According to an April 2024 article in The Guardian entitled, Pro-Israel US groups plan $100m effort to unseat progressives over Gaza  – “The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is betting that $100m will be enough to fight back a wave of progressive dissent over Israel’s war in Gaza this election cycle… The 2024 election will be bellwether of the enduring impact of these groups on US politics amid shifting US public opinion on Israel.”

July 27, 2025

Richard McDaniel

Kevin Harris

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A common Republican talking point is that Democrats can’t be trusted to manage major cities. Donald Trump and his Republican allies can barely hide their disdain for Democrats of color leading America’s largest cities. They deride these Mayors as “DEI” hires who want lawlessness and crime to run rampant while their cities decline. 

Look no further than the immediate attacks on Zohran Mamdani following his impressive primary win in New York City. Trump Republicans - and quite frankly too many Democrats - immediately railed against Mamdani as a socialist who would destroy New York should he win the general election.

But if Democrats want to finally start winning again and attracting back working class voters, they would be wise to lean into the lessons that Democratic Mayors teach us. 

Democratic sniping since Mamdani’s victory is causing the party to lose sight of the bigger picture. 

Mamdani was wise to focus on meeting New Yorkers where they are and engaging non-traditional voters with a crisp consistent message on how life is only getting more expensive. His message offered a strong contrast as Republicans double down on policies that will only exacerbate the affordability crisis facing working class Americans.

And for those who can’t vibe with Mamdani because of his proud democratic socialist affiliations, then consider two mayors from the Democratic mainstream. Birmingham Alabama’s Randall Woodfin and Baltimore Maryland’s Brandon Scott have successfully built impressive records on crime reduction, economic revitalization and blight elimination. 

Each knows that working-class voters judge Democrats not by our rhetoric, but by our track record: Can you make my street safer? Can you bring jobs to my neighborhood? Can you keep my rent from skyrocketing?"

These mayors have married progressive populism with actual results oriented pragmatism. They like to make their points by getting things done. Each understands that progressive positions without actually delivering results won’t win back the working class. In the South we call this plain common sense. 

By focusing on common sense results, Mayors Woodfin and Scott dispel Republican tropes about Black leadership and the ability of Democrats to deliver for the working class. They show that Democrats know how to run government. And images of both doing the work as dedicated young Black fathers further suspends the notion that Black men are to be feared, lack work ethic and aren’t serious about our families and communities. 

Mayor Scott has reduced homicides to a 50-year low without starving the government or defunding the police. Similarly, Mayor Woodfin has reduced violent crime by investing millions into crime prevention while boosting incentives for police officers. 

Both mayors are offering life coaching, job placement, mental health services, and safe alternatives alongside effective police enforcement.

They are investing in people through blight elimination and true economic revitalization that centers the working class and their desire to live in safe, affordable, and clean communities. 

Their cities are thriving despite a Republican agenda at all levels of government focused on starving services for the working class, as highlighted by Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which dramatically shifts resources away from the poor and working class toward the uber wealthy. Despite these headwinds, Mayors Scott and Woodfin continue delivering for their cities. They are demonstrating that for Democrats the pathway back to power rests on a clear and concise message for the working class backed by actual results.  

The usual Republican attacks ring hollow for these two Mayors because the results speak for themselves. They are painting a clear contrast for the working class to see between effective Democratic governance or more chaos and brutal assaults on the working class by Republican policies. 

As Democrats start to assess the playbook for 2026 and 2028, we’d be wise to look at the leadership and lessons from two of our brightest stars in Birmingham and Baltimore. 

Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel are veteran Democratic strategists of over 100 political campaigns, including the past five presidential elections and several congressional campaigns. Together they co-host the “Maroon Bison Presents: The Southern Comfort Podcast.”

July 27, 2025

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The Tangerine Man is trying to have us remain silent about his friendship with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein. He’s filed yet another lawsuit to silence the Wall Street Journal!  He says he told them not to publish the article about a relationship he is trying to forget, but now, along with Atty. General Pam Bondi who said she had the list of Trump’s close buddies who partied with him and underaged girls—but now denies. 89 percent of the people want the full records released! 

