DEMOCRATS BEWARE OF THE REAGAN TRAP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390114-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2010
• Sequence Number: 114
• Publication Date: May 17, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390114-5
WASHINGTON T11TS
17 P"ay 1984
MORTON KONDRACKE
Democrats beware
of the Reagan trap
he Soviet Union and its
allies in Latin America may
be plotting to defeat Pres-
this Novem
d
R
eagan
ent
i
violent, poverty-striken country
bey, but with some help from the whose oligarchy has been sup-
t him
l
ec
Democrats, they may re-e
pressing its population for genera-
instead. tions.
Events are conspiring to give "There is a small, violent right
Ronald Reagan the opportunity to wing as opposed to democracy as
say on the campaign trail this fall: are the opposed to m Mr. Reagan
"Moscow, Havana, and Managua said "but they are not part of the
are against me. Are you going to , vote for them or for America?" government.? A president who opposed military aid. He may even
Unless the Democrats are careful, meant to convince doubters would { be right in saying so. they they will help Mr. Reagan score a have honestly admitted that some The preferable policy for Demo-
landslide victory by wrapping him- of the right-wing death squads crass would be to vote President
self in the flag. operate in cahoots with govern- Reagan all the money he wants, and
On the issue of Central America, ment police forces. He might have then hold him responsible for the
counseled that only time, patience, consequences of his policies.
for example. Mr. Reagan's televi- Salvadoran dedication, and An analogous situation is arising
sion speech last week was practi- American tenacity will produce
reform. , in connection with the Soviets, who
c a 11 y devoid o f convincing The fact is that President Reagan by boycotting the Olympics and
argument or evidence to back up was not trying to convince his oppo- staying out of arms talks are saying
his policy sition or win them over; he was that Mr. Reagan is a man they can't
The U.S. government presum- drawing a line in the sand. Those work with. '
c oh of daa tutee- who are with him are red, white and The Democrats should be
teeps sts, photography and c captured blue; those who oppose him aren't. standing solidly with Mr. Reagan
documents that might prove that All too often, unfortunately, the and declaring that they will not
Nicaragua continues to ship weap- Democrats have been walking right reward the Soviets for breaking off
ons and ammunition into El Salva- into Mr. Reagan's trap. They did it nuclear talks. Instead, they seem
dor, despite its d e n i a l s . A in an especially clumsy manner on ' ready to deny the president funding
presidential speech that was meant March 20, when major House lead- for the MX missile, thereby giving
to persuade doubters might have ers wrote an obsequious letter to the Soviets as a gift something they
unveiled some of that evidence. Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega would otherwise have to bargain for
It might also have included a that began "Dear Comandante." in Geneva.
tionilfo moral and legal jwarfare "We regret the fact that better And led by the Rev. Jesse Jack-
ay carag covert warfare relations do not exist between the son, the Democratic presidential
against oa Nicaragua. Polls indicate United States and your country;' candidates have indicated that its
that the American people neither they said. "We have bee!, and. somehow America's fault that the
I understand nor support that Rea- remain, opposed to U.S. support for Soviets pulled out of the Olympics.
Mr. Jackson went to the Soviet
gan policy. military action directed against the,
f Na- embassy in Washington to woo them
t
t
o
instead of calming fears and fps people or governmen
back.
tering understanding of his gua." the Soviet
policies, the president waved a The letter, from House Majority Gary boycott was Hart "s said
some that spillover f vier
bloody shirt. He used the word Leader Jim Wright and several For- an almost negative arms r from
"communist" no fewer than 26 eign Affairs subcommittee ...analm almost to control
times during his speech, usually chairmen, was intended to urge attitude on the gat part of f this urged. the Mondale followed by "aggression" or "sub- Nicaragua to hold fair elections this tration." Walter
bar am the ed the
version:' as if that were the whole November. It sounded, however, like pack to the games. of what is going on in. Central an attempt to collaborate with the The Democrats have to' find a
America. Nicaraguans in undermining pees- way to make clear their objections
1
1
Morton Kondracke is executive
editor of The New Republic.
dor was a garden paradise wickedly
invaded by outsiders, rather than a
tcy.
VV
Idenna
" to Reagan policy without seeming
Those responsible for support-, sympathize with U.S. adversar
jag violence
and against
for obstructing s tg~ ies. As yet, they haven't found it..
government, -
serious negotiations or broad politi-
cal participation in El Salvador
would have far greater difficulty
winning support for their.policies
than they do today;' the Democrats
The Democrats stumbled again
on the day after Mr. Reagan's
speech. Only 56 out of a total of 268
Democrats voted to support the
president's request for military aid
for El Salvador, despite a plea from
El Salvador's apparent president-
elect, Jose Napoleon Duarte,' .a
democratic moderate. The Reagan
request passed the House by only
four votes, 212-208. ' ..
If the administration is right in
believing that Cuban-backed guer-
rillas are planning stepped-up .vio-
lence in El Salvador this fall, the
president surely will say they were
encouraged by Democrats who
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/09: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505390114-5