58 Comments
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Loved this podcast today. Wittes is always extraordinary to listen to, and I enjoyed listening to Ro Khanna for a good length of time.

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Hi Tim, I just listened to your podcast with Ro Khama. It was very disappointing to hear him talk about how term limits would open up the political system. Experience in Ohio and other states that have term limits does not show that the political process is opened up or refreshed under term limits. Rather, when politicians get term limited, the party just stands up the next party faithful. That new individual, because of closed primaries and gerrymandering, has an easy go of getting elected. This makes them beholden to the Party for their position and ensures that things will continue as if nothing has changed.

What are your thoughts about a single open, NonPartisan primary system with Ranked-Choice voting, such as in Alaska? All candidates run and all voters can vote. Wouldn’t this give us a better avenue to term limits?

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Whose idea was the hush money? Did Stormy ask for it (extortion) or did Cohen and if so told him of the story and what caused him to decide it needed to be hushed up? None of that makes sense. All that makes sense to me is that Trump knew the story because he participated (!) and realized after Access Hollywood that it — needed to be hushed up. So he paid for it - in his very own sleazy way. Hidden in the books.

And why did Cohen get more than 3 times what he paid out? Doesn’t seem like just taxes and interest …. To buy his silence??

So very creepy, all of it.

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founding

One of your best ever!

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Well, I agree with Khanna and I guess you don't. I would guess that Tim Miller doesn't disagree too much either but I don't really know. I don't think he's biting his tongue just to be "nice". It doesn't seem like Biden's policy of hugging Bibi has helped much. Netanyahu openly backs Trump and dares Biden to do something. Biden had repeatedly expressed disapproval but not taken any concrete steps to back that up. That made him look weak. I don't see how that helps much, but I suppose that depends on what your goal is. Mine is to help the region achieve peace. Hamas is an obstacle, so is Netanyahu, What is yours?

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Thank you for another well crafted, thoughtful discussion with your guests. Idk if you’ve come across the (quite dense but gripping) book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, or not, but it has insight into the rightward tilt of Silicon Valley and tech companies. Though you have plenty of immediate news topics to discuss I’d love to hear one of the folks at The Bulwark interview her.

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Another thought - Dr. Zuboff’s exegesis of the foundational aspects of surveillance capitalism could help frame the challenges of disinformation, content moderation and internet company regulation - all relevant topics for The Bulwark.

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I would like to thank Tim Miller for this podcast and others. Unlike some of his Bulwark fellows, I applaud him for not being locked into Reagan-era demonization of the "Democrat Party" as one step removed from communism. He has shown willingness to discuss the issues seriously with even progressive Democrats, like Ro Khanna. Too many never-Trumpers are still of the mindset that no one to the left of Joe Biden need be listened to on any issue. They fret over Biden's refusal to kick Bernie Sanders, AOC, etc. to the curb. IMHO it is important for never-Trumpers to ENGAGE with the full spectrum of the Democratic Party. Note: I didn't say AGREE! This is because as a progressive Democrat myself, I have confidence in our ideas. Good on you, Mr. Miller.

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Agree completely about how great Tim is but thought he was too easy on Khanna.

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Too easy in what way?

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Too easy in not pushing back on what Khanna was trying to say about why Biden was right to withhold offensive weapons if Israel attacks Rafah, which was along the lines of "well we've given Israel everything it wanted for 7 months yet it hasn't destroyed Hamas and a lot of Palestinian noncombatants have been killed so let's try something else." Too trite and cute.

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For some reason, the hair on the back of Trump's head reminds of the hair the bad guy from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has after drinking from the false grail right before he blows up.

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I got so confused about what Khanna was trying to say about why Biden was right to withhold offensive weapons if Israel attacks Rafah that I finally gave up listening. It seemed to be something along the lines of "well we've given Israel everything it wanted for 7 months yet it hasn't destroyed Hamas and a lot of Palestinian noncombatants have been killed so let's try something else." As if it's an easy task to destroy Hamas (I'm talking here about Hamas members in Gaza, not the Hamas ideology, which I doubt can be destroyed for a number of reasons I won't get into here). And just to be clear, I'm a Zionist who detests Bibi and the Israeli right wing who for decades hoped there would be a 2-state solution. I was also disappointed Tim didn't push back harder on this (maybe because he sees Biden's pivot as necessary politically at this point). But if that's the reason it's a rare example of Tim being naive, as the "progressives" deserting Biden over his support of Israel ain't coming back, and giving the Republicans a window to attack Biden as "soft" on support of Israel is a huge mistake.

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>> the "progressives" deserting Biden over his support of Israel ain't coming back

You know this how? I know many who are genuinely torn. One is my son, but I think he will hold his nose and vote for Joe. They voted "uncommitted" in Michigan - not for anyone else. And if they'll go for Trump to thumb their noses at Biden, they'll get what they deserve. (Unfotunately, we all will). If Biden could pull a rabbit out of his hat and get real peace talks going, maybe this changes? There is an endless supply of provocative things Netanyahu can do and if Biden pushes back on any of them, he'll lose the same pro-Bibi vote as he'll do with this.

