Dear Friends,

This pivotal time in our country requires bold action – a Democracy Movement.

Real change in the United States occurs when Americans come together and demand it. Whether it was women’s suffrage or labor or civil rights or marriage equality, grassroots movements were necessary to compel our nation to address these issues. Now a Democracy Movement is required to break Big Money’s grip on America so that we can form a government of, by and for the people that will effectively deal with today’s critical issues: climate change, affordable healthcare, money in politics, gun violence, international terrorism and immigration reform, to name a few.

Therefore, I would like to invite you to the first planning meeting of the Santa Fe Democracy Organizing Committee (DOC) at 6:30 pm on Monday, August 8, in the Community Room of La Farge Library on Llano Street in Santa Fe, where we can begin working together to make a real difference.

As my new book, Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America: Working Together To Revive Our Democracy, demonstrates, the dominance of Big Money not only corrupts government itself but also blocks effective action on virtually every major issue Americans care about. It then illustrates that the only force capable of challenging Big Money’s corrupt and powerful hegemony is a diverse, nonpartisan, nationwide, grassroots movement for democracy.

Democracy Organizing Committees (DOC)

Creating local DOCs in communities across the country is a realistic strategy for building such a movement. It is a viable vehicle for mobilizing Americans of all persuasions whose primary political concerns are eliminating the corrupting influence of money in politics, developing political equity so every citizen’s voice counts, and creating a political process in which our policymakers are accountable to the people and the public interest. (See www.breakingbigmoneysgrip.com for more information about DOCs and building a Democracy Movement.)

If we really want a government of, by and for the people, it is up to us to make it happen. We have seen time and time again that our political leaders are too beholden to special interests and their corporate sponsors to truly serve our needs.

I urge you to attend this organizing meeting on August 8. Bring your friends and colleagues along with you. After introductions, we will discuss what a Santa Fe DOC might look like, what it could do and how it might align, or not, with other political efforts. Then we will begin planning how we can work together to revive our democracy by building a strong Santa Fe DOC in the coming months. We will end by 7:50 pm.

If you have questions about the meeting or can’t make the meeting and want to be involved in this effort, you can email breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. I hope to see you at La Farge on August 8.

Best regards,

Bruce Berlin

On the eve of their national convention, the Establishment wing of the Democratic Party claims that the party is uniting. At the same time, the progressive Sanders wing couldn’t disagree more.

First, the Sanders people are very disappointed, if not angry and bitter, with Sec. Clinton’s choice of centrist Sen. Tim Kaine for VP. On top of that, the recent release by Wikileaks of DNC emails strongly supports the claim that the DNC rigged the primary process in favor of Clinton. Progressives are in no mood to unite with a party they see as unethical and undemocratic as well as tied to Big Money and corporate America.

Without a united party, the Democrats will have a more difficult time getting out the vote in November. And, without a large voter turnout, Clinton could very well lose the election. What can she do?

As I wrote in a blog earlier this month, the one person who can unite the party is President Obama. The majority of the Democratic Party, including Clinton, Sanders and 83% of Congressional Democrats who voted against fast-tracking the TPP, oppose this trade agreement in its present form. The main reason the platform committee failed to include a definitive statement against the TPP in the party platform appears to be their desire not to embarrass Obama, who champions the trade pact.

As Obama’s Secretary of State, Clinton also strongly favored the TPP. However, in large part due to the Sanders’s campaign, she has recently reversed her position, as has her VP choice, Sen. Kaine. Sec. Clinton now understand how much the TPP would adversely affect American workers and the American middle class. As Sen. Sanders explained, the TPP would “boost the profits of large corporations and Wall Street by outsourcing jobs; undercutting worker rights; dismantling labor, environmental, health, food safety and financial laws; and allowing corporations to challenge our laws in international tribunals rather than our own court system.”

Therefore, the soon-to-be anointed new leader of her party, Sec. Clinton, along with Sen. Kaine, needs to have a heart-to-heart talk with the president. She and Kaine must make perfectly clear to him why they have changed their minds about the TPP, and why he must as well. And, they must do it immediately. They have to convince Obama that for the good of the party, the best outcome in the election and the wellbeing of the nation, he has to publicly withdraw his support for this terrible trade agreement at their convention. Then, together they can all pledge that the TPP will not be approved in a lame duck session of Congress after the election.

If Clinton can accomplish this in the next few days, the Democratic Party could come together in Philly. It would not be a perfect union by any means. The Establishment wing of the party would still have work to do to gain the enthusiastic support of many progressives. But it would be a big step forward. Clinton, Kaine and the party would be demonstrating that they do, in fact, stand with the party’s progressive base, the working people of America, against Big Money and corporate America.

Bruce Berlin is the author of the new book, Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America. See http://www.breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.

