About Author: Bruce Berlin

Bruce Berlin is a retired, public sector ethics attorney. He is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution, and a practitioner of Buddhist meditation. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Israel’s Choices: Endless Conflict or Real Peace

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

On this Yom Kippur, Israel, the United States, Iran and much of the Arab world must repent and change course.

The current war between Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran is just the latest chapter in a conflict that has been going on at least since Israel was established by United Nations Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947. Under that resolution, the British protectorate of Palestine was to be divided into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. The Arab countries surrounding Israel opposed the resolution and went to war against Israel in 1948.[1]

Israel won that war which resulted in over 700,000 Arabs being forced from their homes in the new Jewish state.[2] It has won several other armed conflicts with their Arab neighbors since then. But the Six-Day War in June 1967 was a turning point. Israel captured the West Bank during that war, and it has been under Israeli military occupation as a national security measure to this day.[3]

While six Arab countries, beginning with Egypt in 1979, have made peace with Israel[4] and normalized relations, hostilities continue with a number of others led by Iran. Backed by a huge amount of U.S. funds and armaments, Israel has been able to deter Arab assaults over the years, with the exception of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Since then, Israel has gone on the offensive. Its goal now appears to be the complete elimination of all terrorists that threaten Israel. As a result, many thousands of innocent Arabs in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, a great many of them women and children, have been killed, plus thousands more maimed or starved to death, in Israel’s widespread attacks to wipe out its enemies.[5]

The only problem is Israel will never be able to do that militarily. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has even admitted as much when he said that Hamas cannot be made to “disappear.”[6] The bottom line is that as long as the Palestinian people are denied their own state as promised in the 1947 U.N. resolution, the fighting will continue.

Unfortunately, the current Israeli government has no intention of agreeing to a two-state solution. It would rather continue killing thousands of innocent Arabs, leave its hostages in the hands of Hamas, have its own people live in constant fear and danger, and be isolated from the rest of the world except for the U.S. Implausibly, the American government seems helpless to do anything to stop this madness despite the fact that it supplies Israel with the means to keep this cycle of death and destruction going.

Meanwhile, 99 American doctors, nurses and other medical personnel who have volunteered in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are urging President Biden and Vice President Harris to “end this madness now.” Estimating the Gaza death toll at over 118,000, they wrote, “Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered by our bullets.”[7]

Consequently, they are demanding of Biden and Harris: “A ceasefire must be imposed on the warring parties by withholding military support for Israel and supporting an international arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian armed groups. We believe our government is obligated to do this, both under American law and International Humanitarian Law.”[8]

There’s practically no chance that the Biden administration would agree to this demand. It could, however, immediately halt shipments of all offensive weapons to Israel to pressure Jerusalem to agree to a ceasefire and begin negotiations for a real two-state, lasting peace. While that may not convince Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to change course, it may move the Israeli people to demand elections for a new government.

The Arab world recently made a strong offer that’s gotten little attention but could open the door to those negotiations. Two weeks ago, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi responded to Netanyahu’s claim that Israel is surrounded by those who want to destroy it. Safadi announced at the United Nations that 57 Arab and Muslim countries would unequivocally guarantee Israel’s security if Jerusalem ended the occupation and agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state.[9] Of course, the U.S. would as well.

While getting there will be very difficult, Harris should now state that as president, she would strongly support and work to implement the Arab proposal while continuing to protect Israel. On the anniversary of the October 7^th massacre, Harris affirmed that “We must work to ensure nothing like the horrors of October 7 can ever happen again.”[10] Ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state is the only way to ensure that critical goal.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is a former U.S. Institute of Peace Fellow and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He is also the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America. (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.). Contact him at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Israeli-wars

[2] https://mondediplo.com/1997/12/palestine

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_West_Bank#:~:text=The%20West%20Bank%2C%20including%20East,during%20the%20Six%2DDay%20War.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_relations#:~:text=After%20several%20Arab%2DIsraeli%20wars,Morocco%20and%20Sudan)%20normalized%20relations.

[5] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/more-women-and-children-killed-gaza-israeli-military-any-other-recent-conflict; https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/4/live-israeli-bombs-rain-down-on-lebanons-beirut-gaza-occupied-west-bank

[6] https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/middleeast/hagari-netanyahu-destroy-hamas-israel-intl/index.html

[7] https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/10/05/gqob-o05.html

[8] Ibid.

