James Bell Yager's Mystery Running-Mate

James Bell Yager's Mystery Running-Mate

VP candidate for Independent (1996)

Running mate with nominee: James Bell Yager (ca1934-1998)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Did this running-mate actually exist, or, was this another con job by an expert con artist in order to raise "campaign money"?

James Bell Yager was serving a 42-year sentence in prison located in Plainfield, Ind. for bank embezzlement and forgery. He would be eligible for parole on Jan. 15, 2002.

Yager was also a nationally known jailhouse lawyer and one of the cofounders of the National Prisoners' Rights Union. He was a very prolific letter-to-the-editor writer concerning prison conditions.

He ran for President in 1984 and 1988 as a write-in, both times without a Vice-Presidential nominee from what I can gather. In 1988 he scaled back his campaign after Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle was selected as George Bush's running-mate. "Hell, you know I can't oppose a favorite son."

In the early 1990s Yager had become the public news source for Mike Tyson's life behind bars when the boxer was incarcerated in the same prison.

In 1996 he was making his third attempt for the White House. His platform included a national sales tax and a federal program to combat juvenile delinquency.

He told a reporter, "I am not naive enough to think we are going to win; but when you look back, they have had some characters that probably were as crooked as I have been."

In April 1995 Yager was coy with the press and said his running-mate was a woman who was a certified public accountant and had once been in prison for tax fraud. Her identity would be revealed on June 14, 1995. Either he did make the announcement and the press ignored it, or, it never happened, or, the so-called existence of this VP was a con job hoax.

A year later, in April 1996 Yager dropped out of the race "due to illness and bad health dealing with various medical problems such as going blind, diabetes, heart trouble, hypertension and other problems ... I'd like to finish the campaign but I'm fighting the battle of my life with these medical problems."

Oh, but the story continues. Yager, who was wheelchair-bound at this point, was granted an early release from prison on account of his health on Mar. 6, 1997. "No amount of money could tempt me to commit another crime," he was quoted by the press.

By June 1997 he told a reporter he had a couple used car dealerships, one in Indianapolis and another in Louisville, Ky. He also said he had a written a book about his prison life entitled Behind the Scenes.

In truth he had relocated to Lafayette, Ind. and moved in with the sister of one of his fellow inmates (no, she wasn't the 1996 running-mate), bilked her and her daughter out of about 35 grand, and then vanished in Aug. 1997. The woman was identified by one columnist as his fiance. He was arrested in Jan. 1998 in Springfield, Mo., where he gave his name as "Jim Brown." He died Feb. 12 in a Missouri nursing awaiting extradition to Indiana.

If the Yager/Mystery Person actually won the election, she would have become President upon Yager's death.

Election history: ?

Other occupations: certified public accountant (alleged)

Buried: ?

Notes:
Anyone out there know if she existed, and if so, who she was?

James Danforth Quayle

 VP debate 1992: Quayle, Stockdale, Gore

James Danforth Quayle, February 4, 1947 (Indianapolis, Ind.) -

VP candidate for Independent (1992)

Running mate with nominee: David McAlister Barry (b. 1947)
Running mate with nominee: Bartholomew JoJo Simpson (b. 1987)

Popular vote (Barry): ? (0.00%)
Popular vote (Simpson): ? (0.00%)

Electoral vote (Barry and Simpson): 0/538

Dan Quayle was actually the VP on three tickets in 1992, one of them as the incumbent US Vice-President with President George H.W. Bush and running for a second term. Since that effort was under the auspices of the Republican Party and not a third party I am not covering it in this profile. The first Baby Boomer elected to a national office, Quayle had a remarkable political rise starting in 1976 as he defeated entrenched incumbents. 1992 would be the first time he was defeated in an election.

The campaign (Barry):

Humor newspaper columnist and author Dave Barry announced he was running for President in April 1991. Why? "A big free airplane and the chance to invite Julia Roberts to the White House ..." and "I'm also into motorcading. One thing that makes me want to be President is that I'd have the ability to screw up traffic in major cities."

Barry on the issues in the 1992 campaign--

My first act as President would be to declare war on France. We don’t like them, they don’t like us. It would be kind of fun.

On his wife's negative reaction to his candidacy: I think in part because I can use it as an excuse to get out of housework. She can say, "Did you put the boxes away?" and I can say, "No, I can't. Right now, I'm running for President." The more I think about it, that may be why Walter Mondale did it, or Michael Dukakis.

