Category Archives: Protecting democracy

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Democratic Leadership Failing

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What Can We Do?

Last Friday, nine Democratic senators (plus one Independent) voted to avert a filibuster, allowing the passage of a Republican bill to fund the government for six months till the end of the fiscal year. By announcing he would vote to invoke cloture and end debate on the bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gave the other eight Democratic senators cover to follow his lead, preventing a government shutdown.

Schumer claimed, “Under a shutdown, Trump and Elon Musk would have carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now.”[1] Despite his assertion, the great majority of Democratic senators and all but one House Dem supported shutting down the government.

The Dems who opposed the bill and voted to shut down the government believed supporting the bill would give Trump and Musk greater power. “I cannot vote for the Republican plan to give unchecked power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said in a statement.[2]

One could argue that either way, the Republicans would be in a more powerful position, and the Democrats would have little or, more likely, no sway. Still, by providing support for the Republican bill, the Dems appear to be weak and unwilling to fight for the American people.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) noted, “If we pass this continuing resolution for the next half year, we will own what the president does.”[3] That would mean the Dems would have at least some responsibility for the huge funding cuts, the elimination of numerous services, and the firing of thousands of government employees that the Republican bill authorizes.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed Schumer’s caving to the Republicans to avoid a shutdown, calling it a “tremendous mistake” and indicating “there is a wide sense of betrayal.”[4] 

In addition, 91% of Indivisible leaders nationwide voted to call for Schumer to step aside as Senate Minority Leader.[5] And other grassroots activists concluded there is a “crisis of confidence in Chuck Schumer and Democratic leadership.” Another Democratic activist stated, “We need an opposition party, the Democrats are anything but!”[6]

The Democrats clearly don’t have their act together. Not only don’t they have a united strategy to oppose the Trump administration, but they also don’t agree on how forcefully to contest his policies. In addition, they have not offered the American people a positive alternative to Trump’s agenda that addresses the people’s everyday concerns. And, they lack strong leadership that can rally the troops and inspire the American people.

Time is running out before Trump becomes the autocrat he longs to be, and he can no longer be stopped. With the Democrats limping along, there’s only one thing that can still deter him. And that is us, the American people.

We can shut down the economy. We can boycott the giant corporations that support Trump. We can flood Congress with our messages and our bodies. We can elect strong representatives to overturn Trump’s agenda. We can expose Trump as the lying con artist he truly is. We can withdraw our money from the big banks that support Trump. And, much more.

Yes, we, the people, can take back our government from Trump and his billionaire lackeys. But it is going to take all of us. Here are just a few things you can do right now:

1. Join the boycotts and shutdowns and urge your friends and family to join as well.

2. Contact your Democratic senators and urge them to install more aggressive Senate leadership.

3. Contact your House representative and urge him/her to resist Trump’s policies.

4. Flood social media with how corrupt Trump is and how he is destroying our economy.

5. Organize town halls.

6. Write Letters to the Editor.

Join the resistance and help save our country from Trump and his self-serving Republican powermongers.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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.huffpost.com/entry/shutdown-democrats-trump_n_67d33122e4b022e5d6b350f9?origin=related-recirc

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/chuck-schumer-vote-advance-gop-funding-bill-democratic-divisions-rcna196306

[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/15/aoc-schumer-republican-government-funding-bill/82440167007/

[5] https://indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-calls-schumer-step-aside

[6] https://www.commondreams.org/news/schumer-our-revolution-survey

 

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will Trump’s Autocratic Challenge Prevail?

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Donald Trump has wasted no time in his effort to remake the federal government into his personal fiefdom. The mobster-in-chief pardoned 1500 fellow mobsters on his first day in office, sending a strong message to all Americans: If you fight for me, I’ll have your back.

Trump doesn’t care that a fair number of the insurrectionists committed violent crimes against the police. What matters to him is that they actively supported his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and retain the presidency.

Like practically all mobsters, Trump is a bully. If you don’t support him, if you are not personally loyal to him, you will pay dearly. He has put Republican senators on notice that they will be primaried by a MAGA loyalist if they don’t play ball with him. Consequently, only three GOP senators dared to defy him by voting against Pete Hegseth, his totally unqualified pick for Defense Secretary.

At the same time, Trump has let loose ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to hunt down and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. These are the people who clean our homes and hotel rooms, pick the fruits and vegetables we buy at the market, and perform other jobs that a great many Americans are loathe to do. Removing these people strengthens Trump’s bond with the growing white nationalist movement in our country.

