In the last few days, Jack Gargan died at the age of 88 in Thailand, where he had been living. Gargan had formed an organization called T.H.R.O. in 1990, which encouraged voters not to re-elect their member of Congress. In 1991, after his movement had become quite well-known, he and John J. Hooker conceived of the idea that Ross Perot should run for President as an independent. Gargan organized mass meetings and roused the audience to encourage this idea, even giving anyone who wanted a sign that said “Run Ross Run” at a meeting at which Perot was speaking.
Gargan also became the second national chair of the Reform Party, which had been organized in 1995. In 1998, Jesse Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket. Gargan welcomed that victory, but Perot did not, and Perot’s allies helped recall Gargan as national chairman in February 2000 in a national convention in Nashville. Here is the wikipedia page about Gargan.
I believe you mean Gargan was ousted as chairman, not Ventura.
Thank you. I just fixed it.
RIP to Jack Gargan. It was a real shame that the Reform Party became all about infighting and leaders started to view people in the other faction as the enemy, more than the Republicans and the Democrats. It could have been so much more. If the party had continued to grow and offered up non-ideological clean government candidates who voters could feel comfortable with, it would have helped our political system greatly.
Often personality cultists in minor parties —
See earlier Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao — in their early factions.
What century was Perot born in ???