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David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and a happy fat Tuesday to you! I'm David Fair, and for those who imbibe, you may refer to it as Paczki Day. Now if you've had them, you know just how delicious they are. Historically, this is a day that stems from a Polish-Catholic tradition in which people would create the tasty treats with what was left in the pantry that would be forbidden over the 40-day period of Lent. Southeast Michigan, it celebrates the day in a manner to rival any across the country. One prominent family has its own long-standing traditions with Paczki Day, and that is the Dingell family. Debbie Dingell is an Ann Arbor Democrat representing the 6th Congressional District. And each year, she's been in office, she has sent deliciousness to WEMU and other media outlets across the region and today was nice enough to stop by and make time for conversation. So, thank you for bringing the paczkis, and thank you for making time for us today! We appreciate it!
Rep. Debbie Dingell: David, thank you for having me! Happy Paczki Day! It's not just something I started, but my husband, who I loved as my heart and soul, started this as a tradition many years ago.
David Fair: And why did that tradition start with your husband, John Dingell?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: His family was Polish, and paczkis were very important. He loved them. Let's just be honest. He loved the paczkis himself.
David Fair: Who doesn't?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: And I think it was his way of thanking people in the community that he worked with, he respected and did things with, and shared them throughout the community.
David Fair: I know that you carry John with you in all that you do. In continuing this tradition, is there an additional connection for you that goes beyond the public-facing part of the tradition?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Well, it just makes me still feel connected to him. I will be honest. I never stop missing him.
David Fair: Right.
Rep. Debbie Dingell: He's in my heart and my soul, and this is a way that I feel connected to him, and I carry on something that mattered to him a lot. But it matters to me too, and it's a way to say thank you to our community. I think rituals and traditions are very, very important, and they tie generation to generation together. They remind us of where we come from, how rich our cultural traditions are, and maybe just because most of us like sweets, it's a way to remind people there's more that we have in common than what divides us.
David Fair: There is a confluence of events taking place. This is a nation of immigrants, and we have Chinese New Year that begins today. And additionally, Ramadan is now underway. And we are dealing with all of these ICE issues. Does this make today more significant to you because of this?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: I think, this week, as you know, I've been telling people that, one, you've got the Mardi Gras celebration, and that reminds us of French and Creole origins, and the Chinese New Year and Ramadan both move in dates. And there is a confluence of all of them this week. And I've seen celebrations for them. Ramadan, I'll start Iftar dinners this week. For those that don't know what Ramadan is in the Muslim community, you have a month of fasting and doing good works for others, but you don't eat from sunup to sundown. But I think it reminds us of our shared values, that we all come from many different places, but we all care about community. We have responsibility to each other, what our responsibilities are, how we need to help our neighbor. And I just think this year more than ever, all of these holidays coming together this week is a time for us to really reflect upon what it means to be part of a community. And that unless you're Native American, none of us was originally here in America, and all of us have a story.
David Fair: Well, there is a time for reflection, and there is also a time for action. You are listening to 89.1 WEMU on this Fat Tuesday. We're joined in-studio by 6th District Congressional Representative Debbie Dingell, who carries on her tradition of delivering paczkis to WEMU and other media outlets throughout the day. I have to say, typically, you have local staff members make these deliveries for you because you're in Washington working. This year, Congress is on recess until February 23, but we are in the midst of another partial government shutdown. Just because you and your colleagues aren't in Washington, I know it doesn't mean you aren't having the conversations. Both parties seem very dug in on this at the moment. Is the time away from the Capitol allowing for any behind-the-scenes advancements?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: First of all, we're subject to the call of the chair for 48 hours, and, look, I have very mixed feelings about this government shutdown. I believe we have to put guardrails on ICE, period. What we are seeing, the senseless murders of two people in Minnesota, a young woman whose last words were, "It's okay. I'm not mad at you." And we watched her be shot and a minute later. An intensive care nurse who was acting as an intensive care nurse and when there was someone who needed help because there was pepper spray in his eyes going to help her and shot dead is not who we are as Americans. And there needs to be guardrails. That's just simply put. We got to talk about what the role of ICE is. President Trump said he was going to get violent criminals off the streets. I don't think anybody disagrees with getting violent criminals off the street. When you look at what is happening, the people that are being killed, the violence that we are witnessing, the picking up of Americans, and they're being sent to detention centers, I can't believe that some of our demands are things like due process. You have to have a judicial warrant. The Constitution requires warrants. Why are we negotiating to follow the Constitution? Not picking up Americans and jailing them. The Constitution gives people that protection. We do need to have cameras on these. We gave the money for cameras in this the "Big Blank Bill." I'm on radio. I won't tell you what I think. But we've got to mandate those. There are so many things that we need to do right now. And masks? Regular law enforcement don't wear masks. Why does ICE have to wear masks? People should be able to see. And we do know that there are people here in Ann Arbor that are saying ICE and going and attacking people, and they're not ICE because I spend a lot of time knowing exactly what is going on and what is doing that. Republicans have been unwilling to talk about it. So, while this is happening, we have TSA workers who are caught as a ping-pong ball in all of this. And I'm terribly worried about them. I know so many of them. I talk to them each week. There are people that, by the end of the last shutdown, couldn't afford to get gas to go to work. They couldn't have afford their daycare. I want to thank the head of the airport who I have talked to regularly, who has worked with the airlines, so that they are trying to help make sure they have food to eat while they're working, because TSA wouldn't let us set up a food bank. The administration that took a plane from UAE said if a TSA worker took money from a food bank, it was a gift.
