Long-Term Lessons for the Tea Party

September 17, 2011 by ppjg
W.R. McAfee Sr. (c)copyright 2011

Look no further than Ross Perot’s Independent Run for the Presidency
Ross Perot’s 1992 independent run for the presidency holds major lessons for the Tea Party in the 2012 elections.

Perot, a billionaire, had the means to fund his first race for president and did, spending some $66 million. He chose Dallas as his independent party’s headquarters, and called for volunteers. Democrats, republicans, libertarians, independent-voters of all stripes-answered the call to help him organize and provide the labor needed to set his campaign in motion against Bill Clinton and George H.W.Bush, Sr.

Perot, it would appear, was initially asked by the elite to get in the race to bleed conservative votes away from Bush. They had vetted Bill Clinton to be the next president, but felt he might not have enough voter strength to beat Bush outright and knew he needed help; voters, generally, then still being the one uncontrollable on Election Day.

On February 20, 1992, Perot appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live show and announced his intention to run as an independent if his supporters could get his name on the ballot in all fifty states. Which they did; helping him establish his campaign organization and slogan, “United We Stand America.â€