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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2016)
VIEWPOINTS 6DWXUGD\0DUFK Quick takes Wolf bill heads to governor Any bets on how long it will take them to EHFRPHH[WLQFWLQ2UHJRQ" — Bill Froman Finally the state made a reasonable decision based on science, not Disney. — Donovan Haak Closer and closer to wolf season! — Shane D. Bond Pendleton hires first female firefighter Oh she is better than just being one of the guys. She’s a woman who can do the work of one of the guys and yet has a woman’s unique perspective! — Diawatha Putina Lunsford Congrats Jaclyn. Hermiston is going to miss you. — Flora Estrada-Urias Umatilla debates homeless 6RQRZZHZLOOEXLOGJKHWWRVIRUSHRSOH" 7KDW LV ZKDW LW ZLOO EH DQG LV LQ D VHQVH" Have you seen pictures or been to counties that have these shanty towns on the outside RIFLWLHV",WZLOOEHDYLOHSODFH — Dan Armstrong Don’t let it take hold! Oregon already has a “designated homeless camp.” It’s called Portland. — Dennis Larsen I think I would rather be around home- less than hateful. — Shirley Westfall This would be so awesome, in my opinion. I have almost been homeless and it’s the scariest feeling in the world. So I couldn’t imagine actually living on the river. I wish I had money, because If I did, KRPHOHVVSHRSOHZRXOGEHWKH¿UVWSHRSOH that I would help! — Kellie Lynn Barnett One of the great lessons of the Twitter age is that much can be summed up in just a few words. Here are some of this week’s takes. Tweet yours @Tim_Trainor or email editor@eastoregonian. com, and keep them to 140 characters. (DVW2UHJRQLDQ 3DJH$ (XJHQHVHQDWRUVWDQGVZLWK(DVWHUQ2UHJRQ particularly ignored as Western Oregon the side of wolf conservation advocates constituencies push policies that they LQDQG2'):VWDIILWEHFDPHFOHDU feel are out of touch with the realities of to me that while wolf recovery advocates their lives on the far side of the state. I have claimed their concerns are about he Oregon Legislature has adjourned mostly (though not entirely) science, the real purpose of for the 2016 short session, and the disagree with that sentiment. ¿OLQJDODZVXLWFKDOOHQJLQJ night before we bid Salem goodbye, Nonetheless, some healing is the commission’s delisting we passed House Bill 4040A otherwise needed. decision is to gain leverage referred to as the wolf bill. Representative (QYLURQPHQWDOODZVXLWV Greg Barreto and I were the chief sponsors, in the process of wolf plan are sure to deepen the divide review and revision. In fact, DQGWKHLQWHQWRIWKHELOOZDVWRDI¿UPWKH and mistrust and will make this intent has been clearly November decision of the Oregon Fish and future wolf plan revisions expressed in emails to at Wildlife Commission, to remove the gray PRUHGLI¿FXOWDQGPRUH least one of the governor’s wolf from Oregon’s endangered species contentious. At some point, natural resource policy OLVW6HYHUDOHQYLURQPHQWDOJURXSV¿OHGD we have to stop this cycle. lawsuit against the decision which, from my advisors. Those of us who support I have already explained observation, has been a common practice of wolf recovery should accept ZKDW+%$ZLOOGR these groups. that we have won and wolves Here is what it will not do. HB 4040A, under the leadership of Rep. are in strong recovery. The bill does not change Barreto, moved through the Oregon House — Chris Edwards, Should that recovery ever the wolf conservation and of Representatives with bipartisan support State Sen., D-Eugene falter and trend in the other management plan in the state and passed on to the Senate. Thanks direction, we need to be of Oregon; a plan that we to Sen. Chris Edwards, the chair of the ready to act if the commission does not. But should be celebrating, as it has been a huge Senate Environment and Natural Resource that doesn’t appear to be a risk any time in success, leading to faster recovery of wolf FRPPLWWHHLWPDGHLWWRWKHÀRRURIWKH the near future. populations than ever anticipated. Senate. Sen. Edwards, in what I believe What is at risk are working relationships The bill does not endanger wolf recovery to be a very courageous political speech, established between wolf recovery in any portion of their territory. spoke to the aspects of the bill. I asked him advocates — for whom the wolf plan isn’t The bill does not prevent the if I could share his speech with readers from protective enough — and ranchers —who commission from re-listing or taking any my part of the state, and he gave me his QHYHUZDQWHGZROIUHFRYHU\LQWKH¿UVW permission. Senator Ted Ferrioli the Senate number of other measures to assist wolf place. re-establishment should wolf numbers Republican leader told me he believed Ranchers have come to accept that unexpectedly decline. this bill was the most important piece of the reality of living with wolves on the The effect of the bill could be to legislation for rural Oregon to come out of landscape is here, and as such, have become somewhat (though not entirely) moot this session. I am deeply indebted to Sen. supportive of management efforts of the certain claims about the commission’s Edwards for his leadership and support for recovery. And given the continued success decision that are likely to be litigated. The