Democrats Seek ‘Meaningless’ Party Platform, Brown Charges

The day after a Democratic Party panel held its platform hearing here, presidential candidate Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. charged Tuesday that the party hierarchy was seeking to craft “an inoffensive, meaningless document to protect” presumptive nominee Bill Clinton.

The former California governor called on party leaders to broaden the platform deliberations for the July nominating convention in New York, urging them to hold hearings in cities throughout the country in order to give ordinary citizens an opportunity to participate.

Clinton has sought to pull the party together behind moderate positions and to avoid the kind of divisive, highly publicized policy fights that have marred previous conventions. The platform is expected to heavily reflect the Arkansas governor’s views.

But Brown, echoing some of the comments by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who testified here, reflected the concerns of some party liberals that the platform will give short shrift to the needs of the poor and urban areas.

“I want to make sure this process is open, and I don’t want to get to New York and see this whole platform a rigged deal, just a lot of verbal cellophane that is wrapped around a candidate who has already been sprinkled with holy water and delivered to the American people packed in ice,” Brown said during a news conference at the hotel where Monday’s platform hearing was held.

“To hold an all-day and all-night session down the hall here in one city in America is not enough to engage the American people at the level required to win the presidency in 1992,” he said.

Ginny Terzano, spokeswoman for Democratic Party Chairman Ronald H. Brown, said more hearings would be costly and would not affect the outcome.

Ninety witnesses testified before the platform committee during the 15-hour session Monday. The platform will be drafted at subsequent meetings in Washington and Santa Fe, N.M., and presented for a vote at the convention.

Some party stalwarts have viewed Brown’s continued attacks on Clinton--well after Brown could prevent the front-runner from winning the nomination--as harmful to the Democrats’ chances to defeat President Bush. Once again, Brown refused here to commit himself to endorsing Clinton after the convention.

“I’m not ready to deal with that yet,” the three-time presidential candidate said. “I’m keeping my powder dry.”

But he said he has no plans to run as a third-party candidate. “It’s hard enough running as a Democrat,” he said.