Bob Dornan

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Template:Infobox Politician Robert Kenneth "Bob" Dornan (born April 3, 1933) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California and a vocal pro-life advocate.

A boisterous former actor and television talk show host, Dornan had a flair for the dramatic that drew him supporters and detractors well beyond his congressional districts. Though never a major power in Washington, he became one of the most well-known members of the House of Representatives.

1 Biography
2 Politics
3 Controversial statements
4 Defeat
5 Attempt to Revive Political Career
6 Trivia
7 References
8 External link

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Biography

Dornan attended Loyola Marymount University on a draft deferment until 1953Template:Fact. At age 19, Dornan volunteered to join the United States Air Force. During his time in the air force, he survived two emergency parachute ejections and two "dead stick" forced landings (including one of an F-100). Dornan also served as a photographer during the Vietnam War and he flew relief flights into Biafra. He was an active duty serviceman until 1958, reaching the rank of Captain<ref name=CongressBio>Biographical Directory of the United States Congress</ref>. He served in the reserves until 1975<ref name=CongressBio/>.

Around the same time, Dornan participated in the civil rights movement, attending the March on Washington and assisting in voter registration efforts in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Another field that Dornan was involved in was entertainment. Dornan starred in the movie Starfighters, which was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. He acted in television series, including a frequent role at Capt. Fowler on Twelve O'Clock High and smaller roles on Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Dornan also was an Emmy-award winning television talk show host on Tempo and The Robert K. Dornan Show broadcast from Los Angeles from 1967 to 1973.

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Politics

Dornan moved into politics in 1973 as national spokesman for the Citizens for Decency Through Law advocacy group. He made an unusccessful run for mayor of Los Angeles the same year. In 1976, Dornan was elected to the House of Representatives, representing the 27th Congressional District in western Los Angeles County. He was re-elected twice. He was such an unswerving advocate for the development of the B-1 bomber, that he was soon nicknamed "B-1 Bob" Dornan. After the 1980 census, Democrats led by Congressman Phillip Burton redrew California's congressional map to squeeze several Republicans out of office. One of the affected Republicans was Dornan. Rather than face almost certain defeat, he opted instead to run for the United States Senate in 1982. Entering the race 10 months late, he finished fourth in the Republican primary behind San Diego mayor Pete Wilson, who won in November.

Dornan moved to Garden Grove, in more Republican Orange County. In the 1984 election, he achieved victory in the 38th District in central Orange County, defeating 10-year incumbent Jerry Patterson. He was re-elected five times. During this time, he served on the Intelligence Committee.

Dornan made headlines in March 1985 for a confrontation with Representative Thomas Downey (D-NY) on the House floor. Downey asked Dornan about comments he had made calling Downey "a draft-dodging wimp". According to Downey, Dornan grabbed him by the collar and tie, said "It's good you're being protected by the sergeant-at-arms. If I saw you outside, it would be a different story," and threatened him "with some form of bodily harm". Dornan claimed he was merely straightening Downey's tie and refused to apologize for the incident or the derogatory comment. A Dornan aide said "It will be a cold day in hell before he gets an apology from Bob Dornan."<ref>"Dornan Won't Apologize for Wimp Remark", Los Angeles Times, Mar 5, 1985. pg. 2.</ref>

Dornan had one of the most conservative voting records in Congress.Template:Fact He did hold what some would call liberal views, including being a major sponsor of animal protection acts and was recognized by PeTA.

In 1995 he received a minor reprimand from the House for stating in a floor speech that President Bill Clinton had "given aid and comfort to the enemy" during the Vietnam War. In 1996, Dornan ran for President of the United States, using his campaign primarily as a vehicle to continue to criticize Clinton. In a GOP debate in Iowa on January 13, Dornan called Clinton a "criminal" and a "pathological liar." When asked why voters should choose Dornan over his Republican rivals to challenge Clinton in the general election, he argued that he had more children and grandchildren than the others, with only Richard Lugar coming anywhere near him on that score. He finished with less than one percent of the vote in almost every primary.Template:Fact

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Controversial statements

Image:Shutupfag.gif During his political career, Dornan became known for his colorful statements that some critics thought were controversial or offensive. Among his remarks:

In a 1986 US House speech, he called Russian journalist Vladimir Posner a "disloyal, betraying little Jew who sits there on television claiming that he is somehow or other a newsman."<ref>United Press International, "Lawmaker Apologizes for 'Inelegant' Words", New York Times, Mar 1, 1986, pg. 1.11.</ref>
"Every lesbian spear chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated." - to a Los Angeles television reporter in 1992.<ref>Romano, Lois "The Reliable Source", Washington Post, June 4, 1992, pg. c.03.</ref>
On a January 28, 1994 appearance on Politically Incorrect, Dornan declared it was "The Year of the Penis" due to recent events in the news. In reference to this comment, Representative Barney Frank noted "Bob Dornan isn't even rational on the House floor. You can't expect him to be rational on Politically Incorrect."<ref>Jennifer Senior, "When Politicians Get Silly", New York Times, Mar 6, 1994. pg. A.1.</ref>
"You are a slimy coward. Go register in another party." - to fellow Republican William Dougherty after he supported Dornan's opponent in 1996.<ref>Time Magazine, Dec. 2, 1996 v148 n25 p28(1)</ref>

In 1994, a 120 page book of quotations of Dornan was compiled by Nathan Callahan and William Payton and published as Shut Up, Fag! The quotation that gives the book the title was actually shouted by Dornan's wife, Sallie, at an AIDS activist during an Orange County town forum. Dornan claimed the book was backed by director Oliver Stone, whom Dornan labeled "a Bolshevik enemy".<ref>Faye Fiore, "'Shut Up' Is Not in Dornan's Vocabulary", Los Angeles Times, Jul 15, 1994, p. 3.</ref>

Dornan's comments and behavior have led his political opponents to question his mental health. Mike Kaspar of the Orange County Democratic Party said "The primary issue is Bob Dornan, himself. I think his character and his own sanity are an issue here."<ref>Dana Parsons, "Democrats Unveil Weapon Against Dornan - Dornan", Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1994, pg. 1.</ref> At a White House Correspondents Dinner, Al Franken (who is actually a friend of Dornan) joked "having Al D'Amato leading an ethics investigation is like getting Bob Dornan to head up a mental health task force." [1] Michael Moore devoted a entire chapter of his book Downsize This! to his efforts to get Dornan involuntarily committed for psychiatric examination.

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Defeat

Dornan's district, which was renumbered the 46th after the 1990 census, had always leaned Democratic, but became even more so when it received a considerably larger number of Latino voters than he'd previously represented. After failing to win the GOP presidential nomination in 1996, Dornan ran for reelection to the House against Loretta Sanchez, a former Republican who had switched parties and run as a Democrat. Though confident he would win, citing his personal fecundity as a key asset — "She can't beat me," he told the OC Weekly, because "Bob Dornan is a father of five, grandfather of 10, military man, been married 41 years. She has no kids, no military, no track record. I win." — Dornan lost by 984 votes.

Dornan made a scene! Dornan alleged that Sanchez's winning margin was provided by a large number of illegal immigrants. A House investigation ensued. Sanchez was not allowed to take her seat, or act on her elected position in anyway. Dornan went so far as to question her own citizenship status. The investigation ended after a long period of time, and Sanchez was able to take her seat.

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Attempt to Revive Political Career

Dornan sought a rematch against Sanchez in 1998, but was badly defeated. In 2004, Dornan challenged Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a fellow Republican, in the primary. Dornan charged Rohrabacher with being soft on terrorism and being too close to Islamic extremists. However, he lost by an 84% to 16% margin. Dornan remained in his Virginia home, appearing at conservative functions and conservative talk radio shows.

Just when many Orange County residents thought they had seen the last of Bob Dornan in the political arena, during the summer of 2005 he expressed interest in the 48th Congressional District seat which became vacant when Chris Cox resigned to become Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Dornan eventually declined to run.

In December, 2005, Dornan subbed in for radio talk show host Michael Savage, criticizing George W. Bush for not moving for a formal Declaration of war after 9/11. He has done so again on April 12, 2006.

Dornan is currently an advocate for federal pro-life legislation in association with the American Life League.[2]

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