Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 5.11.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS THE PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE
KELLYN BROWN
PRIMARY IJMPORTANCE
BY TIM BALDWIN
Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee
since Ted Cruz and John Kasich have exited the race. First, some Republican loyalists still do not sup- port Trump. By implication, either they will vote third party or for the Democratic candidate. It appears that these Republicans are suddenly abandoning the “lesser of two evils” rationale. They were singing a dif- ferent tune when George Bush and Mitt Romney were the GOP nominees and trying to convince indepen- dents and right-wing conservatives that the Republi-
cans were better choices than the Democrats. Second, Trump is getting endorsements from major GOP insiders (e.g. Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani). If Trump is supported by mainstream Republicans, does this e ectively diminish Trump’s anti-establishment perception? And will it revolutionize the GOP by rede- ning the characteristics that unite seemingly polem-
ical opposite groups (e.g. Tea Party and Neo-Cons)? Third, Trump’s nomination may thrust a third party forward. Instead of getting support from the GOP, Trump has given it the middle nger while win- ning. The GOP was on shaky ground, but Trump has exposed the weakness. This opens a huge door for a third party. Trump is more of a Nationalist than any- thing, so it would seem that the Libertarian Party may
still not bene t from the Trump phenomena.
Trump has broken many molds that have been formed in America over a long time. If nothing else, it’s good to see many people actively involved in the
BY JOE CARBONARI
We need to make some changes in the way that
we run our country. A rather small slice of our coun- trymen have given us Donald Trump as leader of the Republican parade. He is so unsuitable, and unhealthy, that many of the Republicans best able to serve our country are considering opting out.
I hope that they will stay in the game. Review, re ect, and restructure. Take care of those among us that are hurting, as shown by their displeasure and their votes.
For our economic engine to hum again we need stable world conditions and a prepared, healthy, and cooperative work force. We need the engagement of the best and most experienced among us. Wars can be started. Economies can be wrecked. Trump needs experienced, informed help.
We have on our political stage many players with limited vision and understanding of the world. Many display little depth, or subtlety of thought. Should the stage be left to them? Would it serve us well?
If somehow Trump were to be elected, our country and the world would need a strong team on the ground. It is a time for the best of the party, and its friends, to be heard and to be seen. It is a civic duty.
Denounce Trump? That’s a cop out. Do the hard work of doing the right thing. Stay involved and give some guidance.
UST WHEN YOU THOUGHT OUR NEARLY last-in-the-nation primary may make a di erence in the presidential election, and candidates would
soon be campaigning across our state in hopes of adding to their delegate haul, Indiana happened.
On April 28, the press o ce for GOP nominee Ted Cruz sent out an email to Montana’s media o ering interviews of those supporting Cruz’s bid. The list included family members (Ted Cruz’s dad), authors (David Limbaugh, who is also Rush Limbaugh’s brother), and politicians (Iowa Congressman Steve King) and family members of former politicians (Neil Bush, the brother of George W. and Jeb).
On May 3, Donald Trump crushed Cruz in Indiana’s winner-take-all primary by 16 percentage points. That night, Cruz, a Texas senator, dropped out. John Kasich, the Ohio governor, followed suit the next day. The GOP primary is over.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Bernie Sanders beat for- mer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 53 to 47 percent in the Hoosier State. The problem for Sanders is all the Democratic primaries award delegates proportionately and time is running out to overcome Clinton’s sizable lead. Nonetheless, Sanders has vowed to continue to the convention and is campaigning this week in Montana.
Montana votes on June 7, so does delegate-rich Cal- ifornia and New Jersey along with three other states. A lot has changed since pundits predicted these primaries could make a di erence.
Perhaps it’s best we avoided much of the circus. Imag- ine the media scrum following a Trump rally at one of our local airports. Imagine the headlines: “Candidates Trade Insults in the Last Best Place.”
