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OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016 Lose with Cruz: A love story 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 Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian People fish at Coffenbury Lake at Fort Stevens State Park. The park is forming a partnership with Clatsop Paddle Company to offer adventure packages that bundle a stay at the park with paddle boarding on the lake. As more visit parks, more funding needed Time is short to get needed repairs done S pressed him about the charms of that particular mode of transportation, he confessed that he would have preferred t was clear to me weeks ago, another — possibly an Edsel, maybe even before Marco Rubio threw even a tricycle with a wobbly front wheel. “He was my 15th choice. What in the towel, that the GOP was can I say?” getting ready to cuddle with Ted Not much that’s laudatory, appar- ently. Cruz is the love that chokes on its Cruz. own words. But I never expected a love quite It’s a surprise-every-second love. like this to bloom. On Friday, Cruz made public refer- It’s a singularly tortured love, one ence to — and furiously denied — a that grits its teeth, girds its loins and National Enquirer story that accused him of affairs. pines for a contested convention. It’s also a love that makes no prom- It’s hate worn down into resignation, disgust repurposed as calculation. Stop- ises of its endurance. In fact, many of ping a ludicrous billionaire means sub- the Republicans in a faux swoon for the mitting to a loathsome senator. And so far-right loon don’t really want to see they submit, one chastened and aghast him Ày all the way to the White House Republican leader after another, mur- — or, for that matter, to the nomination. There’s a tangle of mindsets at work muring sweet nothings about Cruz that are really sour somethings about Don- and strategies in play. They all involve thwarting Trump, but with different ald Trump. Will they still respect themselves in outcomes in the end. Bear with me. This requires a bit of explanation. the morning? Few of the Cruz converts actually I’m not sure we’ve ever witnessed a capitulation this grudging, a cynicism think he can amass a majority of del- this grotesque, a reversal of regard this egates and win the nomination before fraudulent and Àat-out hilarious. While the convention. For that to happen, their endorsements of Cruz politics is an impure arena in would have to scare off John which yesterday’s enemies Kasich and turn the contest routinely become tomor- into a two-man race, and row’s allies, the transmogri- Kasich doesn’t seem to be ¿cation of Cruz goes beyond scaring. that, proving that in the right The real goal is to buck circumstances, with the right up Cruz to a point where motivation, you can see just he prevents Trump from about anyone in a newly Àat- getting that majority and tering light. either passes him in the del- Attila the Hun? True, he egate count or draws close. was truculent, but what a Frank Abracadabra: a contested can-do spirit! Torquemada? Bruni convention. A tad rigid, yes, but Some of the new that’s what righteous- Will Cruz devotees indeed ness sometimes looks that he would be like. they still hope the bene¿ciary of that Cruz has gone from and the ultimate vic- the insufferable neme- respect tor. They expect Cruz to sis of Republican tra- ditionalists to their last, themselves lose the presidency. But then they also expect best hope, and the likes in the Trump to lose it — and of Mitt Romney, Lind- it in an uglier, sey Graham and Jeb morning? to more lose divisive fashion Bush have now given that drags down Repub- him endorsements — or approximations thereof — that will licans running for the House and Sen- go down in political history as some ate, too. This lose-with-Cruz faction of the most constipated hosannas ever ¿gures that a reset of the party after a Cruz defeat would be possible, whereas rendered. They hardly mention Cruz’s name. Trump might not leave them with much They barely manage to assign him a of a party to reset. Others who have crawled into bed single virtue. “Consistent,” Bush called him — with Cruz are also after a contested con- in a Facebook post. He apparently vention, but would use it to crawl out couldn’t rouse or debase himself to a of that bed and into the arms of some Republican Romeo waiting in the proper news conference. He was following the lead of his wings. Maybe Paul Ryan, though he’s younger brother Neil, who had signed playing Hamlet: to be drafted or not to up with Cruz a few weeks earlier and be drafted? Maybe Mitt Romney, who explained, “I commit this from my seems readier to commit. Both Ryan and Romney have head, not my heart.” There’s a sentence you won’t ¿nd on a 9alentine’s Day stepped forward with high-minded soliloquies about the GOP’s values card. Graham professed his devotion and future, and while that may well be during an interview on “The Daily a reÀection of conscience, mightn’t it also be a ¿g leaf