From staff reports

Last weekend’s Reform Party national convention, and the attention paid it by the national media, are signs that the emergence of a third political party is alive and well.

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Last weekend’s Reform Party national convention, and the attention paid it by the national media, are signs that the emergence of a third political party is alive and well.

The worst thing the Reform Party can do now is to act too much like the major parties. While a national convention and some semblance of a platform are good ideas, the party has the best chance of succeeding if it maintains its grassroots appeal and keeps its platform loose.

Those who don’t fit into either major party now have an alternative: A party with a few visible leaders and federal campaign funds. In essence, the Reform Party can act as an official party for independents. Candidates would be free of loyalties to the major parties, free to espouse their own views without regard for the party’s stance, but have the resources and media coverage of the third-largest party in the country.

Defining itself too much would discourage such diversity and wreck the party’s alternative appeal.

The new party leadership is already discussing recruiting a high-profile candidate for the 2000 presidential election. The chance of sending a candidate to the White House may be slim, but such a strategy can only further secure the party’s spot on the political landscape.

The Reform Party may one day emerge as the next major political party. Until then, it must play its cards carefully to assure it sticks around long enough to win some more elections.