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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, July 22, 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
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to the city of Pendleton, whose councilors in the last
week made smart decisions on a possible new ire hall, marijuana businesses
and a boat ramp to the Umatilla River.
The St. Anthony Hospital site is the best option for a future station —
plenty of space, won’t take up important real estate in what must be the
economic and cultural heart of the city, can be built relatively affordably
and will help grow a now empty-feeling
neighborhood.
The city and ire department still have
a dificult job ahead of them: convincing
taxpayers that a new station should be atop
the city’s long list of needs. But having a
good location, and a well-deined one, will
help that effort.
The councilors dragged their feet as
long as possible on the marijuana issue,
but did the democratic thing by letting
voters have their say on the matter. It will
be interesting to see if Pendleton voters
have changed their mind on the issue,
now that the industry has proven itself more lucrative than predicted and the
dire warnings of increased crime and addiction have not come to fruition.
Whichever way voters go, they will have had their say on the matter and
who could ask for more than that?
And while we’re in a tipping mood, we think a boat ramp on the Umatilla
River is a great idea. As the river becomes more lush with water and ish,
recreation is bound to increase. Good signage and a safe place to enter and
exit will help make locals and visitors feel welcome to enjoy the beautiful
river that runs right through the heart of town.
A tip of the hat to Sen. Ted Cruz, who stood up for his convictions
against the bully Donald Trump, and has been taking heat for it since.
Cruz snubbed Trump at the Republican National Convention on
Wednesday, instead offering lukewarm
support of Republican candidates “up
and down the ticket.” He barely even
mentioned Trump’s name.
And you can understand why.
Throughout the primary campaign,
Trump routinely called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted,”
insinuated Cruz’s father was involved in
the JFK assassination and attacked Cruz’s
wife for her looks.
“I am not in the habit of supporting
people who attack my wife and attack my
father,” Cruz said Thursday, noting “this is
about principles and ideals.”
There is a selish reason why Cruz would make this stand — he sees
Trump getting crushed in November and wants to distance himself early for
a run in 2020. “I told ya so” will be strong with this one.
Still, it took some guts to stand up to the rabid Trump crowd and say his
piece. It’s also telling that, to Trump supporters, it’s insulting to be told to
vote your conscience.
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
Oregon’s vote-by-mail
example should go nationwide
The (Eugene) Register-Guard
T
hree Oregon members of Congress
are trying to expand Oregon-style
voting by mail nationwide. It’s an
idea whose time has come.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer,
all Democrats, said they introduced
their bills in large part because of
new voting restrictions 17 states have
adopted — just in time for the 2016
presidential election — that will make it
harder for many people to vote, or will
disenfranchise them entirely.
Wyden said that working people,
young people, people of color and
people with disabilities will be faced
with signiicant new hurdles.
Since Oregon adopted vote-by-mail
in 1996, it has proved eficient, cost-
effective and popular.
About the only complaints that
have surfaced are a few expressions of
nostalgia for polling places and some
complaints that Oregon is making it
too easy for people to vote, particularly
the wrong sort of people — generally
speaking, liberals.
On the other side of the scales are
compelling arguments for expanding
vote-by-mail nationwide:
▪ It doesn’t disenfranchise people
who have trouble getting enough time
away from work to commute to their
polling place and vote.
▪ It doesn’t hamper or disenfranchise
people who have mobility issues,
including elderly people, those without
cars or people with physical challenges.
▪ It doesn’t burden people with
small children who are trying to vote
while wrangling tiny people who may
be running, crying, exploring or some
combination thereof.
▪ It avoids last-minute voting machine
malfunctions and long lines. Remember
the people waiting up to ive hours to
vote in this year’s Arizona primary?
And the 126,000 people in New York
who were purged from the voting rolls?
Polling places that ran out of ballots?
▪ It also avoids situations like that of
Rhode Island, which slashed the number
of polling places by two-thirds earlier
this year, outraging voters.
▪ It eliminates the problem of voters
showing up at their polling place only to
ind it’s been moved or is opening late,
and the problem of inding enough poll
workers.
