ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
TUESDAy, JUNE 15, 2021
PHIL WRIGHT
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Mob violence
has no place
in American
democracy
S
ome called it an historic moment, but
the expulsion of Rep. Mike Nearman
from the Oregon House of Representa-
tives really was more about making a clear
statement regarding unbecoming conduct
by a lawmakers and its consequences.
GOP lawmakers united with majority
Democrats in the House and voted to expel
Nearman on a 59-1 vote. The only vote
against the lawmakers was his own. The
expulsion is the first in the 160-year history
of the House.
Readers probably remember the latest
undisciplined political brush-up that
occurred last December, when Nearman let
a group of protesters into the Capitol build-
ing as legislators convened an emergency
session to decide on a path forward through
the economic hit from the coronavirus
pandemic.
Protestors barged into the building —
closed because of COVID-19 restrictions —
tangled with police and sprayed them with
bear spray.
Nearman maintained he only let the
protestors in because he believed the
Oregon Capitol should be open to voters.
Nearman would be correct if the individu-
als seeking to enter were not carrying guns,
brandishing bear spray and generally acting
like a mob. A group of voters who seek to
peacefully commune with elected leaders is
not a mob.
Nearman’s actions point to a far larger
problem that manifested itself in a more
serious manner in January when another
mob stormed the nation’s capital and threat-
ened lawmakers.
The larger problem is a sudden loss of
common sense and discipline among those
of us who should know better. Actions, such
as the Nearman’s stunt in Salem and the
attack on the nation’s capital in January, are
not part of democracy. The two incidents
are prime examples of mobs running amok.
No doubt there are those who believe
the actions by protestors in both Salem and
Washington, D.C., were justified. They
are opinions that should be heard. That is
what democracy in America is all about.
Disagreeing over a political issue is part of
our American DNA. We should never be
afraid to debate.
Toting guns and screaming rhetoric
and then running wild through the hall
of Congress, though, is not productive.
Already there are extremely stringent secu-
rity measures in place at the U.S. Capitol.
Those security measures mean access to the
government is restricted — not because of
a foreign security threat, but because of an
American mob.
Oregon lawmakers made the right call
with Nearman, but in the end they did not
have much choice.
Mob violence has no place in American
democracy.
EDITORIALS
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.
LETTERS
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:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
Oregon should have independent voice in D.C.
KEVIN
FRAZIER
OTHER VIEWS
I
n the 2019 legislative year, there were
236 Democrats in the U.S. House of
Representatives, four of whom were
from Oregon. Out of those 236, though,
the Oregonians were nearly indistin-
guishable from the rest of the Democratic
block.
Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blume-
nauer, and Peter DeFazio all recorded
nearly perfect party-line records; CQ
Press reported their party unity scores as
99 out of 100; Rep. Kurt Schrader came
in at 93. Comparatively, on the other side
of the aisle, then-Rep. Greg Walden had a
far lower party unity score of just 81.
On the whole, these scores go to show
that Oregonians have lacked an inde-
pendent voice in D.C. Sure, Oregon’s
Democratic representatives have spoken
out against their party from time to time
and, though less frequently, even voted
against their ideological colleagues; but,
from a voting record perspective, there’s
nothing distinctive about the state’s
congressional delegates — especially on
the Democratic side.
In defense of Oregon’s Democratic
delegates, they’re just following a much
larger trend. The average party unity
score in 2019 for House Democrats was
97.6 — up from 75.8 in 1983.
Oregonians have a chance to elect a
voice, rather than an echo, in their sixth
congressional district. Now more than
ever, independent voices in the House
have a chance to sway the conversation
by virtue of the fact neither party has
a controlling presence in the chamber.
Right now, there are 219 Democrats, 212
Republicans and four vacancies.
Electing independent representatives
in a handful of districts would upend
politics as usual by forcing both parties to
cater to this party-free caucus.
Of course, the odds of state legislators
drawing an independent district are low.
It’s in the interest of both parties to draw
“safe” seats. These are seats with such
skewed party registration differentials
that it’s a Sisyphean act for someone from
the other side to run a credible campaign.
