POST-11/8 LGBT AMERICA
Democratic Electeds Say They Are Anti-Trump Bulwark
Series of LGBT town halls in Manhattan highlight grave concerns over election upset BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
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ZACH WILLIAMS
s New York City’s LGBT community grapples with how to respond to Donald Trump winning the White House and Republicans maintaining control of Congress, Democrats have dominated the response at community meetings and argued that the community should rely on congressional members of their party to halt the worst Republican proposals. “Elections have consequences and that means a lot of what we’re going to do is mitigating damages,” Congressmember Jerry Nadler, a Democrat who represents Manhattan’s West Side and portions of Brooklyn, said at a November 20 town hall held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. “The Republicans are going to pass a budget that is going to murder social services.” The town hall was organized by Democrat Corey Johnson, an out gay city councilmember who represents the West Village, Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen, and in an indication of the
The overflow crowd at the LGBT Community Center on November 20.
community’s concern with the election results, it drew several hundred people. The crowd filled the Center’s largest meeting space and spilled out into the hallway. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has been touring the city talking about a T rump presidency and the Republican Congress, sought to reassure the crowd that his administration and the city were prepared to challenge Republicans and suggested that people’s worst fears may not be realized. Trump lost the
popular vote to Hillary Clinton, de Blasio emphasized. “Donald Trump does not have a popular majority,” the mayor said, adding that if the Republicans should, for example, attempt to ban abortion or overturn marriage equality, “There will be a national political uprising against that.” Other Democratic elected officials who attended included State Assemblymember Deborah Glick, an out lesbian who represents the West Village, Ritchie Torres, an
openly gay councilmember who represents parts of the Bronx, and Brad Hoylman, an out gay state senator who represents large parts of Manhattan. A name that was repeatedly invoked was Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who will lead the minority caucus in the US Senate. While Democrats in the House have a few tools they can use to slow Republican efforts to undo entitlements, health insurance available under Obamacare, worker protections, and environmental laws, Senate Democrats can use the far more powerful filibuster that requires the majority to muster 60 votes to end debate on legislation and proceed to a vote. On January 3, when the 115th Congress first meets, Republicans will have 51 seats in the Senate and Democrats will have 48 (an open Louisiana seat will be decided in a December 10 runoff). Schumer was not invited to the town hall. In press reports, he has indicated a willingness to use the filibuster.
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ORGANIZING, continued on p.9
De Blasio Has Chosen His 2017 Opponent: Trump With incomplete record of unifying “two cities,” mayor bets new president is apt foil BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
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ddressing a crowd of several hundred people who had gathered at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center to wrestle with how to respond to Donald Trump winning the White House and continued Republican control of Congress, Mayor Bill de Blasio had a simple message — unity. “Those of us on the left have to be unified,” the mayor said at the November 20 town hall meeting. “This is how we fight back. We fight back by gathering in the same room in solidarity.” The mayor carried the same
message to an even larger crowd at Cooper Union’s Great Hall the next day saying, “I want to thank everyone for being here because this is a moment when New York City needs to stand tall. We need to stand together.” The appearances serve a dual purpose. They calm a city that is worried about Trump’s threats to deport immigrants, r egister and track Muslims, and end Obamacare, and they continue de Blasio’s 2017 reelection campaign with the mayor promising that the city will protect these groups from the new administration in Washington. At its heart, it is an antiTrump message. “I think that’s the theme of the
GayCityNews.nyc | November 24 - December 07, 2016
campaign,” said Ken Sherrill, a professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College. In 2013, de Blasio ran a populist “tale of two cities” campaign. He talked about creating pre-K for all, which he has done, and enacting paid sick leave at many employers, which has also been done. The city has seen job growth, though many of those jobs are low-wage. While the mayor will claim progress on building affordable housing, any opponent would likely dispute that. Economics resonated with voters then and now. Ve r m o n t S e n a t o r B e r n i e Sanders used such a message during his failed effort to win the Democratic nomination for pres-
ident. Trump also ran on an economic platform, railing against perceived unfair trade deals and lost jobs. T rump promised to bring back industries that have struggled, such as coal and steel manufacturing. “Old fashioned, New Deal, Fair Deal politics sure has been doing well recently, and that’s a politics that downplays identity, with the exception of Trump playing up race,” Sherrill said. The mayor has shifted. At least for the moment, de Blasio is using a theme that looks more like Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign for president.
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