Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, April 27, 2016 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Two Republicans, one opportunity Two Republican candidates for sure want someone who can swing some elbows, cut some bloated governor — Bud Pierce and Allen departments and shake up Salem. Alley — are facing off in the May It’s dificult to picture Pierce in that primary. role. Five names will actually appear Alley is similar to Pierce in many on the ballot for Republican voters, regards, but he may have more but the race will undoubtedly come down to Pierce and Alley, who have political polish and the hard edge both the funding and wherewithal to needed to step into what would be a dificult situation. win the nomination. He is a latecomer to the campaign It’s a solid 1-2 punch for a party that hasn’t held the governor’s ofice and this election cycle has not since 1987. (Incidentally, Republican reached out to Eastern Oregon as much as he said he governors led the would like to. But state for 42 of the can bet if he 48 years before If Oregon is to you survives in May, this recent 30-year avoid the he’ll be drumming drought.) votes in the But only one one-party rule up reliably red side of can survive to take on Kate Brown in that has plagued the state. He, too, has November, and other states, stayed away from Republican voters the unpopular issues should consider the Republicans that have tripped general election need to prove up predecessors, when voting in the most notably Dennis May primary. they can win Richardson who If Oregon is to every once in was in a seemingly avoid the one-party winnable race with rule that has awhile. John Kitzhaber just plagued other states, two years ago. Republicans need to Alley told the prove they can win editorial board this week that he every once in a while. watched the Kitzhaber debacle and Which potential Republican resignation from afar and saw the nominee has the best chance this time around? We’ve spoken to both, state needed a change in party, a change in culture and a change in and are impressed with both. leadership. Pierce is the kind of Republican He spoke mostly about Oregon’s we’d have supported in the last few poor education system — near the elections, when the GOP let social bottom for K-12 graduation rates issues derail campaigns. despite a recent overhaul of the He doesn’t have time for entire system — and the quickly that kind of nonsense. He is a rising costs of a college degree. successful doctor and private He’s got ways to ix it, and doesn’t sector businessperson, with believe another dump truck of reasonable solutions to making dollars is the answer. state government more eficient Perhaps it will not matter which and customer friendly. He has taken Republican wins in May. a keen eye to rural issues and has Perhaps Governor Kate Brown pounded the pavement (and the is untouchable in November — wheat ields and the forests and the deserts) of Eastern Oregon to secure especially in a liberal state where Donald Trump may be on the support and raise money. He may ballot. Trump will cause 7 in 10 lack in pizazz, but he’s a well- informed outsider with a reasonable Oregonians to vote against him, and any Republican candidate is going to approach to the big state issues have to win back at least some of the that Democrats have been unable anti-Trump anger. to tackle — PERS, a statewide For Oregon’s sake, we hope transportation package, Columbia Republicans are able to claim River Crossing and rural economic statewide ofice soon. The irst struggles. step to doing so is ielding quality Perhaps his nice guy image candidates like Bud Pierce and Allen carries with it some naiveté. And if Alley and letting the best candidate Republicans can somehow claim advance into the second round. the governor’s mansion — they 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. 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. What Trump will change — and what he won’t D 3) Going off the rails in onald Trump’s presidential Wisconsin. The GOP primary in campaign is in the middle of Wisconsin was a potential turning a much-discussed reworking. point in the race. If Trump won, There’s a lot of reworking to do. But he would have done perhaps fatal Trump, who now has the advice of damage to the #NeverTrump effort, several political professionals recently which could have splintered and lost brought into the campaign, faces a risk momentum. But with two weeks of doing too much. He has to walk a before the vote, Trump made two ine line to ix his problems without Byron enormous mistakes: 1) attacking Heidi changing the essential character of York Cruz in a couple of late-night tweets, a campaign style that made him the Comment and 2) revealing that he knew little or front-runner in the Republican race. nothing about Republican thinking on A lot of the Trump comments that abortion. Those mistakes, along with Trump’s set off irestorms in the last nine months attack on popular-with-Republicans Gov. weren’t really big, lasting problems for the Scott Walker, sank Trump in Wisconsin. And campaign. A few examples: Trump’s diss of they weren’t just controversial; they showed a John McCain, his feud with Megyn Kelly, his signiicant lapse in judgment on Trump’s part. allegations concerning Mexican immigrant Trump can blame aides for error No. 1, but crime, his mocking a New York Times the fact is, it was his decision. And errors Nos. reporter’s disability, his claim that Muslims 2 and 3 came out of his own mouth. So how to in the New York area celebrated Sept. 11, his prevent such mistakes while keeping Trump’s boast that he could shoot someone on Fifth essential public character? Avenue and his supporters would remain Error No. 1, Trump is working on, with loyal, his charge that George W. Bush lied the hiring of Paul Manafort, Rick Wiley and about the Iraq war — it’s a very long list. others. It remains to be seen whether that is a One could argue that they had a cumulative success. negative effect on Trump’s image, but one Fixing error No. 3 would — or should — could also argue that they were a net plus be easy. Don’t attack your opponent’s wife, in terms of cementing loyalty among his stop tweeting late at night, and learn about supporters. basic Republican doctrine. Look for Trump to The fact is, Trump’s supporters — and actually accomplish those minimal goals. he has more than any other Republican this As the Trump team works on the inside, cycle — are attracted to him because of his there appears to be some confusion about what shoot-from-the-hip style. Go to his rallies Trump’s reworking will actually mean on the around the country, and they’ll say they outside. support Trump because he tells it like it is — Some commentators seem to believe a that he says things they and others would like to say but can’t. That’s a hugely valuable asset true Trump reworking would mean that he no longer does things like, for example, for Trump. If those supporters think Trump calling Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted.” That’s not it. is trimming his sails to win approval from In fact, Trump hasn’t changed his stump