Let’s Make a Deal to Roll Back Executive Power
Amanda Carpenter on how Biden can build a consensus, and why Congress should work to reduce the power of the executive...
Leading The Bulwark…
Let’s Make a Deal to Roll Back Executive Power
Amanda Carpenter: If Biden is serious about bipartisan consensus, he should surrender presidential powers.
As the Biden administration settles in, the temptation among Democrats to begin using Trump’s various abuses as justification for their own will only grow. Republicans should act quickly, while worries of Trump’s abuses of power are fresh in Democrats’ minds and before Biden finds himself tempted to misuse these powers himself.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
A.B. Stoddard: What Happens Now in the Senate
On today’s Bulwark podcast, A.B. Stoddard joins Charlie Sykes to discuss her item on the future of the Senate in a Biden administration, the Wayne County, Michigan controversy, and the GOP’s speeding Trump train to nowhere.
For Bulwark+ Members 🔒
The Next Level: Don’t Call it A Coup!
Trying to figure out just how alarmed we should be about Trump’s slow-rolling, low-energy, I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-a-coup.
Remember, when you join as a member of Bulwark+, you get special access to our podcasts, livestreams, newsletters we make only for members! Speaking of which… Save the date!
If you haven’t joined Bulwark+ yet, there’s still time to become a member so you can join us tomorrow night.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Lindsey Graham’s Long-Shot Mission to Unravel the Election Results – Stephanie Saul, The New York Times
‘I’m not a f—ing socialist’: Florida Democrats are having a postelection meltdown – Matt Dixon and Gary Fineout, Politico
Toppled, warehoused, waiting: Confederate statue still in limbo in DC – Chris Cioffi, Roll Call
Republicans Won Almost Every Election Where Redistricting Was At Stake – Nathaniel Rakich and Elena Mejía, FiveThirtyEight
Senators Once Again Berate Twitter and Facebook CEOs for Content Decisions They Dislike – Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason
The World Is Never Going Back to Normal – Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
Delusional COVID Truthers Try to Invade Hospital Where This Mom Died Too Soon – Michael Daly, The Daily Beast
In Today’s Bulwark…
What a President Biden Could Do with a GOP-Controlled Senate
Richard North Patterson on the art of the possible.
Raffensperger to the Rescue
Mona Charen: A rare sighting of a Republican with both a conscience and a backbone.
Lindsey Graham Is the Worst
Nicholas Connors: A former staffer explains why Graham is everything that’s wrong with American politics.
🚨 OVERTIME 🚨
President Trump’s legal argument in Pennsylvania seems to be going well…
Rudy Giuliani fought the law… It did not go well. The Defector legal desk provides this dispatch.
Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis’s old comments come to light…
She was right the first time.
What planet does David Harsanyi live on? This is some galaxy brain level stuff.
Grab a box of tissues. Because reading this story is going to hit you right in the gut. I’m telling you right now because you should read it, and you should share it. Especially with your younger friends and family who might think they’re invincible and COVID-19 won’t come for them. I’m not going to tell you anything else about it. Just read it. Share it. This virus does not care about its victims, and that’s why you should care about taking it seriously. And this story, very sad, might help illustrate that point to others.
You might think trade law is boring… But as friend of the newsletter Alex Lawson observes, this lawsuit proves otherwise:
Good Time Charlie… As Congress and the Biden administration head into what will be a contentious period of legislating, it’s worth remembering there was once a Congressman from Texas who, while not immune from scandal, could get things done for the good of all.
Let's kick the tires and light the fires… Knowing they’ve lost to Joe Biden, that apparently is the ethos of the outgoing Trump administration, CNN reports:
The Trump team has prepared legally required transition memos describing policy challenges, but there are no discussions about actions they could take or pause. Instead, the White House is barreling ahead. A second official tells CNN their goal is to set so many fires that it will be hard for the Biden administration to put them all out.
It's a strategy that radically breaks with past practice, could raise national security risks and will surely compound challenges for the Biden team -- but it could also backfire. Analysts and people close to the Biden transition argue the Trump team may act so aggressively that reversing some of its steps will earn Biden easy goodwill points and negotiating power with adversaries.
Will it backfire? Time will tell. But knowing how things typically work in Trumpworld… Probably.
What’s Grillin’ Dylan? A brief update about food: I had planned to make my favorite white bolognese recipe for dinner, but instead, my wife made Tikka Masala. There’s a local sausage purveyor (no, not Two Fat Butchers in Front Royal) called Roma, and they are the local kingpin. They make Old Bay Brats and all of the kinds of sausage you can imagine. They’re great. But now, they’re also making cheddar brats. These are relatively easy to find in the Midwest, but a little more rare on the East Coast.
So of course, I bought those, too. Even if it’s in the 30s and windy. I will always put cheddar brats in my cart. It’s good to have the heat back! And I have the Johnsonville indoor brat grill (a potential great gift for the holidays!), so wind is no enemy of mine when it comes to enjoying delicious brats.
The fridge saga is over. It turns out going to the local dump on your own, if your car can handle a load is cost-free for residents, making my stupid mistake less costly. Let’s not speak of this again.
That’s it for me today. Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Recipes? Drop me a line at: swift@thebulwark.com. And remember, you can give the gift of The Bulwark to a loved one who might appreciate it:
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