As terrible as Trump’s mass deportation initiative is, I believe it’s a means to an even worse end. While he has gotten Americans focused on resisting this program, Trump is moving full speed ahead, building his autocratic power by dismantling the federal government.

The mobster-in-chief is eliminating anything and firing anybody that could get in his way. With the stroke of a pen, he abolished the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and purged at least 17 independent Inspectors General. Several hundred other federal employees have also lost their jobs or been reassigned. And, he has offered incentives to any federal worker willing to resign by February 6th.

Trump is avoiding the need for Congressional approval by using Executive Orders. Earlier this week, trillions in federal grant funds were frozen. The freeze caused such chaos and panic that Trump had to rescind it. At the same time, a federal judge also temporarily blocked the freeze, finding it violated Congress’s constitutional authority to appropriate funds. All D.E.I. (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs were eliminated as well.

Thankfully, the Democratic Party is finally waking up to the imminent danger Trump poses to our democracy. Its strong reaction to Trump’s power grab is the silver lining in all this. In an emergency meeting, House Democrats have called for “a legal fight, a legislative fight and a street fight” to combat Trump.

The president is playing to his white nationalist MAGA base. He doesn’t care that millions of people may lose their jobs and inflation will rise. With his radical reforms, the country could land in a rec ession, or worse. In fact, that may be what Trump actually intends.

As The Hartmann Report (Hartmannreport.com) explains, an economic crisis would help Trump consolidate power. Economic emergencies call out for a strong man government to quickly pull the nation back from the brink. Fearful of an economic collapse, the public is more accepting of authoritarian measures. During the Great Depression, Hitler employed them in Germany and FDR did in our country.

In addition, billionaires like Trump and his buddies make the most money when there’s a crash. During a downturn, the super-wealthy swoop in and buy at low valuations while everyone else is selling in fear of being wiped out. When the downturn is over, they reap the benefit as prices rise back up.

For the moment, Trump’s autocratic challenge has been checked. But he will not stop trying. The battle lines have been clearly drawn. The question is: Can the Democratic Party and the American people overcome Trump’s authoritarian challenge and save our democracy?

We are in for a monumental brawl. Join the struggle for the soul of America. Contact Indivisible (https://indivisible.org/), Common Cause (https://www.commoncause.org/), the ACLU (https://www.aclu.org/), your senators and representatives, and a host of other organizations working to protect our democracy (https://www.usgrassroots.org/50-pro-democracy-organizations).

(Note: I will only be publishing my blog occasionally for the next several months so that I will have more time to complete my memoir, From Camden to Kathmandu.)

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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/.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump Found Guilty: Now What?

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Donald Trump is finally being held accountable. That is a good thing for democracy and the rule of law. Still, no one knows how Trump’s guilty verdict on all 34 felony counts will affect the November elections. Will it increase his support at the polls this fall? I seriously doubt it. If anything, the guilty finding will likely give a number of undecided voters a reason not to support him. How many go that route could be critical to the final outcome.

That does not mean, however, that those voters will support President Biden. They could stay home or vote for third-party candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. or someone else. Yet, anything that reduces Trump’s vote count should help Biden’s re-election bid.

Here are some other factors arising from the verdict that may significantly affect the election. First up is the sentencing of Trump on July 11. The harsher the sentence the more outraged Trump’s supporters will be. But I still don’t believe it will increase turnout for him in November. Rather, it will likely make the campaign uglier and turn voters off.

As important as Trump’s sentence is, presiding Judge Juan Merchan’s remarks at the sentencing hearing may be just as compelling. While a judge must remain impartial during the trial, he can be very revealing about his reasons for the sentence he is imposing. That is, Merchan can point to Trump’s outrageous behavior, his disrespect for the court and the jury, and his lack of remorse in explaining his decision for Trump’s sentence. The judge’s laying this all out in open court could sway some undecided voters not to support Trump.

Another interesting result of the verdict is how Trump’s team will handle the appeal. Until now, Trump’s strategy has been to delay all court proceedings for as long as possible, hopefully until after November. That would prevent any adverse decision from hurting his election prospects. But now that he has been found guilty, Trump may very well reverse strategies. That is, he might move for a quick appeal on the chance that an appeals court would reverse his guilty verdict before the election. While not likely, a desperate Trump might try to pull that off to improve his chances of being elected.

