Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2020)
4A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 The Observer OUR VIEW Checking the fact checkers The Associated Press fact-checked President Trump’s State of the Union speech the day before he gave it. The newsgathering organization, of which EO Media Group is a member, didn’t have an ad- vance copy of the president’s address. Rather, the AP was addressing topics Trump was likely to talk about when he went before Congress. This is reasonable enough on its face — State of the Union speeches are nothing if not predictable. And certainly Trump is the ripest of targets for fact checking. In common with most politicians, the president is prone to making statements that put his accomplishments in the best possible light. But Trump’s blustering style, and his preference for simple adjectives such as “best” and “greatest,” lead him to make claims that are easily disproved. But the AP doesn’t limit itself to that worthwhile endeavor. Instead, the organization, under the guise of fact checking, seeks to diminish the president’s record by nit-picking claims that are the predictable fodder of political speeches but are too general to be demon- strably false. For instance, in the pre-speech fact check the AP notes that Trump has “held out his tax cut as a boon to the economy.” Indeed he has. The AP’s dispute with this claim begins with a curious passage: “While most economists credit (the tax cuts) with putting extra money in people’s pock- ets and fueling more consumer spending.” As if only economists — or at least “most economists” — under- stand that if the government takes less of workers’ earnings they’ll have more to spend, and likely will do just that. The AP also contends, again referring to the tax cut law, that “its impact may already be fading.” The AP offers no facts, or indeed anything, in sup- port of what isn’t even a defi nitive claim — notice the hedging word “may.” Even when the AP acknowledges a boast Trump was apt to make in his speech is factual, the orga- nization, rather than simply acknowledge its accu- racy — presumably the purpose of a fact check — or better still leave it out, instead tries to downplay its signifi cance. The AP writes: “Trump plays a rather ordinary fact for cheers at his rallies — more Americans are work- ing than ever before. That’s mainly because there are ever more Americans. Call it people infl ation.” A clever line for an editorial, perhaps. But it’s grossly misplaced in something labeled as a fact check — a piece of journalism that ought to be scrupulously objective. And even as commentary fodder, it’s fl accid. The AP proffers nothing to back its claim that the workforce growth is “mainly” due to a grow- ing population. The implication that the number of people with jobs inevitably follows population growth is not valid — the AP need only consult employment statistics from the 2007 to 2009 recession. The AP continued its tactics with its follow-up fact check covering Trump’s actual State of the Union speech. In referencing the president’s boast about the U.S. becoming the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, the AP chastises Trump for “taking cred- it for a U.S. oil and gas production boom that started under Obama.” Yet the AP acknowledges the U.S. has been the top producer of crude oil only since 2018. And accord- ing to federal records, America’s crude oil production actually dropped in 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, but rose in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The AP’s fact-checking efforts are valid and, during the Trump administration, more necessary than ever. But there’s no reason for the organization to clog its fact-checking articles with obviously political commentary. OTHER VIEWS History will remember Romney, not Collins W hen future historians look for the last, documented instance of Re- publican political courage in the Trump imperium, they’ll look to one man: Sen. Mitt Romney. In one extraordinary speech on the floor of the United States Senate on Wednesday, the Utah senator made remarks that were both utterly moving in their absolute humanity and totally damning in their vivid rebuttal of GOP capitulation to a bankrupt White House. “I swore an oath before God to exer- cise impartial justice,” Romney told a nearly empty chamber around 2 p.m, two hours before the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump. As The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank wrote, Romney, fi ghting back tears, paused for some 12 seconds to collect himself before continuing. “The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did,” Romney said, as the Senate gal- lery fi lled with journalists recording his remarks for the ages. For me, the most profound part of Romney’s speech was his reminder to his GOP colleagues of the responsibili- ties invested in them by the Constitu- tion, the very responsibilities they so thoroughly abdicated during the Trump’s fi xed trial. Dressed in a dark blue suit, white dress shirt, and blue tie, Romney, a devout Mormon and the GOP’s 2012 presidential standard-bearer, looked like a throwback to a less complicated time — when there were politicians that most Americans would recognize as textbook Republican. That matters because the Republican Party that Romney represented just eight years ago is dead and buried, never to return. If impeachment proved anything, it proved the GOP is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization. Romney’s remarks were all the more striking when they’re placed along the spineless surrender of fellow Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, who were both viciously lashed by Trump in 2016, but who none- theless fell into line and voted to acquit. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who plays a maverick on television and who voted in favor of calling witnesses, sided with her Republican colleagues on acquittal, even as she called Trump’s behavior wrong. It was the same kind of transactional and fl eeting courage pioneered by for- mer Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who made late-career fame out of publicly holding up the nomination of now-Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, but who ultimately voted to confi rm a fl awed candidate. Not Romney. “I am aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehe- mently denounced,” he said Wednesday. “I am sure to hear abuse from the President and his supporters. Does any- one seriously believe I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?” In this space last week, I compared the current U.S. Senate to the weak- willed Roman Senate of antiquity that caved to the excesses of the most tyran- nical emperors out of sheer self-interest. History also remembers the Emper- or Nero ordered Seneca, his onetime counselor, to commit suicide when he fell out of favor. Romney might well have committed political suicide. And it was equally clear that, like Seneca, there were principles more important to Romney than mere self-preserva- tion. “With my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me,” he said SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Subscription rates per month: Union & Wallowa Co. .......................................$11.80 By mail, all other U.S. ....................................... $15 A division of LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are limited to 350 words and must be signed and carry the author’s address and phone number (for verifi cation purposes only). We edit letters for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We will not publish poetry, consumer complaints against businesses or personal attacks against private individuals. Thank- you letters are discouraged. Letter writers are limited to one letter every two weeks. Email your letters to news@ lagrandeobserver.com or mail them to La Grande Observer, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande, Ore., 97850. MY VOICE My Voice columns should be 500 words. Submissions should include a portrait-type photograph of the author. Authors also should include their full name, age, occupation and relevant organizational memberships. We edit submissions for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We reject those published elsewhere. Send columns to La Grande Observer, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande, 97850, or email them to pwright@ lagrandeobserver.com. adding, “... we’re all footnotes at best in the annals of history. But in the most powerful nation on earth, the nation conceived in liberty and justice, that is distinction enough for any citizen.” In this diminished time, it’s more than enough. An award-winning political journalist, John L. Micek is editor-in-chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg, Email him at jmicek@penncapital- star.com and follow him on Twitter @ ByJohnLMicek. STAFF Phone: SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50 You can save up to 34% off the single-copy price with home delivery. Call 541-963-3161 to subscribe. Write to us JOHN L. MICEK 541-963-3161 An independent newspaper founded in 1896 (USPS 299-260) Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801. Published Tuedays, Thursdays and Saturdays (except Dec. 25) by EO Media Group, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande, OR 97850 (USPS 299-260) COPYRIGHT © 2020 THE OBSERVER The Observer retains ownership and copyright protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may not be reproduced without explicit prior approval. Toll free (Oregon): 1-800-781-3214 Fax: 541-963-7804 Email: news@lagrandeobserver.com Website: www.lagrandeobserver.com Street address: 1406 Fifth St., La Grande POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Observer, 1406 Fifth St., La Grande, OR 97850 Periodicals postage paid at: Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Publisher........................................Karrine Brogoitti Classifieds ........................................ Devi Mathson Regional circulation director ....................Kelli Craft Home delivery advisor.................Amanda Fredrick Editor .....................................................Phil Wright Customer service rep ......................... Mollie Lynch News clerk....................................Lisa Lester Kelly Advertising representative...............Juli Bloodgood Sports editor .......................................Ronald Bond Advertising representative...................... Amy Horn Reporter................................................Dick Mason Graphic design supervisor................Dorothy Kautz Reporter....................................Sabrina Thompson Graphic design ..............................Cheryl Christian IT support ........................................Nicole Gilbride Chris Rush, Regional Publisher
