Politics From the Twilight Zone

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Their campaigns cost a grand total of $200. They made few speeches, avoided appearing on television, and distributed only a smattering of pamphlets. They kept quiet about their platform, which proposes mandatory testing of all Americans for AIDS and "Nuremberg tribunals" for those suspected of treason. Although the ballot in the Illinois state primary listed them as Democrats, that designation cloaked their true affiliation.

The two candidates who won the Illinois Democratic state primary nominations for Lieutenant Governor and secretary of state in shocking upsets are actually followers of reclusive, ultra-right-wing, perennial Presidential Candidate Lyndon LaRouche. Mark Fairchild and Janice Hart, two travelers from the Twilight Zone of politics, narrowly defeated the handpicked nominees of Adlai Stevenson III. Stevenson won the Democratic primary for Governor with an overwhelming 88% of the vote.

The returns jolted everyone in Illinois politics. "This is insane," said an incredulous Republican Governor James Thompson. "A disaster," exclaimed Democratic Chairman Calvin Sutker. Stevenson was both angry and adamant. "I am exploring every legal remedy to purge these extremists from the Democratic ticket," said he. "But one thing I want to make absolutely clear. I will never serve on a ticket with candidates who espouse the hate-filled folly of Lyndon LaRouche and the U.S. Labor Party."

The victory of the LaRouche candidates left the Democratic Party in agitated disarray and may torpedo Stevenson's chances. Though candidates for statewide offices in Illinois are chosen individually, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor must run in tandem in November. Stevenson is considering forming a third party, a complicated maneuver that would require renouncing his Democratic nomination and organizing a slate of candidates for nine offices. But many Illinois Democrats, including U.S. Senator Alan Dixon, regard that as imprudent. Dixon urged Stevenson to run as a Democrat and promise to eliminate the Lieutenant Governor's office if elected.

After his victory, Fairchild, 28, an earnest-looking electrical engineer who won the Lieutenant Governor's spot, attributed the upset to "anger on the part of the public at the regular Democratic slate." For his part, Fairchild said, he would like to reach some kind of agreement with Stevenson. Hart, 31, the new Democratic nominee for secretary of state, was less gracious. A dark, alarmingly intense woman who has been a LaRouche disciple since she was 17, she spoke at her victory press conference in the flat tones of a military commander: "We will roll our tanks down State Street, and make sure every citizen is armed, with reason and beauty. We will hang traitors and hang people who are responsible for feeding our children drugs . . ." There was more: "He (LaRouche) will put the fear of God in people like Henry Kissinger and the State Department, the biggest hotbed of treason in this nation since Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton."

The bizarre outcome was skewed, in part, by the Chicago races, where Mayor Harold Washington campaigned against the regular Democratic ticket (see box). In the statewide contests, regular Democrats were too cocky; Stevenson did not bother to campaign for his running mates, assuming, like everyone else, that they would be ushered in on his coattails.