A film premiere and the race for DPW Party Chair (Hour 1)

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Greetings and welcome to the Civic Media Radio Hours here at the four o'clock time slot here in the afternoon.

I'm your host this afternoon here.

My name is Dan Schaefer.

Thank you all so much for joining us.

If you're unfamiliar with me or my work, I am the political editor here at Civic Media.

I am also the founder of the Reconbobulation Area.

Yes.

Not the official Recombobulation Area at the airport, but I've named my news and politics newsletter after the famous pro-security location at the airport because we have such a discombobulating politics here in the state of Wisconsin.

We all need a place to piece everything back together, a place to Recombobulate.

So that's what we're going to be doing with you here on the Civic Media.

Radio hours, and we're just gonna get right to it here because we have some guests joining us in studio first I want to introduce my co-host for the afternoon miss Angela Lang the executive director of black leaders organizing for communities Thank you.

Thank you so much for being here Angela.

Of course always a good time hanging out with you

Always a good time.

And today we also, uh, before we get to our guests here, I want to let you know that we have a new weekday lineup coming up for the Wisconsin news talk radio stations network, including a fresh three hour morning show mornings with Pat Crichtlow and the Maggie Dawn show is moving.

to the evening drive time slot.

Yes, that's this very time slot right here from four to six PM.

So when you tune in on Wednesday, you will be hearing Maggie Dawn.

and the Maggie Dawn show in this time slot.

But first we have some special guests with us in studio today.

The Milwaukee Film Festival begins on April 24th and runs to May 8th.

Civic Media is an official media partner of the event and the Recon Bibulation Area is a community partner.

on two documentaries, separated and death and taxes.

But today we are here to talk about another documentary, one that is a bit closer to home.

The film is called Cycle.

It is more than five years in the making.

And it is making its world premiere at the Milwaukee Film Festival on Sunday, May 4th with additional screenings.

On the 6th and 7th, the documentary tells the urgent and symbolic story of Tyrese West, an 18-year-old black teenager from Racine, Wisconsin, whose life was cut short by a police officer in 2019.

The co-directors of the film

are here with us in studio at Radio Park in Racine today.

So welcome to Racine Natives, Laura Diane Kezman and William Howell.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having

us.

First, I got a chance to watch some of the film.

I didn't get a chance to watch all of it just yet, but it is remarkably powerful.

And there is just so much to talk about with this film.

So first, maybe we could start by just giving our listeners a little bit of a backstory here.

How did you start working on this film?

When did you start working on this film?

And how did it all come together?

What's the story of how this got made?

Well, when...

Well, it was the 2019 June 15th and 2019 when Tyrese West lost his life.

The shocking thing for me is when I seen his picture come down my timeline, he looked exactly like his father.

Me and

his father were best friends when we were in middle school.

And so for me, it just kind of like really struck a chord in my heart.

And growing up with Monique West as well.

Like, you know, in Racing Week, like I said, this small town, we have like just a real tight knit community.

So I really felt the responsibility to speak, to use my voice, you know, that I had.

And for me, I was just starting to film things.

Like, I mean, I wasn't a filmmaker, but I just picked up a camera and I started to film, like, just whatever was happening.

And so for me, it was just kind of a natural process to film it.

But, um...

As it started to kind of erupt on my timeline, I didn't know what to do.

So I just started to like reach out to certain people and I prayed a lot that I would just kind of like meet somebody who could teach me about film or documentary work.

And I was working with Jesse Booker at the time.

We had a website called rapscene.com for all the rappers and racing.

And out the blue, he reaches out to me and he's like, dude, you need to call this.

called my friend.

She has another friend that works at the radio station.

She's a filmmaker.

And I'm just like, what's the odds of this?

Right?

So I reached out to her friend, Amanda.

And then Amanda told me like, yeah, my friend, she's a real dope filmmaker.

She's in radio.

Like maybe that could even help a lot right now.

And so she sent me a link.

She said, watch her documentary.

And I watched the documentary.

It's called Invisible Lines.

And when I tell you I was blown away.

And, you know, it's just one of those moments where you feel God speaking to you, like he's just leading you all the way there.

And so it was just natural for me to reach out to her and just see if I could get her to get on board.

That's remarkable.

That's a great story.

