PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 7, 2017
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
The unknowns of the eclipse
Depending on whom one talks
to there could be as many as one
million people pouring into Or-
egon for the total solar eclipse on
Aug. 21.
The eclipse, which has fostered a
number of multi-day events along
the path of totality in Oregon, has
led the state, counties and cities to
hope for the best and
expect the worse. Mari-
on County’s emergency
management offi ce is
expecting 50,000 to
200,000 visitors to the
county.
There are too many
unknowns so every
municipality, including
Keizer, must plan for a crush of peo-
ple, cars and recreational vehicles.
Are the throngs expected in Marion
County coming from near or from
far? That is a big unknown. If most
are coming from out of state, we
can expect them to stay around for
a few days. If, on the other hand, a
majority are coming inside Oregon
(where the eclipse is not viewable),
then we would expect those visi-
tors to come for the day of the solar
event and then go home.
Local leaders are not taking any-
thing for granted. Mayor Cathy
Clark and others are imploring
residents to be prepared for the
onslaught of visitors in August. It
is akin to preparing for a disaster
such as a hurricane, only it is not
a disaster, it’s an opportunity. Local
residents are advised to get all their
vehicles fi lled with gas and stock up
on goods from the grocery store.
You would think they are preparing
for a swarm of locusts, coming in,
buying up everything at our stores,
buying all of gas, taking all the mon-
ey out of our local ATMs.
All of that may come to pass, or
the hype may be grander than the
reality. Nobody knows.
Whichever turns out to be true,
there are two truths we do know. We
are grateful that our local and state
governments are prepared to assure
that an additional 200,000 or one
million visitors does not adversely
affect our lives. And, any number of
visistors to our area should be seen
as an economic boon.
Every business, large and small,
can tap into the Eclipse Economy
with special promotions
and products. An event
such as this was made for
the entrepeneurial spir-
it. Restaurants can cre-
ate eclipse themed items,
t-shirts and other com-
memorative items can be
created and sold, with such
tag lines as “I didn’t see the
sun in Oregon. Total Eclipse, August
21, 2017.”
The Keizer Parks Foundation
the Keizer Festival Advisory Board
(KFAB) are spearheading our own
eclipse event at Keizer Rapids Park.
More than 150 RV and tent camp-
ing sites are being prepared for the
eclipse weekend beginning on the
Thursday before the Monday event.
There will be musical entertain-
ment on the Keizer Rotary Amphi-
theatre stage for four days. Activi-
ties in the park and on the river are
being planned to show visitors the
best that Keizer has to offer.
Those who did not plan ahead
and travel to Marion County for the
eclipse on a whim will fi nd lodg-
ing choices very limited. The camp
sites at Keizer Rapids Park will most
likely be fully booked by the fi rst of
August. Keizer residents may con-
sider booking a site for their friends
and families.
Keizer should be thankful to get
its share of the tens of thousands of
visitors into the county in August.
The city is looking very good; we
want people to go away with posi-
tive thoughts about Keizer and its
residents.
—LAZ
our
opinion
Impeachment calls ill-conceived
Calls for impeachment of President
Trump are whiny and ill-conceived.
A political remedy, impeachment has
been used against only two of the 44
people who have held the presiden-
cy—Andrew Johnson and Bill Clin-
ton. A conviction by the U.S. Senate,
after impeachment by the House of
Representatives, removes the person
from offi ce. There are no criminal
penalties, that would come from pros-
ecuters.
Groups call for Trump’s impeach-
ment because of his Tweets, for his
boorish behavior, or for his treatment
of women and others. These alone
cannot be considered impeachable
offenses.
Calls for his impeachment are as
effective as pundits and columnists
who write about how Trump should
change the way he performs as leader
of the free world.
Whether one totally supports
Trump or vociferiously opposes all
that he stands for, all have to realize
that Donald Trump is the man who
was elected. There was not much
about his personality, background or
behavior that wasn’t known. Though
he lost the popular vote by almost 3
million votes, he won the Electoral
College, which is the only vote that
counts.
A person can blindly support a
president or blindly hate what and
who they are, but supporters and de-
tractors alike need to be clear-eyed
and work within the system to bring
about the change they wish to see.
