u/Puzzleheaded-Bag2212

CIA records show that the CIA sought to undermine or kill Lumumba, with President Eisenhower (who believed Lumumba was a Soviet sympathizer) authorizing an ultimately scrapped a CIA operation to poison him in August 1960. The killing came three days before the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in January 1961, who had expressed openness to Lumumba's release from custody. The impending inauguration of Kennedy caused fear among the anti-Lumumba faction, and within the CIA, that the incoming administration would favor the imprisoned Lumumba and potentially liberate him. Especially after Kennedy's campaign manager Ted Kennedy visited Leopoldville with Senators Frank Church and Frank Moss, where he called for the release of all Congolese political prisoners. But after the CIA-backed coup of Lumumba in October of 1960, the United States and Belgium suspended their assassination operations, believing Lumumba to no longer be of much political importance.

A US Senate report issued in '75 held that 'The chain of events and testimony is strong enough to permit a reasonable inference that the plot to assassinate Lumumba was authorized by President Eisenhower. The 1975 Church Committee concluded that while the US or the CIA had conspired to kill Lumumba (prior to his ousting), it was not directly involved in the murder. The committee confirmed that the CIA had conspired to kill Lumumba, possibly on Eisenhower's orders, and found that CIA chief Allen Dulles had previously ordered Lumumba's assassination as "an urgent and prime objective". CIA station chief in the Congo Larry Devlin testified in 1975 that he had given instructions to poison Lumumba. The poison, however, was never used, and CIA operatives were unable to get to Lumumba before he was eventually captured by Congolese rivals and killed. Belgian parliamentary inquiries into the murder implicated Belgian mercenaries but failed to come up with a direct US link.

It was Katangan separatists who ultimately killed Lumumba. If anyone knows any evidence that Eisenhower's administration was involved in the actual (not intent of) murder or imprisonment of Patrice Lumumba, please let me know!

Even if Eisenhower was not responsible, it still set a terrible precedent of CIA overreach in foreign affairs.

What are your US Senate elections predictions? I know it is before the primaries conclude, but I was curious about where every 2026 US Senate election looks right now. I will put the following races into 4 categories: strong D, strong R, tilt D, tilt R. Please let me know where you disagree!

Special elections

Florida (solid R)

Ashley Moody (R) is the incumbent and will likely be challenged by Alex Vindman, Iraq war veteran and former director of European affairs for the U.S. National Security Council, who is beating FL Rep Angie Nixon in a recent poll by 10% and has a 92% chance to win the primaries according to Polymarket.

My prediction: Moody retains her seat. Florida has proven to be among the more conservative states now as Trump won it in '24 by over 13%, after narrowly winning it previously and Obama winning it both times. Rubio won by 16.4% in 2022, the same year Gov Desantis won reelection by 20%. Former Democratic Senator Bill Nelson hardly lost the state to Rick Scott in the 2018 midterms (by 10,000 votes) but Scott won reelection by 13% in 2024.

Ohio (tilt D)

Jon Husted (R) is the incumbent and facing former Senator Sherrod Brown (D) who lost by 3.6% in 2024. Before that, all 3 of Brown's victory margins were over 6%. The race is a toss-up with recent polling hardly favoring Brown.

Prediction: Brown flips back this seat. He has proven he can win in this state before and doesn't have political baggage that might otherwise hurt midterm flips.

Normal Class 2 Senate elections

Alabama (solid R)

With Tuberville (R) retiring, this was a crowded Republican field. US Rep Barry Moore won the runoff. Everett Wess, an attorney and former aerospace industry worker, won the runoff for the Democratic primary.

Prediction: Moore wins. Despite Alabama electing a Democratic Senator during Trump's 1st term, Katie Britt won in 2022 by 36% even when Trump was not on the ballot.

Alaska (tilt D)

Incumbent Dan Sullivan (R) is being challenged by former US Rep Mary Peltola (D), a moderate Democrat who hardly lost her seat in 2024. No Democrat has represented Alaska in the Senate since 2015.

Prediction: Peltola flips the seat. She won twice in the state when Trump was not on the ballot in 2022. There is also RCV in Alaska which normally favors Democrats. She also is beating Sullivan in most polls.

Arkansas (solid R)

Incumbent Tom Cotton (R) is facing Hallie Shoffner, a farmer and entrepreneur looking to boost's AR's agricultural industry. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Arkansas since 2008 when no Republican even ran. A Democrat has not won statewide since 2012.

Prediction: Cotton wins. Republicans usually win in Arkansas and Cotton won the only poll from 6 months ago by 22 points. He also has far more fundraising.

