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“There were actually twenty-one primaries and caucuses altogether on that day, March 8 (1988), Jackson ran ran first or second in sixteen of them. In the South, he finished first in five states and second in nine others, winning 27 percent of the popular vote, more than anyone else, and claiming almost a third of the region's delegates. In fact, when the day was over, Jackson had actually become the overall leader in popular votes in the Democratic presidential primary campaign.” (page 391)
“....Jackson had finished second with 7 million votes – 29 percent of the total cast, and about equal, actually, to Mondale's count in 1984. Moreover, some 2 million of those votes had come this time from whites, almost as many as had gone to Gore, Gephardt, and Babbit put together.” (pages 400-401)
--Jesse; Marshall Frady; Random House; 1996
I was reading some accounts of the battle in Wisconsin this morning, when I came upon a right-wing account that caught my attention. Briefly, it called the demonstrators “criminals,” and stated that they were so desperate that they “dragged Jesse Jackson out of obscurity” to address their crowds. I will not provide a link to that story, as I would prefer that it sink into obscurity. Yet, unintentionally, it raises some important points.
Among his many accomplishments, Jesse twice ran in the Democratic presidential primaries. In 1984, his campaign was conducted as a revival, and culminated in his powerful call to the conscience of America, at the Democratic National Convention. Older forum members will recall that New York's Governor Mario Cuomo gave an intense speech about the divide in America, challenging Reagan's “City on the Hill” illusion. And then, Jesse delivered the Word, in what many consider the greatest speech given at any national convention.
Four years more of “Reaganomics” and the criminal conspiracies of “Iran-Contra” substituting as foreign policy had turned the sod across the country, making it possible for the most serious presidential run by a true progressive in a the past 40 years. In contrast to his '84 run, which sought to increase the numbers of black citizens registered to vote, the 1988 run was a solid political campaign. Jackson's platform is worth reviewing. The major issues included:
Instituting a WPA program, to put Americans to work rebuilding the nation's infrastructure;
Reversing the Reagan tax-cuts for the obscenely wealthy;
Changing the focus of the “war on drugs” to target the banks that laundered big drug monies;
Cutting military spending by 15%;
Creating a single-payer universal health care system;
Ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment;
Increasing funding for education;
Making community colleges free;
Reviving FDR-era supports for family farms;
Enforcing the Voting Rights Act;
Changing the policies that supported foreign dictators, and encouraging democratic efforts.
Respect for unions.
When the economic and social problems were worsening in the towns and cities of America, citizens were more open to supporting a progressive candidate. One of the most important lessons from 1988 involves how the other democratic primary candidates joined together to stop Jesse Jackson's momentum. They used the excuse that Jesse “couldn't win” the general election. So what did they do? They coordinated an effort to promote Michael Dukakis.
I'm not anti-Dukakis. I believe that he was, in essence, a good man. But at a time when the Democratic Party was going to run a candidate against George Bush the Elder – who was rightly or wrongly perceived as a prissy poodle – the heads of the Democratic Party put forth the one candidate who made Bush appear strong in comparison. And Bush destroyed Dukakis in the general election.
For many Americans, the 2008 presidential election appeared to present another progressive candidate, Senator Barack Obama. Unlike the right-wing, which used a melanin meter to measure Obama, the democratic left was encouraged that Obama had drank from the same well that had nourished past progressives of all colors.
Yet, the past two years have not brought about the level of change needed to repair the wounds inflicted by the Bush-Cheney era. It's not a question of if Obama is better than McCain, or Biden superior to Palin. It's about the quality of life that people deserve and expected.
So, again, we are at a time when many people are open to hearing the message of a man like Jesse Jackson. They recognize that we need progressive change in America, and that this type of change cannot come from the current crop of elected officials in Washington, DC. At least not from their sense of fairness and good will.
This is what the revolutionary change can and should be in the United States. That is the ultimate goal of the demonstrations in Wisconsin today. Our situation, while similar to that facing people in lands such as Egypt, is distinct. We can bring about meaningful change within the existing system, by changing the make up of the government. We face many stumbling blocks: corporations, republicans, and yes, even many of the business-as-usual career politicians in Washington and in our state capitals.
But we can unite groups and individuals for a common purpose. That is, after all, the very purpose of unions. And we can, like Jesse in the years between 1984 and '88, bring a large number of individuals who are not registered to vote, nor engaged in the political process, into the picture.
Alone, we are like individual fingers, which our enemy can easily twist and break. United, we form a powerful fist that is capable of protecting us all.
Peace,
H2O Man
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