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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, May 5, 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 Attitude, outlook deine judge race tacks, Ballard said he will be fact- Perhaps the East Oregonian based and “no nonsense” on the editorial board is not the best judge bench, and will be a “predictable” of judges. None of us has a law ruler that will allow lawyers from background and we can’t speak a both sides to know what to expect. lick of Latin. Although mandatory minimums But we imagine we have those traits in common with many readers have greatly restricted judges in their sentencing lexibility, Ballard said and voters. And because the race he will work to uphold gun rights for Umatilla and Morrow County where possible, help those who have circuit judge is one of the May made a one-time mistake get back election’s most competitive and to their lives, and punish those who most important, it deserves some have become a drain on society comment and discussion. and a threat to John Ballard, a safety. Hermiston attorney Ballard will be community Lieuallen, on specializing in the other hand, divorce cases, predictably said he will be is taking on Jon tough and terse. fair, unbiased and Lieuallen, a He Pendleton-based Lieuallen will be approachable. said he will take the attorney with a more open and time to explain his wider variety of reasoning to both law experience, engaged. the prosecutors and but perhaps at less the defense, and be depth. Lieuallen a transparent arbiter was defeated by Lynn Hampton after challenging the of each and every matter that comes before him. incumbent back in 2012. And perhaps that is the main The two candidates in this difference. Ballard will be election have tried to distinguish predictably tough and terse. Defense themselves in different ways. Both attorneys could look to avoid his spoke of the hard campaign slog of courtroom if possible, and that can trying to get voters if not interested in the race, at least informed about it. have a debilitating effect on the Ballard, at public events and with eficiency of our local circuit court. Lieuallen will be more open and the editorial board, has represented engaged, but perhaps that will allow himself as tough on crime, attorneys to get away with a few unconvinced of the value of drug more of the “games” both candidates court and probation and treatment know get played in a courtroom. efforts. He says there are too many Your personal preference of career criminals in our communities who belong in jail for long stretches style is just as valuable as ours to decide who to vote for. In our and as judge he would be more opinion, Lieuallen’s judicial style apt to put them there. It’s a classic is more practical and more useful populist argument, and he will win in the circuit court that operates some votes that way. in Umatilla and Morrow counties. Lieuallen will win votes with a different tactic, portraying himself as And Lieuallen’s work history is a family man and community leader, without the questionable ethical a hometown person with high ethics decisions that Ballard has made. In our opinion, there is a greater chance and morals. It, too, is a populist Ballard’s style makes him a less message. effective judge who will be unable Yet both arguments have little to to take on the caseload necessary to do with being a good judge. keep our courts in order. When it comes down to brass 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. How GOP bigwigs made their peace with Trump W ith Donald Trump heading Committee members held a meeting in toward what more and more Hollywood, Florida. At that meeting, Republicans believe will member after member said that he or be victory in the GOP primaries, an she would support Trump if Trump is increasing number of party igures — the party’s nominee. Now, Republican none fans of Trump originally — are National Committee members making their peace with the idea of pledging to support the Republican Trump as their nominee. Some are nominee should be no surprise. But it even working out an argument, at least was an institutional conirmation that Byron in their own minds, that Trump has the party will accept Trump. York a plausible chance to defeat Hillary Perhaps most importantly, some Comment Clinton in a general election. have begun to game out a Trump vs. There have been brief establishment Clinton general election contest. They lirtations with Trump in the past. But those know that dozens of polls have shown Clinton lirtations ended when Trump said something trouncing Trump, often by double digits. outrageous or the campaign took some (brief) But they were struck by a recent George anti-Trump turn, most recently when Ted Cruz Washington University Battleground Poll that won the Wisconsin primary on April 5. Now, showed Clinton winning by just 3 points. It’s with Trump’s ive-for-ive victories in the just one poll, but for some it conirmed the Northeast last Tuesday, some establishment idea that there might be a different dynamic members are doing more at work in the race once than lirting with the idea of Trump becomes the Trump. They’re accepting it. nominee and the contest is What follows won’t simply Donald vs. Hillary. include names, but is based The ight will become more on private conversations even. with several stalwart “Trump does bring a Republicans, including a little magic to this in that he former top party oficial, could shufle the traditional former members of Congress battleground map,” who have been active in one former presidential the campaign, a member of campaign manager told me. the party’s foreign-policy “I haven’t seen any data on establishment, two former that, but I’m just getting managers of GOP presidential campaigns, a feeling that he’s going to put a couple of and more. In addition, several other inluential Midwestern states in play.” Republicans, like Sens. Bob Corker and John “I saw Goeas’ poll this week,” the former Cornyn, along with former House Speaker manager continued, referring to Ed Goeas, the John Boehner, have spoken out publicly in a Republican author of the Battleground Poll. somewhat Trump-friendly way recently. “Look, Trump hasn’t even started to take out Each says different things, but overall, Hillary yet. He hasn’t even begun taking it to there is