'B-1 Bob' Back on Calif. Campaign Trail

AP ^ | Feb 27, 4:47 AM ET | LAURA WIDES, Associated Press Writer

[tcuoohjohn]

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - It has been eight years since he was turned out of office by a young, liberal upstart and his comeback bid was soundly rejected by voters two years later. Now the firebrand conservative ex-congressman known as "B-1 Bob" Dornan is asking voters for one more chance.

Only this time, Dornan, famous in the 1970s, '80s and '90s for his slash-and-burn tactics targeting liberals, is trying to unseat a fellow Republican whose record is equally conservative.

He all but retired from politics after losing back-to-back congressional campaigns to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, in 1996 and 1998. But now he has decided to seek the Republican nomination for the congressional seat of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach.

Rohrabacher, whose Orange County district is next to Sanchez's, differs little on the issues from Dornan. Both support a freeze on taxes, favor the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and oppose President Bush (news - web sites)'s proposal to allow temporary work visas for undocumented immigrants.

The similarities have led some political analysts to view the election as nothing more than an effort to return to the spotlight by the 70-year-old Dornan, who earned his nickname for both his support of the military and his bombastic personality.

"This is King Lear raging on the heath," said John J. Pitney, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in Pomona. "Dornan's been out of the limelight for quite some time, and he wants it back."

Dornan, who scuffled with another Republican congressman on the House floor in 1985 when he called him a "draft-dodging wimp," said he would be tougher on terrorists than Rohrabacher, a better friend to Israel and a stauncher opponent of Islam.

"I would be the pre-eminent scholar on the dark side of Islam," he said recently, defining the run-up to Tuesday's primary election as "a one-issue campaign — terrorism."

A spokeswoman for the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations dismissed Dornan's remark as calculated to gain votes by playing on racial fears after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Candidates are attempting to scapegoat an entire Muslim community to gain prominence," said Sabija Kahn. "Dornan is just an example of this kind of hate-filled rhetoric in our own back yard."

For his part, Dornan is hoping his strong support for Israel during the 18 years he was in Congress will help catapult him to victory, even in a region where Jews comprise only a small portion of the population and Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority.

Jews represent about 3 percent of Orange County's nearly 3 million residents, according to the Orange County Jewish Federation.

Dornan called Rohrabacher "anti-Israel" for commenting on a 2002 talk show that Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) "were cut from the same cloth."

Rohrabacher called Dornan's criticism unfounded, noting his staff director on homeland security policy is a former Israeli military officer and his former foreign policy adviser once worked for Dornan.

"I'm for a Zionist state," he said. "But you have haters and irreconcilable people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. I'm trying to find people who are willing to work on both sides of the conflict, who are looking for a compromise."

Dornan also criticized Rohrabacher for accepting money from Abdurahman M. Alamoudi, the founder of the American Muslim Council who was charged last year with trying to funnel Libyan money into the United States illegally. Federal prosecutors also alleged he was involved with groups that finance terrorism.

Rohrabacher said he and many other politicians received money from Alamoudi in the mid-1990s, before the allegations surfaced.

Rohrabacher, 56, an avid surfer who can wax at length on the spirituality of catching a wave, is known in Congress for his expertise on Afghanistan (news - web sites). He helped the Bush administration craft its plan against Afghanistan's former Taliban leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Rohrabacher has the support of many top Republicans, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites), and he leads Dornan about 2-1 in fund-raising. As of Feb. 19, Dornan had about $182,000 cash on hand, most of it from a loan he made to himself. Rohrabacher had more than $365,000, most of it from outside contributions

[tcuoohjohn]

Sometimes the most honorable thing a politician can do is lay down his political life and die for the larger cause. I think Dornan is one of those folks. He has become something of an embarrassment.

[roylene]

Hahoo!!!

[RUCKUS INC.]

Bob Dornan is principled... not an embarassment. If half the politicians in our country had the that he does our country would be far better off than it is. His passion makes him likeable!

[annyokie]

Bob needs to sit down and play with his grandkids.

[JohnnyZ]

Well, the primary's over now. He lost, badly.

[Catspaw]

The primary was held yesterday.  Dornan lost big time.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE 46th District Republican Party

	Vote Count	Percentage
DANA ROHRABACHER	43416	83.2%
ROBERT K. "BOB" DORNAN	8797	16.8%

[The South Texan]

Ouch!!!!

Guess it's back to the Chris Matthews show to be a guest panelist along with Pat Buchann, another GOP has been.

[Wheee The People]

He has become something of an embarrassment

He's wackier than Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan combined! Next he'll be barkin' at the moon...And I like his politics, but the dude needs to "know when to fold 'em".

