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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, January 19, 2017 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 Got permits? A lot of big changes are coming getting its ducks in a row, working in advance of an interminably long to a small piece of the Columbia process and trying to be ready to Basin. The tree farm alongside Interstate operate as soon as they get the go ahead. 84 that long hypnotized travelers is In our mind, the company is in the process of being removed and taking a risk by doing permitted roughly one-third of it renovated into what could become Oregon’s building before they have an second-largest dairy. Hale Farms, operations permit. To some of us, that might seem like an unnecessary one of the biggest employers in the risk. To others, it might be perfectly region, has sold to a conglomerate reasonable when out of the Tri-Cities. considering the The region, poised The company is amount of money to pounce on new As long as water from the taking the risk, at the stake. company stays Columbia River, is within the law, we getting an infusion inordinate to no problem with of new investment. some but what see building in advance That brings out an operations the deep pockets, others might see of permit. venture capitalists as reasonable. Yet the and the construction environmental crews. One such groups, and individuals from the area, are right investment project is the proposed to keep an eye on the company and mega-dairy, currently being the state. It may seem like it is tied developed by Lost Valley Ranch. up in a bureaucratic purgatory, with We’ve reported often on the plan to drawn out public comment periods build a 30,000-cow facility near a and state offices conferring with 70,000-cow dairy that is already in other state offices. But actions taken operation. And we will continue to at this time matter. report in the future. Thousands of And one thing we are sure of: public comments have flooded into Any pre-manufacturing work by the state organizations (Department Lost Valley must have no impact in of Environmental Quality and the state process. That work is done Department of Agriculture) that are at the company’s risk, it cannot be handling the siting and permitting used as leverage to allow them to process. The dairy’s future is jump through future hoops. certainly not a certainty. And hoops there will be. But even without all the required The dairy has the ability to operation permits in hand, the dramatically benefit the area — company has decided to start building. It has likely spent millions provide millions in tax dollars, lots of jobs and yes, milk and cheese. of dollars already on construction, But it has the ability to negatively design and dirt work. California impact it as well. Cows produce developer Greg Te Velde told this newspaper they have already erected more than milk, and the effect that 30,000 more of them will have on milk barns and stalls. local water and air is something the A number of environmental state must consider. groups have cried foul, saying Everything must be up for the company is getting ahead discussion, and a company that gets of regulators and attempting to too far ahead of the process does so circumvent the permitting process. at its own risk. The company contends it is just 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 Inauguration boycott is misguided Minneapolis Star Tribune M ore than 50 Democratic members of Congress have decided to follow the lead of Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and boycott the Friday inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Some are doing so out of respect for longtime congressman and civil rights icon Lewis. Others are protesting Trump’s policies and divisiveness, and still others believe that his campaign’s possible ties to Russian election tampering make his presidency illegitimate. This newspaper has criticized Trump for some of the same things. Still, members of Congress — regardless of political affiliation — should be full participants in the peaceful transfer of power that is critical for a functioning democracy. This isn’t the first time individual members of Congress whose party has lost the White House have skipped an inauguration. In the past, Republicans also have opted to take vacations or return to their districts rather than attend. But the anti-Trump boycott is believed to be the largest, and it is growing. As elected officials, members of Congress should represent their constituents in the same spirit in which they attend the State of the Union or other presidential speeches. There are more productive ways to express displeasure or opposing views than boycotting. Republicans and Democrats make that clear with their reactions during the State of the Union. During his recent farewell address, President Obama tried to quiet the boos that came from the audience when he mentioned Trump. He also acknowledged the value of a peaceful transfer of power. In announcing that she will attend the inauguration, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., was critical of Trump’s behavior and policies. But, she added, “I have faith in our constitutional democracy and in the power of citizen action to stop Mr. Trump’s dangerous agenda in the coming months and years. On Friday, I will join President Obama and Secretary (Hillary) Clinton for the inauguration of our 45th president, a ritual that is a hallmark of our democratic government. I will also be present so Mr. Trump fully understands that ... Americans are already working to stop him from further hurting our country.” It’s regrettable that Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, expected to be the only member of the Minnesota delegation to skip the event, didn’t take a similar approach. Members of Congress should be full participants in the peaceful transfer of power that is critical for a functioning democracy. OTHER VIEWS Dem dilemma: Stand with Lewis? O nce Donald Trump responded “The president has made very to John Lewis’s “illegitimate clear that he believes that he is the president” attack, the question freely elected president,” McDonough wasn’t whether Trump’s pushback answered. “He will be inaugurated on would cause a Twitter furor. It Friday. And he will come into office would. The question was how many hopefully strengthened by the kind of Democrats, beyond those who occupy transition that we have tried to run in the left-most wing of the House this White House.” Tapper tried one more angle: Does Democratic caucus with Lewis, would Byron Obama “think that Democrats should go along with the Trump-is-not- York put this away, this whole idea of legitimate charge. Comment legitimate, illegitimate?” So far, Democrats have come up “The president is not going to get with a variety of responses. Some in the middle of this right now,” McDonough openly disagree with Lewis. Others disagree said. but don’t want to say so explicitly. Still others agree but don’t want to say so explicitly. And Several Democrats — a number nearing 60 some wholeheartedly support Lewis. by the most recent count — have announced West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe they will not attend Trump’s inauguration. Manchin is in the first category. Asked on That doesn’t necessarily mean they would CNN Friday if Trump is a legitimate president, explicitly say Trump is illegitimate. But some Manchin replied, “Absolutely.” On CBS certainly would. Democratic Rep. Barbara Sunday morning, Manchin described Lewis’ Lee, for example, said early on that she rhetoric as “uncalled for.” is with Lewis. Another liberal, New York “I’ve got the utmost respect for Rep. Jerry Nadler, tweeted, “I stand with @ Congressman Lewis,” Manchin said. “He’s repjohnlewis.” an icon, if you will. And we all have the most Others, like California Rep. Ted Lieu, said respect for him. I just think that was uncalled they stood with Lewis but were not entirely for ... So for this type of rhetoric, it’s non-pro- clear on the question of Trump’s legitimacy. ductive. And I would like it if that would tone In an extensive statement Saturday, Lieu down a little bit, we’d be much better off and said Trump has insulted too many people, move on.” is too close to Vladimir Putin, and has Longtime Obama adviser David Axelrod unconstitutional business conflicts of interest. was just as clear. “I disagree with what @ Nevertheless, Lieu said, “I do not dispute that repjohnlewis said,” Axelrod tweeted Saturday. Trump won the Electoral College.” “But I honor the man he is. Honesty; integrity; So does that make Trump illegitimate, or courage -— these are qualities you just can’t not? Lieu did not say. buy.” Judging by the Democrats’ reaction, it’s Sen. Bernie Sanders, who mounted a long one thing to denounce Trump’s statements, and bitter challenge to Hillary Clinton in the to link him to Russia, and to suggest he will Democratic primaries, refused Sunday to call be a disastrous leader. It’s another to claim Trump illegitimate, suggesting instead that the that Trump is not a legitimate president. For argument is “just words.” some Democrats, the illegitimacy charge “Do you think Donald Trump will be a would move them a bit too close to a kind of legitimate president?” Sanders was asked on birtherism that they spent years denouncing. ABC. (Remember that Republican leaders stayed “Well, I think he’s going to be inaugurated away from birtherism, although some GOP this week,” Sanders said, going on to call for members of Congress embraced, or at least an investigation into Russian hacking. flirted, with it.) “Does that make him illegitimate?” So it’s possible, perhaps likely, that the “Those are just words,” Sanders responded. Trump illegitimacy charge will remain Sanders described his job in the Senate now confined to the leftmost reaches of the as holding Trump to his campaign promise Democratic party, just as birtherism was not to cut social safety net programs. But confined to the rightmost reaches of the GOP. illegitimate? Sanders wouldn’t go there. If anyone other than John Lewis were Denis McDonough, the outgoing Obama leading the legitimacy fight, even more White House chief of staff, refused to commit Democrats might distance themselves from it. the president to Lewis’s position. “On Tuesday But Lewis is so widely revered for his actions night in his speech, (Obama) called (Trump) 50 years ago — even those denouncing him the freely elected president of the United have to pay tribute to his past — that he has States,” McDonough said on CNN Sunday. given a sort of moral cover to a small number McDonough added that Democratic of Democrats who want to suggest that the concerns about Russia and hacking are “by 2016 election results are not legitimate. Right no means trivial.” And, like everyone else, now, though, in the absence of some explosive he paid tribute to Lewis’s history in the civil new revelation or wholesale change in the rights movement. But he wouldn’t buy into political atmosphere, it appears that small the legitimacy argument. number won’t get much bigger. Still, CNN’s Jake Tapper persisted: “Just to ■ be clear though, President Obama thinks that Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. president-elect Trump is legitimate?” 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.
