Lakshya Jain
@lakshya.splitticket.org
31K followers 290 following 1.7K posts
Account not actively monitored. I do elections stuff at The Argument (theargumentmag.com) and Split Ticket (https://www.split-ticket.org) ✉️ [email protected]
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lakshya.splitticket.org
and yes, despite that, you should *also* be completely fine with people like Jared Golden yelling about how the shutdown is a bad idea. this is because it is very obvious that Golden has no choice but to say this, especially in a Trump +9 seat.
lakshya.splitticket.org
my thoughts on the shutdown: you guys would be a lot happier if you learned to watch the NBA.

Dems aren't losing this battle at the moment, and even if they do, none of this is likely to matter one year from now. think long-term for a second. www.theargumentmag.com/p/it-will-sh...
Reposted by Lakshya Jain
lakshya.splitticket.org
I think the Democrats have actually done fine on the shutdown despite all the journalistic hand-wringing.

More to the point: a lot of people would be happier if they stopped looking for drama in politics and started watching the NBA.
lakshya.splitticket.org
I think the Democrats have actually done fine on the shutdown despite all the journalistic hand-wringing.

More to the point: a lot of people would be happier if they stopped looking for drama in politics and started watching the NBA.
lakshya.splitticket.org
I’m usually of the opinion that fights are overrated.

But I also think Democrats aren’t losing the shutdown, despite picking a fight, and that it won’t matter at all for 2026 anyway. The numbers suggest they’re doing OK and journalists are just bored.

www.theargumentmag.com/p/it-will-sh...
It will shock you how much this shutdown never happened
Voters have short memories
www.theargumentmag.com
lakshya.splitticket.org
The party follows the people; it's not the other way around. There's going to be another vehicle that picks up the votes of the folks that are voting conservative right now, and it's probably not going to be Labour!
lakshya.splitticket.org
A big reason you should want a *modestly* strong, establishment-friendly opposition party is that people don't stop becoming conservative just because their party stops existing.

What comes after the Conservatives in the UK is going to make the Tories look like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
stephenkb.bsky.social
It's fascinating how there are still replies on this, and indeed on every post about the decline of the Tories, with people on the left and centre-left people going 'good'. Honestly, I don't know how big of a warning sign you need that the death of the Tory party is bad for your politics!
samfr.bsky.social
Removing her will be an act of mercy at this point. It's getting unbearable to watch her flail around.
lakshya.splitticket.org
I think Kiwi was right and I have seen Dems gain a larger amount with young voters this time around!
lakshya.splitticket.org
I intend on continuing to post here because I find some value in some of the people that interact with *me* specifically, but that's basically it.

And yeah, X obviously has a lot of problems. Who said it didn't? This isn't an election. It's not a zero-sum game. You can use and dislike both.
lakshya.splitticket.org
She's mostly right and I think, after posting on here a *lot* more over the last month, that this website is mostly a self-selected echo chamber with a critical mass of wannabe bullies that thrive on being miserable. Have fun with your Poster's Strike lol
jay.bsky.team
Harassing the mods into banning someone has never worked. And harassing people in general has never changed their mind.
lakshya.splitticket.org
If you found it interesting to read what we put out this week with our polling at The Argument on ChatGPT, AI, and self-driving cars, I hope you'll consider subscribing — whether free or paid.

We've got a lot of really cool stuff planned and would love to share it.

www.theargumentmag.com/subscribe
Subscribe to The Argument
Join Us. We're Libbing Out. Click to read The Argument, a Substack publication.
www.theargumentmag.com
lakshya.splitticket.org
Newsom does better with seniors and college-educated voters, while AOC does better with young people. As expected, I guess.

full crosstabs here for paid subscribers. www.theargumentmag.com/p/chatgpt-an...
ChatGPT and the end of learning
My students kept using ChatGPT. I couldn't make them stop.
www.theargumentmag.com
lakshya.splitticket.org
Something that was a bit surprising to me this time around:

I tested the favorables of Vance, Trump, Gavin Newsom and AOC in our latest survey.

Newsom: 36/40 (-4)
AOC: 36/41 (-5)
Vance: 39/51 (-12)
Trump: 42/57 (-15)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
lakshya.splitticket.org
Sorry, I'm responding to this point: "opposition was highest where they’re most common"
lakshya.splitticket.org
That's objectively false? Opposition to self-driving cars was LOWEST where they're most common. And it's worth noting that the gender gap *did not shrink* even in the region where they were most prevalent. If anything, it widened.

All we're trying to show here is that the gap is worth examining.
lakshya.splitticket.org
This is something that stretches far beyond these two questions.

The value of these things (some are bad, like crypto, and some are good): is basically uncorrelated to the gender gap.

Self-driving cars, nuclear power, GMOs, crypto, space travel, gene editing, AI, etc
lakshya.splitticket.org
This is my guess too! But I like Jerusalem’s breakdown in the piece. bsky.app/profile/laks...
lakshya.splitticket.org
Two examples (you can find more): opposition to nuclear power and self-driving cars is primarily from women. There is a *massive* gender gap. Why?

(this precedes tech’s MAGA turn. best hypothesis is “women are much more risk-averse and that leads to less Dumb Stuff but also more tech skepticism)
lakshya.splitticket.org
That is not, in fact, the reasoning offered in this article. You should read it. Jerusalem does a good job breaking it down.
lakshya.splitticket.org
But this article isn’t talking about AI. This is observed in virtually every new technology.
lakshya.splitticket.org
Two examples (you can find more): opposition to nuclear power and self-driving cars is primarily from women. There is a *massive* gender gap. Why?

(this precedes tech’s MAGA turn. best hypothesis is “women are much more risk-averse and that leads to less Dumb Stuff but also more tech skepticism)
lakshya.splitticket.org
Something really worth discussing in detail:

Technology has been a massive leveler for society. It’s shrunk the gender gap in the workforce, in everyday life, and at home.

So why are women so much more anti-tech than men? www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-women-...
Why women should be tech-optimists
Technology is about liberation
www.theargumentmag.com
lakshya.splitticket.org
Something of note is that in the west, where SDCs are more prevalent, opposition goes *down*. Suggesting that it's like congestion pricing, perhaps: you hate it till you see it, and then you're more OK with it.
lakshya.splitticket.org
Most of the opposition to self-driving cars online is that people are really concerned about the potential loss of freedom.

But in real life, people are most concerned about safety. Here's what people said when we asked them why they want to ban SDCs. www.theargumentmag.com/p/please-let...
lakshya.splitticket.org
We do have a breakdown on region.