(8 of 9)
Jackson's specific demands can apparently be accommodated if the resulting compromises are couched in rhetoric that gives the civil rights leader a face-saving reason to accept them. His complaint that the party's presidential primary rules are unfair, sometimes awarding a candidate far fewer delegates than his electoral strength would warrant, is valid. Ironically, it was Mondale last week who complained that the rules were stacked against him in California, where his share of the delegates was far less than the percentage of votes his delegates received. A new party commission to reform the rules once again is necessary, although changes could hardly be applied retroactively to the 1984 primaries.
Jackson's insistence on an end to run-off primaries for congressional, state and local offices is a pricklier problem. Under the runoff system, mostly in effect in the South, if no one gets more than 50% of the votes cast, the two top vote getters in a multicandidate field are pitted against each other in a second election. Jackson claims that such runoffs are inherently discriminatory, since blacks rarely constitute a majority and thus have difficulty beating a white head to head. One possible compromise: holding runoffs only when the first-round winner receives less than 40% of the vote. The issue will apparently be thrashed out in the convention's platform committee, which Mondale delegates will control. Jackson feels certain that he can get enough support on the committee to take a minority report backing his position to the convention floor, where it could stir strong" emotions. While platform planks have little practical effect, the fight could especially embitter white Southern Democrats, most of whom are strong advocates of the runoff system.
Jackson is being counseled by seasoned black politicians not to play a seriously disruptive convention role. Above all, they want to see Reagan defeated and black voting power increased. Among those giving Jackson such advice are Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, D.C., Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, Ind., California Legislator Maxine Waters and former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton of New York City. All are experienced in negotiating delicate political compromises and could help limit any potentially damaging disagreements at the convention.
Far harder for any party leaders to influence, are Jackson's grandiose foreign policy forays. Last week he announced that he will fly to Havana later this month at Fidel Castro's invitation. Jackson says he will try to persuade Castro to renounce the Soviet Olympic boycott and send Cuban athletes to Los Angeles. He plans a July 2 trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, where, he says, he will lead demonstrators to protest the Reagan Administration's policy on Central America and demand that the Western Hemisphere become a "war-free zone." Meanwhile, Jackson's political associate, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the black Nation of Islam organization, visited Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. The trip reinforced the impression among American Jews, who are some of Mondale's keenest supporters and most generous contributors, that Jackson is radically pro-Arab. As a result, Mondale cannot be seen to be conceding too much to Jackson for fear of a backlash that could drive Jewish voters into the Reagan camp.