legitimately i think one of the core failings of centrist pundits is that they have come to define themselves by what they are against--to chart their intellectual course by who they think is being annoying this week--instead of by recourse to genuine principle

For the entire shutdown, the NASA app’s photo of the day was Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io. Every time I swiped past it was that moon waiting for me. The shutdown truly ended for me when I looked down to see a new photo. App is back at it.

please, tv writers, i beg you stop making the penultimate episode a flashback that answers all my questions about how we got here i don't care! i already AM here. these are not questions i want answered! i don't care about these flashback people! i don't want to care about these flashback people!

We just launched the biggest primary program in Indivisible’s history. Help us (literally) send Schumer and the surrender caucus a message. open.substack.com/pub/ezralevi...

One of the adjustments to having a kid in kindergarten is that you don’t know exactly what they ate — and you can’t tell what’s causing those farts.

Start the checklists now, looking for 24 senators to say: Schumer Out

A govt shutdown is like a strike in the sense that before you start it you MUST have a concrete idea of what your leverage is and what will cause your opponent to fold. Ironically the Dems' strongest leverage point was probably "fucked up Thanksgiving travel" and they folded just before it came.

Took 40 days but he did in fact do it again. www.omgreg.com/p/chuck-s-go...

Credit where due, fucking with air travel was genius MAGA move. It impacts upper & middle class and, more importantly, a powerful business interest. Starving millions of poor people doesn't piss off Wall St.

reminder to any ambitious Dems waiting in the wings: announcing a primary challenge right now to a squishy Democrat who’s up in 2026, whether they voted tonight to shine Trump’s shoes or not, will almost instantaneously be awash in cash. fortune—and a primary challenge—favors the bold.

They caved in March so they could get a better deal now. They’re caving now so they can get a better deal in some indeterminate future. The better deal is always just beyond their reach, but continuing to cave will get them there. And if you don’t agree with that, you don’t understand Politics,

Make this the floor for Avoiding Voter Wrath

Durbin RETIRING Shaheen RETIRING Hassan 2028 Fetterman 2028 Rosen 2030 Cortez-Mastro 2028 Kaine 2030 King 2030 When establishment Democrats have nothing to lose, they make sure the American people are the ones taking the L.

Let’s see if there is a single yes vote from someone running in 2026.

If the Dems blink after all of this, for a deal that all but ensures no ACA subsidies in 2026 anyway, then what was the purpose of letting the shutdown go for 40 days in the first place?

shutdown deal per AXIOS: republicans get: government reopens and party avoids political consequences for refusing to make health care affordable democrats get: seven beans, an old case logic CD wallet (empty), a coupon for 15% off Busch Gardens, one spiced pumpkin scented candle, a 6-pack of Zima

From March. Much has changed in America, but not on the Dem side of the senate.

5/ Whether Republicans secure enough Democratic votes is NOT the only question here. It’s critical that if 7 or 8 mods vote with the gop to end this that the rest of the caucus vote the right way and make clear they think this was the wrong decision. If they don’t then “the Democrats” own this …

I would bet you some real money that right now Chuck Schumer is imagining a January 30th, 2026 where this CR is expiring and voters have paid one month of insanely high ACA premiums. “THEN I’ll have the upper hand and my Republican colleagues will come to their senses!” he’s muttering to myself.

Struggling to find the political downside for a Chris Murphy type Senate Dem to break with Schumer a year early and get the head start as The One Who Will Fight For You

If you were a Democrat looking to separate yourself from the milquetoast pack as An Actual Fighter... this might be the place to launch that pre-26 messaging.

Pivotal moments — good ones like Tuesday in NYC, bad ones like the Senate capitulation tonight — hinge on the same thing: primary elections. 2026 will be won or lost in the spring.

Yeah :D

Baby if you are doing a 50 year mortgage you are RENTING

It’s no walk in the park to serve in Congress, and I don’t begrudge Golden for stepping away. But it seems likely that his polling numbers among his own constituents factored into the decision. Favorability: 16% favorable | 41% unfavorable Deserves to be Re-elected?: 26% does | 57% doesn’t

Getting ready to kick off 24 hours of gaming to raise money for Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. We’re just under $1800 from our goal! Come hang out and support us! www.extra-life.org/participants...

Yo @chrismurphyct.bsky.social seems like you might need to give your boys a pep talk

Interesting how *retiring Dem Senators* - like Peters who pitched the deal and Shaheen who now wants to find new concessions - have hit their limit.

We have reached another pivotal moment. Either Senate Dems negotiate against themselves and march towards surrender, or they hold strong. rollcall.com/2025/11/07/r...

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?’ ‘…to be fair, we didn’t look THAT hard because we were busy petitioning the Supreme Court…’

As an example of how much less toxic phones were before social media, when I got the first iPhone I was HYPED to download apps for “making it look like you’re drinking a beer when you tilt the phone” and “playing an airhorn sound when you tap the screen.”

re: Heritage Shabbat dinner I am *quite* Catholic, with many Catholic people in my life, and never in a million years would I think, “I can’t do Shabbat dinner with my Jewish coworker because it’s Friday.” That’s not really a *Catholic* reason to say no, it’s just using Catholicism as dressing.

Not breaking particularly new ground here, but the problem with the WH’s push for a filibuster nuke is that for 33 Republican senators their next election is post-Trump, and it’s hard to threaten someone who knows they’ll outlive you.

A man collapsed in the Oval Office yesterday. The internet got the story wrong. My experience struggling to correct the record — including on Bluesky! — and the warning signs as AI, aggregation, and social media increasingly drive our news consumption.

Eric Adams interview with Ziwe - incredible. She is one of one.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari has set up a table and this sign outside Speaker Johnson’s office.

*steps onto taller soapbox* THIS IS TRUE EVEN IF THOSE NARRATIVES CONFIRM YOUR PRIORS

i closed out my column this week with this preemptive jab at basically every commentator currently looking for ways to say that last night didn’t count

ZOHRAN IS CUTTING A PROMO ON TRUMP

John King just said “shit” on CNN!!

It seems like a key for elections is being a person a bunch of people want to vote for.

*WHEN* WE FIGHT, WE WIN

I have allowed myself to go full Sicko Mode again for tonight: - tv scanning broadcast/cable coverage - maps up and refreshing - social feeds of reporters scrolling on phone - local independent news on laptop ( @hellgatenyc.com baby)

*steps onto soapbox* IF YOU BASE YOUR 2026 POLITICAL NARRATIVE OFF NIGHT-OF 2025 EXIT POLLS YOU ARE DUMB AND WILL BE PROVED WRONG