New Players Could Change Jackson’s Role in Politics

For the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the ascension of a new generation of black politicians to major offices across the country poses an ironic challenge that some Democrats are convinced could dilute Jackson’s power as the Democratic Party’s pre-eminent black leader.

Even some Jackson associates acknowledge that Tuesday’s election brought to national prominence black officeholders who offer qualities that Jackson lacks: a proven record of electoral success and a political agenda more accepted by the Democratic mainstream.

And this could add new urgency to a question Jackson has been pondering for months: whether to lower his sights and seek election as mayor of the District of Columbia to demonstrate his own ability to win and hold public office.

“Jesse Jackson opened up the avenues for these black candidates,” said Bert Lance, a former official in the Jimmy Carter Administration who is a close associate of Jackson. “The irony is that he is now going to go through a time in which his political status will be diminished.”

The effect, said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a leading black congressman, may mean that Tuesday’s elections mark the end of an era in which Jackson was “the undisputed symbol or leader of blacks in the national political arena.”

Other party analysts, however, dispute such conclusions as premature. They argue that Jackson represents a political phenomenon too powerful to be subordinated and that the new crop of elected black officials is neither willing nor able to overshadow the longtime leader.

“The limelight will be shared now somewhat but never underestimate Jackson’s ability to rebound. He will be here,” said Robert Beckel, a political consultant in contact with Jackson.

The politicians who shattered barriers Tuesday include Democrats L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, a grandson of slaves who became the nation’s first elected black governor, and David N. Dinkins, who became the first black mayor of New York. Other blacks elected to prominent positions were mayors Norman Rice of Seattle and Michael White of Cleveland.

It was their victories--triumphs of moderate agendas, espoused by candidates who had followed timeworn political paths--that have caused some Democrats to wonder whether time may be beginning to pass Jackson by.

“Whether (the newly elected officials) want to or not, they will co-opt the left and then move toward the center,” said Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento). “That may not leave much room for Rev. Jackson’s style of politics.”

“It just may be,” added Gerald F. Austin, Jackson’s campaign manager during his 1988 presidential bid, “that even though Jesse Jackson is only 48, he may be regarded by many folks as part of the past instead of the future.”

In a telephone interview, Jackson rejected the notion that his status had been diminished in any way. Calling such analysis “wishful thinking,” he noted that all four of the major black candidates elected Tuesday had supported him in the past.

“I have more allies now in more strategic positions than ever before,” Jackson said. “We all have on the same uniform. We are just wearing different numbers.”

Some other black officeholders endorsed that view. Noting that Jackson’s support within the Democratic Party structure has “always been begrudging,” Rep. Alan Wheat (D-Mo.) insisted: “Nothing that has happened will diminish Jackson’s popular appeal and that is where his strength has always been drawn.”

But even before Tuesday’s elections, a number of senior Jackson associates had spent months encouraging him to run for mayor of the District of Columbia next year. Arguing that victory would be virtually assured, they contend that a term as mayor would help Jackson silence critics scornful of his lack of elective experience.

And in light of the level of experience that Wilder, Dinkins and other newly elevated black politicians bring with them to high office, many of these advisers indicated Friday that they plan to make that argument with renewed fervor.

“Any time you become a lightning rod for criticism there is this danger,” said Toney Anaya, a former New Mexico governor who is close to Jackson. “You’re going to be trailblazing for someone else and not reap the benefits.”

“For Jesse to be personally successful,” said John C. White, a former Democratic Party chairman who emerged as a Jackson adviser during the 1988 campaign, “he’s going to have to broaden his base, and to do that he needs to show people he can run something.”

While Jackson moved from Chicago to Washington this fall, and has since focused on the campaign to win statehood status for the District of Columbia, he has not yet made clear whether he intends to run for mayor.

In the interview, Jackson appeared to distance himself from those who have been urging him to throw his hat in the ring. “Others take a different view,” he said when asked about such advice. Without prompting, he then recited a list of limits that he said would “circumscribe” him from playing a national role if he were to become mayor.

The most important, he indicated, is the virtual veto power that Congress will continue to hold over the city government unless the District of Columbia becomes a state. “My interest in serving in Washington is under the assumption of self-determination, not under the assumption of occupation,” he said.

Democratic Party Chairman Ron Brown was unavailable for comment. But Michael D. McCurry, communications director of the Democratic National Committee, indicated that Brown wants to downplay any potential damage to Jackson to avoid party fissures.

“Ron Brown says there is a preoccupation with Jackson on the part of the press that is understandable because he is an interesting person,” McCurry said. “But not all political developments relate to Jesse Jackson’s current or future interests.”

That view was also voiced by other Democrats, who argued that it would be naive to believe that a candidate as charismatic and well-known as Jesse Jackson would be deterred by this week’s events.

“This is a guy who can go to Soviet Armenia and get people to chant ‘keep hope alive,’ ” one party official said. “You are talking about an international figure.”

“The notion of Wilder or Dinkins wanting to play king of the hill with Jesse Jackson nationally is absolutely absurd,” noted a former Jackson aide. “They don’t want to and they can’t.”

Indeed, while some Jackson associates have spoken openly about the prospect that his power would be diminished, much of the discussion has emanated from Democrats within the center of the party who see Jackson as a polarizing force.

“Wilder and Dinkins and (Rep. William H.) Gray (of Pennsylvania) don’t threaten anybody,” said Matsui, the California congressman, “and that distinguishes them from Jesse Jackson. There’s no question that he was perceived by conservative Democrats as threatening, and that became a source of discontent during the campaign.”

Added Lewis, the Georgia congressman: “There are many black and white voters all over the country who will now readily identify with the philosophies or the views of a Dinkins or a Wilder rather than a Jesse Jackson. These two men have paid their dues in terms of electoral politics.”

Uncomfortable with Jackson’s political agenda, these Democratic officials appear eager to use the outcome of this week’s elections to embrace the more moderate black politicians and wrest Jackson from center stage.

“There is no doubt,” said Earl Black, a political scientist at the University of South Carolina, “that Democrats are going to take the example of this election to suggest that there’s an alternative to the Jesse Jackson pattern of leadership.”

What remains unclear, analysts said, is whether the new, more mainstream black elected officials being heralded in this argument would be willing to play along.

Not only are they likely to be wary of alienating Jackson, but their new responsibilities in statehouses and city halls are likely to preclude an aggressive national role.

“Doug Wilder is not going to be a national stand-in for Jesse Jackson,” said one high ranking party strategist. “The guy has a state to run.”