In all seriousness I feel extremely lucky, especially given the state of the industry, to be at an outfit that pays well enough to support my family in the DC area on a single income (my wife is a SAHM for now). For which I have all of you to thank!
Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services runs a lucrative franchise, though. It could have something to do with the fact that Winston Rothschild is number 1 in the number 2 business.
I watched as much of the rally as I could stand , less than 15 minutes. I am not an expert, but I believe Trump is losing some of his charisma. His lines seem old and the audience response seems canned. I think it may be an issue for him that to pull of his routine he needs a specific demonized by comic enemy, like crooked Hillary, Hussein Obama, or sleepy Joe. Weirdly Democrat disarray may actually make things harder for Trump. Antifa is now the main monster and at best it’s unconvincing. Yesterday’s story in Wapo about the long sentences for alleged ‘antifa’ members was really disturbing.
Yeah, I saw a few minutes and crowd looked mildly embarrassed, not enthusiastic, but I saw when Trump was announcing that he should run for office a third time. He's not getting buyers on that idea even among MAGA.
I wish the Democrats could say something that most Americans could get behind and do it in a convincing way. I hear...
"Yeah, we gotta talk about corruption and whatnot for now, but that's just to get the rube vote. Once we get back in, we can focus on climate and gender issues and all the important stuff again."
They sound like they're from Oberlin because they ARE from Oberlin.
That's why Platner bothers them so much. He doesn't sound like he's from Oberlin.
There's a pun opportunity there, somewhere: we can't get the Reflecting Pool squared away because...it's a rectangle. But it's the most beautiful rectangle, many people say.
Anyone else notice how small and insignificant Trump looks in that photo? It was the first thing I noticed about it. He looks like a tiny guy with tiny little hands.
Thanks, Andrew for another beautifully written piece complete with this sentence: "Islamist regimes abroad and single-celled organisms at home keep disobeying his extremely clear instructions, no matter how many bombs or gallon jugs of hydrogen peroxide he sends their way"
It's only because the single cell organisms get a vote.
They hit the blue-green algae with peroxide, killing it, but creating an environment where other species of algae could thrive. Only this administration could be so packed with incompetents that this problem could still be going on.
Centrists might not like it, but the progressive realignment of the Democratic Party that we've been trying to tell everyone about for over a year is now well underway, no matter how much dark money is spent to oppose it. Democratic voters who've sat out since their party leadership has aligned itself with AIPAC and the corporate lobby are back, they're retaking their party, and they have no patience for fence-sitting establishment Democrats who call progressive policy, "radical."
I generally consider myself a centrist Democrat but even I understand why a progressive message is resonating. We have a radical Republican party that wants to send society back to 1930 (or hell, 1830), that thinks the Gilded Age is a good goal, and blatently works to destroy ordinary people. Countering that with anything other than full throated radicals of our own seems futile, stupid and weak.
Trump apologists told us that the rise of Trumpian populism was a natural response to ordinary Americans feeling left behind. The populism was only stylistic, but hard-right ideologues still say that a Trump-led counterrevolution is necessary to save "American culture" from leftism.
Considering how blatantly plutocratic Trump's policies have been, his apologists shouldn't be surprised that they're provoking a left-wing reaction.
I want someone to stop Trump and MAGA and fascism. If Schumer won't be against American concentration camps, I will find politicians who are anti-concentration camp. This isn't a difficult concept. I want our Constitution to matter.
Things are measurably getting worse for everyone except the mega rich. People want answers, and milquetoast centrism won't give us anything except the status quo.
Radical solutions are needed to get us back on track.
I'm not sure "centrism" is necessarily the problem (this coming from someone who would probably fall on the "far left" end of the spectrum/pidgeonhole). The problem is having the intestinal fortitude to go after Trump and his minions, rather than strongly worded letters and hand-wringing concern.
Compare/contrast the unbridled everyman joy around The Knicks, and the leader at that city’s helm, with the taunting disrespect on the White House lawn, and the craven cult leader behind that spectacle.
