KANSAS CITY, Mo .-Most Democratic groups, with the exception of conservative labor, appeared convinced yesterday that a compromise on affirmative action rules adopted Saturday would help the party mount a concerted attack on the Republican party in 1976.

"We have brought the national Democratic party back to political life," Robert S. Strauss, Democratic National Chairman, said yesterday.

In the closing session of the party's first mid-term national convention, Strauss said, "Together, we have shown that the Democratic party is ready to govern America again."

Richard G. Hatcher, mayor of Gary, Ind. and one of the leaders of the Black Political Caucus, said yesterday that blacks "won an important fight on a significant issue in party affairs."

"We got rid of truly objectionable language in the affirmative action rules and got the sentences we wanted in the party charter," said Hatcher in an interview on the convention floor. "Black people can live with this; they can progress with this."

Baltimore City Councilwoman Barbara Mikulski yesterday said majority agreement on the language of the affirmative action rules indicated that "all Democrats can stand together against Jerry Ford" in the 1976 presidential race.

"America needs an alternative to the man now in the White House," Mikulski said. "All Jerry Ford does is rearrange chairs on the Titanic."

The affirmative action rules adopted by an overwhelming majority of delegates Saturday requires all state parties to "encourage full participation by minority groups, American Indians, women and youth."

The rules say that this goal "shall not be accomplished either directly or indirectly" by the imposition of mandatory quotas at any level of party affairs.

One controversial provision of the rules says state parties that have implemented and monitored affirmative action programs cannot be challenged solely on the basis of delegate composition or primary results.

This provision, written during a last- minute meeting of party leaders and minority group caucuses Saturday afternoon, caused a flurry of protests from some southern delegates and backers of conservative labor.

Protesters led by California AFL-CIO executive John Henning argued they were left out of the negotiations that led to the introduction of this provision before the full convention that night. They accused Chairman Strauss of over-reacting to rumors about possible walkouts by blacks over affirmative action rules in an earlier draft.

One of the earlier rules would have shifted the burden of proof in delegate challenges from the state parties to the challengers. Blacks, women and youth caucuses objected to this proposal, arguing that traditionally under-represented groups would have more difficulty challenging their exclusion from the delegations.

Emergency Meeting

Sources close to the Democratic National Committee said yesterday that a coalition of state governors, led by Minnesota Gov. Wendell Anderson, called for an emergency meeting of national committee leaders and members of the black, women's and youth caucuses at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.