Pat Buchanan accused political opponents of
spreading rumors that he is bolting the Republican Party, saying
Thursday that the reports could damage his presidential campaign in
Iowa.
"You know how it comes out, 'Buchanan to bolt the GOP.' Someone
is pushing this story ... and the purpose is to suppress my vote,"
he said in a telephone interview between campaign stops in Iowa
before a critical pre-election contest next week.
Yet he did not deny that joining the Reform Party is a
consideration. "I can't," he said. "It wouldn't be truthful.
I've been talking to people for five years."
The Associated Press, citing sources close to Buchanan's
campaign and the Reform Party, reported Wednesday that the former
Nixon White House aide was considering the departure. The
associates said Buchanan hadn't determined whether to leave the
GOP, and wouldn't make up his mind until the fall.
A major factor in his decision will be his showing in Iowa's
Aug. 14 straw poll, an informal contest that tests the
organizational strength of GOP presidential candidates.
Political analysts said Republican activists may be less likely
to support Buchanan because of the attention given to his
considerations.
"I think that's pretty decimating to his campaign," said Tom
Cope, a GOP legislative aide in Iowa.
"It's not helpful," said Steve Roberts, a Des Moines lawyer
and national party leader. But he said it's too early to tell
whether there is lasting damage, because many Buchanan supporters
are loyal.
"I think some Buchanan people will go (to the straw poll)
because he has said he wants them there," Roberts said.
In the interview, Buchanan questioned the timing of the AP story
- saying he has been a longtime critic of the GOP establishment and
third-party officials have talked to him in the past. "Here this
old familiar rumor runs one week before the straw vote. That's no
coincidence, comrade," the candidate said.
Asked why a GOP voter should support him Aug. 14, even as he
considers leaving the party, Buchanan said, "I considered this and
I've gone Republican. That's why we're doing well. I'm currently
focused on the straw poll and the Iowa caucuses."
Saying the key word is "currently," associates say Buchanan is
focused on the GOP primary -- for now. But he has allowed his
sister, Bay Buchanan, to talk with allies in the Reform Party in
the event he becomes convinced he cannot win the nomination -- or at
least get his voice heard on issues such as trade and abortion.
Even then, the lifelong Republican may not have the stomach for
abandoning his party, the associates said.
Buchanan accused the campaign of millionaire Steve Forbes of
spreading rumors of his departure.
"Workers out in western Iowa -- three or four people who are
working for Mr. Forbes -- are calling around saying, 'Pat is going
to the third party,"' Buchanan said.
Asked if the rumors are damaging, he said: "Of course. It's
designed to suppress your vote."
Forbes campaign manager Bill Dal Col denied any involvement by
his staff.
"We believe that Pat should stay in the Republican Party. We
need Pat in the Republican Party," Dal Col said.
The sentiment was echoed throughout the Republican
establishment. Party leaders fear the populist conservative would
take GOP voters with him to the Reform Party, if he goes, and hurt
the GOP nominee in the general election.
"I would hope that he wouldn't leave the Republican Party,"
said Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the party's presidential
front-runner. "This is I presume entirely speculative. The last I
heard he was going to stay in the Republican Party and I hope he
does."
