I’m glad someone finally said it. Democrats are acting like Trumpers when they make fantasy arguments about the Biden debate issue. Ie that his performance wasn’t actually that bad or that this is somehow spun up by media/pundits, implying they somehow want to see Biden fail.

Similarly, elected democrats and party officials raising concerns about their candidate’s fitness behind closed doors and then saying the opposite in public is a glaring parallel to what we’ve seen from the Trumpist GOP.

I’m thankful Tim is continuing to speak honestly about the issue. There are plenty of reasonable arguments to keep Biden on the ticket, so the blatant spin/dishonesty is baffling to me.

(And I’m a Democrat, not a conservative anti trumper, so this is my party acting out.)

I know it's gauche to say on a podcast subreddit that you should take a break from that podcast. Maybe that's what this is, maybe it's not.

But I say this in all loving kindness for all of the good-hearted people here: it's okay to take a break from national politics and national politics media every once in a while. Go ahead and download every single Bulwark podcast and keep your subscriptions and all that, but you don't have to subject yourself any more than necessary to a conversation that meets the following criteria:

• It makes you unhappy or even despairing.
• You have no control over the outcome.

Those two things match perfectly what is happening with the Biden presidential campaign. I personally cast my primary vote months ago. Nothing I am going to do from now through the next municipal election in the spring will change.

That said, I listened to about a half hour of Pod Save America's flustered reaction to the presidential debate, which I also watched, and now I am looking at episode titles in my podcast app to know when it is safe to return. A lot of you are probably in similar places.

So... because "checking out" has never been my thing, here are a few things that I am doing and some unsolicited advice:

I'm talking to my local Democratic organization more about stuff that I can have influence over locally. For me, that means talking about how to better prepare people for municipal board races and how to share information with a state party that is looking to get more involved. Whether or not you want to get involved with your local Democrats or not, I can assure you that there are people on municipal boards where you live who could use some love. Find out who they are and pitch in if you can.

We are surrounded by horrors and people around you need to know what to do. Share what you are up to with them. Make sure they know that you understand how they feel and feel a kind of way yourself, but do your best to keep people from despair. All of our blood pressure is up right now. Get your oxygen mask on and help other people.

There was another post that talked about how none of this matters. I don't agree with that, but that doesn't mean that we all need to attach to things that we cannot influence. Also, remember that some of the people you are listening to on the podcasts are suffering too. They actually do have some kind of influence and are figuring out how to steer it toward a positive outcome. Let them figure it out too.

Now, for all you sickos who love the gnashing of teeth... I salute whatever it is about your intestines that lets you do that. It's up to you to let the rest of us know when it's safe to swim again.

If Biden is even considering stepping aside for the election, he should do so now to allow the country to see Harris as President. It will make the country and the world much more comfortable with what to expect. She will be much more effective against Trump. Clyburn has already said he would support Harris as the nominee, so that means there will be a demoralizing internal battle if the nomination is thrown open. The reality is that Harris is in the zone, even if some don’t like it.

Let me ask again, where the hell were all these people letting us know Biden wasn’t just up for a debate, but that they had no confidence in Biden having a hypothetical in person meeting with Putin.

This isn’t a case of someone who can’t handle a campaign, this is a man who is not capable of the presidency.

I’m livid. We were lied to.

Don’t @ me. These are serious reporters. This is not a hack piece.

Things I DO NOT mean by this post:

1. All or even most conservative lawyers are bad.
2. Originalism and textualism are bad.
3. There are no principled legal conservatives, originalists, etc.
4. There is no daylight between the institutional GOP and conservative lawyers.

All of those have been proven wrong in recent years, multiple times over. People like George Conway, David French, Judge Luttig aren't and never were the enemy here. So I don't mean any of that.

I think, though, that the principled members of the conservative legal movement, however many there are but I would assume a lot, are just so much window dressing.

