Rachel
@lrigknat.bsky.social
A nerd on a journey beyond space and time
Reposted by Rachel
_Strength In Numbers_ gains more strength as it gains more numbers. Spitting distance from being a top-50 publication on Substack. Join us! (a free sub gets you at least two articles a week — a pretty good deal for time invested, IMO) gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
January 29, 2026 at 1:01 PM
_Strength In Numbers_ gains more strength as it gains more numbers. Spitting distance from being a top-50 publication on Substack. Join us! (a free sub gets you at least two articles a week — a pretty good deal for time invested, IMO) gelliottmorris.com/subscribe
Reposted by Rachel
NEW: There are 2,400+ elections for DA & sheriff this year.
These matter hugely to criminal justice & policing—including: *these are often officials who decide ICE collaboration.*
So I took a dive into these 2,400+ races to identify early hotspots and battlegrounds.
Read, & check out our maps:
These matter hugely to criminal justice & policing—including: *these are often officials who decide ICE collaboration.*
So I took a dive into these 2,400+ races to identify early hotspots and battlegrounds.
Read, & check out our maps:
In Criminal Justice Elections This Year, ICE Contracts Are on the Hot Seat - Bolts
With roughly 2,400 elections for prosecutor and sheriff this year, Bolts reviews the map and early hotspots that will shape criminal punishment and law enforcement practices.
boltsmag.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:53 PM
NEW: There are 2,400+ elections for DA & sheriff this year.
These matter hugely to criminal justice & policing—including: *these are often officials who decide ICE collaboration.*
So I took a dive into these 2,400+ races to identify early hotspots and battlegrounds.
Read, & check out our maps:
These matter hugely to criminal justice & policing—including: *these are often officials who decide ICE collaboration.*
So I took a dive into these 2,400+ races to identify early hotspots and battlegrounds.
Read, & check out our maps:
Reposted by Rachel
Also I'll immodestly say: I think @juliaazari.bsky.social and @dbernstein.bsky.social and I have been good guides to [all this] and if you haven't subscribed you should, and also I'll invite y'all to support us and keep us going with a paid subscription. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
Good Politics/Bad Politics | Jonathan Bernstein | Substack
A Plain Newsletter About Government and Elections in the US with Jonathan Bernstein, Julia Azari, and David S. Bernstein. Click to read Good Politics/Bad Politics, a Substack publication with thousand...
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Also I'll immodestly say: I think @juliaazari.bsky.social and @dbernstein.bsky.social and I have been good guides to [all this] and if you haven't subscribed you should, and also I'll invite y'all to support us and keep us going with a paid subscription. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
Reposted by Rachel
Wrote a thing about whether the American presidency even exists anymore. No reason. open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Does the American presidency exist anymore?
Last week Donald Trump flipped off a worker at a Ford plant for yelling “pedophile protector” at him.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Wrote a thing about whether the American presidency even exists anymore. No reason. open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Reposted by Rachel
Everything Jamelle says. Plus: The problem with doomer expectations of "canceling" elections (other than it's annoying) is there are real things Trump/GOP might do to attempt to impede fully free & fair elections and doomerism doesn't go well with preparing to counter and resist those real dangers.
the question to ask about this is, okay, he wants to cancel the midterms. how does he get the VA state board of elections to cancel the midterms? how does he get the georgia board of elections to do it? how does he convince republican house members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
January 15, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Everything Jamelle says. Plus: The problem with doomer expectations of "canceling" elections (other than it's annoying) is there are real things Trump/GOP might do to attempt to impede fully free & fair elections and doomerism doesn't go well with preparing to counter and resist those real dangers.
Reposted by Rachel
Wired has ungated this article.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Wired has ungated this article.
Reposted by Rachel
Had some thoughts about what happened last week and how we got here
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/decades-of...
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/decades-of...
Decades of ordinary politics brought us to this extraordinary moment
This week I have plenty of anger to go around.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Had some thoughts about what happened last week and how we got here
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/decades-of...
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/decades-of...
Reposted by Rachel
Trump keeps losing and also keeps doing stuff. Yes, that's hard to wrap our heads around. My item today gets into it (without, alas, fully explaining it.) Plus the links! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/losing-los...
Losing Loser Keeps Losing
And yet Trump isn't exactly an impotent president. Confused? Yeah.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Trump keeps losing and also keeps doing stuff. Yes, that's hard to wrap our heads around. My item today gets into it (without, alas, fully explaining it.) Plus the links! goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/losing-los...
Reposted by Rachel
a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8
Abolish ICE
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 1:42 AM
a few thoughts youtu.be/lERS4kJIQR8
Reposted by Rachel
Reposted by Rachel
You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation
A scholar of international law on the implications of the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
www.newyorker.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:02 PM
You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Reposted by Rachel
Impeachment talk again? Dem-only impeachment might or might not be a good idea, but it's not much of a check on a lawless president (as we saw in the first Trump impeachment!) - and there are plenty of other real checks Congress can try that a Dem House could implement.
