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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Thursday, November 8, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW Midterms deliver an American stalemate F or once, it all happened more or less rewards from the current economic as we foresaw — and by “we” I mean expansion and to build an actual popular risk-averse political commentators majority. who hugged the polling averages Instead, after its nominee and projections tight while resisting traded a lot of suburban voters for both Betomania and the occasional stronger working-class support in flashbacks to 2016. A good night 2016, the Trump-era Republican for Republicans in the Senate. An Party has continued to hemorrhage excellent night for Democrats in suburbanites while also giving back the House. The Trumpian Upper some of those Midwestern, blue- Midwest swinging back toward collar gains. The political strategy Ross Democrats. Red-state Senate for Republicans after Trump’s Douthat victory should have been obvious: voters sticking with the GOP. The Comment mobilize-the-base strategy falling Seal the working-class realignment just short for Democrats in Florida with a dose of economic populism, and Georgia. A rebuke to Donald Trump in hold the suburbs by dialing back the the overall returns, but not a presidency- Trumpian excesses. Instead, the president ending repudiation. Two years of chaos and let congressional Republicans have hysteria ending in a return to stalemate. their way on policy, and they let him be Between their Senate gains and a himself in other ways — which makes the few surprising gubernatorial victories, Democratic sweep in the House exactly the Republicans probably have enough outcome that both the soon-departing Paul consolation prizes to feel OK about the Ryan and the president deserve. outcome. Trump critics on the right will feel And to the extent that conservatives a little better than OK, since now the House — normal and NeverTrump alike — are can check and investigate our morally willing to live with that outcome so long as challenged president while the Senate keeps they hold the Senate, it’s what we deserve confirming conservative judges. as well. There is no conservative governing But this election confirms that, contra agenda at the moment; there is only a desire certain Trump enthusiasts, the #MAGA not to be ruled by liberalism. So that desire era in right-wing politics is essentially a will be fulfilled for two more years and defensive era, in which the GOP leverages possibly for more — but meanwhile the a fortunate Electoral College win and an ability to actually move legislation will be advantage in the Senate to fill the courts rightfully taken from a movement and a and delay liberal ambitions for a time — party that had no agenda of any significance but fails, conspicuously, to reap political to move. What about Democrats? If Republicans just spent two years squandering a chance at a populist realignment, their rivals spent Election Day proving that they have solved some of their Obama-era problems — midterm turnout, above all — without finding a way to turn a popular-vote advantage into the Senate majority that, no matter how unjust liberals increasingly find the existence of the Senate, they still need to somehow win. The big, bold claim from the party’s progressive wing, that mobilization and demographic change can make the nominate-a-moderate strategy unnecessary, fell conspicuously short in several races. Meanwhile Joe Manchin showed that the old model of nominating a populist who fits your state’s swing voters still has life. But not enough life to save Joe Donnelly or elect Phil Bredesen, or to persuade the Democratic base to suddenly discover an enthusiasm for Senate candidates who are pro-life or immigration-restrictionist or ready, like Manchin with Brett Kavanaugh, to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. No: Democrats obviously want to win purple and red Senate seats, but they want to win them the way they just lost in Texas, with charisma and mobilization rather than with ideological compromise. So they’re left waiting, as before, for demography or a recession to deliver them that opportunity. Until it comes, we have two parties that in different ways seem content with their insufficient coalitions, and a country that needs a governing majority but will settle yet again for stalemate. ■ Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an Op-Ed columnist in April 2009. Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic. OTHER VIEWS As world moves on, Kavanaugh fight doesn’t J ustice Brett Kavanaugh is on Ford’s allegation against Justice the Supreme Court, but the fight Kavanaugh,” Grassley wrote. over his nomination goes on. The allegations continued with The battle is not being fought Deborah Ramirez, who claimed by Democratic dead-enders who that 35 years ago, when she cannot accept that Kavanaugh won was a student at Yale, a drunken confirmation despite the sexual Kavanaugh exposed himself to her misconduct allegations against him. at a party. Byron Instead, the fight is being led by Sen. “The committee found no York Charles Grassley, the Republican verifiable evidence to support Comment chairman of the Senate Judiciary Ramirez’s allegations,” Grassley Committee, who is still angry at wrote. the way those unverified and, in some Then there was Julie Swetnick, the cases, evidence-free allegations sidetracked woman who alleged that Kavanaugh, 36 his committee’s work, and nearly the years ago, took part in drugging women and nomination itself. gang-raping them at high school parties. Grassley’s unhappiness comes through “The committee found no verifiable in every page of a new 28-page report, evidence to support Swetnick’s allegations,” accompanied by 386 pages of supporting Grassley wrote. documents, outlining the committee’s Then there was the so-called Rhode handling of the Kavanaugh case. One key Island allegation, in which an anonymous point that comes out in the report is that accuser said Kavanaugh and friend Mark Grassley and his staff of investigators on Judge sexually assaulted a woman on a boat the Republican side took each allegation in 1985. against Kavanaugh seriously, no matter how “The committee found no verifiable far-fetched. That’s how the confirmation evidence to support the allegations,” process almost ground to a halt. Grassley wrote. The allegations covered in the report Then there was the anonymous accuser start with Christine Blasey Ford, who in Colorado, who said that in 1998, came forward just before the committee’s Kavanaugh shoved a woman he was dating scheduled vote on Kavanaugh to say that “very aggressively and sexually.” 