THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509280009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Ross Perot is at it again. Apparently the eccentric billionaire is going to perform an elaborate political tease every four years. Will he run? Won't he run? What's Ross up to?
This time Perot has used one of his endless appearances on Larry King (does Perot own the show?) to announce a plan to register a new political party in all 50 states - if his people decide that's what they want to do, he hastens to add.
The time appears ripe for a real third party, an alternative to a Republican Party that many voters regard as going to extremes and a Democratic Party hopelessly bereft of ideas.
But any such party ought to be more than just a tool to force concessions out of the existing parties. It ought to be a viable electoral force with a coherent platform that would field candidates in every state for every office.
Yet that's not what Perot has in mind. He expresses no interest in electing Reform Party or Independence Party candidates to lesser offices. The indecision about the party name, by the way, is indicative of the way Perot does business. This latest flight of fancy is something he appears to have made up on the spur of the moment. Just weeks ago he said he would not create a third party.
Perot simply wants to use the threat of a spoiler candidate for president to bend the other parties to his will. If they won't adopt Perot's issues, then his party will nominate a presidential candidate. But it won't be Perot himself, he says. Unless that's what the party wants.
Where have we heard this before? Oh yes, 1992 - when Perot's run gave Clinton the White House. As Perot spilled his latest plan on the King show, you could almost hear the chant begin at 1600 Pennsylvania - Four More Years!
Perot's new party will either be a gigantic sop to his gigantic ego or a special-interest group trying to twist the arms of real politicians. But that's precisely what Perot is supposed to be against.
It's too bad Perot can't park his vanity long enough to create an honest-to-goodness third party, one that would start at the bottom instead of the top. The Christian Coalition understands this game better than Perot.
If the goal is to fundamentally change American political priorities, the way to do it is not by mounting a doomed bid for the presidency that would re-elect the incumbent but to elect the local mayor, the school board, state delegates, U.S. representatives.
If the two existing parties continue to ignore the interests of a considerable fraction of the electorate, then a third party will eventually be born to speak for them. But it's clear Perot lacks the patience or selflessness to begin at the grass roots and build up. He's more comfortable preening on Larry King. ILLUSTRATION: Perot
by CNB