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John Buchanan (Florida)

Freelance journalist John Buchanan explained he ran for President in the 2004 New Hampshire GOP primary (8th place - 836 votes) to "be the Gene McCarthy of the 2004 race and do to President Bush what McCarthy did to President Johnson in 1968 -- I want to send a loud message that shakes the White House ... I am running to get corporations out of politics, stop war profiteering, and reform the media." Buchanan first became a favorite of the anti-Bush crowd when he authored an investigative report which purports to show ties between the Bush family and a German industrialist who helped finance the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. In the article -- widely circulated on the internet -- Buchanan wrote that "newly-uncovered government documents in The National Archives and Library of Congress reveal that Prescott Bush, the grandfather of President George W. Bush, served as a business partner of and U.S. banking operative for the financial architect of the Nazi war machine from 1926 until 1942, when Congress took aggressive action against Bush and his 'enemy national' partners." As a journalist, Buchanan's work has appeared in more than fifty newspapers, magazines and books over the past three decades. Buchanan even purportedly received some death threats after publishing that article. An AP news story about Buchanan's report claims that the Bush Family-Nazi ties are weak at best, as Prescott Bush was one of seven directors of the company at issue. Still -- regardless of whether the facts in his story are true or exaggerated -- President George W. Bush certainly had nothing to do with whatever took place during World War II as he wasn't even born until 1946. In an email to Politics1, Buchanan added that he is running in 2004 as a "peace candidate" and is seeking a "chance to be taken seriously as a 'Bush-stopper.'" He also said he has a deal with a publisher to write -- after his run ended -- a book about his 2004 run. His GOP campaign was limited to the NH primary, and his campaign site has already morphed back into an anti-Bush site. However, since then, Buchanan expressed an interest in the Reform Party's nomination -- although they passed him over for Nader. Additional related links include: Conspiracy Planet (additional Buchanan articles), Buchanan Response to AP Article, History News Network (official GHWB Historian Herb Parmet's analysis of the Nazi charges) and jtwg@bellsouth.net (Buchanan's email address).

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Lenora Fulani (New York)

Dr. Lenora Fulani -- a Marxist psychologist and lesbian -- has led a colorful and bizarre political career. She's long been associated with Dr. Fred Newman, another Marxist psychologist who founded an allegedly cult-like political party in the early 1980s named the New Alliance Party (NAP). Fulani was the NAP's nominee for NY Lieutenant Governor in 1982, for NYC Mayor in 1985, for NY Governor in 1986 and 1990, for Presidential in 1988 (and -- amazingly -- secured ballot status in all 50 states - 4th place - 217,000 votes) and served as NAP National Chairman in 1988-93. She was also an Independent candidate for President in 1992 (ballot access in 40 states - 6th place - 74,000 votes), before the party was disolved in 1994. After her 1992 race, she -- and all the other former NAP activists -- en masse become involved in Ross Perot's Reform Party movement. She also founded and led several independent committees in the 1990s that were openly associated with the Reform Party (like the defunct Patriot Party and the Committee for a Unified Independent Party, which still operates). Meanwhile, she ran for NY Governor in the 1994 Democratic primary (2nd - 21%) ... campaigned for Perot in 1996 ... served on the Reform Party National Committee in 1997 ... before endorsing Pat Buchanan's conservative attempt to seize control of the party ... before she later broke with Buchanan and endorsed Natural Party nominee John Hagelin in 2000 (he was also the nominee of the unrecognized Reform Party splinter group). Some party activists thought she'd be interested in seeking the Reform Party's Presidential nomination ... but her office emailed Politics1 in June 2003 to say Fulani had no interest. Other Fulani links are Spirit in the Smokies Magazine: Lenora Fulani (speech), Speaker's Platform: Lenora Fulani (Fulani's booking agent) and Lenora Fulani and the Politics of Opportunism (negative).

