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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2017)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager Water under the bridge Compiled by Bob Duke From the pages of Astoria’s daily newspapers 10 years ago this week — 2007 The Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area provides year-round refuge to hundreds of elk, supplying food to keep them off nearby farms and pro- tecting them from hunters. But the refuge also apparently offers “secure” dumping grounds for black bears killed on private timberland. Gary Ziak came across the remains of about 10 bears last week. While the heads, hides and paws piled at Jewell Meadows weren’t visible from the highway, turkey vultures circling the heap were, said Ziak, who builds roads for Nygaard Logging. His curiosity turned into alarm when he took a closer look. With coats of cinnamon, light brown and black, the bears ranged in age from adult males to cubs and their mothers, he said. They had been snared, then shot in the head, months before regular hunting season begins Aug. 1. “The really bad thing is, there are young cubs there,” Ziak said, noting the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife owns the property. “This is animal abuse in the name of science, or in the name of money.” The liquefied natural gas company that has taken the place of Calpine Corp. on the controversial Port of Astoria site in Warrenton has unveiled formal plans for an LNG terminal and pipeline. Oregon LNG submitted preliminary application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission May 31, effectively launching the effort to build an LNG terminal on the east side of the Skipanon Peninsula. The company sent related docu- ments to the U.S Coast Guard May 23. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will now bury bear car- casses left after “removal” from private timberland by contracted trappers — rather than piling those killed in Clatsop County at the Jewell Mead- ows Wildlife Area. 50 years ago — 1967 AP Photo/Susan Walsh President Donald Trump speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tues- day before having lunch with Republican senators. Halfhearted opposition to GOP health care misery By DAVID LEONHARDT New York Times News Service T The Daily Astorian/File John Garvel, manager of the Tapiola Park swim pool, discusses things with early bird youngsters on hand for the opening of the Astoria facility for the summer season. Clatsop Community College’s facilities were dedicated Fri- day afternoon in a swift-moving ceremony that saw both states- men and educators on the program. Some 300 persons viewed the dedication rites on a calm day at the new east terrace of the college, part of the just completed $830,000 project of campus expansion. Terrace is located where the burned-out shell of the former Astoria High School auditorium once stood. A sizable majority — almost 70 percent — of Astoria residents like the Job Corps and hope the Tongue Point Center will continue to train corps- men or corpswomen in their area, a survey indicates. Astoria was the site for one of the earliest electric systems in the state, and later — 1910 — helped give birth to Pacific Power and Light Co. We who live in this modern space age can hardly remem- ber the time when we did not have electricity. Consequently, we take much for granted and fail to realize the important part electric services played and the historical significance that is attached to the first American community on the Pacific Coast. W and W Logging and Grimstad-Vanderveldt, Inc., local construction companies, Thursday were notified by Parson-Jordan engineering firm of New York City to begin immediate clearing work at the Warrenton site where Northwest Aluminum proposes to locate its $14 million facility. 75 years ago — 1942 In this country people do not stand in queues to make pur- chases of the limited merchandise in stock. The ordinary retail store is very well stocked with merchandise and will probably continue to be fairly well stocked. The average merchant finds business better than it has been for years. Sven Gimre of Gimre’s Shoe Store reports that last month his business was 40 percent above what it was at the same time last year and that every month it has been better than last year. Other merchants report similar increases. The mysterious disappearance of 264 tires and 133 tubes from Mor- ris Barhan’s general merchandise store in Westport is being studied by the sheriff, state police and state rationing board investigators this week, it was revealed today. he Republican health care bill now sneaking its way through the Senate has a good chance of becoming law, even though it would do miserable damage. And it has a good chance partly because some of the bill’s most influential oppo- nents have not had the courage of their convictions. I realize that sounds harsh. These opponents generally have good intentions. But they haven’t been very effective so far, and they don’t have much time to summon the courage to become more effective. The