To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > News July 23, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/07/23/reform Reform's raison d'être Reform Party activists prepare for what could be a showdown between the forces of Ross Perot and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Sarah Keech Although George W. Bush, Al Gore and Bill Bradley are the current front-runners in the still embryonic 2000 presidential race, they may want to take a collective look over their shoulders as November 2000 approaches. While the Republicans cling blindly to their $36 million baby and the Democrats ponder the pros and cons of an Internet addict and a former hoops star, the Reform party is quietly looking for its own presidential candidate. With the Reform party's recent success across the nation, highlighted by the election of Jesse Ventura to the governorship of Minnesota last November and the prospect of $13 million in federal matching funds, the upcoming presidential election may be the party's first legitimate chance to win the White House. At the least, the Reform Party may yet again add some flavor to a presidential race that, up to now, has been as exciting as Melba toast. While party founder Ross Perot remains coy about his plans for 2000, he is still a force to be reckoned with within the Reform Party. Meanwhile, Ventura's candidate of choice appears to be former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker. The two met for three hours in New York City last month to discuss the possibilities of a presidential run. On CNN's "Late Edition" last week, Ventura spoke of their meeting. "I thought that Lowell would be a good national candidate for us to step forward with. I think on the national level, we need to come forward with somebody with some name recognition." Both men have avoided firm answers on the subject ever since. In an interview with Salon News, Weicker said he thinks Ventura "is a fine man. What you see is what you get." Despite this mutual love-fest, Weicker is not scheduled to speak at this weekend's Reform Party National Convention in Dearborn, Mich., and says he is still not sure if he will even attend. But whether he's there or not, Weicker will loom large as subtext as the rowdy bunch of political malcontents known fondly as the Reform Party gathers in Dearborn. In recent months, a vital split among warring tribes of megalomaniacs, led by generals Perot and Ventura respectively, has divided the Reform Party. This weekend's convention will be a crucial test for Reformers as a viable political force, as the "party of none of the above" struggles to find an identity. It is well known that Perot, father of the Reform Party and two-time presidential nominee, refuses to acknowledge the recent success of Ventura. The Texas chapter of the Reform Party has blasted Ventura for courting Weicker, commenting in their Saturday message, "It is not Gov. Ventura's place to tell the members of the Reform party whom they should select as candidates." Tension between the Perot and Ventura wings has been widely suggested as the reason Russell Verney, current chairman of the Reform Party and Perot loyalist, will step down from his position after the party's national convention. But Doug Friedline, campaign manager to Ventura and president of Ventura for Minnesota, explained that the governor's recent outspoken leadership is not an attempt at a power grab. "The governor wants to stick together, to unify the party," Friedline said. "He respects Mr. Perot. Without Ross Perot the Reform party would not be here today ... But the governor wants a new candidate for the presidential election. He wants a credible candidate who will be a major force in 2000." Verney admits not knowing much about Weicker's background and points out that Perot "has not made a statement," in regard to his plans in 2000. The current chairman said that whoever runs as the Reform candidate "will need to review the party platform and endorse the party platform. Then he will need to present his skills, experience and vision to the party members over the next few months." Verney went on to add that "the candidate will have to have principle, integrity and pledge to tell the public the truth," and be a strong advocate for government reform. So is Weicker up to the run? That is the question of the moment. There's no exploratory committee, no FEC filings, no Web site -- yet. But Weicker certainly speaks in generalities fitting of a top-notch presidential contender. "To be successful on the national level, a third-party candidate must be a centrist and have a wide appeal, addressing many issues -- the broad spectrum, not just one issue. Once established, the third party would produce true competition, resulting in ideas and actions far superior to those in government today." Weicker is a true political maverick. The former Republican member of Congress left the party to win the governorship of Connecticut as an independent. And looking at Weicker's history in politics, it is obvious he is no stranger to two-pronged attacks -- from both the left and the right. Weicker's early career in politics is littered with the sorts of problems all moderate Republicans face; he was too socially liberal for the controlling conservative right wing of the party, too fiscally conservative to join the Democrats. He is pro-choice and against school prayer. He believes that term limits "take power out of people's hands." His three terms in the Senate are marked with his overwhelming support of traditionally Democratic liberal social issues. In 1988, he introduced what was to become the Americans with Disabilities Act, and he was one of the first politicians to publicize AIDS awareness and seek funding for research in the early '80s. In the late '70s, he helped create legislation to protect the oceans from oil drilling and promote fish farming. While still in the Senate, he took an active interest in oceanic research and Hydro-Lab, an underwater habitation, where he spent a total of 10 days underwater. Social and environmental