🏒 FACEOFF 🏒
Rebirth.
Two of my favorite bars in the world, Post Pub in Washington and Humphrey’s in St. Louis (where I worked as a bouncer), are reopening.
This is a good thing.
Both will have new owners—and while I knew the old owners of both, and I’m sad that they’re not the proprietors anymore, life moves on.
Humphrey’s was founded by a guy named Robert “Humphrey” Mangelsdorf who worked as chief bartender of Friday’s (no, not the chain) across the street. When Friday’s the chain came to Missouri, they bought out the bar’s name, which changed to something else. Bob Sr. started his own joint in 1976. It lasted a long time.
Many people met their future spouses in their bar, some probably got divorced because of what happened in their bar. I never met Humphrey. He died long before I came to Saint Louis. His youngest son, Mark, is the same age as me. But if you look in the photo above, you can see a street sign behind the bar.
I had the St. Louis City Street Sign department make a custom sign for my old boss, Jan, Humphrey’s widow. We put behind the bar until it closed in 2017. (There is a Humphrey Street in South City, no relation.) Jan put our wedding photos behind the bar. Where else does that happen?
Bars are institutions, they’re a lifeblood of the community. Some come and go, as most businesses fail in the restaurant industry. But some endure. And when they go, we should mourn. But when they come back? We should cheer.
Homecoming.
Leading The Bulwark…
Coward Trump Didn’t Defend ‘Replacement Theory’?
BENJAMIN PARKER: What the “very fine people” wanted.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
A.B. Stoddard: What Are They Thinking?
On today's podcast, A.B. Stoddard joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss the Pentagon hearing, Mitch McConnell's endgame, the standoff over spending, Stephanie Grisham's new book, and Trump's plan for the midterm.
THE NEXT LEVEL: Youngkin Up, Cheney Down? 🔓
Sarah, Tim, and JVL talk about the governor’s race in Virginia, the Republican primary in Wyoming, and the Dems’ screwup in Washington.
PODCASTS LIKE THE NEXT LEVEL AND THE SECRET PODCAST ARE USUALLY ONLY FOR MEMBERS. WE HAVE UNLOCKED THIS ONE TO GIVE YOU A FREE SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU’RE MISSING. IF YOU LIKE IT, SIGN UP TODAY FOR A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: 5 Takes From the Generals' Hearing 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES provides a game of chicken update
THE TRIAD: Virginia Is Test-Driving the Politics of the Future 🔐
JVL: Can a post-Trump Republican turn out the rural MAGA voters?
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
The Second Coming of George W. Bush - Daniel Gullotta, The Critic
Idaho COVID Insanity Shows How Much Worse the GOP Can Get - Eleanor Clift, The Daily Beast
Five Challenges for Biden That Could Trigger a Trump Comeback - David Frum, The Atlantic
'We won': Trump and his allies barrel ahead with election lies despite Arizona review confirming his loss - Jeremy Herb and Fredreka Schouten, CNN
Larry Hogan’s audacious bet: A Trump critic could win the GOP’s 2024 nod - Alex Isenstadt, Politico
California will now mail ballots to voters in all elections, in permanent extension of pandemic-era practice - Felicia Sonmez, The Washington Post
Arizona Democratic Party passes resolution criticizing Sinema on filibuster, reconciliation - Mychael Schnell, The Hill
In Today’s Bulwark...
The Haitian Migrant Crisis Isn’t Over
LINDA CHAVEZ: The decades-long story of Haitian immigrants is just another part of our broken immigration system.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Wednesday! Here’s your #pupdate. We’re having the carpets and the house professionally cleaned for an upcoming dual birthday party (mine and the twins) and area dogs have impressed every visitor to our home. Almost to the point of being distracting.
‘Worst I’ve seen in 20 years…’ Inside the Epik hack of the alt-right’s Fort Knox.
Next steps? Stop funding the people who promote these bans.
Win a free alt-right Harley*! Unless you fail to pass a background check that determines you’re “dirty” in the mind of former Trump spox Jason Miller….
Keeping OVERTIME short today. The fam is in town and we’re making goulash.
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
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.