Then there’s the Republican National Convention beginning four days after Trump is sentenced. Given the strong support for Trump from most Republicans following the jury’s verdict, it appears that Trump will still be the Party’s nominee for president. I can’t believe the convention’s ignoring the verdict and going full tilt for a convicted felon will go over well with swing voters still trying to decide for whom to vote. By the same token, those undecided voters may not be able to stomach voting for other down-ballot Republicans who want a felon to be our next president. It’s hard to imagine how this goes well for Trump and his Republican Party.

Finally, there’s the overriding issue of the survival of American democracy. The Republicans are trying to convince the public that this whole affair is just about politics. As Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, put it: “The conviction of former President Trump on politically motivated charges is an outrage and disservice to the nation.”[1] Really?

Isn’t everything Trump does politically motivated to win the presidency, give him authoritarian power, and eliminate any opposition to his authority? Trump’s conspiring with Michael Cohen and others to conceal the fact that he had sex with a porn star while his wife was home caring for their newly born child was motivated by his desire to win the 2016 election. If moderate Republican women and others had known the truth before they voted, Hillary Clinton may very well have been our 45th president. Our world would be a lot different today under those circumstances. But conspiring to conceal facts that could change the outcome of a presidential election is just politics according to most Republicans. Why should the American people care?

Well, the DOJ during Trump’s administration cared enough to prosecute Michael Cohen for the same campaign finance violations. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.[2] Why shouldn’t the leader of the conspiracy be treated the same way? Biden and the Democrats need to make that perfectly clear to every voter before Trump steals another election.

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.yahoo.com/news/disservice-nation-former-vp-pence-154731149.html

[2] https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/michael-cohen-sentenced-3-years-prison

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Back Home Refreshed and Recharged

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Back home in New Mexico after a month in Panama. It felt like another world there, and for the most part, it was. Above all, my trip gave me the time and space to reflect on the past, more clearly see the present, and imagine future possible directions around the next bend or two. Not just for my future, but for my relationship with my partner Margaret, for the various communities I’m part of, and for our country.

I highly recommend finding the time and space to take such a journey. It was a truly valuable experience for me. And, you don’t have to go all the way to exotic Panama to do it. Just set aside a day or two in a quiet place in your home or somewhere nearby.

The most insightful realization I received on my trip is that I need to slow down. Being in Lago Bay certainly pointed me in the right direction. But given the critical nature of this year’s elections, truly slowing down to a relaxed, simple pace is not likely to happen until I’ve done whatever I can to affect the November results.

There are only seven months until this monumental election. That the outcome of this year’s voting could be the demise of our democratic republic form of government is just, well, hard to believe. If you have any doubts about that, you are not alone. Doubt is good, but we cannot let it stop us from doing whatever we can to ensure that such a calamity does not befall our country.

While many people agree with this assessment, I often hear them say, “I’m only one person. What can I do that will make a difference?” Well, millions of us pulling together can make a huge difference. In the swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) where the election will most likely be decided, a relatively small number of votes will put one candidate over the top.

Our phone calls, postcards, door knocking, texts, and emails to undecided and reluctant voters can make all the difference. We don’t want to be saying after Election Day, “If only I had spent one more day campaigning or made 20 more phone calls…” or whatever. Now is the time to resolve to go the extra mile to ensure our democratic republic survives the Trump-led onslaught by the far right.

Personally, I am still weighing my options. I may go work for Biden and the Democrats running for Congress in Arizona or Pennsylvania. And/or sign up for regular phone banking in one or more of the swing states. I just know I don’t want to one day be telling my grandchildren, “I could have done more to save our country from authoritarian rule.” Once I’ve done everything I can to help save our country, then it will be time to really slow down as I approach my 80th birthday.

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/.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Are You Really Going to Sit on Your Couch and Let Trump Destroy Our Democracy?

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Without a doubt, 2024 promises to be one of the most challenging years in American history as the very survival of our democracy is at stake. The question each of us must ask ourselves is what am I willing to do now to save American democracy?

     Donald Trump has clearly stated his authoritarian leanings. His autocratic positions mandate that he must be stopped from regaining the White House or it’s curtains for our democracy.  For example:

  1.  He intends to be a dictator on day one if he is elected.[1]
  2. He expects to use the federal government to punish critics and imprison opponents should he win a second term.[2]
  3. He plans to create a federal workforce that can be fired by the president at will and must follow his personal whims;[3] and
  4. He wants to pardon people convicted of federal crimes for their involvement in the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.[4]

Defeating Trump and his autocratic agenda is critical. We cannot wait for Biden and the Democrats to take action. Nor can we count on the courts to find Trump guilty of undermining our democracy. Given Trump’s delaying tactics and the slow-moving legal process, there is at least a fair chance that the courts will not finally settle the ex-president’s legal culpability before November’s election.

