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Robert Emmanuel Tisch, March 28, 1920 (Jackson, Mich.) - October 9, 1997 (Michigan)
VP candidate for Tisch Independent Citizens Party (aka US Taxpayers Party) (1992)
Running mate with nominee: Howard Jay Phillips (1941-2013)
Popular vote: 8,263 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
If the old saying that religious converts turn into the most zealous believers is true, Howard Phillips might serve as a case study. Raised in the Jewish faith, he converted and became an evangelical Protestant as an adult in the 1970s and founded the US Taxpayers Party, known today as the Constitution Party.
Phillips had been a loyal Republican Party foot soldier and eventually worked in the Nixon administration as the director of two agencies but resigned due to what he perceived as the liberal drift of his party. It was during the era when the Watergate scandal was unraveling, so Phillips' timing was excellent for the purposes of finding an alternative. He briefly identified himself as a Democrat and ran for the US Senate as such.
As he felt no satisfaction with either major party, Phillips founded the Conservative Caucus in 1974. By the 1980s-early 1990s even the Reagan and Bush administrations were too liberal as well as fiscally irresponsible for him. He supported the Libertarian Party in the 1988 election but felt they were much too permissive in their social policies. In the meantime he had been busy networking with other conservative activists and in 1991 served as a co-founder of the US Taxpayers Party. Unlike the major parties, the US Taxpayers Party was more of a confederation than a union.
Phillips was the USTP Presidential nominee in 1992, his first of three runs. His running mate was Albion W. Knight, Jr., a retired US Army Brigadier General who resigned from his position as an Archbishop of the United Episcopal Church of North America in order to run. Phillips had two other VPs, Stephen C. Graves in Louisiana and Robert Tisch in Michigan.
The US Taxpayers Party made it to the ballot under variations of that name in 14 states. In addition some older political parties climbed on board and endorsed the USTP. The Independent American Party of Nevada (no relation to the national Independent American Party) had Phillips/Knight on their ballot line. Parts of two rival parties that hated each other, the American Party (Rhode Island and South Carolina) and American Independent Party (California), also joined up. In Massachusetts Phillips won the Independent Voters primary. In cases where he competed for votes, Phillips' main competitor was Bo Gritz.
Robert Tisch, based in Michigan, was serving as a member of the US Taxpayers Party Executive Committee. His Tisch Independent Citizens Party founded in 1982 in Michigan, was another older political group that came on board with the USTP. A couple years later they reorganized and called themselves the US Taxpayers Party of Michigan. Tisch had a history since 1978 of organizing tax protest public initiatives and running a slate of candidates, including himself, for public office. A controversial figure in all political roles, he was noted since the 1950s for his abrasive contrarian behavior, fits of rage, and use of profanity in public discourse. And although zealous, he was never accused of being insincere.
One party the USTP failed to absorb was the Right to Life Party in New York. Instead of Phillips the RTLP endorsed president Bush for re-election.
The USTP platform included: Cut federal spending by $500 billion a year -- Abolish the IRS -- Support capital punishment -- Appoint only judges who oppose abortion -- oppose Planned Parenthood -- Repeal quotas -- Support the Electoral College -- Promote Biblical philosophy in government -- oppose gun control -- Sever US ties with the UN, World Bank, and IMF -- End foreign aid -- Oppose Gay rights -- No women in combat -- Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts -- Eliminate pensions for elected officials -- Eliminate the Public Broadcasting Service.
There are not a lot of examples of Tisch taking an active role in the 1992 electioneering.
On the ballot in 21 states and write-ins in six others, the USTP finished with 43,400 votes (0.04%) on Election Day, somewhat under the 50,000 predicted by some pundits. 33,585 of those votes were for the Phillips/Knight ticket. They probably would have placed with a higher percentage but it is reasonable to conclude that a good number of their targeted base voted for Ross Perot or Bo Gritz.
The Phillips/Tisch ticket resulted with 0.19% of the vote in Michigan. Nationwide, it was Phillips' second highest state percentage in 1992. In Michigan it was an easy bet that the running-mate was a more recognized name than the standard bearer.
Election history:
1953 - Lansing (Mich.) Charter Commission - defeated
1955-1957 - Laingsburg (Mich.) School Board - recalled
ca1965 - Laingsburg (Mich.) City Judge
1956 - Michigan House of Representatives (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1977-1985 - Shiawassee County (Mich.) Drain Commissioner (Democratic)
1982 - Governor of Michigan (Democratic) - primary - withdrew
1982 - Governor of Michigan (Tisch Independent Citizens Party) - defeated
1984 - Shiawassee County (Mich.) Drain Commissioner (Democratic) - defeated
1986 - Michigan Board of Education (Tisch Independent Citizens Party) - defeated
1988 - Michigan Board of Education (Tisch Independent Citizens Party) - defeated
1988 - Michigan Board of Education (Tisch Independent Citizens Party) - defeated
Other occupations: US Army (WWII, Korea), US Taxpayers Party Executive Committee, sign-painting, milking machine sales, children's furniture manufacture, cattle farming, Laingsburg (Mich.) City Assessor, Laingsburg (Mich.) Chief of Police
Buried: Laingsburg Cemetery (Laingsburg, Mich.)
Notes:
Stood at six feet, six inches.
"Elected officials should never eat in places with tablecloths"--Robert Tisch.
A rare example of a third party VP running in a political party named after himself.
