Learning about a different Dornan

LOLITA HARPER

I found Dornan -- just the wrong one. I still have not heard from

Bob, but his son Mark offered me two hours of interesting

conversation this week.

Mark Dornan, who is taking a six-week leave from his job as a

special education teacher, called me back Tuesday to answer my

previous question: What about Bob? The junior Dornan is entrenched in

his father’s campaign and was quick to admit that B-1 Bob has yet to unleash his arsenal against congressional incumbent Dana Rohrabacher

in a fight for the 46th District.

“I intentionally make sure that things are close to the vest,”

Mark Dornan said. “We have deliberately stayed under the radar.”

I asked to speak directly to Bob Dornan, and he said, “of course,”

but he was on the East Coast at the Pentagon and had lots and lots of

calls to return. Apparently, mine was not one of them.

But Mark Dornan talked, and I listened. He railed, and I silently

smiled and nodded, unable to break the habit, even though we were on

the phone. The son spoke passionately about his father, whom he

described as an underdog who sympathizes with the plight of Latinos

and is waging a war against an entrenched Republican.

The Bob Dornan of 2004 sounds a lot like the Loretta Sanchez of

1996.

Mark Dornan clarified what his father really meant by his infamous

“lesbian spear-chuckers” quotation and faulted Bob Dornan’s honesty

for his political collapse.

But more fervently than all that, he pointed the finger at

Rohrabacher for waging a dirty campaign and accused the surfing

incumbent of making false accusations against his father.

“They should wait for my dad to open his mouth before they put

words in it,” he said.

But the Dornans are used to being attacked, and the family has

thick skin, Mark Dornan said. Bob Dornan just seems to be a

“lightning rod for all this craziness” and for some reason that is

all that gets published in newspapers.

“I read about this person I have never met,” Mark Dornan said.

“This is my father. The man my 2-year-old sees every day and calls

‘poppy’ and runs up and hugs him ... . This is my dad; a grandfather.

But this person I have read about, I have never met that man.”

Bob Dornan’s biggest fault is that he is not a politician, his son

said. He is too “straightforward and honest” to be one.

“He is beholden to no one, and they are worried about my father

coming back to Congress,” Mark Dornan said.

For example, the whole lesbian spear-chucker comment was a

misspeak, the younger Dornan said. What Bob meant to say was

“spear-thrower,” which referred to Roman times when people would

throw spears at a speaker if what they were saying was not popular.

The quote, which is used over and over as an example of B-1 Bob’s

off-the-cuff remarks, is part of what Mark Dornan calls “liberal

mythology” that follows his dad.

“Do people really think my dad was talking about the four or five

African-American lesbians in Hollywood that were going to supposedly

derail his campaign?” Mark Dornan asked.

Despite liberal attempts to knock Bob Dornan out of his

congressional seat, he held a Democratic district for years before

being defeated by Rep. Loretta Sanchez in 1996, Mark Dornan said. By

the way, there was voter fraud involved, he charged.

“But we don’t want to go there,” he said.

People simply chose to ignore that Bob Dornan “busted his hump for

his Latino constituents,” Mark Dornan said. No one can ignore the

Latinos, Mark said, but while most Republicans struggle to “embrace”

the strong voting bloc, the elder Dornan simply acted according to

law, not “knee-jerk reactions.”

“Don’t get me wrong, my dad has pretty staunch approaches to

immigration, but he also recognizes humanitarian efforts,” Mark

Dornan said. “It is simply illegal to come here, but the last thing

he would say is, ‘If you’re here and you break your shoulder and you

go to the emergency room, we are going to take you back across the

border.’”

(That last comment was directed at Rohrabacher’s efforts to pass a

bill that would require medical professionals to report illegal

immigrants who come to them for treatment.)

“Why do mainstream politicians, in both parties, think that

Latinos want something different from other people?” he asked.

Mark Dornan said he hoped that Republicans would realize that the

social values of most Latinos, such as family and spirituality, fall

in line with traditional conservative values.

“Just say how you feel -- don’t be afraid,” he urged. “Those who

agree, will agree, regardless.”

Sanchez and the Democrats aside, Bob Dornan’s biggest challenge is

fighting the Republican Party. After his loss in 1996, the Grand Old

Party decided to “sacrifice Dornan on the political altar” and

buttress more moderate candidates, Mark Dornan said.

“People understand my father’s heart so well and truly want to

support him,” he said. “But we understand how politics work, and

basically, the Republicans are circling the wagons around the

incumbent, not wanting to lose any footing. In my gut, I think the

Republicans know they should [stand] their ground for my father.”

Vocal Republicans are not, however, causing the Dornan camp to

step on the toes of the entrenched incumbency, Mark Dornan said. He

doesn’t know why his father’s decision had drawn such vicious

criticism. Anyone should be able to challenge an incumbent, Mark

Dornan said, be it from the same party or not. The primaries are

where like minds should challenge each other, he said. How else do

you replace an entrenched politician?

“My dad has every right to run in this primary,” Mark Dornan said.

“It has really gotten up the warrior in my dad. He had a Republican

challenger before and we didn’t cry, we took her on.”

The Dornans are certainly not crying or shouting -- the voting

public has hardly heard a peep. Their website is still not up and

running and the campaign hotline rings directly to Mark Dornan’s

home.

But when the phone is answered, the calling party is sure to get

an earful.

“I know I talk too much, I get it from my dad, and it tends to get

you in trouble,” Mark said. “But in your heart you know it’s honest,

and you sleep great and you just keep talking, and maybe someone will

listen.”

* LOLITA HARPER is the community forum editor. She also writes

columns Wednesdays and Fridays. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275

or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.