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David Timothy Dreier (born July 5 1952), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing the 26th District of California.
He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, was educated at Claremont Men’s College (now Claremont McKenna College), and was director of corporate relations for the college before entering the House.
Dreier has served as chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee since 1999. He has also served as chairman of California's Republican Congressional Delegation since 2001. Dreier was a major player in helping elect Arnold Schwarzenegger in California's 2003 recall election, and is a frequent guest on the political talk show circuit.
Throughout his early Congressional service, Dreier established a record as a strong supporter of tax cuts and of President Reagan's anti-communist foreign policy. One of the youngest as well as the first Californian Rules Chairman in history, David Dreier plays a pivotal role in fashioning legislation promoting Republican Party positions on Social Security, child education, taxes, and national security.
Locally Dreier is well known for supporting local institutions such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Metro Gold Line, and advocates for transportation improvements such as railroad grade separations and highway expansion.
Recently Dreier has come under increasing scrutiny from gay rights groups because of what they characterize as one of the most anti-gay voting records in Congress, which includes support of the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as votes against gay adoption, and inclusion of homosexuality as a protected status in hate crime and employment discrimination legislation. Many consider his record to be especially disturbing in light of recent speculation (http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/david_dreier_outed_brad_smith_gay_920.htm) that he himself (http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/david_dreier_cynthia_matthews_outed_outing_gay_926.htm) is gay or bisexual (http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/44/news-ireland.php). In August 2004, at the Republican National Convention, gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile asked Dreier point-blank whether or not he was straight. Dreier refused (http://www.nypress.com/17/39/news&columns/signorile.cfm) to say he was heterosexual. A month later, Dreier's 1998 and 2000 Democratic opponent, Janice Nelson, came forward to claim that his homosexuality was an open secret. His 2004 opponent, Cynthia Matthews, came out of the closet and demanded that he do the same. Dreier has never publicly responded to these charges and it is in question whether the media (aside from Hustler Magazine, which ran an expose on him in their February 2005 issue) will pick the story up. Perhaps his vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment on September 30, 2004, the first time in his career that he did not support anti-gay legislation, was a sign of his concern.
While being hit from the left, Dreier was extensively hammered (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/10181726.htm?1c) from the right due to what some radio talk show hosts viewed as a lax policy on curbing illegal immigration. Dreier was accused of advocating for federal funds for services provided to illegal immigrants such as jails and medical care, and supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants. The immigration attacks were especially damaging. Dreier filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against one radio talk show alleging that the hosts, employees of Clear Channel Corporation, were engaging in an illegal contribution to Matthews's campaign. The complaint was widely ridiculed in the media. In spite of vastly outspending his opponent, having his opponent ostracized by the Democratic Party, and being in a solidly Republican district, Dreier won his 2004 race with only 54% of the vote, the lowest incumbent win for any U.S. representative from California and his worst total since 1980. Anti-illegal immigration advocates predict that he will face a formidable conservative challenger in his 2006 primary.
26th District statistics
As of 2002, there are 639,088 people in the 26th District of California.
In the 2000 general election, the voters of the 26th District of California voted:
Median Household Income: $58,968
Occupation:
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