Colorado (solid D)

Incumbent John Hickenlooper (D) only won his primary by 50,000 votes against a DSA-backed Julie Gonzales and is facing state Rep Mark Baisley.

Prediction: Hickenlooper wins. There is no indication that Gonzales's voters will not support him in the general election and a Republican has not won statewide in CO since the 2014 midterms.

Delaware (solid D)

Incumbent Chris Coons (D) will win his primary and face one of two Republican candidates (John Shuli or former Democratic state rep Michael Katz) in the fall.

Prediction: Coons wins easily. He has one of the highest voter approval ratings of any US Senator. No Republican has won statewide in Delaware this century.

Georgia (Solid D)

Incumbent Jon Ossoff (D) is the only Democrat up for reelection in a state that Trump won in 2024. He is facing scandal-ridden GOP Congressman Mike Collins who won his primary in a runoff.

Prediction: Ossoff wins reelection. He is winning in every poll, extremely popular online, out-fundraising Collins 13:1, and campaigning much better. Even Raphael Warnock won reelection in a year that should have been bad for Democrats during high inflation.

Idaho (solid R)

Incumbent Jim Risch (R) is facing Independent Todd Achilles after the Democratic primary winner David Roth dropped out. Achilles, endorsed by Andrew Yang's Forward Party, was a registered Republican but became a Democrat to fill a state House seat which he served for nearly 18 months.

Prediction: Risch still wins even against an Independent. No Democrat has won statewide since 1990 (and no Senator since Frank Church in 1974), he is winning in every poll, out-fundraising by a large margin, and Achilles has never won a race in Idaho. The only polls where Achilles comes close to Risch are sponsored by his campaign. Trump also won the state by 36.5% in 2024 (his third-best that in election).

Illinois (solid D)

Incumbent Dick Durbin has retired and current Lt Governor Juliana Stratton (D) won a competitive primary race. She is facing former chair of the Illinois Republican Party Don Tracy.

Prediction: Stratton easily wins. Republicans last won a Senate race there in the 2010 midterms with a socially liberal candidate in a close election where the Green candidate earned 3.6% (a Republican governor did win in 2014 though). There is almost no chance that a Republican will win statewide without a Democrat in the WH**,** especially after the influx of ICE and federal troops in the Chicago area.

Iowa (tilt R)

Another open race, incumbent Joni Ernst (R) is retiring and state rep and Paralympian Gold Medalist Josh Turek won a competitive Democratic primary. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is the GOP nominee.

Prediction: A Fox News-sponsored poll (the most recent data) showed Turek ahead and beating the margin of error, but polling in Iowa has proven to overestimate Democratic numbers. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Iowa since 2008 and Obama won the state by 5.8% in 2012. Despite Ernst only winning in 2020 by 6% when Trump was on the ballot, Trump won the state by 13% in 2024 and Grassley won by 13% in 2022, indicating a Republican tilt.

Kansas (solid R)

Incumbent Roger Marshall (R) is up for reelection, and facing a Democrat who most likely appears to be pastor Adam Hamilton. The primary is on Tuesday.

Prediction: Despite high tariffs and having a current Democratic governor who won when Trump was not on the ballot in '18 and '22, it is hard to see Hamilton or any Democrat winning this year. A Democrat has not won a Senate race in Kansas since 1932, and Trump comfortably won the state by 16% in 2024.

Kentucky (solid R)

Incumbent Mitch McConnell (R) is retiring and GOP Congressman Andy Barr is the nominee. Former state rep Charles Booker won the Democratic primary.

Prediction: Despite having a Democratic governor who was reelected in 2023 and high tariffs hurting the bourbon industry, Barr will win this race, as Trump won the state by 35%. Democrats have not won a Senate race in Kentucky since 1992 (and no presidential candidate since Clinton won the state in '96) and Republicans are out-fundraising there.

Louisiana (solid R)

Incumbent Bill Cassidy (R) was defeated in a primary by Trump endorsed Congresswoman Julia Letlow. Police juror Jamie Davis won the Democratic primaries.

Prediction: Letlow wins. Trump's endorsement has proven to matter in this state and Republicans are out-fundraising. Democrats have not won a US Senate election there since '08 and no presidential candidate won it since '96. Despite a moderate Democrat winning the governorship there as recent as 2019, Trump won the state by 22% in '24 which is too much of a loss for Democrats to recover.

Maine (tilt D)

Incumbent Susan Collins (R) is the second-least popular Senator in the country and won in 2020 by 9%. Collins is the only Republican senator representing a state that President Donald Trump did not win in any of his three presidential campaigns. After Graham Platner dropped out, former state Senate president Troy Jackson quickly became the Democratic nominee.

