Washington Week . Student Voices

Unknown takes on Bush in Republican primaries
By Garrett Sheehan And Greg Elias
The Good Five Cent Cigar (U. Rhode Island)
02/05/2004

(U-WIRE) NASHUA, N.H. — Bill Wyatt set up shop in the lobby of City Hall last Monday night. Working out of his propped-open briefcase, he passed out handouts to wealthy, white Republicans who had just attended a rally for George W. Bush. They accepted business cards and key chains with puzzled looks on their faces.

And for good reason: the cards read "Bill Wyatt For President. Vote Against Bush In The Primary."

Most people consider Bush the only Republican candidate, and though he's predicted to win the party's nomination with ease, he isn't alone on the Republican ballot.

The reason Wyatt, a 42-year-old Republican from Los Angeles, is traveling around the country running opposite Bush is hand-written on the back of his business card: "Because I Can." The key chains read, "I love power," which is what he believes should belong to all United States citizens.

"I would have considered endorsing Bush had the GOP not systematically cancelled elections and deprived people of their right to vote in various states," Wyatt said. "But if they're not playing by the rules, I don't have to play by the rules."

Wyatt, wearing a long trench coat and thick glasses, looked similar to a character from "Revenge of the Nerds." And like those same nerds that came to fame in the 1980s, he's on a mission to break the trends of an overbearing hierarchy.

Some states have automatically conceded the Republican race to Bush and taken Republican candidates off the ballot. Wyatt was most notably disappointed with his neighboring state of Arizona.

So it's not a surpirse Wyatt attended the rally not only to campaign, but to question Arizona Sen. John McCain, who spoke there, about the cancellation.

"Do you agree with canceling the Arizona Primary and not letting Republicans have a vote?" Wyatt asked as McCain walked by.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," McCain responded, caught off guard by the question.

This is a typical response to Wyatt's comments. When New Hampshire Republicans walking out of City Hall realized what Wyatt's deal was, they smirked and even laughed out loud, questioning his seriousness.

"See, I get a nice laugh," he said. "At least it's fun."

Although many people think Wyatt is a joke, his effort isn't in jest. It isn't cheap to get his name on ballots, he said, and costs anywhere between $1,000 to $2,500.

Many feel it is futile to run against an incumbent, especially since that incumbent is Bush and the times are as they are. Wyatt, however, sees running in the primaries against the Bush administration as a way to get the attention of the party and the president. Even as people respond to his approaches with a laugh and sometimes the occasional "No kidding?" Wyatt does not seem to be losing spirit.

"It's important to stand up when you have the opportunity to," Wyatt said. "In my mind, if you oppose the administration's policy, [then] the election process, with the right time, could express your dissatisfaction."

Though he considers himself a Republican, his issues with the Bush administration run the gambit from the United States' fiscal situation and marijuana law reform to the war in Iraq and environmental and industrial self-sufficiency. His major issue, however, is the truth, and what he says is a lack of accountability in the Bush administration.

"I believe in getting to the motives and being honest with the people about what it is that we're doing," Wyatt said. "All we're talking about is pandering for votes. They say we're not raising taxes, well what's a deficit if it's not a tax increase? That's a tax increase, and then the tax credits they give us are payoffs for political support."

Bill Wyatt has a long road ahead of him, with few bastions of support along the way. His work is for the right of the American people to choose, and, in 2004, he finds himself in a race that might be justified by its outright failure.

"It's a shame that the whole country won't have an opportunity to choose who their nominated person is," Wyatt said. "Elections are the way for people ... to vote with their voice. That's their ... way for them to show their dissatisfaction by voting against someone like George Bush."

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