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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, February 26, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
$NLFNLQWKHSDQWVWR.DWH%URZQ¶VRI¿FH for the second week in a row.
A re-kick, if you will.
Last Friday we lamented the governor’s
lack of follow-through on a promise to
increase transparency in state government
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noted the recent example, spotlighted by
The Oregonian newspaper, of public utility
commissioners feeling muzzled by the
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to stay out of the debate until the legislature
had passed a bill.
The governor’s director of
communications, Kristen Grainger, sent us a “correct the record” request,
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message. Grainger sent a similar note to our sister paper The Daily Astorian,
as well as The Oregonian and others.
The O responded with an oh-no-you-didn’t editorial titled “Kate Brown
doubles down on muzzling of no-coal plan critics.” They argued that
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the media to stay quiet about it.
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here.
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giving off the appearance of transparency than just being transparent.
OTHER VIEWS
The devil in Ted Cruz
:
hen Ted Cruz announced this
And where was that “civility or
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respect” during subsequent Senate
campaign’s communications
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director for circulating a false
as the secretary of defense? Cruz’s
insinuation that Marco Rubio had
repeated suggestions that Hagel
belittled the Bible, he told reporters,
had been corrupted by money from
“Even if it was true, we are not a
America’s enemies were so out of
campaign that is going to question the
bounds that senators from both parties
faith of another candidate.”
were appalled.
Frank
Really? Huh. Then I must have
Cruz continues to congratulate his
Bruni
been hallucinating last month at a
campaign
for its high-mindedness even
Comment
though his allies and operatives spread
Cruz event in Iowa where several
an erroneous report, during the Iowa
of his hand-picked supporters, who
caucuses, that Ben Carson was dropping out
spoke just before him, mocked and dismissed
of the race. And they had the niftiest bit of
Donald Trump’s professed Christianity.
counsel for Carson voters. Switch to Cruz!
They marveled at a past comment
Then, in South Carolina, Cruz operatives
of Trump’s about never asking God for
doctored a photograph so
forgiveness. One of them
that it showed Rubio shaking
chose a bizarre, religiously
hands with Obama in front of
coded analogy for a boast
the U.S. Capitol.
Trump had just made about
These shenanigans
how much voters loved him,
profoundly contradict the
saying that the billionaire’s
godly styling of a candidate
bragging was an echo of John
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Lennon’s infamous claim
announce a presidential
— an outrage to American
campaign at Liberty
Christians in the 1960s — that
University, the largest
the Beatles were more popular
Christian university in the
than Jesus.
world, and who incessantly
But no, Cruz’s campaign
invokes the Bible, Jesus and
would never question the faith
morality.
of another candidate.
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The Texas senator is some piece of
culture that Cruz has created. Political allies
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and aides tend to behave in a manner largely
the so-called dirty tricks that he and his
consistent with their boss’ directives and
lieutenants have been charged with aren’t all
understood values.
that shocking by the standards of bruising
Or they’re brought aboard a campaign
presidential campaigns, they really do stand
RXWLQWKHFRQWH[WRI&UX]¶VÀDPER\DQWFODLPV because they behave that way. As Matt
Flegenheimer reported in The Times this week,
of rectitude and righteousness.
Cruz hired a campaign manager, Jeff Roe,
He directs you to his halo as he
who is widely known for destructive gossip,
surreptitiously grabs a pitchfork. His rivals
for malicious tactics — and for winning.
aren’t so diabolically hypocritical.
Cruz’s hypocrisy may be catching up
At a town hall in South Carolina that CNN
with him. In Iowa, he drew more evangelical
televised, he answered a question about his
Christian voters than his rivals did, but in
miserable relations with fellow lawmakers in
South Carolina, Trump beat him among those
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voters, and Rubio wasn’t far behind. Some of
that I speak with a lack of civility or respect.”
them told reporters, including me, that they’d
“The Bible talks about if someone treats
been turned off by behavior of Cruz’s that they
you unkindly, repay them with kindness,” he
deemed un-Christian.
added. “That has been the standard I’ve tried
This dynamic could cripple him in the
to follow. That’s how I’ve approached it in
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the Senate. So I have not attacked or insulted
March, and his strategy hinges on those states.
my colleagues in the Senate, Democrat or
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Republican.”
he frames himself as the candidate truest to
Is he suffering from delusions? Amnesia?