Prediction: Despite high GOP fundraising, Jackson narrowly defeats Collins and flips the seat. Only one poll shows Collins beating Jackson and without Platner in the race, there is more baggage from Collins.

Massachusetts (solid D)

Ed Markey was re-elected in 2020 with 66.2% of the vote and is presumed to face attorney John Deaton (2024 Senate nominee). Congressman Seth Moulton is challenging Markey in the primaries, disagreeing with Markey's age.

Prediction: With a high 59% approval rating, there is no indication that Markey should lose the primary (winning in every poll) or the general.

Michigan (tilt D)

Incumbent Gary Peters (D) is retiring. Mike Rogers is the GOP nominee. The Democratic nomination is on Tuesday and will most likely won by scientist and former Wayne County health director Abdul el-Sayed who is winning all recent polls since state Senate Whip Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race. Despite being the first to qualify for the ballot and framing herself as anti-establishment candidate (opposing Schumer for Majority leader and being endorsed by Elizabeth Warren), low polling numbers forced her out of the race. Being a pro-Israel candidate in a state with highest percentage of Arab-Americans, Haley Stevens's polling has not improved since, despite endorsements from Peters and multiple MI governors.

Prediction: Either Stevens or el-Sayed can win in the general, but this race is still the most likely flip for Republicans. Republicans have not won a Senate election in Michigan since 1994 or a a non-presidential statewide election since 2014. Even with Trump on the ballot when he won the state in 2024, Rogers lost his Senate race under favorable conditions, receiving 122,956 fewer votes than Donald Trump. Most recent polls favor Democrats in this 2026 race.

Minnesota (solid D)

Incumbent Tina Smith (D) is not seeking reelection. Michele Tafoya (sports broadcaster) is expected to win the GOP primaries, whereas the Democrats are contested between current progressive Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan and Congresswoman Angie Craig. Craig has been criticized for voting for the Laken Riley Act and a resolution expressing gratitude to ICE agents, whereas Flanagan supports abolishing ICE. Most polls show Flanagan winning the primaries.

Prediction: Either Democrat will win. No Republican has won a Senate election there since '02 and no Republican has won a statewide race was since '06. Smith won by 5% in 2020 with Trump on the ballot.

Mississippi (solid R)

Incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) is seeking reelection and facing Democratic nominee Scott Colom, a country DA.

Prediction: Hyde-Smith wins. She is currently ahead in the polls by only about 3%, but there is an independent candidate who can take votes away from Colom. Trump won there in 2024 by 23%. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Mississippi since 1982, nor a presidential race there since '76, nor a gubernatorial race since 1999.

Montana (tilt R)

In one of the strangest elections this year, Republican incumbent Steve Daines is not running again, leaving US Attorney for Montana Kurt Alme to become the nominee. Air Force officer Alani Bankhead, won the Democratic nomination. But Former University of Montana president Seth Bodnar is also on the ballot as an independent, backed by Jon Tester, and out-fundraising the major party nominees.

Prediction: Even if Bankhead drops out, there is a slim shot that Bodnar can still win the general election. Most polls show the combination of Bodnar and Bankhead to either tie or beat Alme by less than the margin of error. Tester won in 2018 by 3.5% but lost in 2024 by 7%, which would require a significant loss of GOP support for B/B to win. And despite MT electing a Democratic governor as recently as 2016, no Democratic presidential candidate has won the state since 1992, and Trump won it last time by 20%.

Nebraska (tilt R)

Incumbent Pete Ricketts (R) is running for reelection. Unlike Montana, Democrats endorsed the Independent challenger Dan Osborn, who lost the 2024 senate election by 6.7%. Democrats prevented a Trump-voting pastor from winning the Democratic nomination by running a candidate who won and then endorsed Osborn.

Prediction: Despite high tariffs, Republicans will win this one. There has been a poll showing Osborn winning, but he is being out-fundraised and Trump recently won the state by 20%. A Republican hasn't lost a Senate election there since 2006, a gubernatorial election since 1994, and not a presidential election there since 1964.

New Hampshire (tilt D)

Incumbent Jeanne Shaheen (D) is retiring and John Sununu (the Republican Senator defeated by Shaheen in 2008) is expected to be the GOP nominee. Congressman Chris Pappas is expected to be the Democratic nominee.

Prediction: Pappas or another Democrat should win. Trump only lost the state by 2.8% in 2024 and Republicans currently hold the governorship and both chambers, but no Republican Senate candidate has won there since the 2010 midterms (and no Republican presidential nominee since 2000) and even Sununu cannot overcome Pappas's consistent polling lead in a year favorable for Democrats.