one reason for the change in attitude: her, and when he does, it’s a two-prong thing. voters. In this case, 10,056,690 Republican One, it unites the party like no other thing, and primary votes for Trump (so far) have a way two, it will start to damage her. Look at what of changing a politician’s mind. he’s done to Lyin’ Ted and Little Marco and The GOP politicos carefully count Low Energy Jeb.” delegates — some the old-fashioned way, on a Maybe the insiders are deluding legal pad, instead of using the various delegate themselves. The RealClearPolitics compilation calculators on the web — and now believe of general election head-to-head polls is a Trump will win at least the 1,237 required long list of blue numbers favoring Clinton. to clinch the Republican nomination on the But the fact is, some inluential Republicans irst ballot. Most began to feel that way after are beginning to question the assumption that Trump won New York with 60.5 percent of the Trump is guaranteed to lose big. vote, not only stopping the momentum Cruz That’s the kind of change that decisive had gained in Wisconsin but also punching a primary victories produce. hole in the idea of a Trump “ceiling.” “The memories of Trump’s last outrageous “They are recognizing that the voters statements have faded a little bit and he’s won are speaking,” said one GOP veteran of his big,” said another insider. establishment colleagues. None of this means party insiders are Because of that, the insiders dismiss enthusiastic about Trump. As one less continuing efforts to stop Trump as too little, optimistic type told me, they are trying to too late. In hindsight, they now say that was igure out whether to try to help Trump in a true all along. The millions spent on ads general election race or sit out the campaign against Trump in Florida? Too late. National in a deep funk. But the bottom line is, they Review’s “Against Trump” broadside? Too can read election results. They realize the late. #NeverTrump? Too late. For whatever voters are telling them something. And they reason, the GOP politicos have concluded, are moving toward accepting Trump as their anti-Trump forces in the party were always nominee. “If anything,” said another insider, behind the times, to Trump’s beneit. “it may be happening faster than you think.” The insiders also know other Republicans ■ think the same thing. They took notice Byron York is chief political correspondent recently when Republican National for The Washington Examiner. 10 million primary votes for Trump have a way of changing a politician’s mind. YOUR VIEWS Republican drought must end in Oregon A recent East Oregonian editorial described the circumstance of Oregon’s governing leadership remaining within one party as a 30-year drought. In an area such as this, mentioning drought is very apt to draw attention; and, in the context of an election season, it is pretty sure to stir up the base. Oregon’s last Republican governor, Vic Atiyeh, was gutsy enough to face a problem head-on. When the state faced a budget shortfall, he persuaded the legislature to consider a 10 percent state income tax surcharge. It was passed and enacted with a minimum of bloodshed. A few years later, in retaliation for that dastardly act, some remaining hard-shelled Reaganites managed to banish local control of school funding and install control in Salem. Thus began the downward spiral of Oregon’s K-12 education results. At about that same time the “kicker” rebate was dreamed up and, sadly, enshrined in our state constitution. If Republicans were to nominate someone with the integrity and good sense of a Vic Atiyeh, this drought might end. Harvey Foreman Pendleton Clinton’s experience, skills set her apart It is time to return our ballots and make a decision about our next president. We Democrats have a choice between two candidates. In many respects, they’re not too far apart on the issues, health care, minimum wage, job creation or the environment. Their differences are mostly in the details. However, when it comes to who is better qualiied and prepared to make the decisions that presidents must make every day, there is a big difference. Bernie Sanders is illed with good ideas, but without the skills needed to accomplish them. Hillary Clinton not only has the ideas, but the necessary experience, skills and integrity to accomplish these goals. One of the great honors of my life was serving as a delegate for Hillary at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She was the right choice in 2008, and she is the right choice now. I urge all Oregonians to cast their votes for Hillary Clinton for our next president. And get those ballots turned in by May 17. have always known Greg to be a good listener, fair-minded, and just. We believe he will make an excellent Morrow County judge/ commissioner. He has irsthand knowledge of how Morrow County government works and is well placed to implement new policies with the future county government system. Please join us in voting for Greg Sweek, on the May ballot, for our next Morrow County judge. Jack Lorts, former mayor Fossil Athena-Weston School District received a matching grant in the amount of $4 million from the state. In order for our communities to receive the grant we must vote yeson a $4 million bond. If we do not pass our bond the matching grant from the state will be given to Sweek for Morrow County Judge We have known Greg Sweek for many years through his work with Morrow County government. We Raymond and Carol Michael Boardman Vote yes on Athena- Weston school bond another school district. We have a unique opportunity for our communities to improve safety and security for our students and staff, replace much needed roofs, school buses, tennis courts and add air conditioning to the Athena Elementary School and high school gym. This is just a small list of items that will be done with the matching grant and the passing of the bond. We currently have a bond that will mature in June 2016. Our current rate per $1,000 of assessed property value is $1.01. If we pass the bond the levy rate will increase 44 cents and will mature in 10 years. Most schools in our area have much higher levy rates per thousand and their bonds mature in 20 years. I am proud to be a Tigerscot and I am voting yes for our schools. Please join me in voting yes on May 17. Paula L. Reich Athena