Reform hijacked

Hard to believe it’s been just eight years since the Reform Party charged into the political arena. After the party’s sadly comic convention last weekend in San Diego, it’s harder still to believe what’s become of a movement founded on the principles of open and honest government, fiscal responsibility and placing the interests of Americans above those of the special interests.

The millions of well-intentioned and energetic citizens who made such an impact in the 1992 election are entitled to shocked disbelief. Their support for party founder Ross Perot did more than derail the re-election bid of President George Bush – it sent a strong signal that Americans wanted their government back. Although Mr. Perot’s personal quirks and unpredictability were distractions, his central message resonated and had profound impact.

Whether the coup staged by Patrick Buchanan succeeds will no doubt be for the courts now to decide. The immediate issue is which of the two factions will get the more than $12 million in federal campaign funds the Reform Party earned as a result of Mr. Perot’s ballot showing in 1996. The larger, long-term issue is whether the Reform Party will become a club for suspicious, self-righteous Buchananites or can somehow rebuild itself and rededicate its energies to the party’s original purpose.

There is no question that the homophobic, jingoistic far right is entitled to have its own political party. But rather than build a party from the ground up, as Mr. Perot and his early supporters did, Mr. Buchanan and company just went out and took one over.

This is not the first time it has happened – young parties without history, traditions and institutional memory are susceptible to hijack – but this is a particularly unfortunate occurrence. If the hostile takeover stands, the nation will lose something that had accomplished good and had the potential to do much more.