Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/185358
6A Daily News – Thursday, October 3, 2013 Opinion DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. For GOP in 2016, some medicine WASHINGTON -- "If Reince Priebus from Kenosha, Wisconsin, is the Republican 'establishment,' God help us," says the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus. His physical presence is almost as unprepossessing as James Madison's was, and his demeanor is self-deprecating. But with meticulous -- Madisonian, actually -- subtlety, he is working to ameliorate a difficulty that has existed for two centuries and in 2012 wounded the GOP. The Constitution's Framers considered the presidential candidate selection process so important they made it one of the four national institutions they created. Three were Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidency. The fourth was the presidential selection system based on the Electoral College, under which the nomination of candidates and the election of the president occurred simultaneously. Since the emergence of parties in the 1790s -- something the otherwise prescient Framers did not foresee -- nominees have been selected by the parties' congressional caucuses, next by national conventions controlled by the parties' organizations, then by conventions leavened by popular choice (state primaries and caucuses). Finally, because Hubert Humphrey won the 1968 Democratic nomination without entering any primaries, the selection of nominees has been entirely by popular choice since 1972. Priebus' perilous, and probably On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Marginal candidates with mindelegates must be selected 35 days before the convention. The imal financial resources, for last delegates would be selected whom debates are the oxygen of free publicity, will resist no later than mid-May. any restrictions. SupThere will be pose they accept invitaseverely enhanced tions to unauthorized penalties for state pardebates. Will more ties that jump to the plausible candidates be head of the line, into tempted to join them? February. Previously, Not if any candidate line jumpers were who participates in penalized half their delunauthorized debates is, egates; now the penalty before the convention could be severely begins, denied a subenhanced. For examstantial portion of whatple, one senior Republican -- not Priebus -- George F. ever delegates he or she has won. involved in rethinking Priebus, who must the rules says Florida placate fractious party could go from more factions, won admiration across than one hundred to nine. Currently, beginning March 1, the party spectrum when he said states' primaries can award dele- that if NBC and CNN proceeded gates proportionally or winner- with their proposed election-year take-all. In 2016, through the first miniseries and documentary, three weeks of March, allocation respectively, about Hillary Clinshould be proportional to prevent ton, neither organization would an avalanche that unduly trun- be allowed to sponsor an authocates the selection process. (In rized debate. By this he earned 2008, more than 40 percent of all some deference for his changes. Madison crafted our constitudelegates were selected on one day in February.) This should tional architecture of incentives -please everyone wary of a calen- principally, the separation of dar that would allow the richest, powers -- to encourage self-interbest-known candidate to run the ested people to be moderate and compromising. Priebus' Madisontable early. Regarding debates, the new ian revisions of the incentive rules, not yet fully formulated, structure of the nominating will be the first rules. The object process could protect the party, is to prevent a recurrence of the and presidential candidates, from jungles of 2007-2008 (21 its current penchant for selfdebates) and 2011-2012 (20 destructive behavior. debates). In 1980, there were six, George Will's email address is which Priebus thinks is about georgewill@washpost.com. optimal. Will Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 thankless, task is to rally a fraying party behind rules that will solve two entangled problems -- the delegate selection calendar and the number of candidate debates. The delegate selection process needs to be long enough to test the candidates' mettle but not so protracted that it leaves the winner politically battered and financially depleted. Debates must be numerous enough to give lesser-known and modestly financed candidates opportunities to break through. They must not, however, be so numerous as to prolong, with free exposure, hopeless candidacies. Or to excessively expose the candidates to hostile media debate managers. Or to leave the winner's stature reduced by repetitive confrontations. The GOP's 2016 selection calendar might be compressed at both ends, creating two intense months in March and April. There will likely be no Republican delegate selection events -primaries, caucuses or conventions -- prior to Feb. 1. The four prima donnas -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- probably will have February to themselves because this entitlement, like all entitlements, is immortal. The Republican convention could come as early as late June, so the nominee can have more time and general election contributions to build momentum entering autumn. Furthermore, perhaps 10 days could be added to the current requirement that all Commentary Meddling with nature I think if dinosaurs were still around they'd pose a real problem to our quality of life. I consider myself an animal lover, but in the case of dinosaurs I think I'd have to change my tune. First of all I think even just one Tyrannosaurus Rex within 100 miles of a residential neighborhood would prompt a lot of people to call in to take off work that day — that's an awful lot of missed productivity. Wild packs of velocirators would severely harm our cattle ranges and agriculture overall would take a major hit. Even the nice dinosaurs like the apatosaurus or triceratops pose problems. Sure they'd be fun to watch out the window as you're driving up the Interstate, but I have a belief from time to time they'd just walk haphazardly into a cell phone tower or two and disrupt communication for days at a time. Yeah, I'm pretty much against brining dinosaurs back. Whether that means I'm not an environmentalist, I'm not really certain. It seems you have to be all in, all the time with those people. For instance I'm not in favor of any specific animal, outside of mosquitoes, going extinct, so therefore I believe on paper the Endangered Species Act sounds like a really good idea. It's just that its application often leaves me scratching my head over what and why we're protecting something. That's been especially true with a pair of local issues where the ESA was in play. The first was the decadelong battle over the Red Bluff Diversion Dam and Lake Red Bluff. Environmentalists said the dam posed a danger to some species of Chinook salmon, steelhead and green sturgeon. The juveniles were having trouble getting past the dam without getting gobbled up by other fish. I don't see why it's humans' fault that one species of fish are winning a nature battle, but then again I guess we did create an unfair advantage by putting in that concrete dam. However that's not where the story gets fishy. Seems environmentalists that there's less habitat for these black-bearded want the salmon to woodpeckers and live because there is a they're dying out. population of killer Reading about their whales in the Pacific situation confused me Ocean that rely on even more when I them for a food thought back to that source. injured bear cub they If humans or other found in the Moon fish kill fish it's bad. Fire a few years back. Endangered whales That Li'l Smokey kill them, well that's a cub seemed pretty cute good outcome and at the time with his something millions of burnt little paws and I dollars should be Rich felt sorry for him. spent to encourage. But if I felt sorry Last week the for him, does that Tehama County Board mean I didn't have of Supervisors weighed in on a proposal to list enough compassion for the some populations of black- black-bearded woodpecker that bearded woodpeckers as endan- so desperately needs Li'l Smokey's home to burn down gered species. The problem these little fel- so they can survive. Eesh! las are having is that they make I wish I lived closer to a juntheir habitat in fire torched gle, the pecking order there is forests. Recently humans, urged on so much easier to understand. The lion is king — and by a talking bear, have been attempting to prevent forest humans aren't around to legislate otherwise. fires. We know locally we don't Rich Greene can be reached at prevent every forest fire from 527-2151, Ext. 109 or by email at happening, but evidently humans have done enough good rgreene@redbluffdailynews.com. Greene