After the debate . . . Biden could’ve used Tim’s 3 points simply, clearly, & forcefully in his 2-min closing statement. Instead, he droned on in impenetrable language about the economy & forgot women & our threatened rights completely. Among all the horrible moments, this felt worse than being spit on. Felt like a betrayal of the highest order. // Al Gore is 76. But should he be our guy? In four years, Whitmer-Warnock. (Sorry Harris, love you, but too many others don’t, vehemently.)
I get the point of this article and support it on some intellectual level but I cannot help but be saddened. I do not support the asshole behavior of Bowman or the fringe that actually supports Hamas but I also do not trust the center to embrace, let alone make, the changes required to adapt to our present problems. I can't help but think that if both of the agitating flanks were killed off tomorrow then the center will just memory hole the last 8+ years and forgive and forget everything. They won't have the desire or ability to codify Roe for instance. As a result the right will have successfully moved the whole country right via violent, destructive tantrums without any real backlash and everyone will just shrug and move on. I just don't trust the center to care about either the methods or the results once the immediate personal threat has passed. Its unfortunate the progressives and the ideas and energy that they have that could be useful and important are often left with marginal candidates and allies to champion and support them due to a lack of popularity, much of it generated by lies of omission, outright lies and perverse incentives.
Colorado reader here… I think your newsletter today overplays the meaning of the Boebert victory in our state. In addition to the more moderate Democrats’ victories, several Republican contests went to the more normie candidates. Notably, our state GOP chairman, Dave Williams, who was backed by Trump and was the brains behind the party’s contemptible Pride Month messaging (“God hates flags”), lost handily in his congressional race primary. Boebert’s win, in my view, was down to name recognition and a split field of weak challengers, many of whom had toxic downsides as embarrassing as Boebert’s. If the field could have consolidated behind a marginally more centrist and normal-ish candidate, I think Boebert would have lost.
Hey Tim, regarding Political Suicide: Any story about the 16th CD primary should include the fact that AIPAC invested 13 million dollars in defeating Bowman. Especially as a Never Trump former Republican, you should have noted that AIPAC has supported pro Israel Maga candidates and is a powerful supporter of Netanyahu and his extremist right wing government.
AIPAC is supported by a politically diverse range of candidates, including many well within the Democratic Party’s mainstream, because support for Israel generally is a mainstream political position in this country. Bowman didn’t commit political suicide because he triggered MAGA to target him with his positions towards 10/7 and Hamas. He committed political suicide by being way outside the American political mainstream. This attempt to tie AIPAC opposition to him to MAGA perfectly illustrates WHY Tim shouldn’t bring up bogus narratives solely to soothe your hurt feelings when an extremist clown gets crushed for being so far outside the political mainstream.
Today, I am putting the presidential race aside along with my fears about Project 2025 and MAGA and savoring Latimer's win over Bowman, Cacace's primary win in the Westchester County DA's race and John Avalon's win. The Democratic pols at the local, state and national level clearly did not want to step on the rake a second time and suffer another round of embarrassing defeats to Republicans. Mondaire Jones is putting as much distance as he can from the DSA/Working Families, which he has to do to win over independents in NY-17, saying Defund the Police was a stupid idea and endorsing Latimer. So satisfying to see the party and the voters self-correct.
Tim - one small point about Latimer. I don't think he's a more conservative candidate that the district would usually accept. He's quite proud of his progressive cred and ran on defeating MAGA extremism, gun safety, abortion rights, climate change, investing infrastructure, housing and transit, and tag lines that read: Real Progressive Results....Not Rhetoric. Progressive Results Delivered. (I canvassed for him and still have some literature in the house.)
Yes! Let's take one day to actually sit back and feel good. Seeing so many right directions being taken in important contests- at least by Dems. Tomorrow, we fight another day. And if Debate Day goes right as well, WOW! Maybe a good weekend, and then on to a celebration of the 4th.
Where are all the other people in Congress who should be doing the honorable thing? They are supposed to represent our best selves. I am so grateful to Adam for looking at things clearly and making heart-wrenching decisions for him personally to do the right thing for the rest of us.
His discussion with Tim yesterday was very interesting as they looked at the political world up close by on lower races across the country. Tim and Adam are remarkable repositories of knowledge on how politics works.
Is there any one out there listening to majority of voters? It doesn’t seem like it . the price will be the end of democracy and the beginning of authoritarianism.
It was so simple, how could both Democrats and mainstream Republicans not get it?
We don’t want Trump or Biden as president. We are simply longing for a middle aged candidate, sane, who is a moderate who wants to help all Americans. A candidate that is sensible and able to work both sides of the aisle for the good of the country. A candidate who is neither a religious nor party fanatic.
That candidate would be a sure winner and leading in the poles by 20 points.
