Catch a wave with your Rep.

Judging by reaction to a story in last week’s Independent, people are

none too impressed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s bill to cut off foreign

aid to Ethiopia. The reason for the congressman’s -- who has been

more focused on Afghanistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- sudden

interest in this African nation? He met Petros Berhane, who lives in

Huntington Beach and whose father, Gebremedhin Berhane lost an

alcohol factory in the 1970s to the Communist Ethiopia government of

Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Today’s Ethiopian government has refused to repay the elder

Berhane the amount of money he thinks he’s owed. That’s not fair,

Rohrabacher argues, and the U.S. government shouldn’t be dealing with

countries that don’t act in good faith with U.S. citizens. “You have

to send a message to corrupt governments that you can’t trust them

with aid,” Rohrabacher said.

Of course, it was hard to miss another key piece to this story:

“He’s a surfer, like I am, and we did a lot of surfing together,”

Rohrabacher said of the younger Berhane.

Readers, rightly, picked up on this piece of the puzzle and many

have suggested that Berhane may not be the most needy person living

in Rohrabacher’s district. Combining those two facts together

produces, for many, a tale of rich special interests getting a cozy

seat next to a U.S. Congressman -- no shock there, right? And no

shock either that reaction from Ethiopia and members of the

Ethiopian-American community has been critical, with officials saying

Rohrabacher’s bill threatens the safety and well-being of Ethiopians.

But there’s another picture easily painted here. Petros Berhane

lives in Downtown Huntington Beach, surfs and has managed to parlay

some sessions in the water with his representative into a bill that

helps his family. Isn’t that exactly the kind of responsive

government we want, especially from our members of Congress who are

supposed to be most closely tied to their constituents? Is

Rohrabacher’s bill much different from his getting money for cleanup

of the Ascon waste site or protection of the Bolsa Chica? Isn’t it

Rohrabacher’s job to act in the interest of those people he

represents?

It is, and Rohrabacher shouldn’t be lambasted for coming to the

Berhane’s aid.

But his responsiveness to the family’s need does raise a precedent

that Rohrabacher now must live with: He ought to begin announcing

when and where he’ll be surfing so the rest of his constituents will

know where they can find him. Otherwise he does leave himself open to

charges of playing in the surf with special interests.

Separately, if Rohrabacher’s bill really isn’t in the best

interest of America and its relations with the rest of the world, the

Senate has the chance to shoot it down. Having such a wider view of

the world, after all, is exactly their mandate in Washington.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Do you think Rep. Dana Rohrabacher was wrong to write a bill that

helps one specific family? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691

or send e-mail to hbindependent@latimes.com. Please spell your name

and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.