I'd like to go pretty much from being elected to working on my presidential library. My library, by the way, would have a video arcade.

I assume it goes without saying that I favor mandatory sterilization of anybody who has knowingly been elected to Congress more than twice.

There are two areas I don't intend to get bogged down in: foreign affairs and domestic policy.

On Ross Perot: You just want to get him in a headlock and give him a noogie, just to let him know that you like him both as a person and as a billionaire.

In 1991, he chose Dan Quayle as his running mate: "He's a fun dude, and he has proved he can handle the primary duty of the vice presidency, which is to stand behind the President and frown with the concerned, thoughtful expression of a man who suspects he has a live moth in his inner ear. The official Barry/Quayle campaign theme will be 'Just What We Need: Two White Guys in Their Forties.'" Ironically, with the election of Clinton and Gore in 1992, that's exactly what America got.

He called Quayle, "the perfect humor vice president," but said he would alter the Constitution, "not in any elaborate way, just with a felt tip pen" to add a rule that Quayle would never become President.

Although Americans have mocked their political leaders ever since Day One, the Age of Television amplified and recorded words that escaped before they were thought through, and subsequently were replayed over and over for our entertainment, or horror. In this regard Vice-President Quayle did not help himself and became the bread and butter for many a comedian and humorist.

Here are some of the better quotes:

Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.
   
It's time for the human race to enter into the solar system.
   
We have a firm commitment to NATO; we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe; we are a part of Europe.
   
I believe that we are on an irreversible trend toward freedom and democracy, but that could change.
   
What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or to not have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.
   
The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.
    
Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.
   
For NASA, space is still a high priority.
   
We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.
  
Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.
  
Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.

I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.

We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.

I want to be Robin to Bush's Batman.

Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.

In George Bush you get experience, and with me you get - The Future!

This president is going to lead us out of this recovery. It will happen.

It's a question of whether we're going to go forward into the future, or past to the back.

It's wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago.

A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.

If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure.

It's a very good historical book about history.

Republicans have been accused of abandoning the poor. It's the other way around. They never vote for us.

It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior, for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.

My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will, never, never surrender to what is right.

I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican.

Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here.

I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.

Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists.

Every once in a while, you let a word or phrase out and you want to catch it and bring it back. You can't do that. It's gone, gone forever

When you make as many speeches and you talk as much as I do and you get away from the text, it's always a possibility to get a few words tangled here and there.

Barry never registered with the FEC, nor did he gain ballot access or write-in certification in any state, so we'll never know the true popular vote result for this ticket. In 1995 Barry announced he was making a second try for the White House, but this time without a running mate that I could find.

The campaign (Simpson):

The existence of this ticket is rather tenuous, based simply on a campaign button with Simpson and Quayle declaring ELECT THE UNDERACHIEVERS IN '92. 

This button might have been created in response to a speech by President Bush during the campaign when he said American families should be "a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons". Shortly after that the Simpsons were shown watching the televised speech and replied, "Hey, we’re like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the depression, too."

Simpson's creator Matt Groening told the press, "Part of my mission always has been to tease and provoke, and it's a real thrill when they take the bait."

Of course the Simpson/Quayle ticket would have had some problems taking office since (A) Bart was too young, and (B) Bart is a fictitious character.

Election history:
1977-1981 - US House of Representatives (Ind.) (Republican)
1981-1989 - US Senate (Ind.) (Republican)
1989-1993 - US Vice-President (Republican)
1992 - US Vice-President (Republican) - defeated
2000 - Republican nomination for President - withdrew in 1999

Other occupations: Indiana National Guard, attorney, investigator for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, administrative assistant to Governor Edgar Whitcomb, Director of the Inheritance Tax Division of the Indiana Department of Revenue, associate publisher of the Huntington Herald-Press (family business), author, investment banker, Chairman of Global Investments at Cerberus Capital Management.

Notes:
Defeated Birch Bayh in 1980.
Brush with fame: Matt Groening was my neighbor in 1974 and a bit later I worked on the college
 newspaper when he was editor. I last saw him in 2011 and he remains one of the good guys.
Another brush with fame: I have a copy of Dave Barry's In Cyberspace (1996) signed by author.
 Barry inscribed it: Mary- Merry Christmas. I have no idea where it came from or who Mary is.

