Remembering Dallasite Ross Perot, Who Died Two Years Ago Today

DALLAS, TX —Remember when the solution to a problem didn't depend on political affiliation?

Today is the anniversary of the passing of H. Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire and philanthropist. Perot, who died two years ago today, defied convention and garnered more third party votes in his 1992 run for president than anyone since Teddy Roosevelt.

Perot was a unique figure in national and Texas politics, and in many ways a man of his time. He came into public view after the age of the so-called "country club Republicans," of which Mitt Romney is the sole survivor. (And it's worth noting that Perot endorsed Romney twice, in 2008 and when he was the GOP nominee in 2012.)

He made his fortune after leaving IBM to found Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in Dallas in 1962. By April 1970, he was wealthy enough to financially weather becoming the biggest sole loser ever on the New York Stock Exchange when his shares in EDS suddenly plummeted $450 million in value.

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His name was once again in the headlines when he organized a daring rescue of two employees arrested in Iran shortly before the revolution there in 1979. The exploits and the rescue — which was by no means a guaranteed success — ended up becoming a made-for-TV miniseries called On Wings of Eagles and aired in 1986.

In some ways, Perot was the missing link between more independent and libertarian minded moderates like Ron Paul and what the conservative movement became after John McCain's defeat in 2008. Perot was pro-choice, anti-big government and harbored a deep and lasting loathing for NAFTA. In one public address, he told Americans to brace for "the huge sucking sound" that jobs leaving the country would make because of the international trade agreement.

His moment in the limelight also predates the Tea Party, the Obama-loathing era of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump's ascendancy to the White House.

Like Trump, Perot ran as a Washington outsider who believed his business acumen would set America back on a path to long-lasting prosperity. He was also a no-nonsense autocrat who sometimes asked employees to sign loyalty oaths.

If he were alive today, he would likely sharply rebuke Texas Gov. Abbott's attempts to curtail what Texas schookids can be taught, since the billionaire philanthropist took every opportunity to demand that his native state should lead the nation in education.

Those who miss him most in the public arena say Perot's most singular trait was an approach that was practical rather than ideological. That quality simply doesn't exist in American politics anymore.

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