Jackson pledges to support Mondale

Press, 30 August 1984, Page 11

Jackson pledges to support Mondale

NZPA-AP North Oaks, Minnesota The black civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, yesterday announced his “deep and intense” support for Walter Mondale’s United States presidential campaign while reserving the right to disagree publicly with the Democratic Party candidate. At a joint news conference, Messrs Mondale and Jackson, after meeting for more than two hours announced that they would make several joint campaign appearances. “My support will be broad based, my involvement will be deep and intense,” said Mr Jackson, who earlier this year sought the party’s nomination. Mr Jackson has frequently publicly chided Mr Mondale for not moving quickly enough to involve blacks, Hispanics and women in his campaign. Mr Jackson said, “we have a right to be unified without being uniform.” Asked if he had agreed to stop attacking Mr Mondale, Mr Jackson said, “I’ve not been attacking him. I will

always reserve the right to challenge and express myself. I have not taken any vow of silence.” Mr Mondale’s meeting with Mr Jackson took place a few hours after he had received a ringing endorsement from John Anderson, the former Republican congressmen who broke with his party in 1980 to wage an independent campaign for president. Mr Anderson, received 5.7 million votes in 1980 — nearly 7 per cent of the 85 million cast.

Earlier Mr Jackson said President Ronald Reagan was exploiting religion for political gains.

Jesus Christ would not have fared well as a citizen under the Reagan Administration, he said. Mr Jackson, a Baptist minister, questioned Mr Reagan’s crusade for prayer in schools and his knowledge of Christ. Saying Reagan “doesn’t attend church regularly,” he added, “It is a fact that Jesus would not have fared very well under Reagan.” “Joseph, as a part-time carpenter, would have been accused of being lazy and been discouraged from joining a union.

“Mary certainly could not have gotten pre-natal care and they would have had to live in the manger because they couldn’t afford private housing and couldn’t have got into public housing.”

Mr Jackson said he was not suggesting that Mr Reagan was not a good Christian, merely that he was “exploiting genuine religious fervour for limited political ends."