Reagan Links ‘Star Wars’ to Boom in Jobs

President Reagan turned “Star Wars” into a bread-and-butter issue at a campaign stop here Thursday, predicting that the missile defense system heralded a boom in jobs and prosperity that would rival the birth of the space program.

“Just as America’s space program created new jobs and industries, SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) could open new fields of technology and industry, providing jobs for thousands right here in Colorado, and improving the quality of life in America and around the world,” Reagan told a rally for Rep. Ken Kramer (R-Colo.), who is in a dead heat with Rep. Timothy E. Wirth (D-Colo.) for the Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Hart.

Development of a space-based missile defense has emerged as a hot issue here. Kramer is attempting to capitalize on the surge in voter support for such a system in the aftermath of Reagan’s refusal to use SDI as a bargaining chip in his summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Tells of Proposal

However, Reagan may have complicated a controversy over what he agreed to at the Iceland summit with Gorbachev by telling cheering supporters here that he proposed the elimination of “all strategic and intermediate-range missiles” within 10 years.

Reagan’s latest formulation theoretically would leave the United States with nothing but bombers at the conclusion of the 10-year period. The official U.S. position, as it is being presented at the Geneva arms control talks, would include cruise missiles as well as bombers in the U.S. arsenal after 10 years.

White House officials insisted Reagan’s off-the-cuff comment did not represent a change in U.S. position. But Reagan’s words are bound to add to the impression that he may have promised more than he intended in his private discussions with Gorbachev.

The Soviets contend Reagan agreed to eliminate all strategic weapons, a sweeping proposal that would have stripped bare the superpower nuclear arsenals at the same time the Soviets have an edge in conventional weapons.

Reagan’s allusion to SDI-created jobs is politically appealing in Colorado Springs, where a major research effort into the missile defense system is located.

Voted to Curb Funding

Kramer calls development of the weapons system “a key cornerstone of the Colorado economy.” Wirth supports “a prudent research effort,” but Kramer points out that Wirth has voted to restrict funding for SDI and cannot be counted on to deliver a lion’s share of high-tech jobs.

“Ken Kramer’s opponent may try to sound like a moderate when he’s in Colorado,” Reagan declared. “But believe me, I’ve seen him in action for six years now, and when he’s in Washington, he votes liberal with a capital ‘L’.”

Protesters at the rally here waved signs that read, “Keep Star Wars in Movie Theaters” and “Family farms feed us, SDI starves us.” Distracted by the large signs, Reagan departed from his prepared text to once again pledge that the United States would share SDI technology, once it was developed, with the Soviet Union.

“I told that to Mr. Gorbachev. I haven’t been able to convince him I mean it,” Reagan said.

Reagan later stopped in Reno to boost the Senate candidacy of Jim Santini, who is in an uphill battle against Rep. Harry Reid. Reagan used the backdrop of the gambling capital to boast about the latest economic figures that show a decline in the trade deficit for the second month in a row.