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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, March 17, 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
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to Colin Brown, the Limey Pastor at Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church in Boardman.
If you’ve followed along with his faith columns in the East Oregonian
for the past year since his ordination,
you know Brown as a good humored and
thoughtful man. He’s a transplant from
the United Kingdom who brings wit and
wisdom through small parables, biblical
observations and real-life stories.
The stories of the past few months have
been particularly powerful. Brown suffered
a pair of heart attacks in December, was
diagnosed with heart disease. He will have
bypass surgery on Tuesday.
Through his ordeal, facing down fear and
uncertainty, Brown has shared openly about his heart, both figuratively and
literally. In a weekly testament he has shown how godly virtues like faith
and humility give strength in hard times and allow us to better care for
others, too.
We offer Brown our thoughts and prayers this week, and our thanks for
the hope he has shared with us.
A kick in the pants to the deafening noise.
Americans should be intensely interested in President Donald Trump’s
budget blueprint, released Thursday. It will certainly be altered, maybe
even completely overhauled, by GOP-led Congress before it becomes law.
But in its first draft form it offers possibly the clearest look at Trump’s
agenda.
It is not a tweet, a rally speech or a blip on the news cycle. It indicates
the cornerstone ideas of the president’s plan to make America great again. It
will do more to fulfill or break his campaign
promises than an entire stack of executive
orders.
It is not the president’s job to dictate
the budget — ultimately it is Congress’
responsibility — but Trump’s ability to put
his principles into black and white (and
sometimes red) will decide the fortunes of
many Americans.
Democrats will be outraged at every
turn, by every cut. Republicans will have to
explain the purpose of the pain.
For Republicans to make a case for keeping the keys to the government,
the final product must work. Cuts are part of the platform and promise, and
seeing some red in the document should not be a surprise.
But there’s the noise. Trump is a master of it. We’d hope to hear a
vigorous case for the budget, of why Defense, Homeland Security and
Veterans Affairs are the only departments seeing an increase while
Agriculture, Labor, Education, Environment, Transportation and a host of
others will lay on the chopping block.
What we don’t need is more noise — conspiratorial accusations,
manufactured outrage, strange press conferences, random internet insults.
It’s up to the consumer to look closely and critically at the budget, at
what it says about America’s potential for greatness or lack thereof, and not
get distracted by the rest.
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
Richardson keeping
his promises
The (Medford) Mail Tribune
A
s a state legislator, Dennis
Richardson never pretended to be
anything other than a conservative
Republican. Now, as the first Republican
secretary of state in three decades, he’s
still conservative in many ways, and still
a Republican, but he’s approaching the
state’s Number 2 job the way he said
he would: As a nonpartisan advocate of
efficient, effective government that serves
all Oregonians.
As the keynote speaker at the annual
Dorchester Conference earlier this month,
Richardson told his fellow Republicans
the party needs to reach out to all
Oregonians, regardless of party affiliation,
and to stand for good government. “With
victory comes responsibility,” he said.
Richardson said he will strive to
“serve all Oregonians, regardless of party,
regardless of who you pray to, regardless
of who you love.”
That may come as a surprise to those
who remember his socially conservative
stands as a lawmaker, but Richardson’s
actions since taking office have been
decidedly non-political. In fact, he wants
to make the office he holds nonpartisan.
And he wants to remove the secretary
of state’s ability to initiate investigations
of election law violations, making it a
complaint-driven process instead, to
avoid the appearance of partisanship.
Richardson also is backing two
proposals put forth by his predecessor,
Democrat Jeanne Atkins. One would
create a searchable, online database of
state administrative rules, replacing the
existing law that requires the rules to be
printed. He argues that’s unnecessary, and
he’s right.
The other would allow non-affiliated
voters to electronically request a
ballot for any party that holds an open
primary. Both major parties tend to resist
encouraging more participation from
non-affiliated voters in primaries, but
Richardson supports it.
He also defends Oregon’s pioneering
vote-by-mail system, saying it can’t be
hacked, and sent a letter to President
Trump declaring that no voter fraud
happened here in the November election.
The Dorchester Conference, the oldest
annual political conference in the country,
was founded in 1965 by Bob Packwood,
then a Republican state legislator, who
was alarmed by the arch-conservative
shift in the Republican Party and its
nomination of Barry Goldwater in 1964.
Dorchester began as a gathering of
what today would be considered liberal
Republicans.
Over the years, Dorchester has leaned
more conservative as the state party
moved to the right. But conservative
though Richardson may be on social
issues, his approach to his new job bears
more than a little resemblance to those
Dorchester Republicans of yore.
OTHER VIEWS
And Jesus said unto
Paul of Ryan ...
A
woman who had been bleeding
“The Lord God has anointed me to
for 12 years came up behind
bring good news to the poor,” Jesus
Jesus and touched his clothes in
replied, emphasizing the last two words.
hope of a cure. Jesus turned to her and
Then he turned to a paralyzed beggar at
said: “Fear not. Because of your faith,
his feet. “Stand up!” Jesus told the man.
you are now healed.”
“Pick up your mat and go home.” As
Then spoke Pious Paul of Ryan:
the man danced about joyfully, Pious
“But teacher, is that wise? When you
Paul rolled his eyes dismissively.
cure her, she learns dependency. Then
“Look, Jesus, you have rare talent,
Nicholas
the poor won’t take care of themselves,
Kristof and it should be rewarded,” Pious Paul
knowing that you’ll always bail them
said. “I have a partner, The Donald,
Comment
out! You must teach them personal
who would like to work with you:
responsibility!”
He’d set up a lovely hospital, and
They were interrupted by 10 lepers who
the rich would come and pay for you to heal
stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, have
them. You’d get a percentage, and it’d be a real
pity on us.”
money-spinner. Overhead would be minimal
“NO!” shouted Pious Paul. “Jesus! You
because every morning you could multiply
don’t have time. We have a cocktail party
some loaves and fishes. You could strike it
fundraiser in the temple. And don’t worry
rich!”
about them — they’ve already got health care
“Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the
access.”
kingdom of God,” Jesus said. “But woe to you
Jesus turned to Pious Paul, puzzled.
who are rich, for you have already received
“Why, they can pray for a cure,” Pious Paul
comfort.”
explained. “I call that universal health care
“Oh, come on, Jesus,” Pious Paul protested.
access.”
“Don’t go socialist on me again. Please don’t
Jesus turned to the 10 lepers. “Rise and go,” encourage class warfare. The best way to help
he told them. “Your faith has made you well.”
the needy is to give public money to the rich.
Then he turned back to Pious Paul, saying, “Let That then inspires the poor to work harder,
me tell you the story of the good Samaritan.
galvanizes the sick to become healthy, forces
“A man was attacked by robbers who
the lepers to solve their own problems rather
stripped him of clothes, beat him and left him
than kick back and depend on others. That’s
half dead. A minister passed down this same
why any realistic health plan has to focus on
road, and when he saw the injured man, he
providing less coverage for the poor, and big
crossed to the other side and hurried on. So did
tax benefits for the rich. When millions of
a rich man who claimed to serve God. But then people lose health care, that’s when a country is
a despised Samaritan came by and took pity on great again!”
the injured man. He bandaged his wounds and
“From everyone who has been given much,”
put the man on his own donkey and paid an
Jesus told him, “much will be required.”
innkeeper to nurse him to health. So which of
“Well, sure, this hospital would have a
these three should we follow?”
foundation to do some charity work. Maybe
“Those who had mercy on him,” Pious Paul commissioning portraits of The Donald to hang
said promptly.
in the entrance. But let’s drop this bleeding
Jesus nodded. “So go ——”
heart nonsense about health care as a human
“I mean the first two,” Pious Paul
right, and see it as a financial opportunity to
interjected. “For the Samaritan’s work is
reward investors. In this partnership, 62 percent
unsustainable and sends the wrong message.
of the benefits would go to the top 0.6 percent
It teaches travelers to take dangerous roads,
— perfect for a health care plan.”
knowing that others will rescue them from
Jesus turned to Pious Paul on his left and
self-destructive behaviors. This Samaritan also
said: “Be gone! For I was hungry and you gave
seems to think it right to redistribute money
me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no
from those who are successful and give it to
drink; and I was sick, and you did not help me.”
losers. That’s socialism! Meanwhile, if the
“But, Lord,” protested Pious Paul of Ryan,
rich man keeps his money, he can invest it and
“when did I see you hungry or thirsty or sick
create jobs. So it’s an act of mercy for the rich
and refuse to help you? I drop your name
man to hurry on and ignore the robbery victim.” everywhere. And I’m pro-life!”
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the
“Truly, I say to you,” Jesus responded, “as
kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus mused to himself.
you did not help the homeless, the sick — as
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of you did not help the least of these, you did not
a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven.” help me.”
“Let me teach you about love, Jesus —
■
tough love!” Pious Paul explained. “You need a
Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The
sustainable pro-business model. And you need
Times since 2001, is a two-time Pulitzer
to give people freedom, Jesus, the freedom to
Prize winner who grew up on a sheep farm in
suffer misery and poverty.”
Yamhill, Oregon.
YOUR VIEWS
Individual mandate only way
health plan will work
Proponents of the new Republican health
plan tout “access” to health care that will
not be affordable to many. “Affordability”
means they want insurers to be able to offer
cheaper plans that don’t cover much of
anything. Coverage of “preexisting conditions”
appears to allow insurers to charge as much
as they want (they can charge you five
times as much as a young person for your
preexisting condition of being old). The very
poor and elderly will see Medicaid reduced
or unavailable. Young people will see their
premiums drop but they won’t have to buy
insurance, because “in America and people
should be free to not have health insurance
until they want it or need it”.
As Paul Ryan manages to say with a
completely straight face, under the ACA
“healthy people pay for sick people” and
who wants that? I do. Insurance is a risk pool
where everyone pays into the pool so that if
disaster strikes we can draw from the pool. As
someone who suffered a near death experience
with absolutely no warning, I can tell you none
of us know when or if that time will come.
Paying into the pool when you don’t need it
as opposed to only when you do is the whole
point of insurance. To be successful it requires
an individual mandate with the teeth to enforce
it. The inability to get a meaningful individual
mandate passed in Congress is one of the
reasons premiums have risen so dramatically
the last few years. The Republican plan only
further exacerbates this problem.
Rural Oregon already needs relief from
being charged far more in insurance premiums
than our Portland counterparts. Because as
a subgroup we are poorer, older and sicker,
insurers are allowed to put us in a separate
risk pool. Why? Aren’t we part of the state?
Rural areas will be even harder hit by the new
Republican plan as it does nothing to address
these problems. The grand talk is to “increase
competition.” Do we really think the private
market left to itself will rush in to cover areas
that don’t make them as much money as
others?
Our Congressman Greg Walden portrays
himself as one of the proud architects of this
new plan. I encourage you to write him and
ask him how this benefits his rural constituents.
Anita Burrows
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 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.