New Jersey (solid D)

Incumbent Cory Booker (D) is being challenged by a former deputy mayor Justin Murphy (R).

Prediction: Booker has a fundraising lead and will win another term. Despite Trump making gains in NJ in 2024, Governor Sherrill overperformed polling in 2025. Republicans have not won a Senate election in New Jersey since 1972 (and not a national race since Bush in 1988).

New Mexico (solid D)

Incumbent Ben Ray Lujan (D) is facing a write-in Republican candidate Larry Marker, since no Republicans qualified for the primary ballot.

Prediction: Lujan wins easily. Republicans have not won a Senate election in New Mexico since 2002.

North Carolina (solid D)

Incumbent Thom Tillis (R) is retiring, opening a spot for popular former governor Roy Cooper to win the election. Former RNC chair Michael Whatley won the GOP nomination.

Prediction: Cooper will win. This is the most likely flip for Democrats. He is ahead in every poll, far ahead in fundraising, and there is a relatively popular libertarian candidate that could hurt Whatley.

Oklahoma (solid R)

Markwayne Mullin's replacement is not eligible to run for a full term so Congressman Kevin Hern won the GOP nomination. There is a runoff election for the Democratic nomination.

Prediction: Hern will win. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Oklahoma since 1990 and Trump won the state by 34% in 2024.

Oregon (solid D)

Incumbent Jeff Merkley (D) was renominated and is facing David Brock Smith (R), a state Senator.

Prediction: Merkley will win. A Republican hasn't won a Senate seat there since '02, Trump lost the state by 14%, a Republican governor hasn't won since 1982, and Merkley is out fundraising 80:1.

Rhode Island (solid D)

Incumbent Jack Reed (D) will be renominated in the primary, and likely will face Raymond McKay, a state Republican official who ran for Senate in 2024.

Prediction: Reed will win again. A Democrat won the senate election there in 2024 by 20%.

South Carolina (tilt R)

Another interesting election, after Lindsey Graham died, his sister Darline was appointed US Senator in his replacement and is running for her own term in the Republican primary. Pediatrician Annie Andrews is the Democratic nominee. Lindsey had been the most unpopular southern Senator.

Prediction: The Republican will likely win. There is not consistent polling results for this new race, as both Darline Graham and Norman could win the GOP nomination, and some polls showing Andrews ahead in the polls against some Republican candidates, and she has raised over $10 million. But Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election in South Carolina since 1998.

South Dakota (solid R)

Incumbent Mike Rounds (R) is being challenged by Democratic former state trooper Julian Beaudion and independent military officer Brian Bengs who is also a former Democratic nominee for Senate.

Prediction: Rounds wins. He is winning the fundraising battle by far and ahead in every poll even against only one of the challengers. Republicans have not lost a Senate election in South Dakota since 2008.

Tennessee (solid R)

Incumbent Bill Haggerty is presumed to be renominated. The Democrats have several candidates and the primary is next Thursday.

Prediction: Hagerty wins. He is out-fundraising the best Democrat 1778:1 and Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election in Tennessee since 1990, a presidential election since 1992 nor a gubernatorial since 2002. Trump won TN by 30% in '24.

Texas (tilt D)

The most profiled race of the cycle, incumbent John Cornyn (R) was defeated in the primaries by Trump-endorsed state AG Ken Paxton. State Rep James Talarico won the Democratic primaries.

Prediction: Talarico narrowly flips this seat by a better campaign strategy and out-fundraising Paxton with $69 million to Paxton's $9 million. The polls are very close, with Talarico ahead in the vast majority of them since winning the primaries. Democrats have not won a Senate election in Texas since 1988 but Talarico is avoiding the mistakes that O'Rourke made in 2018 and it is expected for a significant portion of Cornyn's voters to vote for Talarico.

Virginia (solid D)

The incumbent Mark Warner (D) will face whichever Republican wins the primaries on Tuesday.

Prediction: Warner wins another term. He is out-fundraising the best GOP candidate 66.5:1 and Republicans have not won a Senate election in Virginia since 2002.

West Virginia (solid R)

The incumbent Shelly Moore Capito is running for reelection and will face Rachel Fetty Anderson, former Morgantown city council member.

Prediction: With a massive fundraising advantage, Capito will win another term. Only Joe Manchin was able to win in WV as a Democrat.

Wyoming (solid R)

The incumbent Cynthia Lummis (R) is not running. The race will be between current Congresswoman Harriet Hageman and former state Rep James Byrd.

