Robert Kenneth Dornan (born April 3, 1933) is an American actor, radio talk show host, combat veteran, and Republican politician from California. Dornan represented two Southern California districts in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1983 and from 1985 to 1997, where he became known as a "leading firebrand" on the party's conservative wing. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 1982 and for President of the United States in 1996.
A former actor and television and radio talk show host, Dornan had a flair for the dramatic that drew supporters and detractors well beyond his congressional district. Though never a major power in Washington, he became one of the most well-known members of the House of Representatives as a participant in televised "special orders" speeches and was described as "one of the leading firebrands among American politicians".[1] He has become well known for publicly outing fellow Republican U.S. Representative Steve Gunderson as gay on the House of Representatives floor in 1994.
Early life
Dornan was born in New York City, the son of Gertrude (McFadden) Dornan (1900–1967) and Harry Joseph Dornan (1892–1975).[2][3][4] In New York, Dornan's mother had been a vaudeville performer as part of an act called the McFadden Sisters and a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, and had performed under the stage name Bara Wilkes; her sister was the wife of actor Jack Haley.[5][6] Harry Dornan owned a haberdashery. After moving to California, he became a real estate entrepreneur in West Los Angeles. He was active in harness racing, a pastime in which many celebrities participated during the 1940s and 1950s.[7][8] Robert Dornan took advantage of his family's entertainment industry experience and connections after he embarked on his own acting and talk show career. He used celebrity endorsements and campaign contributions to launch his political career.[7][9]
Dornan attended Loyola University of Los Angeles (later renamed Loyola Marymount University) from 1950 to 1953. At age 19, Robert joined the United States Air Force. He became a fighter pilot, and during his time in the Air Force, he survived two emergency parachute ejections and two "dead stick" forced landings (including one of an F-100). He was on active duty until 1958, and attained the rank of captain.[10] He served in the California Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve until retiring in 1975.[10] Dornan also served as a combat journalist and photographer on several missions in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War and flew relief flights into Biafra.
Career
Entertainment
Dornan was involved in the entertainment industry as an actor. He starred in the film The Starfighters, cast as Lt. Witkowski, an Air Force pilot who was the son of a U.S. congressman. The Starfighters aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000 on October 29, 1994.[citation needed]
Dornan has said he took an active role in the civil rights movement.[12] He did attend the historic 1963 March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr.; when this claim was questioned in 1994, he circulated a photo of himself in his Air Force uniform seated in the audience for King's speech.[12] News accounts also indicate he participated in voter registration drives for African Americans in Mississippi.[12] However, a 1998 Washington Post article indicated there is no corroborating information (such as news clippings from the era) to confirm this claim.[13][14][15]
Dornan moved into politics in 1973 as national spokesman for the Citizens for Decency Through Law advocacy group. He made an unsuccessful run for mayor of Los Angeles the same year. In 1976, Dornan was elected to the House of Representatives, representing the 27th congressional district in western Los Angeles County. He was re-elected twice. He was such an unswerving advocate for the development of the B-1 bomber, that he was soon nicknamed "B-1 Bob".[16]
After the 1980 census, California's congressional map was redrawn. Dornan's district, previously a Republican-leaning swing district, was made significantly more Democratic. Believing he had no chance of winning this new district, he opted to run for the United States Senate in 1982. He finished fourth in the Republican primary behind San Diego mayor and future GovernorPete Wilson, who won in November.[citation needed]
Dornan moved to Garden Grove, in the more Republican Orange County. In 1984, he was elected to Congress from the 38th district in central Orange County, defeating 10-year Democratic incumbent Jerry M. Patterson by a 53% to 45% margin amid Ronald Reagan's massive landslide that year. In 1986, he won a tough race against Democratic state Assemblyman Richard Robinson, winning by a 55% to 43% margin. He was re-elected four more times and served on the Intelligence Committee.[citation needed]
Dornan made headlines in March 1985 for a confrontation with Representative Thomas Downey (a Democrat from New York) on the House floor.[18] Downey asked Dornan about comments he had made calling Downey "a draft-dodging wimp".[18] (Downey was exempt from the Vietnam War draft because of a perforated eardrum.[18]) According to Downey, Dornan, grabbing him by collar and tie, said, "It's good you're being protected by the sergeant-at-arms. If I saw you outside, it would be a different story" and threatened him "with some form of bodily harm".[18] Dornan claimed he was merely straightening Downey's tie and refused to apologize for the incident or the derogatory comment.[18] A Dornan aide said, "It will be a cold day in hell before he gets an apology from Bob Dornan".[19]
Dornan's record was staunchly conservative. However, he did hold some positions that some might call liberal, including sponsoring animal protection acts, earning him the recognition of PETA in 1988.[20][21]
