Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Presidential politics
run against TPP
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Republican candidate, favors
candidates for the Republican
the deal. He calls it “critical” to
and Democratic nominations for
creating economic and strategic
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alliances.
Partnership, the big 12-nation
Seven years in the making, the
trade pact awaiting Congressional
TTP is important for farmers in the
approval.
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That doesn’t bode well for
U.S. agriculture is trade-
agriculture
dependent,
in the
especially
Northwest.
in the West.
Donald
Oregon,
Trump says
Washington,
the TPP is
Idaho and
“insanity,”
California
a “horrible
H[SRUWDERXW
deal
$30 billion
designed
a year in
for China to
agricultural
come in, as
goods
they always
overseas,
Sanders
do, through Trump
mainly to
the back
3DFL¿F5LP
door and
nations.
totally take
Included
advantage of
in the TPP
everyone.”
are nearly
Ted Cruz
all of those
opposes the
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pact, and
Canada,
always has.
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Hillary
Japan,
Clinton was
Australia,
for it, when Clinton
Malaysia,
Cruz
she was
Peru,
secretary
Vietnam,
of state, and then was against it
Chile, Brunei, Singapore and New
when she became a candidate for
Zealand.
president. She says the deal doesn’t
No trade deal is perfect, and there
meet her standard for providing
are many things about this one that
Americans good-paying jobs.
give even proponents pause. But
Bernie Sanders has called it “a
walking away from the deal would
disastrous trade agreement designed be a disaster for agriculture because
to protect the interests of the largest U.S. goods would have impossible
multi-national corporations at the
barriers not imposed on signatories
H[SHQVHRIZRUNHUVFRQVXPHUVWKH who are also our competitors.
environment and the foundations of
We hope Congress will approve
American democracy.”
the deal before it gets too caught up
Only John Kasich, the long-shot
in election year politicking.
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.
YOUR VIEWS
Third party voters
should get in the game
Although the Independent Party of
Oregon will not have a candidate in
the presidential primary, IPO members
or those who request IPO ballots will
be able to write in a candidate and will
be able to vote in any other contested
primaries that may be on the IPO
ballot.
Oregon law allows major parties
to decide whether to hold “open” or
“closed” primaries. In this year’s May
primary, both the Democratic and
Republican parties will hold “closed”
primaries — meaning that a voter must
be registered with that party by April
26 to participate in its primary election.
This May, the Independent Party of
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a major party. Their primary will be
³RSHQ´WRDOOQRQDI¿OLDWHGYRWHUVLQ
the state, as well those voters registered
as members of the Independent
Party of Oregon. Voters who want to
participate in the Independent Party
of Oregon primary while maintaining
WKHLUVWDWXVDVDQRQDI¿OLDWHGYRWHU
should contact their county clerk’s
RI¿FHE\SPRQ$SULO
Being that Democrats make up
only 37.8 percent of registered voters
and Republicans only 29.9 percent
of registered voters in Oregon, this
is the year that Independent and
³QRQDI¿OLDWHG´YRWHUVFDQH[HUFLVH
the true power of democracy. I urge
WKDWDOOQRQDI¿OLDWHGDQGPLQRUSDUW\
members (Green, Libertarian, etc.)
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before April 26 to be able to vote
during the primary contest on May 17.
The time has come for the “other”’
people of Oregon to stop the two major
parties from dictating the far-left and
IDUULJKWH[WUHPHSROLFLHVVKRZQRQWKH
national media outlets.
Joseph Turner
Columbia City, Ore.
Nice to see city crews at
work
It was good to see city equipment
and staff working on South Main Street
uphill from Isaac this week. They
DSSHDUHGWREH¿[LQJZDWHURUVHZHU
infrastructure and then preparing to
repave the street that had been dug up.
This is what we need from city
government — not committees,
studies, plans and reports; not new
roads or housing, not new fees
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¿[SUREOHPVDVWKH\DSSHDUDQGWR
PDLQWDLQWKHH[LVWLQJEDVLFXWLOLWLHVDQG
VHUYLFHVWKDWDUHFLW\UHVSRQVLELOLWLHV
water and sewer, roads and public
safety.
