The Administration of Abortion Laws—and More
Adam J. White on why we should be wary of an outsourced, passive-aggressive administrative state.
🏒 FACEOFF 🏒
The Beauty of Halloween…
A few of the fun scolds on the far right, the “traditional” right, have been spending their time leading up to Halloween scolding us normies about big sugar and candy, with some even encouraging people to use holy water and scare away the “demons” with the name of the Lord. Maybe my Catholic church is too woke, but holy water has been on back order since mid-2020. I guess you have to plan ahead and ask a priest for a special batch.
In my neighborhood, we really had a good Halloween. I ran back to the house while the twins (Doc McStuffins and Skye from Paw Patrol) were out collecting candy to make sure our bowl wasn’t empty, and it wasn’t. In fact, we over-prepared and had three extra bags of candy.
As my kids’ energy wound down, I fired up the Weber Smokey Joe grill and cooked out for my wife, and I added some hot dogs and brats in case anyone came. Some of my neighbors were offering Jello Shots, others were offering cider (leaded or unleaded?) Next year, I plan to offer hot dogs to all comers.
Earlier in the day, I criticized a Christian conservative commentator for tweeting “Let’s Go Brandon” (you know what it means and so did this person) and only discovered the backlash from the far right Twitterati, apparently with nothing better to do.
Nobody wins on Twitter, really. As our friend Ben Dreyfuss wisely observed: “on social media, there are no winners or losers. There are only casualties." I did get a laugh when I noticed and was enjoying cooking out. You always have to remember: the internet is not real life. And the wisest decision is to never get notifications.
It was a fun night. I went as Ted Lasso, and one neighbor even put a red balloon tied to the drain for Pennywise. I just don’t understand the people on the far right who think Halloween is evil. I’m sure they were at church bright and early for All Souls Day…
Leading The Bulwark…
The Administration of Abortion Laws—and More
ADAM J. WHITE: We should be wary of an outsourced, passive-aggressive administrative state.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Jonathan V. Last: No, DeSantis is Not a Safer Choice
The GOP cements its role as a lifestyle brand. Why the GOP may not be able to replicate Youngkin. And Facebook's role in the derangement of American politics. Jonathan V. Last joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
The Focus Group Bonus Episode: What's up with Wisconsin? 🔐
Season 1 comes to an end with a look at fixable problems.
MORNING SHOTS: Defining Deviancy Down: Politics Edition 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES: No, Ron DeSantis is not the answer.
THE TRIAD: Glenn Youngkin May Not Be Replicable 🔓
JVL: There's only one piece of bad new for Republicans coming out of Virginia.
WEEKEND SHOTS: "Drive This Ugly Back To The Fringes"🔓
NEWSLETTER OF NEWSLETTERS: Facebook’s Pivot to Meta🔓
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Australia Braces for Life After Covid Zero - Matthew Campbell and Angus Whitley, Bloomberg Businessweek
Biden’s agenda blown off course by shifting political winds - Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
How Russia Botched Its COVID Response in Every Possible Way - David Axe, The Daily Beast
The Authentic Phoniness of Josh Mandel - David A. Graham, The Atlantic
McAuliffe, Youngkin tout national stakes in final Virginia blitz - Zach Montellaro and Brittany Gibson, Politico
Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside Congress - Martin Pengelly, The Guardian
‘Deja vu all over again’: American Airlines cancels hundreds more flights Sunday - Kyle Arnold, The Dallas Morning News
In Today’s Bulwark...
Fake News from Fake Sites to Guilt Real Voters to Go Vote
JIM SWIFT: Algorithmic politics, 2021.
Donald Trump Is Now the Odds-On Favorite to Be President in 2025
TIM MILLER: Be very afraid.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
All is not well in Pennsylvania…
The Spotted Lanternfly hunters. How ordinary people are teaming up to kill an invasive species. Though, they could take a few cues from the Peoria Carp Hunters on branding.
The wheels of justice turn in Texas… Where we’re finding out new details about how Trump supporters harassed a Biden campaign bus, and local officials did nothing and laughed about it.
Red Flags…
Is the Texas abortion law in trouble?
The evil genius of marketing… (But as I warned, the GOP should be careful what they wish for.)
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
