The Struggle for the Soul of America: Time to Renew Our Resolve for a Better World in the New Year

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

It’s the holiday season. Friends and families coming together to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company. A time of giving and wishing good will to all. A time to envision peace on Earth.

While we take as much of a break as we can from all the world’s troubles, it behooves us to remember the good fortune we do have. Be it our health, the connections with our loved ones, a warm home, or whatever.

Most of all, I deeply appreciate my community, a group of friends and family whom I can count on and who can count on me. With all the hardship and impediments we face in the world, where would any of us be without the support we receive from those close to us? For most of us, community is our salvation in good times and bad.

Though we do our best to be of good cheer, there are many dark undercurrents dampening the holiday spirit. From the war in Ukraine to the scourge of COVID. From the gun violence taking more of our children’s lives[1] to the increase in hate crimes against Blacks, Latinos, sexual minorities, and Jews.[2] And on and on.

At the same time, there are promising signs of better times to come in the new year. The just released final report of the January 6^th Committee provides a mountain of evidence that Trump and his co-conspirators will be held accountable for the insurrection against our government.[3] Gas prices are way down as inflation is falling.[4] And Congress has come to an agreement on a new budget preventing a potentially disastrous government shutdown.[5] Perhaps, we are turning a corner as the winter solstice ushers in more light into our world.

So, as this very difficult year comes to an end, we need to not only give thanks for our blessings, but also renew our resolve to make our communities, our country, and this world a better place in the coming year. Many of us donate to various charities, volunteer at local food banks, work to revive our democracy or a multitude of other worthy causes. But is there more we can do? Of course.

We live in perilous times. it is naïve to think that the government, the church, the union or whoever will save us. Together, we can create a better country and world for all of us in the coming year. As the light begins to come back again, now is a good time for each of us to ask what more we can do to make it so.

Wishing everyone joyous holidays and all the best in the new year.

Bruce Berlin

P.S. I’m taking the next week off. See you in two weeks. Happy New Year!

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.kff.org/private-insurance/press-release/firearms-are-the-leading-cause-of-death-for-children-in-the-united-states-but-rank-no-higher-than-fifth-in-other-industrialized-nations/

[2] https://www.voanews.com/a/us-hate-crimes-rise-during-first-half-of-2022-/6713791.html

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/us/politics/jan-6-committee-report.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20221223&instance_id=80943&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=72679230&segment_id=120646&te=1&user_id=51750e72d4988f5b891f2289251150c2

[4] https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/12/07/inflation-is-falling-but-not-enough?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=17210591673&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwJWdBhCYARIsAJc4idCu03831lAmQ47YEA99ce_c63u_oLwLwpGfhyMDFdylwcL46ZzOCrAaAnoYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[5] https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/12/22/government-shutdown-appears-averted-as-senate-nears-a-deal-to-advance-17t-funding-bill/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: The Right to Vote a Critical 2024 Election Issue

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

In my last blog, Where Do We Go from Here?,[1] I submitted that in order “to fix our democracy we must protect and expand the freedom to vote…” I suggested that would require at least these eight elements:

The right of all citizens to vote and have their votes counted,
Open primaries where everyone can vote regardless of party affiliation,
The elimination of gerrymandering,
The elimination of voter suppression efforts,
Ranked choice voting (For an explanation of this process, see https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10837.)
A Required minimum of 14 days of early voting all across the country,
Easy access to drop boxes for voting in all districts, and
Elimination of the Electoral College and the adoption of the national popular vote for president and vice president.

Since establishing all these reforms would take a great deal of time and resources, I asked my blog followers to prioritize the two or three they thought would be most likely to gain the greatest popular support and be achieved in the near term.

Though I did not receive enough responses to make any statistically relevant conclusions, the right of all citizens to vote and the elimination of voter suppression efforts were the two goals that people rated the highest. While the elimination of the Electoral College along with the institution of the national popular vote for president was also a priority, they are much more difficult to accomplish. Thus, less likely to be implemented any time soon.

Achieving the goals of establishing the right of all citizens to vote and eliminating voter suppression efforts would go a long way toward creating a level playing field in our elections. Making them top priorities in their 2024 platform would give Democratic candidates a clear advantage.