[9] https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-10-02/ty-article-opinion/.premium/jordans-foreign-minister-told-israelis-and-inconvenient-truth/00000192-4dc3-d2cc-a5d7-edff907e0000

[10] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/10/07/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-marking-one-year-since-hamas-october-7th-terrorist-attacks/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will Harris Ride a Blue Wave to Victory or Watch It Crash on the Shores of the Middle East?

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

While most of the media is reporting that this year’s election will be very close, some experts see it differently. Northwestern University data scientist Thomas Miller has crafted a model for forecasting the 2024 presidential election that, he believes, is far more reliable than the polling that’s constantly cited in the media as the best guide to the outcome on Nov. 5. Miller’s model is based on 60 years of presidential election history.[1]

In 2020, Miller called the presidential race within 12 electoral votes, and correctly posited that the Democrats would sweep both Georgia Senate seats when the polls showed the Republicans significantly ahead. Miller’s data shows the Harris-Walz ticket far in the lead and the wide Democrat advantage settling into a remarkably stable pattern. He sees the Harris-Walz team winning by 66 electoral votes over the Trump-Vance ticket.[2]

Allan Lichtman, the American University political historian renowned for accurately predicting 9 out of the 10 most recent presidential elections, also predicts Harris will win this year’s White House race.[3]

The fact that a great many prominent Republicans have endorsed Harris provides further evidence that the Democratic ticket will prevail.[4] Former conservative Congresswoman Liz Cheney is even campaigning with Harris in the swing state of Wisconsin this week.[5] As Gov. Walz said at the recent Vice-Presidential debate, “Support of democracy matters…I’m as surprised as anybody of this coalition that Kamala Harris has built, from Bernie Sanders to Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift and a whole bunch of folks in between…”[6]

But all of Harris’s promising electoral prospects could quickly be swept away by the rising threat of an expanding war in the Middle East. Israel is now exploring how to retaliate against Iran for its recent missile attack on the Jewish state, which Israel acknowledges did minimal damage.[7] While President Biden is trying to temper Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response, he has yet to take any strong steps to stop the escalation of the conflict. And Harris appears to be going along with Biden’s timid approach.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said he would make a deal with Iran to avoid a full-blown war if he were elected.[8] Ironically, Trump killed an important nuclear deal with Iran when he was president.[9] But if Harris doesn’t break with Biden and put out her own plan for averting such a war, Trump could become the “peace candidate” and seriously damage Harris’s ability to beat him in November.

To win the presidency Harris cannot allow this to happen. She must provide a clear vision for not only preventing a larger Middle East war but also for creating real peace in the region that both Iran and Israel could accept. Harris must also recognize that the U.S. has to be firm with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. She cannot permit his efforts to escalate the conflict for political purposes deter her from taking a bold stance to achieve peace through diplomacy.[10]

First, Harris must listen to the concerns of Americans, especially in the critical battleground state of Michigan, who have family members living under U.S.-backed Israeli assaults in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories. After repeated requests, she finally did meet with them on Friday, October 4^th. [11] But for someone who says she wants to represent all the people, why did it take her that long?[12] Hopefully, their talk helped meet the Arab-Americans’ needs and encouraged them to support Harris.

At the same time, Harris needs to call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire throughout the Middle East, not just in Gaza as she did last March.[13] Simultaneously, she must provide conditions and incentives that would induce both sides to de-escalate the conflict and move toward a Middle East peace.

Incentives for the Israelis could include:

Iran acknowledging Israel’s right to exist.
Iran agreeing to cease all support for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran agreeing not to engage in, encourage or support any hostilities toward Israel.
Iran agreeing to influence Hamas to release the Israeli hostages.
U.S. agreeing to supply Israel with the means to defend itself.

Incentives for Iran could include:

U.S. and Israel agreeing not to attack Iran, including its oil fields and nuclear facilities.
U.S. agreeing to help Iran build a peace economy.
U.S. agreeing to help rebuild Gaza.
Israel withdrawing completely from Gaza and agreeing to the right of Palestinians to have their own state.
U.S. halting all shipments of offensive weapons to Israel.

