{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
Dana Tyron Rohrabacher (born June 21, 1947, in
Coronado, CaliforniaCoronado, also known as Coronado Island, is a city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive places to reside in the United States...
), is a
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
n politician, who has been a
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
member of the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
since 1989 and currently represents {{ushr|California|46|}}.
Education
Rohrabacher graduated from Palos Verdes High School in
Palos Verdes Estates, CaliforniaPalos Verdes Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, USA on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It was designed by the noted American landscape architect and planner Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. The population was 13,340 at the 2000 census...
, attended Los Angeles Harbor College, and earned a
bachelor's degreeBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
in history at
California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach is the largest campus of the California State University system and the second largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
in 1969. He received his
master's degreeA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
in
American StudiesAmerican studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It incorporates the study of economics, history, literature, art, the media, film, urban studies, women's studies, anthropology, sociology, and culture of the United States, among...
at the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
. While in graduate school and during the early 1970s, he had a side activity as a folk singer.
Tenure at the Reagan White House
In his younger years, Rohrabacher was an active libertarian associated with
Samuel Edward Konkin IIISamuel Edward Konkin III was the author of the New Libertarian Manifesto and a proponent of the political philosophy which he called agorism. Agorism is a leftward evolution of anarcho-capitalism, and subset of market anarchism...
, but after undergoing something of a political conversion, he became a conservative Republican and served as assistant press secretary to the 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns of
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
. From 1981 to 1988, he was one of then President Reagan's senior speech writers. During his tenure at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
, Rohrabacher played a leading role in the formulation of the
Reagan DoctrineThe Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War...
. He also helped formulate President Reagan's Economic Bill of Rights, which was a series of policy proposals that Reagan introduced in a speech at the
Jefferson MemorialThe Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States....
.
Congressional career
Rohrabacher left the administration in 1988 to pursue the open House seat recently vacated by
Dan LungrenDaniel Edward Lungren , is a Republican of the United States House of Representatives representing California's 3rd congressional district since 2005. The district is located in the southeastern suburbs of Sacramento...
. With the fundraising help of friend
Oliver NorthOliver Laurence North is a retired United States Marine Corps officer best known for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal. Currently, he is a political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, and a New York Times best-selling author...
, Rohrabacher was able to win the Republican primary and capture the seat, centered around northern coastal
Orange CountyOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
. A friend and fellow White House aide,
Chris CoxCharles Christopher Cox , is a former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a 17-year Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, and member of the White House staff in the administration of President Ronald Reagan...
, won a southern Orange County seat in the same election. The pair remain close although Cox was chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission until he resigned as chairman of the SEC on January 20, 2009.
Rohrabacher chaired the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee from 1997 until January 2005; he received a two-year waiver to serve beyond the six-year term limit.
As a senior member of the International Relations Committee, Rohrabacher led the effort to deny Most Favored Nation trading status to the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
, citing that nation's dismal human rights record and opposition to democracy. His subcommittee assignments are East Asia and Pacific, and Middle East and South Asia.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment
- Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
The U.S. House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia is a standing subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee.-Jurisdiction:From the House Rules:...
- Committee on Science and Technology
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
The Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology.- Jurisdiction :...
Political positions
Obama and Iran
During an appearance on MSNBC's
The Ed Show, Rohrabacher accused Barack Obama of allowing violence in Iran to get out of hand because he did not speak forcefully enough against the country's leadership. He also claimed that Gorbachev tore down the Berlin Wall because Reagan told him to (“
Tear down this wall"Tear down this wall!" was the famous challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall....
”).
Illegal immigration
Rohrabacher is a staunch opponent of illegal immigration and was an advocate for California's
Proposition 187California Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative designed to prohibit illegal immigrants from using social services, health care, and public education in the U.S. State of California...
, which denied government services to illegal immigrants. In 2004, he sponsored a bill that would have prohibited federal reimbursement of hospital-provided emergency care and certain transportation services to undocumented aliens unless the hospital provided information about the aliens' citizenship, immigration status, financial data, and employer to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Aliens who were in the country illegally would receive reimbursement only after they were deported. The proposed bill was overwhelmingly defeated.