Prediction: Hageman has a massive fundraising advantage and will win. Trump won the state by 46% (his most), Democrats have not won in the state in a senate election since 1970 and in a presidential election since 1964 (a Dem governor was elected in 2006 though).

In conclusion,

The elections that are solid D are Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Oregon, North Carolina, and Virginia

The elections that are solid R are Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming

The elections that are tilt D are Ohio, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Texas

The elections that are tilt R are Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, and South Carolina

Therefore, I predict the Republicans will lose 5 seats in the 2026 Senate elections, giving Democrats a narrow majority.

sources: https://www.demlist.com/demdaily-6/ and Wikipedia

After looking more into what these presidents represented, LBJ narrowly had worse foreign policy. LBJ was always among the hawkish presidents from his days as a Rep and Senator, staunchly supporting the Korean War. He rapidly expanded US presence in Vietnam invoking the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which was essentially a lie/misrepresentation to the American people. Similarly, intelligence claimed Iraq had WMDs but it was later proven false. There also was no link between Saddam and Al-Qaeda. Far more Americans died in Vietnam than in the entire global war on terror. When the US left Iraq, ISIS would overrun it in just a couple years, but when US service members left Vietnam, the Viet Cong also immediately committed numerous human rights atrocities on the South Vietnamese people. I did not know this prior. Having Saddam removed from power was also a clear positive whereas few clear positives exist with the Vietnam War, where way more civilians died and of course were subject to Agent Orange. And LBJ illegally bombed Laos, a neutral country.

I also have grown to understand the War in Afghanistan as more justified and conciliatory towards genuine antiterrorism efforts. Bush was in no place to withdraw like he would in Iraq. There’s of course the human rights abuses that took place at CIA black sites, but they were arguably not as egregious as what the CIA was doing 1964-1968.

And then considering each of their positives. Nothing comes close to PEPFAR/PMI in LBJ’s foreign policy. 27 million lives saved. And then there’s NATO expansion, where during Bush’s presidency Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia all joined NATO, and Albania and Croatia soon after. LBJ did initiate detente with the Soviet Union, denuclearization, and signed the Space Treaty.

But LBJ outside of Southeast Asia still had pretty bad foreign policy, such as staunchly supporting Israel with arms in 1967 even after the USS Liberty attack which killed Americans, stopping JFK’s efforts to denuclearize Israel, sending arms to Suharto even after his regime was killing hundreds of thousands of people, and sending troops to the DR which undermined its popular constitutional movement. He also greenlit the coup which installed a military dictator in Brazil and sent military aid to the authoritarian government in Guatemala despite reports of political killings, disappearances and severe human rights abuses.

I can see LBJ and Nixon getting pissed at what ChatGPT has to say about their legacies

It is hard to say if stagflation and the oil crisis still happen in this timeline, and therefore hard to tell if voters would blame the incumbent. The Nixon shock of 1971 had already been underway. But McGovern strongly opposed President Nixon’s wage and price controls during the 1972 presidential campaign, calling them unworkable, "radically dishonest", and biased in favor of big business. McGovern famously argued that Nixon's administrative controls failed to curb inflation fairly and suppressed workers' wages while allowing corporate profits to rise. Unfortunately, inflation was already high from Vietnam War spending and Nixon's interference with the federal reserve in 1972 might have already caused a bad economic effect that would take shape a year later. However, McGovern did support arming Israel in 1973, so the OPEC crisis would very likely still happen. There is also a chance that without Ford's veto of inflationary spending bills, the economy recovers in time for the 1976 election.

McGovern also supported universal healthcare and universal basic income. With his plan to reduce the military budget by $30 billion, would these programs take fruition? And can they show results in time for '76? And then of course there is foreign policy, where McGovern demanded moral tone to policies that he deems to have been excessively military or commercial in conception, compared to Nixon.

The biggest question is if Reagan would have clinched the GOP nomination. He had a lot of charisma and without Ford as the incumbent, he might have faced an easier open primary and claim way more delegates than he had in our timeline. If he was the nominee and won, he was doomed to lose in 1980, enabling a very different timeline.

John Tyler - Served as President pro-tempore from March 3, 1835 to December 6, 1835 as a Whig. The year before, sitting on the Senate Finance Committee, he voted for two censure resolutions against President Jackson in March 1834 and disagreed strongly with Jackson's order to transfer federal funds from the National Bank to state-chartered banks immediately, which Tyler saw as "a flagrant assumption of power", a breach of contract, and a threat to the economy. Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri had introduced a bill expunging Jackson's censure. By resolution of the Democratic-controlled legislature, Tyler might have been instructed to vote for the bill and he resigned from the Senate soon after as Democrats took control of the VA House of Delegates. Before becoming President pro-tempore of the Senate, Tyler was actually a strong Jackson supporter specifically because of the opposition to the National Bank and funding for internal improvements, and he voted to confirm many of Jackson's appointments and endorsed Jackson for president in 1832. He supported Jackson in 1828 after opposing Adams's internal improvements and high tariffs.

