Category Archives: Republicans

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Thwart Trump’s Election Scheme, Vote Early In-Person

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In my book, Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, I wrote that America is at “a crossroads comparable to the one before the Civil War.” That was over five years ago. Before Donald Trump’s lawless, racist, divisive first term as president. Before our country had lost more than 200,000 lives, and counting, in a worldwide pandemic. Before the current economic crash caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and thousands of businesses to close forever. Before a vandalized Postal Service and a resurgent effort to suppress votes. And, before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death triggered the current Supreme Court nomination battle.

It’s mind-boggling to say the least! And, yet, we should prepare for it getting even more maddening, cause it very well could according to Barton Gellman in The Atlantic.

I was going to write this week’s blog on how Mitch McConnell’s decision to rush another conservative justice onto the Supreme Court would test the Democrats ability to finally stand up for our democracy and restructure a more representative government, assuming they win the White House and the Senate in November.

But then, I read the soon-to-be published cover story of the November edition of The Atlantic entitled, The Election That Could Break America, and realizedI was putting the cart before the horse. Right now, all of our focus must be on the election itself, not what might come afterward.

In his must-read piece in The Atlantic, Barton Gellman, a three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, writes:

“According to sources in the Republican Party at the state and national levels, the Trump campaign is discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority. With a justification based on claims of rampant fraud, Trump would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly. The longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires.”[1]

It can’t be any clearer: Trump plans to win re-election by whatever means necessary. And we need to do whatever it takes to stop him and his Republican enablers.

Gellman suggests “…voting in person after all. More than half a million postal votes were rejected in this year’s primaries, even without Trump trying to suppress them.”[2]

As I advocated in my blog last week, “The best way to avoid this disastrous outcome (of a Trump victory) is for as many Biden supporters as possible to vote early in-person, not by mail. The Democrats need to be winning or at least be very close to a majority on election night, which will make it more difficult, if not impossible, for Trump to claim victory.”[3]

So, vote early in-person, and make sure to urge all your friends, family and colleagues to vote early in-person as well, especially those who live in battleground states.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=cr&utm_campaign=oct-cover-actives-digital&utm_content=20200923&silverid-ref=NjI4MjU2NjM2OTI4S0.

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: In-Person, Early Voting Best Way to Defeat Trump

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While mail-in voting may be the safest way to protect yourself from the coronavirus, it may be the riskiest way to protect the country from four more years of a Trump presidency.

Most predictions suggest Trump will be leading on election night since Republicans are much more likely to vote in-person and have their votes counted that night. Forty-eight percent of Democratic voters indicate they will vote by mail. But only twenty-three percent of Republicans intend to mail-in their November election ballots.[1]

Once all the mail-in ballots are counted in the subsequent weeks, Trump could very well lose the election since the great majority of those ballots will presumably be from Biden supporters. But, what if all the millions of mail-in ballots are not counted by the cut-off date?

This year the deadline for all votes to be tallied is December 14, when the Electoral College will meet and determine each candidate’s total number of electoral votes. We all know that Trump will do just about anything to win re-election. That includes demanding recounts and likely challenging the legitimacy, perhaps, of each mail-in ballot, one-by-one, delaying the completion of recounts indefinitely.[2] Consequently, some states may not be able to certify their election results by the deadline.

In 2000, the Supreme Court decided the election before all the ballots were counted. If recounts are delayed by Trump’s legal challenges and the Electoral College does not produce a certified majority of 270 electoral votes in time, the election is determined by the House of Representatives. Under the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, in such circumstances each state casts one vote for president and vice president. Since the Republicans control a majority of the state delegations in the House, Trump could be re-elected by the House of Representatives.[3]

The best way to avoid this disastrous outcome is for as many Biden supporters as possible to vote early in-person, not by mail. The Democrats need to be winning or at least be very close to a majority on election night, which will make it more difficult, if not impossible, for Trump to claim victory. Then the completion of recounts will be important to both campaigns, and delays and interference would be less likely.

Early, in-person voting is a lot safer than voting on election day. Since there are many different dates when one can vote early, lines will be much shorter. I’ve voted early numerous times and have rarely experienced any lines. Thus, if you are wearing a mask and social distancing, early voting can be quite safe.

