More Immigration, Less Inflation
Plus, Will 2022 Be the Year of the Black Republican?
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LINDA CHAVEZ: More Immigration, Less Inflation.
The pandemic has drastically changed the American workforce. More than 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021, the highest level in 20 years, including almost a quarter of Hispanic and Asian workers. A Pew study shows that most people who quit cited low pay and no opportunity for advancement (63 percent) or said they felt disrespected at work (57 percent). Most of these workers found other jobs, with a majority (56 percent) earning more than they did previously. While that increased pay accrues benefits to individual workers, the costs are born by employers and consumers in the form of higher prices.
Job dissatisfaction may spur upward mobility, but then who is going to do the jobs ambitious workers leave? For decades, new immigrants filled the first rungs on the economic ladder, taking entry-level jobs in the service, food, and construction industries while building the work experience and language skills needed to move up over time. But immigration restrictions over the last half-decade stemmed the flow of new workers into the United Statesāand the combination of the Trump administration and COVID restricted it even more.
Some of Dianne Feinsteinās colleagues say sheās no longer fit to serve. Meanwhile, McConnellās backing a candidate in Georgia whoās not prepared to take a major vote in the Senate. Plus: Ukraine, Biden, and the PA governorsā race. Amanda Carpenter joins Charlie Sykes on todayās podcast.
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Cathy Young, Ted Johnson, and Will Saletan join Ben Parker to answer your questions! Itās an all-mailbag episode of Thursday Night Bulwark
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THEODORE R. JOHNSON: Will 2022 Be the Year of the Black Republican?
My sense of it is that recent black Republicans in Congress have benefited from the persistent capture of the party by movementsāfirst the Tea Party, now Trumpism. And when black candidatesāin fact, racial or ethnic minority candidates generallyāare able to convey a deeper alignment with the capturing movement than white candidates, they greatly improve their chances of winning the party primary decided by an electorate where 9 in 10 voters are white.
Put simply, movements like the Tea Party and Trumpism deepen partisan identity and make it far easier to identify who youāre for and who youāre against, even to the point of overlooking other traditional cues. As such, a black candidate who leans heavily into the movementās symbols, rhetoric, and harsh critiques of prominent Democrats not only becomes an acceptable avatar but also an aegis against accusations of racial intolerance within the movement itself. Further, donning the partisan identity with the recognizable features of contemporary movement conservatism works to mitigate the perception of black Americans as beholden to big government progressivism that places these candidates at a disadvantage in Republican primaries from the outset.
SARAH LONGWELL: Trump: Still Not Losing His Grip on the GOP.
If you squint hard enough, maybe you can talk yourself into believing that all of this is a sign of Trump losing sway with Republican voters.
But on the other hand, there are explanations for many of these failures, and counter-examples on the other side of the ledger.
For instance, Brooks is a bad candidate and while he was Trump-endorsed, the other two candidates in the Alabama Senate GOP primary race have run not as #NeverTrump but as #MoreTrump. Rival Katie Britt loves to talk about the need to ābuild the wallā even though the contest is in . . . Alabama. And Mike Durant runs ads calling himself a āTrump Republican.ā āPresident Trump did so much right,ā Durant begins in one ad. After Trump un-endorsed Brooks, Durant released a statement saying that āPresident Trump was ROBBED.ā It concluded, āWe wonāt move on and we wonāt forget!ā Durant has decided that his path to victory lies in repeating Trumpās Big Lie.
Then we have āStop the Stealā candidate Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate race. Heās a shoo-in for the Republican nomination for no real reason other than he has been all-in on Trump from the start. Itās a show of Trumpās power that establishment Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, made their peace with Walker, and not the other way around.
šØOVERTIME šØ
On the Jukeboxšµā¦ Marlena Shawās California Soul.
Matt Labash: A million gone.
āThe lunacy is getting more intenseā¦ā Behind the āBirds Arenāt Realā movement.
Americaās Favorite Truck v. Elon Muskā¦ āGo ahead, Farley. Go to war.ā
The Dark Empire of Yogi Bhajanā¦ The latest from Vice.
Sarah Longwell on insane GOP Midterm Adsā¦
Should DiFi retire? Some of her colleagues think so.
Need an easter recipe? Hereās the chef who sounds like Winnie the Pooh telling you how to make hot crossed buns. I also recommend this, which I am making for dinner as you read this.
The Biden administrationās zombie foreign economic policyā¦ Daniel Drezner writes: Biden White House officials love to say theyāre not going to do ātrade for tradeās sake.ā Okay, then, how about ātrade for securityās sakeā or ātrade for fighting inflationās sakeā?!
Just following orders? Thatās what a J6 defendant told a court. He stole liquor and a coat rack. Heās married, 38, and also says he lacks male role models. (Or at least thatās what his lawyer told him to say.)
Tucker Carlson and vaccine hypocrisyā¦ Erik Wemple writes:
āTucker Carlson, tell the American people if you have been double vaccinated and boosted, just come clean,ā said CNNās Jim Acosta in January. āTell everybody if you have been boosted, we know the truth, we know you have been. But just tell us, tell everybody the truth, it is all we ask.ā Rolling Stoneās Jack Crosbie wrote, āThe hypocrisy behind all of this is that Tucker Carlson is almost certainly vaccinated.ā
Usually, those analysts would now have to get busy writing corrections. Doing so, however, would require believing Tucker Carlson. As he said last year, āI lie.ā
Is JD Vance gonna get the endorsement? A late endorsement in a race where Vance trails could matter?
Thatās it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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