Michael Brownstein

Even more true today: Democrats are ripe for a base revolt like the GOP in 2015 when Trump went down the escalator.

Book excerpt published by the Association of MBAs today! Most case studies in our book were drawn from the US but here we assembled insights from Latin American feminism and the success of the "Green Tide"

@mitpress.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social #booksky #feminism #GreenTide

Opinion | Why the Texas Democrats’ Walkout Worked

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/o...

Fox gets it exactly backwards! One bit leading to Dems' nationwide victory this week: the willingness to lose in the short term to win in the long term (aka winning by losing loudly). The Texas Dems' walkout showed commitment, as @madva.bsky.social and I argued, and now it's paying dividends.

Debunking “When Prophecy Fails” In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....

The history of social psychology really make you wonder about researchers' thoughts, feelings, and behavior when in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others

Last night’s election results, in a nutshell.

(watching this legitimately made me laugh out loud)

Universal swing in action: "What we saw last night was a directional shift toward Democrats in 99.8% of counties that held partisan elections." www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...

Huge deal!

Democrats—with strong climate credentials—edge toward control of Georgia’s giant energy system

Somebody Should Do Something A new book about how individual people, working together, can create systemic social change Where to find it... MIT Press Penguin Bookshop Amazon Porchlight Books Greenlight Books Montclair Book ...

@bradlander.bsky.social here is the book I mentioned. I would be honored to give you a copy if you'd like.

somebody-book.com

Marathon day is the best day in Brooklyn. And as if the runners weren't inspiring enough, I ran into @bradlander.bsky.social handing out paper towels for them to wipe their noses!

@madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social

Bay area friends: go talk to @madva.bsky.social about making change!

the party now cared more about climate change and various academic fixations than cheap energy and good-paying jobs.

This right here, this exact sentence, is THE problem in American political journalism.

The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.

It is completely obvious that the party lost in 2024 because it overcommitted to a range of unpopular left-wing positions, some of which yielded disastrous policy results (like the Biden migration wave) while others merely persuaded constituencies that had voted Democratic in the past (like blue-collar Midwesterners or culturally conservative Latino men) that the party now cared more about climate change

In poll after poll, Americans have said that they know little to nothing about the IRA, with the most recent poll, out in April 2024, finding that 4 in 10 people say that they don’t know enough about the law’s provisions to have an opinion on them. At the same time, a July 2023 Data for Progress poll found that large numbers of Americans support provisions in the IRA when asked specifically about them, including tax credits for businesses that produce clean electricity, electric vehicles, and new clean energy technologies (69%); rebates up to $14,000 per household to improve home energy efficiency (71%); and ramping up production of American-made clean energy technologies (73%). And perhaps most significantly, support for these key IRA provisions has grown over time among all likely voters, especially Republican voters.

Utterly bizarre to describe climate change policy as some kind of radical-left albatross.

The IRA contained precisely the kind of 'kitchen table' programs everyone says Democrats should focus on — and they're popular!

The problem was that Americans *didn't know* what the IRA was or who passed it.

100% he was wearing a beret and striped jumper

Americans have a secret weapon against Trump A new strategy to stop business elites from bending the knee.

Score one for consumer activism with @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social

‘Not So Bulletproof’: A Far-Right Party Faces Rebuke in the Netherlands

Wow.
"D66 promised to build 10 new cities to try to solve the country’s persistent housing shortage, which had been foremost on voters’ minds. "

even the democratic consultants are evaluating the democratic party according to the caricatures put out by republican-aligned media

You Can't Expand the Tent by Shrinking It We should heed Ta-Nehisi Coates' warning: "I'm all for bridging gaps, but not at the expense of my neighbor's humanity."

I know we've all moved on from the Coates/Klein debate, but this piece from @adambonica.bsky.social makes a helpful distinction between righteous anger and hateful anger, and I think Dems would do well to keep the importance of righteous anger in mind.

YouTube video by The Dr. Anotida Chikumbu - BOOK SERIES Somebody Should Do Something (Part 2) Book by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva and Daniel Kelly

Part 2 of our interview for Dr. Anotida Chikumbu's BOOK SERIES is out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=d13M...

@dryan149.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social #booksky

Keeping the House Absent, Johnson Marginalizes Congress and Himself

Autocrats, at times, use the military to shut down their parliaments and rule by executive orders. That Johnson chooses to shut down Congress so willingly is just a breathtaking abdication of responsibility to represent the body politic.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...

The Golden Age of Protest Is Now Collective action in the U.S. is surging. Recognizing our shared momentum may be key to saving democracy.

"We have not successfully addressed the climate crisis, income inequality, or myriad other long-standing injustices. Why think we can come together now?

And yet, we are."

@madva.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social

Trump is pulling a Robert Moses. Just start demolition and then when people object say, "you want us to just leave it like this?"

Statement of Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, on Standing with Immigrants Oct. 21, 2025 My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities. Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants. We stand with a mother who crosses borders to feed her children. We stand with the father who labors in silence to build a better future. We stand with the young person who dreams of safety and a better future. Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law, it is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being. Now I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents. Most of you have been here for years. You have worked hard. You have raised families. You have contributed to this nation. You have earned our respect. As the Archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity. Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families. You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you. God bless you all.

NEW: Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has issued a new statement declaring that Chicago "communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The Church stands with migrants."

I'm in the midst of a project in which I'm reading basically every paper published on resisting democratic backsliding. The reason that's even possible is because there aren't very many papers on resisting democratic backsliding

Flyer for Alex Madva, Somebody Should Do Something interview with Ivy

@michaelbrownstein.bsky.social

Recommended reading for the day after the big protest: chapter 13 of Somebody Should Do Something @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social

Somebody Should Do Something A new book about how individual people, working together, can create systemic social change Where to find it... MIT Press Penguin Bookshop Amazon Porchlight Books Greenlight Books Montclair Book ...

somebody-book.com

The book tour rolls on for Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change, this one at Porter Square Books, with the inestimable Mahzarin Banaji. Link in the comments! @madva.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social @portersqbooks.bsky.social