Dana Rohrabacher: Using experience to his advantage

James Meier

Though Rep. Dana Rohrabacher visited Afghanistan several times in

his 14 years in the House, he had no idea it would ever help his

country as much as it has.

“I did always feel it would be helpful to my country,” the

congressman said while in Huntington Beach on Wednesday. “I never

knew it would be needed this much.”

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United

States, the President and other government officials have turned to

Rohrabacher for his expertise in Afghanistan, as well as the Taliban.

Now, more than a year after the attacks, the incumbent says the

U.S. must rebuild the war-torn country to repay it for taking on the

Soviet Union during the 1980s. Doing so will also prevent some of the

Afghans from producing heroin and sending it overseas, he said.

At the same time, the nation must also remove Saddam Hussein power

in Iraq, said Rohrabacher, who represents Costa Mesa.

“We must focus on getting rid of Saddam Hussein, which should take

a short bit of time,” he said. “George Bush Sr. made a tragic error

in not removing Saddam ....I thoroughly expect that Saddam Hussein

will be brought to justice with his heels strung up just like

Mussolini. They’ll be waiving American flags and will be grateful

that we saved them from this monster.”

On the home front, though, Rohrabacher says security represents

the most important issue concerning him, as well as his constituency.

“I support the President in creating a Homeland Security

Department, which the Democrats oppose and have prevented,” said

Rohrabacher, first elected in 1988.

“Also of vital importance to this constituency is illegal

immigration,” Rohrabacher said. “My opponent is for general amnesty,

which would bankrupt all of the departments that she wants to

strengthen ....There is nothing that people can talk about in terms

of improving health care, social security, quality of life, you name

it, because of the illegal immigration into our country. President

Bush seems to be on the wrong path on that.”

Rohrabacher, who served as a senior speechwriter during President

Reagan’s administration, says his basic philosophy still matches the

conservatism that Reagan stood for and believes that his district --

though altered this year to include some of the South Bay and Long

Beach -- still wants that.

“The people here know me. I think I’ve been a good congressman,

I’ve been accessible, I’ve been in the district a lot,” he said. “I

feel I’ve done a good job and hope the people would agree with that.

Rohrabacher, who has chaired the Space and Aeronautics

Subcommittee for six years, also has ideas for the space program.

“It’s most important for us to induce both enthusiasm and expand

the ability of the space program to accomplish new goals,” he said.

Among those would be creating a solar panel to ensure cheaper

electricity in the future. Electricity could also be beamed from

other areas around the world to a satellite and then back down to the

U.S., he said.

Rohrabacher, now seeking his eighth House term, said he would like

to see his “zero gravity, zero tax” proposal accepted. That would

allow space-based companies to be tax-exempt for 20 years, he said.