Ninety-five percent of both Democrats and Republicans believe “it is important that people who are legally qualified to vote are able to cast a ballot” according to a July 2021 Pew Research Center survey.[2]

At the same time, Democrats support making it easier for people to vote by a very wide margin over Republicans. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say everything possible should be done to make voting easy. By contrast, just 28% of Republicans and Republican leaning independents say everything possible should be done to make voting easy.[3]

American democracy continues to be under attack by Trump and his followers. The future of our democracy will again be a critical issue in the 2024 election. Protecting the right to vote is central to its survival. The Democrats making the right to vote a top campaign issue will not only benefit their party, it could even determine whether our democracy survives.

Bruce Berlin

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://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog/

[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/22/wide-partisan-divide-on-whether-voting-is-a-fundamental-right-or-a-privilege-with-responsibilities/

[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/01/share-of-republicans-saying-everything-possible-should-be-done-to-make-voting-easy-declines-sharply/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Where Do We Go from Here?

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Last week’s blog featured Rick Hubbard’s 16-month walk across the country “to sound the alarm to the American people about the urgent need to fix our democracy.” (See https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog/.) Unfortunately, this past week Rick had to suspend his Walk.

Rick was about 40 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona when he got word that Sally, his partner of 30 years, was very ill. As important as the Walk is to Rick, he knew that he had to go back to Vermont immediately to support her. At the same time, Rick vowed that he would return to his Walk as soon as he could. When that will be is anybody’s guess.

Prior to Rick’s suspending his Walk, I spoke to him about focusing the message of his cross-country journey. We agreed that the freedom to vote was the crucial point he needed to promote on his Walk. That is, to fix our democracy we must protect and expand the freedom to vote, which includes at least these elements:

The right of all citizens to vote and have their votes counted,
Open primaries where everyone can vote regardless of party affiliation,
The elimination of gerrymandering,
The elimination of voter suppression efforts,
Ranked choice voting (For an explanation of this process, see https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10837.)
A Required minimum of 14 days of early voting all across the country,
Easy access to drop boxes for voting in all districts, and
Elimination of the Electoral College and the adoption of the national popular vote for president and vice president.

The goal is to make the freedom to vote a fundamental right just as public education is in our country.

The outcome of 2024 election will be critical to the future of our nation. It will determine whether the country moves further toward autocracy and fascism, or more in the direction of a functioning democracy. Guaranteeing and expanding the freedom to vote will go a long way toward the latter objective.

Still, it is obvious that we will not achieve the eight elements listed above in the next two years. Rather than scattering our energy and resources by trying to accomplish all eight, I believe we would be better off concentrating on two or three in the short time before the 2024 election. Which two or three to go for would be determined by which ones are:

most likely to gain the greatest popular support,
most likely to be achieved, and
most likely to secure our democracy.

I’d like to know what you think. Please email me your choices in ranked order at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com and I will publish the results in next week’s blog. To build a strong democracy movement, we need to establish our priorities. What are our most pressing goals? If you feel something is missing from the above list, feel free to add it. I look forward to hearing from you.

Bruce Berlin

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: Walking Across America to Fix Our Democracy

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

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.

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Last Chance to Get Out the Vote and Save Our Democracy

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

With just a week to go before the mid-term elections, American democracy is on the ballot.

Five hundred and fifty-two Republicans are running for House, Senate, governor, secretary of state and attorney general across the country. Close to 40% (199 out of 552) of them fully deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election. According to FiveThirtyEight, these election deniers have a 95% chance of winning.[1]

Since the beginning of 2021, twenty-one states have passed forty-two restrictive voting laws.[2] While Republicans claim these laws protect the integrity of our elections, they know that making it more difficult to vote increases their chances of winning. And for the GOP, it’s all about winning and power. Whatever it takes to regain control of the government, Republicans are willing to do, whether it’s gerrymandering, voter suppression, voter intimidation, insurrection, you name it. Democracy be damned!

So, in this last week of the election, it all comes down to getting out the vote. According to the polls, there are a good number of close races which will decide control of the Senate. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are all neck and neck. Whatever you can do to help the Democratic candidate in these contests could make the difference. It’s not too late.

While the Republicans appear to be winning the House of Representatives, limiting their margin of victory to a small number will be important. In fact, some believe that the Democrats can still hold the House.

