United States Reform Party
The Reform Party of the United States of America (abbreviated Reform Party USA or RPUSA) is a political party in the United States. It is usually referred to simply as the Reform Party within the U.S.
History
It was founded in 1995, based on the movement which grew out of Ross Perot's (almost completely self-funded) 1992 campaign to become President of the United States. It nominated Perot for president again in the 1996 election, with Pat Choate as vice-presidential candidate.
By the 2000 election, having been abandoned by Perot, the Party's qualification for federal election funds had made it an attractive takeover target. Both former Republican Pat Buchanan and John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party attempted to seize control of the Reform Party. A parliamentry struggle ensued with each claiming to be the official candidate.
The struggle culminated in August 2000, when Buchanan and Hagelin were selected as presidential candidates by split party committees during separate conventions in Long Beach, California. Buchanan was ruled by the Federal Election Commission to be the official candidate and therefore eligible for the federal election funds. In the 2000 election, Buchanan and Vice-presidential running mate Ezola B. Foster received 448,895 votes, or 0.4% of the popular vote, failing to meet the 5% threshold to receive federal election funds in 2004. John Hagelin received 83,714 votes, barely 0.1% of the popular vote.
In 1998, Jesse Ventura was elected governor of the state of Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket. The Minnesota branch of the Reform Party disaffiliated itself with the national party after the Buchanan takeover and renamed itself to the Independence Party of Minnesota. Another Reform Party split occurred in April 2002, when former Buchanan supporters left in droves to form the right-wing America First Party.
By the October 2003 convention the Reform Party was organized in only thirty states and had ballot access for the 2004 election in only seven. At the convention, the Party chose new party officers, but did not select a presidential candidate for the 2004 election since this party still actually selects its presidential candidate at convention held in the election year. The 2004 RPUSA convention will be held in Ohio. It appears the RPUSA candidate for President will be Ted Weill of Mississippi.
Platform
The Reform Party platform includes the following:
- Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment
- Strict limits on campaign contributions
- Outlawing PACs
- "Responsible" immigration enforcement
- Opposes free trade agreements like NAFTA
- Supports withdrawl from the WTO
- Term limits on U.S. Representatives and Senators
Related topics
External links
Referenced By
1996 U.S. Presidential Election | 2000 Presidential Election | 2000 U.S. Presidential Election | 2000 U.S. presidental campaign | 2000 U.S. presidential campaign | 2000 US presidential election | 2000 United States election | America First Party | American Political Parties | Ballot access | Free-trade | Free trade | Governor of Minnesota | H. Ross Perot | Independence Party of Minnesota | James George Janos | Jesse Ventura | Jessie Ventura | John Hagelin | List of Governors of Minnesota | List of Minnesota Governors | List of political parties in the United States | Minnesota Independence Party | Pat Buchanan | Patrick Buchanan | Patrick J. Buchanan | Patrick Joseph Buchanan | Political parties in the US | Political parties in the United States | Political parties of the United States | Ross Perot | U.S. Presidential election | U.S. Presidential elections | U.S. Senate election, 2004 | U.S. presidential election, 1996 | U.S. presidential election, 2000 | U.S. presidential election, 2000/Results | U.S. presidential election, 2008 | U.S. presidential election 2000 | U.S. presidential primaries, 2000 | US Election 2000 | US Political Parties | US presidential election | US presidential election, 2000 | US presidential election of 2000 | US presidential primaries, 2000 | US presidential primaries of 2000 | United States/Political parties | United States Natural Law Party | United States Presidential Election | United States Presidential elections | United States of America/Political parties
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