Numerous pictures of Trump and Epstein partying down together, talking about women in a way of what kind of women they like, such as those on the younger side, are available. We see him at his home laughing, bopping and whispering to Epstein about the women in the room.  We don’t know where things went from there with other friends, but we do know some of the young women victims have talked about what happened to them with Trump and Epstein.

I have great sympathy for the women who were exploited—and still suffer from the experiences. Their stories disappeared until now.  While the pain will never go away, perhaps the truth about what happened to them will give them peace to know someone believed them and cared—and that at least someone other than the woman who is serving prison time, will be exposed for the alleged crimes against them. 

While there’s so much going on in the world that we want to let the MAGA, and ex-MAGA people work to resolve the chaos and give the victims some sense of justice, I want to spend the rest of my column to talk about great men and women and what they are doing to make this a better world. If you haven’t already become acquainted with Cpt. Ibrahim Traore’ of Burkina Faso in Africa, I want to urge you to do so because he represents the best of being a man, and what’s going on with what women are doing for their country. 

Cpt.Traore’,as a young man, met Blaise Compaore’ -- a man I had met years ago, and had high hopes for him—but he’s now living in exile. Traore’ met Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, and he learned from him.  One day, he rose up as a leader at great risk and declared“We’re not our grandfathers. We don’t beg.  We don’t bow. We fight back with Africa in our hearts.”

For too many years, he had witnessed the resources of the continent being stolen by outsiders while they do nothing to upgrade and improve life for our brothers and sisters in Africa. When he spoke, other African leaders stood with him. As usual for Black women everywhere, African women stood with him actively. They’re, without fancy tools, using their hands, building roads to connect with their children’s schools and other important community places.  Some are working all day elsewhere, and after work are spending time building those roads. The women have declared “If Captain Traore’ can risk his life for our country, then we can be here to do our part.”

 I pray for them while knowing the danger they face, but even more, I pray for the men and women in this country who are silent without that kind of faith in each other so that we can overcome the actions of the current President who is doing everything he can to set us back, to dishonor our ancestors, to disregard our history and our contributions to this country.  While many are trying to turn back the hands of time, we’re finding too many of our people joining them and working against our best interests. I pray that we’ll take a lesson from the people of Burkina Faso and come together while others are trying to tear us down.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of The Dick Gregory Society.

July 8, 2025

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - On the Fourth of July, Donald Trump signed his “megabill.” The law boosts the dying fossil fuel industry with tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. It invites an additional 470 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2035 – that’s the equivalent annual emissions of more than 100 million gas-powered cars. And it aims to stop dead in its tracks the clean energy transition and the green manufacturing jobs boom the Inflation Reduction Act was already starting to create.

Just hours later, a climate-fueled storm settled over and dumped four months worth of rain on Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet within 45 minutes. The resulting flash floods killed at least 104 people – at the time of this writing, although that number will go up – mostly in Kerr County. That death toll includes dozens of young girls attending the Camp Mystic youth camp.

This disaster was not a random event. It was a crisis written by the climate crisis and made far worse by the types of policies being pushed by this administration everyday.

Before the absurdly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act landed on Trump’s desk, his administration had already begun gutting America’s frontline defenses against climate disasters – like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate labs, the National Weather Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As questions abound about why parts of the flood-impacted region did not receive adequate warning about the floods, Trump insisted that "nobody expected it” and it was a “once in 100 years” event.

But storms like this, as well as increased flooding from the Guadalupe River, were expected – and predicted. The US Geological Survey – another vital body Trump is trying to eviscerate – issued a report to that effect in 2019. The science is clear: warmer air holds more moisture, intensifying storms and accelerating flood risk. We’re now witnessing the violent proof of these predictions.

According to UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, "this kind of record-shattering rain (caused by slow-moving torrential thunderstorms) event is *precisely* that which is increasing the fastest in [a] warming climate."

