For the record, John Anderson, the 77-year-old former Illinois congressman last seen vying for the presidency in 1980 as a third-party candidate, is not running for the Reform Party nomination this year. But that hasn't stopped his diehard supporters from creating www.draftanderson.org.
They're serious.
Indeed the campaign is moving forward with all sincerity, boasting a burgeoning ground operation (they proudly claim at least one contact in 11 of the 50 states) and a capable fundraising apparatus. Well, sort of capable. While Anderson 2000 has set itself a goal of raising $5,000 in at least 20 states in order to gain access to federal matching funds, so far it has raised a grand total of $7,400--$100 of it from Anderson's home state of Illinois and the remainder from Minnesota and New York. That's pocket change for, say, Reform candidate Donald Trump. And while the Draft Anderson movement has succeeded in getting its candidate on the Reform Party ballot in California (and nowhere else), its most tangible accomplishment to date may have been the printing of cool Draft Anderson bumper stickers.
Actually, if Anderson were to contend earnestly for the Reform Party nomination, he would be--largely by default--the most serious, experienced, and sensible candidate in the running. And in the Reform Party, $7,400 and some bumper stickers could go a very long way.
