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 ...