As for the “one in 100 years” claim, those once-in-a-century extreme weather events are now happening far more often thanks to the climate crisis! Between just 2015-2019, one St. Louis suburb had three major floods and at least two of them were considered “1-in-100-year events.”

It is not hard to see how the climate crisis became a political debate. Decades of anti-science propaganda from the coal, oil, and gas industries. Politicians bought and paid for by fossil fuel oligarchs. A current administration with a cabinet full of industry shills.

Big Oil alone spent a whopping $445 million through the 2024 election cycle to influence Trump and Congress. A staggering figure to be sure, that does not include donations funneled through dark money groups (likely tens of millions of dollars more – at least). And it still falls short of the $1 billion Donald Trump asked the country's oil executives to kick in to his campaign -- an amount Trump insisted would be a "deal" for the industry because of what he was willing to give them.

But it is high time that our leaders, at every level and of every party, stop kowtowing to a toxic and unnecessary industry built on death, illness, and poisoning our communities. It is time they treat this crisis as a struggle for survival – a fight for the future our children deserve. 

As the people of Texas grieve and the country grieves with them, their pain is our warning. 

We are at a crossroads: We can double down on denial and let superstorms, heatwaves, droughts, floods, and fires determine our fate. Or we can lead – with science, resilience, courage, and a recommitment to our values.

If we harness our outrage and come together to fight like hell for our collective future, we will win. Because when people stand up and demand a safe planet, nothing – not even rising water – can drown the American spirit.

Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

May 3, 2025

To Be Equal 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - "Trump wants us to be demoralized. He wants his despotic plans to be a fait accompli. They will be if no one stands in the way. But every time we — and especially those with power and authority — make ourselves into obstacles, we also make it a little less likely that the administration’s authoritarian fantasy becomes our reality.” –Jamelle Bouie

The first 100 days of President Trump’s second administration have been an unrelenting assault on civil rights, civil liberties, economic justice, the constitutional separation of powers, and the rule of law itself.

His administration has upended the global financial system, alienated longstanding allies, and steered the United States rapidly toward autocracy.

He has imposed a grossly distorted version of the nation’s history to justify the elimination of pathways to equity and inclusion, and appointed Cabinet members and staffers who have actively embraced conspiracy theories, bigotry and racism.

Since Trump’s inauguration, at least $9.6 trillion was erased from the U.S. stock market – more than half of that in just two record-setting days. His first 100 days in office have been the worst for the stock market in more than 50 years.

His administration has blocked at least $3 trillion in federal spending, defying court orders to unfreeze the funds that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and access to lifesaving medical care.

The first 100 days of this administration have been an assault on the last 70 years of progress, from Brown v Board all the way forward. It is an assault on the American future. The administration is trying to convince the American people that the future is a replay of the past. Instead of looking forward, they've been looking in their rearview mirror.

This is reflected in the early verdict of the American people. President Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in the last 80 years, and twice as many Americans give the administration a grade of “F” than any other grade.

This is not what people voted for, and it is not what people expected.

And so these 100 days of unprecedented chaos have also been 100 days of principled resistance.

Within a day of the inauguration, the National Urban League convened dozens of the nation’s top civil and human rights leaders for an emergency strategy session and launch of the new Demand Diversity Roundtable to defend equal opportunity for all Americans.

Individual Americans, businesses, faith communities, schools, state officials and advocacy organizations including the National Urban League have filed more than 200 lawsuits challenging Trump’s actions as reckless, harmful, illegal, and unconstitutional. “These acts of resistance have resulted in nearly 100 rulings that put a stop – at least temporarily – to some of these actions.

The National Urban League also has spearheaded the Fair Budget Coalition,  an alliance of civil rights, economic justice, and policy organizations advocating for a responsible federal budget that centers fairness, opportunity, and economic security for all Americans— including people and communities long overlooked and under-resourced.

We’ve mobilized opposition to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), an extremist proposal to dismantle democracy and disenfranchise millions of American citizens.

As we mark 100 days into this antagonistic and chaotic administration, we take hope and inspiration from the millions of Americans who continue to stand in defense of democracy, equality, and the rule of law.