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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 7d

A new report from Protect Democracy's Alex Tausanovitch explains how we can restore some functionality to Congress by empowering “sub-parties.” Read more here: https://protectdemocracy.org/work/democratize-congress/

To Break Two-Party Gridlock, Democratize Congress

How American politics could work better if our two major parties embrace their internal divisions.

protectdemocracy.org

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 1d

or we could just move to proportional representation, make one statewide multimember district for Utah, and stop all this goddamn endless litigation.

Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 1d

UPDATE: Shortly after Utah GOP lawmakers passed another congressional gerrymander, pro-voting plaintiffs challenging the current map submitted fair map proposals to the court, arguing the legislature’s plan still violates Prop 4. A judge will decide which map complies by November.

Utah GOP Passes Gerrymandered Map, While Handcuffing Courts

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 1d

The Democratic Party coalition is too big, and Democrats should just split up into three different parties (progressive, liberal, populist), each of which runs in separate types of districts/states.
But the how-to-split-up is the hard part.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 1d

Safe seat members face strong incentives to endorse interest group laundry lists regardless of the politics, which then defines the national party brand in a way that is hard for frontline members to overcome in an era of nationalized politics.

www.slowboring.com/p/the-groups...

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Center for Ballot Freedom @centerforballotfreedom.org · 6d

🎧 Just dropped: the latest episode of our podcast #ThisOldDemocracy! @msifry.bsky.social talks to @jrdresden.bsky.social from @protectdemocracy.org about fusion voting and proportional representation. Give it a listen now. centerforballotfreedom.org/this-old-dem...

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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Center for Ballot Freedom @centerforballotfreedom.org · 5d

A must-listen! 🎙️ @reedgalen.bsky.social from @lincolnproject.us & @leedrutman.bsky.social from @newamerica.org @politicalreform.newamerica.org break down how fusion voting, proportional representation, and party reform could open up USA politics beyond the broken two-party system. A must-watch! 🎙️ ️

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 7d

all of our national leaders are unpopular.

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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Steve Randy Waldman @interfluidity.com · 7d

“Both the attention theory and moderation theory share the same fundamental flaw: they accept the existing conflict terrain as given and static. The moderation data nerds and shutdown commentators are bringing the same one-dimensional view.” @leedrutman.bsky.social

Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 7d

"If we are concerned about America's slide into authoritarianism, as we well should be, the response isn't asking Democrats to fight harder or 'moderate.' The answer is to stop accepting Republican conflicts and create new ones."
leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-democr...

How Democrats could win a shutdown fight, and why they won’t

Notes on a theory of strategic conflict (Or: why Democrats should stop rehearsing Bach fugues for a punk rock battle of the bands)

leedrutman.substack.com

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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 7d

A thoughtful essay worth your time.

Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 7d

"If we are concerned about America's slide into authoritarianism, as we well should be, the response isn't asking Democrats to fight harder or 'moderate.' The answer is to stop accepting Republican conflicts and create new ones."
leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-democr...

How Democrats could win a shutdown fight, and why they won’t

Notes on a theory of strategic conflict (Or: why Democrats should stop rehearsing Bach fugues for a punk rock battle of the bands)

leedrutman.substack.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 7d

"If we are concerned about America's slide into authoritarianism, as we well should be, the response isn't asking Democrats to fight harder or 'moderate.' The answer is to stop accepting Republican conflicts and create new ones."
leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-democr...

How Democrats could win a shutdown fight, and why they won’t

Notes on a theory of strategic conflict (Or: why Democrats should stop rehearsing Bach fugues for a punk rock battle of the bands)

leedrutman.substack.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 8d

My read is that the White House wants a shutdown more than Democrats do. This suggests to me that this shutdown could last a long time.

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 8d

I fear Democrats are being goaded into a shutdown that they have not strategically prepared for.
I don't think the same old healthcare fight is a winner for them.
More from me on Democrats' failures to develop a strategic theory of conflict: leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-democr...