Marion Gordon Robertson

Marion Gordon Robertson, March 22, 1930 (Lexington, Va.) -

VP candidate for Loyal USA Party (1992)

Running mate with nominee: Billy Joe Clegg (1928-1997)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

After running in the New Hampshire primary and failing to win the Republican or Democratic elections, perennial candidate Billy Joe Clegg once again lifted the Loyal USA Party flag and ran as a write-in. "People are dissatisfied with the caliber of candidates running for President because they are politicians and not statesmen," he said. "People are voting for something else, and I am something else. By not being polluted by politics, we are saying no to foreign aid, abortion, and defense spending."

Clegg promised to cut foreign aid and redirect the funds to education, "I would put a computer in every classroom in America. Instead if sending billions of dollars to Russia we can put that money into the classrooms to help educate children."

He had a plan for the war in drugs. "We should not eliminate our National Guard," he proposed, "and should strengthen our drug prevention program by using the military."

On taxation, he said, "The first thing I'd do would be to eliminate the IRS by executive order. We don't need it and it's unpatriotic."

Clegg promised he would appoint Vice-President Dan Quayle to be Ambassador to the United Nations. He had kind of a thing about Quayle, even to the point of being President of the Quit Quayle Bashing Club.

As for his campaign staff, Clegg explained "I am represented by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is my campaign manager." When Clegg had run for President in 1972, the Spirit of Jesus was identified as his running-mate, but 20 years later the candidate expressed his desire to name another Heavenly entity to the role of VP-- the televangelist Rev. Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson. Needless to say, if Robertson had a reaction to this honor I was unable to find it.

As Fate would have it, I am writing this profile on March 22, 2020, Robertson's 90th birthday!

As if Robertson was not already well known to a large segment of Americans, he became a household name to the mainstream when he ran for President in the Republican primaries in 1988, pushing the Party further to the evangelical Right. I believe here in my home state of Washington he received a large chunk of delegates and the Establishment Republican Party here has never fully recovered since then.

Like many other extreme media talking heads and political demagogues, Robertson has learned the trick that the more outrageous, hateful, insane and controversial your statements are, the more attention you'll get-- and this has made him a very wealthy man. So he doesn't need any more coverage from me on this point.

But I do have a Pat Robertson story that should bring a smile--

At some point in the 1990s I discovered Robertson's father was the Senator Absalom Willis Robertson (1887-1971) (D-VA). The earliest known Willis ancestor we know in my family was named Absalom Willis. My guy was born during the Revolution and lived in Virginia. He vanished shortly after 1840, walking into the SW Virginia woods in a fit of anger and was never seen again.

We don't know exactly where my guy was born and raised, who his parents were, exact birth or death date, or even his true first name since he was also known as Abner Willis. But Absalom is such a weird and bizarre choice for a name that I just had to see if perhaps Rev. Robertson was a relative and had more information. We knew we were a distant cousin to Thomas Jefferson with a shared immigrant ancestor at Jamestown, so maybe Robertson was another famous Virginia relative?

So I wrote to him, making it clear I had no interest in his religious or political endeavors, just the genealogy. As you have by now no doubt surmised, I pretty much don't agree with Robertson on much of anything. Shortly after that I was rewarded with a barrage of 700 Club junk mail which I found quite disheartening.

Then to my surprise and delight I received a nice personal letter from Robertson. He didn't really have any data to share that was useful but I did appreciate his gracious response.

I thought the matter was closed but then a short time later I had a phone call (this was in the landline days). A Southern Belle asked for me by name and when I affirmed she requested that I stay on the line for a personal message from Pat Robertson. Boy, was I excited! I bet he asked around and found something perhaps scrawled in a family Bible!

But nooooo. It was recorded message in Pat's pleading voice saying something like, "My friends, the End Times are almost here. We need your financial support more than ever ..." I didn't hear the rest, instead just quietly hung up the phone laughing at myself for being suckered.

My Willis family has a very strong outlaw element and criminal history. So when all this conjectured blood connection to Robertson was still hanging in the air, the news covered some of kind of alleged Robertson con job where money supposedly raised to help Third World people was actually used to finance some for-profit private enterprise. When that was broadcast we looked at each other and said, "Wow! That settles it. He IS one of us!"

Ever since then we have called him "Cousin Pat."

Election history:
1988 - Republican nomination for US President - defeated

Other occupations: Southern Baptist minister, CEO of Regent University, Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, host of The 700 Club, author

Notes:
Went to Yale Law School but failed the New York bar exam.
In 1996 Billy Joe Clegg ran in the Republican primaries and dropped out of the race to support Pat
 Buchanan.