The ball is in Harris’s court. She must demonstrate real leadership now to convince American voters that she’s the right person to lead our country in these critical times.

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/harris-holds-66-electoral-vote-113900118.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/09/29/allan-lichtman-election-prediction-system-explained/75352476007/

[4] https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-republicans-endorsing-kamala-harris-trump-1960937; https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-endorsement-letter-republicans-1956304

[5] https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/03/liz-cheney-harris-wisconsin-00182306

[6] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tim-walz-2024-vp-debate-closing-statement/

[7] https://www.euronews.com/2024/10/03/israel-says-damage-from-iranian-missile-attack-minimal-thanks-to-high-quality-defence

[8] https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/trump-suggests-he-would-make-a-deal-with-iran-if-elected-we-have-to/

[9] https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-nuclear-deal/

[10] https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-suspect-netanyahu-attempting-tilt-100000970.html

[11] https://www.npr.org/2024/10/04/nx-s1-5140179/kamala-harris-arab-americans-michigan

[12] https://www.commondreams.org/news/uncommitted-harris-lebanon

[13] https://www.npr.org/2024/03/04/1234822836/kamala-harris-benny-gantz-gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas

The Struggle for the Soul of America: How Harris and the Dems Beat Trump

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Getting out the vote is the key to winning the presidential election. If Vice President Harris can get the constituencies that strongly support her out to the polls in great numbers, she will be victorious come November. That is particularly critical in the seven battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which will determine the outcome.

Forty-one million members of the Gen-Z generation will be eligible to vote in this year’s election.[1] Young voters under the age of 35 account for roughly 29% of the national electorate.[2] Today’s young people are among the most electorally engaged in recent decades.[3] They support Harris over Trump by 50% to 34%.[4] With a 16% margin in her favor, the Harris campaign must ensure that Gen Z has a huge turnout this election.

The issues that concern young voters the most are the economy, inflation and healthcare, including access to abortion.[5] With inflation now at 2.5%, the lowest level in three years,[6] and interest rates coming down 50 basis points for the first time in four years,[7] the Democrats could produce a big youth vote that would boost their chances this November.

Another very pro-Harris group is women. Harris leads Trump among women by 13 points (48% to 35%). Women favor Harris more than men across every racial and ethnic subgroup. On the other hand, Trump leads among men by only eight points (47% to 39%).[8]

The top three issues for all women in this election are the economy, healthcare/reproductive rights and the cost of housing.[9] Vice President Harris strongly supports a woman’s right to choose. In addition, she has reframed healthcare as an economic issue. She has proposed capping out-of-pocket drug costs for everyone at $2,000 per year and insulin copays at $35 per month, enhancing Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium support, speeding up Medicare drug price negotiation, and expanding efforts to cancel medical debt.[10]

Harris has addressed women’s concerns regarding the high cost of housing by proposing the construction of 3 million new affordable homes with tax initiatives for builders who create them. She would also provide $25,000 down payment assistance for 4 million first-time homebuyers.[11] With a consumer-friendly platform like that, Harris’s support among women can only increase, and hopefully, among men as well.

Regarding Black voters, Harris has a huge lead with 82% indicating they support her.[12] Black women, in particular, have her back. They are working diligently to bring more black men on board as well.[13] In the Hispanic community, Harris is favored by Latinos in Spanish-speaking and bilingual households by nearly 60% compared to 32% for Trump. In English-dominant homes, 51% of respondents supported Harris, while Trump stood at 38%.[14] Harris is strongly courting non-white communities.[15]

Overall, following the September 10^th debate, Harris leads Trump 50% to 45%, an increase of one or two points from prior to the debate.[16] The Vice President is addressing voters’ primary concerns, and, for the most part, they like what she is offering.

Of course, there are a few issues that are not so easy for Harris and the Dems to address. Like the Israeli-Hamas War and America’s reliance on non-renewable energy, esp. oil. So far, they have not impeded her expanding campaign to any significant degree.

