Meeting The Moment Together

It feels good to have hope, doesn’t it?

The central tension in the Secret Podcast is hope. Sarah looks at the world and sees all the ways it can get better. JVL looks at the world and sees all the ways it can get worse.

But this week, for the first time in a couple of years, the two of us have been in the same spot: Looking at the upsides.

We have just witnessed something historic. And for the first time in a long time, it was historically good. The sitting president of the United States stepped aside in his reelection campaign. He did so for the good of the country. All of a sudden, America has been given the chance to turn the page and move into the future.

And the response has been amazing. You can feel the energy, the pent-up demand for change. People are excited. The sense of dread that has been hanging like a pall over this campaign? It’s gone.

The month leading up to this was not a lot of fun. We had difficult and painful conversations at The Bulwark. We believed that Joe Biden should—and ultimately would—step aside. A lot of people got mad at us for saying so. But we talked it through with The Bulwark community. It was always respectful and earnest. Some people canceled their subscriptions. Others listened, engaged with the evidence, and changed their minds.

But this was our value-proposition in action: We don’t play bank-shots. We’re not trying to position ourselves for something else. We tell you what we really think.

And the value proposition of The Bulwark community is that it’s a group of 40,000 members who can have these sorts of important, passionate conversations—and still be friends.

We’re about 13 weeks from the election. A hundred days, give or take. The pace will only quicken from here. And we want you with us.

We’re having a very rare sale. Upgrade today to get 12 months of a Bulwark+ membership for $80. That’s a 20% discount off our annual membership.

Memberships help to keep this project sustainable. They let us put reporters on the ground at the conventions, in Congress, and at the White House. Our members make it possible for us to keep most of our work free and available to everyone, so that it reaches the largest audience. Because that’s part of the mission: We’re not doing this to get rich. We’re trying to save democracy and make our politics better.

And as always, part of our ethos is that we’re need-blind. If you want to join Bulwark+ but can’t afford it, just reply to this email and we’ll work something out. One of the reasons our members subscribe is precisely so that we can have the ability to make sure that anyone who wants to be part of this family can be.

This is a time for hope.

History had its eye on Joe Biden, and he met his moment.

History has its eye on us, now. Let’s meet our moment, together.

Best,

Sarah and JVL

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