Look beyond political tribalism and acknowledge Mamdani is actually working to make the lives of NYC non-1%’ers better.
I live in the Lehigh Valley, in “the purplest district in the purplest state in the country,”per a friend. I look forward to voting out Mackenzie in November and watching President Man deal with a Democratic House next year … if he hasn’t wasted away from taking that new Lilly drug (see headlines about a mysterious 79-yr-old man getting dispensation to try an experimental obesity medication).
While I still maintain that he's better than Oz, Fetterman is a major disappointment. Turns out that Fetterman's only skill was having a clever modern campaign.
In Washington State there is young and clever MGP --Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. A small "D" in a R/I sprawling SW Washington district just across the Columbia River from Portland. I am not in that district, but supported her because Joe Kent was the opposition and MGP was clearly on the side of local issues and constituents, where Kent was spouting the rolodex of crays and slide show of national issues. I do not agree with her on a number of issues, but continued to admire her independent spirit and "constituent representation". More recently, her voting record has been surprisingly ignorant on issues that should be very clear. It is disappointing.
As an out-of-state donator to Fetterman, I wince but rationalize that I helped stave off six years of Dr Supplement in the Senate, compared to whatever shenanigans he gets up to as Admin of CMS.
Fishback is horrible, but not a lot better than his opponent. Hopefully their combined incompetence will usher in a chance for a D win (not holding my breath tho).
Thank you for the tip, even though it means _The Atlantic_ can't be dessert tonight. Maybe it's true, that thing about eating dessert first? At any rate, that's the best opening line I've read in a while.
You did it again boys. You manage every morning to make me spit my coffee out with your excellent takes on the absurdist experimental theatre troupe called the US government. Well done.
Bill described the war as “unauthorized “ when in fact it was illegal, just like the boat strikes and the regime change in Venezuela. Euphemisms muddle the waters when communicating.
Andrew: "Every stupid threadbare brag line, every completely invented cockamamie anecdote and scripted attack on the “Dumocrats”—the crowd, as usual, ate it up with a spoon. “There’s so much love in the room,” Trump said. “There’s so much unbelievable love.”"
What does it say about "the crowd" that 11 years into the Trump era, these people are still watching with bated breath the ramblings of a demented, narcissistic sociopath. Attending one of these rallies in 2026 is a choice, and the rest of us are allowed to make moral judgments about their character (or really lack of it).
Also, "so much unbelievable love?"
JFC. If the people who truly matter actually loved you, you'd be in a nursing home instead of stumbling across the country while carrying the codes to our nuclear arsenal. The fact that you're not means the people who truly matter are ***using you***, including Uday and Qusay. No one loves you, Mr. President. You are incapable of absorbing love. You are incapable of giving love. The second that you're not useful anymore, you'll be discarded and you'll spend your remaining time screaming at the clouds until your appointment with Our Father Below.
From what I've read, that usefulness will expire the moment we are 1 day past the two year mark on this term. That would allow Vance to govern for 1.999 years without affecting his eligibility for two full terms.
Tulsi Gabbard and her guru should be hauled before Congress to testify about their relationship and what information may have been shared, but I won’t hold my breath. But let’s be honest we are in a predicament where the former DNI was most likely directed by a cult leader because of the exact same behavior by the Republican Party. The only reason she became DNI director was because of the same cult-like behavior she is accused of by the Republican Party out of fealty to Donald Trump. Everyone knew she wasn’t qualified, but the leader demanded it and they complied. How is this any different than what Tulsi did except on a much larger scale with people who knew better which I am not sure Gabbard does.
The Bulwark needs to prepare itself for the ascendance of the DSA wing. Whether or not you agree with their policy recommendations, we cannot ignore the current political and economic environment, and it is ripe for this type of a philosophy. When the stock market has become completely untethered from reality, when one of the worst people in the world has become the world's first trillionaire (something so obscene I cannot wrap my head around it), and while those who are lucky enough to have a job toil to make the ownership class wealthier and wealthier while they struggle with stagnant wages and inflation, you're going to see increasing the appeal of a movement that deems the entire system rotten and corrupt, and proposes revolutionary solutions.
