A stellar timeline. I liked the TLIAW format, I liked the back-and-forth, I liked how gradual the dystopia was developed. This kind of Christo-populist hellscape is hardly unrealistic, given the overall trajectory of TTL. Would definitely appreciate a utopian spinoff, maybe one where Nixon wins in 1960 (but everything turns out well somehow).
When you consider that the POD for this TL is something people consider good (I.e. RFK lives and gets two terms), we should have a "bad" POD. Say, Taft becomes President.Maybe with the premise of Henry Wallace becoming President.
Henry Wallace is commonly portrayed as a incompetent moron who would be more than willing to publicly castrate himself if Stalin told him to, and there's been more than one TL with premise of a Wallace Presidency leading to dystopia, most notably For All Time and to a lesser extent Footprint of Mussolini (it also oddly portrays George Patton fairly positively from what I remember despite his borderline pro-Nazi sympathies).When you consider that the POD for this TL is something people consider good (I.e. RFK lives and gets two terms), we should have a "bad" POD. Say, Taft becomes President.
Fair point. I guess I just generally considered POTUS (Henry) Wallace as "good" (at least on the very surface level).Henry Wallace is commonly portrayed as a incompetent moron who would be more than willing to publicly castrate himself if Stalin told him to, and there's been more than one TL with premise of a Wallace Presidency leading to dystopia, most notably For All Time and to a lesser extent Footprint of Mussolini (it also oddly portrays George Patton fairly positively from what I remember despite his borderline pro-Nazi sympathies).
So him actually being successful would be subversive.
Wallace '68 turning into a utopia is a very interesting idea. And it makes sense considering the POD that started TTL, since a 1940s POD would be 20+ years before TTL's POD.Fair point. I guess I just generally considered POTUS (Henry) Wallace as "good" (at least on the very surface level).
on second thought: a George Wallace '68 TL ending in a utopia.
Well, that is essentially how TTL worked (though from the other side, obviously): RFK's wiretapping scandal so thoroughly discredits him, his policies and his party that the Republicans have free reign for a generation. So it follows that, if one were to do a reverse of this TTL, that'd be the place to start: someone like Wallace or Goldwater is elected president, and they generate so much backlash that the Democrats get an uninterrupted period to push the US leftwards.The only way I can see Wallace '68 turning into a utopia is if it generates an even greater backlash than what Nixon got.
That's what I was thinking of as well, although a full parallel to TTL would be a bit too obvious altogether. But it's a fair starting point.Well, that is essentially how TTL worked (though from the other side, obviously): RFK's wiretapping scandal so thoroughly discredits him, his policies and his party that the Republicans have free reign for a generation. So it follows that, if one were to do a reverse of this TTL, that'd be the place to start: someone like Wallace or Goldwater is elected president, and they generate so much backlash that the Democrats get an uninterrupted period to push the US leftwards.
Nice timeline. It had a lot of unique paths and used figures creatively.
I am curious exactly how theocratic Reed’s government is by the present. Is it possible to exist without penalty as a non-Christian who keeps their head down and doesn’t make a fuss about government support for Christianity? Are Jews, Catholics and/or Mormons tolerated?
Or if Wallace has the same "change of heart" that characterized his final term and somehow manages to bring enough of the Boll Weevils along in an Only Nixon sort of way.The only way I can see Wallace '68 turning into a utopia is if it generates an even greater backlash than what Nixon got. Something like TTL's New Party could be in charge forever!
That was actually the idea I had for the utopian version of this, that or the same divergence but ending wildly different (obviously)Fair point. I guess I just generally considered POTUS (Henry) Wallace as "good" (at least on the very surface level).
on second thought: a George Wallace '68 TL ending in a utopia.
Woo-hoo! Super excited! Can't wait!Figured I would drop a tease that a spiritual successor to this TL comes out tomorrow — and one of y’all has already guessed the POD.
it’ll have double the authors so double the fun
Can’t wait for the version with the Jim Henson presidencyFigured I would drop a tease that a spiritual successor to this TL comes out tomorrow — and one of y’all has already guessed the POD.
it’ll have double the authors so double the fun