          The Democratic Party is deeply divided. The Clinton Establishment faction believes that Senator Sanders needs to endorse Secretary Clinton and bring his followers into the party fold. The Sanders “political revolution” movement argues that the Clinton campaign must support a strong, progressive platform in order to assure the senator and his supporters that the Party is serious about significantly altering the power structure that prevents progress on climate change, income inequality, Wall Street regulation and campaign finance reform, among other pressing issues. The two groups appear to be stalemated.

            There is one person, however, who could resolve this knotty problem and unite the Party. That man is President Obama. With little more than six months to go in his presidency, Obama is beholden to no one, not Wall Street, the oil industry, Big PHaRMA, nor any other special interest. He is free to say or do as he pleases within the law.

            Back in 2008, then candidate Obama promised the American people “change we can believe in.” Unfortunately, a great many Americans feel that his presidential performance has not matched his campaign rhetoric. Of course, Obama can blame the unyielding Republican opposition, as well as the power of Big Money and corporate America, for some of his failed policy initiatives. But, the fact remains that Obama did not put up much of a fight, if any, for many of the programs that would have truly demonstrated his commitment to “change we can believe in.”

            For instance, in the battle over the Affordable Care Act, Obama did not push for the ‘public option’ to keep down healthcare costs. (See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/obama-the-public-option-t_b_772514.html.) During the Great Recession, he made sure the big banks, whose reckless behavior was a prime cause of the financial collapse, were bailed out, while doing little to prevent millions of Americans from losing their homes. And now, Obama is vigorously advocating for the passage of the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would empower corporate polluters to challenge environmental laws across the globe and send thousands of American jobs overseas. (See http://www.citizen.org/documents/tpp-wages-jobs.pdf.)

            At this point in his presidency, however, Obama has the opportunity to not only redeem himself, but also unite his party for the November election and help at last deliver the “change we can believe in” that he promised us. First, he could bring the Democrats together by renouncing the TTP, which both Clinton and Sanders have publicly opposed. Apparently, the platform committee split 7 to 6 against including opposition to the TPP because some members did not want to “embarrass” the president. By rejecting the TPP, the President would be freeing those on the committee who supported the TPP in deference to him to reverse their vote. In addition, he would be making a clear statement that the Democratic Party is on the side of American workers, rather than Big Money and corporate America.

            Second, Obama could come out in favor of both a carbon tax and a national moratorium on fracking, both of which were rejected by a divided platform committee. Obama has long advocated for combatting the causes of global warming, but has not taken the bold steps required to succeed in this effort. Approximately two-thirds of all Americans support such measures, including an even larger number of Democrats. An Obama initiative in this critical arena would be supporting the American people and opposing special interests. Moreover, it would again help bring the Democratic Party together.

            And third, the President could state he favors Medicare-for-all or some similar healthcare plan. Obama could promote his endorsement of universal healthcare as the next logical step after the success of his Affordable Healthcare Act. While Clinton recently stated her opposition to such a plan, she has supported it most of her career. Obama’s backing of universal healthcare would give Clinton the cover she needs to reverse her stance. At the same time, it would also help unite the Party.

            These are just three ways Obama could enhance his legacy, smooth the way for unifying the Democratic Party, and help ensure a Democratic victory in November. Of course, there are others. But, the question is: Mr. President, will you finally take a strong stand for “change we can believe in”?

A retired, public sector attorney, Berlin is the author of the recently published book, Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America: Working Together To Revive Our Democracy.

See www.breakingbigmoneysgrip.com for more info.

The Orlando tragedy is just the latest example of what happens as a result of the American people continuing to allow Big Money to control our government. Until we stand up to Big Money and corporate America and take control of our government away from them, we will live by their rules and desires. Come to the Jean Cocteau Cinema tonight at 7 pm for a provocative discussion on Breaking Big Money’s Grip on New Mexico and America. Together, Repubs, Dems & Independents, we can revive democracy in our nation. Go to http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/…/bruce-berlin-reading-a…/….

            Today America faces many critical problems. Gun violence, climate change, immigration reform, income inequality and terrorism are just a few of the most pressing concerns.

            One issue, however, overrides all the others. That is, the power of Big Money to unduly influence the outcome of our elections and the formation of public policy. Eighty-four percent of Americans believe money has too much influence in political campaigns, according to a June 2015 New York Times/CBS News poll. In addition, a July 2014 bipartisan study found that 74% of all voters agreed that it is necessary to fix our broken political system before anything can be done to solve other important national issues.¹

            Why do we need to get Big Money out of politics first? Because regardless of the issue, Big Money’s grip on our politicians is so strong that they invariably bow to Big Money’s legislative desires at the people’s expense, in order to obtain very large campaign contributions, which help keep them in power.

