Trump wants our 250th to be a celebration of his monarchy. And appropriately, he’s getting pushback. But just as critical, there is also quiet resistance: From Americans who keep their heads downs, ignore the noise, and just do the work of democracy. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/residual-r...

This is exactly the insight the Founders were groping toward and Van Buren ultimately articulated as the first modern parties emerged in the United States.

Kevin Elliott@kjephd.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is a pretty remarkably pro-democratic statement coming from a state Republican leader in 2026. Perhaps it's cheap talk, but at least it publicly praises what is perhaps the most important bulwark of democracy: vibrant party competition.

The anti-monopoly folks have ironically consolidated two distinct strands of American political thought and claimed exclusive title to them. One is hostility to artificial privileges; the other is vigilance against corruption. 1/5

Jonathan Chait@jonathanbchait.bsky.social · 2mo ago

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The old system of federal funding to nonprofits is not coming back from Trump’s hatchet job, says Daniel Stid. Notably, it was coming under withering critique not just from the right, but also from the left for quite a while now. 1/1 hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/for-nonpro...

Running a nonprofit? I have good news - you can expense a meal at Chez Panisse. Because, says Eboo Patel, the restaurant is a perfect model for how to run your org. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/the-alice-...

An unpopular president is making more absurd power grabs like the "weaponization" fund. Civil society may feel obliged to speak out. But Greg Berman says nonprofits should think long and hard. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/nonprofits... 1/3

Nonprofits should resist politicization first

Public trust is their most precious commodity, and politics erodes it.

hypertext.niskanencenter.org

Much of the nonprofit sector is reeling from indiscriminate disruptions to the federal funds that support so many of its organizations. But there's a deeper problem below the sabotage. Nonprofits at large are less trusted than business. So how should they navigate this moment?

The future we feared is already here, but we can still change it. @gabemenchaca.bsky.social explains what the Anthropic mess tells us about contracting in the age of AI; browse around for all of our essays on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/hegseths-w...

Hegseth’s war on Anthropic is the wrong answer to the right question

The government is too reliant on private software vendors for core mission work and AI will make this much worse. Forcing companies to work at gunpoint won’t fix things.

hypertext.niskanencenter.org

Ezra Klein@ezrakleinbot.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Future We Feared Is Already Here www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/o...

To what extent was the U.S. already in crisis before the rise in populism we've seen over the past few years? It's a serious debate among defenders of the liberal-democratic order. Recent responses to Brink Lindsey's new book have brought it to the forefront. ⬇️

Can we create a digital economy that strengthens democracy instead of eroding it? This week in Hypertext ⤵️

Incredible courage from these witnesses, whose fear of retaliatory or preemptive violence is 100% justified.

David J. Bier@davidjbier.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The Pink Jacket lady who filmed the killing tells a court that she is terrified to go home because she’s heard the federal agents who murdered a man in front of her are looking for her! Oh my god.

The logic of the escalating violence & rhetoric is to force max number of R's and nonattentive folks into the pro-paramilitary corner because they either like what they see or just believe the lies, and/or to set off a confrontation w/ local/state authorities that provides pretext for worse. 1/2

But if you listen to Goldsmith and Bauer today, it becomes clear just how much of an own goal this will be. He is in a loss-overreach spiral that will badly wound us but exposes the limits of his power, and thereby degrades it.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Janet Yellen: "“If you can bring charges for no reason whatsoever against your enemies, we’re no longer living in a society governed by the rule of law.” She added: “That’s the end of Fed independence.” And much else. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...

The demagogic response to the ICE killing is the domestic side of Stephen Millerism. This administration cannot recognize the category of “victim” in regard to its policies or the agents carrying them out; any victim must be immediately converted into an enemy. 1/4

I am thankful for the heroes of Jan. 6 and all who worked so hard for accountability. Their America will outlast the mob and its leader.

Domestically, this may prove Trump's biggest blunder. How will MAGA isolationists take his plans to occupy Venezuela? A cowardly Congress refused to pass a law that would have prevented this intervention, but if Venezuela's new leader refuses to play ball, will they support a bloodbath? 1/3

Statement from Cato VP Clark Neily: Courts probably won't rule against the rendition. Yet Trump has chosen to bypass the constitutional provisions designed to cabin the president's powers in using force against other countries. And an indictment does not supply him with those powers.

