iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Bruce Larson

Scott Meinke @srmeinke.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

We're hiring a tenure-track Americanist at Bucknell, in a new line focused on parties, groups, and/or communications/media. Please share with folks who might be interested, and I'm happy to answer questions or talk in person at APSA!

bucknell.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Tenure Track Position in American Politics

Position Title: Tenure Track Position in American Politics Position Type: Full time Location: Bucknell University Categories: Faculty Exempt Job Summary: Job Duties: Bucknell University’s Department o...

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The WSJ politics newsletter refers to House Speaker Mike Johnson as “the calm conductor of a runaway train.”

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

A photo of my dog Eloise when I was discussing the Court’s ruling in NRSC v. FEC with someone. Not everyone is excited by campaign finance cases, I guess.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

The birthright citizenship case should have been 9-0.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

With parties no longer limited in making coordinated expenditures, it may be that safe House incumbents will face even more pressure to transfer money to the party congressional campaign committees.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

In NRSC v. FEC, I feel like there is a non-zero chance the Court will invalidate not only party coordinated spending limits but also limits on contributions TO the parties. Per McCutcheon, conservatives on the Court see quid pro quo corruption as less of a concern when money flows through parties.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Big if lopsided self-funding in the Dem primary in my MD-06 district. David Trone has loaned his campaign $25 million in the contest, while incumbent April McClain Delaney has loaned her campaign $7.4 million.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Long time Knicks fan but love Wemby and like the Spurs. Damn.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Jennifer N. Victor @jenvictor.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

My colleague @mattngreen.bsky.social has made a terrific accounting of various democratic reform proposals floating about. This is a terrific roundabout and a good resource for much needed conversations.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Currently worried Trump will throw Taiwan under the bus if Xi agrees to rename it Trumpwan.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I found a set of SPSS 13.0 CDs in my office. The discs make good coasters!

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Wait. The UK has a National Statistician Position?

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

If the Court invalidates limits on party coordinated expenditures, it won’t alter the party fundraising side. So expect the Hill committees to ratchet up pressure on incumbents for funds, since incumbents can give unlimited sums to the national party committees from their campaign committees.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Jennifer N. Victor @jenvictor.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The first, and necessary step, is absolutely overwhelming, devastating turnout.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

SCOTUS in City of Mobile v. Bolden (1980): plaintiffs gotta show discriminatory intent. Congress in the 1982 VRA Reauthorization: discriminatory effects are sufficient. Justice Alito in Louisiana v. Callais: f**k Congress.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

My New One at Slate: Justice Alito is a Coward (and Possibly a Liar) slate.com/news-and-pol...

In the end, Justice Alito is afraid to stand up and say what his opinions necessarily imply: that Congress cannot do anything to protect minority voting rights short of banning intentional discrimination despite the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee, despite the Fifteenth Amendment’s ban on race discrimination in voting, and despite the fact that both amendments explicitly give Congress the power to enforce the measures by “appropriate legislation.”

Maybe Alito is worried that a ruling forthrightly saying what he is doing would sully the reputation of the court, which has already faced public criticism for killing off another key part of the Voting Rights Act in 2013’s Shelby County decision. Perhaps he is worried that a frontal kill of Section 2 would energize Democrats, leading to greater losses for Republicans in the midterm elections and in future elections.

Whatever the reason, Justice Alito lacks courage, a word which ironically has been embraced by the Trumpiest of judges and legal commentators to describe taking positions that are extreme, unpopular, and I would argue, in conflict with the rule of law.

No one is fooled by Justice Alito’s act of cowardice, unless it is Justice Alito himself. If that’s the case, he is more deluded than he seems to think the rest of us are.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

This is so worth reading. We’ve normalized billionaires bankrolling so-called independent spending campaigns, and we wonder why the government isn’t responsive to ordinary people.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Will need to update my class VRA slide to explain how, according to Justice Alito in Louisiana v. Callais, the words “in a manner that results in” must be interpreted as “in a manner intended by the state”

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

That Brin can spend $57 million trying to block a California billionaire tax makes a good case for the billionaire tax.

nytimes.com

Sergey Brin Moves to the Right, With a ‘MAGA Girlfriend’ by His Side

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Jennifer N. Victor @jenvictor.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Not the main point here, but I do not ever recall a federal agency making significant programmatic and personnel changes as a result of the PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL, which does not change any law or funding allocations. Congress hasn't acted yet. What are we doing here?

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

You can celebrate the destruction of a ruthless group of leaders in Iran that has destroyed the lives of countless Iranians AND still have serious doubts that the Trump administration has a coherent plan to enable the emergence of a more humane government in Iran once the bombs stop falling.

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

This should have been a 9-0 decision.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Repeat after me: An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law. Also: Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Contact your member of Congress and senators. It can matter.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Scott Meinke @srmeinke.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

The Senate vote on the Venezuela resolution was not a final passage vote . . . this seems like something the Post should get right?

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Did you know? About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5. About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development. The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.

11.1% of SNAP recipients are kids under age 5, 27.7% kids 5-17, 41.6% adults 18-59, 19.5% adults aged 60 & older

https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1124/snapparticipantage.xlsx

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach: Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone. … America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source:
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact

• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science

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Bruce Larson @brucelarson.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.

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Reposted by Bruce Larson

Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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