Still, it’s unfortunate if the presidential campaign winding down saps Montanans’ energy to cast a vote in the primary. There are plenty of contested races with high stakes across the state, including locally in Senate Dis- trict 3 and House District 11. Republican County Com- missioner Pam Holmquist is also facing a challenger.
It’s easy to get caught up in the theatrics of the presi- dential race with its wall-to-wall coverage. It’s also easy to forget that local elections can a ect your life in more tangible ways.
For instance, last week’s school levy votes deter- mined how much property owners will pay in taxes in several communities. White sh and Marion rejected those requests. Creston and Libby approved them. Many of the votes were incredibly close.
The Marion levy failed by seven votes and White- sh’s elementary levy by 27. Those passed in Creston and Libby eked out victories, by 27 and 48 votes respectively. Whether you agree with the results, it’s hard to argue your vote wouldn’t matter in these elections. Nonethe- less, school bonds notoriously struggle to draw voters. In White sh, for example, just 16 percent of those eligible cast a ballot.
There is a lot to dislike about presumptive nominees for president. In fact, according FiveThirtyEight, “Clin- ton and Trump are both more strongly disliked than any nominee at this point in the past 10 presidential cycles,” or the last 40 years. Clinton’s average “strongly unfavor- able” rating was 37 percent from late March to late April. Trump’s was 53 percent.
A few voters insist, based on their choices, they won’t cast a vote for either candidate. That happens, to a degree, every presidential election cycle and most of them will likely fall in line with their respective parties. But if you have the urge to leave that part of the ballot blank, have peace of mind knowing that your other votes, for those candidates and on those issues closer to home, matter just as much if not more.
discussion.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH TRICKLE-UP ECONOMICS
S
businesses. Indeed, if you’re lucky enough to live in a small community that’s done well over the past decades, it might just be evidence of a tenacious abil- ity to thrive despite challenging government policies.
President Reagan famously said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” What if even more terrifying are the words, “I’m from the govern- ment and I refuse to help.”
We’re 16 years into the 21st century and way smarter than we were back in the 1900s. Our daily lives now include digital learning, instantaneous mobile com- munications, and autonomous tractors. We Skype with folks around the world and nd what’s locally unavailable on Amazon. We do this every day in rural and small towns and it’s remarkable.
We’ve made precious few policy changes though to re ect these new realities. The 2016 election, there- fore, would be a good time to begin guring out what 21st century government ought to look like. You know, like government that’s smart, functional, and enacts policies that pay o for ordinary folks and not just a privileged few.
Success and wealth creation built with integrity will always be worthy of our high regard. But we can no lon- ger ignore policies and practices that have left many behind. Trickle down might have worked at one time, but its de ciencies have become pretty obvious. So, I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more about trickle up. Done right, it could work out well for all of us.
Diane Smith is the founder and CEO of American Rural
O WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE TRICKLE-UP ECO- nomics might look like? I’m not sure yet, but
am pretty con dent we’re headed there so we might all want to start giving it some thought.
According to Investopedia, “President Reagan’s economic policies ... were based on trickle-down theory. The idea is that with a lower tax burden and increased investment, business can produce (or sup- ply) more, increasing employment and worker pay.”
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, feeling the Bern, has backed fast and furiously away from any policy that smacks of Rea- gonomics. Similarly, Republican primary voters who delivered Donald Trump the nomination are mostly blue-collar Americans who haven’t seen a signi cant pay increase since the ‘70s. I doubt they’re going to elect Mr. Trump if he doubles down on a 1980’s eco- nomic philosophy that left them overburdened and underprotected while their high-wage earning, corpo- rate shareholding peers (many of them living in overly gentri ed cities) made bank.
So, what next? Dictionary.com de nes trickle-up as “... the theory that monetary bene ts directed toward small business and the poor will gradually pass up to big business and the rich.” I suspect we’ll hear more about variations on trickle-up economics in the months to come.
Bring it on. Economic policies that skew toward the wealthy and big business are often counterproductive for rural and small-town Americans because we just don’t have a lot of super-wealthy folks or super-big
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MAY 11, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM