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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2016)
OPINION 6A Founded in 1873 STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor Both sides now? By PAUL KRUGMAN New York Times News Service W hen Donald Trump began his run for the CARL EARL, Systems Manager White House, many people JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager treated it as a joke. Nothing he DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager has done or said since makes HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager him look better. On the con- trary, his policy ignorance has become even more striking, his positions more extreme, the laws in his character more obvious, and he has repeat- edly demonstrated a level of contempt for the truth that is Open seats are an opportunity unprecedented in American olitics is all about what happens next. Drew Herzig’s politics. Yet while most polls suggest that imminent departure from the Astoria City Council holds he’s running behind in the general an opportunity. Similarly, there is promise in the likelihood that former U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia Commander election, the margin isn’t overwhelm- ing, and there’s still a real chance Bruce Jones will win election to the council in November. that he might win. How is that pos- Any collegial body — city things over two decades. sible? Part of the answer, I’d argue, council, state legislature or The point is that in politics is that voters don’t fully appreci- appeals court — functions and government — just as in ate his awfulness. And the reason is best when it has a center of business and the nonproit that too much of the news media still can’t break with bothsidesism — the gravity. Some would call world — a measure of pre- almost pathological determination to it a working majority. The dictability and consistency portray politicians and their programs Astoria City Council since is essential. And that is what as being equally good or equally bad, January 2015 has groped for many have found frustrating no matter how ludicrous that pretense that. Both Cindy Price and in Herzig. Beyond his con- becomes. to be clear, I’m not arguing Zetty Nemlowill are rela- cern regarding human wel- that Just distorted news coverage is the tively new to this position. fare, which is laudable and is whole story, that nobody would sup- Russ Warr and Mayor Arline needed on the council, he has port Trumpism if the media were doing their job. The presumptive Republican LaMear are known commod- been capricious. nominee wouldn’t have gotten this far ities. Herzig has been a wild Watching the council deal if he weren’t tapping into some deep Furthermore, America is card. with the future of the Astoria resentments. a deeply divided country, at least in its Councilor Herzig had been Library has been painful. political life, and the great majority of will support their party’s critical of the team concept And we lack a coherent sense Republicans nominee no matter what. Still, the fact that former Mayor Willis of where the council lies on is that voters who don’t have the time Van Dusen nurtured. There the apparent need for afford- or inclination to do their own research, who get their news analysis from TV is validity in Herzig’s skep- able housing. ticism. We do want coun- In the weeks before the cilors who ask questions. Aug. 30 iling deadline, we At the same time, however, hope that a solid candidate or the councils that Van Dusen two for Herzig’s position will By CHARLES BLOW headed accomplished great appear. New York Times News Service BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 Astoria council needs a center of gravity P or regular news pages, are still try to maintain their fed a daily diet of false treasured balance by devot- equivalence. ing equal time — and, as This isn’t a new phenom- far as readers and viewers enon. During the 2000 cam- can tell, equal or greater paign George W. Bush was passion — to denouncing latly dishonest about his far less important misstate- policy proposals; his num- ments from Hillary Clin- bers didn’t add up, and he ton. In fact, surveys show claimed repeatedly that his that Clinton has, overall, tax cuts, which overwhelm- received much more neg- Paul ingly favored the 1 percent, ative coverage than her Krugman were aimed at the mid- opponent. dle class. Yet main- And in the last few stream coverage never Part of the days we’ve seen a made this clear. In frus- spectacular demonstra- answer, tration, I wrote at the tion of bothsidesism in time that if a presiden- action: an op-ed arti- I’d argue, cle tial candidate were to from the incoming assert that the earth was and outgoing heads of is that lat, news analysis arti- the White House Cor- voters cles would have the respondents’ Associa- headline “Shape of the tion, with the