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OPINION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Republicrats
and Demicans
What lies ahead for two-party
rule in U.S. politics is anyone’s
guess, and speculation about its
unraveling has become a popular
conversation point in the tumultuous
past nine months.
Bernie Sanders, and Independent,
has invigorated and swayed a large
section of the Democratic party to
vote for him in the primary. Donald
Trump, who has switched his own
affi liation between red and blue
based on the direction of the wind
for the past 20 years, has (probably)
taken the Republican nomination
outright.
The major parties still hold major
power in fundraising and candidate
building, but the donkey and
elephant brands have come to mean
less and less to the average voter.
A 2014 study by Pew Research
shows 39 percent of voters identify
as “independent,” compared
to Democrats (32 percent) and
Republicans (23 percent). That’s
the highest percentage of voters
claiming independence from a party
in the 75 years of public opinion
polling.
What that will mean in the
national picture is uncertain. But
locally, in the unquestionably red
counties of Eastern Oregon, there is
one path to the state Capitol — the
Republican ticket. The Democratic
Party is so neglected here that
no contender even stepped up to
make a bid for the Oregon House
or Senate in northeastern Oregon’s
three seats.
In that blank space on the ballot,
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and
Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, have
publicly asked Democrats in their
respective districts to write in their
names. If they’re able to rally
enough support, their names will
appear on the November ballot with
both an “R” and “D” behind them.
Conveniently, it would also keep
a write-in Democrat from mounting
a late campaign and getting on that
ballot.
While we like the idea of our
representatives reaching out to all
constituents for a show of support,
it does feel strange to see them
pursuing an electoral monopoly. The
point of a system with more than
one party, and therefore primaries
before an election, is accountability.
Having one candidate stand in for
both parties is disingenuous and
confusing.
Just because they can each get a
few dozen Democrat voters to write
their name on the ballot doesn’t
mean they represent that party’s
ideals.
But it is diffi cult to blame the
opportunism. With no challengers
willing to step up and take the
Democrat mantle this time around,
being able to show some level of
bipartisan support when they return
to the Capitol should be a badge of
honor if nothing else.
Brown shows contradiction
on transparency
Few state functions generate
as much interest, or cost so much
money, as transportation. Keeping
deliberations about transportation
policies and priorities open to public
scrutiny ought to be a top priority for
all who truly care about government
transparency.
Taking a page from the Obama
administration, which talks a
good game on openness but
actually suppresses the free fl ow
of information, Gov. Kate Brown
takes the position that a majority
of the Oregon Transportation
Commission can meet privately
as part of a planning committee
without any notice. As Hillary
Borrud of our Capital Bureau
reported, the planning group —
appointed by Oregon Transportation
Commission Chairwoman Tammy
Baney — is discussing what issues
a contractor should examine as part
of a review of the Department of
Transportation.
There may very well be politically
awkward aspects of the review.
How this examination is framed will
help determine the agency’s future
directions and look at how state
highways and other transportation
infrastructure currently function.
On the line are hundreds of millions
of dollars in project spending the
Legislature could approve next year.
In light of cities vying with rural
areas, gas taxes, perennial suspicions
about waste and favoritism, debates
over motor vehicles versus public
transit, and a host of other issues,
these discussions obviously should
be conducted in public.
Our open meetings law states:
“The Oregon form of government
requires an informed public
aware of the deliberations and
decisions of governing bodies and
the information upon which such
decisions were made.”
It does not bode well for Gov.
Brown’s views of transparency that
she sees no contradiction in her
rhetoric and actions on this matter.
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
It takes a policy
U
.S. politicians love to pose as
to help young children and their
defenders of family values.
parents. All of this would still leave
Unfortunately, this pose
America less generous than many
is often, perhaps usually, one of
other countries, but it would be a big
remarkable hypocrisy.
step toward international norms.
Is this doable? Yes. Is it desirable?
And no, I’m not talking about the
Very much so.
contrast between public posturing
When we talk about doing more
and personal behavior, although this
for children, it’s important to realize
contrast can be extreme. Which is
Paul
more amazing: the fact that a long-
Krugman that it costs money, but not all that
much money. Why? Because there
serving Republican speaker of the
Comment
aren’t that many young children at
House sexually abused teenage boys,
any given time, and it doesn’t take
or how little attention this revelation
a lot of spending to make a huge difference
has received?
to their lives. Our threadbare system of
Instead, I’m talking about policy. Judged
public support for child care
by what we actually
and early education costs
do — or, more accurately,
0.4 percent of the GDP;
don’t do — to help small
France’s famously generous
children and their parents,
system costs 1.2 percent of
America is unique among
the GDP. So we could move
advanced countries in its
a long way up the scale with
utter indifference to the lives
a fairly modest investment.
of its youngest citizens.