And now here you are with just, you know, what, less than two weeks away from the premiere.

You know, walk me through the journey that brought you to the point where you've

You know made this film and now you're ready to show it to the world

Well, I think the journey is a little bit hard to synopsize because it's been such a story journey getting it to this point But you know the starting point was really will and I meeting for that first time at a coffee shop in 2019 in the fall shortly after District Attorney Patricia Hansen decided to not file charges against the officer And so this this happened

Just a couple months after that where Will and I had a three-hour conversation and we emerged as co-directors on this project and You know keep in mind this was the end of 2019.

This was before COVID.

You know this before times.

Yeah, the before the before times, you know before You know, the world was a captive audience to witnessing You know the uprising of the summer of 2020 unfold in the way that it did, you know, and that was a huge

a huge thing that shaped the direction of the narrative, but we couldn't have anticipated the direction that it would go ultimately in what would bring us here today.

Yeah, I had a chance to watch the film this afternoon and everyone that's listening needs to see it and then like bring a friend and also see it and I think this is a story that's important And it's also heartbreaking like it was one of those those movies you sit down and it's over and the credits are rolling and you're kind of just sitting there and You know you're processing and I'm a crier so I was just like crying and I think what was very

unique about this that I think is different from other stories that are similar is the backdrop of Juneteenth and understanding and there was even talks and mentions of kind of the evolution of law enforcement from slave patrols and to know that this happened on Juneteenth and the film being called Cycle, right?

So I wanted to just like make space to kind of talk about how that extra element

And how that tied into history kind of adds to that like psychological pain that I think folks were talking about in the film as well.

For me, I think it's even a tad bit deeper because Juneteenth Day becomes so synonymous with everything we are when you live in racing.

It's like it was the first day that was just like that you didn't anticipate like the fourth of July or Christmas or something like that.

And it was just like it was just sprung on

you

and you didn't expect it.

And it's just like it left memories in your mind that you made sure that it's the reason why we go to Juneteenth Day every

year.

That's like that first time just like blows you away.

And so, yeah, for us to experience something so tragic on a day that's so special, that did leave like this stain on us, it makes the movie, it makes it just that much more powerful.

It made the moment that much more

powerful

and that's why it spoke to me so deeply as well.

And I think that it is a deep connection for a more universal message with people in other cities worldwide because the day is so significant for us.

We're here in studio talking with the filmmakers behind the documentary cycle which has its world premiere at the Milwaukee Film Festival coming up on Sunday May 4th now, you know, you mentioned kind of in the the synopsis of this film that you know the police shooting of Tyrese

West made news here in southeastern Wisconsin, but did not really become a viral story nationally the way so many of these other cases did around that time.

So given the fact that the national spotlight wasn't necessarily on this case, as you investigated it for the documentary, what were some of the more surprising elements that you encountered

here?

You know, we went into this film knowing that, yes, this is about the story of Tyrese West, but in so many ways, it's so much more than that.

And I think really a huge takeaway for us was uncovering that Tyrese really represents all of the names that we don't know, all of the names that don't become hashtags and don't go viral because of the exception of having...

witnesses or video or audio evidence.

None of that existed with Tyrese.

And as we investigated his case specifically, what we end up unraveling is how the larger systemic issue is constructed and intertwined and how accountability really is not even baked into the system in the first place.

And so Tyrese's story really helps us unravel that and get a very

clear understanding of you know what the likelihood is from the outset like from the second that something like this happens and how the scene is processed and and who is leading the investigation and what communication channels travel from the crime scene to the media and the general public what that pipeline is um that is something that I think is critical to understand how we how we got here in the first place and

Andrea, you mentioned going back decades and centuries of understanding how far back the cycle goes.

That's very much part of the intention is to help people draw the historical parallels between one isolated incident in Racine that is an example of how easy it is for these cases to be very quietly sort of swept under the rug when the authorities have

full narrative control, and then the legacy of what has been happening for centuries.

It's a powerful story, and I encourage people to go check it out at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

The film is Cycle.

We're here with the filmmakers behind that documentary here.

We're gonna be going to break just for a minute, but we will be back with more discussion about this film after that break.

So join the conversation with us, follow us on Twitter, find us on YouTube, all the socials, do all the things, and we'll continue this conversation, and we will be right back.

