OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016
Sanders hits a snag in Nevada
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
Where was
Kitzhaber?
And how about Oracle’s low behavior?
E
xplosive is a good word for Nick Budnick’s Tuesday
story about internal emails at software giant Oracle.
The emails reveal a corpo-
Oregon voters elected
rate culture that was happy John Kitzhaber to a fourth
to take Oregon’s money term as governor in 2014,
while pursuing development despite the gigantic fail-
of health software it knew to ure of Cover Oregon,
be fatally Àawed. One email whose software was a bust.
refers to “rapoing” Oregon, Even then, it was clear that
which appears to be a typo Kitzhaber had failed to cre-
ate effective oversight of
for raping Oregon.
A
Marion
County the project. And now we
judge will decide whether realize that Oracle didn’t
to unseal the emails in want Oregon to have that
Oregon’s lawsuit against oversight.
This seems to have been
Oracle.
The environment evoked a perfect storm involving a
by the emails includes an rapacious contractor and a
apparently naive Oregon customer who was less than
state government and a vigilant. The product was a
company unwilling to save very expensive product that
that state from a gigantic didn’t work.
Beyond the outcome of
mistake while taking its
Oregon’s legal claim against
money.
At issue was whether there Oracle, the only ques-
would be a systems integra- tion is whether the Oregon
tor, to oversee Oracle, and Legislature has learned
whether Oregon or Oracle anything from the Cover
would control that position. Oregon misadventure.
By CHARLES M. BLOW
New York Times News Service
B
ernie Sanders’ loss in the
Nevada caucuses, 47 percent
to 53 percent, reveals a very real
weakness of his insurgent chal-
lenge to Hillary Clinton.
According to entrance polls ²
which may have had some problems
of their own, problems that we’ll dis-
cuss shortly ² Sanders’ appeal is not
broad enough among key groups that
traditionally make up the base of the
Democratic
Party.
He
lost
among women,
blacks,
non-
whites,
and
self-described
Democrats. But
the loss was
even more trou-
bling for his
Charles
camp than that.
Blow
He also lost
highly educated caucusgoers with
postgraduate degrees, both the poor-
est and wealthiest groups, and moder-
ates. He lost those who saw health care
and the economy as the most import-
ant issues of the election, even though
those are key parts of Sanders’ plat-
form and issues on which he is most
eloquent and persuasive.
And perhaps most interestingly,
he lost overwhelmingly among peo-
ple who wanted a candidate who
could win in November. Good for
him though, only 18 percent of those
polled thought electability was the top
quality a candidate needed to possess.
You only have to look at the Repub-
lican winner in South Carolina to
understand that this is not an electabil-
ity cycle, this is an anti-establishment,
point-making cycle.
The map going forward has states
that look a lot more like Nevada
than those that look like Iowa and
New Hampshire, where Sanders per-
formed well. Indeed, there are many
states like South Carolina, which will
hold its Democratic primary Saturday,
that look even worse for Sanders than
Nevada.
That is because of the narrowness
of Sanders’ winning demographics, as
demonstrated in Nevada.
Let’s explore some of the positives
for Sanders, the groups among which
he won. He won liberals, of which
there were many, and independents, of
which there were few. He won people
under 40, particularly those under 24,
and whites with no college degree. He
also won people who said their most
important issue was income inequality
Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., arrives for
rally on the day of the Nevada Democratic caucus, Saturday, in Las Vegas.
“Much has been made of Sand-
and believed that the most important
quality was having a candidate who ers’ popularity with younger vot-
cares about people like them or who ers, and Clinton’s struggles to con-
nect with millennials. Among black
was honest and trustworthy.
According to the entrance poll, voters age 18-29, the gap between
Sanders also won the Hispanic vote, Sanders and Clinton is indeed nar-
but this is where some prominent poll rower. But younger black voters still
watchers took exception to the poll’s rate Clinton more favorably than
accuracy.
Sanders.”
The New York Times’s
But the poll points out
Young an even bigger problem
Nate Cohn tweeted:
“Based on the results in
Sanders among black
black for
Clark, the precincts in ELV,
voters than millennials,
and the overall entrance poll
that’s his lack of sup-
voters and
error, I do not believe Sand-
port among black women
ers won the Hispanic vote.”
are not who “comprise a dispro-
ELV, or East Las Vegas,
portionate segment of the
yet
is the largely Hispanic part
black electorate.”
of Clark County, by far
As the Post pointed out
the most populous county ‘feeling in no uncertain terms:
in the state, where actual
“A Democratic victory
the
results showed Clinton
in the general election
winning handily.
