Word: perots
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Platt Thompson, United We Stand's executive director in California, claims that since Perot launched the new party, "volunteers are calling in from everywhere." He adds, "They realize this time that it's not just about Ross Perot." Even some activists disenchanted with Perot agree. "This is a redeeming act on his part," says Phil Madsen, an ex-Perot worker and a founder of the thriving Minnesota Independence Party who runs a draft-Powell cell in that state...
Some political operatives believe Perot's new party could work successfully as a vehicle for Powell or another independent, but only if Perot convincingly removes himself once the party is up and running so the candidate does not look like his puppy. And that has never been Perot's style. Says Dennis Weyl, former chairman of the United We Stand chapter in Colorado: "Despite the rhetoric, it's still Perot's agenda. It has nothing to do with the members." Says Anne Saucier, secretary of the group's Ohio chapter: "He woke us up and made us a force...
Across the country in recent months, United We Stand has suffered widespread unhappiness with its founder. Some chapter leaders complain that when Perot disagrees with them, he cuts their funding and installs handpicked operatives. The state chairman from California, Skip House, predicts, "They won't get the people out working that they did in '92. Many are disillusioned...
Lowell Weicker, the former independent-ticket Governor of Connecticut who is pondering an independent run for President, credits Perot with drawing attention to political reform and to that "crazy aunt in the basement"--the federal budget deficit. But, Weicker adds, "I don't know many people of an independent frame of mind who are going to accept Perot's conditions" to run under the Independence Party banner...
Perhaps anticipating that outcome, Perot does not rule out running himself. When asked why his name and face are featured on the new party's ads, Perot told Larry King that it is "like the albino monkey at the zoo"--the freak who draws more visitors. But will Perot's familiar, grinning mug attract more voters to a third party or drive them away? It is a question only a billionaire could pursue...