Every day it’s looking more like Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com. https://protectthevote.net/), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/41-million-members-gen-z-will-be-eligible-vote-2024

[2] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-economic-concerns-are-shaping-the-youth-vote-in-2024/

[3] https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/gen-z-voted-higher-rate-2022-previous-generations-their-first-midterm-election

[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-half-gen-z-voters-support-kamala-harris-one-third-back-donald-tru-rcna169025

[5] https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/24157594/young-voters-are-just-normies-poll-biden-economy

[6] https://www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/latest-inflation-statistics/

[7] https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/18/fed-cuts-rates-september-2024-.html

[8] https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/09/12/harris-holds-a-slight-edge-over-trump-and-its-driven-by-women-poll-finds/

[9] https://www.glamour.com/story/election-2024-the-state-of-the-union-for-women

[10] https://www.kff.org/from-drew-altman/harris-is-reframing-health-as-an-economic-issue/

[11] https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/9/18/what-housing-plans-do-us-presidential-candidates-trump-and-harris-offer

[12] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/09/harris-trump-biden-black-americans/

[13]

[14] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/harris-campaign-aims-bolster-latino-support-spending-blitz-rcna171113

[15] https://www.lemonde.fr/en/united-states/article/2024/09/19/harris-continues-to-court-minorities-after-saying-she-s-working-to-earn-the-vote-of-black-men_6726551_133.html

[16] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4876880-harris-widens-lead-over-trump-in-post-debate-poll/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can Biden Achieve a Ceasefire Agreement between Israel and Hamas?

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

The Israeli people are getting more and more frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s failure to negotiate a ceasefire and bring the hostages home. With the recent deaths of six more hostages, approximately 500,000 Israelis took to the streets on Sunday in protest of Netanyahu’s resistance to a ceasefire that would free the hostages.[1] Hopefully, the Israelis will not let up until Netanyahu reverses course or is thrown out of office.

As an American Jew, I am ashamed and outraged by what Israel is doing to Gaza and its people with the robust support of American funds and weapons. Tens of thousands of innocent Gazans of all ages are being killed, maimed, or starved to death by Israel’s relentless devastating assault on Gaza.[2] It is a horrendous tragedy that just keeps getting worse.

Appallingly, the Biden administration continues to add fuel to the fire. On March 29, the administration authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel.[3] Then, in April, President Biden signed into law $14.3 billion in emergency security assistance for Israel.[4] And in August, our government authorized another $3.5 billion in military aid to Israel.[5]

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, has a proposal that could go a long way toward ending this war. He is urging the U.S. to cut off military aid to Israel and recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination. Zogby believes this would force an internal debate in Israel and put the region on a more productive path toward peace.[6] It also might force the obstructionist Netanyahu out of office.

While it’s not likely Biden would take such a step, he could move in that direction by significantly reducing U.S. military aid to Israel, starting with cutting off offensive weapons. Such an initiative would include the proviso that further reductions would occur if Israel does not agree to a permanent ceasefire that, at the same time, brings the hostages home.

Of course, if decreased U.S. military support increases Hamas attacks on Israel, then the administration would be free to again beef up aid to its ally. But if Biden’s effort were successful, it would be a major move toward peace in the region as well as guarantee him an elevated place in modern American history as he leaves office. And, assuming Vice President Harris wins the election, she would then have some leverage to negotiate a final Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement. After all these years, what a blessing that would be!

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-says-it-has-discovered-unidentified-bodies-gaza-2024-08-31/

[2] https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2024-09-02/war-in-gaza-death-toll-approaches-40800-after-11-months/

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Israel_in_the_Israel%E2%80%93Hamas_war#:~:text=On%209%20August%202024%2C%20the,made%20weapons%20and%20military%20equipment.

[4] https://www.ajc.org/news/what-every-american-should-know-about-us-aid-to-israel

[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/10/us-to-send-3-5bn-more-in-military-aid-to-israel-amid-war-on-gaza

[6] https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-to-end-the-war-in-gaza

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will the Democrats’ Get-Out-the-Vote Campaign Nullify the Republicans’ Voter Suppression Efforts?

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

The Democrats left their National Convention in Chicago last week with the wind at their backs. While they, and many others supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, are flying high, we would all be wise to keep our feet solidly on the ground and focus on building a huge GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) campaign to counter the Republicans’ aggressive voter suppression efforts.

The Republicans know that the only way they can win the November election is by suppressing the vote in as many ways as possible. For instance, the Republican National Committee urged “the Supreme Court to intervene in an Arizona election dispute this week and block up to 40,000 of the state’s registered voters from casting ballots in the presidential race.”[1] On Thursday, while the Court rejected the Republican effort to disenfranchise those voters, it did allow “some parts of a law requiring proof of citizenship to be enforced.”[2]

In Michigan and Nevada, Republicans are seeking to force election officials to remove voters from the rolls, despite federal law limiting such actions in the months preceding an election. In another Nevada lawsuit, the RNC is trying to block mail ballots from being counted if received after Election Day.[3]

In Georgia, the Republican-controlled state Board of Elections passed a new rule that allows local elections officials to halt vote counting[4] and even outright refuse to certify the election results.[5]

Meanwhile, Republicans are also recruiting thousands of poll monitors in battleground states to try to intimidate voters and disrupt the elections in Democratic cities.[6] At the same time, Democratic groups like Swing Left[7] are training and organizing poll watchers to protect voters’ rights at the polls.[8]

These are the acts of scared, desperate Republicans who will do just about anything to gain power. It is a very sad state of affairs. Not that the Democrats are above reproach. But the Republicans have now thrown democracy out the window at the behest of a two-bit con man who would readily throw any of them under the bus if it served his huge narcissistic appetite.

Republicans are anxiously trying to get Trump to stay on message by focusing on the economy and immigration. But Trump refuses to. He loves going personal, making fun of people, and calling them names. Something an 8-year-old might do.

Fortunately, the Democratic standard bearer, Kamala Harris, is a no-nonsense prosecutor, among other valuable skills. If anybody can beat Trump and ensure that he’s brought to justice, Kamala is answering the call “for the people.”

Still, we all must stand with Kamala. An overwhelming voter turnout created by a massive GOTV campaign must make it crystal clear that the American people support democracy and reject Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. As Kamala declared on the final night of the convention, “We’re not going back!…We’re moving forward.”

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-08-19/republicans-urge-supreme-court-to-block-40-000-arizonans-from-voting-for-president-in-november

[2] https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-citizenship-elections-arizona-62b7e777cfdbb99242510e562de00781

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/10/republican-trump-election-voting-lawsuits/

[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/25/democrats-fair-election/?utm_campaign=wp_follow_jennifer_rubin&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl-jenniferrubin&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3ed245a%2F66cb1bd654e7751dec229478%2F5ddffac0ae7e8a7319e6966d%2F6%2F23%2F66cb1bd654e7751dec229478

[5] https://www.wabe.org/new-rule-may-allow-georgia-election-boards-to-halt-certifying-results/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrKu2BhDkARIsAD7GBouoq-EE2PBQxXlDGo37Y75v_Jx8-7jiBJdzIgsbEQ4rRvO-Cm24JX0aAgOlEALw_wcB

[6] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/gop-poll-monitors-suburbs-democratic-cities-rcna159059

[7] https://swingleft.org/p/strategy?utm_source=google-search&utm_campaign=volunteeracquisition24&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_term=volunteer_democrats

[8] https://protectthevote.net/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can the Democrats Create a Blue Wave?

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

We are entering the home stretch of the 2024 campaign with only 78 days left until Election Day. As the Democrats open their convention in Chicago today, the wind is at their backs. They now have a 3 to 6-point lead in national polls.[1] The big question is: Can they channel that momentum into a winning Blue Wave come November 5^th?

The convention is the first step in that effort. All the Party’s factions are coming together to ensure Democratic wins up and down the ticket. The future of our democracy is riding on that outcome.

But a full-blown Blue Wave carrying the Democrats to victory depends on all of us getting out and doing our part. The more time and energy we the people devote to this epic cause, the greater the likelihood of success as well as preventing serious setbacks down the road.

While Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will lead the charge, the tough work of getting out the vote will be up to us. Whether it’s making phone calls, knocking on doors, sending postcards, and more; hundreds of thousands of Americans dedicated to democracy will be needed to generate a Blue Wave and guarantee victory. Sitting on the sidelines and rooting for a Democratic win is not an option.

