National College Reform Party (NCRP) member Jared M. Rhoads says he believes the divisions hurt the party, but are sometimes necessary in the beginning stages of a movement.

Rhoads is a sophomore at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and serves as the New England Regional Representative of the NCRP.

"Everybody recognizes the great potential of the Reform party, and since the party is in its infancy, we have lots of different people trying to mold it to their own ideologies or add a little extra feature here or there," Rhoads writes in an e-mail message. "We aren't just a bunch of blind followers, so every little thing gets contested."

Rhoads recognizes some of the problems have come from the struggle for leadership, but says the infighting has to stop in order for the party to remain a credible force.

"Part of the infighting is due to conflicting egos, but most of it is just because we are all so passionate about political reform," he writes. "It's healthy in some way, but I think it has to stop. We are shooting ourselves in the foot, really, whenever we come across as disorganized or a circus."

"This kind of scuffle is great to keep the fire burning in non-election years, but now more than ever is the time to present ourselves respectably," he adds.

Go, Pat, Go?

While Buchanan appears to be the likely Reform nominee, his selection is alienating moderate voters--especially the student base which has always been attracted to the Reform Party.