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May 11·edited May 11

You asked me why I was critical of Tim and I responded. Now you seem to want to get into an argument with me about what progressives will do with respect to Biden. At a minimum (as reported in the NY Times yesterday) a large proportion the Arab-American/Muslim voters in Michigan are so angry at Biden they won't vote for him. That may very well cost him Michigan, which makes the Electoral College math much harder for Biden. I agree with you that if they and their progressive/intersectional allies vote for someone other than Biden (or don't vote) and we wind up with Trump again they will have to live with the consequences. You also seem to conflate the "pro-Bibi" vote with those (like me) who detest Bibi but are worried that any incremental erosion of Biden's support of Israel undercuts Israel's ability to reduce Hamas's infrastructure (fighters and tunnels and rockets) to the maximum extent possible before an inevitable cease fire.

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I don’t want to get into an argument with you. I want to continue the discussion. I actually agree with you more than you probably expect. I try to tell my son that domestic politics (very much including the pro-Bibi Jewish community which I am happy to hear you don’t belong to) force Biden to walk a fine line. And that in a diplomatic crisis like this what is said in public is not necessarily what is said in private. But each time Biden draws a line in the sand and doesn’t enforce it, the appearance of weakness it inevitably produces is not good for him. When Khanna and others first took this position may have been the wrong moment for Biden to do so from a political perspective. And there are risks in doing so now. But this is an inherently risky situation and if Biden can use Khanna to pressure Bibi, maybe it’s worth a try.

You know the poll I haven’t seen? Poll Jewish Americans on what Biden should do about Israel and Palestine. It would be interesting.

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May 11·edited May 11

My opinion is Biden cannot use Khanna or people like him to pressure Bibi. Khanna's comments as a progressive will just inflame the right in the US as they launch the false but predictable "Biden is weak on Israel" narrative. That narrative will be picked up by AIPAC and the most far right US supporters of Israel, which will only embolden Bibi. That's what makes Biden's most recent public comments about withholding offensive weapons from Israel so perplexing and ill-conceived. As far as your poll question goes, I suspect you'd get some mix of the following 3 responses: (1) From the right wing American Jews: Biden should unequivocally back Israel in destroying Hamas (no matter how many noncombatant Palestinians are killed or wounded) and let Israel sort out how to treat the West Bank and Gaza as Israel sees fit; (2) From the center-left to center-right American Jews: Biden should have pressured Bibi from the beginning to restrain him, and now that we are here, use some kind of magic fairy dust to coerce Israel into a cease fire that includes at least some hostages (living and dead); (3) From the left wing American Jews: it's too late for Biden to do anything-he enabled the killing of thousands of Palestinian noncombatants, and only the end of the State of Israel as a Jewish majority nation and having it replaced with a "from the river to the sea" one-state in which Arabs are the majority and Jews are the minority will suffice. Obviously I'm slightly overgeneralizing.

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Well, there are no easy answers here. AIPAC and its adherents in the US are probably already lost to Biden. Bibi is for Trump and that's that. The middle group is in play. The "magic fairy dust" is in effect Biden's policy. Two-state solution with no immediately plausible path to get there, except the alternatives are worse. I think you mischaracterize the left-wing. Surely there are some who are lost to Biden (many of them Muslim, but how many of them will vote for Trump vs. stay home which is only half a vote lost), but how many? This is why I want to see my poll. And note that even the organizers of the "uncommitted" vote in Michigan were careful not to say "never Biden". (I myself would not have voted uncommitted if I lived there). I see a possible but far from certain gain from the left-wing with Biden's threatened aid cutoff. I don't know what the size of the defection would be from the center-right. How many will he lose from those who would have stayed with him had he kept the previous policy? We'll see.

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To be fair to AIPAC, I personally know several "Never Trumpers" who are AIPAC members. They are staunchly pro-Israel but detest Trump. Also it may not be apparent in the heat of the moment, but AIPAC itself realizes that its influence is diminished by appearing overtly a Republican dominated entity. That's why you see AIPAC supporting centrist Dems over hard right wing Republicans in some races. As far as the left wing support for Biden goes, I'm not optimistic. Did you see Jill Stein getting arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest (I think at Washington University) last week? She'll be on virtually every state ballot in November and will pull some far left voters. And as you point out, some Muslim voters (and Arab Christian voters) will stay home or vote 3d party. A once reliable vote for Biden is gone with each of these. And then there's the "intersectionality" voters on the left. Voters of color sympathetic to the pro-Palestinian view, with little to no nuance, becoming more and more anti-Biden. The margins are razor thin in most of the swing states. Biden losing voters of color could be enough to hand the whole thing to Trump. If that's what happens, so be it. There are consequences for acting emotionally.

