The Republican Project to Break Your Email Account
Plus, It’s Time to Indict Donald Trump
Recently at The Bulwark:
CHARLIE SYKES: Best of Morning Shots #1
JVL: Elon Musk's Conservatism 🔐 and The New AI Is Magic.
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
CORBIN BARTHOLD: The Republican Project to Break Your Email Account.
A few days before the Senate runoff election in Georgia between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, the Republican National Committee sent around what would, in a sane world, qualify as an exceedingly peculiar email. The message gave the recipient a “DEADLINE” of “1 HOUR” to contribute money to a “Flip Georgia Fund.” Those who met the “DEADLINE” by parting with at least $25 in the “NEXT HOUR” would obtain a “3400% IMPACT INCREASE” for their trouble. It was “going to take a TEAM effort,” the email said, to “punt Raphael Warnock from the Senate and SAVE America.”
THEODORE R. JOHNSON: The Rationale Behind South Carolina Becoming the First Dem Primary.
If President Joe Biden gets his way, the Democrats’ presidential primary schedule is about to undergo a major shakeup. Biden has proposed making the South Carolina primary the first in the country, supplanting the New Hampshire primary and the Iowa caucuses. The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws arm approved the change on Dec. 2, and the question will be put before the full DNC when it meets in February. If approved, South Carolina would be followed by New Hampshire and Nevada the following week, with Michigan and Georgia up next.
Biden’s preference for South Carolina going first is in large part an expression of gratitude to the state that rescued his presidential campaign after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. But the sales pitch is that the early primary states need to be more racially diverse to better reflect the demographics of Democratic voters. Most Democrats seems to be onboard with rethinking the order of the states, especially following the disastrous Iowa caucuses in 2020. There is less enthusiasm, however, for making South Carolina first.
Today is a special encore episode of The Bulwark podcast! Throughout the rest of the week, we’ll have some special guest hosts, so stay tuned!
Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice. Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
PHILIP ROTNER: It’s Time to Indict Donald Trump.
The long saga of the government’s nearly two-year effort to identify and retrieve classified documents (among other government property) stolen by ex-president Donald Trump on his way out of the White House has become a farce.
The slow drip of information about Trump’s mishandling of those documents, which has lately become a gusher, seems to have had a hypnotic effect on the public. Each new piece of information is duly reported, but quickly cedes its place in the news cycle to the next one. The collective public reaction has become more “That’s Trump for ya!” than “Why isn’t this man in jail?”
He should be.
WILLIAM KRISTOL AND JEFFREY K. TULIS: Should an Election Denier Be Speaker of the House?
From the apparent chaos of the Republican party’s effort to select a speaker of the House there has emerged an opportunity to achieve a victory for a politics of moderation and constitutionalism.
A faction of the House Republican conference is reportedly maneuvering to secure promises from Kevin McCarthy to enhance its political power, backed up by the threat of finding a leader even more compliant than the California congressman. Meanwhile, some Democrats see political advantage in the outsized influence that extreme members of the GOP will have in the selection of the next speaker, as it’s an opportunity to put GOP extremism on vivid display.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Popehat leaves Twitter… Elon Musk decided to make certain checkmarks for businesses the color of urine today. Why? Who knows. Who cares. Twitter is circling the toilet, and one of my favorite accounts, Ken White, is calling it quits. He explains why here. There are other options! Like Mastodon. (Where you can find me, but it’s largely just what I am posting on Twitter, as long as it exists.) AND, if you’re really into it, The Bulwark is in the process of setting up its own official account as well.
RIP Bookforum… It seems like at the end of every calendar year, another good publication (or a few) bite the dust. Indeed, Tho' much is taken, much abides.
Will Boehner keep back the tears? The former foe of Speaker Pelosi will be at her portrait unveiling.
The power of rock and roll… Music fan in your life? Hurry, the Rock Hall can get you a good gift in time.
MARSHALL LAW! Some of the text messages Mark Meadows from members of Congress got in the waning hours of the Trump presidency. It is not shocking that some of these numbnuts don’t know the difference between martial law and marshall law, which is not a thing. (Except when Francis C. Marshall did it, I guess?)
The obvious answer to homelessness… A thoughtful read in The Atlantic.
How hospice care became… a for-profit hustle. Tempus fugit, pretium morientis.
‘Caesarizing’ campus life… Sports betting goes to college.
Did Anthony Bourdain ever eat by you? An interactive map.
The Marriage of Liberalism and Democracy… Robert Tracinski’s must read in Discourse.
Josh Hawley made Family Guy… Pretty well done.
That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.
—30—
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
