I get why some people want to stand in some imaginary middle, blame “extremism” on “both sides” and help Americans find common ground — and indeed most ordinary folks aren’t against civil dialogue... (1/2)

We’re in a worsening “two-party doom loop” and to reverse it, we have to open up the system to more parties.

From my latest newsletter: "Now is one of those times when it’s important to be smart, and not only be right. Charlie Kirk was a human being with a family. The way to defeat bad ideas and movements is with better ideas and movements, not assassinations...." (1/2)

If I have any credibility with you from 20 years of reporting on rightwing & fascist movements, please listen when I beg you not to celebrate Charlie Kirk getting shot. Leave aside morality: this isn’t a match in dry grass, it’s a torch. We do not want what this could ignite & we would not win.

ICYMI--Still highly relevant to the moment we're in. Give it a listen!

📷 New #ThisOldDemocracy podcast episode alert! We dive into authoritarianism — don’t miss it. Link below. @protectdemocracy.org @ianbassin.bsky.social @msifry.bsky.social

While Trump, our Mad King, follows the authoritarian playbook, we shouldn't despair -- as Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy explains to me in a new episode of my podcast This Old Democracy, our side can reverse the downward spiral. Indeed, as we talked about the last eight months... (1/2)

Thinking how “Yes We Can” was once a unifying slogan, now I think “No He Can’t” could well for the No Kings movement.

“No people ever recognize their dictator in advance. He never stands for election on the platform of dictatorship. He always represents himself as the instrument for expressing the Incorporated National Will. When Americans think of dictators they always think of some foreign model...." (1/2)

TIL that new members of the Klu Klux Klan in the 1920s paid their initiation fees in “Klecktokens” and all I can say is the more things change, the more they stay the same. #cults #bitcoin

This won’t get as many clicks and shares as the guy who wrote that “the success rate at stopping fascists is 0%—once they win elections, it’s too late,” but trust me, that analysis of the historical record of movements against fascist regimes is 100% wrong. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

A lot of ppl are overwhelmed by Trump’s onslaught. The emails begging for money and the efforts of many groups to get folks to join their *particular* fight don't help. Solutions are emerging but as I say up top — it’s ok to stop trying to keep up with it all. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

We’ve been cooking up something good — and it’s finally live. New #ThisOldDemocracy podcast episode available now! Our usual host @msifry.bsky.social & your special guest @astra.bsky.social engage in the paradox of democracy. Watch now or give us a listen! centerforballotfreedom.org/this-old-dem...

The push for re-legalizing fusion voting from @centerforballotfreedom.org is the most important flying-under-the-radar electoral reform effort happening today. I can't recommend them highly enough, and was glad to help put together the joint Rainey Center / @cato.org / CTW brief in this case.

Check out my conversation with @astra.bsky.social on “How We Fight End-Times Fascism.” podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

I did it. I threw the sandwich.

The biggest Dem firm responsible for spamming your inbox with exaggerated emails demanding your money NOW is upset that someone might have exaggerated the damage they do in order to bring attention to the problem! (And yes, I did A/B test this post's subject line.) open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Driving to Virginia tomorrow, so it’s #ScholarSunday on a Saturday! Here’s my 237th thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...

A centrist party could nudge the major parties back toward the moderate middle—and that's exactly what’s missing in our politics today. Balance isn’t weakness. It’s how democracy works. #ThirdParty #ThisOldDemocracy @msifry.bsky.social @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social

Really important example of why the grifting by scam PACs is so corrosive to groups doing the actual hard work.

This week I took a deep dive into the problem of churn-and-burn fundraising by Democrats and grifters, along with some important steps that ActBlue, the big fundraising clearinghouse, has finally decided to take (after much pressure) to begin to rein the worst players. (1/2)

We’re not just at the edge of authoritarianism—we’re already down the slide. Trump’s 2nd term is worse, with fewer guardrails and a far more developed MAGA movement behind him. The GOP had a chance after Jan. 6th to course-correct. They didn’t. @msifry.bsky.social @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social

From #ThisOldDemocracy pod: Fusion voting gives disaffected voters—like non-MAGA Republicans—a way to cast a vote that reflects their values without staying home or spoiling elections. More choices, more voices, a healthier democracy. @centerforballotfreedom.org @msifry.bsky.social

New episode of #ThisOldDemocracy. New insights. New reasons to listen. 🎧 Out now! Get a fix of @msifry.bsky.social and @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social discussing the current state of our democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, and the challenges posed by political polarization and reform.