In 1994, during his final successful run for Congress, it was reported that Dornan's wife, Sallie, had made multiple allegations of domestic violence against him earlier in their marriage. In 1966, Dornan had been convicted of a domestic violence offense and sentenced to jail time; however, it was unclear whether his sentence had ever been served. After the allegations were made public, Sallie Dornan retracted them, stating that she had made false claims about her husband during a period when she was struggling with prescription drug addiction. The Dornans' five children asserted that their father had not been physically abusive.[22][23] During the same campaign, Dornan had signs posted at polling places that warned voters in Spanish that they should be prepared to prove their citizenship in order to vote. The signs suggested that immigration officials would be present at the polls. The success of this action was believed to have kept enough Latino voters away from the polls to eke out a victory for Dornan against Mike Farber.[23]
In 1995, Dornan received a minor reprimand from the House for stating in a floor speech that President Bill Clinton had "given aid and comfort to the enemy" during the Vietnam War.[24]
Dornan was a dark horse candidate for president of the United States in 1996.[25] In a GOP debate in Iowa on January 13, Dornan called Clinton a "criminal" and a "pathological liar".[26] Dornan later dropped out of the presidential race and ran for reelection to his seat in the House; he was defeated by Democrat Loretta Sanchez by less than 1,000 votes.[27]
Dornan ran for president in 1996
Following the narrow defeat, Dornan alleged that Sanchez's winning margin was provided by illegal voting from non-U.S. citizens. A thirteen-month House of Representatives investigation ensued, during which Sanchez was seated provisionally, pending the inquiry.[28] A task force found 748 votes that had been cast illegally—624 from non-citizens in addition to 124 that had already been thrown out by California officials. This was not enough to overturn Sanchez's margin of victory and she was allowed to keep her seat.[29] However, in consultation with the INS, the House committee identified 4,762 questionable registration affidavits.[30]
In September 1997, while his 1996 bid against Sanchez was still being contested, Dornan confronted then-Representative Bob Menendez on the House floor, using profanity and calling Menendez an "anti-Catholic coward". This encounter led to Menendez filing a resolution to bar Dornan from the House floor until the election was resolved, which passed by a vote of 289–65.[31][32]
Controversial statements
During his political career, Dornan became known for his controversial or offensive statements. Among his remarks:
During a House debate in 1994, Dornan outed fellow Republican representative Steve Gunderson, accusing him of having a "revolving door on his closet."[33]
In a 1986 U.S. House speech, he called Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner a "disloyal, betraying little Jew who sits there on television claiming that he is somehow or other a newsman."[34] This was the only statement Dornan apologized for, saying, "That's the only thing in my life I ever lost sleep over."[35] Dornan also said that he intended "to say 'Judas', not 'Jew'," as a rebuttal to Posner's insistence that the Soviet Union was free of anti-Semitism.[35]
"Every lesbian spear chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated" to a Los Angeles television reporter in 1992 regarding a female challenger in the primary election.[35][36]
On a January 28, 1994, appearance on Politically Incorrect, Dornan declared it was "The Year of the Penis" due to recent events in the news. This was a joke in regard to the 1992 media and political reference as that election being referred to as "The Year of the Woman", when four women won election to the United States Senate.[37]
"You are a slimy coward. Go register in another party" to Orange County Republican Central Committee member William Dougherty after he supported Dornan's opponent in 1996.[38]
In 1994, a 120-page book of quotations of Dornan was compiled by Nathan Callahan and William Payton and published as Shut Up, Fag! The quotation that gives the book the title was actually shouted by Dornan's wife, Sallie, at an AIDS activist during an Orange County town forum. Dornan claimed the book was backed by director Oliver Stone, whom Dornan labeled "a Bolshevik enemy".[39]
Dornan's comments and behavior led his political opponents to question his mental health. Mike Kaspar of the Orange County Democratic Party said, "The primary issue is Bob Dornan, himself. I think his character and his own sanity are an issue here."[40] At a White House Correspondents Dinner, Al Franken, who had worked once on Politically Incorrect with Dornan, joked "having Al D'Amato leading an ethics investigation is like getting Bob Dornan to head up a mental health task force."[41]Michael Moore devoted an entire chapter of his book Downsize This! to his efforts to get Dornan involuntarily committed for psychiatric examination.[42]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dornan hosted The Bob Dornan Show, a radio talk show syndicated nationally by Talk Radio Network.[44][45]
In 2004, Dornan challenged Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a fellow Republican, in the primary. Dornan charged Rohrabacher with being soft on terrorism and being too close to Islamic extremists.[46] However, he lost by 84% to 16%.[47]
Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher is an American former politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019. A Republican, he represented California's 48th congressional district for the last three terms of his House tenure. Rohrabacher was defeated by Democrat Harley Rouda in 2018. Rohrabacher has expressed strong pro-Russia and pro-Putin opinions which have raised questions about his relationship with Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Politico dubbed him as "Putin's favorite congressman".
