Women’s March/Women Rising 2020 Photo Essay

The crowd gathers in the snow on Woodstock Square for the 2020 McHenry County Women's March/Women Rising.  Carol Hamlin Faure  photo.

Once again despite terrible weather across much of the county the Women’s March in Washington and sister marches across the nation displayed renewed dedication and commitment as tens of thousands took to the streets.  Predictably, the national media were largely bored and dismissive blaming reduced crowds to a movement that is petering out and running out of steam instead of the weather.  It is no longer the latest shiny thing for them and they have impeachment drama, Trump blathering, and the Prince Harry and Meghan soap opera to keep them occupied.  But feminist activists are not alone—earthquake ravaged Puerto Rico and armed neo-Nazi marchers in Richmond, Virginia also got the short shift.

Over 25,000 people signed up online to attend the D.C. march and even more showed up.  Other big city marches including New York and Chicago posted similar results.  

2020 Women's March in Washington, D.C.

With the theme Women Rising the marches emphasized grass roots activism and recognition of intersectionality in key areas—reproductive rights and health care access; anti-violence including domestic abuse, sexual assault, hate crimes, police violence against racial, ethnic, LGBTQ minorities;  immigration rights, and end to mass detentions and family separations with a clear path to citizenship; urgent climate change and eco-justice issued;  and civil rights and liberties for all including opposition to voter suppression and in favor of voting rights.

In Chicago march organizers eschewed the usual rally and speeches instead departing a Grant Park staging area directly for a parade to the Federal Plaza led by marchers with disabilities.  Top female office holders including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford marched with the rank and file.

Women's March 2020 in Chicago. Photo by Luke H. Duong.

Here in McHenry County, Illinois more than 250 turned out in the aftermath of a serious snow storm followed by freezing rain for a rally and march on Woodstock Square sponsored by Women’s March McHenry County and the McHenry County NOW Chapter with the support of other organizations including the AAUW (American Association of University Women), McHenry County Democrats, McHenry County Progressives, Medicare for All, and the National Immigration Justice Center.

Ruth Scifo, chair of Women’s March McHenry County and other speakers emphasized the centennial celebration of the adoption of the 19th Amendment securing women’s right to vote.  She noted that win came only after 80 years of activism and the sacrifices of suffragists who were often jailed and abused and also cited the battle of second wave feminists in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s for equal pay and opportunities and to win passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.  This generation, she said, must honor the sacrifices of their grandmothers and mothers with an equal commitment to preserving and extending those gains in the face of Trumpism and reactionary backlash.

McHenry County Democratic Party Chair Kristine Zahoic with McHenry County March co-chair and program host Ruth Scifo.

Other speakers included Mayor Brian Sager of Woodstock who is also a Democratic candidate for 63rd Illinois House of Representatives, Representative Sean Casten of the 6th Congressional District, county and state leaders of the National Organization for Women, Meredith Sarkees of the AAUW, and Amanda Garcia of the National Immigration Justice Center who also provide legal services to immigration detainees in McHenry County Jail in co-operation with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI). 

Representative Lauren Underwood (D-14) was slated to speak but road conditions made it impossible for her to arrive on time from another Women’s March event.  The multi-hatted Kristina Zahoric who is McHenry County Democratic Party chair, Chair of the Illinois Democratic County Chair Organization, and 14th Congressional District Chair for the Illinois Democratic Party ably pitch hit for Lauren.

Cassandra Vohs-Demann, Director of the Woodstock Community Choir and the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation Choir, roused and inspired the crowd with a great original song written expressly for the occasion.

The view from the Woodstock Square Gazebo stage--the crowd spread out along sidewalks around the Square.

Other political official and candidates were on hand but did not speak including Democrat Paula Yensen, District 5 County Board member; District 2 County Board member and candidate for Illinois House District 66; Jeanie Ridings, candidate for Circuit Court Judge, 3rd Judicial Sub-District; Peter Janko, candidate for Illinois House District 63 and a leader of the McHenry County Medicare for All campaign; and incumbent Republican McHenry County Regional Superintendent of Schools who is running for re-election and facing a push from County Board Chair Jack Franks to have her office eliminated.

