Bush Slams Democrats in N.J. Race : President Lends a Hand to GOP Gubernatorial Candidate

President Bush, trying to help Republicans score a come-from-behind victory in the New Jersey governor’s race, portrayed Democrats today as soft on crime and said liberal Democrats “cherish new taxes like moths drawn to a flame.”

In a speech at a fund-raiser for GOP candidate Rep. Jim Courter, Bush painted the gubernatorial contest as a choice between “the old and new New Jerseys.”

Outrunning Hurricane Hugo up the Atlantic Coast, en route to a weekend stay at his home on the Maine coast, Bush stopped in New Jersey to help lift GOP spirits in one of only two races for governor this fall.

For Environment, Jobs

He said Republican leadership would champion the environment, education, jobs and the war on drugs, and that New Jersey’s residents should “oppose those liberal Democrats who cherish new taxes like moths drawn to a flame.”

“The failed policies . . . of the 1970s just aren’t good enough,” Bush said. “Not for New Jersey, not for the United States of America. They’re not good enough to tackle drugs or crime. Or to protect the environment or do better as a nation in education. They’re not good enough for our kids.”

Organizers said the $500-a-person event raised $700,000 for Courter’s uphill fight.

Courter is opposed by Democratic Rep. James J. Florio in the contest to succeed Republican Gov. Thomas H. Kean.

Double-Digit Lead

Florio, a liberal Democrat who ran a close campaign in 1981 against Kean, has been given a double-digit lead over Courter in public opinion surveys. Kean is not seeking reelection.

Today’s visit by Bush was part of a hard-fought effort to keep the governor’s seat in the Republican column, and the President was arriving as both Florio and Courter debuted their first television ads.

The campaign has been marked by controversy over abortion and homosexual issues.

Florio favors the right to abortion, while Courter has been accused of vacillating on the issue. He has said he personally opposes abortion, but would not force his views on state residents.

Rankled Homosexuals

Courter has also rankled homosexuals by saying he supports legislation to bar them from jobs that involve children, although he later softened the comment by saying he would not push for such changes in the law.

Before settling in at his vacation home, Bush planned to make a brief stop at a tree farm in nearby Wells to make a new pitch in his campaign for a reduction in capital gains taxes, which are imposed on profits from sales of real estate, stocks and other assets.

Bush is using a tree farm to advance his campaign for a capital gains tax cut because tree farmers must pay capital gains tax on profits from their sales. The Administration contends that many tree farms are small, marginal operations.