These sorts of seats save both parties
money because the general elections are
so uncompetitive. They also reinforce
the faulty idea that we’re stuck with two
options when it comes to our elected offi-
cials and, therefore, entrench the domi-
nance of the two parties.
So as legislators start to redistrict,
Democrats will push for a map that has
five safe, blue seats and that offers the
Republicans one safe, red seat; Repub-
licans will push for a four-two map.
Neither will advocate for a purple district.
That’s why the rest of us, the voters of
Oregon, must do so.
A competitive district in Oregon will
give at least some Oregonians a meaning-
ful choice every election cycle. The two
parties will have to put forth their best
candidates, and third party or nonaffili-
ated candidates may even have a chance
at running competitive races. This district
can become an example of the sort of
democratic competition that voters have
long been denied due to closed primaries,
gerrymandered districts and undue influ-
ence afforded to ideologically exclusive
parties.
If just a few other states take this brave
approach of thwarting party efforts to
draw safe seats, then we could see the
emergence of U.S. representatives capa-
ble of offering their voice and not merely
an echo of the party line.
Our democracy is not broken; it’s
fixed. The rules, the game board and the
players are tilted to two sides. Let’s create
space for an independent voice in Oregon
again; someone who can truthfully share
these same lines from Sen. Wayne Morse:
“I will exercise an independence of judg-
ment based on the evidence of each issue.
I will weigh the views of my constituents
and party, but cast my vote free of polit-
ical pressure and unmoved by threats of
loss of political support.”
———
Kevin Frazier operates No One Left
Offline, which has distributed nearly 100
Wi-Fi hot spots throughout Oregon. Kevin
will graduate from the University of Cali-
fornia, Berkeley School of Law in May of
2022.
produce, we can continue to create an econ-
omy that protects our planet while gener-
ating new jobs and opportunities for all
Oregonians.
Jarod Wizner
Arlington
In his newsletter, Bentz also provided
reasons for not voting for other bills, such
as allowing the marijuana industry to use
the banking system, but given his stated
reasons for not voting for 1333 and what that
bill actually states, one must now question
the truthfulness of our congressman, and
that is not something we should need to do.
Steve Wallaert
Bend
YOUR VIEWS
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Along with saving critical resources,
these two projects have brought over $20
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over $23 million in payments to local
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and public safety. Our projects are flourish-
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While we have seen progress with our
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Bentz’s reasoning seems
wrong
Cliff Bentz, in his recent newsletter,
wrote that he voted against House Bill 1333,
because it “weakens our national security
by preventing the president from suspend-
ing immigration from unstable regions of
the world.”
I wonder what bill Bentz read because
1333 states the president may temporarily
restrict the entry of any alien if the State
Department makes a determination the
restriction would address specific and cred-
ible facts that may threaten our security
or public safety. Obviously, the bill does
not prevent the president from suspending
immigration.
The bill also states any restriction must
address a compelling government interest;
it must use the least restrictive means to
achieve that interest; and it prohibits reli-
gious discrimination unless there is a statu-
tory basis for such discrimination.
Since there is nothing in the bill that
would weaken the president’s ability to
suspend immigration, then why did Cliff
Bentz write what he did? Either Bentz
did not read the bill or he is intentionally
misleading his constituents, and if he is
misleading his constituents then one must
ask, why is he doing so?
Flying saucers the only
reason for UAS secrecy
I see in the June 1 East Oregonian that
the city of Pendleton, with the help of
our local elected state House and Senate
members, have struck another blow
against the right of people to know what
there government is doing.
We can no longer ask any questions
about the unmanned aerial vehicle proj-
ect at the airport. A part of our expen-
sive water and sewer bills goes to pay
for extending utilities to pay for money
borrowed for this project.
I know that some secrets are needed for
national defense, but I don’t see any CIA
presence in town so I don’t think this proj-
ect qualifies.
I think there is only one reason: There
are flying saucers landing at night and the
aliens will be staying at the new hotel at
the airport that is being built for them. So
if you see strange beings walking around
during Round-Up, thank the city of Pend-
leton.
Rex J. Morehouse
Pendleton