'he intends to try to sell a return to the status quo2 in the Strait of Hormuz as one of those Wonderful, Magnificent Deals Only Trump Could Ever Get You: “Yesterday, 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz, a very beautiful place,” he said. “That’s the most oil in the history of the strait.” (In reality, it’s still a bit subpar—last year an average of 20 million barrels passed through the waterway daily.)'
So he's lying about 19 million being a record. And also probably lying about the 19 million.
'Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania yesterday, Trump acknowledged, in his way, the need for continued discussion of the war: “Anybody that’s been critical of it has to be educated.”'
And by "educated," Trump actually meant indoctrinated.
If it is our collective fate to transition from being the Republicans nobody in the Republican Party likes because we won't stop screeching about Donald Trump to being the Democrats nobody in the Democratic Party likes because we won't stop screeching that markets are Good, Actually and economists are worth having in your governing coalition . . . well, so be it!
Well regulated markets. We won't even get into the trickle down con job of Reaganomics. Bush the Elder was correct when he called it "Voodoo Economics".
I think it's coming, and whether America is ready for it or it's smart politically, I can't say. It plays great in parts of New York but it could be suicidal in other places. Propaganda will play a huge role, paid for by the oligarchs who are so invested in maintaining the status quo. But what is becoming increasingly clear to me is that things have gotten bad, they're on the cusp of getting way out of hand, and I don't see any evidence that traditional economists have any good answers or solutions, or that the way we've been doing things to get us to this point is at all sustainable.
". . . economists are worth having in your governing coalition . . ."
It depends on the economist. We tend to focus on what is right in front of us: the midterms, and then 2028. But there is a reason the Republican party turned fascist. Desperate people will grab a lifeline, even if it turns out it isn't attached to anything. Over the past several decades, the scale of economic inequality has become obscene. Both parties contributed to this. Trump promised to help the people who are hurting, and they bought his promises. Maybe some of his voters even realized it might be a scam, but they were desperate, so they took a chance.
Democrats may well win in 2026 and 2028 with nothing more than "we aren't as bad as the other guy." But if they do, and if they don't have answers to the economic problems of tens of millions of Americans, the win will be temporary. Voters will swing back to fascism, maybe so hard that elections won't matter after that.
Our goal has to be more than winning one or two elections. We need to build a society that most Americans can buy into. A society that is immune to fascism. Americans need jobs. Americans need a decent place to live. Americans need to feed their children and themselves. Americans need to know that they can get health care when they need it. Americans need to educate their children. Americans need the opportunity to have these things without getting buried in debt, and to save a little to invest in their future. Are these things just for a few exceptionally talented and dedicated individuals, or can these things be within the reach of most people? The aging corporate Democrats who have controlled the party for the last several decades have no idea how to deliver on these goals. The ones developing plans for addressing these issues are dismissed as "progressive" or even "radical." Maybe you recoil at the thought of socialized medicine. But other countries have demonstrated that socialized medicine is just like the other kind, except it is better and cheaper.
Leaders of the Bulwark have an opportunity to engage in the policy debates that can lead us out of this crisis. There isn't another forum like this. Sure, talk about the horse races in 2026 and 2028. But we expect more from you. Our country depends on it.
"The Bulwark needs to prepare itself for the ascendance of the DSA wing. Whether or not you agree with their policy recommendations, we cannot ignore the current political and economic environment, and it is ripe for this type of a philosophy. When the stock market has become completely untethered from reality, when one of the worst people in the world has become the world's first trillionaire (something so obscene I cannot wrap my head around it), and while those who are lucky enough to have a job toil to make the ownership class wealthier and wealthier while they struggle with stagnant wages and inflation, you're going to see increasing the appeal of a movement that deems the entire system rotten and corrupt, and proposes revolutionary solutions."
