Dana Rohrabacher

It's open season on Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) this primary campaign as opponents from both major parties blast him as a do-nothing legislator whose ultraconservative views are out of step with the coastal district. Rohrabacher, seeking his sixth term in Congress, fires back from his position on the right, saying his anti-tax views and opposition to new federal programs are the way to cut government and save money.

It was like winning the Super Bowl. No, better. It was like winning the Super Bowl by beating the Dallas Cowboys, crushing the guys that everyone loves to hate, crushing them so badly no one could believe they'd ever recover. What an endorphin high it was for the Republicans, who snatched the U.S. House of Representatives from the Democrats on Nov. 8, 1994, issued a 100-day manifesto, passed new laws and convinced the media to call the whole business a "revolution."

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) declined to talk to The Times for this article. Actually, Rohrabacher won't talk to The Times about anything. He's been giving us the silent treatment for two years. Last time I talked to him was election night 1992. I was a rookie reporter in Orange County, sent to a swank hotel to watch Republican mucks watch returns roll in. It was not the best night for the GOP.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher demanded Tuesday that Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi investigate allegations that Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney used county time and resources to research the record of a judge running against Romney for district attorney. Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) blasted comments attributed Tuesday to Capizzi that he hadn't received a complaint about the alleged misuse of county funds, which cannot be used for political activity.

Seven Orange County legislators, including the top GOP leaders in the state Senate and Assembly, knew that Republicans had placed a decoy Democrat on the ballot during a critical 1995 election, the chief campaign aide for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher testified in court Tuesday. "It was common knowledge" among legislators who took part in an election strategy session in early November, said Jim Righeimer, campaign chairman for Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

Re "Central O.C. Candidates Begin Testing Waters Early," July 14: As politicians gird their loins for the 1998 primary elections, one wonders if this will be the election when the "Great Awakening" occurs. That is, when Republican voters decide that they are fed up with the religious right who have taken over the Republican Party in Orange County and who offer only religious right candidates such as Robert K. Dornan, Dana Rohrabacher, Scott Baugh and Rob Hurtt. Given the fact that no moderate Republican would-be candidate has a chance to run, how many Republicans will vote Democratic this election as they did in the last election when Loretta Sanchez was elected?

A Superior Court judge Thursday rejected the bulk of a motion to disqualify Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi from prosecuting the political fraud case against GOP aide Rhonda J. Carmony. Judge Kazuharu Makino dismissed five of seven defense arguments that Capizzi's office should be replaced by the state attorney general.

Superior Court Judge James L. Smith set April 21 as the new trial date for GOP political aide Rhonda J. Carmony but will not preside at her trial because he plans to retire from the bench at the end of this month. Smith, who has handled the case for several months, made the announcement Monday after meeting in chambers with prosecutors and Carmony's attorney. Carmony, was was campaign manager for Rep.

The state attorney general has rejected a congressman's allegations that the Orange County district attorney's office used blackmail in an attempt to muscle a Superior Court judge out of the highly-charged campaign fraud case against Assemblyman Scott Baugh. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) argued that county prosecutors attempted to pressure Superior Court Judge James L. Smith to step down in retaliation for rulings that helped Baugh.