Early, in-person voting can save our democracy. The earlier the better. And, be sure to tell your friends and family: Vote early, in-person!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/18/election-2020-biden-voters-twice-likely-vote-mail-survey-finds/3394795001/

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-could-huge-number-mailed-154542232.html

[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-could-huge-number-mailed-154542232.html

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Political Moneyball, A Winning Ticket

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I get it. People are angry, afraid, even depressed, about what’s happening in our country and with the election. I have those feelings at times as well.  As we are living in extremely challenging times, these emotions are completely understandable.

What I have a hard time with is how people are responding to their feelings about what’s happening in our country. More times than I can count, I’ve heard, “I don’t know what to do.”

When your house is on fire, you don’t allow your fear or despair to immobilize you. You take action despite your scared or depressing feelings. Well, our country is on fire and we must act now, regardless of our feelings, in order to save our democracy before it burns to the ground.

I have learned through the experts and my own experience that an effective antidote to fear and anxiety is action. Doing something rather than hanging out with my fearful thoughts can take me out of my downward spiral and toward a more positive feeling about the future and my role in creating it.[1]

So, how can we collectively apply this remedy to our anxiety regarding the current election? A central source of our fear is Trump winning in November, destroying American democracy, and having four more years to establish an authoritarian government in our country.

While there are many actions we can take to help Biden and the Democrats win in November, I want to focus on one that may be the most effective. It’s a new take on “Moneyball.” Moneyball was originally a strategy developed to win in major league baseball by using smart statistics.  In political terms, it’s used to identify undervalued candidates as a way of leveraging the power of small donors and/or a relatively small number of voters.[2] In other words, where can we get the most bang for our buck?

Sam Wang is a Princeton neuroscientist who also founded the Princeton Election Consortium. Using Political Moneyball, he explains that a close race in a small state is where a small donation or a small number of voters could have the greatest impact on an election outcome.

For example, Prof. Wang compares the race in Kentucky between Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Amy McGrath with the Senate race in Montana between incumbent Republican Steve Daines and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. McConnell is a well-funded incumbent who appears to have a large lead in a solid red state. Donating $100 to McGrath’s campaign is not likely to make much of a difference.

On the other hand, Bullock and Daines are in a tight race in a low population state. Since campaigning is less expensive in Montana, your $50 or $100 donation will go further there in convincing a small number of voters to provide the “tipping-point support” for Bullock, putting him in the Senate. Not only is that outcome more likely than a McGrath win, but it also provides a better chance of the Democrats regaining the majority in the Senate.[3]

Prof. Wang’s Moneyball 2020 approach also indicates where our efforts in the presidential race would have the most impact. Those states are Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina. Other Senate races where a little will go a long way are in Alaska, South Carolina and Kansas.[4]

Here’s our chance to truly make a difference. Volunteer to make phone calls or give a donation in these states’ presidential races and Senate campaigns. We don’t have to be a Super PAC to have a real impact. Political Moneyball may just be our winning ticket.

Bruce Berlin, J.D

[1] https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-sz-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=sz&p=evidence+that+antidote+to+fear+is+action#id=8&vid=e0d1fe1bfa24ceb52155ae570bb88c19&action=view

[2] https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/dont-waste-your-money-trying-to-beat-mitch-mcconnell-play-democracy-moneyball-instead/

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://election.princeton.edu/2020/08/09/whats-more-important-than-a-presidential-probability/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: It’s the Fourth Quarter

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The fanfare of the national conventions is over. We’re now entering the fourth quarter. The game – the most important election of our lifetime — is on the line.

So much is riding on the outcome of November’s election. From the survival of our democracy to our ability to confront climate change to racial justice to conquering the coronavirus and saving tens of thousands of lives, and more. It’s mind-boggling!

Time to bring in the A team. And, that’s all of us.

Are you ready to get out there and give it your all? Because that’s what it’s going to take to beat this corrupt president and his enablers. We know what we are up against: Trump and a Republican Party that will lie, cheat and do just about anything to win and remain in power.

It’s time we played offense. We can’t just keep defending the USPS or our right to vote, or whatever Trump decides to attack tomorrow. We need to work together to fix our election process and guarantee the right to vote for all Americans.