As usual, the election will be decided in six or seven battleground states. They are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. That is where your help is most needed. And you don’t even have to leave your home to pitch in. Go to https://democrats.org/take-action/ or https://swingleft.org/ to learn how to get involved.

We are experiencing the biggest challenge to American democracy since the Civil War. The future of our country is in our hands. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Bruce Berlin

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/18/harris-trump-polls-dnc-00174532

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Could We Be Seeing the Beginning of a Blue Wave?

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

It’s been about three weeks since VP Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president. In that short period, Harris has raised over $310 million with 66% of it coming from first-time contributors.[1]

During that brief stretch, Harris has gone from down one or two points in the polls as President Biden’s running mate to up by four in each of the critical swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.[2] At the same time, the Cook Political Report has moved three other swing states, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada, from “lean Republican” to tossups.[3]

Meanwhile, Harris is leading Trump by close to 20 points among registered voters under 30.[4] In a new August poll, she is also leading Trump by 9 points with Independent voters. That’s a 23-point turn around from a July poll where she was 14 points behind Trump.[5] And support for Harris among Black voters is surging as well.[6]

Perhaps, most importantly, support for Harris among women voters is building rapidly. A poll at the end of July showed Harris had gained 9 points with women in just three weeks. That poll found Harris was the choice of 50 percent of women voters, while Trump was preferred by just 39 percent.[7]

The momentum for the Harris-Walz campaign is exploding. The enthusiasm for this duo is palpable. While anything can happen in the next three months, the possibility of a blue-wave election appears more likely day by day.

Even Republicans are getting on board. A fair number of them “see Trump as anathema or the kind of existential threat to democracy that would compel them to cross party lines and who had bought into Biden as an acceptable alternative.”[8] The list includes former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former Virginia Rep. Denver Riggleman, former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham, and former Rhode Island Rep. Claudine Schneider.[9]

Everyday Republicans who care about the future of our democracy, are not obsessed with holding onto power, and are not part of the Trump cult are turning to the Harris campaign. Here is what a few of them are saying:

“I’m willing to lend my vote to the Democrats for as long as the GOP continues to be the party of forced religion, forced patriotism, forced birth, white nationalism, and isolationism.”

“Trump is just too divisive, and as a nation, we desperately need to come together and find shared solutions to the problems our country is facing.”

“How is this a difficult choice for any educated, ethical human being? Trump is a horrible person, utterly devoid of any political vision, ethical compass, or personal integrity. He’s a convicted felon. Adjudicated fraudster. Indicted for multiple other felonies. A vocal supporter of the world’s worst megalomaniac dictators.”[10]

More and more Americans are waking up to what is at stake in this election. The choice couldn’t be clearer. I’m envisioning a blue wave sweeping over our country this November.

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.vox.com/politics/364964/harris-trump-fundraising-donations-campaign-2024

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/battleground-polls-show-harris-fundamentally-151052149.html; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/10/us/politics/harris-trump-battleground-polls.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20240810&instance_id=131352&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=72679230&segment_id=174769&te=1&user_id=51750e72d4988f5b891f2289251150c2

[3] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4818198-cook-political-report-arizona-georgia-nevada-tossups/

[4] https://ncnewsline.com/2024/08/02/young-voters-mobilize-for-kamala-harris-in-battleground-north-carolina/

[5] https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-poll-independents-donald-trump-1936028

[6] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-candidacy-led-surge-black-voter-enthusiasm-make/story?id=112196882

[7] https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-gaining-women-voters-polling-shows-1932868

[8] https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/04/politics/republicans-for-harris-anti-trump-gop-voters/index.html

[9] Ibid.

[10] https://www.buzzfeed.com/morgansloss1/republicans-voting-for-kamala-harris-share-why

The Struggle for the Soul of America: How Harris’s Evolving Policy Toward Israel Could Influence Her V.P. Choice

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

The United States has been a staunch supporter of Israel since the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 following the Holocaust. Whether Republicans or Democrats were running our government, we have consistently provided huge amounts of foreign aid to help develop and protect Israel. As a result, the U.S. has played a major role in sustaining Israel’s ability to dominate the Palestinian people in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Since last October’s attack by Hamas, there’s been increasing concern about whether Israel’s overwhelming military retaliation, killing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, amounts to genocide. At the same time, facts on the ground indicate that Israel has created an apartheid regime on the West Bank following the 1967 Six-day War similar to what once existed in South Africa.