OTHER VIEWS
Who is Ted Cruz?
E
nough, for one week at least,
many fronts — Edward Snowden,
about the strange victories
trade policy, immigration, the fate of
of Donald Trump. Let’s talk
Middle Eastern Christians — Cruz
about the mysteries of his last real
KDVSURFHHGHGZLWKVHYHUDO¿QJHUVLQ
competitor, Ted Cruz.
the wind; every time the conservative
On the surface, Cruz is a
mood has shifted even a little, he’s
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shifted quickly too.
zealot, the politician-as-activist,
The same pattern has prevailed
the unbending embodiment of True
in the presidential campaign, in his
Ross
Conservatism. He’s the scourge of
Douthat complicated relationship to Trump —
Obamacare, the bane of the GOP
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Comment
establishment, the evangelical
on issues where Trump’s demagogy
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KDVZRUNHGDQG¿QDOO\VHOIULJKWHRXV
Reagan quote for every occasion. If Trump
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KDVG\QDPLWHG5HSXEOLFDQRUWKRGR[\DQG
and scandal-mongering have been turned
tapped out nasty tweets from the rubble, Cruz against his reputation and his family.
has kept pace by promising to rebuild that
Throughout this rise, Cruz has often
VDPHRUWKRGR[\VWURQJHUWKDQEHIRUH
seemed less like Goldwater than like
In this framing, Cruz is basically Barry
American conservatism’s own Kenneth
Goldwater come again, an ideological
Widmerpool, the most memorable character
crusader who might still grab his party’s
in the English novelist Anthony Powell’s
nomination, but whose general election
series, “A Dance to the Music of Time.”
SURVSHFWVDUHOLPLWHGE\KLVRZQH[WUHPLVP
A dogged, charmless, unembarrassed
I’ve used this framing myself, and it
striver, Widmerpool begins Powell’s novels
might be the best way to approach a Hillary-
DVD¿JXUHRIPRFNHU\IRUKLVXSSHUFODVV
Cruz race. But it also seems inadequate to
schoolmates. But over the course of the books
understanding Cruz’s strange ascent.
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Start at the intuitive level. Despite what
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you may have heard, true belief is pretty
HIIRUWLGHRORJLFDOÀH[LELOLW\DQGFDOFXODWHG
common among politicians. Listen to Rand
kissing-up.
Paul talk about liberty or Marco Rubio
Enduring all manner of humiliations,
dilate on the promise of America; watch
bouncing back from every setback, tacking
Bernie Sanders rail against inequality or
right and left with the times, he embodies
President Barack Obama defend technocratic
the triumph of raw ambition over aristocratic
liberalism. They all radiate sincerity. Watch
rules of order. “Widmerpool,” the narrator
D*ROGZDWHUVSHHFK\RXFDQWHOOWKHPDQ
UHDOL]HVDWODVWVRXQGLQJOLNHDEDIÀHG&UX]
believed it.
hating Republican senator today, “once so
With Cruz, though, even the most fervent
derided by all of us, had in some mysterious
peroration always feels like a debater’s patter, manner become a person of authority.”
an advocate’s brief — compelling enough
7KLVLVQRWH[DFWO\DÀDWWHULQJFRPSDULVRQ
on the merits, but more of a command
But the American reader, less enamored of
performance than a window into deep
DIDWHGDULVWRFUDWLFRUGHUPD\¿QGDVSHFWV
conviction.
of Widmerpool’s character curiously
This doesn’t mean that Cruz’s
sympathetic. And some of that strange
conservatism isn’t sincere. But the fact that he V\PSDWK\FRXOGEHH[WHQGHGWR&UX]
seems so much like an actor hitting his marks
Unloved, unattractive, a Simpsons-quoting
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nerd still chasing the teenage dream of world
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Basically, he spent years trying to make it in
out-organized and outlasted the candidates
Washington on the insider’s track, and hit a
who were supposed to beat him, from the
wall because too many of the insiders didn’t
blueblood to the jock.
