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Lucas Osborne

@lucastosborne.bsky.social
4.2K followers 8.6K following 4.4K posts

Natural Resources Law, Public Utility Regulation, Monopolies, Private Law Theory, Law and Technology PhD @UCBerkeley, JD @VanderbiltLaw, MPP @TheHellerSchool

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Reposted by Lucas Osborne
David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 8h
A merger to monopoly of the two biggest component distributors in the RV industry has the town of Elkhart, Indiana—where 80% of all RVs are made—nervous. A lawsuit against one of the merging companies, Patrick, shows what increased market power can look like in this industry: 🧵
prospect.org
The Monopoly on the Open Road - The American Prospect
Patrick Industries announced a merger with its main competitor for selling components for recreational vehicles. A lawsuit alleges that it leverages market power.
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 6h
The way in which California Democrats have fallen in line behind Newsom on the billionaire wealth tax has been sadly predictable but pretty darn cowardly. prospect.org/2026/10/06/c...
prospect.org
California Democrats—but Not Their Elected Representatives—Back the Billionaire Wealth Tax - The American Prospect
Polls show overwhelming rank-and-file support, but Gavin Newsom’s opposition has trickled down to nearly every elected official.
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 3h
Damn this is terrible www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/congres...
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing.
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The Downballot @the-downballot.com · 10h
Quite the stat from the Washington Post about how the GOP's massive spending on ads is nowhere close to as scary for Democrats as it looks: In Dallas, Republican groups had to spend *five* times as much as James Talarico "for just 30 percent more impact." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
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The Downballot @the-downballot.com · 6h
The cavalry began showing up for Ken Paxton on Aug. 20, when Elon Musk's America PAC started spending. Since then, GOP groups have shelled out more than $200 million to rescue Paxton. In that time, the polls have climbed from D+2 to D+4. Via @fiftyplusone.news fiftyplusone.news/polls/senate...
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The Downballot @the-downballot.com · 6h
Republican state Sen. Greg Walker, one of six to lose primaries after refusing to back Trump's gerrymander push, backs Democrat Beau Bayh for Indiana secretary of state. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 1h
Good news: in this case the newly elected House can meet at a convenient location of their choosing and vote on whether to expel Johnson as one of its first orders of business
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h
Sen. Thom Tillis says he expects there will be pressure on Mike Johnson to not seat the new Congress if Democrats win
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Paul Crider @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com · 1h
Fun fact about @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social. She has both DSA and YIMBY endorsements. Two great tastes that taste great together.
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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 5h
oh my GOD
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing.
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Polling USA @usapolling.bsky.social · 2h
Absolutely amazing piece by Nithya
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Kevin Morris @kevintmorris.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Hey hey -- it's publication day! Couldn't be more excited for this to be out in the world. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We often talk about the judiciary in the context of hot-button issues like Roe, but the courts are just as much an enabler of oligarchy. Zachary Groz looks at a new report that names 10 judges most responsible for the corporate court, including several nominated by Democrats.
prospect.org
How the Courts Became a Safe Haven for Corporations - The American Prospect
A new report details how the judiciary has become more corporate over the past few decades—and names the specific judges who are most responsible.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 21h
who knows if jackson can win this thing but i am glad that he is making clear that susan collins's whole scam is to do everything she can to make life worse for mainers and then take credit for mitigating it in the slightest way possible
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 06/10/2026
Perhaps if, as senior administrators allege, early childcare is simply just “too expensive” for UCLA to offer, we can just bargain for and win two years of paid parental leave for all employees in the contract which will inevitably win. Especially with this crowd in power. @ucfaculty.bsky.social
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gamera obscura october edition @ohrobin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Michael Tracey has so much to answer for.
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Jared Holt @jaredlholt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Michael Tracey published what he said was the ID of the "Jane Doe" in the Cornell case. Then he took it down, claiming he just wanted to make a point and didn't want to see harm to the person he named. What he hasn't admitted is that he mistook info on a sketchy site for official NY court records.
An archived copy of Michael Tracey's original Substack post includes a screenshot from "eCourt Records" and the commentary: "It's [name redacted]. Don't blame me -- the New York Court System just posted it. Seemingly inadvertently. Oh well."Screenshot of Michael Tracey's post on Substack titled "Note on Jane Doe." It reads: "After identifying Jane Doe earlier tonight, I have now removed the information I published. Why? Because the principle has been served: to underscore that permanently anonymizing litigants who make sensational, spectacular, reputation-destroying claims about others — so long as they can self-declare some form of victimization — cannot be countenanced.

It’s destructive, and an egregious abuse of the legal system by huckster plaintiff’s lawyers. This practice has to end. Lawyers who seek to monetize this sleazy tactic should have to think A LOT HARDER about the claims they’re willing to throw out into the public domain, using impressionable clients who may not even know what they’re getting themselves into.