On March 30, 2006, Rohrabacher decried a guest worker proposal as a "foul odor that's coming out of the United States Senate." He said that if illegal immigrants who do many farm jobs were deported, "the millions of young men who are prisoners around our country can pick the fruits and vegetables. I say, let the prisoners pick the fruits."
In early 2008, Rohrabacher endorsed
Mitt RomneyWillard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and former Governor of Massachusetts. Romney was CEO of Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, and co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm...
in the Republican presidential primary, citing his positions on stemming illegal immigration and criticizing
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. About McCain, he said, "He's been the enemy of those of us who have stemmed the flow of illegals into our country, whereas Romney has made some very tough commitments."
Voting rights for DC residents
In January 2004, Rohrabacher proposed giving
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
residents the right to vote for congressional representation by treating them as
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
residents for the purpose of Congressional elections.
Opposition to current Ethiopian government
In March 2005, Rohrabacher introduced HR 1061, the American Property Claims Against Ethiopia Act, which would "prohibit United States assistance to the Federal Democratic Republic of
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
until the Ethiopian government returns all property of United States citizens." The bill was introduced by Rohrabacher at the behest of Gebremedhin Berhane, a former
EritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen...
n national and friend of the Rohrabacher family, after his business was expropriated by the Ethiopian government.
On March 7, 2006, Rohrabacher introduced HR 4895, an amendment to the
Foreign Assistance ActThe Foreign Assistance Act is a United States Act of Congress. The Act reorganized U.S. foreign assistance programs and separated military and non-military aid. It also mandated the creation of an agency to administer economic assistance programs; on November 3 1961, President John F. Kennedy...
of 1961, "to limit the provision of the United States military assistance and the sale, transfer, or licensing of United States military equipment or technology to Ethiopia."
Medical marijuana
Unlike most
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
members of Congress, Rohrabacher is a supporter of the medicinal use of
marijuanaCannabisalso known as marijuana or marihuana, and ganja , among many other namesrefers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug...
as a right of the state. He and
Maurice HincheyMaurice Dunlea Hinchey , is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing New York's 22nd congressional district since 2003...
have jointly offered the
Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendmentThe Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment was offered by Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and Dana Rohrabacher to amend the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill, H.R. 3093, on July 25, 2007 in the U.S. Congress...
to a Commerce Justice and Science appropriations bill that would prohibit the
Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans...
from prosecuting patients in states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Rohrabacher said that
conservativesConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
should take
states' rightsStates' rights in U.S. politics and constitutional law refers to the rights and political powers that U.S. states possess in relation to the federal government, as guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights.-Background:...
into consideration when they consider the issue of marijuana.
South-Ossetian Crisis
{{Main|2008 South Ossetia war}}
On September 8, 2008, at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, Rorabacher argued that the Georgians had initiated the recent military confrontation in the ongoing Russian-South Ossetian conflict.
.
LGBT issues
In a debate at
Orange Coast CollegeOrange Coast College , founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948, is a community college providing two-year associate of art and science degrees, certificates of achievement, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges and universities. This college is a...
, he voiced his support for
Proposition 8Proposition 8 was a California ballot proposition passed in the November 2008, general election. The measure added a new section to Article I of the California Constitution...
, which defines marriage in California as only between a man and a woman, and said that he "would suggest not changing the definition of marriage in our society to make a small number of people feel more comfortable."
Space-related positions
Rohrabacher was chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics from 1997 to January 2005 and has been active on space-related issues. In 2000,
Space.comSpace.com is a space and astronomy news website. Its stories are often syndicated to other media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo!, and USA Today....
described Rohrabacher as "a strident advocate for supremacy in space, a philosophy shaped along a winding road from libertarian activist to White House speech writer in the Reagan administration." In 2007, Rohrabacher introduced a bill that would direct NASA to develop a strategy “for deflecting and mitigating potentially hazardous near-Earth objects.”
Global warming
Rohrabacher is skeptical of claims that global warming is caused by humans. During a congressional hearing on
climate changeClimate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average...
on February 8, 2007, Rohrabacher sarcastically mused that previous warming cycles may have been caused by
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state...
released into the
atmosphereThe Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
by "
dinosaur{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Otheruses}}{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}{{Taxobox|name = Dinosaurs|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|230|65|earliest=230|latest=0|PS=
Descendant taxon Aves survives to present.}}|image = field_dinos_2.jpg...
flatulenceFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The mixture of gases is known as flatus, fart, or simply gas, and is expelled from the rectum in a process colloquially referred to as "passing gas" or...