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the Civic Media Radio Hours.

My name is Dan Schaefer.

I'm your guest host this afternoon.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We are joined in studio by the filmmakers behind the documentary Cycle, which premieres on Sunday, May 4th at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

We're here with Racine Natives, Laura Diane Kezman and William Howell, the co-directors of this film.

So first, just give our listeners a quick, you know, kind of zoom out synopsis.

of what this case exactly was before we talk further a little bit about the film here.

Well, the case of Tyrese West was you have this 18 year old kid who was shot and killed basically for not having a light on his bike.

And what it was like 96 days after 96 days of unrest in the city and ultimately they chose not to charge the officer.

And that's why we heard today.

You know, we were just talking during the break about how I just only saw this film just a few hours ago.

And so I'm still processing.

And I feel very lucky to be able to process with the co-directors of the film.

And so I'm from Milwaukee, right?

So I'm driving here.

And, you know, there's a...

Part in the film where I believe it was Corey Prince Had mentioned how he and there's this picture with him in the governor And how you know he does tremendous amazing work, but at the end of the day As a black person you still your heart still sinks when you see a cop car and even myself driving here I saw Caledonia police just sitting there and I had that same feeling right?

It's just almost like an instinctual thing that I think a lot of black folks have just this inherent trauma

And I do a lot of stuff all the time, right?

And, you know, I empathize with Corey of saying, you know, you can do tremendous work.

You can do...

you can use your voice in your platinum or your platform in a really responsible way, but also at the same time, that will not protect you.

That will not shield you at the end of the day.

And, you know, thinking about, you know, just the title, like cycle, right?

And I know this is going to be a very big question, but in your opinion, as we kind of talked before the break about how history, there's kind of this through line of, you know, slave patrols, the evolution to sheriffs and police, how do we break the cycle?

For me, I'm just trying to create understanding.

I think understanding is the key because if we understand each other more, then we're less likely to react certain ways in certain situations.

My grandfather raised me in a house with white women and all kind of different colored people because he wanted me to have different perspectives on life and in a comfort in knowing how different you are and that it's okay to be different.

and it's okay to accept people and they differences.

And for me, I think a lot of times, whether it's Tyrese West or Eric Geese, you know, sometimes we're just not familiar enough with each other or with those communities or how each other, you know, culturally, how we might react in certain situations.

And so I think that this film starts to open doors and conversations for all of those things because

At the end of the day, I think understanding is definitely what we need.

I didn't understand.

I was just angry at the beginning.

And that's why I didn't want to be the one to make the film.

And I really wanted to start somebody out because it would have been an angry film.

I was angry.

And so at this point, we have a true piece of work that truly breaks down the entire cycle instead of just being caught in...

a small town, small moment of just pure anger and rage.

And we have something that is truly remarkable.

Yeah, because you talked about in the documentary, you were doing videos like every day on your own social media accounts to talk about what was happening.

Right.

But to have this, you know, almost six years later now, right, to really zoom out, does it give you a different understanding?

Does it give you a different perspective?

I mean, definitely.

Definitely.

And I mean, even in the film, you'll see that you'll get a chance to hear my voice in 2019 and then you'll hear me in 2025 and you'll be able to see the difference for yourself.

I think until you experience something like this, like you just never know what what God is preparing you for or to bring you through.

And so this this moment, it kind of just capitalizes on all those things, you know.

And yeah, it's just it's an unbelievable moment.

I could have never

Imagine being here right now, you know, all those years ago.

What's the one thing you want folks to take away from the film?

Well, I guess going off of that is, you know, the understanding that we're trying to elicit and pose the cycle being broken as almost like a personal choice that you have to make in your own mind.

And that was not obvious when we started this, going back to the journey and going back to, you know, the emotion that really drove the beginning of this and everything that we learned along the way.

I think, you know, things did not go as expected.

You know, it's like, did we want, you know, hard-lined accountability in the form of, you know, there being some type of...

at the very least get this guy fired, right?

But when you realize that, and Will says it really poignantly at the very end of the film, but essentially you take what they give you and anything beyond that, you have to reconcile within your own heart and your own self of how to move forward.

And I think for me, my goal was to really

help elicit like a genuine understanding between, you know, among all sides, in order to, you know, again, like break the cycle in our own minds first.

