KNIGHT-RIDER NEWSPAPERS
Sunday, July 23, 2000

Reform Party infighting bitter as Buchanan, Perot forces clash
by Maria Recio

WASHINGTON - Pat Buchanan, the front-runner for the Reform Party presidential nomination, believes that he's on the verge of consolidating his power in the party - but forces loyal to Dallas billionaire Ross Perot aren't making it easy. In a series of increasingly bitter procedural skirmishes, the Buchanan campaign is trying to get control of the party mechanism by getting control of key committees and scheduling a special national committee meeting two days before the party's Aug. 10-13 convention in Long Beach.

Meanwhile, the Perot forces are using their muscle to challenge Buchanan at every turn in the hopes of denying him the nomination. Tomorrow, John Hagelin, Buchanan's little-known rival for the nomination, will have a news conference in Washington to expose what he says are Buchanan campaign
irregularities in the national primary. In an interview, Hagelin said that Buchanan is using "Bolshevik-type tactics" to get control of the party by submitting illegal lists of GOP donors to pad his list of 400,000 supporters receiving ballots. Hagelin will be joined by telephone by two of the staunchest Perot-aligned leaders in the party, former Chairman Russ Verney, who is Perot's full-time political adviser, and party secretary Jim Mangia.

"There is growing proof that Buchanan completely and totally corrupted the process," said Mangia, who has endorsed Hagelin, a physicist who is also running on the Natural Law Party ticket. Buchanan campaign spokesman Brian Doherty said, "We can't comment on every allegation that comes up. We're having our attorneys look at everything before we can comment." The party's executive committee has already ordered an audit of the campaign lists submitted by Buchanan.

On Thursday, Buchanan told reporters that the infighting is taking a toll. "It's a terrible distraction," Buchanan said at a news conference. Noting that he had won delegates in 30 states, he said of the nomination fight, "This battle by all rights should be over." Buchanan fueled the so-called
"Perotistas" sense of urgency by refusing to say that he would go along with the party's unique national primary. Nearly 900,000 ballots were sent out last week to party members and anyone who requested one, and voting can be done by mail or the Internet. The winner is supposed to be announced at the convention in Long Beach. But it is increasingly likely that Buchanan
forces will try to nullify the national primary. Buchanan, a Republican who joined the party in October, questioned the balloting process, saying that he had he received one but that his wife and his sister, campaign manager Bay Buchanan, had not.

"We're going to have to wait and see what happens with that," he said of the national primary. Asked if he would abide by the results, he said, "We're going to abide by the all the rules of the Reform Party set by the delegates and the national convention." To the Perot forces, that clearly means that
the Buchanan forces behind the national committee meeting Aug. 8 will try to rescind the national primary - something Maryland Reform Party Chairman Robert Bowes is happy to confirm.

"That's history," said Bowes, former treasurer of the Buchanan campaign, of the national primary. "There's so many flaws in that thing. The system's been gamed." The disputes are reminiscent of the party's raucous national committee meeting in Nashville in February, when the Perot forces overthrew
Jack Gargan, the chairman installed at the behest of Gov. Jesse Ventura, formerly a Reform Party member. "If you loved the video of Nashville, you'll love the movie in Long Beach," Verney said. There are still many hurdles before the national committee meeting and the convention, especially
the battle over who controls the credentials committee and which delegates will be seated. Twenty-six states are facing challenges to their delegations, many brought by Perot supporters thrown out by the so-called "Buchanan Brigade."

Acting party Chairman Gerry Moan, faced with a threat of being ousted before the convention, tried to appease Bay Buchanan by removing Verney as chairman of the credentials committee - a move that triggered a series of executive committee rulings against him. The infighting could ultimately affect the
party's real prize: the $12.6 million in federal funds available to the Reform Party presidential nominee. Even if the Perot forces lose in Long Beach, they promise to challenge the outcome in court. "I would bet Pat Buchanan will be coming out the wrong end of an old-age home before there's a decision in that case," Verney said.PHOTO(S): Head shots of Buchanan;Hagelin