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The Grassroots Movement for Ross Perot 

Beginning
The Perot odyssey started with his February 20,1992 appearance on "Larry King Live."[1]  King's first question was, "Are you going to run?"  Perot answered, "No," but when King asked him "Flat 'No'?" Perot hedged, and by the end of the program the Texas billionaire had opened the door to an independent candidacy.  If people organized to get him on the ballot in all fifty states, Perot said he would not fail them.  Perot said he did not want "anything but five bucks" from supporters, rather he wanted them to have "skin in the game."  Perot also stressed his reluctance, saying that he "wouldn't be temperamentally fit for it," was "not encouraging people" and "didn't want to do this."  The Larry King appearance attracted almost no press attention at the time.

On March 5, supporters in Tennessee filed petitions making the state the first to qualify Perot for the ballot.  Meanwhile, thousands of people had begun to call the 800 number that Perot established in his Dallas headquarters.  Perot estimated the volunteer phone bank handled one million calls in the last ten days of March; MCI reported 56,000 calls in the hour after Perot's March 24 appearance on "Donahue."(>)[2] 

At the same time, the dynamics of the race were changing in a way that favored the emergence of a candidate with a clear economic message.  Paul Tsongas withdrew in mid-March.  Jerry Brown's failure to do well in the New York primary reduced his viability as an alternative, and it appeared very likely that Bill Clinton would gain the Democratic nomination.  In this environment, the Perot petition movement took hold.  Perot came across as a folksy, hands-on problem solver with high moral character.  He inspired a genuine grassroots effort, fueled by dedicated volunteers around the country who were concerned about America's future.  The media paid attention.  The April 27 cover of Newsweek featured Perot with the caption "Wild Card: Who is Ross Perot?"  The May 25 cover of Time showed Perot "Waiting for Perot: He's Leading in the Polls, But Can He Lead the Nation?" 

At the grassroots in Washington DC
Gloria Borland, a Washington DC-based television producer ("The Business Owners"), had favored Tsongas.  Borland was very concerned about the effects of the recession.  Talented people she had talked to just months earlier for her show were going out of business; for example, the only black-owned car ownership in the DC area had closed its doors after 17 years.  Borland saw Perot on TV and thought he made sense.  In April she went to a couple of meetings, attended by about a dozen people.  However, these were "totally disorganized," with no clear agenda.

At the end of April, a man came up from Dallas and asked if she would head the DC effort.  Borland was done with her show and had three months off.  She decided to do it.

The first step was to find an office.  The fledgling group selected a storefront location in the 700 block of 15th Street, only a couple of blocks from the White House.  The office celebrated its opening on May 28th, with Perot in attendance.  Starting with less than twenty people in the early meetings, the DC Perot organization grew to 1,400 volunteers by July.  A remarkable atmosphere prevailed in the office, with equal representation from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, and people of varied ethnicities and backgrounds.  Volunteers donated supplies and old computers.  Borland tried to run the office like a small business, selling tee-shirts and tapes to bring in income.  Unlike other state offices, the DC office did double duty, meeting many requests from foreign and national press and tourists.[3]

At the grassroots in Wisconsin
Cindy Schultz, a political consultant who had worked on campaigns for Senator Robert Kasten and in various congressional and judicial races, served as state director for the Perot effort in Wisconsin.  She got involved in the Perot movement in the spring because she was "sick of Bush and his people."
  
During the summer supporters kept busy working county fairs and doing tables.  Perot had county coordinators in all 72 counties and was receiving support from influential and respected Democrats and Republicans.  The Perot camp had an office in Milwaukee, and supporters set up several little offices in other parts of the state. 

Schultz went down to Dallas a number of times, but she found they were not very savvy, and it was pretty much a "disorganized disaster."  Dallas also provided little in the way of funding.[4]

The challenge of grassroots politics
The fact that the petition effort in the individual states was a grassroots movement, bringing together people from cab drivers to scientists, was a great strength, but it also created problems.  Some people got involved to advance their own self interests or even as partisan spies.  Some of the state leaders did not have the managerial expertise to build and run a campaign.  Money was being handled in the offices (a fact which precipitated the credit checks that the press was to make much of).  The problem was how to maintain the movement's independent character and at the same time introduce some controls.