It's a given that Russia has been monkeying around with our electoral process. Pretend you're a Russian cyber operative. Ask yourself how you would program your bots for maximum damage at this juncture. My answer: promote the shit out of DSA, then tar the whole party as anti-American commies.
This is how we cede power and enrich the wealthy; by punching each other instead of punching up. It's been an incredibly effective strategy for centuries, and interested parties, from malign foreign actors to our own 1%, will keep going to this playbook for as long as we allow it to work.
When John F. Kennedy was running to be president, Protestants voiced concern that a President Kennedy would take orders from the Pope. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is well aware that if he runs for president, people will warn that he will be a tool of Israel. Both predictions arose from fear-mongering, hate-mongering, and prejudice. Not so the predictions that were voiced about Tulsi. She was a bona fide Manchurian Candidate.
A trump rally "...is a space apart from space and a time apart from time, where the possibilities remain endless..." . Andrew, bringing in quantum theory to try and describe the admittedly strange period we're living in right now! Only in the Bulwark...
If Democrats are unpopular, I say it's only because the media hasn't been reporting efforts in Congress, or people are not paying attention. Are they leaderless? In this moment no one has arrived at the 'top,' true, but there's time before 2028. Our biggest concerns in this moment should be midterms, not interfered with! I am an independent ... I take no joy in trashing Democrats at this point, but prefer to keep my eye on the prize of ridding the nation of the current administration. The electorate has shown itself to be ill-advised for decades, IMO ... The Obama administration, again for me, was nothing less than a miracle. I still have a hard time conceiving how Obama did so well in elections, given the apparent ignorance that seems to abound in this country ... I have been fortified by Democrats speaking out in Congress ... And frankly, hearing them, I cannot agree that Democrats are as rudderless as the press prefers to make them out to be ... Maybe the press just likes to be in agreement with a voting (or worse a non-voting) public, to keep it's numbers up ... I, again, am an independent voter ... Democratic Socialists probably come closer to a party that I could whole heartedly support. I voted for Bernie in the primary, and wisely voted for Biden in the election. 'You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, ... you might get what you need.' My only complaint with the Bulwark, is so many truly still want to be 'Republicans,' it would appear, so take aim at Democrats, as though they are the wise ones ... True wisdom must move us all forward. Right now, forward for me is as far away as I can get from the outrage of the current administration.
"watching your eight millionth1 Trump rally"
Andrew,
Why didn't you go into a line of work more enjoyable? Like pumping septic tanks?
Simple: I went into journalism for the money
"Why did young Andrew get into journalism?" "He needed the money. Who am I to judge?".
LOL just like all of us did! That sweet, sweet smell of minimum wage when you have kids to support.
In all seriousness I feel extremely lucky, especially given the state of the industry, to be at an outfit that pays well enough to support my family in the DC area on a single income (my wife is a SAHM for now). For which I have all of you to thank!
The party's at Andrew's house . . . . .
Great job Andrew!
Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services runs a lucrative franchise, though. It could have something to do with the fact that Winston Rothschild is number 1 in the number 2 business.
(reference to a Canadian sketch comedy show)
I watched as much of the rally as I could stand , less than 15 minutes. I am not an expert, but I believe Trump is losing some of his charisma. His lines seem old and the audience response seems canned. I think it may be an issue for him that to pull of his routine he needs a specific demonized by comic enemy, like crooked Hillary, Hussein Obama, or sleepy Joe. Weirdly Democrat disarray may actually make things harder for Trump. Antifa is now the main monster and at best it’s unconvincing. Yesterday’s story in Wapo about the long sentences for alleged ‘antifa’ members was really disturbing.
Yeah, I saw a few minutes and crowd looked mildly embarrassed, not enthusiastic, but I saw when Trump was announcing that he should run for office a third time. He's not getting buyers on that idea even among MAGA.
There definitely has to be a shelf life on cult leaders. Either the space ship arrives or get off the pot.
I wish the Democrats could say something that most Americans could get behind and do it in a convincing way. I hear...
