Jackson Charges Dukakis Shuns Loyal Core of Party

INDIANAPOLIS — The Rev. Jesse Jackson, still smoldering over how Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis announced his vice presidential choice, on Thursday charged that his constituency has been excluded from the Democratic Party and said it was up to the probable presidential nominee, not him, to bring the party together.

Jackson, kicking off a three-day bus tour that stops in four cities en route to the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, also hinted that Dukakis was flirting with disaster in the general election in November by trying to woo the conservative wing of the party. By picking Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen to be his running mate, Jackson said, Dukakis is turning his back on what Jackson called the loyal core of the party.

“Mr. Bentsen symbolizes one wing of the party,” Jackson said at a press conference at Operation PUSH headquarters here. “I represent the other wing of the party. It takes two wings to fly and so far our wings are not connected. The Boston/Austin connection leaves Chicago out of the equation.

“Those who did not forsake the party, who did not abandon the party, who did not vote for Reagan, must not only not be taken for granted, they must be rewarded and respected. Those who abandoned the party must not take priority over those who have sustained it.”

Jackson’s statements further heightened speculation that not everything would go as smoothly at the convention next week as party leaders hope. It was the first time that Jackson has implied that his support for the ticket might be less than wholehearted during the fall.

Jackson tried to dispel the impression that he was personally insulted by Dukakis’ handling of the announcement of Bentsen as his choice for vice president. Jackson supporters and staff across the country were angered that Jackson was neither selected nor consulted on the final choice, and was not notified before the announcement.

Jackson on Thursday called the handling of the affair “unfortunate.”

He said he had received an apology Thursday from Dukakis’ campaign chairman, Paul P. Brountas, who explained the failure to properly notify him as a staff error.

“We accept that explanation,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he had talked Wednesday with Dukakis, but he refused to discuss details of the conversation. He did say, in response to questions, that Dukakis did not offer an apology for the way the announcement and selection were handled.

‘Nor Was One Required’

“Nor was one expected, nor was one required,” Jackson said. “The real issue is not requiring an apology, not what time the call came, not really who is on the ticket, but our relationship with the team.

“A keynote speaker was chosen for the convention,” he said. “We heard about it from the media. A recommended vice presidential candidate was announced. We heard about it from the media. I do not know the proposed strategy to win. At this point, my constituency has no place on the team.

“We have not been included even though we are expected to bear the greatest responsibility outside of the candidate himself to deliver victory in November. I’m expected to produce the most registered voters, to attract the most Democratic voters and deliver more votes than anyone outside of the candidate.

“For that we’ve earned a place on the team, in the equation and in the partnership.

“I cannot be asked to go out into the fields, pick up voters, bale them up, deliver them up to the big house where policy is made and priorities are set around the table, and not be part of the equation.”

‘Keep Our Eyes on Prize’

To those supporters who are threatening to sit on the sidelines in the general election because of perceived slights, Jackson said: “It’s premature to arrive at a conclusion. We take it one day at a time. Let’s keep our eyes on the prize.”

Later in the day, Jackson spokesman Ron Brown adopted a more conciliatory tone, describing Dukakis’ phone call to Jackson as “an important call and a good start” toward improving relations.

Still, Jackson said so far there were no plans for his staff members and those from Dukakis’ campaign to resume meetings on the party platform. Jackson staffers, angered by the Bentsen announcement and resistance from the Dukakis campaign to their agenda, broke off the meetings Wednesday.

Jackson said if those meetings are to resume and if the rift between his supporters and the rest of the party is to be closed, it is largely the responsibility of Dukakis and his staff.

“He must assume the responsibility of strategy, judgment and priority,” Jackson said. “We’ve done everything we could to show our commitment, our loyalty, our determination. We’ve helped expand the party, to build it.

“There are high expectations of me to contribute, to invest without equity, without being a shareholder.”

Jackson said he called former President Jimmy Carter Thursday morning to ask that he step in as an arbiter in the conflict between Jackson and the party if the tensions cannot be resolved.

Party Chief Warns of Split

In Atlanta, meanwhile, Democratic National Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. warned Thursday that the party should not split apart over what he called “a missed phone call,” and he reiterated that a unified convention is “essential” to the party’s success.

In remarks seemingly aimed as much at Jackson as at the American public, Kirk deflected criticism from Jackson about publicly introducing “the ticket” of Dukakis and Bentsen before the convention, saying “the reality” is that Dukakis has the delegates to win the nomination and thus the right to choose his running mate.

Asked about irritation in the Jackson camp about the way the announcement was handled, and the ensuing suspension of platform negotiations, Kirk hinted that it was Jackson who now might be erring.

“All the work all the way from before the Iowa caucuses, that all of our candidates have been involved in working constructively . . . should not be lost by the fact that there was a missed phone call,” Kirk said.

“It was just a matter of timing and not a question that shouldn’t be and certainly wasn’t intended as a signal of disrespect or insensitivity.”

Then, hinting that the party would look unhappily on disruptions by Jackson, Kirk reiterated Dukakis’ and the party establishment’s insistence that the convention run smoothly.

Unity Called Essential

“A unified convention is essential if not critical to sending a signal to the American people that the Democratic Party can conduct its business without disharmony . . . and by sending that signal to them I think we can much better demonstrate that we have the ability to govern their business.”

Jackson’s “Jackson Action Rainbow Express” pulled out of the sun-baked streets of South Chicago and headed for Indianapolis, where Jackson spoke to a voter registration rally.

The caravan of six buses, four with members of the press, one with Jackson and his staff and the other with supporters, will stop in Louisville, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., today for voter registration rallies and to meet with Jackson delegates to the convention.

The tour will stop in Chattanooga, Tenn., Saturday at noon where 75 to 100 cars, vans and buses are expected to join the caravan for the final leg of the trip to Atlanta.

Staff writer Thomas B. Rosenstiel in Atlanta contributed to this story.