McCarthy, Wilson Exchange Shots as Race Heats Up : Senator Stresses Defense, Says Foe Is AWOL on Topic

Endorsing a hefty increase in spending for the “Star Wars” system and asserting that the United States has not struck back hard enough against international terrorists, U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson took the hard-line stance on national defense that he is best known for in Washington.

Wilson described his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, as “AWOL on a number of the critical defense and foreign policy issues” and “pandering to anti-defense radicals.”

He said McCarthy’s reluctance to talk about defense issues, his past advocacy of a nuclear freeze and his contradictory statements about the Strategic Defense Initiative indicate that he is not qualified to be a senator.

‘Special Responsibilities’

“Now, if he were simply running for lieutenant governor, that’s fine,” Wilson said. “But he isn’t. He is running for the U.S. Senate, which has special responsibilities under the Constitution having to do with the ratification of treaties and the confirmation of important presidential appointments in the defense and foreign policy fields. He (McCarthy) has given no indication that he is ready or even willing to take the kind of positions that are necessary.”

Going into the final two weeks of the campaign, Wilson’s comments are part of a broad strategy that has him talking tough on defense and crime and, at other times, sounding sensitive on environmental matters and on issues affecting the elderly.

Wilson’s strategy is tailor-made for a race that is not receiving intensive news coverage. He can move from one cause to another, often courting opposing constituencies, and rarely risk seeing his peripatetic campaign played back on the evening news.

Wilson’s most recent swing took him down a raft on the American River with a group of environmentalists grateful to the senator for his support of a successful 1984 wilderness bill that granted protection to more than 1 million acres of California forest land.

Later that day, Wilson was hosted in Bakersfield by a convention of elderly recreational vehicle owners thankful for his opposition to an unsuccessful 1988 wilderness bill that sought to protect about 8 million acres of the Mojave Desert.

Drilling Project Opposed

Wilson completed the weekend swing at a Los Angeles benefit held to raise money to fight Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s proposed oil drilling project in Pacific Palisades.

The lone Republican elected official speaking at the event, Wilson drew praise and applause from people such as Democratic U.S. Rep. Mel Levine, who are supporting McCarthy.

On Monday, speaking at a Lockheed Aircraft Co. defense plant in Burbank, Wilson moved easily from the subject of national security to employee safety, reminding employees of a letter he wrote to Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci requesting an investigation of a rash of illness at the Lockheed facility.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Wilson came out in favor of a 10-year, $7-billion per-year plan for developing the Strategic Defense Initiative. This year, Congress appropriated about $4 billion for the project.

McCarthy has condemned SDI as unworkable but has also said he favors spending about $3 billion a year on continued research into the space-based missile defense system.

“Because (McCarthy) doesn’t favor deploying Star Wars, Wilson is going around lying about his defense record,” said Kam Kuwata, a McCarthy spokesman.

‘Haven’t Done Enough’

On the subject of international terrorism, Wilson said he thought that President Reagan has reacted perhaps too cautiously, saying, “We probably haven’t done enough by way of retaliation against known terrorists.”

Wilson also continued to speak in support of a resolution passed in the Senate but killed in the House that would have slashed a $3.5-billion aid package to Mexico on grounds that the country is not making a strong effort to control the flow of drugs to the United States.

“I think the resolution that passed the Senate should have passed the House, and I think it should have resulted in a cut-off,” Wilson said.

While Wilson steps up the pace of personal campaigning, he has unleashed a flurry of new televised campaign ads that seek to bolster his image on several fronts--national defense, crime and health care of senior citizens.

One ad describes Wilson “blowing the whistle on Pentagon waste . . ., “ “forcing (defense) contractors to prove their product . . . (and) fighting to cancel expensive weapons we don’t need.”