After an hour long program, participants were eager to begin a one lap march around the Square in high spirits and at a brisk pace.  Everyone went home energized and ready for an intense year of activism ahead.

Tree of Life UU Congregation was well represented with at least 22 members and friends in attendance in Woodstock.  Our Side with Love banner was a rally point as the crowd gathered early.  Seen are Judy Stettner, Dr. Lisa Messinger, Sandy Eckert, and the Old Man.   Member Paula Yensen, County Board District 5 member  in her bright red coat and hat and votes for women sash was busy with arrangements on stage and our Choir Director Casandra Vohs-Demann roused the crowd with an original song.

Ruth Scifo at the rally microphone.

Ever busy Missy Funk, a leader of the McHenry County Progressives and Woodstock Pride, marched with the Medicare for All contingent.

NOW members in Woodstock.  Missy Funk photo

                           

The head of the march passes the historic Old McHenry County Courthouse in Woodstock.  Event co-chair Catherin Johnson at right

Woodstock Women’s March Defied Snow, Cold, Trump, and Patriarchy

A panoramic shot of the Women's March on Woodstock Square by Missy Funk.

McHenry County got socked with the brunt of a major snow storm  Saturday night into Sunday morning.  At my place in Crystal Lake we got somewhere around 8 inches.  That’s a hell of a lot of digging out for the Old Man even with the help of Kathy Brady-Murfin, Daughter #3 Maureen Rotter, and stalwart Son-in-law Kevin Rotter.  By mid-morning we got it done and the Geezer was permanently retired from heavy snow shoveling on account of fear that my frozen corpse would be found after the next blizzard.  But I still had things to do.

So did about 150 other hearty, determined souls who were undeterred by snow, cold, and wind and came to the Women’s March on Woodstock Square.  

Participants in the national Women's March in Washington, DC Saturday.

Tens of thousands marched in Washington D.C., New York—where there were two competing marches—and scores of cities, towns, and hamlets many also facing harsh winter weather. 

Two years after the original march was organized via social media which kicked off mass resistance to Donald Trump and all that he stands for, much of the media did not celebrate a continuing vibrant movement but fueled a controversy over alleged anti-Semitism.  Two leading Women’s March leaders, Linda Sarsour, who has criticized Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and on the West Bank and Tamika Mallory, who has maintained an association with Louis Farrakhan, leader of Nation of Islam.  Both women have repeatedly denounced anti-Semitism and have asserted that the Women’s March movement supports Jews and all victims of discrimination, marginalization, and physical attacks as part of the movement’s ideal of intersectionality in feminism. 

Almost every news story running up the marches led with the controversy despite the impressive achievements of the movement in mobilizing women and their allies in the streets and in the voting booths.  Predictably, some of the major sponsoring organizations pulled support from this year’s Washington march including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood Action, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the NAACP, Emily’s List, NARAL, the AFL-CIO, and the SEIU.  The Democratic National Committee also took a powder and nervous top office holders and prospective presidential candidates stayed away despite the undeniable success of the Women’s March to the Polls in contributing to November’s Blue Wave.

Others, including many prominent Jews, however, rallied to the support of the march as did many rank and file activists.  The boycott of the march was seen as an extension of alarming trends including attempts to criminalize advocacy for a boycott of firms with connections to Israel and its hard-core policies and the recent revocation of Angela Davis’s Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award for her Palestinian sympathies when deep-pocket donors objected.

Most of the Marches outside of Washington are independently organized and not directly related the Washington leadership.  Some danced around the controversy.  Most plunged forward with the continued support of many of the organizations that abandoned the official march.

In Chicago, which had massive turn-outs in 2017 and ’18 and again for a Women’s March to the Polls event last fall, organizers opted out of a big march this January.  Although the decision was made not long after the March to the Polls because of the organizational burden of staging another mass event so quickly, much of the Chicago media tried to paint it as distancing itself from the Washington event.  The Chicago March had always been independent and has enjoyed excellent relations across all religions, nationalities, and ethnicities.

