Firing air traffic controllers over a busy holiday travel weekend, cutting a veterans crisis hotline, axing and then rehiring people who maintain and keep our nuclear arsenal safe: Musk and his minions aren't trying to "fix" the government. They're trying to make it more susceptible to Trump's personalized leadership. And the MIA Dems need to get out there and throw some punches since the media loves fights. Meanwhile, the US is now more of a problem than a solution on Ukraine, Elon's massive corruption isn't drawing anywhere near the same attention as Hunter/Burisma—and Bill Cassidy could just vote against Kash or delay his confirmation if he's really worried about the FBI. Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller show notes Bill's 'Bulwark on Sunday' conversation with Eric Edeleman Don Moynihan's newsletter that Bill mentioned
Full Episode
Hello and welcome to the Bullard Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. Happy Washington's birthday, 2025. While we're changing the names of things, we're no longer observing President's Day here. We're going back to the original, the traditional Washington's birthday observed. It's not actually Washington's birthday, but, you know, details. And because it's a Monday, I'm here with Bill Kristol.
How are you doing, Bill? I'm hanging in there. How are you? I'm doing well. Do you have any other... What kind of name changes you're thinking about?
I remember it was like a little bit of a conservative thing in the 70s and 80s to object to the change from Washington's birthday to President's Day. I guess they were sort of mushing together Lincoln and Washington. And then, of course, it had to be on a Monday. But yes, insofar as it sort of implies that we equally respect all presidents. It's very bad, and I'm glad you've decided.
I'm glad you've declared the bulwark policy of not recognizing President's Day, right? I mean, if we could all just adopt whatever names we want, right?
Yeah, we're not recognizing President's Day. We're dead naming the Gulf of Mexico. That's just kind of how things are going here. Much to discuss, I guess, it seems like. Your newsletter this morning was focused on all of the – trouble that has been being created from Elon Musk's quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency.
Many different specifics I think worth getting into, but I'm just at the highest level interested in what you are trying to get across.
I just want to wrecking ball it is. And as Don Moynihan, the professor of political science at Michigan, says in a very good newsletter that I recommend, and he's a sober guy, serious student of public administration, the point isn't government efficiency.
The point is to wreck the government and make it more susceptible, wreck the structures, you might say, of the government, of which civil service is such an important part. and make it susceptible to Trump's personalized leadership and really to autocracy. And so all the idiotic things they're doing, if you sort of individually, it's hard to understand.
Why do they want to make air travel less safe? Why do they want to, you know, damage our nuclear safety inspection regime? But if you think of it more as just taking a wrecking ball to the government, you... I think have a pretty good sense of what's going on. And then I was provoked this morning to write about this particularly.
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