Tength Congressional District Democrats

By Steven Gan

Do you remember the knee-jerk call and response at Trump rallies? Trump would yell out several times to his supporters, “Who’s going to pay for the wall?”  Raising fists, the crowd would shout with one voice, “Mexico!”

That Trump would bring the Mexican government to its knees and make it pay for his big, bad, beautiful wall was just one of the fantastical promises that propelled him to the presidency.

In view of Trump’s 100 days of failures, reversals, and flip-flops, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that we don’t hear much about Mexico paying for the wall anymore, let alone how this monstrosity is even going to be built. Note that Trump never did explain exactly how we were going to force Mexico to foot the bill. But to Trump’s supporters, these annoying details were beside the point. All they cared about was the anti-immigration sentiment behind creating an impenetrable fortification.

Although it was fun while it lasted, now, as the rubber meets the road, some cold hard facts are coming into focus.

One of these facts, ironically, relates to statements by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who is backing off Trump’s promise to build his version of the Great Wall of China. “You see, the border is complicated,” Zinke said back at the end of March when speaking to the Public Lands Council.  He elaborated:

“The Rio Grande, what side of the river are you going to put the wall? We’re not going to put it on our side and cede the river to Mexico. And we’re probably not going to put it in the middle of the river.”

And then there’s the annoying fact that most of the land in Texas that’s along the Rio Grande is privately owned.  The folks who own the land are not planning to sell cheaply, and they won’t allow the government to take their property (through eminent domain) without a fight that could take years.  A number of these landowners, some of whose families have owned land bordering the river since the 18th century, are vowing to stand firm no matter the legal costs.

And did we mention the cost of the wall itself? Trump claimed at first that he could build the structure, everything said and done, for less than $10 billion. Now it’s estimated at $25 billion. But even if it’s $100 billion, don’t worry, because the Republicans will cancel social programs like Meals on Wheels that feed and support millions of poor Americans in order to pay for it.

Speaking of high costs to the government, let’s not forget Trump’s weekend jaunts down to the “southern White House” to escape from a week of dealing with all the world’s problems that he bragged only he could fix.  As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough go to Mar-a-Lago.

But those of us opposed to any investment in an expensive new border wall can take heart.  So far, Trump has reversed course on the importance of NATO, U.S. involvement in Syria, whether China is a currency manipulator, and more, so it’s likely that in time his grandiose border wall, with all of its immense challenges, will become just one more forgotten promise.

By Nancy Krent

On Monday evening, November 21, more than two hundred people gathered at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest to participate in the Tenth Dems open forum on the 2016 election.  Tenth Dems Founding Chair Lauren Beth Gash opened the meeting by noting that, locally, Election Day was an overwhelming success for the people of the 10th District. In addition to Brad Schneider’s win in the Congressional race, the 10th kept all its incumbent Democrats, picked up the Lake County Circuit Court Clerk’s seat and helped Tammy Duckworth and Susana Mendoza win statewide.  However, that stood in sharp contrast to the scary, shocking rightward pull seen in so many areas of the country with the election of Donald Trump.  As Lauren noted, all of us are still trying to come to grips with the defeat of Hillary Clinton and what that means for Democrats and for the country.  The purpose of the meeting was therefore to mourn, to celebrate, and to plan how to move forward.

For the next two hours, person after person lined up for the microphone and patiently waited their turn to share their concerns, their frustrations, and their suggestions for action.  Four of Tenth Dems’ leaders—Managing Vice-Chair and newsletter editor Barbara Altman, Communications Director Eric Herman, and Leadership Committee members Nancy Krent and Laurence Schiller joined Lauren on stage and occasionally engaged with the speakers on the floor by elaborating upon an issue or answering a question.

The conversation was free-ranging.  Multiple people spoke about the need to engage younger voters and others who feel disenfranchised.   Several speakers mentioned looking for ways to bring young Democrats together, and volunteers are being solicited to reinvigorate the Young Tenth Dems to focus on this goal.

A number of speakers addressed national concerns, such as voter suppression, Trump’s expected Cabinet picks and ethics issues, and attacks on progressive legislation and programs, such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).  Among the suggestions for action were letter-writing and educational campaigns, lobbying efforts, partnering with affinity groups, and working to make our voices heard nationally.

One key issue was the Electoral College.  Some speakers talked about efforts to change or abolish the Electoral College, and others wanted to work on studying the issue more fully.

Others spoke about the need to prepare for upcoming elections, including the municipal elections in 2017 and the mid-terms and gubernatorial elections in 2018.  Building and strengthening precinct committee structures, helping with canvassing and organizing, and encouraging and raising support for candidates were some of the suggestions that speakers shared.  Additionally, people suggested reaching out to other states, and other areas of Illinois, where local Democrats may need our support to strengthen their organizing efforts.

Several people talked about the presidential campaign, and discussed some of the factors that may have led to Hillary’s defeat.  Many thought that it was important to study the election so that we could learn from what went wrong to help us build stronger, more successful campaigns going forward.

In all, dozens of people took the mic to voice their individual thoughts, concerns, and suggestions over the course of nearly two hours, and many more signed up to volunteer to put ideas into action.

Tenth Dems plans to host additional, smaller conversations in the coming months, across the 10^th District, to talk more about the ideas that have been generated, to seek additional ideas, and to implement action plans.  Find out more at TenthDems.org, and if you are interested in volunteering, you can do so at volunteer@tenthdems.org.