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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 23h

Saturday, October 18. Everywhere. Find your local event at nokings.org.

#NoKings

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 21h

Never forget that when Bondi was appointed, Democracy Docket immediately called her out while The Washington Post gave her a thumbs up.

If you value independent, pro-democracy media that won't bow down or obey, support Democracy Docket today. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0

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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 14h

“More than $6 billion in DeSantis ‘emergency’ contracts are missing legally required public documentation”

Daniel Ducassi for Florida Bulldog

More than $6 billion in DeSantis ‘emergency’ contracts are missing legally required public documentation

By Daniel Ducassi, FloridaBulldog.org - More than $6 billion in DeSantis ‘emergency’ contracts missing legally required public documentation.

www.floridabulldog.org

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ScubaSuzyQ💙🦋 @susanmcgraw88.bsky.social · 1d

WARNING TO ALL AMERICANS!

IMPORTANT INTERVIEW WITH Senator Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social

#Pinks #DemVoice1 #DV1 #ProudBlue

youtu.be/gtbXB29mVao?...

GOP's Dangerous Game with Trump's Corruption | Sen. Chris Murphy

YouTube video by Democracy Docket

youtu.be

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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 1d

That’s quite a telling statement, Stephen Miller. I guess you’re calling all the shots now?

Tweet from Sky Marchini: “‘I’.”
Below is Acyn’s tweet quoting Stephen Miller on CNN: “If I put federal law enforcement and National Guard into a nice, sleepy southern town, is anyone going to riot?”
Screenshot shows Miller speaking on the right and the interviewer on the left, with the headline: “Illinois & Chicago sue Trump over Natl Guard deployment.”

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Jeffries: "If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the ACA tax credits, tens of millions of people are about to experience dramatically increased premiums ... including in the state represented by Speaker Mike Johnson. In fact, in his own district, I believe premiums may increase by about 380%."

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andy jabbour @andyjabbour.bsky.social · 1d

🍏 'is now treating federal agents...as if they’re a vulnerable minority group in need of protection from “discrimination.” This isn’t just a misapplication of...policies; it’s a fundamental inversion of what those policies were designed to do.'- @mmasnick.bsky.social www.techdirt.com/2025/10/10/a...

Apple Decides ICE Agents Are A Protected Class, Because Apparently Government Accountability Is Now “Hate Speech”

Just when you think corporate content moderation can’t get any more absurd, Apple has managed to redefine “protected class” in a way that would make Orwell proud. According to int…

www.techdirt.com

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League of Women Voters of Williamsburg Area @lwvwilliamsburg.org · 1d

It’s illegal for noncitizens to vote. Requiring proof of citizenship creates barriers for eligible voters. Tell the Election Assistance Commission you oppose requiring citizens to submit passport, birth certificate, or other citizenship documents to register to vote! Do it here: bit.ly/42EZzkR NOW!

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 1d

Sens. Schumer, Merkley, Murray, and Peters are calling for the resignation of OMB Director Russell Vought.

"By impounding billions of dollars … and aggressively pursuing the illegal use of pocket rescissions, Vought has done everything in his power to gut the federal government piece by piece."

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Democracy Americana is a publication solely funded by readers. If you find pieces like this one helpful, you can subscribe for free – or, better yet: If you can, consider becoming a paid member. As an independent writer, I fully rely on your help to make this work possible. Thank you!🙏

Democracy Americana

A newsletter on U.S. politics and history - and the ongoing struggle over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America

steady.page

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

The Daily’s credulous/willfully ignorant/deliberately misleading portrait of Vought matters because it is indicative of a much broader tendency to normalize the assault on the constitutional order - to sanitize those who are responsible for it and the extremist ideas that are animating them.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Vought’s ideology of “radical constitutionalism” captures the defining sensibility on the Trumpist Right: “The Left,” he believes, has command of America, there is nothing left to conserve, nothing short of a radical “counter-revolution” can now save the nation.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Vought is not interested in “normal” democratic politics: He seeks to “traumatize” civil servants, use the military to suppress protests, and sees Trump as an agent of God’s will. He is convinced to be fighting a noble war to defend his “real America” of white Christian patriarchal rule.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

While Vought traces the “leftwing revolution” back a hundred years, to the progressive era, there is no question that the election of Barack Obama was a radicalizing moment for him and many key thinkers on the radical Right - as were the multiracial protests in the summer of 2020.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Power, Vought claims, now lies with a “permanent ruling class” of leftist elites who control all major institutions and especially the “woke and weaponized” agencies of the state. In order to defeat them, conservatives must become “radical constitutionalists” - and take radical action.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Vought is singularly focused on bending the entire government machine to Trump’s will. He believes that any check on the power of Donald Trump, who Vought literally describes as a “gift of God,” is illegitimate. There is no line he doesn’t feel justified to cross.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Russell Vought embodies the radicalization of the conservative movement; his example captures how far removed from democratic politics the Trumpist Right is. Vought is convinced to be fighting a noble war against a vast leftist conspiracy that has supposedly taken over the country.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

But there is nothing noble or respectable about what Vought is doing, about his vision for the country. He is a fully competent, utterly committed radical ideologue. He lusts for counter-revolution and radical measures. There is no line he doesn’t feel justified to cross.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

It is October 2025, the assault on what is left of American democracy is escalating, and one of the New York Times’ most influential formats insists on presenting one of the Trumpist regime’s leaders as a devout “small government” conservative with a great work ethic.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

The overriding goal of too many journalists is to provide “balanced” coverage from a “neutral” position in equidistance to both sides. That framework is much easier to justify if you pretend to be dealing with “normal” politicians – as opposed to committed ideologues pursuing an extreme project.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

The Daily is committed to sanitizing Vought and ignoring what they regard as unsavory ideology. Because engaging with what is actually animating Vought would make it very hard to uphold the “normal politics” framework that defines much of mainstream political journalism.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Vought, we are told, is a pious man who never curses. Ok! Not a word about his Christian nationalism; instead, one of the most influential political platforms in the world chooses to perpetuate the number one fallacy about the modern Right: That this is all about “small government.”

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Vought is a key figure in the world of Trumpism, with a rare – and dangerous – combination of ideological zeal and operative competence, a fully committed extremist causing massive harm to millions of people.

But if you only listened to The Daily, you wouldn’t get any of that.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

About a week ago, the New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast portrayed Russell Vought as a devout Christian, a true “small government” conservative who loves the free market, and a man with a great work ethic. A remarkable combination of credulousness and deliberate whitewashing.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 1d

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

We need to talk about Russell Vought – But Properly

Why certain mainstream outlets insist on sanitizing Vought as a devout “small government” conservative – and what actually animates his war against pluralistic democracy

steady.page

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