While you may not be a fan of film-maker Michael Moore, he is a strong advocate of democracy. Moore believes the Dems can still win. Here’s what he is doing to get out the vote. And he is asking us to pitch-in as well:

“To win, to make sure our large majority of climate-believing, reproductive rights-supporting, anti-capitalist-fighting, mass incarceration-liberating, voter suppression-smashing, universal health care-providing, union-organizing, affordable housing-creating and soon-to-be victors over the Republican Party — all of us MUST step it up in these final 8 days if we are going to pull off the upset of upsets and send the politically illiterate pundits and election-denying party hacks packing! Once and for all!

“I, too, must do more. While I can’t fly to a dozen states and go door-to-door with each of you this week, I can do the next best thing: I can personally call your still-undecided brother-in-law and convince him to vote with us. Or your aunt who gave up voting a decade ago. Or your close friend that agrees with us but can’t stand Biden. That’s ok — let me talk to them. If you send me their phone number, I’ll try to call as many as I can every day for the next 8 days. I’ll listen to them and then I’ll do my best to convince them to join us. We’ve got nothing to lose here and everything to gain, one vote at a time….

“If you want me to call a relative or friend to convince them to vote, send me a private email to: MikesMidtermCalls@gmail.com with her/his/their name and number, what your relationship is to them (sister, brother, son, daughter, etc.), and the best time to call. NOTE: As I expect to receive a few thousand requests, I will only be able to do just so many calls…But it’ll be fun — and I think I can bring a few people along with us.

“I’m looking forward to joining with as many of you as possible…

“Let’s do this my friends! Time is running out. The hard work — convincing the vast majority of Americans to side with us on nearly all the major issues — that work is already done! They already do! Now all we have to do is get them to the polls! Easy-peasy! There’s at least 20 million more of us than the Republicans. I mean, talk about having a huge lead! Let’s not blow it. Let’s not fail and embarrass ourselves because we couldn’t get a voter 2 miles to the voting booth!

“Let’s go! Let’s do this!”[3]

If you don’t think Moore is the right person to make that call, do it yourself. I’m calling my high school friend, Don. Who are you going to call? Together, we can make history!

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/republicans-trump-election-fraud/

[2] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-october-2022

[3] https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/mikes-midterm-tsunami-truth-33

The Struggle for the Soul of America: It’s Rosh Hashanah, Time for Reflection and a Fresh Start

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset this evening. For Jews, it’s a time for reflection, examining one’s life, making amends to those we’ve harmed and starting over with a fresh slate. Clearly, it’s an exercise that we all could benefit from engaging in.

While Rosh Hashanah focuses on our personal lives, it can also be a time when we look at our larger roles in our communities and in our nation. What have I been doing, or not done, to assist my community? What have I been doing, or not done, to support my country’s efforts to remain a democracy?

As we approach the critical November elections, I feel these questions are particularly pertinent. Though the issue of the future of American democracy will not explicitly be on the ballot, it casts a huge shadow over this fall’s elections.

There’s no question that democracy is under attack around the country. The January 6^th assault on the Capitol with the intent to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election is just the most blatant example. In the last year, there have been “more than 1,000 threats to election officials…, with more than 100 of them meeting the threshold for a federal criminal investigation. More than half of the potentially criminal threats were in highly contested states where allies of ousted President Trump tried to overturn the results, such as in Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin.”[1]

With only six weeks until election day, it’s time to quickly reflect on what we’ve been doing to safeguard our democracy, and then determine what we can do in these last few weeks to help fix the damage that has been done to our country. Here are some suggestions:

Whether you are a Republican, Independent or Democrat, don’t vote for any Republican candidate and encourage everyone you know to do the same. Given the widespread Republican efforts to thwart democracy and win at all costs, electing any Republican will only strengthen the party’s ability to advance toward authoritarian rule. As Jill Lawrence of USA Today asserted, “the Republican Party is on a dark path and should not hold power anywhere until it comes back into the light.”[2]
Urge your state and local law enforcement officers to take every precaution to ensure the safety of poll workers and other election officials, as well as to make sure that the elections are free and fair. Intimidation of elections officials cannot be tolerated.[3]
Write letters to the editor explaining why our democracy is at risk and that everyone who cares about the future of our democracy must vote for Democrats.
Support Democrats running for office, especially for Congress and Secretaries of State who oversee elections. Here in New Mexico, we have the opportunity to turn a red Congressional seat blue. Contribute to and work for Gabe Vasquez, the Democrat running in District 2 against MAGA Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell. Go to https://gabeforcongress.com/ to get involved in his campaign.

