Jesse Jackson announces candidacy: He'll use presidential campaign to 'expand' Democratic Party

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….. a Jackson presidencv will be a Jackson presidency will characterized by a strong leadership and a strong military? 20 SOCIALIST ACTION NOVEMBER 1987 RALEIGH, N.C.—On Oct. 10, 1987, in an atmosphere of tumultuous applause and chants of "Win, Jesse, Win" from nearly 4000 supporters in the packed Raleigh Civic Center, the Rev. Jesse Jackson officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. A banner behind the stage proclaiming "Bold Leadership...New Direction" captured the mood of the crowd.

The rally was the highpoint of the three-day Biennial Convention of the National Rainbow Coalition.

People came from 38 states to participate. Leslie Cagan, co-chair of the National Committee for Independent Political Action (NCIPA), wrote in The Guardian newspaper that the purpose was to "map out plans for building a permanent progressive political and not only electoral) organization."

The rally, however, contained many of the trappings of a traditional Democratic Party fete, including red, white, and blue balloons. It also had elements of a religious revival, with gospel music and such banners as "Red, Brown, Black or White, We're All Precious in God's Sight."

There was also an attempt to project this as a gathering of all the dispossessed, joining their individual concerns into one. Accordingly, the speakers' list included Blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Arab Americans. It included a disabled man, an environmentalist, and a farm leader. Noticeably absent were leaders of the peace movement and the various "radicals" who've lent their support to the Jackson campaign.

Despite the crowd's enthusiastic response, Jackson offered neither a new direction, nor bold leadership. Instead he offered the old direction of working within the Democratic Party. Although some participants still expressed hope that on a local level Rainbow chapters could be independent, Jackson's speech should have erased any doubts that this is a Democratic Party campaign designed, as he explained, to "challenge the cynicism and despair which led 83 million Americans to surrender their right to vote in '84."

In his speech, Jackson elaborated on how he intends to serve the ruling rich by restoring faith in the Democratic Party. He said his '84 campaign was responsible for getting 2 million people to register and vote Democratic. He added that the work of his supporters was responsible for several Democratic Senate victories last fall.

He explained, "We've expanded and renewed the Democratic Party. We are why Joe Biden, and not Strom Thurmond, chaired the Bork hearings. We are why Bork is soon to become the answer to a trivia question instead of a threat to our rights."

During the three-hour show preceding Jackson's announcement, members of Congress, and state and local elected officials, were introduced and applauded. Chairing part of the rally, California State Assemblywoman Maxine Waters introduced Gary, Ind., Mayor Richard Hatcher as "a shining example of what an elected official can and should be."

Former Indiana Senator Vance Hartke said, "I'm a Democrat. Jesse's a Democrat. We belong to the Democratic Party which gave us the greatest president we've ever had-Franklin Delano Roosevelt... I'm proud of the Democratic Party and I'm proud of Jesse Jackson."

Hartke added, "There is a difference in political candidates. Some people would say they want to keep the status quo. Jesse Jackson wants to change that status quo. Some people would say they want law and order. Jesse Jackson wants justice. Some people would say they want information. Jesse Jackson wants understanding... I want this country to continue to be great and I want Jesse Jackson to be at the helm and lead us to that greatness."

Jackson began his announcement speech by addressing the hopes of the crowd: "You're here to give witness to your desire for a new direction in America-an America of jobs, an America of peace, an America of justice. Just as we replaced racial violence with racial justice, we must replace economic violence with economic justice."

But, as Sen. Hartke had echoed earlier, such fine words fall well within traditional Democratic Party campaign promises of "new deals, fair deals, new frontiers, and great societies."

Platitudes about jobs

Just as John F. Kennedy built much of his 1960 campaign around the so-called missile gap, Jackson criticized Reagan's military policy for its ineffectiveness. Jackson said, "We have guided missiles and E.J. Camp —Rev. Jesse Jackson misguided leadership. That's why President Reagan invaded Grenada, a country of 100,000 people with no standing army when he was really mad at Cuba and wanted to divert attention from the 250 American boys killed in Lebanon. A strong military but a weak leadership left our boys vulnerable. A Jackson presidency will be characterized by a strong leadership and a strong military.

Jackson stated that the greatest challenge today is to protect the American family "from drugs flowing in and jobs flowing out." Accusing Reagan of cutting back on funds for drug law enforcement, Jackson declared, "We must declare war on drugs. A nation's first duty is to defend its borders. There's no greater threat today than the flow of drugs across our borders. We need to strengthen the Coast Guard and all interdiction programs. We have minesweepers in the Persian Gulf, but there's a great need for drugsweepers in the Gulf of Mexico."

While coming up with specific proposals to keep drugs out, Jackson's proposals to keep jobs in were limited to platitudes about the "need to put America back to work at living wages." Without explaining how, he said bold leadership would be able to achieve this goal.

Most of the 1200 convention participants regarded Jackson's candidacy announcement as the high point of the three-day convention. Others viewed it as an unwelcome diversion from the task of building a viable grassroots movement. The latter commented on the "Jackson takeover" of the convention by saying, "We came for a Rainbow Coalition convention, but it looks like all we got was a Jackson rally."

Many delegates sincerely believed that the Rainbow Coalition is a democratic grassroots movement and that their convention would establish the program for the national campaign.

During the opening session Friday, delegates reacted angrily to several proposed procedural rules limiting the rights of individual delegates and strengthening the rights of officially chartered state delegations. Despite the efforts of the convention chairperson to limit discussion and win quick adoption of all the proposed rules, delegates were able to overturn three of these proposed rules. Some local activists pointed to this procedural victory as a sign of the vitality of the Rainbow and the power of the grassroots organization.

"Common ground" = Democrats In explaining their involvement in the Rainbow Coalition, many activists echoed the sentiments expressed in an open letter from Jackson to the convention: "We have also expanded the process of building a broadly based coalition. Today this coalition stands in opposition to the export of capital, our jobs and our tax base, by multinational corporations who act out of greed and act as if they are beyond government control. As a result, many diverse sectors of our U.S. population are finding a common ground for action, through their involvement in the Rainbow Coalition.

"Displaced workers from Cudahy, Wis., and Cicero, Ill., and displaced farmers from Chillicothe, Mo., are finding common ground. The movements for disarmament, ending apartheid, and stopping U.S military intervention in Central America, are finding common ground. Urban Blacks, women, Hispanics, and Native Americans are finding common ground."

Rainbow delegates argued that the Rainbow would provide the best framework for forging alliances among various oppressed sectors of society. They pointed to the Friday session on economic issues, the student conference organized in conjunction with the convention, and workshop topics ranging from health care for all, to building the movements against contra aid and domestic racism, as examples of the concerns such a coalition could address.

American Federation of Government Employees President Ken Blaylock chaired the economics session. He assured the delegates, "We're in the process of building a political program for the Rainbow." After the conclusion of panels on plant closings, the farm crisis, and housing, Blaylock stated, "Normally when you go to a convention, you have all kinds of experts and economists. Here what we're having is people who've experienced the results."

No independent mass movement Despite the best intentions of the sincere activists who believe that they can utilize the Jackson campaign to advance the concerns of working people, the opposite will inevitably occur. Just as some astute observers at Jackson's rally noticed that their convention and workshops were not determining the program and direction of (continued on page 4, in “Skin heads in Cinn. make appeals to recruit racists”)