."
Congressional scorecards
See also {{CongLinks | votesmart=26763}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
Project Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
provides the following results from congressional scorecards.
- American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union consists of two separate non-profit organizations: the ACLU Foundation, a 501 organization which focuses on litigation and communication efforts, and the American Civil Liberties Union, a 501 organization which focuses on legislative lobbying...
— 9% for 2005–2006
- Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating liberal policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.- History :...
— 15% for 2006
- American Land Rights Association
-History:The American Land Rights Association was founded in 1978 by property owners in the community of Wawona, California located within Yosemite National Park, and was first known as the National Park Inholders Association....
— 100% for 2006
- Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group whose goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
— 100% for 2006
- Rohrabacher is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge
- AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL-CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States and Canada, made up of 65 national and international unions, together representing more than 10 million workers. It...
— 7% in 2006
- Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for America's Future is an American political organization of progressives. Its main issues of concern include the environment, energy independence, health care reform, Social Security, and education...
— 0% for 2005–2006
- Conservative Index-John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is a political advocacy group that supports what it considers traditionally conservative causes such as the private ownership of property, the rule of law and U.S. sovereignty but opposes globalism. The society is paleoconservative on the American political spectrum. Founded...
— 80% for Fall 2004
- Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund is a child advocacy and research group, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. Their motto Leave No Child Behind indicates their mission to lobby on behalf of children in the federal government and the states, with the support of private/corporate donations and no...
— 0% for 2006
- Drug Policy Alliance
The Drug Policy Alliance is a New York City-based non-profit organization with the principal goal of ending the American "War on Drugs". Its goals include nationwide availability of medicinal marijuana, the creation of drug-related public health measures, ending abuses of asset forfeiture,...
— 83% for 2006
- Drum Major Institute
The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy is a non-profit American progressive public policy institute founded during the Civil Rights Movement...
— 13% for 2005
- Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative, Christian right group and lobbying organization. It was formed in the United States by James Dobson in 1981 and incorporated in 1983. The group was designed to be a lobbying force for conservative legislation on Capitol Hill...
— 71% for 2006
- FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks is a conservative non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., United States. FreedomWorks trains volunteer activists and wages campaigns to encourage them to mobilize, engage fellow citizens, and influence their political representatives...
— 92% for 2006
- Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners of America is a gun rights organization in the United States with over 300,000 members. They make efforts to differentiate themselves from the larger National Rifle Association , and have publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what the GOA considers to be the selling out...
— 100% for 2006
- Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2007, it had 10.6 million members, and a budget of US$120 million....
— 28% for 2005–2006
- League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement...
— 17% for 2006
{{col-2}}
- NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America is a pro-choice organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion...
— 0% for 2006
- National Association of Wheat Growers
The National Association of Wheat Growers is an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. that supports the collective interests of wheat farmers in the United States....
— 75% for 2005
- National Education Association
The National Education Association is the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States, representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become...
— 0% for 2005–2006
- National Federation of Independent Business
The National Federation of Independent Business is a lobbying organization with offices in Washington, D.C. USA, and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB claims a membership base of about 350,000, down from an excess of more than 600,000 members...
— 100% for 2005–2006
- National Journal
National Journal is an American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969 and is now part of National Journal Group, a division of Atlantic Media Company. It was purchased by David G....
— Composite conservative score of 73.7% for 2006
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — +30 for 2006
- National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members and 5987 chapters in all 50 U.S...
— 14% for 2005–2006
- National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the...
— A for 2006
- National Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee is the largest right to life/pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. The group works through legislation and education to work against abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted...
— 80% for 2005–2006
- National Taxpayers Union
National Taxpayers Union is a taxpayers advocacy organization in the United States, founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson. NTU advertises that it is the largest and oldest grassroots taxpayer organization in the nation, with 362,000 members nationwide. It is closely affiliated with a non-profit...
— 75% for 2006
- Population Connection
Population Connection is an organization in the United States, formerly known as Zero Population Growth. They adopted their current name in 2002.Zero Population Growth was originally founded in 1968 by Paul R...
— 0% for 2006
- Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual rights, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party in the United States. It is considered the libertarian wing of the Republican Party...