[tcuoohjohn]

Ah...Maybe we can make a movie of Bob Dornan " The Passion of Bob". The story of a politician crucified on the cross of political expediency.

I suspect that Dornan's "principles" are situational. The fact that he would challenge Rohrabacher says that Dornan is more focused on the " Principle Of Dornan". There wasn't a single conservative principle in which Dornan differed from Rohrabacher. The only meaningful issue at stake was a test of Dornan's titanic ego.

Dornan is like a compulsive gambler who just cant leave the table. He will scrounge a few bucks and then hit the 3 buck black jack table with dreams of winning it all back. Office has become an addiction to Dornan. When you lose three in a row it is time to hang it up.

[tcuoohjohn]

Ya know..."B1 Bob" is getting a bit dated. I like the image you crafted for Dornan.. Bob " Barker At The Moon" Dornan. Kinda catchy.

[RUCKUS INC.]

It would have to be "The Passion of The Bob" and you are wrong in saying he and Rohrbacher are the same. In fact, Dornan's entire campaign was a one issue campaign. The issue was illegal immigration which Dornan and Dana differ on greatly.

[GraniteStateConservative]

I can't figure how he thought this was a smart thing to do.

[skinkinthegrass]

....And I like his politics, but the dude needs to "know when to fold 'em".

Yes...unfortunately, that's true...by throwing so many bombs, he hurts fellow conseratives :((

That said... I remember in '93, He stood on the ('RAT controlled-) House Floor and told the unvarnished TRUTH about the CLINTONS...it took less than 7 years (and untold Clinton-related deaths, treason w/ the Chicoms, numerous cover-ups...etc.) before they were fully realized by thinking people...(by the ones, who were, paying attn. :)

[Imal]

I like Bob Dornan, but I doubt he's going to get very far being "The Republican who campaigns like a Democrat."

Sadly, "B-1 Bob" has become a living anachronism.

[Cicero]

Dornan wasn't a bad guy, and he was betrayed by his fellow Republicans when Sanchez stole the first election and they voted to seat her. But this was a stupid thing to do. It wrecks whatever reputation he has left.

[sully777]

Question: If Dornan was interested in changing DC, why is he not running for US Senate--that way he only has to run every six years instead of two?!

He ran against another conservative and now looks like an idiot.

[Rummyfan]

Dornan wasn't a bad guy, and he was betrayed by his fellow Republicans when Sanchez stole the first election and they voted to seat her.

Here here!

[tcuoohjohn]

I think that Dornan simply lost. If you added up all the contested votes as fraud the outcome would still be the same. Dornan just lost.

Dornan's problem was his constituency changed and Bob failed to adapt to the changes. The raucous tub thumping that got him elected became an old tune..He began to sound like a carnival barker with an frayed spiel. Folks just began to tune him out. The louder he became the more they tuned out. ON a track conservative-lib split Dornan could have won. The problem was the only folks he energized were the center and left hispanic and lib communities. It resulted in his defeat. If Dornan had been able to attract the traditional 14% hispanic conservative vote he would have won. He proceded to alienate them with some very overly sparky anti-hispanic rhetorical flourishes that the dems took full advantage of. It was dumb.

[CdMGuy]

Dornan has been an opportunistic SOB for a long time. He tried his carpetbagger routine one time too often. After he first lost his LA district seat, he left LA County and moved into Garden Grove in Orange County to highjack a Republican district seat.

Then his ego expanded even more, and he thought he could be President. While wasting his time in that endeavor, he ignored his district and campaigning for re-election. Then when he finally figured he had no chance of being President, he started running for his district seat. In the meantime, his district was becoming more and more Latino, and the Dems put up a woman (dumb as she is) who worked real hard for the seat while Dornan sat on his laurels. Yes, there may have been some illegal voting but Dornan lost because he took his eye of the ball.

Next, he goes off a sore loser and we have to listen to his BS for a year or two as to how he was "cheated".

Now this year, out of nowhere, he decides to run against Rohrabacher. a longtime conservative Republican from the next district over. So, here comes capetbagger Bob again. This time, he makes the most outrageous charges against a man with whom he served several terms in Congress. Talk about a back stabbing SOB.

Dornan got just what he deserved - an absolutely devastating defeat. Only 15% of the vote. He said he was coming to the Republican celebration party last night but didn't show up, likely because he was too embarassed. It couldn't happen to a "nicer guy".

[tcuoohjohn]

An astute analysis. There was something of Huey Long in Dornan on a tactical level. In the end his schtick became boring and repetitive.