Biden Needs to Talk to America
Sarah Longwell & Ben Parker argue he's underusing his bully pulpit.
🏒 FACEOFF 🏒
Happy election day! Whether or not you live in a place that’s having elections, some of tonight’s races are an interesting indicator of what we can expect in next year’s midterm elections. And we’ll be talking about it tonight on TNB (no show on Thursday.) We hope you’ll tune in.
Election days are a lot like weddings: people can get a little antsy. Political bettors are freaking out on the gambling site PredictIt. While my pals at Star Spangled Gamblers make real money on political bets, I’m of the belief that if you’re an active participant in something, you shouldn’t bet on it.
Just remember: yard signs don’t vote, and it all comes down to turnout. And turnout is expected to be very high. It will be a very interesting election, indeed.
Leading The Bulwark…
Biden Needs to Talk to America
SARAH LONGWELL AND BENJAMIN PARKER: The president is underusing his bully pulpit.
🎧 On the Pods…
Peter Wehner: Faith Has Become a Hood Ornament
With many evangelicals spending hours a day watching Fox News and OANN, but just 25 minutes a week listening to a sermon, political culture has overwhelmed the culture of the church. Peter Wehner joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.
ATMA: Art, Fussiness, and 'The French Dispatch'
This week, Sonny Bunch, Peter Suderman, and Chris Orr review The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson’s love letter to the New Yorker and art of all kinds. And we discuss the disastrous state of affairs in world cinema, where rising authoritarianism threatens the cinematic arts from Hong Kong to Kabul.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: Biden Misreads His Mandate🔓
CHARLIE SYKES: the limits of "normalcy"
THE TRIAD: Here's What to Watch for in Virginia Tonight 🔐
JVL: How to tell if Trump is helping Republicans and hurting Democrats.
ATMA: Wes Anderson's Greatest Collaborators 🔐
On this week’s special bonus episode, Sonny, Peter, and Chris discuss their favorite actors in Wes Anderson movies. Some one-offs, some regulars, and some co-writers all get shoutouts here.
THE NEXT LEVEL: Dave Chappelle Bonus Episode 🔐
Because you demanded it: a special bonus episode in which Sarah, Tim, and Sonny discuss Dave Chappelle’s new special, the vagaries of “cancel culture,” and what limits, if any, should be placed on comedy and comedians in the name of making people laugh and highlighting society’s absurdities.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
It’s Election Day in Virginia and Democrats Are Very Nervous - Gabriel Debenedetti, Intelligencer
MAGA Shit Fight May Land Marjorie Taylor Greene in Legal Hot Water - Roger Sollenberger, The Daily Beast
Democrats Have Made Their Peace With Dark Money - Emma Green, The Atlantic
Georgia secretary of state: Trump 'had no idea how elections work' - Reid Wilson, The Hill
Trump, the billionaire family and the bull semen baron who divides them - Alex Isenstadt, Politico
Why Biden says his plan is ‘fiscally responsible,’ while Manchin decries ‘gimmicks’ - Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post
Premier League Crowds Pack Football Stadiums Like Never Before - David Hellier, Bloomberg Businessweek
In Today’s Bulwark...
If Not Trump, Whom Would the GOP Nominate?
DANIEL N. GULLOTTA: The defeated president might conclude that “being regaled is better than being responsible.”
Anti-Anti-Crypto
R. MARSHALL BRANDT: The currency of autocracy.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
All of a sudden at Fox News… Blocking traffic is… good? (I maintain it’s always bad.)
How CRT works for Republicans… Their voters don’t understand it, but damnit, they don’t like it. As the boss, Sarah Longwell, observed:
A year ago I never heard a word about critical race theory from Trump voters. Now it's everywhere. Right-wing media has become a precision instrument.
Matt Labash, stuck in the middle. Read our good friend on the political courage of Adam Kinzinger.
Cleveland’s police union goes to the mat to avoid reform… What will voters do?
Riding the bus… Newsmax Twitter personality Greg Kelly recently had an issue on a NYC bus and let the world know about it. The result was hilarity.
Why traffic stops turn deadly. A deep dive at the New York Times. [An earlier version of this incorrectly suggested that the Washington Post produced it.]
Meanwhile in New York… This story at Curbed about mayoral candidate Eric Adams is wild.
Rabid partisanship is a hell of a drug… People who subscribe to the Q-Anon conspiracy theory spent an afternoon in the rain at the Grassy Knoll waiting for JFK, Jr. to come back. But he wasn’t the only one slated, apparently. (He did not show.) Just remember, these folks vote.
I’m sure this will go well… The FEC has determined that foreign nationals can support and finance state ballot initiatives. Nothing wrong will go here, I am sure…
The mark of the beast? Newsmax, which is facing its own legal troubles regarding its conspiratorial election coverage, perhaps(?) learned its lesson and had to publicly refute one of its star reporters for making batshit crazy claims about COVID-19 vaccines. Once bitten, twice shy, I guess? Or, put another way: Thanks to Dominion and its lawyers for putting the outlets that allow people to peddle disinformation or outright crazy lies on notice.
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you tonight! Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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