Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most
Plus: A Tale of Ukrainian War Fatigue—or Pro-Russia Sympathies?
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & JIM SWIFT: The Most Alarming Development Yet
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DANIEL SCHUMAN: Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most
OPENSECRETS, THE NONPROFIT RESEARCH ORGANIZATION dedicated to disclosing the role of money in politics, laid off one-third of its staff last month due to financial difficulties. This sparked understandable concern in newsrooms, think tanks, and research institutions that rely on OpenSecrets to transform government information into usable data.
But OpenSecrets is just the latest in a series of open-government groups to decline or die off over the last decade—a trend that bodes ill for the health of our politics.
JILL D. LAWRENCE: Senate Republicans Could Still Deny Trump His Worst Picks
HOW MUCH IS IT FAIR TO EXPECT in the name of defending democracy?
When the fight escalates and spills over into real life, and real safety concerns, who among us has standing to judge?
You can wish desperately—as I did—that FBI Director Christopher Wray would have stuck it out, fought to the end, instead of announcing he would resign before Donald Trump took office.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bill Kristol: Fake Nicey-Nicey Sh*t [YouTube]
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood: Bringing Novels Into the Internet Age
Bulwark+ Live:
The Focus Group: Hate Was Up But Prices Were Down (with Marc Caputo) [YouTube]
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MARC CAPUTO: RFK Jr.’s Hopes of Having Daughter-in-Law at CIA Hit Roadblock
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW faces long odds in winning a top job at the Central Intelligence Agency amid mounting criticism from members of Donald Trump’s transition team and Senate Republicans.
In recent weeks, Kennedy personally asked Trump to appoint Amaryllis Fox, a former CIA officer, to be the agency’s deputy director.
Though an unconventional pick, the president-elect was favorably inclined to name Fox to the post, primarily because he likes her, according to multiple high-level sources familiar with the discussions in the transition who spoke to The Bulwark on condition of anonymity for this account.
CATHY YOUNG: A Tale of Ukrainian War Fatigue—or Pro-Russia Sympathies?
THE FATE OF AMERICAN AID FOR UKRAINE hangs in the balance: Will Donald Trump pressure the Ukrainians into accepting a bad peace? Although the president-elect has paid lip service to support for Ukraine, he frequently depicts its fight as a pointless sacrifice—so it’s reasonable to wonder whether he will attempt to force Ukraine to give up land—thereby rewarding Russian aggression—in exchange for security guarantees that may not last.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Monday! As a depressing rain soaks the Queen City, the Sisyphean task of holiday preparation continues.
The made-for TV Syrian prisoner story… Takes an interesting turn, as CNN reports: “Freed prisoner who said he was a victim of the Assad regime was an intelligence officer, locals say.”
Why does Kash Patel … want to be in charge of the slugs? The Washington Post’s Alexandra Petri read the children’s books written by Trump’s choice to head the FBI, so you don’t have to.
What was the Biden team thinking? Giving the “kids for cash” judge clemency? A grave injustice. (WaPo)
The opportunity costs of “let’s debate vaccines!”… Is going to be massive and emblematic of the “we’ll settle this on Joe Rogan” mode of politics, Daniel Drezner writes.
Why the Soviet Union was obsessed… with corn.🌽 (Phil Edwards)
Victoria Spartz, committeeless… The Indiana Republican doesn’t want to be on any committees, telling Axios’s Juliegrace Brufke:
“I will stay as a registered Republican but will not sit on committees or participate in the caucus until I see that Republican leadership in Congress is governing. I do not need to be involved in circuses. I would rather spend more of my time helping DOGE.”
Spartz, as readers may recall, planned on retiring but changed her mind. Seemed odd she wanted to stay, and then… whatever this is.
Shedding her secret identity… Bulwark parody artist extraordinaire, Navigator, and friend Holly Berkley-Fletcher on her career with the CIA.
Republicans cry foul… with some judges ‘unretiring’ before second Trump term (Politico). What’s that old saying? Elections have consequences?
‘Sesame Street’ Hits the Market: HBO and Max Opt Not to Renew Deal for New Episodes (The Hollywood Reporter)
How a simple math error… sparked a panic about black plastic kitchen utensils (National Post)
📆Put it on the calendar… Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas (Thursday, CBS)
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