HB 4040A. of wolf recovery efforts, conservationists VFLHQFHLVSUHWW\FOHDUDQGWKHVFLHQWL¿F What follows are excerpts from his should accept this win, and continue to basis of the Commission’s decision (as 6HQDWHÀRRUVSHHFK: work through the public process with all recommended by Oregon’s wolf biologists interested parties at the table to negotiate and peer reviewed by internationally %$DI¿UPVWKDWWKHGHFLVLRQ changes to the Wolf Plan that they would renowned wolf biologists), is on very made by the Oregon Fish and like to see, without resorting to the leverage Wildlife Commission (a commission ¿UPJURXQG(YHQWKH:LOGOLIH6RFLHW\ of lawsuits. DSURIHVVLRQDODQGVFLHQWL¿FVRFLHW\RI that is appointed by the governor and +%$VHHNVWRPDLQWDLQEDODQFH wildlife biologists, during their testimony FRQ¿UPHGE\WKH6HQDWHPHWWKH and fairness as the Commission begins the against the bill for procedural reasons requirements set out in Oregon law with GLI¿FXOWZRUNRIUHYLHZDQGUHYLVLRQRI acknowledged that ODFW biologists got respect to their decision to “delist” the gray the Wolf Plan, a plan of which we should the science right. wolf in Oregon. be proud, as it has been successful in Wolf re-establishment in Oregon has Months before this legislative session, I reestablishing wolves in the state of Oregon. been a highly contentious issue, and began investigating the issues surrounding Ŷ in my opinion a conference room, not the Commission’s then pending decision to Sen. Bill Hansell is a Republican from UHPRYHZROYHVIURPWKH6WDWH¶V(QGDQJHUHG a courtroom, is the best place to settle disagreements over the contents of the wolf $WKHQDDQGLVFRQFOXGLQJKLV¿UVWWHUPLQ Species List. the Oregon Senate, representing District 29. plan. After multiple conversations with the Senator Chris Edwards is a Democrat This issue has taken on greater governor’s natural resource policy advisors, from Eugene and is currently serving his VLJQL¿FDQFHDVLWFRPHVGXULQJDWLPH (one of whom helped negotiate the wolf second term, representing District 7. ZKHQ(DVWHUQ2UHJRQIRONVDUHIHHOLQJ conservation and management plan on By SEN. BILL HANSELL Oregon District 29 T “This bill does not endanger wolf recovery in any portion of their territory.” H Five big questions after a vulgar Republican debate D oes the size of if rivals join him there, they Donald Trump’s merely become his subjects. penis matter? Can Fox News be the I’m not being cheeky. host of every GOP debate I’m not being shocking. I’m from now on? noting something that we 5HPHPEHUWKH¿UVW cannot lose track of, should debate of this election not shrug our shoulders cycle, when there were about and must not gloss more than double this Frank over: Trump has succeeded number of candidates and Bruni at nothing as fully as he has the night opened with Fox’s Comment at infusing the presidential moderators confronting all race with a vulgarity that’s of them, one by one, with absolutely breathtaking. what were seen as their greatest He has done so well at dragging YXOQHUDELOLWLHVDQGÀDZV" his rivals so far down into the sewer The moderators were similarly with him that portions of what we merciless Thursday night, at least watched Thursday night were a when it came to Trump, and Trump fetid farce. We actually witnessed was the rightful focus — the whole DQLQWHUFKDQJH²LQWKH¿UVW show. They hounded him about his minutes, no less — about how well inconsistencies, his lies, his lack of endowed (or not) he is. VSHFL¿FLW\²DOORILW It’s worth stopping for a second, If substance can pull Trump’s letting that sink in and wondering voters away from him, the what it says about our country and moderators set that up to happen. political process right now. If substance can prevent undecided Here’s how it happened: One of voters from lining up behind Trump, the moderators upbraided Marco WKHPRGHUDWRUVJDYHWKHPD¿UP Rubio (rightly) for abandoning nudge in the opposite direction. incessant pledges of a positive And nothing about Trump’s campaign, answering Trump’s overly defensive, excessively pouty schoolyard taunts with adolescent and sometimes outright mendacious jokes and jabs of his own, and even performance beckoned those going so far as to claim that Trump voters to his side. Although there had wet his pants under the pressure were moments when his ability at the prior debate. to maintain his composure was Trump butted in to take special heroic, there were as many or more issue with one of Rubio’s digs. ZKHQKHJUHZÀXVWHUHGUHGGHQHG “He hit my hands,” Trump sputtered and resorted to insult, said, alluding to Rubio’s assertion looking tinier than I thought that a that they were man who stands well small and correctly over 6 feet tall could. noting that Rubio Fittingly, he had insinuated that reached his nadir “if they’re small, under interrogation something else must from Megyn Kelly, be small.” his nemesis from Trump puffed up WKDW¿UVWGHEDWH7KH his chest. subject was fraud “I guarantee charges against you there’s no Trump University, problem,” he said. “I and every time he guarantee.” tried to portray There is them as baseless absolutely a and the school and problem, and its students as the I’m going to be happiest place this careful here not to side of Disneyland, characterize