
          Supporters Say Jesse Can Win Nomination
          By Wilson, Odies C., IIIOdies C. Wilson III
          Vol. 9, No. 2, 1987, pp. 19-21
          
          Jesse Jackson '88 Exploratory Committees are being formed in over
30 states. The initial success and enthusiasm of these efforts have
received very little coverage in the Arkansas media. This is quite
understandable because it is a rule rather than an exception that the
positive accomplishments or undertakings by blacks are not objectively
and factually reported. Positive portrayals of blacks are not
objectively and factually reported. Positive portrayals of blacks in
the media are usually the products of the efforts of a concerned
individual, usually a black, who makes a special effort to compile and
submit well documented facts for a feature publication. The lack of
sensitivity of local media accurately reporting the positive aspects
of the scope and potential of a Jesse Jackson presidential candidacy
must be supplemented by concerned blacks writing and speaking out on
this issue.
          It is a simple fact that many people of all walks of life feel that
Jesse Jackson is a serious candidate for the Democratic presidential
nomination. Many others feel that he is the best candidate in the
field, announced or unannounced from either political party. Further,
there are many elected_officials, political analysts, civic leaders,
ministers, and laypersons who feel that Jesse Jackson has a realistic
and very good chance of capturing the Democratic presidential
nomination or at a minimum he can capture a lion's share of the
Democratic convention delegates in Atlanta and have a strong say as to
who Wl11 or will not be the Democratic presidential nominee.
          A question being asked in political circles across the nation is
"Why should Jesse Jackson run for President in 1988?" It is also a
question most often answered from a negative and usually uninformed
perspective. Far too many people are spending far too much time
reading or listening to what a handful of so called "political
experts" in mass media and the Democratic_Party's Democratic
Leadership Council (DLC), or more appropriately "Democrats for the
Leisure Class," have to say about the potential, direction, effect,
dangers and objectives of a Jackson candidacy. For the most, these are
the same experts who wrote Jackson off in 1984.
          "Jackson would be lucky to get one million votes or one hundred
delegates." "He will not make Super Tuesday." "He will not make the
Democratic Convention." Those "political experts" or "dream busters"
were wrong in 1984. If Jesse 