LeBron James, the star of the Los Angeles Lakers, has the right idea. First, he launched the More Than A Vote coalition (https://www.morethanavote.org/) to combat systemic, racist voter suppression by educating, energizing and protecting the Black vote. One of the organization’s initiatives is creating safe, socially distanced voting precincts in cities with large minority populations by working with owners of stadiums and arenas to open their sites for voting this fall.[1]

Most recently, James is helping spearhead a multimillion-dollar effort to recruit poll workers in Black electoral districts ahead of November’s elections. The project focuses on attracting poll workers through a paid advertising campaign and a corporate partnership program that encourages employees to volunteer.[2]

James and his team are asking all of us to help by volunteering to work the polls on Election Day. He’s encouraging everyone to help educate, energize and protect Black voters however we can.

Another way to get involved is by working with a voters’ rights organization like When We All Vote (https://www.whenweallvote.org/) in the most vulnerable communities. When We All Vote is a non-partisan group launched in 2018 by co-chairs Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.[3] Its mission is to increase participation in every election and close the race and age voting gap by changing the culture around voting, harnessing grassroots energy, and working in strategic partnerships to reach every American.

A final course of action, one that I’m choosing, is to work in one of the battleground states where the election is likely to be decided. This year there are as many as eleven states up for grabs, including two of New Mexico’s neighbors, Arizona and Texas.[4] With your phone and computer, you don’t even have to leave home to make a difference. If you want to make calls to voters in swing states, here’s a link to sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/dailykos/event/291103/?link_id=1&can_id=2f6a8fdbd4b45d218a8ceaf1fe99a47a&source=email-re-humiliate-trump-make-national-phone-calls-to-voters-in-battleground-states&email_referrer=email_904518&email_subject=re-humiliate-trump-make-national-phone-calls-to-voters-in-battleground-states

The fourth quarter clock is starting. Grab your phone and your computer and get in the game of our lives. Together we can win this election for democracy!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

[1] https://theundefeated.com/features/more-than-a-vote-a-letter-to-fans-to-fight-black-voter-suppression/

[2] https://fox59.com/news/politics/lebron-james-helps-launch-multimillion-dollar-effort-to-recruit-poll-workers-ahead-of-elections/

[3] https://www.whenweallvote.org/

[4] https://electoralvotemap.com/2020-battleground-states/

 

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump Is Rigging the Election, But We Will Stop Him

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Trump and his Republican enablers are hard at work destroying our democracy. They are rigging the election in plain sight.

Without any evidence, Trump is laying the groundwork for disputing the election results by claiming that mail-in voting leads to widespread fraud.[1] He has even suggested the country may need a “do over” election since he contends that the only way he will lose is if the election is rigged.[2] Still, election experts state that “election fraud is extremely rare in all instances.”[3]

In June, Trump appointed a Republican Party megadonor, Louis DeJoy, as Postmaster General. With major investments in competing postal businesses, DeJoy’s directing the USPS is a huge conflict of interest.[4] Now he’s aiding his private investments, as well as Trump’s re-election efforts, by initiating debilitating changes at the postal service.

DeJoy has ordered the removal of hundreds of mail-sorting machines, aimed at slowing down mail service and jeopardizing mail-in voting around the country.[5] Seven such machines were recently removed from just one postal center alone in West Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold.[6] He has also had mailboxes removed in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Montana, making it more difficult for people to vote by mail.[7]

But, it’s even worse than that. Former Republican National Committee chairman, Mike Duncan, is now the chair of USPS’ six-man board of governors—which rubberstamped DeJoy’s appointment. He is also the current chairman of the Senate Leadership Fund— a $100 million Republican super PAC. Plus, Duncan has “myriad links to companies with a direct interest in the postal service policy he oversees.”[8]

DeJoy has agreed to testify before Senate and House committees tomorrow and early next week to answer for his actions. And, while he has said that he will suspend his postal service cutting efforts until after the election, DeJoy stated that he has no intention of granting necessary overtime or replacing the mail sorting machines or mailboxes that have been removed.[9] So, can this Trump megadonor be trusted with our mail-in votes?

