"But the Economy" is No Excuse for Supporting Trump
Plus: The Remarkable, Unexpected Competency of the Harris Campaign
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: How Trumpism Rots a Small City
JOE PERTICONE: Ted Cruz Has Suddenly Gotten Quiet on Abortion
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MONA CHAREN: A Second Trump Presidency Would be Terrible for the Economy
FOLLOWING THE PEOPLE-EATING-PETS imbroglio, one would think that undecided voters would have their doubts quelled about how to vote in November. But that’s not the way we roll here. Nearly everyone has made up their minds, sure, but we’ve reached that time of the quadrennial cycle when we turn the fate of our nation over to the least informed and most distracted members of the electorate.
Though I’m giving undecideds a little side-eye, let me hasten to add that being sure about who you plan to vote for isn’t any guarantee of good judgment. About half of those who’ve made up their minds seem to have chosen a not-right-in-the-head aspiring autocrat who attempted a violent auto-coup. Knowing that the outcome will turn on a few thousand not-terribly-knowledgeable voters in seven states makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Mark McKinnon: Taking Back the Freedom Agenda
The Michael Steele Podcast: Reagan's Life And Legacy (with Max Boot)
Shield of the Republic: Why We Should Be Worried About Iranian Nukes
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JILL LAWRENCE: The Remarkable, Unexpected Competency of the Harris Campaign
WHEN YOU’RE IN TROUBLE, you call a lawyer and hope for the best. America’s emergency call went to Kamala Harris, and she’s been a revelation at every step.
Tuesday night’s ABC debate was no exception. I had great hopes for Harris rooted in her experience as a prosecutor and Senate interrogator, and she did not disappoint. I posited years ago that lawyers, contrary to the constant jokes about them and the idea that governors make the best presidents, actually have invaluable training for White House races and service. They know how to evaluate multiple perspectives, build the strongest argument possible, and make their cases to an audience—a judge, jury, or country—with confidence and skill.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Greetings from the Queen City and Happy Thursday! The boss is in town to give the 1835 Lecture at the great Mercantile Library, so I’m working from an historic art-deco train station, one of America’s last great ones. It’s also the city’s museum center, so while “The Merc” undergoes renovations, the lecture is here instead.
Bill reports that Graeter's Black Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is excellent, and indeed, Graeter’s ice cream, no matter the flavor, is! We Ohioans are very proud of our #brands.
We might even move the whole operation here, if Bill (and I) get our way.
Soup’s On… When TWS closed, one of our final issue’s fine essays was Alice B. Lloyd’s “Last Lines.” Locally, Brandon Wuske was Cincinnati Magazine’s food critic. At 40, he was newly engaged, his fiancee had just secured a visa to come to the U.S. A beloved local librarian, he got a nasty surprise: a stomach cancer diagnosis. A few months later, he died. His last column on chicken noodle soup, and why he never appreciated it until, well, just read the whole thing. I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The $10 Million J6er… We’re learning that RFK’s dumpster fire candidacy paid $10 million to a consultant inside the restricted area on January 6. Nice work if you can get it. (The Intercept)
Yesterday’s 9/11 anniversary offers a stark reminder… about Trump’s fitness for office (Anthony Fisher, MSNBC)
On Conversations with Bill Kristol… please welcome, the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, famed political consultant, the raging Cajun, Mr. James Carville.
Trump’s Slow-Burn Authoritarianism… “You’ve read about the scary horrors of a Trump second term. But a legal war of attrition that harasses MAGA’s enemies and transforms government info into propaganda could prove more insidious and harder to mobilize against.” Greg Sargent, The New Republic.
All Over But The Whining? Matt Labash writes: “Trump loses a debate, and is already constantly complaining.”
A Christian Case… Against Donald Trump. A book by Bulwark+ member Patrick Kahnke that’s worth checking out. Patrick is “a writer and podcaster at Culture, Faith, and Politics. He was an evangelical pastor for 20 years. He was active in the pro-life movement and a life-long Republican until Donald Trump.”
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