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Reposted by Conor Kelly

The Daily Beast @thedailybeast.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Police were called on a New York Times reporter while she was attempting to cover a fundraiser featuring House Speaker Mike Johnson.

thedailybeast.com

Mike Johnson Fundraising Event Calls Cops on NYT Reporter

While the Times reporter waited in the parking lot, Fox News was welcomed inside.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 04/08/2026

Good afternoon. I’m currently serving as Field Director for State Senator Laura Ellman, and we’re getting our canvassing program ready for the fall. We’re looking for volunteers who want to get involved and support local civic engagement. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

Volunteer Form

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 17/07/2026

Campaign season is here. Political canvassing is protected by the First Amendment and isn't solicitation. If you don't want canvassers at your door, just ask them to leave or post a "No Trespassing" sign. Good campaigns will respect that. #Politicalcanvassing

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/07/2026

My newest piece in The Democracy Archive releases tomorrow at 6:30 AM! It’s about George Washington, the erasure of enslaved people from public memory, and why honest history still matters. Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/conork58...

open.substack.com

George Washington and Whitewashing Slavery: An Unacceptable Act

The White House's continued attempts to downplay George Washington's slave ownership is morally repugnant and a travesty for honest history.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 07/07/2026

The latest sexual‑assault allegation confirms the pattern: Graham Platner must drop out. No more excuses. open.substack.com/pub/progress...

open.substack.com

Graham Platner Must Drop Out

The latest sexual‑assault allegation confirms the pattern: Graham Platner must drop out. No more excuses.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 04/07/2026

For many Americans, the 250th anniversary is less a cause for celebration and more a sign of how far we have fallen. Why it's important to resist despair and fight anyway. open.substack.com/pub/progress...

open.substack.com

Defiant Patriotism: Loving America in Spite of the Government

For many Americans, the 250th anniversary is less a cause for celebration and more a sign of how far we have fallen. Why it's important to resist despair and fight anyway

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 01/07/2026

As history gets an unwilling makeover, remembrance matters. Reconstruction was America’s first multiracial democracy, and its destruction shows the danger of erasure. My newest piece. open.substack.com/pub/conork58...

open.substack.com

Remembering Reconstruction and the Second American Republic

As the role of slavery and white supremacy is increasingly wiped away from public memory, it is critical to remember the fight for a multi-racial democracy that came from Reconstruction.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 09/06/2026

So sad to hear about the passing of Gordon Wood. He was an excellent historian, and his passing leaves the world poorer for it. Rest in Peace, Dr. Wood. www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

msn.com

MSN

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 09/06/2026

At this point, support for Ukraine should be a requirement for public support. Russia is an explicitly adversarial power to the international order and the security of the United States. Russia's war crimes in Bucha alone merit a significant shift in foreign policy towards Russia.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 04/05/2026

Hi everyone! If you didn’t get a chance to check out the premier of my video on Scott Jennings’ temper tantrum on CNN, you can still watch it here! youtu.be/ypM1gX-FgY4?...

youtu.be

Scott Jennings Melts Down on CNN Over Trump’s Iran War—Here’s Why

YouTube video by The Progressive American Report

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 03/05/2026

When Scott Jennings lost his temper on CNN, he revealed the fundamental weakness of the MAGA media sphere. The war in Iran is a failure, and they know it. New video drops at 2 PM CST tomorrow. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypM1...

youtube.com

Scott Jennings Melts Down on CNN Over Trump’s Iran War—Here’s Why

YouTube video by The Progressive American Report

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 24/04/2026

🚨 PREMIERES TODAY at 6PM Trump, Blasphemy, and the Illusion of Faith: How Donald Trump Exploits Christianity for Power Watch here: youtu.be/nYPn5IyzIGs?si…

youtu.be

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 19/03/2026

So, Trump says he won't send troops, but has also said he doesn't need permission from Congress to start this insane war? What checks him and ensures he doesn't start a larger war? www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/w...

nytimes.com

Trump Says He Won’t Send Troops to Iran But Leaves Wiggle Room

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 14/03/2026

Good afternoon, everyone! I will be going live in about two hours at 3:30 CST on the importance of equity in education with Ann Ishimaru and Decoteau J. Irby. Hope you enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2nq...

youtube.com

Equity Matters: An Interview with Dr. Decoteau J. Irby and Dr. Ann M. Ishimaru

YouTube video by The Progressive American Report

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

disrespectfully, what the fuck are you talking about. you don't need an ID at the library. you need a library card, which anyone can get.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Am I positive that video shows the president shitting himself on camera? No. Do I think we should spend an entire week debating it? Oh yes.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Thomas Paine Historical Association @thomaspaine.org · 07/01/2026

Thomas Paine in Common Sense: "Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance."

