Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
Column: Los Angeles: Too Soon to Call it a Civil War?
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America stands at a crossroads as Marines deploy on the streets of Los Angeles. This gripping analysis examines whether we're witnessing the early stages of a modern civil war or something else entirely. The evidence is sobering: combat-trained Marines entering densely populated urban areas, coordinated opposition with pre-positioned supplies, and definitions of conflict that match our current situation with disturbing accuracy.
At the heart of this crisis lies America's immigration dilemma. Millions entered the country under what appeared to be an open invitation, seeking better lives only to become pawns in an escalating political battle. Now, as deportation policies move forward, battle lines are drawn between federal authorities and local governments. CBS News polling reveals the stark partisan divide fueling this conflict – 93% of Republicans support current deportation efforts while 82% of Democrats oppose them. This leaves political leaders like Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass trapped by their bases, unable to compromise without significant political fallout.
Where do we go from here? The episode explores multiple potential outcomes ranging from military confrontation to diplomatic resolution. The most disturbing possibility is an endless quagmire that drains public support and creates generational conflict. A negotiated settlement between federal and state authorities offers the most humane path forward, but requires leaders willing to risk political capital for the greater good. As partisan extremes tear at America's fabric, this nonpartisan analysis offers sober reflection on how we might step back from the brink before more blood is shed. Previous episodes from 2020-2021 warned about these exact scenarios – now they're unfolding before our eyes. The question remains: can we find common ground before it's too late?
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Welcome to The Common Bridge
Speaker 1Welcome to this episode of Season 6 of the Common Bridge, where policy and current events are discussed in a fiercely nonpartisan manner. The host, richard Helpe, is a philanthropist, entrepreneur and political analyst who has reached over 5 million listeners, viewers and readers around the world. With our surging growth in audience and subscriptions, the Common Bridge continues to expand its reach. The show is available on the Substack website and the Substack app Simply search for the Common Bridge continues to expand its reach. The show is available on the Substack website and the Substack app Simply search for the Common Bridge. You can also find us on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. The Common Bridge draws guests and audiences from around the political spectrum and we invite you to become a free or paid subscriber on your favorite medium.
Speaker 2Hello and welcome to the Common Bridge. This is your host, rich Helpe. This is the audio version of the column published on June 11, 2025. Los Angeles too soon to call it a civil war and the solution is. In earlier seasons of the Common Bridge I talked about the parallels between contemporary events and the happenings before the United States Civil War 1861 to 1865. Regrettably, our elected leadership has not steered from that path.
Speaker 2The situation in California punctuates the ineptitude of highly partisan actors in preventing the loss of the country. Is this war? Merriam-webster offers this War A state of hostility, conflict or antagonism, or struggle or competition between opposing forces for a particular end. Well, as the adage says, if the shoe fits. Another unmissable data point is the axiom the first casualty of war is truth, absorbing the conflicting narratives and rationales. At least one of the belligerent camps is lying.
Speaker 2Further factual basis is that the President of the United States has ordered the military into Los Angeles. United States Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, have a history of fighting in every war since World War II, including Korea, vietnam, the Gulf War, iraq War and Afghanistan and Afghanistan. Los Angeles is now added to that list of deployments. Marines are trained to take out enemy forces. This is not a military police unit. Some hasty training for some in the companies perhaps, but there is no way to see this action as anything except a rapid escalation of hostilities. Anything except a rapid escalation of hostilities. The average age of a United States Marine is 23 years, presumably if the predominant military occupational specialty or MOS of this detachment is riflemen and yes, rifleman is still the correct nomenclature. These warriors in Los Angeles are younger. These young fighters are vigorously trained in lethality. What are the rules of engagement as they head into the densely populated area of Southern California? Also factual there can't be a war without an opposing force. Military logistics for defensive gear and weaponry must come to battle zones via coordinated supply lines. Pallets of bricks have been deployed in advanced positions and the bricks used to pelt federal law enforcement. Helmets and face shields were delivered in quantity to those attacking the federal officers. Hard to deny that a war, despite having a small footprint, currently is on.
