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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 22, 2016 Trump will make GOP unrecognizable his is the era of disruptive technologies. Uber is one for the taxi industry, AirBNB for hoteliers, the internet for newspapers. Such technologies use innovation to create an entirely new market with an entirely new value. The rules of the game must be quickly rewritten and long-entrenched powers are thrown scrambling to the bottom of the heap. Donald Trump is such a disruptive technology for the Republican Party. The GOP will be unrecognizable once he is through with it, whether that is in November or two presidential terms down the road. Over the course of his campaign, Trump has dismantled numerous supposed cornerstone beliefs of the Republican party, sometimes for good and sometimes in a way that will do longterm damage to the GOP. Here are a few examples: Republicans are known for their unwavering support of the American military, but Trump’s plethora of potshots haven’t spared American soldiers. “He’s not a war hero,” he famously sneered about John McCain, a man who suffered gravely in the name of the United States after being captured and tortured in a North Vietnamese prison cell for more than fi ve years. And last week he accused soldiers of graft and corruption: “Iraq, crooked as hell. How about bringing baskets of money — millions and millions of dollars — and handing it out ... I want to know who were the soldiers that had that job, because I think they’re living very well right now, whoever they may be.” He also has plans to privatize veterans’ care and was caught lying about his fi nancial support for veterans’ charities, only cutting the check months after he promised he would and after being repeatedly questioned about it by The Washington Post. He also said he would order American service members to kill the families of ISIS members, something that would make them immediate war criminals. He has also excoriated George W. Bush and his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another example: Perhaps one of the thickest planks in the Republican platform in recent decades has been opposing abortion. And despite being pro- choice for much of his life, Trump now says no one is as anti-abortion as he is. Yet he went out of his way to support Planned Parenthood when the organization was under routine attack during Republican primary debates. “You can say whatever you want, but they have millions of women going through Planned Parenthood that are helped greatly,” he said. It caused millions of heads to spin, but it didn’t cause his poll numbers to dip. Neither did his background T Blue Mountain EAGLE P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY — three wives and two divorces — which you think may have scared off evangelical voters who make up such a powerful segment of the GOP. You might think Trump’s inability to name a single Bible verse would be held against him by voters, but it’s not so. Just this week he attacked another sacred cow within the GOP coalition: the National Rifl e Association. Trump said he would approach the NRA about a law that would ban people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns. It’s a great idea — something more than 90 percent of Americans agree with — but because of NRA power and threats such a bill has not been able to pass the Senate. Trump’s naiveté and his ego have allowed him to bust down doors no one thought any GOP candidate could get away with. He has leveled blistering attacks on Fox News and popular anchor Megyn Kelly. He has been notably fi ckle on matters of policy, and his anti-free trade platform is at odds with Republican orthodoxy that promotes industry-led policies. And don’t get us started on immigration. Party leaders like Paul Ryan have threatened to sue Trump over his immigration bans and forced deportations. And no one in either party takes Trump’s idea to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it seriously. He has ripped apart Obamacare at every turn, but also spoke in support of making sure the government didn’t let people “die on the streets.” Trump’s success is inexplainable on one hand, but quite simple on the other. He is a reminder that the boogeymen that have been propping up the Republican Party for generations have become outdated. A majority of Americans are no longer fearful about gays or marijuana or Communist health care. Trump has created new boogeymen — mostly racially focused — that have had success in congealing a sizable contingent of Republicans around him. But he’s certainly polling in the mid 30s, a disastrous number, and if he fails in the November election or even fails to make it that far, Republicans will have a diffi cult task of rebuilding the Grand Old Party. Yet all his wild disruptions have yanked a few rotten planks from the Republican platform. There is a chance it is rebuilt as a more modern party, released from the shackles of a few bad stances. But there is also the risk that it is reborn as a mutant mess of dangerously far-right, anti-immigration, isolationist insult comics. Trump will not leave anything as he found it. That may be benefi cial in the Republican primary, but it’s more than a little nerve- wracking to think there is a chance he could recast what it means to be president of the most powerful county on Earth. F ARMER ’ S F ATE Crying babies and salesmen By Brianna Walker For the Blue Mountain Eagle My fi ngers were tingling with numbness as I bounced my baby on an exercise ball. It was one of those long, lousy days where baby was tired and crabby — which in turn made me tired and crabby. The more I bounced, the sleepier he got. The sleepier he got, the louder his “you can’t make me go to sleep” cries were. The louder they got, they shorter they became, though. Soon his head started to loll against my arm, which caused a welcome but increased tingling sensation as his body started to become dead-weight. This little boy is a chunk. We’ve laughed that buying clothes for him is like purchasing a computer. It’s obsolete and outgrown before you’ve arrived home. His eyes closed, my fi ngers numb on my right hand, and his whimpering barely audible now. A few more min- utes of gentle bouncing, and I would fi nally be able to get some much need- ed chores done. Like take a shower and get dressed! I fi nally decided to chance it. I stood up. So far so good. I kept up the bouncing-like motion in my arms as I headed for the bed. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I could just lay down too — only for a minute — how good it would feel to close my eyes and just... That’s when the doorbell rang. And not some sprightly “ding-dong” ring. No, my 7-year old loves chang- ing out the sound. A long, dark organ dirge banged loudly through the speakers. Immediately a nap was out of the ques- tion. The baby let out a loud and angry scream, drowned out Brianna only by the still play- Walker ing doorbell. Did I mention it was long? With the doorbell still playing its ghastly song, and the baby screaming at the top of his lungs, I opened the door — to a salesman. A door-to-door salesman. I felt like crying too. The man tried really hard to ignore the screaming baby, the pajamas and a hairdo that looked like I’d slept in it for a week — I’m sure it couldn’t have been more than a couple of days. He started his spiel, and I kept trying to quiet a baby. Suddenly the baby spit up. Epically spit-up. Warm baby puke oozed down my shoulder and puddled in my elbow before making rhythmic splats on the deck. The man looked down at his prod- uct and back up to a crying baby and a mom that was standing there in pa- jamas and baby puke, and I think he realized his speech was going to be wasted. He stopped mid-sentence. “Ma-am, I can see you’re busy. You just have a good day, ya hear?” He nodded at me as he backed down the porch, away from the baby puke that was still glopping down my arm. Later that day, I had fed the baby and fi nally, fi nally gotten him to a light slumber. That’s when the horrible doorbell rang again. The baby rolled and began fret- ting. I was torn between answering the door or trying to keep the baby asleep. I opted for the baby. I cooed to him and rubbed his back. The doorbell droned on for its one-minute song, and I released my breath when it ended. The baby was still sleeping. Then it rang again. No way could I keep him asleep for another minute of that rack- et. He was soon awake — thankfully not screaming. I scooped him up and headed for the door. Maybe it was im- portant. After all they rang twice. I guess it was important. It was a couple ladies inquiring about my eter- nal salvation and wanting to leave me pamphlets to read. As they started into their rehearsed questions, the baby leaned away from me and puked. Missing the one lady’s shoe by less than an inch. She looked up quickly. “I didn’t realize your baby was sick,” she stammered, thrusting the pamphlets into her purse and scurry- ing down the porch. Baby puke is like kryptonite to unsolicited visitors. I headed back in the house, turned the ringer off the doorbell and started thinking up a sign for the front door. I think it should be something like: “No Soliciting. We are too broke to buy anything. We know who we are vot- ing for. We have already found Jesus. Seriously, unless you are giving away tractors, ammo, have a package from Amazon or are selling Thin Mints, go away! We have baby puke, and we know how to use it!” Brianna Walker occasionally writes about the Farmer’s Fate for the Blue Mountain Eagle. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Britton a community- ’62 Days a success minded, reasonable — except for the businessman women’s restroom To the Editor: I regularly attend the meeting of the Grant County Court. I have found Commissioner Boyd Britton to be a good listener, a fair-minded individual and eager to research is- sues that are presented. Boyd owns and operates a busi- ness in Grant County. I have been observant of his business practices, and when he has constructed any- thing for me the price has been rea- sonable, and the work is certainly of good quality. I also know that Boyd is com- munity minded. He has been gen- erous with his time and expertise when asked to produce items for display. His business has been gen- erous with donations for activities and groups asking for donations. I do not believe in recall to re- place an elected offi cial. If the cit- izens are unhappy with an elected offi cial, there is always the ballot box and an election. Grant County has had enough problems. It is time for the citizens and residents to work together to keep the diversity we enjoy, and the benefi ts of living here. Thank you. Sharon Livingston Long Creek To the Editor: Another ’62 Days has come and gone, and we feel like it was a suc- cess. We cannot thank those who participated enough, the vendors, parade participants, Hope 4 Paws breakfast, Stephanie Coleman and the barbecue, Hugh Snook and the Gold Rush Walk/Run. The “Voices from the Past” was very well re- ceived as well as “Romancing the West” on Friday evening and St. Thomas Church’s pie social. A lot of work, preparation and volunteers go into putting an event like this on. This being said, I would like to address the young or older women who totally trashed the women’s restroom at Sels on Saturday. You know who you are and I don’t, but if I ever fi nd out who you are, you will be “blackballed” from Sels for- ever. I know your mothers taught you better. Our thanks for providing you with a fun evening was to do fi lthy things to the ladies’ room. I hope you are proud of yourselves. On the other hand, you gentle- men were gentlemen and kept your facility very clean. Leslie Traylor The Whiskey Gulch Gang Madam mayor To the Editor: I have lived in Granite for 21 years. It is sure nice to know we have a secret police department. It must be a secret depu- ty because no one in Granite that I have talked to has ever heard of or seen our chief, now retired in good standing. I am sure glad you informed us. I missed his retirement party! Granite has many depart- ments patrolling our area: Ore- gon State Police from La Grande, Baker City, John Day, county police from Grant and Bak- er counties, forest police from Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla Forests. Why, with a population of 20 people, does Granite need a town police department? Who paid his salary? I don’t see any mention in the financial report. Where was his office? I never had a chance to complain about anything. Mayor Sandy Smith should re- sign for wasting all our city funds if there is any money left in the city accounts. Mitchell Fielding Granite L etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. We must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244. Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ BMEAGLE . COM A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT ........ K RISTINA K REGER , KRISTINA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITORIAL A SSISTANT ................ C HERYL H OEFLER , CHERYL @ BMEAGLE . COM C OMMUNITY N EWS .................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM S PORTS ................................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM M ARKETING R EP ....................... K IM K ELL , ADS @ BMEAGLE . COM O FFICE M ANAGER ..................... L INDSAY B ULLOCK , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . 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