Republicans gather to fete Reagan

Press, 14 July 1980, Page 6

Republicans gather to fete Reagan

(NZPA Detroit ! America’s Republican Parity is sniffing electoral victory as it prepares to formally crown Ronald Reagan its presidential candidate during its week-long convention, starting in Detroit, this evening (N.Z. time). For Mr Reagan, the former film actor who never reached the pinnacle of an Oscar nomination in that profession, the triumph is sweet, bringing him success after 12 years of trying for the party crown. ! For the Republicans, it will be no less a glorious week. The polls tell them they have found a man who can beat the incumbent Democratic President, (Mr Jimmy Carter) in the No-

vember 4 election, restoring the party to its pre-Water-] gate power and glory. And the polls also tell; them that they have great prospects of making holes in the Democrats’ sizeable majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Seriate in the associated congressional elections. As the Republicans meet,' their rivals remain in dis-j array, Edward Kennedy still refusing to concede defeat to | Mr Carter and promising a public brawl when the Democrats hold their convention in New York next month. . : Mr Reagan is unchallenged in his party, after a string of impressive, primary election wins. While definite policy dif-

Terences remain within the i party, these will be largely 'submerged during the conI vention, stage managed to 'present a nation-wide television audience with the unified front of a party on! its way to power. It will be.a week of flag-] waving, hurrahs and ballyhoo, its theme Mr Reagan’s oft-stated pledge to “make America great again.” Few of the party faithful will ask exactly what this means, and it will matter not to the 4000 delegates and their alternates. . ! It will be enough that the! theme is in keeping with the] Republicans’ basically con-] servative outlook, and their] feeling that America is ready i for a switch to the Right. ! Party policy, hammered;

’i out by officials m pre- ■ ’convention meetings in the Hast week and to be ap- ! ] proved by the delegates, has : a strong conservative flai vour. It was tailored to suit Mr hßeagan’s personal Right-! ■ wing positions on most of i the issues of the day, favouring big increases in defence spending, tax cuts, decontrol i of energy prices, and use of I the death . penalty, while | opposing abortion and soft- 1 pedalling constitutional guar-! antees on women’s rights. j There is some dissent in! the party, but it will be sur- ■ I prising if if shows in Detroit.) With no debate about their] presidential candidate and; unanimity that “Mr Carter must go!” — as the draft] manifesto puts it — dele-i

; I gates can get on with cheer’jing their man and savouring •jtheir hopes of victory in 11 November. ■’ Even debates about Mr ■! Reagan’s age — at 70 next (February he would be rhe : oldest President inaugurated lif he wins — have died down ip the wake of his primary election sweep. With such unanimity, the biggest interest will be in his choice of a running mate for the vice-presidency. A number of names — most of them unknown over(seas and little known in I America — are still being I canvassed for a job that is ! widely seen as not being jthat important, unless a 'President happens to die in ’office. I There will be 20.000

people at the convention, the ' first in Detroit, a city that ' is suffering acutely from the ’ present recession, for which Mr Carter will get all the blame next week. Unemployment in the •(home of the American automobile tops 18 per cent, , and the city coffers a r e ■ empty, sparking off a pre- ■ convention strike by munici- , pal workers that has left i garbage piled in the streets land public transport seri vices cut. That strike was (ended only yesterday just in I time to avoid disrupting the! Iconvention. i Detroit, which stands to] (earn up to SUSSO million! from convention visitors, is! (looking forward to the show! ias much as the Republicans, j