We have 330 million people and we can’t find that candidate?
We have no party representative of the majority of this country. A shame we are going to lose what it took 250 years to achieve. All the DNC had to do was stop talking and listen. The RNC is gone and now is the RINO in the room.
Respectfully, other than not being middle-aged, Biden checks every box you listed. He is sane and a moderate who wants to help all Americans (and has, see IRA, gun reform, etc.). He has proven to be able to work both sides of the aisle (bipartistanship!). He is neither religious nor a party fanatic. If you think that any of that is untrue, I suggest you look a little harder at Biden. He is exactly what you are looking for in just an older package.
Proud of Adam for doing the right thing. Hopefully we get more folks to do what he did--looking at you Mattis and Kelly--but I won't get my hopes up because guys like Adam and Liz are the exceptions to the norm.
At an admittedly very high level, the tale of the primary outcomes of Bobo vs. MC Bowman is a tale of not getting all the wood behind one arrow vs. doing exactly that. The Republicans split the Bobo opposition with too many primary candidates and handed Bobo her (hopefully temporary) win. The Democrats (mostly) all got behind Latimer so there was a clear choice for voters (imagine what would have happened if 3 moderate to conservative Dems would have been in the mix instead of just Latimer). Even Mondaire Jones (running against Mike Lawler in the fall in my district) came out for Latimer. I'm proud of my NY Dems (except Hakeem Jeffries who seemed to waffle) for keeping it together and sending Bowman to the dustbin of history (at least until he reappears in 2026).
The problem is check out a map of the 4th District. It literally covers the eastern part of the state from Wyoming down to Oklahoma. Those are rural areas, least educated, tiny towns with little economy other than farms, etc. While Fort Collins, a university town with diverse economy and predominately blue, is in the small western part and not rural. And after the last census, it was removed from the district.
After the debate . . . Biden could’ve used Tim’s 3 points simply, clearly, & forcefully in his 2-min closing statement. Instead, he droned on in impenetrable language about the economy & forgot women & our threatened rights completely. Among all the horrible moments, this felt worse than being spit on. Felt like a betrayal of the highest order. // Al Gore is 76. But should he be our guy? In four years, Whitmer-Warnock. (Sorry Harris, love you, but too many others don’t, vehemently.)
I get the point of this article and support it on some intellectual level but I cannot help but be saddened. I do not support the asshole behavior of Bowman or the fringe that actually supports Hamas but I also do not trust the center to embrace, let alone make, the changes required to adapt to our present problems. I can't help but think that if both of the agitating flanks were killed off tomorrow then the center will just memory hole the last 8+ years and forgive and forget everything. They won't have the desire or ability to codify Roe for instance. As a result the right will have successfully moved the whole country right via violent, destructive tantrums without any real backlash and everyone will just shrug and move on. I just don't trust the center to care about either the methods or the results once the immediate personal threat has passed. Its unfortunate the progressives and the ideas and energy that they have that could be useful and important are often left with marginal candidates and allies to champion and support them due to a lack of popularity, much of it generated by lies of omission, outright lies and perverse incentives.
Tim misses nothing. I just think that AIPAC needs to be called out regularly for its malignant role in U.s and Israeli society
Colorado reader here… I think your newsletter today overplays the meaning of the Boebert victory in our state. In addition to the more moderate Democrats’ victories, several Republican contests went to the more normie candidates. Notably, our state GOP chairman, Dave Williams, who was backed by Trump and was the brains behind the party’s contemptible Pride Month messaging (“God hates flags”), lost handily in his congressional race primary. Boebert’s win, in my view, was down to name recognition and a split field of weak challengers, many of whom had toxic downsides as embarrassing as Boebert’s. If the field could have consolidated behind a marginally more centrist and normal-ish candidate, I think Boebert would have lost.
"Two: Reproductive rights are fundamental rights."
A sentence I have been waiting to hear from Republican/Conservative thought leaders and influencers since 1976.
It took Donald Trump and the actual end of Roe v. Wade to finally bring them around.
Better late than never. I guess.
Mr. Kristol, from your mouth, to God's ears.
Hey Tim, regarding Political Suicide: Any story about the 16th CD primary should include the fact that AIPAC invested 13 million dollars in defeating Bowman. Especially as a Never Trump former Republican, you should have noted that AIPAC has supported pro Israel Maga candidates and is a powerful supporter of Netanyahu and his extremist right wing government.
AIPAC is supported by a politically diverse range of candidates, including many well within the Democratic Party’s mainstream, because support for Israel generally is a mainstream political position in this country. Bowman didn’t commit political suicide because he triggered MAGA to target him with his positions towards 10/7 and Hamas. He committed political suicide by being way outside the American political mainstream. This attempt to tie AIPAC opposition to him to MAGA perfectly illustrates WHY Tim shouldn’t bring up bogus narratives solely to soothe your hurt feelings when an extremist clown gets crushed for being so far outside the political mainstream.
