ELECTIONS 42ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : Rep. Rohrabacher Feeling Shift in Political Winds

Since Rep. Dana Rohrabacher sailed into office two years ago with nearly two-thirds of the vote, the former speech writer for Ronald Reagan has felt some adverse shifts in the political winds.

A staunch opponent of abortion, Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach) has seen a surge in abortion rights activism since the U.S. Supreme Court last year granted states greater authority to restrict the procedure.

A proponent of more oil drilling off the California coast, he witnessed a wave of concern about oil spills after the tanker Exxon Valdez fouled Prince William Sound in March, 1987, and crude from another tanker blackened Orange County beaches in February of this year.

And Rohrabacher’s efforts to rein in the National Endowment for the Arts--which ultimately flopped in Congress last month--prompted angry arts supporters in his district to air ads against him on cable TV.

Guy C. Kimbrough, Rohrabacher’s Democratic opponent in Tuesday’s election, says those developments give him an opening in the heavily Republican 42nd Congressional District, which stretches from Torrance to Huntington Beach.

“I think Dana Rohrabacher is in for a very big surprise on Nov. 6,” Kimbrough said this week. “Republicans in this district may be conservative, but they’re not irresponsible. They’ve had it with this guy.”

But Rohrabacher says voters, even those who disagree with him on these issues, respect him for taking tough stands. More important, he says, they overwhelmingly favor his position on taxes--in his view, the issue that concerns the electorate most.

“I am the aggressive champion of low taxes and cutting out waste in government,” said Rohrabacher, who voted against the $490-billion deficit reduction package approved by Congress Saturday because it contains tax increases. “I think voters appreciate that.”

In all, three candidates are scheduled to compete in the 42nd Congressional District. The third, Libertarian Richard Gibbs Martin of Long Beach, is running on a platform calling for the elimination of most government programs and the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf. But Martin admits his campaign is a small-scale effort intended only to give his party visibility.

The real race is a rematch between Rohrabacher, 43, and Kimbrough, 45, a political science instructor from Huntington Beach. In 1988, Rohrabacher beat Kimbrough by a margin of nearly 2 to 1.

This year’s contest has been dominated by debate about abortion, oil drilling, arts funding and taxes, although both candidates were recently forced to address the issue of drug use.

The drug issue surfaced last month when the magazine New Republic reported that Rohrabacher, who favors random drug testing in high schools and Congress, used marijuana, hashish and LSD as a young man.

Rohrabacher declined to comment on the report directly, saying only, “You can just say I made some mistakes as a young person.” Kimbrough, who says he tried marijuana once in the early 1970s, has criticized Rohrabacher for not being more forthcoming but has not pursued the matter.

On the other issues, Kimbrough favors abortion rights and public funding of abortions for women who cannot afford to pay for them. Rohrabacher advocates a ban on the procedure, even in cases of incest and rape.

Rohrabacher says abortion should only be allowed when the mother’s life is in danger: “My position is based on the analysis that life begins at conception.”

The candidates also clash on offshore oil drilling.

Kimbrough supports a ban on drilling off the California coast and the phase-out of existing offshore oil production. Offshore oil represents too small a share of the country’s energy supply to justify its environmental risks, he says, and it could easily be replaced through conservation and incentives for more land-based drilling.

But Rohrabacher argues that pumping crude ashore from platforms is safer environmentally than receiving it by tanker. He says coastal communities should get a greater say in decisions on offshore drilling--and a larger share of the royalties from offshore oil production.

On the arts, Kimbrough supports the National Endowment for the Arts and opposes any effort by Congress to place restrictions on the content of art projects that receive NEA funding.

In a debate with the incumbent on Wednesday, he sharply criticized Rohrabacher’s proposal--rejected in Congress this month--to bar NEA funding for art projects that offend any religion, are “indecent,” or could be interpreted as denigrating the American flag.

“It reminds me of Joe McCarthy, Dana,” Kimbrough said. “You know, you can take two roads in politics. You can appeal to people’s hopes and their dreams or their prejudices and their fears. You can try to unite people or you can try to divide them.”

But Rohrabacher says government has no business funding the arts. If it must, he says, it should enact legislation of the type he proposed this year so public money does not go to projects that would be objectionable to taxpayers.

In interviews, he frequently cites the NEA’s funding of works by Andres Serrano--among them “Piss Christ,” a photograph of a crucifix immersed in urine.

Kimbrough, joined by area arts supporters, accuses Rohrabacher of exploiting the arts issue to place himself in the political limelight. But Rohrabacher says he was just doing his job.

“The American people appreciate it when someone puts up a good fight for something he believes is right,” Rohrabacher said. “And I fought the good fight on the NEA this year.”

On taxes, Kimbrough favors increasing levies on the wealthy to help control the federal budget deficit. Tax increases are needed in addition to spending cuts, he says, given the scope of the government’s deficit woes.

“To just say no to taxes as Congressman Rohrabacher does is simple-minded and simplistic,” Kimbrough said. “ . . . Half the Republicans I’ve talked to in this district are upset that their congressman voted twice against these deficit-reduction packages. Why? Because they see that as irresponsible.”

Rohrabacher insists Congress should control deficits exclusively through spending reductions.

Asked for examples, he recommends cutting agricultural subsidies and eliminating federal funding of the Amtrak rail service and air traffic control system--functions he says could be handled by the private sector.

By resorting to tax increases, he warns, Congress has risked plunging the country into a prolonged recession. “Just taxing more money out of the economy so that businesses start going bankrupt is not the answer,” he says. “It’s the worst possible thing you can do.”

Kimbrough acknowledges that countering such arguments in a solidly Republican district is no easy task--particularly considering the disparity in the two candidates’ campaign accounts.

According to federal election officials, Rohrabacher has raised more than $370,000 since Jan. 1, 1989, and had $76,800 in cash on hand as of Oct. 17. Kimbrough, by contrast, has raised little more than $20,000 in the same period and on Oct. 17 reported a cash balance of $3,200.

Still, Kimbrough says his campaign has been extensive enough to win in a district ripe for rebellion. “After nearly two years of his personal bombast and moral crusading, I think this district is really desirous of some thoughtful and mature leadership,” the challenger said this week.

Rohrabacher says Kimbrough has it wrong. The incumbent says that, as a congressman, all he has done is remain true to his views--consistency that, he says, voters will appreciate come Tuesday.

“I have not been someone who has kept his mouth shut,” he said. “I didn’t just go to Washington to fill an office and enjoy the perks.”

Candidate Party Dana Rohrabacher (inc) Republican Guy C. Kimbrough Democrat Richard Gibb Martin Libertarian

Voter Registration Registered Percent Republican 164,219 53.4% Democrat 110,549 36.0 Independent 26,930 8.7 Minor parties* 5,743 1.9 Total 307,441

* American Independent, Peace and Freedom, Libertarian and miscellaneous

1988 Results Votes Percent Dana Rohrabacher (R) 153,280 64.2% Guy C. Kimbrough (D) 78,778 33.0 Richard Rose (P&F;) 6,563 2.8