Huh? I don't get it.

Editorial cartoon by Bill Schorr



The Reform Party was created by Texas Rich Guy Ross Perot, after his attempt to run for President way back in 1992. In 1996, Perot managed to get 8.5% of the vote, making the Reform Party "legitimate" in the eyes of the law. [He'd gotten 19% of the vote in 1992, but had run as an independent then.]

Perot is most famous for his objections to NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), which he feared would cause Americans to lose jobs to cheap workers in Mexico. He predicted that if NAFTA passed in the congress, he'd be able to hear the "giant sucking sound" of Mexicans slurping up all the jobs that should rightfully have gone to Americans. With those huge ears and wild conspiracy theories of his, I don't doubt it for a second.


Since the creation of the Reform Party, several people have actually run for office as members of the party. By far, the most famous is Jesse "the Body" Ventura, a WWF professional wrestler who quit his old job to run for governor of Minnesota. Pretty much everyone was shocked and amazed when he won. Ventura, as the only Reform Party member to actually win a high-exposure election, is now the de-facto leader of the Reform party, although he has declined to run for United States President in 2000.



As a "legitimate" political party, the Reform Party gets matching federal funds for Presidential election campaigns. This makes the party really attractive to anyone who decides to run for President, but for one or more (usually pretty obvious) reasons can't win the Republican or Democratic primaries.

Such is the case for Pat Buchanan, whose views are so far to the right (ultra-conservative) even the Republicans don't like him. Buchanan has been described as isolationist, racist, anti-semitic, anti-gay, pro-Hitler, and unapologetic. Brrrr. Ventura and Buchanan got into a bit of a shouting match over whether Buchanan is right for the Reform Party. Without any other big-name people vying for the nomination, however, Buchanan looked like he might win.



Which is why rumors are flying that Ventura's supporters asked Donald Trump to run for President under the Reform flag. Trump (like Perot and Steve Forbes) is yet another multi-billionaire who can spend his own money to fund his play at the White House. His major claims to fame are the various Trump-labeled businesses and buildings he owns, the fact that he was called "The Donald" by his second wife, Ivana, and the idea that if he wins, we'll have a succession of "First Babes" in the White House.