            For example, despite the fact that 92% of Americans support universal background checks for all gun purchases,² Big Money has been able to buy off our federal representatives and prevent passage of a universal background check statute that would help protect millions of innocent Americans from gun violence. Since the 2000 election cycle, the gun lobby (i.e. the National Rifle Association (NRA), the firearms industry, and the Gun Owners of America) has contributed a combined $81 million to congressional and presidential election campaigns to defeat gun control measures, according to federal disclosures and a study done for the Center for Public Integrity.³ The fact that more than 30,000 people are killed by guns in our country every year, some of which could likely be prevented by universal background checks, seems to matter little to our representatives who receive big campaign contributions from the gun lobby.

            By the same token, our congressional representatives appear more interested in the huge campaign contributions they receive from Wall Street than they are in protecting Americans against fraudulent banking practices. As difficult to believe as this may be, Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike voted to pass a section of the 2015 omnibus budget bill that eliminated a taxpayer protection provision from the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. In so doing, our representatives gave Wall Street speculators the green light to once more gamble irresponsibly knowing that Congress had restored taxpayer-backed funds for their reckless ventures, just like the ones that had caused the 2008 Great Recession. This same Congressional support for special interests that ignores or rejects the public good exists in almost all areas of government policy.

            While Big Money’s influence is quite formidable, there is, however, a time-tested solution to this problem. As noted in Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, “when vested interests have constructed seemingly insurmountable barriers to the people’s demands for a more equitable society, Americans have come together and overcome the obstacles…(by forming) mass movements.” Like the Labor, Civil Rights, and Gay and Lesbian Rights movements, among others, now we must build a broad-based, grassroots movement, call it “the Democracy Movement,” to remove the corrupting influence of money in politics and make the government work for all the people.

            Moreover, the effort to build such a movement has already begun. Organizations like Common Cause, the Democracy Initiative, Issue One, Take Back Our Republic and People for the American Way are focusing on campaign finance reform to eliminate Big Money’s corrupting effect and establish political equity so that all Americans have a meaningful voice in our government. Please join them. They need your help.

            Skeptics will say it cannot be done. Big Money is just too powerful. But against great odds, popular, grassroots movements won women the right to vote, labor the eight-hour workday and the 40-hour work week, gays and lesbians the right to marriage, and all Americans a strong voice in ending the Vietnam War.

            Yes, we will need to come together and give it our all. And, it may take a long time. But, what is the alternative? Are we willing to let our great experiment in democracy die? Are we going to leave our children and grandchildren a country controlled by a corrupt political system that has no allegiance to government by and for the people, and no concern for the common good or average Americans?

            As noted in Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, over the course of our history “millions of Americans have sacrificed their lives valiantly fighting for freedom and justice. While today the forces opposing our democratic way of life are neither foreign nor military, they are as strong and dangerous as America has ever faced in the past.” Now it is up to us. We must halt the push toward plutocracy and build the movement to revive democracy in America.

¹ See Parick Caddell et al, “Americans Consensus: Fix the Corrupt System,” Popular Resistance Org. July 5, 2014.

² See “Release Detail,” Quinnipiac University, July 3, 2014.

³ Alan Berlow, et al., “Gun Lobby’s Money and Power Still Holds Sway over Congress,” Center for Public Integrity, May 1, 2013.

There has been a lot of news recently about the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and whether she violated the law by using an unsecured email server for official business at her home while she was Secretary of State.

Hopefully, this question will be resolved soon and not become a big issue in the election. But time is running short. The Democratic convention is less than four months away. Of course, if Sen. Sanders wins the nomination, Clinton’s legal problems won’t matter in the election. However, at this point Clinton is still favored to win the nomination.

For the sake of the country, I think Clinton should do everything she can to have this matter resolved before the convention. Obviously, she is not in control of the investigation. Nevertheless, she could request that it be expedited. Clinton should ask that she and other witnesses be interviewed under oath this month and that a decision about whether to bring charges be made by the end of May.

President Obama should also do whatever he can to get the FBI to conclude its investigation in the next couple of months. The Democratic Party, let alone the country, cannot afford to have this cloud lingering over the fall election campaign.

America is faced with many problems today: Gun violence, climate change, immigration reform, income inequality and terrorism, just to name a few.

However, one issue overrides all the others. That is, the power of Big Money to unduly influence the outcome of our elections and the formation of public policy. Seventy-five percent of all voters agree that it is necessary to get Big Money out of politics and fix our broken political system before anything can be done to solve these other important national issues.

For example, despite the fact that 92% of Americans support universal background checks for all gun purchases, Big Money has bought off Congress and prevented passage of a universal background check statute that would help protect millions of innocent Americans from gun violence.

However, there is a time-tested solution to this problem. As noted in Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America, “when vested interests have constructed seemingly insurmountable barriers to the people’s demands for a more equitable society, Americans have come together and overcome the obstacles…(by forming) mass movements.”

Like the Labor, Civil Rights, and Gay and Lesbian Rights movements, among others, now we must build a broad-based, grassroots Democracy Movement to remove the corrupting influence of money in politics and make the government work for all the people. Visit www.breakingbigmoneysgrip.com for how you can start working to revive democracy in America.