Ross Perot on American Politics

Aired April 14, 1996

WOLF BLITZER, Anchor: We begin with a man Democrats and Republicans are keeping their eyes on this election season, Ross Perot, who joins us from Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Perot, thanks very much for joining us on the first anniversary edition of Inside Politics Weekend. First question, what's so bad about President Clinton and the Democrats, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and the Republicans, that requires you to try to set up this third party, the Reform Party? Specifically, what don't you like about the two main parties?

ROSS PEROT: That's what American politics is all about - criticizing other people. We don't do that. We're creating a new party because 62 percent of the American people want a new party. When a majority of the people are not represented by their government, by definition the government does not represent the people. That's the core problem. It has nothing to do with personalities or people.

BLITZER: Well, I'm not talking about personalities, but substantive issues. Are there specific issues that you don't like that they're taking?

PEROT: Let's not talk about `don't like,' let's talk about what we have to do to put our country's financial house back in order. We have to balance the budget, we have to have a balanced budget amendment, we have to have a detailed plan to do it. We're $5 trillion in debt. Page 25 of President Clinton's 1995 budget, he forecasts that the next generation to be born - a little baby born tonight - will pay an 82 percent tax rate. That's the end of the American Dream. We've got to deal with these problems carefully, thoughtfully and rationally. Train wrecks, government shutdowns, stunts, and not even having a budget for one year is a long way from what they promised us in 1994.

BLITZER: But both parties in Washington over the past year have really worked to try to achieve a seven-year balanced budget that would bring the deficit down to zero. They complain that you've been on the sidelines while they've been in the trenches working to try to solve this problem.

PEROT: Well, that's a dirty question from the Republican Party. I've answered it 40 times. Here's where I've been on the sidelines. I've done 196 television appearances since September talking about these issues, I've done 84 radio appearances since September talking about these issues, 36 rallies across the country talking about these issues, we had a three-day event in Dallas, all carried live on C-SPAN, with our leading policy makers explaining these issues, and we compiled a book from their speeches, Preparing Our Country for the 21st Century. That's where we've been, that's where I've been.

Now, I've got a question - where were they? Shutting down the government, doing stunts, running around getting the photo opportunity of the day. That does not solve our country's problems.

BLITZER: Senator Dole, who's the Republican presidential candidate, was in Texas this week, and Thursday he sort of sought to reach out to you and to urge you not to go forward with your third party, with the Reform Party. This is what Senator Dole had to say.

Sen. ROBERT DOLE (R-KS), Presidential Candidate: I wanted to say in Dallas, which I should have said, so I'll say it here, in case Ross Perot turns on his set tonight. We're also the reform party in America, and I would ask Mr. Perot, as a friend of mine, to take a look at the things he advocated in '92 and what we've tried to do since, and what has been vetoed by the president, what we've lost on votes. At least we've tried. So, I would hope he would join our cause in an effort to replace the present occupant of the White House.

BLITZER: So, what's your response, Mr. Perot, to Senator Dole?

PEROT: He's welcome to join us in the Reform Party if he wants to, love to have him, but the point is they haven't done it. The thing they always leave out is the Republicans would not have a majority in the House and Senate today if the independent voters had not given it to them. The Republican Party only has 31 percent of the voters. The independent voters are the largest single bloc of voters - 39 percent. We rallied behind the Republicans in 1994 saying, `Let's give them a chance to do these things.'

Where did the Contract With America come from? That's the best- kept secret in the United States. It came from the back of one of our books. People called me and said, `Aren't you offended?' I said, `No, I'm thrilled, let's hope they do it and do it right.'

BLITZER: Senator- Senator-

PEROT: You got a balanced budget amendment lying over there in the Senate like a whale on the beach, they need two votes, everybody is out campaigning and running around. Let's get it done. We have to do it.

BLITZER: Senator Dole says he wants to meet with you. Do you want to meet with him?

PEROT: I would say- Don't you think this is interesting? Let's, Wolf, say you wanted to meet with me. Would you announce it on television or would you call me?

BLITZER: What are you- Do you want him to call you, is that what you're saying?

PEROT: No, no, no, no. But I- you know, let's assume, let's keep this in the abstract. I don't like to criticize anybody, and I know that makes me weird in the political world. These are all fine people, but let's assume you wanted to meet with me, wouldn't you call me? Let's assume if I wanted to meet with you, I think I would call you rather than say something in public, and so, no, that's a non-issue. In other words, I'm happy to meet with anybody, anytime. I spend most of my time meeting with other people, but if anybody is serious about meeting with me you'd think they'd give me a call, we'd set up a meeting, we'd have a quiet meeting. So, do you understand the difference between a public announcement and just calling and say, `Let's get together?'

BLITZER: Well, I know that Senator Dole and all the other Republican candidates came to Dallas last August to meet with you hoping that that would encourage you not to do what you, obviously, have since decided to do.

PEROT: No, that's not why they came to Dallas. They came to Dallas because the biggest single bloc of voters in the country are the independent voters. They knew they are the ones that put them in power in 1994. They wanted to bring them their message. If both parties- Now, the Democrats did a great job in Dallas, the Republicans did a great job. It was really a wonderful event. I hope that all of your viewers will get the book, Preparing Our Country for the 21st Century, read their speeches, read what they said we had to do, and then look at what they didn't do.