— 95% for 2005
- Secular Coalition for America
The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group representing atheists, humanists, and freethinkers in American politics. It is located in Washington, D.C. and is currently directed by Sean Faircloth, a former Maine state representative...
— 30% on 2006 scorecards
- United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing*300,000 businesses...
— 93% for 2006
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Involvement with Jack Abramoff
Rohrabacher has been close friends with, and has received campaign contributions from, the now-convicted lobbyist
Jack AbramoffJack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist, businessman and con man who was a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals. He is currently incarcerated at the satellite prison camp adjacent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland...
since the mid-1980s. He was one of the only House members to publicly come to the defense of disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to reporters, described him as an "honest man" to the
Washington Post and praised him as a "selfless patriot" to a federal judge. Rohrabacher admits to being a longtime friend of Abramoff. He told the
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
: "They're portraying Jack as a monster. I see him more as a good person who's done bad things and has to be punished for doing bad things.... I think that he obviously has done some things that are wrong and illegal, and he's going to have to pay the price for it.” Rohrabacher has publicly taken the position that he believes, “... a lot of other things that have been characterized as corruption on the part of Abramoff are actually standard operating procedures for lobbying in Washington, D.C., arranging trips and things like that. So, I think that he's received a lot of unjust criticism."
His relationship included the following:
- In 1999, Rohrabacher went on an Abramoff-funded trip to the Marshall Islands with John Doolittle
John Taylor Doolittle , American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing . In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House...
(R-CA), Ken CalvertKenneth Stanton Calvert , an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing California's 44th congressional district...
(R-CA), delegates of Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and eight staffers.
- In 2000, Abramoff listed Rohrabacher as one of his references on his loan application for the purchase of SunCruz Casinos. "I don't remember it, but I would certainly have been happy to give him a good recommendation," Rohrabacher said in April 2005, when news reports of the scandal first broke. "He's a very honest man."
- In January 2002, Rohrabacher, took a six-day trip to Malaysia, accompanied by his wife and two of Abramoff’s then-partners at the firm Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig LLP is an international law firm with approximately 1,800 attorneys and governmental professionals in 32 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its founding office is in Miami, Florida with its largest office in New York City. In the U.K., the firm operates as Greenberg...
. According to House records and Rohrabacher's spokesperson, the Malaysia trip focused on terrorism and trade issues. The spokesperson called the trip "very positive."
- In April 2005, as Abramoff became the target of a grand jury investigation, Rohrabacher said, "Jack has made some mistakes, but he is not the dishonest, malevolent, arrogant, wheeler-dealer that people are portraying. He is a fine man."
- In July 2005, Rohrabacher said that he had been eating at Signatures, a restaurant owned by Abramoff, at Abramoff's expense, once or twice a month and that the meals fell under the friendship exemption in House rules. He also said that he tried to take Mr. Abramoff out regularly, paying for the lobbyist's meals in return. "Just because you are a member of Congress doesn't mean that you have to give up your friendships," Rohrabacher said, and added, "It was dinner with a friend, and I didn't think of it as a gift."
- In December 2005, Rohrabacher again defended Abramoff, telling the Washington Post: "I think he's been dealt a bad hand and the worst, rawest deal I've ever seen in my life. Words like bribery are being used to describe things that happened every day in Washington and are not bribes."
- In March 2006, following Abramoff's guilty plea of fraud in the SunCruz case, Rohrabacher was the sole member of Congress who wrote to the presiding judge to urge leniency in sentencing. "I think when he is being punished for the things he did that were wrong, some of the things that he did that were right and admirable in the past should be taken into consideration," Rohrabacher said in an interview. In his letter to the judge, Rohrabacher described "a far different Jack than the profit-seeking megalomaniac portrayed in the press." "Jack was a selfless patriot for most of the time I knew him," the congressman wrote, recalling his friend as an ardent anti-Communist during the Cold War.
Vietnam and Iraq
In a February 13, 2003 interview with Toby Eckert of Copley News Service published in the South Bay (Torrance, Calif.)
Daily Breeze, Rohrabacher, who less than forthrightly told Eckert that he'd supported the war in Vietnam, revealed that he showed up to his wartime draft physical with an X-ray of a hip that he claimed he had injured while playing high school football. "They looked at it and said that my hip wasn't good enough," he told Eckert. "When I look back on that, sometimes I wonder if I should have taken that X-ray with me."
