Gillian Branstetter
@gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Opinions are my own //
https://linktr.ee/gbbranstetter
https://linktr.ee/gbbranstetter
It's true! They published it!
November 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
It's true! They published it!
"Further impoverishing people will make them less reactionary" seems like a tall gamble to make
I've talked a lot since the book came out in August about how developing an actual vision is narratively important for Dems. But also, more substantively, there's a temptation absent a vision to let people suffer from GOP policies and actions in the hopes Dems benefit from the backlash.
Ezra Klein, having spoken to a "dozen or so House and Senate Democrats" over the weekend, says at least some of them worried extending the ACA subsidies would take them off the table as a political issue and wanted Republicans to keep the filibuster.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/o...
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
"Further impoverishing people will make them less reactionary" seems like a tall gamble to make
Remembering when Democrats blamed then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for elevating gay marriage as an issue ahead of the 2004 election--the same scapegoating Newsom is doing to trans rights now
November 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Remembering when Democrats blamed then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for elevating gay marriage as an issue ahead of the 2004 election--the same scapegoating Newsom is doing to trans rights now
I don't think this one is up to me actually
November 10, 2025 at 2:44 AM
I don't think this one is up to me actually
Saw this white squirrel outside the NGA yesterday
November 10, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Saw this white squirrel outside the NGA yesterday
Am I wrong or is the actual fear that he'll end the filibuster then use a Senate majority to run roughshod over God and county
The problem with "we have no choice but to do this thing Trump and the GOP want because otherwise the government stays shut down" is that there's no limiting principle.
November 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Am I wrong or is the actual fear that he'll end the filibuster then use a Senate majority to run roughshod over God and county
Fun part is I'm watching while quite literally stuck on a delayed plane that hasn't left the runway
VOTE HAS BEGUN
November 10, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Fun part is I'm watching while quite literally stuck on a delayed plane that hasn't left the runway
What was the plan
November 9, 2025 at 11:10 PM
What was the plan
Just when you think Sunday evening can't get any more melancholy you encounter Sunday evening at the airport
November 9, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Just when you think Sunday evening can't get any more melancholy you encounter Sunday evening at the airport
Always think of this from @prisonculture.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Always think of this from @prisonculture.bsky.social
'If the government can enforce rules based on the 'historical fact' of our sex assigned at birth without offending equal protection principles, then what does that mean for the conditions of our lives in the present?" @chasestrangio.bsky.social
Elusive Discrimination
The Supreme Court's continued unwillingness to vindicate trans rights.
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:45 PM
'If the government can enforce rules based on the 'historical fact' of our sex assigned at birth without offending equal protection principles, then what does that mean for the conditions of our lives in the present?" @chasestrangio.bsky.social
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
November 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
Reposted by Gillian Branstetter
With due respect to Rilke for the second to last line, I wrote this after going for a walk in the forest whilst in the throes of despair.
November 8, 2025 at 3:54 PM
With due respect to Rilke for the second to last line, I wrote this after going for a walk in the forest whilst in the throes of despair.
“However, when candidates inoculate early and respond directly, they recover those points and sometimes gain additional margin by demonstrating their values and strength,” the memo continued.
November 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
“However, when candidates inoculate early and respond directly, they recover those points and sometimes gain additional margin by demonstrating their values and strength,” the memo continued.
Reposted by Gillian Branstetter
Great @gbbranstetter.bsky.social read on how throwing trans people under the bus is not a winning political strategy and in fact the opposite is true. Democrats have an opportunity here to not be craven cowards succumbing to transphobic messaging.
Democrats Can’t Blame Trans People for Their Own Failures
Despite the attempts by so many in the party's establishment to paint trans rights as a toxic issue, transphobia was soundly rejected across the country this week.
www.thenation.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Great @gbbranstetter.bsky.social read on how throwing trans people under the bus is not a winning political strategy and in fact the opposite is true. Democrats have an opportunity here to not be craven cowards succumbing to transphobic messaging.