Yeah, I think, you know, the under the goal of it being understanding

is

something it's more than a personnel change, or even a policy change or something like that.

It's a mindset change.

It's a cultural change when you

when you have that goal of understanding.

So I think, you know, as I've been watching the film as Angela talked about watching the film, there's so much to it.

And I really

think

it's a really, really terrific piece of work.

And I really encourage people to go check it out at the film festival and to, you know, seek out that understanding that is the goal of this film and not necessarily to, you know, get riled up and get polarized and post the hashtags, but look for understanding.

And I appreciate.

that as a core element of what you're doing here with this documentary.

Well,

thank you so

much for being here.

Again, the film is called Cycle.

It premieres at the Milwaukee Film Festival on Sunday, May 4th.

Lauren, William, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having us.

All right, we will be right back.

And after the break, we will be joined by Joseph Hecke, who is running for chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Stick with us here on Civic Media.

Welcome back to the Civic Media Radio Hours.

I'm your guest host this afternoon.

My name is Dan Schaefer.

I am joined by my co-host today, Angela Lang, the executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities.

And because I'm guest hosting today, you're just going to get a lot of 90s alternative rock.

I'm here for it.

I love it.

I love it.

That's what we're here for.

That's my jam.

I am at my core of just like an alt rock.

Doofus, you know, so that's why it's

an era of music.

Let's be real.

It really is.

It really is.

My, my, still my favorite band of all time, Nirvana playing us in from the break.

Solid,

solid.

But, you know, enough goofing around here.

We got to get to our, get to our guest here for the next portion of the show.

We have Joseph Pecky, who is, has been on the news a little bit lately because he's, he's running for chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Mr. Zepecky, thank you so much for joining us here on Civic Media.

Mr. is a pecky.

So formal.

I didn't think my dad was on the show today.

And hey, I'm happy to just talk about like yellow jackets, needle drops for the whole half hour.

The 90s music is OK over here too.

Another thing we agree on another

thing we agree

on.

So you are so you're running for chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

You announced this last week.

What has the response been like to your launch for this campaign?

It's been fantastic.

You know, I didn't want to charge right into this.

This is not about me.

This is about where we go as a party.

And so after Ben Wickler made the announcement that he was going to step down after six very successful years and a lot of lot of races won, I spent the week talking to folks from across the state, from every part of our coalition, black, white, rural, urban, gay, straight, you know, old.

Young like across the board.

It's really important to me that we keep everybody together at this incredible moment and the response was overwhelming and it was frankly a little bit more than I anticipated voices calling for change

for improving the way we do things like our organizing model, like support, county parties, and neighborhood teams.

And so with that and my background in communications, and I think everyone's agreement that the Democratic Party needs to find a way to communicate our values and our message better.

I've got a lot of thoughts about that.

We can get into some of it.

And so, you know, with a lot of encouragement and with a big team of 20,

endorsers on day one rolled out and it's been building ever since.

We just released seven more new folks from Rock County and Milwaukee and elsewhere just last night.

So it's been going great so far and there's a lot of work to do and I want to continue to hear from people across our coalition from all corners of the Democratic Party to teach me what I don't know and make me smarter.

That's how we got to do this.

Yeah, I I want to start by like full disclosure.

I did endorse Joseph Peckie.

You were on

that list

of 20 people

endorsing Joseph Peckie.

On day one, I want to make that note on day one.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to ask him the tough questions.

Like I've worked with the Peckie and I think that's how we've maintained such a good relationship through that.

But I think a question a lot of folks are asking right now is like, how are we going to promote Boulder leadership?

amongst elected officials to meet the moment.

But then I think there's also been, sometimes, and we've talked about this Dan, that Dems seem to sometimes negotiate against themselves.

How can we enter this new phase of leadership in supporting elected officials to meet the moment with bolder actions?

This is not a time to be timid.

And I've heard it said in the last couple of days that if we're all just a little bit brave, nobody needs to be the hero.

There's nobody coming to save us, right?

This is not about one person.

It has to be about all of us.

If you are not satisfied with the leadership you are getting from your elected representatives, if you are not satisfied with your elected representatives, supporting a particular person for continued leadership roles in our party when they're 140 years old, say so.

That's okay.

