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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2016)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 Goodbye, Bushism Founded in 1873 shot through with Wilso- ald Trump as the church’s nian idealism, a vision of a heathen bodyguard in a crusading America whose post-Christian landscape. They didn’t care about ven in the last limping interests and values were perfectly aligned. the size of Rubio’s tax cut, years of his deeply unpop- From his arrival in because all the candidates ular administration, George Washington, Rubio were promising a big tax W. Bush was still popular with seemed intent on imitat- cut, they were all equally ing this combination of implausible, and voters — Republican voters. ideas. He associated him- even conservative voters After Barack Obama took self with neoconserva- — just aren’t as tax-ob- Ross RI¿FH %XVK¶V LPDJH SRSSHG XS tive foreign policy pro- sessed as they were in the Douthat in anti-Obama iconography, with posals and personnel. He Reaganite glory days. a cheeky “miss me yet?” attached. became the face of com- They did want, per- And as his presidency receded, prehensive immigration reform, take haps, a different domestic policy %XVK¶V IDYRUDEOH UDWLQJV ÀRDWHG three. He wooed a rising generation than the uncreative platform Rom- upward, rising above Obama’s and of evangelical and Catholic activ- ney had offered, one that promised Hillary Clinton’s as the 2016 cam- LVWV+H¿OOHGRXWDGRPHVWLFSROLF\ less to the wealthy and more to the paign got underway. portfolio with “reform conservative” working class. But Rubio’s half- These numbers were no doubt ideas on welfare reform, health care, hearted reform conservatism was present in Jeb Bush’s conscious- higher education and family-friendly outbid and overwhelmed by Trump’s ness when he made his fateful and tax policy. And then to make sure brassy promises to renegotiate trade destructive decision to run for pres- nobody accused him of being some deals, slap on tariffs, leave entitle- ident. But they were also clearly part sort of redistributionist squish, he ments untouched and bring back the of Marco Rubio’s read on the Repub- attached those ideas to a sweeping jobs of 1965. lican Party, which ultimately led capital gains and corporate tax cut. And they did want a kind of him to last night’s campaign-end- Politically it was by no means a hawkishness — but not a Wilsonian ing defeat: Even more than George crazy strategy. For all his blunders, hawkishness, in service to an ambi- W. Bush’s own brother, Rubio tried George W. Bush is still the only tious grand strategy to stabilize or to make himself an heir to Bush- Republican candidate for president remake the Middle East. No, they ism, and to build a to win the popular vote wanted a Jacksonian hawkishness, bridge between the last last 25 years, and one that promised to rain destruction Whoever in WKH the RQO\ Republican administra- ¿JXUH WR VXF- on our enemies without the mess of tion and the one that he cessfully and lead nation building. wins the a fractious unite aspired to lead. party. Parts These desires don’t add up to a Rubio’s defeat, like nomination of Bushism look more new Republican synthesis, and the most in politics, had optimistic, inclusive candidates who have catered to them in 2016, and economically rel- more successfully haven’t devised many causes: a weak ground game, a media evant than either the one. Trump’s populist, illiberal Jack- strategy that was over- George W. angrier Tea Party mes- sonianism can’t unite the party the whelmed by Don- that Rubio piggy- way Bush once did, and Cruz’s hard- Bush has sage ald Trump’s cable-TV backed on in his 2010 edge social and economic conserva- dominance, a per- gone down Senate campaign or the tism probably can’t win the median sona and positioning generic “Mr. Repub- voter the way Bushism did twice to defeat. lican” messages that (well, once plus a close second). that made him a sec- ond choice all over the John McCain and Mitt But they do add up to the desire map but a winner hardly anywhere, Romney lost with in 2008 and 2012. for a new synthesis, and an under- a youthful mien in a “hard man for And with the Middle East in standing that whatever the Repub- hard times” election, and of course ÀDPHV 5XVVLD LQFUHDVLQJO\ DJJUHV- lican Party needs now, it can’t just that one dreadful New Hampshire sive and the Islamic State camped be what worked for Bush and Karl debate. out in Iraq and Syria, you can see Rove until Iraq went sour and Wall But in purely ideological terms, why many conservative elites imag- Street melted down. what primary voters were reject- ined that Americans — and Repub- At times, Rubio’s biography, his ing when they rejected him was the lican primary voters, especially — youth and his eloquence seemed to political synthesis of George W. might want a more hawkish, even make him the natural candidate for Bush. Bushian successor