7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016
Dorchester Conference aims beyond GOP
Republicans take
on the tough
issues at annual
gathering
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
The 52nd annual Dorches-
ter Conference in two weeks is a
tradition-rich, Republican gath-
ering, started by U.S. Sen. Bob
Packwood in 1965 “as a vehi-
cle to get the senator elected,”
Dorchester’s 2016 President
Tom Simpson said recently. For
most of the years, the confer-
ence has convened in Seaside,
except for a few when the group
met in central Oregon.
While traditionally associ-
ated with the GOP, Simpson
said the conference is aimed at
the “moderate-middle, espe-
cially the moderate side of the
Oregon electorate.”
“It is ‘Participa-
their photo taken with
tory Democracy 101,’ a
Carlson, with proceeds
way for people to come
going to the nonpro¿t
together and chat with
Returning
Veterans
people they just met,
Project.
(be) challenged on the
A presidential straw
beliefs they have, and go
poll Sunday will pro-
Tucker
away hopefully smarter
vide a glimpse at the
Carlson
and having met some
state’s November lean-
people they might not
ings, although they do
normally have met,”
not serve as an endorse-
Simpson said. “That’s
ment, Simpson said.
what we set out to do.”
While
associated
Opening ceremo-
with the Republican
nies begin March 11.
Party, Simpson encour-
Tucker Carlson of Fox
aged Oregonians of all
News appears as key-
political af¿liations to
Tom
note speaker Saturday
attend.
Simpson
morning, followed by
“We like to think
a Q&A. State Sen. Ted
we’re allowing conver-
Ferrioli, R-John Day, and Rep. sations that aren’t taking place,”
Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, Simpson said. “There were cer-
share the dais Saturday. After tain conversations that weren’t
lunch, state treasurer candidates taking place in the Republi-
from the Democratic, Republi- can Party. If you’re a one-party
can and Independent parties state, what’s not being talked
debate. Breakout sessions, a about? We try to set it up in
social hour and a tent show fol- such a way that we can have
low. For $40, guests can have that conversation.”
EO Media Group/File Photo
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., was the keynote speaker for
last year’s Dorchester Conference in Seaside.
Simpson said he hoped to
challenge the beliefs of those
attending the conference.
What does it mean, for
example, if Oregon’s ranchers
are ¿ghting to privati]e some
public lands?
“We want people to consider
what it means to have a public
land,” Simpson said. “Could
beaches be privati]ed as an
unintended consequence?”
Gun control was an issue
originally considered “off the
table” for the conference, he
said.
Simpson fought to bring it
back in.. “We were told that
it’s not an issue open to debate.
Which says to me that’s why we
should be debating it. If you’re
closing off argument on a topic
because you believe it’s settled,
I can guarantee in Oregon, it’s
not settled.
“We shouldn’t be throw-
ing bombs at each other,” he
added. “It needs to be talked
about. Reasonable people can
disagree.”
When he’s not involved with
the Dorchester Conference,
Simpson, 53, works as director
of government affairs for Stan-
dard Insurance.
The conference is an event,
the Lake Oswego resident said,
he’s been involved with all his
life.
“I have pictures of my
mother Josephine running the
forums,” Simpson said. “A lot
of my peers would go skiing
or play golf — I would go to
Dorchester.”
Those interested in signing
up for the Dorchester Confer-
ence may do so through March
12.
Obama’s sacri¿cial lamb: High-court pick to face long odds
By JOSH LEDERMAN and
KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Wanted:
Top legal mind with Supreme
Court aspirations, to serve as a
national political football. Can-
didate must be camera-ready
and prepared for disappoint-
ment. Contact Barack Obama.
Republicans refusing to hold
a vote or hearings on any candi-
date nominated by Obama have
complicated his sales job as he
seeks a replacement for Antonin
Scalia. Though Obama insists
he’ll put forward an “outstand-
ing candidate” no matter what
the GOP says, the White House
is hard-pressed to offer a con-
vincing scenario in which that
person gets con¿rmed.
Overnight, Obama’s nom-
inee will become the face of
well-¿nanced, high-intensity,
election-year campaigns both
for and against that will rage
across the country. Though
guaranteed at least a footnote in
the history books, the nominee
will have little ability to inÀu-
ence the debate and even less
control over how the chapter
plays out.