We can figure this out on our team, how we most effectively stand up as this Trump administration takes a blow torch to the Constitution, to fundamental American values in a way that is scaring people, in a way that is like genuinely frightening.

When you can take a student who is here on a legal visa in the dead of night, sneak up on her and snatch her and

Like that is as un-American as it gets.

When you can rendition Albrego Garcia, a union apprentice to a gulag in El Salvador without due process, we have lost our way.

And no one of us can do all of the things, but we have to start by using our voices.

One of the ways I think we do that is as a party, we empower more messengers.

It doesn't have to be elected people who speak for us.

We all across this pro-democracy movement have a voice and we have more tools at our disposal than ever before to use it.

What I want to see the Democratic Party do is support folks.

If they say, hey, I got something to say, we're going to teach and support you in saying it.

We're going to build new ways to get to people because we are where the change is going to come from.

And it starts by standing up and demanding it.

We're seeing that at hands-off protests.

We're hearing it in roundtable discussions about what happens when Medicaid gets cut by $800 billion.

It takes all of us.

Angela knows this about me.

I'm a coach.

And to me, it's like, this is a team.

This is a team game.

And it takes all of us.

We got a spot for everybody on our team.

Well, I coached first grade girls basketball this year.

So we're both

coaches.

I love it.

Yeah.

Coach Dan.

That's right.

So one of the things that you put out in some of the in a press release when you were, you know, talking about running for DNC or wisdoms chair was about.

what you characterized as fundamentally reshaping how we communicate our values.

One of the things you've really talked a lot about is that communication aspect, is that media aspect of it?

And why do you think that is such a priority for you?

Why has that been such a big part of what you've had to say in the early goings of this, I guess, campaign?

Do you characterize it as?

Yeah.

Yes.

Well, let's acknowledge.

April 1st was a great day and we had a big win and it's a lot better to win.

But let's also not forget that we lost to Donald Trump, the worst person in America and two of the last three presidential elections.

And we're losing it because we are either completely abandoning the information space and how we communicate with critical parts of our coalition.

Or when we are engaging, they don't believe us.

And why should they when we don't say it with our chest?

There is nothing about being a Democrat that we need to be embarrassed about in this top-down approach of like these are the three talking points and we're only gonna talk about the economy or we're only gonna talk about housing.

We're not gonna talk about immigration.

We're not gonna talk about due process.

We're not gonna talk about how we stand up for our trans brothers and sisters and the entire LGBTQ community.

It's not okay.

My approach to messaging is we all are at our most effective when we are speaking authentically.

That is much more credible.

And so listen, I may talk about an issue different than Angela does and the people we talk to might have different things that they care about the most.

If we get lost in the sauce of trying to be like, well, Jay-Z, you're going to be in front of a young Latino audience.

So you got to say these things.

And then I try to match what I bring to what I'm supposed to say, they're not going to believe me.

If I tell my story about why I think the Democratic Party is the only party for this moment, then they will believe me.

And I think what we need to start by recognizing is the anger and frustration that people feel is valid.

Think about how angry you must be to be like, I don't care if Donald Trump's a felon.

I don't care if he's got 13 billionaires in his cabinet.

He still is at least something different.

And what we need to, I think do is talk about how rigged and fixed the system is.

Like the promise of the American dream is gone.

It's gone.

Like when the three of us were all about the same age, like when we came out of high school,

We could have confidence that whether we went to a two or four year school, into a trade or into the military, by the time we were 40, we could probably own a home.

We could probably have the start of a nest egg for retirement.

The 20 year old in our house, the 20 year olds that I recently coached, they look at that idea and they look at me like I'm crazy because we have let big corporations nickel and dime us to death.

Oh, you want to work?

Cool, you only get 29 hours a week.

Well, why 29?

I wanna work full time.

Well, if you work 30 hours a week, then we gotta give you healthcare.

Of course people are upset.

They should be upset.

And when we get perceived as defenders of a status quo that is fundamentally not working, whether you are black or white or Asian or live in a rural community or the city center, of course people should be upset and we act like we don't even notice.

Well, that's one of the things that has been frustrating to me about the Democratic Party is this, they've been kind of cornered into this position where they've been defending a status quo that

has

no longer been working for people because Donald Trump has painted himself as this like outsider change agent in 2016 and 2024.

