ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609300070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SCHAUMBURG, ILL.
SOURCE: Associated Press
People who have hitched their political wagons to Ross Perot's Reform Party voiced concerns Saturday that Perot's low standing in the polls and exclusion from the presidential debates could endanger their third-party movement.
But they held out hope that a backlash to Perot's debate shutout or even President Clinton's wide lead in the polls over Republican rival Bob Dole could provide a needed 11th-hour boost.
``If he is allowed to debate, put another digit on the left-hand side of the column,'' said Bud Philbrook, a Reform Party member from St. Paul, Minn., who came to this Chicago suburb Saturday for a meeting of at least 60 activists from 15 states who want to build the party into a permanent national party.
The effort to make that party a lasting new force in American politics is threatened by Perot's current low poll standings - in single digits in most national polls, compared to his 19 percent showing in the 1992 election.
``He has the right issues, if people get to hear what he is saying,'' Philbrook said.
Perot's campaign has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the decision of the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to exclude him and running mate Pat Choate from next month's nationally televised debates.
Dean Barkley, who was in Minnesota campaigning for the U.S. Senate as a Reform Party candidate, suggested that even if Perot remains out of the debates, Perot could benefit from voters who think it is unfair and from newly motivated third-party advocates.
``I think his being excluded is going to help him immensely,'' Barkley said. ``I think the two parties think they can kill us by doing this, but what they did was rile up those who want a third party and who are going to vote just to protest what they're doing.''
Nicholas Sabatine, a third-party veteran in Pennsylvania who's running for Congress as a Reform candidate, suggested that polls showing Clinton with a double-digit lead over Dole are hopeful for Perot.
``There's a lot of potential for him to come back there, as Dole continues to lag significantly in a lot of places,'' Sabatine said. ``As word gets out that Dole has no chance of winning, anti-Clinton people might feel that they're wasting their vote for Dole and by voting for Perot, they can say, `At least my vote will count for something, to help form this new party.'''
The activists meeting here were confident Perot will do better than his current poll numbers. Some questioned whether the polls can gauge the support Perot gets from people who don't vote unless they feel strongly about a candidate.
``I don't believe the polls,'' said Ray Downey of Lodi, N.J., a Perot backer here to observe for the New Jersey Conservative Party. ``If they were able to fix the debates, then they can fix the polls.''
Some here, such as Reid Grano of St. Paul, Minn., thought former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm would have been a stronger Reform Party presidential candidate.
``I'm a realist,'' Grano said. ``I don't believe Perot is going to be in the White House. I think we need a better messenger. I think Lamm could have had a chance to win.''
The daylong meeting was called The National Reform Party Caucus, aimed at coordinating state parties in various stages of organization.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB