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OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, June 10, 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
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OUR VIEW
Good signs in
Umatilla, but follow
through is needed
Things are happening in the city
get up to no good. With some work,
of Umatilla. Signs of community life Umatilla can be a place that melds
are bubbling up.
cultures, connects rivers. It can be
an economic engine with lots of
As we reported this week, a
Wednesday market is bringing
recreational activities. It has a lot of
residents to an attractive green
history as a tribal gathering place,
space downtown. And eight people
and an old town site that had to be
applied to be nominated to two open abandoned when the dams changed
council positions
the Columbia.
— a reminder that
Access to that could
There is no
competition is
be a tourist treat, and
crucial to selecting
another place for
reason why
high-quality
locals to celebrate.
Umatilla cannot
candidates, eliciting
This city is having
ideas and spurring
a moment, the stars
be a riverside are aligning for
voter involvement.
We deeply hope that
Umatilla.
haven and a
future elections are
But, as we’ve said
destination.
before in this space,
competitive races,
capitalizing on it
too. And dozens of
people showed up
will require better
just to watch the meeting.
engagement from city government.
It’s up to the council to
Meanwhile, a group of Portland
understand the difference between
State students helped create a long-
disagreeing and infighting.
needed downtown revitalization
plan, which calls for more gathering Resignations cannot be routine.
Transparency, on the other hand,
spaces and green spaces — places
must be.
where the community can
Change and opportunity can
congregate. Moving forward with
highlight personal and political
that plan, supporting local business
differences, and that’s as clear as
so there is money to spend on it,
and then prioritizing it in the budget ever in Umatilla. When there are
multiple roads to go down it’s only
will be key to turning all the talk
natural that different people will
into action and turning architectural
favor different paths. But when
plans into real life.
navigating the journey toward
There is no reason why Umatilla
improvement, councilors must
cannot be a riverside haven and a
destination. As Hermiston continues respect the differences of opinion.
There is no need for disagreements
to bust at its seams, Umatilla
to rise to the level where the council
businesses must be salivating at all
can no longer operate as an effective
the new customers living nearby.
legislative body.
Realtors and landowners must be
In Tuesday’s showdown for the
penciling out major investments
final seat, we were heartened to see
in a city with serious growth
Lyle Smith bow out to allow Selene
opportunities. And big box stores
Torres-Medrano to claim it. Smith is
must be looking across the river at
a former councilor, and it was clear
all those Washington residents who
he understood the value of bringing
would be excited to drive a few
a recent college graduate with a
minutes and not pay sales tax.
fresh view to the chambers.
The city of Umatilla has a lot
Umatilla can, should, and must be
going for it. No longer does it
better. Residents are standing up to
have to be just a place to just fill
demand it, so its government better
up the gas tank before heading on
listen and adapt or prepare to be
down the road, or just a place for
replaced.
truckers to turn in for the night or
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.
YOUR VIEWS
When you love an invasive
plant in farm country
Country must move
on without Trump
Here I am in the middle of farm
country, chairman of the Athena
Caledonian Games and everything, and I
love scotch thistle.
I collect the stuff ... well, dishes,
papers, fabrics, priceless glassware
— you know. The thistle patterns are
historically rich, graceful, delicate and
beautiful. The thistle’s place in history
is secured because it saved a nation: The
story goes that there was a Scottish army
sleeping in the middle of the night and
didn’t know of an impending surprise
attack until an attacker backed into a
thistle and set up such a ruckus that it
awoke the Scottish army, who thwarted
the attack and saved the nation.
Mary, Queen of Scots was a
seamstress and she stitched beautiful
thistles into her needlework. The thistle
is one of Scotland’s national emblems
because it saved Scotland.
Ahhhh, I could go on. But the
economy that supports Athena
Caledonian Games doesn’t like thistle —
hates it. What can I do?
With a sigh, I do cut thistles out of
my yard. Yet we toast Scotland with my
beautiful thistle teacups and linens. The
Athena Caledonian Games will continue
to showcase thistle, wear plaids, dance
and pipe.
I have learned to love the traditions of
Scotland and beg forgiveness from my
farmer friends and neighbors for holding
the thistle dear.
Watching Thursday’s Senate hearing
with former FBI director James
Comey, I can’t help but remember
back to this same time of the year
during the peak of the Watergate
hearings and watching them in the
early morning hours on the television
in Senate President Jason Boe’s
office immediately behind the Senate
chambers, with Jason’s secretary
Nancy Burke and Senate lounge
attendant Lloyd Turney, among others.
As I felt then (and even wrote a
letter to the editor about, which ended
up being published soon after), there
was rapidly becoming no question the
country had encountered a dishonest
and dangerous president.
It was truly a profoundly important
and emotionally moving situation back
then — just as today’s situation is now.
President Trump should resign, or
Congress should initiate impeachment
proceedings.
The country desperately needs to
move on without Donald Trump’s
dangerously naive, self-centered,
and just plain dishonest tactics.
Probably isn’t going to happen, at least
immediately.
Still, it absolutely needs to.
Sue Friese
Athena
Les Ruark
Arlington
OTHER VIEWS
It’s not the crime, it’s the culture
he first important part of James
sulfuric. James Hohmann and Joanie
Comey’s testimony was that he
Greve had a superb piece in the Daily
cast some doubt on reports that
202 section of The Washington Post.
there was widespread communication
They compiled the lessons people in
between the Russians and the Trump
the Clinton administration learned
campaign. That was the suspicion
from the Whitewater scandal and
that set off this whole chain of events
applied them to the Trump White
and the possibility that could have
House.
quickly brought about impeachment
If past is prologue, this
David
proceedings.
Brooks investigation will drag on for a while.
The second important implication
The Clinton people thought the
Comment
of the hearings is that as far as
Whitewater investigation might last six
we know, Donald Trump has not
months, but the inquiries lasted more
performed any criminal act that would merit
than seven years. The Trump investigation
removing him from office.
will lead in directions nobody can now
Sure, he cleared the room so he could lean
anticipate. When the Whitewater investigation
on Comey to go easy on Michael Flynn. But
started, Monica Lewinsky was an unknown
he didn’t order Comey to
college student, and
shut down the investigation
nobody had any clue that
as a whole or do any of the
an investigation into an
things (like following up
Arkansas land deal would
on the request) that would
turn into an investigation
constitute real obstruction.
about sex.
And sure, Trump did
This investigation
later fire Comey. But it’s
will ruin careers far and
likely that the Comey
wide. Investigators go
firing had little or nothing
after anybody they think
to do with the Flynn
can yield information on
investigation.
the president. Before the
Trump was, as always,
Whitewater investigators
thinking about himself.
got to Clinton they took
Comey had told Trump
down Arkansas Gov.
three times that he was not
Jim Guy Tucker, Webb
under investigation. Trump wanted Comey
Hubbell, Susan and Jim McDougal, and many
to repeat that fact publicly. When Comey
others.
didn’t, Trump took it as a sign that Comey
This investigation will swallow up
was disloyal, an unforgivable sin. So he fired
day-to-day life. As Clinton alum Jennifer
him, believing, insanely, that the move would
Palmieri wrote in an op-ed in the USA
be popular.
Today network of newspapers: “No one in a
All of this would constitute a significant
position of authority at the White House tells
scandal in a normal administration, but it
you what is happening. No one knows. Your
would not be grounds for impeachment.
closest colleague could be under investigation
The third important lesson of the hearing is and you would not know. You could be
that Trump is characterologically at war with
under investigation and not know. It can be
the norms and practices of good government.
impossible to stay focused on your job.”
Comey emerged as a superb institutionalist,
Everybody will be affected. Betty Currie,
a man who believes we are a nation of laws.
Bill Clinton’s personal secretary, finally
Trump emerged as a tribalist and a clannist,
refused to mention the names of young White
who simply cannot understand the way
House employees to the investigators because
modern government works.
every time she mentioned a name, the kid
Trump is also plagued with a self-
would get a subpoena, which meant thousands
destructive form of selfishness. He is
of dollars of ruinous legal fees.
consumed by a hunger for affirmation, but,
If anything, the Trump investigation
demented by his own obsessions, he can’t
will probably be more devastating than the
think more than one step ahead.
Whitewater scandals. The Clinton team was
In search of praise he is continually
a few shady characters surrounded by a large
doing things that will end up bringing him
group of super-competent straight arrows.
condemnation. He lies to people who have the The Trump administration is shady characters
power to publicly devastate him. He betrays
through and through. Clinton himself was
people who have the power to damage him.
a savvy operator. Trump is a rage-prone
Trump is most dangerous to the people who
obsessive who will be consumed by this.
are closest to him and are in the best position
The good news is the civic institutions are
to take their revenge.
weathering the storm. The Senate Intelligence
The upshot is the Trump administration
Committee put on a very good hearing. The
will probably not be brought down by outside
FBI is maintaining its integrity. This has, by
forces. It will be incapacitated from within,
and large, been a golden age for the U.S. press
by the bile, rage and back-stabbing that are
corps. The bad news is that these institutions
at record levels in the White House staff, by
had better be. The Trump death march will be
the dueling betrayals of the intimates Trump
slow, grinding and ugly.
abuses so wretchedly.
■
Although there may be no serious collusion
David Brooks became a New York Times
with the Russians, there is now certain to be a
Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. He
wide-ranging independent investigation into
has been a senior editor at The Weekly
all things Trump.
Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek
These investigations will take a White
and the Atlantic Monthly, and is currently a
House that is already acidic and turn it
commentator on PBS.
T
It would constitute
a significant
scandal in
a normal
administration,
but not grounds
for impeachment.