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It’s hard to imagine a worse case than the one against James Comey—until you see the one against the attorney general of New York.

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 1d

The absurdity of the case that Trump is cooking up against Letitia James is precisely the point. DOJ serves him, not the law. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/next...

Next Up: Letitia James

From Conservative Civic Nationalism to MAGA White Nationalism: A Conversation with Jason Wilson

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 2d

Useful podcast explains how the MAGA right has built a durable counter-establishment that has plans and funding to outlast Trump. www.theunpopulist.net/p/from-conse...

The speakers and attendees at the 2025 National Conservatism conference were testimony to this terrifying shift on the right

The Situation: Murder She Wrote

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 2d

Legally speaking...it's murder, stupid. www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-ser...

There’s a word for what they’re doing.

The Fate of Regional Studies under Patrimonial Rule | Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 3d

On the trail...

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 4d

"We need to understand Trump’s reelection in 2024 as the beginning of a true regime change in the United States, bringing decades of consolidated liberal capitalist democracy to an end, and inaugurating a new patrimonial order of uncertain duration." aseees.org/newsnet-arti...

This crisis is qualitatively different from any we have faced as scholars since the invention of modern area studies associations in the aftermath of World War II...

aseees.org

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 4d

Those Russian incursions in Europe are distractions. Europe should stay focused on helping Ukraine win. open.substack.com/pub/billemmo...

Europe needs to keep its eyes on the prize

English original of article published in Italian this morning by La Stampa

open.substack.com

Status Quo or Revolution?

Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 4d

Must-read from AEI's brilliant Yuval Levin: Trump is personalizing presidential power but not changing laws, regulations, or even spending. Classic patrimonialism...it's all about him. status-quo-or-revolution.tiiny.co

status-quo-or-revolution.tiiny.co

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 4d

Credit where it's due: Trump's Gaza plan is shrewd and _might_ prove to be a breakthrough. www.thefp.com/p/how-trump-...

How Trump Brought Hamas to the Table

The terror group’s sudden openness to Trump’s peace plan is the product of his decision to flip the diplomatic script: advancing peace by negotiating with Israel’s Arab neighbors, writes Peter Berkowi...

www.thefp.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 5d

Greg - do you agree with John Tomasi that, whatever the merits of the Trump admin actions, there's a new opportunity to course-correct universities on free speech? #gfss2025

Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 5d

The US's targeted killing of Venezuelan civilians at sea is not, alas, as unprecedented as you might think. "The legal abuses of the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations form a foundation upon which the Trump policy is built." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/vene...

Venezuelan Boat Attacks: Utterly Unprecedented and Patently Predictable

The unlawful policies and practices of the previous post-9/11 administrations laid the foundation for the Trump administration’s current legal overreach.

Speech, Coercion, and the Myth of the Censorship Regime

Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 5d

There was no "Biden censorship regime." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/spee...

Google's letter to Rep. Jim Jordan inadvertently provides evidence against the "censorship industrial complex" narrative he is using it to support.

Political Triumphalism Is Contrary to the Spirit of Yom Kippur

Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 6d

To ponder on Yom Kippur, from Rabbi Michael Holzman. "We are living in a theological crisis. The MAGA movement seeks to promulgate a triumphalist theology that attempts to determine the truth of America’s past. Yom Kippur is the antidote to this theology." www.theunpopulist.net/p/political-...

The Jewish holiday’s emphasis on repentance requires confronting our past sins, not burying them

Hegseth’s Hatred of Americans Makes Him Unfit for Office but a Perfect Fit for Trump

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 7d

Cathy Young, a diligent and accurate reporter, has done the reading on Pete Hegseth. www.theunpopulist.net/p/hegseths-h...

The secretary is a Christian nationalist who wants to eliminate those who don’t agree with his totalitarian vision

Steve Chapman: Donald Trump wants Americans to be terrified of his wrath

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 7d

Steve Chapman: domestic terror is the point. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/c...

President Donald Trump wants to instill panic in anyone who might possibly stand in his way.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 7d

64% of surveyed Republican former members of Congress say Trump's 2020 election claims threaten democracy...vs only 18% of GOP partisans. www.brookings.edu/articles/wha...

What former lawmakers reveal about the strain on American democracy | Brookings

There is a divergence in how current and former lawmakers talk about the issues facing American democracy.

www.brookings.edu

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Reposted by Jon Rauch

Increments Podcast @incrementspod.bsky.social · 9d

New ep! Was a pleasure to have @jonrauch.bsky.social join us to discuss radical incrementalism, the paradox of tolerance, liberalism in an age of illiberalism, and give a defense of Christianity.
Can Hitchens-style atheist @vadenmasrani.bsky.social be convinced?
youtube.com/watch?v=KRvf...

#92 - Confronting the Paradox of Tolerance: Christianity in the age of Trump (w/ Jonathan Rauch)

YouTube video by Increments Podcast

youtube.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 8d

Yes, higher education can be reformed. Here's how we're doing it at Heterodox Academy. www.politicsandreligion.us/e/hxa-rauch-...

Inside Heterodox Academy: Jonathan Rauch and Liz Joyner on Reclaiming Truth in a Fractured Democracy | Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

Why defending viewpoint diversity might be the most radical—and necessary—act in higher education today. 🎧 Episode Summary What a treat to welcome two leading voices in the fight for viewpoint divers...

www.politicsandreligion.us

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 9d

"If Christians are honest—the gap between how those who claim to be followers of Jesus conduct themselves versus how others in the world conduct themselves is often narrow, if it exists at all." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Fully MAGA-fied Christianity

Politics, especially culture-war politics, now provides many fundamentalists and evangelicals with a sense of community and a common enemy.

www.theatlantic.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 9d

"Focusing investigative attention on grant-making, which is presumptively First Amendment-protected activity, without any real basis for suspicion that people are knowing or intentionally funding violence is a grotesque abuse of law enforcement power." www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

The Situation: The Nonsense and the Menace

Reading the president’s new orders on political violence and terrorism.

Gil Duran on Trump, Tech, and “The Nerd Reich”

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 10d

I totally missed Gamergate. Oops. Now I'm paying attention to warnings about a dark ideology emanating from Silicon Valley. "Silicon Valley is not about innovation anymore; Silicon Valley is about fascism until further notice." Is Gil Duran exaggerating? You tell me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2W3...

YouTube video by Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

www.youtube.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 11d

If Wittes et al. are right about how the Comey case will proceed, it won't go well for AG Bondi...but it give Dems ample cause to demand her impeachment. m.youtube.com/watch?v=vBzx...

The Comey Indictment Arrives with Shane Harris

YouTube video by #DogShirtTV

m.youtube.com

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Jon Rauch @jonrauch.bsky.social · 11d

Trump's bogus indictment of former FBI director Comey is unlikely to stand up to scrutiny for more than about 30 seconds. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

The Situation: Brief Thoughts on the Indictment of James Comey

You can’t keep the facts out of a criminal case forever.