ELECTIONS ’88 ORANGE COUNTY : Reagan Thrills Fullerton Throng With Dukakis Attacks : At Cal State Gym, President Warns of Tax Increases

President Reagan, armed with a string of one-liners aimed at Democrats, took to the campaign trail for Vice President George Bush and other GOP candidates Tuesday at a rally of about 5,000 flag-waving Republicans at Cal State Fullerton.

In a 27-minute speech punctuated by heckling from supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis, Reagan lambasted “that other fellow” and asked Bush supporters to “win one more for the Gipper.”

“When they say ‘reducing the deficit,’ they mean ‘raising taxes.’ When they say ‘strong defense,’ they mean ‘cut defense spending,’ ” an ebullient Reagan said of the Democrats. “No wonder their favorite machine is the snow blower.”

Reagan was referring to stories that Dukakis, known for his frugality, has owned the same snow blower for 25 years.

Derided the L-Word

Reagan’s speech, amply sprinkled with disdainful use of the now famous “L-word”--liberal--to describe Democrats, was delivered in Cal State’s packed gymnasium.

It was carried by speakers outside to another 4,500 listeners. Many had waited in chilly fog since 6:30 a.m. to pass through security checks and metal detectors to get to a nearby soccer field to catch a glimpse of the President’s arrival.

Flown in on one of four helicopters, a smiling and waving Reagan emerged from the helicopter, clasping his hands above his head in a triumphant gesture as several Fullerton and Fountain Valley high school bands played. He was met by Gov. George Deukmejian, then the two were driven a short distance to the rear of the gym.

Inside, amid the excitement, Cal State Fullerton President Jewel Plummer Cobb introduced the President of the United States as Ronald A. Reagan. His middle name is Wilson.

Cheers and Horn Blowing

But the President seemed not to notice. As he addressed the crowd, his every punch line was greeted with cheers and horn blowing, making the echoing rally sound like New Year’s Eve at Times Square. Overhead were two nets poised to release red, white and blue balloons over the crowd.

Among the President’s lines that got the biggest responses:

- “What they plan for the Navy is so bad that, when they get through, Michael may have to row the boat ashore.”

- “When they (Democrats) say ‘family,’ they mean ‘Big Brother in Washington.’ ”

- “Don’t be fooled, folks, George Bush’s opponent is no Harry Truman, and he’s no F.D.R.” (a play on Dukakis running mate Lloyd Bentsen’s put-down of Bush running mate Dan Quayle, whom he called “no Jack Kennedy” during the vice presidential candidates’ debate).

- “They’re so out in left field that not even (Dodgers slugger) Kirk Gibson could hit one out.”

Several times Reagan was forced to suspend his speech when pro-Dukakis chanting drowned out his remarks. At one point, the group of about 15 hecklers shouted a line from the Democratic National Convention: “Where was George? Where was George?”

The GOP crowd shouted them down with: “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!”

After the noise had subsided, the standing-room-only crowd erupted with enthusiasm when Reagan said, “If they’d shut up and listen, they’d learn where George was.”

Several of the hecklers complained later that they had been hassled by pro-Bush students and prevented by the Secret Service from bringing their signs into the gym--which was plastered with handmade signs welcoming the President and expressing support for Bush.

Reagan made Fullerton the first of three stops Tuesday in what will be a week’s campaigning for Bush and other Republican candidates.

The Elephants’ Graveyard

The President obviously enjoyed being in one of the most Republican areas in the nation: “I always said, Orange County is where good Republicans go before they die.”

Thousands of his supporters wanted to return his affection. Those who could not get inside waited cheerfully to watch him arrive and then make a few departing remarks 75 minutes later.

While they waited, local GOP leaders took turns at the microphone set up on the soccer field, launching personal attacks on the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket.

“Michael Dukakis is really Jimmy Carter in drag!” shouted state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights). “Come Nov. 8, the L-word is going to stand for loser !”

The crowd, with many high school students, cheered the one-liners. They waved red, white and blue pompons and blue Bush/Quayle signs distributed by rally organizers.

But some viewed the partisan remarks as a continuation of a campaign that many perceive as short on substance and long on cheap shots.

“Why do they have to campaign like this, especially here, in front of a young crowd?” asked Arnie Gamboa, 47, a sales manager at a Fullerton food company and a registered Republican. “What kind of message does this send? A lousy one, if you want my opinion.”

The message was not as important as the moment for David Nguyen, a senior computer-science major at Cal State Fullerton. He skipped a math class to catch a glimpse of Reagan’s arrival.

“It’s a once in a lifetime,” he said, holding a blue Bush-Quayle sign. “Not everybody can say they’ve seen the President.”

For Debra Goodman, it was not so much a Reagan rally as a coming-out party for Cal State Fullerton, a largely commuter campus of 24,800 students that Reagan, as California governor in the early 1970s, elevated to university status. A 1978 graduate of the college, Goodman was wearing a T-shirt, one of the fastest-selling Monday, that underscored her claim. It read: “Nov. 1, 1988. The day President Reagan and the world comes to Cal State Fullerton.”

“This is a big, big day for this university,” a smiling Goodman said. “We have suffered from an image problem for a long time. We’ve had enough of the ‘Cal State Who?’ shirts and slogans. Reagan’s visit gives this campus some long-overdue recognition.”

Rude Treatment of Dissidents

Several bids by Dukakis supporters to spoil the outdoor GOP love-in were treated rudely by Republican loyalists.

A small cluster of Dukakis supporters outside the gym held up red-and-white Dukakis-Bentsen signs and chanted, “We want Mike! We want Mike!” Then they became an island engulfed by a sea of Republicans waving blue Bush-Quayle placards. One of the Dukakis signs was ripped down as the crowd cheered. One man, wearing a Reagan mask and perched on a friend’s shoulders, shook an angry fist at the Dukakis backers.

“We simply wanted to show that Orange County is not all Republican,” said Kevin Cooper, one of the demonstrators. Claiming that tuition at Cal State Fullerton and other state universities has climbed 375% during Reagan’s presidency, Cooper, president of a club for Democrats at Cal State, said it is “important that students know the facts and then decide. . . . Our intent was not to disrupt.”

During Reagan’s address, police and rally organizers kept about 200 marching Dukakis supporters several yards away from the gym’s entrance.

After the President’s departure, Thomas A. Fuentes, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, described the speech as “vintage Reagan. He can sense Election Day is around the corner. He was at his campaign level best.”

C. Christopher Cox, a former White House attorney and GOP candidate in the 40th Congressional District, said Reagan delivered a “passionate appeal” to young voters that helped carry him to victory in 1980 and 1984.

“The group he was jump-starting today was the same 18-to-25-year-old bloc that proved so critical to Reagan’s early successes,” Cox said. “He reaches across the generations with such ease.”

Last Address Here

County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said the speech, while rousing and upbeat, had a tinge of sadness. Vasquez said it was probably Reagan’s last address in Orange County as President.

“It was strangely sentimental,” Vasquez said. “It is a signal that a great and powerful presidency is drawing to a close.”

As the crowd broke up, Jane Williams stood in the field, holding her sleeping 5-year-old son and a U.S. flag, one of hundreds organizers had supplied. She had awakened at 5 a.m. at the family home in Corona to come to see Reagan.

“I’m an independent, who hasn’t decided how to vote next Tuesday,” Williams said. “But I can tell you one thing. Anybody who survives as President for 8 years has accomplished something wonderful.”