Not according to House Majority Whip James Clyburn. On Tuesday Rep. Clyburn stated that he is “not one bit” reassured by DeJoy’s promise that cost-cutting measures will be postponed until after the November election, ensuring that mail-in ballots are delivered on time.[10] One has to wonder what DeJoy will do come October when Trump, still trailing in the polls, pressures him.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Republican cohorts in the Senate are still refusing to provide funding so that the USPS can deliver mail-in ballots on time and the election process can be protected in each state.

If we are to save our democracy, we all must act to protect the postal service and our sacred right to vote. Here’s what we can do:

  1. Pressure DeJoy to restore all the equipment, services and personnel. Contact him at Louis DeJoy’s email is dejoy@usps.gov.
  2. Pressure the USPS board of governors — all of whom are Trump appointed and supported the $25 billion USPS funding now being held up by Senate Republicans — to require DeJoy to immediately restore all equipment, services and personnel. Contact them:
  1. Call Speaker Pelosi (202-225-4965) and your congressperson (Rep. Ben Ray Lujan at (202) 225-6190, Debra Haaland at (202) 225-6316, and Rep. Xochitl Torres Small 202-225-2365). Urge them to immediately pass a stand-alone bill providing $25 billion to ensure the USPS is fully operational as well as $3.6 billion for voter protection for the states to ensure all Americans can vote safely and every vote is counted in the November elections.
  2. Vote early, preferably in-person. Early voting in-person will guarantee your vote will be counted.
  3. If you need to vote by mail, the earlier you request your mail-in ballot and return it, the more likely your ballot will arrive on time and be counted. Check with your county clerk’s office for important deadlines.
  4. Organize to get others to vote early. Call/email everyone you know and urge them to vote early.
  5. Provide rides for others without vehicles to vote early. Check with your local party HQ to see if it is organizing rides.
  6. Assist others in obtaining and returning their mail-in ballots.
  7. Volunteer at your local party HQ or with an organization working on voter protection, such as:

The time to act is now. The survival of our democracy depends on all of us doing our part!

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://abcnews.go.com/Politics/criticizing-voting-mail-trump-lady-request-mail-ballots/story?id=72371423

[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-redo-idUSKCN25E297; https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/512424-trump-the-only-way-we-are-going-to-lose-this-election-is-if-the

[3] https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/07/829323152/fact-check-is-mail-ballot-fraud-as-rampant-as-president-trump-says-it-is

[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/13/fact-check-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-invested-competitors/5550480002/

[5] https://news.yahoo.com/postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-121911696.html

[6] https://news.yahoo.com/postal-crisis-ripples-across-nation-160241436.html

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/14/people-are-freaking-out-about-mailbox-removals-postal-service-says-its-routine/

[8] https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/08/17/stamp-out-trump-attacks-our-postal-service

[9] https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/08/pelosi-postmaster-general-told-me-he-has-no-intention-of-allowing-overtime-or-replacing-any-equipment-removed/

[10] https://www.yahoo.com/news/james-clyburn-says-he-is-not-one-bit-reassured-by-trump-administrations-reversal-on-postal-service-cuts-232637160.html

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Trump’s War on Our Right to Vote

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No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio. So, Democrats have reason to feel a little optimistic as a number of prominent Ohio Republicans have begun organizing to defeat President Trump.[1] In fact, more and more Republicans from Arizona to North Carolina to Florida are ready to dump Trump.[2]

Still, we cannot relax for one minute. Trump will not go quietly into the night. He and his enablers are using every conceivable ploy to preserve his hold on the presidency. Nothing is beneath this con artist. Just last week Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major Trump donor whom the president recently appointed to that position, issued a sweeping overhaul of the USPS aimed at sabotaging efforts to carry out critical mail-in-voting in November’s election.[3]

On top of that, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed a number of lawsuits contesting the expansion of mail-in-voting and seeking to limit access to the polls in November.[4] In addition, Senate Republicans, backed by Trump, are refusing to provide any funding to support and secure the election despite the major challenges to voting presented by the pandemic,[5] as well as substantial reports that Russia is again meddling in our elections.[6] Trump and the Republicans’ failure to fund election protection clearly reflects their belief that this will boost Republicans’ chances in November.

