Reform Party Chairman Dumped

An alliance of forces loyal to Ross Perot and Patrick J. Buchanan threw Reform Party Chairman Jack Gargan out of office Saturday at a meeting so chaotic and vituperative that police repeatedly threatened to halt the session.

The 109-to-31 vote, which could be challenged in court, marked the expulsion of a key party leader firmly aligned with Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. Ventura had been in a running battle with Perot and Buchanan allies for control of the party.

Ventura quit the party Friday, saying he was leaving in disgust over the prospect that Buchanan would win the party’s presidential nomination.

The overwhelming vote against Gargan and Ventura’s decision to abandon the party significantly improve Buchanan’s chances of winning the nomination.

The spectacle of a national meeting that degenerated into a near-violent shouting match occurred as the party is positioned to wield significant influence over the 2000 presidential election. The Reform Party nominee will get $12.6 million in federal money, and, if in five national polls the candidate gets 15% or more, the nominee will be allowed to participate in the general election debates.

Ironically, one of the major beneficiaries of the action here Saturday could prove to be Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, political analysts said. McCain is seeking to appeal to independent voters who have supported Perot, and the emergence of arch-conservative Buchanan, along with the antics here, may prompt independents to vote for McCain in open primaries that let non-Republicans participate.

Before the vote against Gargan, the gathering of the 162-member national committee turned into a near riot as Gargan tried to run the event, only to face an insurgency from the floor of men and women yelling and chanting, “Point of order,” “Vote,” “Call the roll.”

“We will call this meeting if it gets too rowdy,” warned Nashville police Lt. Glenn Yates. “They [the delegates and officers] are going to behave like adults. If they don’t, they are going to leave. . . . We’ll clear the room.”