Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Good news, great joy
A
t that time the Roman
emperor, Augustus,
decreed that a census
should be taken throughout
the Roman Empire. (This was
the first census taken when
Quirinius was governor of
Syria.) All returned to their
own ancestral towns to register
for this census. And because
Joseph was a descendant of
King David, he had to go to
Bethlehem in Judea, David’s
ancient home. He traveled there
from the village of Nazareth in
Galilee. He took with him Mary,
to whom he was engaged, who
was now expecting a child.
And while they were there,
the time came for her baby to
be born. She gave birth to her
firstborn son. She wrapped him
snugly in strips of cloth and laid
him in a manger, because there
was no lodging available for
them.
That night there were
shepherds staying in the fields
nearby, guarding their flocks
of sheep. Suddenly, an angel
of the Lord appeared among
them, and the radiance of the
Lord’s glory surrounded them.
They were terrified, but the
angel reassured them. “Don’t
be afraid!” he said. “I bring
you good news that will bring
great joy to all people. The
Savior—yes, the Messiah, the
Lord—has been born today in
Bethlehem, the city of David!
And you will recognize him by
this sign: You will find a baby
wrapped snugly in strips of
cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was
joined by a vast host of others
— the armies of heaven —
praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth
to those with whom God is pleased.”
— Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in highest
heaven, and peace on earth
to those with whom God is
pleased.”
When the angels had
returned to heaven, the
shepherds said to each other,
“Let’s go to Bethlehem!
Let’s see this thing that has
happened, which the Lord has
told us about.”
They hurried to the village
and found Mary and Joseph.
And there was the baby, lying
in the manger. After seeing him,
the shepherds told everyone
what had happened and what
the angel had said to them
about this child. All who heard
the shepherds’ story were
astonished, but Mary kept all
these things in her heart and
thought about them often. The
shepherds went back to their
flocks, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and
seen. It was just as the angel
had told them.
Luke 2:1-20 (New Living
Translation)
A
fter Jesus was born in
Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King
Herod, Magi from the east came
to Jerusalem and asked, “Where
is the one who has been born
king of the Jews? We saw his
star when it rose and have come
to worship him.”
When King Herod heard
this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him. When
he had called together all the
people’s chief priests and
teachers of the law, he asked
them where the Messiah was
to be born. “In Bethlehem in
Judea,” they replied, “for this is
what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people
Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi
secretly and found out from
them the exact time the star
had appeared. He sent them to
Bethlehem and said, “Go and
search carefully for the child.
As soon as you find him, report
to me, so that I too may go and
worship him.”
After they had heard the
king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen when
it rose went ahead of them until
it stopped over the place where
the child was. When they saw
the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they
saw the child with his mother
Mary, and they bowed down
and worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasures and
presented him with gifts of
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And having been warned in a
dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country
by another route.
Matthew 2:1-12 (New Living
Translation)
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P
resident Barack Obama and
power. While Democrats continue
Gov. Pat McCrory of North
to play by more genteel rules,
Carolina don’t agree on many
Republicans have subscribed to the
policy questions. But they have found
Capone school of politics (as Sean
themselves facing a similar political
Connery fans can recite): “They pull a
situation this year. And their very
knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of
different reactions capture the deep —
yours to the hospital, you send one of
and alarming — differences between
his to the morgue.”
our two political parties right now.
In several states, Republicans have
David
Both Obama and McCrory
Leonhardt changed laws to reduce Democratic
essentially had their accomplishments
voter turnout. After Obama’s election,
Comment
on the ballot. McCrory, a Republican,
Mitch McConnell rallied Senate
was running for re-election. Obama
Republicans to oppose his policies —
wasn’t, but his chosen successor was running
even if Republicans agreed with them! — to
against a candidate who had personally
make Obama a failed president. This year,
demeaned him and promised to repeal his
Republicans refused to fill a Supreme Court
agenda.
vacancy.
As you’d expect, Obama and McCrory
Calling out this behavior is difficult for
each campaigned hard. There, however, the
anybody who’s not a partisan Democrat,
similarities stopped. The
because doing so makes you
differences have played out
sound like a partisan. We
in three acts.
in the media, for example,
In the first act, before
have sometimes framed the
Election Day, Obama was
events in North Carolina
faced with evidence that
as a case of “partisan
Russia was trying to help
polarization.”
That’s akin to reporting Saddam Hussein’s
Donald Trump win. Obama erred on the side
of nonpartisan caution, opting not to announce invasion of Kuwait under a headline of
“Tensions Between Iraq, Kuwait Escalate.”
the CIA findings on Russia’s motives. He
It’s ... not false.
was willing to use the presidential bully
Hard as it is, no one should be putting a
pulpit to criticize Trump, but not the levers of
presidential power to disadvantage him.
thumb on the scale to pretend the Republicans’
McCrory went so far using his levers
anti-democratic behavior is normal. I agree
that a federal appeals court unanimously
with Republicans on some issues, like the
slapped him back. It threw out legislation he
value of competition in education and the
had signed to restrict voting access, saying
benefits of two-parent families. But I won’t
it targeted African-Americans with “almost
cheer any ill-gotten gains on those issues.
surgical precision” and “discriminatory
The most important thing now would be
intent.” Still, McCrory and his allies managed for sober Republicans to stand up to their
to take steps to make voting harder for many
party’s radicalization, even if it meant leaving
Democrats.
the party. Absent that, the big decisions fall to
The mischief didn’t keep him from losing
Democrats.
narrowly, and in the second act, McCrory
They need to understand that their
initially refused to accept the outcome. He
opponents are changing the rules — and
invented stories of “massive voter fraud” and
often benefiting. No, Democrats should not
spent weeks refusing to concede.
simply mimic the cynicism. For both moral
Meanwhile, Obama — despite Russia’s
and political reasons, they should defend
interference and Hillary’s Clinton’s popular-
small-d democratic values, which are, after all,
vote win — immediately congratulated Trump American values.
But the party does need to get tougher.
and announced “we are now all rooting for his
In Congress, the Democrats’ threshold
success.”
for working with Republicans should be
The third act is happening now. Obama
higher than in the Bush years. The alternative
has instructed his staff to help Trump’s staff.
would signal to voters, wrongly, that the GOP
McCrory has signed two bills that strip his
was the less partisan party, because it could
successor, Roy Cooper, of some powers.
pass bipartisan bills. Around the country,
The justification — a much smaller,
long-ago power grab by state Democrats — is Democrats should fight every restriction
of voting rights and build grass-roots
laughable. The Charlotte Observer called the
organizations in all 50 states focused on
changes breathtaking and arrogant. The News
little-guy economic arguments. Dreaming
& Observer, of Raleigh, compared them to a
wishfully of demographic destiny won’t cut it.
coup.
Anybody tempted to fantasize about
In sum: McCrory tried to change the
inevitable Democratic victories should think
election’s rules to help himself; pretended
ahead to 2020 — when the McCrory playbook
he did not lose afterward; and is ultimately
may well be used not just in a state election
overturning some of the election’s
but a national one.
consequences.
■
If he were merely a rogue politician, this
David Leonhardt is the managing editor of
story would be a local one. But too many
The Upshot for the New York Times, a website
Republicans elsewhere have begun to ignore
that focuses on politics, policy, and economics.
political traditions, and even laws, to exert
The third act is
happening now.