Political Blast From the Past Playing Again

With the possible exception of Bill Clinton, no one is happier to see an end to the Lewinsky scandal than the John Birch Society. Now, it can get on to the really serious business of impeaching President Clinton over his China policies.

You remember the Birchers, who once had a stronghold in Orange County (including a congressman) but lost favor over the years as people tuned them out.

I wonder why: This is the group whose rank-and-file chastised Richard Nixon for being soft on Communism. And, as the group’s Orange County representative told me a few years ago, “never bought into Ronald Reagan” because it didn’t believe his rhetoric.

If you’re an anti-communist, small-government organization--and your enemies include Nixon and Reagan--you may have some credibility problems.

Still, the Birchers plow ahead.

And now, continuing its tradition of finding conspirators in the strangest places, the society has identified another weak link in the nation’s defenses: Orange County congressman Chris Cox.

The society devotes its February issue of “The New American” to the Chinagate matter. In an article entitled, “Irresponsible Congress,” the magazine features a picture of our man Cox. That’s the kind of publicity no politician likes to get--unless, possibly, it comes from the John Birch Society.

Cox is a Reaganite and has emerged as one of the Birchers’ bad boys for his failure to recommend Clinton’s impeachment over the sale of technology to the Chinese.

The Birchers believe Clinton has committed treason by giving technology to the Chinese in exchange for campaign contributions.

The magazine writes: “Evidence abounds that Mr. Clinton, in acts of official perfidy that may be unparalleled in our nation’s history, accepted bribes from Red China in the form of illegal political contributions, and in exchange made policy decisions that undermined our national security to the benefit of that hostile foreign power.”

The magazine says: “Now it is time for determined and committed patriots to prove the defeatists, Republican quislings, and the Clinton spin machine wrong once more.”

Cox, not previously identified as a Clinton apologist, chaired a select House of Representatives committee looking into the matter but announced last fall that Chinagate “is simply not a premise for impeachment.”

The Birchers quoted Cox as saying, “We don’t have much. The problem is, we know as much about these campaign contributions as we’re going to know. . . .”

Cox’s committee did announce in late December, however, that national security has been harmed by Chinese acquisition of American military technology over the last two decades.

That wasn’t enough to appease the Birchers.

They made a passing nod to Cox’s late-December statement but focused more on his earlier nonimpeachment remark, which the magazine described as “a stupefyingly inane statement.”

The Birchers considered Cox’s remarks so unbelievable that “we thought it must have been taken out of context by a pro-Clinton reporter. . . .”

I wanted to run all this by Cox, who I suspected would not be pleased to be linked with Republican quislings. However, he’s out of the country and couldn’t be reached.

Until he returns, we won’t know whether he’s worried about the rift with the Birchers.

Still, after reading the Birchers’ Chinagate report, which included articles headlined, “Arming a Deadly Enemy” and “Feeding the Red Dragon,” a refreshing whiff of nostalgia overcame me.

The John Birch Society versus Communism.

Given a choice between another 10 minutes of Monica Lewinsky or the John Birch Society, bring on the Birchers.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821, by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.