Kevin McCarthy, Fetch

He now says he didn’t try to overturn the 2020 election. He’s a good boy! He’ll submit and play nice for belly rubs.

Leading The Bulwark…

Kevin McCarthy, Fetch

AMANDA CARPENTER: He now says he didn’t try to overturn the 2020 election. He’s a good boy! He’ll submit and play nice for belly rubs.

🎧 On the Pods… 🎧

Build Biden Better

The Niskanen Center's Samuel Hammond joins to discuss improving Biden's child allowance and border policies. Plus: eliminate the filibuster?

Bill Kristol on Kevin McCarthy's Crass Revisionism

On today’s Bulwark podcast, Bill Kristol joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss Kevin McCarthy and the GOP’s crass revisionism of the January 6th insurrection, and why the GOP suddenly no longer likes tough talk from America’s President when it comes to Putin.

For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐

MORNING SHOTS: The Anti-Educationists 🔐

CHARLIE SYKES on Teen Vogue's Cancel Culture and opening the schools.

THE TRIAD: The JVL AMA 🔐

JONATHAN LAST is here to talk of many things.

SECRET PODCAST: We Need a Hammurabi for Twitter 🔐

SARAH AND JVL on why should codify social media penalties.

TNB: Self Policing 🔐

Panelists Bill Kristol, Jonathan V. Last, Mona Charen, and Tim Miller to discuss political self policing, and just what the heck happened to J.D. Vance.

From The Bulwark Aggregator…

• Biden White House Sandbags Staffers, Sidelines Dozens for Pot Use – Scott Bixby, Asawin Suebsaeng, and Adam Rawnsley, The Daily Beast

• The Clearest Sign the Pandemic Could Get Worse – The Atlantic's COVID Tracking Project

• New Hampshire Towns Turn Out Tiny-Home Dwellers – Christian Britschgi, Reason Magazine

• U.S.-China Talks in Alaska Quickly Descend Into Bickering – Nick Wadhams, Bloomberg Businessweek

• ‘I am not a virus’: Lawmakers clash during emotional hearing on attacks – Marianna Sotomayor, The Washington Post

• Lack of sunshine in political money fuels corruption. Here’s proof – Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal

• Ron DeSantis Is Very Pleased With Himself – Michael Kruse, Politico

In Today’s Bulwark...

Get Ready for the Herschel Walker Experience

TIM MILLER: Georgia Republicans get ready for the next phase of the Trump Wars.

Zack Snyder's Justice League, Reviewed

SONNY BUNCH asks: are the four hours worth your time?

🚨OVERTIME 🚨

Good for him. While a disturbing number of cops were part of the insurrection, one officer who was on duty that day back in Pittsburgh had a wife who participated. He filed for divorce a month later. This isn’t to celebrate divorce (I’m Catholic, and we don’t do that….) but sometimes when your significant other participates in an insurrection, and you’re a cop and part of an FBI task force, that can be pretty irreconcilable. Is being an active part of an insurrection forgivable? I say no.

Boston turns on Schilling… The would-be Hall-of-Famer who chose the crazy train instead of a path to SABR convention autograph sessions is leaving Boston because people there are sick of his act. Enjoy him, Tennessee.

Deep thoughts from quasi-retired judges… D.C. Circuit Judge Silberman has been on “senior” status since 2000, when I was a sophomore in high school. This recent dissent is all kinds of crazy.

Mark Joseph Stern @mjs_DC

🚨D.C. Circuit Judge Silberman just released a truly wild dissent calling on the Supreme Court to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, claiming NYT and WaPo are "virtually Democratic Party broadsheets," and accusing "big tech" of censoring conservatives. cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opini…

But this isn’t new for Silberman. Look at his CV, it’s impressive but also a little… off? Years after GWB gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he wrote a WSJ editorial suggesting that his alleged deception leading to the Iraq war was similar to that of the Nazis.

Some other bad takes from Silbermans’ dissent? Oh, they’re there.

Owen Barcala @obarcala

'The First Amendment guarantees a free press but not a biased press' is unhinged

Mark Joseph Stern @mjs_DC

🚨D.C. Circuit Judge Silberman just released a truly wild dissent calling on the Supreme Court to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, claiming NYT and WaPo are "virtually Democratic Party broadsheets," and accusing "big tech" of censoring conservatives. https://t.co/NvFli5sEso https://t.co/mTMklTlNfo

Owen Barcala @obarcala

And don't miss him comparing the Supreme Court to Brezhnev and constitutional jurisprudence to communism

Tim Carney has a new term for responsible people. “Lockdowners.”

Tim Carney @TPCarney

...Also, it was always, from day one obnoxious for lockdowners to say those of us resisting the lockdowns and closures only cared about GDP (or worse, "the stock market.") There were real human costs. Each of these excess murders ruined at least two lives.

Unions!

NYC Scanner @NYScanner

SEE THIS: Two @MTA bus drivers refuse to move for 30 minutes, each one claiming they have the right of way. They caused massive gridlock traffic on 13 Ave and 39 St in Brooklyn.

The Josh Mandel transformation, continued…

Tyler Buchanan @Tylerjoelb

An Ohio political play, in four acts:

Pizzagate Jack doesn’t know Jack about the PDB. But David Priess does.

David Priess @DavidPriess

Hi. President Daily Brief guy here. It is in no way highly unusual for the vice president to receive the full PDB daily. In fact, it is highly *usual*—it’s been the default for the vast majority of the PDB’s history, decade after decade after decade.... https://t.co/NjEwIJiZe8

Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec

Have heard from multiple White House and national security officials that Kamala is getting the full PDB daily. Highly unusual and Biden didn’t even get that himself when he was VP.

#NYGOV gets even more interesting!

Beth Reinhard @bethreinhard

Potential Cuomo challenger, Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), is accused of sexual misconduct by a former lobbyist.

washingtonpost.comFormer lobbyist accuses Rep. Tom Reed, a potential Cuomo challenger, of sexual misconductNicolette Davis, now a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, told The Washington Post the congressman rubbed her back and unhooked her bra during a gathering at a Minneapolis pub when she was a junior lobbyist in 2017. Reed says her account is “not accurate.”

Meet the wealthy people who wanted to #StopTheSteal. It’s a wild ride.

USA🇺🇸 USA 🇺🇸 USA 🇺🇸 ! Let’s end Friday on a good note.

As Johnny Cash sang:

And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more

Our country is far from perfect. And our flag has seen a lot. But, like you, I assume you’re mighty proud of it. Americans are what makes America great. Stay safe, and we’ll see you on Monday.

Have a great weekend. Drop me a line at swift@thebulwark.com.

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