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B. Thomas Golisano (New York)

Multimillionaire payroll processing corporation CEO Tom Golisano was the founder of the NY Independence Party (NYIP) in the early 1990s. The NYIP is the official state affiliate of the Reform Party USA. Golisano has also been a three-time Independence Party nominee for New York Governor. His results have substantially improved in each of his three runs for Governor: 1994 (3rd - 4%); 1998 (3rd - 8%); and 2002 (3rd - 14%). In his 2002 race, he made a big splash through a series of TV spots calling for the legalization of medical marijuana. While he was first rumored to be a major contender for the Presidential nomination (in large part because, like party founder Ross Perot, he could self-finance a run), Golisano let the party know in 2003 that he wasn't interested in running for President. And -- since then -- he's purchased the Buffalo Sabres NHL hockey team.

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James J. "Jim" Mangia (California)

Former Reform Party leader Jim Mangia -- who previously served as National Secretary of the party in 1997-2000 -- was rumored to be a possible candidate for the 2004 Presidential nomination. However, the openly gay political activist expressed his disinterest in running in 2003. Mangia was previously the party's nominee for California Lieutenant Govenor in 1998 (7th - 0.9% - 75,000 votes). He has been a long-time political ally of Lenora Fulani (predating both of their involvement in the Reform Party) and his history in the party largely tracks her moves. Mangia, the executive director of a network of free medical clinics in Los Angeles, remains an advocate for third party growth.

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Jason E. Pacifico (New York)

Businessman Jason Pacifico -- who described himself as an environmentalist and civil libertarian -- was an announced candidate for the Reform Party's Presidential nomination. His main campaign issue was to create a national home mortgage plan -- which Pacifico called a "Mortgage Achromatic Plan" (MAP) -- to be run through payroll deductions. According the dictionary, "Achromatic" means: "Designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black." Here's how he explained it: "The MAP plan will achromatize wages through start-up business, entrepreneurial business, home business, and private and public corporations at 1.58 -- through the 1.58 Fedwire Plan, times (x) wages or the cost of labor. A corporation, for example, with an average yearly payroll of employees earning $39,520.00 or $19.00 an hour, the start-up business or corporation, will receive $30.02 an hour or $66,441.60 per employee. Under the MAP proposal workers earning $39,520.00 will pay 5 percent a year through payroll or $1,976.00 (0.95 an hour) into an Individual-MAP plan and employers 3 percent or $1,188.00 (0.57 an hour on employee hourly wage) toward each employee Individual-MAP plan ...." It continues on like that for a few more paragraphs, but you get the idea. He also explained: "Our Ideals were actualized in an economy and Light of exchange. The Light was achromatic of Actualized capital: A home, a job, a family. The Constitution was achromatic of its people and President." Huh? Pacifico filed for the West Virginia Presidential primary as a Reform candidate. His campaign had no official web site, but the candidate can be contacted by email.

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Lanakila Washington (New York)

Independent product distributor, pre-paid "legal associate" services consultant, and community activist Lanakila "Kila" Washington announced his candidacy in 2002 for the Reform Party's Presidential nomination. His campaign, however, only lasted a few months. Washington soon quit the race and announced his 2004 candidacy for US Senator in New York.

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Ted C. Weill (Mississippi)

By process of elimination, longtime Reform Party activist and businessman Ted Weill was initially the frontrunner for the party's 2004 Presidential nomination. Weill -- who was an active candidate for the nomination -- was both the Mississippi Reform Party Chairman and a Reform Party National Committeeman. He was also the state founder of the Reform Party in the 1990s (which was named the Independent Party, before it renamed itself as the Reform Party in 1997). Additionally, he was the party's US Senate nominee in 1996 (3rd place - 2% - 13,600 votes). A Perot activist in the 1990s, he was active in the trying to built an independent/third party movement for over a decade. Weill -- who was 79 years old during the 2004 campaign -- was also a former farmer and a father of six. Weill's platform: end foreign aid, lower gas prices, "create two million new jobs," lower the price of prescription drugs to $5, "put prisoners to work," and "free college internet courses and free adoptions." The Reform Party's 2003 National Convention was held in Mississippi, which gave Weill an opportunity for more exposure to party delegates. In a sign that Weill was the annointed one for the nomination -- until Nader came along -- his official campaign page (linked above) was hosted on an official RPUSA site. Weill offered -- in a move to ensure a better vote total in selected states to preserve ballot status -- to step aside if Nader wanted the nomination. When Nader stepped forward in May 2004, Weill bowed out. A related link was Committee for a Unified Independent Party: Interview with Ted Weill.

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