r/thebulwark

They are driving the illusion of public opinion in politics. It's an entirely new game now and must be approached knowing that. The overall goal appears to be to intensify the division and to pressure people into only stating what might get upvoted. Critical thought is often quickly downvoted in record time.

A solution is to seek common ground striking points, of which there truly are plenty. Dark money being the largest.

Wife and I just started Medicare last month, but both qualified for the $90 bribe check. Want to put it to good use by sending it to a worthy Democrat. I live in Massachusetts so no one local really needs it. Who does the Bulwark think I should I sent it to?
?

"In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. The agency was examining interactions between Collins and a top donor: Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek.

According to Kao, in 2019, the head of the pro-Collins super PAC met with him and other Navatek execs and asked for a $500,000 donation. Government contractors are banned from making political contributions. For the company to offer donations to Collins in exchange for an official action, or for Collins to accept, would constitute criminal bribery.

To skirt campaign finance laws and conceal the source of the funds, Kao sent an initial $150,000 to the super PAC using a shell company, saying he had cleared it with his lawyer. The head of the super PAC knew Kao was behind the donation. “Very smart,” he replied in an email viewed by ProPublica.

Weeks later, Kao told his team Collins committed to getting the company $32 million in naval contracts.

But the FBI saw through Kao’s shell company ruse. In 2022, a grand jury indicted him for making illegal campaign contributions. Facing years in prison, Kao revealed the full scheme to the FBI, hoping to reduce his sentence. What he told them has never before become public.Kao and his close associates donated nearly $900,000 to dozens of politicians, allowing Navatek to establish operations in half a dozen states with more than $40 million a year in government funds. Collins, Kao said, was Navatek’s most important patron.

Then President Donald Trump returned to office — and the FBI and Department of Justice teams that handled public corruption cases were eviscerated. The investigation died, and the government stopped talking to an informant who had offered a road map to corruption in Congress."

Might be a dumb question, and apologies for this in advance, but given the comments made in a certain interview this week, it logically follows that the guest that Tim mentioned will be on tomorrow's episode is likely to Tommy Vietor, right? Or am I completely off base here? I'd be interested in hearing other people's theories on this

I’m honestly not surprised at all. Dude has his hands in every jar across the globe and is making money off the multiple wars we are fighting and supporting… but don’t worry he can be a good faith negotiator.