Involvement with Afghanistan
Rohrabacher had a history of involvement in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
dating back to the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
, when he openly supported the groups that were fighting troops from the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
in Afghanistan. In late 1988, Rohrabacher went to Afghanistan:
After I left the White House and was elected to Congress, but before I was sworn into Congress, I knew I had that two months between November and January to do things that I could never do once I was elected to Congress. I chose to hike into Afghanistan as part of a small Mujahedin unit and to engage in a battle against the Russian and communist forces near and around the city of JalalabadJalalabad is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul and Kunar rivers near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province...
.
In the November/December 1996 issue of
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Rohrabacher was reported as saying that the Taliban were not terrorists or revolutionaries, that they would develop a disciplined society that would leave no room for terrorists, and that the Taliban posed no threat to the United States.
However, in a September 11, 1998 editorial in the
Washington Post, Rohrabacher strongly rebuked the Taliban for providing refuge to Osama bin Laden, mass killings of Shi'ites and ethnic
UzbeksThe Uzbeks are a Turkic-speaking people in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
,
TurksThe Turkish people , also known as the "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early historic text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey; whatever his/her faith or racial/ethnic background; who speaks Turkish, grows up...
, and Tajiks, and restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and children:
It has been no secret that bin Laden has been sheltered by the Taliban. The Clinton administrationThe United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20,1993 to January 20 ,2001.-First Term :...
was mute while one of the most violent anti-Western Muslim sects spilled into Afghanistan from their Pakistan-based "religious schools" and took control of the capital. We remained paralyzed while they moved to destroy moderate Muslim forces. While administration officials expressed concern of the Taliban's complete denial of rights for women, it was little more than lip service. Even modest support from the United States for moderate Muslim forces in Afghanistan and serious political pressure on Pakistan could have thwarted the takeover of this strategically important country by these militant extremists. The danger of the spread of fanaticism expressed by the newly independent republics of Central Asia was smugly ignored.
During the summer of 2001, Rohrabacher took a trip to
QatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally ', is an Arab emirate in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula...
that was paid for by the Islamic Institute and the Government of Qatar, according to Rohrabacher’s financial disclosure forms. While in Qatar, Rohrabacher,
Grover NorquistGrover Glenn Norquist is president of anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform.-Early years and career:Norquist, who is of Swedish descent, grew up in Weston, Massachusetts and has a BA and MBA from Harvard University...
, and Khaled Saffuri met with Taliban Foreign Minister Mullah
Wakil Ahmed MuttawakilWakil Ahmad Muttawakil was the last Foreign Minister in the Taliban government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.Prior to this he served as spokesman and secretary to Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban. After the Northern Alliance accompanied by U.S...
. Wakil reportedly asked for help in increasing the amount of foreign aid sent by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, apparently in exchange for U.S. oil company UNOCAL being allowed to construct of an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. If Rohrabacher was conducting
diplomacyDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war,...
, he was in violation of the
Logan ActThe Logan Act is a United States federal law that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. It was passed in 1799 and last amended in 1994...
, which prohibits citizens from doing so if not in an official capacity. Rohrabacher told wire service reporters who were present in Doha, Qatar at the time that he had discussed a “peace plan” with the Taliban. But Norquist, a close associate of Rohrabacher, said that the meeting happened accidentally and that it included Rohrabacher yelling at them about blowing up the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.
The Taliban later announced in
KabulKabul , is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of over 2.5 million, and is located in the province of Greater Kabul...
that it had rejected what it considered were unreasonable demands by the U.S. side. Rohrabacher’s staff would not answer questions about the Taliban talks.
After the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
, Rohrabacher claimed that the attacks were caused by incompetence on the part of the Clinton administration.
Payment for 30-year-old screenplay
On November 4, 2005, the
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
reported that Rohrabacher "used his influence to open doors in Washington for a Hollywood producer who was pitching a television show after the producer paid him a $23,000 option on a nearly 30-year-old screenplay." The producer, Joseph Medawar, has since been indicted on fraud charges by the FBI and has pled not guilty. The question is whether the producer paid him the money for the screenplay or for the introductions to congressional and federal officials that Rorabacher conducted. Rohrabacher claims that the introductions were made in good faith, were nothing that was not done regularly for legitimate causes, and that the introductions have only become an issue because of Joseph Medawar's misdeeds.
