Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, July 21, 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
Ted speaks at Trump show
AP Photo/John Locher
Massachusetts delegates Patricia Saint Aubin and Amy Carnevale dance
during the second day session of the Republican National Convention in
Cleveland on Tuesday.
Conventional wisdom
A convention is a four-day
infomercial for a political party.
It’s a pep rally, a lecture series, a
campaign stop and a coronation.
It’s at times fantastic and
fascinating. Yet at times it oscillates
between dreary and unhinged.
The Republicans had the irst go
at it in this quadrennial, convening
in Cleveland. The new king of
the party, Donald Trump, plans to
close out the event Thursday with a
speech.
The party did the real work of the
convention on Tuesday — scrubbing
the “presumptive” preix from
Trump and oficially naming him
the Republican nominee in the
November election. There were a
few small insurrections that tried to
throw a wrench in those plans, but
they did not amount to much.
Some Republicans tried to mount
a rules change that would have
unbound delegates, meaning they
could support whoever they wished
and would not be forced to represent
the results of their state’s primary.
But the move failed to gather
momentum and faltered.
In another skirmish, Republicans
from Alaska were incensed when
their delegates — who were split
between Trump, Ted Cruz and
Marco Rubio — were tallied
completely for Trump.
One reason the skirmishes
remained small was because of
earlier backroom rules ights that
closed the door on the “Never
Trump” factions.
Those rules committees have
helped pave the way for a number
of U.S. presidents, and dumped
“presumptive” nominees who
had garnered more primary votes.
In 1952, Robert Taft entered the
convention as the GOP favorite, but
late-entering Dwight Eisenhower
supporters used an early rules
committee hearing to test the waters
for an overthrow. The waters proved
warm, the GOP traded out Taft for
Einsenhower, and Ike went on to
serve two terms as president.
There were a few other noticeable
moments of disagreement and
discord in the 2016 edition, but
conventions are for creating an
environment and a narrative to make
a nominee look presidential.
There has been little political
drama in the GOP convention,
but plenty of the personal kind.
Melania Trump lifted portions of
her speech from Michelle Obama,
but what was even more damaging
was her admission that she “always
liked” the current First Lady. You
could almost hear the shudder echo
through the arena when that went
public. Then there was the long line
of Trump detractors who have since
climbed aboard the bandwagon.
Rick Perry once called Trump a
“cancer,” yet endorsed him.
Not everyone got in line — there
are no Bushes in the Buckeye State,
and Governor John Kasich has
made himself scarce. Ted Cruz
could barely bring himself to utter
Trump’s name and very clearly did
not disappoint. Barbara Bush said in
an interview Tuesday: “I don’t know
how women can vote for Trump.”
Conventions, by their nature, are
not places for balanced debates.
Republicans — and their nominee
— get four days to make their best
argument about the future of the
country. Next week, Democrats get
their opportunity.
But we can learn things from
conventions, mostly about how a
political party deines itself. This
year, both parties are deining
themselves mostly in opposition
to the other: Republicans are anti-
Hillary and Democrats anti-Trump.
Which is a reminder that
conventions are extravagant
infomercials. You must watch with
a critical eye and realize that, like
every As Seen On TV pitch, the
problems are not that bad and the
solutions are not that easy.
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.
C
LEVELAND — One of the last
mild next to those mentioned by Rick
times you saw Ted Cruz, lames
Perry, who called Trump “a barking
were shooting from his head
carnival act” and “a cancer” before
and spittle was lying from his mouth
endorsing him and showing up in
— metaphorically, at least — as he
support of him here.
And it’s not just Trump who brings
branded Donald Trump “a pathological
out the squish in politicians. Their
liar,” “a serial philanderer,” “utterly
spines jellify in all sorts of situations.
amoral” and a “narcissist” on a level
Remember Marco Rubio’s
this country had seldom seen. It was
Frank
insistence that he’d be leaving the
the day of Indiana’s Republican
Bruni
Senate after 2016? In May he gave
primary, Trump had just insinuated a
Comment
his latest guarantee, tweeting: “I have
connection between Cruz’s father and
only said like 10,000 times I will be a
the assassination of John F. Kennedy,
private citizen in January.”
and Cruz announced that
Rubio wasn’t just resolute;
he must at long last tell the
he was labbergasted that
world “what I really think”
anyone could doubt his
of Trump.
resoluteness. As it turns
But when you saw
out, though, a vow doesn’t
the Texas senator on the
become an ironclad
convention stage here on
guarantee until it’s made
Wednesday night, that
20,000 times. In June, he
contempt and candor was
announced his candidacy for
absent. He may not exactly
re-election.
have praised Trump, but
Pranksters write
he swallowed whatever
in disappearing ink;
misgivings he still feels,
politicians speak in it. And
and his presence alone was
that certainly includes
taken by some viewers as a
Democrats — Evan Bayh,
gesture of implicit, tentative
for one. When he left the
support.
Senate six years ago, he
It is also an example of
did so in an indignant,
what he always says he can’t
operatically aggrieved
stand about other politicians
fashion, describing it as
and what voters loathe as
hopelessly partisan and
well: the elasticity of their
corrupted by money and
convictions, the urgency of
outside inluences. He then
their self-interest and the
alacrity with which they take an eraser to their joined the outside inluencers, going to work
for a lobbying and law irm. But he apparently
past words.
missed all that partisanship and corruption,
There’s a lot of erasing going on these
because now he wants back in. The negative
days, and Trump is a big reason. For many
ads write themselves.