headline don’t fully “Trump, Clinton both planet: Both sides have a point.” appreciate threaten free press.” And Trump is far How so? Well, Trump his from being the only cur- has selectively banned rent political igure who news organizations beneits from the deter- awfulness. he considers hostile; mination to ind bal- he has also, although ance where none exists. Paul Ryan, the op-ed didn’t mention it, attacked the speaker of the House, has a reputa- both those organizations and individ- tion as a policy wonk, committed to is- ual reporters, and refused to condemn cal responsibility, that is utterly incom- supporters who, for example, have prehensible if you look at the slapdash, harassed reporters with anti-Semitic fundamentally dishonest policy docu- insults. ments he actually puts out. But the cult Meanwhile, while Clinton hasn’t of balance requires that someone on the done any of these things, and has a staff Republican side be portrayed as a seri- that readily responds to fact-checking ous, honest iscal expert, so Ryan gets questions, she doesn’t like to hold press slotted into that role no matter how conferences. Equivalence! much a con man he may be in reality. Stung by criticism, the authors of Still, there are con men, and then the op-ed issued a statement denying there are con men. You might think that that they had engaged in “false equiv- Donald Trump, who lies so much that alency” — I guess saying that the can- fact-checkers have a hard time keep- didates are acting “similarly” doesn’t ing up, who keeps repeating falsehoods mean saying that they are acting sim- even after they’ve been proved wrong, ilarly. And they once again refused to and who combines all of this with a indicate which candidate was behav- general level of thuggishness aimed in ing worse. part at the press, would be too much As I said, bothsidesism isn’t new, even for the balance cultists to excuse. and it has always been an evasion of But you would be wrong. responsibility. But taking the posi- To be fair, some reporters and news tion that “both sides do it” now, in the organizations try to point out Trump face of this campaign and this can- statements that are false, frightening, didate, is an act of mind-boggling or both. All too often, however, they irresponsibility. Trump’s chance to reboot Treaty rights without A ish are meaningless s the Republican National Convention kicked off Monday, Donald Trump has a tremendous opportunity to rebrand and reboot his campaign, to make Fifty percent of nothing is nothing it look and feel more profes- he ishing rights guaran- ing in various runs, including sional and less petulant. teed to Indians by treaties the 13 species covered by Even for the people who loathe him — and there are many — the and court decisions are mean- the Endangered Species Act. ingless if there are few ish to Managers then determine intensity of outrage inevitably wanes. This says less about those catch. These “treaty tribes” how many can be caught people’s commitment to their core are entitled to half the salmon. before the species recover to principles or the veracity of their But 50 percent of nothing is a healthy population. objections, and more about the very nothing. Tribal negotiators are There are several suggested human propensity toward fatigue. Sustained outrage can be exhaust- increasingly insisting that there alternatives — even including ing. Some folks eventually succumb be actual lesh attached to the no harvest at all. Chances are to resignation or tacit acceptance. bare bones of treaty rights. good that agencies will prefer That’s just the way people are built. Outrage is a beast that needs con- As a practical matter, this to stick to something pretty stant feeding to remain strong, and means the team of agencies close to the status quo. But over the past few weeks, after the responsible for salmon must our region’s many nongovern- killing of Alton Sterling, Philando and the police oficers in Dal- ensure that salmon prosper mental experts — including Castile las, Trump has been noticeably more through a combination of commercial and recreational in control and controversy-free. It seems almost certain that some- strategies, such as hatcheries, ishermen at the mouth of the one has gotten through to him, con- habitat restoration, modiica- Columbia River — may have vincing him that he needs to tamp tions of hydropower opera- better ideas and should pro- down the tweets and pump up the scripted speeches. tions, predator management mote them. None of this changes the essence and harvest adjustments. Underlying any approach, of the man. The intolerance, big- and narcissism are not so eas- The current management we all should bear in mind otry ily alterable. But public personas are plan, a result of a federal court the principle of insisting on protean. And that’s why a conven- ruling, expires Dec. 31, 2017. a path toward