For the Record

Ronald Reagan went back on the offensive as Senate-House conferees prepared to meet on tax reform. White House chief of staff Donald Regan outlined what the President is prepared to accept: small changes in treatment of IRAs, capital gains, state sales taxes, provided that 27 per cent top rate remains. That’s the factor—a chop of nearly one-half in the top rate—that has caught the public imagination. . . . Other fierce battles remain. Left-radical unions recently joined ranks against Space Shield. William Winpisinger of Machinists said SDI is a “boondoggle of the highest order,” as he and other union leaders issued anti-SDI manifesto. Among them: Clothing and Textile Workers Union; State, County, and Municipal Employees; Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union; NEA; Electrical Workers; Newspaper Guild. . . . Attacks on judicial appointments also abound, with lowest blow struck by far-left William Kunstler in radical Guardian. “[William] Rehnquist’s rise might be labeled ‘Nixon’s revenge,’ ” he writes. “There are many who still wonder how he escaped unscathed from the Watergate scandal.” (Rehnquist was Assistant Attorney General at the time.) . . . Sen. William Proxmire, often an Administration critic, hit a high note: Rehnquist is “a conservative, which is all right. What the hell, everybody’s got to be something. But he’s extremely well qualified and very bright intellectually.” . . . Meanwhile Reagan continues to ride high in the polls. Late June figures give him approval rate of 64 per cent (NBC/WSJ) to 68 per cent (Gallup).

By July 4, with half the primaries over, the Democrats were talking bullish about senatorial prospects in November. But no one is expecting big sweep either way. Kevin Phillips believes next Senate will be split 51 to 49, or 52 to 48. And he won’t say which way. … In North Carolina,

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Ronald Reagan went back on the offensive as Senate-House conferees prepared to meet on tax reform. White House chief of staff Donald Regan outlined what the President is prepared to accept: small changes in treatment of IRAs, capital gains, state sales taxes, provided that 27 per cent top rate remains. That’s the factor—a chop of nearly one-half in the top rate—that has caught the public imagination. . . . Other fierce battles remain. Left-radical unions recently joined ranks against Space Shield. William Winpisinger of Machinists said SDI is a “boondoggle of the highest order,” as he and other union leaders issued anti-SDI manifesto. Among them: Clothing and Textile Workers Union; State, County, and Municipal Employees; Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union; NEA; Electrical Workers; Newspaper Guild. . . . Attacks on judicial appointments also abound, with lowest blow struck by far-left William Kunstler in radical Guardian. “[William] Rehnquist’s rise might be labeled ‘Nixon’s revenge,’ ” he writes. “There are many who still wonder how he escaped unscathed from the Watergate scandal.” (Rehnquist was Assistant Attorney General at the time.) . . . Sen. William Proxmire, often an Administration critic, hit a high note: Rehnquist is “a conservative, which is all right. What the hell, everybody’s got to be something. But he’s extremely well qualified and very bright intellectually.” . . . Meanwhile Reagan continues to ride high in the polls. Late June figures give him approval rate of 64 per cent (NBC/WSJ) to 68 per cent (Gallup).

By July 4, with half the primaries over, the Democrats were talking bullish about senatorial prospects in November. But no one is expecting big sweep either way. Kevin Phillips believes next Senate will be split 51 to 49, or 52 to 48. And he won’t say which way. … In North Carolina,