Stephen Medvic

In other words, doing what parties are designed to do (and what they did for most of their history).

Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy The Stevens & Smith Center will explore stories of the struggle for freedom and equality in the United States of America through exhibits and more.

You’ll be interested to visit the new Stevens and Smith Center in Lancaster, PA when it opens next spring… stevensandsmithcenter.org

‘We’d Call That Corruption’: How Trump Used The Presidency To Expand His Global Empire Donald Trump wasn’t making much from foreign deals. Then he regained power—and set aside the pretense that he cared about ethics.

Donald Trump wasn’t making much from foreign deals. Then he regained power—and set aside the pretense that he cared about ethics.

Why did American institutions fail so profoundly to hold a president accountable when other democracies routinely do? Far from normal democratic practice, it's an exceptional failure US elites and institutions. This thread and article digs into why the US system failed where others didn't: 🧵

Democrats just flipped a seat in a Trump +15 state senate district in Lancaster County, PA. Margin was less than 500 votes, and there will likely be challenges, but this is stunning.

“Trump’s new Executive Order underscores how far removed this President, Attorney General and Administration are from our nation’s Constitution and bedrock values. Our liberties depend on lawyers’ willingness to represent unpopular people and causes, including in matters adverse to the Federal Government. An attack on lawyers who perform this work is inexcusable and despicable. Our profession owes every client zealous legal representation without fear of retribution, regardless of their political affiliation or ability to pay. We encourage law firm leaders to sign on to an amicus effort in support of Perkins Coie’s challenge to the Administration’s executive order targeting the firm, and to resist the Administration’s erosion of the rule of law.” – John Keker, Robert Van Nest, Elliot Peters, Laurie Carr Mims, and the Keker, Van Nest & Peters Partnership

Our first post is a big one...Statement from Keker, Van Nest & Peters on Trump’s Latest Executive Order “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court.”

Menacing the free press during a speech at the Department of Justice at which the AG proclaims her fealty. Open authoritarianism.

This chart seems to suggest that something is going wrong in the United States, specifically.
(www.ft.com/content/7568... )

Look, folks, this is it. The entire ballgame. Either we're a Republic of laws & the Constitution, or we have a dictator. This is fascism, & the impeachment vote should be happening today. Every single university president in the country should be out, in front of microphones, condemning this.

"Normally, we treat each bullet point as a separate story. But they are all connected. We are witnessing an extraordinarily broad chilling effect in American society."

Look at the length of these lists - this effort to intimidate and silence opposition is a key part of Trump II's authoritarianism.

Immediate presidency-ending scandals for any previous president from Truman to Biden, now happening daily 🤷‍♂️

ABC News has now fully taken down the old 538 website, including all interactive projects since 2014. Aside from erasing history this prevents access to publicly released data, including raw polls, averages, model estimates & story dta. Totally unacceptable for a company (allegedly) doing journalism

Trump suspending law firm Perkins Coie's security clearances U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order the White House said would suspend security clearances to employees of Perkins Coie, citing the law firm's diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Another law firm joins those of us who have been selectively targeted by Trump Administration w/revocation of security clearances simply bc we dared represent perceived political enemies.

This is as authoritarian & unAmerican as it gets.

www.reuters.com/legal/trump-...

In that respect, contrast Alito’s analysis here with his dissenting opinion in United States v. Texas—in which he would’ve upheld an injunction by a single (judge-shopped) district judge that effectively dictated to the executive branch what its immigration enforcement priorities must be. In explaining why the Biden administration should lose, he wrote: nothing in our precedents even remotely supports this grossly inflated conception of “executive Power,” which seriously infringes the “legislative Powers” that the Constitution grants to Congress. At issue here is Congress’s authority to control immigration, and “[t]his Court has repeatedly emphasized that ‘over no conceivable subject is the legislative power of Congress more complete than it is over’ the admission of aliens.” In the exercise of that power, Congress passed and President Clinton signed a law that commands the detention and removal of aliens who have been convicted of certain particularly dangerous crimes. The Secretary of Homeland Security, however, has instructed his agents to disobey this legislative command and instead follow a different policy that is more to his liking.

My colleague @stevevladeck.bsky.social points out the contrast between Samual Alito's dissent this morning supporting presidential autonomy from courts and his dissent in 2022 when Biden was president, arguing courts could dictate immigration enforcement. www.stevevladeck.com/p/129-untang...

I have 2 concerns about the misuse of political science ideas: 1) The public displays thermostatic tendencies in some wealthy democracies, including the United States since 1950. And I would include the tendency for midterm backlash as a thermostatic pattern as well.

As Musk polices his own conflicts, some agencies hear sirens going off The billionaire’s private interests intersect with wide areas of government work — and federal workers worry about his public role.

Great, very detailed story about how Musk’s many conflicts of interest are affecting rank and file employees in multiple agencies, including the FAA, NASA, SEC & FDA — and how those employees fear that calling out Musk’s conflicts will result in retribution.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people:
18f.org

18F, the federal government’s technology shop, was demolished by Musk’s team shortly after midnight. It was a cost-recoverable org, charging agencies for their expertise, using a consulting model. Its cost to government was negligible, its benefits huge. My team there once saved DoD $500 billion.

Zelensky is a hero; the Ukrainian people are heroic. Trump's suggestion that Zelensky has not shown adequate appreciation for US aid is obscene. How thin-skinned, narrow-minded, self-absorbed, & immature can a president get? Vance speaking for a president who is sitting there--reminds me of Musk.

You don't need to be a coder to figure this out. Simply type: tab age

You'll discover a smattering of 99 year olds, a few 100 year olds, a couple of 101 year olds, and a pileup of 150 year olds, but no-one in their 130s or 140s. That's a clear sign you've discovered a coding issue rather than fraud