Democrats Deplore ‘Reliance on Rhetoric’ : Upbeat View Draws Challenge

Democrats challenged the upbeat view contained in President Reagan’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, lambasting Administration spending priorities as unrealistic and warning that the huge federal deficits amassed under Reagan could shatter the economic base of the American family.

“We can no longer rely on rhetoric which refuses to face the real world--which pretends that we can have unlimited military spending and unrestrained tax breaks and a balanced budget, all at the same time,” said Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) as he moderated his party’s official response to Reagan’s speech.

The tone of the 20-minute videotaped response contrasted sharply with last year’s, in which Democrats, still smarting from Reagan’s landslide reelection victory, spent much of their time apologizing for their party’s own past failures.

Democrats’ Barbs

This year, however, they concentrated their barbs on the President, seeking to undercut his assertions that his policies bolster family values and create the “magic of opportunity” in the U.S. economy.

Reagan, in his speech delivered to a joint session of Congress earlier in the evening, had painted a glowing picture of a “great American comeback” spurred on by his tutelage.

The Democrats were short on specific proposals to counteract Reagan’s policies and avoided several politically troublesome issues, including whether a tax increase might be needed. And they glossed over gritty foreign policy questions, including Reagan’s controversial stands on nuclear disarmament and his so-called “Star Wars” space defense program.

Instead, they concentrated their salvos on lingering trade and economic weaknesses, where they think the Republicans are most vulnerable.

Debate on Budget

Both Reagan and his Democratic critics sought to pin the blame on each other for overspending and the sea of federal red ink in a foreshadowing of the fight that is sure to hover over the national budget debate throughout the year.

Reagan, in his speech, said: “We cannot win the race to the future shackled to a system that can’t even pass a federal budget. We cannot win that race held back by horse-and-buggy programs that waste tax dollars and squander human potential.”

But Mitchell, noting that the U.S. trade deficit soared to a record of nearly $150 billion in 1985, countered: “The trade and budget deficits mean we are living on borrowed money--too much of it from foreigners. Living on borrowed money means living on borrowed time. The day of reckoning is not far off.”

In a reference to Reagan’s pro-family theme, Mitchell argued that mounting trade and budget deficits could undercut the vitality of the American family and its traditional values.

“The best social service agency is a family that’s together,” the Maine senator said. “The best social program is a good job. But the policies of this Administration are having the opposite effect. They’re driving more families into hard times and apart, and they’re causing American jobs to move overseas.”

Strains on Families

Echoing that theme, House Budget Committee Chairman William H. Gray III (D-Pa.) emphasized the strains that he said federal budget deficits will continue to place on the average family.

“When young couples go to buy their first home, they find their own government competing with them at the bank for mortgage money,” Gray said. “Our farmers and factory workers are losing out to competitors because our goods abroad cost too much.”

Gray continued: “In just five years, the Reagan Administration has doubled the national debt. . . . We’ve gone from being the greatest creditor nation to being the greatest debtor nation on Earth.”

Referring to Reagan’s plan to turn some government services over to the private sector to cut federal expenses, Gray said: “We don’t have to sell off America piece by piece to lower the deficit--not if we make the right choices.”

Familiar Theme

Another speaker, former Virginia Gov. Charles S. Robb, sounded a familiar theme in trying to distinguish his party from the Republicans.

“Since Jefferson’s time, there’ve been two conflicting views about what makes America prosperous and strong,” said Robb, son-in-law of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. “Some believe that a handful of elites drive our economy and that the rest of us should be satisfied with what trickles down.”

One farm-state Democrat, Rep. Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota, attacked the Administration’s farm policies as the television screen showed pictures of Richard and Bonnie McBrayer, a fourth-generation farm couple who, the congressman said, were in danger of losing their land because of failed government policies.

“Now the Reagan Administration is saying, ‘Tough luck,’ ” Daschle charged. “It’s a familiar story, not just on the farm, but to families in Detroit, Youngstown and the Silicon Valley--working Americans doing everything they should, trying to make it in a world that’s changing. President Reagan said precious little in his speech to address their needs.”