Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 12, 1993 TAG: 9301120069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: DALLAS LENGTH: Medium
PEROT BACK IN SPOTLIGHT WITH RECRUITMENT DRIVE
Texas billionaire Ross Perot launched a nationwide membership drive Monday intended to convert the organization behind his former presidential campaign into a grass-roots political watchdog group.Perot said the non-profit organization, United We Stand, America Inc., would not be a third party or a vehicle to promote his own interests. The $15-a-person enrollment fees required to join would be used to "give the people a voice" in monitoring the performance of President-elect Bill Clinton's administration and of Congress in reducing the federal deficit and getting the economy on its feet, Perot said at a news conference.
Despite his disavowal of personal ambition, political consultants saw Perot's move to change his 11-month-old organization as an effort by the independent candidate, who garnered nearly 20 percent of the presidential vote last November, to position himself for another race in 1996.
"I suspect his motive is for good government and what is good for Ross Perot," said Democratic consultant Bob Beckel. He said that he believes Perot "can't stand the thought of being outside the public spotlight. And this will keep his presence felt in American politics."
Perot told reporters, however, that "I don't have an unfulfilled dream" to be president and that "I would feel I had personally failed if I had to run again." In view of the nation's economic woes, "we don't have four years to wait," he said.
"We want to re-create a government that comes from the people, not at the people," he said. "Our challenge is not to criticize the president or the Congress but to create an environment out here in grass-roots America - and believe me, we will have a bullhorn."
Perot said that his group also would monitor some state political races, using Texas as a testing ground, and perhaps endorse some candidates. But Clayton Mulford, general counsel for United We Stand, said the organization would not make political contributions.
Perot used a series of charts to emphasize reforms that he hammered on during the campaign such as deficit reduction, creation of well-paying jobs and the need for better health care.
Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas, said that it would be difficult for Perot to leave the political scene. Noting that Perot's showing in the presidential race was the best of any third-party candidate since 1912, Buchanan said, "Anybody who got 19.2 million votes has made a place for himself, no question about it."
At his news conference, Perot avoided any criticism of Clinton beyond expressing disappointment that "special-interest lobbyists with alligator shoes and blow-dried hair" were advising his Cabinet nominees and that Commerce Secretary-designate Ronald H. Brown had come out of their ranks. Perot said he hoped that United We Stand would represent a countervailing force and help "to eliminate and diminish the effectiveness of special-interest lobbyists."