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Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Julia Ioffe, Marianna Sotomayor, John Heilemann, & Abby Livingston
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Sunday through Thursday
Puck’s daily political newsletter from Washington—featuring Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Marianna Sotomayor, Julia Ioffe, John Heilemann, and Abby Livingston—on what’s really happening in this town, from the White House to the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, K Street, the campaign trail, and beyond.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Peter Hamby
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October 31, 2023
Dean Phillips’ Prairie Home Rebellion
The little-known Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips believes he can successfully primary Biden by leaning hard (of course) into the gerontocracy argument. But neither time, nor math, appears to be on his side.
Peter Hamby
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October 23, 2023
Biden, Gen Z & The Illiberal Left
The uncompromising politics and tortured jargon of campus activists are no longer confined to college campuses. Democrats in Congress say they’re worried that young progressives attacking Israel are providing ammo for right-wing opponents and hurting their own cause.
Peter Hamby
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October 23, 2023
The Insider: In Conversation with Ron Klain
Klain, an advisor and chief of staff in three Democratic administrations across three decades, will be the first featured speaker at Puck’s new events series, The Powers That Be: Live.
Peter Hamby
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October 16, 2023
Death of a Salesman
The brief rise and rapid fall of Vivek Ramaswamy is a pretty good indicator that even in the chaotic universe of Republican politics, with its shameless demands and perverse incentives, certain rules still apply. Among them: People have to like you.
Peter Hamby
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October 9, 2023
Biden’s Youth Serum Shortage
The president’s reelection faces a “flashing red” alarm heading into 2024 if he can’t capture 60 percent of a youth vote that’s tuned in but turned off. Alarmingly, for a party that depends on people of color, the enthusiasm drop has been most pronounced among younger Black voters—a generation they can no longer take for granted.
Peter Hamby
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October 2, 2023
The Youngkin Mind Flu
Of course donors are salivating over Glenn Youngkin, the 6-foot-6 Harvard MBA and private equity billionaire-turned-Republican governor straight out of central casting circa 2012. But let’s be real: there is no electorate for Youngkin, no actual plan to draft him, and no logical process to do so.
Peter Hamby
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September 25, 2023
Political Porn on a Whole New Level
The weird, kinky case of Susanna Gibson—the nurse who filmed herself having sex with her husband while running for the Virginia state legislature—signals how far our political sex scandals have evolved, especially on the left, and especially in consequential elections.
Peter Hamby
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September 18, 2023
Kamala Swap Fan Fiction
Calls to drop Harris from the 2024 ticket are without modern precedent, fraught with risk, and run counter to every impulse that Biden holds dear. It’s fanfic for political hobbyists and it’s as predictable as it is pointless.
Peter Hamby
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September 11, 2023
The DeSantis Hillary Complex
One of the bizarre ironies of DeSantis’s flaccid campaign is that the guy who wanted to out-MAGA Trump has ended up looking like Clinton: an overly professionalized Franken-candidate who could never conjure the enthusiasm of a more charismatic rival.
Peter Hamby
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September 5, 2023
Three Johns:16
Analyzing the post-McConnell sweepstakes.