Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/556412
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: 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 no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Donald Trump did wonders for Fox News' ratings and Megyn Kelly's star power last week. But "The Donald" didn't do himself, the Republican Party or the conservative cause any favors. Millionsofviewerssaw clear evidence that Trump is not a serious Republican can- didate or really a conservative. He espoused no conserva- tive principles or policies. He offered no ideas or specific conservative solutions to any domestic or foreign problem. All he proved — as if the whole TV audience didn't al- ready know — was that he's an egomaniacal billionaire who's certain he'd make a good Re- publican president. During the debate, he re- peated his shallow generalities about building a high wall to stop illegal immigration, mak- ing better trade deals with China and the serial incompe- tence of our leaders in Wash- ington. And he boasted that "I'm rich. I buy candidates. Govern- ment is broken. I can fix it." Because he appeals mostly to people who listen to conserva- tive talk radio 24/7, Trump has won over a large number of Re- publicans and conservatives who mistakenly think he is one of them. Trump's poll numbers in Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere have gone up since last week. They remain embar- rassingly high for the Republi- can Party, but they'll start fall- ing to Earth soon. It'll happen when his Don Rickles routine wears thin, his liberal tendencies are exposed and the GOP's bloated pre- season roster gets cut down to Jeb, Scott, John, Rand, Ted and probably Carly. Meanwhile, Trump has is- sued a threat to the Republi- can Party. He said that if it does not treat him "fairly" or with "re- spect," whatever that means, he might run next fall as an inde- pendent or a third party can- didate. Trump calls his threat "le- verage" but I think others would call it "extortion" or "blackmail." If he doesn't get his way, he'd be willing to sabotage the GOP in 2016 and almost certainly give Hillary, Joe Biden or even Bernie the Socialist the keys to the White House. Meanwhile, as if Trump was not causing enough trouble for the GOP, the party has to deal with a chronic problem within its own conservative ranks that cost it the last presidential elec- tion. For some reason, many Re- publicans and conservatives have become their own worst enemies. If they don't agree with 100 percent of everything a pri- mary candidate says or does, they call him or her a "Republi- can in name only" and they're against them. It's gotten totally nuts and self-defeating. As a party we laud Jeb for his many successes as a conservative governor of Florida. But because he's in favor of Common Core or immigration reform, some conservatives de- clare him a RINO unfit to be president. It's the same with John Ka- sich. Conservatives love him be- cause he brought us a balanced budget in Washington as a con- gressman and then went on to turn Ohio around as governor. But because recently he ac- cepted federal Medicaid money for Ohio, some conservatives don't think he should be presi- dent. He's a RINO. To make matters worse, if their favorite in the primary doesn't win, many conserva- tive Republicans won't show up in the general election to vote for president. Ask Mitt Romney how that works out. Conservatives love to drop my father's name and try to find candidates that act and think like he did. But they for- get that Ronald Reagan was an 80-20 guy. He was happy to agree with 80 percent of a Republi- can candidate's views because he knew that he'd never find someone with whom he agreed 100 percent. He didn't make the per- fect conservative the enemy of the good conservative. And he always, always, always sup- ported the final choice of the Republican Party — even after they beat him in the primary. Finally, may I remind ev- eryone that as governor, Ron- ald Reagan, the great conser- vative, raised taxes and signed an abortion bill. That would disqualify him as a RINO by today's stan- dards. Yet he was the best president in our lifetime. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). He is the president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. He can be reached at Reagan@caglecartoons. com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter. Michael Reagan Trump, Trumpies, RINOs trouble GOP Cartoonist's take I recently observed a pickup proudly displaying the flag of the proposed State of Jeffer- son and realized there were other deluded people — besides the Te- hama County Board of Supervi- sors — who think this separation from the State of California will happen if they just close their eyes, click their heels together and say, "There's no place like home in the state of Jefferson." Fortunately there are clear minded counties working dili- gently to see this fanciful event does not happen. One such, Trinity County, has compiled a model of what revenues the cit- izens of SOJ might expect if the separation came to pass. Here is the summation regarding just county roadways. "From what it appears, leav- ing the State of California would significantly impact the main- tenance that could be provided to County Roadways. Funds for construction of projects will be affected, but since the source is federal, the impact is not crit- ical. Transit funds will be de- pendent to what extent a fuel tax, or some other type of reve- nue, is determined. If there was a gas tax, it could be assumed that a transit component would be included. Given the conserva- tive nature of the counties that would be joining together to form Jefferson State, adoption of a new gas tax or other forms of roadway funding are specula- tive and the final product would truly be