▪ It allows people to research issues
as they ill out their ballots, instead
of standing in the voting booth and
trying to remember what Measure 77 is
about — or showing up with a summary
of recommendations ripped from a
newspaper and blindly following those.
▪ The cost to administer an election
in Oregon dropped by nearly 30 percent
after vote by mail was adopted. In
Colorado, costs dropped an average of
40 percent.
▪ It eliminates current inconsistencies
among states: three states conduct
elections solely by mail, and 22 states
allow some elections to be conducted by
mail.
All states currently allow any voter
to request an absentee ballot for any
election, although a number demand a
reason. Requiring all states to offer vote
by mail as an option would not only
provide equity, it would keep states from
asking voters what is going on in their
private lives that merits an absentee
ballot.
There have been a few complaints
or questions in Oregon about signature
veriications on ballots.
In 2009, Orange County, Calif.,
which was considering vote by mail,
investigated Oregon’s experience and
found no conirmed reports of voter
coercion or fraud.
There are no compelling arguments
against national vote by mail. There are,
however, compelling arguments for it.
Trump and the Sultan
T
urkey is a long way from
who to ire in one day? Did he already
Cleveland, where the
have an enemies list? To date, he
Republicans are holding their
has now reportedly purged 1,500
presidential convention. But I’d urge
university deans, revoked the licenses
of 21,000 teachers and either purged or
you to study the recent failed military
detained nearly 35,000 members of the
coup against Turkey’s President
military, security forces and judiciary
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. America is not
as part of his “cleansing” of coup
Turkey — but in terms of personality
and political strategy, Erdogan and
Thomas supporters.
Here’s the real tragedy: Erdogan
Donald Trump were separated at birth. Friedman
was an outstanding leader his irst ive
And the drama playing out in
Comment
years and truly lifted the country’s
Turkey today is the story of just how
economy and middle class. But since
off track a once successful country
then it’s all gone to his head, and he has
can get when a leader who demonizes all his
rivals and dabbles in crazy conspiracy theories gotten away with increasingly bad behavior
by creating an us-versus-them divide between
comes to believe that he alone is The Man —
his loyal, more religious followers, and the
the only one who can make his country great
more secular communities
again — and ensconces
in Turkey.
himself in power.
Because his followers see
Let’s start with Erdogan,
their dignity wrapped up in
who was prime minister
his remaining in power, he
from 2003 to 2014, but then
can say and do anything and
maneuvered himself into
never pay a political price.
the previously symbolic
His base will always rally
role of president and got all
to his us-versus-them dog
key powers shifted to that
whistles. But Turkey in the
position. I confess that when
long run suffers.
I irst heard the news of the
Sound familiar?
July 15 coup attempt, my
Trump relies on the same
irst instinct was to consult
tactics: He fabricates facts
that great foreign policy
and igures on an industrial
expert Miss Manners, The
scale. He regularly puts out
Washington Post’s etiquette
conspiracy theories — his
columnist, because I was
latest is that President Barack Obama’s “body
asking myself, “What is the right response
language” suggests that “there’s something
when bad things happen to bad people?”
“Dear Miss Manners: I instinctively oppose going on” with the president — hinting that
Obama is not comfortable condemning the
military coups against democratically elected
killing of cops by African-American gunmen
governments, like the one in Turkey. But am
and has sympathy for radical Islamists.
