Notes

Blind Ambition is a Despicable Immigration Policy
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Donald Trump’s signature presidential campaign promise was to build a concrete wall along the Mexican border and have Mexico pay for it. This has been his message to his base for over two years. Now he says he never promised Mexico would pay for the wall. Instead, Trump wants the American people to pay for it. And, in December 2018, an impasse between Congress and the President led to a partial government shutdown. Over 800,000 federal workers are either working without pay or are on furlough in what has become the longest shutdown in American history. Federal employees feel like they are pawns in Trump’s efforts to secure a big win for his followers.
The President’s stance on the shutdown has been wildly uneven, first stating he would take the blame for any shutdown only to later blame the Democrats. Then he said he would sign a short-term government funding bill without money for his wall only to retract his promise after pressure from conservative hardliners and media stars. Fox News’ Chris Wallace questioned press secretary Sarah Sanders’ “facts” about thousands of suspected terrorists caught crossing the Mexican border. Most criminals, suspected terrorists, and illegal drugs, Wallace stated, are caught at airports and other ports of entry. Where exactly is the crisis? And, is it worth $5 billion of taxpayers’ money?
Last month, I retired from federal service after twenty-two years. I will not be getting my last paycheck anytime soon and hopes to have my pension arrive on time are fading. This past week, I, along with four other of my federal co-workers, went to Capitol Hill to ask senators to separate the government shutdown from wall funding. One of us had just switched from a non-federal to a federal position in her agency and was without health insurance for her and her daughter. The closing had put her paperwork in limbo. Another had made a job offer to someone who had quit her job and planned to move from Vermont to Washington, DC over the holidays. She now has no income and no place to live. Of course, we didn’t get the chance to actually meet with any politicians, but we did voice our personal stories to their staffs and left handwritten accounts of how the shutdown was affecting us. And, while we were making the rounds, we saw other furloughed workers walking the halls of the Russell Senate Office Building. One, walking with his 3 year old daughter, entered Senator Cruz’s office as we wrote our stories. She had drawn pictures for senators asking they allow her daddy to go back to work. Good strategy. But, none of us believed we’d have much impact. Yet, we had to stand up to this now commonplace absurdity.
What is Trump’s endgame? It seems to be as fluid as the Rio Grande. In the two years of his presidency, he has focused only on shoring up his base, rather than leading the country in ways that will benefit all Americans. His administration has taken an inhumane approach border security, calling those seeking asylum criminals, and most egregiously, instituting a policy that separates immigrant children from their parents.
Security is an important issue. Immigration reform is much overdue and any changes should take into account the humanitarian cost for those coming into our country as well as those already here. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) should be part of any agreement. But, an honest bipartisan discussion is required. Yet, Senator Mitch McConnell refuses to talk. A $5 billion price tag demands scrutiny. The lives of 800,000 federal workers, federal contractors, those whose businesses serve these communities, and thousands of immigrants are at stake. The federal services we take for granted, food inspection, flight safety, and our national parks, are deteriorating. On January 18, the federal court system will run out of money. The American people should not be held hostage while Donald Trump’s blind ambition costs people’s lives and livelihoods.
For an interesting look at why a border wall won’t work, read Vicky Alvear Shecter’s What Happened When a Trump Supporter Challenged Me About the Wall, in which she uses conservative sources to prove her thesis.
This poster is part of a series of posters Jeff Gates does under the guise of the Chamomile Tea Party. Often taking World War II-era propaganda, he remixes them with new text and imagery about the rancor so prevalent in American political discourse. Download a high resolution copy of this poster for free. In fact, all Chamomile Tea Party posters are free to download under a Creative Commons license.
New! Follow the history of the last eight years of our country’s political intransigence through a six-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture. Also, read writer and graphic designer, Steven Heller’s interview with Jeff Gates in Print magazine about the genesis of this work.

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