History YMMV / FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo

** [[spoiler:Spiro T. Agnew turning against the Rumsfeld administration in its final months: is he honestly disgusted with what Rumsfeld has done, or does he simply recognize that the regime is doomed and is trying to avoid being dragged down with it?]]

** After all the horrible events of the TL, many readers have found themselves finding UsefulNotes/RichardNixon of all people to be a pretty good guy in hindsight.
* WriterOnBoard: Several critics have accused the TL of falling into this with ''Rumsfeldia''. Whether that's true or not is a topic of heated debate.
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* TooBleakStoppedCaring: A criticism of the timeline as of ''Rumsfeldia''. As for why, it's probably best to see the main page's entry for CrapsackWorld.

** The sequel story has Israel enact mass ethnic cleansing upon their Arabian population, with the US defending them in the court of public opinion. In late 2023, a situation eerily similar to this actually began in the form of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israel-Hamas_war Israel-Hamas War]], which saw Israel cause mass civilian casualties in Palestine (particularly within the Gaza strip) under the pretense of exterminating the group Hamas, with the US government repeatedly standing by them in the face of heavy global backlash.

** The sequel story has Israel enact mass ethnic cleansing upon their Arabian population, with the US defending them in the court of public opinion. In late 2023, a situation eerily similar to this actually began in the form of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war Israel-Hamas War]], which saw Israel cause mass civilian casualties in Palestine (particularly within the Gaza strip) under the pretense of exterminating the group Hamas, with the US government repeatedly standing by them in the face of heavy global backlash.

** The sequel story has Israel enact mass ethnic cleansing upon their Arabian population, with the US defending them in the court of public opinion. In late 2023, a situation eerily similar to this actually began in the form of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war Israel-Hamas War]], which saw Israel cause mass civilian casualties in Palestine (particularly within the Gaza strip) under the pretense of exterminating the group Hamas, with the US government repeatedly standing by them in the face of heavy global backlash.

** The sequel story has Israel enact mass ethnic cleansing upon their Arabian population, with the US defending them in the court of public opinion. In late 2023, a situation eerily similar to this actually began in the form of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war?wprov=sfti1 Israel-Hamas War]], which saw Israel cause mass civilian casualties under the pretense of exterminating the group Hamas, with the US government repeatedly standing by them in the face of global backlash.

* HarsherInHindsight: In the timeline, the Muslim Brotherhood conquers a large amount of territory in Syria and declares a theocratic Caliphate. This was written in ''2012''. Come 2014, and the Islamic State, which has carved out a large amount of territory in Iraq and Syria, [[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28082962 declared itself a Caliphate]] simillar to the one in-story.

** [[TheFundamentalist Douglas Coe]], known among his followers as "The Great Teacher", is a fundamentalist preacher who seeks to spread his particular brand of Evangelical Christianity across the United States at all costs. Coe first works closely with President Rumsfeld, helping the President turn the country into a kleptocracy and remove political dissidents. When Coe feels that Rumsfeld is no longer politically useful to him, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he arranges for the latter's impeachment and arrest]]. After Pat Robertson wins the 1988 elections, Coe establishes himself as the true authority behind Robertson. When Congress refuses to cooperate with him, Coe launches a coup that leads to destruction of the Capitol and numerous deaths of Washington's political leadership. Under his rule, Coe turns the US into the "Christian States of America", where dissent is outlawed, and non-Evangelical Christians and "degenerates" such as homosexuals or drug addicts are designated for death. In his campaign to bring the rest of the country to heel, Coe [[NukeEm has at least a dozen American cities destroyed with nuclear weapons]]. In order to stop a Cuban invasion of Florida, Coe uses several more nuclear weapons, indifferent to the millions of innocent people killed due to his actions. When the nuclear stockpiles begin to run low, Coe authorizes the use of chemical and biological weapons in his war against the resisting American populace. Believing himself to be [[KnightTemplar the messenger of God]], Douglas Coe created one of the most oppressive and violent regimes in American history.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* WriterOnBoard: Several critics have accused the TL of falling into this with ''Rumsfeldia''. Whether that's true or false [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment is not up for discussion]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: [[spoiler:Spiro T. Agnew turning against the Rumsfeld administration in its final months: is he honestly disgusted with what Rumsfeld has done, or does he simply recognize that the regime is doomed and is trying to avoid being dragged down with it?]]

** Under the rule of [[spoiler:Douglas Coe, the Christian Values' Holy Battalions attack and destroy the U.S. Capitol Building, killing the members of Congress inside. In 2021, a far-right mob that included Christian fundamentalists [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol attacked the U.S. Capitol]] while members of Congress were inside, with some in the mob planning to kill the Vice President and Congresspeople.]]

** [[TheFundamentalist Douglas Coe]], known among his followers as "The Great Teacher", is a fundamentalist preacher who seeks to spread his particular brand of Evangelical Christianity across the United States at all costs. Coe first works closely with President Rumsfeld, helping the President turn the country into a kleptocracy and remove political dissident. When Coe feels that Rumsfeld is no longer politically useful to him, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Coe arranges for the latter's impeachment and arrest]]. When Congress refuses to cooperate with him, Coe launches a coup that leads to destruction of the Capitol and numerous deaths of Washington's political leadership. Under his rule, Coe turns the US into the "Christian States of America", where dissent is outlawed, and non-Evangelical Christians and "degenerates" such as homosexuals or drug addicts are designated for death. In his campaign to bring the rest of the country to heel, Coe [[NukeEm has at least a dozen American cities destroyed with nuclear weapons]]. In order to stop a Cuban invasion of Florida, Coe uses several more nuclear weapons, indifferent to the millions of innocent people killed due to his actions. When the nuclear stockpiles begin to run low, Coe authorizes the use of chemical and biological weapons in his war against the resisting American populace. Believing himself to be [[KnightTemplar the messenger of God]], Douglas Coe created one of the most oppressive and violent regimes in American history.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler: The Israelis committing ethnic cleansing in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories is reminiscent of Serbian war crimes during the Bosnian War.]]
** [[spoiler: The "Liberty Batalions". See the main page under "ANaziByAnyOtherName" and "RightWingMilitiaFanatic" for specifics.]]

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: A criticism of the timeline as of ''Rumsfeldia''. As for why, it's probably best to see the main page's entry for CrapsackWorld.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: George Wallace, at least to some extent. He remains a flawed man [[spoiler:and President]] but rather spectacularly redeems himself for his pro-segregation past by bringing more black lawmakers into the cabinet than ever before. [[spoiler:And he comes back as Governor of Alabama ''yet again'' to save the state from Rumsfeld in the 80's.]]