BLITZER: Let me ask you this. You were quoted by one columnist recently as saying- having said that, `Dole can't win. I'm not going to bet on a losing horse.' Did you say that?

PEROT: No. Who quoted me as saying that?

BLITZER: Paul Gigot in the Wall Street Journal.

PEROT: I've never met him, how could he quote me?

BLITZER: Well, I guess he was quoting you as- Do you think that-

PEROT: Wait just a minute.

BLITZER: Yes.

PEROT: Now don't you find that a little squirrely? Wall Street Journal- I've never met Mr.- is it Gigot?

BLITZER: Gigot, yes.

PEROT: Never met him.

BLITZER: Gigot.

PEROT: He's never called me. I've never said that. How can he quote me as saying that?

BLITZER: All right, well, I just wanted to get your reaction to that.

PEROT: No, but isn't this sad? This is a wonderful newspaper. I'm sure he's an outstanding journalist. Where does he get that? He didn't get it from me. I want every American to know that. He did not get that from me.

BLITZER: All right. Let's get to some substance-

PEROT: Wouldn't it be neat if people got back to the facts?

BLITZER: Let's get to some substantive questions. This past week President-

PEROT: That's a good change, let's go.

BLITZER: Yeah. President Clinton this week vetoed an abortion bill that would have banned late-term abortions. Did President Clinton do the right thing?

PEROT: He'll have to make that decision. We love to get on ancillary issues in our country. If you had a patient in the emergency room who had broken fingers and toes and whose heart had stopped beating, I think you would expect the doctors to work on the heart. The heart that has stopped beating in our country is our financial situation. We love to get on all these other ancillary issues, which are very important to a lot of people, but that gives us an excuse for ducking the real issues-

BLITZER: But for millions of Americans-

PEROT: -and the best-kept secret in America is the line-item veto. We wanted the line-item veto. You would think that people who are fully informed would be all excited that we got it this week, right?

BLITZER: Right.

PEROT: The press never reported in a way that the average American could get it. I spoke at a university the other night, asked 2,000 people were they aware of all the exclusions from the line-item veto, that virtually all the social programs had been excluded, and that's two-thirds of the budget. I said if anybody knew that, raise your hand. I didn't see a single hand go up.

BLITZER: So-

PEROT: That's sham reform.

BLITZER: Is it fair to assume, Mr. Perot, that you're setting the stage for yet another run for the presidency this year?

PEROT: And I've answered this probably 3,000 times. This is not about me-

BLITZER: I'm going to give you a chance to answer it again.

PEROT: Absolutely. It's not about me, it's about creating a party for the American people. They will select their presidential candidate. They will do it in a very fair and principled way in August. The people who create this party by signing petitions will each have a vote and they will make that decision. And, just as important, or maybe more importantly, we will study every House and Senate race in the country. We will formally endorse the candidates committed to delivering on reform - not talking about it, delivering - and, with about 100 percent certainty, we can be the swing vote to put them in office. So, in 1997, we will have a White House, a House and a Senate, not at war with one another, not playing tricks on one another, but carefully, thoughtfully and rationally solving our country's problems. We desperately need that. That's what we're trying to do. It's not about me. It's about our country.

BLITZER: Can you tell us some names of individuals who are interested in leading your party?

PEROT: Of course not. That's politics as usual. Then if I- First, if I did that, the story tomorrow would be, `Perot tries to be king maker.' This is not about being a king maker, this is about getting the best people in our country back into politics. They're leaving now. People don't even want to be in the cabinet now, it's so nasty, it's so dirty, it's so non-productive. We've got to change all that to solve these problems. And if you love your children and grandchildren, if you want to know what motivates me, Wolf, it's that. And we all do love our children and grandchildren.

BLITZER: Absolutely.

PEROT: We have got to do deal with these problems now or they will pay a terrible price. And all you've got to do is look at the Alice Rivlin memo of October 1994, where she forecasts - the Office of Management and Budget for the president - forecasts that the debt will increase $1.4 trillion in just one year, in the year 2020, and will be increasing at an annual rate of $4.1 trillion in the year 2030. We already have $5 trillion. That's more debt than we have money in print. This situation is out of control. If we let a meltdown occur, millions of good people will be devastated. We cannot let that happen. And the basic flaw we have in our system is that getting elected to office is nothing more than acting. If you're a good actor, you get elected. Then the sad news is, after the actors get elected, they keep on acting. We need work to be done.

BLITZER: And so I assume by that answer you're prepared to stay in it and do that work?

PEROT: I am working night and day. Don't you find it interesting that they make an allegation that's carried by the media everywhere, `Where was Perot when we were working on all these things,' and then I list all these things. I've been working every hour I'm awake, seven days a week, and I would think the most casual observer would know that.

BLITZER: Mr. Perot-

PEROT: If anybody will make an untrue allegation, that becomes the story. So far, it's- and that's about two-and-a-half weeks old now.

BLITZER: We're all out of time. One quick question, are you going to buy the Dallas Mavericks?

PEROT: No.

BLITZER: OK. We got an answer. Mr. Perot, thank you so much for joining us. I'm sure you will be back on Inside Politics Weekend.

PEROT: Thank you.

Copyright © 1996 AllPolitics
All Rights Reserved

Terms under which this information is provided to you