December 28, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Impeachment talk again? Dem-only impeachment might or might not be a good idea, but it's not much of a check on a lawless president (as we saw in the first Trump impeachment!) - and there are plenty of other real checks Congress can try that a Dem House could implement.
Reposted by Rachel
While this is a good point, it's also true that it's never too late. Anyone who chooses Team Republic today, regardless of what they've done or supported so far, is going to have a better reputation than those who stick with Team Trump. Fair or not. And those on Team Republic should welcome them.
December 23, 2025 at 4:27 AM
While this is a good point, it's also true that it's never too late. Anyone who chooses Team Republic today, regardless of what they've done or supported so far, is going to have a better reputation than those who stick with Team Trump. Fair or not. And those on Team Republic should welcome them.
Reposted by Rachel
wrote about whatever last week was, and its implications for Trump as Republican Party leader open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Is Trump losing his grip on the Republican Party? Does it matter?
The president-party relationship is more complicated than people think
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:52 PM
wrote about whatever last week was, and its implications for Trump as Republican Party leader open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Reposted by Rachel
I'm not sure that Trump has finally killed off a US political ritual that's been ready to die for a while now. I am sure he's terrible at it. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/prime-time
(Not Ready for) Prime Time
Saying goodbye to a presidency ritual.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I'm not sure that Trump has finally killed off a US political ritual that's been ready to die for a while now. I am sure he's terrible at it. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/prime-time
Reposted by Rachel
Really liked this one and think it's a very helpful way to think about something that confuses a lot of analysts. Although he really missed the obvious chance to make a Hegseth/Rise of Skywalker analogy. But overall: Don't miss this one.
Trump and congressional Republicans have a tacit “suspension of disbelief” agreement about “emergencies” requiring expanded executive power. Has Pete Hegseth burst that bubble? My new piece:
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Why Hegseth is Flailing
Congressional Republicans have agreed to suspend their disbelief, about a lot of things. Hegseth has let reality intrude.
open.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Really liked this one and think it's a very helpful way to think about something that confuses a lot of analysts. Although he really missed the obvious chance to make a Hegseth/Rise of Skywalker analogy. But overall: Don't miss this one.
Reposted by Rachel
a belief that liberals are not in spiritual communion with the white working class, which is held as the virtuous repository of american identity.
December 10, 2025 at 4:06 PM
a belief that liberals are not in spiritual communion with the white working class, which is held as the virtuous repository of american identity.
Reposted by Rachel
In my new piece, I consider Trump’s very limited communications strategy, from calling affordability a hoax to yesterday’s no-real-press-allowed Pentagon press conference. Please read and subscribe!
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
In Whom To Trust
Trump's White House communications is all about reducing trust in other institutions. That isn't going to be enough.
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:19 PM
In my new piece, I consider Trump’s very limited communications strategy, from calling affordability a hoax to yesterday’s no-real-press-allowed Pentagon press conference. Please read and subscribe!
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Reposted by Rachel
ICYMI
Trump is learning the limits of mandate politics. Maybe. open.substack.com/pub/goodpoli...
Trump is learning the limits of mandate politics. Maybe.
After the 2024 election, Trump and his communication team – especially press secretary Karoline Leavitt – seized on the idea that his 49.8% of the popular vote constituted a historic mandate. This, ac...
open.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
ICYMI
Reposted by Rachel
Oops forgot to push yesterday's (not-yet-stale!) speculation about, among other things, Thomas and Alito, and why strategic retirement for them might be more complicated than one might think. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/shutdown-i...
Shutdown II? Court Changes? Election Upsets?
Playing a little What If today.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Oops forgot to push yesterday's (not-yet-stale!) speculation about, among other things, Thomas and Alito, and why strategic retirement for them might be more complicated than one might think. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/shutdown-i...
Reposted by Rachel
My live interview with Ian Silverii about how Democrats should be running and what kinds of candidates they should be finding begins in just a few hours!
LIVE SOON: Live with political consultant Ian Silverii
Starting Nov 17 at 5:15 PM EST
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:33 PM
My live interview with Ian Silverii about how Democrats should be running and what kinds of candidates they should be finding begins in just a few hours!
Reposted by Rachel
Donald Trump sent more money to bail out Argentina than it would have cost to extend the ACA tax credits for just 1 year.
I don't plan to let anyone forget it.
I don't plan to let anyone forget it.
November 11, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Donald Trump sent more money to bail out Argentina than it would have cost to extend the ACA tax credits for just 1 year.
I don't plan to let anyone forget it.
I don't plan to let anyone forget it.
Reposted by Rachel
Ugh with all the fuss I forgot to tweet out my item today: In praise of Pelosi and why they should be building statues of her all over. Plus so many links. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/the-speaker
The Speaker
On Pelosi. Plus all the links.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Ugh with all the fuss I forgot to tweet out my item today: In praise of Pelosi and why they should be building statues of her all over. Plus so many links. goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com/p/the-speaker
Reposted by Rachel
Don’t worry your heads ladies, the menfolk are handling US-Central Asia relations
November 7, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Don’t worry your heads ladies, the menfolk are handling US-Central Asia relations