sustainable tion offers an incredible opportunity for a candidate. The states, tribes and feds salmon recovery, and resist All Trump — or Hillary Clin- have started deciding what squabbling over a share in an ton, for that matter — has to do is move a relative few of the peo- comes next in terms of har- ever-threatened and too often to ple who now say, “I could never ...” vest strategies. diminishing set of salmon toward a position of “I could possi- It is possible the next har- runs. Different ishing inter- bly ...” Conventions offer the most unil- vest plan will be essentially ests, cooperating together, tered and uninterrupted visions of identical to the current one, must advocate for actual parties and presidential candidates a campaign. They are about which is based on stock abun- recovery, and be unsatisied during shaping a message and conveying dance. This means estimat- with small percentages of it. They allow candidates to com- pletely reframe the conversation and ing how many ish are return- small salmon runs. 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. to remake people’s perceptions. These are big-money, high-stakes, focused-attention affairs. Voters who don’t follow every machination and who don’t stay glued to the televi- sion are likely to tune in just for the pageantry and spectacle of it all. And these conventions usually None of this changes the essence of the man. The intolerance, bigotry and narcissism are not so easily alterable. But public personas are protean. And that’s why a convention offers an incredible opportunity for a candidate. choice or simply a bow to are great shows. When the pressure? Both, according political parties concen- to the meandering, sleep- trate on their candidates on-my-sofa-because-you- and put the totality of their may-be-drunk speech attention into a single mes- sage, they can even doll up Trump gave to intro- the devil. duce Pence. In the speech But something tells me Trump said Pence was that Trump does not have both his “irst choice” and the constitutional restraint a choice for “party unity.” and self-interested pru- Yes, there are many in Charles dence to allow this to Trump’s own party who Blow happen. still have serious misgiv- One of Trump’s greatest laws ings about him, who no doubt wake — putting aside for the moment his up occasionally like I do in a cold utter vileness and ignorance of virtu- sweat, with the realization that this ally every issue — is that he simply man actually will be the Republican can’t stop being himself. He can’t Party’s nominee. coast; he must careen. He doesn’t Pence is meant to assuage those trust drift, only drive. fears. This instinct may have served In a way, Trump picked Pence, him well in business (although the a man who presents as an adult, so many bankruptcies and lawsuits, as that Trump himself can continue to well as the unreleased tax returns, behave like a child. The vice-presi- suggest that his business acumen and dential pick has the presidential dis- personal wealth may be in some part position on the ticket. Go igure. an illusion) but it creates conditions But this arranged marriage looks that are prime for a cascade of errors. as uncomfortable as it sounds and Unconventional campaigns can signals a precarious prelude to a con- handicap what a political convention vention that holds the potential to is great at providing — clarity. catapult Trump into greater accept- Trump seems allergic to clarity. ability before the Democrats and Just take the rollout of his their all-star lineup of heavy hitters vice-presidential pick, Mike Pence, pick him apart at next week’s Demo- about as drab and boring a pub- cratic National Convention. lic igure as one could imagine. Of It would not surprise me one iota course this all disguises a man who if Trump squanders this opportunity. is rabidly opposed to things like gay He is proving to be a horrible general rights and a woman’s right to choose, election campaigner. The man seems but the political minds inside the tragically prone to self-sabotage. campaign were apparently able to For instance, after Sunday’s killing convince Trump that boring was the of police oficers in Baton Rouge, perfect balance to his own bombast. Louisiana, Trump was back to send- First he orchestrated the selection ing incendiary tweets calling Amer- like a reality show. It was hard to ica a “divided crime scene” when he know if one was watching the inal should have focused on Cleveland decision of a candidate or the inal and unity. I will pay close attention this episode of “The Bachelor.” In the end, Pence prevailed, week to see if this candidate trans- although there were rumblings and forms an event that has always reports that Trump still had trepida- served as a moment of ascendance into a moment of collapse. If I were tions up until the last minute. Was this Trump’s preferred a betting man ...