He couldn't really do that in 2020 because he was having to run on his record and he didn't win.

And so I do think that is a really important point that you raised there.

We are talking here on civic media with Joseph Heckey.

He is running to be the next chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

And there was another thing that I saw on Meet the Press yesterday.

There was this moment with Senator Van Hollen responding to some criticism from Governor Gavin Newsom.

And he talked about...

The quote that he said was I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind Anybody who can't stand up for the Constitution and the rights and due process don't deserve to lead.

Do you agree with him there?

With Gavin with Van Hollen with Van Hollen.

Yeah, I missed that.

Yes This is not about what's popular and going to win an election next November.

This is about standing up for working people.

I don't know if

Albrego Garcia, if he had voted, who he voted for, I don't care.

He has rights under the Constitution and they were violated.

Full stop.

For Donald Trump and his administration to accuse Senator Van Hollen of grandstanding, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

What are we talking about?

As I was having this conversation with some of the other night, I said, well, now that Van Hollen's gone, maybe we don't need to send another delegation.

I'm not so sure about that.

I think if we let this story die down, that Albrego Garcia might die.

And we will never get him home.

And to be clear, if the laws and authorities of this country say that Albrego Garcia should come back and stand trial, fine.

Bring the evidence to the courtroom.

But in this country, we have never been a place where you are guilty and renditionable until proven innocent.

And that is how the Trump administration is acting.

And if they can do it to him, they can do it to any of us.

And yes, we can be afraid of that, but we also have agency in standing up and speaking out against it and holding elected officials' feet to the fire to put an end to it, period.

Yes.

And I think that there are times that some, you know, going back to what you said about now is not the time to be timid, right?

I think we all agree that there is like grave injustices that are happening, but the disalignment, I guess, is how we get there.

And I think there's some folks that are like, we just need to take a more moderate stance.

We need to negotiate behind the scenes, right?

And there's, I think like a huge kind of split in the Democratic Party, whether it's through Palestine or you're too left or whatever you, and it's, I've seen

some folks, even an elected official posted on Facebook today, basically trying to shut down some lefties for how they showed up in November.

And I don't think that's particularly helpful.

I think people can have their analysis.

But how do you unite the party while also getting folks to be more bold at the same time?

Listen, this is the hardest part about being a big tent.

Because we need to have room in our coalition for people who start a conversation about what's happening in the Middle East by declaring it a genocide.

And we need to have room for people who started by saying Israel has the right to defend itself.

Our coalition can and ought to encompass all of that because the democratic way is, I believe, the responsible way.

as opposed to what this administration is doing.

So my approach is you bring the biggest table possible, you bring all the chairs you can to it, and we hash this stuff out as a family.

And it's okay to have hard conversations.

It's okay to disagree.

My 95% of the time friend and supporter isn't my 100% of the time enemy and opponent because they disagree with me on 5% of stuff.

And so this is messy.

Democracy is messy.

And that's okay, but we have to recognize that everyone is acting in good faith here and trying to do the right thing.

That's the way forward.

Joe Zipecki is our guest here on the Civic Media Radio Hours, and we will be back with one more segment with Mr. Zipecki.

After the break, stick with us.

You're listening to Civic Media.

Find the latest news, information and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.

Welcome back to the Civic Media Radio Hours.

My name is Dan Schaefer.

I'm your guest host this afternoon.

Just a reminder once again that we will have a little bit of a lineup change coming here on the Civic Media Airwaves later this week.

In this 4-6pm time slot will be the Maggie Dawn Show.

Yes, it's moving back later in the afternoon.

So you can listen to the Maggie Dawn Show on your drive time.

And so many more changes.

Go check those out.

I've got a story about it at the Reconbibulation Area even, because we're pretty excited about it as well.

And we are talking here with our guest for this portion of the program.

It is Joseph Pecky.

He is running to be the next chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Joe, thank you again for joining us here.

Thanks, Ben.

Glad to do it.

So in the next hour of the show, and our guest to begin the five o'clock hour, we're going to be bringing on my friend Kevin Laid, who is an immigration attorney.

We'll be getting into that issue a little bit more.

Obviously, it has been a top of mind issue in recent weeks with the case of Kilmar, Arbrego, Garcia.