Speaker 2The country is at war, and if the definition of civil war in the American Heritage Dictionary has any merit, that is where we are Civil war, a war between factions or regions of the same country. As a wise and very proficient lawyer told me, when you get a report of what happened, your next question is to ask what happened before that? This battle has been brewing for some time and victimized many people, including the very groups some policies purport to help. Most tragic is the plight of immigrants who entered the United States based on an implied invitation from the Biden administration. If one were told they could enter the country illegally, find a city or state where local governments would provide sanctuary by defying federal law and the enforcement of those laws, it makes sense to enter the country. Presumably most people came to the country with the intent to stay as law-abiding members of society, seeking work, education and a better future. If the criminal and gang-related examples of bad people making illegal entry, alongside those immigrants seeking a better life, represented most of the millions who entered illegally under these open-door circumstances, there would be far greater calamities striking across the country. Of course, to add to the fog of war is the established media ecosystem's refusal to fully report all the incidents of harm caused by people who entered the country illegally One more point of rising tension that can explode in the current situation.
Speaker 2Also caught in the crossfire are citizens of Los Angeles County who just want their local governments to provide essential services. Pointedly, the combined efforts of the state of California and city of Los Angeles in basic public services such as fire protection and police services are objective failures. Police services are objective failures. Perhaps the record of the Newsom and Bass administrations is better, with snow removal, which is certainly less challenging in the beautiful climate of the region. Still, one can't help but think that the mayor is a little annoyed that she must be in town during this crisis and had to order a curfew belatedly. Similarly, the governor can now only dream about munching away with lobbyists at the French Laundry while his constituents seethe. At least the curfew while a bit late for the stores that have been ransacked is a pivot from the prior policy of accepting the so-called violent but peaceful demonstrations. So what happens next? There is little incentive to compromise.
Speaker 2In a recent CBS News poll, the deportation goals of the Trump administration enjoy a plurality, while the approach employed is less than half of those polled. More pointedly, according to the same poll, 82% of Democrats disapprove of the Trump administration's program to deport immigrants illegally in the United States, contrasted with 93% of Republicans approving the program. Percent of Republicans approving the program Independents are nearly evenly split, with 49 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving. So neither President Trump, governor Newsom nor Mayor Bass can materially adjust policy without enormous political cost. The partisan extremes are literally tearing the country apart. What happens to the Democrats if they ignore the performative protests of affluent white women between the ages of 40 and 80 shouting their slogans on social media from safe neighborhoods far removed from the fires and carnage? It seems no one in the California Democratic Party has noted the moving vans speeding east. President Trump's support for aggressive action comes from people upset with the Democrats' policies of open borders and sanctuary cities and states. Those supporters may cringe at a situation with weapons firing live rounds and rubber bullets, believe that the problems have no humane solution. Therefore they reason the president is using every means available to correct a problem that he didn't create. Hopefully the strong support for Trump administration's policies of paying for transportation and offering a cash incentive for self-deportation remains firm.
Speaker 2How might this latest episode of the Civil War end If the end is a decisive military defeat by one side over the other? It will only come at an enormous cost of blood and destruction. The post-war reconciliation would be more difficult than the combined policy approaches of reconstruction outreach in the face of continued guerrilla resistance and the post-World War II Marshall Plan. Perhaps the conflict ends with a strategic withdrawal. If the US military pulls back, the post-conflict period may include a permanent perimeter to contain the other side.
Speaker 2Should the opposing combatants select a strategic withdrawal in the face of overwhelming military force, perhaps they go underground. This may be the most viable outcome because it would only take about two to three million households to hide immigrants in their auxiliary dwelling units, adus or perhaps a spare bedroom. Each host simply needs to provide shelter, food, medical care, education and security for their charges into perpetuity. Call the entire approach Operation Anne Frank, with ordinary citizens risking arrest to protect the immigrants. And among the other possible outcomes is the sickening weakness brought on by a continuing quagmire, an endless war where public support wanes, combatants are depressed and generations argue Alternatively. Perhaps Secretary of State Rubio meets with Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass.
Speaker 2The framework of the peace agreement is that all military withdraws in exchange for California's pledge to support enforcement of federal laws, including immigration. A safe path home for the innocents who came to the United States on the implicit invitation of President Biden. Perhaps, beyond President Trump's current offer of money and transportation costs could ease the burden. Of course, cooperation for prosecuting any criminal elements hiding amongst the innocents. Are there other solutions?
Speaker 2If the people we elect to find solutions would offer something other than mayhem and escalation, we just can't describe what's next. Perhaps a pundit, a writer or a citizen might. It seems that, realistically, the odds of today's political parties solving this are not good. So is it too soon to call what we are witnessing a war? If the Cambridge Dictionary is to be believed, war armed fighting between two or more countries or groups, then perhaps it is time to ask why we are at war and how can the conflict be ended before there is more damage Onward and I refer my audience back to episode 39, may 4th 2020, back to episode 39, may 4th 2020, episode 47, june 22nd 2020, and episode 111, july 19th 2021,- about leading up to the Civil War.
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