Recently in The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: Some Good (and Bad) News About Free Speech on Campus
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KIM WEHLE: Where the Trump Disqualification Push Stands.
ON TUESDAY, THE ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS voted that Donald J. Trump cannot be disqualified from the presidential ballot in that state for having engaged in insurrection under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision follows high-profile rulings in two other states—issued by the Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine secretary of state—that his misconduct does disqualify him from the ballot in those states. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the Colorado decision. Presumably its ruling will bring clarity to the matter, but in the meantime, other state election officials or courts may also make their own determinations about whether Trump can be on the ballot.
WILL SALETAN: Nikki Haley Just Can’t Quit Trump
IN THE WEEK SINCE the New Hampshire primary, Nikki Haley has sharpened her criticism of Donald Trump. On Monday, she was asked why. In an interview with Haley, CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin pointed out that for months, Chris Christie had spoken bluntly about Trump, but Haley hadn’t. Now, Sorkin observed, Haley seems to be going after Trump. Why the shift?
Haley had a simple answer. When the Republican field was full of candidates, she explained, “it didn’t make sense” to focus on Trump. “I had others I had to get out of the way,” she said. But “now it’s a two-person race,” she told Sorkin. So “now I’m telling the truth about him.”
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Bulwark Podcast with Charlie Sykes: Joe Klein & John Ellis: A Torrent of Stupid [Ad-Free🔐]
Ballot Box with Bill & Tim: Taylor Swift's MAGA Meltdown! [Ad-Free🔐]
The Next Level: MAGA Loses Their Minds Over Taylor Swift 🔐
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ALEC DENT: How Zelensky Rose to the Occasion.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY IS NOT A GOOD MAN, but he may be a great leader. That is the main takeaway from The Showman, Simon Shuster’s new biography of the Ukrainian president. As the Russia-Ukraine war has become politicized in the United States, both those for and those against U.S. support for Ukraine have sought to make Zelensky into a two-dimensional figure—either a hero of democracy or a symbol of Western decadence. Shuster’s biography restores depth to the man the world has tried to flatten.
DENNIS AFTERGUT: Biden vs. Trump: What Kind of Leader Do We Want on the World Stage?
THE PAST TWO WEEKS have put on vivid display the differences between President Joe Biden and his predecessor—and would-be successor—former President Donald Trump in the area of national security. Biden quietly made some deft moves aimed at building a safer world. Trump leveraged his power in MAGA congressional circles to obstruct our national security for his personal gain. In terms of both style and substance, the contrast is enormous.
Let’s start with Biden and his mode of handling the enormous complexities of the Middle East. First, he has been deeply involved in the behind-the-scenes movement toward a two-month humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war. On Thursday, Biden announced that he was sending CIA Director William Burns overseas—to Paris it turns out—for talks related to the proposed ceasefire plan. On Friday, the president spoke with Egyptian and Qatari leaders about the developing plan. Then on Monday, NBC reported agreement among Israeli, Qatari, Egyptian, and American officials in Paris on a ceasefire framework that also lays out a timetable for securing the release of the more than one hundred remaining hostages.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
It’s Wednesday… And I’m sure you may have seen the news. I’ll have some heartwarming memories and photos to share from the early days tomorrow, after Charlie’s Morning Shots.
What happens in the Tholos level doesn’t necessarily stay in the Tholos level…Rep. Rich McCormick got reported to Capitol authorities for going into a restricted area to do pull ups while on a Dome tour (Politico). You might be wondering: What is the Tholos level?
The Real Reason We’re Stuck with Trump v. Biden… There’s more than one thing wrong with the U.S. primary system, writes Geoffrey Cowan in Politico.
What George Will doesn't understand about the modern GOP… is a lot, argues Chris Cillizza.
Jean Carnahan, 90… First Woman to Represent Missouri in U.S. Senate, Dies (NYT.)
We live in an age… of futile impeachments. (Lawfare.)
How This Nutty Ohio Primary… Is Dividing the GOP (Daily Beast.)
'Punch in the face to voters'… Arizona bill would let lawmakers throw out presidential election results (12News.)
Stepping back in time… Into a 1985 Oldsmobile.
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