And it would indeed be
For example, almost all
an investment — every bit
advanced countries provide
as much of an investment
paid leave from work for
as spending money to
new parents. We don’t. Our
repair and improve our
public expenditure on child
transportation infrastructure.
care and early education, as
After all, today’s children
a share of income, is near
are tomorrow’s workers
the bottom in international
and taxpayers. So it’s an
rankings (although if it
incredible waste, not just
makes you feel better, we do
for families but for the
slightly edge out Estonia.)
nation as a whole, that so
In other words, if you
many children’s futures
judge us by what we do, not
are stunted because their
what we say, we place very
little value on the lives of our children, unless parents don’t have the resources to take
care of them as well as they should. And
they happen to come from affl uent families.
affordable child care would also have the
Did I mention that parents in the top fi fth of
immediate benefi t of making it easier for
U.S. households spend seven times as much
parents to work productively.
on their children as parents in the bottom
Are there any reasons not to spend a
fi fth?
bit more on children? The usual suspects
But can our neglect of children be ended?
will, of course, go on about the evils of big
In January, both Democratic candidates
government, the sacred nature of individual
declared their support for a program that
would provide 12 weeks of paid leave to care choice, the wonders of free markets, and so
on. But the market for child care, like the
for newborns and other family members.
market for health care, works very badly in
And last week, while the news media was
practice.
focused on Donald Trump’s imaginary
And when someone starts talking about
friend, I mean imaginary spokesman, Hillary
choice, bear in mind that we’re talking
Clinton announced an ambitious plan to
improve both the affordability and quality of about children, who are not in a position to
choose whether they’re born into affl uent
U.S. child care.
households with plenty of resources or less
This was an important announcement,
wealthy families desperately trying to juggle
even if it was drowned out by the ugliness
work and child care.
and nonsense of a campaign that is even
So can we stop talking, just for a moment,
uglier and more nonsensical than usual. For
child-care reform is the kind of medium-size, about who won the news cycle or came up
with the most effective insult, and talk about
incremental, potentially politically doable
policy substance here?
— but nonetheless extremely important —
The state of child care in America is cruel
initiative that could well be the centerpiece
and shameful — and even more shameful
of a Clinton administration. So what’s the
because we could make things much better
plan?
without radical change or huge spending.
OK, we don’t have all the details yet,
And one candidate has a reasonable, feasible
but the outline seems pretty clear. On the
plan to do something about this shame, while
affordability front, Clinton would use
the other couldn’t care less.
subsidies and tax credits to limit family
■
spending on child care — which can be more
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times
than a third of income — to a maximum of
10 percent. Meanwhile, there would be aid to in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page
and continues as professor of Economics and
states and communities that raise child-care
workers’ pay, and a variety of other measures International Affairs at Princeton University.
If you judge us
by what we do,
not what we say,
we place very
little value on the
lives of our
children, unless
they happen to
come from
affl uent families.
Culture corner
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.
It’s been 20 years since Weezer released
“Pinkerton,” considered the band’s gold
standard among fans and critics. Since then,
frontman Rivers Cuomo has eroded much
of that goodwill with lazy songwriting
(basically everything on
“Make Believe”) and one
laughably bad collaboration
with Lil’ Wayne (“Can’t Stop
Partying”).
Enter “The White Album,”
Weezer’s fourth in a series
of color-coded, self-titled
records, and 10th overall,
which hit store shelves on
April 1. From the opening
track, it’s clear Cuomo is
borrowing heavily from the
Beach Boys — that intro on
“California Kids” should
remind you immediately of “Wouldn’t It Be
Nice” — but the sound overall blends well
with Weezer’s power pop style, especially on
“(Girl We Got A) Good Thing” and “Summer
Elaine and Drunk Dori.”
Lyrically, the 45-year-old Cuomo
rediscovers the difference between youthful
sincerity and merely sounding childish.
In his pining for youth, Cuomo sings the
opening lines of “California Kids” (“When
you wake up; cobwebs on your eyelids;
stuck in rigor mortis”)
versus this line off 2009’s
“Raditude” (“Your mom
cooked meatloaf, even
though I don’t eat meat; I
dug you so much, I took
some for the team”).
This isn’t to say
Weezer hasn’t had some
very catchy songs since
their mid-90s zenith, but
“White” is undoubtedly
their most enjoyable album,
top to bottom, in nearly
Atlantic Records
two decades. It might not
fully recapture “Pinkerton,” but it’s more than
enough to remind you what they’re capable
of.
— Reporter George Plaven writes about
agriculture for the East Oregonian, and is
defi nitely no rock critic.
Culture Corner is a Tuesday feature to recommend music, fi lm, literature and arts.