East Oregonian : E.O., November 02, 2016, Page Page 4A, Image 4

Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
OTHER VIEWS
Trump’s missed opportunity
Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP
Kelli Stewart, right, celebrates with Maureen Valdez outside the Mark O.
Hatfield United States Courthouse after the leaders of an armed group who
seized a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon were acquitted Thursday in
the 41-day standoff that brought new attention to a long-running dispute
over control of federal lands in the U.S. West.
Feds fail to prove
conspiracy theory
sometimes persuasive and sometimes
Last week, an Oregon jury made a
not, yet were always imprinting
stunning decision. They found seven
on the jury that there were ulterior
occupiers of the Malheur Wildlife
motives to the
Refuge, on trial for
occupation. They
conspiracy, not guilty.
that impeding
Even Bundy
The end of showed
government workers
supporters — the ones
the case
wasn’t planned, it was
who said the U.S. court
an extra little side
system was rigged and
exemplified just
effect of their protest.
Judge Anna Brown was
Another problem
a government stooge
government
with the government’s
— were surprised.
overreaction case was presenting
They whooped and
seven defendants
hollered and celebrated
to dissent, or all
together. While a jury
a momentous upset in a
unwillingness could have found some
federal court of law.
guilty of
But the celebration
to protect the defendants
one crime and others
didn’t last long. Ammon
rule of law, not guilty of the same
Bundy’s attorney yelled
at the judge, resisted
the trial tied all
depending crime,
federal marshals, was
their fates more tightly
stunned with a Taser
together.
on your
and arrested. It was
And we surely
point of
a shocking end to a
wouldn’t have wanted
shocking case, one that
to put David Fry, a
view.
(depending on your point
mentally unstable
of view) exemplified
young man who
government overreaction to dissent, or only picked up a gun when he was
the occupiers’ unwillingness to respect considering self harm, behind bars
for years. Perhaps sympathy for his
the rule of law.
plight rubbed off in a helpful way for
Now that the dust has cleared,
the Bundys.
we can talk briefly about the facts of
Yet some decisions remain head-
the trial — what went wrong for the
scratchers.
prosecution and what the defense
For instance, Ken Medenbach —
did right. It seems clear, thanks to
arrested after driving a vehicle that
interviews with anonymous jurors,
that no one in the jury box bought into did not belong to him — was found
not guilty of theft. Can you imagine
the prosecution’s arguments that the
anyone, anywhere, being found
occupiers on trial had “conspired” to
do anything.
behind the wheel of a stolen car and
Which raises the question, why did getting off scot-free?
the government choose to level that
It’s clear who the winners and
charge? And why did the government losers of this case were in the
not follow up its charge of “conspiracy courtroom. But it’s not so clear
to impede government workers”
what the effect will be for those
outside of it. What will it mean for
with the substantive “impeding
federal employees in rural Oregon,
government workers?” Those on trial
freely admitted that they took over the for anti-government militias, for
refuge, and government workers were forest collaboratives, for Native
protesters in the Dakotas, for the next
not able to do their jobs during the
weeks-long occupation.
occupation of federal land, be it in the
The conspiracy decision was
middle of nowhere or in the middle
an error, perhaps because of
of the National Mall?
overconfidence of prosecutors that
That remains to be seen. But this
bordered on arrogance.
will not be the last time you hear
The Bundys and their defense
about the occupation trial and the
teams were able to make long
verdict — it will reverberate in rural
political arguments, which were
Oregon for some time.
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.
HARLOTTE, N.C. — Donna
the group — and perhaps the election.
Ryan is a retired director of
Another woman, Jennifer, began by
finance who describes herself
saying she is still undecided. “I’m kind
as a political moderate and whose
of like Donna,” she said. “I wanted
to like Trump. But I don’t know that
political hero is Ronald Reagan. She
I can, because it’s embarrassing the
worries about the national debt, the
way he acts, his temper tantrums. I
threat from the Islamic State, and a
decline in public morality hastened
think he’s just an embarrassment to our
by social media. She doesn’t believe
country. I don’t embrace Clinton, but
Byron
the United States is particularly great
I’d vote for her. It’s probably going to
York
now — she rates it at a six when asked
be a vote against Trump.”
Comment
to place the country’s present condition
By the end of her remarks, Jennifer
on a one-to-ten greatness scale — and
didn’t seem so undecided anymore.
she would like to see an America that is “free
Still another woman, Denise, said she too
and truly leading the world in everything,
is undecided, but leaned a little the other way.
including morals.”
“I’m leaning slightly towards
Donna wanted to vote for
Trump based on Supreme
Donald Trump. For much of
Court decisions, national
the campaign, up until the
security, pro-life,” Denise
summer’s party conventions,
said. “Mainly for what the
she was drawn to the appeal
party stands for, not as much
of a businessman, and
the candidate.”
especially a non-politician,
Hart asked Denise if
running for president. (She
she had anything to say to
still has warm feelings for
Donna — that is, perhaps
Ben Carson, whose candidacy
to persuade her it’s OK to
she admired.) But she can no
support Trump.
longer support Trump and has
“No,” said Denise, adding
“pretty closely decided” to
that it’s a personal decision.
vote for Hillary Clinton.