For a Supreme Court hope-
ful, the scenario is less than ideal.
High-ranking judges and others
¿t for consideration tend to be
loath to throw themselves into
the middle of public controversy.
“As much as you tell them
it’s not really about them, judges
don’t engage in politics and take
pride in their impartiality,” said
Christopher Kang, who prepared
lower-court nominees for con¿r-
mation as former deputy White
House counsel. “It can be hard
for them not to take it personally.”
To be sure, a Supreme Court
seat is most jurists’ dream job.
Anyone asked to serve in the
coveted, lifelong post would
¿nd it hard to turn down.
And there could be some
hope. Despite the GOP’s hard
line, Republicans could relent
and con¿rm Obama’s nomi-
nee — especially if he picks a
so-called consensus nominee —
someone so well- regarded that
Republicans lack a compelling
rationale to reject him or her.
Among those Obama is consid-
ering is Republican Gov. Brian
Sandoval of Nevada, said two
people familiar with the process,
who weren’t authori]ed to com-
ment publicly and requested
anonymity
Obama waxed hopeful on
Wednesday that GOP oppo-
sition would ¿]]le once the
“abstraction” is replaced with a
living, breathing person.
“Let’s see how the public
responds to the nominee that we
put forward,” he said in the Oval
Of¿ce.
But unlike most Supreme
Court nominations battles,
which typically run a few
months, this one is likely to turn
into a circus that just won’t end.
If Republicans hold their ground
on refusing a vote, Obama will
ostensibly keep pushing his
nominee until his presidency
ends in January 2017.
If a Democrat wins the
White House in November after
an unsuccessful Supreme Court
push, Obama could renew his
efforts during a lame-duck ses-
sion of Congress or his successor
could take up the baton. Demo-
cratic candidate Hillary Clin-
ton’s campaign wouldn’t say
whether she’d consider re-nom-
inating Obama’s pick if elected,
but in a statement she called the
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., right, takes the
arm of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, to
steady himself as he rises to pay tribute to civil rights lead-
ers Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., during a ceremony on Capitol
Hill in Washington, Wednesday. The two leaders have been
at an ideological and political standoff since McConnell, the
Senate’s top Republican, announced the Senate will take no
action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill
the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice An-
tonin Scalia. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. is at left.
GOP position “an offense to the
president and to the American
people who elected him.”
Already, two politicians
whose names were Àoated as
possible contenders took them-
selves out of the running. Cali-
fornia Attorney General Kamala
Harris, who is running for U.S.
Senate, said she wasn’t inter-
ested, and Minnesota Sen. Amy
Klobuchar has said she doesn’t
want to be considered.
InÀuential groups are poised
to jump into action once Obama
announces a nominee, digging
through old yearbooks, scour-
ing writings and speeches. Party
campaign committees, legal
groups, electoral super PACs
and even the presidential can-
didates are expected to join
the public ¿ght for or against
Obama’s nominee.
Senate Republicans, ¿ghting
to preserve their delicate major-
ity in November, will all make
a similar argument: Elect us, or
a Democratic-run Senate will
allow Obama’s nominee thru,
said a senior Republican of¿-
cial, who requested anonym-
ity to discuss the party’s internal
campaign strategy.
History shows just how
rough the process can be.
In 2005, George W. Bush
nominee Harriet Miers was
slammed as ill-prepared, suf-
fered the indignity of having to
redo parts of her Senate ques-
tionnaire, and forced to admit
her bar license was once sus-
pended. She eventually with-
drew. Justice Clarence Thomas
famously described his own
televised con¿rmation spec-
tacle, with its allegations of
past sexual harassment, as “a
national disgrace” and “a high-
tech lynching for uppity blacks.”
Dim prospects for con¿r-
mation could give an edge to
candidates who already enjoy
lifetime appointments to a fed-
eral bench, as opposed to cur-
rent bureaucrats or elected of¿-
cials. Attorney General Loretta
Lynch and Homeland Security
chief Jeh Johnson have both
been Àoated as possibilities, but
keeping their day jobs would be
complicated.
Current federal judges
wouldn’t have that problem,
and as an added bene¿t, they’ve
already undergone a thorough
public examination. Several of
those under considerations —
including Sri Srinivasan, of the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,
and Jane Kelly, of the Eight
Circuit — were unanimously
approved by the Senate.
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