On a recent episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver drilled down into Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank. Oliver concluded that an apartheid regime clearly does exist there.[1] Israel has had complete control over Palestinians’ every move since 1967 while allowing 450,000 Israelis to settle there, plus another 220,000 in East Jerusalem.[2]

From Truman to Biden, every American president has acquiesced in, if not tacitly supported Israel’s expanding colonization of the West Bank. With the possible election of Kamala Harris to the presidency this fall, however, there is a glimpse of hope that that could change. Harris has condemned Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians and called for holding them accountable. She has publicly criticized Israel on a number of issues as well as distancing herself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[3]

We will get a better sense of Harris’s willingness to back Palestinians’ call for justice and equality when she announces her pick for vice president in the next couple of days. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is a finalist in the vice-presidential sweepstakes. A very strong supporter of Israel who has opposed a cease-fire in Israel’s war in Gaza, Shapiro has lost trust with the pro-Palestinian community.[4]

Choosing Shapiro to be her vice-presidential running mate would indicate Harris is not willing to move toward embracing the Palestinians’ cause. Putting Shapiro on the Democratic ticket would also severely hurt her chances of winning the critical swing state of Michigan with its large Muslim population. Just as important, it would dampen progressive Democrats’ support for Harris across the country since they oppose how the U.S. has strongly favored Israel while giving little assistance to the Palestinians.

Harris’s choosing Shapiro could be a fatal mistake for the Democrats’ chances of winning the White House in November.

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqK3_n6pdDY

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement#:~:text=In%20total%2C%20over%20450%2C000%20Israeli,live%20in%20Syria’s%20Golan%20Heights.

[3] https://www.newarab.com/news/where-does-kamala-harris-stand-israel-and-palestine

[4] https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/josh-shapiro-israel-kamala-harris-20240725.html

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Problem with How a Vice-Presidential Candidate Is Chosen

Posted on July 26, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Kamala Harris’s first major task as the Democrats’ new presidential candidate is to choose a vice-presidential running mate. The most critical criterion in her decision is whether that person is qualified to be president should something happen that would require her VP to take over the presidency.

But there are other important criteria. For instance:

Will they work well together?
Are their policies compatible?
Will the VP candidate help the Democrats win a swing state?
Does the candidate have experience she lacks to bolster the ticket?
Does he/she appeal to a segment of voters that will help win the election?

While all these factors make sense, this process can and sometimes does lead to a very undemocratic approach to determining presidential candidates.

For example, in 1988 Vice-president George H. W. Bush won the Republican nomination for president over Sen. Bob Dole and Pat Robertson. Bush went on to be elected president that year. But had Ronald Reagan chosen Dole to be his running mate rather than Bush in 1980, there’s a good possibility Dole would have been the Republicans’ presidential nominee and would have won the presidency in 1988.

In 2000, Vice-President Al Gore won the Democratic presidential nomination over Sen. Bill Bradley. But, if President Clinton had picked Bradley as his running mate instead of Gore in 1992, Bradley may very well have been the Democrats’ presidential candidate in 2000. And, he might have beaten George Bush for the presidency that year.

This year, Kamala Harris is the Democrats’ nominee for president mainly due to President Biden’s having chosen her as his running mate in 2020. If Biden had chosen Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders as his vice president, both of whom he beat in the primaries, one of them would now likely be the Democrats’ presidential candidate.

The point is that presidents have undue influence over whom their party names as its next presidential candidate, and, thus, who the next president might be. That leaves millions of voters like you and me with very little say in the matter, which is extremely undemocratic.

Now let’s look at Harris’s most likely picks for vice president and how her decision might impact our future choices. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are probably at the top of her list since each of them would help Harris win a battleground state. And, all of them being white males, they would all help balance the Democratic ticket.

Some Democrats lean toward Gov. Shapiro because he could help win Pennsylvania with its 19 electoral votes, the largest of all the swing states. But his ardent support for Israel in its war against Hamas makes him a controversial choice that could dampen support from the progressive wing of the party.[1] Plus, he has been a governor for less than two years. Being only 51 years old, however, as Harris’s VP his chances of becoming president would be greatly enhanced provided Harris wins in November.