David Fair: While there is money going away from TSA and all of the people who are working there, there is more money being invested in ICE enforcement, including the purchase of a new warehouse in Romulus that is to be used for another ICE detention facility. What is your reaction to that? And did you register a formal complaint about it?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Oh, people know how I feel, yes. But, you'll remember, I got widely denounced, I'm used to getting widely denounced, when I was on Jake Tapper and said, "You know, Jake? He's going to build concentration camps." And he said, "He's never said that. He's not going to do that." These detention centers are exactly that. And the people that are going in them. I got to be careful on privacy. We want violent people off the street, but women who came here and were allowed into the country seeking asylum on something that existed when they came in two years ago, escaping abuse, violence, brutalness, and when they go back could be killed. Suddenly, the permit that they were allowed in disappears, and they're being deported back to home to potential death. This isn't who we are as a nation. We need comprehensive immigration reform. And I get, Oh, you want violent people on the street." None of us wants violent people in the street, but I sure do believe that we need to have compassion, humanitarian, and there are a lot of people that need these people to fill jobs. 40% of the caregivers in this country are people that have come into this country. Small businesses are desperate for workers. Farmers, they've got jobs, they're here legally, they've got the permits that they need, and they're paying taxes.
David Fair: You have a perspective on this, and you are obviously deeply convicted about the manner in which you feel about it. There are people on the other side of the political aisle who are as deeply convicted and feel completely opposite. It's a midterm election year. Elected Democrats and Democratic voters are hoping to take both chambers to perhaps neutralize some of the administration's policies and practices. The majority of Republicans want to take back the Senate, hold on to the House, and in doing so, give the administration more free rein to act without a voting barrier. We know what your message is to fellow Democrats. What is your message to the Republicans and Trump supporters in your district?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Well, I think you were talking about the SAVE Act a minute ago, too. I can't quite tell where you were going. Look. The Bible teaches us that we need to have compassion, that when I was hungry you gave me to eat, when I'm sick you took care of me. I want to keep us safe. We want our borders to keep bad people out, keep violent people out. We have needed comprehensive immigration reform for a long time. But I think, in this country, we need remember that there's far more that unites us than divides us. We need to be standing up to hate wherever and whenever we see it. I don't care who you are. You are worried about the cost of food, you're worried about whether you can go to the doctor, whether you can afford a house or buy a house. Your utility bills have gone sky high with the cold this winter. Caregiving is a crisis in this country. Let's work together on both sides of the aisle on the issues that are really impacting us every single day and find solutions to make working men and women's lives better.
David Fair: Once again, we're talking with Democrat Debbie Dingell on 89.1 WEMU. She is 6th District Congressional Representative from Ann Arbor. If I remember correctly, you were raised Catholic, right?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: I'm a Catholic girl!
David Fair: That's right. Well, do you still give up something for Lent each year?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Well, I do. I also try to do this every day, but I try to be positive. The nuns taught me this. So, I'm giving up chocolate, which is very hard, but my doctor's happy about it, too. She would like me to give up my chocolate milkshakes. But I'm also going to do an act of kindness--or a random act of kindness--for someone you may not think about who just may need that helping hand. And I'm trying to think of something different to do every day for someone who may need somebody to just say, "I care."
David Fair: To carry this over, I know there's supposed to be separation of church and state. Realistically, that's not been the case. With that in mind, how much do you think could be legislatively accomplished if everyone in Congress are agreed to give up partisanship for 40 days?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: We could get a lot done. You know, I am someone that tries very hard to have friends on the other aisle. It takes time to listen. You know God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason: to listen more and to talk less. If everybody could take time just to listen to other people's perspectives, they've had different life experiences, we can learn from each other. We can find common ground. And actually, we each have different skill sets, different experiences, that can lead us to actually solving problems.
David Fair: We started out this conversation, Representative Dingell, on the lighter side as you made your annual delivery of paczkis to WEMU. And as we start to conclude our time together, I'd like to return to the tastier part of our time. Do you have a favorite flavor?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Chocolate!
David Fair: Chocolate, it is! And if you could only have one paczki a year, it would be chocolate?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: It would be chocolate. Chocolate's my downfall. Last night, I was getting a lecture from the doctor on chocolate again. So, chocolate itself can be very healthy. Chocolate milkshakes, chocolate fillings, I maybe have to watch it a little.
David Fair: Well, does anyone have just one? Can you limit yourself to one if you start?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: I can, actually. I'm really trying to watch what I eat. So, it's hard. It's very hard.
David Fair: Well, we've covered a lot of ground today, and in the end, what I really hear is a message of unity that we all come from different places. But we all have to come together in one place. As we prepare to take our leave of one another, what is your message going forward as we continue through these most turbulent times and are likely to do so through the midterm elections at minimum?
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Well, one, let's just remind ourselves of the humanity of each other, that we need to care. Let's show compassion and empathy. And then, I always want to say remember these words: "United we stand, divided we fall." America is the greatest country in the world, and let's all work together to keep it strong and together.
David Fair: Representative Dingell, on behalf of a grateful staff, we thank you for the Fat Tuesday delivery, and we thank you for making time to sit and talk with all of us for a while today!
Rep. Debbie Dingell: Thank you, David! Happy Paczki!
David Fair: That is 6th District Congressional Representative Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Ann Arbor, making her annual delivery of paczkis to WEMU. She is off to do the same to other media outlets. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
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