However, as a strong states' rights supporter, Tyler broke with Jackson during the Nullification crisis when he voted against Jackson's Force Bill, permanently alienating the pro-Jackson faction of the Virginia legislature, and comfortably won reelection with Clay's endorsement against a Jacksonian Democrat in 1832, when the Anti-Jacksonian coalition assumed control of the Senate from the Jacksonian coalition. He defended the cause of nullification while supporting the Compromise Tariff of 1833. He also was against Jackson's spoils system which he called an "electioneering weapon", disagreed with Jackson's use of the recess appointment power, and he voted against many of Jackson's nominations when they appeared to be unconstitutional or motivated by patronage (when opposing the nominations of a president of his party was considered "an act of insurgency" against his party). His switch from Democrats to Whig in 1834 made sense for a number of reasons.

James Polk - Known as "Young Hickory", he served as Speaker of the House from December 7, 1835 – March 3, 1839. Polk served in the House for the entirety of the Adams and Jackson administrations and first two years of the Van Buren administration. Polk became a vocal critic of the Adams administration, frequently voting against its policies such as infrastructure. His first major speech said that the Electoral College should be abolished and that the president should be elected by popular vote. He was an advisor on Jackson's 1828 campaign and became one of the new President's most prominent and loyal supporters specifically on financial matters. Polk became a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and conducted investigations of the Second Bank, and though the committee voted for a bill to renew the bank's charter, Polk issued a strong minority report condemning the bank and Jackson vetoed the recharter of the bank. Despite wanting to lower tariffs, Polk remained loyal to Jackson as the President sought to assert federal authority. Polk condemned secession and supported the Force Bill against South Carolina, which had claimed the authority to nullify federal tariffs. After serving as the chairman of the Ways and Means committee where he got legislation passed to allow the sale of the government's stock in the Second Bank and supported Jackson's withdrawal of federal funds from the Second Bank to newly regulated (because of Polk) state pet banks, he was elected Speaker of the House over Speaker John Bell, who had just become a Whig.

Polk soon was very popular in DC and in the Democratic Party, as he promoted Jackson and Van Buren's policies. Using his thorough grasp of the House's rules, Polk attempted to bring greater order to its proceedings. Unlike many of his peers, he never challenged anyone to a duel no matter how much they insulted his honor. In 1837, the country soon became embroiled in its worst economic recession yet, likely caused by Jackson's Specie Circular EO where payment for government lands be in gold and silver, which Polk and Van Buren supported and refused to rescind despite pressure. The order crashed the economy by causing a lack of confidence in paper currency issued by banks. With Van Buren, they established an Independent Treasury system that would allow the government to oversee its own deposits (rather than using pet banks) which passed in 1840. Polk strictly enforced the controversial "gag rule", by which the House would not accept nor debate citizen petitions regarding slavery, which ignited fierce protests from John Quincy Adams, who was by then an abolitionist. Instead of finding a way to silence Adams, Polk frequently engaged in useless shouting matches, leading Jackson to conclude that Polk should have shown better leadership.

James Garfield became the GOP "floor leader" (House Minority leader) when James Blaine was appointed to the Senate on July 10, 1876, and served until he was elected President in November of 1880. In the 1876 elections, he helped flip 33 seats in the House. Had the Republicans won the House in '76 or '78, Garfield would have been the floor leader. As Hayes's key legislator in the House, he gained considerable prestige and respect for his role there. Garfield supported President Hayes's civil service reform efforts. After a prolonged political stalemate with President Hayes, the House finally passed compromise, "clean" funding bills for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to keep the federal government operational. Garfield also supported pensions for veterans. Hayes needed Garfield's expertise to protect him from the agenda of a hostile Congress, and asked him not to seek the Senate in 1877. Garfield failed to prevent the passage of the bimetallist Bland-Allison Act in the House which overrode Hayes's veto of it. Garfield voted against an restrictive Chinese immigration measure (a 15-passenger bill) on the grounds that it violated the Burlingame Treaty, which Hayes vetoed for the same reasons. They also both voted for the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which prevented the US military to be used as a police force, while also voting against riders in appropriations bills that would have restricted Black voting rights or barred federal troops from southern polling stations. In response to yellow fever, they passed the National Quarantine Act of 1878 and Public Health Act of 1879 to help prevent the introduction of contagious and infectious diseases into the US.

