Recently at The Bulwark:

• CHARLIE SYKES: The GOP’s “Coco Chow” Moment.

• JVL: Hurricane Ian and What We Owe to Each Other and It's Not Both Sides. 🔐

• THE FOCUS GROUP🎧: George Washington Wouldn't Tolerate Furries(with Charlie Sykes).

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AMANDA CARPENTER: Kevin McCarthy’s Plan to Benghazi the Bidens.

Seven years ago, when House Speaker John Boehner resigned after years of frustration over trying to corral the far-right part of his caucus, Kevin McCarthy was favored to succeed him. That is, until one night on Sean Hannity’s show, McCarthy said the quiet part out loud in discussing why House Republicans had poured so much time and energy into investigating the Benghazi attack: “Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping.” McCarthy’s fellow Republicans decried the comments and called on him to apologize. He tried to backtrack; it didn’t work. Ultimately, he had to give up on his bid for the speakership.

Ironically, the brainwormed partisan mindset that cost McCarthy the gavel in 2015 is probably why he’ll get it in 2023.

READ THE REST.

SHAY KHATIRI: How the Broken Immigration System Took a Toll on My Love for America.

Imagine living in purgatory, and your sin is coming to America. That’s how my life has been for years. I live in the United States legally, but I don’t have a legal status. I’m not here on a visa, and I’m not a resident either. I just . . . am. Technically I’m seeking political asylum, but it’s more accurate to say that I’ve given up on getting political asylum.

A thirty-minute asylum interview is all I need to get out of purgatory, but it’s been more than five years and there has been no progress. Since May 2017, when I submitted my application, I haven’t heard back. I’m here legally, but without a status. My only contact with the Department of Homeland Security has been a biennial request to renew my work authorization ID and a $420 fee. And even at that, the process doesn’t exactly give the impression of government competence at the developed-world scale.

READ THE REST.

Trump makes an apparent death threat against McConnell and Marjorie Taylor Greene incites violence at one of his rallies. Official GOP response? Crickets. Meanwhile, CPAC goes full RT and Russia stumbles in Ukraine. Will Saletan is back with Charlie Sykes for Charlie and Will Monday.

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BENJAMIN PARKER: How Much Do Putin’s Annexations Really Matter?

What are we to make of the Russian annexation of the occupied or partially occupied Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia? Does Vladimir Putin’s move change the outlook for the war, or have any bearing on what he will or won’t be willing to do in the face of defeat?

The pretext for the annexation was that the people of each province “voted” overwhelmingly in Russian-organized “referenda” to be annexed to their neighbor to the east. NGOs that keep tabs on international elections, such as Human Rights Watch and IDEA and even the U.N.’s political affairs chief, agree that these plebiscites were a sham. It turns out that legitimate elections don’t include threats of torture or summary execution against those who vote a certain way.

READ THE REST.

An Evening with The Bulwark (10/20)

A live taping of The Bulwark Podcast hosted by Charlie Sykes and a 2022 election panel with Amanda Carpenter, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller

🚨OVERTIME 🚨

Happy Monday! And welcome to October. It’s not just my favorite month because of family birthdays, but…

An early birthday present for me was a Guardians hat with the postseason patch. Every year one of my teams goes, I buy the hat, much to the consternation of my wife.

Meanwhile, on Sunday… Albert Pujols hit #702 in his last home regular season game. It was a sight to see, especially since 21 years ago, his first at-home AB was… a home run. Baseball has marked the time, especially for me, since I added the Cardinals as my NL team right about then.

Dream trips… An IKEA museum and hotel? Sign. Me. Up. If you can’t make it to rural Sweden, you can look at it on the web. (But you can’t get Swedish meatballs.)

The Sound of 007. A great-looking Amazon Prime documentary on the music of Bond.

The Onion goes to the High Court… Filing an Amicus brief in a parody case. And it’s amazing.

“We are the live and let live party…” Senator Ron Johnson, not making a joke, on Hugh Hewitt’s show.

Voter ID for thee, but not for me… How the head of the Alabama GOP and his family have tried to vote without valid ID. Because it’s the mark of the beast. Seriously.

Meet Mr. Doodle. And his very peculiar house.

20 years ago… The D.C. Sniper saga begins. Here’s what it was like.

Meanwhile… The rise of threats and intimidation towards lawmakers… Needs a response.

That’s it for me. Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message.

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