The heart of the movement, wherever it lies, is partisans burning with rage at the indignities done to Richard Nixon 50 years ago. And yesterday's immunity decision was a mix of revenge and righting that wrong.

Legal conservatives purport to follow originalism and textualism, but yesterday's immunity decision is atextual and would have horrified the founders. It was a purely consequentialist exercise of brute political power with no basis in any text, history, tradition, or original public meaning.

We’re starting to get polls conducted entirely after the debate. The results are devastating for Biden.

So I’m listening to the podcast yesterday with Tom Nichols and Tim says, “I’m having a conversation yesterday with one of these “grifting influencers” PoliticsGirl who says we have to get in line and our Democracy is at stake…”

What he was talking about was a conversation that took place between he and PoliticsGirl on Twitter.

Tim is on a bit of a mission. He clearly thinks Joe Biden should stand down, like a lot of us do. I suspect, though I don’t know for sure, that Politics Girl is trying to be more cautious and encourage people to keep supporting Dems.

She has been a guest on a number of podcasts like Pod Save America and of course she has her own podcast and she’s definitely an influencer. I like her videos and I feel like she speaks in a way that really appeals to suburban women. I don’t know if she’s ever appeared on Bulwark but she has gotten a lot of praise in a lot of circles for punchy TikTok videos that sort of cut to the heart where things stand.

Here is her latest on the Supreme Court ruling.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNMNK1gx/

Now Tim did apologize on Twitter after someone pointed out that he had attacked her and she said she was disappointed because she thought they had been having a good faith disagreement. Tim said:

I was in a rant about all the stupid defenses of the debate people have been sending me - including from some real grifters - and I named you unfairly. That’s on me. I apologize. We were having a good faith disagreement.

That almost makes it seem like he was talking about grifters and lumped her in or something. But he didn’t. He only attacked her conversation with him and called her specifically a grifter. He didn’t mention any other influencers or conversations.

Now here’s my issue. The other day someone posted a supportive message to Tim because he was being unfairly attacked on Twitter where his family was targeted. And I had posted a supportive message about how I thought that what the Bulwark crew were doing was noble. They had faced down people in their own former party who didn’t want to hear the things they were saying and now they were standing up to the Democratic establishment and saying that we need to look at this Joe Biden situation.

Whether you agree Biden should step down or not, it’s a valuable conversation to have because if nothing else, it may cause him to reignite what has been a lackluster campaign.

But then Tim does shit like this. And this is where I have a larger problem with how Tim is treating people he disagrees with on this issue. He says he wants to have a conversation and he doesn’t want to be shut down but then he rattles off the list of arguments people aren’t allowed to make because they’re “all bullshit”. Heather Cox Richardson who is a historian and author was talking about a form of gaslighting called the “Gish gallop“ that Trump had employed during the debate. Tim dismissed it out of hand and called it bs.

He also dismissed the idea that Reagan had a bad debate where his age was in question…

He dismissed Biden’s rallies as a reason for hoping it was a bad night. Or the Stern and Hunt interviews.

He gave an introduction yesterday where he says over the next several weeks we’re going to have a serious conversation and it’s the “no bullshit zone”. ? But is it really a conversation if ever you have to mostly agree with him or he calls your thoughts bs or insults you?

He says we’ll see you at the convention in July if you don’t want to listen to his honest convo..no shame in taking a vacation. But honestly…who says I’m coming back then if they’re going to punch down at other less prominent Podcasters or influencers or respected authors? Or finger wag at everyone who doesn’t see things exactly the same way? I’m a member of the Bulwark Plus but maybe my money would be better spent elsewhere if that’s how they’re going to treat people who they disagree with.

I absolutely understand how scary this is and how horrible that debate performance was. And I’m glad the conversation is taking place but not everyone is going to agree with you and if you’re not taking in their thoughts, you’re not going to convince them of anything. And I’m not sure alienating everyone by trying to bully them into your position is the way to get people on board with changing the nominee or even having a conversation about whether there should be a change.