I’m sure Tim can speak for himself about these valid points, but I’ve heard him address same in some pods, just so you know he hasn’t missed anything.
Today, I am putting the presidential race aside along with my fears about Project 2025 and MAGA and savoring Latimer's win over Bowman, Cacace's primary win in the Westchester County DA's race and John Avalon's win. The Democratic pols at the local, state and national level clearly did not want to step on the rake a second time and suffer another round of embarrassing defeats to Republicans. Mondaire Jones is putting as much distance as he can from the DSA/Working Families, which he has to do to win over independents in NY-17, saying Defund the Police was a stupid idea and endorsing Latimer. So satisfying to see the party and the voters self-correct.
Tim - one small point about Latimer. I don't think he's a more conservative candidate that the district would usually accept. He's quite proud of his progressive cred and ran on defeating MAGA extremism, gun safety, abortion rights, climate change, investing infrastructure, housing and transit, and tag lines that read: Real Progressive Results....Not Rhetoric. Progressive Results Delivered. (I canvassed for him and still have some literature in the house.)
Yes! Let's take one day to actually sit back and feel good. Seeing so many right directions being taken in important contests- at least by Dems. Tomorrow, we fight another day. And if Debate Day goes right as well, WOW! Maybe a good weekend, and then on to a celebration of the 4th.
Where are all the other people in Congress who should be doing the honorable thing? They are supposed to represent our best selves. I am so grateful to Adam for looking at things clearly and making heart-wrenching decisions for him personally to do the right thing for the rest of us.
His discussion with Tim yesterday was very interesting as they looked at the political world up close by on lower races across the country. Tim and Adam are remarkable repositories of knowledge on how politics works.
Agree 100%. And I'm glad the Biden campaign put out a tweet thanking him for the endorsement.
Is there any one out there listening to majority of voters? It doesn’t seem like it . the price will be the end of democracy and the beginning of authoritarianism.
It was so simple, how could both Democrats and mainstream Republicans not get it?
We don’t want Trump or Biden as president. We are simply longing for a middle aged candidate, sane, who is a moderate who wants to help all Americans. A candidate that is sensible and able to work both sides of the aisle for the good of the country. A candidate who is neither a religious nor party fanatic.
That candidate would be a sure winner and leading in the poles by 20 points.
We have 330 million people and we can’t find that candidate?
We have no party representative of the majority of this country. A shame we are going to lose what it took 250 years to achieve. All the DNC had to do was stop talking and listen. The RNC is gone and now is the RINO in the room.
Respectfully, other than not being middle-aged, Biden checks every box you listed. He is sane and a moderate who wants to help all Americans (and has, see IRA, gun reform, etc.). He has proven to be able to work both sides of the aisle (bipartistanship!). He is neither religious nor a party fanatic. If you think that any of that is untrue, I suggest you look a little harder at Biden. He is exactly what you are looking for in just an older package.
Biden is very religious, but he doesn’t force his religion on other people.
Proud of Adam for doing the right thing. Hopefully we get more folks to do what he did--looking at you Mattis and Kelly--but I won't get my hopes up because guys like Adam and Liz are the exceptions to the norm.
At an admittedly very high level, the tale of the primary outcomes of Bobo vs. MC Bowman is a tale of not getting all the wood behind one arrow vs. doing exactly that. The Republicans split the Bobo opposition with too many primary candidates and handed Bobo her (hopefully temporary) win. The Democrats (mostly) all got behind Latimer so there was a clear choice for voters (imagine what would have happened if 3 moderate to conservative Dems would have been in the mix instead of just Latimer). Even Mondaire Jones (running against Mike Lawler in the fall in my district) came out for Latimer. I'm proud of my NY Dems (except Hakeem Jeffries who seemed to waffle) for keeping it together and sending Bowman to the dustbin of history (at least until he reappears in 2026).
Kristol’s Three Simplicities:
1. J6
2. Dobbs
3. Ukraine
Trump is directly responsible for numbers 1 and 2, and has thrown in with the villain behind 3.
Easy-peasy.
You make valid points about the Assange deal. I only wish it had been cut after the election. Putin does not need another helper this year.
And a big thank you to Adam. Now if the other "normie" Rs would do the same!
Why are you assuming BoBo will win in November?
I've heard that it is a solid red district.
The problem is check out a map of the 4th District. It literally covers the eastern part of the state from Wyoming down to Oklahoma. Those are rural areas, least educated, tiny towns with little economy other than farms, etc. While Fort Collins, a university town with diverse economy and predominately blue, is in the small western part and not rural. And after the last census, it was removed from the district.
From what I've read about her opponents, most of the don't have a clue either.