But I think more broadly, this is a criticism that I have had of the Democratic Party for several months now, going back to the campaign last year, has been that the party's inability to articulate what it stands for.

when it comes to immigration.

I think there are, you know, so much of the conversation just happens in the shadow of what Donald Trump says, of what the Republican Party says on this issue.

And I think it makes it so that it's always a reaction and never really saying what the party stands for.

So in your mind, what do you think the Democrat Democratic Party should stand for when it comes to immigration?

We need to be a country that welcomes people from other parts of the world.

We have been the shining light on a hill.

We ought to remain that.

We're the best and brightest and the smartest and people who yearn for freedom can come to our country and become a part of the American fabric legally in due process and due order.

And if anyone doesn't think that we can't do that while securing our border and ensuring we know who is here,

and stopping the flow of drugs like fentanyl from coming into our country and hurting our communities, then you don't believe in America.

I choose to believe in America.

We can do big things.

We have done big things before.

What has been missing is the political will.

Since Ronald Reagan in the 80s, there has not been a modernization and upgrade to our immigration system.

I mean, we were all 80s babies.

The reason we like 90s music is because we didn't know any of the artists in the 80s, right?

And so president after president, political parties, both of them share the blame for not getting this solved.

It gets this dirty word, comprehensive immigration reform.

Of course, it should be comprehensive.

We live in a complicated world.

but at a time when American birth rates are declining.

There are two paths here.

There is the path that the Trump administration is pursuing, which is to make more white babies and to figure out ways through public policy to promote more women to bear children and to grow our population that way.

I believe the Democratic Party way

is to support families so they can make their own decisions about starting a family or expanding a family and being welcoming to people from across the world.

That is how we became truly great and the greatest country in the world and we need to get back to that because this demonization that every problem is the fault of the family down the street who doesn't look like everybody else

it's nonsense and like we've been through it before it's how people used to talk about the Irish and the Polish so like none of this is new really we just got to get serious about solving the problem and if

If this Trump approaches anything, it is an invitation to get serious about comprehensive across the board updates and modernization of our immigration

system.

But don't you think Republicans would just come back to that and say, hey, you're for open borders.

You want more people to come here.

We don't.

Or whatever their line on the border security and all of that might be.

If we let Republicans what they're going to say about us.

Define what we do and what we believe in shame on us when us senator Ron Johnson today is out here spouting 9-11 conspiracy theories and wants to reopen hearings to get to the bottom of what happened on 9-11

like

We can't live our lives at you know worrying about what they're they will say We have to say in more places in more spaces with more messengers from across our movement what we are for

It is easy to be against what this administration is doing.

We also need to be for something.

And an immigration system that works is an awfully easy thing to be for, particularly because it strengthens and grows our economy in a way that tariffs and market uncertainty

do not.

And so like that's the choice we got to lay out to people.

Immigration is about our values.

But it is also about how we grow an economy that actually works for people.

So do you think it needs do you think the Democratic Party needs to adopt a more pro immigration platform?

Yes.

Yes.

What's the alternative?

Well, I think the alternative is what we've been seeing for many years where

it's

kind of this kind of squishy middle ground where it's just, you know You have Democratic politicians doing ads at the border or whatever it might be I don't know if we've really had a politician to say come out and say like we want You know, I don't think the Obama administration really prioritized this I think a lot of people have problems with what the Biden administration did on immigration You know, I think this is one of the big challenges Donald Trump said that immigration was his number one issue in the campaign not the economy immigration

So I think it is really a big deal for the Democratic Party to figure out what it stands for and to be able to articulate it.

We're going to beat them on immigration.

We're going to beat them on the economy.

We're going to beat them on health care.

And we're going to say it with our chest.

That is the way.

And if you are ready to revitalize the way the Democratic Party communicates with communities across our coalition, please visit jozapeki.com.

Consider joining our team as we try to build a stronger Democratic Party that is capable of meeting this moment.

And then you get to be on the same team as Angela.

Angela, we love you.

Thank you for your support, friend.

And keep the hard questions coming.

That was part of the deal.

I know she's going to come at me when I'm when I'm wrong.

Yeah, we all are.

We all are.

Well, Mr. Zepeki, thank you once again for joining us here on the Civic Media Radio Hours.

We will be right back.

And after the break, we will join be joined.

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