Everything Jamelle says. Plus: The problem with doomer expectations of "canceling" elections (other than it's annoying) is there are real things Trump/GOP might do to attempt to impede fully free & fair elections and doomerism doesn't go well with preparing to counter and resist those real dangers.

Wired has ungated this article.

Had some thoughts about what happened last week and how we got here goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/decades-of...

Trump keeps losing and also keeps doing stuff. Yes, that's hard to wrap our heads around. My item today gets into it (without, alas, fully explaining it.) Plus the links! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/losing-los...

a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8

Nope

You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

Impeachment talk again? Dem-only impeachment might or might not be a good idea, but it's not much of a check on a lawless president (as we saw in the first Trump impeachment!) - and there are plenty of other real checks Congress can try that a Dem House could implement.

While this is a good point, it's also true that it's never too late. Anyone who chooses Team Republic today, regardless of what they've done or supported so far, is going to have a better reputation than those who stick with Team Trump. Fair or not. And those on Team Republic should welcome them.

wrote about whatever last week was, and its implications for Trump as Republican Party leader open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...

I'm not sure that Trump has finally killed off a US political ritual that's been ready to die for a while now. I am sure he's terrible at it. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/prime-time

Really liked this one and think it's a very helpful way to think about something that confuses a lot of analysts. Although he really missed the obvious chance to make a Hegseth/Rise of Skywalker analogy. But overall: Don't miss this one.

a belief that liberals are not in spiritual communion with the white working class, which is held as the virtuous repository of american identity.

In my new piece, I consider Trump’s very limited communications strategy, from calling affordability a hoax to yesterday’s no-real-press-allowed Pentagon press conference. Please read and subscribe! open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...

ICYMI

Oops forgot to push yesterday's (not-yet-stale!) speculation about, among other things, Thomas and Alito, and why strategic retirement for them might be more complicated than one might think. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/shutdown-i...

My live interview with Ian Silverii about how Democrats should be running and what kinds of candidates they should be finding begins in just a few hours!

Donald Trump sent more money to bail out Argentina than it would have cost to extend the ACA tax credits for just 1 year. I don't plan to let anyone forget it.

Ugh with all the fuss I forgot to tweet out my item today: In praise of Pelosi and why they should be building statues of her all over. Plus so many links. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/the-speaker

Don’t worry your heads ladies, the menfolk are handling US-Central Asia relations

Five Lessons from the 2025 Election Results: honestgraft.substack.com/p/five-lesso...

Alt-pitch: Trump, the WH, Jafar, the Genie, I love the Capitol...plus all the links! @adambonica.bsky.social @smotus.bsky.social @dcinbox.bsky.social @mirandayaver.bsky.social @hsulli.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social and more goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/trumps-att...

Trump wants the Department of Justice to pay him $230 million of YOUR taxpayer dollars. So, while health care costs rise for millions of Americans, our billionaire President is sticking his hand out. Trump is the most corrupt president in American history. Full stop.

If you attend a No Kings Day event, please record the number of people in attendance in our crowdsourced crowd-counting sheet. We prefer official estimates above ad-hoc counts — if you count yourself, pls be conservative (people are bad at estimating crowd sizes). docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Feel like we could use more reporting on those "lots of GOP polls." What's the business model for partisan survey results?

I don't think I remembered to pitch yesterday's item - which I think holds up just fine today, mainly because I leaned heavily on people who know what they're talking about. At GP/BP. Please consider supporting us! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/after-more...

The heart of God breaks with every act of deadly violence; every life ended by another by greed, anger, envy, revenge, or retribution. Blessed are those who mourn, and blessed are the peacemakers.

Political violence is never acceptable. It's really that simple. We can't have a democracy otherwise. I hope Mr. Kirk makes a full recovery. My thoughts are with his family.

Midterm conventions: The GOP version will probably be just a rebranded Trump rally, so whatever; a Dem version would likely be an utter and pointless fiasco, highlighting their weaknesses instead of playing to their strengths. At GP/BP. Don't be the last kid on your block to subscribe!

