Word: perotisms
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Meanwhile, at the reform Party's convention 94 miles up the California coast in Long Beach, Ross Perot, cantankerous reformer, seemed to be taking on a higher role altogether: miracle worker. Two speakers who introduced Perot before the crowd of 1,500 claimed nothing less than his lifesaving powers. Perot worker Debbie Kraus told of her sister, who in April was found to have an inoperable brain tumor--until Perot had her flown in his private jet to a team of Dallas neurosurgeons, who discovered a treatable aneurysm. Ex-sergeant David Campbell, who suffered near fatal wounds in the Gulf...
...problems he does identify, Perot will need to come up with some answers this time around. He has wavered on prospective solutions. He initially derided the balanced-budget amendment as a gimmick and then embraced it. He pressed for a substantial increase in the gas tax, then eased off it. He has sought advice from his circle of friends and advisers, but some are dismayed by the candidate's refusal to evolve, suggesting that he's like a Vegas comedian who uses the same jokes over and over, refusing to freshen...
...selecting a running mate, Perot understands that he cannot repeat his blunder of '92, when he chose the stouthearted but miscast Admiral James Stockdale. Perot would love to have a blue-chip candidate like David Boren, Warren Rudman or Sam Nunn, but so far none of them will give him a tumble. Perot, by most accounts, would be a most happy fella to have Lamm on the ticket, but Lamm has demurred, a stance that doesn't make sense if Lamm wants to build the party and become the heir apparent...
...Perot's power this time might be in how he directs his followers in congressional elections, where they could be the swing vote in an election that threatens to rob Republicans of their nascent majority in both houses. Only a handful of Reform Party candidates are running for Congress (mainly in Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania), and Perot says the party will endorse major-party candidates in many races. Expect to see Republicans and Democrats making hegiras to Houston...
Whatever happens in the fall, a legacy of Perot's race may spark a more durable movement that survives his defeat. Owing to the energy from 1992 and Perot's push this year, Reform parties in various stages of development are gaining traction in half the states. Lamm has said Perot is not the figure to take the Reform Party into the Promised Land of electoral viability. "Pass me the torch," he has implored the Founder. Perot has no intention of doing that just yet, and anyone who comes near it is likely to get burned--if Perot doesn...