to Barack Obama. a party in search of What Comes In domestic politics, that synthe- But alas for Rubio, it turned out Next. And in certain ways he was sis had four pillars: a sincere social that Republicans didn’t want any of victimized by a conservative elector- conservatism rooted in a personal this. ate that fears the future, that wants narrative of faith; a center-hugging They didn’t want comprehensive any “new” synthesis to simply recre- “compassionate conservatism” on immigration reform, which shouldn’t ate the glories of a vanished Ameri- issues related to poverty and educa- have been surprising because they can past. tion; the pursuit of comprehensive hadn’t wanted it when Bush was But he was also a victim of his immigration reform as a means to president, either; it was an idea that own fateful look backward, his win Latinos for the GOP; and large had hung around and hung around assumption that what worked for across-the-board tax cuts to placate ZLWKRXW HYHU ¿QGLQJ D FRQVHUYDWLYH the last Republican president could the party’s donors and supply-side constituency outside Washington. be made to work again. It didn’t, it wing. They didn’t want an optimistic, couldn’t, and it probably won’t be In foreign policy, Bushism began next-generation version of social tried again: Whoever wins the nomi- with the promise of restraint but ulti- conservatism, preferring either Ted nation in 2016, George W. Bush has mately came to mean hawkishness Cruz’s old-time religion or Don- gone down to defeat. By ROSS DOUTHAT New York Times News Service 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 The Daily Astorian/File Photo Coho salmon leap to catch food pellets thrown by Rod Litton, with Clatsop County Fisheries, inside a netted container on the Marine and Environmen- tal Research and Training Station campus in May. The 1 1/2-year old salm- on were released into the Columbia River for their journey to the ocean. .HHS\RXU¿QJHUV crossed for coho D espite all the well-deserved publicity and love lav- ished on Chinook salmon, coho are the backbone of WKH/RZHU&ROXPELDUHJLRQ¶VLPSRUWDQWUHFUHDWLRQDO¿VK- ing industry. We are learning this may RFHDQ VDOPRQ ¿VKLQJ RQO\ EH DQRWKHU GLI¿FXOW \HDU in the vicinity of the mouth for coho, otherwise known of the Columbia but not to as silver salmon. Weak the north. Another option forecasts for coho return- would provide a modest ing to Washington coastal OHYHO RI ¿VKLQJ WKURXJKRXW streams and Puget Sound the north of Cape Falcon may necessitate closing area, while the third choice WKH RFHDQ WR ¿VKLQJ HYHQ LVQR¿VKLQJDWDOO off the relatively healthy Columbia River, since his situation brings home weak stocks mix with stron- the local importance of ger ones offshore. An ocean several issues: closure would also apply to It’s vital for diverse Chinook salmon. Lower Columbia interests Forecasts can be far to be well represented in wrong, particularly for coho, season-setting discussions. which experience high vari- Changing ocean con- ation in returns from one ditions — in this case ris- year to the next. But there is ing ocean temperatures that concern that 2016 will con- are impacting salmon — tinue last year’s pattern. have real-world economic In 2015, 539,600 coho impacts. These conditions were predicted to return to and their causes warrant the Columbia; only 242,000 intense study and monitor- actually did. The actual ing, possibly paired with count of successful coho policy decisions. What happens else- returnees at Bonneville Dam was only 37,402, the worst where on the West Coast since 1997 and less than 30 impacts us here. Successful percent of the 10-year aver- habitat restoration, preda- age of about 129,000. In tor control and other efforts contrast, 2014 coho returns to rebuild salmon runs in the were outstanding. Columbia-Snake system can For 2016, returns to the be undone by distant prob- Columbia are currently lems, like failing glaciers forecast to reach 380,000. in the Olympic Range and The Columbia is actually North Cascades. We all must in better shape than most of effectively work together. the U.S. coast north of Cape 7KLV LQFOXGHV 3DFL¿F Falcon (in Oswald West Northwest treaty tribes, who State Park between Cannon bring expertise and political Beach and Manzanita). gravitas to this subject. 