Time is running out. In the spirit of Rosh Hashanah, we need to reflect on our less than full support for democracy. Then, step up and give it everything we can in these last six weeks to ensure its survival. As Ben Franklin said when asked about the form of government the founding fathers were creating, “A democracy, if you can keep it.”[4] And keep it, we must.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

[1] https://blog.ucsusa.org/derrick-jackson/democracy-under-attack-confronting-mounting-threats-to-us-election-workers/

[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/care-country-rights-dont-vote-110005774.html

[3] https://blog.ucsusa.org/derrick-jackson/democracy-under-attack-confronting-mounting-threats-to-us-election-workers/

[4] https://www.forbes.com/quotes/9010/

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Time for All of Us to Go the Extra Mile for Our Country

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

Time is running out for President Biden and the Democratic Congress to restore our faltering country. Trump and his Republican cohorts are hell-bent on destroying American democracy and creating a one-party autocracy, if and when they gain control of the federal government.[1]

Denying the reality of man-made climate change, Congressional Republicans reject the need to protect our planet from the disastrous effects of global warming.

Snubbing the idea that easy access to guns is a primary reason for America’s mass murders epidemic, most Republicans rebuff the need for universal background checks and other meaningful gun control measures.

Renouncing a woman’s fundamental right to control her own body, Republican officials forbid abortion, even in the case of a 10-year-old rape victim.

The list goes on and on.

Most forecasts have the Democrats losing the House and possibly the Senate in this fall’s elections. Even if they only lose their House majority, the Democrats ability to pass any sensible legislative measures over Republican obstruction will be practically impossible. If they lose the Senate too, all of Biden’s judicial and executive branch nominations will be in hostile Republican hands as well.

It’s time to ask ourselves how much do we care about the future of our country? If there ever was a time our country needed us to step up and go the extra mile, it’s now. Together, I believe we can turn this around.

Though the Biden administration is well aware of the extremely harsh consequences of a Republican takeover, it seems unable or unwilling to meet the moment with the full power of executive authority while it still has the opportunity. Some Democrats and environmental groups are urging Biden to immediately declare a climate emergency to unlock the powers of the National Emergency Act to pursue actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions and build a better green economy.[2]

In announcing a recent series of executive actions targeting the climate crisis, Biden stopped short of the national climate emergency declaration called for by the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 1,200 other groups. “The world’s burning up from California to Croatia, and right now Biden’s fighting fire with the trickle from a garden hose,” said Jean Su, Energy Justice program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.[3]

The same is true in the administration’s efforts to combat gun violence. Calling on Biden to declare a public health emergency, Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign, exclaimed, “This should be an all-government, all-hands-on-deck approach to solve this issue…”[4]

Lindsay Nichols of the gun control group Giffords has called for Biden to eliminate background check loopholes through executive action. Nichols also wants the Department of Justice to scale up its anti-gun trafficking strike forces while others are demanding a White House office dedicated to addressing gun violence.[5]

Regarding abortion rights, Biden signed an executive order “directing his health department to expand access to abortion pills, beef up enforcement of Obamacare’s birth control coverage mandate and stand up an army of pro bono lawyers to help defend people criminally charged for seeking or providing the procedure.” Still “many activists and abortion providers voiced frustration with the measure’s scope, vagueness and timing and worried it would do little to influence the impact on the ground of mounting state bans.”[6]

So, there’s two things we all need to do. First, contact your senators and representatives as well as the White House. Urge them to do more. Go the extra mile for climate change, gun control and abortion rights.

Second, work to get out the vote in November (https://www.rockthevote.org/get-involved/help-get-out-the-vote/; https://ballotpedia.org/Get_out_the_vote) for all those candidates who support strong measures to solve these urgent issues. Together we can make a difference.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/04/trump-republican-party-democracy

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/20/biden-announces-new-climate-change-programs-no-emergency-declaration.html

[3]https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-stops-short-of-declaring-national-climate-emergency-2022-07-20/

[4] https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3502639-biden-has-limited-options-but-there-are-some-things-he-can-do-on-guns/

[5] Ibid.

[6] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/08/biden-abortion-executive-order-00044647

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Can Our Broken Democracy Be Fixed?