Lyndon Johnson - Jan 1953, Johnson was chosen by his fellow Democrats as Senate Minority Leader and he became the majority leader in Jan 1955 until he became VP in January of 1961; he became the most junior senator ever elected to this position. He reformed the seniority system so that Democratic senators, including freshmen, were more likely to receive a committee assignment that closely aligned with their expertise rather than an assignment based solely on their seniority. LBJ is considered the most effective Senate Majority leader in US history, using intimidation and sending Senators on NATO trips to get legislation through. He offered advice, specifically on foreign policy, to President Eisenhower who was president during LBJ's entire tenure as majority leader and found Johnson more cooperative than the Senate Republican leader, and would do anything he could to get bills passed. Johnson did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and shepherded the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 to passage, the first civil rights bills since Reconstruction, which Eisenhower signed. Johnson helped establish the Senate Aeronautical and Space Committee, and made himself its first chairman and he established NASA in 1958 to rival the Soviet's Sputnik. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Johnson tried to prevent the U.S. government from criticizing Israel for its invasion of the Sinai Peninsula.

Gerald Ford - House Minority Leader for the Republicans for 9 years from January 3, 1965 – December 6, 1973 before becoming Vice president for Nixon. He received many friends in the House because of his fair leadership and inoffensive personality. As House Minority Leader, he actively supported the Equal Housing Act and voted in favor of its final passage to help end discrimination in housing. Ford also voted for the bipartisan Immigration Act of 1965 and the Highway Safety Act. As Minority Leader, Ford led Republicans in pushing for a bill that would send Federal examiners to voting districts anywhere in the country where 25 more persons complained they had been denied the right to register or vote because of race or color, provided for a court challenge of the constitutionality of the poll tax, banned literacy tests for those with a sixth=grade education and prevented future vote fraud in Federal elections. When this version of the voting rights bill did not carry, however, Ford voted for enactment of the alternative measure which applied only to Southern states.

Outside of civil rights, he proposed Republican alternatives to Johnson's policies in a televised press interview alongside Senate Minority leader Dirksen, where they opposed programs like Medicare/Medicaid which were seen as precursors to "socialized medicine." Ford publicly criticized LBJ's handling of the Vietnam War as sentiment also began to move against Johnson, and the '66 midterms flipped 47 seats for the GOP - not enough to give him a majority in the House, but the victory gave Ford the opportunity to prevent the passage of further Great Society programs. Despite voting against the initial Clean Air Act when JFK was president, Ford voted for its amendments in 1967 and 1970 as well as the Clean Water Act, overriding Nixon's veto. As the main legislative advocate, Ford passed many of Nixon's proposals, such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Another high-profile victory for the Republican minority was the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act. Passed in 1972, the act established a revenue sharing program for state and local governments. Ford's leadership was instrumental in shepherding revenue sharing through Congress, and resulted in a bipartisan coalition that supported the bill with 223 votes in favor.

please no spoilers I am only partly through Season 2

Missippii Burning (1988) is a fictionalized version of the FBI investigation into the real-life murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. In a scene where KKK members are found guilty of arson, because the FBI agents get a tip from a witness who saw the firebombing a black home, the local judge gives the men a token suspended sentence while deriding the FBI as "outside agitators" who provoked the men to violence. He then releases the men, who promptly hang the witness's father and attempt to kill the witness. 

In Andor, Syril is persuaded to think that the rebels are the bad guys while infiltrating the Ghorman Front and he (at first) believes that "outside agitators" (proto-Rebel Alliance) are the cause of disruption between Ghormans and the imperial army. After rewatching S2E6 I understand this even more. In MS burning, the racist townspeople and the judge call the FBI outside agitators causing disruption when the KKK is in fact the actual agitators committing evil acts in the name of their twisted beliefs. And in the January 6 insurrection attempt, many rightwing pundits and politicians accused the Democrats of being "outside agitators" who made the protest turn into a violent riot (former GOP Rep Madison Cawthorn who spoke at the Jan 6 rally later attempted to blame the riots on a "Democratic machine" of "agitators strategically placed inside of this group").

In each case, tyranny, whether local, national or intragalactic, creates a system of misinformation of blame for the violence and agitation that itself causes. And there are too many Syrils in the world today who won't understand that until it's too late.

The red ones are for Burton Wheeler (1924 Progressive running mate to RLF, born in MA but was a senator from Montana), Missouri (Francis Preston Blair and Benjamin Brown, the Democratic running mates in the 1868 and 72 elections, were both born in Kentucky), and Alaska of course is for Sarah Palin who was governor there but born in Idaho.

