such as the firespeaker Malcom Woodrow of New York's 16th, and the parliamentarians such as Abe L. Smith of Mississippi's 2nd, he was hardly a stand our figure, to the point that the Maryland Congressman was intending to retire to the quiet life of academia in 1994. His unremarkably may have been why he became Vice President; when President Harris died and President DuPont was tasked with choosing the man to occupy second place, Johnson was top of the short list. After some debate with his friends, Johnson reluctently accepted. He felt it his duty to do so; he was no Sherman. The position was basically ceremonial, in Johnson’s mind, and there was no chance he'd end up in that palace of white supremacy. Not to mention that, as he would later claim, DuPont merely needed him to 'satisfy the black vote'. But to be the first black Vice President presented a chance to do more than that, it was the chance to provide a shining example of how far a black man in America could go. To show to the community Johnson had pounded pavement and been beaten with nightsticks during the Civil Rights era for what the fight was for. Resigning his beloved 7th District, Johnson took the oath and keys to the door of the Number One Observatory Circle. Preparing for the next four years, Johnson remarked that he had “time to think and time to act”. DuPont’s assassination mere months later cut that time short.

Thrust into the safe-room of a North Dakotan Trade Show, and sworn in while the Secret Service made sure another assassin wasn’t lurking in the shadows, the third President in a single year wasn’t feeling particularly secure. Curtis Johnson was the first Black President in US history. He was also the first to have been placed into office despite having never faced the electorate. Calming a nation shaken by the sight of two Presidential caskets in six months, Johnson should have been a unifying figure, but rather he was one who lacking in a certain presence. It was clear to everyone that he didn’t want to be President. From the way he walked, talked, stood, and sat, every inch of him screamed out in horror at becoming the owner of that House he so despised. His first television broadcast to the grief-stricken nation rang hollow as he struggled with his composure and his tone, unable to strike 'Presidential', and settling on 'diplomatic'. Behind the scenes, he declared this to his wife, his children, his staff, and anyone who’d listen how much he hated his job, the White House, and the agony it caused him to stand beneath a painting of Washington and Jefferson and have to smile. But for three years he soldiered on, with his Vice President, the former Governor of Rhode Island Mitch O’Rourke, at his side. A liberal domestic policy, such as expansion of healthcare, of welfare, and support of labor unions, with outreach to the black communities, was pursued. A more ambitious foreign policy followed.

Johnson was in a unique position as President: Communism in Eastern Europe had transitioned into capitalism. The Soviet Union has become the People’s Federation, and Germany had reunited. America had won the cold war; but could it win the peace? Foreign Aid and investment in the Easter Bloc skyrocketed. Billions upon billions were poured into the formed communist bloc, propping up fragile economies as they found their feet, funding pro-democracy programmes, and helping fund and restructure militaries that had once been poised to destroy America. Pressure was put onto South Africa to end apartheid; tensions were eased in the Congo as Johnson saw peace as a priority. In Northern Ireland, both Johnson and O’Rourke tried to help with peace talks, although Prime Minister Campbell was frosty at best towards his American peer- a consequence of his Eton-to-Oxford upbringing, Johnson would remark in his memoirs, although O'Rourke's Irish roots irked the Conservative Establishment. Stateside, some would call Johnson a traitor for his actions abroad; his skin colour made these calls easy for the right to make. Others saw Johnson’s ambition as fearful, as his new Pax Americana could settle American homogeny for another century, but leave it open to globalisation. Johnson's foreign policy, however, was largely approved of. The economy had a surplus, taxes were low, Johnson's programmes were largely uncontroversial, even if those from the right would make issue of the increased welfare system. After the 1994 midterms returned the Democrats with majorities in Congress, Johnson felt he could be more ambitious as he weighed his reelection chances. However events north of the Border in Canada would prove fatal.

The resounding success of the Quebec sovereignty movement bore its fruits following referenda in October 1995. Although irksome, Johnson was prepared to work with both Quebec and Canada, even if the former was bound economically to the latter. However, in the following year, something strange happened: Canada collapsed. Quebec turned out to be merely the first domino. Saskatchewan followed, as did Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and ultimately Yukon. The five would unify within weeks as the ‘Western Union’, transforming into a markedly conservative petrostate. Quebec itself became a failed state within a few weeks of the Western Union’s emergence; strongmen took control and shortly thereafter French speaking militiamen crossed into Ontario, and declared the French speaking regions of the Province Pays d'en-haut. America watched in stunned silence as Canada tore itself apart, reacting only when the economy took a blow. By the time of the election, the dark shroud of a recession had swept over the land. The programmes Johnson had spent the surplus on were now centre stage at policy debates; stories of welfare queens and cheats and of how the money sent abroad flooded the nightly news. Canada and the recession ultimately killed Johnson's chances of reelection. Despite his best attempts, the President couldn’t step up for America, and his failure to provide a confident voice left a gaping void in the political system. Dropping out of the primaries, he left his Vice President to clean up; but O’Rourke was too tightly tied to the President and was defeated in November.

Following his successors inauguration, Johnson retired from public life. Taking a position at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, he taught politics, resurfacing from time to time give opinion, make public appearances on behalf of the BCC, and to write his memoirs. He remained in Maryland until his death in 2010.
 
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