How the ‘No Labels’ Gambit Could Wreck the 2024 Election
How the ‘No Labels’ Gambit Could Wreck the 2024 Election
Plus: A Forgotten Extinction Event in American Retail.
Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: Trump Picks an Enemy: Us
JVL: What We Mean When We Talk About the Origins of COVID? 🔐
SECRET POD: What Will Fox Do About Trump vs. DeSantis? 🔐 (Free Preview)
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
NORM ORNSTEIN AND DENNIS AFTERGUT: How the ‘No Labels’ Gambit Could Wreck the 2024 Election.
Those politics watchers—including most journalists—who are envisioning the 2024 presidential election as a contest between a Democrat (presumably President Joe Biden) and a Republican (perhaps former President Donald Trump) are missing a big part of the story. Last week brought the warning flash of a significant storm brewing for the upcoming election. The political organization No Labels qualified to place its third-party presidential candidate on the ballot in battleground Arizona twenty months from now.
No Labels is aiming to shake up American politics by running an independent candidate for president. In the process, it may be shaking apart our democracy.
Trump is crystal clear that he wants retribution against the people who wouldn’t let him remain in office — and he’ll pull us out of NATO too. Plus, DeSantis has no personality and no charisma. Tim Miller is back with Charlie Sykes for the weekend pod.
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
ADDISON DEL MASTRO: A Forgotten Extinction Event in American Retail.
Back during the pandemic restrictions and closures of 2020, my wife and I drove out to a restaurant supply store near Capitol Heights, Maryland in Prince George’s County. (They sell the best lime juice, and we were making a lot of drinks that year.) But on the way, we passed a store called Roses Discount Store. The storefront looked just like that of an old Kmart—the sort of place that was disappearing in droves around the turn of the millennium. I had never heard of Roses, and I love retail history, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before I’d come back to check it out.
Like many, perhaps most, discount department stores, Roses (formerly styled with a possessive apostrophe between the e and s) can trace its history back to the early twentieth century. It originated as a five-and-dime/variety store, as did many other discount department stores.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
STAMFORD, CT—Greetings from dreary Stamford, home of the WWE. If you’re Irish, or celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, enjoy whatever traditions make the day special! Be sure to read The Plastic Paddy’s Lament at The Baffler.
I didn’t go and visit the WWE HQ (no visitor’s center, lame!), but I did make a pilgrimage to the Casio GShock store in SoHo, despite warnings/pleas from my NYC friends that driving in Manhattan was not worth it. I pulled it off.
I also got to check off a bucket list item: White Manna in Hackensack, NJ. Smelling like slyders all day was totally worth it.
How’s your bracket? See how you’re faring in the Overtime Bracket Challenge here.
Can Democrats Reverse America's Decline? Max Burns writes: “Joe Biden has stabilized America from the worst of Trump's excesses, but our nation is still losing the fight to protect human dignity.”
Tired: Criticizing a drummer. (#TeamLachlan)
Wired: Tackling an unsuspecting drummer.
I hope the kid who did the tackling, a fellow graduate of my high school, gets the help he needs.
The NBA’s relationship with China… Is problematic, but if you want make sure nobody takes you seriously, do this.
Exploring America’s abandoned malls… A neat peek from Vice. If abandoned malls fascinate you, too, check out my buddy and fellow Clevelander Seph Lawless’s coffee table book, featuring two essays from yours truly!
Kal Penn & NASCAR… Got a few kind notes from readers about how much they appreciated Kal Penn’s Daily Show work. (They should just give it to him!) Here’s his NASCAR special.
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.