Dale Minami: I have worked to empower Asian Pacific Islander communities for almost 50 years and I have never seen such a danger to API and American ideals
We are only $17,000 away from meeting a $250,000 goal we set to fight that danger. Here’s why and how we plan to do this.
The daily barrage spewed by Trump and his collaborators was really starting to wear me down. I heard the same from others. People expressed to me concerns that the Democrats don’t have a presidential candidate with the charisma and skills of a Barack Obama. They feel helpless, hopeless, or just tired of the bad news.
Although voters on Tuesday in Virginia flipped the state legislature Blue and voters in Kentucky appear to have elected a Democratic governor, there is no guarantee of a “Blue Wave” in 2020. And we expect Trump and his allies will ramp up attacks as the House impeachment hearings begin next week.
It’s discouraging to see Trump normalize hate and corruption. It’s no surprise anymore when the news breaks his latest scandal. It’s just another day in the Trump era.
Corruption. Siding with our enemies over fellow Americans. Attacks on the press, our courts, our electoral system, our national intelligence system. Sexism, racism, and assaults against immigrants and migrants. Rejection of our environment in favor of polluters.
And now with the almost daily revelations of Trump’s wrongdoings through the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiries – it just makes a person go numb.
But then I realize that this is exactly what Trump wants. He wants those of us who don’t belong to the Right Wing to feel pessimistic, hopeless and do nothing.
“Evil wins when good people do nothing.” We must not delegate the fight for democracy to others but what are we to do?
I have some suggestions.
Do not succumb to Trump’s antics. This is what he wants. Find your outrage again and know we can do something to win in 2020! The polls are favoring us, but only slightly. The cup is slightly more than half-full.
Don’t stress out over the field of Democratic presidential candidates. We need to support the eventual winner of the Democratic nomination and not worry about who’s “electable.” Remember that Trump was not considered electable in 2016. Why spend time worrying at such an early stage? We need to come together when the time is right. And the vast majority of the Democratic candidates, despite individual flaws, are decent people and light years better than what we have now.
Make strategic donations (see below) to increase Democratic voters in Swing States. The electoral vote margin in 2016 was only a few thousand votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Other states will be in play in 2020 as well – Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Donate to Senate and House candidates who can turn their state or district from Red to Blue. Including the special elections in Arizona and Georgia, Republicans will be defending 23 Senate seats in 2020, while the Democratic Party will be defending 12 seats. Democrats will need to pick up three or four seats to gain a majority in the Senate. There are razor-thin margins we need to win and new voters can make that difference.
Donate to incumbent Democratic candidates who turned House districts Blue in 2018. We did this in the last election helping Mike Levin (California 49th), Josh Harder (California 10th), Harley Rouda (California 48th), and Gil Cisneros (California 39th) win previously Red districts. We need to retain a Democratic majority in the House. House Democrats have been the only bulwark against the savage assaults by the Trump administration.
Too complicated? We can make it easier for you.
The political action committee I helped start in 1989 with Don Tamaki and others evolved into CAPA21, which Glen S. Fukushima and I now lead. Our vision is to bring together Asian Americans in an initiative to win back our country in 2020 on multiple fronts: supporting the Democratic nominee for President; investing in independent efforts to oppose Trump; hold on to and swing Congressional districts Blue; and support voter engagement and voter protection efforts in key areas.
To accomplish these goals, CAPA21 has launched a #TakeItBack2020 effort to raise at least $250,000.
Glen kicked off this initiative by pledging $125,000 in matching contributions.
With help from Hoyt Zia and Don Tamaki, we already raised more than $100,000 from supporters such as Clement Kong, Joan Haratani, Raymond L. Ocampo Jr., David Louie, Colbert Matsumoto, Minette Kwok and Gerry Okimoto, Kei-on and Sonia Chan, my wife Ai Mori and me, Louise Ing, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, Garrin Wong, Maeley Tom, Louise Ing, Ginger Lew, Raymond Buenaventura, Dianne Fukami, Jane Chin, Renie Yoshida Grohl, and Linda Cabatic.
We’re now only $17,000 away from meeting our $250,000 goal.
Please help us fight Trump and the existential threat he poses by making a donation in whatever amount you can afford. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/capa21fed
Finally, please share this on social media and forward this to your contacts asking them to support our #TakeItBack2020 fundraising campaign with a donation and spreading the word.
We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we do recognize the threat to us, our children, and grandchildren. In my 50 years of struggle for equality and social justice, I have never seen such a danger to American ideals and everything we have worked for.
~ Dale Minami
Thank you to our generous donors:
Glen S. Fukushima: $125,000
Hoyt Zia: $10,000
Clement Kong: $10,000
Joan Haratani: $10,000
Raymond L. Ocampo Jr.: $10,000
Donald K. Tamaki: $10,000
Mona Lisa Yuchengco: $8,000
David Louie: $5,000
Colbert Matsumoto: $5,000
Kei-on Chan and Sonia Ng: $5,000
Louise Ing: $5,000
Dale Minami: $5,000
Diane Yen-Mei Wong and Nelson G. Dong
Maeley Tom: $1,000
Ginger Lew: $1,000
Dianne Fukami: $1,000
Renie Yoshida Grohl: $1,000
Laura Hong: $1,000
Henry and Priscilla Der: $1,000
Lia Shigemura and Helen Zia
Jane Chin
Raymond Buenaventura
Linda Cabatic
Shirley Nakao
Sharon Hemling & Walt Fujii
Stan Yogi
Laura Masunaga
Chad Taniguchi
Judy Koyama
Richard Komatsu and Cynthia Clearwater
Nick Nagatani
Diane Suzuki
Douglas Inouye
Lillian Tsai
Emiko Omori
Alan and Carol Nitake
