Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 2, 2015)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2015 Founded in 1873 STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Impeachment better than recall I Courtney’s obstruction protects Oregon’s one-party government n the wake of Gov. John Kitzhaber’s resignation, Oregonians learned we are the only state without an impeachment clause in our Constitution. Our state representatives rightly responded by approving a measure to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, allow- ing Oregon voters to enact an impeachment clause. But a funny thing hap- pened on the way to the ballot. Senate President Peter Courtney blocked the amendment, rul- ing he would not bring it to the Senate À oor for a vote. Courtney’s stated excuse was that Oregon voters have the re- course of recalling a governor and that should be suf¿ cient. (Translation: Shut up and eat it.) Courtney’s rationale is eva- sive. His excuse for inaction allows legislators to escape responsibility for a governor whose actions warrant removal from of¿ ce. Here is the essential distinc- tion between recalling a gover- nor and impeaching him. Recall elections become re-election campaigns. Impeachment re- quires a legislative body to be speci¿ c about the chief execu- tive’s malfeasance and to hold focused debate beyond the level of sound-bite politics. As president of the Senate and a creature of the statehouse for almost three decades, Peter Courtney epitomizes Oregon’s one-party government. Shielding our governors from what is common in every other state is effectively a Democratic Governor Protection Act. It is good for the axis of longtime legislators, lobbyists and pub- lic employee unions who de¿ ne our state’s one-party politics. In the wake of John Kitzhaber’s per¿ dy, it is ap- palling that Courtney is so tone deaf. Financial shenanigans in state government O regon state government is a vast enterprise – larger than giant private employers. But if you read the recent ar- ticles from our Capital Bureau, you notice a theme. There seems to be no common stan- dard among state agencies for enforcing ¿ nancial control over your tax dollars. Moreover, a governor was al- lowed to operate in what an ac- countant would call a capricious manner. Hillary Borrud’s story, pub- lished in last Friday’s Daily Astorian, concerned tax credits given to investors in green en- ergy projects. Borrud report- ed that “... around 2011, the Oregon Department of Energy scaled back its oversight of the tax credit sales. The department quietly stopped enforcing pric- ing and other rules, which al- lowed private brokers to strike deals in which the prices were never veri¿ ed by the state.´ When auditors in the Department of Revenue raised an alarm about this disparity, Gov. John Kitzhaber effectively told them to back off. It is remarkable in Oregon state government, that kind of ¿ nancial funny business is deemed to be OK. An earlier story from our Capital Bureau made a similar point. The agency in that story was the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Its em- ployees struggled to track the many grants and other types of funding the agency receives. And the executive director spent down funds in one account that was meant for another purpose. As a consequence, the agency risked running out of funding altogether. Why aren’t ¿ nancial controls in force to forestall that kind of capricious behavior? Like state government’s his- tory of botching large computer software projects, this matter of building and enforcing ¿ nan- cial controls is the unglamorous work of the state Legislature. And that is probably why it sim- ply doesn’t get done. Where to write • U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D): 2338 Rayburn HOB, Washing- ton, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225- 0855. Fax 202-225-9497. District of¿ ce: 12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 220, Beaverton, OR 97005. Phone: 503-469-6010. Fax 503- 326-5066. Web: bonamici.house. gov/ • U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D): 313 Hart Senate Of¿ ce Building, Wash- ington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224- 3753. Web: www.merkley.senate.gov • U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D): 221 Dirksen Senate Of¿ ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone: 202- 224-5244. Web: www.wyden.senate. gov • State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E., H-373, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986- 1431. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/witt/ Email: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us • State Rep. Deborah Boone (D): 900 Court St. N.E., H-481, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1432. Email: rep.deborah boone@state.or.us District of¿ ce: P.O. Box 928, Can- non Beach, OR 97110. Phone: 503- 986-1432. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/ boone/ • State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D): State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., S-314, Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: 503-986-1716. Email: sen.betsy john- son@state.or.us Web: www.betsyjohn- son.com District Of¿ ce: P.O. Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone: 503- 543-4046. Fax: 503-543-5296. Astoria of¿ ce phone: 503-338-1280. Daily Astorian File It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July in Cannon Beach without the community parade. Those who aren’t in the pa- rade are watching it from the sidelines in 2014. The day is filled with activities from early morning to late evening. Don’t rain on the Fourth of July parade It’s summer, after all! By NANCY MCCARTHY D espite what the calendar tells you and what the sunshine says, summer doesn’t usually start around here until July 5. That’s why there’s so much cele- brating on the Fourth. Yes, there’s a certain nod to the theory of liberty, freedom and Uncle Sam, but, locally it’s summer that everyone is excited about. In fact, it’s an inside joke around here: We don’t really get summer un- til after the parade. But what a lead up to summer do we offer on the North Coast! It’s what a small town does best: celebrate the Fourth of July, and we have so many small towns along our stretch between the sea and the mountains, it’s extra spe- cial. In Cannon Beach, where I live, the locals are likely to parade down Hemlock Street any time. We have parades to pay tribute to Earth Day and Sandcastle Weekend. So, it would be a crime not to have a Fourth of July parade. And, boy, is it done right. The police sirens signal the start, and for the next hour, downtown Cannon Beach is red, white and blue I MPRESSIONS B Y N ANCY M C C ARTHY pandemonium. It’s not time to stay home: Everyone comes out for the parade, either to cheer it on or to be in it. There’s even room in line for pets. Dressed-up bicycles mingle with À ag-carrying color guards, which give way to À oats ¿ lled with kids and balloons, just ahead of Hula- Hoop- ers and jugglers, who are followed by dancing neighbors dressed in multi-print shorts and orange clown wigs twirling their lawn chairs, and after the crowd’s applause, decorat- ed wagons with sleepy-eyed toddlers are pulled by cheerful parents who are followed by ¿ retrucks and fren- zied teenagers in holiday garb who just joined the parade for the fun of it. The scene is duplicated in Sea- side, Gearhart and Warrenton, where the Fourth of July parades also are classic small -town celebrations. But the parades are only a start. In Cannon Beach, the ¿ re¿ ghters cook and give away hot dogs, and the women of the PEO sell straw- berry shortcake. In Seaside, the His- torical Museum holds an old-fash- ioned ice cream social, and there’s a drum and bugle corps concert. A spectacular ¿ reworks display on the beach caps the day’s festivities. But Warrenton isn’t to be out- done by Seaside. In Warrenton, the day starts with a community break- fast for Uncle Sam (I never thought about it before, but I guess Uncle Sam does need to eat, doesn’t he?), and later, classic cars are on dis- play, a motorcycle tailgate party is held (do motorcycles even have tail- gates?), kids decorate their bicycles and play games and ¿ re¿ ghters offer a free barbecue. In addition to Seaside’s ¿ reworks display, Astoria also lights up the sky over the Columbia River. The Fourth of July is one day that the North Coast doesn’t forget. Cynics might say that’s because the events attract tourists and it’s one of the best money-making weekends of the year for businesses. I, however, ignore those naysay- ers, preferring, instead, to don my rose-colored sunglasses and head to the beach — following the parade, of course. After all, summer has just arrived, and it’s time to celebrate. Look who’s hiding in Lincoln’s attic Trump does not use dog ya shaped his worldview. whistles or code words. Huckabee sent a well-re- He’s blunt. And his wealth ceived video, in 1993, to the supremacist Citizens n one of the little acts of sub- affords him a halo of re- spect in some circles that a Council, though he later version that creeps into The condemned the group. low-rent racist would not Simpsons every now and then, a get. In the spasm of surre- Huckabee’s buddy — a helicopter from Fox News was al narcissism that was his “patriot and a friend,´ in his words — is Ted Nugent, a shown in 2010 with a logo, “Not presidential announcement raisined rocker who often earlier this month, Trump Racist, But 1 With Racists.