1.
“The Surprising Evolution of the Republican Woman,” June 17–30
For New York’s latest cover story, Rebecca Traister asked: Are female Republican politicians okay? Many readers offered answers. “Politics attracts extreme personality types,” said mousenrats. “So although it’s awful that your Boeberts and Noems have risen to prominence, it’s hardly surprising. What I find truly deplorable are the women who vote for them (and for Republican men), knowing that they are voting themselves and other women back into the middle ages.” Lainey_2016 wrote, “I loved how the conservative women in this article were all basically saying that women should be compliant and subservient and docile and keep their mouths shut … except they don’t have to do that, because they’re special ‘Alpha Females.’” On a more empathetic note, tigersatthezoo said, “Imagine taking a flame thrower to a bunch of books to ‘look hard’ and then have to submit completely to your husband, who is probably less academically and financially accomplished than you and RESENTS you for it. I’d go crazy too.” mssponge commented, “The contortions that prominent women in the GOP are currently performing to curry favor with Dear Leader contradict the feminist values that allowed them to succeed in politics. That while anyone can say they’re a ‘feminist,’ when you’re advocating that women should not have bodily autonomy or voting against equal rights or cosplaying as a trad wife on national tv to make men feel more comfortable, you set back not only the cause of feminism but your own opportunities as well. You can’t have it both ways. What’s happening with female politicians in the GOP would be hilarious if it wasn’t a canary in the coal mine for the future rights of ALL women in this country.” The story generated an outsize response in conservative circles. Representative Nancy Mace, who was featured in it, tweeted, “We’re fine. Now do the Squad. Those women won’t condemn burning babies.” And in the Washington Examiner, Kimberly Ross wrote, “GOP women are neither robots nor a monolith. The loudest ones in the party do not define us.”
2.
“How the Loser Won”
Olivia Nuzzi and Andrew Rice checked in on Michael Cohen after the criminal conviction of his former boss, Donald Trump. “It sometimes takes a small-time crook to catch a world-historical crook,” Jonathan Rick wrote on X, while Greg Kay tweeted, “Cohen wouldn’t have been Trump’s lawyer for 10 years if he didn’t believe in committing crimes for him.” Tjp commented, “It’s amazing that after all Cohen has been through he hasn’t worked through his addiction to Trump with an experienced, professional cult buster.” Maxwellscrossing wrote, “Everything Trump touches dies. Including the ability to disengage from him.” Brettysis advised Cohen to “put Trump in a thought bubble above your head and explode him away. Stop thinking about him at all. You’ll sleep better.” “Poor Michael Cohen,” said logic_would_help. “I can more than imagine how he felt acting as Trump’s Potemkin Village attack dog. But without Dracula, Renfield is nothing.”
3.
“Aaron Bushnell’s Agonies”
And Simon van Zuylen-Wood profiled the servicemember who set himself on fire to protest the war in Gaza. “He made a choice and debating its efficacy or meaning feels pointless,” commented itsagirl. “ Accordingly, I admire the writer’s evidently careful withholding of judgment.” Wrote jcl, “Reading the descriptive sections of how he grew up in what amounted to a religious sect or cult, the guy’s childhood sounded like an extended form of cruel and unusual punishment. And it sounds like he bought into the punishment rather than rebelling against it. Put another way, he didn’t have to create a martyr complex on his own; his upbringing gave him one, and encouraged him to play martyr for validation and attention in a toxic environment, long before Gaza,” adding, “this could be totally wrong, but the piece gave me the sense that if the Gaza conflict hadn’t existed, this kid, because of his past and his demons, would have found some other fill-in-the-blank cause for which to initiate a spectacular self-sacrifice.” Happygranger shared, “As a fellow child born and raised in the same cult as Aaron, I want to personally thank the author of this article. It was incredibly well researched and written. We may never understand all the complexities of Aaron’s mindset and final decisions. But one thing is clear: we were raised with the philosophy of ‘death to self.’ Tragically, Aaron took that literally. My heart breaks for him, and all of the children who were intentionally broken in the name of god.”
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