the Republican establishment, that would not speech noticeably — just look at the speech help. he delivered Thursday night in Harrisburg, At the same time, some Trump errors have Pennsylvania. Pretty much the same as done grave damage to his campaign. Each always. resulted from Trump’s own judgment, and Manafort tried to explain the change in preventing future repeats will require that Trump not only listen to (good) advice but that a talk with Republican National Committee members meeting Thursday in Hollywood, he restrain his own impulses going forward. Three of the mistakes that badly hurt Trump in Florida. “The part he’s been playing is evolving,” Manafort said. Though he didn’t the last few months: say it outright, Manafort seemed to suggest 1) Early hubris. In late February, after that Trump could sand down a few rough victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina, edges of his style and remain himself, while Nevada, and predictions of a big night on Hillary Clinton could not change the public’s Super Tuesday, Trump thought he had won view that she is dishonest and lacking in the race. That led him to conclude he did not character. need to do the intensive, time-consuming, “Clinton’s negatives are character ground-level delegate-courting work that other negatives,” Manafort said. “People don’t trust campaigns had to do. The mistake had huge her ... they think she’s a liar.” consequences down the road. “Trump’s negatives are negatives that deal 2) Duke/KKK. In a Feb. 28 television with his personality,” Manafort continued. appearance, Trump refused to disavow David “Fixing personality negatives is a lot easier Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. That single than ixing character negatives ... You can’t moment terriied many Republicans. They change somebody’s character, but you can have had the race card played against them change the way a person presents himself.” many, many times by Democrats — and Manafort’s message — and he didn’t now they’re looking at a nominee who won’t elaborate — seemed to be that Trump would condemn Duke and the KKK? Sensing pull back on some excesses, and also appear disaster ahead, some came together in what in different contexts, like next week’s foreign- would become the #NeverTrump movement. policy address, while not changing Trump’s They oppose Trump for many reasons, but essential public style. The bottom line: Look they were galvanized by the Duke/KKK statement. And it didn’t matter that Trump had for Trump to change but not change. ■ disavowed earlier and would do so again; in Byron York is chief political correspondent a general election, the Sunday show moment for The Washington Examiner. will live on in web videos and attack ads. YOUR VIEWS Hatcheries successful, should be supported Over the years I have heard people complain that “nonproit conservation organizations are an industry unto themselves.” After reading your April 21 article on the lawsuit initiated by the Wild Fish Conservancy, I believe these accusations may have validity. I too would like to see the Columbia River full of wild ish. But unfortunately the habitat suitable for their survival in historic numbers no longer exists. But we still want to eat salmon and health oficials tell us we should eat ish for better health. Hatcheries still are our best answer and most hatcheries are working on those problems actually having an adverse affect on wild ish. As to the hatchery ish competing for resources, the Wild Fish Conservancy may have a point. But, if the carrying capacity of the main stem of the Columbia is a concern, I believe the historic millions of downstream smolts would indicate that this should not be a concern. As a biologist I was taught that salmon were some of the most adaptable species on the face of the earth. This adaptability was the result of many thousands of generations spawning with straying ish. As a isheries major we were taught that, if a ish mated with a stray and the offspring survived to subsequently mate, that was a good thing. We were also taught, if a ish mated with a stray and the offspring died, that was also a good thing. In view of this, a case could be made that preserving speciic genetics in a changing environment might not be the best science. Think climate change. In the natural life cycle of salmon there are two major weak links. In the wild, only a few of the salmon’s eggs are fertilized, hatch and become able to survive on their own. Probably less than 10 percent. Hatcheries usually have a record of more than 90 percent. The other weak link is on their return to the Columbia and their place of origin. Recent research has shown that an unaccounted 45 percent of the ish entering the mouth of the river never reach Bonneville. This record includes wild as well as hatchery ish. In the Columbia River seals and sea lions number in the thousands. Historically there were very few seals or sea lions in the Columbia. Most thinking people would conclude that the seals and sea lions ate them. What do we hear from the Wild Fish Conservancy about this? Nothing. Carlisle Harrison Hermiston Drugs harm Oregon, not bloated budgets In recent days we have heard TV ads for Allen Alley for governor and how he’ll cut wasteful spending. I’ve got news for Mr. Alley: His friends at Cascade Policy Institute made sure when they got Ballot Measure 5 passed that there would not be any money for wasteful spending. And just to insure that there wasn’t any money for anything, let alone wasteful spending, his friend Bill Sizemore got Ballot Measure 50 passed. Now we don’t have the money necessary to patch streets, buy new police and ire equipment or upgrade the sewer and wastewater plant. Mr. Alley, I have no idea where you got the idea that Oregon had money for wasteful spending, but it doesn’t. Instead of hollering about wasteful spending, why not holler about the problems we are having with gangs and drugs and get Ballot Measure 50 repealed so that we could put some money into drug and gang enforcement and for infrastructure upgrades? Ridding Oregon of drugs and gangs will bring business and so will upgrading outdated infrastructure. That’a where your priorities should be, Mr. Alley, not cutting the budget more. Barbara Wright, Pendleton Primmer for council I am writing this letter today to urge you to cast your vote to elect Dale Primmer to represent Ward 3 as city councilor in Pendleton. I have known Dale for roughly eight years, getting to know him as an active participant in his children’s activities. Dale is a devoted dad, husband, homeowner and active volunteer in our community. Because of his employment with Umatilla County as director of the community justice system, Dale has a working knowledge of budgets — both in good economic times and bad. He listens to other ideas and evaluates the best way to proceed, always keeping in mind the good of the entire community. Our next city council will face some dificult decisions, but I am sure that given Dale’s common sense approach and willingness to work with others to reach equitable solutions, he is the best suited for election to represent Ward 3. Susan Wood, Pendleton