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 27/12/2025

With Russia’s attack on Kyiv, Russia confirms what was already apparent. Russia doesn't want peace. open.substack.com/pub/progress...

open.substack.com

Russia Doesn't Want Peace

There is no negotiating with the aggressor. America must side with Ukraine.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

BREAKING: Democrats have *flipped* a seat in Georgia's state House tonight. Democrat Eric Gisler has won the seat, which was previously held by a Republican who resigned this fall. This is a red territory: Trump won the district by 13% in 2024.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 31/10/2025

Sean Grayson, the officer who murdered Sonya Massey, has been convicted of second-degree murder. While the conviction is a step in the right direction, America still has a long way to go in addressing mental health emergencies and police accountability. www.progressiveamerican.net/p/police-off...

progressiveamerican.net

Police Officer Who Shot Sonya Massey Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder

While the conviction is a step in the right direction, America still has a long way to go in addressing mental health emergencies and holding officers accountable.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Once again, the main day of Tea Party protests had about 300,000 nationwide, but saw endless coverage. The No Kings protests had about 7,000,000 nationwide, and many media outlets reacted with a yawn. No Kings was nearly 25x as big as the Tea Party but the Tea Party got 25x the attention.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

the actual story here, which the media never talks about, is that police in this country have become a discrete right-wing political operation. the story isn't about cops leaving (they're lying about that), it's about the police trying to exert influence over elections.

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Reposted by Conor Kelly

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law

Homan investigation dropped by Trump DOJ

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

16/ The lesson of 1860 isn’t that history repeats, but that unchecked division and existential issues can break democracy. America then chose war. What we choose now is still up to us.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

15/ Our challenges are real: political identity, human rights, and dangerous media ecosystems, but they are not the same as slavery and secession. Each era has its own context.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

4/ Concluding Thoughts Today, comparisons to the 1850s abound. But historian Kevin Levin reminds us: America is not divided along sectional lines (Levin 2025).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

13/ By November 10, 1860, South Carolina began the secession process. Within months, states across the Deep South followed. Ballots had led to bullets.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

12/ The result was a fractured ticket. Lincoln won with under 40% of the popular vote but a commanding Electoral College victory. His election confirmed the South’s worst fears (Donald 1995).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

11/ Democrats split: Northern Democrats backed Stephen Douglas; Southern Democrats bolted to nominate John C. Breckinridge. A third group, Constitutional Unionists, chose John Bell.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

10/ Lincoln argued slavery could exist where it was, but not expand. He framed it as a threat to free labor and the American dream (Donald 1995; Danoff 2015). His restraint paid off.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

9/ William Seward seemed the frontrunner — former governor, senator, fierce anti-slavery voice. But his fiery rhetoric hurt him. Lincoln, more moderate, gained ground (Donald 1995).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

8/ The Battle of Ballots By 1860, the Whigs had collapsed. Republicans, formed in 1854, became the party of anti-slavery thought.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

7/ Violence erupted. In 1859, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry terrified Southerners, who saw it as proof that slavery must be defended at all costs (Noyalas 2020).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

6/ For many Southerners, slavery didn’t just need protection — it had to expand. Laws like the Fugitive Slave Act (1850) and the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) pushed the conflict further into the North.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

5/ Others, like Thomas R. R. Cobb, argued that abolition was harmful because Black Americans were “intellectually inferior.” Slavery and white supremacy were deeply intertwined (Cobb 1858).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

4/ Leaders like John C. Calhoun warned Congress had “no right to touch” slavery, calling abolitionist petitions “insulting” (Calhoun 1837). To him, slavery was beyond government’s reach.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

3/ The Haunting Specter of Slavery By 1850, 3.2 million people were enslaved in the South (Roland 2002). Most Northern states had abolished slavery, though not all. Southerners pressed for its expansion and federal protection.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

2/ In this environment, many look to the past for precedent. Few elections reveal more about division and democracy under strain than 1860, when Lincoln rose to power and secession began.

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

1/ Much of our dialogue today is dictated by the idea of political division. Americans are more polarized than they have been in years, with most saying the two parties cannot even agree on basic facts (Shearer 2025).

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Conor Kelly @progressiveamerican.net · 16/09/2025

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about partisanship and division with comparisons to the 1850s and 60s. My most recent piece goes into that history through the lens of the election of 1860. 🧵

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