Bern.’ requires enthusiastic sup-
Nate Silver tweeted sup-
port from black women,
port for Cohn’s analysis:
and black women are sig-
“We share @nate cohn skepticism ni¿cantly more enthusiastic about
about entrance poll ¿nding that Clin- Clinton than Sanders.”
ton lost Hispanics in Nevada.”
It is very hard to see how Sanders
It is true that Sanders’ message wins the nomination without win-
may have more resonance with His- ning the black and Hispanic vote in
panic voters than with other nonwhite the Southern and Western states, not
groups, because Hispanic voters skew to mention New York and Michigan.
younger.
Lastly, the political revolution on
According to a Pew Research Cen- which Sanders has hinged his abil-
ter report published in January:
ity to accomplish his ambitious plan
“Hispanic millennials will account keeps failing to materialize. This
for nearly half (44 percent) of the year’s Democratic caucus participa-
record 27.3 million Hispanic eligible tion was down nearly a third from
voters projected for 201 ² a share 2008, and in Iowa and New Hamp-
greater than any other racial or ethnic shire there were more voters ² or
group of voters, according to a new caucusgoers ² making choices in
Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. the Republican contest than in the
Census Bureau data.”
Democratic one.
But young black voters are not yet
As Sanders told “Meet the Press”
“feeling the Bern” to the same degree about the Nevada loss: “We did not
that other millennials are, as a poll do as good a job as I had wanted to
published last week in The Washing- bring out a large turnout.”
ton Post pointed out. According to the
That doesn’t sound like a political
accompanying article:
revolution to me.
Steelhead genetics
will affect policy
The forgetful devil in Ted Cruz
A
n
Oregon
State
8niversity study ¿nds
that wild and hatchery
steelhead have hundreds of
genetic differences, a result
that will surely generate
parallel research on salmon
and also spawn many dis-
cussions among 3aci¿c
Northwest people.
OSU scientists observed
changes in the operations of
more than 700 genes after a
single generation of arti¿cial
propagation of steelhead.
Affected genes were espe-
cially involved in functions
like wound healing, immu-
nity and metabolism. The
researchers said this would
be the result that could be
expected when ¿sh or other
animals are adapting to
highly crowded conditions
like those of hatcheries and
feedlots.
All this is a matter of
high interest for many in the
Columbia estuary and adja-
cent coast. For decades, the
common assumption has
been that a ¿sh is a ¿sh ²
that hatchery salmon may
take a while to adjust to ¿nd-
ing food and avoiding preda-
tors, but ultimately are indis-
tinguishable from naturally
spawning members of their
species. Early genetic stud-
ies tended to back this up.
The science of genetics
has come a very long way in
recent years. It’s now pos-
sible to better assess how
the same genes may oper-
ate differently in individu-
als, depending on nuances
in upbringing and environ-
ment. Changes on this “epi-
genetic” level help explain,
for example, how well-fed
and nurtured children can
be so distinct from parents
who didn’t enjoy the same
advantages.
The OSU study will doubt-
less become ammunition in
arguments about maintain-
ing hatchery production ver-
sus restoring watersheds to
more natural spawning con-
ditions. In Washington, even
before these study results,
habitat managers had started
a process designating some
rivers for natural steelhead.
It will be important, how-
ever, to maintain hatch-
ery production in recog-
nition of the importance
these ¿sh have to the econ-
omies and cultures of com-
munities on the Columbia
and beyond. Results of this
study can help identify ways
to improve hatchery ¿sh.
None of this will make a
difference unless we con-
tinue to work on habitat, cli-
mate and water tempera-
tures, predation and the host
of other issues that confront
both hatchery and naturally
spawned ¿sh.
that it showed Rubio shak-
question about his miser-
ing hands with Obama in
able relations with fellow
front of the U.S. Capitol.
lawmakers in Washington
These shenanigans pro-
hen Ted Cruz announced by assuring voters that “it’s
foundly
contradict the
not
that
I
speak
with
a
lack
this week that he was
godly styling of a can-
of civility or respect.”
