Rev. Jackson praised for changing Dem rules that paved the way for Obama and now Harris

by Chinta Strausberg
 
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., who twice ran for the presidency, received a string of praises for his demanding fairness from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that led to a change in the delegate rules which leaders say paved the way for Barack Obama and now Kamala Harris to win and run for president of the United States.
 
Hundreds of supporters attended Sunday’s August 18th, tribute to Rev. Jackson that was hosted by The Nation and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Numerous leaders made a point of praising Rev. Jackson’s bold stance against the DNC rules when he ran for president for the second time in 1988.
 
When Jackson ran for president in 1984, he racked up 3,282,431 primary votes for a total of 18.2 percent of the vote, but when he ran again in 1988, Rev. Jackson garnered 6.9 million votes winning 11 contests, 7 primaries, Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Virginia, He won four caucuses, Delaware, Michigan, South Caroline and Vermont. Jackson also won victories in Alaska’s caucuses and Texas’s local conventions though he lost the Texas primary
 
Jackson won 55 percent of the vote in Michigan making him the frontrunner for the nomination, however because of the party’s delegate rules, Jackson accused the Democratic Party’s Fairness commission of “stacking” the party’s Fairness Commission of “stacking’ the party’s presidential nominating rules against African Americans and other people of color. Jackson said the party’s threshold rule denied him his fair share of nominating delegates.
 
At the time, the Party’s rules stated that a candidate had to win 20 percent of the vote in a caucus or primary election in order to receive a proportional share of the delegates at stake.
Under that rule, a candidate had to win 20 percent of the vote in a caucus or primary election to receive a proportional share of the delegates at stake. Jackson argued that he had won about 20 percent of the primary vote but ended up with only 11 percent of the delegates.
In response to Jackson’s complaint, the Commission proposed lowering the threshold to 15 percent to satisfy Jackson’s complaint.
 
Jackson and his delegates pushed for a change that ultimately took effect in 1992 which banned the winner-reward systems that had previously gave bonus delegates to candidates who won a state. While still not satisfied with the 15 percent reduced threshold, Rev. Jackson made clear how the party’s rule was unfair.
 
In a letter to Paul G. Kirk, Jr., then the party’s national chairman, Jackson accused the rules panel of preserving, “A national gerrymandering process stacked against independents and minorities…”
 
Jackson also told Kirk: ”You are continuing to push Blacks, Hispanics, women, Asians and all of our traditional constituencies further from the Democratic Party than, perhaps, they would like to go.”
 
Under the eventual change, all delegates had to be allocated proportionally among candidates who receive at least 15 percent of the delegates.
 
It was this historic change that Rev. Sharpton and other leaders said paved the way for Barack Obama to run and win the presidency in 2008 and for the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris to be officially nominated for the presidency on Thursday, August 20, 2024.
 
Rev. Jackson’s sons, Attorney Yusef Jackson and former Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., also praised their father for teaching them about government and for his sustained fight for social justice.
 
During the last day of PUSH’s 58th convention, it was standing-room only with an integrated audience—the rainbow-of people many of whom had worked on or volunteered on his 1884 and 1988 presidential campaigns.
 
One of them was James Zogby founder and president of the Arab American Institute, who was Jackson’s deputy campaign manager in his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaign, said, “He was the first to welcome Arab Americans and the first to call for justice and rights for Palestinians. I am proud to work for Rev. Jackson’s campaign.”
 
Jackson was also honored at the DNC’s Monday, August 19th, opening. When he was rolled out in a wheelchair, Rev. Jackson gave two thumbs up to a standing ovation from the audience. Leaders praised him for changing the party’s delegate rules.
 
A day earlier on the last day of the PUSH 58th convention, Rev. Sharpton said when Harris accepts the Party’s nomination it would be because of Rev. Jackson’s changing the party’s delegate rules that is credited with Obama’s victory and a projected one for the Harris ticket.
Pointing at Rev. Jackson, who sat in the PUSH audience, Rev. Sharpton said, “The reason Kamala Harris is going to be nominated starts right in this building. It starts right with this man. It has been a long journey, but the one that brought us this far was Jesse Louis Jackson,” getting a prolong applause from the audience.
 
“When you see Kamala Harris up on that stage this week, Jesse Jackson is on that stage. He’s sitting there watching the results of his work. There wouldn’t be no ‘us’ if it wasn’t for him.”’
Sharpton’s message was echoed by Reps. Water and Lee praising Jackson for helping improve racial, economic and educational opportunities for the Black community.
 
Senator Sanders, an independent, said, “Rev. Jackson is one of the most brilliant, most significant political leaders in this country in the last 100 years, and I think we take for granted all that he has accomplished and the walls that he has broken down.’
 
Saying besides Jackson’s hundreds of demonstrations he has led across the nation, Senator Sanders said Jackson’s ‘contributions to modern history are not just bringing us together but also bringing us around a progressive agenda.
 
“Let us be clear. There would not have been a Barack Obama in 2008 without a Jesse Jackson and there would not be a Kamala Harris in 2024 without Jesse Jackson,” and there would not be a President Kamala Harris without a Jesse Jackson,” Senator Sanders said eliciting a prolong applause from the audience.
 
Rev. Jackson often told this reporter about attending Dr. King’s last birthday and how his mentor had invited people of many ethnic backgrounds. He was making plans for the Poor People’s campaign where he was going to demand jobs, unemployment insurance, a fair minimum wage and education for the poor. Throughout his 65 years of civil rights career, Rev. Jackson has always reached out to many ethnic groups for input, advice and activism.
 
(Photos by Chinta Strausberg)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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