Republicans, rallying round him means
Cruz isn’t up for re-election to the Senate
conveniently forgetting how much they
until 2018, but what’s on his mind is 2020.
disagreed with or even detested him before, a
He clearly began plotting his comeback the
breach much wider than the one that typically
moment he exited the Republican primaries.
exists between opponents within a political
His convention speech will be a part of it and
party.
warrants careful study as a road map to where
Mike Pence had to do a memory purge
he thinks the post-Trump GOP is headed.
so complete it may well constitute a
He has even repaired his pride (to
lobotomy. Once upon a time he deemed
the extent that it ever needs repair) and
Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims from
reasserted his dominance by coming up with
entering the United States “offensive and
unconstitutional,” but Trump’s slight tweak to a conspiracy theory for how the Republican
nomination was actually stolen from
that — a focus on immigrants from Muslim-
him — by the news media! As he explained
heavy countries that seem to be fertile for
to Politico’s Glenn Thrush: “I think many
terrorists — is something Pence now praises.
of the mainstream media players are liberal
People say the vice presidency is a miserable
Democrats. They intend to vote for Hillary.
job, but what misery politicians go through in
They believed Donald was the easiest
pursuit of it.
candidate for Hillary to beat. And I think many
Pence is also among the large crowd of
of them wanted him to win the nomination. I
lawmakers whom Trump savages for having
don’t think it was innocent decision-making
supported the invasion of Iraq. He’s an
advocate of the trade deals that Trump mocks. behind this.”
I take back what I wrote earlier about his
And in that Indiana primary? Pence endorsed
ickleness. He is 100 percent constant — in his
Cruz. But now he’s all aboard and all about
adoration and exaltation of Ted Cruz.
the good ship Trump, because it has the
■
plusher staterooms and is sailing toward the
Frank Bruni, an Op-Ed columnist for The
snazzier port.
New York Times since June 2011, joined the
I shouldn’t beat up on Pence. Whatever
paper in 1995.
reservations he expressed about Trump were
Cruz isn’t up for
re-election to
the Senate until
2018, but what’s
on his mind is
2020. He clearly
began plotting
his comeback
the moment
he exited the
Republican
primaries.
OTHER VIEWS
Building homes in Pendleton could bring jobs
C
ompletion of an up-to-date
attract business investment when you
study of Pendleton housing is
have decent housing than to persuade
good news. Although housing
yourself that new business will come
construction has been on the upswing,
without suficient housing.
many of us in town have been
Until now,
worrying about considerable numbers
Pendleton has lacked
of people who work in Pendleton
a comprehensive
but can’t ind housing here. Many
assessment of its
have long commutes and others have
housing. A Tucson,
Mike
settled elsewhere.
Forrester Arizona, company,
No point in complaining about
Sabino Community
Comment
declines in school enrollment or
Development
fewer shopping opportunities if we in
Resources, did a
Pendleton fail to provide enough apartments,
Pendleton housing study in
single family houses, town houses, renovated 2011, but a Sabino oficial
old houses or other units for people to live in. admitted to John Turner that
Same goes for new business investment
his irm’s recommendations
or jobs. If you have low housing vacancy
in the wake of the Great
rates, as Pendleton has, it is tougher to attract
Recession were too
businesses or their employees.
conservative. Turner, who
For those who prefer smaller
is mayor-elect, chairs
communities, the Pendleton area can’t be
the Pendleton Housing
beat for livability. The Pendleton personality,
Committee. He and his
diversity and recreation make this a special
committee just submitted to
place.
city council a 2016 report
But I wonder if some of us are so satisied from Sabino on housing
that we have failed to keep up with the
along with comments from
times: The need to refurbish old housing and
the Pendleton Housing Committee.
changes in demographics, for examples.
The new Sabino report contains new
You can argue that new or renovated
information on Pendleton’s housing situation:
housing should wait for expanded business
sizes of the various classes of housing
in town. But it seems to me that it’s easier to
inventories, how incomes inluence decisions
on renting and buying housing units. As
Pendleton tries to meet housing needs, the
city will now have a 50-page report to hand
to builders, lenders and others.
The report also suggests
to the city a few Pendleton
housing priorities based on
market needs
I’d like to make a
suggestion here: that the city
try to ind a person from the
housing industry — maybe
retired — to do part-time
contract work overseeing
efforts to expand the
housing inventory.
There are a few
components here —
construction companies,
subcontractors, Realtors,
lenders, city planning
and zoning, state and
federal programs — that
try to encourage certain
types of housing. Some
of the players are in the
private sector, some in
government. Seems to me that a person
with some of that experience plus ability to
work with others could be a deinite plus for
housing in Pendleton. He or she could be
a liaison among the parties. Even working
No point in
complaining
about declining
school
enrollment
or shuttered
business if we
fail to provide
enough places
for people to
live.
just one day a week could help.
The alternative is to assign city staff,
including the city manager, to tend to
bridging gaps among the various parties. I
think such an arrangement sometimes works
out better on paper than on the ground.
Because of the importance of housing to this
town and because of the complex process, the
right part-time overseer could help.
The new Sabino report helps pave the way
to make more housing headway.
■
Mike Forrester is a member of the EO
Media Group board of directors and former
editor of the East Oregonian. He lives in
Pendleton.
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 indi-
vidual 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.