So why have I now removed her information?

Because I don’t believe she’s the main “villain” here. I primarily blame the bottom-feeding, media-manipulating, sleazebag lawyers who’ve made a whole cash-grab industry out of this racket.

Thomas Giuffra in particular has a lot to answer for. He’s the central reason for the current debacle.

Given the intense nationwide and global interest in this case, I don’t want to bring any further negative attention to this woman. I don’t believe she ought to be punished or subjected to any retribution or humiliation. I believe a RATIONAL solution is necessary here. Not more character assassination — of her, the seven young men, or anyone else. Truly, that is my genuine view."
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Micah @rincewind.run · 06/10/2026
“we can fantasize about raping people on livestream but if anyone thinks anything bad should happen to us as a result we will try to get them fired” sums up the state of right wing “intellectualism” pretty well
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Troy Jackson @troyjackson207.bsky.social · 22h
Women across Maine begged Susan Collins not to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court because they knew Roe was at stake. She did it anyway. To this day, she says "I do not regret that vote." Well, we sure do.
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Matt Binder @mattbinder.bsky.social · 23h
the tech industry is about to invent books
Andrew Yeung 
@andruyeung
X.com
We created gyms because modern day work no
longer required physical activity. Without exercise,
our muscles atrophy.
I predict we'll need gyms for our brains too, once Al
starts doing our knowledge work.
10:53 PM • 10/4/26 • 1.3M Views
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Pascal Sabino @pascalsabino.bsky.social · 23h
The Montana Supreme Court today struck down a $3,700 fee and other restrictions that make it harder to use popular initiatives & referendums to enact reforms. Meanwhile, advocates are hoping to shut those attacks down by creating a fundamental right to direct democracy in Montana:
boltsmag.org
To Protect Direct Democracy, Two States Mull a New Approach: Name It As a Right - Bolts
After years of attacks on voters’ power to take matters into their own hands, democracy advocates are going on the offensive in Montana and Missouri. They’ve placed constitutional amendments on... Rea...
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Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 23h
NEW: Montana Supreme Court unanimously strikes down several provisions of a 2023 state law that significantly impaired the citizen initiative process—most significantly by imposing a $3,700 filing fee and prohibiting the resubmission of any failed measure. Link here: courts.mt.gov/external/ord...
Justice Beth Baker delivered the Opinion of the Court. ¶1 Mae Nan Ellingson, Jerome Leondorf, Arlyne Reichert, Hal Harper, Bob Brown, Evan Barrett, C.B. Pearson, Carole Mackin, Mark Mackin, and Jonathan Motl (collectively, “Ellingson” or “the Ellingson Plaintiffs”) sued the State of Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte, Attorney General Austin Knudsen, and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (collectively, “State”) in the First Judicial District Court to invalidate new laws governing the statewide initiative process. Ellingson alleged that several provisions of Senate Bill 93, 2023 Mont. Laws ch. 647 (“SB 93”), unconstitutionally diminished the people’s reserved power of direct democracy by imposing qualifications and procedural steps not contemplated by the Montana Constitution. In two rulings on separate motions, the District Court granted the Ellingson Plaintiffs summary judgment on four of their claims and denied relief on seven others. The parties stipulated to dismiss without prejudice all claims not resolved in Ellingson’s favor. Following entry of judgment, the District Court denied Ellingson’s motion for attorney fees. ¶2 The State appeals three of the District Court’s summary judgment rulings. The Ellingson Plaintiffs cross-appeal the denial of their request for fees. Restated, we consider the following issues on appeal: 1. What standard governs a Montana court’s review of a constitutional challenge to laws regulating the initiative and referendum process? 2. Does § 13-27-221, MCA, prohibiting resubmission of a statewide ballot measure for four years after defeat of a substantially similar measure, violate the Montana Constitution?3. Does § 13-27-228, MCA, authorizing legislative interim committees to vote on proposed ballot measures and place the result of the vote on the face of the petition, violate the Montana Constitution? 4. Does § 13-27-215, MCA, imposing a $3,700 filing fee on all proposed ballot measures, violate the Montana Constitution even though it authorizes the Secretary of State to waive the fee for hardship? 5. Did the District Court abuse its discretion when it denied Ellingson’s motion for attorney fees under the private attorney general doctrine? We affirm on all issues.
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Eli Valley @elivalley.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Democrats caved and/or facilitated this monopolization of practically every major media property in the US into the hands of a MAGA fascist psychopath. If the US had an opposition party, each of its presidential contenders would would vow to dissolve this monopoly by any means necessary.

DiscussingFilm
@DiscussingFilm
David Ellison has shown an official graphic of everything Skydance will own after acquiring Warner Bros and Paramount.