It is up to us, the people who still believe in the Constitution, to step up and make sure that voters understand that the survival of our democracy is the central question in this year’s elections.

            Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, put it this way:

My hope for 2024 is that the silent majority of Americans who still believe in freedom will stop wallowing in despair and waiting for the worst. Instead, these voters should rise up from their couches, get organized, and start taking action to save democracy now, and not 10 months and one week from now when it will be too late.

There needs to be an active, pro-democracy movement in the United States that is bigger, more visible, and more determined than the MAGA movement that seeks to destroy it. They should be organizing right now, crafting new messages, posting on TikTok, making themselves known, knocking on doors, registering every voter, and talking to—and listening to—millions of disillusioned young people.

We can enter a new year with high hopes, and not existential dread, but we have to remember that hopes only come true through action.[5]

Now is the time for all of us to take action. Write letters to the editor, register voters, connect with disillusioned youth, campaign door-to-door, attend town halls, primary debates, and political rallies, and talk with friends and neighbors.

 We must make democracy the issue. If we don’t stop Trump, our voices and our votes will be crushed, and America will be changed forever. We must organize and act now before it’s too late.

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/trump-says-hell-be-a-dictator-on-day-one/676247/

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/

[3] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/donald-trump-15-most-dangerous-statements/675970/

[4] Ibid.

[5] https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/save-democracy-in-2024

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can Trump Be Stopped?

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In a recent Washington Post column, Editor-at-Large Robert Kagan wrote, “Let’s stop the wishful thinking and face the stark reality: There is a clear path to dictatorship in the United States, and it is getting shorter every day….The idea that he (Trump) is unelectable in the general election is nonsense — he is tied or ahead of President Biden in all the latest polls…”[1]

            Kagan calculates that Trump will wrap up the Republican nomination three months from now on Super Tuesday. Once that happens, Kagan asserts that Trump will “become far more powerful than he already is” and people will be “falling into line.”[2]

            One Republican who will not be “falling into line” is former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney. She has vowed “to do everything I can to stop Donald Trump,” which may include a third-party run of her own for the presidency next year.[3]

            But it’s not just about stopping Trump in Cheney’s view. She wants the Democrats to win the majority in Congress as well in 2024. Cheney believes that a Republican majority presents a ‘threat’ to the nation: “We have to ensure that we don’t have a situation where an election that might be thrown into the House of Representatives is overseen by a Republican majority.”[4]

            It is not at all clear that a Cheney third-party run would help prevent Trump from taking the White House. It could boost his chances if her campaign attracted Independents, conservative Democrats, and moderate Republicans who might have otherwise voted for Biden. In fact, any third-party candidacy that draws support from potential Biden voters will actually help Trump.

            In addition to Cheney, numerous groups are working to defeat Trump’s campaign for the presidency. In last week’s blog,[5] I recommended joining Indivisible and reading its A Practical Guide to Defeating MAGA.[6] Other groups you might want to join and support are:

1.    Protect Democracy (https://www.protectdemocracy.org) is dedicated to defeating the authoritarian threat, building more resilient democratic institutions, and protecting our freedom and liberal democracy. 

2. Call To Activism (https://www.calltoactivism.com/) helps Democrats with messaging by defining issues on strong emotional terms that resonate with voters. It strives to stop the GOP from winning arguments and the Democrats from playing defense.

3. The Lincoln Project (lincolnproject.us/) works to protect the American Republic from Donald Trump and those who identify (publicly or privately) as MAGA supporters. It agrees with Trump on only one thing: 2024 is a battle for America’s future.

Finally, there is one other way of stopping Trump. Lawsuits in several states are now seeking to disqualify Trump from running for president under section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Section 3 disqualifies anyone from holding public office if they have taken an oath to the United States and subsequently “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same” unless Congress votes to remove that disqualification by a two-thirds vote. In Colorado, the state supreme court just heard arguments on the matter. In Michigan, a state appeals court will soon render a decision. And, in Minnesota, the state supreme court dismissed a similar case for the time being.[7]

            In the end, it all comes down to you and me. How much do we care about the future of our country? How much time, energy and money are we each willing to contribute to saving our democracy? We all must pitch in and do whatever we can to defeat the greatest threat to our fragile American Republic since the Civil War. Contact one of the above groups to find out how you can help. Your country needs you now more than ever!