Between this image and this map, https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/1uxbnxw/first_image_the_birthplace_states_of_all_us/, the states that have not had any presidential nor vice presidential candidate born there are Alaska, Washington, Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Florida, Delaware, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Montana.

The states that have not had any presidential nor vice presidential candidate been primarily affiliated there are Louisiana, North Dakota, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Oklahoma, and Iowa. I might have made a mistake here

Tyler served as president protemp for 6 months in 1835 and Chuck Grassley will turn 93 in September

Kennedy was an avid Red Sox fan (who currently have the longest winning streak in the country at 9 games, winning 14 of the last 16).

Williams was a pilot in both World War 2 and the Korean War. He was a staunch conservative Republican (but not on civil rights) and campaigned for Nixon in the 1960 Presidential Election, and, after Nixon lost to Kennedy, refused several invitations from President Kennedy to gather together in Cape Cod. He called Douglas MacArthur his "idol" and Nixon "the greatest president of his lifetime," and he was rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George HW Bush.

I would guess that Truman in '48 was the most recent Democrat to earn the most votes from white Americans before that, though good exit polling doesn't exist

Boston has normally been one of the most progressive parts of the country, despite being arguably the most conservative during the Puritan days. I am calling Suffolk County "Boston", just to be clear. In early elections, county data is not available but MA's electors voted for the Federalist candidate in every election possible

1789 (F) Federalist electors

1792 George Washington

1796 (F) John Adams

1800 (F) John Adams

1804 (F) Charles C Pinckney (only county to not vote for Jefferson)

1808 (F) Charles C Pinckney

1812 (F) DeWitt Clinton (despite governor Elbridge Gerry being on the Dem-Rep ticket)

1816 (F) Rufus King

1820 (F) Federalist electors

1824 John Q Adams

1828 John Q Adams

1832 (W) Henry Clay

1836 (W) Daniel Webster

1840 (W) William H Harrison

1844 (W) Henry Clay

1848 (W) Zachary Taylor

1852 (D) Franklin Pierce

1856 (R) John C Fremont

1860 (R) Abraham Lincoln

1864 (R) Abraham Lincoln

1868 (R) Ulysses S Grant

1872 (R) Ulysses S Grant

1876 (D) Samuel Tilden (only part of Mass to vote for Tilden)

1880 (D) Winfield S Hancock (only part of Mass to vote for Hancock)

1884 (D) Grover Cleveland (only part of Mass to vote for Cleveland)

1888 (D) Grover Cleveland (only part of Mass to vote for Cleveland)

1892 (D) Grover Cleveland (only part of Mass to vote for Cleveland)

1896 (R) William McKinley

1900 (D) William J Bryan (only part of Mass to vote for Bryan)

1904 (D) Alton Parker (only part of Mass to vote for Parker)

1908 (D) William J Bryan (but Taft won every county including Suffolk County likely due to third-party candidate Higsen taking votes away from Bryan)

1912 (D) Woodrow Wilson

1916 (D) Woodrow Wilson (only part of Mass to vote for Wilson along with Nantucket Island)

1920 (R) Warren Harding

1924 (R) Calvin Coolidge (last time Boston voted for a Republican president)

1928 (D) Al Smith (making Mass and Rhode Island the only states outside of the Solid South to vote Democratic that year)

1932 (D) Franklin D Roosevelt

1936 (D) Franklin D Roosevelt

1940 (D) Franklin D Roosevelt

1944 (D) Franklin D Roosevelt

1948 (D) Harry S Truman

1952 (D) Adlai Stevenson (despite every other county voting for Dwight D Eisenhower)

1956 (D) Adlai Stevenson (despite every other county voting for Dwight D Eisenhower)

1960 (D) John F Kennedy

1964 (D) Lyndon B Johnson

1968 (D) Hubert Humphrey

1972 (D) George McGovern

1976 (D) Jimmy Carter

1980 (D) Jimmy Carter (despite Reagan winning the state by 0.15% due to Anderson overperforming in MA)

1984 (D) Walter Mondale (despite Reagan winning 51% of the vote in MA)

1988 (D) Michael Dukakis (last presidential election where any county in Mass voted GOP)

1992 (D) Bill Clinton

1996 (D) Bill Clinton

2000 (D) Al Gore

2004 (D) John Kerry

2008 (D) Barack Obama

2012 (D) Barack Obama (won by 24% despite Romney being the former MA governor)

I think Nixon, Adams and Polk the most