After 9-11, Rohrabacher’s views and public actions took on a more sinister appearance, as radical Muslim groups began to count on him increasingly as support for their positions dwindled in Congress.
In a heated May 2, 2002 exchange with conservative talk show host Alan Keyes, for instance, Rohrabacher insisted that “[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and [Palestinian Authority President Yasser] Arafat are cut out of the same cloth” and claimed that “there’s been acts of terrorism committed against the Palestinian people as well,” statements that made Keyes audibly gasp.
When challenged, Rohrabacher claimed that targeting civilians “was standard operating procedure of the Israeli army for years of occupation,” when in fact the Israelis have consistently sought to spare civilians even at the price of the lives of their own soldiers, as was the case during the April 2002 battle of Jenin. Challenged a second time by Keyes, who called his comments “outrageously objectionable,” Rohrabacher reiterated his belief that “both sides have committed terrorism.”
Rohrabacher was one of four Republicans and seventeen Democrats who voted no to a May 2, 2002 Congressional resolution (HR 392) that expressed support for Israel as it faced a wave of terrorist attacks that killed more than 600 civilians. The resolution, which radical American Muslim groups lobbied against unsuccessfully, also stated that “the United States and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle against terrorism.”
Voting with Rohrabacher against the resolution were Democrats such as Cynthia McKinney, Jesse Jackson, Jr. (Ill), Barbara Lee (CA), Peter Defazio (Or), and Michigan Representatives John Conyers, David Bonior, and John Dingell, all of whom have taken campaign cash from donors who have publicly supported Hamas and other terrorist organizations. “Dana has allied himself with the anti-American left-wing thugs that we always opposed,” said Steinberg.
Some of Rohbacher’s Muslim donors are currently in federal prison awaiting trial on terrorism-related charges.
Steinberg is just one of a closely-knit group of Rohrbacher friends and supporters who have been trying over the past eighteen months to get the California libertarian to open himself up to other viewpoints. For years, these supporters - many of whom asked not to be cited by name for this article - have urged Rohrabacher to travel to Israel. When he complained that no one would sponsor the trip, they offered to pay his travel expenses, but again he refused. you can get this by searching on FR for Dana Rohrbacher--it was part of a frontpage article
sorry
here is the FR title
and link
Title:
Attacks are misleading, abusive, mean-spirited (Dana Rohrabacher)
Link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1071422/posts
Thanks for such a thorough reply re: Dana Rohrbacher. Interesting read.