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scourges (in his estimation) as gay marriage.
McConnell, the Republican majority leader, a
That framing implicitly questions rivals’
liar. He also likened Senate Republicans who
devotion.
recognized the impossibility of defunding
And his onetime proclamation that “any
Obamacare to Nazi appeasers.
:KHUHZDVKLVYDXQWHG³FLYLOLW\RUUHVSHFW´ president who doesn’t begin every day on his
when, on the heels of his election to the Senate NQHHVLVQ¶W¿WWREHFRPPDQGHULQFKLHI´LV
in November 2012, he derided Mitt Romney’s a summons to rivals to prove their faith. He
should focus instead on conduct that proves
failed presidential bid — to an audience
his own.
including Romney supporters — by saying
Ŷ
that during one presidential debate, “I’m pretty
Frank Bruni has been an Op-Ed columnist
certain Mitt Romney actually French-kissed
for The New York Times since June 2011.
Barack Obama.”
Cruz directs
you to his
halo as he
surreptitiously
grabs a
pitchfork.
Courtesy photo
Members of the Hermiston fire and police departments help clean up a
Hermiston yard after the homeowner fell off a ladder and broke his neck
trying to trim the tree.
$WLSRIWKHKDWWRWKH+HUPLVWRQ¿UVWUHVSRQGHUV who helped clean up
a mess left in a local front yard after a terrible accident.
A Hermiston homeowner fell off a ladder and broke his neck recently
while trying to trim a big pine tree on his
property. The man required emergency
transport and — though he did survive — a
long recovery in the hospital awaited him.
He wasn’t going to be up on a ladder anytime
soon, or able to pick up the branches left
behind.
So members of the Hermiston Fire
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Myers returned to the yard to trim, cut and
buck the unwieldy tree, and remove the
detritus.
Hermiston Fire District Chief Scott Stanton said the work is the kind of
community service he wants his crews to be known for.
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editorial board.
In this instance, they did help. Not only by helping stabilize and save a
life, but by spending time and energy offering assistance to a family in need.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher
Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
OTHER VIEWS
State should protect whistleblowers
The (Bend) Bulletin
O
regon law already offers some
protection to whistleblowers.
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against employees who report what they
believe to be violations of the law.
But House Bill 4067 in the
Legislature takes that a needed step
further. It would provide protection to
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board members. The sponsors of the bill
include Reps. Knute Buehler, R-Bend,
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whistleblowers more legal protection if
they provide the information to certain
designated bodies: a state regulatory
agency, law enforcement, a member
of the Legislature, a manager of the
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practice in Oregon.
But if the information is disclosed or
redisclosed to someone else, such as the
news media, the protection would not
apply.
The bill also has requirements to
establish policies for whistleblowers.
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opposes the change because it said it
was not needed. Federal protections are
already in place. It also said the law puts
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would be confusing.
There is some truth to those
assertions. But this law provides better
protection for Oregon whistleblowers.
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could help its members establish
whistleblower policies, and this change
is no more complicated than other legal
changes the Legislature makes every
year.
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livelihoods and reputations at risk when
they speak up about problems. The
additional protections in this bill may
encourage more to do so and protect
them when they do.
The Legislature should pass this bill.
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public
issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website.
The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns
about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of
private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include
the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not
be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing
Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email
editor@eastoregonian.com.
YOUR VIEWS
Cimmiyotti would be good
addition to Pendleton council
Cody Cimmiyotti would be a great addition
to the Pendleton City Council.
I know Cody to be a responsible
and reliable person who cares about his
community. He is an ambitious individual
who would be willing to put in the time and
work to better Pendleton.
Cody has the desire to not only better
his community, but also himself by
supplementing his income from his job at
Seaport Airlines by working evenings in the
lounge at Red Lion Hotel.
Pendleton needs to get their younger
citizens involved in local government and we
now have that opportunity.
I urge you to vote for Cody Cimmiyotti for
city council.
Linda Anderson
Pendleton