— Donna, She appeared to completely
“I so much wanted
An undecided voter inter- understand her fellow group
Trump,” Donna told a focus
viewed recently in Charlotte members’ choice not to
group held Tuesday night
support Trump.
in the Charlotte area by the
As the talk went on, it
Democratic pollster Peter Hart. “I so much
became obvious that Trump could have had
wanted a non-politician. But I don’t trust him,
the support of Donna and Jennifer, and could
and I’ve become afraid of him.”
have had the undivided support of Denise.
Why afraid? asked Hart.
Trump did have their support when the
“Because I just don’t think he knows
summer began — and remember that was
when to shut up,” Donna answered. “If he
after a crazy and contentious primary season,
would just say, I’m a businessman, I’m not a
when Trump started a zillion controversies,
from dissing John McCain to calling for a
politician, I’m going to make America great
ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S.
again — and stop right there — then I would
to allegedly mocking a disabled reporter to
vote for him.”
declining to disavow David Duke to going
When did Trump lose you? Hart asked.
“Around the summertime, so it guess it was after a judge of Mexican descent. Even after
all that, Trump still had a real chance to win
around the conventions,” Donna answered. “I
Donna’s, and Jennifer’s and Denise’s strong
started getting nervous. He just went off and
support.
his face gets all red.”
But Trump let it all get away. And it
Another Hart question: When his face gets
didn’t happen with the leak of the “Access
red, what does that say to you?
Hollywood” tape, or with the accounts of
“I see a temper, a temper tantrum, like a
women who said Trump tried to grope them.
little boy,” Donna said. “I had five brothers,
No, it appears Trump blew it with many
and I remember that face. And that’s when I
got scared of him.”
women beginning with the conventions, when
“So I started to listen more to Clinton. I
he formally entered a one-on-one contest with
don’t like Clinton, let me tell you, and I don’t
Hillary Clinton. Under the heightened scrutiny
trust her, but I think she’s the lesser of two
of a general election race, with press coverage
evils.”
turning sharply negative, Trump’s fight with
There were a dozen people in Hart’s
Khizr Khan, his remarks about “Second
group, six men and six women. They were
Amendment people,” his extended fight
all what Hart called “late deciders” — they
over the 1996 Miss Universe — those new
had made their choice in the last couple of
controversies, piled on top of the pre-existing
months — or were still undecided. Of the
controversies from the GOP primary season,
men, three appeared to support Trump, with
finally took Trump down. Everything after that
some reservations, while two appeared to less
was just extra.
reluctantly support Clinton. One was difficult
To watch the session was to see the great
to read. The ones who supported Trump
big, beautiful opportunity Trump — even
worried a lot about the Supreme Court and
the most imperfect Trump — had to win the
on that basis chose to back the Republican.
loyalty of voters who wanted something new.
(Indeed, for most of the Trump leaners, the
He had a golden chance and didn’t do it.
future of the Court was nearly the only reason
■
cited to explain their support.)
Byron York is chief political correspondent
But it was the women who told the story of for The Washington Examiner.
C
“I so much
wanted Trump.
But I don’t trust
him, and I’ve
become afraid
of him.”
YOUR VIEWS
Cop who attended fish trip
says it was no ethical error
I was disappointed when I read the recent
article entitled “Free fishing trip for cops
draws ethics question.” The disappointment
was not in my judgment or behavior, but in
that of whomever decided to make this an
issue.
I retired after 30 years of law enforcement
and am now in my tenth year of part-time
employment as a court security officer for
the sheriff and the state courts in Umatilla
County. Over the span of my career I have
made every reasonable effort to avoid ethical
errors and conflict and do not agree with the
perception that there was one here.
I was honored to be invited to attend the
Cops for Kings event. I enjoyed it immensely
and, given the opportunity, would do it
again. I attended a nice dinner hosted by the
organization CMAC (Community Military
Appreciation Committee). They have been
hosting similar events for military veterans
for several years and more recently for police
and fire.
I made a donation at that event that most
likely would have covered the cost of my
dinner. My brother did also. We sat with a
Dallas, Texas, PD officer during the dinner and
were surrounded by police officers from Dallas,
Baton Rouge and around the Pacific Northwest.
We stayed one night at a local motel, paid
for by my brother as our friend Rick stayed
with his personal friend Dion Hess, the
event organizer.
The next day we met at a launch in
Ridgefield and my brother and I rode
in a boat owned and operated by Police
Chief Terry Timeus of West Linn Police
Department. In addition to Chief Timeus
and his mate, Tim and I were accompanied
by three Portland Police Bureau officers.
Our two brother detectives were assigned to
boats with Dallas and Baton Rouge officers.
Our boat caught three salmon that
day and we had a wonderful time. My
brother had a wonderful time even though
I outfished him. Rick was on Dion’s
boat fraternizing with Baton Rouge and
Dallas officers during that time. Part of
the intent of that event was for our Pacific
Northwest community to show some of our
hospitality to the officers from those distant
communities who had recently suffered
tragedy and loss.
This was a wonderful event made
possible by wonderful people, businesses
and police employees organizations in
Portland, Vancouver and Ridgefield. In my
estimation, the ethical conflict lies with
whomever decided to make this an issue.
Michael Gallaher
Retired police chief, Milton-Freewater