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East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
The elephants
in the room
We’ll wait and see if the Democrats’ leadership will
reach out to Republicans this Legislative session
A
s the Oregon Legislature
prepared to start work this
week, its leaders were saying
all the right things about working
together, respecting rural Oregon and
doing what was best for the state as a
whole.
But, as the saying goes, “only time
will tell.”
In the Oregon House, the Demo-
cratic and Republican leadership have
a more collegial relationship than
in the past. In the Senate, it seems
prickly.
Democrats gained supermajori-
ties in the House and Senate, which
enables them to pass tax increases
without needing any Republican votes
— if all Democrats stick together,
which is never a sure thing. Some
legislative issues, such as potential
changes in sentencing laws, have an
even higher threshold for passage. In
any case, Democrats cannot conduct
business unless enough Republicans
are present for a quorum.
Through the leadership of Senate
President Peter Courtney, D-Salem,
the Senate has acted as a moderating
influence on proposals emanating
from the more-liberal House. But the
November elections swung the Senate
to the left, and Courtney worries
about how he will balance the expec-
tations of progressive Democrats with
the need to work collaboratively with
Republicans.
“We cannot do this, Democrats,
without Republicans. You gotta under-
stand that,” Courtney said at the
annual Associated Press Legislative
Preview on Friday. “We cannot do
this without Republicans. Without the
elephants in the room — another way
to put it — the donkeys can’t do it.”
The question is whether the 90
legislators, as well as Democratic Gov.
Kate Brown, will give more than lip
service to that collaboration.
The early signs are positive. They
almost always are at the start of a
legislative session.
Legislators went through civility
training last week. Equal numbers of
Democrats and Republicans will serve
on the joint legislative committee
charged with improving the Oregon
Capitol culture and overcoming
the specter of sexual harassment.
Courtney appointed non-urban and
AP Photo/Andrew Selsky/
Oregon House Democratic Leader Jennifer Williamson, left, House Speaker Tina Kotek,
center, and House Republican Leader Carl Wilson share a laugh on Friday as they speak with
reporters during the Associated Press Legislative Preview at the Oregon Capitol in Salem.
urban senators — Democrats Betsy
Johnson of Scappoose and Elizabeth
Steiner Hayward of Beaverton — to
jointly serve as the Senate’s budget
leaders. He has introduced Senate Bill
2, with Republican Sens. Bill Hansell
of Athena and Cliff Bentz of Ontario,
which could be a breakthrough in
providing greater land-use flexibility
in Eastern Oregon.
It might also be a good sign that
legislators are still trying to write
the carbon cap-and-invest legisla-
tion, which progressives demand and
conservatives dislike. Some Demo-
cratic legislators had long ago insisted
that the legislation, known as Clean
Oregon Jobs, was ready. Republicans
have strived to make it less onerous
for businesses and consumers.
Most bills passed by the Legisla-
ture are routine and have bipartisan
support. Few of those will make head-
lines. But many contentious proposals
— from taxes to firearms — likely
will pit business vs. labor, rural vs.
urban and minority Republicans vs.
majority Democrats.
Those are the bills that will test
legislators’ commitment to collabora-
tion, to civility — and to the whole of
Oregon.
OTHER VIEWS
How to become a statue
T
o honor the life and
on, thrown in jail, hit in the head
legacy of Dr. Martin
with a rock, all in the name of
Luther King Jr., I wanted love. He chose to love with reck-
to share a few thoughts on why I
less abandon. He chose to lean
believe he’s been immortalized
heavily on his unwavering,
into statues, parks, street names,
immovable, immutable faith in
community centers, and
love and forgiveness as
even his own holiday.
an act of divine service to
Dr. Martin Luther
others.