The guy who ran against the Iraq War is offering us Iraq on steroids. The congressional abdication. The thin pretext. The myopia about the potential for a bloodbath. All caricatures of 23 years ago. And the caricature of 2003 - the oil play - is now real.

Earlier this month, Ross Douthat argued that “the liberal order can’t heal itself.” The next day, @jvl.bsky.social told liberals to stop the masochism. But the answer is neither despair nor restoration, but a liberal reconstruction. hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...

Let’s bake the liberal sourdough

Yes, Jonathan V. Last, liberalism needs to revisit its recipe. No, Ross Douthat, we should not give up on the starter.

hypertext.niskanencenter.org

Examining how our elite went wrong is not masochism and New Right flirtation. The question is precisely how our leadership class wound up allowing these people anywhere close to power, and caving repeatedly to the predations of the Trump administration in recent months. 1/2

Jacob T. Levy@jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 8mo ago

by @daviddagan.bsky.social at @niskanencenter.bsky.social hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/lets-bake-...

Joining the Black Friday Amazon boycott this weekend led me to rediscover @kanopy.com! Double-win! @awscloud.bsky.social

You don't have to be a genius to understand why DOGE was a disaster. But even serious people can get government reform badly wrong. To do it right, we need to study the pitfalls - and I'm jazzed about this Hypertext issue doing just that.

The Niskanen Center@niskanencenter.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The Clinton administration spent 8 years "Reinventing Government.” So, 31 years later, why are we trying to fix government inefficiency? That's what this issue of Hypertext tackles⬇️

Read the whole thing!

Paddy Carter@paddycarter.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I would be very proud of this paragraph, had I wrote it

ABC has joined the slackjaw club, dismayed at being called on its proclaimed principles, incapable of retort. It joins law firms, broadcasters, and Fortune 500 corporations that have all been exposed as suffering from an advanced stage of moral rot. Trump sensed that spinelessness and pushed. 1/2

One of the most baffling points in the @ezraklein.bsky.social piece on Kirk: "We can live with losing an election because we believe in the promise of the next election." But Kirk didn't! And yet Ezra concludes: "We were on the same side on the continued possibility of American politics."

I mourn Kirk's killing. I admire his charisma, organizing genius, & commitment to debate. THAT was right about his way. I also believe he used his talents to promote lies that damaged our democracy and bigotry that divides us. THAT was wrong about his way. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

No, Charlie Kirk was not practicing politics the right way

His assassination deserves full condemnation; his full impact should not be sidestepped.

motherjones.com

It can be a trap if you make it a trap. It's a gift if you make it a gift. The line is: We have a big crime problem and we'd love more cops to help solve it. But Trump is cutting money for cops and sending troops because he isn't coming after criminals - he's coming after democracy.

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Chief of staff to Gov JB Pritzker -->

Big new paper from Steve Teles @niskanencenter.bsky.social today niskanencenter.org/abundance-va.... Steve outlines six types of “abundance” thinking he predicts will shape US politics. As in the Progressive Era, broad principles will attach to distinct cultural and political economic projects.

Varieties of Abundance - Niskanen Center

We will know that abundance has succeeded when there is a proliferation of “abundances,” different governing projects attached to previously existing ideologies, interests, and parties.

niskanencenter.org

This is getting very bad: *FBI raids top Trump critic's home *Trump loyalist gins up "mortgage fraud" pretexts for DOJ probes of Schiff, Letitia James, Lisa Cook *Bannon says ICE will monitor 2026 voting *DHS memo vows LA operations "for years to come" New from me: newrepublic.com/article/1994...

Trump’s FBI Raid of John Bolton’s Home Looks Like a “Five Alarm Fire”

Thus far little is known about Friday’s law enforcement action against a top Trump critic. But we’re seeing an escalation of authoritarian power on many fronts that has grown unmistakable.

newrepublic.com