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/30/trump-dictator-2024-election-robert-kagan/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_popns&utm_campaign=wp_opinions_pm

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.npr.org/2023/12/05/1217282237/liz-cheney-oath-and-honor-memoir#:~:text=Former%20Wyoming%20representative%20Liz%20Cheney,can%20to%20stop%20Donald%20Trump.%22

[4] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/03/liz-cheney-would-rather-see-democrats-win-2024-00129796 / bm

[5] https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog/

[6] https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

[7] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/06/colorado-supreme-court-trump-insurrection-00130271;

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/04/can-trump-be-removed-ballot-insurrection-clause-colorado

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Like It Or Not, Biden Is Our Only Hope

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I recently had a difficult political conversation with a couple of friends. While usually supporters of Democratic candidates, they emphatically proclaimed that they would not vote for Biden for president next year. But, neither would they support Trump.

My friends indicated that they may not vote for president at all in the coming election. However, if they decided to vote, they were leaning toward Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for president, who is currently polling an impressive 22% in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.[1]

 I argued that not voting or supporting a third-party candidate would help Trump get elected. And a Trump second term would be a disaster for our country. Of course, it’s not a certainty that voting for a third-party candidate like Kennedy or perhaps Sen. Joe Manchin, if he decides to run, would boost Trump’s election chances. But can we take that chance?

In my mind, this is not about Biden’s age or whether or not we agree with some of his policies. What the 2024 election will really be about is whether the United States continues to be a democracy.

Every day Trump tells us loud and clear who he is and how he will rule our country if he regains the White House next year. The Washington Post noted Trump in his Veterans Day speech called his political enemies “vermin” and suggested that they pose a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China, or North Korea. It reminded the newspaper of dictators Hitler and Mussolini.[2]

The United States would become an authoritarian regime if Trump were elected. Michael Luttig, former conservative federal appeals judge and assistant White House counsel under President Reagan, asserted,  “I am more worried for America today than I was on January 6. … [Trump’s] election would be catastrophic for America’s democracy.”[3]

Here are just a few of what a second Trump presidency would look like:

First, Trump would break down legal restrictions and traditional protections against political interference and give the White House authority to install ideological allies throughout the federal government.[4] He intends to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections, which would allow him to fire all government officials he considers disloyal to him and replace them with loyal lackeys.[5]

Second, Trump wants to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would end birthright citizenship, using an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment.[6] His White-nationalist policies would invoke new legal authorities to pursue mass expulsions and enlist the military to help carry them out.[7]

Third, Trump would crack down on gender-affirming care by declaring that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare.[8]

Fourth, Trump would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He would roll back Biden administration’s efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits. He would exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies, and eliminate efficiency regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration.[9] Our efforts to fight climate change and save our planet would take a huge step backward.

And fifth, Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education. He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure and allow the direct election of school principals by parents. He also has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools.[10]

There’s much more. But who would stop him? The very conservative Supreme Court majority that he built during his first term? Don’t hold your breath. If you are thinking of not voting for Biden, you better think again. At this point, electing Biden is probably the only way we can be sure to keep Trump out of the White House.

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3881

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/12/trump-rally-vermin-political-opponents/

[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-has-big-plans-for-a-second-term-critics-say-they-pose-a-threat-to-democracy-203042124.html

[4] https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/16/politics/trump-agenda-second-term/index.html

[5] https://apnews.com/article/trump-policies-agenda-election-2024-second-term-d656d8f08629a8da14a65c4075545e0f

[6] Ibid.

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/14/trump-mass-deportation-immigration-stephen-miller/

[8] https://apnews.com/article/trump-policies-agenda-election-2024-second-term-d656d8f08629a8da14a65c4075545e0f

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump and the Republican Party Represent a Real Fascist Threat to American Democracy

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In my last blog, I noted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would be my choice for the Democratic nomination for president if Biden stepped down, which, for a short time, seemed possible. Since it’s now clear to me that Biden will not be stepping down, I won’t go into why I favored Whitmer as I had originally intended. Still, keep an eye on her. She will most likely be in the Democrats’ top tier for the 2028 nomination.