¿ring his campaign’s communi-
didate who was the ¿rst
“The Bible talks about
cations director for circulating if someone treats you
ever to announce a presi-
dential campaign at Lib-
a false insinuation that Marco unkindly, repay them with
erty University, the larg-
kindness,”
he
added.
“That
Rubio had belittled the Bible, has been the standard I’ve
est Christian university in
Frank
he told reporters, “Even if it was tried to follow. That’s how
the world, and who inces-
Bruni
santly invokes the Bible,
true, we are not a campaign that I’ve approached it in the
is going to question the faith of Senate. So I have not attacked or Jesus and morality.
And they surely reÀect the cam-
insulted my colleagues in the Senate,
another candidate.”
paign culture that Cruz has created.
Democrat or Republican.”
Is he suffering from delusions? Political allies and aides tend to
Really? Huh. Then I must have
been hallucinating last month at a Amnesia? On the Senate Àoor he behave in a manner largely consistent
Cruz event in Iowa where several called Mitch McConnell, the Repub- with their boss’ directives and under-
of his hand-picked supporters, who lican majority leader, a liar. He also stood values.
spoke just before him, mocked and likened Senate Republicans who rec-
Or they’re brought aboard a cam-
dismissed Donald Trump’s professed ognized the impossibility of defund- paign because they behave that way.
ing Obamacare to Nazi appeasers.
Christianity.
As Matt Flegenheimer reported in
Where was his vaunted “civil- The Times this week, Cruz hired a
They marveled at a past comment
of Trump’s about never asking God ity or respect” when, on the heels of campaign manager, Jeff Roe, who is
for forgiveness. One of them chose a his election to the Senate in Novem- widely known for destructive gos-
bizarre, religiously coded analogy for ber 2012, he derided Mitt Romney’s sip, for malicious tactics ² and for
a boast Trump had just made about failed presidential bid ² to an audi- winning.
ence including Rom-
how much voters loved
Cruz’s hypocrisy may be catch-
ney supporters ² by ing up with him. In Iowa, he drew
him, saying that the bil-
Is he
saying that during one more evangelical Christian voters
lionaire’s bragging was
debate, than his rivals did, but in South Car-
an echo of John Len-
suffering presidential
“I’m pretty certain olina, Trump beat him among those
non’s infamous claim
Mitt Romney actually voters, and Rubio wasn’t far behind.
² an outrage to Amer-
from
French-kissed Barack Some of them told reporters, includ-
ican Christians in the
190s ² that the Beat- delusions? Obama.”
ing me, that they’d been turned off by
And where was that behavior of Cruz’s that they deemed
les were more popular
Amnesia? “civility or respect” un-Christian.
than Jesus.
during subsequent Sen-
But no, Cruz’s cam-
This dynamic could cripple him
paign would never question the faith ate hearings to con¿rm Chuck Hagel in the Southern states that vote in the
as the secretary of defense? Cruz’s ¿rst half of March, and his strategy
of another candidate.
The Texas senator is some piece of repeated suggestions that Hagel had hinges on those states.
double-talking, disingenuous work. been corrupted by money from Amer-
With their evangelical voters in
While the so-called dirty tricks that he ica’s enemies were so out of bounds mind, he frames himself as the can-
and his lieutenants have been charged that senators from both parties were didate truest to Scripture and ¿ercest
with aren’t all that shocking by the appalled.
in the battle against such scourges (in
Cruz continues to congratulate his his estimation) as gay marriage. That
standards of bruising presidential
campaigns, they really do stand out campaign for its high-mindedness framing implicitly questions rivals’
in the context of Cruz’s Àamboyant even though his allies and operatives devotion.
claims of rectitude and righteousness. spread an erroneous report, during the
And his onetime proclamation
He directs you to his halo as he Iowa caucuses, that Ben Carson was that “any president who doesn’t begin
surreptitiously grabs a pitchfork. dropping out of the race. And they every day on his knees isn’t ¿t to
His rivals aren’t so diabolically had the niftiest bit of counsel for Car- be commander-in-chief” is a sum-
son voters. Switch to Cruz!
hypocritical.
mons to rivals to prove their faith. He
Then, in South Carolina, Cruz should focus instead on conduct that
At a town hall in South Carolina
that CNN televised, he answered a operatives doctored a photograph so proves his own.
By FRANK BRUNI
New York Times News Service
W