Byron LaMasters Calls Trump

A colleague posted the following on Facebook and in my on-going quest to post anything that makes me feel better as well as opportunities for activism I thought I'd share.

Today I tried an experiment. In light of the White House switchboard (202) 456-1111 closing their comment line and with some inspiration from https://whitehouseinc.org/ I decided to try a dozen or so Trump Organization phone numbers and politely request to leave a message for Mr. Trump. Here's what I got:

Trump International Hotel - Washington D.C. (202) 695-1100 - rang about 25 times then disconnected.

Trump Park Avenue (212) 223-3775 - The person said that I should call the main Trump Organization office at (212) 832-2000. I hadn't called them yet, so I tried them next.

Trump Organization (212) 832-2000 - First three attempts did not get through. Fourth attempt got through to someone that connected me to a voice mail where I expressed my opposition to a 20% tariff with Mexico.

Trump International Realty (212) 247-7100 - Rang four times and disconnected.

Trump International Hotel & Tower (212) 362-4715 - Person transferred me to the voice mail of a hotel manager where I left a message about opposing the executive order relating to the Mexico City policy.

Trump Place 200 Riverside Blvd (212) 362-4715 - Rang 20-ish times and disconnected.

Trump Events (212) 715-7290 - Was actually the restaurant. They connected me to the front desk, which connected me to another voice mail where I expressed my opposition to torture.

Trump Soho (212) 842-5500 - Started talking and was interrupted "Sir, sir, I apologize, we don't deal with Mr. Trump" and they hung up.

Trump National Doral Miami (305) 592-2000 - By far the nicest person I spoke with. After introducing myself the woman that picked up said she'd take my message. I expressed my opposition to Trump's refugee policy and that we needed to be doing more for Syrian refugees, and asked that my position be conveyed to Mr. Trump and she said "Absolutely, sir. Have a nice day".

Trump Winery Tasting Room (434) 977-4001 - Person connected me to a voice mail line where I expressed my concern that Trump was violating the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Mar-a-lago (561) 832-2600 - Person said that the new comment line was (501) 374-4242 and said that I should call that number. I googled it, and that's the Clinton Presidential Library number, and did not call. Tried calling Mar-a-lago back and it hung up / disconnected.

Trump Hotel Las Vegas (702) 982-0000 - Interrupted, "you have the wrong number" and hung up.

FYI: Byron LaMasters is a Democratic political consultant at InFocus Campaigns. He is a Texan living in DC whose interests include politics, travel, books, and baseball.

Executive Order – the implications of the refugee and immigration ban

Like me, I am sure you are all sickened by the first week of the Trump administration. While I don't usually delve into too much policy on the blog I was so infuriated by the recent Executive Order on immigration that I didn't want to let the moment pass without saying something. Earlier today I participated in a protest at the White House, but I wanted to do as much as possible with my small platform to share information about why the ban is dangerous and discriminatory. Thank you to James Blake, who is way more expert at this than I am, for obliging and for my grad school classmate who connected me with him. His bio and analysis are below. By the way, if you are interested in joining a protest against the so-called Muslim Ban, click here to find out what is happening in your city. There are still plenty of activities going on.


On Friday, January 27, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging Executive Order that ended the refugee resettlement program temporarily for four months, in addition to banning entry of people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. The order cuts in half the number of refugees planned to be taken in during 2017. Priority will also be given to certain religions.

Controversy has ensued. The Executive Order has drawn significant criticism from a wide range of groups. At the diplomatic level, several policy makers have questioned whether it goes against the Geneva Convention, while many other argue that it undermines U.S. world leadership. Because of the rushed nature of the Executive Order, confusion and anger has spread. Some politicians, academics, medical professionals, former interpreters to the U.S. government and athletes are caught up in the blanket-nature of the Executive Order, and are uncertain whether they can travel back to the U.S. Yesterday, amid media reports of chaos at airports, a federal judge ruled that the authorities had to stop deporting refugees and others who were stuck at the U.S. airports.

