Perot to UCI: the U.S. Needs a Watchdog

Texas billionaire Ross Perot warned a college audience Friday evening that government needs a powerful watchdog or financial problems could jeopardize the country’s future.

“We want you to have the same opportunities that we have had,” Perot told the audience of about 5,000 at UC Irvine Bren Center. “You could spend your entire adult life filling the hole that we have dug. We realize that’s wrong, and we’re going to fix it.”

Perot’s visit kicked off a three-day swing through California aimed at recruiting members for his national grass-roots organization, United We Stand America. The 1992 independent presidential candidate promised his audience that the organization will be influential enough to force Washington to hear its demands.

“We are going to have such a huge, organized force that we will stand there and force our servants to act in the best interest of the American people and our country,” Perot said. “How closely is your congressman or senator going to listen to you? It’s all a function of our membership size.”

The audience was restrained through most of the hourlong speech. But it was also appreciative of the folksy aphorisms that are Perot’s trademark.

Downplaying the Clinton Administration proposal to close military bases, Perot said, “I’m gonna put it in perspective. World War III, now that would be a problem.

“If you had an option of base closings or base openings, you’d take base closings.”

Perot also repeated his criticism of President Clinton’s proposed $30-billion stimulus package. Before government increases spending, Perot said, it should make a greater effort to decrease the $4 trillion debt.

“If $4 trillion didn’t stimulate the economy, how is $30 billion going to do it?”

Still, at a meeting with editors of The Times earlier Friday, Perot said he is so anxious for President Clinton to succeed that “I want him to be on Mt. Rushmore.”

Another reason for Perot’s visit to California is promotion of his first nationally televised electronic town meeting on March 21.

The half-hour telecast on NBC will focus on government reform. Viewers will fill out forms containing 17 questions. Questionnaires will appear in TV Guide and perhaps elsewhere, he said.

For those who don’t have a prepared form, Perot said, “I will show them how to make a ballot from a blank sheet of paper so everyone can vote.”

The responses will be tabulated by congressional districts so members of Congress cannot claim the results do not represent their constituencies, he said.

Forms were placed on each seat at the rally Friday at UC Irvine.

Perot officials said Orange County was selected for an appearance specifically because the organization has thrived in the area. Political observers say the county’s entrepreneurial spirit and pro-business climate contribute to fertile territory for Perot’s message.

The county’s sympathy for Perot was demonstrated last year when he staged an outdoor campaign rally in Irvine that drew 5,000 people on a weekday afternoon.

And on Election Day, Perot’s score in Orange County was sharply higher than his nationwide tally of 19%. About one in four Orange County voters backed Perot, digging deeply into the scores of both President Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton.

“He’s coming back somewhat, you might say, to express appreciation,” said Perot spokesman Floyd L. Hill. “He’s got lots of volunteers here.”

Perot’s election performance was a major factor in Bush receiving a lower score in Orange County than any Republican presidential nominee in the past 50 years. Clinton was also held to just 33% of the county’s vote, just short of the Democratic Party’s share of the county’s voters.

Times political writer Bill Stall contributed to this report.