In May 2006, Rohrabacher, through his press secretary, announced that he would return the $23,000. The decision was made public shortly before Medawar took responsibility in a United States District Court for bilking about $3.4 million from about 50 investors.
Defense of extraordinary rendition and torture
On April 17, 2007, while defending the Bush administration's program of extraordinary rendition during a House hearing on transatlantic relations, Rohrabacher stated that the unfair treatment of one innocent suspect is an acceptable "unfortunate consequence" of holding others who would otherwise be free to commit terror acts. After he received boos and groans from the gallery, Rohrabacher responded, "Well, I hope it's your families, I hope it's your families that suffer the consequences." Rohrabacher was subsequently interrupted by protesters wearing orange jumpsuits who were removed from the gallery. For his comment that imprisoning and torturing one innocent person was a fair price to pay for locking up 50 terrorists who would "go out and plant a bomb and kill 20,000 people," Rohrabacher was named
Countdown with Keith OlbermannCountdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program
on MSNBC which airs live at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and reruns at 10 p.m., 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on weekdays...
's "Worst Person in the World" on April 25.
2008 Congressional Debate Format
On October 17, 2008, Dana Rohrabacher's campaign sent e-mail messages to the hosts of the 2008 46th Congressional Debate demanding that the format of the debate be changed. His campaign made accusations that none of the hosts could be unbiased and impartial. Rohrabacher's own campaign manager, David Gilliard, alleged, “Your panel of journalists and student journalists interrogating the candidates with questions which may reflect their own personal agendas is not acceptable.’’ Rorhabacher's campaign had agreed to the format of the debate a month earlier. Chrissy Scarborough, one of the panelists, had been awarded a Certificate of Congressional Recognition by Rohrabacher and had received the 2006 Costa Mesa Woman-of-the-Year award.
Family
He has been married to his wife Rhonda since 1997. In 2004, they became parents to triplets: Annika, Christian and Tristen.
His wife also serves as his campaign manager. However, under a proposed ethics reform bill that bans spousal employment, this practice may soon become illegal. She has received an estimated $169,000 in campaign funds over the past three election cycles, including $57,000 in the 2006 election cycle. In the last quarter of 2007, she took out $10,844, or about half of the campaign's spending. Commenting on the proposed change, Rohrabacher said "It's gonna hurt me. My family would be deprived of that income. I think it's baloney. I think it's just a way of not having to look at issues by making it a personal matter."
Libertarianism
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Rohrabacher was influenced by the anarcho-capitalist ideas of
Robert LeFevreRobert LeFevre was an American libertarian businessman, radio personality and primary theorist of autarchism.-Freedom School:In 1957, LeFevre founded the Freedom School, which he ran until 1973, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1965, after a flood devastated the campus, the school and college...
, who had moved his
Freedom SchoolThe Freedom School was located in Colorado, United States, offering a series of lectures by libertarian theorist Robert LeFevre from 1957 to 1968. LeFevre extended this work to the related Rampart College, an unaccredited four-year school, in 1963. Both shared the same campus...
to
Santa Ana, CaliforniaSanta Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California, and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States with a 2007 estimated population of 339,555...
, and renamed it
Rampart CollegeRampart College was a libertarian educational institution established by Robert LeFevre in Colorado, United States.
. Rohrabacher appeared at various meetings and conferences, including the "Left-Right Festival of Mind Liberation" in 1969. Rohrabacher would often play the four-string
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
and sing his original libertarian-themed songs, including "Individual Man": "I don't own nobody. Nobody does own me. I'm just an individual man, just want to be free...."
Brian DohertyBrian Doherty may refer to:* Brian Doherty , Chicago alderman, former amateur boxer* Brian Doherty , senior editor, Reason magazine* Brian Doherty , drummer from They Might be Giants...
writes, "Out west, a California Libertarian Alliance (CLA), with Dana Rohrabacher and
Shawn SteelShawn Steel is the Republican National Committeeman from California.Elected in 2008, he will serve a four year term. Steel challenged the Treasurer of the RNC and won at the California Republican Party state convention with a 61 to 39% vote with over 1200 ballots cast...
