Buddy Roemer Suspends Presidential Campaign

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Buddy Roemer, the former congressman and Louisiana governor, is suspending his campaign for president. In February, Roemer ended his initial bid for the Republican nomination and opted instead for the nominations of both the Reform Party and Americans Elect, a group that tried to draft a third party candidate. “Today, I am no longer a candidate for President of the United States,” an email from the Roemer campaign Thursday morning stated.

“After 17 months of a wonderful campaign, the lack of ballot access in all 50 states makes the quest impossible for now,” the email read.

Out of the race, Roemer will continue to push for campaign finance reform, the No. 1 issue of his campaign.

As I am no longer a candidate for president, I am free to pledge a good portion of the rest of my life to enacting campaign reform in the halls of Congress and the corridors of the White House. Instead of using my right to the floor of Congress to lobby for corporate clients, I will lobby for the American people who want reform.

 

It might require a new organization to get this done, but regardless, we will highlight corruption and its effects on policy and public perception, suggest solutions, build coalitions, and support the advocates of our ideas or those who have better ones.

 

This struggle will not be easy. The enemies of reform are powerful and entrenched, but this is a struggle that America must win. The key is to realize that I cannot beat them alone. This will take a team effort. We must work together, setting aside inevitable differences on other issues in order to build a reform team. We must dare to look at a total reform package including contribution reform, reapportionment reform, and term-limit reform. I cannot do this alone. True and thorough reform will not occur solely as a “me” effort. This must be a “we” effort.

 

We must have the spirit to ask all political parties to join with us in this effort. To be successful, this endeavor must cross party lines. In truth, the two major parties are addicted to special interests and corporate money. I have said it many times: they are joined at the billfold. The two parties have been graveyards of reform too often in the past. They don’t want reform. They only want victory and reelection.

 

You already know this to be true. The latest national polling shows that 42% of the electorate now classify themselves as “independent,” with both major parties shrinking in size, scope, and power.

 

Join with us. Be unafraid. We’ll put a new organization together and will use the power of the people and new media unlike any organization has ever done with a political goal. We will ask other organizations and associations to join with us in building this team of reformers. We will re-energize our republic.  

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