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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2019)
A4 East Oregonian Thursday, January 10, 2019 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEWS Sitting out the shutdown Q uestioning the fundamental use- fulness of government is the backbone of some American political factions, notably including the now seldom-mentioned Tea Party. Most of these righteous skeptics don’t live off the grid in libertarian enclaves, hatching anarchist plots. Instead, they are good people simply wondering what the heck all our taxes and defi- cits pay for. No matter whether a U.S. citizen is anti-government or not, we all will be increasingly noticing just what government does, now that a signifi- cant fraction of it has been turned off by a political squabble. Any attempted discussion of the ongoing partial federal government shutdown inevitably ignites bitter infighting between those who believe President Trump can do no wrong and those who think he’s a light- weight conman doing the bidding of radical talk-show hosts. However, here in this mutually reliant Eastern Oregon enclave so far removed from the beltway, we need not and should not resort to useless finger point- ing. It’s fair to say that nobody in Washington, D.C., gives a moment’s thought to local political analysis in the form of angry Facebook posts. What we must do is mitigate harm to local people and assets, while calmly pulling toward future election results that put an end to these ridicu- lous and damaging shenanigans. Beyond the stark impacts of the government shutdown on some fed- eral workers, this situation threatens to delay payments to the Supplemen- tal Nutrition Assistance Program, bet- ter known as food stamps. More than 14,000 people in Umatilla County — about 18 percent of the population — are helped by SNAP. Around half of these households include one or more disabled people, more than 40 percent include chil- dren, and around one-third contain senior citizens. While this sorry situation grinds on, we all must do our best to help with local food drives, and contrib- ute cash to food banks so they can address what is certain to be a surge in requests for help. State legisla- tors and agencies may need to shuffle spending priorities to ensure our fel- low citizens don’t go hungry. Much remains uncertain, start- ing with whether the shutdown will be allowed to go on for months — as the president has suggested. How will lack of federal salaries and aid reverberate in the local economy, as spending on everything from gro- ceries to cups of coffee begins to dwindle? Is it time to convene emer- gency community meetings to plan responses? This shutdown, like those in the past, will eventually be resolved. It’s likely most furloughed employees will receive back pay — even those who, unlike the Coast Guard and ICE, aren’t still actively on duty. But we should be sure to elect people to Congress and the White House who are prepared to maturely and sensibly confront our national spending addic- tion, border protection and other pri- orities without resorting to destruc- tive gamesmanship. Shutdowns are a ridiculously blunt weapon, when what we really need are national leaders ready to make intelligent decisions. OTHER VIEWS What, precisely, do Democrats want to impeach Trump for? N OTHER VIEWS Wall would be a Pyrrhic victory Major political parties need to present qualified and honorable candidates for public office. The current occupant of the Oval Office is a world- class embarrassment. Should he win “his wall,” it would be a Pyrrhic victory and a monument to his galactic ego. The hardship and stress caused by his “gut reaction” is unwarranted and detrimental to the welfare of the country. If the wall is so important, have him pay for each mile. We still don’t know how many miles he could afford, so let him sacrifice for the protection and welfare of our nation. Put a leash on old “Ready, Fire, Aim.” J.S. Willis Pendleton The real drug crisis Prescription drugs are like alcohol. Both are more dangerous drugs people don’t want to recognize. Why? Because those are the most used and abused drugs in United States. Alcohol alone damages more lives, families, jobs, secu- rity, health than any other drug! Prescription drugs are eas- ily available and usually cost nothing through insurance coverage, easily accessible from doctors. It is so widely available that most people aren’t even aware what they have in their cabinets. The denial of addiction is highest in the use of alcohol and pills! Now, for those politicians you are so proud to elect. If they are taking big bucks from pharmaceutical companies, what does that make them? Drug mafia, drug pusher, U.S. drug cartel or drug mules? Politicians who are “bought” by these companies — and the companies themselves — are 1,000 times worse than anyone smuggling drugs into the U.S. They just don’t like the competition! They can’t make money off the foreign suppliers! Trump is worried about Mexicans bringing crime and drugs across our borders? Thinking is still free. Think about the real drug pushers. And how the wall money could be used to clean up our own governments’ involve- ment in illegal drug business! Bernie Sanderson Hermiston 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. ewly sworn-in Democratic Rep. Rashida Green’s resolution of impeachment did not Tlaib electrified progressives with her really accuse Trump of committing high crimes passionate declaration that she and her and misdemeanors as president. It was, instead, colleagues will “impeach the motherf---er” — an argument that Trump should be removed the “motherf---er,” of course, being President from office because his “bigoted statements” Trump. have “harmed American society.” Democratic leaders were embarrassed that a Cohen’s articles, introduced in the House high-profile freshman would speak so frankly on Nov. 15, 2017, were the most extensive of B yron in public. But hours before Tlaib spoke, on the the lot. They overlapped with Sherman’s on the y ork first day of Democratic control of the House, Comey obstruction charge, but also included COMMENT another Democrat, Rep. Brad Sherman, filed a an extensive list of alleged violations of the resolution of impeachment. Sherman’s resolu- emoluments clause by Trump’s various busi- tion was later co-sponsored by another colleague, Dem- nesses. Trump’s decision to retain links to his business, ocratic Rep. Al Green. the articles said, “undermined the integrity of his office, The efforts by Sherman and Green, who filed his own brought disrepute on the presidency, and betrayed his articles in 2017, and another House Democrat, Rep. trust as president in a manner subversive of constitu- tional government, against the cause of law and justice Steve Cohen, who also introduced articles in Trump’s and to the manifest injury of the people of the United first months in office, are nothing new. Nor are those States.” efforts a lonely quest. In an early 2018 procedural vote, Of the three measures, only Green’s has received a 66 Democrats voted in favor of moving an impeachment vote. It came on Jan. 19, 2018, when the House voted measure forward. on a motion to table the measure. Sixty-six Democrats But on what grounds, specifically, do the pro-im- peachment Democrats intend to remove the president? voted against the motion, meaning they favored moving The new Sherman/Green resolution, and Green’s and forward with the articles, while 121 Democrats voted to Cohen’s resolutions from last year, are not exactly a table the measure and three voted present. All Republi- cans voted to table the measure. comprehensive recounting of Trump’s alleged offenses. There’s little doubt the new Democratic majority Sherman’s is based entirely on the president’s firing leans farther left than last year’s Democratic minority. of FBI Director James Comey and the Comey memos, Were they put to a vote today, Green’s resolution, or while Green’s articles seek to remove Trump for “sow- ing discord among the people of the United States” with Sherman’s, or Cohen’s, might receive more than the 66 his comments on Charlottesville, transgender troops votes a year ago. and Muslim immigration. (In an earlier version, Green On the other hand, even put together, the Green, Sher- man and Cohen articles are pretty thin gruel. Yes, the also sought to impeach Trump for statements about Rep. Comey matter would likely be part of any Democratic Frederica Wilson and NFL players who do not stand for impeachment articles, but Democrats would certainly the national anthem.) want to throw in additional reasons why Trump should Cohen’s articles rehashed much of Sherman’s be removed. They would certainly want to include, for obstruction allegation, while adding a charge that Trump example, the allegation made by federal prosecutors in violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, plus arti- cles seeking to remove Trump for tweeting about fed- New York that Trump violated campaign finance law by eral judges and calling some press organizations “fake not reporting a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. news.” It’s a difficult legal argument, but House Demo- crats don’t need to convict the president in a court of Judging by the articles currently on the table, Demo- crats will have to raise their impeachment game if they law; they just need to give senators a reason to vote for choose to go forward with an attempt to remove the removal. Beyond that, it seems unlikely — although president. there’s no way to say for sure at this point — that Dem- ocrats would try to remove Trump for tweeting about Sherman’s single article of impeachment, originally judges and bashing the press. filed on July 12, 2017 and refiled last week, said Trump Part of the Democratic leadership’s dismay at Rep. violated his constitutional oath to take care that the laws Tlaib’s remark is that it might direct attention to the law- be faithfully executed because he “prevented, obstructed makers who are currently advocating impeachment, and impeded the administration of justice during a fed- eral investigation.” Specifically, Trump violated his oath and the actual content of the articles they have filed. Is by “threatening, and then terminating, James Comey.” that what the party wants? Green, Sherman, Cohen, et As evidence, Sherman cited a “pattern of behavior” al are on the fringes of the Democratic caucus. But at in which Trump asked Comey to lay off Michael Flynn; some point, the big Democratic guns will take over the decided to fire Comey before asking the Justice Depart- impeachment effort, and the public will see how serious ment for a rationale for the move; gave varying reasons they are about removing the president. for the firing; and said sacking Comey had reduced the Byron York is chief political correspondent for The pressure on him from the Russia investigation. Washington Examiner. 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 9780, or email editor@eastoregonian.com.