Press Agenda, Jackson Urges Delegates

The Rev. Jesse Jackson urged a group of his delegates Wednesday not to let fears of divisiveness prevent them from pressing his agenda before and during next month’s Democratic convention.

“Every live debate is not a fight. It’s a struggle for direction,” he told a group of his delegates attending the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“We must go prepared to fully debate the direction of our party, and the direction of our country, and what commitment will be made to make a difference in our lives,” Jackson added.

Voice in Decisions

Although Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis has clinched the Democratic nomination, Jackson continues to remind the party that his more than 1,100 delegates will have a voice in ratifying important decisions at the convention--including taking important policy positions and nominating presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Jackson confirmed at a news conference that he has received a preliminary request from Dukakis for financial and other information, which Dukakis will be taking into account as he chooses a running mate.

While refusing to say whether he would accept the vice presidency or any other position in a Dukakis Administration, Jackson again spoke of the attributes that he would bring to the ticket. He warned: “If we go to the Olympics and we put less than our best team on the field, we will lose.”

Jackson has repeatedly expressed concern that Dukakis might take the party in too cautious and conservative a direction. Some in the Dukakis camp believe that such characterizations only benefit their candidate, who is being characterized by Vice President George Bush as too liberal.

Underscoring his ideological differences with Dukakis, Jackson told the labor convention that a national health insurance plan proposed by Dukakis is “not sufficient.”

Would Extend Coverage

In his address to the same labor group on Tuesday, Dukakis said that as President he would seek to extend nationwide the program he signed into law in Massachusetts to require every employer except a few very small firms to provide health insurance for all of their employees.

Jackson said “there is no question that the Massachusetts plan applied nationally would be a great leap forward,” but added that “we do not need a great leap forward throwing more money into our wasteful, public-private patchwork medical delivery system. We need to . . . move away from the precipice toward a rational comprehensive plan.”

Jackson outlined a much broader “federally funded and publicly administered” health plan for all Americans which he said ultimately would cost less.

Jackson also blamed Reagan Administration policies Wednesday for the unfolding Pentagon procurement scandal, involving allegations of bribery of Pentagon officials by defense contractors in exchange for inside information on pending contracts.

“What’s the result? Cost-plus contracts that remove risk. Sole-source contracts that remove competition. Systematic waste, pervasive corruption. Billions spent on weapons we do not need and cannot use,” Jackson said.

Jackson again called for a five-year freeze in the defense budget, which he said would free $60 billion to use for education, housing, health care and other social programs.