Reagan Denounces Liberalism at Dixie GOP Campaign Rallies

President Reagan loosed rousing attacks on “lighter-than-air” liberalism Wednesday as he campaigned in two Southern battlegrounds crucial to continued Republican control of the Senate.

At rallies here and in Atlanta on the eve of his departure for Iceland to meet with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Reagan raised money and lent rhetorical firepower to the candidacies of GOP Sens. James T. Broyhill of North Carolina and Mack Mattingly of Georgia.

With both conservative senators denouncing their opponents as liberals, Reagan warned against returning the Senate to the “dark days” of control by liberal Democrats.

‘Unbearable Inflation’

“They gave us unbearable inflation, 21% interest rates, business decline, swelling unemployment and a lot of talk about how we, the American people, were to blame,” Reagan said. At the November elections, “the tax, tax-spend, spend crowd is going to find out that lighter-than-air liberalism is no longer fashionable.”

The President brought hoots and laughter from a crowd of 4,000 Broyhill supporters when he assailed the senator’s Democratic opponent, Terry Sanford, for raising the state food tax 25 years ago as governor.

“He was raising taxes back when I was still making movies,” Reagan jibed. “Believe me,” he said in reference to a starring film role he has taken a lot of ribbing for, “when it comes to reruns, ‘Bedtime for Bonzo’ is better than ‘Taxtime with Terry.’ ”

Similarly, in Atlanta, Reagan blasted the tax and spending record of Mattingly’s Democratic opponent, Georgia Rep. Wyche Fowler Jr. And, in both states, he vigorously defended Administration trade policies on textiles and tobacco, two struggling industries in the region whose problems with imports have provided political ammunition for Democrats.

Calls for Tax Pledge

The President also called on members of Congress to pledge opposition to reversing the substantial reduction of tax rates in the recently enacted tax overhaul bill.

He said Democratic leaders have been saying that “once our tax reform program is in place, the rates will be raised to pay for more spending. Well, that would be an intolerable breach of faith with the American people.”

During the quick Southern swing, Reagan made only passing mention of his session in Reykjavik this weekend with Gorbachev. The President termed the meeting “a challenge” and said it would lay the foundation for a “full summit” later in the United States.

To strengthen his position at the session, he urged House Democrats to halt efforts to restrict his arms policies and said he is counting on bipartisan support when he goes to Iceland. “It’s great to know, when I look over my shoulder, that the folks back home are with me,” he said. “I won’t be seeing Republicans or Democrats--I’ll be seeing Americans.”