Michael McDonald
banner
electproject.bsky.social
Michael McDonald
@electproject.bsky.social

Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida specializing in American elections

Michael P. McDonald is an American political scientist. He is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida where he focuses on the United States elections.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 57%
Economics 20%
“When Citizens United was decided in 2010, billionaires had spent $18 million on the 2000 election, $13M 2004 and $16M in 2008. Then came the deluge. In 2012 it was $231M, and nearly doubled again in next three election cycles —to $682M in 2016, $1.2 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2024.” Gift:
Opinion | Affordability and the ‘Epstein Class’ Will Define American Politics
www.nytimes.com
"It is totally inappropriate and against the separations of powers for the DOJ to surveil us as we search the Epstein files. (US Attorney General) Bondi showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched." - Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
Just take a look at this and remember, Pam Bondi's concern here was not with any of the victims of these crimes but with the nosy Democrats who actually gave a shit about them.
These are the 6 Republicans who just voted against Trump’s Canada tariffs:

Thomas Massie
Don Bacon
Brian Fitzpatrick
Jeff Hurd
Kevin Kiley
Dan Newhouse
Scoop–CFPB just fired employee alexisgoldstein.bsky.social for allegedly disrupting &documenting a meeting a year ago between CFPB & DOGE www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
She says she's being retaliated against after asking DOGE visitors who they were & if they'd completed training on handling info
CFPB Fires Employee Over a Confrontation With DOGE a Year Ago
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fired an employee for disrupting and documenting a 2025 meeting between the agency and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to emails rev...
www.bloomberg.com
I called up one of the White House's "special government employees" involved in the Fulton County FBI raid.

I ended up on the phone for almost two hours hearing about the "deep state" "cabal," "Satanists," poison soda, and the "pure evil" of "gay pride." talkingpointsmemo.com/news/meet-th...
Breaking: House passes new version of SAVE Act, worst voter suppression bill considered by Congress. Could disenfranchise:

-21 million Americans w/out access to citizenship papers
-69 mil married women who took partner’s name
-21 mil w/out valid drivers license

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The GOP’s “show us your papers” bill Is the latest effort to help Trump take over elections
“If the SAVE Act were to pass, it would be the worst voter suppression law that Congress has ever enacted"
www.motherjones.com
ALERT: Former Jan 6 riot defendant is convicted in criminal case in Florida

Andrew Johnson was found guilty of Lewd/Lascivious Molestation, two counts of Lewd/Lascivious Exhibition, and Transmission of Material Harmful to a Minor by Electronic Device

He faces 25 years-to-life

To be fair it’s difficult to measure someone as small as Trump
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
Goldman: "Will the survivors and victims who are here please stand up one more time. By show of hands, how many of you or your loved ones actually have met with the DOJ? None ... How many of you were ignored by the DOJ? All of them." (Bondi responds by smearing Goldman.)
The Atlantic’s profile of Bondi has some wow.

@theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Moskowitz: "Trump's name appears more times in the Epstein files than God's name appears in the book about God"
Gallup will no longer measure presidential approval after 88 years thehill.com/homenews/med...
BONDI: You didn't ask Merrick Garland anything about Epstein

BALINT: Weak sauce

BONDI: And with this antisemitic culture right now, she voted against a resolution--

BALINT: You want to go there! Really? Talking about antisemitism to a woman who lost her grandfather in the Holocaust! *storms off*

More pressure on Republicans to toe the party line due to the thin margin

The other balloons got away

"Earlier this week, the anti-drone technology was launched near the southern border to shoot down what appeared to be foreign drones. The flying material turned out to be a party balloon...One balloon was shot down, several sources said." www.cbsnews.com/news/airspac...
Airspace closure followed spat over drone-related tests and party balloon shoot-down, sources say
Pentagon officials had undertaken planning to use military technology near Fort Bliss, in El Paso, to practice downing drones.
www.cbsnews.com
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground

The continuing downward revisions (even under Biden) do not spark confidence in the public, even if there are rational reasons for them
Shot, and one-hell-of-a-chaser.
Lieu plays Bondi the infamous clip of Trump & Epstein partying together & asks her if there were underaged girls at any party the two attended

"This is so ridiculous," Bondi says. "There's no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime"

"I believe you just lied under oath," Lieu replies
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
NEW: CBP signs a new deal with Clearview AI to access its scraped image database for "tactical targeting," including efforts to “disrupt, degrade, and dismantle” networks of people labeled security threats.
CBP Signs Clearview AI Deal to Use Face Recognition for ‘Tactical Targeting’
US Border Patrol intelligence units will gain access to a face recognition tool built on billions of images scraped from the internet.
www.wired.com

Just to fuel SpaceX's moon lander will required at least 15 Starship launches. Yes, at least 15 launches of a rocket that has made more fireworks than successful orbits. Ridiculous to think Musk will deliver a moon city when he can't launch a moon mission spacepolicyonline.com/news/at-leas...
At Least 15 Starship Launches Needed to Execute Artemis III Lunar Landing
Posted: November 17, 2023 4:07 pm ET | Last Updated: November 17, 2023 5:30 pm ET | A NASA official today said the number of SpaceX Starship launches needed to execute the Artemis III lunar landing mi...
spacepolicyonline.com

Trump's sunsetting has rubbed off on Musk
Elon Musk told employees at xAI, his artificial intelligence company, on Tuesday that the company needed a factory on the moon to build A.I. satellites and a massive catapult to launch them into space.
Elon Musk Wants to Build an A.I. Satellite Factory on the Moon
In a meeting with employees at his company xAI, Mr. Musk revealed a vision for a facility that includes a giant catapult to launch his satellites into space.
nyti.ms

It's just absolutely insane the the American public reflexively thinks Republicans are better for the economy. They're better at giving uber-wealthy people tax breaks. That's it
During these 37 years here's the average job growth per year under the two parties:

Democrats - 2,500,000
Republicans - 90,000 2/
First on MS NOW: House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia just announced that Oversight Democrats will hold a shadow field hearing as part of their Epstein investigation in Palm Beach, Florida on April 14.

The field hearing will include testimony from survivors and important witnesses.
During these 37 years here's the average job growth per year under the two parties:

Democrats - 2,500,000
Republicans - 90,000 2/

I lost my id while traveling (I later realized I had stuffed it into a coat pocket instead of back into my wallet on the departure screening). Was allowed to go through airport security on the return trip without id with extra screening
You definitely don’t need to show ID before you get on a train.

I’ve actually flown without a license before* and you can fly if you have some other proof that it’s your ticket (like a credit card) and get patted down.
Markwayne Mullin defends "show me your papers": "If you're here legally, there's nothing to hide. Most people already are walking around with a government-issued ID, meaning your Real ID or your driver's license. If you go board a train here, you gotta show your ID."
1. Internal documents reveal that Freedom 250, which purports to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary, is a vehicle to promote Trump and "America First" propaganda, including election conspiracies

Major corporations like Mastercard and Deloitte and spending million to bankroll this effort
Major corporations bankroll "America First" propaganda
Mastercard, Deloitte, and ExxonMobil are spending millions to promote events supporting Trump and his divisive political agenda.
popular.info
You definitely don’t need to show ID before you get on a train.

I’ve actually flown without a license before* and you can fly if you have some other proof that it’s your ticket (like a credit card) and get patted down.
Markwayne Mullin defends "show me your papers": "If you're here legally, there's nothing to hide. Most people already are walking around with a government-issued ID, meaning your Real ID or your driver's license. If you go board a train here, you gotta show your ID."