Kevin Elliott
@kjephd.bsky.social
Political theorist studying democracy, ethics, & institutions. Author of Democracy for Busy People (https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo194847654.html); more at kevinjelliott.net. Generally poasting my way through this thing
Pinned
Kevin Elliott
@kjephd.bsky.social
· Jun 24
New article out from me, in which I consider: what if I'm wrong about everything re: what's important for a flourishing democracy?
I use a recent book attacking institutions & advocating disintermediated localism to explore the limits of my view.
Get it free here: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
I use a recent book attacking institutions & advocating disintermediated localism to explore the limits of my view.
Get it free here: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
TIL Denmark's parliament voted in 2021 to impeach a former immigration minister, Inger Støjberg — & sentenced her to 60 days imprisonment — for separating asylum seeker couples, if one was under 18.
You'll never guess what happened next: she founded her own right-wing anti-immigrant political party
You'll never guess what happened next: she founded her own right-wing anti-immigrant political party
Impeachment of Inger Støjberg - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:09 PM
TIL Denmark's parliament voted in 2021 to impeach a former immigration minister, Inger Støjberg — & sentenced her to 60 days imprisonment — for separating asylum seeker couples, if one was under 18.
You'll never guess what happened next: she founded her own right-wing anti-immigrant political party
You'll never guess what happened next: she founded her own right-wing anti-immigrant political party
A blow to Trump's effort to incept lasting authoritarian rule in the United States
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
Indiana Senate leader says there aren't enough GOP votes for Trump's redistricting push
The White House had pressured state Republican lawmakers to redraw their congressional map ahead of the midterm elections.
www.nbcnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:43 PM
A blow to Trump's effort to incept lasting authoritarian rule in the United States
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...
"The kids are alright" remains undefeated
2/🧵 New piece with @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social in @NewRepublic: We analyzed 60,000+ respondents in the 2024 Cooperative Election Study. Gen Z has the lowest racial resentment of any generation. The generational shift overwhelms the education divide that supposedly defines modern politics.
The Shocking Truth About Gen Z Voters Is That They’re Pretty Great
Stop panicking: They are the most progressive generation ever, especially on race. If that surprises you, you’ve been listening to the wrong story.
newrepublic.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:42 PM
"The kids are alright" remains undefeated
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
Those claiming Dems should retreat on racial justice aren't hard-headed realists, they're pushing against the electoral tide rather than leaning into it. The story of Gen Z isn't about racist backlash or red-pilled young men. It's the most racially progressive generation in American history. 🧵
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Those claiming Dems should retreat on racial justice aren't hard-headed realists, they're pushing against the electoral tide rather than leaning into it. The story of Gen Z isn't about racist backlash or red-pilled young men. It's the most racially progressive generation in American history. 🧵
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
This showed up in the other place. I'm amused!
November 14, 2025 at 4:14 PM
This showed up in the other place. I'm amused!
My latest crazy idea to fix the Senate: add members who can vote on internal procedural matters, including rules changes, but not final passage, & distribute them proportionally to states by population. Model & precedent is delegates in House, like DC's.
So that's a hard problem with few regular solutions. It's made me see the value of increasing turnover in the body, and trying to change its composition in innovative ways. What if we add 100 more 'senators' who are distributed by population & can vote on procedural matters but not final passage?
November 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
My latest crazy idea to fix the Senate: add members who can vote on internal procedural matters, including rules changes, but not final passage, & distribute them proportionally to states by population. Model & precedent is delegates in House, like DC's.
oh no
Google has moved from moral cowardice (removing ICE tracking apps) to direct complicity in the violent, unconstitutional abuse of vulnerable people.
As a civil liberties lawyer who worked at Google for ten years, this one hits me in the gut.
As a civil liberties lawyer who worked at Google for ten years, this one hits me in the gut.
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...
www.404media.co
November 14, 2025 at 3:31 PM
oh no
Complete subversion of anti-corruption, rule of law, protection of the people from abuse of power
1) Ethics officials at Fannie Mae investigate how Bill Pulte got Letitia James mortgage docs
2) They send findings to Inspector Gen. of FHFA, which Pulte heads
3) IG sends it to Lindsay Halligan, new USA prosecuting James
4) IG and ethics officials are all fired.
www.wsj.com/finance/regu...
2) They send findings to Inspector Gen. of FHFA, which Pulte heads
3) IG sends it to Lindsay Halligan, new USA prosecuting James
4) IG and ethics officials are all fired.
www.wsj.com/finance/regu...
Exclusive | Fannie Mae Watchdogs Probed How Pulte Obtained Mortgage Records of Key Democrats
FHFA’s acting inspector general handed the probe report to the U.S. attorney office that had indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Complete subversion of anti-corruption, rule of law, protection of the people from abuse of power
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
mafia president
corrupting the DOJ
“…the only offer on the table was that I needed to
resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA…If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block 100s of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate.”
corrupting the DOJ
“…the only offer on the table was that I needed to
resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA…If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block 100s of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate.”
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
mafia president
corrupting the DOJ
“…the only offer on the table was that I needed to
resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA…If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block 100s of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate.”
corrupting the DOJ
“…the only offer on the table was that I needed to
resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA…If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block 100s of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate.”