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Author: Bruce Berlin

This past weekend Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. At the same time, Jews were commemorating the liberation of their ancestors from Egyptian bondage. Together the Easter and Passover holidays raise a profound question for all Americans in these troubling times:

Can we liberate ourselves from the growing anti-democratic movement in our nation and resurrect our dying democracy?

Honestly, I am not very optimistic. Afterall, our political leaders seem much more interested in gaining and maintaining power than they are in solving our country’s problems. This is particularly true on the right. As I noted in my last blog, “with few exceptions the Republicans have been total naysayers and obstructionists.”[1]

So, what can we do? First, we must come to grips with the fact that we are in a fight for the very survival of democracy. We must press upon state and national Democratic leaders that this is the case and that they, along with us, must publicly stress that we are in this critical battle to save our democracy.

Second, we must call out by name the great many Republicans and the few Democrats who are blocking the effective functioning of our democracy. For instance, senators like Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, who opposed changing a rule that would have enabled the passage of the Freedom to Vote Act, guaranteeing the right to vote to all Americans.[2] And, the numerous Republicans who are acting to restrict the right to vote in many red states across the country.[3]

Third, we must hold Democrats’ feet to the fire. Voters need to be reassured that President Biden and his party understand their problems and are currently delivering effective solutions. Biden needs to fulfill his pledge to the 43 million Americans with student loan debt to cancel at least part, preferably all, of the $1.7 trillion student debt.[4] We must demand that he keep his promise and do it now.

Congressional Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to pass Biden’s Build Back Better bill since last summer. Time is running out before November’s crucial elections. Sen. Manchin has been the primary holdout to adopting the legislation. Senate Democrats need to slim the bill down to its most popular provisions – reducing prescription drug prices, tax reforms, and climate investments – which they all can agree on.[5] We must strongly lobby our senators and representatives to adopt the bill immediately and get it on Biden’s desk.

Finally, Americans need to truly understand what putting Republicans in charge of Congress in November would mean. Given how obstructionist they have been as the Congressional minority, it is not difficult to imagine how Republicans could completely thwart any Biden initiative for the remainder of his term in office should they gain control of Congress. Most likely no progress would be made on voting rights, tax reform, prescription drug prices, healthcare, climate change or almost anything else the president might propose to assist most Americans.

So, it is up to you and me. Together we must make crystal clear what is at stake in the coming election. We must call out those who are working to destroy our democracy. And we must demand that our Democratic senators and representatives act now. If our nation is to be liberated from the growing anti-democratic movement in its midst and our dying democracy is to be resurrected, we are the ones who must make it happen.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog/

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-rev-voting-rights-push-end-2021-senate-path-remains-n1286080#anchor-Aperfectstorm

[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/19-states-enacted-voting-restrictions-2021-rcna8342

[4] https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-since-biden-found-whether-102000786.html

[5] https://www.vox.com/2022/3/16/22955410/build-back-better-scenarios

The Struggle for the Soul of America: It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Author: Bruce Berlin

(My remarks at a solstice gathering a few nights ago)

Two Hundred and Forty-five years ago this week just after the winter solstice on December 23, 1776, Thomas Paine wrote:

“These are the times that try men’s souls… Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”

Paine was with George Washington and the Continental Army when they were defeated at White Plains and Forts Washington and Lee in October and November of that year. Washington’s troops retreated across NJ and into PA. Many were without shoes and sufficient clothing to protect them from the freezing winter. The dejected Continental Army then huddled along the west bank of the Delaware River on the verge of defeat.

But Washington was not about to give up. On Christmas night, December 25, 1776, the General led his ragged army across the icy Delaware River and embarked on a ten-mile march to Trenton, NJ, where they surprised and overcame 1500 enemy troops. A week later, they again prevailed at Princeton. It was a pivotal point that led to the defeat of the British and the birth of our nation.

87 years later, on Nov. 19, 1863, after one of bloodiest battles in our history, in the midst of the Civil War, Lincoln declared at Gettysburg: “that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Now, recalling how our foremothers and forefathers persevered and overcame great diversity so that American democracy might be born and grow, once again our collective survival as a free people is being tested.

We are again in times that try men’s and women’s souls. We are being challenged to the utmost by the COVID pandemic, right-wing voter suppression, a fascist ex-president’s attempt to overthrow our government and global climate change.

