What If Trump Is Trying To Break the GOP?
A.B. Stoddard: The future of the Republican party is an endless series of loyalty tests and Trump family vendettas. Good luck.
Leading The Bulwarkā¦
What If Trump Is Trying To Break the GOP?
A.B. Stoddard: The future of the Republican party is an endless series of loyalty tests and Trump family vendettas. Good luck.
šµ On the Podsā¦šµ
David Jolly: A Third Choice for Florida?
On todayās Bulwark podcast, David Jolly joins Charlie Sykes to discuss how Donald Trump seeks to break the GOP in half, the future of the GOP, the two party duopoly, and his political future.
For Bulwark+ Members š
Secret Podcast: Georgia and the GOP Future
An early-morning Secret show about the Georgia race and the future that Republicans havenāt quite figured out yet.
Remember, when you join Bulwark+, you get access to special podcasts, livestreams, and newsletters. If youāre not yet a member, you can join here. If you are currently a member (and thank you!) and want to give a membership of Bulwark+ to somebody who would like it, you can do that here.
The cool part? You can schedule it for Christmas morning for your Zoom call. Or Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you do or donāt celebrate, but whenever youāre exchanging giftsā¦ Weāve got you covered.
From The Bulwark Aggregatorā¦
What The Polls Say About Georgiaās Senate Runoffs ā Geoffrey Skelley and Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight
Ossoff debates empty podium as Perdue refuses to participate ā Marina Pitofsky, The Hill
Bidenās Ambassador to the GOP ā Burgess Everett, Politico
Steve Doocy Confronts Newt Gingrichās Baseless Voter Fraud Claim in Georgia: āHow is Stacey Abrams Going to Steal Votes?ā ā Colby Hall, Mediaite
After Condemning Georgiaās Election System As Untrustworthy, Trump Urges Republicans There to Vote in Senate Runoffs ā Jacob Sullum, Reason Magazine
Michael Flynn Goes Full QAnon In His Post-Pardon Media Tour ā Will Sommer, The Daily Beast
Trumpās Election Litigation Will Have Lasting Effects ā Kim Wehle, The Atlantic
In Todayās Bulwarkā¦
Weakness from Washington and Seoul Has Emboldened North Korea
Mitchell Blatt: After years of āfriendship,ā ālove letters,ā and ātrust,ā the Kim regime is as potent as ever.
The GOPās Burghers of Calais
Eugene R. Fidell: GOP leaders in the grip of fear.
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Tim Miller: The president of the United States asks his supporters to overturn a free and fair election through extralegal means. What could possibly go wrong?
The Abuser and the Terrorist
Abigail R. Esman: The underrecognized web of shame, honor, and twisted masculinity that connects domestic violence and political violence.
šØ OVERTIME šØ
Itās Mondayā¦ And I hope you had a great weekend. I made my family some homemade White Castle clone sliders, and they were delicious. They could have been better, the key is freezing the patties once youāve rolled them out and poked the five holes, but they turned out great.
Does Ted Cruz really want to be a Senator anymore? Here he is, offering to argue in front of the Supreme Court for Rep. Mike Kelly and failed candidate Sean Parnell in their quixotic lawsuit that would:
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, and Sean Parnell, the Republican who ran against Lamb, filed a petition in Commonwealth Court on Nov. 22 alleging that the General Assembly illegally implemented statewide mail-in voting in October 2019. It suggested that either all mail-in ballots be disqualified, or alternatively, to throw out the entirety of Pennsylvaniaās results in the general election so the legislature could appoint the stateās presidential electors.
Iāve noticed a trend in Ted Cruzās nihilism, and itās clear to me that he really hates his job. Because he thought that the next rung was President. And that will never happen. So here he is.
Itās one thing for Senators to file amicus briefs before the high court, quite another to offer to be their lawyer making the oral arguments. Really, not since the days of Daniel Webster. Just as jurists should recuse themselves from cases they handled before they reached the high bench (think Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor), you would wonder whether any of the recusal ethics concerns would concern any of the three jurists Cruz supported ardently. That wouldnāt bode well for Cruzās assertion that this case is important and legitimate. (Itās not.)
Hopefully we wonāt have to find out.
Letās strengthen the Hatch Act. Since a lot of U.S. government policy operates on the honor system, and honor among men and women, and the ability to be shamed, the last four years have been pretty devastating for the rule of law. Insert the Hatch Act, which prevents virtually all federal officials from electioneering in their official role. The Wall Street Journal has this report on quack economist Peter Navarro, part of Trumpās island of misfit toys, and how he knowingly, and repeatedly violated it.
Letās put some teeth in this.
Bulwark Communities!
Earlier today, JVL highlighted the new āDiscordā community, which is popular among gamers. But another reader, set up a SubReddit. If you use either platform, join up and chat with your fellow Bulwark readers. Or feel free to email or tweet us to share your thoughts.
Aliens? A former Israeli official claims that aliens are real and theyāre talking with the U.S. and Israel. But weāre not ready for them yet. Apparently.
Steve Kornacki adds sports. At The Ringer, an appreciation for the chart master helping bring the big board to the NFL.
Lin Wood promotes a disgusting conspiracy theory. Zachary Petrizzo reports, the Georgia lawyer is apparently pushing a conspiracy that Gov. Kempās daughterās boyfriend (who worked for Kelly Loefflerās campaign) was seemingly killed on purpose. āEverything is plannedā he writes.
Speaking of crackpot lawsuitsā¦ Sidney Powellās āKrakenā suit got laughed out of court today.
Hogan 2024? If this doesnāt look like a trial balloon, I donāt know what one looks like.
Finally, a Lifetime movie that might interest me. Because it involves Col. Sanders and fried chicken. KFC and Lifetime created a co-branded short film with Mario Lopez playing the role of a young Col. Sanders. Hereās the presser.
āTo die, to sleep ā to sleep, perchance to dream...ā Anthony Hopkins reciting Shakespeare, to cleanse your palate.
Time fliesā¦ Ben Domenech and Sohrab Ahmari editions.
"If there is no way to disprove your political claims, then you should confront the fact that you have made a religion of your politics." A worthwhile column from Rod Dreher on what he calls āFox Geezer Syndrome.ā
The 70 Veepiest moments of our Trump Presidency. Do enjoy this compilation from Politico. You will see things that seem like they occurred a decade ago and you totally forgot.
Thatās it for me today. See you tomorrow. As always, if you have any questions or comments, you know how to reach me: swift@thebulwark.com.
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