The House isn't the problem, it's working fine. See all of the transformative, problem-solving legislation it's passed in the last 25 years—cap & trade, Obamacare with a public option, voting rights, you name it.
If you want real democracy in the US, you want more power specifically in the House.
If you want real democracy in the US, you want more power specifically in the House.
Notwithstanding the eventual capitulation of some Senate Democrats, Garcia—and the entire House Democratic caucus—adeptly put blame where it belonged. The proof was in the polling that consistently showed Americans blamed Trump and R's. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Undaunted
Rep. Robert Garcia shows Democrats how to fight MAGA
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The House isn't the problem, it's working fine. See all of the transformative, problem-solving legislation it's passed in the last 25 years—cap & trade, Obamacare with a public option, voting rights, you name it.
If you want real democracy in the US, you want more power specifically in the House.
If you want real democracy in the US, you want more power specifically in the House.
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
Jim Ryan's letter is not just surreal and troubling; it provides a series of deeply sobering lessons—about the perils facing public universities today; about what it means to "work with" this Department of Justice; & about what leadership does (and doesn't) entail at this especially fraught moment.
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Jim Ryan's letter is not just surreal and troubling; it provides a series of deeply sobering lessons—about the perils facing public universities today; about what it means to "work with" this Department of Justice; & about what leadership does (and doesn't) entail at this especially fraught moment.
Watching hella fat boats turn is so satisfying
November 14, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Watching hella fat boats turn is so satisfying
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
I say it over and over again: when you have that much money, you want to live where you want to live and you are simply not going to relocate because of marginal tax rates
Alan Dershowitz will never leave Martha’s Vineyard and they won’t even sell him a pierogi
Alan Dershowitz will never leave Martha’s Vineyard and they won’t even sell him a pierogi
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*
Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:24 AM
I say it over and over again: when you have that much money, you want to live where you want to live and you are simply not going to relocate because of marginal tax rates
Alan Dershowitz will never leave Martha’s Vineyard and they won’t even sell him a pierogi
Alan Dershowitz will never leave Martha’s Vineyard and they won’t even sell him a pierogi
Every time a new TCW piece drops and you consider engaging with it, just tell yourself:
November 14, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Every time a new TCW piece drops and you consider engaging with it, just tell yourself:
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
… I need this account until I have a job and off site network
So I can’t say what I want to say
So I’ll say , this is why I dislike the “media literacy” discussions
part of the reason people can’t understand is that media is purposely trying to weasel word them
So I can’t say what I want to say
So I’ll say , this is why I dislike the “media literacy” discussions
part of the reason people can’t understand is that media is purposely trying to weasel word them
A teenager in Florida with a homeless parent wanted money for braces and ended up having sex for money with powerful men, setting off a chain of events that would have a dramatic impact on her life and help upend the political career of Representative Matt Gaetz. nyti.ms/49PSkL9
November 14, 2025 at 12:29 AM
… I need this account until I have a job and off site network
So I can’t say what I want to say
So I’ll say , this is why I dislike the “media literacy” discussions
part of the reason people can’t understand is that media is purposely trying to weasel word them
So I can’t say what I want to say
So I’ll say , this is why I dislike the “media literacy” discussions
part of the reason people can’t understand is that media is purposely trying to weasel word them
What is a day in New Orleans without beignets
November 14, 2025 at 12:32 AM
What is a day in New Orleans without beignets
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
Is $7.50 too much for a single chocolate covered Twinkie
It's too much, isn't it
It's too much, isn't it
November 13, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Is $7.50 too much for a single chocolate covered Twinkie
It's too much, isn't it
It's too much, isn't it
Can't escape the feeling this is somehow cannibalism
oh wow that’s crazy
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
oreos with bits of
of oreos. in them
Real Bits of Oreos
November 13, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Can't escape the feeling this is somehow cannibalism
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
America is secularizing right quick, with a 17 percent drop in those saying religion is important to their daily lives over the last ten years.
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/g...
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/g...
U.S. faith levels plummet to lowest on record
The U.S. is rapidly becoming more secular.
www.axios.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:13 PM
America is secularizing right quick, with a 17 percent drop in those saying religion is important to their daily lives over the last ten years.
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/g...
www.axios.com/2025/11/13/g...
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
The Mona Lisa of the Louvre of Bluesky.
The last 2.5 years of Bluesky were a steady build up to "criticism of Jeffrey Epstein's writing ability is ableist." Congrats everyone, we did it.
November 13, 2025 at 5:01 AM
The Mona Lisa of the Louvre of Bluesky.
Bad emailers are all of us just playing the long game
November 13, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Bad emailers are all of us just playing the long game
Reposted by Kevin Elliott
Each Epstein email has so many layers of slime people miss some. This email is Ken Starr, fired for covering up sexual assault, offering to help his former client Jeffrey Epstein's friend's sexual harassment charges by introducing him to Jed Rubenfeld, later put on leave for sexual misconduct. 1/
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Each Epstein email has so many layers of slime people miss some. This email is Ken Starr, fired for covering up sexual assault, offering to help his former client Jeffrey Epstein's friend's sexual harassment charges by introducing him to Jed Rubenfeld, later put on leave for sexual misconduct. 1/