Perhaps, unsurprisingly, in the U.S., the reaction has been deeply polarized. The U.S. president tied the Executive Order’s rationale to improving national security, citing 9/11 on several occasions, and stating he wanted to clamp down on security vulnerabilities from the visa system. This will likely be the start of further policies in this area. CNN wrote an article that President Trump’s next step could be to check digital records of those immigrants seeking to enter the country. Some on the political right have praised the Executive Order as a first step in securing borders and protecting the U.S. against terrorism. The political left and center, however, is by and large furious, with the more hardline comments criticizing the president for demagoguery, inciting fear, hatred of marginalized groups and, in fact, undermining national security. Some have equated the president’s ulterior motivation in the Executive Order to be a blanket Muslim ban.

Protests against the Executive Order have been held – and are being planned – in cities across the country. Notably, on Saturday, a spontaneous demonstration was held outside JFK international airport after immigrants attempting to re-enter the U.S. were detained.

In the bigger picture, there are particularly troubling aspects to the Executive Order. The U.S. shapes global thinking through its leadership. For many years, its welcoming position to refugees has been widely recognized, and has set the tone and direction for other countries to welcome, particularly the most vulnerable of refugees from war-torn countries. Among experts, the U.S. refugee program itself is a success story. Those refugees who have been resettled have boosted their communities through innovation, diversity and cultural enrichment. The program itself has a long-tradition: the U.S. is after all at its core a nation of immigrants.

Perhaps even more troubling, the world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Neighbors to Syria, particularly Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon are overwhelmed by refugees, who have fled from years of conflict in Syria. Meanwhile, refugees have flooded Europe in recent years, as they desperately seek opportunities to rebuild their lives. The pressing nature of the world refugee crisis is calling for U.S. leadership and solutions, but with the Executive Order, it has seemingly shunned responsibility and instead, shockingly, turned inwards.

In terms of security, while the Executive Order has been couched in matters of national security, it is not apparent what improvements it was trying to make. Refugees were already subject to lengthy and significant investigations by Homeland Security, with cases taking an average 12-18 months of vetting, biometrics and interviews. It is harder to get to the US as a refugee than it is by any other immigration route. The risk of letting in potentially dangerous individuals as refugees was already small.

Indeed, there is a likelihood that the Executive Order will drive increasing security risks over the longer-term, as it plays into the broader narrative of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda of a clash of civilizations with the West. The Executive Order risks aiding the radicalization of marginalized elements from the country to look for reasons to carry out attacks in the U.S. It is also a boon for the recruitment to groups such as the Islamic State.

Given the reaction and implication of the Executive Order, the only real solution seems to be to repeal it, and instead work with the system that was left in place by the Obama administration. In some key positions, such as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, the Trump administration has a wealth of experience to draw upon, and beneath these individuals are many talented security experts. The Trump administration should seek counsel from these experts and consider the Executive Order in more depth.

The US has a proud history of welcoming refugees, and fostering a community of diversity. The Executive Order has caused great confusion, hurt and embarrassment to the U.S., and, sadly has global ramifications.


James Blake is an expert in political and security risk analysis. He started his career at a leading political and security risk consultancy firm in London. He subsequently worked in-house at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, where he advised on international security matters across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Most recently, he was the sole political analyst at the International Rescue Committee. He was in Turkey conducting an assessment on refugees as the European Refugee Crisis escalated, to help with the IRC's programming in Europe. He also helped IRC teams access conflict zones and mitigate their risks as they sought to respond to the world's worst crises. James wrote geopolitical analysis for the Soufan Group for several years, and is a contributor to Jane's Intelligence Magazine.

Your Official CampaignSick New Year's Countdown

After this year's election I promised to keep you apprised of the things that were making me feel good and hopeful after what we'll just call a terrible election season. I've been staying away from sharing a lot of news, mostly because I still find it pretty overwhelming but also because I have been busier than expected lo these past couple months (job hunting, I got engaged!, etc). I did want to leave 2016 with you guys on a positive note though so that we can look forward together optimistically to the New Year. So while you enjoy your holiday however you plan to spend it (ours will be on the couch eating Chinese food, because we live large) please enjoy this brief countdown of things that make me feel good going into 2017.


