Atlanta Delegates See Need for Unity

A few days before Orange County’s delegates to this week’s Democratic National Convention left for Atlanta, most of them met for a strategy session on subjects ranging from the serious to the sublime.

The serious: An effort by delegates of Michael S. Dukakis to soothe the ruffled feelings of supporters of Jesse Jackson, who were disappointed and angry over the way Dukakis handled the choice of his running mate.

The sublime: A request that delegates carry around shopping bags full of oranges to give out as a promotion for Orange County Democrats, who know they have become something of a joke in the Democratic Party. Wrapped around the oranges will be a fact sheet pointing out that, despite its reputation as a Republican bastion, there are nearly 370,000 Democrats in Orange County--more than in 16 states.

“It’s the old story,” said Superior Court Judge Bruce W. Sumner, a Dukakis delegate. “We make jokes about ourselves and everybody else does too, and then they start believing it.”

The convention participants are, in other words, fully engaged in the once-every-four-years national spectacle that serves both as a serious debate on major policy issues and a huge party where Democratic regulars have a chance to meet, greet and try to impress each other.

This year, the convention is overshadowed by the question of whether Jackson and his supporters will make trouble at the convention in the wake of Dukakis’ selection of Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

The two Orange County Jackson delegates who attended last week’s meeting said they will take their cue at the convention from Jackson.

Sami Odeh of Orange said that if Dukakis tries to “ride over Jackson,” as Odeh put it, “then we have the danger of alienating an awful lot of Jackson people who have been with Jackson for an awful long time, and then we will have a divided party.”

But that can be avoided, Odeh said, “if the two campaigns work out certain very important issues to the satisfaction of both camps.”

Sadie Reid-Benham of Santa Ana, another Jackson delegate, said there is a possibility that Jackson supporters will boycott Dukakis’ acceptance speech Thursday night or take other actions.

“People are talking about they’re going to sit this one out and wait. The whole election--they just won’t vote,” said Reid-Benham, who added that she is experiencing her own personal struggle between her loyalty to Jackson and her desire to see a Democrat win in November.

Sumner Prediction

Sumner, a former county party chairman, predicted at the meeting Thursday that “we lose” if Jackson supporters sit out the general election,

“There are perhaps times that you say, ‘OK, I’d rather lose than win,’ but is this one of them?” Sumner asked. “Then we’re facing eight years of (Vice President George) Bush and the (Democratic) agenda goes further behind.”

Dukakis delegates are understandably anxious about resolving the Jackson problem as quickly as possible to clear the way for what they believe could be the Democrats’ best shot at the White House since 1976. Orange County Democrats think they can help Dukakis along by keeping Bush from getting the huge margin of victory usually afforded Republican presidential candidates in Orange County.

Viewed from Atlanta, the reputation of Orange County’s Democratic Party is not enhanced by the sometimes terrible showings within the county by Democratic candidates for statewide or national office. So few votes were cast for Walter F. Mondale in the 1984 presidential election and for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in the 1986 gubernatorial election that, under a formula for delegate selection, Orange County was apportioned only 13 of the state’s 336 Democratic delegates and five of the 105 alternates to this week’s convention.

Jackson Showing

In the Democratic presidential primary, Jackson did unexpectedly well in Orange County, taking 23.5% of the vote to Dukakis’ 70.6%.

Jackson’s showing earned him three Orange County delegates, who will join the 10 Dukakis delegates, five Dukakis alternate delegates and two super-delegates from the county at the convention. Super delegates, whose selection is based on longtime party service, can vote at the convention and are not committed to individual candidates.

Howard Adler of Laguna Hills, the titular head of the county’s delegation to the convention, said he and other Democrats would count it as “an incredible victory” if the Bush margin in Orange County--where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 54.3% to 35.4%--is kept to 150,000 votes.

If the margin could be kept that low, county Democrats say, Dukakis would be assured of a statewide victory in California.

“The conventional wisdom is that the Republicans are going to overwhelm us in Orange County,” Adler said. “But we know, if we really work at it, we can keep this under 150,000.”

The upbeat Adler said that volunteers are already offering to help in the county’s Dukakis campaign. There was even talk Thursday night of Dukakis having “coattails”--a degree of popularity that could help sweep other Democratic candidates to victory--in the November election.

“I’ve never been as up for a campaign as I am now,” Adler said. “I never thought we had a shot at this thing, to be honest--I figured this was one that was going to Bush. But the dynamics have changed.”

Much will depend on how united Democrats are after the convention closes Thursday.

“We’ve got to all come back feeling like we’re working for the same cause,” Adler told fellow delegates.

“To some extent, we’re kind of a microcosm of what’s going to be happening in Atlanta and to the extent that we’re successful within our own group. . . ,” Adler said, his voice trailing.

Reid-Benham, though obviously infected by Adler’s enthusiasm, inserted a more cautious note.

“The bottom line is we want to win in November,” she said, “and that’s going to depend on really what happens at the convention.”