Ron Brown Seems Certain of Taking Democrat Helm

Former Oklahoma Rep. James R. Jones, the last remaining rival to front-runner Ron Brown in the contest for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, dropped out of the race Monday, assuring that Brown will become the first black to head either of the national political parties.

But by the somber tone of his comments at a press conference called to announce his decision, Jones also assured that Brown’s ascension will become the focal point of the ongoing debate about the future direction of the Democratic Party.

While pledging to support Brown, Jones also coupled his departure with the warning that “the Democratic Party could go the way of the British Labor Party unless we make some fundamental changes in our message and image.”

Some prominent Democrats noted that Brown brings many strengths to the job.

Brown “certainly knows the Democratic Party well, he’s going to surprise a lot of people,” said Democratic consultant Greg Schneiders. “He’s very articulate and self-confident and comes across well on television. I think he’ll make a good counterpoint to Lee Atwater,” the Republican chairman, “who often comes across as political and shrill,” Schneiders predicted.

Although most recently associated with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, for whom he worked as convention manager and chief negotiator last summer, Brown has extensive contacts throughout the party from his law practice and his previous service on Capitol Hill, where he worked as an aide to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

“Although he comes out of a Kennedy-Jackson liberal tradition . . . I’m not worried about him looking too liberal,” said Schneiders, noting that many of Brown’s critics said the same things about Paul G. Kirk Jr., another former Kennedy aide, when he was elected party chairman. Southern Democratic officials now seem to have almost univeral praise for Kirk.

Jones was the last of four opponents to withdraw from the race to succeed Kirk, who is retiring. Two other opponents, Richard Wiener, chairman of the Michigan state party, and former Rep. Michael Barnes of Maryland, withdrew last week and endorsed Brown, giving him enough committee votes to virtually guarantee his election at the DNC meeting Feb. 10.

The candidacy of the 47-year-old Brown, a partner in a high-powered Washington law firm and former deputy chairman of the national committee, has caused concern among many Democrats. They worry that choosing him might be the wrong message to send to the white voters the party must win back if it is to regain the White House after losing five of the last six presidential elections.

Jones himself sought to dismiss that point. “I think the race issue should not be of any importance” in judging Brown’s qualifications, he said.

He seemed more troubled by Brown’s ideological background, as a former aide to the failed presidential campaigns of Kennedy in 1980 and of Jackson in 1988.

“Ron is a smart, pragmatic and capable individual,” Jones said. He added that his talks with the chairman-to-be indicated “that he understands the need to make sure our party is perceived as the one standing for economic growth and opportunity, strength in our national defense and security in our neighborhoods.”

Brown responded with a statement in which he indicated at least partial agreement with his rival, who is a former House Budget Committee chairman and one-time White House aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

“I share the view that our party needs to reach out more effectively to all voters,” Brown said. “We are the party of strength and opportunity. I look forward to working with Jim Jones to help protect the strength of our party’s candidates at the state and local levels and regain competitiveness in national elections.”

Brown’s victory will leave a residue of bitterness among some Democrats, at least for a while. “The DNC (Democratic National Committee) is not interested in having input from moderate thinking people,” John Baker, Alabama Democratic Party chairman, said in a telephone interview last week after Brown’s victory seemed inevitable.

“One problem is that a lot of our leaders who should be our spokesmen have been scared to death to speak out, because if you speak out (against Brown’s candidacy) the strategy of Brown and others is to blast you as a racist.”