190 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
$30 billion in tax increases to trim $15 billion from the deficit. They were
also out to restore some of the funds Republicans cut from child nutrition,
food stamps, welfare, day-care and Medicaid. Nor was Reagan going to get
anything approaching 10 percent from Domenici if the Budget Committee
plowed ahead on schedule. More like 5, maybe 6. The president beseeched
the chairman to give him some breathing room, saying, “I can’t promise
you anything but we may find some flexibility on defense.” Reagan’s brain
trust was telling him the leading economic indicators were perking up. The
recession in fact was over; much of the media just hadn’t noticed. Reagan
was stalling for time on the ides of March, 1983.^4
Gorton and Grassley said Reagan was wrong to ask for the delay, and if
they complied it would be even “more wrong” because they were mem-
bers of an independent branch of government. “Each time the president
has intervened in the budget process here he has been wrong,” said Gor-
ton, and “he’s wrong now. This uncertain trumpet is going to harm the
budget process.”^5
The Democrats on the committee warned that the White House would
attempt to set in motion “a public relations steamroller” for Reagan’s mili-
tary budget while members of Congress were in their home districts the
week before Easter.^6
Reagan met with the Republican members of the Budget Committee
on April 5, with Howard Baker as the broker. The majority leader sug-
gested a 7.5 percent boost for defense; Domenici offered 5. The meeting
broke up when Weinberger was nowhere to be found. Domenici’s com-
mittee was poised to vote when he was summoned to the “Senators Only”
phone booth outside the meeting room. It was the White House calling.
Reagan and Weinberger wanted him to hightail it over for a chat. “It’s too
late,” Domenici said through clenched teeth. “I’m the president,” Reagan
barked, “and I want you to hold off for a while. People in that committee
are up for re-election. They’re going to be coming to me for help.” The
chairman was undeterred.^7
“Reagan asked me three times to postpone it because Cap needed
more time,” Domenici recalls. “But Weinberger was playing games with
us. They said they supposed Gorton agreed with me, and I said, ‘Mr.
President, we’ve got to do our job. All the senators are here and there’s a
statute. The law says we’re one branch of government and you’re another.’
Reagan got very upset. We did not have a friendly goodbye. That was the
way that year was. We couldn’t conceivably continue on that path with
defense in terms of real growth. Slade captured that from the get-go with
me and joined me every way he could.”^8