06:13 PM CDT on Monday, October 10, 2005

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday accused the Bush administration of using Hurricane Katrina to reconstruct Louisiana politics, saying the U.S. had no plan to return displaced residents.

Jackson also criticized the government's awarding no-bid contracts to outside contractors importing out-of-state and foreign workers to rebuild New Orleans, while thousands of displaced former city residents are "languishing in 40 states" looking for work.

"There is no plan for massive rescue, relocation or return of residents," Jackson said in St. Louis, one stop along a route that a bus caravan of Katrina evacuees is taking to New Orleans to claim those jobs. The evacuees, escorted by Jackson's Chicago-based Operation PUSH, are due to arrive in New Orleans on Tuesday.

He said the able-bodied workers who survived Katrina have a right to return home and rebuild their city, but that they are "last on the list."

Jackson said President Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove, is overseeing reconstruction of the Gulf Coast, and that he and others in the White House are using Katrina to push their political agenda. He said black, Democratic-leaning voters have been radically dislocated and are being kept in "permanent exile."

"Karl Rove is a political reconstructionist" who wants to "change the character" of Louisiana politics from the mayor's office to its congressional representation.

White House spokesman Allen Abney said Bush, working with Cabinet members, and not Rove, is leading the Gulf Coast reconstruction effort.

"Our focus is reconstruction of the region, to get it back up economically," Abney said. "It's not about politics. It's about recovery."

Jackson said no one in the White House has rejected a statement by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson that he interpreted as meaning New Orleans' racial composition will be made more white post-Katrina.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle editorial board last month, Alphonso Jackson said New Orleans' population might never again be predominantly black.

He said in the interview he told New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin that it would be a mistake to rebuild the Ninth Ward, a predominantly black and poor neighborhood devastated by flooding.

HUD spokesman Jerry Brown said the comment was irrespective of race. He said Alphonso Jackson, who is black, believes it makes little sense to rebuild in a flood plain and put residents "at risk of the same traumatic disaster."

"It had nothing to do with color," he said. "We support the city and state. Our advice would be to give it a lot of thought before rebuilding."

Starting early Monday in Chicago, Jesse Jackson was picking up evacuees who were forced to leave New Orleans but who want to return to rebuild their city. The caravan made stops in St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., and other cities on its way to New Orleans.

Jackson said he originally had expected to take 600 evacuees, but after talking to Nagin, reduced the number to 200. He said jobs and housing had been guaranteed for them.

Nagin said last week he had doubts about Jackson's plan, citing lack of housing for displaced residents. His office did not return a call for comment Monday.

Victor McKeavin Sr., a 49-year-old iron worker, and Reginald Lucien, a 46-year-old general contractor, both from New Orleans, were on the bus after spending the last few weeks in Chicago.

"I love New Orleans," Lucien said. "When I was in Chicago I knew money had been allocated for reconstruction and I knew there was work."

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)