The Insurrectionists Are Coming
The Insurrectionists Are Coming
Plus, Utah Democrats get serious about Democracy.
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A.B. Stoddard: The Insurrectionists Are Coming.
If the Kevin McCarthy tapes taught us all anything, it’s that the man is game to harbor criminals. And once someone with power does that, what won’t they do? Positioned to be third in line to the presidency nine months from now as speaker of the House, McCarthy will lead a conference of radicals, nihilists, and some people who likely committed federal crimes.
Shouldn’t Democrats be talking about this?
This is not the same group of Republicans who Democrats defeated in the 2018 midterms. That weak and compromised conference was in Trump’s thrall, but had not yet tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Today there are GOP members of Congress who were involved in what January 6th Select Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin describes as an “orchestrated, premeditated assault on our system of government.”
And so Democrats campaigning to defend their majority should warn the people they represent about this fact now, rather than just complaining about it next year.
What’s Musk going to do to Twitter? Plus, Greg Abbott’s costly border performance, San Francisco’s become too woke for Democrats, and Kevin McCarthy is not only groveling, he’s denying he had a flash of decency. Will Saletan is back with Charlie Sykes on today’s podcast.
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MONA CHAREN: In Utah, Democrats Get Serious About Democracy.
The Utah Democratic Party did something extraordinary last week: They threw their support behind a Republican. Well, a former Republican, anyway. Evan McMullin, who ran for president as an independent in 2016, is now seeking to unseat Senator Mike Lee.
At the state Democratic convention, held at Cottonwood High School in Murray (don’t you love democracy?), some delegates were uncomfortable. One told the Deseret News that he “never imagined my fellow Democrats would disenfranchise me,” adding that “Democrats need to be on the ballot.” But most delegates were swayed by the arguments of former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams, who vouched for McMullin’s integrity and urged that he would help “heal the divide” in Washington. Besides, he said, McMullin has a real path to victory. The Democrats agreed, and with 57 percent voting in favor, elected to join a coalition that also includes the United Utah party to endorse McMullin.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
As the rain pours down… and washes away (at least for now) our weaponized pollen, I’m thinking of Chernobyl today because it’s the anniversary of the accident. If you haven’t watched the HBO series, you should, but we’re lucky that with Russia’s invasion, things at the former power plant did not go far worse than our status quo.
Meanwhile at the “Hall of Justice”… The LA Sheriff is investigating a journalist for exposing that an agent of the state knelt on a handcuffed prisoner’s head for three minutes.
And yet again… Rep. Madison Cawthorn has tried to bring a gun on a plane that wasn’t in checked luggage. This one was a $2k loaded pistol. Will he face any charges? Assuming he won’t, will he get his gun back? And did he get his last one back? (Longtime readers may recall my lost Swiss Army Knife, confiscated by TSA.)
Funds are running out… For some Afghan refugees in the D.C. area, which as you know, is expensive, the Post reports. We’re so grateful that our members were able to raise $32k for World Central Kitchen, and know you all were generous to help the refugees when they came. Please consider re-upping a donation if you donated in the past.
Where is the window for the Reds? The downstate Reds are really going through a bad period, and their owners are just throwing gas on the fire.
Tucker to Iowa? God help us. As Shane Goldmacher observes, there’s that old saying “No one ends up in Iowa by accident.”
An interesting COVID indicator. I saw this today and had to check it, because it seemed too good to be true. Bad reviews of Yankee candles. Really.
The power of narrative… At The Atlantic, our friend Molly Jong-Fast weighs in and encourages Democrats to embrace the power of story telling.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
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