36 years ago, when she was 15 years old, a “The committee found no evidence to drunken 17-year-old Kavanaugh forced her support the allegations in the anonymous onto a bed, tried to undress her, and, when Colorado letter,” Grassley wrote. she tried to scream, covered her mouth with Finally, there was the so-called Jane Doe his hand. allegation, in which an anonymous accuser “Committee investigators found no claimed that in an unspecified year, in an verifiable evidence that supported Dr. unspecified place, Kavanaugh hit her, forced her to perform oral sex, and, along with another man, raped her “several times.” “The committee found no evidence to support the allegations in the Jane Doe letter,” Grassley wrote. When Grassley said the committee found no evidence, he did not mean it did not try to find evidence. The committee’s efforts to substantiate the Ford allegation are well- known; investigators got in touch with 17 people who might have had information relevant to Ford’s story. The FBI interviewed more. No one ever found any contemporaneous corroboration, or much corroboration at all, for Ford’s 36-year-old accusation. In the Ramirez matter, the committee got in touch with eight people who might have had some information regarding the accusation; the FBI did more. Likewise, the committee contacted several people in relation to the Swetnick allegation and found nothing to support her story. That work was in addition to the FBI investigation demanded by Democrats. The committee also dutifully chased information for the Rhode Island, Colorado and Jane Doe allegations. The end result was nothing. All of this investigating was done during the key days of a Supreme Court confirmation process, when committee staff is already pressed to handle all the work that must be done. Directing investigators to chase down this or that accusation placed a huge burden on the committee as it exercised its most important responsibilities. Now, the chairman clearly believes he and the committee were being jerked around. He is not happy about it. And he is determined to ensure that it not happen again. Grassley has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Swetnick and her lawyer, 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Avenatti, made false statements to the committee. Grassley has also referred a woman named Judy Munro-Leighton, who claimed she wrote the Jane Doe letter, for a false-statements investigation as well. “Such conduct wastes committee time and resources, has the potential to significantly interfere with congressional investigations, and greatly hinders the committee’s ability to assist the Senate in performing its constitutional responsibilities,” Grassley wrote in the report. “The committee is ready and willing to speak with any individual who comes forward with critical information in good faith. However, the committee will not tolerate efforts to obstruct its work.” Given what happened with Kavanaugh, it seems reasonable to predict that if President Trump has another Supreme Court opening, the opposition will throw everything it has at the nominee. The Judiciary Committee is prepared to handle accusations backed by evidence. But Grassley wants to make sure everybody knows it will not take part in another circus. ■ Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. YOUR VIEWS Millennials can’t complain if they don’t vote Dear Millennials: Yes, you who are in the 89.2 percent who choose not to vote, I am talking to you. You may not realize it but some of us fought for your right to choose who was going to lead you, either into battle or to keep you home. Some stood out in the pouring rain protesting that 18 year olds could go to war and come home in a coffin but couldn’t select who was either going to keep them out of a war or send them off to war. We did not know that you did not care whether or not the person who spoke for you in Congress ever came and listened to your complaints about workplace safety or the cost of the fuel for your cars. When I hear that you don’t vote and I ask why and you make some lame excuse like “Who cares, my vote doesn’t matter anyway,” it makes me sad to think that I wasted my youth fighting for future generations of the population of Pendleton who are Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. too lazy to take 15 minutes and vote — not because your mother made you but because you want to be able to say “My vote helped elect someone who cares about me.” I trust that if it ever comes time that you find a need to stand in the rain with a protest sign that you remember that future generations of young people may benefit from your protest but don’t care enough about civics to take the time to vote either for or against what you are protesting. To the 89.2 percent of 18-34 year olds who choose not to vote, if you have no Medicare or Social Security and minimum wage is rolled back to $5 a day, thank yourself because you could have made a difference and choose not to. When you have to help your mom and dad pay for medicine and groceries because there is no Medicare and their Social Security is cut then blame yourself. You choose not to vote to stop that from happening. Barbara Ann Wright-Dunagan Pendleton 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. 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.
