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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 8h

Of all people, Katie Porter should understand why Republicans matter in a multi-Democratic statewide field, since Adam Schiff's successful herding of GOP voters to Steve Garvey knocked her out of the 2024 general election. nymag.com/intelligence...

Katie Porter Should Have Something to Say to Trump Voters

An interview with the candidate for California governor went sideways when she was asked if she needed Trump voters to win. It wasn’t a hard question.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 8h

I started off just trying to explain the Top Two context of the dispute to non-Californians, but after about the 25th time I watched the Katie Porter interview, I got a mite exasperated with her. And I was a 2024 Katie Porter for Senate voter: nymag.com/intelligence...

Katie Porter Should Have Something to Say to Trump Voters

An interview with the candidate for California governor went sideways when she was asked if she needed Trump voters to win. It wasn’t a hard question.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 1d

MAGA folk claim that because Trump threatened to do crazy stuff on the campaign trail and subsequently won then he doesn't have to comply with the laws or the Constitution in fulfilling his "mandate." Apparently 49% of the electorate can abolish the rights of the 51%. nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump and Stephen Miller See Insurrection Everywhere

The White House believes any resistance to Trump is insurrectionary and warrants troop deployments. It’s a by-product of demonizing all opposition.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 1d

You can get so used to Trump lying all the time that you forget to call him out on it now and then: nymag.com/intelligence...

Someone Should Inform Trump That He’s Actually Unpopular

Trump claimed polls show he’s the most popular Republican president ever. He’s actually the least popular in the post–World War II era.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 6d

"Today, we don’t have a Republican president willing to take down a demagogue who threatened free speech. We have a Republican president who is himself the demagogue who threatens free speech." nymag.com/intelligence...

It’s Hard to Fight McCarthyism When McCarthy Is President

Relaunching free-speech groups that fought the Red Scare is helpful. But last time, they had the White House as an ally, not an enemy.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 6d

Pleased to see an old anti-McCarthyism free speech group reactivate. But there's a problem in replicating the defeat of Tail Gunner Joe: nymag.com/intelligence...

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 7d

At the risk of getting completely over my skis (which is easy since I don't ski), here's an early projection of how the shutdown will evolve and end: nymag.com/intelligence...

How the Government Shutdown Will End

Republicans could erode Democratic unity, or Trump may cut a deal on Obamacare subsidies. Either way, an extremely long shutdown is likely.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 8d

thehill.com/homenews/hou...

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 8d

Don't let the incoherent Weave keep you from noticing the clear signal from Trump to the military that his political enemies are fair game for "warfighting." Not just in an emergency, but every day. nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump’s New Core Mission for the Military: ‘Enemy Within’

In an alarming if incoherent speech to an assemblage of brass, the president puts the military on notice that America is a domestic battleground.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 8d

Sorry, populists, but I just don't buy it: nymag.com/intelligence...

Democrats Must Address the Real Reason They Want a Shutdown

Health care policy is important, but the real reason Democrats are risking a government shutdown is to curb Trump’s power, and they should say so.

nymag.com

Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 14d

I think it's interesting that suddenly Carr and Trump are retreating to old-school fulminations about liberal media bias. Seems like a tactical win for Jimmy Kimmel. nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump and Carr Retreat After Jimmy Kimmel’s Return

The president and his FCC chief are back to old-school attacks on liberal media bias.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 14d

This piece is getting very little traffic. Don't know if I'm too far ahead of the curve or too far behind. Don't pretend to be an expert on this topic; mostly looking at the necessary evolution after the war in Gaza reaches its nightmarish end. nymag.com/intelligence...

