Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

Amy Fried

@asfried.bsky.social

7.6K followers 5.2K following 5K posts

Political scientist, kayaker Emeritus, UMaine Political Sightlines at https://amyfried.substack.com/ Books on how U.S. conservatives weaponized distrust, New England politics, professionalizing polling, and perceptions of public opinion as a resource

amyfried.substack.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · Nov 12

Blueskyers, I’m a retired political scientist, still actively writing and doing more real politics, whose core research has been on the history and political uses of public opinion. But I've done research other topics, too! My 1st pub was on abortion politics, the latest on ranked choice voting. 1/5

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 1m

Complaining about the other campaign asking for money while asking for money comes across as hypocritical and whiny.

Graham Platner for Senate @grahamformaine.bsky.social · 20h

Here’s why you were barraged with spam today.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2m

So so whiny. But hey, it helps him raise money.

Reposted by Amy Fried

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 5m

the free speech people are busy

Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 1h

ICE arrested comedian Robby Roadsteamer for singing a parody of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” in a Jeffrey Epstein the Giraffe costume outside their facility.

He sings “If you hate brown people / and you are a Nazi” and ICE thugs grab him and drag him into detention. No violence—just speech.

Reposted by Amy Fried

Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 58m

It appears the Trump administration has found a roundabout way to completely defund Planned Parenthood: by firing every single federal employee but one in HHS that has the ability to distribute funding to abortion clinics

Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 20h

NEW: Only one employee remains in the Office of Population Affairs at HHS, which oversees family planning initiatives run by the federal government.

W/ @annackramer.bsky.social:

www.notus.org/health-scien...

HHS Appears to be Cutting Its Entire Family Planning Office

Almost every member of the Office of Population Affairs lost email access and is unable to tell if they were laid off, workers told NOTUS.

Reposted by Amy Fried

Matt Dunlap @dunlapforcongress.bsky.social · 48m

Jon Ossoff is the most endangered Senate Democrat. He’s holding firm. Yet Jared Golden folded. 🤔

More here: www.politico.com/news/2025/10... #ME02 #Dunlap4Congress

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 1h

Did Trump and Bibi block Biden’s diplomatic attempts, like Reagan did with stopping Carter’s efforts to end the Iranian hostage crisis?

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 1h

Ah, it’s the patented “Voters who don’t back Bernie are stupid sheep” thing that’s failed so miserably before to explain or persuade anyone.

Muting thread to no longer waste my time.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

In other words you have no evidence that voters didn’t vote for Bernie because other candidates had more superdelegates.

Have a nice day! Can’t spend my time on repetitive, evidence free claims that have been around almost a decade.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

Do you have any evidence that voters based their votes on superdelegate preferences? If so, please share!

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

I have never met or seen any voter in the press or on social media say they would have voted for Bernie but didn’t because Hillary got more supers. It’s a myth made up to excuse Bernie not winning sufficient votes that was used to ramp up animus,

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

Not at all. For one superdelegates have always backed the candidate who won the most votes.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

Sounds conspiratorial. Sanders drew huge crowds, raised tons of money, had great ads and lots of volunteers yet lost two nomination contests convincingly. Maybe consider he wasn’t persuasive to key parts of the Democratic base?

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 2h

Nah. Bernie bros think he was more popular than he was. For instance there’s this myth that Clinton only won the nomination in 2016 bc of superdelegates but in fact she got 55% of the pooled national vote and he got 43%. In 2020 Bernie got 26% of all votes nationally,

Reposted by Amy Fried

Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 2h

One of the most embarrassing opinions in recent Supreme Court history was Clarence Thomas insisting that when the post-slavery Congress protected “freedmen” they were protecting a “formally race-neutral category”

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3h

“the constitution forbids race conscious remedies” would be news to the people who wrote the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments

Michael Li (李之樸) @mcpli.bsky.social · 3h

Griem goes there, arguing in response to Justice Jackson that there can be no race-conscious remedy absent a finding of intentional discrimination.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 4h

This is a good ad by Platner. No one attacks Mills and he has Maine women deliver the time for change message.

(Some commenters on the YouTube call it cheesy but it probably is for a certain demographic that isn't them. )

#mepolitics

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENM5...

Graham for Maine - Time for Change

YouTube video by Graham Platner for Senate

www.youtube.com

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 4h

It seems like he's trying to do that.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 4h

Also issue polls are generally not that meaningful for knowing what's driving votes. People can like a policy but not like the specifics. Also other considerations may be more salient in their voting decisions. That's why it's important to know what people consider their most important issues.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 4h

Maybe he is but he only got 32% of the vote in the 2020 primary.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 4h

Bellows has run talking about policies and her ability to govern. She's the only Dem Maine gubernatorial candidate who has run an agency or NGO. The other top candidates have legislative experience, as she does.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 5h

You don't think so? His rhetoric is mostly basic Bernie anti-oligarchy.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 5h

Of course I am. I also am aware of how Mainers have voted. The tendency is to support moderates or those who pitch themselves that way.

I don't know of a strong progressive who has won statewide but of course that doesn't mean it can't happen. Things change!

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 5h

If Platner wins the primary, he's going to be a top recipient of donations nationally from Dems/progressives.

+ the impact of $ oft overstated.LePage was outspent in 2010 and won. So was Trump in 2016. Paul Wellstone was regularly outspent. Not the biggest issue if you have authentic enthusiasm.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 5h

It's a reasonable worry. I think what the primary loser does will matter a lot.

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 5h

That said, I don't think the DSCC should financially support any primary candidates. Stay out until the primaries are over. #mepolitics

Reposted by Amy Fried

Collins Watch @collinswatch.bsky.social · 5h

Susan Collins only voted against one cabinet nominee this year -- Hegseth. (Whose nomination she voted to advance before ultimately voting against.) #MEpolitics