Regional marches were self-organized too take up the slack, including the one in Woodstock.

Cathy Johnson, one of the principle organizers of the Woodstock March gives informal direction to participants.  Photo by Beth Hoover.

Cathy Johnson and Ruth Scifo organized almost overnight three bus loads from McHenry County to attend the 2017 Women’s March and five busloads in 2018.  They also were the prime organizer of the Woodstock March which also had the sponsorship of the Democratic Party of McHenry.  Despite the bitter weather an enthusiastic core of local activists showed up.

Ruth Scifo hosted from the Gazeebo. Photo by Beth Hoover.

Scifo hosted from the Gazeebo stage while Johnson managed on the ground.  Speakers included Kelly Wegener, one of four Democrats elected to the McHenry County Board in November who “found her courage” to speak out and run from the Women’s Marches.  Also speaking was 6th District Congressman Sean Casten who acknowledged owing his surprise victory largely to the energy of women and who lauded his freshman class for its diversity and ability.  He took a strong line on the Cheeto-in-charge’s pet wall and the government shutdown.  

Congressman Sean Casten. Photo by Beth Hoover

While Casten spoke in Woodstock Lauren Underwood addressed the Fox Valley March in Geneva.

The Woodstock March also featured Patricia Wallace of Northern Illinois University, who spoke on women’s employment and workplace issues. A local attorney who frequently represents victims of domestic violence and whose name I did not catch recounted some of her experience and called for local police, prosecutors,  and judges who fail to uphold domestic violence law when faced with those with powerful white male privilege connections to be challenged and held accountable at the polls.

 Illinois ACLU attorney Sapha Khatri of Chicago discussed progress in women’s issues but noted, “We need to make it clear to everyone we’re not going back…We need women represented at all levels of government. That’s how you get things done.” She was a living example that the national ACLU’s withdrawal form the Women’s March in Washington did not spill over to the independent regional marches.

Lisa Messinger and the Old Man with a Tree of Life UU congregation banner.  Photo by Trish Schaffer.

A representative of Home of the Sparrow, a shelter for domestic violence victims continued the theme.  Organizers echoing calls for local social action requested participants in Woodstock to bring needed supplies, gift cards, and money donations.  The March, originally planned to circle the Square two times, was shortened due to the cold and participants marched directly from the Square to the Home of the Sparrow Thrift Shop at 120 N. Calhoun Street just a block and a half from the Square.

Despite the cold participants were warmed by the glow of community and a fire of commitment to recommit to broad social change for women and for all marginalized and abused people.

Election 2018—Much to Celebrate but Some Flies in the Ointment

Democrats celebrating gains in the House of Representatives.  Women, young people, and minorities propelled those wins.

It was a roller coaster night for Democrats, progressives, and those who hope to stop a slide into fascism.  But on the whole, there is much to celebrate.  I don’t mean to go into great detail, but here are some high and low lights and my take on them.

Despite the determined efforts of some TV pundits to pooh-pah a Blue Wave in the House and the significance gains Democrats did make—I’m looking at you Chuck Todd—it looks like Democrats not only take back the House, but will exceed most expectations after results of some tight races are called especially in California where a lumbering vote counting procedure can take weeks to announce final results.  Dems will probably end up with a net gain of nearly 40 seats which will prevent the defection of a handful of Blue Dog Democratic conservatives from advancing the Trump agenda in the House.

Even more impressive, Democrats topped Republicans by about 9% in all House votes cast in the nation.  Their gains would have been more impressive except for the heavily gerrymandered districts drawn by GOP legislatures.

But Democratic gains in a number of key races for governor and flipping some state legislative houses they now have a shot a drawing more equitable election maps after the 2020 census.  Despite a tough, narrow losses in Florida and Texas Senate races by rising Dem stars Andrew Gillum and Beto O’Roark and a still undecided Georgia race by Stacy Adams that is headed to court and a possible run-off election, Dems picket up 7 executive mansions previously held by Republicans including open seats in Maine, Michigan, Kansas, New Mexico, and Nevada and ousted two incumbent Governors, Wisconsin’s loathsome union buster Scott Walker, and Illinois’ disastrous Bruce Rauner.  Women won four of the open seats including a stunning victory by Laura Kelly in deep Red Kansas.

