Pat Buchanan Campaigning for Reform Party Nomination
BLITZER: Welcome back to LATE EDITION. We're continuing our conversation with Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. Last week on this program, Mr. Buchanan, Jack Kemp, the Republican vice presidential nominee of four years ago, was on, and he said he's happy you're no longer in the Republican Party. And listen to his explanation why.</s>JACK KEMP (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pat Buchanan's reform message is, in my opinion, xenophobic, protectionist, isolationist and illiberal, in the classical use of that word. So let him run and have George Bush run as the reform candidate.</s>BLITZER: How does it feel to have -- how does it feel to have your former close friend, someone like Jack Kemp -- you've worked with him over the years -- come out and say good riddance to Pat Buchanan from the Republican Party?</s>BUCHANAN: Well, Jack is right. I don't belong in the present Republican Party that the establishment runs here in Washington, D.C. I don't believe in the globalism Jack believes in. He mentioned the classical liberals. They are a 19th century group that I think is profoundly wrong. Our founding fathers -- Wolf, you know, Washington and Hamilton and Clay and Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, who said I thank God I'm not a free trader, these men believed in economic patriotism in trade policies that guaranteed the economic independence of the United States. Jack's a globalist. Jack's a new -- I mean, Jack's a Davos Republican.</s>BLITZER: But now you're in a party with Lenora Fulani, leftist, Fred Newman, people who had such controversial left-wing backgrounds, how does it...</s>BUCHANAN: Fred Newman, whoever he is, said: If Buchanan's elected -- I support him, but if he's elected I'm heading for the Canadian border. Look, this -- Lenora Fulani supports me because I support real reform. I'm for term limits for members of Congress, eliminating congressional pensions. And, Wolf, I am for a national initiative and referendum. That's law 'd' democracy. The American people, give them the right to repeal laws and to write laws, each election. To me, that is real -- I mean, that's small 'd' democracy. That's real reform.</s>BLITZER: You know, four years ago, the former Colorado governor, Dick Lamm, decided he wanted to run for the Reform Party...</s>BUCHANAN: I know he did.</s>BLITZER: ... presidential nomination. And then out of the blue Ross Perot came back and said: You know what, I'm going to run. And he, of course, got the nomination. Are you convinced Ross Perot will not do that to you this time?</s>BUCHANAN: Look, I'm not convinced Ross Perot's not going to get in this race. But Wolf, you should never confuse me with Dick Lamm, who's a nice fellow. I mean, I know what we're doing. We've been at this for six months. I went up to Delaware, we got all the delegates there yesterday. Virginia next Saturday, Alaska this week. Little by little, we are making this a Buchanan populous, conservative, traditionalist party so that by this summer when we go to that convention they're going to be as unified as the Rockettes. Pat Buchanan -- I mean, we're going to have a great little fighting party and a third party to offer the American people. And you will be astonished how strong we'll be.</s>BLITZER: Are you in touch with Ross Perot?</s>BUCHANAN: No, I'm not.</s>BLITZER: Do you talk to him at all?</s>BUCHANAN: No, his folks have, you know, given me various signals. We see the smoke signals coming off the top of the mountain, but I have not talked to him personally.</s>BLITZER: No smoke signals, saying, run, Pat, run.</s>BUCHANAN: I think initially the smoke signal said that, Pat, we welcome you into the race if you want to run for the nomination. I think there was bad blood between he and Ventura, Mr. Ventura left the party, Mr. Trump departed the party, Mr. Gargen, who was anti-Perot, is out of the party. Pat Choate, his vice presidential candidate, is now the chairman of the party. This party is coming together. It's going to take time, there's going to be a few more bloodbaths, but it's going to be done.</s>BLITZER: And finally, your strong positions against abortion rights for women, a lot of Reform Party members don't share that position.</s>BUCHANAN: Yes, but they know me and they know I'm pro-life and I'm not going to change.</s>BLITZER: And that's that?</s>BUCHANAN: That's that.</s>BLITZER: OK, Pat Buchanan, wants to be the Reform Party presidential candidate. Thanks for joining us.</s>BUCHANAN: You're not going to give me any callers here, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Unfortunately, we're all out of time.</s>BUCHANAN: Let's get Steve Roberts group to applaud again, all right.</s>BLITZER: Next time. Pat, Pat Buchanan, thanks for joining us. When we return, Ken Starr maybe out of the picture, but the Clinton White House is still under the scrutiny of his successor. We'll talk about whether there's more trouble ahead for the president, the vice president and the first lady with former Clinton White House special counsel Lanny Davis and former Bush attorney general Dick Thornburgh. LATE EDITION will continue right after this.