Dana Rohrabacher

You begin your Aug. 28 profile of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) with the assertion that “as a White House speech writer, he put words in the mouth of the Great Communicator. From John Wayne, he learned that a squeeze of lime helps the tequila go down. Like compatriot Oliver North, he sneaked into foreign countries with Indiana Jones derring-do to spur on freedom fighters.” A fair number of us out here are still more than concerned about the world these role models, including Rohrabacher, champion.

The attitude toward women, blacks and other minorities, children, the elderly, the poor and anyone else not enfranchised by the white corporate community (let alone the artist or anyone irreligious) in these four men’s philosophy indicates that we’re in a new Dark Age. Those of us who do not admire these people’s attitudes will be watching as the “fringe”--and indeed Rohrabacher has always been there, along with North, Pat Buchanan, Pat Robertson, Bob Dornan, etc.--becomes increasingly the mainstream. Newt Gingrich’s call for executions (“Gingrich Favors Certain Death for Drug Smugglers,” Aug. 27) seems yet another “first wave” of this disturbing fringe. Kinder? Gentler? As your staff writer says about Rohrabacher, “There’s no middle ground; little room for compromise.” It’s very sad to think that we might have to go through another 10 or 20 years of this fearful stuff before thoughtful, mainstream “moderation” returns.

STEPHEN BARKER Ph.D.

Associate Dean, School of the Arts

UC Irvine