2QH RI WKUHH ¿VKLQJVHD- When it comes to this son options announced this \HDU OHW¶V NHHS RXU ¿QJHUV week would be to allow crossed for coho. T Editorials that appear on this page are written by Publisher Steve Forrester and Matt Winters, editor of the Chinook Observer and Coast River Business Journal, or staff members from the EO Media Group’s sister newspapers. E Let Trump make our free-trade deal to form independent trade ceuticals that splits the dif- unions, to elect their own ference between what the labor leaders, to collectively big drug companies want in the way of intellectual hat if the United States bargain and to eliminate all child and forced labor prac- property protection time had had a truly savvy deal tices. He’d also have insisted for their products and what maker like Donald Trump nego- that they adopt laws on min- the generic manufacturers WLDWHWKH7UDQV3DFL¿F3DUWQHUVKLS imum wages, hours of work want. Everybody would have gotten something but free-trade accord instead of the and occupational safety and health, again, precisely to nobody would have gotten wimpy Obama team? OHYHO WKH SOD\LQJ ¿HOG ZLWK everything. It’s called “the Thomas L. I mean, be honest, folks, would U.S. workers. art of the deal,” folks! Friedman you let Barack Obama sell your Trump would also have Trump would also surely house? required that the deal prohibit all cus- have required that all signatories com- I’ve researched the deal and con- toms duties for digital products, make EDW WUDI¿FNLQJ LQ HQGDQJHUHG ZLOG- cluded Trump would have gotten us sure companies did not have to share life parts, like elephant tusks and rhino this: source codes in order to get into new horns, and end all their subsidies that He would have begun by saying “a markets and ensure free access for all VWLPXODWHRYHU¿VKLQJ EDE\FRXOG¿JXUHRXW´WKDWVLQFHSHU- cloud computing services in all TPP And Trump, who has a lot of Chi- cent of the goods from our 11 TPP part- countries — all areas of growing U.S. nese restaurants in his hotels, would ners come into our coun- strength. know that if we walk away from the try duty-free already, and so Trump’s Trump, because he 733DOORXUIULHQGVLQWKH3DFL¿FZLOO much of our stuff is still hit respects women, surely just sign up for China’s RCEP, or with tariffs in their countries, would have demanded that Regional Comprehensive Economic no if we eliminate 18,000 tariffs this deal require all signa- Partnership, which will set trade rules sucker tories — especially Malay- in Asia and include weak intellectual we’ll be able to keep more production at home and sell sia — to take real steps to property protections, no labor or envi- for a more abroad. “We’ll export KDOWKXPDQWUDI¿FNLQJIURP ronmental protections and no disci- so much we’ll actually get such countries as Thai- plines on state-owned industries. wink tired of exporting,” Trump land, Myanmar and Bangla- 6R WKDW¶V WKH 3DFL¿F WUDGH GHDO would say. and a desh and require each sig- Trump would have struck! And by now After all, America’s total natory to improve access , KRSH \RX¶YH ¿JXUHG VRPHWKLQJ RXW smile. for human rights groups to This is the trade deal Obama actually manufacturing output was nearing an all-time high at DVVLVWYLFWLPVRIWUDI¿FNLQJ struck. the end of 2015. True, it was with more If you don’t comply, you lose your trade You don’t know that because Trump robots and fewer people, but we’ve still EHQH¿WV7UXPS¶VQRVXFNHUIRUDZLQN doesn’t know it himself; because Ber- created nearly 900,000 manufacturing and a smile.) nie Sanders knows it and doesn’t want jobs since 2010 because we have cheap Moreover, Trump would have made to tell you; and because Hillary Clin- energy, skilled workers and good rule VXUHWKDWWKHDFFRUGLQD¿UVWIRUDQ\ ton knows it but, sadly, won’t tell you, of law. Our workers can compete if we trade deal, put restrictions on state- choosing instead to play “Bernie Lite.” OHYHOWKHSOD\LQJ¿HOGVR7UXPSZRXOG owned companies that compete with (Remind me how that worked out for have told opponents of the trade deal, our private businesses, like Vietnam’s her in Michigan.) “Just do the math, people.” Our average oil company. These state-owned com- No trade deal is perfect. No single applied tariff is already only 1.5 percent SDQLHV RIWHQ JHW VSHFLDO EHQH¿WV WKDW deal will save every job or remake our ZKLOHWKHWDULIIVRIWKHVH3DFL¿FFRXQ- enable them to undercut our compa- economy. And we must be more gen- tries can range much higher — Vietnam nies. Trump’s trade deal would also erous in caring for workers hurt by has peak tariffs of over 50 percent on KDYH EHHQ WKH ¿UVW UHTXLULQJ FULPL- trade. But we also have to recognize cars and machines — so if we get rid nal penalties for stealing our industrial that smart deals, like the TPP, help keep of those tariffs our exporters are poised secrets. XV WKH PRVW HI¿FLHQW DQG LQQRYDWLYH WREHQH¿W “No more ripping off America,” economy in the world and strengthen Since Trump cares about blue-collar Trump would have said. our security alliances — as opposed to workers, unlike the elitist Obama, he’d He certainly would have insisted abandoning our allies to regimes that have demanded that in return for free on strong intellectual property protec- don’t support our values. access to our markets the 11 other TPP tions for America’s software indus- Thank goodness we had a former countries had to agree, some for the try, one of our greatest export assets, community organizer negotiating for ¿UVWWLPHWRIUHHGRPIRUWKHLUZRUNHUV and taken an approach to pharma- us. By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN New York Times News Service W