In effect, Trump and the Republican Party are waging a war against democracy and our right to vote. Among other tactics, the RNC is hiring 50,000 foot soldiers/poll observers to harass and intimidate voters, particularly minorities, in key precincts around the country on Election Day.[7]

Fortunately, a number of progressive social action groups are fighting back. The Daily Kos, for example, has a plan to arm millions of grassroots activists with the facts they need to spread the truth about voting by mail. Among other things, it is also recruiting thousands of volunteers to help people vote. See https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/8/11/1968468/-Vital-Information-About-Voter-Registration-and-Suggestions-for-Getting-Out-the-Vote.

Here are some other organizations working to protect our voting rights that would welcome your help:

I urge you to get involved. Join the fight to protect the election and save our democracy before it’s too late. The stakes are too high to sit this one out.

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.yahoo.com/news/ohio-republicans-against-trump-no-110016392.html

[2] https://rvat.org/

[3] https://www.salon.com/2020/08/08/friday-night-massacre-at-us-postal-service-postmaster-general-boots-top-brass-ahead-of-election_partner/

[4] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-campaign-2020-voter-suppression-consent-decree-1028988/

[5] https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/509466-gop-sparks-backlash-after-excluding-election-funds-from-covid-19-bill

[6] https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-08-07/russia-trying-to-undermine-biden-in-election-white-house-intelligence-report-says

[7] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-campaign-2020-voter-suppression-consent-decree-1028988/

 

The Struggle for the Soul of America: It’s Depressing, But We Will Prevail

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 Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently revealed that she is suffering from “some form of low-grade depression” due to the coronavirus lockdown, racial strife in the U.S., and the Trump administration. I have felt that way lately, too. No doubt many other Americans, perhaps you as well, are having similar feelings.[1]

Part of me would like to run away, escape from this madness we’re in. But, I know that would not solve anything. And, oddly enough, there’s nowhere to go. The rest of the world doesn’t want Americans bringing this deadly virus to their shores, so most countries have closed their borders to us.

How ironic! Not that long ago the United States was the envy of the world. We were the home of the free, the land of opportunity. Now we are restricted to our homes for the most part. Traveling to other countries is out of the question. The rest of the world takes pity on us, the richest, most powerful country on the planet lacks the will to get the coronavirus under control. Our nation has nearly five million cases of the virus, with over 159,000 deaths as of August 6.[2] While we are only 4% of the world’s population, we have over 22% of the deaths from the virus.[3]

I’m getting more depressed. And, that’s without mentioning the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs. Or, a president who would rather spend the weekend playing golf than working to save the lives of tens of thousands of his fellow citizens. Or, a Republican-controlled Senate that refuses to spend $3.6 billion of our tax dollars to protect Americans’ right to vote, the lifeblood of our democracy. And on and on.

But here’s the good news. We can overcome all this adversity as well as any lingering depression. This November election can be an uplifting turning point. We can banish Trump and his cronies and set the country on a brighter, more humane path.

I believe it will all come down to who has the stronger will. Remember Star Wars where Luke Skywalker out dueled Darth Vader because The Force, a powerful desire for good to prevail, was with him. While Joe Biden may not be Luke Skywalker, he is our only hope of beating Trump, who clearly resembles Darth Vader and the Dark Side.

The question is do we, the people, have that powerful desire to turn our country away from the Dark Side. If we all protect the election process and turn out to vote in unprecedented numbers, we will prevail.

The great majority of Americans are good people who want the best for their families, their communities and their country. We know that Trump and his enablers are not what’s best for us or our country. That knowing can generate The Force — the will, the courage and the positive energy — to do whatever needs to be done to take back our country for the sake of our children and the planet.

It’s crunch time. Let’s get to work.

Here’s how to get started. Contact one of the following organizations or another you know that is doing similar work:

Bruce Berlin

With editing by Margaret Lubalin

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.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/06/899785192/michelle-obama-says-shes-dealing-with-low-grade-depression-amid-quarantine

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/gma/coronavirus-updates-us-records-over-52-000-cases-092351911–abc-news-topstories.html

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/united-states-failure-coronavirus.html

 

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Right To Vote

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As I write this, civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis is being laid to rest in Atlanta, Georgia. Lewis fought his whole life for the African Americans’ right to vote. “In March 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis, then chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, led hundreds of protesters on a march…to draw attention to the need for voting rights for African Americans across the South.”[1] Fifty-five years later, that fight is still being waged.