opponents I’m talking about include almost every major health care interest group: the lob- bying groups for doctors, nurses and hospitals as well as advocates for patients with cancer, diabe- tes, lung disease, heart disease or birth defects. Each understands that the bill would deprive millions of Americans of insurance. Each has criticized the bill, and some, includ- ing AARP, have done more, like organizing phone calls. But they have not come close to the sort of public campaign that would put intense pressure on sen- ators. History shows what such a campaign would look like: In the 1940s, the American Med- ical Association (which represents doctors) conducted what was then “the most expensive lobbying effort in American history,” accord- ing to Paul Starr, author of a Pulit- zer-winning history of health care. The campaign changed public opin- ion about Harry Truman’s plan for national insurance, helping doom it. In the 1960s, the same associa- tion hired a movie star by the name of Ronald Reagan to barnstorm the country denouncing the proposal for Medicare. It would be the start of socialism, Reagan warned, and “invade every area of freedom as we have known it.” He lost that bat- tle, but it set in motion his political career and modern conservatism. In the 1990s, the lobbying group for insurance companies ran an ad campaign featuring a fictional cou- ple named Harry and Louise. Sit- ting at their kitchen table “some- time in the future,” they lamented how much worse their coverage had become. The ads helped defeat Bill Clinton’s plan. Today, however, “there isn’t much of a campaign,” as Starr told me. “And it contrasts very dra- matically with some of the earlier conflicts.” If anything, the case for an aggressive campaign is stronger now. Virtually every big health care group views the Republican plan as a disaster, one that would harm many Americans largely in the ser- vice of cutting taxes for the wealthy. But much of the groups’ criti- cism — like “a drastic step back- ward” — has come via news release. There has been no Harry, no Louise and no Ronald Reagan to capture national attention. “It’s a really big problem,” a Senate Dem- ocratic aide said. “It’s important right now that these groups start to mobilize much more than they have.” The passivity has played into the Republican strategy. House and Senate leaders have taken the rad- ical step of writing a bill largely in secret, without hearings. So health care groups haven’t been able to testify publicly. Without hearings — and without a publicity campaign — Congress has not felt enough political heat. Grass-roots groups have admirably tried to create heat, at town hall meetings and else- where, but it hasn’t been enough. Why haven’t the big lobbying groups done more? I think there are two main answers. First, in past campaigns, groups were largely defending their own financial inter- ests. People fight hard when their own money is at stake. Today’s opposition is at least as much about principle as profit, and lobbying groups haven’t been willing to go all-out for principle. Second, the groups are wary of attacking the Republican Party, given its current power. “We’re liv- ing in a world in which it’s just Republican votes,” one lobbyist told me. Speaking loudly against the bill risks alienating powerful politicians — and risks making the health care groups look partisan. I get their reluctance. I feel a pang of discomfort every time I describe the radicalism of today’s Republican Party. I also know that the groups are lobbying behind the scenes for changes that would make the bill marginally less bad. But that’s not nearly enough. Doctors, hospital executives and treatment advocates take pride in doing good work that improves peo- ple’s lives. Sometimes, good work doesn’t require hard choices. Other times, it does. This is one of those times when it does. A halfhearted effort to stop the bill won’t protect millions of Americans from losing their insurance and, ultimately, from being denied medical care. Senate leaders are rushing to pass a bill before their July 4 recess, and they seem to be making head- way. That leaves opponents only three weeks to live up to their con- victions. They can create advertise- ments that make clear the human damage the bill would do. Or put their well-respected leaders on pop- ular talk shows. Or hold a mock hearing, featuring every group that has been denied the ability to testify. Above all, they can take a risk for a cause. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone numbers. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar and, on occa- sion, factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are printed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Dis- course should be civil and people should be referred to in a respect- ful manner. Submissions may be sent in any of these ways: E-mail to editor@dailyasto- rian.com; online at www.dailyas- torian.com; delivered to the Asto- rian offices at 949 Exchange St. and 1555 N. Roosevelt in Seaside or by mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103.
