
Chris Miller, the MAGA SecDef, Explains His Anger
Plus, Why Russian Energy Giant Gazprom Is Mustering a Private Army.
Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: The Wisconsin GOP's High Court Crackup š
JUST BETWEEN US š§: Haley Pretends It's 2015. Pence Is Confusing.š
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
AMANDA CARPENTER: Chris Miller, the MAGA SecDef, Explains His Anger.
Former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller can list plenty of reasons to justify his reluctance to send troops to secure the Capitol on January 6, 2021ābut, as he writes in his new book, Soldier Secretary, he is also self-aware enough to know when he is being āgenerally a dick.ā
Which happens a lot.
Reading this memoir makes it easy to see why President Trump appointed him. Miller is a pissed-off MAGA-friendly former Green Beret eager to give the finger to the establishment, which he does with remarkable candor and callousness. So much so that he remains, even now, unapologetically unbothered by the danger that elected officials were in on January 6th.
In early 2021, both Kushner and Trump needed a game plan for making money. MBS ā who both men had helped to consolidate power and literally get away with murder ā came to the rescue with billions of dollars. Michael Kranish joins Charlie Sykes today.
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
BENJAMIN PARKER: Why Russian Energy Giant Gazprom Is Mustering a Private Army.
You may have seen headlines in recent days suggesting that Gazprom, the Russian governmentāowned energy behemoth, is standing up its very own military outfitāa possibility that hints of an ominous, corporate-feudalistic future for Russia. But how new is this development, and how worrying is it?
Semi-private military organizations are all the rage in Russia right now. The most notable among them is PMC Wagner (the PMC stands for āprivate military companyā), overseen by Yevgeny Prigozhin. (Prigozhin, nicknamed āPutinās chefā because his catering business took in a huge number of government contracts, became notorious in the West a few years ago because of his reported involvement in the Internet Research Agency that interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections. By that point, Prigozhin had already founded PMC Wagner.) While private military companies are technically illegal in Russia, Wagner has proven useful enough to Vladimir Putinās regime that it has been central to the Russian effort in Ukraine, has been active in multiple countries on multiple continents, and even has a swanky office building in St. Petersburg.
šØOVERTIME šØ
Youāre gonna be seeing more of Matt Gaetz⦠As the DOJ opted not to charge him in their sex trafficking investigation. Not being charged isnāt exactly exoneration, but staying low has never been Gaetzās M.O.
The never ending resurrection⦠Of Eva Cassidy. The D.C.-area singer died in 1996, but thanks to the BBC, and now, new technology, sheās pleasing ears from beyond the grave.
Rejecting the Bronze Age Mindset⦠At National Review, Jack Butler follows up on his Daily Beast item about how an pseudonymous weird rad trad seduced the Claremonsters and their pals. (Like I said, it wasnāt hard.) Unlike many, who think nothingās wrong in conservatism, Butler identifies a major problem: āTo provide a superior alternative, however, one must admit that conservatism, as a whole, has seriously failed at doing so.ā
Tik-Tok virality makes an authorās dream come true. As readers know, I am anti-Tik-Tok. It is bad. You should not download it. But alas, even while its use is beginning to wane, a Vermont man has it to thank for his novel becoming a bestseller a decade after being published.
Speaking of Tik-Tok⦠What do you do when you find out your 17 year old is getting paid to basically be Alex Jones by foreign agents?
Meanwhile, on Newsmax⦠They donāt seem to get the whole Valentineās Day thing.
Welcome, SkyNet? Some people are having some, uh, interesting chats with the new Bing AI. (I maintain that, despite its bad ratings, Terminator 3 was good.)
Survey non-responses⦠Americans are increasingly ignoring government surveys, which is not a good thing!
An unwelcome endorsement⦠Ralph Norman, the Congressman who pushed for āMarshall Lawā to keep Trump in office has endorsed⦠Nikki Haley. Will she accept the endorsement? Will she denounce it? This used to be a niche problem for Republicans. David Duke endorsed me? Now, a full 75%+ of prominent Republicans are nuts to the point of their endorsement bringing with it one of a handful of controversies or conspiracies.
Thatās it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
ā30ā
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.