Herbert William Titus

Herbert William Titus, October 17, 1937 (Baker City, Ore.) -

VP candidate for US Taxpayers Party (aka Independent aka American Independent Party aka American Constitution Party aka Taxpayers Party aka Independent American Party aka Right to Life Party aka US Taxpayer Party) (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Howard Jay Phillips (1941-2013)
Popular vote: 128,310 (0.13%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The 1996 Presidential campaign for the US Taxpayers Party really begins with columnist, pundit, and speechwriter Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican nomination. His surprisingly popular insurgent effort sounded the call for the forces of the rapidly growing hard Right and evangelical wings of the Republican Party. He called them his "Pitchfork Army" in the best of Populist demagogue traditions. Some of his critics called him "David Duke without the sheets" but the US Taxpayers Party really wanted Buchanan on their ticket and made no secret about it.

Howard Phillips, who basically was the US Taxpayers Party and had been the first Presidential nominee of the new party in 1992, watched as Buchanan gave Sen. Bob Dole a big scare early in the season but then bombed out on Super Tuesday in Mar. 1996 and suspended his campaign. This made Buchanan a free agent in the eyes of Phillips, who told a reporter, "My first choice is Pat Buchanan as an active candidate. My second choice is Pat Buchanan as an inactive candidate." The plan, if Buchanan was tied up, was to run someone else for President and still electioneer as the Party of Buchanan. Then, after they won the election, instruct the Electors to brush aside whatever name was officially in the ballot and cast their lots for Pat Buchanan.

For his part, Buchanan was playing coy and openly considered running in the third party if they gained ballot access in all 50 states (they didn't make it). He used that leverage to influence the Republican ticket, saying if Dole did not select a strong pro-life running-mate, then maybe a Party of Buchanan wouldn't be such a bad idea. Dole's subsequent selection of Rep. Jack Kemp was apparently sufficient and Buchanan came on board and endorsed the Republican ticket. So that was the end of that.

So once again the new party turned to Howard Phillips as the Presidential nominee. It would be the second of three runs for him. He described his long range plans for the US Taxpayers Party: "Our main constituencies are pro-lifers, home-schoolers and those concerned with the expansion of government. We want to establish a firm enough position so that as the Republican Party dissolves, as I believe it will, ours will be seen as an alternative."

Platform issues included: Balancing the Federal budget "immediately" -- abolishing the IRS, Dept. of Education, NEA, HUD, ATF, CIA -- Pull the US out of the UN, NATO, NAFTA, GATT -- Impose a moratorium on immigration -- Oppose abortion -- Support states' rights

Phillips opposed what he called the "Satanzation of America." He wrote, "The goal of the New World Order is to remove God from His throne and replace Him with power-seekers who desire not freedom UNDER God, but freedom FROM GOD." He also said, "My comprehensive object is to restore American jurisprudence to its biblical presuppositions and the federal government to its constitutional boundaries."

The campaign had some support from other third parties. The American Independent Party in California had become an affiliate and would remain so for the next decade. The Right to Life in New York, which had endorsed the Republicans in 1992, backed Phillips in 1996. The Concerned Citizens Party, based in Connecticut, signed on as well.

The US Taxpayers Party drafted Herbert W. Titus as the VP in 1996, but Phillips was on the ballot with four other running-mates as well, all considered stand-ins: Albion Knight his 1992 running-mate was on the ballot in Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia -- Joseph A. Zdonczyk in Connecticut and Illinois -- Samuel Blumenfeld in Kentucky -- and Robert J. Meucci Sr. in Mississippi. In Arizona no VP was listed.

At one time he was a Leftist who opposed the Vietnam War, supported abortion and Gay Rights, and worked for the ACLU. Then as a result of an apparent family crisis, Titus made a dramatic conversion to Christ in the last weekend of July 1975. From that point onward this attorney only saw the law through a theocratic lens. He left his mainstream tenured law professor position at the University of Oregon and signed to teach at Oral Roberts University. After a few years of that he moved over to become the dean of the law school that became Regent University, which operated under the eye of none other than Pat Robertson.

Two factoids here before I continue. Titus was born in Oregon, so add that to my PNW trivia list. Second, Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson himself was a third party Vice-Presidential candidate, in 1992 with Billy Joe Clegg in the Loyal USA Party-- although Pat probably did not give his permission to be on the ticket.

Onward.

In the previous two or so years leading up to the 1996 election, Titus had made headlines for being forced out of his job at Regent University which sparked protests from students and faculty alike. On the administration/Robertson side, it was said Titus was "too radical" [!!!], an autocrat in the classroom who had a low tolerance for free discussion and that his extremist reputation and presence might hurt the school's chances of being accredited. On the Titus side, he said he was defamed by being portrayed as a white supremacist, conspired against, and had is professional life wrecked. Titus filed a suit for $12.5 million. Robertson and company settled out of court a day before the trial was set, during the heat of the election in Aug. 1996. How much of this Right wing Christian in-house cause célèbre was a factor in Titus' selection as a running-mate I do not know and cannot guess.

Phillips and Titus were both residents of Virginia, which would have posed a Constitutional entanglement in the event of their victory.

Phillips won 184,820 popular votes (0.19%). About two thirds of that was with Titus. On the ballot in 27 states the Phillips/Titus ticket had their strongest showings in: Missouri 0.53%, Idaho 0.45%, Wisconsin 0.40%, Utah 0.39%, Alaska 0.38%, Nevada and New York 0.37% each, Kansas 0.33%, Nebraska 0.28%, New Hampshire 0.27%, Rhode Island 0.26%, Maine and Oregon 0.25% each.

Election history:
1999 - Constitution Party nomination for President - defeated

Other occupations: attorney, author, Special Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, law professor, regional director with the American Civil Liberties Union, radio host

Notes:
If Titus had won the 1999 Constitution Party Presidential nomination, his choice for a potential
 running-mate was reported to have been [Washington State trivia alert!!!] Ellen Craswell.
"God is the source of law and liberty. If there is no law, there is no liberty."--Herbert Titus.
Drafted the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 with Alabama Judge Roy Moore.

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.