https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-b-anderson-fiery-third-party-candidate-in-1980-presidential-race-dies-at-95/2017/12/04/dd25dfda-d92a-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-moretopstories2_ob-anderson-305pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.18d9fad1010bFlashback to another time in my life. I was one of a group at college who coordinated his campaign there. My function was arranging for groups of canvassers to go up to New Hampshire to knock on doors for his campaign. We'd go up on Friday night, help put together material for the next day's canvas, then meet buses coming up from Boston and elsewhere to lead canvases of various neighborhoods. We came with a hundred votes or so of finishing 3d behind Reagan and Bush (we were beat by Howard Baker). Big buzz was the weekend before the primary when Reagan had his "I'm paying for this microphone, Mr. Green" moment when the various candidates ambush Poppy Bush at what was supposed to be his 1 on 1 debate vs. Reagan. I forget how many crashes we had that weekend driving up in a snow storm (nothing serious). That Sunday was the US - Finland hockey game for the gold after the Miracle on Ice, and I remember leafleting in a Salem parking lot asking folks for the score as they walked out of a TV retailer.
In any event, the next Tuesday was the Massachusetts and Vermont primaries. We thought those were our best states. Anderson was scheduled to speak at Yale the day after those primaries, and we kept getting calls to keep on scheduling a bigger event. Well, Anderson led in both primaries most of the night so got tremendous coverage (I remember drinking at Rudy's watching returns). Turns out he lost both narrowly, but the buzz was huge. Tons of media, overflow crowd at Battelle Chapel. I ended up having to give up my seat to go out and arrange phones in the dorm next door so that all the media could call in stories on his reception and also set up a speaker so he could talk impromptu for the overflow. A bunch of us then filmed a commercial for him that was supposed to show in his home state, Illinois. I doubt they used footage of me because my photogray lens darkened up and made me look like a drug dealer with my Afro (picture that, if you've seen me).
More stories follow - giving Poppy Bush a great moment when I was confrontational in a question at a rally before the CT primary, writing position papers and leaflets for eastern Connecticut, another on TV moment timely shouting "On Wisconsin" (our last hope as an R) after the CT primary, signature drives to get him on the ballot, spending most of my summer split in Boston between working for him and working for a Congressional candidate in a D primary that Barney Frank eventually won, then stupidly not deciding to take the Fall of 1980 off to run the Massachusetts office (I was asked too late). Back on campus, gradually watching his support erode, getting outsmarted by Carter's campaign (which handed out rosters at a football game with literature on the back), representing Anderson at a debate against a guy who later became acting AG and another guy who was Mario Cuomo's chief of staff, and finally nearly nailing the 1980 results the Sunday night before the election. I had skills back then.
I still have a John Anderson poster from that campaign as well as a hat, several pins, and a mug from his kick off event.
Sorry to see him go. Stood up to the NRA at a debate they sponsored, opposed the MX missile, supported a gas tax in exchange for a social security tax reduction, co-sponsored with Mo Udall the legislation that set aside ANWR. A really good guy and the end of the Ripon Republicans.
