An Ode to Saint Joe Manchin
Tim Miller: Democrats are mad at Joe Manchin. They ought to be grateful for him.
🏒 FACEOFF 🏒
The Cards Clinch. The season is pretty much over for my Indians, but the Red Birds have a Wild Card berth and will potentially face Charlie Sykes’s dangerous Milwaukee Brewers, who broke their 17 game winning streak if they’re able to win the Wild Card.
Last night, the Republicans broke their losing streak in the Congressional Baseball Game, held at Nationals Park. The game is a great Washington tradition, sponsored by my former employer, Roll Call, which raises money for charity. Outside of the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise a few years ago at a ballpark in Alexandria, most people hadn’t heard of it.
But it does a lot of great work for local charities, and it’s a fun time for staffers, members, and journalists alike. My favorite memory was sitting in left field to heckle then-Rep. and pre-scandal Anthony Weiner, who would give me the middle finger behind his back so nobody could see.
Rep. Greg Steube hit an out of the park home run, the first, apparently, in more than 40 years.
Leading The Bulwark…
An Ode to Saint Joe Manchin
TIM MILLER: Democrats are mad at Joe Manchin. They ought to be grateful for him.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Bret Stephens: A Plea for Centrism
On today's podcast, New York times columnist Bret Stephens talks about Trump's moral universe, Biden's centrist dilemma, the looming danger of inflation, and why Manchin-Sinema could actually save the Democrats.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: The Fall of Corey 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES: And the notorious podcast scandal roiling Wisconsin.
THE TRIAD: The Liberal Media Keeps Helping Conservatism Inc. Why Is That? 🔐
JVL on the fetish for diversity.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
The Bonkers Lawsuit to Stop the Pentagon’s Vaccine Mandate - Adam Rawnsley, The Daily Beast
Activists take fake bones to Klain's home to highlight vaccine demands - Dominick Mastrangelo, The Hill
YouTube is banning prominent anti-vaccine activists and blocking all anti-vaccine content - Gerrit De Vynck, The Washington Post
Congress Poised to Avert Shutdown Amid Deadlock on Biden Agenda - Erik Wasson, Laura Litvan, and Billy House, Bloomberg Businessweek
Amazon wrote a 13-page PDF claiming Elon Musk's SpaceX is just as litigious as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, after Musk said Bezos was trying to 'sue his way to the moon' - Isobel Asher Hamilton, Business Insider
In Today’s Bulwark...
ATMA: Scott Tobias on the Business of Film Criticism
From the AV Club to The Dissolve to Substack
Democracy Cannot Survive the Fracturing of the Democratic Coalition
IAN BASSIN: When anti-authoritarian coalitions splinter, the authoritarians take over.
Joe Biden Has an Immigration Shitshow on His Hands
TIM MILLER: Well, the truth is political and geopolitical forces have left Biden in an impossible position while he struggles to chart a more moderate path.
Did Biden Lie About What the Generals Recommended for Afghanistan?
SHAY KHATIRI: And other questions left unanswered by this week’s hearing.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Let’s start off with a #pupdate. Gus and Rusty (or Gus’n’Russ as the kids call them) are finally full friends. It’s a good feeling and we’re happy. Just like having twins gives a child a built-in best friend, not having a lonely dog saves one some work. Though, sometimes it creates more work.
Though earlier this week I had to get, uh, samples of certain bodily fluids from Rusty for the vet. Dog owners know what I mean. And you have to get them during walks. And I had to do this while kids were walking to the bus for school. Nothing looks weirder than taking a pipette to a tray full of dog urine at 6 in the morning. The things we do for animals….
Easy living… How lawmakers use their “leadership PACs” to live the lavish life.
The end of 3G. Millions of Americans are about to lose their cell phone service. If you have an old phone, perhaps it’s time for a new one.
Uh oh.
Burn pits and sick vets…. Jon Stewart is back.
This is amazing. “Finstas” are “Fake Instagram” accounts teens use to evade their parents. Sen. Blumenthal is not, as the kids say, hip to the term. #awkward
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you tonight on TNB. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.