But for 2024, I will strongly support Biden assuming he will be the Democratic nominee. In fact, I will support any Democrat over Trump or whomever the Republicans nominate. While there are many reasons for my position, chief among them is that the Republican Party is anti-democratic and veering toward fascism.

While this may sound alarmist, the American people need to be clear about what the Republican Party is up to. New York Times opinion columnist Charles Blow recently observed that Republicans “have turned their backs on democracy.” Since they realize they are becoming a minority party, Blow concludes that the Republicans “want to devise a plan for minority rule.”[1]

That plan has a strong fascist tint to it. A mass political movement, fascism “emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of both the nation and the single, powerful leader over the individual citizen.”[2] This is exactly what Trump and his MAGA stormtroopers are fighting for.

The great majority of Republicans back Trump. If he wins the presidency next year, the New York Times reports that Trump intends “a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government,…reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands…” He plans “to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government…” and suppressing all opposition.[3]

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, interviewed numerous Trump aides and GOP leaders who know the ex-president. Here’s what they believe would happen if Trump or another MAGA candidate wins the White House next year:

First, the entire executive branch would be weaponized. The military would be deployed on U.S. soil to crush protests. Executive agencies would be politicized, focusing on actions to solidify and enhance Trump’s supreme authority.

Second, Congress would be neutralized, and GOP objectors muzzled..

Third, the justice system would be used to punish the MAGA movement’s enemies. The FBI would be used for revenge.[4]

Whatever doubts we may have about another four years of President Biden, they pall in comparison to the dangers a second Trump presidency presents. It is not too early to sound the alarm and motivate our friends, family, and colleagues to engage in the fight to save our democracy from the dire threat that Trump and his MAGA followers pose.

Bruce Berlin

P.S. I will be traveling out of the country for the next two weeks. My blog will resume the week of October 9.

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/opinion/republican-party-anti-democracy.html

[2] https://world101.cfr.org/contemporary-history/world-war/what-fascism

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html

[4] https://time.com/6294052/new-trump-presidency-would-be-even-worse/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Beginning of the End for Donald Trump

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Many thought this day would never come. My gut told me that American democracy would not survive if it let Donald Trump off the hook. Then, on August 1, 2023, more than two and a half years after the January 6th attack on our nation’s Capitol, Trump was indicted for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president is finally being held accountable for his treasonous conduct.

            While there is no guarantee that justice will prevail, there is now a clear and convincing path to Trump’s being found guilty as charged. For those who still remain skeptical, consider these factors:

            The Judge Assigned to the Case.  U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama and confirmed by a 95-0 bipartisan Senate vote, will oversee the case. She has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, even handing down harsher sentences than Justice Department prosecutors recommended. At one sentencing hearing, Judge Chutkan explained, “It is not patriotism, it is not standing up for America to stand up for one man – who knows full well that he lost – instead of the Constitution he was trying to subvert.”1

In November 2021, Judge Chutkan ruled against Trump in a prior hearing when she refused his request to block the release of documents to the U.S. House’s Jan. 6 committee by asserting executive privilege.2

            The Trial Venue. The January 6th conspiracy case will be tried in Washington, D.C., a pretty progressive city with a multicultural population. Unlike the Mar-a-Lago documents case in Florida, the jury pool will not be drawn from a Republican-friendly area more inclined to look favorably upon the former president.

Trump has already questioned whether an impartial jury can be seated in D.C. But Judge Chutkan previously ruled in the case of one January 6th defendant that the assumption the jury pool would be politically biased against them was “not an appropriate basis for changing venue.” She found that “Jurors’ political leanings are not, by themselves, evidence that those jurors cannot fairly and impartially consider the evidence presented and apply the law as instructed by the court.”3 Judge Chutkan will not permit the trial to be moved to another venue.

            The Timing of the Trial. It is critical that the case be tried before the November 2024 presidential election. The American people must know the outcome of this trial before they go to the polls, assuming Trump is the GOP nominee, which now seems likely. But Trump and his attorneys will do everything they can to delay the trial until after the election. They will argue that they need more time for discovery and pre-trial motions in such an important case.

Additionally, Trump will contend that the government had over two years to prepare its case, and, in all fairness, he should have just as much time to get ready for the trial. In fact, Jack Smith, the special prosecutor handling the case, was not appointed until November 18, 2022, less than nine months ago. Prior to that, the Department of Justice was focusing on prosecuting people who participated in the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Preparing the case against Trump was not the DOJ’s focus until Smith came on board. Thus, Smith can argue that giving Trump, who has known for several months that an indictment was coming, another nine months to get ready for trial would be equivalent to what the prosecutor has had to put his case together.