Jackson runs in 1988 he will prove them
wrong again.
          If Jackson runs in 1988 will he do as well as he did in 1984? Block
Jackson strategies have been springing up since 1984. Four years of
negative and ill-conceived plans of little men in big places have
failed. Campaign professionals have analyzed Jackson's 1984 campaign
and his current political strengths. The results of their analyses
have affirmed what Jackson supporters knew all along. Jesse Jackson
can win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988!
          So the answer to the "Why should Jesse Jackson run for the
Democratic presidential nomination in 1988? is simple, "He can
win."
          Jesse Jackson is the national leader who best expresses the issues
and platform which affect the interests of the Rainbow
Coalition--blacks, workers, farmers, environmentalists, peace
activists, feminists, Hispanics, Asian, Indians, and progressive
whites. He has a long and distinguished history of dedicated work on
behalf of these constituencies.
          Jackson's core constituency is the Democratic_Party's base, the
voters who stick with the party no matter what. Blacks voted over 90
percent for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980 and about the same for
Walter Mondale in 1984. But Jackson is much more than an ethnic
politician. "A black candidate does not mean an exclusive black
agenda, but an inclusive agenda that grows out of the black experience
in America." (Jackson, 1983) Jesse Jackson collects the discontent--a
coalition of the rejected--the real silent majority.
          He has emerged as the authentic "favorite son" of the
constituencies in the Rainbow.
          He is doing well in recent polls, and the Roper Poll of twelve
Southern_states indicated a growing acceptance of his "economic
justice, invest America" message among whites. The Roper Poll also
showed him with 30 percent of the Hispanic vote.
          Jackson has been broadening his base among (white) farmers,
laborers, high_school and college students, peace activists, Jews and
liberals generally. In addition, he has been cultivating an Asian base
(Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Korean Americans), and others.
          The '88 election will be the first since Humphrey vs. Nixon in 1968
with a non-incumbent running in the general election from both
parties.
          Given the numbers and Jackson's natural base, it is not impossible
that Jackson could win outright on Super Tuesday in Maryland,
Virginia, North_Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and
Texas. Certainly he will run strong elsewhere, too--especially if he
does well in Iowa.
          There were those who ignored Jesse Jackson in 1984, but his growing
popularity and political activity may make him the Democratic spoiler
during the next campaign.
          His January visit to Iowa showed the depth of attention he
commands. Jackson went head-to-head with the NFL Super Bowl and drew
800 people to a church potluck supper in a small all-white town
(population 2,100). The feast has not gone unnoticed in a state where
Democrat Gary Hart and Republican Bob Dole had to settle for much
smaller audiences. Besides the United Auto Workers, groups helping
Jackson organize his trip included churches, Democratic activists and
the Iowa Farm Unit Coalition.
          Jackson received 3.2 million votes (compared to Mondale's 6.8
million and Hart's 6.2 million votes) in 1984--some 21 percent of the
total.
          There are 20 million eligible black_voters--thirteen million
registered and seven million unregistered. It is significant to note
that the Mondale-Ferraro ticket receive. 10.5 million black_voters in
the general election--almost [???--page obscured]
million more votes than he
received in the primary process to get the nomination. Clearly any
combination of 10 million votes will win the nomination. The Rainbow
Coalition can win.
          Jackson can "win" without getting the nomination. With a powerful
bloc of delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the Jackson
coalition can determine who will win the nomination, and negotiate the
terms for support. He will go into the convention with an
agenda/contract reflecting the coalition's maximum and minimum
requirements for support of any candidate. The coalition's interests
can be projected and protected. That would constitute a major victory
for the coaliton.
          The Jackson for President Campaign will help empower the coalition
at all levels through massive increases in voter_registration and
strong voter turnout through targeted campaigning We can elect more
council persons, city board members, mayors, Justices of the Peace,
commissioners, state legislators, Congresspersons, and affect the
outcome in key Senate races (as we did in 1986). This mobilization for
empowerment will have significant impact on reapportionment in
1992.
          The Jackson for President Campaign will strengthen long-term
political empowerment through enhancing coalition-building, networking
and the development of permanent political organizations and
institutions.
          In 1984 over 20 percent of Jackson's 3.2 million voters were
non-black. This percentage should increase significantly when he runs
in 1988, but the fact remains that the initial base of Rev. Jackson's
support is black. It is time for blacks to put aside their own petty
personal feelings, anxieties, fears, jealousies and examine the facts
of the giant potential of a Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign from a
black perspective. There are enough registered black_voters alone to
deliver the Democratic nomination to Jesse Jackson.
          You do not have to absolutely like Jesse Jackson's attitude, ego,
personality, point of view, dress, or deodorant before we can have
solidarity in our struggle for equal justice, jobs, and participation
in the economic and political power in our state and nation. You don't
have to agree with everything Jesse Jackson says or does to support
him. Just like you don't have to agree with everything Dale Bumpers,
David Pryor, Tommy Robinson, or Beryle Anthony, Bill Alexander, Bill
Clinton or any other white politician says or does to support them.
          Every black voter should find more common ground with Jesse Jackson
than any other possible candidate from either political party. Blacks
must give Jesse Jackson a solid base to win our party's nomination. To
accomplish this goal we need to reverse the current trend whereby far
too many blacks are selling out the well-being and vested interests of
their communities for some personal and private idiocyncrasy.
          Let's be bold enough to win with Jesse Jackson in 1988. Jesse
Jackson should run for President in 1988! Jesse Jackson should win the
Democratic nomination in 1988. He is undoubtably the best
candidate.
          
            Odies C. Wilson III is a coordinator for the Jackson
campaign in Arkansas. This article is adapted from the Arkansas
State Press, a black weekly newspaper published in
Little Rock.
          
        