Finally I’ll say this. Tim didn’t attack PoliticsGirl on Twitter which is where the apology appeared. He disparaged an ally on the Bulwark podcast which reaches a lot more people and he called her a grifter which is really shitty.

The Bulwark Podcast is also where the apology needs to be.

/rant

(Sorry so long)

I think u/amoryblaine is/was tangled up on this on Twitter but that sneering “Davos Dems” quote set off alarm bells. That the WH is retreating into intra-party resentments is 1) the last thing they need to be doing at a perilous moment for the coalition 2) what you would do if you were scared and angry and 3) wasted energy when they are STILL not out there actively refuting the competency questions.

I was hanging my hat on what I thought was a solid belief that Joe Biden is a patriot and will put beating Trump above everything else, but man, this jolted me. They might dig in, polls be damned.

His team has a lot of I told you so’s but you can’t beat age the way you beat Bernie.

I don’t have a link but they just did aired a piece on Anderson Cooper where they interviewed people they had previously talked to at the Denver event. Everyone wants Biden to drop out.

As an outsider, I've not been raisen on punditry. We don't really do that where I'm from (Norway).

I mean, I appreciate it, but this particular cycle with Biden underlines how important it is not to get lost in punditry. Because it doesn't matter.

Biden decides. If he stays, you all have to vote for him. If he goes, you have to vote for whoever follows. I get that everyone is up in arms, but how much value does it really carry to have weeks on end of hand wringing and bed wetting and throwing out crazy ideas?

Why not focus on guests that can enlighten the situation? People from the administration that can shed some light on the process and actually are in the know? Someone where it may actually matter what they mean?

I mean, I love Tim. I think it's fair to let people ventilate thoughts. But it's going to become a true hamsterwheel real soon. It’s crazy season. And it's time to become pragmatic, realistic and constructive.

A case study of two parties:

One party faced with the reckoning that their candidate is recorded in crystal clear audio talking about welcoming himself to girls changing rooms, and freely sticking his fingers into stranger vaginas.

One party faced with a debate performance comparable to Nixon’s sweaty debate.

First party, punts it off as locker room talk and just what men discuss when in private.

Second party, considers this event as campaign-ending and even term-ending.

The dynamic here reminds me of the dynamic of US aid to Ukraine. US self-imposed limits its engagement out of fear of what Putin will do. I sense that the Democrat party will over correct itself after this debate - and will end up tripping over its own over correction.

Fox and Friends have set Biden’s senility into question for the last three years. How much of this performance is already priced-in in the polls?

So, Trump’s sentencing has been delayed until September to see if he is immune from the hush money crimes. WTF are we even doing here anymore? I get it, he technically paid Cohen back when he was in the White House, and if that’s grounds to let it all slide then we might as well just roll out the orange carpet. Trump will continue to throw up appeals and motions until the day he dies, and his claim is true, he could murder someone in the street as long as they aren’t a White Christian.

There is something being lost in the last two episodes of the Bulwark I've listened to. The Dark Side and the conversation with Tom Nichols. I'll focus mostly on what Tim said.

Tim is right about 90% about what he's saying. The Biden campaign needs to step up. They need to take responsibility. They need to stop blaming the media. Biden also needs to take that same responsibility. He catastrophically sucked and they should admit it more readily.

However Tim also is missing something. He says that Biden's support has eroded with the Democratic base. That he has the never trump vote more solidly. Again, yes, that sounds very plausible.

My problem is the lack of discussion of the huge numbers of voters that still support and voted for Biden. This is still the vast majority of the Democratic Party. They cast a ballot for him. Ostensibly Biden would step down and those votes would be assigned to someone else through some process but NOT involving the voters.

They seem to think that this would just be fine and those people would fall in line. And the implication is that if they don't they are being like MAGA supporting a guy no matter what. But that's not the case. In Trump world he lost and lied and said he won. In this case Biden actually is going to win. This is an actual real case of throwing out the vote. Is Tim sure that the Democrats supporting Biden are fine with that? I suspect most would be but I also suspect a lot would be very confused particularly working class voters who are living their lives and not following this minute by minute.