I'll keep saying it: RFK Jr. is a deadly threat to our public health and safety.   He is razing CDC, NIH, and other health agencies to the ground—putting politics and deranged conspiracy theories over science.   We need bipartisan oversight immediately, and he must be FIRED.

Trump loses *all the time*. Not always, and it's certainly not the whole story, but few presidents get defeated anywhere near as often.

Folks, my usual election night post: if you appreciate our coverage of these local elections at Bolts, … consider becoming a donor or subscriber to support it! boltsmag.org/donate … & even if it’s not the right time for that, sign up for our free newsletter to be informed: boltsmag.org/newsletter

As I become a one-woman broken record book self-promotion machine, this kind of thing makes me glad that I dropped everything to spend ~5 years writing a book that reemphasizes just how much politics in this country are driven by race, starting with slavery.

The attack on vote-by-mail, Trump's latest attack on democracy. At GP/BP. Hope you'll subscribe. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/trumps-cam...

Apparently some people over here don't know that I'm posting almost daily on Substack. It's free 6 days a week, with only the Sunday primers (which are very labor-intensive) paywalled. According to the U.S. politics bestseller list, this venture is going pretty well

At GP/BP: How the present fight is incremental, as every battle matters. And how we'll probably get out of it (if we do) by muddling through, not by grand design and careful reform - and that's just fine. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/fighting-f...

Still think the top priority of how Trump has organized his 2nd presidency is to prevent him from having to confront information that could challenge his impulses and biases. Even this BLS thing is probably less about public opinion than about keeping Trump comfortable.

it is crazy how the president gets to be a poor wittle aggwieved pwivate citizen when he wants to complain about news coverage against him, and then a de-facto king who is immune from prosecution for “official acts” (still TBD what that means) when he tries to do a coup

Paramount just paid Trump a bribe for merger approval. When Democrats retake power, I’ll be first in line calling for federal charges. In the meantime, state prosecutors should make the corporate execs who sold out our democracy answer in court, today.

House Republicans passed the single largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in the HISTORY of our country.   The GOP tax bill would deliver the largest cut to Medicaid and SNAP EVER.   Repost and help me put a burning, bright spotlight on this awful disaster of a bill.

Why do some out-party Senators vote "yes" on some of these nominations? Did an explainer of the old norm and how it makes sense in the context of the structure of separated institutions sharing powers. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/voting-yes...

On this 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride, I keep thinking of a few lines from the last stanza of Longfellow’s poem: “And so through the night went his cry of alarm… A cry of defiance and not of fear…” “In the hour of darkness and peril and need, The people will waken and listen to hear…”

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is flying to El Salvador to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia: "I hope to have the chance to actually see Kilmar and see what his condition is."

Trump inherited a historically strong economy and he is single-handedly destroying it—and Republicans are letting him. We have got to speak out.

Trump's tariffs are a massive tax that YOU will pay. That means higher prices and serious pain for families and small businesses across our country. Repost if you agree Republicans need to join Democrats and vote to END the chaos & REVERSE these reckless tariffs.

Donald Trump is golfing with Saudi Arabian despots while he pushes our economy toward a recession of his own making. We could be voting RIGHT NOW to reverse Trump’s tariffs and price hikes if Republicans would work with us to save the economy.

Hey, we started our Good Politics/Bad Politics newsletter one year ago today. Won’t you mark the occasion by subscribing, or reposting this note to spread word to others? Thanks to all, especially our paid subscribers! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com

Against a "shadow cabinet" for the Dems. Plus the week's links @dandrezner.bsky.social @smotus.bsky.social @nataliej.bsky.social @brownphdgirl.bsky.social @rickhasen.bsky.social @jenvictor.bsky.social and more goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/no-no-shadow

I wrote on special and off-year elections and why and how they matter. I apologize for the sub-head. At GP/BP.