Ross Perot

[King]

It's kind of funny, but looking back at 1992, for someone who drew his vote mainly from grassroots conservatives and libertarian types in the Plains and South, how incredibly liberal Ross Perot would be portrayed by 2014 standards.

It’s a woman’s choice, including federal funding. (Jul 1992)
Homosexuality is an individual right. (Nov 1992)
Top US executives overpaid compared to foreign competitors. (Jul 1993)
More pre-school, more standards, more teacher respect. (Jul 1992)
Raise gas taxes 10 cents a year for 5 years. (Oct 1992)
This planet is our home; protect it for the future. (Jul 1992)
Place disadvantaged kids in government-funded homes. (Nov 1992)
Curb PACs, ban soft money, ban electoral college. (Jul 1992)
Enact strict gun control laws. (Nov 1992)
End pork; end loopholes; end exit polling. (Nov 1992)
Expand Medicare to cover all Americans. (Nov 1992)
Raise marginal tax rates on the wealthy. (Jul 1992)
Disallow mortgage & health deductions for the rich. (Jul 1992)

This guy would be swiftboated off the national scene as Communist if he ran for President in today's environment.

[IceSpear]

A few of these are really surprising. Medicare for all?!

[angus]

you're cherrypicking.  

Ross Perot also said repeatedly that "Government is a business, and therefore it should be run like a business."  His dress code, hair code, and fraternization code at his Addison-based company, EDS, was so strict that many candidates were turned off enough not to accept employment there, even with a generous salary.  Many articles were written about this.  He was also a power projectionist and a Bush Doctrinaire even before Bush.  In the campaign of 1992 he often talked about greater US commitments abroad.  He also campaigned on reducing government, both in terms of offices and employees.  Specifically he targeted the education and welfare bureaucracies.  He was also a fan of partial privatization of Social Security, and basing the indexing on a lower rate of inflation.  

I don't think we would regard him so much as a liberal as a Third Wayer.  With the exception of his positions on international trade and the ideal size of government, he's pretty much aligned with Obama.  I'm certain he'd also approve of increased surveillance and weapons-equipped drones trained to kill both US citizens and foreigners.  Nothing particularly liberal about that, I'd imagine.

At the time, though, many of his supporters called him "liberal."  I do remember conversations with several of his supporters in particular.  To be fair, Bill Clinton was dragging his own party rightward throughout the 90s, and George Bush had been so coddled and pampered that he didn't even recognize a supermarket scanner, so there wasn't really a good basis for comparison.  By the standards of the two major candidates at the time, it isn't surprising that so many called him a "liberal."

[King]

A few of these are really surprising. Medicare for all?!

Perot made a lot of his money in medical technology and was a big fan of working with Medicare compared to private insurers.

Angus, he was definitely a mixed bag, but in these True Scotsman times, he wouldn't make the conservative cut.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A few of these are really surprising. Medicare for all?!

Perot made a lot of his money in medical technology and was a big fan of working with Medicare compared to private insurers.

Angus, he was definitely a mixed bag, but in these True Scotsman times, he wouldn't make the conservative cut.

Did he ever make the Conservative cut?

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

It also shows sadly how right wing the US has moved ideologically as a nation in the past 20 + years.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've always liked Perot in some respects. He was mostly a right-winger, but in a different (and probably more genuine) way than the mainstream GOP of the time and of today.

[SteveRogers]

A few of these are really surprising. Medicare for all?!

Perot made a lot of his money in medical technology and was a big fan of working with Medicare compared to private insurers.

Angus, he was definitely a mixed bag, but in these True Scotsman times, he wouldn't make the conservative cut.

Did he ever make the Conservative cut?

Well the Contract with America that Republicans ran on in 1994 was largely directly patterned after significant portions of Perot's platform (balanced budget amendment, term limits, de-emphasizing social issues, etc.).

[Dr. Cynic]

Perot was certainly on the center-left when it came to social issues, but a lot of his economic policies would be considered center-right. Perot was really a true centrist. He didn't just get almost 20 million votes from disaffected Republicans. He got a large portion of Democrats as well.

His '96 incarnation was firmly close to the right though.

[All Along The Watchtower]

An eccentric right-wing populist with some cross-over appeal on certain issues-but also having a lot of people riled up who had never been interested in and knew little about politics before?  

Nah.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

you're cherrypicking. 

Ross Perot also said repeatedly that "Government is a business, and therefore it should be run like a business."  His dress code, hair code, and fraternization code at his Addison-based company, EDS, was so strict that many candidates were turned off enough not to accept employment there, even with a generous salary.  Many articles were written about this.  He was also a power projectionist and a Bush Doctrinaire even before Bush.  In the campaign of 1992 he often talked about greater US commitments abroad.  He also campaigned on reducing government, both in terms of offices and employees.  Specifically he targeted the education and welfare bureaucracies.  He was also a fan of partial privatization of Social Security, and basing the indexing on a lower rate of inflation. 

I don't think we would regard him so much as a liberal as a Third Wayer.  With the exception of his positions on international trade and the ideal size of government, he's pretty much aligned with Obama.  I'm certain he'd also approve of increased surveillance and weapons-equipped drones trained to kill both US citizens and foreigners.  Nothing particularly liberal about that, I'd imagine.

At the time, though, many of his supporters called him "liberal."  I do remember conversations with several of his supporters in particular.  To be fair, Bill Clinton was dragging his own party rightward throughout the 90s, and George Bush had been so coddled and pampered that he didn't even recognize a supermarket scanner, so there wasn't really a good basis for comparison.  By the standards of the two major candidates at the time, it isn't surprising that so many called him a "liberal."

Bush Doctrine?   How so?  I know he was pretty critical of the Gulf War.  I think aside from being big into U.S. sovereignty he was hard to classify on foreign policy.

[angus]

Well, the Bush Doctrine was the doctrine of pre-emption, and although that usually means armed pre-emption, I'm using the term rather loosely, I'll admit.  As I recall, Perot favored greater peacekeeping efforts, as well as monetary aid to places like Russia and African nations.  I don't know whether he was right or wrong.  I do know that he was the antithesis of the isolationist.  I guess that might have been part of the irony suggested in the OP ("libertarian types in the Plains"), but that puts him squarely in the GWB/From camp with respect to foreign policy, because the neocons also wanted aid for Africa, friendly relations with Russia, and peacekeeping efforts far and wide.