Assets:

• TNT
• CBS
• CNN
• MTV
• TCM
• Showtime
• Adult Swim
• DC Studios
• Paramount+
• Nickelodeon
• HBO/HBO Max
• Comedy Central
• Cartoon Network

Film Rights:

• Star Trek
• Gremlins
• Beetlejuice
• DC Comics
• Tom & Jerry
• Harry Potter
• Citizen Kane
• Transformers
• A Quiet Place
• Looney Tunes
• The Conjuring
• Mortal Kombat
• Game of Thrones
• Dora The Explorer
• Mission Impossible
• The Lord of the Rings
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Dune 3 (distribution rights)
• Minecraft (distribution rights)
• MonsterVerse (distribution rights)
9:34 AM · Oct 2, 2026
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Reposted by Lucas Osborne
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🚨BREAKING: GOP lawyer Cleta Mitchell and convicted election denier Tina Peters are pushing a scheme to have Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seize voting machines, as part of a broader effort for the Trump administration to interfere with the midterm vote. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Election deniers Cleta Mitchell and Tina Peters want Trump’s commerce secretary to seize voting machines
The problem? No federal official can seize control of election administration from the states and counties, who hold the power run elections under the U.S. Constitution.
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Solomon @solomonrmissouri.com · 23h
And this is why she should have stayed in jail www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Election deniers Cleta Mitchell and Tina Peters want Trump’s commerce secretary to seize voting machines
The problem? No federal official can seize control of election administration from the states and counties, who hold the power run elections under the U.S. Constitution.
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Polling USA @usapolling.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Senate Leads On The Current Model: Nebraska - ⚪️ I +0.1 Iowa - 🔵 D +1 Maine - 🔵 D +3 Texas - 🔵 D +3 Ohio - 🔵 D +4 Michigan - 🔵 D +7 North Carolina - 🔵 D +10 Georgia - 🔵 D +11 Kansas - 🔴 R +2 South Dakota - 🔴 R +4 Mississippi - 🔴 R +5 unitedstatespolling.com/p/democrats-...
unitedstatespolling.com
Democrats Surge as Republicans Enter the Final Stretch
Republicans still have time to shift the trajectory, but the latest numbers show Democrats continuing to move forward
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Polling USA @usapolling.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Alaska - Governor Polling: Final Round: 🔵Kreiss-Tompkins: 54% 🔴Wilson: 46% First Round: 🔵Kreiss-Tomkins: 48% 🔴Wilson: 27% 🔴Bronson: 15% 🔴Taylor: 10% Alaska Survey Research / Oct 3, 2026 (Current AK-GOV model is: DEM 52% - GOP 48%) unitedstatespolling.com/p/democrats-...
unitedstatespolling.com
Democrats Surge as Republicans Enter the Final Stretch
Republicans still have time to shift the trajectory, but the latest numbers show Democrats continuing to move forward
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Ben McAdams (The Resurrection Arc) @purrtah.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
TX Gov 48-47 Hinojosa +1 OH Gov 48-44 Acton +4 KS Gov 44-47 R+3 MI Gov 48-45 Benson +3 NE Gov 44-43 Pillen +1 FL Gov is only Donalds +2
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The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 05/10/2026
Democrats Expect Record Number of Women in Party in House After Midterm Elections (Gift Article) www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/u...
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The Downballot @the-downballot.com · 06/10/2026
And now the Congressional Leadership Fund has followed suit in #NE02 x.com/JakeSherman/...
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The Downballot @the-downballot.com · 06/10/2026
Lots more from races across the country: • A Democratic group reups Kansas spending as GOP rushes to keep Senate seat red. • Two Republican-held House seats are falling off the map, and that's *not* good news for the GOP. • Campaign to restore abortion rights to Idaho outraises "no" side.
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Polling USA @usapolling.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Senate Polling: Texas: 🔵 Talarico: 50% 🔴 Paxton: 44% Ohio: 🔵 Brown: 49% 🔴 Husted: 45%* Kansas: 🔵 Hamilton: 48% 🔴 Marshall: 45%* Nebraska: ⚪️ Osborn: 48% 🔴 Ricketts: 47%* Michigan: 🔵 El-Sayed: 49% 🔴 Rogers: 48% YouGov / Oct 5, 2026
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Paul Crider @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com · 06/10/2026
It may be the case that Republicans have a longterm intrinsic advantage on immigration. But for at least the next two years, we can hammer into voters' minds the association of deportations with masked ICE thugs, kidnappings, concentration camps, and summary executions.
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Look, this is bad. Yes. But the Trump admin sent six (6) people to Maricopa and Pima. Where, by my count, there are 404 polling places, spread across 18,000 square miles (each county is ~9k sq mi). What they want is the FEAR to discourage the voting they can't actually prevent.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
UPDATE: Trump just awarded another $3 BILLION military contract to a company backed by his son Don Jr. (and Peter Thiel) — what skilled businessmen these Trumps are! Robbing the American taxpayer in broad daylight.
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The Skydance CEOs now acknowledge that layoffs will in fact be coming after the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger, per @variety.com.
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Daniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Prioritize understanding when reading. If you find yourself disagreeing with something, assume for the moment you’ve misunderstood, re-read, and re-consider. If you still disagree, try one more time. If you disagree after that, then okay, you might be on to something.
