Governor Angus King, Independent Governor of Maine, announced abruptly that day that he could not afford the time as a freshman governor to work with the group any more.

Senator Bill Bradley, D-NJ, announced that day that, while he acknowledged the hard work and good intentions of the group, he, nevertheless, would NOT sign on to the result. He complained that it was too long on fiscal considerations and too short on sensitivity to the economic insecurity felt by so many average Americans. He has since dedicated himself to making public speeches on issues of particular interest to him, including race and political reform. In a major speech on Jan. 16, he outlined some of his ideas on repairing our nation's political process. The following are some quotes from an article that appeared in the Boston Globe on Jan. 17:

"[Bradley's proposals include] a ban on contributions from wealthy individuals, corporations, out-of-state contributors and political action committees. Instead, taxpayers could donate $1 to $5,000 on their tax returns, which would go into a central, shared fund to be used by Senate candidates...The Bradley package includes: A constitutional amendment to give Congress explicit power to set limits on contributions and expenditures. The amendment would override the Supreme Court's 1976 decision in Buckley v. Valeo, which ruled out such limits because it equated political money with free speech. A new check-off on tax returns for a Senate general election campaign fund, allowing filers to contribute between $1 and $5,000 to an evenly shared fund for each state where candidates are running for the Senate. No candidate could accept funds from any source other than the common funds. A requirement that broadcast licensees in each state give two hours of free air time to candidates in each state. The Federal Election Commission would be required to develop a program of public service announcements on voter registration, election dates and voting locations.Before the general election, candidates seeking their party's nomination may only accept contributions of $100 or less. Individual contributions to state and national party organizations, so-called ``soft money,'' would be limited to $1,000 under the plan. In addition, broadcast licensees would be required to give candidates equal time any time an opponent mentions them in independently financed campaign advertising - whether the ad mentions the candidate in a negative or positive light."

A few days later, Governor Weicker announced himself unhappy with some remarks made by Paul Tsongas to the effect that, if forced to choose between Republican social irresponsibility and Democratic fiscal irresponsibility, he would plump for the latter and endorse Clinton for President. This did not please Lowell Weicker, who felt the group should studiously maintain complete neutrality and keep open the option of an independent presidential candidacy. It was Weicker who repeatedly stated, during the gestation period of the platform, that a successful message needs a messenger. While expressing glee at his new found ability in private life to enjoy himself with his grandson, he has reiterated on numerous occasions that he will work hard to bring before the public such a messenger and he has not ruled out himself as the reluctant messenger if no one else should step forward.

Having apparently given up on a candidate, Tsongas teamed up with Ross Perot last week to participate in events calling for political reform. This frankly came as something of a shock to me. Last month, in an appearance on America Online, Tsongas made some remarks about the meaning of teaming up with Perot, and those remarks were not encouraging:

"SenTsongas: There are...constraints in terms of an alliance. One...is the inevitable criticism that any candidate would SenTsongas: endure in trying to explain his or her independence SenTsongas: from Mr. Perot. It would be a cartoonist's delight and that may be fair or unfair , but it is the SenTsongas: reality that one must deal with."

One can only conclude that Tsongas feels the issues are more important than presidential politics, and that if his advocacy of political reform in tandem with Ross Perot has the unintended consequence of boosting a Perot candidacy, so be it, a decision with which I must say I disagree.

Finally, here's the most recent news, which I found out myself by talking to ex-Congressman Penny. He told me a few rather interesting things. First, he said that the Sunday conference calls during which this group made most of their major decisions are still going on, and that they have been joined by a new member, former Congressman Fred Grandy, R-IA. Grandy is a moderate Republican in the mold of Jim Leach and John Chafee. Second, Penny said that he shared Senator Bradley's concerns about the lack of compassion in their first platform, and that it was a long-term goal of the group to release a follow-up dealing with some of Bradley's concerns, a statement which raised in my own mind the tantalizing possibility that they might be trying to persuade Bradley to rejoin the group. This suspicion was borne out when Penny went on to say that it was his personal sense that the group still felt very favorably disposed toward Bradley, and might react very favorably to a Bill Bradley decision to go ahead with an independent presidential candidacy. He also indicated, in a dry, monosyllabic manner which spoke volumes, that his group would NOT be as favorably disposed towards Lowell Weicker. He would not elaborate.