Swapping ballots for bullets

Paul Clinton

After a week of meetings with rival factions in Afghanistan, Rep.

Dana Rohrabacher unveiled a disarmament plan for the troubled,

war-torn country.

Leaders of the Northern Alliance Ethnic Armies, who led opposition

against the Taliban before the U.S. military overthrew that group,

agreed to the plan, which was announced April 24.

“The so-called warlords have agreed to lay down their weapons and

substitute ballots for bullets,” Rohrabacher said.

Leaders of the three top ethnic groups in the northern sector of

the country agreed to incorporate themselves into a new national

army, Rohrabacher said. The groups joined U.S. forces in the

overthrow of the Taliban regime in the final months of 2001.

During his trip, Rohrabacher, who represents Costa Mesa, conferred

with interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai and leaders of several

clans as a way of halting the bloody ethnic feuds that have riled the

country for hundred of years.

Rep. Chris Cox, who represents Newport Beach, also offered a

proposal to help rebuild Afghanistan. During a speech at UC Irvine on

Sunday, Cox discussed the Village of Hope, an initiative to build

homes for Afghanistan’s homeless.

Newport Beach architect Masum Azizi launched the plan about a year

ago, saying he would work to begin rebuilding villages in his

homeland country.

“Orange County is fortunate to have so many concerned citizens who

are focused on building the necessary infrastructure to establish

peace,” Cox said. “Together, we are laying the groundwork for livable

conditions for the people of Afghanistan.”

IT’S THE ECONOMY, REMEMBER

Rep. Cox on Wednesday met with President George W. Bush in the

White House’s Cabinet Room to discuss the GOP’s upcoming legislative

agenda.

Bush laid out the next phase of military operations in Iraq.

“He also provided details in the continuing campaign against the

Al Qaeda terrorists,” Cox said. “But the bulk of the discussion with

the House and Senate leadership was dedicated to the nation’s

economy.”

Bush urged congressional leaders to pass his tax-cut package,

which would reduce taxes by $726 billion over the next decade.

FIGHTING GRIDLOCK IN SACRAMENTO

Assembly Republicans led by Minority Leader Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks)

and Budget Committee Vice-Chairman John Campbell, who represents

Newport Beach, unveiled a comprehensive state budget proposal Tuesday

that they say offers the best chance to end gridlock by June 15.

The California Constitution requires that the state Legislature

approve a budget by that date.

With the plan, GOP leaders proposed a spending cap, a

multibillion-dollar financing plan, program cuts and increases in

community college fees, but no tax increases.

“We can’t move forward without implementing responsible structural

reform measures to the budget process,” Campbell said. “As we move

forward, it’s critical that we ... ensure that California does not

face a future multibillion-dollar deficit.”

As the centerpiece of his legislative package, Campbell introduced

a constitutional amendment that would cap spending by tying it to

increases in population and inflation.

CHAIRMAN ADDS TO HIS BOARDS

President Bush has appointed Tom Fuentes, chairman of the

Republican Party of Orange County, to the board of directors of the

Legal Services Corporation.

Fuentes was sworn in Friday in Santa Fe, N.M. He’ll serve a term

that expires July 13, 2005.

The corporation, a federal agency created by President Richard

Nixon in 1974, works to provide social justice for poor communities.

“I’m really grateful and appreciative of the president’s vote of

confidence,” Fuentes said. “It will require considerable travel and

work in the days ahead, but it is an organization of the federal

government that is committed to providing equal access to justice for

the poor of America.”

Fuentes serves as the chairman of the board at Costa Mesa’s

Whittier Law School. He is also a senior vice president with Santa

Ana engineering firm TAIT & Associates.

An often brash and outspoken conservative, Fuentes has served as

chairman of the county’s GOP for 19 years. He won’t need to step down

from that post, he said.