I a bad person if part of me felt that Turkey’s
Trump also relies on the us-versus-them
president had it coming?”
bond with his followers to avoid punishment
Anyone who has been following Turkey
for any of his misbehavior. He, too, is
closely knows that Erdogan has been
obsessed with his own prowess, and he
mounting a silent, drip-by-drip coup of
uses Twitter to get around traditional media
his own against Turkish democracy for
gatekeepers — and fact-checkers — to inject
years — jailing reporters, hounding rivals
anything he wants into the nation’s media
with giant tax bills, reviving an internal war
bloodstream. (Erdogan just uses his own
against Turkish Kurds to stoke nationalist
friendly media.) And most of the people
passions to propel his efforts to grab more
Trump has surrounded himself with are either
powers — and by generally making himself
family or second-raters looking for a star turn,
into a modern-day sultan for life.
including his vice-presidential choice and
I’m glad the coup failed, especially the
the person who wrote his wife’s convention
way it did — with many secular Turks who
speech and clearly plagiarized part of it from
actually opposed Erdogan’s autocratic rule,
Michelle Obama. The whole thing reeks of
and had been abused by it, nevertheless
limlam.
coming out against the plotters on the
If Trump is elected, I don’t think there will
principle that Turkish democracy must be
be a military coup, but I guarantee you that
upheld. That was a truly impressive act of
collective wisdom and a display of democratic Jeb Bush’s prediction will be proved true, that
he’ll be “a chaos president” just as he’s been
sensibilities.
The maturity of the Turkish people resulted a “chaos candidate.” Americans will regularly
be in the streets, because they are not going
in Erdogan’s getting what golfers call a
to follow — on any big issue — a man who
mulligan, or a do-over, to demonstrate that
lies as he breathes, who has not done an ounce
he is committed to the universal precepts
of homework to prepare for the job and who
of democracy. Will he? Or will Erdogan go
generates support by conspiracy theories and
right back to his preferred means of staying
making people afraid of the future and one
in power: dividing Turks into his supporters
another.
and enemies of the state, weaving conspiracy
If you like what’s going on in Turkey today,
theories and using the failed coup as a license
you’ll love Trump’s America.
for a witch hunt, not only for plotters but for
■
anyone who has dared to cross his path?
Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer
The early signs are bad. A day after the
Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for
failed coup, Erdogan dismissed 2,745 judges
The New York Times.
and prosecutors. How did he know exactly
In terms of
personality and
political strategy,
Recep Erdogan
and Donald
Trump were
separated at
birth.
YOUR VIEWS
Whisky Fest attendee feels
partial refund is in order
“What a wonderful event!” I was thinking
to myself, as we walked into the irst annual
Pendleton Whisky music festival. The weather
was perfect, the music was awesome, the stage
was set thoughtfully so that patrons had the
sun to their backs. We had purchased the VIP
pre-party tickets two months in advance and
had been looking forward to it for as long.
Yet within a few hours we would be so
disappointed we left before the Zac Brown
Band inished.
To start, there seemed to be no information
available — we had asked on irst arriving
where the pre-paid VIP dinner and drinks
were being served. At least three staffers had
no idea, so we just found our seats and walked
around.
It was early in the evening, so we then
decided to ind some food. A pulled pork
sandwich or nachos for $10 each? Seriously?
We had already spent $270 on the VIP seats,
so where was the VIP treatment?
After wandering throughout the Round-Up
Grounds, we realized the limited number of
bars set up for the amount of people who were
there were sorely lacking. Again, I watched
one drink at a time served slowly by a very
few people, throughout the event. At some
point during the second band, again, another
excellent choice, my iancé and I got in line
for another beer. The second act concluded,
and Zac Brown was coming up. No beer, not
even close — the line had extended to the dirt
track, and we hadn’t reached the grass yet.
The roadies broke down and built up the stage.
Finally on the grass, no beer yet. The headliner
came on stage. Yes, no beer still. We waited
another 45 minutes into Zac Brown’s set.
At this point we chose to return to our seats
and bought bottled water from one of the few
organizations there to raise money for school
sports.
We stayed a little longer, but I am
disappointed to say standing in line for 90
to 120 minutes had worn out our patience.
What a shame. We work hard for our money
and Pendleton Whisky’s music festival was a
waste. Why wasn’t it staffed appropriately, for
the volume of tickets sold? The Zac Brown
Band was a terriic choice, and I’m sorry to
say it was one of the few that night. Does
anyone else feel entitled to a partial refund, as
I do?
Anna Garnett
Boise, Idaho
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. Send letters to 211
S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.