“Law & Order” in Donald Trump’s America
Tim Miller delivers a brief study in contrasts...
Leading The Bulwark…
“Law & Order” in Donald Trump’s America
Tim Miller:
Consider again the scene in McLean.
Protesters gathered outside the home of the attorney general to demand the jailing of the president’s political opponents for imaginary crimes. Now freedom of speech and assembly is for the crazies, too. LARPers who fantasize about pedophile rings have rights, just like you and me. But given that the context of the situation you might reasonably think that this was a security concern.
🎧On the Pods…🎧
David Byler on the First and Last ‘Emerging Democratic Majority’
On today’s Bulwark podcast, David Byler joins host Charlie Sykes to break down the polls one day before the election, explain why you can’t model a court fight, and what states to look out for tomorrow night.
Join Bulwark+ and join us tomorrow!
Many of you are already members of Bulwark+, and thank you! But many of you are not, and we’d love to have you join our band of + members. Tomorrow night we’ve got an awesome lineup of Bulwark staffers going from 7 pm Eastern to ??? to break down what we’re seeing on election night.
If you’re not ready to join us for the next year (which will be a rollercoaster!) you can also sign up for $10 a month.
Give it a try and pop on to our Zoom discussion tomorrow night. I suspect you’ll enjoy it more than if you were watching cable.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Trump’s Dismissal of Covid Risk Paved Way to White House Outbreak – Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg Businessweek
It’s up to the people to foil Trump’s plot against democracy – Robert Kagan, The Washington Post
Republicans Are Trying To Cancel More Than 100,000 Votes in a Deep Blue Part of Texas – Eric Boehm, Reason Magazine
Man thought people were stealing Donald Trump signs; three shot – Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal
Pro-Trump car caravan briefly blocks New Jersey highway – John Bowden, The Hill
Exit Polls Can Be Misleading — Especially This Year – Laura Bronner and Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight
COVID Is Trump’s Undoing. He Truly Thinks He Nailed it. – Erin Banco and Asawin Suebsaeng, The Daily Beast
In Today’s Bulwark…
What to Watch for on Election Night—and Beyond
Richard North Patterson: The states that matter to the Electoral College count—and the chaos that may follow.
The Dangerous Interregnum
Jeremi Surli and Jeffrey K. Tulis: If he is defeated on election day, a lame-duck President Trump could wreak havoc during the eleven weeks before inauguration day.
November Surprise: Trump to Fire Fauci After Election
Tim Miller: Trump ensures the campaign’s final news cycle is about his virus trutherism.
Sean Connery, 1930-2020
Sonny Bunch: He made everything he was in a little bit better than it had to be.
Trump Co-Opts Mexican Holiday with Proclamation Demonizing Illegal Immigrants
Brian Karem: Forget the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free”—the president says there’s “no room at the inn.”
Untangling Faith and Love of Country
Elizabeth Neumann: How one national security expert found freedom from fear by looking to Jesus.
Classical Music Isn’t Elitist
Daniel Lelchuk: But some of its woke critics are.
The Fruits of Trump’s Arrogant Pride and Twisted Love of Fame
John Agresto: “Nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down.”
Help the Hillbillies—and Help Them Help Themselves
Matthew Stokes: Pushback against ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ as a snobbish outsider’s view of Appalachia is inaccurate, unfair, and—worst of all—unhelpful.
Getting Better at Getting Better
David Shaywitz: COVID mortality is plummeting in the absence of a vaccine. New research highlights the value of incremental innovation.
Trump the Fly-Catcher
Brian Karem: He offers lies and empty promises. What do his most fervent followers see in him?
Voter Suppression and Civic Vice
Gary Hart: Our republic requires certain virtues in our leaders. Those who suppress the votes of their fellow citizens show none of them.
The Trouble with the ‘It’s Not Real Fascism’ Argument
Laura K. Field: Minimizing the threat of Trumpism ignores the lessons of Trump’s disastrous rise, and belittles the hard on-the-ground work going into Trump’s potential defeat.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
It’s the final countdown… But will we know when it ends? Well, tune into our members-only livestream tomorrow night for more insight!
