THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603290022
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
He's baaack!
It appears that Ross Perot will be running for president again. If his ``volunteers'' get his Reform Party on the ballot in all 50 states and beg him to get in the race, that is.
Of course, Perot is paying millions for them to do just that so it's likely to happen. Though Perot raised some important issues in 1992, he proved to be a deeply flawed candidate - more hot air than hard facts, at times almost delusional. And despite his railing against Washington backscratching, Perot has a history of manipulating the system for his own gain.
But it does no good to complain of Perot's hypocrisy, ego or attempt to buy the election. Though his billions provide Perot with a huge megaphone, he wouldn't have won 19 percent of the popular vote in 1992 if no one had listened.
The real issue is not what motivates Perot, it's what motivates millions to abandon the major parties to vote for outlandish candidates.
Perot made Clinton the winner in 1992 with just 43 percent of the vote. This time, Perot, Pat Buchanan, Steve Forbes and Ralph Nader all represent constituencies who feel left out of the major parties.
They have in common a distrust of the established order and a feeling of disenfranchisement. Many believe democracy has become a sham, that politics is an insider game. They believe the deck is stacked against them. They are persuaded big government, big corporations and big changes are robbing them of economic security, basic liberties, cherished values and hope for the future.
Until these voters are persuaded that one or another of the established parties take their concerns seriously, dissident candidates and third-party movements will flourish. Since disaffected voters can swing elections, it's astonishing the parties haven't paid closer attention.
But actual legislative results in response to such voters' concerns have been meager. The Contract With America promised to break up the insider game, but a Republican Congress has yet to pass the line-item veto, term limits and campaign-finance reform. Family values bills have been few and far between.
And, despite widespread economic anxiety, there's been little help from either party. Of course, there's a limit to what government can do about the problems of a squeezed middle class. We are going through a fundamental economic realignment. Government can keep a safety net intact but can't stop change.
Many voters yearn for an earlier era that seems safer in retrospect. They fall for candidates, like Pat Buchanan, who claim government can turn back the clock. To a large extent, the major parties have created their own problems by promising more than they've been able to deliver, by pretending big entitlements and low taxes are compatible, by not talking straight.
If neither Dole nor Clinton can win back millions of antagonistic and disbelieving voters, there's a good chance that Ross Perot or another wild-card candidate once again will hold the balance of power. by CNB