I'm in @thenation.com this morning on the repeated failure of transphobia as political strategy, efforts to scapegoat trans people for Democrats' own failures, and Zohran Mamdani's model of solidarity
November 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I'm in @thenation.com this morning on the repeated failure of transphobia as political strategy, efforts to scapegoat trans people for Democrats' own failures, and Zohran Mamdani's model of solidarity
Just a happy story about a trans woman who was afraid to come out at work and everything turned out fine actually
Trans Woman Comes Out to Coworkers in an Email. She Was Shocked When She Opened Her Inbox Days Later (Exclusive)
Jade Mali, a 28-year-old regional manager at a real estate tech company, first came out as trans two years ago — but only recently shared her identity at work. She opens up to PEOPLE about her nerves ...
people.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Just a happy story about a trans woman who was afraid to come out at work and everything turned out fine actually
Best running route in the world
November 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Best running route in the world
Trying out WaPo's new feature Ripple and wondering who was having a hard time finding people's opinions on the Internet
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Trying out WaPo's new feature Ripple and wondering who was having a hard time finding people's opinions on the Internet
The "Trump v. Hawaii" standard they're citing to justify this was the case in Trump 1.0 when SCOTUS greenlit his Muslim travel ban, emphasizing that your rights are only as strong as your neighbors
NEW: On the shadow docket, the Supreme Court lets Trump resume misgendering trans Americans on their passports, claiming "the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment." All three liberals dissent. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
![This case concerns an Executive Branch policy requiring
all new passports to display an individual’s biological sex at
birth. The United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts preliminarily enjoined the Government
from enforcing the policy, and the First Circuit declined to
stay the injunction pending appeal. The Government then
filed this stay application. Applying our familiar stay fac-
tors at this preliminary stage, we grant the application.
Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends
equal protection principles than displaying their country of
birth—in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to
a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential
treatment. And on this record, respondents have failed to
establish that the Government’s choice to display biological
sex “lack[s] any purpose other than a bare . . . desire to
harm a politically unpopular group.” Trump v. Hawaii, 585
U. S. 667, 705 (2018) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Nor are respondents likely to prevail in arguing that the
State Department acted arbitrarily and capriciously by de-
clining to depart from Presidential rules that Congress ex-
pressly required it to follow. See 22 U. S. C. §211a.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreiacrtgoecxjy5y7ojz7xzbun4c4nwutjcvqn4qb4p25ldpt6va5lu@jpeg)
November 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM
The "Trump v. Hawaii" standard they're citing to justify this was the case in Trump 1.0 when SCOTUS greenlit his Muslim travel ban, emphasizing that your rights are only as strong as your neighbors
The story of this week is that millions of Americans were told in 2024 their lives would be improved if trans people's lives were made worse and I'm glad they're finally waking up to the fact that was never true to begin with--but trans people's lives are still getting worse
November 6, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The story of this week is that millions of Americans were told in 2024 their lives would be improved if trans people's lives were made worse and I'm glad they're finally waking up to the fact that was never true to begin with--but trans people's lives are still getting worse
Reposted by Gillian Branstetter
This fight isn't over. Our case challenging President Trump's executive order will still move forward.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
November 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This fight isn't over. Our case challenging President Trump's executive order will still move forward.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
In the meantime anyone who applies for a new, corrected, or replacement passport, or for a passport renewal, is at risk of having their passport issued bearing the sex they were assigned at birth.
Reposted by Gillian Branstetter
BREAKING: The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to enforce its discriminatory passport policy while our lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
November 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
BREAKING: The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to enforce its discriminatory passport policy while our lawsuit makes its way through the courts.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
This decision undermines the freedom of transgender, non-binary, and intersex people to have our IDs reflect who we are.
Incredible feat of silliness, just the most slapstick madcap story from beginning to end
🚨🚨🚨 The jury has reached a verdict. Sean Dunn, aka the DC Sandwich Guy, has been found NOT GUILTY of assault.
November 6, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Incredible feat of silliness, just the most slapstick madcap story from beginning to end
Bill Cosby is out of jail, Louis CK sells out stadiums, even Woody Allen is being invited back into polite society. What "excesses" are these people talking about?
When people talk about the excesses of MeToo, they have to lie, because the reality is that there was no massive social reckoning forcing people to believe survivors or hold perpetrators accountable. In fact, there has been a significant backsliding and new punishments in rejection of MeToo
November 6, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Bill Cosby is out of jail, Louis CK sells out stadiums, even Woody Allen is being invited back into polite society. What "excesses" are these people talking about?