FIVE Inspirational Quotes

Yes, I see the irony that only one of these is from a woman, but these are the thoughts I meditate on when I am in the pits of post-election despair.

"And with this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope through the mountain of despair. With this faith, I will go out with you and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows." Martin Luther King Jr

"If you’re going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt

"Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, for as long as you can." Hillary Clinton

"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it." Rabbi Tarfon

FOUR uplifting facts about women running for office from the 2016 Election

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes AND became the first woman to secure a major party's Presidential nomination

The next Congress will see a record high number of Black women representatives.

The number of women of color in the US Senate QUADRUPLED.

More than 4500 women signed up to run office post-election and that's just through She Should Run's incubator!

THREE articles I have read in the last 24hrs that made me smile

Only three passengers on BA flight enjoy champagne and selfies

Giant panda no longer endangered

Eavesdropping Uber driver saves young girl from pimps, police say

TWO songs that make me feel powerful and inspired in such times as these




ONE picture my friend who is a 2nd grade teacher sent me from an exercise where she asked her students what they learned from the election.

One final thought: time is just a construct. Celebrities will continue to die in 2017. Donald Trump will be President. But we will get through this as we get through everything, as a community. Can't think of one I'd rather be part of.

Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy

A Think Piece Worth Reading

If you are like me, you have a super long queue of articles to read post-election but not a whole lot of emotional bandwidth to read them. But you should read, this one, "The Magnificent Martyrdom of Hillary Clinton." I don't have a lot to add, but in keeping with my resolution to share things that make me feel better after the election and my other resolution to make Hillary Clinton's birthday a national holiday, I just had to share. Enjoy!

Just What I Needed To Hear

I promised you I would share anything that is making me feel better after this horrible election but I have been remiss in sharing this conversation with a Mary Kay colleague. (BTW click here to read about why I think Mary Kay is the perfect side hustle for campaign people.) She reached out to me two days after the election and it was the first time I had felt uplifted since November 7th. I hope it makes you smile too.

NOV 10TH, 10:18PM

Molly: Out of curiosity, how did you get involved in campaigns? I'd love to get involved in Ohio and potentially run for a small office but not even sure how to start!!

Nancy: OMG you have no idea how much this made my day. You should definitely check out Emerge America. They do amazing trainings for women who want to run. What's your email?

Molly: Ok that is awesome!! I've always been huge into women's rights and equality and hate my job (hence the Mary Kay) but this election just brought out so much passion and excitement for me, I want to get involved in something I care so much about. My email is [redacted.]

Nancy: OMG Molly, I cannot even tell you how much I needed to hear this from somebody today.

Molly: I admire you so much - thank you for all of your work on Hillary's campaign!!

Nancy: Oh yeah, to answer your question I actually fell into working on campaigns...I took my first job bc I was applying to the CIA and I needed something to do during my security clearance and I fell in love w it and decided to do that instead and then a couple years ago I got my Master's in Gender and Social Policy.

Molly: Fascinating!!! I got my job bc I wanted to work for the FBI and needed 2 years of experience, wish I would have landed on the campaign trail instead lol

Nancy: OMG hahaha we are twins! Where do you work now?

Molly: [Company Redacted]I'm a Finance Director.

Nancy: That's awesome

Molly: It's awful and boring and I make no impact to anyone

Nancy: So starting out working on campaigns would...be a big pay cut, but the work is very rewarding

Molly: Totally get it - I'm hoping to cut back to 3 days a week after my maternity leave to focus on Mary Kay, I'd love to do something else that also empowers women.

Nancy: Yes!!! People think I'm nuts when I see the two jobs as related.

Molly: I totally do!!! I get it. It's all about empowering women to live their goals, regardless of how different those goals may be.