"Yeah, we gotta talk about corruption and whatnot for now, but that's just to get the rube vote. Once we get back in, we can focus on climate and gender issues and all the important stuff again."
They sound like they're from Oberlin because they ARE from Oberlin.
That's why Platner bothers them so much. He doesn't sound like he's from Oberlin.
Or getting that Reflecting Pool squared away ?
There's a pun opportunity there, somewhere: we can't get the Reflecting Pool squared away because...it's a rectangle. But it's the most beautiful rectangle, many people say.
Much taller than the Empire State Building.
Begin in the Reflecting Pool and work your way up to the Pondering Pool.
Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
I think so, Brain, but if Jimmy cracked corn, why would he care if his master was away?
In its present state, it looks more like the Mulling Pool. Don't taste it, though.
I think the Trumps have a gene pool problem, which I guess ends up being a national problem?
Anyone else notice how small and insignificant Trump looks in that photo? It was the first thing I noticed about it. He looks like a tiny guy with tiny little hands.
Or cleaning pools of algae ...
Andrew is a glutton for punishment.
Thanks, Andrew for another beautifully written piece complete with this sentence: "Islamist regimes abroad and single-celled organisms at home keep disobeying his extremely clear instructions, no matter how many bombs or gallon jugs of hydrogen peroxide he sends their way"
It's only because the single cell organisms get a vote.
They hit the blue-green algae with peroxide, killing it, but creating an environment where other species of algae could thrive. Only this administration could be so packed with incompetents that this problem could still be going on.
I laughed out loud on that line and almost called my Mom to read it to her as if it was Borowitz.
Centrists might not like it, but the progressive realignment of the Democratic Party that we've been trying to tell everyone about for over a year is now well underway, no matter how much dark money is spent to oppose it. Democratic voters who've sat out since their party leadership has aligned itself with AIPAC and the corporate lobby are back, they're retaking their party, and they have no patience for fence-sitting establishment Democrats who call progressive policy, "radical."
I generally consider myself a centrist Democrat but even I understand why a progressive message is resonating. We have a radical Republican party that wants to send society back to 1930 (or hell, 1830), that thinks the Gilded Age is a good goal, and blatently works to destroy ordinary people. Countering that with anything other than full throated radicals of our own seems futile, stupid and weak.
Trump apologists told us that the rise of Trumpian populism was a natural response to ordinary Americans feeling left behind. The populism was only stylistic, but hard-right ideologues still say that a Trump-led counterrevolution is necessary to save "American culture" from leftism.
Considering how blatantly plutocratic Trump's policies have been, his apologists shouldn't be surprised that they're provoking a left-wing reaction.
I want someone to stop Trump and MAGA and fascism. If Schumer won't be against American concentration camps, I will find politicians who are anti-concentration camp. This isn't a difficult concept. I want our Constitution to matter.
The establishment Dems lost the trifecta in 2024. Why are they surprised the party's voters are looking for alternatives ?
"We've tried nothing, and we're all out of ideas!" -Ned Flanders's father
Things are measurably getting worse for everyone except the mega rich. People want answers, and milquetoast centrism won't give us anything except the status quo.
Radical solutions are needed to get us back on track.
I'm not sure "centrism" is necessarily the problem (this coming from someone who would probably fall on the "far left" end of the spectrum/pidgeonhole). The problem is having the intestinal fortitude to go after Trump and his minions, rather than strongly worded letters and hand-wringing concern.
Underestimate the Mamdani effect at your peril.
Compare/contrast the unbridled everyman joy around The Knicks, and the leader at that city’s helm, with the taunting disrespect on the White House lawn, and the craven cult leader behind that spectacle.
Look beyond political tribalism and acknowledge Mamdani is actually working to make the lives of NYC non-1%’ers better.
I live in the Lehigh Valley, in “the purplest district in the purplest state in the country,”per a friend. I look forward to voting out Mackenzie in November and watching President Man deal with a Democratic House next year … if he hasn’t wasted away from taking that new Lilly drug (see headlines about a mysterious 79-yr-old man getting dispensation to try an experimental obesity medication).
