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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017 Founded in 1873 DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager CARL EARL, Systems Manager OUR VIEW E ach week we recognize those people and organizations in the community deserving of public praise for the good things they do to make the North Coast a better place to live, and also those who should be called out for their actions. SHOUTOUTS Democrats, start aiming for the gut By THOMAS FRIEDMAN New York Times News Service I Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The Clatsop County Fair in Astoria drew thousands of people to the fairgrounds last week. • Clatsop County Fair Manager Kathi Mattinen and those who organized, volunteered and attended last week’s annual event. The fair, which has been operating for more than 100 years, had something for everyone to enjoy, except maybe the heat. Unseasonably hot weather settled over the region and much of the Northwest on the fair’s opening day and kept this year’s attendance from surpassing last year’s numbers. But the thou- sands of fairgoers who attended enjoyed fun-filled events featur- ing live music from artists including country star Montgomery Gentry; 4-H competitions; comedy and magic shows; local per- formances; and a wide variety of thrill rides and midway games. • Organizers of the recent National Night Out events in Seaside and Cannon Beach, which continue to help strengthen the relationships between local law enforcement, first respond- ers, and the communities they serve. The national event, which celebrated its 34th year, came to Seaside 12 years ago and Cannon Beach initiated its event four years ago. In Cannon Beach, more than 150 people participated in this year’s event, the most it has ever drawn, and Seaside’s was well attended, too. Both events featured a barbecue, games and prizes. Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham said it was a great way for residents to get to know their police department, while Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn offered that it was a positive way for residents to be able to interact with officers in a comfort- able setting. • Clatsop County Emergency Coordinator Tom Manning, who recently retired after 40 years in the emergency manage- ment field. Manning began part-time work here in 2008 in a career that has included positions with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and, closer to home, with Tillamook County. Clatsop County Manager Cameron Moore said Manning “was instrumental in building our program into what it is today, we are grateful for the time he spent here, and we wish him the best in retirement.” Moore said the county has hired Vincent Aarts, who was the deputy director of Columbia County Emergency Management, to fill the opening created by Manning’s retirement. • Cannon Beach firefighters, who donated a $2,000 auto- mated external defibrillator to the Cannon Beach Academy ear- lier this week. Fire Lt. Brian Smith, who heads the Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue Association, made the presentation to the school’s director, Amy Moore, and said the proceeds from the association’s annual dinner and other events raised the money to purchase the defibrillator, which is used in first aid and cardio- pulmonary resuscitation. CALLOUTS • The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is continuing to wrangle with the Port of Astoria over the amount of damage that the Port’s waterfront sustained when winter storms battered the region in December 2015. At stake is up to 75 percent of reimbursement from FEMA for repairs to proven storm damage, and the gap between the agency’s estimate and the Port’s stands at $13.7 million. The Port contracted with an outside engineering firm which placed the damage at $14.2 mil- lion last year, while FEMA estimated it at a fraction of that amount at $860,000. Port Executive Director Jim Knight said the Port and the engineering firm will continue to press the issue with FEMA. Suggestions? Do you have a Shoutout or Callout you think we should know about? Let us know at news@dailyastorian.com and we’ll make sure to take a look. was talking the other day to a wise executive friend and he recalled for me something his favorite boss liked to say: When peo- ple rise to the top of an organization and get power, they usually do one of two things: “They either swell or they grow.” Donald Trump has swollen. Every character flaw he had before taking office — from his serial lying to his intellectual lazi- ness to his loyalty just to himself and his needs — has grown only larger and more toxic as he has been president. He seems not to have grown a whit in the job. He has surprised only on the downside — never once challenging his own base with new thinking or appearing to be remotely interested in being president of all the people, not just his base. What strikes me most about Trump, though, is how easily he still could become more popular — fast — if he just behaved like a normal leader for a month: if he reached out to Democrats on health care, taxes or infrastructure; stopped insulting every newsperson who writes critically