Dornan predicts he’ll ‘head back to Congress’

S.J. Cahn

Former Rep. Bob Dornan “is inching closer to” a run against Rep.

Dana Rohrabacher, and will make a final decision by the first week in

October, Dornan said Tuesday.

“Why should I not think about getting rid of (him)?” Dornan said,

stressing that he feels Rohrabacher did not tell him the truth about his

past drug use.

Rohrabacher has admitted to using marijuana and LSD in the ‘60s.

The only thing likely to keep him out of the race would be a new radio

talk show contract. But, Dornan said, he’s purposely asked for too sweet

a deal.

“I’ve deliberately reached for the stars ... so they won’t give it to

me, and I’ll head back to Congress,” Dornan said.

He won’t be back on Capitol Hill with the help of his former

colleagues, however. Congressional Republicans would back Rohrabacher

in a race against Dornan, said a spokeswoman for the National Republican

Congressional Committee.

“This committee supports all incumbents, and we’re fully behind Dana

Rohrabacher,” said Jill Schroeder. “Dana is an excellent member of

Congress.”

Dornan said he doesn’t care whether he has the committee’s backing.

“I’m not concerned about that at all,” the former Garden Grove

congressman said.

Congressional Republicans, he stressed, need him to fight the battles

they aren’t willing to fight themselves.

“There’s been nobody to replace Bob Dornan,” he said.

Dornan added he would still be in Congress if he had not given

Rohrabacher the safe Huntington Beach district in 1992 rather than take

it himself following redistricting.

It’s a decision he came to regret following his 1996 loss to Loretta

Sanchez, which he blames in part on a lack of support by his fellow

California Reps. Chris Cox, Ron Packard, Ed Royce and Rohrabacher.

Their lack of support also made it impossible for him to defeat

Sanchez in a rematch in 1998, Dornan said.

And in a race against Rohrabacher, Dornan said, he would expect the

same lack of support.

“But they all know I’ve got 30 IQ points on Dana,” he said.

Rohrabacher could not be reached for comment.

Schroeder cautioned that at this point it is too early for Republicans

to be concerned about what Dornan does.

“I’m not going to give any credibility to Bob Dornan’s campaign,”

Schroeder said.

Like the Republicans, Democrats in Congress are waiting for an

official start to a Dornan campaign before they think about whether it

may help them, said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman

John Del Cecato.

“We’d have to see how it shakes out,” he said.

A Dornan campaign could make the Democrats reevaluate how hard to run

in Rohrabacher’s district, he added.

“I see both of them as being extreme and vulnerable based on their

voting records,” he said.

If by competing, the two conservatives pushed each other to more

conservative positions, it could make them vulnerable to a mainstream

Democrat, he said.

Under such circumstances, “We would revisit it down the line,” Del

Cecato said.

Make your pick

Who would you support in a race between Bob Dornan and Congressman

Dana Rohrabacher? Please call our Readers Hotline at 949-642-6086.