Terror, security compel Dornan

Jenny Marder

As a Boeing 767 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade

Center, Robert Dornan screamed “Terror!” into his microphone. Dornan

had been hosting his radio talk show when he saw the attacks on his

TV set.

In the moments that followed, the arch conservative, former

fighter pilot and 70-year-old grandfather of 14 decided two things:

he had to run for Congress; and his life, as he knew it, was forever

changed.

Deeply moved by the events of Sept. 11, Dornan, who served in the

U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1959, believes the country is sorely in

need of his political savvy and military intelligence in the face of

an ever-mounting terrorist threat.

During his 18 years in Congress, Dornan served on the House

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Armed

Services Committee. He was a reservist from 1958 to 1975.

On Dec. 5, Dornan filed papers to compete with Rep. Dana

Rohrabacher in the March primary for the 46th Congressional District

seat.

Dornan is no stranger to American politics. From 1977 to 1983, he represented California’s 27th Congressional District. He was elected

to the 38th Congressional District in 1984, but edged out by Rep.

Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) in 1996. He lost again in a 1998

rematch.

Now, after a seven-year hiatus from politics, he is targeting

Huntington Beach’s district, which Rohrabacher has represented since

1988.

While in office, Dornan’s fiery rhetoric and ardent support of the

defense industry’s B-1 bomber program inspired nicknames such as

“Mouth of the House” and “B-1 Bob.”

If elected, Dornan said he will continue to champion defense

spending.

His platform also includes defeating terrorism and defending

“Israel’s right to exist in a hostile world.” On the domestic level,

he plans to fight the war on illegal drugs and reduce government

spending.

Rohrabacher shares a similar voting record with Dornan, yet claims

that the two vary greatly in style. His personality, he feels, is

more suited to the seaside city.

“People in this district are Republicans and conservatives, but

they have more of a positive, laid-back approach to things,”

Rohrabacher said. “They don’t really have the same rough edges around

their philosophy as the type of people Bob is used to representing.

Our constituents do not want someone to be demagogic in their

approach. They want someone to be a little more thoughtful.”

At 70, Dornan may not be as spry as he was in his younger years,

yet he lacks no confidence in his abilities.

“I was the hardest working congressman I ever knew or saw,” he

said.

His views on Rohrabacher are just as blunt. In his kinder moments,

he refers to Rohrabacher as a closet libertarian, a drug pusher and a

draft dodger.

“That alone makes a canyon of difference between both of us -- in

all military and national security affairs,” Dornan said.

Rohrabacher denies the draft dodging allegation and says he was

disqualified from the military because of a hip injury. And as for

the drug comment, Rohrabacher said that backing doctor-prescribed

marijuana for AIDS and cancer patients is quite different than

legalizing drugs altogether.

“People should only be talking about issues in a campaign, and

instead, it’s already, I’m a dope-head draft dodger,” Rohrabacher

said. “It’s ridiculous to use those kind of names and that kind of

strategy.”

For the past five years, Dornan has been busy hosting “The Bob

Dornan Show,” which specializes in foreign policy discussions. Dornan

calls his conservative talk show, “the No. 1 show in America on jihad

and the dark side of Islam.”

“It’s not rough cut like Michael Savage, not totally ego-focused

like Rush Limbaugh, not like Laura Schlesinger, who focuses more on

social issues. It’s more like Bill Buckley -- with politics and

guests and world affairs,” Dornan said.

The candidate is looking to buy property in Huntington Beach.

“I’d like to pick up where I left off as one of the intelligence

experts in the House, fighting threats to defense in the military,

the struggle against illegal substances and the war on diseases,”

Dornan said.

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall for the Huntington Beach

Independent. She can be reached at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at

[email protected].