The Bulwark Daily

With just under two months until Election Day, Tim and Bill revisit the run-up to the midterms in 2006 and 1994, two major wave election cycles where the bottom just fell out from under the party in power. The 1994 blowout was more about the end of an era, while 2006 was about an unpopular war in the Middle East, a scandal, and a disappointed base. What do those wave elections suggest about the prospects for a big blue year in 2026? Plus: Do not miss either the war stories from Tim as a young Republican operative on the campaign trail or Clinton blaming Bill for helping to tank his health care reform plan.
Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller for a special holiday pod.
show notes:

Tim in 2006

Bill in "Morning Shots" with his Truman-related advice for the Dems

COME HANG WITH THE GANG—Sarah, Tim, JVL, Sam and friends—during our Bulwark LIVE: Good Fight Tour this October 16-20:
🎤Friday, October 16 at The Senate in Columbia, S.C.—Will Sommer joins the gang on stage. Is Columbia ready for the Trio?
🎤Sunday, October 18 at the Carolina Theatre in Charlotte, N.C.—special guest Pete Buttigieg joins the gang with Catherine Rampell and Lauren Eagan.
🎤Tuesday, October 20 at The Eastern in Atlanta, Ga.—Gen. Mark Hertling and the Morning Shots duo—Andrew Egger and Bill Kristol—join the gang for this final stop.
Tickets are on sale NOW through the links above or through TheBulwark.com/Events. At Bulwark LIVE we can promise you a night of fellowship and politics with lots of laughs—and maybe a few tears too. We’ll keep you sane.

Marco Rubio is using dubious powers to create a new class of immigrant political prisoners. Meanwhile, DHS officials are bragging about how they're brutally shackling and frog-marching Haitians who came here under protected status. On this American holiday weekend, David takes a "nerd moment" to explain that the Founders always intended our Constitutional liberties to apply to noncitizens as well—including even despicable Milo Yiannopoulos. Plus: How Trump keeps getting away with his illegal ballroom construction, what normie Texas Republicans are thinking about Paxton vs. Talarico, the risks of legal shenanigans after the votes are all counted in November, and an update on the Iranian green card-holders who've now been detained 150 days. Also, Tim is heartily enjoying the LSU ruling ahead of Saturday's game against Clemson.
David French joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod.
show notes:

Follow "Bulwark Takes" for the latest releases over the weekend

David's piece on Marco's tin-pot dictator leanings

More on the Iranian green card-holders from a local NBC affiiliate in LA

Tim's playlist

Bulwark LIVE: GOOD FIGHT TOUR with Tim, Sarah, Sam and JVL is coming to the Southeast in October. Tickets are on sale NOW. Head to TheBulwark.com/Events for details and to get your tickets.

Thom Tillis was the pivotal vote to confirm a buffoon to run the Department of Defense, and now he’s shocked about Hegseth’s incompetency. JD wants everyone to know he’s a Catholic now, but he doesn’t seem to have absorbed even the basic teachings of Catholicism. And Susan Collins claims she has influence with her Senate colleagues over Trump’s agenda—even though on almost every occasion she has made sure that her vote won’t matter. Meanwhile, Trump did a coup in Venezuela with an associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Plus: Tim reads from the mailbag, Trump is repulsed by Ken Paxton, the Antichrist might be walking amongst us, and what would happen if armed, leftwing activists created a sanctuary space in Ohio to protect Haitian immigrants?
JVL joins Tim Miller.
show notes:

JVL’s ‘Triad’ on the illegal Venezuelan oil deal

Tim’s ‘Take’ with MAGA pollster Rich Baris

Pulitzer-winning reporting by “Pablo Torre Finds Out” on the Clippers

Tim’s interview with Ruby Cramer on MAHA

Here’s how you can help the city of Springfield and its Haitian Community:Support the Haitian Community Help & Support Center, St. Vincent de Paul, and Second Harvest Food Bank

Bulwark LIVE: GOOD FIGHT TOUR with Tim, Sarah, Sam and JVL is coming to the Southeast in October. Tickets are on sale NOW. Head to TheBulwark.com/Events for details and to get your tickets.

Go to Dupe.com today and find similar products for less. It’s 100% free to use. Stop wasting money on brand names and start saving with Dupe.com today.

The Army is currently operating without any Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders at the top. For Navy secretary, Trump is nominating an election-denying veteran who thinks witches and Wiccans are taking over cities. And when Hegseth is not busy purging the DOD’s leadership, he seems to be under the spell of a Rasputin-like character who failed a polygraph and may have taken the supposedly sober defense secretary out for a bender. Meanwhile, Don Jr. got another Pentagon contract, and the administration keeps ignoring the fact that Russia is helping Iran try to kill American soldiers and sailors. Plus: Tim today launched a new series featuring a younger generation of Democratic operatives who are working hard to win the midterms. First up is Biden White House alum Rodericka Applewhaite.
New Bulwark pod host Michael Weiss and Rodericka Applewhaite join Tim Miller. 
show notes:

Tim’s candidate recs (which will be updated soon!)

The Atlantic on Trump being surprised about all the top officers being fired

ProPublica on Don, Jr.’s Pentagon drone contract

Bulwark LIVE: GOOD FIGHT TOUR with Tim, Sarah, Sam and JVL is coming to the Southeast in October. Tickets are on sale NOW. Head to TheBulwark.com/Events for details and to get your tickets.

Vaccine skepticism and distrust of pharmaceutical companies long predated RFK, Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign. But the distrust of mainstream medical authority has now grown so deep that the United States can no longer contain the spread of measles. The country’s measles-vaccination rates have dropped below the threshold for herd immunity. Obviously, Trump’s misleading vax ruminations from the Oval Office have not helped the matter. The New Yorker’s Ruby Cramer discusses her reporting on one family’s frightening medical experience after one parent fell down the MAHA rabbit hole. Plus: The administration has given Big Ag a pass, Democrats should try recapturing health-conscious voters, the overlooked case of an American shot by immigration thugs, and the surprising backstory of Kari Lake becoming ambassador to Jamaica.
Ruby Cramer joins Tim Miller.
show notes:

"The Next Level" pod will be out later today

Ruby's New Yorker piece, "The MAHA Custody Battle"

Ruby's reporting on the preschool worker who was shot by Border Patrol

Ruby on the DNC's Ken Martin

Eddington, the film Ruby referenced and Sonny recommends

Bulwark LIVE: GOOD FIGHT TOUR with Tim, Sarah, Sam and JVL is coming to the Southeast in October. Tickets are on sale NOW. Head to TheBulwark.com/Events for details and to get your tickets.