As Germany Delays, Ukrainians Die
Plus, Former Ohio GOP Leaders on Trial in Epic Bribery Case
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CHARLIE SYKES: Why is the Right Losing the Young?
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ERIC EDELMAN and DAVID J. KRAMER: As Germany Delays, Ukrainians Die.
Every day that Germany fails to approve or facilitate the transfer of its Leopard tanks to Ukraine is costing Ukrainian lives and risks emboldening the authoritarian Putin regime.
Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau put it succinctly when he tweeted: “Arming Ukraine in order to repel the Russian aggression is not some kind of decision-making exercise. Ukrainian blood is shed for real. This is the price of hesitation over Leopard deliveries. We need action, now.”
JOE PERTICONE: The GOP Establishment Is Clinging to the Base Harder Than Ever
The next chair of the Republican National Committee will be decided by the end of this week, and the fraught election is proving to be yet another milestone on the GOP’s rightward path to the land of the Trump-loving base. There are few viable options for the position: current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel wants the job again, Republican lawyer Harmeet Dhillon is the other clear frontrunner, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell will make a lot of noise but end up an also-ran.
Republicans may have underperformed in the midterms, but the RNC chair fight is not about changing the party’s direction. For the base, it’s about out-suing the “cheating” Democrats. Plus, the free-for-all in Chicago’s mayoral race, and the Oscar noms. Dave Weigel joins Charlie Sykes.
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DANIEL MCGRAW: Former Ohio GOP Leaders on Trial in Epic Bribery Case.
Even by the standards of Ohio—a state that has had more than its share of spectacular political scandals—the criminal trial of the former speaker of the state House of Representatives is staggering in its scale. FBI special agents pulled no punches back in 2021 when describing to reporters the charges against Republican Larry Householder and numerous others in a massive bribery case: “Historically, I haven’t seen anything like it,” said one. “The whole thing is amazing in scope. It’s incredible,” said another.
With jury selection finished last week, the trial got underway yesterday. Things immediately got off to a rough start: The judge had to warn Householder’s attorneys to quit their juvenile distracting antics during the prosecution’s opening statement.
WILLIAM SALETAN: Biden’s “No ‘There’ There” Defense Is Hogwash.
Figuring out who did what in the mishandling of classified documents, at Donald Trump’s estate and at President Joe Biden’s home and former office, can be confusing. So it’s natural that Biden and his aides would like to simplify the issue. To reassure the public, they’ve chosen a message that’s supposed to clarify Biden’s innocence: “There’s no ‘there’ there.”
Biden and his advisers seem to think that this assurance distinguishes him from Trump, who—unlike Biden—resisted the government’s efforts to recover documents Trump had wrongly taken to Mar-a-Lago.
Biden is completely wrong.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Tuesday! George Santos’s saga with the FEC seems like it’s about to get worse. But the Congressman is busy doing all the normal things that Congressmen do, like arranging flags outside of his Longworth office. Meanwhile, stories have surfaced of an alleged mugging in the middle of Fifth Avenue, where, and I can’t make this up. They stole his shoes. Oh, and an alleged assassination attempt.
The cooking day… Addison del Mastro on meal prep. (It’s men’s work, too.)
A twenty something mayor tried the Trump playbook… Only it worked.
The GOP says they want to balance the budget… But Catherine Rampell wonders, do they even know how?
The slow arc of the moral universe… Is bending towards convictions.
Worldwide Magazine… Captured Saint Louis at its finest and not-so-finest.
The electric things have their plagiarism, too. Though paltry it might not be.
Cleaning the 9/11 memorial. A solemn job.
Camping… On a 64 person lifeboat.
A requiem… For an agent of the Ukrainian state.
You don’t know… How bad the pizza box truly is. (And why it isn’t likely to be fixed.)
Where the lights can’t go off… Minnechaug Regional High School can’t turn them off.
You don’t say… Peter Thiel is not a true crypto believer.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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