like him — because his ambition was too
His cynicism can be repellent, his message
naked, his climber’s zeal too palpable. So
GLVFLSOLQHH[KDXVWLQJDQGKLV5HDJDQYLQWDJH
policy proposals induce a mild despair. But
he deliberately switched factions, turning
in the drama of this insane campaign, he
the establishment’s personal disdain into a
has actually earned his position, and if his
political asset, and taking his Ivy League
doggedness wins the Republican nomination
talents to the Tea Party instead.
on the second ballot it will be one of the
Then once installed as a leader of the
most fascinating triumphs in recent political
counterestablishment, he walked a line that
history.
looks, again, far more calculated than most
Though it will also probably be short-
conviction politicians. While his fellow Tea
lived. But if you think a little thing like losing
Party senators, from Paul to Rubio to Utah’s
Mike Lee, built detailed policy portfolios that a general election will dispose of Ted Cruz’s
¿WWKHLULQWHUHVWVDQGLQFOLQDWLRQV&UX]QHYHU ambitions, you don’t know Ted Cruz.
Ŷ
seemed to take a step on any contentious
Ross Douthat joined The New York Times
issue without gaming it out 17 moves ahead.
His push for the Obamacare shutdown,
as an Op-Ed columnist in April 2009. His
and the bill of goods he sold the party’s
column appears every Sunday. Previously,
EDVHZDVDSDUWLFXODUO\UHPDUNDEO\H[HUFLVH
he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a
in self-serving political cynicism. But on
blogger for theatlantic.com.
Betty Brunette
Pendleton
Hospital smokers pollute
and litter
Good Shepherd Medical Center
elected to go campus-wide smoke/
tobacco free for the second time in my
H[SHULHQFH
:KDW,¿QGLVDQHYHULQFUHDVLQJ
number of cigarette butts and recently
a whole empty package tossed into
the grass. Lo and behold, a smoker’s
oasis appeared. I wonder if there is any
concern by the smokers of how they
pollute the air and hinder the care of
the breathless patients.
I wonder if this time will fall as did
WKH¿UVW
Tom Farney
Hermiston
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.
OTHER VIEWS
Rural recreation good for Oregon
The (Medford) Mail-Tribune, March 27
T
he case of the misguided occupation of
the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
will drag on for some time as the
charges against the occupiers work their way
through the federal courts, not to mention the
additional charges stemming from a 2014
standoff over cattle grazing in Nevada. Just
cleaning up the mess the Malheur occupiers
left behind will take until early summer,
RI¿FLDOVVD\DWDFRVWRIPLOOLRQ
Meanwhile, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has
proposed changes in recreation permitting on
federal land that could go a long way toward
reminding the public that these lands really do
belong to them.
The occupiers — Ammon and Ryan Bundy
and their supporters — espouse a twisted
interpretation of the Constitution that they
believe makes government control of vast
stretches of land illegal. They are mistaken
in that belief, but it is undeniable that federal
bureaucracy contributes to frustration among
many in the West. Anything that makes
navigating that bureaucracy easier will go a
long way toward reinforcing the notion that
public land belongs to the public, and the
government merely manages it on our behalf.
Wyden’s proposal has to do with
recreational uses such as permits for river
guides who lead raft trips on the Rogue and
other rivers, but it goes much farther than that.
The legislation, co-sponsored by
Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, requires
the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission to make recreation
a priority when making land-use and
regulatory decisions, and directs federal land
PDQDJHPHQWDJHQFLHVWRH[WHQGUHFUHDWLRQ
seasons over more of the year wherever
possible. The bill also would simplify the
process of seeking permits for commercial
guides as well as the general public who want
access to public lands.
The legislation grew out of a tour Wyden
and Blumenauer undertook last year to visit
Oregon’s “Seven Wonders” and what they
heard in listening sessions they conducted
along the way. The resulting proposals have
the support of many outdoor recreation and
tourism groups.
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to serve those visitors as well as encouraging
tourists to use public lands on their own will
help the outdoor industry thrive and grow, and
that’s good for everyone.