I hope you had a safe and happy Halloween. We had very few trick-or-treaters, and my last ditch effort to buy candy resulted in my wife questioning why I threw away the receipt. The twins went as Doc McStuffins and thankfully it wasn’t too cold or windy, as it is here in the D.C. area today.
If you still haven’t carved your pumpkin (and who could blame you) make sure to save the seeds, and roast them with some olive oil and Tony Chachere’s for about 30 minutes in the oven. Thank me later.
Let’s start off OVERTIME with some fun stuff. Look at this touchdown. And look at it again and again.
Since tensions are high… Perhaps you need a quick break from politics. As I write this, the girls are watching My Friends Tigger & Pooh. This show makes no sense as it seemingly inserts a little girl from the American South into the 100 Acre Wood to basically solve crimes with an expanded cast. Whatever. These shows are not supposed to make sense. But if you’re a fan of Pooh, as I am, this interview with Jim Cummings, the voice of Pooh (and many others) will brighten your day.
More in the good vibes department… This item at Plough by Heather Thompson Day is a must read about how a family estrangement over race took a strange turn.
Now, let’s get to the bad news. Sean Connery died over the weekend, and I felt it important to share this scene from The Rock.
What’s next for the right wing media if Biden wins? I contributed a few quotes to this CJR item by Howard Polskin.
The Economist doesn’t pull any punches. Here’s their endorsement of Joe Biden.
"THE COUNTRY that elected Donald Trump in 2016 was unhappy and divided. The country he is asking to re-elect him is more unhappy and more divided. After almost four years of his leadership, politics is even angrier than it was and partisanship even less constrained. Daily life is consumed by a pandemic that has registered almost 230,000 deaths amid bickering, buck-passing and lies. Much of that is Mr Trump’s doing, and his victory on November 3rd would endorse it all."
Another interesting tidbit from the item:
"A resounding Democratic victory would also benefit the Republicans. That is because a close contest would tempt them into divisive, racially polarising tactics, a dead end in a country that is growing more diverse. As anti-Trump Republicans argue, Trumpism is morally bankrupt (see Lexington). Their party needs a renaissance. Mr Trump must be soundly rejected.”
Where the campaigns are prioritizing… Visualized:
Did we just get a glimpse of the RQ-180? The highly secretive drone apparently was photographed out west over the weekend.
Maybe the future has been written. I don't know; all I know is what the Terminator taught me; never stop fighting. And I never will. The battle has just begun.
He’s doing all he can, you guys! John Oliver weighs in on why this argument, that Trump bares little or no blame for COVID-19 and our response, is based in nonsense.
Is Trump going to send an army of supporters to “watch” the polls? It doesn’t appear so. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?
Cindy McCain makes her endorsement… In USA TODAY, the wife of the late Arizona Senator explains why she is voting for Joe Biden:
My husband believed in straight talk and country first. So do I. Joe Biden is the right choice to be president at this pivotal time in the country’s history. He is a patriot who believes passionately in America and the principles and values that make it great. He will be a leader whom all Americans can count on to put country above party, patriotism above partisanship, and national interest ahead of his own. Most important, Joe will unite a deeply divided country and bring together all Americans to address and overcome the great challenges we face.
I can vouch for these qualifications because I have known him for four decades. He will have the vote of this proud Republican on Tuesday.
Well, that’s it for me on election eve! I’ve gotta rest up for the livestream we’re doing from 7 pm Eastern to ???. All your favorite Bulwark types will be there, and we’ll be taking your questions and reacting in real time to the events of the night.
So, if you haven’t joined Bulwark+, you can right now!
It’s gonna be fun.
And if you’d like to share today’s OVERTIME with a friend who might enjoy it, please do. Mine is the free newsletter and we’d love it if our audience grew even more.
These are crazy times, we’ve got a country to save, and we’re here to navigate this strange new political world with you. You might not always agree with us, and that’s O.K. But we promise that we’re going to give you our experienced, honest, unvarnished opinion.
Stay safe and sane. I hope you’ll join us tomorrow night.
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