King Jr. is what you’d
King believed in
imagine a real-life
non-violence because
angel would be. A
as impossible as it is to
force of nature so dedi-
fathom for a lot of us, the
cated to the healing of
good doctor was even
humanity that during
fighting for those that
J ordan
the Civil Rights Move-
would eventually take
C haney
ment, he probably knew
his life and also for those
COMMENT
that there was a bullet
that would applaud his
with his name on it that
death. That thought alone
would catch up to him one day;
evokes fiery anger and a burning
a bullet that would turn his wife
resentment in me that is difficult
into a widow and leave his chil-
to quell.
dren fatherless. He also knew that
I’ll confess when Donald
the more he spoke the faster that
Trump won the presidency my
bullet raced. He chose to speak
rage consumed me; I was para-
lyzed by my fear for me and my
anyway.
He chose not to succumb to
family’s safety and the safety
the crippling forces of hate but
of the communities I serve. I
instead to be elevated to a state
couldn’t understand how so many
of consciousness where love and
people would prop up what I
forgiveness reigned supreme.
viewed as a symbol of hate. And
Love was his sword and his
as a result, I grew hateful. I put
shield. He was called every racist
up walls. I lost people that I once
epithet imaginable; he was spat
considered friends. Allowing that
type of energy to dwell in me
caused insidious and unspeakable
problems.
You see, hate is easy at first.
But what it does to the host is the
saddest part. When hate finds a
home in you, it locks the doors
and draws the curtains. It refuses
to let light in; the lawn may be
lush, green and well manicured,
but if hate can make a home out
of you, it will swallow you whole,
spit out your bones and proceed
to complain that the meal was not
enough.
Hate will destroy you from the
inside out if you let it.
I understand keeping the doors
locked; it is imperative to protect
your emotional and psychological
safety from the ills of the world.
But keep the curtains open; not
only will light flow inward, but it
will also continue to flow outward
as well.
At that time, I was so mad that
I arrived at a place where I even
thought Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. was a naïve fool that should’ve
taken a more aggressive stance,
that he should’ve fought back with
a little hate in his heart and give
his enemies a taste of their own
medicine. See how they like it!
But that is not what a good doctor
would do and that is exactly what
sets him apart from us mere
mortals.
A true alchemist, King was
able to transmute hate into love. I
was the naïve one; I was the fool.
I believe his life is a road map
for our perilous times and if I had
to distill his life’s work down into
the one quote of his that turned
him into a statue and that echoes
the loudest and purest in my heart
today it would be this: “I have
decided to stick with love. Hate is
too great a burden to bear.”
To choose to love despite all
invitations to hate is the path
into divinity or statue-hood. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. solved the
riddle of how to walk the path of
least resentment without aban-
doning truth and that is the path
his life and legacy invites us all to
walk.
———
Jordan Chaney is a poet from
Kennewick, Wash.
ment, one dollar appropriated for
street repair and one dollar appro-
priated for police and fire expen-
ditures would cover the associated
operating costs of hosting these
events.
The second premise suggested
the city does not recover enough
operating costs for the aquatic
center, the recreation division and
parks division.
It should be noted that the
city only collects 19 percent of
the associated costs. Most cities
recover at least 40 percent to
60 percent. The city should
increase this percentage to 25
percent to cover annual operations
for services.
I feel it would not be too much
to ask from people who use and
rely on these services.
These fees are needed to assist
our local police and fire depart-
ments and help fund street repairs
and improvement without adding
another tax burden on Pendleton
residents.
Rex J. Morehouse
Pendleton
YOUR VIEWS
President Trump is
using great walls of
history as his examples
You people who are causing
President Trump grief over his
wall need to give him a break.
In grade school he heard about
this “strong leader” called Qin Shi
Huang who had the great wall in
China built. This wall protected
the Qin Dynasty from the brown
horde from inner China.
Of course, he forgot or did not
listen to his teachers tell him it
was for the period of 221-206 BC.
He just knows it is a beautiful
wall and you can see it from space
just like you can see many of his
buildings.
Carlisle Harrison
Hermiston
New fees could support
needed city services
A few great ideas were
suggested at the Pendleton
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.
City Council workshop held
on January 15 that would not
place another tax on residents of
Pendleton.
The first recommendation
suggested the city should charge
a service fee on tickets for hosted
events.
In my opinion, a two dollar
service fee for a ticket to attend
the Round-Up Happy Canyon and
other associated events is reason-
ably priced.
Most cities add a service fee
for hosted events. In my assess-
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.