The Diminishing Returns of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
Plus, Mike Pence’s Brother Wants Him to Run in 2024
Recently at The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: No Sex, Please. We’re Republicans.
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ALAN CROSS: The Diminishing Returns of Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric.
If the last seven years are a guide, Americans want both compassion and order when it comes to immigration, and they reject chaos and cruelty. The candidates they have been presented with, however, have largely embraced either compassion, on one hand, or chaos, cruelty, and a notion of order made subservient to chaos and cruelty, on the other. This means there is an electoral opportunity for politicians who can strike a balance between border security, respecting the rule of law, and American sovereignty while treating immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers fairly and with dignity and compassion—and those willing to seize the opportunity could solve one of the most intractable problems in American politics and culture. The results of the 2022 midterm elections underscore the point that prevailing approaches to immigration must be abandoned. It’s time for something new.
JOE PERTICONE: Mike Pence’s Brother Wants Him to Run in 2024.
Indiana Rep. Greg Pence, the older brother of Mike Pence, wants the former vice president to run for president in 2024.
Asked by The Bulwark if he would support Trump’s campaign—something he did in 2020, a favor Trump repaid by endorsing Pence in his House re-election race this year—Pence quipped, “I’m gonna back my brother.” When asked if his brother is indeed running, Pence paused and said, “I hope so. I would encourage him to.” He would not elaborate on conversations he has had with the former vice president about any 2024 ambitions.
Midterm voters in the middle were deliberative and serious, and were not seduced by the crowds, the media spin, and the polls. Plus, a late Elvis sighting at Mar-a-Lago, and the Republican House makes moves to defend the insurrectionists. Mark McKinnon joins Charlie Sykes today.
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BRENT ORRELL: How Hispanic Americans Think About Work and Identity.
If we want to understand the evolving role of Hispanic Americans in American culture and politics, one useful on-ramp is studying Hispanics in the workplace. In a recent AEI survey, Hispanics reported levels of job satisfaction, of a sense of being treated fairly, and of having good relationships with bosses and co-workers that were on par with white workers.
CATHY YOUNG: New Depths of Russian Insanity as Putin’s Ukraine Debacle Continues.
While Ukrainians celebrated the liberation of Kherson, anti-war Russians were distracted by a much darker story: the posting of an apparent snuff video in which a former fighter with the Wagner mercenary group, a would-be defector to the Ukrainian side, was bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer. For Russian dissidents, the gruesome video became a shocking symbol of the barbarism to which Russia’s “new normal” had sunk. Many invoked ISIS, the radical Islamist terror group that had a habit of sharing video recordings of its sadistic executions. It’s “the ISIS-ization of Russia,” said Irina Alleman, a host on Popular Politics, the YouTube channel run by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Thursday! I sound like one of Marge Simpson’s twin sisters, so you won’t be hearing me tonight on TNB. But we have a great show. Do tune in!
The new Dems… The old guard has stepped down. While Pelosi has been an effective Speaker and leader, new folks are going to take over.
Elon Musk… Is the kind of guy who fires people after getting owned.
Your feel good story of the day… A plane crashes, all the dogs live. They’re good dogs. Adopt a dog.
What I’m watching.. War on the Diamond.
Reminder: Send me your recipes for the 2022 edition of The Bulwark Thanksgiving Cookbook. Send your favorite recipe by replying to this email.
Don’t go wobbly on Ukraine… Argue David Kramer and Eric Edelman.
Wait, I thought he was the moderate Republican hope! Glenn Youngkin’s new history.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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