unknown." From this we could conclude that forming the State of Jef- ferson would be analogous to jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. ••• Social Security, thanks to FDR, has been with us since 1935 and whereas 60 million citizens now receive this bene- fit, sources say the figure is ex- pected to soar to 90 million by 2035. What to do to handle this expectation? One adjustment, perhaps long overdue, seems the most sensible. As people are liv- ing longer these days and phys- ically able to work, the eligible retirement age should rise from 66 to 70. It would be interest- ing if the current crop of White House aspirants would support this proposal. However, they would have to face the ire of vot- ers over 66 — a risk no candi- date is likely to take. Tsk, tsk. ••• Politics is the gentle art of get- ting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. Anon. And speaking of politics, don't you love it when you read of a misstep by a politician and then the subsequent attempt at dam- age control? The DN had a front page story about State Senator Jim Nielsen being fined by the California Fair Political Practices Commission because Nielsen had filed a campaign statement in which he erroneously reported information regarding a contri- bution. To which Charles Bell, treasurer for "Taxpayers for Jim Nielsen" replied sanctimoniously, "We are pleased to resolve a com- plaint filed by a political consul- tant working for an opposing candidate after 3 ½ years and much expense," ending with "In their settlement agreement, the FPPC acknowledges that only a minor contribution related to the politically motivated complaint was incorrectly reported." Uh huh. "Politically motivated complaints" can be such a nui- sance. ••• The new numbered mail boxes in the Post Office on Wal- nut are courtesy of the soon to be shuttered Post Office an- nex at 455 Washington St. In September the east half of this building will be available for lease. The west half remains the domain of Wulfert and Com- pany. If the proprietor of same was to call you, or if you con- tacted him, he would probably answer "Mr. Tom Wulfert." Tom is of the old school which under- stands this is the proper way to introduce oneself. I second the motion. Tom, by the way, has done the majority of surveys and engineering for our real estate company and is often employed to correct other surveyor's mis- takes. As an aside, this property was owned for years by Jack and Do- ris Foster for whom I became property manager. When the af- fable couple went to their re- spective reward, I continued to manage for their daughters Lona and Judith. But nothing is forever. Lona is now gone and Judith will be in need of a new tenant for the east half of the building. If the city of Red Bluff does not opt to lease it — space that close to its present site would be very handy — then the space is available to all comers. As a foot note to the Fosters, Doris made a statement to her husband that proved embarrass- ing at the time. After I had con- cluded a lengthy discourse re- garding their various properties, she turned to her husband and said, "Jack, I wish you could ex- plain things like Mr. Minch." I reddened, Jack shrugged, and the accolade floated away. How- ever, I did tend to monitor my explanations more carefully thereafter. ••• Those of a sensible frame of mind would hope that the lat- est tripe to escape the D. Trump mouth will have signaled his political death rattle. What he says, and how he says it, does not qualify him as Presidential material. There may be those who believe he tells it like it is, whereas he more likely tells it like it isn't. ••• Vertigo. Not the kind that Jimmy Stewart had in the movie with Kim Novak, which was fear of heights. No, I'm referring to the type that can hit anyone without warning. The medical term is "benign paroxysmal ver- tigo," which affects the inner ear. Apparently moisture crystal- lizes in this area and causes diz- ziness and instability. Whereas sources say it is basically un- treatable and will go away with time, there is a maneuver that can alleviate the symptom. Dr. D. Franseth at the local Wellness Center can provide said maneu- ver, and sufferers will be greatly satisfied with the results. ••• A man took his dog to the vet and asked that the dog's tail be cut off. "Why do you want to do that," asked the vet. "My mother-in-law is coming to visit, and I don't want any- thing to make her think she is welcome." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@ hotmail.com. I say The reality of the State of Jefferson Because he appeals mostly to people who listen to conservative talk radio 24/ 7, Trump has won over a large number of Republicans and conservatives who mistakenly think he is one of them. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. So sorry, I seen the fire from my house and prayed it wasn't your house, keep the faith. If we can do anything to help please don't hesitate to ask. Anne Milton Roades: On a fire Thursday morning that heavily damaged a family's home. Make A Wish is amazing. My son had his wish granted in 2010, a shopping spree in NYC. My son suffers from Hirschsprung's disease and eosinophilic esophagitis gastritis. We live in Corning. Shannon Price: On a Susanville boy's wish to vacation with his family being granted. StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator. nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558-3160, governor@governor. ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393- 0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Fran- cisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Rich- ard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 YOUR OFFICIALS Robert Minch OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, August 14, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4