Bruce Larson
@brucelarson.bsky.social
Political Science Prof., Gettysburg College
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Did you know?
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
October 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Did you know?
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Pleasure talking with @cgrisales.bsky.social for this All Things Considered story: www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Is Congress willing to curb Trump's approach to executive power?
President Trump's expansive interpretation of executive power is continuing to reshape federal spending in a government shutdown.
www.npr.org
October 23, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Pleasure talking with @cgrisales.bsky.social for this All Things Considered story: www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.
As fundraising heats up this cycle, it's a good time to announce the publication of my new book, The Money Signal! The main argument is that money matters because it is a widely used indicator of viability and strength in American politics.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
The Money Signal
A data-rich, eye-opening look at how, when, and why political fundraising is consequential. Over the last two decades, the number of competitive congressional races has declined precipitously. Yet ca...
press.uchicago.edu
October 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
October 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Trump's own DOJ website still has a press release up from January pointing out that violent crime in D.C. is at its lowest in more than 30 years.
Violent Crime in D.C. Hits 30 Year Low
Total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) a...
www.justice.gov
August 11, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Trump's own DOJ website still has a press release up from January pointing out that violent crime in D.C. is at its lowest in more than 30 years.
I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science
Campaign Finance Expert Robert E. Mutch (“Bob”), 1940-2022 electionlawblog.org?p=151500
Campaign Finance Expert Robert E. Mutch ("Bob"), 1940-2022 #ELB
I recently learned that Bob Mutch, who has written the most comprehensive and important histories of campaign finance regulation in the United States, died in August 2022. Bob was a political scientis...
electionlawblog.org
August 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science
Reposted by Bruce Larson
@adambonica.bsky.social and I are economists now (economist salary coming soon, I imagine)
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Old money: Campaign finance and gerontocracy in the United States
Politicians in the United States rank among the oldest globally. This study examines how money in politics contributes to age inequality in political …
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 11:20 PM
@adambonica.bsky.social and I are economists now (economist salary coming soon, I imagine)
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.
July 5, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
April 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Just early published in ARPS (open access) @garlicksauce.bsky.social @wmjunk.bsky.social & I survey remarkable recent lobbying research that shows how lobbying matters & whats ahead for studies of influence www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
How Lobbying Matters | Annual Reviews
For decades, political scientists have struggled to provide empirical evidence that lobbying influences policymaking. A considerable gap arose between widespread public suspicions of lobbying and the ...
www.annualreviews.org
April 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Just early published in ARPS (open access) @garlicksauce.bsky.social @wmjunk.bsky.social & I survey remarkable recent lobbying research that shows how lobbying matters & whats ahead for studies of influence www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is:
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
Confession that due process is or should be optional according to the vice president
April 16, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is:
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Inside the Mind of an ICE Agent
Is this what she signed up for?
open.substack.com
April 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Bruce Larson
RFK Jr. is seeking to destroy the consensus around vaccines, one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. People will die because of it.
April 14, 2025 at 12:47 AM
RFK Jr. is seeking to destroy the consensus around vaccines, one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. People will die because of it.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Having been an expert witness in four documentary proof of citizen cases let me set the record straight:
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
🧵 There are a lot of misleading claims out there about the SAVE Act. Let me set the record straight: I voted for the SAVE Act for the simple reason that American elections are for Americans. Requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is common sense.
April 11, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Having been an expert witness in four documentary proof of citizen cases let me set the record straight:
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Wesleyan's Michael Roth: "money doesn’t come with a loyalty oath. And that has served the country so well because Americans and various governments we’ve had recognized that it’s better for the country if people can practice freedom." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
April 4, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Wesleyan's Michael Roth: "money doesn’t come with a loyalty oath. And that has served the country so well because Americans and various governments we’ve had recognized that it’s better for the country if people can practice freedom." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
This excellent piece by @rickhasen.bsky.social does such a great job of explaining the current state of campaign finance in the U.S. and how we got here. I just assigned it to my money and politics class. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Ultrarich Have Reshaped Presidential Elections. Here’s Where They’re Looking Next.
Billionaire money could have even more impact in these races than it did in the presidential election.
slate.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This excellent piece by @rickhasen.bsky.social does such a great job of explaining the current state of campaign finance in the U.S. and how we got here. I just assigned it to my money and politics class. slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Today the biggest split among Democrats is between those who want to stand and fight and those who want to play dead.
House Democrats united to stand and fight. Too many Senate Democrats played dead.
We need more leaders from the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party.
House Democrats united to stand and fight. Too many Senate Democrats played dead.
We need more leaders from the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party.
March 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Today the biggest split among Democrats is between those who want to stand and fight and those who want to play dead.
House Democrats united to stand and fight. Too many Senate Democrats played dead.
We need more leaders from the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party.
House Democrats united to stand and fight. Too many Senate Democrats played dead.
We need more leaders from the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
The Democratic Party’s problems are not about being moderate or left. That’s a consultant and pundit red herring
The problems are in party organization, the culture of “it’s their turn” nominations, candidate recruitment, gerontocracy, inability to shape media topics, and coming off hella lame
The problems are in party organization, the culture of “it’s their turn” nominations, candidate recruitment, gerontocracy, inability to shape media topics, and coming off hella lame
March 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
The Democratic Party’s problems are not about being moderate or left. That’s a consultant and pundit red herring
The problems are in party organization, the culture of “it’s their turn” nominations, candidate recruitment, gerontocracy, inability to shape media topics, and coming off hella lame
The problems are in party organization, the culture of “it’s their turn” nominations, candidate recruitment, gerontocracy, inability to shape media topics, and coming off hella lame
Reposted by Bruce Larson
If you are a political scientist and looking for ways to be helpful in this moment, a substantive, material thing you can do that will immediately impact on grad students is contributing to the APSA Grad Support Fund. 100% of this fund goes to students: connect.apsanet.org/graduate/gra...
Graduate Student Member Support Grant FAQ
connect.apsanet.org
March 14, 2025 at 6:53 PM
If you are a political scientist and looking for ways to be helpful in this moment, a substantive, material thing you can do that will immediately impact on grad students is contributing to the APSA Grad Support Fund. 100% of this fund goes to students: connect.apsanet.org/graduate/gra...
Reposted by Bruce Larson
You can donate here: members.apsanet.org/donate-now
The demand we've had for this fund has been 4-5x what we have in the account for any cycle. This need is going to grow with project cancellations and schools withdrawing aid. Even a small donation of $5 or $20 goes a long way.
The demand we've had for this fund has been 4-5x what we have in the account for any cycle. This need is going to grow with project cancellations and schools withdrawing aid. Even a small donation of $5 or $20 goes a long way.
American Political Science Association > Donate Now
members.apsanet.org
March 14, 2025 at 6:53 PM
You can donate here: members.apsanet.org/donate-now
The demand we've had for this fund has been 4-5x what we have in the account for any cycle. This need is going to grow with project cancellations and schools withdrawing aid. Even a small donation of $5 or $20 goes a long way.
The demand we've had for this fund has been 4-5x what we have in the account for any cycle. This need is going to grow with project cancellations and schools withdrawing aid. Even a small donation of $5 or $20 goes a long way.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Wyden is a NO on cloture
Dem YES
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Gillibrand
Dem not sures
Durbin
King
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Shaheen*
*added back after a quote saying she's still deciding
Assuming Rand Paul stays NO, Schumer needs three of the remaining YES. All eyes to Hawaii...
Dem YES
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Gillibrand
Dem not sures
Durbin
King
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Shaheen*
*added back after a quote saying she's still deciding
Assuming Rand Paul stays NO, Schumer needs three of the remaining YES. All eyes to Hawaii...
Cortez Masto is a YES on cloture for the CR.
Updating this as comments and with news from Punchbowl's Max Cohen that Rosen is a NO on cloture. Without a public reversal from NO to YES, Schumer now needs five of the remaining seven (or possibly four if Rand Paul flips).
Durbin
King
Cortez Masto
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Wyden
Durbin
King
Cortez Masto
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Wyden
March 14, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Wyden is a NO on cloture
Dem YES
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Gillibrand
Dem not sures
Durbin
King
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Shaheen*
*added back after a quote saying she's still deciding
Assuming Rand Paul stays NO, Schumer needs three of the remaining YES. All eyes to Hawaii...
Dem YES
Schumer
Fetterman
Cortez Masto
Gillibrand
Dem not sures
Durbin
King
Klobuchar
Schatz
Hirono
Shaheen*
*added back after a quote saying she's still deciding
Assuming Rand Paul stays NO, Schumer needs three of the remaining YES. All eyes to Hawaii...
Reposted by Bruce Larson
🧵I think there are many members of Congress who either don't understand, or don't care to understand, how central it is to their job description to show representational leadership even if there's few to no good policy outcomes that can result.
March 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
🧵I think there are many members of Congress who either don't understand, or don't care to understand, how central it is to their job description to show representational leadership even if there's few to no good policy outcomes that can result.
Setting aside all of the political strategizing, this CR is so incredibly awful that letting it advance when you have the power to stop it seems unconscionable to me. Do the right thing and figure out the politics after.
March 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Setting aside all of the political strategizing, this CR is so incredibly awful that letting it advance when you have the power to stop it seems unconscionable to me. Do the right thing and figure out the politics after.