... as chief organizers, often in cooperation with
Robert LeFevreRobert LeFevre was an American libertarian businessman, radio personality and primary theorist of autarchism.-Freedom School:In 1957, LeFevre founded the Freedom School, which he ran until 1973, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1965, after a flood devastated the campus, the school and college...
(freshly relocated there), ran huge mass meetings and conferences with names such as the Left/Right Festival of Mind Liberation, and featuring speakers who ranged from
MisesLudwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an Austrian aristocrat, economist, philosopher, author and classical liberal who had a major influence on the modern libertarian movement and the Austrian School.-Early life:...
to
HessHess or Heß may refer to:* Hess * Hess Educational Organization, the largest private provider of English instruction in the Republic of China* Hess Corporation, an integrated oil and gasoline company...
, from LeFevre to ex-
SDSStudents for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left...
er
Carl OglesbyCarl Oglesby is a writer, academic, and political activist. He was the President of the radical student organization Students for a Democratic Society during the term 1965-1966...
." Also, "[Rohrabacher] was sent out on a shoestring [by LeFevre] to sing his anarcho-LeFevrian folk songs at college campuses across the nation to help turn right-wingers into LeFevre-style libertarians. Rohrabacher is known today to the residents of
Orange CountyOrange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,846,293, though a July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759, making it the second most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and...
as their congressman."
Rohrabacher drifted toward the mainstream, along with billionaire funder of libertarian causes Charles Koch. He worked for a while in the early 1970s as an editorial writer for
The Register (today called
The Orange County RegisterThe Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register has the third largest paid daily circulation in California, behind only the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which...
)
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
in
Santa Ana, CaliforniaSanta Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California, and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States with a 2007 estimated population of 339,555...
, then a conservative newspaper with a Libertarian bent.
According to Doherty, "By the 1980s, a calmer Rohrabacher was a Reagan speech writer, and pure anti-Communism thoughts seemed to be motivating him more than his old-school libertarianism. ... [He] tells me, 'we did what young people always do: carried our ideals out to the very farthest logical extension. Once you push abstract theory out too far, in reality it becomes unworkable.' ... 'I believed we should go for no government. And, of course, it doesn't take you long to realize that's not going to be too much a part of the public debate.'"
The libertarian think-tank the
Cato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a pro-free market, libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.The Institute's stated mission is "to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free...
, however, is vehemently opposed to many of Rohrbacher's views on both domestic and foreign policy.{{Fact|date=June 2009}}
2006 Election
In November 2006, Rohrabacher faced Democrat
Jim BrandtJim Brandt is a Californian who has run for Congress twice in the 46th District. Brandt served as a Naval aviator in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, as a Captain. He later founded and was CEO of Pyramid Software, a company that developed and distributed software. He currently serves as...
(neither had any opponent in the June primary). Rohrabacher defeated Brandt by a 59.6%-36.7% margin (a Libertarian was the remaining 3.7%).
2008 election
On February 2, 2008, Huntington Beach mayor
Debbie CookDebbie Cook is the former mayor of Huntington Beach, California, and was the Democratic candidate for California's 46th congressional district in 2008. Cook was elected to the Huntington Beach City Council in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.-Early life:...
announced her intention to challenge Rohrabacher in the November 2008 election. Although Democrat Cook faced a district with high Republican registration, she had high name recognition and popularity within the
Huntington Beach, CaliforniaHuntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in southern California, United States. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 189,594...
portion of the district. In addition, some publications noted frustration with Rohrabacher's ability and willingness to bring resources back to his district.
Ultimately, Rohrabacher won the election with 53.2% of the vote vs. 42.4% for Cook.
External links
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| years = 1989–1993
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Dan LungrenDaniel Edward Lungren , is a Republican of the United States House of Representatives representing California's 3rd congressional district since 2005. The district is located in the southeastern suburbs of Sacramento...
| after =
George Brown, Jr.George Edward Brown, Jr. , American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1963-1971 and 1973-1999, representing the San Bernardino and Riverside regions of California....
}}
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Duncan HunterDuncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
| after =
Mary BonoMary Bono Mack is an American politician, and since 1998 has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing...
}}
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Loretta SanchezLoretta Sanchez , an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997. Sanchez, a Blue Dog Democrat, currently represents the of California in central Orange County....
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