Also:
Fetterman can suck it.
While I still maintain that he's better than Oz, Fetterman is a major disappointment. Turns out that Fetterman's only skill was having a clever modern campaign.
In Washington State there is young and clever MGP --Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. A small "D" in a R/I sprawling SW Washington district just across the Columbia River from Portland. I am not in that district, but supported her because Joe Kent was the opposition and MGP was clearly on the side of local issues and constituents, where Kent was spouting the rolodex of crays and slide show of national issues. I do not agree with her on a number of issues, but continued to admire her independent spirit and "constituent representation". More recently, her voting record has been surprisingly ignorant on issues that should be very clear. It is disappointing.
As an out-of-state donator to Fetterman, I wince but rationalize that I helped stave off six years of Dr Supplement in the Senate, compared to whatever shenanigans he gets up to as Admin of CMS.
Agree with the comments noting Oz would have been worse, but man, Fetterman is not even close to the guy I voted for (or who was lt gov before that).
The Fishback story is a good reminder that an awful lot of prominent white supremacists are also crooks.
Fishback is horrible, but not a lot better than his opponent. Hopefully their combined incompetence will usher in a chance for a D win (not holding my breath tho).
I'm sad Andrew isn't writing about algae again this morning, but I suppose it can't be all algae, all the time.
Happily for you, Jonathan Chait has maybe the best algae piece yet over at the Atlantic this morning:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/reflecting-pool-green-algae-trump/687672/
Chait says there are no consequences. Dead ducks beg to differ.
Totally agree; always love Jonathan's pieces! And for anyone who doesn't have a subscription: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/reflecting-pool-green-algae-trump/687672/?gift=6ICK1NhO1tuSUNO7V_Ru-ldTvYkzcEvWQZ7KYdCht-Q&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share.
There are too many hilarious lines in Chait's piece to pick just one - laying skyscrapers on their side to "obviate their most impressive attribute"...noting that hydrogen peroxide is used as a paint stripper (who knew!)...Cafaro as central casting but only if he was cast to hand Tony Soprano a stuffed envelope...truly a masterpiece. Here's a gift link so all can enjoy- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/reflecting-pool-green-algae-trump/687672/?gift=xtBuKTISd1X_grU-g5PMZvR9c7hbqLG5gsrRMIFdQkE
Thank you! It was indeed hilarious!
Thank you for the tip, even though it means _The Atlantic_ can't be dessert tonight. Maybe it's true, that thing about eating dessert first? At any rate, that's the best opening line I've read in a while.
I love the algae story, too! I love having an excuse to keep saying "delaminate." 😀
You did it again boys. You manage every morning to make me spit my coffee out with your excellent takes on the absurdist experimental theatre troupe called the US government. Well done.
Try the veal!
Don't forget to tip your bartenders and servers.
Bill described the war as “unauthorized “ when in fact it was illegal, just like the boat strikes and the regime change in Venezuela. Euphemisms muddle the waters when communicating.
Calling a spade a rake most always results in stepping on one at some point.
Very true!
Andrew: "Every stupid threadbare brag line, every completely invented cockamamie anecdote and scripted attack on the “Dumocrats”—the crowd, as usual, ate it up with a spoon. “There’s so much love in the room,” Trump said. “There’s so much unbelievable love.”"
What does it say about "the crowd" that 11 years into the Trump era, these people are still watching with bated breath the ramblings of a demented, narcissistic sociopath. Attending one of these rallies in 2026 is a choice, and the rest of us are allowed to make moral judgments about their character (or really lack of it).
Also, "so much unbelievable love?"
JFC. If the people who truly matter actually loved you, you'd be in a nursing home instead of stumbling across the country while carrying the codes to our nuclear arsenal. The fact that you're not means the people who truly matter are ***using you***, including Uday and Qusay. No one loves you, Mr. President. You are incapable of absorbing love. You are incapable of giving love. The second that you're not useful anymore, you'll be discarded and you'll spend your remaining time screaming at the clouds until your appointment with Our Father Below.
