European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 26, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday february 26,19b Carl Rowan staffers jump ship of state for Calmer Waters they see the rocks just ahead and off to the Side some iceberg sized Mounds of Money so like inc pro Verbial rodents they Are jumping off Ronald Reagan s ship of state. Pugnacious pal Buchanan who Etc Oriald other re publicans for running for inc tall grass rather than defending their president in inc Iran arms Cornea Aid scandal has i Milf run Tor inc Green be Liucc of the lecture Drouil and thi1 to and column writing Busi Nesses. While haute spokesman Larry up cakes has danced off to the Green pastures of Wall Street after jiving a self serving Lillic Sermon against the policy of secrecy and disinformation for which lie was a mouthpiece for six years. Buchanan and up cakes know what thousands of High level Federal appointees have Learned in recent years a lot of Money awaits those who gel off before inc ship goes Down 1 run into people with whom i served in inc 1960s who still moan that they stayed with lbs too Long Many people in this while House and in key Agen cies know their bargaining Power will diminish with every sordid Iran Gaie Rcv Laliot by a congressional committee every report by a special prosecutor. So they Jit while inc Gilt in is the growing exodus involves much More than the desire of appointees to clean up financially. Word is out that at least two of the key aides o White House chief of staff Donald t. Regan Are about to resign soon. Speculation is that Regan has warned them that having weathered the storm of demands for his Scalp he will soon walk Oul wish head held High. So his disciples had belter move fast to gel them selves other Good jobs. But Don t forget How rocks toward which the ship of state is lurching. When a Reagan veto of a s2q billion clean water Bill is overridden 401 to 26 in the House and 86 to 14 in the Senate the Reagan los know that the Days of smooth mailing Are Over. It just in t going 10 be any fun for the Reagan peo ple to draw up and fight for budgets that they know arc going to be rejected or mangled by a democratic Congress. There will be no glory or grandeur in fighting of font congressional Effort after another 10 adopt Protection David Broder is Trade policies or to raise revenues so As to reduce the budget deficits. There will be no thrill in tagging along with attorney general Edwin me Csc to watch members of Congress lash him for refusing to enforce Lenain Laws trying to strip away constitutional protections like the Miranda Rule or diluting the nation s commitment to racial Justice. There Are those around Reagan who insist hat he is Loo popular Ever to be a lame Duck president and that he will be a powerful Leader right up till Jan uary 1989. But what his aides say is not As convincing As what they Are doing. You can hear some of them humming the party s Over As hey pack heir bags and open new Bank accounts. The Reagan revolution did not reach As far As conservatives like Buchanan hoped and thought in would. The evidence now is that not Only has in stalled but conservatives must fight a fierce counterrevolution. Small wonder that so Many Are jumping ship and swimming toward the relative safety of the political trenches of j9bb. News America Syndicate labor leaders divided Over 88 endorsement four years ago when organized labor leaders agreed Early and easily to endorse Walter f. Mondale for presi Dent the Man they chose staggered through the primaries and barely car ried one slate against Ronald Reagan. This year the Al Cio chieftains Are much More divided and Uncertain where to throw their support bul prospects for the democrats appear infinitely belter. It would be simplistic 10 say thai inc democrats chances Rise As labor s Unity declines. Bul it would also be naive to suggest there is no connection Between the altered situations in these two major institutions of the political left. Latin r Learned some important Les sons front the 19s4 Mondale fiasco. Contrary to what some outsiders May think the endorsement process itself is not in question. Even such opponents of the Mondale endorsement As Bob Georgine the head of building trades has conceded privately that the Al Cio gained political credibility and a much More professional political of cration from its participation in the 1984 Campaign. The lesson is thai the Way the endorsement is made and who is endorsed arc vital questions. Gerald w. Meen lec president of the american federation of state. County and Muni Cipal employees of some says we be grown up in four years. We have More realistic expectations a bet Ter sense of what we can and cannot do or demand the Mondale aught Many labor leaders that much As they May enjoy being the candidate s Best Friend much As he May seek to satisfy them on every Point they have to keep things in perspective. Mondale was Hurt by the charge thai he was the willing captive of special labor leaders maintain with justification that he was the Over whelming Early Choice of their Mem Bers. But the endorsement embrace was so Light Mondale lost his running room. That is one reason sen. Joseph r. Biden jr., d-del., was probably right when he said after visiting with Union leaders in bal Harbour fla., for the Al Cio executive Council meeting that litmus test Lime is Over. If a Guy s heart is in the right place it s of to differ on the extent of the change can be overstated. Some unionists worry that Biden backed the original Reagan la cuts and the 1985 Gramm Rudman Hollings balanced budget Bill. More worry about former Colorado sen. Gary Hart s continued opposition to Lough Trade legislation. Bul Iacre is a greater degree of pragmatism and Large mindedness available Here this time around. Some labor leaders would like to veto Hart for his Irac views and for what they regard As labor Bash ing speeches in his 1984 primary contest with Mondale. But they know his Lead in the polls is reflected in Mart s Appeal to their younger members. And they Are reluctant to Cut off con tact with a Mart whose Overall Senate record is largely in line with their View of what the country needs. Similarly with the Rev. Jesse l. Jackson. Some labor leaders consider him totally untrustworthy and More re Gard him As a divisive figure. But they opened their doors to him this year As they did not last time. They have Learned that Jackson is never so dangerous As when he can Lei his constituents that the Power Structure is treating him with disdain and dishes . When he was invited to labor s meeting he immediately moderated his rhetoric. Thus pragmatism is overcoming some Strong internal bureaucratic imperatives As labor approaches the endorsement question in 1988. Four years ago. A Jinn labor was much weaker politically the Mondale candidacy provided a convenient vehicle for assembling and testing a political machine. Now inc Al Cio committee on Politi Cal education Cope is a highly professional organization eager to flex its mus cles on behalf of some candidate. Its operatives arc not choosy about the name of the candidate they just want to get into the action Early but the Union presidents for whom they work want More Lime Loas sess the credentials and voter Appeal of Biden Hart rep Richard Gephardt of Missouri and potential candidate gov Michael s. Dukakis of Massachusetts so the Odds Are that the process of Candi Date checking that began last week will not produce an endorsement of a single candidate when the Union presidents meet at the Al Cio National Conven Tion in october. The flexibility inc labor leaders Are showing is Good news for the democratic party which has plenty of other forces propelling in into what May be a Prema Ture judgment on a presidential Candi Date. The Delegate selection Calendar is titled so far Forward in 19s8 in is ridiculous a real risk exists that the delegates will be committed before the voters really have an Opportunity to take the Mea sure of he men seek ing the nomination. By holding Back a bit from that Rush to judgment the Al Cio is per haps reducing ils clout and risking greater internal friction but it is giving inc process n Chance to work and the candidates room to breathe. And thai is no Small boost to the chances of oven Laily electing a president who meets most of labor s standards