 

A lot of Democrats took the narrow loss of charismatic Texas progressive hard.  But the magnitude of his achievements in raising enromous amounts of cash from individual donors shunning PACs and special interests and in personally runing his direct-to-the -people campain appearing in every one of the Lone Star State's 200+ counties cannot be underestimated.  He redefined what  is possible in Texas and is a rising star for the progressive wing of the party.

In fact it was women who propelled Democratic victories across the country by not only showing up at the polls in record numbers but as fresh new candidates.  That included numbers of African Americans, Hispanics, two Muslims, two Native Americans, as well as some veterans.  The heavy shift of women, who out participate men in elections, is bad news for Republican who are widely viewed as the party of misogyny, because many former Republican women have probably left their old party for good.

Worse for the GOP, Millennials showed up to the polls in Droves and Democrats captured most of them.  Younger voters were particularly motivated by social issues including the protection of Gay and Transgender rights, gun regulation in the wake of school shootings and mass murders, equitable and fair immigration and asylum, a hope for relief from crushing student loan debt, and a general revulsion at racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism that has been fostered in the Republican base by Trump.  The wave of the Millennials already outnumbers aging Baby Boomers.

Young voters lining up to vote in Minnesotta.  Not only dide they show up to the polls in eyepoping numbers, they energied campaigns across the country.

In the wake of Trump’s success in Senate races in his base states, he has put his brand and stamp on the Republican Party.  Many so-called moderates in both houses—a half a generation ago most of them would have been considered hard conservatives themselves—have either retired or been ousted in House, replaced by Trump loyalists.  Trump has cut off appeal to Latin and Black voters, the LBGTQ community as well as women and young people.  His is the party of aging white men.  But whites will be a minority in the United States within twenty years and his base vote will slowly die off and fade away replaced by today’s young voters.  The future of the Republican Party is indeed bleak unless they can pull a rabbit out of hat.

A screen shot of NBC calling the Illinois governor race for J.B. Pritzker.

 If the Blue Wave did not impress Chuck Todd nationally, in Illinois it was a virtual tsunami.  Led by J.B. Pritzker his Lt. Governor running mate Juliana Stratton, plenty of cash to spread around, and fired-up armies of volunteers Democrats swept all statewide offices without breaking a sweat, picked up two suburban House Seats—Sean Casten in the 6th District and Lauren Underwood in the 14th--, increased their majorities in the state House and Senate, reached down to the county and local level boosting Democrats in Red suburban and Collar County races.  

Lauren Underwood celebrating her historic win in the drawn-for-Republican Illinois 14th Congressional Distict with supporters.

But Pritzker, who carried some baggage as a Billionaire who evaded property taxes by removing toilets from and empty mansion next door to his Gold Coast home, was actually outperformed by his down-ticket running mates including Kwame Raoul for Attorney General, Michael Frerichs for Treasurer, and Susana Mendoza for Comptroller.  Jesse White, the perennially popular Secretary of State won a sixth term with 69.4% of the vote topped the ticket.

Meanwhile McHenry County showed that it is still a tough nut to crack Republican stronghold with loyal voters showing up in droves on Election Day to counter strong Democratic turnout among early voters.  Yet the nut was at least cracked even if all the meat could not be extracted.

Sean Casten won his portion of the County although Lauren Underwood, despite a tremendous ground-game campaign and many visits here could not win her part.  She made up for that for that in Kane and DuPage Counties to win anyway. 

Jesse White was the only state candidate to carry McHenry, but he has won here before and is popular from regular appearances of his Jesse White Tumblers in local parades and festivals.

Democrats were blanked in State Senate and House races although Nancy Zettler came close in the 33rd House District with 48.73% of the vote.

