Buchanan Sees Populists Becoming Political Balance of Power

• Pat Buchanan an nounced at a press conference that he plans to continue the fight, even teaming up with other new party candidates who are willing to join him.

The new-party movement will continue and become the "balance of power" in American politics, said Pat Buchanan after the election.

Buchanan expressed concern about fraud in voting machines and had words of caution for President-elect George W. Bush about such internationalist groups as Bilderberg and Supreme Court appointments.

There will be a "firestorm" if Bush appoints pro-abortion, left-wingers to the Supreme Court who would legislate from the bench rather than interpret the Constitution, Buchanan warned.

While he calls himself a "strict constructionist," Bush as governor has appointed some liberals to the Texas Supreme Court who later said he had asked them no questions about their ideology.

Buchanan, when questioned, ex pressed concern about the influence such groups as Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission, and Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) would have on Bush.

They are a "breeding ground" for foreign policy wonks who favor internationalism and intervention in the affairs of other nations, he said.

As an example of potential fraud in voting machines, Buchanan cited a self-serving result: Some Florida voters who had pulled Vice President Al Gore's knob had their votes counted for Buchanan -- hardly the intent of election manipulators.

There is a "terrible potential for abuse" from voting by machines, he said.

Moments later Ralph Nader said Congress should hold hearings into the role of private business in public elections and the use of riggable computer ballot-counting machines.

There "were no national debates" because the two major-party candidates had a honeymoon before the cameras. While Bush and Gore agreed on most matters, such issues as national sovereignty, the World Trade Organization and NAFTA "were off the table," Buchanan said.

Will the third parties collaborate in fighting the Establishment?

Buchanan said the Constitution Party under Howard Phillips is in so much agreement with the Reform Party he heads that he hopes they can merge.

While he has great respect for Ralph Nader and his Green party, and they can collaborate on some issues, such as the WTO, NAFTA and international corporations, there are too many areas of disagreement to form a unified political coalition, Buchanan said.

He remains the leader of the Reform Party at the request of its top officials after the election disappointment, Bu chan an said.

"The Reform Party I will build will be populist with traditional values, defending heroes like Robert E. Lee and George Washington," he said. It will stress "economic nationalism" and oppose the "interventionist" policies embraced by the major parties.

"I feel good about the enemies we have accumulated" and "the Establishment is frightened," Buchanan said.