In Dallas...
In late April and early May reporters increasingly commented on Perot's "lack of specificity."  On May 5 Perot announced he would cut interviews and appearances to spend time "building an organization, finalizing a strategy and developing carefully thought-out positions on each of the major issues."  Perot brought in John White, a former Eastman-Kodak executive and deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Carter administration, to help with issues.  On May 26 Perot resigned his position as chairman and CEO of Perot Systems.  On June 3, Perot Petition Committee chair Tom Luce announced veteran political operatives Ed Rollins and Hamilton Jordan as co-managers (+).  Although Perot remained an undeclared candidate, he seemed to be moving ever closer to entering the race[5]; some speculated he might make an announcement on June 27, his 62nd birthday.
     
Perot appeared to be in excellent shape, while Clinton seemed in danger of disappearing.  A June 23 analysis by The Field Institute, based on polls and estimates from every state, gave Perot 233 electoral votes, Bush 149 and Clinton 9.  Throughout May and June, Perot appeared at rallies to turn in petitions.[6]  However, in June Perot did take a hit as questions were raised about his use of private investigators.  The media focused a lot of attention on the subject in the latter half of the month, putting Perot on the defensive.[7]

At the state level there were 51 acting state coordinators, all volunteers; a small group of "young turks" armed with cellular phones, provided liaison between them and Dallas.  In mid-June, Rollins and Jordan charged each state coordinator with the task of developing a campaign plan and budget, which they were to submit by the end of the month.  In DC, with help from a Senate aide and city council staffer, Borland took a week and put together a detailed plan, outlining a media strategy and a scheme for organizing the city's wards.  Borland was selected as one of 51 state campaign directors, to be paid full-time, effective July 1.  Not all the state coordinators were designated as campaign directors, and this created considerable tension.

Another step toward a more formal campaign was a daylong event on July 7 to initiate a national advisory committee.  This included a luncheon attended by celebrities such as Willie Nelson, prominent businesspeople and many of the state leaders.  After some technical difficulties, the group saw previews of commercials prepared by Hal Riney (>), the ad man whom Rollins had hired.  They were not overly impressed and some thought it was "the same old stuff." 

Withdrawal...
Signs of trouble accumulated.  In an after-lunch meeting with some of the state directors at the July 7 event, Perot raised the possibility of accepting contributions, which would have undercut his nonpolitical appeal.  Meanwhile, Rollins felt his efforts were being impeded and was clearly unhappy.  On July 11 Perot spoke at the NAACP annual convention (>), during which he referred to "you people," setting off an outcry which reverberated in the media echo chamber for a number of days.  On July 15 Rollins resigned along with some of staff he had brought on.  "Nightline" ran a very critical report on Perot.  Bad rumors were coming down from Dallas. 

In DC, Borland sent a fax to Perot encouraging him to stay the course, and she urged the other state directors to send similar notes.  On Friday morning, however, her contact in Dallas called and, his voice choked with emotion, told her what was about to happen.  Borland's immediate reaction was one of disbelief, but some minutes later Perot appeared at his press conference. 

Perot explained, "Now that the Democratic Party has revitalized itself, I have concluded that we cannot win in November, and that the election will be decided in the House of Representatives."  Therefore, he said, continuing would be disruptive (+).  It seemed a bit thin, and later reporting pointed to Perot's discomfort with the nitty-gritty and intrusiveness of a campaign as a major reason for his exit.[8]  At the grassroots, volunteers struggled to make sense of the announcement, which was a huge shock.  The predominant feeling was disappointment.  In DC, as the press descended on the Perot petition office on 15th Street, Borland told them that in the absence of more information it was too early to respond.  In New York City, where the Democratic National Convention was winding down, Matthew Lifflander, chairman of Perot's New York campaign, and two other top Perot supporters appeared with Clinton and Gore at their first post-Convention rally.  After giving a speech, Lifflander exchanged his Perot badge for a Clinton button.


