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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
August 30, 2017 The Skanner Page 9 News RNC Votes to Condemn White Supremacists Over Groans of Some Some committee members were troubled by Trump’s response to violence in Charlottesville NASHVILLE, Tenn.— The Republican Nation- al Committee walked the tightrope Friday in carefully but resolutely denouncing white su- premacist groups with- out criticizing President Donald Trump, who waffl ed in his own state- ments in the wake of the deadly clash in Virginia this month. Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, the RNC ap- proved a raft of resolu- tions, including one as- serting “Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists and others are repulsive, evil and have no fruit- ful place in the United States.” And while the vote was unanimous, some mem- AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY By Thomas Beaumont Associated Press Amy Hedtke of Waxahachie, Texas, takes notes as she listens during a session of the the standing committee on rules at the Republican National Committee summer meeting, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. bers had grumbled the resolution was unneces- sary and refl ected unnec- essary defensiveness. “It’s amazing that we have been lured into this argument that we’re not racists. It’s absurd,” 48-Hour Rule Gone for Good, Citizen Oversight Board Reforms T he Portland City Council voted unanimously last Thursday to require police offi cers to speak to someone at internal aff airs within two days aft er a lethal use-of- force incident. Aft er an initial vote two weeks ago, police reform advocates noted poten- tial loopholes – including language permitting the city to waive the rule and delay testimony -- that were sewn shut by the most recent vote. Last week’s proposal also includes language directing the city attorney’s “ The vote more de- fi nitively abolishes the controversial, unique-to-Port- land 48-hour rule offi ce to pursue a court ruling defi n- itively saying whether the policy is legal. While still subject to court approv- al, the vote more defi nitively abolishes the controversial, unique-to-Portland 48-hour rule giving Portland Police Bureau offi cers a two-day window to wait before issuing a statement aft er shooting or otherwise using lethal force on a citizen. The most recent version of the Port- land Police Association’s contract with the city – approved last fall – did away with that rule. But earlier this year the bureau walked back the change under legal advice from Mult- nomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill. Underhill’s advice cites Or- egon v. Soriano, a 1984 state supreme court ruling that requires immunity from prosecution from those forced by employers to testify. Criminal prosecution of police for on-the-job uses of force is rare in Port- land and nationwide. In 2013 PPB offi - cer Dane Reister was the fi rst offi cer in Portland’s history to face criminal indictment relating to use-of-force charges, aft er a 2011 incident that crit- ically wounded a man with a beanbag shotgun. Reister was fi red by the bu- reau in 2013 and ended his life in 2015. The council also approved a plan to create a new citizen oversight board that would replace the now-disbanded Citizens Oversight and Accountability Board created by the city’s settlement with the Department of Justice. Ac- cording to the city’s plan, the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing will have explicit power to independently assess the settlement agreement, review and make recom- mendations on police directives and make recommendations on PPB’s community engagement eff orts. said Colorado Republi- can Chairman Jeff Hays. “Why would we feel com- pelled to do that?” The sentiment refl ects a diff erence between RNC leaders concerned about the party’s im- age in light of President Donald Trump’s latest rhetorical thicket and newer, more ardently pro-Trump state Repub- lican leaders who say such a statement appears defensive. But this was a priority for Chairwoman Ron- na Romney McDaniel, as well as for commit- tee members who were openly bothered by Trump’s initial resis- tance to singling out the racist groups aft er the Charlottesville violence. Hearing about the grumbling, McDaniel made the rounds Friday morning to reinforce with members that the measure was a priority. “Every day, I wake up proud that we’re the par- ty of Lincoln,” McDaniel told the committee Fri- day. “Condemning vio- lence is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue.” Despite the resolution, there doesn’t appear to be a soft ening of support for the president within the party’s national orga- nization. Rather, what was to be a sleepy, pro-forma late summer gathering seemed to spark renewed backing for the president despite a series of recent setbacks: the GOP’s stun- ning failure to repeal and replace “Obamacare”; the furious backlash over his comments about the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Vir- ginia; and the departure of crowd favorite Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman, as Trump’s chief of staff . “The president was not wrong to point out what the media has failed to point out,” that count- er-protesters also “came for a battle” in Charlot- tesville, said Pennsylva- nia Republican Chair- man Val DiGiorgio. DiGiorgio stood by the “many sides” comment Trump made immedi- ately aft er the clash in Virginia, in which a car was driven into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman. The president was criticized harshly by both Republi- cans and Democrats be- cause he didn’t immedi- ately denounce the white nationalist groups. There was palpable contempt in the confer- ence room for count- er-protesters who were ready to fi ght. RNC mem- ber Morton Blackwell, who affi rmed his sup- port for the resolution, said “Every person who came to Charlottesville intending violence was evil.” Bill Palatucci, a RNC committeeman from New Jersey who spon- sored the resolution, said it was important for the committee to formally denounce white suprem- acists. Palatucci said, “I think he got it wrong a week ago Tuesday, in re- gards to Charlottesville,” when Trump said during a free-wheeling, defi ant news conference that there were “very fi ne people on both sides” at the demonstration. But even Palatucci, who was a devout sup- porter of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign, said, “I support the pres- ident’s agenda.” He cited deregulation measures Trump has signed and the president’s plan, out- lined Monday, to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to revive the eff ort to root out ter- rorist cells. See RNC on page 11 —Christen McCurdy A career you can be proud of. Being a carpenter isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life. We’re devoted to strengthening the lives of our members with steady work, wealth and personal growth. We take a stand for our members and all workers. We work together to lead the building industry in safety, training and compensation. We create rich lives for our members and partners. To learn more about becoming a union carpenter, go to NWCarpenters.org. PORTLAND: 1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214 | 503.261.1862 HEADQUARTERS: 25120 Pacifi c Hwy S, #200, Kent, WA 98032 | 253.954.8800 NWCarpenters.org More than 20,000 members in the Pacifi c Northwest.