Bruce Larson
@brucelarson.bsky.social
Political Science Prof., Gettysburg College
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Repeat after me:
An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law.
Also:
Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections
An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law.
Also:
Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections
Trump’s follow up post says he’s going to issue an executive order on voter ID.
“If we can't get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”
“If we can't get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”
February 13, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Repeat after me:
An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law.
Also:
Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections
An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law.
Also:
Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections
Contact your member of Congress and senators. It can matter.
Tom Suozzi, one of the 7 House Dems who voted for the DHS bill: "I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis... I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that."
January 26, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Contact your member of Congress and senators. It can matter.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
The Senate vote on the Venezuela resolution was not a final passage vote . . . this seems like something the Post should get right?
January 8, 2026 at 5:39 PM
The Senate vote on the Venezuela resolution was not a final passage vote . . . this seems like something the Post should get right?
Reposted by Bruce Larson
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
January 4, 2026 at 5:04 AM
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
@repaprildelaney.bsky.social: make him spend it all.
Trone announces run for former Western Maryland congressional seat - Maryland Matters
David Trone, the former three-term congressman who gave up his Western Maryland seat last year for an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday he is running for his old job.
marylandmatters.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
@repaprildelaney.bsky.social: make him spend it all.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Did you know?
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
October 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Did you know?
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
About 4.5 million SNAP recipients are babies and toddlers under age 5.
About 11.1 million SNAP recipients are kids aged 5 to 17 years, who need food for healthy growth, learning, & development.
The federal government has the capacity to continue funding SNAP during a shutdown.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Pleasure talking with @cgrisales.bsky.social for this All Things Considered story: www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Is Congress willing to curb Trump's approach to executive power?
President Trump's expansive interpretation of executive power is continuing to reshape federal spending in a government shutdown.
www.npr.org
October 23, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Pleasure talking with @cgrisales.bsky.social for this All Things Considered story: www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.
As fundraising heats up this cycle, it's a good time to announce the publication of my new book, The Money Signal! The main argument is that money matters because it is a widely used indicator of viability and strength in American politics.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
The Money Signal
A data-rich, eye-opening look at how, when, and why political fundraising is consequential. Over the last two decades, the number of competitive congressional races has declined precipitously. Yet ca...
press.uchicago.edu
October 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I just finished reading this book. It is terrific.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
October 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Trump's own DOJ website still has a press release up from January pointing out that violent crime in D.C. is at its lowest in more than 30 years.
Violent Crime in D.C. Hits 30 Year Low
Total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) a...
www.justice.gov
August 11, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Trump's own DOJ website still has a press release up from January pointing out that violent crime in D.C. is at its lowest in more than 30 years.
I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science
Campaign Finance Expert Robert E. Mutch (“Bob”), 1940-2022 electionlawblog.org?p=151500
Campaign Finance Expert Robert E. Mutch ("Bob"), 1940-2022 #ELB
I recently learned that Bob Mutch, who has written the most comprehensive and important histories of campaign finance regulation in the United States, died in August 2022. Bob was a political scientis...
electionlawblog.org
August 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I learned a ton about campaign finance from reading Robert Mutch’s painstaking research. It is sad that his passing went with seemingly little or no notice. Maybe some CF scholars could write something up about him for PS:Political Science
Reposted by Bruce Larson
@adambonica.bsky.social and I are economists now (economist salary coming soon, I imagine)
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Old money: Campaign finance and gerontocracy in the United States
Politicians in the United States rank among the oldest globally. This study examines how money in politics contributes to age inequality in political …
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 11:20 PM
@adambonica.bsky.social and I are economists now (economist salary coming soon, I imagine)
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ungated until the end of September: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.
July 5, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Gettysburg College is hiring a VAP in judicial politics beginning August 2025! The successful candidate will teach an introductory course in American Politics and upper-level courses in judicial politics. Ad will be on APSA on Monday.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
April 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
My New Draft: “Faux Campaign Finance Regulation and the Pathway to American Oligarchy” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Just early published in ARPS (open access) @garlicksauce.bsky.social @wmjunk.bsky.social & I survey remarkable recent lobbying research that shows how lobbying matters & whats ahead for studies of influence www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
How Lobbying Matters | Annual Reviews
For decades, political scientists have struggled to provide empirical evidence that lobbying influences policymaking. A considerable gap arose between widespread public suspicions of lobbying and the ...
www.annualreviews.org
April 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Just early published in ARPS (open access) @garlicksauce.bsky.social @wmjunk.bsky.social & I survey remarkable recent lobbying research that shows how lobbying matters & whats ahead for studies of influence www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is:
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
Confession that due process is or should be optional according to the vice president
April 16, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Just a reminder how classic what we're seeing is:
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
1. redefine a group as a threat to civilization
2. reduce legal protections that they enjoy
3. abuse, threaten, harm, and/or relocate them
4. dismiss/ignore concerns about abuses and harms from the process
5. repeat steps 2-4, escalating each time
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Inside the Mind of an ICE Agent
Is this what she signed up for?
open.substack.com
April 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Bruce Larson
RFK Jr. is seeking to destroy the consensus around vaccines, one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. People will die because of it.
April 14, 2025 at 12:47 AM
RFK Jr. is seeking to destroy the consensus around vaccines, one of the greatest public health achievements in human history. People will die because of it.
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Having been an expert witness in four documentary proof of citizen cases let me set the record straight:
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
🧵 There are a lot of misleading claims out there about the SAVE Act. Let me set the record straight: I voted for the SAVE Act for the simple reason that American elections are for Americans. Requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is common sense.
April 11, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Having been an expert witness in four documentary proof of citizen cases let me set the record straight:
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
1. Non-citizen voting is already illegal
2. It is exceedingly rare, when it happens it is almost always due to confusion
3. SAVE will burden millions of people who don't have the required id
Reposted by Bruce Larson
Wesleyan's Michael Roth: "money doesn’t come with a loyalty oath. And that has served the country so well because Americans and various governments we’ve had recognized that it’s better for the country if people can practice freedom." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
April 4, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Wesleyan's Michael Roth: "money doesn’t come with a loyalty oath. And that has served the country so well because Americans and various governments we’ve had recognized that it’s better for the country if people can practice freedom." www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
This excellent piece by @rickhasen.bsky.social does such a great job of explaining the current state of campaign finance in the U.S. and how we got here. I just assigned it to my money and politics class. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Ultrarich Have Reshaped Presidential Elections. Here’s Where They’re Looking Next.
Billionaire money could have even more impact in these races than it did in the presidential election.
slate.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This excellent piece by @rickhasen.bsky.social does such a great job of explaining the current state of campaign finance in the U.S. and how we got here. I just assigned it to my money and politics class. slate.com/news-and-pol...