Herschensohn Opens Drive With Attack on Cranston

Republican U. S. Senate candidate Bruce Herschensohn signaled Tuesday that if he gets his party’s nomination to oppose Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston in November, he will try to make foreign policy the battleground.

Formally kicking off his campaign with stops from Sacramento to San Diego, Herschensohn ripped into Cranston’s record in general and especially criticized Cranston’s statement Monday that the United States should cut off aid to Pakistan and Panama and scale back aid to Turkey because they are military dictatorships.

“Doesn’t Alan Cranston know that Pakistan has 3 million refugees from Afghanistan?” Herschensohn asked at a Sacramento press conference. “If we drop support, the Soviet Union will come down from Afghanistan (and get) a warm-water port they’ve wanted all these years.

“And Panama! Doesn’t Cranston recall that there is a canal that goes from the Atlantic to the Pacific in Panama? It used to be ours, but, thanks to him and his friends, it isn’t anymore. Turkey? Does Alan Cranston know that Turkey is a member of NATO?

“Does Alan Cranston never learn; does he want to learn?” a red-faced Herschensohn continued. “When he wanted us to drop our support for Lon Nol in Cambodia, who did he think was waiting in the wings--Patrick Henry? No, it was Pol Pot. . . .

“When he wanted us to drop support for Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua, who did he think was waiting in the wings--John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan? It was Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas. In every case, it was worse for their own people and worse for the United States. That’s some 17-year record for Alan Cranston.”

Herschensohn tried to get some answers to his questions later in the day when he and Cranston crossed paths at the Fresno airport. Cranston was on the second day of a state tour to announce his quest for a fourth term. Turning aside a reporter’s request for a quick debate, Cranston pointed out that he has consistently refused to comment on the large field of Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to oppose him in November.

“Naturally I am not going to engage in a debate at this time,” Cranston responded. “. . . When the Republican Party picks one candidate, I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to examine our differences on the issues.”

Minutes later, a smiling Cranston moved past Herschensohn and promised that if the two get a chance to talk in the future, they will “have much to discuss.”

Herschensohn did not press the matter in his face-to-face meeting with Cranston but went on the attack again after Cranston left, saying to reporters, “I am very, very disappointed. It was a unique opportunity. But I don’t think he could answer the questions I wanted to ask him.”

Herschensohn first announced that he was entering the Republican Senate race Jan. 23, when, in a move criticized by some fellow broadcasters, he told KABC-TV viewers why he was leaving the air. On Tuesday’s trip he laid out some of his campaign points, including:

- The United States should quit the United Nations because it faces too many hostile votes there.

- Although he has no problem with the United States talking to the Soviet Union about arms control, nothing should be signed “because they have shown you can’t trust them.”

- The tax code should be reformed so that Americans can “fill out their taxes in 30 seconds on April 15.” Herschensohn called for a flat tax with no deductions.

Herschensohn also praised President Reagan’s handling of the recent departure of Ferdinand Marcos as president of the Philippines. But he criticized the recent vote in Congress condemning the latest Philippine election as a fraud and said he was “skeptical” about the country’s new president, Corazon Aquino.

“We have absolutely no idea whether Mrs. Aquino or Prime Minister Laurel want an election or not. . . . It was not a return to Democracy. It was a revolution. . . .”