O.C.’s GOP Congressmen Support Bush to the Hilt

Orange County’s five Republican congressmen were predictably enthusiastic about President Bush’s “State of the Union” address Tuesday.

“I thought it was his very best speech ever, and I don’t see how he can surpass it,” said Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who campaigned heavily for Bush in 1988.

While the Orange County lawmakers praised the President’s remarks, several said that the most important message of the evening was delivered, not by Bush, but by the members of Congress who watched and listened.

“The most significant part of what occurred . . . was the message of the entire Congress standing up and applauding for minutes . . . in support of our soldiers in the gulf and the righteousness of our cause,” said Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach). “There is no question of where the nation stands.”

Said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach), whose district includes northwestern Orange County: “The thunderous applause, the fact that both Republicans and Democrats jumped to their feet in affirming that we will prevail in the Persian Gulf, should send a shiver down Saddam Hussein’s spine.

“Saddam Hussein was counting on division at home, and . . . gutlessness among liberal Democrats,” Rohrabacher added. “Tonight it was clear that the Democrats in the House and the Senate are going to do what’s necessary to back up our troops, even though they probably would have preferred not to get involved in offensive action.”

Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), whose district includes southern Orange County, called the ovation for the troops “the most heartfelt of the evening,” and one that will send a message not only to Saddam Hussein, but “to our troops as well. They got the biggest ovation of all, and I think that’s appropriate.”

That was no accident, said Dornan, who has been perhaps the harshest critic among delegation members of the anti-war protests that the battle in the gulf has sparked.

“Everybody was quite aware that our troops were watching this on television, those who weren’t in combat,” Dornan said. “Everyone in the House, we were all doing that for the guys. If the President hadn’t sternly asked us to sit down . . . we would have stood up cheering for hours.”

Dornan said, however, that he doubts the applause will cause Saddam Hussein much discomfort.

“He doesn’t think like the rest of us,” Dornan said. “He’ll be looking for some of the counter-commentators afterwards, that’s what he’s focusing on. He is being emboldened and carried forward . . . by the demonstrators making it look like our country is divided. . . . I think the damage has already been done.”

While most of the focus was on the war in the gulf, Orange County lawmakers also praised the domestic agenda outlined by the President, especially his renewed call for a cut in the capital gains tax and his challenge to reduce hikes in federal spending to below the level of inflation.

“I was very much pleased that the President will submit a budget that is less than the rate of inflation,” said Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), one of the most fiscally conservative members of the House and a new member of the House Budget Committee.

Dannemeyer also endorsed Bush’s call to re-direct the Strategic Defense Initiative program, commonly known as “Star Wars,” to concentrate on defense against smaller, tactical ballistic missiles, such as the Scuds launched by Iraq against Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“I think the Patriot missile success in the Persian Gulf has settled the issue of whether one bullet can knock down another bullet,” Dannemeyer said. “Any debate about the utility of an SDI program is going to be laughed out of this place now.”