Notes.
1. Two noteworthy events preceded the Larry King appearance.  On November 2, 1991 Perot spoke at a Throw the Rascals Out (T.H.R.O.) rally in Tampa and was greeted with "Ross for Boss" cheers.  On February 7, Perot told The Tennessean, "If you feel so strongly about this register me in 50 states. If it's 49 forget it... "  Tennessean John H. Hooker was one of the early figures trying to persuade Perot to get into the race.

On Perot's Feb. 20, 1992 appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," King opened with the direct "...Are you going to run?" question.  The two then discussed a variety of topics and fielded seven calls before King brought the discussion back to the possibility of a Perot candidacy:

2. Hugh Aynesworth.  "Perot the reluctant candidate? "  Washington Times, March 29, 1992, p. 1.

3. See also July 17, 1992 press release.  Borland continued to support Perot after he withdrew; her role ended around Labor Day as a result of a coup in the DC office.

4. Although she was "pretty disgusted" with Perot's decision to quit the race, Schultz stuck with Perot.  Perot supporters in Wisconsin filed their petitions in August, but the event was anti-climactic as Wisconsin was one of the last states to put him on the ballot and it only required some 2,000 signatures.  The grassroots effort had fallen apart. Some county coordinators began leaving with the departure of Rollins and Jordan from the campaign, and many more left when Perot quit.  The caliber of those who came on later kept dropping.   Further, while Clinton, Gore, Bush and Quayle all ventured into the state in the closing weeks of the campaign, Perot did not.  Perot obtained 22 percent of the vote in Wisconsin, but Schultz believes he could have achieved 32 percent if he had been more astute in the last phase.

5. See: Jack Nelson.  "Perot Is Poised to Announce His Candidacy."  Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1992. 
Perot's favorite media venue was the "Today" show, which he appeared on ten times from April to September.  Perot drew fire for a May 29 appearance on "20/20" in which he said he would not appoint gays and lesbians to his cabinet.
 
6. Rallies included May 11 in Austin, TX; May 21 in Frankfort, KY; May 29 in Orlando, FL; June 4 in Las Vegas, NV; June 18 [transcript] in Sacramento, CA and Irvine, CA, June 19 in Denver, CO; June 20 in Boston, MA; June 24 in Annapolis, MD; June 25 in Hartford, CT; July 2 in Olympia, WA; and July 10 in Lansing, MI.  See also selected press releases.

7. See:
David Rogers and Jill Abramson.  "Perot takes surveillance tactics to unusual lengths."  Baltimore Sun, June 13, 1992, reprinted from the Wall Street Journal. 
Bob Woodward and John Mintz.  "Perot Launched Investigations of Bush."  Washington Post, June 21, 1992.   Opinion.  "Mr. Perot's Response."  Washington Post, June 25, 1992.

8. There is a lot of good reporting on the tensions that developed as Rollins tried to build a more traditional campaign.  See:
Marie Brenner.  "Perot's Final Days."  Vanity Fair, Oct. 1992.
John Mintz and David Von Drehle.  "Why Perot Walked Away."  Washington Post, July 19, 1992.
Steven A. Holmes.  "Ross Perot; Advisers Describe Perot Disillusion."  New York Times, July 18, 1992.
Michael Isikoff.  "Rollins, Top Aides Leave Troubled Perot Campaign."  Washington Post, July 16, 1992.
John M. Broder.  "Pros Hijacking Perot Campaign, Volunteers Say."  Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1992.


More Resources:
C-SPAN: Perot Petition Headquarters;  C-SPAN: Perot Campaign Analysis: Jim Squires;  C-SPAN: Perot Retrospective: Volunteer's View;  C-SPAN: Perot Petition Committee.

Carolyn Barta.  PEROT AND HIS PEOPLE: Disrupting the Balance of Political Power.  Irving, TX: Summit Group, 1993.  C-SPAN interview.