Can We Stop America’s Free Fall?
Plus, Trump Tax Returns Show He’s a Populist Fraud.
Leading The Bulwark…
Can We Stop America’s Free Fall?
Richard North Patterson on the characteristics of our decline.
On the Pods…
Kim Wehle: How Bad Could It Get?
On today's Bulwark Podcast, Kim Wehle joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss the bombshell NYT story about President Trump's taxes, the supreme court vacancy, the future of the court, and the 2020 elections.
Chris Yogerst on Hollywood, the Senate, and Hitler
This week, on the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, Sonny talks to Chris Yogerst about his new book, “Hollywood Hates Hitler: Jew-Baiting, Anti-Nazism, and the Senate Investigation into Warmongering in Motion Pictures.”
Peaceful Transition?
Lawfare’s Jack Goldsmith discusses his new book, After Trump. The group then tackles the Supreme Court and Trump’s threat to election integrity.
From our friends at Checks & Balances…
At Checks & Balances, Paul Rosenzweig has a great new episode of Threats to This American Election with Nina Jankowicz and Cindy Otis about Russia's influence on the 2020 elections, and threats from American disinformation.
From The Bulwark Aggregator
How Team Trump Keeps Twisting the Real Election Threat – Spencer Ackerman Erin Banco Adam Rawnsley, The Daily Beast
‘All in’ for Trump: These White men, the strongest Trump supporters, say they can’t be swayed – Jenna Johnson, The Washington Post
How A Conservative 6-3 Majority Would Reshape The Supreme Court – Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Laura Bronner, FiveThirtyEight
Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana, wife block attempted kidnapping of grandchild – Associated Press
Maine Becomes First State To Try Ranked-Choice Voting for President – Scott Shackford, Reason
Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance – Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire, New York Times
In Today’s Bulwark…
They Went Full Malkin. You Never Go Full Malkin.
James Wigderson: Tracing the decline of the Wisconsin GOP.
Make It About the Election
Amanda Carpenter: The rush to confirm Barrett is all about 2020 anyhow.
Trump Tax Returns Show He’s a Populist Fraud
Tim Miller: The freeloader-in-chief paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
What Would the Gipper Do?
Mark Weinberg, a former Reagan aide, asks what his boss would have done in 2020.
Spoilers No More: The Decline and Decline of Third-Party Candidates
Daniel McGraw: Kanye West’s candidacy will have no importance on the outcome of the election in spite of his name recognition and the chaotic news cycles he briefly commanded.
Meet the African-American Voters Joe Biden Desperately Needs
Rich Thau: Inside a focus group with African-American voters who stayed home or went for a third-party in 2016.
The Question I Asked Trump That Blew Up the Week
Brian Karem: I was surprised by his answer about a peaceful transfer of power. I shouldn’t have been.
Overtime
YIKES. Michelle Bachmann has totally lost it. Chinese-printed ballots sitting in barns? Whaaat?
Facing financial ruin, Donald Trump sought control of his elderly father’s estate. The family fight was epic. A must read in the Washington Post.
“Our kind of crook.” Six years ago today, Jim Traficant died. #BeamMeUp. I was not a Traficant fan, at least politically, but as a student of politics, I always was interested in characters. In my home office, I have two prison paintings from Congressman Jimbo.
The story of how I got them? Prisoners aren’t allowed to hawk their prison-made wares, so Traficant traded them to a local printer when he ran for Congress right after getting out of prison for signs.
One is of a vampire, the other of a goblin.
John Kelly and Corey Lewandowski allegedly fighting is the story of 2020 you didn’t need. Because we know who would win.
“Truly Amazing”… The degrees to which Mollie Hemingway will stoop know no bounds. As a former staffer for members of both congressional tax writing committees, I can tell you that “probably all of” or “most” of us don’t try and write off our haircuts, for example.
The North Koreans are probably watching this and blushing.
Come on.
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That’s it for me for today. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, you know how to reach me: swift@thebulwark.com.
Until next time…
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