I don't write about Israel/Palestine every week because it's such a black hole, but this week I got into two related topics. First, how on the liberal/left we're seeing a broad coalition for change emerge rather than the polarized battle that has characterized most post-Oct 7 politics. (1)

From our new podcast: Without strong political parties, you don’t get consensus—you get chaos. No democracy has ever existed without parties. Hollow, broken parties = hollow, broken democracy. @leedrutman.bsky.social @newamerica.org @msifry.bsky.social #ThisOldDemocracy

Hey @ashdashlee.bsky.social -- Some feedback. Thousands of small meetings need a *clearinghouse* for sharing ideas, experiments, successes etc. Otherwise you're asking small groups to tackle too big a task (of boiling the ocean of pillars). Sorry, block that metaphor.

🎧 Just dropped: the latest episode of our podcast #ThisOldDemocracy! @msifry.bsky.social talks to columnist @perrybaconjr.bsky.social (en route from WaPo to @newrepublic.com) about the state of American democracy. Give it a listen now. [Links below]

If there's a silver lining to the current moment, it's that when you build your empire by heaping bullshit on top of bullshit, sooner or later it all comes crashing down on you. My latest: #epstein #crypto theconnector.substack.com/p/cryptocurr...

New pod with @msifry.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSx9...

🚨 Exciting news! @centerforballotfreedom.org and @msifry.bsky.social just launched This Old Democracy—a new podcast digging into the movements reviving our #democracy and breaking the two-party #doomloop. 🎙️ Check it out: the path to multiparty democracy starts here. #ThisOldDemocracy (links below)

Youth-quakes in politics are rare, big money usually wins, Israel has been a third-rail issue in NYC politics for a long time but maybe not any more; and this is going to inspire lots of other young people to get more politically active. theconnector.substack.com/p/six-notes-...

RIP Bill Moyers. Getting to write some speeches for him (on money in politics, back in the late 90s) was intimidating as hell. I struggled to match his voice until he said, just write it the way I would say it, then he took my mediocre prose and turned it into poetry.

Clinton, Clyburn, Summers, Palantir, Bloomberg, NYT, Wall St, AIPAC...all tried their best. The entire establishment went full racist and Islamophobic in the end. Still Mamdani won. Biggest F U to the Democratic Establishment and 1% since AOC win. Wow.

Trump, Cuomo--shape-shifters taking advantage of our increasingly post-truth times. But most Americans haven't fallen for Trump's Iran war-mongering; will enough New Yorkers also say no to the return of the Prince of Darkness? open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

New from me: Why the most important #NoKings demos were in small towns; news of an Iranian-Israeli dialogue group's ceasefire petition; and more on updating the Dems dusty old playbook. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

The Senior Citizens (avg age 90) who live at 5Star Residence in Yonkers are out in the rain on the sidewalk in front to declare #NoKings! This generation knows what to do when fascism rears its ugly head.

This Saturday’s #NoKings protests couldn’t be better timed. Now close to 2000 locations have registered, up near 50% from April 5’s Hands Off rallies that drew 3 million of us. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Crowds at the LA Football Club chanting Fuck ICE! Music to my ears!

Earlier this week @msifry.bsky.social boosted a piece I wrote on the history of digital teams & technology, but challenged it for not addressing distributed organizing & volunteer engagement tools. It was a good flag & I tried to address it a bit here

With Stephen Miller screaming at ICE honchos to arrest 1000s more ppl a day and a visible public backlash rising, we’re heading for an inflection point. Will hate for the heartlessness of these ICE roundups be stronger than fear of their “Gestapo-like” tactics? open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Big crowd at #NY4ALL rally in downtown Yonkers now. Protect our neighbors!

So who thinks it a good idea to goad the Orange Cheeto by calling him a coward (“TACO”) — there’s another acronym that could apply here: FAFO.

There's an imp debate breaking out among Dem organizers, data nerds and funders about whether/how to make a paradigm shift in how to engage voters--from short-term, hypertargeted, transactional and remote to long-term, broadbased, relational and intimate. See: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

I chatted with @emilyjaynef.bsky.social to learn more from her about her experience being dragged out of a Mike Lawler townhall simply for asking a question and expecting an answer (plus a bit about becoming semi-famous). Blue MAGA, take note! open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

“You too can make a dent n what is happening.” Emily Feiner who was carried out of Rep. Mike Lawler’s town hall 2 weeks ago, speaking to @nycd16-indivisible.bsky.social along w @jenni-squirrel.bsky.social of WFP Westchester-Putnam, who filmed her and was also carried out. Under Toshi Seeger’s canoe.

I’ll be there!

Corporate campaigns are tried and true ways of effecting change, and in today's environment, also a way of shaking one pillar of Trump's power base. More on that topic in this week's Connector: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Honor the victims of government repression at Kent State on May 4, 1970 by listening to this excellent podcast from 5 years ago by Michael Goldfarb. We are still living in the shadow of those days. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

RIP Pete Seeger, who would have been 109 today. Thinking of his commitment to community, to singing together, and the Hudson River.