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.
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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
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“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
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