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Why Does Jeffrey Clark Matter?
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Why Does Jeffrey Clark Matter?

How the GOP has gone from Bob Dole to Lauren Boebert...

Jim Swift
Dec 7, 2021
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Why Does Jeffrey Clark Matter?
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Recently at The Bulwark:

  • CHARLIE and MONA Secret Pod: From Dole to Boebert 🔐

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  • CHARLIE SYKES: Calling Out Anti-Semites On The Right.. and The Left🔐

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AMANDA CARPENTER wonders: Who is Jeffrey Clark and Why Does He Matter?

When then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen rejected the idea on January 2, Clark told him Trump had offered to make him attorney general, but he would decline if Rosen would agree to sign the letter. Rosen refused. On January 3, Clark told Rosen he was going to accept Trump’s offer to replace Rosen as acting attorney general. But, Rosen quickly organized with others and threatened to resign if Trump did so. Clark’s plan fell apart. But still, it was quite the plan.

Keep in mind that Clark was proposing these steps after Trump’s campaign had lost dozens of cases in court over alleged election fraud and the states had all certified their election results, which makes his actions all the more brazen.

And, that’s the point. There was a plan to delegitimize the election and interfere with the peaceful transfer of power with many people involved. Not just the big, famous people, like Steve Bannon and the Kraken Lady. But also little people. People you’ve never heard of before. Like Jeffrey Clark.

Read the whole thing.

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Stacey Abrams sees good odds in the Georgia's governor's race, while the Republican candidates are stuck in the amber of Trump's Big Lie. Plus: Nunes' job change shows that being on Fox is the new path to power. NBC News' Jonathan Allen joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

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In defense of—God help us—Lauren Boebert? That’s what CHRIS TRUAX argues about precedent setting.

I want to be absolutely clear: Lauren Boebert is an idiot. That she was elected to Congress is a national embarrassment. But the fact remains that she was elected to Congress and punishing her for her political views, no matter how noxious, has serious implications for American democracy.

The check on a congressional member’s political ideas, even if they are “encouraging bigotry and hatred” is the ballot box, not the moral outrage of the majority. If those views aren’t representative of their constituents’ views, then the offender will lose her seat. (Kevin McCarthy might have taken away Republican and white nationalist Steve King’s committee assignments, but it was Iowa voters who sent him packing.)

But if those noxious views are representative of their constituents’ views, then majoritarian punishments are nothing but shooting the messenger. That isn’t going to shame those constituents into sending someone more reasonable to Congress as their representative. To the contrary.

Partially disenfranchising an entire congressional district because the voters in that district don’t meet your moral standards is a big step towards the end of democracy. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s almost a definition. A democracy where only voters who vote “correctly” get fully represented isn’t really a democracy at all.

Read the whole thing.

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🚨OVERTIME 🚨

If you read one piece today… Read this one by Tim Alberta. He is, outside of Matt Labash, one of the best long-form profile writers out there. It’ll take you a while, but I promise you, it’s 100% worth it. Our audience? Custom written for folks like you, trying to understand the few remaining “good ones” on the Republican side.

Alberta’s skill is that he can get people to spill, and does so over a long period of time. Keep in mind, Tim has been collecting anecdotes on this story the better part of an entire calendar year.

Like anonymously sourced with quotes from unnamed “senior officials” that are quick, punchy, and conform to the ever change news cycle? That’s not Tim Alberta. Would it be good to have known a lot of these side stories in the mean time? Yes. Sure. But that’s not how long-form, long-game journalism works. And Alberta is a master of it.

There are a lot of stories that can, and should, be written (were it possible in each instance) resulting from the trail of breadcrumbs that Rep. Peter Meijer, who was very careful not to name names, left us. I’m not going to spoil a single detail. If you don’t have the time, here are a few. But seriously, read the whole thing.

Meijer’s picture of the current state of the GOP is part of why this website exists. And if we want two functioning parties (which we desperately need), let Meijer’s experience serve as further warning that things are not trending in the right direction. Whether he’s a canary in the coal mine, we’ll find out next year, I guess.

Today I learned… Big Bird, and the actor who portrays him, was supposed to be on the ill-fated Challenger flight.

When the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars… The far-right House GOP is promising the age of Jim Jordan, Marjorie Greene, and Matt Gaetz.

Twitter avatar for @RonFilipkowskiRon Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski
My message to moderate and independent voters in 2022, courtesy of Gaetz: “We are going to take power after this next election. And when we do, it’s not going to be like the days of Paul Ryan .. it’s going to be the days of Jim Jordan, Marjorie Greene, Dr. Gosar, and myself.”

December 7th 2021

909 Retweets2,169 Likes

Is Mark Meadows scared?

First, we learn:

Twitter avatar for @AccountableGOPThe Republican Accountability Project @AccountableGOP
Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows explains why he has stopped cooperating with the Jan. 6 committee after they "issued a subpoena to a third party carrier trying to get information" about the events leading up to the insurrection.

December 7th 2021

73 Retweets195 Likes

Then, we learn this:

Twitter avatar for @amandacarpenterAmanda Carpenter @amandacarpenter
THREAD. The committee is threatening Meadows with contempt charges.

January 6th Committee @January6thCmte

Mark Meadows has informed the Select Committee that he does not intend to cooperate further despite his apparent willingness to provide details about the January 6th attack, including conversations with President Trump, in the book he is now promoting and selling.

December 7th 2021

20 Retweets173 Likes

Metadata could very well prove to be a problem!

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That’s it for me. We’ll see you tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

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