Nancy: I don't know if this is your thing, but I feel like Planned Parenthood is often hiring in OH.

Molly: Wow!!! What would I do?? That sounds exciting!
I'm terrified of what trump is going to try to do with Planned Parenthood.

Nancy: ME TOO. I have been like...catatonic since election day.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/jobs-volunteering

Molly: Ok I'm going to look at that!

Nancy: Their website is cool in that you can put in your skills and it sends you alerts when they have jobs that match.

Molly: I can only imagine how you feel - but know your efforts were not wasted - I feel so empowered now
And I know so many others that do too

Nancy: Dude that means...everything to meCan I ask you a weird, weird question? So I have a blog for campaign operatives that is read by like 3,000 ppl.

Molly: Wow!!!!

Nancy: And I have been struggling with something uplifting to share. Can I post this conversation, anonymously?

Molly: Of course! You can even put my name.

Nancy: That's awesome. Thank you.

Molly: You are truly inspiring, don't forget it!!!

Nancy: Dude YOU are. This is the first conversation that has made me feel like hope for my work is not lost in 3 days

Molly: Awww so happy I reached out, I wanted you to know what a huge impact you've made!!! Sometimes jobs are thankless but you are empowering and we are all ready to fight!!

Nancy: Thank you! And now you are going to be sick of me because I am going to keep sending you info on trainings to run for local office 🙂

Molly: No I want the help and appreciate it so much!!! My dream has always been to run for office.

Nancy: OMG we will make it a reality. I'm going to be your [Name of our mentor in Mary Kay] but for politics!

Molly: Ok!!!I'm getting goose bumps!

Deep Canvass Your Relatives

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wanted to do a longer post on this but then of course time became a thing and like many of us when it comes to the election I go back and forth between being able to engage thoughtfully and turning into a ranting sniveling mess.

I first want to say that I really feel for anyone who is spending the holidays with relatives who support Donald Trump. I still feel betrayed and incensed by my relatives who voted for Clinton but propagated the misogynistic language during the primary that I feel ultimately contributed (along with a boat load of other things) to this electoral outcome. I can only imagine having to share Thanksgiving with Trumpster fires. You are sincerely in my prayers.

There has been a lot of discussion over whether its appropriate, admissible or even incumbent upon us to talk about 2016 at the Thanksgiving table. I know my boyfriend and I are dreading having these conversation with my relatives, all of whom supported Clinton, but are less politically engaged than we are and likely to come at us with their own aggressive hot takes not at all hampered by the fact that this is our field of expertise.

Our friends at the Campaign Workshop shared an interview with Episcopal Reverend Tim Schenck for those taking the "I'd rather not go there" approach.

This will shock absolutely none of my readership, but I am quite comfortable arguing with my family even on holidays. This is in part because I'm Nancy and in part because I'm Jewish. Many Jewish holidays center on wrestling with interpretations of morality, questioning what we have been taught and even arguing with God shimself. And if I can have that argument, even my relatives are a piece of cake.

One of the many things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving is a family that loves me and whom I love unconditionally, who share my values and for the most my interpretation of how those values should present themselves in our democracy. I recognize not everyone has that privilege. I don't mean to advocate for you to participate in actions that supersede your mental health.

However, when a colleague, who it should be noted has a very different relationship with her family, shared this article with the note "deep canvass your relatives," I was immediately drawn to the idea. Deep canvass as you may remember, is a method of voter contact that essentially allows the target to persuade themselves by answering thought provoking questions. You can read more about deep canvass here. When I consider the very few people in my life who voted for Donald Trump I am inclined to ask them that which is also the title of this New York Times article, "How Could You?" which presents 19 questions to ask your loved ones on the opposite side of our bitterly fought and bitterly disappointing presidential race. Those questions are:

1. Describe your relationship to me.

2. Are we close?

3. Who did I vote for and why?

4. What was the most important issue for me?

5. Why do you feel differently about that issue?

6. How do you think our views came to be so different?

7. Has it been difficult to talk to me about this election? If so, why?

8. Do my views influence your politics at all?

9. What do you think most needs to change about this country?

10. Are you uncomfortable about any aspect of how America is changing?

11. Do you think I’m sexist or racist?

12. Do you feel ignored or misunderstood as a voter? If so, for how long?

13. What is a position my candidate held that you agree with?

14. What is a trait you find positive about my candidate?

15. What is something that you don’t like about the candidate you voted for?

16. Is there anything you are hopeful about in a Trump presidency?

17. Is there a goal Clinton talked about that you could get behind?

18. What do you think we agree on?

19. Do you still like me?

Even more fascinating, the article offers a link to The Run Up podcast, which features sets of relatives having just this conversation.

I mean this not to be saccharine but as political necessity;our current state of affairs is severely lacking in empathy. I am as guilty of it as anyone. I CANNOT put myself in the position of someone who voted for Donald Trump, insurance premiums be damned. If we can't see where the other side is coming from, we can't communicate effectively and we will continue to lose elections. As I piece together my own personal version of "what's next" I know that listening and communicating in a way that meets people where they are is essential for progress as well as my own ability to reconcile what I believe to be true about our country with what happened at the polls. I will continue to share opportunities I find to do this and most of all continue to be grateful for your friendship and your readership today and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Campaign Love and Mine,


Nancy

So......that happened.

You know that trope in a romantic comedy when a girl thinks her boyfriend is about to propose but instead he breaks up with her and it turns out he's done/been doing something so vile that he's not even the person she thought he was in the first place? That's what Tuesday (which by the way, was my fucking birthday) felt like. Except it wasn't a rom com. It was real life. And it wasn't just happening to me. It was happening to everyone around me. There's no sassy best friend to show up with ice cream, we all have to be each other's sassy best friend.

I am heartbroken in a way I have never been before. Just as our country has no roadmap for what's about to happen, I have no roadmap for what my life is under this new reality. My identity is forged around elections, empowering women to engage politically, and believing in the arc of the moral universe. We elected a misogynist/accused rapist over the most qualified woman in history. Where do I go from here? What does it say about my fellow white women that on average we care more about preserving our privilege and our fear than our own empowerment and that of our sisters? Two weeks ago I cried with gratitude and reverence each time I read the stories of grandmothers born before women's suffrage who were voting for a woman for president. Now I'm crying because I realize I might be those grandmothers before I feel this close to the precipice of equality again; a nonagenarian whose grandchildren take her rickety ass to the polls. "She's been waiting for this ever since she volunteered for Hillary Clinton," they'll say.

For the most part, I've been avoiding social contact. I'd like to tell you it's because I'm taking part in radical self-care or plotting the new Feminist agenda but the truth is I don't know how to be myself in the world right now. The moral arc is so much longer than I ever anticipated. Social media is wave after wave of anxiety inducing reminder of exactly what these next four years will be, self-righteous Monday morning quarterbacking as if ANYBODY saw this coming, and friends whose pledges to fight on only make me ashamed of my own inability to answer, "what's next?"

I don't know. If you want think pieces about whether Bernie Sanders could have won or whether Trump means what he says or which segment of the population is most culpable for Hillary Clinton's loss you can find them, just sign on to Twitter. After commenting my way through six years of elections I feel compelled to say something, yet every time I sign on to Facebook to an "ok folks here's my take on the election," I sign right off again. I don't want to add to the cacophony just for the sake of being on record. There is nothing that hasn't been said. Besides, I'm still reeling too much to crystalize exactly what I'd want to express anyway.

More than anything, I always strive for this blog to be what I would have needed in a given moment, so that's what these next couple of posts are going to be about--just whatever is making me feel better. Like I said, the moral arc really isn't doing it for me right now, but there is a Martin Luther King quote that I've been finding comfort in lately. It's the best I can promise myself right now.

With this faith I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope through the mountain of despair. With this faith, I will go out with you and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.

(More than ever) Campaign Love and Mine,

Nancy