Mischiefs of Faction

Scandals and Wedge Issues Why the Epstein affair has been an ideal topic for Democrats to exploit.

Scandals and Wedge Issues: Why the Epstein affair has been an ideal topic for Democrats to exploit.
(@mattngreen.bsky.social @misofact.bsky.social)
misofact.substack.com/p/scandals-a...

Authoritarians are attacking universities. Here's how it's going at one public school. I'm publicly documenting an event timeline to help bring order to the chaotic nature of events and help other schools plan the responses they are likely going to need.

To document and make sense of the executive overreach at her university, @jenvictor.bsky.social provides a timeline of key events. Transparency is the best disinfectant.
misofact.substack.com/p/authoritar...

Scandals and Wedge Issues Why the Epstein affair has been an ideal topic for Democrats to exploit.

Wedge issue + scandal = a politically fruitful topic for the minority party. An analysis of the Epstein papers affair by @mattngreen.bsky.social. misofact.substack.com/p/scandals-a...

Partisan polarization destroys democracies. Here's how. As polarization grows, partisans struggle to respect one another, then fail to show self-restraint. Loss of these norms erodes the institutions that create free societies.

What happens when societies polarize by partisanship? First the norm of mutual tolerance erodes, then institutional forbearance. The US case is textbook under Trump 2.0, explains @jenvictor.bsky.social

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Will the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” hurt Republicans in 2026? What political science tells us.

@mattngreen.bsky.social reviews what political science literature, and his own recent research, suggests will be the electoral consequences -- if any -- of voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill. misofact.substack.com/p/will-the-o...

The big GOP reconciliation bill is now law. Did Trump browbeat Congress into passing it? The president helped get the bill across the finish line, but so did others – and Trump used tactics with lawmakers that are typical for presidents.

@mattngreen.bsky.social argues that Trump didn't bully Congress into passing last week's reconciliation bill, nor was he the only person who helped get it enacted. misofact.substack.com/p/the-big-go...

Why do populist governments pass unpopular policies? Populists don't stay in power by being popular—they stay in power by keeping people mad.

In my latest at @misofact.bsky.social I draw on political science findings to explain why Trump’s populist government passed a deeply unpopular and regressive set of policies. open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

Why do populist governments pass unpopular policies? Populists don't stay in power by being popular—they stay in power by keeping people mad.

New at Mischiefs of Faction, @jenvictor.bsky.social explains why populist governments sometimes pass very unpopular policies.
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Do Voters Support the “One Big Beautiful Bill”? And Does it Matter? Lawmakers respond to many inputs. The public’s preferences are just one of them.

@mattngreen.bsky.social asks, do voters support the GOP's "One Big Beautiful Bill"? And if not, does it matter? open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

Are Members of Congress Pushing Back against President Trump? Part II Some (Small) Signs of GOP Resistance

@mattngreen.bsky.social notes some early signs of resistance to Trump from congressional Republicans. misofact.substack.com/p/are-member...

What the giant House spending bill tells us about Republicans’ vision for America Why it’s a bad idea to let the guy who bankrupted casinos run your fiscal house, in four charts.

My latest at @misofact.bsky.social breaks down the audacity of the "Big Beautiful Bill" -- spending more to do less, putting the US on weak financial footing.
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What the giant House spending bill tells us about Republicans’ vision for America Why it’s a bad idea to let the guy who bankrupted casinos run your fiscal house, in four charts.

Can the US afford the "Big Beautiful Bill?" @jenvictor.bsky.social breaks it down. [Spoiler: No.]
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How shrinking the government adds power to the presidency Asserting authority to cut government is DOGE's most profound accomplishment to date

Trump’s dramatic, unauthorized cuts to federal government are an executive power grab, I argue at @misofact.bsky.social

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How shrinking the government adds power to the presidency Asserting authority to cut government is DOGE's most profound accomplishment to date

“Trump math”—how federal cuts are an expansion of the executive power. @jenvictor.bsky.social explains.

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Can confirm.

Tariffs and Board Games One example of how Trump’s tariffs affect niche industries that Americans value.

Playing board games is a fun hobby for many -- one that will be harmed by Trump's protectionist tariffs, as @mattngreen.bsky.social explains. misofact.substack.com/p/tariffs-an...

Are Members of Congress Pushing Back against President Trump? Part I: What Congressional Democrats are doing

@mattngreen.bsky.social discusses some of the ways that congressional Democrats have been pushing back against Trump and the GOP - despite being in the deep minority. misofact.substack.com/p/are-member...

The US crisis is political, not constitutional The Constitution provides instructions for how to resolve the crises generated by executive overreach, but partisanship thwarts the remedy.

Must read this morning from @jenvictor.bsky.social @misofact.bsky.social “US Constitution is imperfect, but it has clear instructions for resolving the current crisis.” misofact.substack.com/p/the-us-cri...

The US crisis is political, not constitutional The Constitution provides instructions for how to resolve the crises generated by executive overreach, but partisanship thwarts the remedy.

Can we call it a "constitutional crisis" if the Constitution clearly indicates how to resolve it? Today at @misofact.bsky.social I argue that the US is in a political crisis, not a constitutional one.
open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

The US crisis is political, not constitutional The Constitution provides instructions for how to resolve the crises generated by executive overreach, but partisanship thwarts the remedy.

New from @jenvictor.bsky.social: The governance challenges in the US are not a constitutional crisis--the Constitution is clear about how to resolve executive overreach. The problem is political. Partisans tolerate the status quo. open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

Nice! ☺️ Here's that link referenced in @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social's excellent piece: misofact.substack.com/p/when-a-dem...

Evaluating Trump II’s First 100 Days Documenting a presidency unlike any other.

Putting Trump’s second term first 100 days into historical, institutional, and visual perspective, our @mattngreen.bsky.social brings the juice.
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Thanks for the boost, JB! The first substantive post of our ‘Substack Era’ lands #1 on the coveted Bernstein weekly links recs. ☺️

Rule of Law is most under threat. But, flip the graph upside down and you will see that this is because the Rule of law forms the foundation of the other categories. It shields them from more brazen, direct assaults. Great post by @jenvictor.bsky.social at the newly revived @misofact.bsky.social .

When a democracy falls, do the people know? A simple four-category test applied to acts over the first 90 days of Trump-II shows autocracy rising in the US due primarily to violations of the rule of law, which many people don't perceive.

My first post at the newly revived @misofact.bsky.social is a nerdy take on why it seems like experts are decrying rising autocracy in thd US, but for most folks, life goes on as usual. How much authoritarianism has the US actually seen so far in Trump-II? open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

When a democracy falls, do the people know? A simple four-category test applied to acts over the first 90 days of Trump-II shows autocracy rising in the US due primarily to violations of the rule of law, which many people don't perceive.

New @jenvictor.bsky.social asks how much authoritarian action the US has seen under Trump, and what type, using events from @olgalautman.bsky.social ‘s Trump Tyranny Tracker. Answer: quite a bit, but not necessarily the type of autocracy that’s widely felt.
open.substack.com/pub/misofact...

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Mischiefs of Faction | Substack A political science blog focused on analysis of current events, managed by professors Jennifer N. Victor (George Mason U.) and Matthew N. Green (Catholic U.), editors-in-chief. Our staff list is dynam...

I'm not a regular writer there anymore. But @misofact.bsky.social is going strong, and you should subscribe to it on Substack. The new iteration is going to be awesome! misofact.substack.com

Mischiefs of Faction, now on Substack Now in its fourth evolutionary form, we reintroduce Mischiefs of Faction -- a political scientist's "community blog."

We are pleased to announce the revival of the Mischiefs of Faction, now on Substack. What started in 2012, now in it's fourth evolution, is reformed as a "community blog" for political science and related fields. Read more about our vision and subscribe.
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