Frank Edward McEnulty, 1956 (Long Beach, Calif.) -
VP candidate for Reform Party of the United States of America (2008)
Running mate with nominee: Theodore C. Weill (1925-2009)
Popular vote: 481 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Ted C. Weill, who was 83 years old at the time of the 2008 campaign season, was the nominee of the Reform Party for that election cycle. A figure in the Party in Mississippi since at least the 1990s, he had attempted to gain the Presidential nomination in 2004 but stepped aside for Ralph Nader.
Weill had a history of supporting third party candidates. In addition to Nader he contributed significant sums of money to Lyndon LaRouche and Lenora Fulani's organizations, which raised some concerns from Reform Party members. Weill's response was. "I'd like to see what they do with the money."
Weill's stand on the issues included: a balanced budget mandate, term limits, elimination of the Electoral College, make PACs illegal, and no federal tax increase without a popular vote.
The July 2008 Reform Party convention, which was disputed as the "real" convention status by one faction, nominated Frank McEnulty as Weill's running-mate. McEnulty was not a member of the Reform Party.
Frank McEnulty, a California estate agent filed with the FEC for President in Feb. 2007 as an independent but that did not prevent him from entering the Republican primaries, at least in Arizona. On Mar. 11, 2008 he gained the nomination of the newborn New American Independent Party. Shortly after his nomination, he was in Alaska seeking the endorsement of the Alaska Independence Party alongside members of the American Independence Party and was identified by Alaskan media as a member of the AIP. It does get confusing, doesn't it? He was also a contender for the Reform Party nomination but lost out to Ted Weill, so he became the running-mate.
It was erroneously reported on some outlets that McEnulty announced he was going to drop his own Presidential campaign in order to campaign full time as the Reform Party VP. McEnulty was definitely running under both banners. It is not unheard of for a candidate to be running for President on one ticket and be the VP on another in the same election. William Jenner in 1956 is one example that springs to mind, and Dick Gregory in 1968 although McEnulty's case was more deliberate.
McEnulty's statement on the matter:
At the Reform Party Convention, held recently in Dallas, TX, I was selected to be their Vice Presidential Candidate to run on the ticket with Ted Weill, the Presidential candidate. I am honored to accept this nomination and see this as an important step in uniting the various third party groups around the country into a stronger, more effective voice.
To that end, I am continuing my independent run for president in the other states in which the Reform Party does not have ballot access. I firmly believe the answer for a better America is in a strong, viable third party that will address the views and needs of the Moderate Majority Americans being ignored by the Democrats and Republicans.
I want to reiterate that I am still the New American Independent Party Presidential candidate for the 2008 election and have discussed this strategy at length with Michael Thompson the Chairman of the NAIP. We are continuing our ballot access efforts and hope that this latest development will help our message to be heard in more states. Thank you for your continued support.
The NAIP was formed in 2004 with an eye to the middle class as a political base. Although the Party attempted to hold the center, it generally came off appearing to be sort of a Libertarian-lite, preaching the gospel of a small federal government, more local control, fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility, less government intrusion into personal lives, and an end to political party tribalism. McEnulty himself was a great admirer of Reagan and a NRA supporter.
In Feb. 2008 McEnulty told an interviewer about his parameters for a VP selection--
I will be looking for someone who is smart, wants what is best for all Americans, is a moderate, a fiscal conservative and will put forth the time and effort to run in a real campaign. I also believe that my running mate needs to be a business person because the government is a business and needs to run more like one. I’m not worried about being outsiders in the Washington scene, because I believe that gridlock is good for the following reason. If there is gridlock, then only legislation that makes sense for all Americans and benefits the vast majority of all Americans will get passed. We’ve got hundreds of thousands of laws. We don’t need new ones every day.
For reasons that are not clear, McEnulty had 9 different running-mates. He made the ballot only in Colorado, and attempted to be a registered write-in in the remainder.
Due to a civil war within the Reform Party, by the time the dust settled to any degree it was really too late for the Weill/McEnulty team to effectively campaign. The split in the party was so severe that the Kansas chapter endorsed Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin, who appeared on the ballot there under the Reform banner. The Ohio chapter endorsed Ron Paul.
Ballot Access News, which was then and remains today one of the most excellent go-to online places for third party news, had a lively comment thread regarding the Reform Party on July 20, 2008. McEnulty himself weighed in. The most interesting exchange to me involved Michael Thompson, the National Chair of the New American Independent Party--
Michael Thompson on July 22, 2008 at 3:47 pm said:
I would like to respond to the many emails that I have been getting from New American Independent Party members and other interested folk.
People have been wondering if the New American Independent Party will now be working with the Reform Party since our nominated Presidential candidate has accepted the VP slot with the Reform Party.
The simple answer to that is NO. The New American Independent Party has no interest and will have no interest in working with any faction of the Reform Party. The NAIP views the Reform Party and it’s many twisted factions as a tumor, infecting everything it touches. The NAIP will not allow the nutcases at the Reform party to infect our new party.
I am sure that the Reform party has some very good and decent rank and file members. However, we feel that we cannot trust any of the Reform Party leadership from any and all factions.
I will have more information to bring all of you in the coming days concerning this matter.
Sincerely,
Michael Thompson
National Chairman
New American Independent Party
TheTrueReformist on July 22, 2008 at 4:07 pm said:
Michael:
My question to you is: Then why is your Presidential Nominee, seeking the VP slot in Ted Weill's campaign and why did he come to the Reform Party seeking our nomination at all? Personally, your views are too liberal for those of us who do have good organized SPO’s. We are not and will not be seeking affiliation with the NAIP and neither Frank or Ted will get our ballot access in Florida. Over my dead body!!!!!
Michael Thompson on July 22, 2008 at 8:06 pm said:
True Reformist,
You should ask Frank McEnulty that question not me. The NAIP is still trying to figure out what happened.
Such a move does not help the NAIP, it only hurts us. The NAIP is a new party and we didn’t expect to get on many ballots this year. But, the ballots that we thought we had the best chance of reaching were Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Basically, Frank took away his chance at leading a ticket in those states for a VP role in a party that is dying. And this move also took away the NAIP’s best chance at getting on state ballots.
The NAIP hoped to get on some ballots this year in an effort to build our party towards a more powerful 2012 campaign. We have no choice but to try to gain ballot access and run our own ticket, (a NAIP ticket) in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Weill/McEnulty ticket were on the ballot in Mississippi only, where they placed 7th out of 7. Weill died on Nov. 20, 2009, meaning McEnulty would have assumed the Presidency if they had been elected.
Election history:
2008 - Republican nomination for US President - defeated
2008 - Reform Party of the United States of America nomination for US President - defeated
2008 - US President (New American Independent Party) - defeated
Other occupations: financial officer, property management, teacher
Notes:
Catholic.