Kelli Wegener was one of three Democrats who made it onto the McHenry County Board.

The real good news is that due to McHenry County’s quirky three member County Board system with no more than two seats open in off-year elections Democrats were able to pick up three seats bring a grand total to 4 out of 18 seats.  That will be the most Dems in living memory on the board.  Democrats Michael Vuuk in District 1, Suzzane Ness in District 2, and Kelli Wegener in District 3 all finished second three person races to win a Board seat.  Carlos Accosta in District 4 came within 187 votes in his race.

The Cheeto-in-Charge is gloating about his Red state Senate wins and will probably double down on the divisive rhetoric and hardly veiled racism that he believes won the day.  He has not yet grasp the peril that a Democratic House majority represents for him.

The bad news of Election night, of course, was the U.S. Senate where Trump’s relentless red meat rallies helped fire-up his base in an election map that heavily favored Republicans, They will increase their majority in the Senate by at least two despite Jacky Rossen flipping a seat Blue in Nevada.  Republicans turned out Democratic incumbents in Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota.  Democrats staved off challengers in deep Red West Virginia and in Montana.  Races are still too close to call in Florida where incumbent Senator Bill Nelson is within .4% of current Governor Rick Scott and in Arizona where Democrat Kyrsten Simemea currently trails Martha McSally by .9%.  Both races will turn on absentee and provisional ballots and may result in re-counts.

Firm control of the Senate is most dangerous because it will give a free pass to boatloads of Trump hyper-reactionary judicial appointments, including one or two possible Supreme Court openings in the next four years.  Those lifetime appointments will warp the courts for decades and will be extremely dangerous for free speech, minorities, voting rights, reproductive rights, Gay and transgender rights, immigrants and asylum seekers, labor, general civil liberties, environmental regulation while being sympathetic to corporations and Christian pleas for exemption from many laws and regulations on the grounds of supposed freedom of conscience. 

Perhaps even more immediately dangerous, his Red state victories have confirmed to Trump that his instinct to use immigration as scare tactic, attacks on the press, and tacit approval White Nationalism and violence.  Chances are that he will double down on all of that.  He may even turn to his base for protection should the Mueller investigation get close to him, House Democrats unearth irrefutable evidence of criminal behavior in his personal or business affairs or prove collusion with the Russians.  He is not above raising the specter of civil war or even of pulling the trigger on one if cornered.

He will also continue to try to rule by executive fiat with growing confidence that a sympathetic court will not stop him.

The United States will undergo huge racial, ethnic, and age demographic changes in coming decades.  The Party of Old White Men is doomed.

The problem for Democrats is that at least until the demographic and generational changes discussed above fully kick in they are at a complete disadvantage in the Senate, which guarantees two Senators for each State serving six year terms.  Blame the Founders and the compromise between large and small states engineered by James Madison as the price of ratification of the Constitution.  Today the Southern, Border, and Western states carried by Trump in 2012 minus Florida, Texas, Missouri, and Arizona have a combined total 34 Senators despite having a total population less the California which has only two. 

We are hearing talk of a Constitutional Amendment base Senate representation on population.  But there are only three ways to accomplish that.  A new Constitutional Convention could be called, but that would open the entire document to revision perhaps putting the guarantees of the Bill of Rights in jeopardy.  No one outside the far-right fringes seriously supports a new Convention and they aren’t the folks likely to change the Senate.

Since small states will not to vote to reduce their influence in Congress there is no hope to reform Senate representation by Constitutional Amendment.

Both Congress and the States themselves can initiate a proposed amendment.  But Article 5 requires 3/4 of all the states to ratify an amendment for it to take effect.  It beggars the imagination that the many states with small populations would voluntarily vote to reduce their own influence in Congress. 

The Senate as we know it is here to stay whether we like it or not.  Even if Democrats win an overwhelming Presidential victory in 2020 and increase their majorities in the House they would likely still face a hostile Senate and definitely be restrained by a hostile court.

There are no easy paths in the continuing struggle ahead.  But continue to struggle we must.