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 06/10/2026
Given the rest of the financial news it looks like they’re high fiving each other about how the plebes get 7% mortgage rates
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Richard Jean So @richardjeanso.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Cool job alert, this looks excellent: Cornell is hiring up to 5 postdocs in humanities/social sciences & AI. 2 year positions. jobs.chronicle.com/job/38045266...
jobs.chronicle.com
Postdoctoral Assoc: Artificial Intelligence in Humanities & Social Sciences - Ithaca, New York job with College of Arts & Sciences | 38045266
Two-year postdoctoral fellowship focused on artificial intelligence in the humanities and social sciences.
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YouGov America @today.yougov.com · 06/10/2026
New YouGov polls of 7 Senate races TX Talarico 50%, Paxton 44% OH Brown 49%, Husted 45% KS Hamilton 48%, Marshall 45% MI El-Sayed 49%, Rogers 48% NE Osborn 48%, Ricketts 47% NH Pappas 51%, Sununu 43% FL Moody 49%, Nixon 44% (Links in reply)
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Adam Gurri @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com · 06/10/2026
I think @amandamarcotte.bsky.social is really onto something here and that it's related to something @polphilpod.bsky.social has said in a few places; what collapsed was not liberalism, which in some ways is more strongly felt and committed to by more people than ever, but conservatism
liberalcurrents.com
Liberalism Did Not Fail, Conservatism Did
We are moving from an ideologically multipolar world, to a bipolar one.
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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The Cook Political Report just moved the Kansas Senate race to TOSS UP. Kansas. Which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932. 🤯 www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/sen...
cookpolitical.com
A Senate Majority is Squarely in Democrats’ Sights as Kansas Moves to Toss Up; Two Other Races Shift Left
Four weeks out from Election Day, the Senate map is shifting further in Democrats’ favor — and with it, their odds of winning back the majority.While Republicans continue to have a financial edge in a...
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Jack Goldsmith: "Alito’s nominal adherence to originalism even as he struggles to revamp it is but one indication that the doctrine is becoming a zombie creed that functions more as a shibboleth than as an actual guide to conservative constitutional decision making."
theatlantic.com
Zombie Originalism
Samuel Alito’s efforts to revamp the conservative legal philosophy reveal that a new movement is ascendant.
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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Utah has already combed its voter rolls for any noncitizens registered to vote and found it to be a non-issue, but that’s not what the Trump administration and congressional Republicans want to hear, the state’s Republican elections chief said. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
democracydocket.com
Utah’s GOP election head purged noncitizens from voter rolls, but the Trump team didn’t want to hear how few she found
Utah has already combed its voter rolls for any noncitizens registered to vote and found it to be a non-issue, but that’s not what the Trump administration and congressional Republicans want to hear, ...
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The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 06/10/2026
States now have to pay 75% of administrative costs to run SNAP, with California alone facing a $670 million annual increase in costs. theconversation.com/fewer-americ...
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Alex Kaplan @alkapdc.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
NEW from me: A comprehensive list of key election denial activists in the right-wing ecosystem. These activists regularly appear in right-wing media to promote their work & boast of ties to Trump, urging him to get rid of voting machines, ban mail-in ballots, & declare a national emergency.
mediamatters.org
Key election denial activists in the right-wing media ecosystem
It’s become increasingly apparent that election denial activists have the president’s ear. Figures seeking to undermine faith in election outcomes through direct action and advocacy efforts have boast...
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
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Dave Lee @davelee.me · 05/10/2026
The horror stat remains true: The average American household is closer in net worth to Jeff Bezos than Jeff Bezos is to Elon Musk.
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Schnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think we are seeing from Cook basically allowing the absolute limits of both MOE in the case of democrats to remain in tossup while not doing the same for R seats. Its rather disingenuous and suggests internal bias.
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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I wish Emily Bazelon had read @lilymasonphd.bsky.social's recent article, "Polarization is not the Problem" (link later in thread). The polarization framework distracts from the fundamental issue of GOP extremism.
The main reason a new voting rights bill failed to pass is the same reason Congress has stopped responding to the court: partisan polarization, which ramped up in the 2000s. As conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans went extinct, bipartisan overrides ended. When one party is in control and can reject a court ruling on its own, the filibuster remains a barrier to such a bill passing.
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