From what I've read, that usefulness will expire the moment we are 1 day past the two year mark on this term. That would allow Vance to govern for 1.999 years without affecting his eligibility for two full terms.
Tulsi Gabbard and her guru should be hauled before Congress to testify about their relationship and what information may have been shared, but I won’t hold my breath. But let’s be honest we are in a predicament where the former DNI was most likely directed by a cult leader because of the exact same behavior by the Republican Party. The only reason she became DNI director was because of the same cult-like behavior she is accused of by the Republican Party out of fealty to Donald Trump. Everyone knew she wasn’t qualified, but the leader demanded it and they complied. How is this any different than what Tulsi did except on a much larger scale with people who knew better which I am not sure Gabbard does.
The Bulwark needs to prepare itself for the ascendance of the DSA wing. Whether or not you agree with their policy recommendations, we cannot ignore the current political and economic environment, and it is ripe for this type of a philosophy. When the stock market has become completely untethered from reality, when one of the worst people in the world has become the world's first trillionaire (something so obscene I cannot wrap my head around it), and while those who are lucky enough to have a job toil to make the ownership class wealthier and wealthier while they struggle with stagnant wages and inflation, you're going to see increasing the appeal of a movement that deems the entire system rotten and corrupt, and proposes revolutionary solutions.
'he intends to try to sell a return to the status quo2 in the Strait of Hormuz as one of those Wonderful, Magnificent Deals Only Trump Could Ever Get You: “Yesterday, 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz, a very beautiful place,” he said. “That’s the most oil in the history of the strait.” (In reality, it’s still a bit subpar—last year an average of 20 million barrels passed through the waterway daily.)'
So he's lying about 19 million being a record. And also probably lying about the 19 million.
'Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania yesterday, Trump acknowledged, in his way, the need for continued discussion of the war: “Anybody that’s been critical of it has to be educated.”'
And by "educated," Trump actually meant indoctrinated.
If it is our collective fate to transition from being the Republicans nobody in the Republican Party likes because we won't stop screeching about Donald Trump to being the Democrats nobody in the Democratic Party likes because we won't stop screeching that markets are Good, Actually and economists are worth having in your governing coalition . . . well, so be it!
Deregulated markets are not good, not ever.
Well regulated markets. We won't even get into the trickle down con job of Reaganomics. Bush the Elder was correct when he called it "Voodoo Economics".
I think it's coming, and whether America is ready for it or it's smart politically, I can't say. It plays great in parts of New York but it could be suicidal in other places. Propaganda will play a huge role, paid for by the oligarchs who are so invested in maintaining the status quo. But what is becoming increasingly clear to me is that things have gotten bad, they're on the cusp of getting way out of hand, and I don't see any evidence that traditional economists have any good answers or solutions, or that the way we've been doing things to get us to this point is at all sustainable.
I honestly don't think the problem people have with Mamdami is his views on markets, do you?
". . . economists are worth having in your governing coalition . . ."
It depends on the economist. We tend to focus on what is right in front of us: the midterms, and then 2028. But there is a reason the Republican party turned fascist. Desperate people will grab a lifeline, even if it turns out it isn't attached to anything. Over the past several decades, the scale of economic inequality has become obscene. Both parties contributed to this. Trump promised to help the people who are hurting, and they bought his promises. Maybe some of his voters even realized it might be a scam, but they were desperate, so they took a chance.
Democrats may well win in 2026 and 2028 with nothing more than "we aren't as bad as the other guy." But if they do, and if they don't have answers to the economic problems of tens of millions of Americans, the win will be temporary. Voters will swing back to fascism, maybe so hard that elections won't matter after that.