Imagine you are like most people and only 10% paying attention. You didn't watch the debate but you heard Biden bombed bad. You see some clips online, but you are used to clips like that. The Trump folks have been putting them out for years. You've been told over and over the elections is done, Biden has the needed delegates and he has them because you voted. Then BAM (remember this process has to be rushed) Biden steps down and through some process you don't understand now someone you've never heard of is the nominee (Shapiro or Whitmer) or someone you might not like that much is the nominee (Harris).

Isn't it extremely possible that a large portion of voters are going to see a massive conspiracy here especially in this day and age?

We assume these people will fall in line but it is unprecedented for something like this to happen in this way. We are basically telling them, yeah you voted but sorry we need to ignore that. Cool right?

I'm not against it to be clear. Whatever it takes to win. But we better be sure we are ready to explain to people why we need ignore their vote to save democracy. That case has to be made and taking those voters for granted or assuming they think like reddit and Twitter would be a mistake

https://x.com/jaketapper/status/1808155853431705800

Edit: Sorry about the format. I thought posting the link would result in a thumbnail.

We have taken our gaze off RFK jr for a little too long. What is the backstory behind this insane headline?

A black woman beating Trump would be the most epic possible rejection of Trumpism

First, Biden is sitting down with George Stephanopoulos for an interview. Clips will start to be released Friday. It would be more effective to do it live so claims of editing can be shot down.

Second, he needs to have a full neurological work up. CAT scans, MRI, PET scan plus cognitive testing. The results should be reviewed by the best neurologists in this country. Those physicians should give a press conference so the American people can feel confident in their findings.

Having the Biden campaign or the Trump campaign make claims as to whether he is fit to serve is pure partisanship. If the problem is age related cognitive decline...it will continue to get worse over the next 4 years.

It breaks my heart to say this but this is where we're at 😞.

This F-ing guy. I don't want to go Goodwin but this is how get a dictator.

I read a column from Nate Silver where despite the hate for him, he had good points about the concern of Biden running due to age. Nate wrote that democracies don’t have people as old as Biden running.

Introducing Morarji Desai the Prime Minister of India from 1977-79. Desai was 82 when he became Prime Minister. A couple of thoughts about him

1. Desai had the intellect that Biden thinks he has. Look at video clips of him and he was sharp, engaging, witty, and behaved like a 50 year old.

2. Desai had spent 19 months in prison before becoming Prime Minister. He was jailed by his political opponent Indira Gandhi who declared a state of emergency and jailed all of her opponents for about two years. Anyone complaining about Modi implementing a new dictatorship probably don’t know that India has been through much worse in the modern era.

3. Desai was able to stay sharp and live to 99. He died in 1995.

4. In a Dan Rather interview Desai stated that he only ate milk and fruits, and abstained from sex since his 30s.

5. Oh and he drank his own urine too. Honestly if it kept him young, Biden needs to get his ass to the White House bathroom and begin drinking his own piss.

   1. Here is a transcript of the interview. Minus the whole drinking his urine thing, reading the transcript and watching one on one interviews of him, Desai is what an 82 year old that wants to be president should be like. He had a busy schedule and spent most of the day meeting people, not being shielded by his aides. Transcript also talks a bit about the Emergency era, the ultimate low point for Indian democracy to date.

https://danratherjournalist.org/sites/default/files/documents/E_wer_00079.pdf

I know on a practical basis it should. But could Biden have Trump well investigated and then just release all the information publicly?

I am not even saying Biden do anything illegal like order the NSA to tap all Trump's phone calls and communications and then release all that. I mean just release all the facts that the prosecuter would otherwise use, if not for immunity, to the public so the public can decide.

OR... release it to congress so they can use it in impeachment procedures.