The Times/CNN Poll : Delegates Torn Over Deficit, Arms Control

As the Republican Party prepares to leave the Reagan era, delegates to the Republican National Convention clearly are united on a standard-bearer for November, but they seem unfocused on an agenda for the future, a Los Angeles Times/Cable News Network survey has found.

In interviews, the delegates show signs of confusion, contradiction and deep-seated conflict over such critical issues as the federal budget deficit and arms control, and such controversial subjects as abortion and day care.

But as the GOP begins a transition from the Reagan era to a new period, when its shape and agenda will be largely determined by whether Vice President George Bush wins or loses in November, there should be no mistaking that there still are very sharp differences between the objectives of the Republican and Democratic parties.

Delegates to the GOP convention starting today and the Democratic convention last month in Atlanta harbor diametrically opposed goals on such matters as the nation’s military buildup, fighting communism in Central America, taxing the wealthy and spending on social programs, separate Times/CNN surveys showed.

Beneath the surface of unity being displayed for Bush, however, GOP delegates are not entirely united on the direction they want to take the country, interviewers found. Though less fractious, there still are many of the same kinds of ideological divisions that a generation ago splintered the GOP between moderates and conservatives and led to conservatism--under Barry Goldwater and later Ronald Reagan--becoming the mainstream of the party.

The Times Poll, directed by I. A. Lewis, surveyed 96% of the 2,277 delegates from July 24 to Aug. 7 in cooperation with CNN.

Failed on Deficit

The survey found that the GOP delegates--three-fourths of whom classify themselves as conservatives--believe that President Reagan’s “single most important failure” has been that “he has run up a record federal budget deficit.” As a Reagan shortcoming, the deficit out-rated the President’s perceived failure to “fight hard enough for conservative programs” by 2 to 1. These were virtually the only presidential “failures” cited by the delegates.

More than two-thirds of the delegates also said the party’s new standard-bearer should make the nagging deficit “an important issue” in the fall campaign. And the deficit ranked alongside drugs as the issue that delegates believed could be “most effectively” used by Bush in their individual home areas. (California’s delegates, however, chose drugs over the deficit by 3 to 2 as the best issue in their state.)

But contradictions and conflicts arose when delegates were asked a series of questions relating to the deficit, indicating they are as torn on the subject as most rank-and-file voters seem to be.

Asked whether they thought the federal government should spend more or less tax money on domestic programs, two-thirds of the delegates said less. But when they were queried about specific domestic programs--education, health care, Social Security, AIDS research and the war on drugs--the vast majority of delegates advocated more spending.

In some cases, the party appears to be moving leftward. Take education, for example: Three-fourths of the delegates support higher federal spending. By contrast, only half the delegates attending the 1984 GOP convention wanted more money for schools. Similarly, with health care, nearly two-thirds of the delegates in New Orleans want more spending. But only one-third did four years ago.

Advocate Housing Aid

Half the Republican delegates also think the government should spend more money on “affordable low-income housing,” as did nearly all of the Democratic delegates. This is a prime example of an issue where the party is sharply split between ideological factions.

Nearly three-fourths of the moderate wing--representing one-fourth of the GOP delegates--favor spending more money on low-income housing. But, conversely, nearly three-fourths of the right wing “very conservative” delegates--also amounting to about one-fourth of the convention--contend less should be spent.

On national defense, nearly two-thirds of the delegates also think more money should be spent. This is a clear example of an issue that separates Republicans from Democrats. Roughly 90% of the Democratic delegates advocated less defense spending. But it also is an issue that tends to split the GOP, with nearly two-thirds of the moderate wing minority siding with Democrats and supporting cutbacks in the Pentagon budget.

“Star Wars”--Reagan’s proposed space-based ballistic missile defense system--is a specific military program that divides the party. Overall, three-fourths of the Republican delegates favor higher spending for “Star Wars.” But while the right-wing supports increased funding by 9 to 1, the moderate wing is almost evenly split on the issue.

All party factions, however, favor increased U.S. military aid for the Nicaraguan rebels. More than three-fourths of the GOP delegates support this, in contrast to the 90% of the Democratic delegates who advocated less spending.

Oppose Tax Increase

But although there are many specific programs--domestic, military and foreign--that the GOP delegates say they want to spend more money on, they clearly oppose a tax increase to foot the bill and hold down the deficit.

Asked whether the next President “will have to raise taxes in order to reduce the federal budget deficit,” 85% said no and only 15% said yes. By comparison, nearly two-thirds of the Democratic delegates predicted that taxes will have to be raised. Roughly 80% of the GOP delegates also objected to imposing “a higher tax rate for wealthier people”--a virtual mirror opposite of Democratic views.

On one of the major issues of our time, the party’s delegates basically are split over where to place arms control on the nation’s list of foreign policy priorities. Asked whether the United States should insist that the Soviet Union “grant more human rights to its citizens before we undertake any further arms control agreements,” 55% said yes and 45% said no.

Here again, the GOP is divided by ideological faction. Those on the party’s right wing insist by nearly 2 1/2 to 1 that Moscow improve its human rights policies before Washington signs another arms pact. But mainstream conservatives and moderates are more evenly divided.

The party also is split on abortion, with half the delegates supporting a constitutional ban and half opposing it. (Californians, however, oppose it by about 2 1/2 to 1.) This is an issue on which right-wing delegates prevailed in the convention platform committee, injecting strong condemnations of abortion into several planks.

Split on Abortion Ban

But while three-fourths of the right-wing delegates told Times interviewers they support a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion, three-fourths of the moderates opposed the idea. The mainstream conservative majority, on the other hand, was virtually split on the issue.

There could be a conflict between the GOP delegates and their presidential nominee on day care, the survey indicated. Asked whether they agreed or disagreed that “there should be a federally funded day-care program,” the delegates disagreed by 4 to 1. But Bush, who is trying to close a “gender gap” and increase his appeal to women, recently proposed a $2.2-billion program of child care tax credits for low-income families and incentives for employers to expand the nation’s day care network.

HOW REPUBLICAN DELEGATES FEEL ABOUT FEDERAL SPENDING ON. . .

Favor more Less The Drug Problem 95% 5% Research for AIDS 88% 12% Education 74% 26% Health Care 62% 38% Social Security 59% 41% Low-Income Housing 50% 50% Aid to Farmers 50% 50% Domestic Programs 34% 66% Welfare 14% 86%

Source: Los Angeles Times Poll