issues notwithstanding, Weicker's most damaging and noted "betrayal" of the Republican Party came during the Watergate investigation, when he led the charge against the Nixon administration. A March 1973 editorial in the Bridgeport Post praised his diligence to seek the truth, and asked, "What more could be asked of a United States senator?" Republican colleagues, on the other hand, remembered this transgression and quickly turned against him. Weicker has already done battle with the Bush political dynasty. In 1982, with the support of national party officials, Prescott Bush Jr., uncle to current Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush, challenged Weicker for his Senate seat in the Republican primary. But, after 51 of 69 Republicans in the Connecticut state legislature endorsed Weicker, Bush dropped out of the race; Weicker went on to win his third term in the Senate. Eventually his failing relations with state and national Republican party officials cost him his seat. In 1988, Weicker lost to Democrat Joe Lieberman, with 49 percent of the vote to Lieberman's 50 percent. In 1990, feeling his strength was with the people rather than the establishment, Weicker registered as an independent and ran as the "A Connecticut Party" candidate for governor. Running on a platform of name recognition and a promise not to increase taxes, Weicker won the three-way race. But sometimes winning is the easy part. Just as Weicker was sworn into office in January 1991, Connecticut was falling into economic chaos. Connecticut in the early '90s, like the rest of the nation, was facing an economic recession. As governor, Weicker was shackled with enormous debt, increasing unemployment and, as an independent, no allies in the state legislature to turn to for help and support. "The problem was simple," Weicker said. "The state was about to go belly up, corporate taxes and the sales tax were already the highest in the nation and we were facing a $1 billion deficit -- and this was the wealthiest state in the Union. Something had to be done to get out of the red and keep out of the red." The answer to the economic crisis came in the form of a statewide income tax -- Connecticut's first. Weicker knew the consequences the proposed tax would have on his political future, but he also understood it was the only way to get the state moving in the right direction. The income tax did not go over well with his constituents. On Connecticut radio call-in shows during the early years of Weicker's tenure as governor, in the face of a level of economic hardship unmatched since the Great Depression, people often cursed Weicker's name. The low point for Gov. Weicker came when a Republican-led rally to repeal the tax sent more than 15,000 people to the streets surrounding the capitol building. Even with the economic controversy, Weicker managed to exert his independent influence in the state legislature. He signed off on legislation protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination, he worked to improve tense race relations and he pushed through strict gun control laws. But, in the end, the hallmark of his four years in Hartford turned out to be what was most controversial -- the personal income tax. Weicker calls Connecticut's current economic situation "terrific." The residents enjoy the highest personal income in the nation, business is booming and, although the income tax still exists, it has been significantly reduced. The success of Weicker's income tax has other states looking. A March editorial in New Hampshire's Concord Monitor suggests implementing a similar tax there, stressing, "a state income tax worked in Connecticut. It would work here too." Weicker's tenure as governor was also a major breakthrough for third-party candidates. The New York Times praised his work in April 1994: "Mr. Weicker, most politicians grant, has proven that a governor can govern without a major party behind him. He has accustomed the state to hearing its chief executive say what many people think: partisan politics does not make good government." Over the past decade, third-party candidates at the local and state levels have established a political foothold all over the country with great electoral success. Currently, independent politicians hold two governorships -- Ventura in Minnesota and Angus King in Maine -- and in 1998, Democratic party bad boy Jerry Brown registered independent and was elected mayor of Oakland, Calif. Each of these politicians has faced criticism from the traditional partisan loyalists but they are also enjoying huge popularity with their constituents. In his 32 years in public service, Weicker has had the kind of success that makes the current front-runners quake in their boots. He has proven it is possible for a third-party candidate to build coalitions that result in tangible progress. "It's real," said Craig Crawford, editor in chief of the Hotline, Washington's daily journal for political junkies, referring to the threat of a third-party candidate. "It's pretty incredible the unprecedented animosity toward the two parties right now. Both parties are as unpopular as they have ever been." Crawford went on to explain that third-party candidates attract fewer traditional voters. But he went on to stress, "the only way a third party can take off is to crystallize around an individual" who can be a major figure on the national stage. Whether or not Lowell Weicker will try to become that figure will be a big part of the discussion at the national convention this weekend, but a final decision from Weicker himself could come relatively soon. Friedline expects Weicker to make a decision on his presidential prospects in the next 30 to 60 days. Crawford gave the Reformers a fighting chance in the 2000 presidential campaign, but said they would be better off with their most prominent politician at the top of the ticket. "Ventura could take the party further" than Weicker, he said. Still, he added, the former governor would be "a decent name to maintain the Reform Party." salon.com | July 23, 1999