So, as the winter solstice ushers in the radiance of the approaching new year, we have the opportunity, perhaps you might say, the duty, to open our hearts and spread the light of peace and love to all our relations, and to contribute whatever we are able, to the work of overcoming this pandemic, protecting our planet Earth and preserving our democratic way of life.

May this begin tonight with each of us.

Bruce Berlin

The Struggle for the Soul of America: Will Justice Be Done?

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Author: Bruce Berlin

As more and more facts regarding the January 6^th attack on the Capitol come out, it’s clear that this was a coordinated conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and keep then President Trump in the White House. In addition, Trump incited the insurrection and did nothing to stop it for several hours while law enforcement officers fought the rioters and four people died.

Consider the following:

For months before Election Day, Trump repeatedly told his supporters falsehoods about voting, including that Democrats had “rigged” the election. Trump ramped up the rhetoric after he lost the election, filing court challenges in battleground states unsuccessfully trying to get judges to reverse the outcome.[1]
In December 2020, Trump issued a battle cry to his supporters, encouraging them to gather on his behalf on Jan. 6. On December 18^th, he tweeted, “We won the Presidential Election, by a lot. FIGHT FOR IT. Don’t let them take it away!”[2]
Just two days before the attack on the Capitol, Trump declared that the Democrats are “not taking this White House — we’re going to fight like hell, I’ll tell you right now… We’re going to take it back.[3]
Two organizers of the January 6^th attack said they took part in “dozens” of planning meetings with members of Congress, their top staff and White House staff prior to that day. These organizers indicated that Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows played a significant role in discussions regarding the planned protest. One of the planners explained, “Meadows was 100 percent made aware of what was going on,” adding that he was “a regular figure in these really tiny groups of national organizers.”[4]
Meadows discussed the appointment of an alternate slate of electors. He “loved” the plan which included a January 5^th recommendation of putting the National Guard on “standby.”[5]
Former Trump Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller told a House of Representatives panel that he spoke with Trump on Jan. 3. Trump wanted Miller to place National Guard troops in Washington to protect his supporters at the Jan. 6 rally.[6]
At the rally, Trump repeatedly said there was a need to “fight.” He said, “Unbelievable, what we have to go through…you have to get your people to fight…We’re going to have to fight much harder, and Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us. And if he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country because you’re sworn to uphold our constitution. Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy…because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”[7]
Trump was clearly aware that the vice president was in danger that day. He had a callous disregard for Mr. Pence’s safety.[8]
At the White House, advisers were trying to get Trump to do something, but he rebuffed calls to intercede. The president, advisers said, was expressing pleasure that the vote to certify Mr. Biden’s win had been delayed and that people were fighting for him. “According to public reports, he watched television happily — happily — as the chaos unfolded,” Sen. McConnell noted. “He kept pressing his scheme to overturn the election. Even after it was clear to any reasonable observer that Vice President Pence was in serious danger, even as the mob carrying Trump banners was beating cops and breaching perimeters, the president sent a further tweet attacking his own vice president.”[9]
At 1:49 pm, the chief of the Capitol Police made a frantic call to Gen. Walker, the head of the D.C. National Guard, for support. Walker did not receive approval from Acting Defense Sec. Miller to send Guard troops until 5:08, over 3 hours later.[10]

The case is now in the hands of Attorney General Merrick Garland. More damning facts are sure to be revealed. Trump, Meadows, and other government officials who participated in the conspiracy to overthrow our government must be prosecuted and imprisoned for treason. We all must demand that the Department of Justice ensure that justice is fully and swiftly served so, as Lincoln implored the nation at Gettysburg, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

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.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/a-timeline-of-what-donald-trump-said-before-the-capitol-riot/

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/578251-jan-6-protest-organizers-say-they-communicated-with-conservative

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/12/08/meadows-pushed-for-alternate-slate-of-electors-following-trumps-loss-documents-show/?sh=57c9fb016795

[6] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/congresswoman-says-trump-administration-botched-capitol-riot-preparations-2021-05-12/

[7] https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/a-timeline-of-what-donald-trump-said-before-the-capitol-riot/

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/us/politics/trump-capitol-riot.html

[9] Ibid.

[10] https://www.npr.org/2021/03/03/973292523/dod-took-hours-to-approve-national-guard-request-during-capitol-riot-commander-s