over ambition? Show.” And at least a few of those canoo- “I’m on the Ted train, absolutely,” he told Trevor Noah, but when Noah dling with Cruz see him as a bridge to By FRANK BRUNI New York Times News Service I pend much time in the Lower Columbia region’s extensive inventory of state parks and it becomes obvious they are now year-round attractions. Our Friday story took a thor- visitors throughout the year ough look at Fort Stevens State to enjoy the park’s amazing Park and how visitor numbers assets, including comfortable have steadily climbed, really new cabins that make win- only quieting down in the deep ter more enticing. These vis- winter months of December itors create more revenue and justi¿cation for state appro- and January. This stands to reason. priations, but at the same The summer of 2015 was an time require staf¿ng at a exceptionally busy tourism time of the year when some year around the Columbia state parks used to be closed. estuary and seashore towns, Time is in short supply to do reÀecting a recovered econ- maintenance projects, for- omy, ¿ne weather and an mulate plans, or even merely expanding urban population recharge morale and energy. It’s vital that legislators in search of coastal adventure. It’s natural that this growing provide enough funding so interest in the coast is bulging parks can keep up with grow- ing visitor numbers. This must into other seasons. $cross the river in Paci¿c include making sure there is County, there were nearly adequate year-round staf¿ng. 3.9 million visits to state There needs to be money for ‘Yes’ on recall oters of Precincts 20 and 45: You parks in 2015, nearly 11 per- maintenance and construction have received a political circu- cent of the total for the entire of facilities for future demand, lar signed by and paid for by the three Washington State Parks sys- and funds so gateway commu- members being recalled from the Can- Beach Rural Fire Protection Dis- tem. Far more so than in nities have highways, inter- non trict Board asking for your no vote. even the recent past, traf¿c in sections, policing and emer- This letter makes multiple misleading Cape Disappointment State gency services to keep up claims, giving this board way more credit for district accomplishments Park, one of the state’s star with crowds. (Currently, for than it is due. The circular states that only a small attractions, remained lively example, neither state does group of citizens, not af¿liated with throughout much of this particularly well at patrolling the district, would bene¿t from this state beaches.) winter. recall. One-hundred-twenty-six valid We’re exceptionally fortu- signatures were gathered. More prob- With an additional 200,000 ably could have been gathered were residents expected to settle nate to have the state parks we they not public. Is the board contend- in Portland in the next two do — plus Lewis and Clark ing this is a small number, and these not members of the district? Are decades and Washington state National Historical Park. are they not going to come if your house anticipating another 2.25 mil- But creating parks is never catches on ¿re, or you need emergency lion people in about the same enough. We have to keep up assistance? The board contends only six cur- period, coastal state parks with funding and maintaining rent ¿re¿ghter signed letters support- face an age of unprecedented these assets that serve the rec- ing former chief Mike Balzer. Obvi- the institution they are referring reational needs of local citi- ously, popularity and pressure. to in the letter is not an institution of In Fort Stevens, person- zens while pumping millions higher mathematics. I have 17 signed letters. Some are from former ¿re¿ght- nel obviously relish having into our economy. Jim Mone/AP Photo Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks to supporters at a campaign stop at the Altoona Family Restaurant, Monday, in Altoona, Wis. Kasich. In this convoluted scenario, endorsing Kasich now serves no pur- pose: He has too few delegates to com- pete with, and foil, Trump. But if the convention turns into a free-for-all, then Republicans will be free to realize what polling has repeatedly told them, and what is almost indisputably true: Kasich would be their best bet against Hillary Clinton, if only they could see his sex appeal. Poor Kasich. He governs the cru- cial battleground of Ohio, has high approval ratings there, has made a stand for decency in an indecent age, and is out there on the campaign trail wrap- ping his arms around every last Ameri- can who will stand still long enough to let him. Even so he’s spurned. “Does Kasich have a following?” wrote conservative columnist John Podhoretz just days ago. “Yes, he does, of people who still cry when they listen to ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and its invocation of ‘all the lonely people’ and who want a hug because their Aunt Minnie has the shingles.” So the answer, at least for now, is Cruz? In this bitter season, yes. Sixty percent of Republicans