The Selma to Montgomery march that Lewis led was instrumental in passing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In 2013, however, the Supreme Court’s landmark Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted critical elements of the 1965 Act, thus allowing states to enact discriminatory voting laws.

Last December, the House passed a bill that would restore those vital sections of the law. And this week the House honored Lewis by renaming that bill the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.[2] But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked the Senate from considering the bill.[3]

In May, the Democratic-led House passed a coronavirus relief act that included $3.6 billion to bolster 2020 election security during the pandemic. Once again, McConnell rejected the measure. He and his Republican colleagues don’t seem to care about securing Americans’ right to vote. Their latest relief proposal doesn’t include one penny to protect this November’s election, despite Trump’s predictions of massive election fraud.

Still, McConnell had the gall to stand before Lewis’s casket and proclaim, “History only bent toward what’s right because people like John paid the price.”[4] McConnell knows it’s right to restore voting rights and fund election security, but he’d rather protect his Senate Republican majority than the people’s right to vote.

There’s no question that the pandemic will make this year’s election more difficult. While a great number of people will want to avoid the polls and vote by mail, many states as well as the federal government have not taken any steps to accommodate them. Some states even greatly increased the problem in their primary elections by significantly reducing the number of polling places.

In McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, for example, officials reduced the number of polling places outrageously from 3,700 to fewer than 200.[5] With Republicans in charge in a plurality of states, their strategy seems to be to limit the number of actual voters, particularly African Americans, to increase their chances of winning.

So, what can we do? Since Republicans only play hardball, we need to convince Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats that they must play hardball as well. Call Speaker Pelosi and your Democratic Congresspeople ( 202-224-3121) and urge them to make the $3.6 billion for election protection in their relief bill non-negotiable. Tell them that the right to vote is sacred and they must force McConnell to bring the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to the floor for a vote. Tell them they owe it to the legacy of John Lewis.

The future of our democracy depends on all Americans being able to cast their ballots and every vote being counted.  We can’t afford to lose this fight. Pass this blog on to your friends and colleagues. Urge them to call as well.

Also, contact one of these organizations to learn how else you can help protect our elections and save our democracy:

Bruce Berlin

With editing by Margaret Lubalin

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.facingsouth.org/2020/07/john-lewiss-final-fight-restore-voting-rights-act

[2] https://www.aol.com/urgent-essential-john-lewiss-death-172520491.html

[3] https://thehill.com/homenews/house/509160-james-clyburn-to-propose-renaming-voting-rights-bill-after-john-lewis

[4] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pelosi-mcconnell-praise-john-lewis-as-late-congressman-honored-at-capitol-2020-07-27

[5] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/kentucky-slashes-polling-places-voting-rights-mcgrath-booker-lebron-james/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: People Power Can Win the Election

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With less than four months before the election, the time to get involved is now. Even if Joe Biden was not your first, second or even third choice for president (He wasn’t in my top three either.), you cannot let that get in your way of taking action to rescue our country.

This election is really not about Joe Biden and whether he’s progressive enough, or fill-in-the-blank enough. Rather, the election is about saving our country from four more years of Donald Trump’s disastrous presidency and a Mitch McConnell-controlled, Republican Senate. If we fail to do whatever we can to oust Trump and his cronies, thus allowing them to run the country for four more years, what’s left of our tattered democracy will be destroyed. Additionally, our rights as citizens will be greatly diminished, or worse.

Many of us feel hampered by the need to quarantine due to the coronavirus. Others are feeling helpless in the face of Trump’s pervasive corruption, lies and fear mongering. What can one person do in the midst of the pandemic that can really make a difference?

The two most powerful forces in politics are money and people. We watch in disgust as big bucks unduly influences acts of Congress on a routine basis and often policy decisions in the White House as well.  Nevertheless, together we had the people power that helped end the Vietnam War. Together, we had the people power that gave the LBGTQ community equal rights. When enough of us work together, the American people are very powerful. And, together, we have the power that can throw Trump and his gang of sycophants out of office in November.

