Dukakis’ Name Among Missing : GOP Platform Writers Hope He Will ‘Fade’

Republican platform writers agreed today to keep Michael S. Dukakis’ name out of their party document with the hope that after the Nov. 8 election the Democratic nominee “will fade into oblivion.”

Nebraska Gov. Kay A. Orr opened the platform hearing by asking the delegates not to refer to Dukakis by name in the document. Orr, the committee chairman, said past GOP platforms avoided direct references to the Democrats’ nominee.

“That’s a very good idea since obviously after November, 1988, Gov. Dukakis will fade into oblivion,” said New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu. “We don’t want anyone to have to refer to an encyclopedia to figure out what we have to say.”

The Democratic platform does not mention George Bush or Ronald Reagan by name.

Sen. Bob Kasten of Wisconsin, a co-chairman of the committee, told reporters that none of the subcommittee revisions was “giving anyone major heartburn.” Kasten said the panel will seek to finish drafting the platform Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.

It includes new planks on AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) and the homeless, as well as the GOP’s hard and fast line against abortion and higher taxes.