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John Anderson Birthday
Celebration
July 16,
2002
The Center's President John B.
Anderson belatedly celebrated his 80th birthday in his Washington
D.C. home July 16th. More than 80 friends, family and admirers came
to his home, including Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont),
Washington Post
columnist Mary McGrory, Ralph Nader and former Minnesota
Congressman Tim Penny. Penny is currently running for governor of
Minnesota with the Independence Party and brought an Associated
Press reporter and photographer with him. The following photograph
and article describe the event from the perspective of the Penny
campaign.
Independence Party candidate
Tim Penny, left, teases former presidential candidate John Anderson
about his lapel penny pin Tuesday, July l6, 2002 in Washington as
John Anderson, Jr., center, listens. Penny hopes to replace Gov.
Jesse Ventura as Minnesota's next Independence Party governor. He
was in Washington to attend an 80th birthday celebration for John
Anderson who he calls the father of the third-party movement. (AP
Photo, Evan Vucci)
Penny seeks to energize
candidacy with D.C. visit
By Frederic J.
Frommer
Associated Press The man who
hopes to replace Gov. Jesse Ventura as Minnesota's next Independence
Party governor didn't quite follow in Ventura's footsteps Tuesday.
While Ventura has marked his visits to the nation's capital flanked
with security detail and packs of reporters, Tim Penny quietly rode
the subway from Reagan National Airport. �I'm a tightwad,'' said
Penny, who still has a subway card in his wallet next to a
pocket-sized Twins schedule. �If I've got the time, I'll take the
Metro.'' Apparently recognized by no one, the former congressman
was Minnesota Nice even amid surging rush-hour crowds, making way
for others to get off the train. Penny was in Washington to attend
an 80th birthday celebration for the man he calls the father of the
third-party movement, John Anderson, who received 6 percent of the
popular vote as a third-party presidential candidate in 1980.
Minnesota and Maine are the only two states with independent
governors whose seats are up for election this year. Some of
Penny's former staff members took the opportunity to put together a
fund-raiser at a private home on Capitol Hill. Penny, who picked up
a couple-dozen checks, most for $100, noted that a newspaper poll
found him even with Democrat candidate Roger Moe and Republican
candidate Tim Pawlenty. "That's not a bad place to start,'' he said
at the fund-raiser. Penny saw the Anderson event, meanwhile, as an
opportunity to �mix and mingle'' with some of the nation's leading
third-party players. "I want to hear what they have to say about
what they did in their states,'' said Penny, a former Democrat who
quit Congress eight years ago. "I want to re-energize with people
who do not consider themselves Democrats and Republicans.'' Among
those attending the reception, held at Anderson's home, were Sen.
Jim Jeffords, the Republican-turned-independent from Vermont, and
consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who ran as a Green Party candidate in
the 2000 election. Nader, whose progressive brand of politics
doesn't exactly jibe with Penny's centrist, fiscally conservative
approach, admitted in an interview that he wasn't a fan of Penny's
work in Congress. "But there's always a chance for redemption,'' he
said, smiling. �I'm excited that he's making a third-party race of
it.'' Nader said that it remains to be seen whether Penny's
candidacy will be about �empowering'' ordinary people. "There's no
evidence of it,'' he said. When Penny was introduced to Nader a few
moments later, a spirited conversation ensued but was quickly cut
off when Anderson addressed the crowd. Penny, traveling light with
just a small overnight bag and a toiletry kit, was planning to spend
Wednesday doing media interviews with CNN and David Broder of The
Washington Post, among
others. |