about him; stopped lying; stopped tweeting inanities; and actually apologized for some of his most egregious actions and asked for forgiveness. Americans are a forgiving people. With the Dow at 22,000 and unemployment at 4.3 percent, oh my God, this guy could actually become more popular outside his base with- out much effort. That’s scary. But, as I said, it would require Trump doing something he has shown no ability or willingness to do — to grow in office, not just swell. Win the argument Still, Democrats would be wise not to count on Trump swelling forever or on Robert Mueller taking him down. Whatever happens, Democrats need to win the argu- ment with at least some Trump/ GOP voters. There are many ways for Democrats to counter any new and improved Trump. I’d start by acknowledging a simple fact: Some things are true even if Donald Trump believes them! That is, Trump’s core base of support — those people who he says would stick by him even if he shot someone “in the middle of Fifth Avenue” — are people AP Photo A giant inflatable chicken bearing the unmistakable hairstyle of the commander in chief on the Ellipse, just south of the White House. who have heard and appreciated all his nativist dog whistles: from his slur that Barack Obama was not born in America to his focus on voter suppression to his restricting transgender people in the military to his reversing affirmative action and imposing immigration restrictions. That white nationalist constituency is beyond the reach — for good rea- son — of any Democratic candidate. But Trump did not win, and could not win again, with that group alone. His genius was expanding beyond that nativist core with just enough votes in the right places to get him over the top — by pushing other buttons. These were things that many conservative and centrist voters believe in their guts, even if they don’t articulate them. Trump connects with these gut issues and takes them in a destructive direction. It’s vital for Democrats to connect with them and take them in a constructive direction. What issues? Here’s my list: • We can’t take in every immi- grant who wants to come here; we need, metaphorically speaking, a high wall that assures Americans we can control our border with a big gate that lets as many people in legally as we can effectively absorb as citizens. • The Muslim world does have a problem with pluralism — gender pluralism, religious pluralism and intellectual pluralism — and sug- gesting that terrorism has nothing to do with that fact is naïve; countering violent extremism means construc- tively engaging with Muslim leaders on this issue. • Americans want a president focused on growing the economic pie, not just redistributing it. We do have a trade problem with China, which has reformed and closed instead of reformed and opened. We have an even bigger problem with automation wiping out mid- dle-skilled work, and we need to generate more blue-collar jobs to anchor communities. • Political correctness on college campuses has run ridiculously riot. Americans want leaders to be comfortable expressing patriotism and love of country when global- ization is erasing national identities. America is not perfect, but it is, more often than not, a force for good in the world. Listen through stomachs Voters don’t listen through their ears. They listen through their stomachs. And when you connect with voters in their guts, they feel respected, and when they feel respected, they will listen to anything — including big issues that are true even if Democrats believe them. Such as the fact that a major- ity of Americans like Obamacare and want to see it built to last, and a majority of Americans do not like the way Trump is despoiling the environment and bringing back coal. Indeed, the biggest wind power states in America — Texas, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and North Dakota — are all red states. The Democrats literally have the wind at their backs on health care and clean energy. But to be heard, they need candi- dates who can pass a gut check with the more moderate Trump/GOP vot- ers. Just 10 percent of Trump voters would suffice. Trump’s core base is solid, but he’s clearly losing the soft support around his core. Democrats can grow into the soft support — as long as they’re smart and Trump continues to just swell. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. We do not publish open letters or third-party letters. 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 and verbal verification of authorship. 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 respectful manner. Letters referring to news stories should also mention the headline and date of publication. The Daily Astorian welcomes short “in gratitude” notes from readers for publication. They should keep to a 200-word maxi- mum and writers are asked to avoid simply listing event sponsors. They must be signed, include the writ- er’s address, phone number and are subject to condensation and editing for style, grammar, etc. Submissions may be sent in any of these ways: E-mail to editor@dailyastorian. com; Online form at www.dailyasto- rian.com; Delivered to the Astorian 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