Loretta Lorna Sanchez is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017, representing parts of central Orange County, California. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan by fewer than 1,000 votes. During her time in the House of Representatives, Sanchez was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate-to-conservative Democrats.
Howard James Kaloogian is an American politician and a former Republican member of the California State Assembly, having served in the State Assembly for the 74th district from 1994 to 2000. After leaving office, he was active in the 2003 California recall, and unsuccessfully ran in 2004 for the United States Senate and in a special election in 2006 to the United States House of Representatives.
Henry Arnold Waxman is an American politician and lobbyist who was a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Augustus Freeman Hawkins was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served in the California State Assembly from 1935 to 1963 and the U.S. House Of Representatives from 1963 to 1991. Over the course of his career, Hawkins authored more than 300 state and federal laws, the most famous of which are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1978 Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act. He was known as the "silent warrior" for his commitment to education and ending unemployment.
Donald Edgar "Buz" Lukens was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. His political career ended in 1990 when he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Six years later, he was convicted for accepting a bribe during his time in Congress.
Sheridan Downey was an American lawyer and a Democratic politician from Wyoming and California. In 1934, he ran for lieutenant governor of California as Upton Sinclair's running mate in the "End Poverty in California" campaign. In 1938 he was elected U.S. Senator from California, and he served from 1939 to 1950.
John George Schmitz was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and California State Senate from Orange County, California. He was also a member of the John Birch Society. In 1972 he was the candidate for President of the United States of the American Independent Party, later known as the American Party.
Robert Smith Walker is a former American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1977 until his retirement in 1997. He was known for his fiery rhetoric and knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
William Edwin Dannemeyer was a conservative American politician, activist, and author, known for his opposition to LGBT rights. He served seven terms as U.S. Representative from the 39th Congressional District of California from 1979 to 1993, during which time he, along with friend and fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan, came to personify Orange County conservatism.
Daniel Edward Lungren is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician. A native of Long Beach, California, his career as an elected official began when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, representing the Long Beach area from 1979 to 1989. He then served as attorney general of California from 1991 to 1999, and ran unsuccessfully for governor of California in 1998, losing to Democrat Gray Davis.
Thomas Joseph Downey is an American attorney, lobbyist and former politician who served as a U.S. Representative for New York's 2nd congressional district from 1975 to 1993.
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Congress. In total, 378 women have been U.S. representatives and seven more have been non-voting delegates. As of November 12, 2024, there are 127 women in the U.S. House of Representatives, making women 29.2% of the total. Of the 385 women who have served in the House, 253 have been Democrats and 132 have been Republicans. One woman was the 52nd Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California.
The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1996 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 5, 1996. The delegation went from being tied to slightly majority-Democratic, with Democrats gaining 3 seats.
The 1950 United States Senate election in California was held on November 7 of that year, following a campaign characterized by accusations and name-calling. Republican Representative and future President Richard Nixon defeated Democrat Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas, after Democratic incumbent Sheridan Downey withdrew during the primary election campaign. Douglas and Nixon each gave up their congressional seats to run against Downey; no other representatives were willing to risk the contest.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 6, 2012, with a primary election on June 5, 2012. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and a U.S. Senate election.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, with a primary election on June 3, 2014. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on June 5, 2018. Voters elected the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
Harley Edwin Rouda Jr. is an American attorney, businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district from 2019 to 2021. He was the first Democrat to represent the district, which encompasses southwestern coastal portions of Orange County including the cities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
John Shallman is an American political consultant and author from Southern California. He is the founder of Shallman Communications and consulted in campaigns at the federal, state, and local level for politicians including Loretta Sanchez, Richard Riordan, and others. He also led the campaign for the successful recall of then judge Aaron Persky after the People v. Turner decision. His 2020 novel Return from Siberia was a national bestseller.
↑ Gould, Jack (October 31, 2002). "The Bob Dornan Hall of Fame". OC Weekly. Fountain Valley, CA. Bob Dornan's confirmed offspring (Robin, Kate, Theresa, Mark and Bob Jr.)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