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I thought your Jackson 5 song for Amanda Carpenter could not be topped.

I was wrong.

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May 10·edited May 10

Just send in Obama or Clinton to end the war!

Timmy

Is that a fucking joke? Come on, man. I know you are like minded with Ro Khanna on Israel and spoiler alert, you both are so profoundly misguided….but even then….how do you let him answer the question that way without laughing out loud at how absurd an answer it was???

What, people who cook babies alive in ovens, and who burn to death entire families and who mutilate women while they are raping then before they shoot them in the pussy to watch them bleed out are going to be susceptible to the charms of Obama or Clinton???? Really? Who is that stupid to believe that???

You scoff at the idiocy on the Right (appropriately) but my god, the bullshit coming out of his mouth was as dumb as anything I hear from Republicans.

Did you think you might want to challenge him a little bit. Just a little? Though you did get him to denounce antisemitism! Yeah!

What, you couldn’t even present the argument from your own publication a few days ago to push back on his theory that we just need to “end the war”?

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/for-hamas-survival-is-victory

You have a major blind spot on this issue and Biden is going to lose the Nikki Haley voters to accommodate the Genocide Joe voters that you acknowledge will never vote for him anyway. Bad policy. Immoral policy. And bad politics.

I am just gob smacked.

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I don't think Tim and Khanna are completely aligned on support for Israel (Tim has been a much stronger supporter of Israel in earlier Bulwark pieces) but I agree he let Khanna off too easy here.

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I like Ro Khanna a lot but can we please stop putting islamophobia in the same sentence with antisemitism? The antisemitism lately in cities and college campuses has been omnipresent and has been a dark, disgusting stain on those protestors. The amount of islamophobia in the United States following 10/7 was minimal compared to the massive anti-Jewish sentiment that has arisen.

If Democrats want to remain a governing party in charge of the US at both the Executive & Legislative levels, then they need to marginalize the protestors as much as possible and have zero tolerance for the Tlaib/Omar wing of the Party.

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We are history’s whipping boy. The antisemitism in these protests and social media posts is unrelenting. You can tell by the number of people who start out with “It’s not antisemitic to ____” followed by some horrible Jewish slur.

And in answer to the young woman asking, “Where are they supposed to go?” I’d say any Arab nation that will let them in, except there are none. And people actually question why Israel doesn’t want Hamas next door.

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Agree. If the Dems continue as they are going the centrist wing of the party (which includes me) will be Independents sooner or later.

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Rep. Ro Khanna saying globalisation has resulted in costs of education, health and child care remaining static overtime; and advocating for higher prices and a reduction in living standards by restricting imports, makes no sense.

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During the student clips, one Jewish student states that Biden is losing the Jewish vote amongst his peers because of perceived lack of support for Israel.

I have heard the same statements from Jewish friends here in NV. They will not vote for Trump but are seriously considering sitting out this election. This is an enormous problem for Biden in a critical swing state with narrow margins and a large Jewish population. It's extremely alarming, particularly because some of these people have been dedicated Reid Machine career political operatives for decades. Losing the Jewish vote in NV could lose the state for Biden. If there's mass abstention, Rosen likely loses the Senate seat too.

Talk about damned if you do, damned if you don't. Biden may lose Michigan because Arab-Anericans feel that he's on Israel's side and Nevada because Jewish-Americans fell that he's not on Israel's side.

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This seems to be a pattern with Biden. He feels compelled to give every Democratic constituency something it demands, and when different constituencies have conflicting demands he tries to have it both ways. And then he doesn't explain what he's trying to do, because he hopes every constituency will give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that approach worked for him as a senator, but it won't work for a president.

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Are they Orthodox? Who else would feel that way? It’s crazy. He’s been a champ for Israel.

If they mean he’s souring on Bibi, that’s a whole different issue. I’m a good Jew but I’ve loathed Bibi for years. The problem is once he’s gone, what moderate is in the wings to replace him?

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Yeah lose/lose but the weeks following 10/7 Joe Biden had it right. I think he will have a problem regardless of his position but he’s best off going with a respectful skepticism of Netanyahu while still being full-throated support of Israel eliminating the heart & head of Hamas.

Joe Biden probably can win without the Genocide Joe crowd. He can’t win if he appeases that college protestor crowd.

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Agreed. I feel like this is student loans 2.0 where some more of the more progressive members of his staff talked him into thinking this was a way to win votes.

I live in a swing state so sort of something catastrophic happening I’ll still vote for him to fend off the orange man but it’s less appealing. Especially if it’s true he knew he was going to do this before he gave his Holocaust Remembrance speech on Tuesday.

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As a woman who has been in a number of “omg how did we get here? I need to get out of here asap” scary moments, I appreciate how Tim has been talking about the Stormy testimony.

And I don’t know how anyone could read her account of what happened and not think of “when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything”. This is who he is.

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