ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : 38th District Voters Deserve Fight

Democratic hopes for a congressional race between Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), a flamboyant, red-haired orator known as “B-1 Bob,” and well-known Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic were dashed this week when Kovic decided against running.

The campaign promised to be a full and lively--if not altogether gentlemanly--debate on national defense and abortion. Political junkies looked forward to a race between Dornan, a former TV personality who has appealed to patriotism during much of his political career, and Kovic, whose story is told in the hit movie, “Born on the Fourth of July.” Dornan’s rhetoric already was in high gear, and Democrats from House Speaker Thomas S. Foley to grass-roots leaders were sure they had a candidate who finally could defeat Dornan in the only Orange County congressional district where the registration numbers give Democrats a chance.

Fortunately, there will be a race after all. With Kovic out, Barbara Jackson, Orange County Planned Parenthood director, has entered for the Democrats. The race should prove interesting--it surely will focus on Jackson’s pro-choice and Dornan’s anti-abortion stances. But it is unlikely to have the glamour of the “made-in-Hollywood” match of Kovic vs. Dornan. Jackson may have difficulty drawing in the big money that any Democratic candidate would need to defeat the popular, three-term Republican incumbent.

Kovic did not explain his decision. But it galls Orange County Democrats that Dornan keeps a foothold in what they consider to be “their” district, although there’s no certainty that Kovic would have dislodged him. Nor is it certain that Kovic would have made a better representative in the House than Dornan. The issue is not whether B-1 Bob should be grounded or Kovic elevated: It’s whether the voters of the 38th Congressional District deserve a full-fledged, hard-fought campaign on the issues. Surely they do. The question now is whether they will get it.