Are Dana Rohrabacher's Days Numbered?

There are three things to know about Dana Rohrabacher.

1) He thinks home-sellers should be able to discriminate against gay people.

2) He once blamed climate change on dinosaur flatulence.

3) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was caught in 2016 saying: “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump. Swear to God.”

Somehow, this 71-year-old beacon of bigotry and ignorance is not from a Deep Red state — he’s the 15-term incumbent from California’s 48th district, a coastal, Orange County seat.


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The Democrat fighting to put this district back on a path to sanity is Harley Rouda. Rouda is a tall, strapping dude, 57-years-old, originally from Ohio, who made a fortune in real estate and technology. He prevailed in one of the tightest primaries in the state — with the joint backing of both the party and the grassroots group Indivisible.

We sat down at his campaign office in Newport, across from a high-end mall where the Tesla dealer sits across from Lululemon. Rouda may dress beachy rich, but he remains a cornball midwesterner at heart. “My goal today is the same goal as Dr. Hook’s goal, which is being on the cover of the Rolling Stone,” he says. Lots of people make this ice-breaker joke to Rolling Stone reporters, but Rouda takes it further. He’s got the song cued up on his iPhone, and he sets it playing as we begin our interview:

You’ve got a notorious opponent. How do you frame the contrast?

Dana Rohrabacher has extreme views that are inconsistent with the voters of the 48th district. My moderate positions are more consistent what they want to see an elected official.


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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/charlie-rouda-california-751280/