REFORM PARTY ISSUES

August 10, 2000
		The Reform Party's calls for campaign finance reform and a balanced budget helped vault those issues into the national spotlight.

Online NewsHour Special Report: Election 2000 Oct. 25, 1999: Buchanan Leaves the GOP Oct. 28, 1999: Interview with Pat Buchanan July 26, 1999: Reforming the Reform Party Oct. 22, 1996: Third Party Bids Sept. 24, 1996: Interview with Ross Perot Aug. 19, 1996: 1996 Reform Party Convention Aug. 14, 1996: Interview with Pat Buchanan Browse the NewsHour's coverage of politics     Reform Party Pat Buchanan campaign John Hagelin campaign	The reform party was born in 1992 out of widespread disaffection with the two mainstream parties and a perception of waste, inefficiency and corruption in government. Trumpeting issues such as campaign finance reform, term limits, balancing the budget and reducing the national deficit, Ross Perot offered himself as an alternative to what he called political "gridlock" between the two major parties. Party leaders positioned themselves as fiscal conservatives, but avoided taking stands on controversial social issues such as abortion and homosexuality. Many members held libertarian views, saying the government should not be involved in personal matters better left to the individual. The emphasis was on the economy, protecting jobs and instituting political reform, not moral issues, says Ronald Rapoport, a historian of the Reform Party and professor of government at the College of William and Mary. "There were two strains of thought within the Reform Party which Ross Perot was able to unite," Rapoport said. "One group was economic nationalists, anti-immigrant, anti-NAFTA, anti-overseas involvement. The other was populist - balancing the budget, term limits and electronic town halls." Now, that coalition appears to be unraveling. Buchanan, a well-known social conservative who opposes abortion, gun control, homosexuality, and who is supported by several white supremacist organizations, appears poised to move the party away from its centrist roots. With the support of the party's anti-immigrant, economic nationalists he could lead the party to a position on the far right, taking strong conservative stands on social issues previously avoided by the party. "I think it is fair to say that the Reform Party is the object of a hostile takeover," Rapoport said. "It is a cash-rich corporation: there's $12 million in federal funds for the winner." Perot loyalists, a minority among the national delegates, say they will challenge the legitimacy of the Buchanan nomination in court and with the Federal Election Commission.

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