How Democrats could win a shutdown fight, and why they won’t

Notes on a theory of strategic conflict (Or: why Democrats should stop rehearsing Bach fugues for a punk rock battle of the bands)

leedrutman.substack.com

4 5 18

Reposted by Lee Drutman

Fix Our House @fixourhouse.bsky.social · 11d

The @nytimes.com and @natecohn.bsky.social shared their readers' ideas for how to stop gerrymandering. The most popular proposal? Proportional representation.

"Proportional representation would make gerrymandering irrelevant. But it would do a lot more than that." t.co/1nLM8D02E8

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/upshot/redistricting-gerrymandering-alternatives.html

t.co

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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Nathan Kalmoe (he/him) @nathankalmoe.bsky.social · 12d

“The authors contend that although policy positions are often dressed up in principled language, justifications based on some essential compass are misleading.”

Exactly right. Most media & academics pros mistake US rhetoric for beliefs, which leads to total misunderstandings of actual politics.

Good Authority @goodauth.bsky.social · 12d

The GOP crackdown on free speech isn’t a big ideological change.

A recent book argues that U.S. parties change positions when it suits them, not because they’re sticking to conservative or liberal principles.

Read: goodauthority.org/news/the-gop...

The GOP crackdown on free speech isn't a big ideological change.

A recent book argues that U.S. parties change positions when it suits them, not because they’re sticking to conservative or liberal principles.

goodauthority.org

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 12d

@adambonica.bsky.social is onto something incredibly important here. Parties that should be doing the hard work of democratic engagement and mobilization are just becoming spam and grift operations. Yet democracy depends on political parties. We need better parties.

Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 12d

"Campaigns that should be building movements are instead building donor databases. Political energy that could mobilize communities gets redirected into optimizing email subject lines and testing which desperate plea extracts the most dollars from exhausted supporters."
substack.com/inbox/post/1...

The Fundraising-Industrial Complex Is Eating American Politics

New data reveals campaigns burn about a third of donations raised just asking for more donations

substack.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 12d

"Campaigns that should be building movements are instead building donor databases. Political energy that could mobilize communities gets redirected into optimizing email subject lines and testing which desperate plea extracts the most dollars from exhausted supporters."
substack.com/inbox/post/1...

The Fundraising-Industrial Complex Is Eating American Politics

New data reveals campaigns burn about a third of donations raised just asking for more donations

substack.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 16d

"Either Democrats lead the fight to clean up the system or they will be remembered as complicit in its collapse."
substack.com/home/post/p-...

The Democrats' Path Forward: Become the Anti-Corruption Party

But to reform the system they first need to reform the Democratic Party.

substack.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 16d

It is 2025. America is falling into authoritarianism. And the Democratic Party does not have a strategic theory of political conflict.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/how-democr...

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 16d

How about we have a day to remember ALL the victims of gun violence in this country? The politicians, the children, and every other life cut short in a deranged country with too many guns and too much social isolation. Charlie Kirk was one. One of too many.
www.axios.com/2025/09/18/c...

Senate passes "National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk"

The resolution moves to designate October 14, Kirk's birthday, as the remembrance day.

www.axios.com

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 18d

Seems relevant.
"Most people strongly believe they are just, virtuous, and moral; yet regard the average person as distinctly less so."
"Taken together, these findings suggest that moral superiority is a uniquely strong and prevalent form of ‘‘positive illusion.""

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 19d

I just send a message that THIS IS NOT OKAY

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 19d

leedrutman.substack.com/p/we-are-sti...

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 19d

Really feels like we've moved from Stage 3 Doom Loop to Stage 4 Doom Loop in this past week.

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 19d

(not that Democrats are great, but wow)
news.gallup.com/opinion/gall...

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Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 20d

Wait, I thought Republicans and their heroes were firmly against cancel culture, and firmly for free speech.
????
???????
www.vox.com/politics/461...

Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel

Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.

www.vox.com

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Reposted by Lee Drutman

Steve Randy Waldman @interfluidity.com · 21d

i'm really a single issue voter at this point: electoral reform.

if we don't "break the two-party doom loop', as @leedrutman.bsky.social put it, it's hard to see how we don't escalate to killing each other even more than we are, let alone get any kind of sane and sensible governance.

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