POLITICS ’88 : CAMPAIGN ’88 : Jackson Taking the Bus
The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced Thursday that he and a group of supporters will hire a bus to travel from Chicago to the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta next week. Jackson told a news conference in Atlanta that the bus trip would dramatize the “hope of our campaign,” and focus attention on issues such as the homeless, drugs, peace and the environment.
The bus will leave Chicago next Thursday and will stop in Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville and Chattanooga on the way to Atlanta.
Some Democrats have worried that such a trip might attract so many Jackson supporters to Atlanta that it would detract from the nomination of Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the presumed nominee.
Jackson said he is not organizing a “counter convention,” however, and that he is responsible only for the Chicago contingent. “We’re not engaging in a mass mobilization for Atlanta,” he said, but several visitors to Atlanta said they know people in their states are planning similar bus trips.
Asked if he was trying to “steal the thunder” from Dukakis, Jackson said with a straight face: “Mr. Dukakis has no intention of bringing any thunder to Atlanta.”
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