Wishes and hopes don’t create
change. Involvement and hard work
create change. Always has, always will.
—LAZ
A gerrymandering of virtues
By MICHAEL GERSON
If we have learned anything from
the last few years in our politics, it is
that civility is for suckers, that com-
promise is a sign of weakness, and
that moderation of tem-
perament is boring and
unmarketable.
It is time to level with
our sons and daughters.
Winners—real winners,
of the kind blessed by
religious authorities and
trusted with the highest
offi ce—are rude and be-
littling. They always insist on getting
their way. And they are the angriest,
neediest people in the room.
Just forming these words causes
revulsion. Why does such cynical and
chaotic moral messaging bother us
so much? For one, we suspect that
political arguments, over time, seep
into our common culture, determin-
ing the boundaries of acceptable dis-
course. Recalcitrant toddlers, trucu-
lent teens, disagreeable co-workers
and egotistic exes across America can
plausibly claim that “the president is
on my side.”
But the main consequences are
more public. What is the fi rst law
of political dynamics? Boorishness
has an equal and opposite reaction.
My favorite example is that subset
of Democrats (including the head
of the Democratic National Com-
mittee) who believe that populism
is demonstrated by profanity. What
our sad and desperate politics really
needs, in this view, is more f-words.
The reaction, however, reaches
beyond language. A portion of the
Democratic Party views “resistance”
as an excuse for ideological purifi -
cation —a franker socialism in eco-
nomics, a stricter uniformity of cul-
tural views, a determination to use
tolerance as a cudgel. The decadence
of the administration is producing
Savonarolas of the left.
Just as we need rational policy de-
liberation—to do things like repair-
ing our health system in a bipartisan
fashion, or preventing entitlement
commitments from swal-
lowing the entire fed-
eral budget—we have
the politics of resentment
in the language of sleazy
campaign operatives.
There is an element
of America’s found-
ing that anticipates, even
welcomes, such a clash
of factions. James Madison some-
times sounded like our constitutional
structure is a fi nely tuned machine,
counteracting ambition with ambi-
tion without need for the democratic
virtues.
In fact, civility and a spirit of com-
promise were required, again and
again, to prevent the Constitutional
Convention itself from breaking
apart in anger and recrimination. The
structure resulted from the virtues.
The heroes of the founding were not
those who held the strongest views.
It was those who held strong views
and still found a basis for agree-
ment—frustrating,
disappointing,
glorious agreement.
A constitutional convention held
in 2017 would likely fail. It is sober-
ing to think that the American po-
litical system, at this point in history,
would probably be too divided to
reproduce itself. Who would want to
face primary voters after being iden-
tifi ed with a “great compromise”?
As most of the founders envi-
sioned it, the constitutional order
fl ies with two wings. The fi rst is the
system of separated and balanced
powers. The second is a set of public
virtues—such as civility, compromise
and moderation—that turn the mob
(which they feared) into citizens.
Our democratic structure is
other
views
stressed but basically sound. The
values, however, come in for rou-
tine, ideologically diverse abuse as
weakness and surrender. Revive the
founders and they would see a coun-
try hacking away at its own demo-
cratic limb.
It is not my purpose to be dismis-
sive of institutional reforms that ad-
dress campaign fi nance or gerryman-
dering. But it is necessary, not only
to redraw the lines of House districts,
but to redraw the lines of propriety
and respect. Americans need to be
conscious and intentional about re-
building the infrastructure of demo-
cratic values.
Civility is not weakness. It is the
native tongue of a successful democ-
racy. What Stephen Carter calls “civil
listening” allows people who are op-
ponents to avoid becoming enemies.
Civility prevents dehumanization.
Compromise is not surrender. It is
the lubricant of a successful democ-
racy. What Jonathan Rauch calls “a
cardinal virtue” allows for incremen-
tal progress on diffi cult issues such
as health care. It is a moral principle
that elevates progress on the com-
mon good above ideological purity.
Moderation is not indecision
or centrism (as important as politi-
cal centrism may be). It is the mode
or mood of a successful democracy.