it as Kelly pushed back. big or small or use Confronted him with any adjective related to size. The contrary evidence. Corrected his problem is that Trump, Rubio, Ted selective, self-serving version. Cruz and John Kasich were on Her victory was clear when the stage in Detroit to debate their Trump pivoted from defending TXDOL¿FDWLRQVIRUWKHPRVWSRZHUIXO himself to pummeling Rubio, job in the world, at the helm of its saying that if fraud was the topic, most important democracy, and Rubio’s poor record of attendance in Trump and Rubio weren’t just the Senate should be examined. hitting, but also dwelling, below the “He scammed the people belt. of Florida,” Trump said. “He Surreal. Sickening. defrauded the people of Florida.” So, yes, the size of Trump’s penis Of no small relevance: Florida, matters — or, rather, what matters ZKLFKYRWHVRQ0DUFKLVD is that it was an actual subject of winner-take-all primary. Rubio GLVFXVVLRQWKDWLWUHÀHFWHGDQGVHW has staked his campaign — his the tone of the encounter; and that reputation — on winning it. But in this tone favors Trump, because it’s polls there, Trump remains in the where he lives, it’s his kingdom, and lead. Republican leaders’ failure to take down Trump isn’t simply a function of hesitancy. It’s about their own lack of credibility. Do Trump’s voters really care how closely he hews to Republican and conservative orthodoxy? Cruz and Rubio keep making this assumption. They made it anew Thursday night. Once again and at great length, Cruz recited the list of liberal Democrats to whom Trump had contributed over the years, dwelling in particular on how many checks he’d written to Hillary Clinton and asking an excellent question: How would Trump be able to campaign effectively against someone whom he’d supported and demonstrated VXFKH[FLWHPHQWDERXWLQWKHSDVW" Rubio denounced Trump as someone “whose positions are not conservative.” He mentioned Trump’s defense of Planned Parenthood. He disparaged Trump’s commitment to national defense. And in the days leading up the debate, a rapidly growing, increasingly prominent chorus of Republican standard bearers made that same he’s-no-Republican argument, detailing the ways in which Trump betrays conservative principles. This was a component of Mitt Romney’s message when he delivered his extraordinary speech Thursday, telling Republicans that this was a time of reckoning and that if they don’t say no to Trump, they’re saying yes to the demise of the Republican Party and, possibly, the country. But here’s the problem: Trump’s voters aren’t with him because he’s the purest conservative. Trump is their protest vote, and part of what they’re protesting is preoccupations of the Republican Party that haven’t improved or been immediately relevant to their lives. They’re protesting foreign wars, free trade and the coddling of corporations, and some of Trump’s apostasies are precisely what draw them to him. Republican leaders’ failure to take down Trump isn’t simply a function of hesitancy — it’s not just about waiting too long. It’s about their own lack of credibility and authority with the part of the electorate that’s defying them. ,VLWQRZRI¿FLDOO\WKUHHDJDLQVW one? One of the most fascinating dynamics of the debate was the degree to which Cruz, Rubio and Kasich declined to go after one another, no longer angling to emerge as the single Trump alternative but working harder instead to erode Trump’s support, no matter where that support went. In debates past, Cruz and Rubio were at each other’s throats. Thursday night, they were practically arm in arm, tag-teaming Trump. This supported the notion that none of Trump’s rivals maintains much hope anymore of exceeding his delegate count; what they’re banking on is the ability to gather enough delegates between them, and to hold Trump’s tally in check, VRWKDWKH¿QLVKHVZLWKDSOXUDOLW\ but not a majority and the nominee is decided at the convention. &RXOGVRPHJRRG\HWFRPHRI Trump’s place in the race? I’m going to play Pollyanna, minus the long blond hair and the bow, and remark on a refreshing development over the last few weeks and especially days. More emphatically and unequivocally than at any recent juncture that I can recall, Republican leaders and standard bearers are saying that their party has no tolerance for any racism, no room for any sexism, no forgiveness for bigotry. There have always been Republicans, many of them, who felt this way passionately, but they RIWHQVSRNHLQPXIÀHGYRLFHVRU chose to keep silent. There were racist, sexist, bigoted voters whom they were all too happy to have. A SDUW\QHHGVWRUHDFKWKHSHUFHQW mark to win elections, and it makes ugly deals and unseemly compromises to cross that threshold. But disgust with Trump and a recognition of the damage that he could do have prompted many of the Republican Party’s stewards to make unwavering statements and articulate principles that they’ll be judged by — and maybe even have to live up to — down the line. Trump has reconnected them with their soul or rather, if you want WREHDF\QLFIRUFHGWKHPWR¿QG one. Maybe the detour down his pants will amount to something more and better, in the end, than phallic braggadocio. Ŷ Frank Bruni, The New York Times.