Our goal has to be more than winning one or two elections. We need to build a society that most Americans can buy into. A society that is immune to fascism. Americans need jobs. Americans need a decent place to live. Americans need to feed their children and themselves. Americans need to know that they can get health care when they need it. Americans need to educate their children. Americans need the opportunity to have these things without getting buried in debt, and to save a little to invest in their future. Are these things just for a few exceptionally talented and dedicated individuals, or can these things be within the reach of most people? The aging corporate Democrats who have controlled the party for the last several decades have no idea how to deliver on these goals. The ones developing plans for addressing these issues are dismissed as "progressive" or even "radical." Maybe you recoil at the thought of socialized medicine. But other countries have demonstrated that socialized medicine is just like the other kind, except it is better and cheaper.
Leaders of the Bulwark have an opportunity to engage in the policy debates that can lead us out of this crisis. There isn't another forum like this. Sure, talk about the horse races in 2026 and 2028. But we expect more from you. Our country depends on it.
"The Bulwark needs to prepare itself for the ascendance of the DSA wing. Whether or not you agree with their policy recommendations, we cannot ignore the current political and economic environment, and it is ripe for this type of a philosophy. When the stock market has become completely untethered from reality, when one of the worst people in the world has become the world's first trillionaire (something so obscene I cannot wrap my head around it), and while those who are lucky enough to have a job toil to make the ownership class wealthier and wealthier while they struggle with stagnant wages and inflation, you're going to see increasing the appeal of a movement that deems the entire system rotten and corrupt, and proposes revolutionary solutions."
This. So much this.
It's a given that Russia has been monkeying around with our electoral process. Pretend you're a Russian cyber operative. Ask yourself how you would program your bots for maximum damage at this juncture. My answer: promote the shit out of DSA, then tar the whole party as anti-American commies.
This is how we cede power and enrich the wealthy; by punching each other instead of punching up. It's been an incredibly effective strategy for centuries, and interested parties, from malign foreign actors to our own 1%, will keep going to this playbook for as long as we allow it to work.
When John F. Kennedy was running to be president, Protestants voiced concern that a President Kennedy would take orders from the Pope. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is well aware that if he runs for president, people will warn that he will be a tool of Israel. Both predictions arose from fear-mongering, hate-mongering, and prejudice. Not so the predictions that were voiced about Tulsi. She was a bona fide Manchurian Candidate.
A trump rally "...is a space apart from space and a time apart from time, where the possibilities remain endless..." . Andrew, bringing in quantum theory to try and describe the admittedly strange period we're living in right now! Only in the Bulwark...
If Democrats are unpopular, I say it's only because the media hasn't been reporting efforts in Congress, or people are not paying attention. Are they leaderless? In this moment no one has arrived at the 'top,' true, but there's time before 2028. Our biggest concerns in this moment should be midterms, not interfered with! I am an independent ... I take no joy in trashing Democrats at this point, but prefer to keep my eye on the prize of ridding the nation of the current administration. The electorate has shown itself to be ill-advised for decades, IMO ... The Obama administration, again for me, was nothing less than a miracle. I still have a hard time conceiving how Obama did so well in elections, given the apparent ignorance that seems to abound in this country ... I have been fortified by Democrats speaking out in Congress ... And frankly, hearing them, I cannot agree that Democrats are as rudderless as the press prefers to make them out to be ... Maybe the press just likes to be in agreement with a voting (or worse a non-voting) public, to keep it's numbers up ... I, again, am an independent voter ... Democratic Socialists probably come closer to a party that I could whole heartedly support. I voted for Bernie in the primary, and wisely voted for Biden in the election. 'You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, ... you might get what you need.' My only complaint with the Bulwark, is so many truly still want to be 'Republicans,' it would appear, so take aim at Democrats, as though they are the wise ones ... True wisdom must move us all forward. Right now, forward for me is as far away as I can get from the outrage of the current administration.
Andrew, it's bad news, but somehow reading your version of it makes me feel better. Thanks!
I'm not sure you can look at the DSA wins in NYC (and for that matter DC) and project them across the country. More centrist democrats won elsewhere.