What Aurelian Craiutu calls a “dif-
fi cult virtue for courageous minds”
puts an emphasis on reasonableness,
prudence and balance. It is a prin-
ciple rooted in epistemological mod-
esty -- a recognition that no one pos-
sesses the whole truth.
These values are crucial to self-
government, and it would be nice if
those who govern would speak up
for them once in a while, without
embarrassment or apology. And oh,
yes, us too.
(The Washington Post News Ser-
vice & Syndicate)
Businessman for president? Make it Buffett
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By GENE H. McINTYRE
I am sure there are a great num-
ber of Americans who recognize the
name Warren Buffett. Those who
know of him know that, current-
ly, he is the world’s second-richest
man, after Bill Gates. Last week he
appeared on the Public Broadcast-
ing’s NewsHour and was interviewed
by anchor Judy Woodruff. Some of
his most salient comments are wor-
thy of readers’ attention
and consideration.
Before his wisdom is
shared here, we may wish
to remember that Buffet
has been an extraordinari-
ly successful businessman.
The 86-year-old Nebras-
kan is the chief executive
of investing house Berk-
shire Hathaway with a net worth,
according to Forbes, at $76.6 bil-
lion.
Berkshire Hathaway also
owns a major share in Wells Fargo
and the BNSF Railroad. Inciden-
tally, he’s never been a politician or
elected to public offi ce although his
father was elected to four non-con-
secutive terms in the U.S. House of
Representatives from Omaha while
the family lived in Washington, D.C.
during those years.
Regarding the pending Repub-
lican healthcare proposal, Buffett
says “it amounts to a tax cut for
the rich” while “the U.S. economy
would benefi t far more from es-
tablishing single-payer health care
as that is the best system” and “we
are such a rich country, we can af-
ford it.” Also, “bringing down the
costs of healthcare would do more
to help American business than cut-
ting corporate taxes” but “there is
no incentive to bring down costs.”
On the economy, “the U.S. econ-
omy has recovered since 2009 but
the lion’s share of the benefi ts have
gone to the very wealthy while all
Americans aren’t doing well as this
has been a prosperity that’s been
disproportionately rewarding to
the people on the top.”
Buffett has called for
higher taxes on the rich.
According to Buf-
fett, the U.S. should be
the world’s moral leader
as well as the world’s
economic leader. The
U.S. leads badly, says
Buffett, when it was re-
vealed by the latest House and Sen-
ate healthcare plans, as analyzed by
the Tax Policy Center, that would
provide the top 1 percent of earners
in the U.S. an average tax-bill de-
crease of $37,240.
Buffett reported that, if passed,
the GOP health care bill would save
him $679,999 or 17 percent of his
tax bill. “There’s nothing ambigu-
ous about that and the people its di-
rected at are couples with $250,000
or more of income” while, says
Buffett, “you could entitle this the
Relief for the Rich Act.” Buffett re-
ported that he’s got friends who’ll
enjoy savings of $10 million and
more. What’s additionally sad to
Buffett is that Republican members
of Congress voting for the health-
care bill as it stands will serve them-
guest
column
selves by bringing down their own
taxes.
From what’s known of War-
ren Buffett, he’s a businessman all
Americans can believe in and be
proud of. His word can be trusted
by his years of telling the truth. His
dealings with people are well
known as civil and respectful while
his charitable actions have helped
people all over the world to bet-
ter lives. He and his fi rst wife
of 52 years, now deceased since
2004, never showed off their wealth,
having lived in a modest home they
bought as young newlyweds in
which they raised their three chil-
dren and Buffett continues to live
with his second wife who he mar-
ried eleven years ago.
He’s helped his children, now
grown, to establish viable careers
of their choosing but do not work
for him. He will donate his wealth
to charity upon his passing. He’s
happy living on $100,000 a year,
fi nding a life with those he loves
and who love him being the most
fulfi lling. A personal opinion of the
man fi nds this writer wishing he
would consider a run for president
as he would only promise what he
could deliver and would be hon-
est in all matters as he has been as a
businessman. If Americans gener-
ally want a business man or woman
as president, it’s surmised there must
be others as grounded and depend-
able as Buffett.
(Gene H. McIntyre lives in Keizer.)