Trump’s Defenders Get Orwell Backwards
Trump’s Defenders Get Orwell Backwards
The president is more like Big Brother than Twitter ever can be.
Leading The Bulwark…
Trump’s Defenders Get Orwell Backwards
SONNY BUNCH: The president is more like Big Brother than Twitter ever can be.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
Mona Charen and Ben Parker on Impeachment 2.0
On today’s Bulwark podcast, Mona Charen and Benjamin Parker join Charlie Sykes to discuss President Trump’s second impeachment.
For Bulwark+ Members…
Morning Shots: Judgment Day 🔓
CHARLIE SYKES on why Never Trumpers were not quite so irrelevant after all?
The Triad: The Biggest Lie 🔓
JONATHAN V. LAST on why "Stop the Steal" poisoned American politics.
The Next Level: It’s Happening Again 🔐
The second Trump impeachment is underway. What is Mitch McConnell thinking? What are we supposed to think about Mike Pence? And where to Republican voters go from here?
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
‘It Is a Trap’: Far-Right Freaks Out About Rallies It’s Organized – Will Sommer and Kelly Weill, The Daily Beast
The crackup of the Republican Party – Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
An Absurdly Basic Bug Let Anyone Grab All of Parler’s Data – Andy Greenberg, WIRED
Acting attorney general condemns Capitol riots, warns ‘no tolerance’ for violence at Biden inauguration – John Bowden, The Hill
COVID-19 vaccines sit at hospitals as doctors, pharmacies await doses – Emily Kopp, Roll Call
Biden team plans inauguration night celebrity TV special – Alex Thompson and Tyler Pager, Politico
In Today’s Bulwark…
Liz Cheney’s Finest Hour
SHAY KHATIRI: Her support for impeachment is a late but welcome act of leadership.
Make. Them. Testify.
CHRISTIAN VANDERBROUK: Call the Trump officials who resigned in protest to testify at the impeachment trial.
The Trump Mob In Their Own Words
BARRY RUBIN: On January 6, 2021 I went down to the National Mall to talk with the people who came to Donald…
A Republican Journey
MICKEY EDWARDS: A longtime GOP member of Congress bids his party goodbye.
Yes, by All Means, Let the Healing Begin
JEFF GREENFIELD: Here’s how it could start.
Join us tonight on our livestream! Members of Bulwark+ get access to extra newsletters, podcasts, and livestreams. And we’re doing one tonight with The Bulwark brain trust on today’s impeachment vote.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
History was watching. Thank you.
It’s sad it was only 10, but compared to the first go-around, it’s an improvement. Thank you to the House Republicans who stood up and did the right thing.
You may remember those who voted for Nixon’s impeachment. Here are their political obituaries. Many of these members may have sealed their own fate, even if they weren’t around for the first vote (most were.)
Worth revisiting this ad from 2019 put out by our cousins at Republicans for the Rule of Law:
Here’s who didn’t vote:
Before we get back to serious business, a look back at the craziest moments of the Trump presidency… (A thread)
Troops in the Capitol…
Back when I worked on the hill, my first job was giving Capitol tours. I was good at it, and my boss would ask me to do it years after it was my job. It made my job harder, but it meant a lot that he’d ask me to give his friends or family tours. One part of the tour I gave was about where troops were quartered in the Civil War to protect the Capitol.
I saw dozens of images like these today and my heart sank. Never did I think this would be the norm ever again.
A friend opined:
The National Guard is now sleeping on the marble floors of the Capitol to preserve our democracy, while Republican lawmakers (who fomented and abetted insurrection) complain about having to walk through a metal detector in the morning.
The only time I ever saw anything like this was on the day of Barack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration. I was an escort who took the former VPs down to the platform, and once I dropped them off, I peeled off and waited until the ceremony was over to bring them back to their drop off point. As I peeled off, by the office of the Attending Physician, I turned the corner and saw an entire USMC CBIRF unit in full body suits, ready to jump in and rescue people if need be. It scared the shit out of me. I paused and kept walking.
This Inauguration will not be like any other. Nobody will be there. No large crowds, but the threat level is heightened more than probably ever. If you’re wondering… Is there a “designated survivor” for Inaugurations? Yes, there is.
But with so many people resigning, and acting secretaries of whatever, who might it be? What if it were President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley? He loses his title the first time the Senate convenes after Biden/Harris are sworn in and the Senate changes control. Were something extreme to happen, we could have President Chuck Grassley. But I am not worried about that.
People believe this… How do you deprogram somebody who is this nuts? A buddy sent me this text he got from a friend. I’m sure you’ve seen aspects, fragments, or large swaths of this lunacy on your social media.
💥 Must Reads 💥
I’ve gotta prepare for tonight’s livestream and to send out an email with the details, so here are some things I’ve earmarked for you to read. (And yes, if you miss the livestream, it will be preserved so you can watch it later.)
QAnon Woke Up the Real Deep State by Nicholas Grossman
David Fahrenthold documents the backlash by private actors against Trump and his interests.
Sam Anderson in the Times about why you deserve some chips.
Christian Schneider observes in USA Today: “Nancy Pelosi offers Republicans an impeachment gift, again: Will they take it this time?”
The right comes for Liz Cheney. Is this “cancel culture?”
Andrew Egger has a great point:
That’s it for me for today. We hope to see you tonight on our livestream at 8 pm EST. Remember, if you can’t make it, the email I’ll send at 7 EST will have that link.
These livestreams have become so popular that it’s impossible to get to every question, so make sure you use the chat function to ask questions and we’ll do our best to address it when we’re taking questions. A few thousand people making a lot of comments every minute is like drinking from a firehose, but Ben Parker and I will try to do our best.
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