The New Republican Party Wall Tax

I'm sure you remember that Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign that he would get Mexico to pay for his ridiculous wall. Obviously, Mexico laughed in his face. So now the Republicans are ginning up a way of taxing Americans to pay for the (totally not) Great Wall of Trump. Trump is starting to back away from the wall-- sending some of his most devoted (completely racist and xenophobic) supporters into orbit, people like Ann Coulter, Steve King (R-IA), Joe Walsh, even close allies like Bannon, Miller and others from the lunatic fringe.

If Trump ever expects to find "Democrats" to help him with his insane agenda, he knows exactly where ro go-- the Blue Dogs. One Blue Dog he knows he can count onion a pinch is Dan Lipinski, who has a 31.8% Trump adhesion score, one of the highest for any Democrat in Congress-- and the absolute highest for any Democrat in a solid blue district. But if the sleazy right-wing Lipinski has nothing to fear from a Republican challenge, this cycle he has a progressive Democrat rapidly gaining on him. Marie Newman is running a strong campaign for the IL-03 seat and you can contribute to her campaign here. Earlier today she told us that "Voters in my district want no part in this wall, especially paying for it out of their hard earned money. It's about time Congress focus on passing legislation that actually helps working families-- like affordable child care and health care for all-- rather than working to fulfill President Trump's ridiculous fantasy of a Great Wall."

David Gill, another progressive candidate in Illinois, is running for a seat held by a Trump rubber stamp that stretches through central Illinois from Bloomington and Champaign through Decatur and Springfield down into the suburbs north and east of St. Louis. He said that "Trump's proposed wall stands in direct opposition to some of the values proudly embraced by myself and the majority of voters in my district: brotherhood, compassion, and respect for others. And given the overall net negative movement of undocumented individuals across our southern border over the last several years, it represents an attempt to manage a problem which does not even exist. It is simply another example of the president's bigotry on display, and I look forward to standing in opposition to it when I get to Washington."

Jenny Marshall, who's running for the Piedmont seat in North Carolina occupied by xenophobe Virginia Foxx, isn't amused by Trump's antics. "To raise taxes on Americans to build the border wall is simply outrageous. Most people are just scraping by as it is and cannot afford additional taxes for Trump's wall. But in all honesty, no one on the left is surprised that GOP wants to pass the expense off on the taxpayers. It was just another lie from the Trump presidency and the GOP members of Congress."

Jason Westin is an award-winning cancer doctor and researcher and his campaign for a west Houston congressional seat has been focused primarily on solving healthcare problems. That said, he's been outraged by the bigotry he's seen coming out of the House Republicans and the White House. "Houstonians just went through one of the largest disasters in our history with an estimated cost of at least $100 Billion dollars," he told us. "Life in much of TX-07 is far from normal, and it will take years to fully recover. Now, we hear that Trump wants American taxpayers to pay for his silly campaign slogan, wasting as much as we need to rebuild? As we say in Texas, 'bless your heart.' If Trump goes through with this, I will personally invite him down to campaign for John Culberson as he will be even less popular than the name Harvey."

Randy Bryce, the iron worker, Democrat and union activist running for the Wisconsin seat held by Trump-enabler Paul Ryan, saw right through Trump's campaign lies. "As soon as I heard Trump make a campaign promise that Mexico would pay for his stupid wall I knew that if it got built, WE would be the ones paying for it. Trump has a very clear history of stiffing those who do the work. It’s ridiculous that billions can be spent on a wall but the same people claim it costs too much to let us see a doctor." By the way, tomorrow Bryce will travel to California to help Ted Lieu race money for a fund that will help elect progressive Democrats to Congress from coast to coast. I've literally never heard of a candidate helping an incumbent raise money for other people's campaigns. But that what happens when someone-- a union guy-- has a clear understanding of what solidarity means. Bryce is going to change the Democratic Party inside Congress... and do they ever need it!

Closer to where Trump wants to start his wall is the district Darrell Issa, one of his congressional henchmen, represents. CA-49 voters came very close to giving Issa the heave ho last year and it looks like next year Issa will be history. Doug Applegate is certain to be the next congressmember from the district and he heartily disagrees with the Trump-Issa approach. "The GOP," he told us, "has a hidden hundred billion dollar tax bill for working Americans! Turns out that Trump and Darrell Issa are tax-and-spend conservatives after all. Mexico will never pay for their wall. Trump will use unskilled non-union workers and stick the middle class with 100 billion dollar tax bill to build wall that the border patrol doesn't even want."