Contra Lauds Cox, Says Rebels Need Such Fighters in Congress

Proclaiming that the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan Contras need “more friends in Congress,” rebel leader Mario Calero on Saturday praised Newport Beach attorney C. Christopher Cox and pledged to support his candidacy in the June 7 GOP primary in the 40th Congressional District.

Calero, who flew to Orange County from Miami to appear at a private Irvine reception with Cox, was a last-minute substitute for his brother, Contra chief Adolfo Calero. The Cox campaign did not learn until late Thursday that Mario, not Adolfo, would appear on Cox’s behalf. Adolfo Calero was reportedly in Central America on Saturday.

Mario Calero said Cox’s election could “turn the tide in Congress” and secure future U.S. aid for the Contras.

“If we are to win our war, we have to fight our war on every street corner,” said Calero, whose flight from Miami was paid for by Cox.

“And one of those street corners is getting people in Congress.”

Cox, former senior associate counsel to President Reagan, said he wants to make sure that Congress “does not make the same mistake twice,” referring to the narrow defeat in the House of Representatives in February of a $32.2-million aid package for the Contras.

‘A Watershed’

“What happened in February was a watershed,” Cox said. “We cannot allow that sort of thing to continue. . . . We have to grab this problem by the ankles, wrestle people to the ground and get additional votes.”

Meanwhile, about a dozen members of a conservative GOP group known as Young Americans for Freedom picketed a campaign appearance by one of Cox’s primary opponents, Newport Beach businessman Nathan Rosenberg, in Irvine on Saturday evening. The event, at a private home, was hosted by the Log Cabin Club, an organization of gay Republicans.

There were no major incidents during the 90 minutes of picketing, said Irvine Police Sgt. Tom Hume, but one of the picketers filed an assault charge against a man he described as a bodyguard for Rosenberg.

The picketer alleged that the man grabbed his arm when he threw a pair of rubber gloves on Rosenberg’s car. No arrests were made, Hume said.

Rosenberg was scheduled to outline his plan for increasing funding of AIDS research and testing.

James Bieber, state director of Young Americans for Freedom, labeled Rosenberg hypocritical because he “calls himself a conservative yet solicits support from homosexuals who back all kinds of liberal programs.”

Denied Cox Had Role

Bieber’s group has endorsed Cox in the primary. Although Bieber denied that Cox had a role in organizing the scheduled demonstration, he said, “I’m sure the Cox campaign is happy about this.”

Cox could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Rosenberg and Cox are among 12 candidates seeking the Republican nomination to replace Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach), who is retiring after six terms. Victory in the June 7 primary is considered tantamount to election in the heavily Republican district.

Ted Long, Rosenberg’s campaign manager, called the planned demonstration “childish,” adding that Rosenberg chose to speak to the group because of the “critical importance of the AIDS issue and the need to (find) solutions.”