John Frohnmayer, who was running as the nominee of the Independent Party of Oregon for the upcoming U.S. Senate election in Oregon, withdrew from the race today. Frohnmayer was the fifth chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, and brother of the current President of the University of Oregon. Many third-party pundits believed Frohnmayer would be the most serious third-party threat to an incumbent senator this election year (this was, of course, before Jesse Ventura or Dean Barkley seemed interested in the race in Minnesota). Frohnmayer withdrew becuase of what he saw as a lack of support from the grassroots. Frohnmayer lamented about the pitfalls of the two-party system, and speculated on how America could gain her “spirit” again–and then finally announced that his campaign had recieved no support and no money,and thus would be ending.
I would wear the title of spoiler proudly if I ran competitively and lost. But that’s the
rub – How can I run competitively without money, and why would I run when the will of the people is to continue business as usual, notwithstanding their complaints?I have decided that I am not, nor do I aspire to be, a politician and, therefore, I will no longer be part of this race.
Does that mean I am checking out – giving up? No. I will continue to be a citizen engaged in doing what I can. I will write, teach, support, and contribute to those causes I find most worthy. I will volunteer. I will inform myself. I will speak out. And I urge you to join me.