The Case for Democrats Recognizing Palestinian Statehood

Democratic efforts to undercut the Israeli war on Gaza are fine, but soon the war will end and the idea of a negotiated two-state solution will die.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 15d

Trump's EO on Antifa is an example of the old southern expression: "You're goosing a ghost." That could either make the EO a meaningless bit of MAGA porn, or really dangerous: nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump’s Antifa Executive Order Is Dangerously Vague

An unauthorized order targeting a nonexistent organization and authorizing a fishing expedition for allies and donors is an invitation to overreach.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 15d

The crowning insult to the American-bred legacy of the UN was Trump's altar call for every nation to pursue its own blood-and-soil nationalist dreams. Wonder if he doesn't know the UN was born to defeat and then deter nationalist extremism? nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump to United Nations: The World Needs Me More Than Ever

Trump’s long speech to the U.N. was half MAGA rally, half a call to other countries to foster their own blood-and-soil nationalism.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 15d

Somehow, after a decade of rhetorical outrages, Donald Trump managed to shock me (or at least embarrass me as an American) again with his insanely narcissistic UN address: nymag.com/intelligence...

Trump to United Nations: The World Needs Me More Than Ever

Trump’s long speech to the U.N. was half MAGA rally, half a call to other countries to foster their own blood-and-soil nationalism.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 20d

Quite seriously, I think congressional Dems tied their own hands so none of them could wave a white flag. nymag.com/intelligence...

Democrats Are United in Fear of Another Shutdown Surrender

Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have proposed a laundry list of Democratic demands that Republicans will reject — but they’re fine with that.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 25d

Georgia 44, Tennessee 41. Woof.

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · 28d

For the record, I abhor the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and abhor all political violence. Hard stop. There may be more to say tomorrow about the MAGA retribution that is gaining steam, but for today, I really do pray for Kirk's family and for the repose of his soul. Judgment is God's alone.

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 8

A dyspeptic prediction: SCOTUS will deny Trump his tariff authority, saving him from the horrible consequences of his economic illiteracy. The punditocracy will utter high hosannas for the Court "finding a spine." Then Trump wins on every other big case. Win-win for MAGA.

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 8

This SCOTUS shadow docket order is really, really bad. Many people will suffer from it, and Stephen Miller will run wild. nymag.com/intelligence...

Supreme Court Green-lights Ethnic Profiling by ICE

In another unsigned “shadow docket” order, the U.S. Supreme Court okayed the aggressive immigration-enforcement tactics that terrorized Los Angeles.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 5

Yes, I know I'm in danger of taking something stupid seriously, but I do think there's a reason for this ridiculous, expensive, and historically illiterate step: nymag.com/intelligence...

Why ‘Madman’ Trump Needs a ‘Department of War’

Conveying unhinged aggressiveness and hypermasculinity fits Trump’s effort to intimidate adversaries into doing what he wants.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 3

New GOP name for OBBBA: "Working Families Tax Cut." A more accurate monniker would be "Working Lobbyists Tax Cut." nymag.com/intelligence...

Rebranding Won’t Make Trump Megabill Any Less Ugly

GOP lawmakers are now calling the One Big Beautiful Bill Act the “Working Families Tax Plan.” The problem isn’t the name but the substance.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 3

A word to the Democratic message wizards who want everyone to grind away like cicadas at the latest narrow area of Trump weakness: at some point, fascism has to matter more than Medicaid cuts. nymag.com/intelligence...

Democrats Can’t Afford to Ignore Trump’s Creeping Fascism

The last election taught congressional Democrats to focus on economic arguments against Trump. But this strategy legitimizes his power grabs.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 2

Just a thought, but perhaps Democrats should look at the government they might be forced to shut down not as turf to defend but as territory occupied by a proto-fascist regime. nymag.com/intelligence...

Democrats’ Dilemma: Force a Government Shutdown or Cave Again

With the September deadline looming, Schumer and fellow congressional Democrats need to decide whether to use the one leverage point they do have.

nymag.com

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Ed Kilgore @edkilgore.bsky.social · Sep 2

Here we are, and here we go, again: nymag.com/intelligence...

Democrats’ Dilemma: Force a Government Shutdown or Cave Again

With the September deadline looming, Schumer and fellow congressional Democrats need to decide whether to use the one leverage point they do have.

nymag.com

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