Right now we can exercise our power from the comfort and safety of our own homes. And all we need is our phones. Here are a few suggestions of how you can use your phone to help win the election and save the country:

  1. Call your friends and neighbors. If they don’t already get it, explain to them how critical this election is to — our safety, our healthcare, our children’s future, the makeup of the Supreme Court, the air we breathe and the water we drink, our immigrant families, our way of life as Americans, and practically anything else we can imagine. Then, urge them to get involved in the elections. Ask them to go to https://votesaveamerica.com/ and volunteer.
  2. Pick a swing state where a Democratic challenger can beat a Senate Republican. If you live in New Mexico, for instance, Arizona or Colorado are two nearby states that have competitive Senate races that Democrats can win. We can help take control of the Senate away from Mitch McConnell and put it in the hands of responsible leadership. Contact a voting rights organization in states (for example, Arizona Advocacy Network at https://www.azadvocacy.org/) and volunteer to assist in their efforts to protect voting rights and defend clean elections.
  3. Contact the campaign of a Democratic Senate challenger in any state with a winnable race and offer to make phone calls advocating that voters support the Democratic candidate. Former astronaut Mark Kelly (https://markkelly.com/) has a very good chance in Arizona as does former Governor John Hickenlooper (https://hickenlooper.com/) in Colorado.

These are just a few of the ways you can help save our country. The more of us who jump in, the more powerful we are and the more likely we will win in November. So, let’s get to work. Our country needs us now!

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.

 

 

 

 

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will Senate Republicans Stick With Trump?

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Just prior to Pres. Nixon’s resignation in 1974, Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) fumed to his colleagues: “There are only so many lies you can take, and now there has been one too many. Nixon should get his ass out of the White House—today!”[1]

On August 7 of that year, Sen. Goldwater and two other Republican Congressional leaders went to the White House and told President Nixon he had lost the support of his party and had to resign.[2] The next day the president resigned. Will history repeat itself this year?

As of early April, Trump had made 18,000 false or misleading statements since becoming president.[3] If the latest accusation of Trump’s lying is true, I believe it just may be “one too many” for many Congressional Republicans.

According to the New York Times, Trump was briefed in March about Russian military intelligence paying the Taliban bounty to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and has yet to take any action against Russia.[4] While the White House has denied that Trump was “verbally briefed,”[5] it has not denied that the information was in the president’s daily intelligence reports. Since it is common knowledge that Trump does not read these daily intelligence briefings,[6] we have to ask ourselves: How can Trump be fulfilling his most sacred presidential responsibility of keeping Americans safe if he is not staying up to date with his intelligence reports?

Can Congressional Republicans actually put up with such an unconscionable failure of duty from their president? Will they continue to stick with Trump?

I can think of only one thing worse for Republicans than losing the White House this year. And that would be losing control of the U.S. Senate. Maintaining a majority in the Senate would allow Republicans to rein in a President Biden, just as they did President Obama in the last two years of his administration. If the Republicans increasingly fear standing with Trump will cost them control of the Senate, they could decide that ditching the president is in their greater self-interest. With 87% of Americans dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country and only 19% of Republicans satisfied in a recent poll,[7] Senate Republicans might just conclude that their only hope of saving their own skins is abandoning Trump. We can only hope.

Contact Republican senators. Go to https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact for their phone numbers. Call and urge them to stand up to Trump.

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.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/22/trump-impeachment-watergate-barry-goldwater-101836

[2] https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2014/0807/Richard-Nixon-s-resignation-the-day-before-a-moment-of-truth#:~:text=Forty%20years%20ago%2C%20a%20Republican%20delegation%20led%20by,support%20in%20Congress.%20The%20next%20day%2C%20he%20resigned.

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/14/president-trump-made-18000-false-or-misleading-claims-1170-days/

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html

[5] https://news.yahoo.com/trump-not-verbally-briefed-russia-231006318.html

[6] https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-looks-at-charts-in-intelligence-briefings-2020-5

[7] https://www.people-press.org/2020/06/30/publics-mood-turns-grim-trump-trails-biden-on-most-personal-traits-major-issues/#national-satisfaction-drops