Jackson Seeks ‘Partnership’ With Party Leaders

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, frustrated by his struggle to win acceptance within the Democratic Party Establishment, suggested Sunday that party leaders should not take him and the votes he delivers for granted.

“The party leadership, elected leadership, press and the pundits stood against me,” Jackson said. “The same forces that did not support me in helping to rebuild the party have high expectations of my continuing to deliver.”

But he warned: “Quid pro quo in politics is a reasonable expectation.”

Jackson’s comments came in an interview with several reporters as he watched a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox from White Sox President Eddie Einhorn’s box at Comiskey Park here.

Takes Aggressive Tone

In his statements over the last few days, Jackson has taken a more aggressive tone, indicating that he will continue to press his political agenda at this month’s Democratic National Convention and beyond.

On Saturday, he announced that he would take a dozen contentious issues--including his call for a tax increase--to the convention floor as minority planks to the party’s platform. All were proposals rejected during the party’s platform committee meeting in Denver.

As Jackson sees it, the party has asked a lot of him, and will continue to do so this fall, when he will be expected to help unify his supporters behind the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

But, according to Jackson, the Democratic Party Establishment has not offered him reciprocal support.

“It has to be a partnership,” he said.

Waits for Invitation

With two presidential races and about 7 million votes under his belt, Jackson is still waiting to be invited into the party’s inner circle.

Just last week, for example, Jackson experienced what he saw as another in a series of slights. “I heard Ann Richards is the Democratic convention keynote speaker from someone in the media,” he said.

Although Jackson said he thought the selection was a good one, he complained: “We were not given the courtesy of making recommendations.”

Jackson said he telephoned Party Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. to protest, but Kirk merely apologized because the media had made the information public.

“That’s not the problem,” Jackson said.

Not Told of Meeting

It was not the first time that Jackson has blamed Kirk for excluding him from party decision-making. He recalled that he had not been informed of an important party meeting on defense policy several months ago.

When Jackson objected, he recalled, Kirk “promised that would not happen again. It happened again.

“I am determined to keep a positive tone and a high moral tone, but a part of keeping peace is justice and fairness,” Jackson added.

Asked about his relations with the Dukakis campaign, Jackson said, “Our contacts at this point are very formal,” with communications being conducted primarily by their top aides.

The two candidates and their wives plan to meet in Boston today for a private dinner and a Boston Pops concert.