            The 1974-75 Watergate case involved high-level officials in the Nixon administration who were charged and convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. It was a complex political trial comparable to the January 6th insurrection case. President Nixon was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.4 The seven defendants were indicted on March 1, 1974, and tried and convicted in January 1975, less than a year later.5 Given the Watergate precedent, Trump’s trial could be completed by next summer.

            Trump already has two other trials scheduled for next year. In one of them, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has signaled that he is ready to set aside former President Trump’s March 2024 trial date in New York to make way for a possible trial related to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s January 6th insurrection trial.6 That would make a Spring 2024 trial date for the insurrection case feasible. It would also provide Trump’s attorneys with approximately nine months to prepare for trial.

            The Prosecutor. Special Counsel Smith has a reputation for winning tough cases against war criminals, mobsters, and crooked cops.7 As a former prosecutor for the NM Public Education Department, I know that prosecutors do not bring charges against someone unless they are confident that they have the evidence to prove their case. I’m sure Smith has that confidence as well.

Smith called for a speedy trial in this case.8 One very significant indicator of Smith’s desire to bring this case to trial as soon as possible is that despite noting six other co-conspirators, none of them were indicted. Indicting others would have required more discovery and pre-trial motions which would have been more reason to extend the trial date. Smith is well aware of the importance of trying and winning this case before next year’s election.

The Key Witnesses. Almost all of the key witnesses in this case are credible Republicans, most of whom were appointed by or closely associated with Trump. Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general, confirmed that Trump “knew well he lost the election.”9

Former Vice President Pence stated that Trump pushed him to reject the Electoral vote count on January 6th in violation of his Constitutional role and send the election to the House of Representatives.10 There are many more GOP witnesses of high standing ready to testify how Trump plotted to overthrow the government. The picture they will paint is of a power-hungry tyrant itching to turn American democracy into an autocracy under his total control.11 The DOJ and the American people cannot allow this to happen.

The time has come. For Donald Trump, it’s the beginning of the end.

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

  1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66383603
  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wevombMsZFY
  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Walking Across America to Fix Our Democracy

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On October 1, 2022, Rick Hubbard, a life-long activist, left Los Angeles and began walking across the country to sound the alarm to the American people about the urgent need to fix our democracy. His walk also aims to stimulate media attention to the critical issues facing our nation. Rick plans to complete his journey with a special event on the steps of the Capitol in Washington in January of 2024.

Turning 81 this month, Rick is a native Vermonter, retired attorney and former member of the National Governing Board of Common Cause. He has a long history of bringing vital national issues to the public’s attention. Over two decades ago, Rick walked for a week with Granny D, who crossed the country in 1999-2000 to highlight the need for campaign finance reform. Then he did a 450-mile jaunt in Vermont advocating for the same initiative. He’s also walked in New Hampshire and from Philly to D.C. for democracy reform.[1]

Rick sums up the need to fix our democracy like this:

Congress isn’t working for most people. Our political system gives many incentives to act in ways that place their own re-election interests, those of their wealthy and influential campaign funders, and those of their political party above the common, broad interests of the American people.[2]

Here’s what he believes we need to do to fix our democracy:

  • Reform our political process to get more competition, more turnover, and better representation for our common good and the future of our nation.
  • Work with others to support those in Congress willing to pass national standards, including the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, DC Statehood.
  • Ratify a Constitutional Amendment to transform our political system and move our country closer to realizing the true promise of democracy.[3]

You can read more about the issues Rick believes we need to address by going to his website https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/.

Rick will be walking through New Mexico in late January and early February 2023. The entire route of his walk can be found on his website. He plans to hold public events in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Vegas as well as in every state on his journey.

Clearly, Rick needs all the help he can get. This is a critical time in the history of our democracy. We all need to pitch in and do whatever we can if we want our American democracy to survive.

If you would like to volunteer or donate to support the Walk to Fix Our Democracy, it’s easy to do at https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/. If you would like to help organize one of the New Mexico events, contact me at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

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/. Join the movement to revive our democracy. Together we can save the soul of America.

[1] https://www.rickhubbard.org/author/

[2] https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/faqs

[3] Ibid.