WI: President Mo Udall

[Aolbain]

This might be a stretch, but what about putting Scoop Jackson somewhere in a Mo Udall administration?

Would Jackson consent to give up roughly three centuries of senate seniority to manage foreign policy for someone like Udall?

 

[CaliGuy]

Would Jackson consent to give up roughly three centuries of senate seniority to manage foreign policy for someone like Udall?

Well, John Kerry did just this in 2013 when he became Barack Obama's Secretary of State, so it's not completely unheard of.

 

[AndrewH]

Well, John Kerry did just this in 2013 when he became Barack Obama's Secretary of State, so it's not completely unheard of.

Yeah, but John Kerry was broadly speaking sympatico with Obama on foreign policy - Scoop Jackson and Mo Udall were on complete opposite sides of their party. The divide is too big, and it would be seriously unrealistic for Udall to make the offer and for Jackson to accept it.

 

[CaliGuy]

Yeah, but John Kerry was broadly speaking sympatico with Obama on foreign policy - Scoop Jackson and Mo Udall were on complete opposite sides of their party. The divide is too big, and it would be seriously unrealistic for Udall to make the offer and for Jackson to accept it.

Fair point.

 

[Electric Monk]

Scoop wants to be SecDef, he’d absolutely ditch the Senate to get that job. Same way Muskie would ditch his Senate seat for SecState in an instant.

Would Udall offer him that position? Quite plausibly, yes. Udall was a liberal but one that stemmed from before the New Left gained power and one that worked in Congress—literally wrote the book on it—he well understands the factional nature of the party and how to cut deals.

 

[CaliGuy]

Scoop wants to be SecDef, he’d absolutely ditch the Senate to get that job. Same way Muskie would ditch his Senate seat for SecState in an instant.

Would Udall offer him that position? Quite plausibly, yes. Udall was a liberal but one that stemmed from before the New Left gained power and one that worked in Congress—literally wrote the book on it—he well understands the factional nature of the party and how to cut deals.

So, a Scoop appointment to SecDef would essentially be an Udall "peace offering" to the hawks within the Democratic Party? If so, that would make sense.

Which Democratic bloc does Muskie represent? The progressives/liberals?

 

[AndrewH]

So, a Scoop appointment to SecDef would essentially be an Udall "peace offering" to the hawks within the Democratic Party? If so, that would make sense.

Which Democratic bloc does Muskie represent? The progressives/liberals?

Udall deeply admired Muskie and staffed his campaign with loads of Muskie ‘72 vets, so I could see Udall appointing him as SoS.

I do sincerely disagree with @Electric Monk that he would offer Scoop the job, however. The ideological gap is too great imo, and I don’t see a reason why he would offer the DoD up assuming conditions are as similar to OTL as they can be.

 

[Electric Monk]

So let me lay out the case for former Senator Boeing, now hawk SecDef:

Defense
"We have real material defense needs. We must have a lean, tough military force prepared to defend the national interest, however it might be threatened. But we do not need gold-plated or duplicated weapons systems, three new army divisions, or back-up forces suited only for a ground war in Asia. And we do not need more nuclear weapons in an arsenal which already holds 2,000 times the destructive power unleashed in all of World War II, or the waste which goes with a bureaucracy accustomed to an ever-increasing military budget."

When combined with close friend and also pro-reorg Goldwater being in charge of the reorg bill Udall has major political cover to actually get his plans though. This is the era where conservative Republicans and conservative Dems screamed over detente preferring nuclear war after all, you need a hawk for any chance to cut the military. Some dove would be utterly ignored by both the military and Congress. I think Udall, watching McGovern go down because too many elements of the party hated him, will absolutely need a major olive branch, and this kills multiple birds with a single stone

Oh and Jackson’s follow Senator from Washington is 100% required to be on board for Udall to pass much of his agenda. So Jackson also has a threat of his own, given his friendship with Magnuson.

However I’m not arguing he would be SecDef, more that he’d be a plausible and sensible choice Udall would seriously consider.

 

[AndrewH]

Apparently Archibald Cox was an avid Udall supporter, which makes me wonder if he would get a job in a Udall Administration or if he would at least get that Judgeship in Massachusetts he nearly got in OTL.