Democrats Sweep... Will the GOP Blame Trump?
Plus: What You Missed This Week From The Bulwark
Happy Saturday! Overtime is for everyone. If you’re a Bulwark+ member: thank you. If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today. If you like today’s issue, you can share this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
Election-Night Coverage: A Democratic Sweep
The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, JVL, Sam Stein, Bill Kristol, Catherine Rampell, Will Saletan, and Andrew Egger were joined by special guests Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Lis Smith, and Katie Couric for their Tuesday-night livestream discussing the election returns from New Jersey, Virginia, New York City, California, and elsewhere.
Hey, Republicans: Blame Trump
DONALD TRUMP COST HIS PARTY A LOT OF VOTES in Tuesday’s elections. He and his supporters are peddling excuses for the big Republican defeat—pleading that the losses were in blue states, faulting the poor quality of the candidates, or arguing that the GOP would have performed better if Trump were on the ballot this year.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Saturday! Hard to believe that just a week ago, we didn’t even have a World Series champion—and what a series it was. A little too 2016-esque for this Cleveland fan rooting for Toronto, but credit where it’s due: congrats to the Dodgers.
Here’s the weird part: nobody got it exactly right this year. The closest calls came from Adam G., Mark M., and Ivan G.—each of whom picked the Dodgers in six. 1
🎵On the Jukebox…🎵 Bruce Hornsby - The Way It Is (Radio 2 Piano Room)
Fly Fishing With Darth Vader… Matt Labash on Dick Cheney, 1941-2025.
Antisemitism Left and Right (and All Mixed Up)… Jay Nordlinger has a worthwhile conversation with David Frum.
3 key takeaways from Democrats’ big Election 2025 wins… Democrats are campaigning without apology, and Hispanics appear to be turning on Republicans (Matthew Sheffield, FLUX)
“Rioters tried to kill me on January 6. Trump pardoned them…” What it’s like to defend democracy, only to be called an un-American traitor, writes Sergeant Aquilino A. Gonell, powerfully, at Home of the Brave.
Megyn Kelly doesn’t think Muslims should hold office in America. There’s a word for that…. Amid an ideological civil war over antisemites in the MAGA movement, the right-wing podcast superstar unleashed a xenophobic attack on Zohran Mamdani, recounts Anthony L. Fisher at MSNBC.
Discussion Prompt for the Comments: What are you doing to prepare for the upcoming midterm elections? How are you staying involved locally?
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Will be in touch about consolation prizes.
Laurence Tribe's piece on his father's flag was moving and thought provoking. It's indescribable to me that a "piece of cloth" can mean so many things, yet it's true. I graduated from high school in 1976, which doesn't seem possible because I don't feel like I'm as old as that. More importantly, I'm very aware of the 250th birthday of our country next year. My problem is not wanting to celebrate because of the current administration of our country. I worry about the ridiculous display that will inevitably happen, probably laced with a lot of gold somehow. I'd like to wait to celebrate until we have a different administration. So I have mixed feelings when I see our country's flag. Beauty, pride in those who serve the country, dread, gratitude, sadness, reverence. Etc., especially etc. And yet, long may she wave. In particular, that.
What am I doing for the midterm elections? I'm not good at phone banking, and I live in a very red community, so I have been writing letters and postcards for various Democratic candidates and issues. I will also be an election worker. I've missed the No Kings rallies, and hope to attend the next one.