are embar- rassed by their party’s presidential race, according to a recent survey by The Times and CBS News, and a Gal- lup poll released Friday revealed that only 30 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think that the election process is work- ing properly. Cruz is the pinup for pes- simistic times. Even John McCain, who once dis- missed him and Rand Paul as “wacko birds,” said last week that Cruz has what it takes to manage the mess of the Middle East. He hastened to add that he would feel obliged to work with, and support, any Republican who is elected president, and “to put aside my anger.” That’s the way Republican leaders fall for Cruz — with apologies, aster- isks, angst. The terms of endearment are teary ones, because this isn’t the relationship they wanted. It’s the only relationship that’s left. He gets their love because someone must. Isn’t it romantic? Open forum V Since the park added 11 deluxe cabins five years ago, the park has seen more visitors in the winter. ers — such as Lt. Mike Graham and retired ¿re¿ghteremergency medical technician Diane Schuette — but these by no means should be discounted. The circular gives credit for an obligation bond being paid off a year early. This credit goes to Cannon Beach’s rising property rates, and the county tax assessor. It establishes a timeline that predates most, or all, of the current members, yet fails to men- tion 30-year board member Al Aya. They also failed to give any credit to former chiefs Middaugh, Moon, Cleve Rooper, or Mike Balzer I am a 40-year resident of the resi- dent of the area. I have served on sev- eral county or state boards, including one current special districts board. I initially defended the ¿re board, and tentatively was skeptical of the recall. After attending their meetings and reviewing the facts, I have come to a different conclusion. They are spending money on a temporary chief, unemployment they failed to pay into, and supplemental pay for Capt. Gardner. They recently received a disconnection notice from Paci¿c Power, which their accoun- tant paid for. This was followed up by another notice, received from North- west Natural Gas. They are paying Special Districts Association of Ore- gon for consulting fees. Do these pay- ments meet your de¿nition of ¿scal and ¿duciary responsibility? The board did not inform Chief Balzer of his right to be at the meeting when they dismissed him. They pur- chased a lock from a business owned by Chief Balzer’s daughter and son- in-law. Instead of having him escorted from the of¿ce by two board mem- bers, they had two police of¿cers. At least they could given him a courtesy ride home. I urge the voters of Precincts 20 and 45 to extend the same courtesy. 9ote yes on the recall. KE9IN D. WIDENER Tolovana Park ‘No’ for recall I urge voters to reject the recalls tar- geting three Cannon Beach Fire District Board members. As a mem- ber of the Fire District Budget Com- mittee for the last several years, I have participated in numerous district com- mittee and board meetings. With one exception, before Mike Balzer became chief, there were no members of the general public present. Had the public taken an active interest and attended even a smattering of meetings during Mike’s tenure, they would understand and support Mike’s dismissal. For example, the budget is the responsibility of the chief to prepare. Even if he doesn’t prepare it, he clearly needs to fully understand and be able to explain it. Over the course of three budget cycles, I observed no signif- icant improvement in Mike’s ability to understand, or explain it. Rather, he became increasingly unpleasant over time when asked questions; often board members had to step in and explain for him. 9oters need to understand that Mike was clearly given more than fair notice of the board’s general unhappi- ness with his performance. At the time of his performance evaluation several months before his dismissal, the board had ample documentation and reason to dismiss. Out of a genuine desire for Mike’s success, the decision was made to give him one more chance. Thus the eval- uation included a work plan reÀect- ing all of the prior board suggestions and requests for Mike to seek needed knowledge and improvement. Mike’s response was to say that the plan was undoable. Many people have said that what really bothers them is not the fact of Mike’s dismissal, but how it was done. I agree that in some details it might have been handled more graciously, but that does not justify a recall. The fact remains that the ¿re district and the public deserve a better ¿re chief than Mike Balzer was willing to become. When you live in a small town, it takes courage to ¿re a longtime resi- dent with many friends. We are lucky to have a board with such dedicated and principled people, who are willing to put their personal concerns aside to do something that was bound to be controversial. 9ote against the recalls and for a stronger 9olunteer Fire and Rescue District. MARTY SCHWAB HARRIS Tolovana Park