Sen. Kelly would only give the Democrats 11 electoral votes if they won Arizona. Additionally, the Dems could lose Kelly’s Senate seat to the Republicans in a special election. He also has been lukewarm about the Dems important labor bill, the PRO Act, which he finally just agreed to support.[2] On the other hand, Kelly is a national hero, having been a space shuttle commander and a combat vet.[3] As the husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who suffered a severe brain injury during an assassination attempt, Kelly staunchly favors gun control. But, given Harris’s strong gun control advocacy,[4] choosing Kelly would not add anything to the ticket in that regard. Kelly, 60, would still be young enough to take the torch from Harris when she completes her presidency, assuming she wins the election.

Finally, Gov. Cooper, 67, is in contention for the VP nomination. He is about to complete his second term in the North Carolina governorship. Of the three leading VP candidates, he has the most experience working with Republicans. His ability to win elections while Republicans are winning other state offices makes him an attractive addition to the Harris campaign.[5] With 16 electoral votes, North Carolina would be a valuable catch for the Democrats. At age 75 eight years from now, he would likely be too old to run for the presidency at the end of Harris’s second term.

Unlike the other two top contenders, by naming Cooper her VP, Harris would not be putting her thumb on the scales when it came time to pick the next Democratic presidential nominee. That factor sets Cooper apart from the others. Along with his significant ability to attract Republican support, the fact that he would leave office and open up a more democratic presidential selection process is why I favor Gov. Cooper as Harris’s best VP pick.

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/one-vice-presidential-pick-could-100000459.html

[2] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/potential-vp-pick-mark-kelly-backs-pro-labor/story?id=112244058

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/senate-democrats-say-mark-kelly-superb-vp-pick-anxiety-rcna163220

[4] https://www.thetrace.org/2024/07/kamala-harris-guns-violence-election/#:~:text=After%20her%20election%20to%20the,of%20federally%20licensed%20gun%20dealers.

[5] https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2024/07/23/harris-roy-cooper-vp-pick-running-mate-democrats; https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/07/duke-university-roy-cooper-north-carolina-governor-vice-president-contender-option-kamala-harris-democratic-ticket-national-convention-nominee

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Biden’s Withdrawal Gives Dems New Hope

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Time is running out. The Democrats must determine who their candidates for president and vice president are very soon if they are to unite the party and beat Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in November.

I wrote the above paragraph just hours before the news broke Sunday morning that President Biden had withdrawn from the race for president. In so doing, Biden has sealed his place in history as a true patriot, and potentially the man who saved American democracy from Trump’s authoritarian takeover. As Biden wrote in his withdrawal statement, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down…”[1]

Biden has served our country well during the last 50 years as a senator, vice president, and president. He is stepping down at the height of his career as he rightly passes the torch to a new generation of leadership. His legacy as one of our most consequential presidents is now assured.

And yet, it’s still true: the Democrats have no time to lose. They have just four weeks to set the stage for their national convention at which time they must present a clear and compelling case to the American people for electing their chosen candidates over the Republican alternative.

Now the big question is who will replace Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. The odds on favorite is Vice President Kamala Harris. The Biden-Harris apparatus for a presidential campaign is already up and running. Any other potential candidate would have a lot of work to do in a very short period of time to catch up to her. I doubt anyone will take that on at this late date. In fact, a number of her possible rivals for the nomination have already endorsed her. That includes California Gov. Gavin Newsom,[2] Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer[3] and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.[4]

Regardless of who the Democrats ultimately nominate, their run for the White House has gotten a big boost from Biden’s withdrawal. The youth and minority voters who were not enthusiastic about Biden’s campaign can now be energized by a much younger, more dynamic candidate without Biden’s baggage. Just in the nick of time, the Democrats have new hope for victory in November.

Bruce Berlin

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-governor-gavin-newsom-responds-183109865.html

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-governor-gavin-newsom-responds-183109865.html

[3] https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/07/22/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-endorses-kamala-harris-for-president-joe-biden-democratic-nomination/74497595007/

[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cv2gryx1yx1t