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BLACK HISTORY February 1, 2017 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. MONTH Page 7 O PINION Democracy Demands Probe on Foreign Influence Serving as a check on the executive M arC h. M orial The first few days Donald Trump’s pres- idency have seen what may be the beginning of the end of the Af- fordable Care Act, an average annual hike of $500 for middle-class home- owners’ mortgage insurance pre- miums, a hint at a re-invasion of Iraq and a shift in the Department of Justice’s effort to protect voting rights. Yet, the overwhelming cloud that hangs over the Trump Ad- ministration is the suggestion of Russian interference in the elec- tion. Investigators from six dif- ferent US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been examining possible links between Russian officials and Trump’s presidential campaign. by This cloud hangs not only over Trump’s presidency, but over American democracy itself. Pres- ervation of the integrity of our democratic process depends upon the aggressive pursuit of the truth – and the full coopera- tion of President Trump and his advisors in that pursuit. Media reports indicate that investigations into Trump’s Russian ties began as far back as last spring – before the FBI received the notorious dossier alleging that Russian operatives held compro- mising information about Trump, and that there was a continuing exchange of information between the Russian Government and Trump associates. Any concrete evidence in sup- port of these allegations would be damaging to Trump’s presidency. And failure to investigate them would be even more damaging to the nation itself. Democracy, while a founding principle of the United States, has been a work in progress from the days when only white, male – and in some states, Protestant Chris- tian – property owners were per- mitted to vote. Gradually, over two centuries, the franchise was extended to non-landowners, Na- tive Americans, women, and peo- ple of color. We still are engaged in the business of expanding and pro- tecting our democracy, fighting back racially-motivated voter suppression laws and contending with the anti-democratic effects of the Electoral College. Our goal must be a full and true democracy, where every citizen has an equal opportunity to be heard, without the corrupting influence of foreign agents working against American interests. If a foreign government in- terfered to boost one candidate chances, it’s not merely an affront to the losing candidate; it’s an af- front to every single honest, vot- ing citizen. It’s an affront to Amer- ican democracy. Because President Trump was elevated to office by the anachro- nistic Electoral College, counter to the choice of a majority of vot- ers, he owes the American people an exceptional level of deference. He should go to every length to demonstrate that his own conduct, at least, was above-board and be- yond reproach. Any attempt to stonewall an investigation should be viewed with the utmost skep- ticism. His public statements on Rus- sia and its President, Vladimir Putin, have been contradictory at the very least. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, he said he had a relationship with Putin, had spoken with him and had gotten to know him. In the third Presidential debate, he said he’d never met him. In the second debate he said he has no dealings with Russia and no busi- nesses there. But his son, Donald Trump Jr., said in 2008 that “Rus- sians make up a pretty dispropor- tionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.” This confusion should raise serious questions. President Trump appears to be engaged in a campaign of disinfor- mation about his election – claim- ing without evidence that he was denied a popular victory by mil- lions of illegal votes. His appar- ent obsession extends to making repeated false statements about attendance at his inauguration. His preoccupation could compli- cate our intelligence agencies’ at- tempts to ferret out the truth. It’s our hope that he will see that any failure to cooperate or to encour- age a full investigation would be crippling to the nation. During the Inauguration cere- mony on Jan. 20, much was made about the “peaceful transfer of power” that is and should be an example for the world. But that peaceful transition depends upon the strict balance of powers as outlined in the Constitution. It’s up to our legislative and judicial branches to serve as a check on the executive, beginning with the investigation into foreign influ- ence. Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League. A Plain-As-Day Lie About His Inauguration Crowd The trouble with Trump’s ‘alternative facts’ P eter C erto About an hour after Donald Trump was sworn in, I was having lunch with my wife and our five- month-old. As we picked at our food outside my office in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, groups of tourists trickled by in Trump regalia. Early the next morning, as I dumped a pail of diapers in the trash can out front, I ran into a much different crowd: throngs of people wearing pink and carrying anti-Trump signs, passing through my neighborhood on their way to the Women’s March. It was scarcely 7am, yet already I’d seen more pink hats than I’d seen red ones the day before. Sur- prised — and still in my pajama pants — I scurried inside. DC’s Women’s March alone attracted three times as many visitors as Trump’s inauguration, crowd experts quoted by The New York Times estimate. Ac- cording to ridership data from the DC Metro system, only one other event topped it: Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. This was obvious to anyone who lives here, and to anyone by who’s seen aerial photos of the crowd. Of course, whose crowd is big- ger matters only a little more than whose hands are bigger, among other appendages Trump likes to size up. But sometimes he can’t help himself. At a moment you’d expect a new president to be busy with oth- er things, Trump directed his press short, used its inaugural press con- ference to tell bald-faced, easily falsifiable lies — and many Amer- icans believed them. Aerial pho- tos, crowd experts, Metro data, even TV ratings be damned — all that mattered were the “alternative facts” of the Trump team. There’s more at stake here than a “whose is bigger?” contest — including for millions of Trump The Trump administration, in short, used its inaugural press conference to tell bald-faced, easily falsifiable lies... secretary to announce that his crowds had been “the largest au- dience to ever witness an inaugu- ration, period.” Any media outlet that told you differently, he said, was lying. It was laughably untrue. But it wasn’t a lie, Trump adviser Kel- lyanne Conway told NBC. It was just an an “alternative fact.” If that doesn’t set your Orwell alarm off, I don’t know what will. Yet almost immediately, Trump’s version of events started circu- lating through conservative news sites and social media outlets. The Trump administration, in supporters. To see how, let me tell you something else about Trump’s first day in office. Shortly after announcing that “every decision” will be “made to benefit American workers and American families,” Trump re- treated to the Oval Office to sign his first directives as president. The first raised mortgage fees for working families, including many who probably supported Trump. Another began the process of dismantling a health care law that’s helped 20 million people get insurance. Trump voters in red states could be especially hard-hit. From Florida to Pennsylvania, in fact, over 6 million people get- ting health insurance subsidies live in states that Trump won. Combined with the law’s Medic- aid expansion and protections for people with pre-existing condi- tions, that’s helped deep-red states like Kentucky and West Virginia cut their uninsured rates by half. But here’s the question: If Trump can tell you your own eyes are lying about a simple aerial photograph of his inauguration, can he also convince you your mortgage fees didn’t just go up? Or that you’ll still have health care after he axes your subsidy and gives your insurer permission to drop you? Talk about “alternative facts.” If those things slide, what else can he get away with? Trump voters are famously skeptical of Washington. Of all people, I hope they’d agree that watching what a politician does tells you more than hearing what he says. If they shut their eyes now, they’re going to get sucker punched. Peter Certo is the editorial manager of the Institute for Policy Studies and the editor of Other- Words.org. Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R
