New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith announced yesterday "a decision of conscience" to leave the Republican party. He expects to remain in the 2000 Presidential race, either as an independent or a third party candidate. Though his move has been called "radical," most think that it will not make a difference for his campaign.
Smith announced on the Senate floor yesterday afternoon that he is leaving the Republican party because of his perception that it "lacks principles." He said the party has chosen election victory over the principles enumerated in the party platform, which he called "a meaningless document." Smith said that "the desire to stay in power made us walk away from the issues."
Karen Hickey, the press secretary for Smith's presidential campaign, told The Dartmouth that "It is not Senator Smith who is leaving the party. The Republican party has left the Senator."
"We have a one party system where Democrats and Republicans are pretty much the same. Senator Smith wants to give the people a choice," Hickey said.
In his speech to his colleagues, Smith condemned the influence of pollsters and political consultants in Washington, asking "Isn't it time to start thinking for ourselves and start leading?"
On the "Larry King Live" television show Monday night, Smith said the principles he believes in - the right to life, the right to bear arms, the uncompromised sovereignty of the United States, and tax reduction - are no longer important to the Republican party.
Smith said those principles "are the principles of the party platform, but what's happened is that we are now seeing leaders, the elitists of the party, many in the party who believe that electing people with an 'R' next to their name is more important than principle."
Smith was first elected to the United States Senate from New Hampshire in 1990 and he is currently serving his second term. He previously served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1990.
He is also a presidential candidate - until yesterday, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. He said on "Larry King Live" that he will remain in the race, possibly as a United States Taxpayers' Party candidate, though according to Hickey, "The Senator has not yet decided under which banner he will run for the presidency."
Hickey also said that leaving the Republican party will have a positive impact on Smith's campaign.
"He's hoping to win. It's going to have a winning impact in that the Republican party is more of a handicap than a help to a true conservative candidate," Hickey said.
Government Professor Linda Fowler does not think that leaving the Republican party will have an impact on his bid for the presidency.
"He didn't have any chance. I don't think [leaving the Republican party] will affect it one way or the other," Fowler said.
"The only way it might help would be if there really develops a groundswell of conservative Republicans who feel like they've been disenfranchised and they have the grassroots organization to mount a petition drive and get on the ballot," Fowler continued.
"If for some reason he became the lightning rod for disaffection in the party he might get eight percent of the vote instead of one percent," she said.
Assistant Government Professor Lynn Vavreck also thought that leaving the Republican party will neither positively nor negatively affect Smith's campaign. She additionally thought it would have very little significance for the race overall.
Smith's departure from the Republican party "might get some play in terms of campaign discourse. Candidates might start talking about leaving the party and the idea that some Republicans lack principles," Vavreck said. "But it will have small effects on voting behavior."
Fowler noted the difficulty of getting on the ballot as a third party candidate.
"If he's not a Republican he can't run in the Republican party. If he runs as a third party candidate, his party has to get on the ballot, which is a state-by-state effort," Fowler said.
"To be a third party candidate is tough and since he doesn't have any money he needs a grassroots organization to get enough signatures to be admitted. Whether he can do that in all 30 some-odd states that have primaries is pretty questionable."
Smith's Senate committee appointments may be endangered by his move to leave the party.
He currently serves as the Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics and the Chairman of the Armed Services Sub-Committee on Strategic Forces. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Fowler said she thinks Smith's appointments will suffer as a result of his defection from the Republican party, but not that badly.
"I think that the Republicans will make accomodations for him because they are feeling a little threatened by the potential loss of control in 2000. They will want him to keep voting with them as part of the Republican coalition," Fowler said.
"There are some precedents in both the House and the Senate of people having been stripped of their leadership positions when they've done something like this."