´ appears on stage with a Con- said some things you would Timothy So it can be said of the Republican expect to hear at a Klan rally federate À ag, wrapped in it Egan Party, a shelter for the kind of dead- — 20 years ago. or wearing it. It was Nugent enders who used to be Democrats, “When Mexico sends its people, who called President Obama “a subhu- then Dixiecrats, but have found a they’re not sending their best. They’re man mongrel.´ Let’s yield to a British-born comedi- home of sorts in the attic of the Party not sending you,´ he said. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. an, John Oliver, to set Lost Cause apol- of Lincoln. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, ogists straight: “The Confederate À ag is It’s encouraging to see some party are good people.´ one of those symbols that should really leaders trying to sweep these dark-heart- Because Trump is a buffoon, a only be seen on T-shirts, belt buckles ed elements out, but they have work to punchline and a fact-checker’s full- and bumper stickers to help the rest do yet — starting with Donald Trump. time project, he gets away with things of us identify the worst people in the The accused killer of nine black that more serious candidates cannot. world.´ The House whip, Rep. Steve Scal- churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., So Mexicans — and by extension, all Dylann Roof, appears to have been immigrants — are not “you,´ but rap- ise of Louisiana, has had trouble trying moved to mass murder by incendiary ists, drug lords and leeches in our fair to explain why he spoke, in 2002, to a tracts turned out by a white suprema- land. Ha-ha. That Trump — what a white supremacist group founded by the former Klan leader David Duke. cist group, the Council of Conservative straight-shooter. Citizens. The leader of that same group, For his “insulting remarks about Scalise now says he ¿ nds the group’s Earl Holt III, has Mexican immi- beliefs repugnant. But earlier this year, donated more than grants,´ Univision, Duke told a radio interviewer that Scal- The party $60,000 to various the Spanish-lan- ise “agreed with all my ideas.´ The party label is meaningless. The Republican of¿ ce guage broadcast- label is holders and candi- er, just dumped its white South was solidly Democratic af- dates, including the meaningless. relationship with ter the Civil War, vowing never to vote presidential aspirants Trump’s Miss Uni- for the party that liberated the slaves. Ted Cruz, Rick San- verse pageant. (He’s A hundred years later, the white South torum and Rand Paul. a part-owner.) Great. Now where are changed allegiances with the advent of The candidates, of course, are the Republican leaders — supposedly the civil rights movement. Richard Nix- shocked — shocked! — that an ex- intent on trying to make the party some- on then sealed the transformation with tremist hate group would contribute to thing more than a collection of griev- his Southern Strategy, which parked their cause, and most of them have now ance-gorged old white guys — giving Southern whites ¿ rmly in the Republi- can Party. returned the money or given it to a fund Trump a similar message? For the many Republicans who be- for victims’ families. But it raises an ob- Trump also has consistently chal- vious question: Why would someone lenged President Barack Obama’s legit- lieve in free markets, less government whose ideas belong in the graveyard of imacy as an American citizen, making and the racial legacy of Lincoln, the history contribute, across the board, to a clearly racist play in his questioning question has to be asked: What do some leading Republican conservatives? of the president’s place of birth, even of society’s worst elements see in their Guilt by association can be unfair, after the release of a long-form birth party? It’s the coded language, yes, the hard voices of its broadcast wing, but or at least calls out for nuance. So let’s certi¿ cate. move on to a more overt racial ¿ re- Money insulates Trump. But the also actions. Of late, this is the party that bomber in the party, Trump, who is same cannot be said of Mike Huckabee, has been behind restrictive voting mea- polling second — just behind Jeb Bush who also questioned the president’s sures aimed squarely at blacks. Don’t — in one recent survey of New Hamp- American authenticity, concocting a give racists anything to root for, and shire Republicans. lie about how “his childhood´ in Ken- they’ll crawl back under their rocks. By TIMOTHY EGAN New York Times News Service I