adambonica.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

I’ll keep pushing this line of analysis because I’m increasingly convinced the clearest path out of this mess is for Dems to adopt a relentless anti-corruption, anti-inequality, anti-oligarchy, pro-democracy platform. The Dem leadership hasn’t realized it yet, but they’re now a reform party.

submitted 1 day ago • 77 comments

How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes? Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce. Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.

submitted 1 day ago • 52 comments

The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal. This was evident from the start, and now the data confirms it: targeted agencies overwhelmingly those seen as more left-leaning. 🧵⬇️

submitted 2 days ago • 243 comments

I’m unsure of the best strategy for Dems at the moment, but clinging to ‘business as usual’ is among the worst. Highly recommend this excellent piece by @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social that applies lessons from abroad. Creating friction against backsliding is crucial and that likely means mass protests.

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

A handful of federal judges are showing more backbone than the entirety of Congress We are watching Congress collapse as a governing institution before our eyes

submitted 11 days ago • 2 comments

Diversity and inclusion are racism. Censorship is free speech. Constraints on the executive are tyranny.

submitted 11 days ago • 18 comments

“The problem is no longer “money in politics”; it’s just money. Anything we can do to break its concentration—through taxation, antitrust enforcement, and public ownership of public goods—will help reduce the political power it commands.” www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

submitted 12 days ago • 5 comments

Here's my new working paper w/ Aaron Kaufman & Chris Celaya. Focusing on race and class, we argue that quant studies of inequality, discrimination, etc across identity groups should use the estimand that reflects its underlying theory of identity development ungated www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ophfv...

submitted 14 days ago • 5 comments

Campaign finance has profoundly changed since Citizens United. The overall story is one of growing inequality. But the patterns differ by party—and do so in ways that help explain the GOP's oligarchical tendencies. These charts break down the evolving landscape and provide some context. 🧵

submitted 14 days ago • 6 comments

Deleted a post about data for the Trump campaign going missing from the FEC website. Looks to be a data issue after Trump renamed his campaign cmte post-election, which is why he's missing when searching for pres cands. Thanks to @dwillis.bsky.social and @samlearner.bsky.social for clearing it up!

submitted 18 days ago • 4 comments

oh

submitted 19 days ago • 13 comments

Years of studying American politics taught me this: In times of political turmoil, focus on democracy's rays of hope. Do everything you can to keep them lit. They may soon shine like the sun—and sooner than we might expect.

submitted 19 days ago • 1 comment

Not-so-fun fact: In 2024, the combined salaries of 2M federal employees totaled $213B (avg. $106K each, per OMB). Coincidentally, Elon Musk’s net worth rose by $213B in 2024 (per Bloomberg). Helps to put in perspective where the real inefficiencies lie.

submitted 22 days ago • 2 comments

One of the real problems is that too many people conveniently believe the opposite of diversity is merit, and the opposite of inclusion is high standards. Yeah, that’s just not the case. (See: Pete Hegseth among countless others.)

submitted 26 days ago • 2 comments

If we can't afford the cost of groceries, we definitely can't afford the cost of billionaires.

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

~Party of the working class~

submitted 29 days ago • 7 comments

New 2024 data: Over 50% of GOP fundraising now comes from just 100 mega-donors. Trump’s embrace of the billionaire class—and their embrace of him—will only supercharge this trend.

submitted 29 days ago • 51 comments

One hill I’ll die on is that humanity, at its core, has more good than bad. Recognizing that isn’t downplaying the bad; it’s about acknowledging our immense capacity for good. The entire arc of human progress, including democracy, rests on this belief. Now more than ever, let’s not lose sight of it.

submitted 32 days ago • 6 comments

We’re told weak courts threaten democracy, but in the U.S. the real danger is that courts are far too politically powerful. While Dems clung to outdated norms and lofty legal ideals, believing a strong judiciary would safeguard democracy, the GOP was busy turning it into a tool to undermine it.

submitted 45 days ago • 1 comment

I’m excited to share DIME v4.0 is live! This release covers through the 2024 cycle and contains records for 850M+ itemized political contributions and ideological scores for millions of candidates, PACs, and donors. stanford.io/3DJDCYm

submitted 46 days ago • 7 comments

This is my theme song. In the US especially, many say majority rule threatens minority rights or the rule of law. But if anything, powerful (geographic, economic) minorities use minority rule institutions to crush both majorities and less powerful minorities (racial, immigrant, LGBT, etc)

submitted 50 days ago • 5 comments

This is one of many reasons why @runforsomething.bsky.social exclusively works with younger (under 40) candidates running to state and local office.

submitted 61 days ago • 9 comments

Long-form Friday read: www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments

Striking how every generation of Democrats is more progressive than the last. This isn't a passing trend, but a systematic shift in how generations approach Democratic politics. Gerontocracy actively preserves an older, more conservative Democratic Party seemingly at odds with its future.

submitted 64 days ago • 11 comments

Age polarization in the Democratic Party is absolutely massive. Did you know that more voters under 30 voted for Bernie 2016 than voted for Clinton + Trump combined? And that despite having few young voters in the GOP, Trump got more youth votes in the primary than Clinton.

submitted 64 days ago • 3 comments

Thinking about the time I had a paper on Forbes 400 political donations rejected because a reviewer said there’s no reason to think their money has any influence over the policy-making process. Glad we’ve finally settled that debate.

submitted 64 days ago • 3 comments

Democratic Party's generational divide: While 38% of Democratic voters are Millennials or Gen Z, they make up 11% of Cong. Dems and 0% of committee leadership. Baby Boomers: 30% of voters, 67% of committee leaders. Healthy parties modernize their leadership pipeline.

submitted 66 days ago • 6 comments